The Pattern Review Lined Jacket Contest - Muslin is complete!

No secrets here! I've been working on my muslin for the PR lined jacket contest, and I'm officially ready to move on to my final version. I found a really cute jacket and coat pattern, Burda 7020 - and it comes with pieces for the lining, oh, so much easier...

For the muslin, which I'm only doing in the main fabric, I've used a fleece that's been in my stash since fall of 2012 - I really forgot it was there! The check pattern isn't something I would usually wear -  in fact, I bought it with someone else in mind. But it looks great in this jacket. 

How's this for helpful fabric? I've never seen this before, a nap arrow on the selvage!

The muslin version seems long on Emile, but the final will be about 33", just enough to cover my tunics, which are usually around 30" long.

Great details, beautiful slash pockets and collar stand...

(The pictures on the wall are usually straight...all the banging on the roof for the last 12 days has left every picture in the house looking pretty funky!)

The pattern, which I drafted in size 14, fits so well, only a couple changes were necessary.

• The shoulder is about 3/4" too long for me at the sleeve head, I will redraft the front and back for the final.
• The original sleeve is quite narrow in the midsection, which IMO spells disaster once the piece is lined...it's a somewhat narrow sleeve anyway. I redrafted the pattern to be the same width from shoulder to wrist, before I cut my muslin.

What happens to the muslin? I love it! Since it's fleece and quite warm with no lining, I'll fix the shoulder and finish it. It only lacks hems and buttons. And when it's on me, not on Emile, the check fabric doesn't droop :-)

Parting roof update! It's done...

Hope everyone has a nice week...Ciao! Coco

Sewing a garment a month...my kind of challenge!

Just the idea of this sewing challenge makes me relax...a garment a month, just for me - well, OK, I mostly sew for myself anyway. But there's something so inviting about making it official and special.

Sarah Liz (SarahLizSewStyle) is hosting this year-long challenge, starting this month. Only a few simple guidelines (here's a link to the 'rules' page):

- The garment has to be for you and not for someone else...
- Choose a pattern at the beginning of the month and post about it with background on
  how/why you choose that pattern, fabric, etc.
- Blog about the finished garment with pics, etc.

And the button is on my sidebar, has a link to the challenge as well.

I've already chosen my pattern for October, it's something I need badly! A long knit robe. My white one is 5 years old and just worn out.

Burda Style 7297

I plan to make view C, and mine will be all the way to the floor and then some, as I'm using a cotton jersey that will shrink a bit over time. Love the back belt treatment, so forties!

Holly Lobby 100% cotton jersey knit

Lots of inspiration for this robe. I've always loved the iconic Calvin Klein wrap robe. 

But I have to admit that with all the work being done around the house - the roof, the slab leak, the mold remediation - my energy and resource reserves are really stretched. 

So I'm also inspired by other great wrap robes...

Ciao! Coco

Virginia Leggings - absolute fun!

I'm loving this leggings pattern from Megan Nielsen! 

There are only two pattern pieces - a waistband and a leg - with a choice of a regular rise or a 'maternity' low rise (which I think is pretty neat).

And they don't need much fabric, a little less than 1.5 yd of a 60" stretch knit.

I made just a couple tweaks to the pattern:

• I'm 5/7", 40" hip, 30" waist, and sewed a size Large. 
• Cut the length at the hem line for the XL, which gave me another 1/2" or so. It's hard to see on my leggings, because of the print, but they really do scrunch up at the ankle - so cute!
• Added 2" at the top of the leg pattern piece - the rise was too short to be comfortable, sides, front and back. Since this pair is my muslin, I actually added a strip of fabric at the 'top' once the leg seams were sewn and fitted. I like my leggings (and pantyhose, for that matter) to come up a bit above my natural waist and not be crawling down as soon as I start walking around :-)

OK, this is moi thinking I saw something on the floor, most likely something that got tracked in from all the stuff going on outside. 

Maybe I'm just losing it...

I'm back - composed once again. I even put my shoes on.

Parting roof update:

Two days ago - supplies for the next layer...

Yesterday - rain delay!

Today - the hot asphalt crew

 

Tonight - the 3rd layer is complete 

The new tile comes tomorrow on the biggest truck of all.  All smiles - Coco

The excitement continues chez Coco...

Oh gosh, the phone rang at 7 this morning...I was still asleep. Mostly because I've been watching the Breaking Bad marathon for 5 days, and my days and nights are a little upside down. I actually ignored the phone. But then it rang again. You know that sinking feeling?

My Mum got a pacemaker 1 week ago today. I was up and out of bed really fast on that second call. Thank goodness, it was only the roofers.

Only the roofers? Nobody told me they were coming today!! Turns out their 'new' secretary forgot to call me. Not only were they coming, they were knocking at the door 5 minutes later :-)

Fortunately I decided on Sunday afternoon to move the plants out of the gazebo - I knew the roofers would move it eventually. Boy, my brain is working overtime. Maybe because I'm now drinking hot cocoa every night. I read in an article on the BBC website, that a recent study showed increased mental acuity and memory retention in folks who drink hot cocoa every day. How 'bout that?

