Simple Top Challenge Round-up

Yes!  It is time for another Stitch Once, Rip Twice round-up!  This time, we have eight different projects, four from new members.  :)  For those of you who are beginning sewists or would like to join our virtual sewing group, click here for more info.

Let's get to the garments!

Oh, but if you are unfamiliar with our latest challenge, find out more about the Simple Top Challenge rules and inspiration on this post!

Now, let's get to the garments!

Last week, I shared my own (Refashioned) Simple Top from a $1 swap meet button-down shirt.  Click on over to see how my top turned out, plus the major mistake that turned into a cute detail!

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Challenge #5: A (Refashioned) Simple Top!

Today, I actually have a new sewing project to share with you!  Stitch Once, Rip Twice's latest challenge was a Simple Top, and I knew that I had to make something nice and breezy for this 80°F weather we have been having here!

Read on for all of the details, including how I turned a huge mishap into a fashionable detail and how this only cost me $1!

*Update* Check out everyone else's garments here!

As you remember, we had a challenge and I had a few ideas in mind when I announced it in this post.  I kept wanting to complicate the design with all kinds of details, but I finally just settled for a really simple top!

I used Simplicity 1614 from my pattern collection for its breezy silhouette.  I decided to go with version D's front and version A/B's back with the detail.  Already getting not-so-simple...

For the fabric, I was going through my enormous fabric stash to find something breezy but not sheer.

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Crochet Rewind: Hats, Scarves & Blankets!

Remember how last year I shared the crocheted pouch for my external hard drive and mentioned that it would be my only crochet rewind?  Well, I have a little bit of a surprise for you!  I was thinking about how I have a definite lack of crafts on my blog, compared to the amount of recipes and food posts, so I wanted to share this all with you today!

I started crocheting my freshman year of college and thought it was really fun!  I have given it up in favor of sewing recently, only because I have more than enough warm items to wear, as you can see below, and I do live in California!  However, I realized after meeting Kate of Small & Great, there are so many other items to crochet and I am inspired to take it up again soon!

By the way, these are items that I had on hand to photograph, and you might have seen a couple of these in my Closet Clean-Out post already.  Let's take a peek!

Beanies

I actually have two of these identically ones because I had enough yarn in the skein to make a couple.  Although I only have two here, I actually once made about 80 of them one holiday season for our entire student government staff!  It was ridiculous!

I use these whenever it gets cold inside the house to avoid turning on the heater.  :)

Beret

I decided to experiment with some extra green yarn and make a beret!  I also aded a little button flower, just for a bit of a cute factor.

Here is the underside.  Neat!

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Why a Waistband Matters: Gray & Yellow Maxi Dress - Round 2!

It's Tuesday, which means that it's time for a sewing post!  Yes, I am sandwiching this between a ton of Thanksgiving posts, but I want to make sure that all of my sewing buddies out there know that I am still doing the occasional project!

This is not a new garment (womp, womp) but it is definitely an improvement on one that I made before!  Remember from this post how I was disappointed at how the dress made me look pregnant?  Well, I took mimi g's advice (from when I attended her conference) and put it in the waistband that I was reluctant to add.  I am sooo glad I did!

Keep in mind this is the same dress with only the addition of a waistband.  Otherwise, this is the same bodice, same skirt, same dress form, and (almost) same angle.  Seriously, check out the difference.  :)

Remember, this is a wearable muslin that I intended to make using the Simplicity 2219 for the first time hence the so-so bodice fabric.  I do love how it fits like a glove everywhere now that I have added the waistband, except for the shirring on the side panels.

By the way, the waistband piece that I added was from the same pattern I used in orange maxi dress.  It was a perfect match!

So once again, here are the before and after pictures.  Why should the addition of a relatively small strip of fabric make such a huge change?

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Sewing Rewind: Fail Edition!

Now, why would I bother show you guys all of my fails?  Well, like I said in my Sewing Rewind: Works in Progress post, I wanted to show absolutely every one of my past projects, even if they ended up terribly.

In this post:

• Boxy Quilted Pouch
• Black & Blue Top
• Tutu
• Fleece Wrap
• Phone Case

Boxy Quilted Pouch for my cousin

I had just learned how to make a zippered pouch, and I was interested in trying out a pattern for a boxy quilted pouch.  I was excited to tell my cousin about my new sewing hobby, and she said, "Make me something!"

Well, I didn't know how to tell her that it's hard to make something on demand without the appropriate supplies, so I decided to make it anyways.

I didn't have my DIY ironing board yet, so I was still cutting on the floor.  Disaster!

I quilted it wrong sides together, and it was so tiny in the end.  Probably just big enough for a few tissues or coins.  Oh well!

Black & Blue Top

From afar, this doesn't seem like a terrible top, but remember that the devil is in the details!

This was such a shifty fabric, that it was super difficult to cut.  The pattern pieces somehow were probably off, and then I made the mistake of trying to fix the pattern to what I thought would work best.  I ended making more of a mess, with a lot of puckering in the back.

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Sewing Rewind: Self-drafted Edition!

At one point or another, we all decide to break out of the box and make our own patterns, either by modifying other patterns, using existing clothing, or making them from scratch.  This was TOTALLY difficult for me, because the patterns I had already sewed worked pretty well for me with very little alterations.  The prospect of failing was scary, and even though these projects were far from perfect, I learned from them and eventually tweaked them to my liking!

