I love knits

I’m currently taking a break from a sewing binge.  This afternoon has produced 4 garments, all knits.  I’ve made navy leggings, black miniskirt (for layering), mauve halter, and cream leggings.  Next up is a cream peasant top.  I am just on fire today!  In addition, I made 2 1/2 garments on Saturday, so I’ve got a ton of stuff to show you!  I really should take some pics, but I have no makeup on.  And the dressform is just not the same.  But I do have a shirt I made last weekend all photographed… stay tuned for that!

Fabric Mart is my enabling friend

And Carolyn of Diary of a Sewing Fanatic, who posted this warning tip about Fabric Mart’s fabulous sale on some lust-inducing fabrics!  So, those of you who missed her post, consider yourself enabled!  I myself quickly justified a $50 purchase of several $2-3/yard knits and some drapey cotton that I already have a dress in mind for!

A skirt and some love for Fabric Fairies

Well, I cut this skirt months ago, actually sewed it together several weeks ago, so I guess it’s fitting that I’m finally getting a picture of it to show you!

(Sorry.  I am having a bad face day.)  This is McCall’s 5056:

As you can see, the cool thing about this skirt are the godets.  Without them it’d just be a plain, long, a-line skirt.  The godets really give it movement.  I’ve been in love with this skirt since I made it, and I wear it almost every week.  It’s made from rayon challis from Hancock Fabrics.  What a great fabric to work with!  The only bad things are that it wrinkles easily, and cat hair likes to stick to it.

I must’ve screwed up the cutting layout because I had to go back a couple times for more fabric, which is part of the reason it sat around unsewn for as long as it did.  I was also nervous about getting the godets right, but I marked the little circles and just took my time and they’re alright!  Here’s a closeup of one of them (there are 6 total):

My order from The Fabric Fairy was waiting for me when I got home from work today.  They’re in my native Wisconsin, so they get points for that alone, but what’s great about them is that I like just about everything on their website!  They also have $5 flat rate shipping.  Hooray for that!  I remembered to get a pic of what I got:

I nearly crapped my pants when I saw those 2 prints!  The left one is a swimsuit knit with Cinamaroll, one of the Sanrio characters (Hello Kitty’s friend!).  Sofia’s going to love it!!  She is one of the cutest Sanrio characters, and who’da thought I’d find her on a fabric!!  The other 2 fabrics were in the “outlet” section of the site.  The center fabric is from Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku Lovers line, which I didn’t realize until it arrived.  Score!  I bought one of her fabrics from FF a year or 2 ago and I just love it!  The site said the print is off, but I can’t tell, so I doubt anyone else will, either!  And the far right one is another knit from the outlet.  It’s got a couple dirty spots, but I’m sure they’ll wash out just fine.  I’m slightly interested in fashion trends, and saw in a magazine (Vogue, maybe?) that b&w striped t-shirts are really hot right now, so this is me being trendy. 🙂

I also got some size tags for the rare occasion I make baby clothes, plus some little tags that say “handmade.”

Let’s try and fit another jacket!

While I wait for McCall’s 5859 to go on sale so I can buy a size 12, I decided to tissue-fit another jacket, which I’d cut out and had sitting on my coffee table for the last couple weeks.  It’s Butterick 5446, which I really like:

However, when I tried on the pattern, I found that I couldn’t get the sleeve all the way up to my shoulder- it’s just too tight:

Here’s a side view:

The back is also a mess:

But at least the center front reaches my center front:

And here are 2 attempts to get a good side view, still fighting to get that sleeve all the way up to my shoulder:

It’s pretty hard to diagnose fitting problems when I can’t even get the jacket on.  This is a size 12, which is my size.  I put it on over my t-shirt because it’s a jacket and thus should have enough ease to fit over a shirt.  And this thing is described as loose-fitting, no less.

You know what I’m going to ask:  What should I do?  Should I just say forget it and pick another pattern?

And, as promised, Here’s the 12 pounds of fabric I bought from Denver Fabrics!  I usually buy from Fabric.com because I like their free shipping when you spend 35 bucks, but they didn’t have anything I wanted.  I was pretty impressed with Denver Fabrics- hadn’t ordered from them in a while.

So… top to bottom:  red jersey knit (making Simplicity 2998 for a friend), gray french terry (for Jalie yoga pants), navy shimmer jersey knit (for Kwik Sew 3592), fuchsia stripe jersey knit (don’t know yet), white multi jersey knit (don’t know yet, either), magenta stretch jersey knit (guess!), dark beige twill (for McCall’s 5525- when I can fit a jacket!), yellow floral t-shirt knit (nope, don’t know yet), and navy blue jersey knit (no clue).  I got a yard and a half of each knit, because this seems to be the most common yardage required for most of my knit top and dress patterns.  I’m hoping to sew at least one of these this weekend, if I’m not spending the whole time trying to fit things!

Could I have really used up my stash??

I’ve been really making some progress in my sewing lately. So much so, that I discovered yesterday that I have no season-appropriate fabrics left in my stash! I know, I can’t believe it either! I must be the only sewer whose had this happen to them, because all I read about is SABLE (stash accumulation beyond life expectancy). Though it does say a lot for my self-control, it does not bode well for me right now, as I’m 2 weeks from my next payday and money is very tight right now. I guess I’ll finish the UFO dress, make the serger cover, finish the UFO jacket, and make a lot of small handbags. *Sigh.*

Project Runway Fabrics at Hancock Fabrics!

I got my Hancock Fabrics ad in the mail today and was absolutely thrilled to see Project Runway Fabric! It’s 45″ wide cotton from Robert Kaufman, very bright colors, and they have straight pin, safety pin, and dress form prints, plus another that says “Make it Work!” I think I found a fabric to make a serger cover out of! (The pillowcase isn’t too aesthetically pleasing.)

You can view the ad here.