Creative Sewing Challenge Project - Violette Field Thread's Jospehine

Violette Field Threads
Josephine Dress with Flutter
Sleeve option.

Update: more pictures and results HERE

I love the sense of accomplishment that comes from meeting a goal.  I tend to set my sights too high and not enjoy that feeling as often as I'd like.  But this week - I met a goal!  I submitted a completed project to a sewing competition I wanted to enter.

My favorite local(ish) fabric shop - The French Seam - sponsors The Creative Sewing Challenge during our State Fair.  This is the second year for the have sponsored the Challenge and I thought it would be really fun to enter.  I had dreams of pattern hacks I would do, or creative touches I would add to my project, but my underlying goal was just to enter.  When it came down to it, finishing a straight-forward project was all I could make time to accomplish.  (even that involved late nights and pictures taken in a fast food parking lot!)  While it would have been fun to add a few other touches, I am really pleased with the finished garment!  I have no dreams of placing (the judging is this coming Sunday), but in my mind I won my own victory by completing a lovely dress and meeting my goal of entering.

Fabric

The theme for this year's challenge is "Inspired By Color" and I immediately knew I wanted to use this cotton lawn fabric from Robert Kaufman, which I already had in my stash.  I tend to like a lot of Robert Kaufman's fabrics (see this project, for example) and particularly liked the small floral pattern with bright blues, orange, pink and green.  This is from the London Calling 3 line (bright floral).

Pattern

pin-tuck rows and ruffles along
button panel on Josephine

The pattern is Violette Field Thread's Josephine using the dress option with flutter sleeves and the ruffle on the button strip.  The pattern was clear and easy to follow, including a diagram to show the best way to lay out the pattern pieces on your fabric.  The pattern has rows of pin-tucks on either side of the center button panel, bias tape on the inside of the collar, and several options to customize the pattern to your preferences (blouse or dress, flutter or longer sleeves, with/out ruffle, with/out sash).

Something New

Although I didn't have time to do some of the things with the pattern I had hoped to do (I originally wanted to turn this into a romper with shorts.  I'd love to make another dress with a full lining.  I had also thought of doing the blouse option with the Whitney pants), I was able to try some new things with the pattern.  It was my first Josephine - and I will definitely make more.  It was also my first Violette Field Threads pattern actually sewn - I own several, but haven't made others yet.  Also, in honor of the sponsor of the Sewing Challenge, and because it was on my Sewing Techniques to Try list, I used french seams for the first time.  I'd read about them, and if you aren't familiar, you can find a good tutorial here.  I found them easy to do, with a very nice finish.

  

Figuring out how to attach the sleeves took me a few minutes, but other than that it went well and I really like the finished look.  I debated back and forth about top-stitching the seams down and around the collar.  The pattern doesn't directly call for it, and I keep going back and forth about whether I wish I'd done it.  Usually, I do top-stitch, but for some reason, I didn't know if I wanted that for this dress.

french seaming on side seam

french seaming on sleeve seam

This week I am looking at everything I have to do to be ready for homeschool to start next week and feeling very overwhelmed.  But I am taking a moment to enjoy one goal that has been accomplished!  Overall, I am really pleased with the dress, and I have enough of the fabric left to make a coordinating outfit for Little Sister so both girls can match next spring and summer.  

Hawthorn Zip-Up Sweatshirt by Titchy Threads for Willow & Co.

It's time to start saving your pdf pattern pennies! (if you have a budget for your pdf pattern purchases)


Willow & Co, a pattern collective, is releasing their Spring and Summer line, Wanderlust: a glamping collection, on Tuesday, April 22.  Here is a peek at one piece from the collection, the Hawthorn Zip-Up Sweatshirt by Laura at Titchy Threads and Craftstorming.  I was so excited to be in the tester group for this pattern and I am thrilled with the result!










Pattern Options and Features
The Hawthorn Zip-Up Sweatshirt can be made for boys or girls in a variety of fabrics from medium interlock, to sweatshirt, to fleece, with a contrast knit fabric for collar and zip facings, and a rib knit for sleeve cuffs.  Options include full- or half-zip, regular or split side seam, with or without pockets.  Sizing ranges from 6-12 months to 12 years.


