Kwik Sew #3799 my go to shirt pattern

For most of my sewing that I do from patterns, I use the pattern once- somehow the luster of that pattern is gone after I have made it and I pretty much just toss the pattern into recycling- until I made my first Kwik Sew 3799. 

Now, at first I made it one size too small- which the black white and red one is- that is when I learned why many sewists trace patterns first, because you really can't go back and just add the extra 1/4 inch all around and have the pattern work (well you can but its A LOT of work!) So I just bought another one! I had just attended a shirt pattern fitting class with Peggy Sagers and I was pretty sure what went wrong- I have a broad back and I like more room in my armholes. Instead of just making those adjustments I went ahead and just sized up- that way I could just do some simple dart adjustments for the waist circumference- but guess what? one size up fits like a charm! So that's one reason to love Kwik Sew #3799! The other reason is it is so fun to mix and match colors and pipings (pipings not in the pattern but I just added them on)! ANNNND..it easily adjusted to remove the decorative yoke, and to make a shorter sleeve. Luckily the pattern came on nice thick white paper, not the usual "tissue" paper so this pattern a keeper!

The Piping was super easy to make and attach- just baste too the yoke then follow pattern instructions to attach. Here is a good tutorial on piping for home decor- but the philosophy is the same @ Sew4Home

I used snaps-  figured WAY easier and more to the shirt style then buttons, but don't be fooled attaching and lining up snap is no joke! I got my Snaps and the little setting tool from Snap Source.

I got to use 4 different prints of fabric for this shirt

for the next one I can easily adapt the yoke to come down further and to be really any shape I want- also someone said the pockets look too high..hmmm not sure on that one, lower might look weird- must research!

I spend 95% of my life in my work uniform or in stretch pants and t-shirts. My Skate night is really the only time I have to wear my hand made clothes and express myself. I really love wearing this one even if it is a little small in the shoulder. I already made two more of these shirts! Need to get some pics up though- Happy sewing!



Silhouette Patterns 3 Piece Yoga Pant- Sew Along

So it's not really a sew a long, Peggy Sagers has a POM or pattern of the month and then she does a few youtube webcasts and shows you how to make them. I LOVE Peggys teaching and technique, but some of her clothes not so much my style- but it doesn't really matter because she is actually teaching me to make things my style. So I figure yoga pants OF course- sign me up! Now I have made a shitload of stretch pants- like a bunch- but they are sort of generic one-size-fits-all-because-they-stretch type leggings. But I am sure you also have a bunch of store bought leggings yourself and some of them look AWESOME- your ass looks great and you look 10lbs lighter, well that because however they were designed, they actually fit you. So I headed down to DTLA fabric district to grab some supplies because God know Joann's don't have no 2 inch elastic and if they did it would be totally expensive.

My go to elastic guy is John TEX and TRIM 818 Wall ST Los Angeles.

Now if you look behind me you will see and 20 thousand pound pile of fabric- I am sure there are some gems in there, but it reminds me too much of my garage and that stresses me out

ahh one of the many aisles of trims, elastics, and stretch lace all neatly organized in NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM. Theres only one way to find what you need, and that is to ask. Hey, I need 2 inch black elastic BOOM. I need half fold black elastic DONE. Do you have this exact thing in say, purple? OF COURSE! And then its all neatly packed for you like this...

But, THIS little bag only cost me 14 bucks. 10 yards 3 inch white elastic, 10 yards 2 inch wide black, and 30 yards of misc elastic for my underwear making. Totally worth it. 

I hit a few other places- and wound up with some solid black, white star and awesome polka dot fabric. Now this is some heavy duty stretch, super strong, thick weight- none of that "your skin is showing through your leggings" crap.

I have some ideas for these.... ill show ya when I am done. Haven't even got the pattern in the mail yet :)

Moving along... from Paper to Fabric

{my first "serious" quilt}

Wow, it seems like forever since I have blogged. A lot has changed around here as I have sort of changed directions on my creative journey. I have always loved paper crafting but what I enjoyed the most was the process. The creations only served as eye candy for a while and would end up getting recycled, re-purposed or given away. What I really was in search of is a creative outlet that served practicality. So I started making quilts. Just easy quilts. I found it fulfilled my love of putting patterns and colors together, much like I did in paper crafting. BUT, after making 7 quilts- I had more quilts than bodies to wrap them around. I did learn one valuable thing through quilting though, and that was to be patient and precise. After learning I could be patient and precise, I figured why not jump into making my own clothing? Now my mom taught me to sew in grade school- but I didn't really have patients so I frequently just cut squares out and sewed them together and added elastic! When I did try patterns, I cut them out haphazardly, ignoring things such as grain line, darts, and notches. I just cut, threw right sides together and sewed. And lets not even talk about seam allowance- I just sewed along the edge and made things match even if they didn't. That was cause for a lot of uneven  shoulders, crooked necklines and bad hems. As with most of my creating I am self taught- AKA Internet taught. There is such a wealth of sewing information out there! I discovered the whole Indie Pattern Making universe and Sew A Longs. My favorite being the Ginger Jean Sew Along from Closet Case Files. After I familiarized myself with doing some simple patterns, I was ready to start tackling some real challenges- like Jeans and  a tailored shirt! I highly recommend Pamela Howards "The Classic Tailored Shirt" Craftsy class.

{my tailored shirt from Pam Howards class- live and in action at work!}

Now I have gotten past the shyness off sharing my handmade clothes and will start sharing here on the blog my sewing adventures!

{My first "practice" jeans. I of course wasn't thinking about the grain line and didn't buy enough fabric- so they were too short! No problem I added a little cotton cuff at the bottom- but lesson learned