Pattern description: Patchwork shorts and pants with contour waistband features a fly front zipper, back darts, topstitched hem and pockets.
Pattern rating by simplicity: Average
Pattern rating by me: intermediate
I am looking forward to Fall Sewing this year, as I am planning projects that are out of my comfort zone. I have a few coats/jackets on my list that I have not sewn before and I want to add denim, mainly jeans to the list, which I just completed my first pair. I used McCall’s 8408 for this project. I am absolutely in love with these jeans.
McCall’s 8408
I used a fabric that I saw at my local Joann’s, it is also available online, today, but not sure how long supplies will last.
This fabric is called blue patchwork denim fabric. It’s in a dark denim. It is 57 inches wide, 88% cotton, 8%, polyester, and 4% rayon. I fell in love with this fabric when I first saw it in the store of course it was not on sale so I waited to purchase it. Glad I did. The original price is $20.99 a yard. I was able to get it on sale for $11.99 a yard. It was worth every penny.
For the contrasting color in the middle I used a denim, but I’ve had this denim in my stash for a while. I actually purchased it at Cali fabrics in San Francisco California. They have a lot of great choices in fabric. It’s one of my fabric shops that I go to when I visit. I was able to get the pockets on the back and they are lined up perfectly so I was proud of that. I was also able to get in the fly zipper. I did not put the front fly flap on it. I wanted the zipper exposed to give it a more vintage look so I kept the front flap off.
I made sure to keep the insides as clean as the outside. So what I did was once I attached each piece front and back to the to the leg pieces, I used my serger to clean up the seam lines. It gives it a nice clean finish, and my fabric was fraying.
I love when my sewing plans fall into place and I am able to make something or in this case, finish up some things I started. May was a busy month and I ABSOLUTELY love it. I always look forward to Me Made May every year, seems that’s when I am most productive.
Besides my me made garments I was also able to make over 500 face covers for local veteran’s, local hospitals, and family and friends that were in need.I was happy to be able to make and provide them, it was tough making them knowing that this may be the new normal for a while. I just hope and pray that will be a vaccine to help with the virus.
One thing that I did that I am so proud of, is that I went through my stack of Unfinished Outfits (UFO’s) and started finishing those off. I found some of the garments I could wear and others were just way too big, I am a good 12-15 pounds lighter than when I started some of these projects. So with that comes the good and the bad.
Simplicity 8638
So let’s start with the bad….it’s not a bad pattern, but was a bad fabric choice, wondering if that’s how it ended up in the UFO stack. The fabric as you can see is completely see through and it is really, cheaply made if that’s a word. It wouldn’t hold up for a everyday summer dress.
McCall’s 7741
This one I absolutely love, the fabric is fun, the dress is cute, but…it’s way too big. So big that I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking a photo of myself and posting it, as the whole left side of my girlie parts (boob) is completely out of the dress. I would love to take it apart and size it down to fit, but not sure if that will happen. I may take the fabric and make something else out of what I can salvage. This dress was the dress I was going to wear to my daughter’s college graduation 2 years ago. I ended up wearing a store bought dress instead.
Vogue 9112
If you know me, you know I love a good jumpsuit and this one was no different. I started making this one 2 years ago, I must have had a lot going on in 2018 to have so many UFO’s. This one fits, I did have to seam rip the bodice and shorten the elastic a bit, but other than that it works perfect. I can’t remember where I purchased this fabric from, but I definitely need some more.
Butterick 6330
This one fits also. I used a border print on this on this one. Fabric was purchased from Michael Levine’s about 3 years ago. I did make a rookie mistake on this one. I should have cut the back on the fold, to not interrupt the pattern on the back. It’s okay, I usually wear a cardigan over my dresses when working in the office, so it wouldn’t be seen and if I wear it at home, no one really cares. LOL!!!
Still in the stack…
Here are a few that are still in the stack.
Style Sew Me – Bree
I do plan on completing this one, just haven’t gotten to it. This is a great dress and the fabric I have chosen is super soft and great for the heat we are already getting here. Today it is a high of 104 degrees, that’s okay as I am currently working from home.
Simplicity 8334
This one I am going to have to work some magic on. I don’t know what I did to the area on the front of the dress for the front facing goes, but it is definitely cut the wrong way. I am going to get creative with it, I can’t just let some good camo fabric go to waste. Like a good jumpsuit, I love camo.
Simplicity 8601
This one is coming soon. I started it and the pattern didn’t line up and I took it apart, did it again and the same thing. I need to get the walking foot out and get started. I made this one and love it. I need tops in my wardrobe. I feel as though I wear the same ones all the time.