Further details: 

• Pattern pieces vary for each age by color AND line style, so they can be printed in color or black and white. 
• Option to turn off all except one size using pdf layers.  This means you can print only the size or sizes you plan to use.
• Detailed pattern pieces including notches for lining up pieces, adding pockets, etc.  This is often not found on pdf patterns. 
• Pattern pieces are well laid out, and assembly does not result in one giant mass of paper to cut, but rather nicely sized, well-portioned pieces.
• PDF document featuring very detailed tutorial with color pictures of every step. 
• Size chart, finished measurements chart, fabric requirements and supplies list.
• Cheat Sheet at the end for when you need a basic reminder of what comes next instead of following the whole tutorial (for those who are very experienced sewists or have made the garment multiple times).
• Prints on both Letter and A4 paper
• Metric and imperial measurements included throughout

Personal Review
This pattern took thought, time, and attention - and I think the final product reflects the effort put forth.  It wasn't difficult.  I consider myself an advanced beginner, maybe?  It was my FIRST TIME EVER putting in a zipper.  I think it looks fantastic.  It was also my first time doing these kinds of facings, first time putting in pockets, and first time using twill tape.  I won't pretend I didn't use my seam ripper a time or two, but Laura's instructions walked me right through and taking the time and attention to do it right resulted in an awesome finished sweatshirt/jacket.  It looks so well made and it has everything to do with Laura's well-drafted pattern, her detailed instructions, and her involvement and responsiveness to the testers during the testing process.  She quickly responded to feedback, suggestions, and questions and made excellent adjustments to the pattern to make it just right.

My version is the half-zip, split side seam with pockets.  I do not have a huge stash of fabric to choose from (especially knit), so I had to go to my local JoAnn's to look for fabric.  I really wasn't excited about what they had for boys and actually went looking two or three times before settling on the grey/red double layer fleece.  I was inspired by the pirate skull iron-on decal I found, and went from there, using a zipper and thread that matched the red under layer of fleece and the red in the decal.  The contrast fabric that lines the collar, the zipper facing, and pockets is repurposed from a shirt.  I thought the black and grey stripes not only coordinated nicely, but echoed the pirate theme.  I did learn that the fabric had too much stretch for pockets, and they stretched below the hemline.  I fixed this later by sewing the pockets into the seam on the hem.  Laura also recommend in the tutorial now using a fabric with no more than 30% stretch for the pockets. Twill tape options are pretty limited at JoAnns.  Its cheap and only comes in black or white.  When you buy this pattern, check out the etsy shop Laura recommended for twill tape for a great selection on twill tape.

I have two other boys asking when I will make them their own sweatshirt.  Heading in to summer, this will probably wait until fall, unless I can find some lighter sweatshirt knit that I like for boys.  But I know that this pattern is one I will go back to for my own family and for gifts.  It's one of those excellent, well-drafted patterns with clear instructions and beautiful results that I am so glad to have in my collection!

This is my little man's favorite shot, so he wanted me to include it!

Thanks for reading the whole post!  I'd love your comments, new likes for Sew-Not-Prefect on Facebook, and new followers on bloglovin'.  Please stop back again soon!

Something for the Boys!

What could be more fun and frugal than spending less than $10 to make shirts for my three favorite boys?!  That is just what I did this week with three t-shirts from Goodwill, thread, and the Candy Castle Patterns Soda Pop Polo Shirt pattern.  I joined the Sew-Along, but missed the deadline trying to get three shirts done, during History Fair Week, while doing an unrelated pattern test.  I think I bit off a bit more than I could chew!  But in the end, I am pretty happy with the result and I certainly learned a lot.





This project was my first time:

1. Sewing with knit fabric
2. Sewing with a double needle
3. Using my new serger
4. Using this particular pattern
5. Making a collar
6. Using a stretch stitch

Since I was upcycling old t-shirts, I was limited in the amount of fabric I had available.  The boys wanted hoods, but I didn't have enough fabric for those.  I thought true collars would have looked better (and hidden errors better), but the boys nixed that idea, so we settled on the henley style.   The pattern certainly gives the option to use a contrast fabric for the hood/collars/insets/etc, including a woven instead of knit.  Several times I went to local fabric shops to see if they had anything I liked, but in the end, I decided to make the shirts completely from the original t-shirts.  This also saved on my cost, and since this was my first time sewing knits and my first time using the pattern, this was a particular plus.  I think the shirts cost a buck or two each at Goodwill in the men's t-shirt section.

