Birthday gifts and Style Arc Luna pants

Friday was a very good friends 60th Birthday.  A special day and a special lady deserved some nice gifts.

 Bathrobe/Dressing gown.  Made from flanelette with feather design.  I made this pattern myself.

 Slippers and a sleep mask.  The slippers are a design from Stitch Delight.  I got the sleep mask pattern when I first started machine embroidery and I don't remember where I got it from.

Another Love Bear from Sweet Pea.  This was made in a fleece.

My friend was very happy with the gifts.

Meantime, for me it was time for another pair of Luna pants from Style Arc.  This time made in a bengaline.

This time the fabric isn't so busy  so you can see the topstitching of the faux fly and faux pockets.

Itch to Stitch Bonn shirt.

This is my second Bonn shirt.  I previously made a long sleeve version in plaid flannel.  The shirt comes with various sleeve length options and a dress option.  This time I wanted a flared sleeve shirt.

It is hard to see from the photos but the fabric is a poplin from the Gertie collection and is a small black and white gingham type check with red cherries.

I knew I wanted to make another Bonn shirt and had already purchased this fabric when it was announced on Facebook there would be a Bonn sewalong.  The timing was perfect, so I have enjoyed taking part in the Facebook sewalong and seeing all the lovely fabric other sewers are using.

Rather than seeing the hem on the flare I wanted a pop of colour, so I added some red poplin lining to the flare.  You can just see a peek of it in the second photo above.  This is how it looked when I was getting it ready.

Last time I made a 8B, graded to size 12 at hips.  It was a little bit snug across the chest, so this time I made an 8C, graded size 8 to 12 from waist to hips.  I also lowered the dart apex by 3/4" and added 1" to the length above the waist.  I couldn't be happier with the fit on this.

The last shirt took me about 12 hours, but this one was done in around  8 hours.  No pattern matching or sleeve plackets makes a difference!

Itch to Stitch Vientiane Skirt

I have so many clothes to make for the summer,  and most of them are from Itch to Stitch.  This is the 3rd pattern I've made from Itch to Stitch and I just love the attention to detail from  the designer Kennis Wong.  Her instructions are so clear to follow.

I made Itch to Stitch's Vientiane skirt

This skirt is so comfortable to wear.  The fabric is cotton sateen.  I love the flounce on the bottom.  The instructions are so good with Itch to Stitch patterns, even telling you when you need to finish a seam before sewing them (eg zips and side seams that have in-seam pockets).  The waistband is stabilised with twill tape.  I think all these extra attention to detail make for a well made garment.

The skirt has in-seam pockets.  There are also options for patch pockets.  I've made a  lot of garments with in-seam pockets and they have usually taken me ages to get right. However the instructions and drafting with this pattern made it come together effortlessly and very neatly.  In the photo above you can't even see there are pockets there.

The back closes with an invisible zipper.  I was very pleased with how this looked.  In the past the fabric hasn't always sat smoothly at the bottom of the zipper, but this time it is perfect.

I made this in a size 12.  However the waistband was too big, and I ended up taking it in.  Next time I will make a size 10 waist, and grade to size 12 at hips.

The only alteration I made was to add 1 5/8" to the length.  The shorten/lengthen lines on the pattern pieces make this super simple to do.

I say next time, because there have to be more of these in my wardrobe.  But so many other things to make first.  In my sewing room at the moment is my next Bonn shirt - I'm taking part in a sewalong on Facebook for this pattern.  Then I want to make my mother 2 Bonn shirts for Xmas.  I've prepared the pattern for a Sirena dress.  Then I want a couple of Anza dresses, a chai dress, a beausoleil top, a beausoleil dress, Vienna tank.  Can you tell I like Itch to Stitch patterns?

Burdastyle 10/17 111 and ITH gifts

After I had made my Luna pants I had a vision in my mind of a long white flowy top with double flared sleeves to wear with them.  I had a look at Indie designers online but couldn't find any that fitted my vision.  So I went back to my Burdastyle magazines and found this one in the October issue.  It was almost exactly what I envisioned, except it was in petite sizes, definitely not me!  However I thought with a few changes I'd be able to make it and get the vision I was after.

The version above is double georgette.  The bodice is 2 layers, one longer than the other.  The 2 layers means I don't have to worry about wearing a cami underneath.  the sleeves are exactly what I wanted, double flares with one slightly longer than the other.  The magazine wasn't quite as long as I wanted and the neck was too low for my taste

The changes I made to change it from petite and to the length/neckline I wanted were:
Used size 21, lengthened 1" above the waist.
Lengthened 1 1/5" at hem
Lengthened 1" at sleeve
Raised neckline 1"

With all the changes I made I decided to make a muslin first.  I've been using a bedsheet purchased at an op shop as my muslin fabric.  The fabric is quite nice, a soft cotton gingham effect.  When I made up the muslin the changes were perfect and I decided I really liked the sheet as a top, so went ahead and made it up.    It is hard to tell from the photos but this is a soft pink and white gingham.

When I was happy with my bedsheet top I went ahead and made the georgette top.

More photos of the white georgette top.

It was a friends birthday last week, so I made her a couple of small gifts.

An ITH bag, the bag is from Kreative Kiwi, the cat, I think, was from cute embroidery, a freebie at the time.  I filled this with sweets.

And a purse.  An ITH design from Sweet Pea. She is of Chinese heritage, so red for luck. With of course a coin inside "so it will never be empty"