There are also a few coats, which I won’t post on this blog post, as they will not see the light of day, it’s too hot for that. Look for a blog post next week, with all the new garments and a few collaborations that I have done in May. I will also be re-taking pictures of me in the UFO garments, my lighting was horrible on the ones I took and now I have access to more lighting.
This McCall’s 8035, Misses’ Dresses, and the Sew Your View Instagram pick for April. I decided to save it as my Mother’s Day Dress. This dress is also going along with my May theme to make Me Made Maxi dresses, I love a cute Maxi and this one was easy to make.
I purchased this Cotton Shirting Fabric from Joann Fabric the link is here. It is selling fast so it may not be available anymore.
With the whole Quarantine thing still going on and a lot of us Sewist still practicing Social Distancing, my Sew Sister, Nola and I have been doing “virtual” sew alongs. This has been fun. We pick a pattern that we like and we make it. We have tons of messages going back and forth about what we are doing. We change our minds a lot, LOL, about pattern selection, fabric choice, what order we want to sew the patterns, and we even scrap some patterns, because the pattern says easy and there is way too many steps. It is working out as if we were face to face, we laugh at each other and have the best time. I think this quarantine thing has made us closer. Love that. I plan to visit SoCal, once we are able to travel again and hopefully we can get a full photo shoot going with us together, for now it’s the photo collages we put together and that works for us. Love my sew sister.
Here we are, same dress, different pattern. Check out @alohafornow on Instagram.
Pattern Description: Misses’ Dresses
Pattern Sizing: XS-M, I cut the Medium
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes it looked just like the pattern envelope photo.
Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes the instructions were easy to follow.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I loved everything about this pattern, from the look of the dress on the envelope to the ease of the instructions.
Fabric Used: I used this Cotton Shirting Fabric Blue Tropical Leaves & Hibiscuses on Ivory from Joann Fabric. It is no longer available online. I actually bought this in store before the whole stay at home orders were in place.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I needed to cut off 4 1/2 inches on the bottom to meet my height. I could have cut off 5 inches, but my plan is to wear it with high heel shoes.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I would sew it again, but in a solid fabric color, and maybe a fabric with a little bit more movement to it like a Gerogette or Challis. I would recommend this to others, it’s a great dress for summer and it is easy to sew.
Conclusion: I am happy with the outcome of the dress and loved that I was able to complete it for my Mother’s Day look. Although we stayed inside for dinner it still made me feel beautiful.
Spring and Summer are my favorite times to sew. Although I did make quite a few garments during the winter months this year, Spring/Summer hold a special place in my heart. This time I am doing the Design Your Wardrobe course from Seamwork. I tried doing the course for Fall/Winter and it just didn’t happen, life was busy and I was unable to finish. This time I am treating it as if it were a required course. I am doing each lesson daily as “homework” as it comes in. So far I am enjoying it. I am learning more about what I need in a wardrobe for myself. The 3 key words that I found to fit my needs are Functional, Comfortable. and Stylish, basically I need everything to be comfortable and also to function in either season and be stylish, well it has to make me feel good and I need to be able to move it.
McCall’s 7476 – Misses’ Drop-Shoulder Vest and Cardigans
I worked on this cardigan over the weekend and completely changed the color. I found this fabulous lightweight royal blue knit fabric at Walmart, yes Walmart, for $4.00 for 4 yards and I loved the color, not realizing it was the color of the year. I picked it because of the brightness, I tend to be drawn towards bright loud colors. I just love them.
This is a versatile cardigan that can be worn Spring/Summer or Winter/Fall. I work in an office where the air is cooler during the hot months of the year, but it can be really hot outside. I like to layer in the office.
The description for the cardigan is a semi-fitted vest and cardigan.I made the cardigan in View B. I had this mustard color knit fabric that I found at Joann Fabric picked out, but then I changed to the blue. The pattern calls for moderate stretch knits, such as sweater knits double knit, sweatshirt fleece, or cotton knit.
The Flor
It is a versatile wrap cardigan that can worn with a maxi dress, a skirt and tank top, jeans and sandals, you name it and it can be worn with it.
The pattern calls for medium-weight knit fabrics, like French terry, merino wool, and ribbing. Or a lightweight sweater knit or jersey type fabric. I have some rib knit, sweater knit, and lightweight knit in my fabric stash that I can use. Here are 2 samples of possible choices. I haven’t decided yet if I want to use either one of these, they both follow that Spring Floral theme. I can also see this in a solid mustard yellow or a deep vino. Love those 2 colors right now. More than likely, I will be using the mustard yellow from the cardigan up top for this one. Stay tuned.. I am forever changing my mind on fabrics once I cut the pattern.
