Another Perhaps Ill-advised Diversion

I have cut pieces for another (simple) dress, but recently saw a post on the blog So, Zo covering the free Hyacinth bralette pattern from Ohhh Lulu.

Now, I am not, generally, looking for a...ah...soft bra. But.  I do have many odds and ends of knit fabrics, and, more pertinently, a small assortment of random bits of decorative elastics, which I very rarely use, and this seemed like a good opportunity to draw from that stash.

Also, sometimes, I get nasty headaches that make me think maybe I would be better off with everything being as soft as possible.  To date, worn out bras have served for that, but this will, perhaps, offer another option.

This pattern is very straightforward, with detailed instructions.   It probably took me longer to figure out which of my odd elastics to use for the pattern (and to pick some of them back off when I decided something else would work better) than it did to cut and assemble everything. 

 

The leopard print knit is from the same person who sent what I used for the seven slapdash sleep shirts, and the fold-over elastic is from a doll acquaintance. The white lace was salvaged from...something, and the black lace is from Deb's Lace (ordered for doll use; Deb's vast assortment of stretch laces have not interested me before...)  The white elastic is from Wawak, and the bra hardware was scavenged off of bras long-gone. 

The construction on this is rather slapdash, and I haven't even tried it on yet (it's cold!), but it was an interesting project to see if I could scrounge out of the stash.

Terracotta Tank Top

And here's another New Look 6766 tank top!

 

Once again made with fabric sent by the same person who provided the fabric used for my first two versions of this.  This time, though, it was a proper piece of yardage, of just the right length, making it the first time I've cut this pattern without having to get creative.  It was nice!

Trying a Tank Top 2

Some of the improvisations needed to make the previous project were prompted by the narrowness of the fabric I was working with.  I liked the result, and turned to another long narrow piece of fabric, supplied by the same acquaintance, for a second try.

This leftover fabric was not the same length as the first, so I wasn't going to be able to cut the back as two pieces, and the width was such that I definitely couldn't cut the front on the fold

Not, at least, in size 12.

I referred to one of my worn out thrifted tank tops, and realized that, while it fit fine, it was very narrow when on its own.  The fabric I wanted to use next was extremely stretchy, so I decided to try making a very narrow version of the New Look 6766 tank top.

 

 Did I mention it was narrow?

Trying a Tank Top

I have, quite accidentally, learned that tank tops are trendy right now.  While I don't care about trends, that did remind me that my supply of thrifted tank tops--worn as extra abdominal warmth layers in winter--is showing its age, so maybe I could try making a few?

I started with some of the leftover knit fabric the friend sent, smaller pieces of which I used for some sleep shirts.  The larger pieces of the fabric I still had weren't, mostly, much larger, so, instead of a traditional tank top, I tried a strappy style.

Specifically, it's the shirt from New Look 6766, which is a pattern I have used may times, but not for the shirt.  I suspect that, when I found it at a thrift store and decided to get it at all, I figured I'd never make the shirt.

Well, here we are. 

 

It works!

Lime Leopard Cardigan

The parcel of fabric so generously sent for potential doll use also included one yard of a very large lime green leopard print 60" wide knit.  I immediately knew I wanted to use it for Simplicity 8951—and, surprisingly quickly, I did 

 

 

Pastel Rainbow Stripe Three-quarter Sleeve Cardigan with Trim

As mentioned in the last post, I recently received a very generous amount of fabric scraps left over from someone's clothing projects.  I had quickly sorted the larger pieces into the larger yardage storage when I first got them, and I decided the other day to sort all of my ribbing, more fully integrating the new stuff with what I already had.

This quickly showed me that I now had enough rib knits to make a complete, if pastel, rainbow.

Well, what could I make from this combination?  I did a bunch of burn tests and confirmed that all of them were, if not fully synthetic, then at least still blends (except for the yellow—it sparked and flared like a sparkler, and dripped, showing that it's 100% nylon.)  That meant I didn't necessarily want it in direct contact with my underarm area, so...cardigan?

I got out Simplicity 8951, for once planning to go with its as-given ¾-length sleeves, since they're the same length as the cardigan body, which meant I wouldn't have to make any length adjustments to the stripes.

I cut the strips for the shoulder area much wider than everything else, because I wasn't sure how much area would be needed to cut the tops of the shoulders and sleeves, and I cut everything else in 3½" strips.  I sewed everything together with roughly 3/8" seam allowances, using straight stitch for the assembly and serging the seam allowances.  I cut the pattern pieces from those assembled strips, figuring that would be a lot less hassle than trying to cut each strip also in the proper shape before assembly.

