blouses

the Button Up Refashion Swap

May 17, 2012 · 23 comments

Friends, here it is! If you follow me on Facebook – which you should – this is the project I posted a little while ago. And this is also the project that I was talking about with my thoughts on refashioning. I’ll admit, I’m a little hooked on refashioning now. Can’t say that I’m really good at it, but I can see the value and sometimes the project can be really easy, like this one I’m about to show you how to do, and it can give you a little boost in your sewing if you need one. And as you know, I’ve needed one.

So about this Blogger Refashion. I was contacted by Miranda of One Little Minute awhile back asking me if I wanted to participate. The premise was simple – refashion a men’s shirt for a blogger that was assigned to you. I couldn’t have been luckier in my partner who was Jen of Grainline (an awesome seamstress and proprietress of downloadable sewing patterns and wearable beauties) because she has nearly identical measurements to mine. Yay! That meant that I could at least try on the refashion and see how it would all work out! Yay! Anyway, there are 10 of us in all and we’re all posting tutorials for our refashions today, so don’t miss out. Here’s the list:

Grainline Studio
Lazy Saturdays
Cotton & Curls
Megan Nielsen Designs
I Still Love You
One Little Minute
MadMim
See Kate Sew
Adventures in Dressmaking

Alright, so let’s discuss what I decided to do for my refashion. I opted to make a box blouse, basically two rectangles sewn together with room left for your arms and head. Yup. It’s so easy, you might just chuckle. Seriously. Amy from Yellow Bird gave me the idea, which by the way, she’s made several and you should head on over to see them because then they’ll give you ideas for what to do if you want to make yourself one. Now here’s the thing, I wanted to keep this simple. I wanted this project to be something you could really whip up in a jiffy and all without the use of a pattern. Something that WILL fit you, because box blouses fit everyone! Got it? Yeah. That’s exactly the idea. So let’s just start with the Box Blouse formula.

The Box Blouse Formula
Width = Hip or Bust measurement (whichever is larger) + 2 – 4 (more if you like) inches of wearing ease + seam allowances (side seams)
Length = the measurement from the shoulder seam to the hem of the finished garment (take this one when wearing a shirt!) + shoulder seam allowance + hem allowance (I like to have at least a good inch)
Note: You’ll need the 4 inches of wearing ease if you are doing a box blouse that doesn’t have a button up front – this to get it over your head, or you can always add a zipper to the side seam if you want to go with less ease!

Not bad right? Here, let me show you what this all would be for me:
My Width = My hip cuz its bigger than the bust (39″) + 2 inches wearing ease + seam allowances (1/2 for each side seam) = 42″
My Length = 25″ from shoulder seam to hem + shoulder seam allowance (1/2″) + hem allowance (1″) = 26.5″

Now before you go a cuttin out, divide your Width by 4. Now go and cut out two rectangles that equal your width divided by 4 x your length, on the fold of the fabric. For me, I would cut two rectangles that are 10.5″ wide x 26.5″ long. Friends, this could not be simpler. Are you with me? If you too would like to refashion a men’s shirt into a box blouse, I recommend deconstructing the shirt by cutting each of the elements out like the shirt fronts, back, (I cut off the yoke) the sleeves. Then cut the back panel of the shirt on the fold and cut the shirt fronts with the center front buttoned up as the foldline.

Stitching it up!
All that’s left is to stitch up your box blouse and maybe add a few details here and there. Stitch your shoulder seams leaving enough room for your head to fit through or if you’re refashioning a men’s shirt, you can opt for a neckline that’s smaller than your head as you’ll have the button up portion at the front. From there stitch the side seams leaving enough room for your arms to fit through and move about in comfortably. Hem the neckline, sleeve and the actual hem at the bottom of the garment. So easy right?

Deconstructing My Refashion
There are details you can add to give your blouse a little edge too. I thought, for a good example I would deconstruct the blouse I refashioned to give you some ideas. I used the neckline of a sewing pattern to create a sweet rounded neckline. You too could also take the neckline from a favorite sewing pattern or even an actual garment. I also added bias tape, made from the sleeve of the original shirt, to finish off the neckline plus give it a sweet little tie bow.