Audrey
A denim jacket. I have only sewn with denim once and it was for a tote bag, which did not require me to be measured or fitted. In order to up my skills I selected this one to make and you can never have to many denim items in your wardrobe. There is also a video on how to make this jacket on the Seamwork site. You do have to be a member in order to see the items listed on the website.
The main suggested fabric for this jacket is medium to heavyweight denim or canvas. The lining can be 1/2 yard of cotton muslin. I have a lot of cotton in my stash and more than likely will pick a fun print for the lining.
I workout at least 5 days a week. I have only made one set of workout clothes, which is wild with the amount of time I spent in active-wear clothing. I really like the top on McCall’s 7663 – out-of-print. This top can be worn with jeans and for working out.
For the top the fabric choices are Two-way Stretch Knits (50% Cross Grain), Jerseys, cotton knit, and athletic knits. I have a camo, my favorite print, that I will be using for this top. I love the tie back on this one, I think that’s what drew me to this pattern.
Simplicity 8787 – Misses’ Learn-to-Sew Knit Dress View C
This dress is close in style to what I normally wear. I have made 5 different versions of McCall’s 7531, you can checkout the blog post here for those makes. They are almost identical as they are knit body-con type dresses.
For this one I am making View C, the sleeveless version for Summer. I know I can use the one that is cut out from McCall’s 7531, but I am using the patterns I have even if I have one that is cut that is close to it. I have a goal to use as many as my patterns as possible. The fabric suggestions are stretch knits only, ITY Knit, Jersey, Single Knit, Stretch Velvet, and Velour. I will be using a Nicole Miller stretch knit that I found at Joann Fabric years ago, maybe 3 years.
For the month of January I completed 8 pieces. Here you will find 3 of the dresses completed using McCall’s 7531, one of my TNT’s and an absolute favorite dress to make. It can be styled with a printed or solid fabric and look absolutely different each time you make it. I went with prints for all of these. I love a good fun print, it’s kind of how I make my garments my OWN.
Yes you will see this dress again as part of my Spring/Summer collection, which I will start the first week in March. I plan to do some solid colors using View C.
This fabric is a knit border print that I purchased from Michael Levine a few years back. I say a few years because I can’t remember when I actually purchased it. Too much fabric shopping over the years. Did I really just admit that? Oh well!!!!
This green snakeskin like fabric was also purchased at Michael Levine, I think, if not there it was from Angels Textiles. I did a lot of fabric shopping during time I spent in Los Angeles and of course I can’t find my fabric album. I usually take photos of all the fabric from each trip in order to reference back when posting a blog in case someone wants to know where to purchase the fabric or something similar in print.
The last dress is out of this knit, but I am sure what kind of knit this one is. There is a good amount of stretch to it, but it has a silky feel to the fabric. I need to learn more about this fabric because I love how it feels against the skin and it was a nice and easy sew. I didn’t have any issues sewing this one. I have about 1.5 yards to make a tank top for the Spring.
These 2 dresses were made in the past using the same pattern. I guess you can see why I love it so much it.
Pattern Description: McCall’s 7531 Misses’ Knit Bodycon Dresses – Learn to Sew
Pattern Sizing: 4-14, I cut a size 12
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, it looks just like the pattern envelope when I completed it.
Were the instructions easy to follow? The instructions were so easy, by the time I made it to the 2nd dress, I have made this dress 5 times, I didn’t need the instructions.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? How easy the pattern is to make and the endless possibilities you have with the sleeve variations. Also depending on the fabric used, this dress can look so different each time it is created.
Fabric Used: Green Snakeskin look is an ITY Fabric, Black white tan look is a knit, Rose and white border print look is a knit, Floral print is a double knit, and the Blue white, black look is a double knit. All this fabric is fabric that was in my stash and purchased a few years back. I am sewing down my stash. The floral and blue dresses were the first made, but I hadn’t added to the Review until now. I want to say I made them both in 2018 or 2019. The other 3 looks were just made in January of 2020.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: No alterations needed I made view B for all of these looks. For summer I plan to make View C
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes as you can tell this pattern is one of my Tried and True (TNT) patterns. It’s quick and easy. What girl doesn’t want a new dress that she can she made herself?
Conclusion: Great pattern and I can’t wait for Spring/Summer Sewing. I will more than likely start that collection first week in March. Happy Sewing!!!
The Sew Life with Riesha Nicolle 