May 30, 2013

Ottobre 02-2013-13 Tunic


Ever since I saw a preview of this Ottobre issue on their website, the idea of implementing this tunic didn’t leave my mind. In fact I had the same color bamboo jersey in my stash! (Bought from naturesfabrics.com – unfortunately, the piece I bought was only 1 yard long and it was not enough, but the salmon color bamboo was just right.)




I was intrigued by how it will fit and whether the design any flattering. I patiently waited for anybody to try it and share the experience on the web before I cut it, but so far I didn’t see any. So I had to try it myself... The pattern piece for from and back look weird and I felt skeptical that the pattern combines two sizes (i.e. 38/40). Except for the neck opening, the front and back pieces look the same – my concern was the armhole.

But my curiosity took over common sense!

After tracing the pattern, I had even more concerns. I looked like I was sewing a little tent :)

Photo from the magazine:



Description from the magazine:

The lemon-yellow bamboo jersey tunic has an asymmetrical hemline. The front and back are cut as a single piece, placing the lower part of the left side-seam edge on the fabric fold. On the finished garment, the longer left side falls beautifully on the hip, creating a draped effect. The neckline is gathered with clear elastic tape and finished with jersey binding.

I have to say, it comes together exceptionally fast – you don’t need to match the back and front – after cutting it, just pin the sides and shoulders and sew right away!


The neckline could’ve been done better – I applied clear elastic tape as per instructions, but decided to sew it all around the neckline (without really stretching it), but it ended up being tighter than in the magazine.

Left side:


I love the result! It is so comfortable and breathable - perfect for summer. It looks great with skinny jeans/jeggings.

Another shot of the left side in the mirror:


Thank you, my curiosity and Ottobre, it's a winner :)

March 10, 2013

BurdaStyle 10-2011-145 and Michael Miller dissapointment

I wanted to make this dress for DD1 for the longest time! So finally I did. In fact I made her 2 of them and one more is half way done.
This is a very cute pattern for the little girl and comes together fast. The first dress is made from cotton jersey from girlcharlee.com. I made a regular neckline not boat-neck and fancied it up a bit with a piece of bamboo ribbing under the binding.



The second dress is made from Michael Miller interlock knit which I love. It is super soft and great quality. BUT it shrinks sooooo much!!! I made a mistake of not washing it prior to sewing (and I always wash my fabric), but it shrank even more after additional washes. Oh, man. The neckline on this dress is finished with fold-over elastic (FOE). 


Here's a little perspective of how much this fabric shrinks - the shirts below are made for DD2 using the SAME pattern:

March 07, 2013

Another Diana Moden 08-2010-27

This is the fourth dress I made using the pattern from Diana Moden (two versions shown here). My mom is really happy with the fit, but this time around she requested adding short sleeves. I also made centre back seam so the dress is more fitted.




The fabric used is rayon jersey from local Fabricland store.