My two younger boys wear about the same size, and I made size 5 for both of them with a longer length for the older one.  I made a size 9 for my oldest son.

My Star Wars guy was excited to find this shirt at Goodwill because his dad has the same T-shirt.  He asked for a chest pocket and seems really excited about his shirt.

 

For my little Spiderman, I added a web-like box at the bottom of the placket and a mini pocket on each sleeve using the smallest pocket pattern piece.  I had the worst time for some reason with the button holes on his shirt.  I think some thread got stuck in the bobbin area of my machine.  After I cleaned it out, it worked better, but the third buttonhole had already been ruined by that point, so I added a small piece of the web-print fabric to cover the error.

 

My little Superman was pretty particular and insisted I not put buttons on his shirt.  He wanted a zipper, but it was a bit late for that by the time I found out.  He said snaps might be okay, but I don't have a press, so we will see.  For now he claims he will wear another shirt under it!

Overall, the pattern went together well.  My biggest problem was with the collars.  I did end up cutting collars a size larger for the size 5 shirts (I used a size 6Y collar) and had trouble stretching it to fit without getting a tiny pucker in the main shirt fabric as I sewed it on.  In the end, I got it okay, but it took a few tries.  I was able to save the original hem for the sleeves and I did my own hem with a double needle for the three shirts.  I also had a bit of difficultly with placement of the buttonholes, as the bottom of the placket was too thick to fit under my machine, so I could not get a button any lower than the ones I did.

The boys were all excited to get their first non-costume garment made by mom and wore them the rest of the day as soon as I finished.  I am pleased enough with the results, particularly because of all the new experiences I gained, but they are not pieces I would want in a portfolio or anything.  I need to work on straighter stretch stitches around the neckline (I did learn that I need to increase me stitch length for better results).  I also confess to not taking the time toward the end to do things as well as I could have.  I was pretty eager to be done with all three shirts by the time I was getting to the end!  I am confident that the next time I use knits and the next time I use this pattern I will have much better results with the experience I gained using this pattern (for three shirts) and I am glad my three little men are so excited about their new super-shirts.

Princess Dress from Candy Castle Patterns

I am so very pleased with this dress.  I wanted to make an Easter and Spring dress for my daughter and this pattern hit the mark!

I know, I know.  I posted nearly the same collage twice.  One looks better on my iPad, one looks better on the desktop.  Hoping to improve my photography skills so that they all look good.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I joined a two-week sew-along in the Candy Castle Patterns Group on Facebook, using her Princess Dress pattern.  This was my first sew-along and first pattern from Candy Castle Patterns.  I loved how easy-to-follow the pattern guide is.  I was able to try my hand at a few techniques I had not done before, and completed my second ever dress for my daughter.  And did I mention I love it?  The pattern is very versatile and customizable.  You choose slim or regular size, sleeve length (additional pattern available, Swizzle Sticks Sleeves for even more sleeve options), and whether you want a paneled or single fabric skirt, hemmed/ruffled/lace skirts, and the pattern also includes optional bows and yo-yo fabric flower embellishments.  I printed the pages I needed for my size pattern dimension, then followed the directions in my kindle app rather than printing the directions.  This worked very well for me.

I fell in love with the London Calling line of fabric from Robert Kauffman when I was shopping at The French Seam in Indianapolis (awesome fabric shop, the ladies there are lovely, and the store is delightful) and I knew I wanted to use the purple floral for the main fabric of my dress (it is so soft I even used it for the lining - I thought it was worth it to have that nice fabric next to her skin).  I had some green lattice print fabric left over from another project, and I liked the way it coordinated with the floral, so I chose that for my underskirt, even though I had originally selected a different fabric.  The lavender fabric was a remnant I picked up at The French Seam, and I loved the way it complemented my color scheme.   I used the one-fabric design for my skirt, and created ruffles for the bottom of both skirts.  I used the puff sleeve option, and then scaled back the puff a bit, for personal preference with this particular dress (look at the online photos to see how amazing the puff sleeves are for the Disney Character Princess dresses several women have made).

