Copycat Pattern Work - Sleeveless Tee

Why do we talk about copy CAT's?
Izzie the Kitty is unique!

I have a favorite sleeveless tee shirt, in fact I have more than one of this tee - in yellow, orange, dark and light pinks, black..... You get the idea. Though I might not find the high quality Pima Cotton the original is made from, I would love to be able to try making a similar shirt in knits I run across. Also I have a piece of Spoonflower cotton interlock knit printed with one of my Mama's designs - I would love to get this pattern going, in that fabric.

The original tee is sleeveless. The hem hits at the high hip. The shirt is a little bit boxy, but not really loose. There are no darts. The neckline is high with a minimal scoop. In the past I've copied simpler things like aprons and tote bags. This is a good shirt for my first pass at a more complex pattern copy project.

1) First, I pinned along the side seams and the hem. Then I laid the pinned side seam along a 'fold' line, and traced around the hem, after pinning the hem down.

2) I used one of those cardboard cutting out boards (the kind with a grid line on it) underneath, and pinned through that after I released the hem, and pinned the shoulder seams together. I connected the dots the pins made from the shoulder seams. The armscye I traced. You can also buy cork board in rolls instead of the cutting out boards. I had several of these cardboard cutting out boards, and they seem to work OK for pinning into.

I found I had to do the tracing and pinning in stages. You pin, trace, and release, then lay other parts down. I tried out push pins, but they made kind of large holes if I wanted to wear the original garment again. I think large regular pins can work just as well.

Why do we talk about copyCAT's?
Nothing more unique than my kitty!

Ench By Sew-47: Oscar de La Renta Field Trip

Click on this link in iTunes  to download the 47'th episode of the Enchanted by Sewing Audio Podcast,  produced in September of 2016. Or listen directly on the web by clicking on this link.

This Month’s Show 

Come along on a field trip to the Oscar De La Renta Exhibit at the De Young Museum in San Francisco

Show Notes Oscar de LaRenta Retrospective at the De Young Museum in San Francisco - Spring 2016 

( https://deyoung.famsf.org/exhibitions/oscar-de-la-renta-retrospective0

Errata

Bolero Jacket was style I couldn't think of  in regards to the gold lame outfit

Alluring Spanish dances I was trying to think of might be a tango or flamenco.

Terminado/Finished Sewing Baby Lounger- Changing/Playing/Napping Pad

Cousin Martha Loving up my dog Jasper
on our recent camping trip
at Pismo Beach

My cousin is going to be a grandmama!

I thought about buying some beautiful Kona cotton and making a finely pieced and quilted baby quilt. 

But......

Would I get it done? I hate to admit that I have found bits and pieces related to unrealized baby quilts in my sewing collection, where the baby involved is in high school..... That's what happens when you decide to focus on garment sewing!

"Whiskers and Tails" - Robert Kaufman fabric

I was looking through my fabric inventory and found this doggie print, very thick batting and a blue and white striped home dec remnent. Golly what a thought - to use up what I have!

Considered various piecing ideas with the print and decided some things are more darling just as they are.

Here is baby pad tucked into it's matching laundry bag
Extra laundry bags for babies are handy
Note - Jasper appears to approve

I have just completed the baby-to-be, a changing/napping/playing pad. It's not intended as a blanket, because the home-dec side would be rough on tender skin. I remember it’s handy to have items you can throw down on the grass or a less than clean zone. 

Babies lounge around a lot.

Reminder of doggy print  became laundry bag - and will serve as gift bag for the baby shower. Horray! nothing remains but minimal scrap!

Also ordered  a baby’s-first type toy to attach to top of laundry bag

I also plan to make several of those bunnies you fold out of washclothes* to attach to the top - there never being sufficient quantities of washclothes in house when a kid is born

I will save the fine piecing and lovely quilting for another day

Técnicos

I did basic round shaped quilting - kind of snail like. Paper worked  well - I hand basted a big circle of it down, then stitched it in place with machine stitching and ripped it off. I also used round chalk lines with pins as guide lines. Quilted enough across surface to attach top to back.

Tried the walking foot - but teflon foot floated better. Maybe because of  very thick batting?

Making the bias strips from home dec fabric, and dealing with fussy corners actually took the most time - that thick home dec fabric is not very fun on the mitred corners.