I did refer back to the post about making the patchwork cardigan, and that reminded me to put a drop of FrayCheck on each seam end right after it was cut, to hold it together long enough to get sewn into a construction seam.

I had originally planned to cut the neckband, cuffs, and waistband from the pale pink, just because I had so much of it left.  Once I realized that I would be most likely to wear the cardigan with my black dresses, I changed the plan to cutting those bits from black.

I was also not super happy with how the seam allowances between the stripes were laying, so I considered top stitching through them to hold everything down.  But what color?

I had done the strip assembly and initial body construction in beige, but I didn't really want that visible.  Black top stitching would make sense, but I felt it would look rather underwhelming against all of the other colors.

So...what about adding black trims...? And a different one at every seam.

Sure, why not. 

After that, black buttons were only logical.

Seven Slapdash Sleep Shirts

For quite a while, I've been sleeping in thrifted T-shirts that had gotten too worn out in everyday use.  I'd thrift a shirt, wear it until it started developing holes or other signs of damage, and, if I didn't creatively repair them for continued dressing use, retire them to the pajama drawer.  However, since I drastically cut back how much I thrift, my T-shirt supply has dwindled, and the pajama shirts have started more or less disintegrating.

Not too long ago, someone I've known online for ages asked if I'd like some fabric—left over from her clothing sewing projects—that should be good for doll clothes, and I said Sure, Thanks!  The parcel arrived and the generous amount of knit cloth was indeed a good weight for doll clothes.  The quantity would have taken me years to sew through if limited only to doll use (and probably had a lot passed on to other doll sewing people—in fact, I just sent two huge boxes of doll appropriate fabric remnants off myself); however, a lot of the pieces were large enough to be able to use for ribbing in person-sized sewing projects, so I sorted out those bigger pieces and put them on the large yardage shelves, then crammed the rest into the small yardage knits drawer.

I realized a few days ago that I just might be able to solve the sleep shirt problem with the larger odds'n'ends of the gift knits.

And I did!

Groovy

A friend thrifted a big bold piece of PeterMax-inspired fabric, and later surprised me with it.

The selvedge says Peter Pan Fabrics, but, given that Peter Pan Fabrics was around from the 1940s to the early 2000s and pretty much never changed the way they put their name in their (unlicensed print) selvedges, I am genuinely unsure if the fabric really is from the late 1960s/early 1970s, or if it's from the late 1990s revival of that groovy era aesthetic.

Either way, it's vintage, right?

After receiving the surprise package containing this fabric, I pretty quickly thought it would be a lot of fun to make it into a button up dress shirt.

I did not so quickly get around to making it, but, now I have.

 

It could never have been anything but ridiculous.

And then: So Many Doll Clothes

Someone very kindly sent me a box of really good dolls, so I wanted to make something to send back as thanks.  Of course, I wanted it to be die-cut patchwork, so I started digging through my scrap bin, looking for a relatively masculine assortment, with the idea being to make a jacket in Ken size.

And then I also found some other assortments of scraps to use for doll dresses, so I cut those into squares...and had so much fun cutting those squares that I decided to get into some of the bags of scraps I'd already sorted out, and cut those, too.  And, as long as I was making scrap bag dresses, why not make a few more dresses from handkerchiefs?  Ooh, and from some of the very distinctly vintage fabrics a different doll friend had sent...and some dresses made from the last bits of some cottons...and some dresses that just seemed like suitable ideas at the time...

And eventually ended up with these 

 

 and these! 

The items in the top photo will be going to other people, eventually.  The items in the lower photo are all mine, and many of the dolls modeling were sent in the package that inspired the whole project.  Thanks thanks!

Apple Cardigan The Second

 Apple Cardigan The First happened about two months ago.  It was...not what I wanted.  But!  It held the promise of what I wanted, and the fabric not only still being in stock at Fabric Mart, but also dropped in price, prompted me to order more and try again.

This time, I would make it a size larger.  This time, I would use contrast rib knit for the bands.  And then!  When I had everything laid out, ready to start cutting the fabric, I received a package from a friend with some surprise vintage buttons in it, and one set was perfect for this fabric...if the rest of the project lived up to my expectations.

It did!

All Angles Anachronism

After all that dedication to (eventually) changing the serger thread to black, you'd think I had more things planned to sew with it. (Granted, what I do know I want to sew with it, I have not, at this time, wanted to sew.)  