For a little more fit, I took in little pleats at the natural waistline. Just tacked those down with a fine zigzag stitch.

At the hemline, since I didn’t have quite enough fabric to do a full 10.5″ width for each of the rectangles, I thought “Oh Well!” and left little open vents at the side seams. I’ve found with refashions that as you go along you make constant changes to the base of the garment, which doesn’t have to be a bad thing. More of an inventive fix, right?

I took off the old buttons and replaced them with new ones and also added a few more buttons & buttonholes to keep the blouse from gaping you know where. And finally I removed the pocket, but could easily have added another more stylish one.

Now Friends, how’s that for easy? How’s that for getting your sewing mojo on the level again? What do you think of my refashion? Like it? Wanna make one for yourself? You should! So easy, and really such a great blouse to jump into summer with. Jen will be give you a fashion show of it next week, in the meantime, I’m working on another for myself.

On the hunt for another refashion….
Sunni

PS ~ We’ll all be showing off the refashions that were made for us next week! Suzannah from Adventures in Dressmaking did mine and its delightful – I really can’t wait to show it to you! Yay! Here’s a schedule of when you’ll see us in our button up refashions:
Monday, May 21st ~ Lizzie of Cotton & Curls, Krista of Lazy Saturdays
Tuesday, May 22nd ~ Sunni of A Fashionable Stitch, Kate of See Kate Sew
Wednesday, May 23rd ~ Suzannah of Adventures in Dressmaking, Miranda of One Little Minute
Thursday, May 24th ~ Miriam of MadMim, Melissa of I Still Love You
Friday, May 25th ~ Megan of Megan Nielsen Design, Jennifer of Grainline Studio

{ 23 comments }

Strawberry Banksia

April 10, 2012 · 15 comments

Somehow, I feel that my time has been in a bit of a whirlwind since January and I’ve not done things that I really should have. One is to tell you that I’ve now started to carry a few Megan Nielsen’s sewing patterns in the shop. These are rather sweet patterns and I’ve started to see several versions pop up all over the blogospheres and am now happy to report that I’ve made myself a Banksia blouse from one.

Let’s see, where to start. I’ve been working on a wrap dress (more on that later) that I’m drafting myself. It’s my first ever full draft of a dress and I’m actually rather impressed with myself, but its been a bit of a big job and I needed a distraction of sorts and found that this pattern only had 5 pattern pieces. I like it when you can make something from a small amount of pattern pieces. I whipped this number out in a day, which I found amazing because normally I tend to allow projects to sit for a day or two on things like hemming and the like (I hate hemming, because then it means the project is usually over).

I altered the pattern with my sloper (this is becoming a rather invaluable tool) and then proceeded to cut it out in this strawberry coloured linen which as you can only guess is from Yellow Bird Fabrics (have I mentioned that I really do love this store?). It stitched up really quickly! I was a little shaky when it came to the placket, but the directions were quite spot on and I found the insertion quite easy to do. The buttons were from the stash and if I do say so myself, their oversized size makes for a rather Anthropologie-esque feel. Kinda cute right?

I misjudged the length for this thing – something I’ve fixed for a future round, but I’m happy to report that adding a band of fabric to the bottom for increased length only means that I’m resourceful rather than dismayed that I didn’t get every single thing perfectly right. Right?

I’m pretty happy with the finished result – I think I’ll be more happy with a pair of black cotton sateen clovers to go with it. That’ll be the icing the on the cake I’m quite sure. Easy pattern=sweet blouse! And because I promised to give you a resource list, here you go:

Banksia Blouse pattern – similar fabric

I don’t know about you, but I’m aching for a strawberry smoothie just about now…

xoxo,
Sunni

{ 15 comments }

Mustard Seed

March 6, 2012 · 68 comments

This knit top and skirt were projects two and three from February. Aren’t you terribly proud of me? I’ve made my goal for January and February and well, that makes me seriously happy. Not only that, but here you see that I’ve actually made an outfit! Now that takes skill, friends. Skill.

Let’s talk the top first. McCall’s 6513. I LOVE this top. I’ve got to make myself another one. I was so happy with the way it turned out. The idea to make a top like this sprung into my head from Kristin over at K-line. After her navy blue number I went out in search of the Vogue pattern she used and of course, found it sold out locally. I happened upon this McCall’s number immediately after as I was flipping through the pattern books. Match made in heaven.

