Cardigans and Skirts, Oh my!

I’ve been hard at work sewing lately and instagramming the #bpsewvember photo-a-day challenge. Phew. Busy, busy.

First up is a skirt I made in about an hour for my halloween costume. A black circle skirt for a skeleton costume.

You can’t really see it there, but I made some pretty horrid mistakes when I put this together the night before halloween and then just decided to frack it and come back to it later. I made the flower garland for my head as well:

Ooooh creeepy!

The circle skirt wasn’t the greatest. I used my Pavlova skirt pattern and forgot to cut a smaller size. Luckily, I had a belt on to hide all the flaws in the waistband. This past week I unpicked and sewed not only the waistband, but also the seams and zipper again (although, the zipper was fine, but I had to take the side seams in). I made french seams and hand-stitched the waistband facing.

Then I made the Jenna Cardi from Muse Patterns, because I always need a cardigan and it matches my black circle skirt perfectly!

I put heels on for this picture…

This is my “why did I put heels on for this picture?” face Oww……

Of course, all my photos are inside now, because outside has turned into winter overnight and the sun now sets around 4:30pm, which is shortly before I get home from work.

Anyway, back to sewing, because it’s far more interesting than the weather.

I love this cardigan so much. I sewed a size 48 and altered the sleeve to be more fitted. In larger sizes, Muse patterns sleeves tend to be rather big, which is fine if you prefer a loose fit. If you want a more fitted look, I suggest grading down toward the wrist and cutting the smaller cuff. The patterns are drafted for tall 5’10” women. I am only 5’4″ so the sleeves are long and big on me. I shortened them down a few inches and graded them in at the wrist, because I have tiny wrists (and super small hands). The cardigan hits in the right place for me. For future versions, I will be cutting out a smaller size, though, because it doesn’t quite go in enough at the waist for me, but that is my preference.

Sewing was very easy it took under two hours and the instructions were brilliant. I love the cardi. I used a mustard yellow ribbing and a black jersey with silver stripes for the main fabric. Of course, I ran out of black thread! I had finished the circle skirt right before and ran out during that. So, unfortunately, the whole cardigan was sewn with navy blue.

Obligatory circle skirt blurry twirl picture!

I also took care of an old UFO that I had been wanting to fix up.

It started off as this:

It’s a hacked Go To Patterns Parisian top. I made it into a cardigan and didn’t like the length.

Now, it’s shorter, like my Jenna cardi. Although, a little shorter than that because I had a cutting accident. Oops! Don’t drink and cut, kids! (Kidding, I didn’t. I just cut the button bands shorter than I wanted by accident)

Happy again because I took off the heels… Heels are so pretty, but I find them horribly painful…

I love the cardigan now. I still have trouble finding dresses to wear with it, though, because of the neckline. The Jenna cardi is definitely more to my taste. I think the Parisian top is best left as is and I will be making up the pattern again without any hacks.

The final piece to show you to round off my skirts and cardigans post is this major fail and I will be tossing it into the donation pile:

Nope, not wearing heels just really unhappy with this horrible skirt. And yes, I am wearing a top underneath my cardigan, it’s just really light and I didn’t want to change for a horrible skirt.

Oh pencil skirt, why did you fail me?

This is the free pencil skirt pattern from Lekala. The pattern itself is totally fine, but it looks horrible on me. I tried it lower, I tried it higher, but the position and fit were never flattering on me. It just does not look right. I shortened the darts, lengthened the darts, removed the darts, etc. It just didn’t work.

My quest for a pencil skirt does not end here, though! I refuse to give up! I recently got Tenterhook’s Snapdragon skirt and Bluegingerdoll’s Betsy. I want to try out both patterns in the future and maybe, just maybe, I will finally have the perfect pencil skirt for all my sexy librarian needs.

I’m currently working on a coat as part of my Fall Essential Sewing Plans. I have sewn up the muslin and am excited about the fit. After the coat, the only items that are still outstanding for the Fall Essentials Sew Along are leggings and underwear. I am still trying to get the Espresso Leggings pattern right, but I should have that done, too. I am taking my bra making class on the 28th/29th and have some panties patterns picked out for a quick sew up. Some of the dress patterns I chose got replaced with other patterns, because of timing and my mood. Actually, the only one I didn’t sew was a Lekala pattern. I will do a round up post after FESA 2014 ends on the 30th and a round up of my #bpsewvember photos. Many round ups.

Speaking of round ups, check out the Cat Lady Sewing Challenge round up post at Miss Crayola Creepy! Some amazing amazing things there!

 

 

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