A Cropped Topper

In my last post, I shared that this jacket was in pieces in a bag for years before I decided to pull it out and finish the darn thing back in March.

And while it may sound silly, the main reason I chose to jump back into the project was the fact that I thought it would pair nicely with this dress, which I was also working on in March.

It has a whole lot of volume, and there is something funny with the fit of the shoulder (which you can't really test until the whole garment is almost complete because of the order of construction).  But overall, it gives a very 1950s vibe, which works well with a lot of my dresses.

I did have some trouble with the buttonholes at the joining of the yoke to the front bodice because of the bulk from the seam.  I ended up picking the offending buttonhole out twice and decided that I had had enough grief, and the jacket did not really require the two extra buttonholes.

I really don't have many Spring appropriate jackets and/or coats, so this will be a welcome addition to my wardrobe when the weather improves next year.

And, most importantly, the poor project is not in pieces in a bag, shoved in a corner of the sewing room.  I also managed to finish the jacket using fabric and notions that I had on hand, which always makes me want to pat myself on the back.  So this one goes in the win column! 

Dress:  Made by me, McCalls 7974
Jacket:  Made by me, McCalls 5593
Shoes:  Nine West

A Rediscovered UFO

Back in March when everything started to lock-down due to Covid, I took the opportunity to find and finish a few of the many sewing projects that were abandoned over the years.  This jacket is one of them.

I believe this project was started soon after the pattern was released, which is copyrighted 2008.  That sounds about right.  I had leftover fabric from making myself a sun hat out of an upholstery remnant.  Coincidently, the hat was a massive success.  To this day, that hat gets a ton of love out on my morning walks with Tino when the weather is warm.  In the Winter, it's knit caps, and in the summer, it's floppy sun hats.

I recall being very excited about finding a use for the leftover pieces of upholstery weight fabric when this pattern came out.

All of the pieces were cut out except for the lining.  Which, now that I think about it, may have been the reason I ditched the project.  A couple of years ago, I picked up an entire roll of striped silk fabric at a garage sale, and I like the way it pairs with the striped upholstery fabric.  It's probably a little light weight for the outer fabric, but it works.

I also got lucky with my button stash.

At an estate sale, I picked up these buttons that have etched lines which work well with the stripes. 

My main issue with the pattern is that the construction does not allow for fitting until the jacket is almost complete.

It's not ideal, but since the style is quite roomy, there is some room for error.

It's not the most flattering style the world, but I really like a swing coat/a-line silhouette.  The jacket turned out quite well, and it will definitely come in handy on Spring mornings and evenings when I need a coverup for cotton dresses.  And, most importantly, I finished one more unfinished project!

A Classic in Navy

While I am still playing catch up with posting projects on the blog, I actually have a few to share that are seasonally appropriate, now that Winter has arrived!  And it's a good reminder that I should be pulling this dress out of the closet to wear.   

I took these pictures back in January of this year.  That evening I attended a Marin Symphony concert (and boy, do I miss getting dressed up and going out to events). 

This dress was a bit of an experiment.  I loved my Claire McCardell rose printed cotton version so much, I wanted to see how it might work in a knit.  And this is the result.

The experiment worked pretty well, I think!  Granted, I used a fairly stable rayon ponte, but it still has some stretch to work around.

I swapped out the side zipper for a center back application.  I probably should have done a centered zip, but chose to do a lapped one instead, since they are my favorite.  There is a bit of a bump where the zipper top meets the neckline facing, but most people would probably never notice.

The pockets mean that the side seams are not quite as smooth as they might be, which is definitely due to using a knit fabric that shows every lump and bump, but it's not terrible.  I always feel like I am letting down the sewing community when I remove pockets from garments, but I never use them in a garment like this, so I should probably just do the unpopular thing and not put them in!  Blasphemous, I know, but if they aren't getting any use, why are they there only to create more bulk?!

I do like the way the pleated back of the skirt gets a little more attention in a solid color than a print.

I have a few ideas about making myself a skirt using that portion of this pattern, and I still may do that at some point.

And who knows, if another fabric presents itself, I may just have to make myself another version of the dress . . . the only question is, will it be a print, or a solid?

Dress & Belt:  Made by me, McCalls 4292
Shoes:  American Duchess, "Marilyn" Pumps
Necklace:  Made by me

A New Hat

I have been wearing my hair in a bun most days.  I desperately need a haircut, and I just don't feel like doing much of anything with my hair, so it gets twisted into a high bun and a couple of bobby pins hold it in place.  And while I have a bunch of crocheted and knit caps, when my hair is in a bun, the cap lifts up and my ears are exposed.  That doesn't work for me in cold weather.  If my ears get cold, I get a headache, so a hat it necessary for winter walks.

I do have one slouchy beanie style hat that I knit years ago, but I wanted to add another one to my wardrobe since I wear a hat every day while walking Mr. Tino in the cold.  (Don't worry, he always has on one of his hand knit sweaters to keep him warm!)

After finishing my 1940s Style Jumper with this lovely green yarn, I found this piece of knit sweater in a project bag.  Years ago, I paired the tweedy yarn with a sweater pattern, decided I didn't love the way it was turning out and thought the yarn deserved better, and abandoned the half knit project.  Well, that meant that I had enough yarn remaining to make myself a hat!  Perfect timing.  So I frogged back, and suddenly had two skeins of yarn to play with.

The pattern I chose is the March Hat from Melbourne Woolens.  It's a free pattern, but I chose it mostly because I loved the pattern texture and thought it would play well with my tweedy yarn.

The directions call for a provisional cast on, which I have never tried before.  One quick internet search later, and I found plenty of information about how to do just that.  Next time, I think I will use a thinner waste yarn, but this gray acrylic was the first yarn I came across and it worked out okay.

My gauge didn't quite match the given directions, so I sized down.

For most of the body I used circular needles, but I didn't have a small enough circular for such a small number of cast on stitches.  So for the ribbing, I used double pointed needles until I made it to the stitch pattern.

And, of course, I needed those double pointed needles again once the circumference of the hat started to decrease . . .

and decrease . . .

until there was hardly any stitches left at all.

One of these days I am going to learn the magic loop technique, but until then, it's a nice change of pace to use the double pointed needles.

And then it was time to make a pom-pom.

But first I had to remember where I had stashed my Clover pom-pom makers, because they make such lovely pom-poms!

Because I had frogged this yarn, it was super curly.  I was not entirely sure what a pom-pom made of kinky yarn would look like, but I forged ahead.

It turns out, the curly yarn adds a lovely texture to the pom-pom.  The overall effect reminds me of a vintage Persian lamb coat.

I am not entirely sure what will happen once I wash the hat, and that texture may disappear, but for now, I am enjoying the look.

And it's very exciting to have a little bit of hat variety for my daily dog walks with Mr. Tino.  He has so many hand knit sweaters, I felt a little bit stilly wearing the same old hat day after day!  But now, problem solved!!

Paisley in Pastels

And here we have another seasonally inappropriate outfit.

These photos were taken in the beginning of October, when the weather was still quite warm.

Now here we are in December and I can't seem to get warm.  It's the curse of living in California.  It never gets very cold, but when you grow up here and don't spend much time anywhere else, you become a weather wimp.  I don't love too much heat, and I don't love too much cold.  Most of the time the weather is temperate and I do just fine, but day after day of lows in the mid-30s, and I am going to complain.  And yes, I am aware that I sound ridiculous, and those of you in actual cold climates are wearing tank tops in 30 degree weather.

But enough of my ranting.  Because as far as the outfit goes, I have no actual complaints.

I am very pleased that I didn't end up wasting this fabric on a muslin that I may or may not have liked.  And I am so glad that I managed to make a matching top out of the leftovers!

The skirt is an excellent wardrobe builder, and I will probably make myself another at some point in the future.  And it is very easy to put together.  I made things slightly more complicated by adding bound buttonholes instead of using a machine, but really, they just take more time, not skill.

And I already have plans for making this top into a dress of some kind; I have a lovely floral cotton that I think will work perfectly.  But that is for when warm weather returns (if I don't get distracted by other projects in the meantime).

For now, I am going to focus on a couple of holiday themed prints that I meant to make into something wearable last December.

And there are always those winter coat projects that are on my mind this time of year.  It's definitely time to pull out the wool yardage!

Top:  Made by me, McCalls 7929
Skirt:  Made by me, Simplicity 1166
Necklace:  Grandmother's
Shoes:  Colin Stuart