It’s made from a stable heathery grey knit that I got from Yellow Bird. I get tons of compliments when I wear this top – even Mr. S likes it! In fact, he LOVES it. I could wear this thing everyday. Yup! I should have a pattern review up by the end of this week if you’re interested in making it up yourself and would like to read a review. The pattern had a few quirks, no more than usual. But, you know.

Now for the skirt. The skirt was an experiment really. It’s my own pattern draft and it’s a gored little thing. I’ve been having serious accordian pleat skirt envy and though I know this is not an accordian pleated skirt, I was thinking of a way to have one made up in a natural fiber. If you don’t know, accordian pleated skirts are usually synthetic – polyester, nylon, etc. – and many are chemically treated to hold a pleat and well, I don’t have access to pre-pleated fabric, much less chemicals to hold pleats. Whatever. This baby is made from wool crepe – another purchase from Yellow Bird. By the way, have I ever mentioned that I adore wool crepe? Maybe not, but I do. It’s such a gorgeous fabric in my humble opinion. I seriously think the world of it. So when I found it in this mustardy yellow color, I had to have it.

Again, this skirt is gored and then for added kicks I stitched a tuck down the center of each gore and pressed it to one side. I have to admit, the result is totally cool and reminds me so much of the 70′s era. The color, style and drape give it that great retro vibe. It may not exactly be an accordian pleated skirt, but I’ll still give it high marks as it turned out rather interesting. Dontcha think?

I thought I would try something new here too and give you all the link to the pattern or similar pattern used and a link to a similar fabric plus all the extras. I’ve seen this on style blogs and I love it! So if you have to have one of your own, here goes:

Knit Blouse – McCall’s 6513 – similar cloth
Skirt – self drafted (similar pattern) – similar cloth
Belt – Belt & Buckle Kit

March is going to be seriously busy around here! I’m excited that I’ll be participating in some sewing excitement around the blogsphere. Anyway, what’s on your sewing table for March? I’m just about to finish up my version of the Darling Ranges dress. Think elephants. Navy. You know, the usual.

Kiss Kiss,
Sunni

{ 68 comments }

Sweetheart Blouse

February 21, 2012 · 30 comments

This blouse has been done for a time, but I haven’t had the opportunity yet to wear it. It’s too chill outside and I’m sure it will be for quite a bit longer here in Utah and it just doesn’t do to wear a sweater over the top of it. Awww, well. This is a copycat blouse that I directly stole from Lauren. It’s the Violet from Colette made up in cotton swiss dot. I was actually a pattern tester for this pattern and after making a muslin of it, I put it away for another day. Seeing Lauren’s version made me think of this swiss dot I already had in my stash and from there I knew I had to have one. Plus it was a perfect opportunity to get out my recently perfected bodice sloper and use it to alter the pattern to fit me perfectly. More on this to come – promise!

Having made this bodice sloper and taken a class on how to use it, I could see exactly where my problems in this blouse would be. It was positively brilliant. I had to made a serious adjustment to the yoke and back bodice panels – added a whole 1.5″ back there. I raised the armscye a bit, pointed the dart more heavenward, beveled out the side seams a little and added some length overall. It totally fits perfectly and I didn’t even make a muslin of the changes. Hah! Now how’s that for bravery?

It’s adorned with sweet yellowish flower buttons and looks rather sweet paired with jeans or my Sew Grateful Skirt. Plus it’s white and I’ve needed a white button up for ages. Twill be perfect for summer. The swiss dot was purchased very long ago – I can’t even remember where and is rather sheer. However, I was up for something sheer this time. I’ve been loving some of the sheer blouses that have come out recently and I’ve wanted one for awhile. I’m working on a silk crepe de chine camisole to go underneath and should have it finished up by the end of this week, I think. I’m very excited!

Overall, I’m very happy with how this blouse turned out. What do you think? It’s a very “sweet” sort of design and gives me a bit of the “child at heart perk” as Mr. S would say. Once the camisole is finished, I’ll give you a proper model of it, OK? Alright.

