Ottobre's Street Gear Bermuda Shorts

Here is a pair of shorts I made for my son.  This pattern is from the March 2012 edition of the Ottobre Magazine (Pattern #36).  I decided to make them out of Ripstop fabric that I found online at Fabric.com.  I found the fabric to be a little thin, so I doubled up on it for the knee area.

My first welt pocket!!  It was not difficult at all.  

I love the details on the knee area.  These are created by making tucks with bar tacks at the ends.

Pockets on the front.

Overall, I found this pattern to be fun and easy to make!  I made these in a size 140 and the fit is perfect!

Thanks for stopping by ~ Shirley

Ottobre Movimiento (tank top and tunic)

Today I made one of my girls the tunic (lengthened to be a dress) from the March 2013 Ottobre magazine.  I used the smallest size, 134, which does look to be slightly a little on the big side but room to grow into for the summer.  This is a very quick dress to make with a drawstring waist made of the same fabric.  You actually make the inside casing out of the knit fabric as well.  Instructions for this are very simple to follow and tracing the pattern was quick and easy.  I definitely recommend this pattern if you are new to tracing Ottobre sheets; there are only 2 pieces.

When I sewed the casing to the inside, I basted it on and then I used a narrow zigzag on the right side of the fabric, using my basting line as a guide.

Thanks for stopping by ~ Shirley

Anna Sui Vogue Pattern #1177

This is my very first Vogue pattern dress.  I am delighted at how nice it turned out!  It took me several weeks to make this dress since I took breaks in between to make other things for my children.  Also, with all the tucks, this dress is very time consuming but well worth the effort.  The pattern includes a slip, which I will make prior to wearing.  I purchased this cotton voile from Fabric.com last summer without a project plan in mind.

Based on the pattern picture, I thought the dress might be a little shorter than I'm comfortable with, but it was not.  I entertained the idea of making me a pair of capri leggings to wear with it.  After looking at the pattern pieces and determining the length, it was just slightly above my knees.  I am 5'1 and did not lengthen the pattern pieces any.  Perfect...no leggings needed.

I actually made quite the error in making the sleeves.  I removed my sleeves from the pattern piece before marking.  When I did mark my sleeves, I forgot to flip one of them, giving me two right sleeves.  Unfortunately I did not notice this until AFTER I had made the continuous lap.  I thought all was lost until my wonderful husband suggested that I cut off the sleeves above the continuous lap and continue from that point again.  So, the sleeves are supposed to be a little longer, but it still worked for me. 

Overall, technically speaking, this pattern is pretty easy other than the continuous lap.  I even sewed my buttons on by machine this time.  Normally I do this by hand--why?  Never again!  It is so much quicker by machine.  

Here is a close up of the tucks on the back side.

Thanks for stopping by ~Shirley

Jalie Scarf-Collar Top 2921

I made this top for one of my girls today; I just love how it turned out! You can't go wrong with a Jalie pattern....ever!  I like the fact that their patterns are a full range of sizes so I can make this top every year if she chooses.

What a great fit!  It's not boxy at all like some shirts can be; neither is it too tight.  I like how the stripes on the collar are going a different direction around the neck area.

Since the stripes are an inch wide, it wasn't difficult at all to match them at the seams.  I only used my serger for the shoulder, sleeves, and side seams.  Everything else has to be sewn by sewing machine.  Jalie explains how to sew knits using your sewing machine, and their method works very well.  

Jersey knit purchased from Girl Charlee fabrics.  I made my daughter's top from the remnants leftover from this dress I made for myself.  This is the Modkid Penelope dress.  I made this in a size small and it was a little snug on the hips; however, with some serious walking I have been doing, I have managed to shrink my hip measurements and wear this dress now!  Two yards of this fabric equals one dress and one top for one of my girls...can't go wrong with that!

Thanks for stopping by ~Shirley

Tunic top/dress

My daughter picked out this fabric from Girl Charlee online.  There is a brown stripe in the mix here that matches the RTW brown leggings that she has on.  I used Modkid's Bloom Dress pattern I have, minus the "bloom." :)  I added 1/2" to the sleeve length so I had enough to turn the hem under without preparing a separate sleeve binding.  

I used the patterns neck binding pattern piece.  After sewing it on, I then turned it to the inside to cover my stitching, making an even narrower neckband which I like!  This is the FIRST time I have attempted using my coverstitch machine to sew a neckband down with.  That made me really nervous!  I had no idea how it would turn out and I really didn't want to have to pick it all out.  Thankfully it worked for me.  

Thanks for stopping by~Shirley

Rainbow Striped Pants w/ matching t-shirt

My daughter has been asking for rainbow pants for months!  Thank you Girl Charlee for getting in some really cool jersey knit fabric!  I didn't work at getting the stripes to line up on these since they are a fun and funky pant.  I used my favorite Crafty Mamas funky pant pattern for these as well.  I have this pattern in the adult size and one of these days I will get around to making myself a pair.

For the shirt, I used Ottobre's Workshop 301 pattern.  I cut a strip of fabric from the pants for the neckband.  I found this really great stitch on my sewing machine to tack down the neckband too.  I cut the neckband at 2 inches and then once it was sewn on, I folded it in half to the inside, covering up the stitches.

Thanks for stopping by~Shirley

Ottobre's Beckie Jersey Dress

Have you seen the February 2013 issue of Ottobre's woman magazine?  There is a lot to like!  As soon as I saw the Beckie "sporty jersey dress," I knew it was going to be one of the first things I made.  It's simple and cool for summer.  This dress does not take long to make at all.  

I purchased this knit fabric from Girl Charlee fabrics.  I can definitely see making more of these dresses in a variety of colors.