* For washcloth bunnies I rubber band (instead of tying ribbon) and add faces with sharpie pen (instead of gluing on eyes) to attach to top. The ones in the link below have attachments that would cause choking (that link is not intended for newborn babies but has a handy folding diagram). But once the rubber band is removed and the cloth washed - it just becomes a washcloth. In addition to following link, there are a variety of youtube videos showing how to fold these bunnies origami-like.

 http://www.auntannie.com/Easter/WashclothBunny/

Pismo Beach - When I wasn't sewing

Stella Camping Pismo Beach North Campground

I did get some sewing in this month that I haven't blogged about. But also,  more importantly, I went camping with Cousin Martha and Jasper the Wonderful Pooch at Pismo Beach North Beach Campground.

Own Sewing came in handy - packed and wore two of my sleeveless princess-seamed shirts, my front tucked denim shorts, and a warm fleece jacket I made perhaps six years ago!

Summer New York Travel Essential: Poppy Top adds California Spirit to a New York Trip (Altered M6078)

Yes, another trip to see my daughter. She is working on a graduate degree at NYU and living in Manhattan. It's only 6.5 blocks to walk from her apartment to Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met). As I have on the other several trips I took this year, I went to the Met numerous times. I also spent a day at my favorite-all-time-anywhere Cloisters museum and enjoyed a lovely day at the wonderful Bronx Zoo with my daughter - but those are too much to squeeze into this collage!

In addition to packing my new princess-seamed top - Floribunda Bouquet- and Floribunda's new black linen ankle-length pants, I squeezed in sewing up another new top, a  cowl necked California poppies bedecked cowl neck in challis. I used a favorite knit pattern (M6078) for this woven, so I made a muslin first to check side and shoulder seams. I did add some more length to the shoulder seams. It was lovely having this along, as it made me feel just a tad dressier when I went to museums and shopping with my daughter.  Also those poppies showed off my California style!  Floribunda's new pants went great with it as well. In addition to this top, cottony princess-seamed Floribunda, I packed two light tee shirts for this 8 day trip. As I rinse tops out at night and hung them to dry, I could have left one of them at home - must remember that...

Images in this collage include: street scenes, Central Park arches, Natural History Museum, a Saturday Farmers Market two doors from my daughters apartment, and The Metropolitan Museum. Oh I have so many more photos!

Countryside scenes are from Natural History Museum exhibit on Dutchess County - A place I've long wanted to go during apple picking season.

Natural History Museum, New York City - Wouldn't it be great to have walls like this in my own home?!

I love the sense of how big a blue whale would actually be - What a challenge getting a full-sized photo!

SaveSave

Summer Essentials: Floribunda's Black Linen Pants (M6403)

This pattern is out of print
But you can find many new/unused for sale on the web

I talked about how I altered this pattern in last month's audio Enchanted by Sewing Podcast - Also I discussed perceived differences between ankle-length and cropped.

An essential summer outfit - recently sewn princess-seamed Floribunda Bouquet and her new pants

Ench By Sew-46: Ready Set Sew! - Sewing Style

Click on this link in iTunes  to download the 46'th episode of the Enchanted by Sewing Audio Podcast,  recorded in August of 2016. Or listen directly on the web by clicking on this link.

Ready Set Sew! Sewing my own garments, allows me to define and create my own style.

This Month’s Show 

1) Primeros Pensamientos/First Thoughts
* Defining this sewist’s current style 

* Elements of Style- According to Laurel
-Color
-Design Lines and Fit, 
-Fabric and Drape
-Lifestyle

In reference to wearing fur -We go with what the always charming Felix Bassenak (S.Z. Sakall) said to Elizabeth Lane (aka Barbara Stanwick) in Christmas in Conneticut…

"You need it? Nobody needs a mink coat but a mink!"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037595/quotes

2) Entonces/Then
Technicos: Techniques I used for altering M6403, the pattern I used for my black linen summer pants

In Pensamientos Finales, I recall
the importance of
sewing this maxi jumpsuit

3)) Pensamientos Finales/Final Thoughts
Looking back- Sewing myself as a grownup



….

Web and Pattern Resources: http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2016/08/floribunda-bouquet-another-sleeveless.html

M6403 pants pattern - out of print but many copies available on the web
M6076 Palmer and Pletsch princess-seamed shirt