Vtg Butterick 7762 - in progress

Sorry for the MIA-ness this week.  I had a school trip last weekend, and Saturday school, and new classes, and general running around trying to catch my tail.  Very little sewing going on, but I did do some handstitching on a nautical knit top from this vintage Butterick 7762:

I have had this pattern for YEARS (like, more than 10!)  It was one of the first vintage patterns I ever bought.   I don't know why I waited so long to try it. I was prompted into it by the super cute Sarah over at Rhinestones and Telephones, who has been using this pattern the past year for all sorts of cute things.

I made the top in a navy/white stripe poly-something knit:

 

Love the print, hate the fabric.  It's HOT.  

It's not hemmed yet, and if you look close you can see the serged edge of the sleeves.  I still need to finish tacking down the boatneck facing too.  I typically hate boatnecks ON, but I love the look of them.  Why is that?

Here's a much less flattering shot, hehe.

Gah.  I could have sucked it in, right?  I will comfort myself that it's just a bad angle.  Ahem. You can see the hem rolling up too. I never noticed, but it was that way in every single shot.  You can sort of see the cool chevroning that happens when you stitch this top in a stripe.

Those red pants are about to fall off my butt too.  They're actually the ankle-length pants from this pattern!  I haven't put in the waist stay or facing yet.  I was trying to decide if they needed a bit taken up at the waist (and now I 've decided YES, or I'll have saggy crotch.  Ew.)

That's it.  I was gonna show you the pants too, in progress, since they fit pretty darn well.  But, saggy crotch prevents me. Let me get the waist taken up a tad, and a stay in place, and then I'll show you!

Green plaid dress is still waiting for a zipper.  Why do I procrastinate on these??  It's so cute too, and the weather is PERFECT for wearing it right now.  Maybe this week. 

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

HP once, twice, three times a tee

That's a mouthful, huh? This isn't going to be a long post...I'm off to pick up some Tex-Mex for dinner! But I whipped up this interesting little tee this afternoon and wanted to share! I dedicate this one to Dawn, who's waited a long, long time for it. heh.


It's the HotPatterns Once, Twice, Three Times a Tee.

Super, super easy to put together. It's basically rectangles of fabric. I'm not a fan of "slot" necklines like this and indeed I don't care for the way it flops around, or for the way the facing doesn't want to stay put. (I'm ok with the fact that I need a tank underneath. I wear a cami or tank every day anyway! I'm just old fashioned that way.)

In fact, I might be drafting a keyhole alternative neckline tonight & fixing it up. I have plenty of this muted pink & khaki tie-dye to do it. Then I think I'll be in love with the whole top. I already love the funky sleeves and the fit.

Speaking of fit, I cut a 14 in the neckline (and could have used a 12 in front I think, which might have helped my slot neckline a bit). I swung out to a 16 at the armhole, then bumped out at the bust to an 18 for a "cheater" FBA. Then I followed the 18 down to the hem, but I did cut in just a bit of shaping at the waist. Otherwise you're looking at one long rectangle for the front and back.

The front/back as drafted is LONG. I cut off 3 inches at least. I'm probably not going to hem it, I like where it's hitting me right now. I likewise didn't hem the sleeve frill. I love knits! I typically have to shorten tees because I'm pretty short-waisted. I'm 5'5 and most of that is legs!

In good mail news, I received these awesome zippers from an Etsy seller. If you're interested, I'll dig up the name! **UPDATE for that heifer beangirl: The seller is "ButtonsandSuch". There now you have zips. I can't do anything about your short legs. Muwahahaha. They ship from Asia so it takes a couple of weeks, but how darn cute are they?


Here's a closer view:


Obviously they're for exposed zipper projects, but I can't wait to use them on some cute summer skirts!

I hope you're having a fabulous weekend!

Cotton Candy Pink - No Pattern Required

Mindless sewing was on the agenda today. I needed some stress relief, and nothing makes me happier than an opportunity to use my gathering foot! Lu needs a few easy skirts for Sunday School and those other occasions where a skirt is necessary attire.

Since she will still wear the occasional ruffle, I pulled out a cute retro print I've had in stash for a year or more, along with a cotton candy pink dotty print, and happily started ripping. I measured her from waist to knee for desired length. I measured her hip to determine how much to take off the selvedge edges; a full 44" width would be a bit too full & "Becky Home-Ecky" for the look I was going for. It's all about proportions. RIIIIPPP.

The dotty ruffle was 2 lengths of 4". Two more RIIIPPPs. Ahhh. Stress already leaving. I made one seam in the dotty lengths to join, then pressed together hotdog bun style for a long double ruffle. I gathered using my gathering foot (superfast. Yay!)

A couple of seams & some elastic later, and here ya go!


Cute dotty hem:


Then, I pillaged through my remnant and notion stash and found some pink shabby rose trim. Lucky me, Lu had an exact matched Old Navy tee lounging in her drawer. I snipped a few lengths of the rose trim and zigzagged it in place around the neckline.


Truth be told, it ended up being easier to stitch on by hand, and quicker too. I'm lazy sometimes though, and have to learn the hard way! I picked this rosebud trim up at Hobby Lobby for about $4.00/yd. But for this tee, I used about 1/4 of a yard, so that's not a bad price!


Sometimes it's nice to just do a quick project, you know? And this one has me all in the mood to do some more!