What are you up to for Spring sewing? I’m brainstorming some ideas we could all work on together. Maybe like a contest or something. What do you think?

Spring Dreams,
Sunni

{ 30 comments }

Knitty

October 12, 2011 · 31 comments

I’m showing you two things today that you haven’t yet seen. For starters, there’s my pencil skirt here. This is the self drafted skirt that I was raving on about back in July. It’s finally cool enough to really wear it. I’ll be going into more specifics about the drafting process and I’ve got a fresh tutorial for the lining with a back vent. It’s so much easier! That’s coming up very soon, so keep your eyes peeled.

I finished this knit top in a day, which is what the name of this post is referencing. OK, actually this is the 3rd try for this puppy. I’ll allow myself a little leeway on that since this is the first knit I’ve attempted for myself. Thank goodness I had hoards of this wool jersey. Ahem…

Specifics: I made this from Kwik Sew 3616 which I made a TON of alterations to. Actually, let’s start from the very beginning shall we? Remember this top from my little inspiration outfit board (which I’m totally aware I haven’t really discussed)? Yeah, its a vintage pattern and on the back it claims that I can whip out a top in jersey. Ummmmm….yeah. That doesn’t just work. I cut out the entire pattern from this lovely wool jersey (believe me, I made a muslin first) and guess what? It was a complete sack of potatoes. What a joke! Ha! So I turned to this Kwik Sew pattern I had instead, leaving Simplicity 3940 for a woven instead. I whipped it out and after a day of wearing it, I also found that it just didn’t have the right kind of fit. So they say that the 3rd time is the charm. Yup. I’ve blazed through 3 yards of wool jersey quite quickly. Kind makes me sick. Sigh…

Anyway, this is part of an outfit for my Clovers, which, I know, I’m not wearing here. But you get the idea, right? I’m pretty happy with this version. It is a little difficult, in my opinion, to sew with knits. And I totally feel foolish saying that because I read that everyone else has such a glamourous time with them. For me, knits are harder to fit and they are harder to handle too. Like, you have to make sure that they aren’t being stretched as you cut them out – I learned that the hard way. But I’m not giving up just yet. I’ll get the hang of them, don’t you worry.

Oh yes, this is a wool jersey by the way. And normally, wool is fairly itchy – even though its a favorite fiber of mine. But this jersey, is heaven sent. Extra soft merino, and sorry I can’t remember where I got it because it’s been so long since I bought it – but I have a faint inclination that it might be from Fashion Fabrics Club.

That’s about it here. How have you fared with knits? Ever ventured into that territory? What makes your experience easier? I could use a few secrets, I think.

xoxo,
Sunni

{ 31 comments }

Buttercream Bow Blouse

March 24, 2011 · 55 comments

Ta da! Here is the blouse I’ve been working on so feverishly for the past little while. It really wasn’t hard, in fact it was sooooo easy. I have a white one that needs to be finished and I think it might be finished sooner rather than later. And I might need one more, just to make things bearable. I love the bow! It’s terribly terribly cute I think! He he he! OK, onto specifics.

I made this is up in this buttercream polka dot silk shirting that I bought from Fashion Fabrics Club. So comfy, so light and airy and so easy to work with. The pattern is Simplicity 7896, a vintage pattern from 1977. Not a bad fit, in fact the only fitting issue was my broad shoulder, otherwise, totally easy.

I left this blouse sleeveless and used Tasia’s method for applying the bias tape around the edges. Way easy. I had to recut the armscye just a little to facilitate a better show off for my pristinely white shoulders.

I used cover buttons and hand worked all the buttonholes. This was acutally the main reason I did this blouse. Today, concurrently with this post, I have a guest post over on No Big Deal where I show you how to make hand worked buttonholes. I’m planning to post the same post here tomorrow with a few more tips and ideas for you too. The hand worked buttonholes were not that easy. In fact, hand working a buttonhole takes quite a bit of practice and even the ones I did for this blouse still aren’t as perfect I would like. I’ve done them before, on this blouse here. Practice makes perfect! They are pretty extraordinary though. I wish I could send this blouse to each and every one of you, so you could see and feel the difference. They are terribly cool. Everyone should try them, at least once!

What else? Oh yes, the inside. I had a reader want to see the inside with the rather clean looking facings. Nice and neat, see?