I poked around the fabric stash and eventually decided I would use a very 1990s print mostly-purple rayon, and eventually settled on using it for a slip (cut first, not yet sewn) and another peasant dress based on Simplicity 9866.  I did not check the posts I'd made about making the previous two versions, and I had forgotten that I had been experimenting with sleeve length--I mean, yeah, I saw that there was a shorter traced paper version of the sleeve, but I didn't remember the circumstances, so I used the original dress's sleeve pattern.  At this point, it's so far from the Otome no Sewing project that it's no real concern.

I am amused that this uses a 1990s print to make a 1940s silhouette using a 1970s pattern modified to mimic a 2010s magazine project.

Different Doll Sewing

In that, in addition to sewing the doll's clothes, I also sewed the doll's body.

Years ago, someone (I feel bad that I can't remember who) sent me a set of craft doll head, hands, and feet, made of vinyl and meant to be attached to a cloth body.  They went into one of the doll parts boxes, figuring I'd eventually find a plastic body for the head (which a very cursory examination showed was cast from a head that very probably was originally on a plastic body, with an extra flanged neck part added.  The original doll had more hair, too.)

A month or so ago, I decided I should go ahead and make a cloth body for the body, as intended (well...intended by the craft component company who copied whatever doll the head was originally from.)  I thought I'd use one of the body patterns from NunoDoll, but the prospect of resizing and printing one did not appeal.  I eventually remembered that I'd thrifted Simplicity 6006, a Holly Hobbie doll pattern

And when I checked, it looked like it would be a good size to go with the craft doll parts.

And then I let that sit for a few weeks before finally semi-arbitrarily choosing a fabric (scraps left over from a recent skirt) and cutting the body parts out late Saturday night.  I cut off the hands and feet to work with the vinyl parts.

I sewed the body together, folding the edges inside to make channels for string to tie on the appendages, stuffed the pieces (after buying a bag of Poly-fil first thing Sunday morning from Walmart.  I can't remember the last time my stuffing purchase wasn't an open bag from a thrift store.) and tied on those appendages. I hand sewed the legs to the body (if I make this doll body again, they're getting sewn into the torso when it's assembled) and attached the arms with button joints (again, if I make this in the future, those're getting sewn into the torso, too.)

 

I took the path of least resistance and used the Holly Hobbie pattern dress and pinafore patterns to make the clothes.  I added some extra details, as per my usual kinds of doll sewing.

The bloomers pattern piece was missing, but it's easy enough to cut bloomers without a pattern, especially for a doll who can't complain if the fit feels funny.

The shoes as given would have been far too large, but the doll foot sole pattern piece was about the same size as the vinyl foot soles, and it looked like the original shoe pattern minus the seam allowance would have been the right size to fit onto that smaller sole pattern piece.  Did it actually work out that easily?  For the answer, consider that I am not showing any close up images of the shoes. 

The small floral and the chintz were also gifts, and I'd wanted to combine them for years.  This project used just about all of them, so that was nice, too.  I bought the basket weave print ages ago for doll clothes and surprised myself when I was looking for a third print to use and it seemed like the best option--I was looking for something else with at least a little yellow or orange in it, to try to tie things to her hair.  I'm not fond of yellow, so my choices were extremely limited.  I don't think I ever would have picked it if I didn't have a color limit, but I think it works well.

(And, yes, I'm not happy with the doll's hair overall--even if it were a different color, it's still cut very badly.  I don't have any wigs on hand that would fit this head, and, for many reasons, I am not rerooting this head.  So.  The yellow stays.)

This is definitely not my usual kind of Doll Thing, but it is finished.

Klax!

The kiddo is a big fan of somewhat obscure older games, and a bigger fan of art for those games rendered in dubious style.

I had cut out pieces for a sweatshirt for him in November, and did not want to make another plain gray garment for him, so I asked him what graphic he wanted for the front.  I figured I'd make another freezer paper stencil, whatever it was.

Time passed and I asked if he'd chosen an image yet; he had not.  This repeated a few times, until I got an all caps email, subject line AWESOME, text PUT THIS ON THE SHIRT

So I opened the email and was confronted with...this

He likes Klax a lot, so I wasn't surprised he chose a graphic related to it...but...that it was this, and not the simple "highly stylized hand held up vaguely like the letter K" graphics that are more common...yeah.  I wasn't going to do this with freezer paper stencils.