I also blew out my garden hose...one of those new ones that's really light and shrinks up. I love it and have another one on standby. I like the plants on the fence and think I'll leave them there. The gazebo is on its last legs (rust), so I'll put it out in the next bulk pickup. New one next spring.

Back to the roof story...

Having a tile roof removed from a 2 story house is a very noisy enterprise. So is laying and tacking down the new asphalt fabric. And removing all the metal flashing.

Yes, things did fall off my walls, and my house is now really really dusty. I think any spiders that lived with me have packed up and gone to visit family.

A very helpful neighbor stopped by to let the roofers know that they had 3 trucks parked on the street and someone might hit them. hmmm. These were big 18-wheelers.

I think anyone would see them before hitting them...unless they were texting.

I stayed inside, except to open the door and snap a pic of the front walkway around 3:00.

The roofers are a great group, lots of grins and nice attitudes. They worked really fast and hard, and did a wonderful job of cleanup at the end of the day.

The house looks so different with no tile! But I'm 'dried in' (rain-proof) and all set for tomorrow. 

Parting pic...my back yard from my neighbor's lawn. I should do a photo shoot on this side.

Bye for now! Coco

Dreaming about water...

Don't do it! What a week at the loft. I really did dream about water last weekend. And I kept thinking I heard water dripping. Checked my kitchen faucet. Stood in the middle of the bathroom and listened. Nothing. Even went outside with a flashlight and checked the water meter! It was not turning.

But I just knew something was up.

On Tuesday I came through the garage to take the groceries into the kitchen (I usually just go through the front door). And there it was on the garage floor...water. A long puddle of water. Under the washing machine and the hot water heater. Up the walls. Out the garage door.

And on the baseboards, M.O.L.D.   Scary stuff, ugly, yucky. Stopped me in my tracks.    

        

I had no choice but to call in the big guys...

Lots of big guys.

It's now Sunday. I have a 'slab leak' - a cold water pipe has broken inside the concrete foundation of the house. A slab leak can't be repaired - it has to be located and isolated. The plumbers cap the two ends of the pipe, where they exit the slab into the house. And then bypass the leak with new piping.

Finding the leak took 8 hours, two men, and a jackhammer.

As of today, the mold has been 'remediated', the turbo fans and dehumidifier are gone, all the walls and floors are dry. Of course I have lots of missing and damaged wallboard in the garage, as well as a 2' x 5' hole on the outside of the house (jackhammer...). Reconstruction begins next week. Washer and dryer are disconnected, but (here comes the bright side )...

As my Mom pointed out, I have lots of clothes!

Ciao! Coco

Vogue 8810 - A new dress for fall

It's officially autumn, even here in south Florida, regardless of our very warm weather and leaves that stay green. And even I have the 'transition' bug, that little urge to do something different for fall.

I picked up Vogue 8810 last spring, not with any particular fabric in mind, but because I really like the lines of View D. It's a nice take on a shirtwaist, very feminine - no collar, bit of a bow at the waist, soft gathers at the shoulders, pockets, and a semi-circular skirt. Perfect.

Then along came this wonderful cotton print from Alexander Henry's Fulham Road collection, plum Sloane. I've had to rethink my initial neutral reaction to the Pantone 2013 Fall color palette...

Because they're all in here!

From Holly Lobby

This looks like a fall dress, right?

It's a Vogue Easy pattern, fun to sew, with lots of little details to keep me busy and content.

Sewing notes:

- This is my usual size 14, and the fit is spot on. I'm 5'7", and had plenty of hem, actually took it up 2".

- I sewed the waist with a 3/8" seam, rather than 5/8", just to get a tad more length in the bodice.

- The pattern has dropped shoulders, but I think they must work better with sleeves! The same pattern pieces are used for both sleeved and sleeveless tops, but sort of fly away on the sleeveless version.

From the pattern envelope

After I sewed the shoulder and side seams, I trimmed the armhole: 3/4" at the top, curing down to 1/4" between the notches. Then I trimmed off 1/2" the side seam, starting at the armhole, curing down to the first notches. Seems like I do this a lot now, all the big 4 must think we flair out at our underarms! end of rant...

- To finish the armhole, I used a 1 3/4"  self-fabric bias binding, rather than a facing.

- Because the tie belt is over a waistline seam, I extended the casing to 3/4" from the bodice edge. This way I won't have to worry about the seam wandering above or below the belt. It works really well.

- Button, button, who has the button...this dress is buttoned all the way down the front. Except I sewed the skirt buttons through both layers without cutting open the buttonhole. They'll never open!  And I ended up putting 4 buttons on the bodice rather than 2. This dress 'wants' to close higher on me, not something I feel like changing by redrafting the whole bodice! Easier to add buttons :-)

I didn't put a button at the waist at all, but sewed a large snap on the inside instead.

Cute dress with a modest twirl factor:

Ciao! Coco