We had a lovely time sewing socks last month; for February and March we are kicking it up a notch with some lingerie!
pattern review: the burnside bibs by sew house seven
I had quite a week, and it cheered me immensely to sew up the Sew House Seven Burnside Bibs. I think of these as “Rosie the Riveter”-style overalls, and as far as I know mine are the first pair in existence to be made out of a knit fabric. This involves the extremely judicious use of interfacings (I used two different types), and in this case – a lot of stripe matching and fussy-cutting.
The pattern features two versions. Version one – the version I made – features a slightly curved front bib, and a slimmer-fit trouser with deep back darts and an invisible zipper at the side. Version two features the standard straight bib, and full back legs. Both versions feature an option for a cropped or full-length leg, and long ties that can be worn a variety of ways, to pass through belt carriers in the back. You can see several versions on the site’s pattern page.
I may or may not have gone mad with stripe-matching power. If there are stripes, I have to make them match perfectly. I also used the lengthwise, crosswise, and bias grain in ways that were not indicated by this pattern, nor are typical for knit garments.
At the pant leg: a deep blind hem. This gives the pantleg a wonderful weight. I find sewing a blind hem very satisfying!
Shown below: the center-back seam and the back pockets (cut on bias, and fuse-lined). The pockets on the pattern are too low for my body, so next make I will shift them up.
The front pockets are also fuse-lined, and finished with a knit strip rather than the shaped facing in the pattern:
The side invisible zipper, perfect and bump-free as you see here. Version two of the pattern has a looser pants back, and can be pulled over the hips. The back will have a fuller gather at the waist.
I pieced the front bodice on the bias, and used the crosswise grain for not only the pant leg, but also the front waistband and the straps. I think I only used the knit grain “correctly” twice – the bib facing/lining, and the front pockets.
The back of the pant has an internal facing, and six tie carriers. I cut everything out fussy af so my carriers would all be identical, and placed in identical locations on either side of the center back:
Belt carriers, with the chambray tie passing through. These long ties were barely able to be pulled through using the tube method, and I used pretty lightweight fabrics. Save yourself some trouble and either cut a wider tie, sew a narrow seam allowance, or do a test run of loop turning.
I like a lot about Sew House Seven, including the geometric but feminine shapes within the patterns, and the simple fabrics often used to showcase the garment lines. But I recommend them for their instructions, especially. There is a really great methodology to the patterns, and it is a bit different than other indie designers. The methods are very persnickety and precise in a way that I absolutely love, and allow for a really gorgeous clean-finish on the inside of the garment. I think the patterns are miniature tailoring tutorials in and of themselves, and I recommend them to any committed beginner, or intermediate stitcher who wants to up their game.
This pattern comes in bust/hip measurement 31″ / 34″, to bust/hip 47″ / 50″.
a li’l something
A wee baby ensemble for a local auction – size 15 lb. baby!
A bunting (100% cotton shell, same color fleece lining, stenciled glitter-star front, and snaps with underlap), reversible hat with tied ears, and a baby sleeping bag with snap front. The front:
Flannel shell on sleeping bag; large red snaps. Love it!
But … my favorite i sthe hat. I am a huge baby hat fan. I wish I had a baby to model this one. ONLY too adorable!
So yeah – as mentioned, I’ve been asked more and more for donations or contributions – either garment construction, or writing.* In between clients, getting the kids to school, and running last night’s benefit, I managed to put this together. The pieces made up a simple, pleasing project. Putting together the color palette – and the design – is one of the best parts of design.
I also just adore the idea of a baby sleeping bag. Why have I not thought of, or seen one before?
These pieces go off to a local auction. Always happy to help!
* Let’s make a deal: you know it’s totally okay to ask, ever (promise) – because you know I feel okay saying Yes or No. I’ll let you know if things change.
tiger-striped undershirt (1 hour, $3)
I’m right smack-dab in the middle of tailoring work for clients. After cleaning up my last project, I gave myself permission to spend about an hour on this li’l fella:
I simply traced one of Nels’ undershirts – which took about five minutes – and then cut a front and back from a tissue-fabric recently acquired from Britex fabrics. This wonderful 100% cotton knit is so, so beautiful – semi-sheer, lightweight, and rather fussy if you don’t know what you’re doing. Fortuately, I do.
The back, in true undershirt-style, features more of a racerback/cutaway design than the front:
A closeup – super-closeup – so you can see the very light and almost slubby texture of the knit:
Summer sheer fabrics are wonderful. You get a great look and coverage, but it feels like you’re wearing nothing at all – especially given the kinds of seam-finishes a bespoke tailor is capable of.
Time to get out on the bike!
sheer-lto copley or, “how to sew a see thru top in about an hour”
Sheer tops. We need more of them. Not to be confused with mesh tops.
By the way if you can name the source film of this still, I will kiss you on the mouth. (Hint it is a really really terrible film that stars, mostly, a mechanical bull!)
OK, but anyway, this is what I actually made:
Now I am not actually anti-mesh tops but I can tell you what I am anti:
POLYESTER.
a tender shoot
My son *thinks* this is his birthday hoodie; however, it is a decoy hoodie. I was drafting a deep hood and a tall, slender fit. I am waiting on fabric for his actual birthday hoodie. Let’s hope it all works out before the birthday party on Saturday!
A roomy hood:
MacGuffin or no, this hoodie is fabulous in its own right. It is constructed of luxurious 100% cotton fleece – very soft on the inside. I pieced the body using the “mock-serge” on my Pfaff (tutorial here).
Two appliques: the “frost flower” on the right arm – using knit and woven scraps, matching zig-zag topstitching, and paint/thread drawing for the “eyes”:
The left arm – more subtle still. Nels’ name in a “Super Mario U” font – self-appliqued.
For the hood drawstring, I first constructed eyelets free-hand on the Pfaff, made a casing using a 2.0/2.0 zig-zag topstitch, then knit a cotton i-cord for the drawstring itself. Ralph knit about half the i-cord yesterday – after I taught him how. The yarn itself was a gift from my friend Tammy at Main Street Books.
Piecing knitwear as a home sewist is really wonderful. I am able to line up the grain perfectly which is not something you will see in ready-to-wear construction. The result is a garment that feels, fits, and wears better – while looking fabulous for a lot longer.
Cutting knit pieces so carefully would be tedious if not for the fact that knit garments are usually made with far fewer pieces than woven ones. That said, some of y’all remember that I am willing to go balls-deep in fussy-cutting. It really does make a difference even if people looking at the garment can’t tell exactly why it looks so good.
Spring is here, spring is wet, and my Little Guy looks all set!
cotton & linen & spring brighttimes!
First, my daughter’s Scootaloo hoodie (you can look at the Flickr tagset, which includes some construction discussion).
I’m seriously proud of my rendition of the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ badge.
Next up: Nels’ hooded linen coat. My design, Franken-patterned from previous designs. A fully-lined and underlined jacket in a linen/rayon blend. Square pockets, pointed pieced hood. Hand-knit i-cord drawstring. A hood with axotl external gills. YOU HEARD
Ah, yeah… I made the pants too. Super-fun. I think I shall be sewing with linen ALL SUMMER LONG
Yes, those are bound buttonholes. Want a closeup?
slant rhyme
made some hats
need some scratch
Also: if you are a local, I am looking for babies and kids as models, so I can photograph some of my creations. I have several items that are not being published in any way because I do not have children to model them. I am hoping especially for newborns in the zero to three months’ range; also kids up to three. AND of course any child model (and carer) gets a lovely Hoga-playdate plus a hand-sewn or hand-knit bit of loveliness from YOURS TRULY.
So. That’s it, for now.