Chambray tunic top with bonus sparkle

This is one of those projects where I finish it, take some pictures, take a look and think "it looks better on the dress form than when I wear it." Perhaps taking photos in the bright sunshine wasn't the best idea - but hey it was 4th of July and I had a barbecue to get to!

Or maybe one of those items that looks better in real life than in the photos. Actually I think that is it. Although my sister did give me one of her quizzical looks, and say "hmmm, is that sparkly?" Why yes it is.  And her opinion was fairly evident in her tone - not a fan of my new sort-of sparkly top.

This was a case of off of the sewing machine and onto me. So I will play around with other things to wear it with. Perhaps even tucked into a skirt.

Here's the dress form view.



This fabric is something I looked at on more than one occasion at Stone Mountain, and finally decided to buy 1.25 yards to try and make a top of some kind. Not really sure if it is ideal for garment sewing but I washed and dried it and it softened up quite a bit. They also had it in a couple of neutral shades, kind of flax or linen colors which were interesting.

Inspiration for this top was something I saw at Talbots one day. And they send SO many catalogs in the mail...I should tell them to stop although it is useful to be able to tear things out and stick on my bulletin board.





Some sewing details. How to get a tunic top out of 1.25 yards of 45" wide fabric: creative folding, which is something I do all the time. Since this fabric doesn't have any nap or direction you can reverse the pattern pieces as shown.



I used my basic tunic top pattern (an oldie, New Look 6677. blue eyelet version here and silk version here). I made copies of the front and back and then enlarged the neck opening a good bit, as it is kind of higher up than I would want for this version, since the original has a collar. Aligning the shoulder seams I made the neckband portion, and then for the front placket I just winged it based on some other things I have made. First I decided on the finished placket size and shape, and then added the seam allowanced. I decided to determine how long to make it once I tried the top on. For more info on creating this type of placket I wrote 2 posts for Craftsy a while ago on how to make a tunic top, part 1 and part 2 here.



On the top I saw at Talbots the edge on the placket was pleated, and I tried to do that but this fabric didn't want to cooperate - it was just too bulky. So I hemmed one edge of strips and then gathered it onto the placket. I sewed it on once I got it to look even on both sides.



After sewing the placket onto top - right side to wrong on the inside, I cut the front V and then flipped it to the outside and stitched it down. Same technique I use on most tunic style tops I've made in the last few years.
Next, same idea with the neckband, stitch on right to wrong on the inside, then trim and flip to the outside. For the center edge I wasn't quite sure how I would do that, this is my improvisational sewing so I just wing it as it go. In this case I trimmed, tucked the edge under and hand stitched it to hold in place and then topstitched all around.



The armholes are finished with bias binding. I am including this photo so you can see just how sparkly this fabric is. And why it is ever so slightly scratchy, around the neck - after all, metallic threads.



Now that I am looking at these images I have decided that this is too long - it should be more like a top instead of tunic length. I might take it in on the sides just a bit also. The fabric is slightly more stiff than plain chambray would be - all those metallic threads provide a slight aluminum foil quality :) My other versions of this top have been in silk so a lot more flowy and they drape better.



Insides. I do really like this method for tops where there is no facing or anything on the inside, a very neat finish.






Yeah, needs a little further adjustment for shape and length. Although it would be cute if I lengthened it to dress length. Idea for future. **



So that's it for my sparkly chambray top. I think with a few fixes it t will be just right with some white jeans.

Today was another of our glorious (ha ha be careful what you wish for) 104˚F days, so I spent the afternoon at my parent's house swimming in the pool pictured above. And though about how as a teenager would get out of the pool, go into the boiling house (un-airconditioned in those days) to finish sewing something that I just had to have for that evening's social event. Can I say that made me the stitcher that I am today? Or just that I was cuckoo for sewing? Some things never change - but I'm glad for the AC now on a day like today.

Up next - my sewing for the Stone Mountain Fabrics Summer of Love theme. Check out this blog post to read about the history of this wonderful store and also the Summer of Love.   I absolutely love what I made with a special fabric which I got there recently so I'll post that soon.

Stay cool everybody - enjoy the summer sewing as well as all the rest that summer brings.
Beth

Here's today's garden photo - it's dahlia time so another one for you. 

Summer floral tunic with My Fabric Designs

Time to show you some unselfish sewing - although modeled by me. I made a tunic top for my mom using a fabric I designed via myfabricdesigns.com. I think this is my most successful fabric yet, with the caveat that I have two more waiting to be sewn up that are also really great.

The floral might be a bit too much for some, but I was going for a Hawaiian style fabric based on my starting point, which was a photo I took of one of my hibiscus plant blooms.



We took these photos around 7:00 in the evening, so the colors might not be as bright as in full daylight. But you get the idea!

I have made so many tunic tops using this self-made pattern. I created the pattern by copying a tunic top that my mom has which she bought at Macy's a few years ago. I will put links to the other tunic tops below.

Here's a look at it on the dress form.



I found the contrast linen fabric at Stone Mountain fabrics in Berkeley. I like to use linen for the contrast placket and sleeve bands on these tops even though I don't ordinarily like linen, but in this instance it gives such a nice crisp finish.

Have you wanted to design your own fabric? I find it a bit challenging as I am not much of an artist but once I got the idea to manipulate photographs then it was more fun. FYI: My Fabric Designs offered me an opportunity to try their fabrics so this fabric was provided to me at no charge.

They have a design tool on their website, but I find it easier to create something in Photoshop and then upload the jpeg. I thought you might like to see some of the versions I went through in order to get this final fabric, so I made a collage of the various files that I had played around with until I got a final version.



I started with a photo of a single hibiscus bloom, which I extracted from the background. Then I played around with the pattern repeat, and tried some of the various filters like colored pencil or cartoon, to manipulate the flower. I thought about extracting the shapes and then coloring it in but that seemed quite difficult. It seemed to need more to the pattern so I added the same flower in different sizes and layers. Once I had a layout of the various flowers I liked then I used the mosaic filter. That looked Ok but seemed to need a different background. So I tried different backgrounds and thought the royal blue was pretty against the pinks of the flowers. Adding back the mosaic filter I then changed the pattern repeat orientation and had my final jpeg to upload to their site.

Here is the fabric before cutting. This is their cotton sateen - which is quite lightweight. Most cotton sateens I buy are much heavier, I find that this fabric is much more similar to a cotton voile. As I mentioned in one of my prior posts about My Fabric Designs, if you are interested I strongly suggest you order the swatch book which is $ 5.00 and has good size swatches of all their fabrics so you can actually see what the fabric feels like and how the colors print on the various fibers.



A closer look at the linen placket. I really love the colors in this fabric. When I first ordered it I only ordered one yard - as I was still figuring out how to use the site, and my mother saw it and said "oh I would love a top in that fabric!". So I ordered more, this time 2 yards so that I would have enough to make the top. The second piece of yardage is the exact same print as the first so that is a nice result. I can use the remainder from her top and then the original 1 yard to make something for myself :)







I have a piece of silk fabric that I ordered and the more I look at it the more I like it - consequently I am unable to decide how to use it, other than a top. I have 2 yards so plenty for a summer top, or even a long sleeve blouse. Pattern paralysis. Although it is kind of a summery color. I was at Nordstroms yesterday and took a spin around the designer department - I love to do that, inspecting all the high end stuff. In particular petting the Armani Collezioni. Yummy fabrics and soft tailoring. But I say a couple of Rebecca Taylor tops, very similar to the Vogue patterns of her designs, so I'm leaning that way.

As for this fabric - I might just make another tunic top for myself!





Here are links to the other items I have made using fabric from My Fabric Designs.

Cotton Poplin summer dress

Cotton knit skirt and top

and here are links to a lot of different tunic tops.
Cotton voile tunic top
Garment clone tunic top - this is the first one I did.
Rayon fabric from Girl Charlee tunic top - scroll to middle of post.
Quilting cotton tunic top

and there are others but those are the ones made from this basic pattern. I wasn't that big of a fan of the tunic top style  - I always thought it looked a bit 70's caftan, and not in a good way. But safe to say I am now a convert, in the right fabric it is a really great wardrobe addition.

More tops coming up on the blog next, as I am trying to make separates after my recent run of dresses. Not that a dress didn't sneak in there - which is a Vogue designer pattern repeat too! I will leave you guessing as to which one.

Stay cool  - I think there is a heat wave just about everywhere in the US. And to prove that the SF Bay Area has a zillion different climate zones, plus further proof that tourists should always pack a jacket I give you my iPhone screen caps from last night at 6pm. My house vs. SF downtown. And I could be there in about 25 minutes so it is not very far (with no traffic - I calculate all distances using the no traffic baseline. Which might explain why I am often late. We are getting like LA around here, the traffic is madness!)

Yes, 102˚F at 6pm. and now today is supposed to be hotter!  After all we console ourselves with the time worn phrase "at least there's no humidity." Hey, I wish for summer so I can't complain. The tomatoes are ripe and my basil is growing like crazy. Last night I made some crispy pizza with basil, yellow tomatoes and goat cheese and then sliced it up and put it in the freezer. Perfect for a quick appetizer one of these warm evenings.

Happy summer sewing, Beth

A skirt, a top, a dress, with a tropical theme

It is safe to say there are some tropical or novelty prints that I find irresistable. Particularly palm trees, or as demonstrated earlier this summer, pineapples. Also I really like Girl Charlee fabrics, they hit my sweet spot of colorful, not too pricey, lots of prints, stuff I don't see in local shops and all around cheerfulness in their array of fabrics. I do find their emails baffling, what is a Knit Fix? OK - please don't answer, I don't need to know. But I have adjusted my email preferences so that I don't get every one of their promos. I guess it is some type of sale where you get a big bundle of fabrics without choosing what is in it, and then people sell/trade for the ones they want.  I suppose it works well but I don't need to get any fabric suprises, the stuff I already have is enough of a suprise. Evidenced by me looking at my fabric closet and wondering when I ordered that and what the heck was I thinking of making?

To get to the point - I ordered a number of things from Girl Charlee over the summer and have sewn up about half. They are pretty much summer fabrics,(** see footnote) or at least not fabrics I would choose in winter. So the remainder is put away for next year and here are the results for the ones I did decide to cut into.



That photo appeared on my Instagram during the SewPhotoHop and got a lot of love. It is my beloved Vogue 1247 with a little modification to the hem because it seemed a little plain. As plain as a denim skirt covered with dancing pineapples could be.

This photo is a little bright and I did not wear my shirt tucked in but wanted to show the V1247 in all its  splendor, ha ha.




Here it is on is the dress form.  I did lengthen the pattern as I usually do, and then also made it with my "no waistband" modification. Just cut a facing using the top of the skirt. I like a clean finish at the top of a skirt with no waistband, also then it doesn't come up so high at the waist. Although in that photo above it does - I think because that top is kind of a bulky knit. another reason not to tuck in.
I have now made this pattern 4 times with no end in sight. Here is the link to my first "no waistband" version with all the details.  A key to that turning out well is stabilizing the waist, and I don't think a seam binding is enough, needs some interfacing.

As for the hem, bias binding was fine for that. To get the round edge I just played with drawing on paper until I had a curve that would look good. Cut out the skirt as normal. left the bottom of the side seam unsewn, chose where the hem would be and then trimmed the curve sections using my paper template. Easy peasy :)



By the way, I was out to dinner when in Hawaii and the hostess at a restaurant looked down at my skirt and squealed - OMG, your skirt is so cute - it has pineapples on it.  Yep it does :)

Second item in my summer of Girl Charlee is this tunic top I made for my mom. I saw these black and white palm tree prints all over this spring and summer in the fashion collections so I was really happy when I saw it on their website. This fabric is a rayon woven and I was pleasantly suprised at how nice it is. Sews beautifully. I did pre-shrink. Very light and floaty but not see-through.



The pattern is my trusty self-made pattern, which I started by copying an existing tunic top which is also my mom's. My first post was back in 2012 and then last summer I made one for myself, 
I also did a 2-part post on Craftsy which details exactly how to make a tunic top from a shirt pattern - which I think is good - if I do say so myself :)  So if you are interested in creating a tunic top pattern here are the links to part 1 and part 2.

I love a good black and white item but somehow needed the proverbial "pop of color" so I used bias tape to make the edging. And glad it did, it just needed an extra something. Also it was slightly too low cut so I added the horizontal piece in the center of the V, which we will call a design element!



Peek at inside because everyone likes to see that. I sew the sleeve edges on from the inside, flip to the right side and then topstitch down, which results in a nice clean finish on both sides. I think all that is described in the Craftsy posts.



Now last and perhaps least. I am not going to model this one - you will have to take my word that it fits and works well as a beach dress/swimsuit coverup. But maybe this fabric is just a little bit weird.  I'm showing you the side view because look how nicely I matched the stripes on this weird fabric.



and even thought it is a beach coverup I still made a neckline facing - using some recycled white t-shirt fabic. Because on a lot of knits using bias tape is too stiff and just gets misshappen. Plus facing is just as easy (easier to me).   and then lastly - a closeup shot. I looked at this fabric for quite a while before I cut it out and decided that it didn't have an up or down. THEN sitting on the beach watching the palm trees wave in the tradewinds I realized that yes - this fabric does have a vertical direction. and I got it wrong!


          

so now I feel like they look like spiders, not palm trees. Oh well............pass me another mai tai.

Mentioning Girl Charlee again, my previous dress was their fabric also. And thank you everyone who commented on that dress. I appreciate that you have my sewing satisfaction in your hearts. And will say that I don't feel as bad about the dress as I think was perceived. I do like it and I think it is one of those things that looks much better in person, the colors look better and the skirt moves nicely. The hem is a bit long and uneven but as I said, that will be dealt with come springtime. Quite a difference of opinion on the pockets - some said to get rid of them. Noooo! the pockets are maybe the best part, love a dress with interesting pockets.

** Footnote.  I called the stuff we sew Fabric. And always do a double take (auditorially) when I hear Tim Gunn say on Project Runway  "what are you planning to do with that Textile?"  Do they never say fabric in the academic side of the fashion world? It just sounds funny to me and I wondered if anyone else noticed it.

Speaking of TV - well I am speaking of it. I LOVE the British Baking Bee which is airing on PBS here now. I could have watched it on YouTube I suppose but it's just easier to watch weekly and then I can catch up with friends/family members who like to chat about it. NO spoilers please. and No idea which season it is. But WOW the stuff they have to make is so difficult, and in the time allotted. I am so nervous for them watching it. and hungry sometimes. anyway - a fun diversion.

Onward to new things grabbing my attention. I just taped together the pdf of a Burda jacket mentioned recently. And about to start on a dress for Heather using some of her Mood Fabrics. Using a Burda envelope pattern which I have never seen sewn up - for a wrap dress that has a difference and I can say Burda LOVE!   Highly recommend. Burda 6946.  Expect raves when I post. Great pattern.

Happy weekend sewing,  Beth

garden photo is from Hawaii.

Tunic top for the queen of the kitchen

In early August I needed to zip over to Stone Mountain Fabrics in Berkeley for some lining. I was making a silk duppioni dress for a client and I wanted rayon bemberg lining in a matching shade, gold or light coral. I am appreciative that such a good shopping resource exists close by, they have a great selection of fashion fabrics but it is the supporting players - lining, interfacing, china silks, buttons, etc. that are often the make or break item which can be difficult to find.

I asked my mom if she would like to join me on my quick shopping excursion and she said "sure and could we stop at the Market Hall?" The answer is always "of course."  Another shopping venue that epitomizes life here in the bay area. Here is the link, Rockridge Market Hall, if you want to check it out. They do have an online store if you see something you can't pass by. The fresh pastas are some of the best I can find, and they have a great array of other goodies including a cheese shop, charcuterie and lots of items to taste. Are you a grazer? I cannot resist. They often have jams, mustards, cheeses, olives, fresh bakery items, I taste them all! Mom bought a selection of salads for our take-home lunch including a little tomato tart which she analyzed closely in order to recreate. Side note - I got the sewing bug, she has the foodie bug and loves to try restaurants for new inspiration. Then she really does recreate or try new items at home - and we in her circle are the very happy recipients of this effort.

When shopping at Stone Mountain we saw this fabric on the half price rack in the back of the store. The colors are so vibrant and I thought it would make a nice tunic top. It is 100% cotton, but seems a bit nicer than ordinary quilting fabric and once washed it was plenty soft to wear.

For the contrast pieces I found a 100% linen upstairs in the half-price section and bought a yard because I think it would be useful for accent or trim next summer if I ever get around to making a top like this for myself. 

This style may look familiar as I made a top like this for her last year, here is that post Garment Clone - Tunic Top. There are details in that post on how I copied a RTW wear top she already had to create the pattern.

I did make a slight boo-boo by making the center V a bit too deep, looking at the original it has buttons so I need to make a note on my pattern piece for the future. I put a piece of the blue linen to fill in the neckline and I think it looks OK. Maybe it needs some buttons? I will have to rummage in the button box. 

Post-vacation I am not really in a sewing mood, this is just about the only item I have made since I returned. Maybe because it is fall and time to put away these luscious beachy colors?  Only 264 days until summer here :)

As for the garden, on Saturday I bought these from a local grower so I hope to have some fresh salad greens just outside the back door. I am planting in larger containers and hoping to keep the garden mauraders away. Arugula, mache and rainbow chard.

Happy sewing, Beth

Garment Clone - tunic top

Sometimes I feel like Goldilocks when it comes to selection of fabric and pattern. Some fabrics are too limp, some fabrics are too bright, and sometimes as Goldilocks found in the story, everything is just right. I just made this tunic top for my mom by copying a tunic top that she bought at Macy's ages ago and has worn many times.  She is one of those people that look really sharp in a bold black and white garment so I was a concerned if a new version could equal the original but she is thrilled with it, and it all comes down to the fabric.

Last week I met up with some fellow San Francisco bay area sewing bloggers, a super fun evening. (check out these posts from Shams of Communing with Fabric and Amy of Sew Well).  Even better, I got to meet someone new, Cindy of Cation Designs. I have been reading her blog for a while so it was great to finally talk and hear about her sewing adventures. She made me laugh because I showed a couple of things I have sewn with fabrics purchased at a local thrift store or estate sale. She was amazed at my lucky finds (as am I) and was ready to go shopping with me anytime. While I don't always find something I do get the feeling there is someone who is my shopping doppelganger slowly doling out her donations to the local thrift store I frequent as I now have more than 7 big pieces of yardage waiting to be sewn up.  Everything I have purchased at this thrift store is blue, ranging from dark cobalt to pale sky blue, with a good dollop of turquoise and aqua.  Interesting, huh?  I tell you, my shopping/sewing doppelganger.  Although she is apparently decreasing her stash whereas I am adding to mine.   

Back to the tunic top.  Fabric content is a mystery, it is 60" wide and has a linen-y texture but is super soft and presses beautifully.  Here is the original black and white tunic top which is 100% linen. It looks great but is just a bit heavy. I do like the white outline on the solid black placket etc. but I didn't have any white fabric that seemed the right weight so I skipped that feature on the blue version.  I also skipped the trim on the bottom because visually it seemed to chop off the look in the blue. 

Here is a closer look at the blue fabric. I happened to have the solid blue fabric in my stash, hurrah.

I made the paper pattern by copying the original top, which was quite easy as garment clones go, since it is a relatively simple garment and can be laid flat.  I run a contrast line of basting down the center front and back of the top, and then just trace the seam lines of the garment, adding seam allowances later. I laid the sleeves flat, and traced the front half and back half, and then taped them together, truing up the sleeve cap a bit.  Normally I would pleat in the dart as I pinned the tissue on the garment for tracing but I just couldn't get the paper to cooperate so I traced the front almost flat, and then went back and added a bust dart using the slash and pivot technique. Then I trued up the front side seam to the back. I marked the neckline placket and then retraced that section to make the pattern piece.

For the placket I did use a lightweight knit interfacing, stay-stitched the seam allowance all around and then turned and pressed. The neckline placket is sewn inside, right side to wrong side, and then flipped outside and top-stitched, so the right side shows. The RTW top was made this way, easy and not bulky.

So I gave it to Mom this week and she loves it. another hurrah!  I have enough fabric remaining to make another one - so I might have one as well.  Which might require some pre-event telephoning, to make sure we don't arrive somewhere looking like twins. Could happen :)

Getting back to my thrift store finds, in addition to this tunic top fabric, here are a few other finds which came from the same store.

My McCalls vintage look, made with a blue wool tweed. Still have a good 2 yards remaining, so I am thinking a jacket will be made this winter.  

This one is a crinkled cotton in a tropical orchid and palm leaf print.  I made a summer sundress (what else?)  using Butterick 5351. Another good one for our 100 degree days.

                      

The fabric shown below I found at an estate sale, not my unnamed thrift store, so it is not blue, but one of my other preferred colors - plum or is it purple?  Blog post: Vogue 1117 Michael Kors dress.  Lots of sewing details in that blog post and the previous one if you are interested in this pattern.  

                          

Total investment in these 3 fabrics is less than $ 20.  How I love a fabric bargain and now I feel I must check my local unnamed thrift store weekly in case my shopping doppelganger has made another donation.  You didn't think I was going to drop the name/location of this retail establishment, did you? We couldn't have that, as much as I like you all, dear readers.  Someone might swoop in and take my next piece of blue fabric.

Sunnygal garden photo in shades of purple to compliment the dress above.
Foxglove, a new plant I tried on a whim and it is a winner, expect to see more of these next year.


Happy Summer sewing, Beth