And look how nicely it goes with my pea green cardi here. The cardi was a recent thrift that I absolutely adore. 100% cashmere for $6. Now that’s a deal! I love how the bow just sits right one top there. Now I just need some new skirts and pants to go with this blouse. I mean you’ve only seen these Bella jeans how many times on me? Yes. I know. Oh and please excuse the background. I was in a sore spot for light, wanting desparately to take these outside, but having no vehicle, it had just snowed/rained and I was forced to take these on my balcony.

Bow. Blouse. Madness!

xoxo,

Sunni

{ 55 comments }

Boysenberry Pastry Blouse with a Secret Ingredient

June 15, 2010 · 29 comments

This is a blouse I made from a McCall’s 1980′s pattern. I really do love vintage patterns. Truly I do. But I’ve been having trouble finding vintage patterns for prices that aren’t, well….ridiculous. And to be brutally honest, I spent $47 for this pattern (I’m very very very upset with myself too) and it has been lost in the mail. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? Yeah, that is definitely not happening again. In fact, I’ve banned myself from buying patterns online for awhile because of this. (Peter brought up a very good point and so as not to give this seller a bad wrap, Sandra from the Selvedge Shop completely reimbursed me! She’s been excellent to work with. I feel terrible that we both missed out on this gorgeous dress pattern) So, I’m content to buy patterns that I can actually get my hands on. That would be patterns bought from my local thrift store. And those can be quite wonderful as they are usually only $0.50 – $1.00, however usually they are from the 70′s or 80′s eras. I bought this one for $0.50. I’m a real sucker for this kimono sleeve look. I just LOVE it. I’ve bought a few other patterns with this kimono style thing going on. Love them too.

[click to read more…]

{ 29 comments }

Ice Cream Top, Sprinkles Included

January 3, 2010 · 5 comments

Happy New Year Everyone! I have this fabulous feeling that its going to be a great 2010. 2009 was a good year for me. I learned alot and feel that my New Years Resolution for 2009 went rather well on the whole. I have taken to eating better and cooking more, though a juicy hamburger is so good from time to time still. I’m drooling just thinking about it now.

So what’s the feat for this year? Well, I’ve started my Simple Abundance Day Book again and have really thought long and hard about so many things. My biggest resolution this year: To believe in me. To believe that I can do those things that I really want to do and that I can do them well. I have trouble with that. Sometimes I think I’m just not capable of doing something big and actually doing it well. I always want to make excuses. No excuses this year. Not for me.

Here’s to my first no excuse sewing project finished just in time to have worn on New Year’s Eve:

My Ice Cream Top, so named for those fabulous sprinkles sprinkled all over it. You may remember this fabric from my Purple Dress. Its the ruffle that is around the collar of the dress. You see, I have this thing for stashing fabric and then thinking, “Oh my, I love this fabric to death! But I could never sew that with it. Its much too pretty. I want to SAVE it.” And what am I saving it for? Even I don’t know. I just love to save things. So instead of saving this time, I sewed it all up and there’s only a few scraps left. Hip hip hooray!

Onto details: This is the fairly expensive pattern from Burda Style called the Wenlan Top. Its a design by Wenlan Chia that is seen in her book Twinkle Sews. She doesn’t give you the pattern for the top in the book, but it was made an exclusive pattern for Burda Style. The pattern itself is rather nice to work with, but the instructions, Oh good heavens! It was like reading greek, and I don’t understand greek. I’ve sewn alot of garments and this was like deciphering chinese. The instructions were so poorly put together. After battling with them for awhile, I ditched the instructions and figured out the top on my own. It sewed up pretty nicely after that. Sheesh!

I lined the top with a grape dupioni silk, which in case you were wondering is a very good natural fiber alternative to synthetic lining. I didn’t know that at the time, but that’s what I had on hand and so just went with it. The dupioni lends a little crispness to the dotted swiss silk, which is like chiffon with dots basically. I really really liked that. The dupioni would be perfect for skirt linings for sure.

I also used the short tutorial from Colette Patterns for the hand rolled hem. This I used on the sleeve. Worked out perfectly and it maintains the natural curl in the fabric. Really liked that!