Granted, I was willing to try, but I knew it wouldn't go well.  However!  I have a hobby friend who has access to direct transfer film printing and set me up with a professionally printed image fused to black synthetic knit.

Now...I hurried a bit in my eagerness to get the graphic sewn to the front piece.  But!  I did get it centered, so that's something my experience has improved over the years, and then I sewed the shirt together in no time

Bats in Phrase

 I was planning to move on from modified Burda 7831 button up shirts, but I got into my fabric stash and realized this Halloween print cotton was a nice shirt weight, so: time for another hacked Burda

A few stitches

Part of the process of clearing out things does include finally using some of them, so I took the time to cut the needed length, stitch the corners, then staple the edges of this hibiscus print Mexican oilcloth (brought in the friend's relative's destash in 2019) onto our decrepit kitchen table...which I do want to rehab, along with the chairs, because, to me, this kind of turned maple wood design is Quintessential Dining Table & Chairs

Does the oilcloth match the style of the table and chairs? Does it matter? It's waterproof (so maybe I can convince Husband he no longer needs to use that old mouse pad as a drink coaster), it's stapled in place so it won't slide around, it covers the poor condition of the table top, and it's a lot of fun to look at. 

And I'm trying not to let it convince me to strip and re-stain the chairs with blue or purple...

Skater Skater Alligator Bomber Bomber Jacket

 A friend helped with some things this week--I had already baked something as Thanks, but, yesterday, I decided I wanted to make something more.  And I wanted to use the grommet press to install some spring snaps.  Because that's not something that just anyone has the equipment to do.

Initially I thought it would be a simple bag, so I looked through my fabric for something that seemed suitable for this friend, and this caught my eye

This friend likes bright colors (I made this jacket as thanks for them for something else), roller skating (which...close...), reptiles, and tackiness.  Someone sent me this fabric a few years ago, and I've been hanging onto it because...well.  Look at it.

What isn't apparent in this photo is that it's essentially a border print, with the print radiating from a packed geometric stripe at the center fold to the selvedges...and that's why I thought that maybe it wouldn't be so great for a bag after all, because there is a slight natural crosswise stretch of the woven cotton due to the weft yarns being weaker than the warp yarns, and that would also mean the weaker direction of the fabric would be the load-bearing direction in a bag.

At that point, though, I really wanted to use this fabric for this Friend Thanks project (I had considered, for years, using it for something for the kiddo, but his Ironic Humor Standards change so often that even if he liked it when I made it, he might not care about it a week later just because it's no longer the right kind of funny.)  As the title of this post indicates, I decided to make a bomber jacket.

There was just enough fabric.

Border Hearts

 I finished this dress over a week ago--I have already worn and washed it, and am only now getting around to recording it here.

It's another hacked Simplicity 9153, made with fabric printed in Côte d'Ivoire, according to the selvedge.  This is not an actual wax print--it's a fancy fabric print (it says on the selvedge that it's screen printed.)  I got it from the friend who brought their relative's destash fabric a few years ago--many thanks!

Band Together

 I grabbed Simplicity 3628 from the craft thrift store

with all eyes on view D and its mock military-style band jacket look.

I decided on a gray velveteen from the friend's relative's destash. I did not let the fact that there was not as much fabric as the pattern envelope wanted stop me.

I did hesitate over the discolorations on the fabric, and hesitated to wash it, because, beyond the "will it survive the washing/drying process or not" nature of velveteen, I really did not relish the idea of pressing it.  I went ahead, with the thought that if it didn't survive being washed and dried, then that would make the decision about whether to use it or not, even if the discoloration did wash out.

It did not.

It did, however, come out of the dryer completely wrinkle-free, so I decided to go ahead and use it.

I spent time and used thread on this, so I'm posting it here

 This was very much not a sewing project, but it did use (heavy, waxed) thread and it used up time that probably would have been otherwise spent sewing, so why not include it on this, my sewing blog?

Behold, a ghostly and green necklace!

 

Varsity Try

 When I made the Halloween Varsity Jacket, I combined New Look 6120 and Simplicity 8175 on the fly

 

because I wanted to keep the short length and Junior sizing of the New Look (albeit cut in the largest Junior size), while having the button closure of the Simplicity.

I liked the result so much I wanted to trace off properly-merged pattern pieces for the front and front facing.  And I did!  This project was to test the merger.

The merger was a success! I'm still not so sure about the actual garment.