THOUGHTS
I've already said I really enjoyed the pattern.  I admit I was a little worried that the ruffles and scallops would be too much for me.  I also wasn't sure I'd like the longer length of the dress.  These are all options you can easily change - and many have.  A simplified Princess Dress uses only a single underskirt, and the length is very easy to customize.  I just went for it with those parts of the pattern and in the end I am very happy with it.  It is very well done.  For a more everyday dress, I will certainly use this pattern again in the simplified version as well.  The sew-along with the group was also delightful.  Any time anyone had a question or ran in to a problem, help was minutes away when posting to the group.  Also, everyone participated with lots of encouragement and congratulations on everything from fabric choices to finished dresses.  The schedule was very forgiving and manageable even for someone like me with limited sewing time.  Another aspect I found helpful was the encouragement to make a muslin.  I ended up making three muslins to adjust sizing and the sleeves.  I know this was key to having a dress I am so happy with in the end.  The only challenge for me (and its a little tongue in cheek) was fleeing from the temptation to dress envy - or comparison.  Women put together some very creative, beautiful dresses during the sew-along (and some even did multiple dresses at the same time).  So the temptation was there to think, "I wish I'd have come up with that color scheme" or "Wow!  What is my dress compared to that one?"  But that is not the point really, is it?  My goal was to be happy with my dress at the end, and I certainly am very happy with it.

FIRSTS
This was my first time:

• sewing a sash
• sewing on my new Janome sewing machine
• "bothering" with a muslin (I hate to confess) - as mentioned this was very helpful.
• making button holes on an actual garment (instead of just practicing on test fabric)
• participating in a sew-along
• using a pattern from Candy Castle Patterns
• incorporating a placket
• Using a serger for a rolled hem (not required, but I used it for the ruffles on both skirts)

CHANGES & SPECIAL TOUCHES

Besides the adjustments I made for my own errors (see below), the only changes I made to the pattern were to add a ribbon backing to the button and buttonhole area for extra strength.  I used fusible bonding to attach the gross grain ribbon to the underside, then ran stitches across the top and bottom to secure in place before adding the buttons and the button holes.  Not sure it was necessary, I just did it.  As I mentioned above, I also scaled back the puff sleeves for this particular dress.  I then tested it when I made my muslin.I also wanted to bring some of the green fabric to the upper part of the dress, so I added a double band on the sleeve edge, instead of the single edge.  I also made a coordinating headband/hair clip and made use of the included the leaf pattern with the flower.

MISTAKES
Since I am not perfect, I will share my three main errors or mistakes while making this dress.

The first was sizing.  I measured my daughter and thought for sure a 12m slim would be the size to make.  I went ahead and made a muslin since it was on the schedule and my first time with the pattern.  When I tried it on my daughter, I was afraid it would be too narrow, especially by spring, so I decided to try the regular.  This is also when I scaled back the puff sleeve.  Still too narrow and perhaps, too short, I moved to the 18 slim.  I also looked at the size chart again and realized that really the 18 slim is where I should have started in the first place.  I was still concerned with the very bottom of the bodice being too tight at the bottom of the chest, but decided to forge ahead.  I am glad I did, because I forgot that the dress and skirt meet there, with a placket that can flex open.  So it ended up being a lovely fit.

Secondly, when cutting the scallops in the bottom of the skirt, I cut scallops in both skirts instead of just the top skirt.  It was late.  I wasn't thinking straight.  Since the skirts are gathered at the top anyway, and didn't have enough of the underskirt fabric to cut another, I sewed the cutouts shut, and in the end (after gathering) it didn't make a difference - thankfully!

Thirdly, when I was sewing the finished skirts to the bodice, i misaligned the side seams on one side.  This happened because I actually misaligned the two skirts - so the underskirt was aligned properly, but from the right side (outside) they were misaligned.  This was disappointing because I had to pull out the stitched and also ended up having to re-gather a good portion of the overskirt, then resew it all in the proper position.  The whole time I was praying I wouldn't accidentally put a hole in any of the fabric.  I breathed a huge sigh of relief and pleasure when I finished!

See?  Not perfect.  Mistakes happen and happily they were all fixable this time.  But, thankfully, the dress as a whole is anything but a mistake.  I love it!  I'd love to see links to your own Princess dress or other Candy Castle Patterns garment in the comments section!