3 tops: kwiksew 3678, BurdaStyle 11/15 112

I've made another 3 tops in the last 10 days.  Another sweatshirt jacket from Kwiksew 3678 and 2 shoulder zip jumpers from BurdaStyle 11/15 112

The sweatshirt is made from a husky steamed velour from Spotlight.  I needed 1.25m x 147cm wide.  the amount I actually had was 1.75m so a little bit left over.

I love the 2 jumpers.  The shoulder zip adds a bit of style.  I made size 42, graded to 44 at the hips, added 2" to the length and did a 1/2" narrow shoulder adjustment.

I'm particularly proud of my pattern matching on the black, red and green jumper.  It was a nightmare to pattern match as the stripe went in one long diagonal line from selvage to selvage.  I concentrated on getting the matching through the back centre seam and across the shoulders and top of sleeves, thinking these would be the most visible.  Due to the large pattern I couldn't manage to match those areas and the side seams.

The pattern calls for petersham ribbon.  The only colours I could find in this were black or white and I knew I wanted colours.  For the purple jumper I used a yellow grosgrain ribbon, and for the stripey jumper used a satin ribbon.

The instructions are presented in the magazine as a step by step sewing lesson so are easy to follow, though I don't think there was anything difficult anyway.  The instructions are to put stay tape on neck edges and the right front shoulder.  I did this for the purple jumper as it is a firm knit, but the striped fabric is very fine so I added stay tape to both front and back of both shoulders for stability, especially for the left shoulder as I wanted extra stability for the zip.

More photos of the purple jumper.  The colour doesn't show very well, it is a deep purple in real life.

I wore the striped jumper yesterday for lunch with friends and had compliments on it.  I like the fact that the neck is reasonably high, so keeps my neck warm, but not as high as a polo neck which I usually feel are too constricting.  I have a feeling this could be a favourite piece.

Fabric for both of these tops was from SmartDress fabrics in Mt Albert and I had 1.5m x 147cm of both and both cost $14.93.

I have some more wool in my stash so I will spend this afternoon looking through my magazines trying to decide whether to make another of these tops or try something different.

StyleArc Barb pants, KwikSew 3678 and quilt block

I got yet another pair of StyleArc Barb pants completed.  I think this is my 5th pair now.  These are in a mustard coloured ponte from Spotlight.

I also made a sweatshirt and pants using KwikSew 3678.

I made this using a husky polar fleece from Spotlight.  It is a very warm fleece so should be good when the colder weather arrives.  Though the other day it got to 20C in Auckland, still warm for middle of winter!

The pant legs are all in one piece, so the only seam to join is the inner leg and crotch. The pants have an elastic waist and the pattern has to add a cord, I didn't bother with the cord.  The elastic is enough to hold the pants up, so fastening and unfastening the cord would just annoy me when I need to take a bathroom break.   The pants have back pockets, and the jacket has kangaroo pockets.  The zip sits nicely in a facing so only the teeth show, no tape is visible on this inside of the jacket.

 As I could do most of the sewing on my overlocker it sewed up quite quickly.  Most of the time sewing these was spent on the pockets and facing.

Side and back views:

I've also experimented with another quilt block.  I like this design which is a free design on lilysquilts blog.   

At the moment I just have it set to one side, until I decide what to do with it.  I'm trying making blocks as I really like home made quilts.  The ones I prefer are where the blocks are the same.  This one creates quite an interesting pattern when blocks are joined.  A google search found this image:

I love how the corner blocks create another smaller square block when they are all joined.  

My concern is that I will get bored making the same block over and over, so I can't decide whether to make one or not.  Plus the cost of material and batting isn't cheap, so before I make those purchases I need to be sure it's something I'll not get fed up and abandon halfway through.

My next project will be another KwikSew jacket in velour.  I've washed the fabric today so should get it sewn later this week.