Second Vogue 9683 in printed batiste

I really liked the fit and feel of my last OOP Vogue and I could not wander how it would be in a more busy print that would hide the design lines and a pull over version more like the one Alpine Queen made on PR.

 The design and pattern is quite simple and this time with the experience, the skip of back closing and piping I was able do do it in almost no time ( at least compared with the 1st one).

Having had that bad experience with the neck line deforming I added a small band of interface to it this time before doing anything else:

The only mistake I made was attaching the front facing before doing the bathers and have it gather with the rest. It was a mistake. I should have stick with the instructions. The fabric was batiste so is very light and i guess it didn't added that much bulk but I still feel it hangs a bit off because of it.

While it feels quite nice with it on I think the gathers don't drape that well. I am not sure if it is the fabric to light or my mistake the problem but I don't think I am imagining it.

Old and new top patterns - Vogue 9683 & Butterick 6426

I bought a few old patterns on esty a few years ago when I had very few patterns except Burda magazines. And over the years I don't think I have sewn any of them. Then last fall I've seen Alpine Queen make this top for the final Bee round and I thought what a cute top that is and later realized that I have this pattern and decided I will make that "soon". But soon became a long time ...  It is an 80s pattern Vogue 9683 with jacket, skirt and top:

 The pattern pieces are rather simple : the back and back facings are in 1 piece ( it buttons up in the back) ; both front panels are the same ( I expected the under panel to not have gatherings...)

It all looked rather simple until I decided to highlight the seam lines with piping... and without thinking of anything that could go wrong apart from being to tight  I pressed my fabric pieces and basted all the piping to the edges...
        Then when I wanted to finally attach my front facing supersize the facings was 5 cm shorter .. That's how much my neck line modified with pressing and piping !!! Rip everything !!! Panic !!! Rip some more. Hand sew to gather the neckline back in place and finally save the neckline.
    Then rip the princess seams and gather it a bit too but unfortunately not enough... It wasn't until the top was almost finished that I realized the side seam was still longer then it should have been so it was not straight but winding. At this point it would have been easier to make a new top then rip that seam again.... But I liked my top and I didn't want to just give up just yet. So I ripped my shoulder seam and wandered if I can save something there. Then I had this bright idea to pull the cord inside piping until my seam was finally in place. That fixed almost everything except the wrinkles there are now on the fabric that covered the cord...

Apart from all my issues I love my top. It fits me so well. The princess seams from the shoulder in the front and some really deep darts in the back give this a really nice shape. So I will probably make more and I will skip the back closing. I thought it would be cute to have the full band of buttons in the back but they are hardly noticeable and they are not actually necessary and a bit uncomfortable while sitting against a  rigid backrest.
   And then a newer pattern - Butterick 6426 - that I think I got at the end of last year thinking to make the cardigan and change a bit from all my McCall's. I will probably need some cold weather in the fall to do that but I thought I will test the top pattern first:

I think it is interesting to see the shoulder princesses seam and back darts in a more modern pattern. I did view C with the hem line from view B:

I looks quite OK exempt for the shoulders that needs to be taken in a bit. It might be the fabric but I find this second one really boring. Even if this is stretchy jersey I think the 1st top fits better.  I cut the front panel on bias to add a bit of contrast by changing the dots direction but still very much boring... I hole how the design lines how in neon effect:

Back to keeping score this 2 tops and the 2 pieces outfit from my previous post make for the 2 fabric I just bought the other day. So I am in the same place 141 debt...

Fun summer outfit with Vogue 9238

This is the 1st time both kids are away from home for more then just 1 night so it was time to stat some crazy sewing and exploring. I bought this patter earlier this year mostly because I think both cover photos are pretty amazing and I was sure it will stay in my stash for a very long time with the other dress patterns I thought have interesting unusual lines.

But then I've seen a few terrific versions for it and read in the reviews that is was really easy to make. I also realized that this is a knit pattern and not a woven. I was not aware of that when I bought it. So decided to make it.
    I thought That a top would get more wear then a dress so I decided to make it short. Picked some colorful fabric I was not very found of just in case it doesn't work and while unwrapping and cutting my pattern I realized how easy and nice the pants pattern is and how cool it would look if i can squeeze them in my 1 m of diagonal trench terry I was considering for contrast.
   I would not have been able to do that If I haven't shortened my pants pattern before cut but that was really good because if I would have let the shortening for when they were finished I would have lost a lot of flare so If you have to shorten the pants do it at the indicated line not at the hem.
   I've spent a lot of time trying to place each pattern piece on my fabric to get the best of prints and even like this I don't like how I cut some of them. Those flowers in the back not the most fortunate.
   When it was all finished I thought I look like a clown but it's growing on me. I got to wear it today and the sleeve flounce is not as uncomfortable as I thought it might be and all this color start feel less weird.
   Shortening the top for quite a few cm and hemming it improved the look a lot.

Pants are not as presentable with a short top but they are perfect with a tunic: