Another peplum, knit jacket Vogue 2989

I've kinda gone astray from my plans for the Stitcher's Guild SWAP 2014. I was in dire need of a warm jacket or sweater or anything that could help to keep me warm in our newly redecorated offices which for some reason have also become colder.

So, I rummaged through my stash looking for the thickest, warmest fabric that I could find and I turned it into this:

Does look warm, doesn't it? It is also super, super comfortable. The pattern is the jacket from Vogue 2989.

A simple jacket with lovely lines, raglan sleeves, a peplum and a sort of scarf collar. I totally love the pattern but the actual jacket came out kinda wide, don't you think? I made my usual size 14 and the waist fits fine. But the sleeves and the upper chest is where I think there's too much fabric. Actually, looking at the side view there is also too much fabric at the underarm. If I make it again I will try to bring the armhole a bit higher. Perhaps even also a small bust adjustment?

Even though it is a bit too wide I am still very happy with my new jacket. It was super easy to make and came together very quickly. Because my knit had a tendency to curl at the edges I topstitched all the seams, holding the seam allowances in place. The knit is very fluffy so the topstitching is relatively discreet, which I think is nice.

One change I made was to leave the collar drape bits "single ply". The pattern asks you to cut 4 pieces of the collar drape, two for each side, one at top and one at bottom. But I thought my thick knit would look too thick and more importantly, I didn't have enough fabric to cut all 4 pieces. In fact, I didn't even have enough to cut 2 collar pieces. I nearly panicked when I noticed this but then I realized that in a real knit like this I could "graft" two pieces of fabric just like I do with my hand knits. It worked beautifully, you can't even see where I grafted the fabric together (it's ~10cm below the shoulder seam. I told you it wasn't visible!).

It closes with a simple hook and eye at the waist.

Despite the extra fabric under the arms it is a warm and welcome addition to my wardrobe.

My review of Vogue 2989 is here at Pattern Review.

Nice or my grandma's dress?

Hi. I am Lucia, I am a fabricholic. I buy and I buy and I never make anything. Here is to changing that.

Vogue 1250 DKNY dress

I finally made my own copy of the super popular dress Vogue 1250 by DKNY. My motivation finally came after joining Pattern Review's Best Pattern Contest. I made my version in a large format knit, overprinted with a paisley pattern that I bought a year or two ago in Portugal. At the time I remember thinking how cool the fabric looked and what a great avant garde something I could make with it... now, I am not so sure!

I do like the pattern, although it does not make it into my list of absolute favorites. I like it because it is really simple: 4 seams plus hems. Because of this it also went very quickly, once I got over the weirdness of the few seams. But it's not quite my favorite because there really is too much fabric at the cowl. I may have aggravated that problem by using a thick knit, but in the myriad of versions I've seen with lightweight knits the neckline is really rather low for this reason.

I lengthened the dress by a good 8cm, to my new favorite length of 4cm below the knee. I also added sleeves to the elbow by simply extending the pattern as far as I could before hitting the attached skirt piece. This worked beautifully and I think this is my new favorite sleeve length. So Duchess of Cambridge, too!

Finally, the fabric... now that it's made up I am not sure if I like the print anymore. I can't get over a faint "grandma-ish" vibe I get from it. Or maybe it is just that the colors are more for Fall and I am in a Spring soon-to-be-summer mood? Hmmm. What is that concept I've come across in many sewing blogs? That closet where garments go to sit for a while until our head is clear of the prejudice that builds up when working intensely and closely on something... That's where this one will need to hang for a while to see if it improves.

My review of the pattern is here at Pattern Review.

Chanel-style bag in peacock colors

Hi. I am Lucia. I am a fabricholic. I buy and I buy and I never make anything. Here is to changing that.

I guess I should really say "I never finish anything"... since I have more than a few UFO's lying around. But, being as I am not one to follow rules, even if they are my own, no sooner had I made a pledge to sew with a plan that I began sewing... everything else! Ugh! But wait, there is a silver lining; lots of my UFO's are getting done. Woohoo for small victories!

Here is the first of my former UFO's: a knitted Chanel-style bag. I took a few months to do the lining because I hate hand finishing, but the real bottleneck was the underlining. It took nearly a year to find the perfect one: rigid enough to give the purse structure, but flexible enough to still look nice. Almost by accident, while waiting for them to cut another fabric for me, I saw the perfect thick felt at De Boerenbonthal in Amsterdam. The grommets and magnet closures are easy to find, and the silver chain comes from my local hardware store since the ones I found at sewing stores were too lightweight for my taste.

Chanel-style bag, Ravelry pattern

The inside view, with the usual magnetic closings and a clearer view of the grommets.

I used a free pattern from Ravelry: CoCo. And there are more photos on my Ravelry page.