RedHeadTexan

Since Sunday I have seen the shorts version of the romper and used the bodice to make a dress.  I am wearing the dress to work tomorrow and the shorts romper to a shrimp boil on Saturday.  I will get pictures of me wearing them to post.  Both wear made with ITY knits, so I had to use the walking foot on my basic sewing machine since the fabric is slicker than a wet noodle.  Anyway, here is a preview of the dress.  And it has pockets!!!!

Lisa

I sewed a new pattern today and just have the hemming left to do.  This is from Made for Mermaids and the pattern is called Jade.  I added too much length to the leg pattern pieces, so will adjust the pattern.  When you are 6 feet tall it’s always best to go long.  I will be making a shorts version soon.

7 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Hal requires men wear jackets? I don't sail with them but I am surprised. I was under the impression most of the mass market lines have stopped those kind of attire requirements.

HAL does not require men to wear jackets any more.  

Lisa

These are my formal sandals for cruises.  I bought them on Amazon a couple of years ago for $35. 

Answering a few questions:

Bodice:  No cups attached, but next time I will be adding super power mesh in the lining for a little more support.

How long have I been sewing:  I started sewing in college making pillows, curtains, and the occasional baby blanket.  I stuck to that until 8 years ago.  Then I began to refashion thrift store finds.  I started sewing clothes from patterns 3 years ago.  My first pieces were athletic stuff for rowing like biker shorts and tank tops, then I slowly moved into other things like tops, skirts, and dresses.  This past year I started altering patterns, mashing patterns, and dabbling in making my own.  

How I learned to sew:  I am 100% self taught.  In the 1990's I bought a couple of books on making home decor.  I still have those books and love the ideas.  Once the internet and YouTube came on the scene, I watched tons of videos.  I love a sew along on YouTube.  Simplicity has some great ones.  I think my refashioning phase really helped me learn how to tailor clothing.  It's probably why I didn't have a meltdown when this last dress's bust was a hot mess.  

Who's the cat:  That is Coco Chanel, our youngest kitty at 9 months old that we adopted from the local shelter in February.  When we adopted Coco, my mom was entering Hospice.  My mom loved Coco Chanel, so we decided to name our pretty little black kitten that.  My mom passed away a few days later.  Kittens make the worst of days a little better.  

Lisa

12 hours ago, purduemom1 said:

Beautiful! What a great job you did. You look loverly. Do you have an upcoming cruise or other event that you will be wearing it to? Your cute kitty compliments the dress well😉

Sharon

Thanks!  We have a cruise to Bermuda in September and this is definitely coming.

Lisa

Other than hemming, the dress is done.  Adding darts to the bust took care of the sizing issue.  I am very happy with the results and how easy this pattern was to make.

Lisa

From the waist down this fits perfectly.  The bust is too big, so I am going to add darts and shorten the band in the back.  I will alter the pattern before making the next one.  Once the bust is fixed, I will have Walt take some pictures of me in it.  

Lisa

This weekend’s project is a new dress pattern.  I am finished with the front and will work on the rest this week.  This is my tester, so the cruise dress will be a tropical print.  Pattern is Simplicity 8915 Mimi G Style.

Lisa

Here is the project that I have been working on this weekend.  I re-patterned the top of the dress I made a few weeks ago to make a bikini top.  It took two attempts to get the fit and construction right, but I am happy with the results.  Orange line on the pattern was the original dress pattern and it was 2.5 inches longer.  I added extra loops, elastic, and made the straps 12 inches longer.

18 hours ago, geocruiser said:

After I brought the pattern, I thought to myself.  "I bet Lisa could whip a bunch of these out in a day ".  I thought of you because the fabric used is a knit.

Walt and I went to JoAnn's yesterday to look at patterns...I bribed him with lunch at the Falafel House.  I ended up buying 5 patterns for $1.99 each:

Simplicity Mimi G Style 8291 https://www.simplicity.com/simplicity-storefront-catalog/patterns/women/dresses/simplicity-pattern-8291-mimi-g-style-misseswomens-knit-dress/

Simplicity S8925 https://www.simplicity.com/simplicity-storefront-catalog/patterns/women/simplicity-sewing-pattern-s8925-misses-knit-pants-skirt-wrap-dress-and-wrap-top/

Simplicity Mimi G Style S8915  https://www.simplicity.com/simplicity-storefront-catalog/patterns/women/simplicity-sewing-pattern-s8915-misses-knit-maxi-dresses-by-mimi-g-style/

Simplicity Mimi G Style 8749 https://www.simplicity.com/simplicity-storefront-catalog/patterns/women/sportswear/simplicity-sewing-pattern-8749-misseswomens-mimi-g-style-coat-and-pants/

Simplicity Mimi G Style 8177 https://www.simplicity.com/simplicity-storefront-catalog/patterns/women/sportswear/simplicity-pattern-8177-mimi-g-style-pants-coat-or-vest-and-knit-top-for-miss-and-plus-sizes/

Since the patterns were so inexpensive, I bought 2 of each one.  That way if I size it wrong, I have a back up pattern to work with.  Thanks for the tip on the pattern sale!

Lisa

19 hours ago, geocruiser said:

I just picked up this pattern at Joann's for $1.99.

It looks interesting and different.  It is just a square like piece of fabric.

https://www.simplicity.com/simplicity-storefront-catalog/patterns/women/tops--vests/simplicity-pattern-8452-misses-vintage-knit-blouse/

 

Don't have the time to sew for a while, but it is on my to make list.

 

What do you think?

I love that blouse! 

Lisa

Great job pcur!  Refashioning clothes is fun, although challenging at times.  I have a referee blouse that I need to make some changes to.  It fits perfect everywhere except for my hips.  It's a Tall cut with long sleeves, so I have length to work and possibly extra material (convert to short sleeves) to work with. 

Lisa

On 6/16/2019 at 5:15 PM, purduemom1 said:

Cute pj’s. Thanks for the close up of the hem. I like the look of that hem-very professional looking. Will that stitch configuration eliminate the stretching and puckering that can occur when hemming knit fabrics? 

Sharon

There was no puckering and it was really easy to sew.  I am refereeing at a rowing regatta this weekend, so I won't get to play with the binding attachment until the end of the month.  I will definitely post some pictures of that too.

Lisa

I have lost a lot of weight this year, so that’s why I am sewing like a crazy person.  Weight loss is intentional, so no worries there.  This week I noticed that my pj bottoms are literally falling off of me, so I found a short pattern that is perfect for pj’s.  I did not have enough llama fabric to do the band, so a pop of pink from my stash.  I took close ups of the hem so you can see one of tge many things my new cover stitch can do.  I will be making a tank top in pink to go with this in a few weeks.

Lisa

19 hours ago, redlady62 said:

Gorgeous looking dress. May I ask about the pattern? I would not have to add to the top (short waisted) but may need/want length in the skirt (all of my height is in my legs!)  Thinking this would be good for sea days instead of wearing shorts. Dresses can be squished for packing and easily  rinsed in the bathroom sink and hung to dry.

This is the Naomi from www.madeformermaids.com .  It's part of their resort collection.  All their patterns are pdf files that you print and tape together.  Read the instructions before printing the pattern.  You can hide all the sizes except for your size...makes it much easier to tape together.  

Lisa

Pencil Skirts that I made Memorial Day Weekend:

I finally made up my mind on a coverstitch machine last weekend and ordered the Janome 1000CPX.  It came with the narrow elastic gather attachment and the wide elastic gather attachment.  I splurged and bought the tape binder attachment too.  The new machine arrived on Monday and I am looking forward to experimenting with it this evening.  I have been coaching rowing after work every evening this week, so today I finally can play with the new machine. 

For those that are newer to this thread, I sew knits and not wovens.  Maybe some day I will venture into wovens, but they kind of freak me out.  I have made workout clothes, swimwear, and regular clothing.  I am in love with making pencil skirts and can whip those out quickly.  This Summer I am focusing on swimwear and resort style clothing. 

Oh, and my fabric stash is quite scary.  I buy fabric that I love and then figure out what to make later.  The fabric for the dress I made over the weekend has been in my stash for 2 years.  I finally found the right pattern for it.  Yes, I have a fabric hoarding issue.  :)

Lisa

4 hours ago, geocruiser said:

Lisa,

 

What a beautiful job you did on the dress.  I love the pattern.  How hard was it to make the back ties?  Did you use a fast turner to make the cord?

Cord was cut 1.25"x48", serged, and used my new fast turner.  I love that tool.  The ties were basted in place before I serged the top pieces together.  

Lisa

This weekend I worked with a new pattern.  This is resort wear for our next cruise in September.  Since it is a bra-less dress, I added Super Power Mesh (80/20) into the lining.  This did the trick to secure my chest.  I also added 3 inches to the torso and skirt. The next one I make will have additional loops in the back and longer straps.  I forgot to take the longer torso into consideration when sewing the pieces together.

Lisa

On ‎4‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 9:50 AM, PittsburghNative said:

 

We were considering walking to the Raptor Center and throughout Sitka National Park and take transportation to Fortress of the Bears. Do you recommend to stop at any of the places you visited?

In July we hiked to the post office (next to the Raptor Center) and took a bus to the Fortress of the Bears.  I would recommend finding the bus schedule online before you leave.  If you are into micro-brews, the local brewery is not far from the Raptor Center.  Their website is not reliable on their hours, so call before you leave on the cruise to find out. 

Lisa

It’s the Singer Medium/Large dress form. And you are correct, I use it a bunch. 

Lisa

3 hours later, it’s done!  Much easier the second time around.

I am deconstructing another bikini top that is too big on me.  My bottoms are black and not patterned.  I am doing the same style as the last one and am salvaging the back and straps.  Coloring blocking with black this time since I have a 1/2 yard of it in my stash.

And it’s done!!!!!