The reason I wanted to start sewing was to make a simple summer tank dress with an elastic waistband in fabrics that I liked.  I had been seeing a few in stores, but they were either really expensive, in a terrible fabric, or in a fabric that would be instantly recognizable to someone else who frequented the store.  That's when I decided that I would take a class to learn how to sew just a simple A-line dress.  Little did I know how obsessed I would get!

In this post:

• Tank Dress
• "Put a Bird On It" Tank
• Ruched Polka Dot Top

Tank Dress, Bird tank & Ruched polka dot top

Tank Dress

For the first few weeks of class, I was very good at making my crafting projects and learning a few techniques.  In fact, I even finished a dress with sleeves, darts, and princess seams before attacking this item.  I was sure that I would totally rock it!

Please ignore the smushy dress form underneath!

And while yes, it looks fine, it wasn't what I was initially going for.  First of all, the skirt hugs the body too much because I wasn't sure how A-line my skirt should be.  So, I ended up hacking off too much.  Also, you won't be able to see this, but my pockets ended up much too low initially and some clever internal seams helped to fix this without ripping apart the entire thing!

And although I do love the fabric, it doesn't drape well.  I guess that's what happens when you don't follow the instructions on the back of the envelope (that doesn't exist).

I am impressed with how well the top fits though, and I won't make any changes to the pattern!

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Sewing Rewind: My first wearable clothing!

First of all, I wanted to thank everyone who has been amazing with comments and emails of support and compliments.  I am certainly having a lot of "aw-shucks" moments lately!

Also, I updated my previous post here to include (slightly) better pictures of my Christmas dress, "fur" wrap, and NYE dress.

So for today, I thought I would share some of the first garments that I actually wore in public.  The first time I wore each of these items, I thought that either everyone would point and laugh or that it would completely disintegrate like a paper doll dress.

Luckily none of these things have happened, and I even had a couple of compliments!  Victory!

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In this post:

• Orange Maxi Dress
• Polka Dot Sorbetto
• Purple Corduroy Skirt

Orange Maxi Dress

Remember, I first began sewing in April and for the first several weeks I did a bunch of beginner projects (pillow cases, binder covers, etc.).  Then, I moved on to my first dress which I will blog about later.  It was a trial for a lot of techniques, but I knew I wouldn't wear it anytime soon.

By the time I finished, it was the end of June and I was in need of a fun summer dress!

I only decided to attempt a maxi dress because my sister (who is as short as I am) told me about how it actually made her look taller.  Sold!

I decided to use Simplicity 3503 and an orange stretch jersey with white stripes bought at the swap for $1/yard.  Because it had stripes, I didn't want to resemble a jailbird, referee, Waldo, etc. so I decided to cut the skirt with the stripes running diagonally at the bias.  I'm thrilled at how it turned out!

A tall drink of orange.  :)

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Sewing Rewind: A skirt, a shirt, and a coat... Oh my!

This post is a little late today because I needed to take photographs of this next set of clothing using the fancy camera I mentioned yesterday.  It was my first crack at a DSLR camera.  Fun!

The next few pictures are of items that I've made and actually worn!  And yes, I know I need to invest in a dress form eventually.

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In this post:

• Red Beignet skirt
• Maroon Fleece Jacket
• Racerback Shirt/Dress

Red Beignet (high-waisted) skirt

My friend and I went to the Sew L.A. event back in September when Colette Patterns released their Fall patterns, which was the first time I encountered the beautiful patterns they offer!

Since I had only made a few other pieces of clothing (most not my style, but for practice purposes), this seemed like a good place to start with an actual piece of clothing I would like to wear one day!

I chose the Beignet pattern, even though it said intermediate!

For the fabric, I used some red poplin that I bought at M & L fabrics for $1.98/yard and the lining was left behind by someone in my class.  I bought the buttons at a swap meet, so I most likely spent $1 or less.  Definitely less than $5 all in all!

And here is how it turned out.

Red Colette Beignet skirt (unironed)  :(

My intention for this project was to serve as a muslin, figuring that if it turned out to be wearable, I could use it as a casual skirt.  Luckily, it turned out pretty well, and now I can avoid a few problems that I had while sewing it and make a few adjustments for my more expensive fabric.

I absolutely love the pop of lining that I used!  I almost wish I could have it peek out from the skirt a little.  Or maybe make some piping along the skirt with it next time.

Lovely lining

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Sewing Rewind: Holiday Edition!

I wanted to recap some of the sewing projects that I made before starting this blog in my new mini-series "Sewing Rewind."  Remember, I only started sewing last April, so be nice!

In this post:

• Christmas Dress
• "Fur" Cape
• New Year's Eve Dress

Holiday Edition

These are the three garments I made for the holiday season.  Ups and downs, but I learned a LOT about drafting my own patterns.

*Update* New (and better) photographs of each article of clothing are now included!

Christmas Dress

I bought some flowy fabric from the swap meet at $1/yard because I thought it was so pretty!  I immediately knew that I wanted to use Butterick 5750.  Later on, I found the same fabric (in different colors) in a Forever 21 blouse.

The results were pretty good, and my cousin's three-year-old called me Princess the whole night because it was so swishy.  Yay!

Ignore the black tights at the bottom.  It was cold on Christmas!

I didn't notice until adding this picture that the lining wasn't pulled down all around.  Doh!

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