Burda 6011: Bella jeans

 

I really enjoyed reading the project sewn this year and I loved how they didn't just sew a garment they had to sew an outfit. So when I finished the Lekala jacket I decided I needed a nice pair of pants/jeans to go with it.
I wanted these as more dressier jeans so did the top-stitching in black thread rather than a contrast thread and didn't put any rivets on.
Adjustment wise, I used my pants block to lower the front and raise the back. The pants are drafted with a very high waistband, they are meant to sit higher than your natural waist. I lowered this to sit at my natural waist. I drafted a separate back yoke too, the pattern comes with the yoke built into the waistband but I wanted it to look more like a normal jean yoke. I'm going to make the yoke a bit shorter next time though, I'd like the pockets to sit up another inch higher I think.

In an attempt to use up my zippers I matched the zipper to the colour of the pocket bags.

It has elastic in the waistband again (2.5" elastic because the waistband is so wide). I've been wearing them for the last couple of days and they haven't stretched out at all.
I'd forgotten how comfy wideleg jeans can be, especially with the elastic waistband, might have to make another pair I think!

Lekala 4329: Finished jacket

So I kind of skipped ahead on the sewalong and finished my jacket!
The jacket is meant to be worn with a belt but I liked the look on me better without it so I pressed the collar flat and added a press stud as well to keep the collar in place.

Alteration were all listed in the last post. Fabrics used were a poly crepe for the main and a poly satin for the lining.

I'm really happy with the fit, the drapey fabric caused me a bit of grief though. I had a lot of drag lines on the upper sleeves which I think were caused mostly from the drapey fabric. I interfaced the upper part of the sleeves, inserted sleeve heads and shoulder pads and while they aren't perfect its a lot better than before.

On that note, I interfaced the collar, sleeves, front and hems, but with this fabric I should have interfaced the back and the whole peplum too. I think it would have made the peplum sit a lot nicer.

I have a feeling I put the collar on the wrong side, but too late now to change it!

So some thoughts;
I loved the fitting and sewing process, and I really enjoyed taking my time with it. Sewalongs always push me to spend that bit more time on a garment and not rush through. I like Lekala patterns, I'm still getting used to the adjustments needed but I like the convenience, range and price of them. The instructions are very lacking, they don't seem to be translated very clearly into English and include no diagrams. It doesn't really matter on a top or pants but on a jacket like this it would have been nice to have more details. I highly recommend checking out the sewalong posts for extra help/clarification if you are looking to make this and don't have much experience with sewing jackets.

NewLook 6048: The Avengers dress

We had a very quick day trip to Melbourne recently and I managed to duck into a couple of fabric shops. The kids each picked out some fabric in Rathdowne, the daughter picked out this Avengers one which was meant to be boxer shorts until she realised she could have it in a dress instead!

I'd only bought 1m (and its only 112cm wide) but she was determined to have a circle skirt so this is a 1/2 circle skirt squeezed onto the fabric (good thing she likes shorter skirts!). The bodice is a blue sateen I had leftover and the lining is a stretch poplin inside the bodice and a poly lining in the skirt.

Size wise, I made a muslin in a sz 14 and it was pretty good. I had to petite the back and take a wedge out of the side bodice and also take it in at the top of the front princess seam. Really I think I should have cut a size smaller and done a small FBA, I think it would have fit better and its what I'll be doing next time.

She badly wanted zipper pockets, I was originally going to do inseam zipper pockets but couldn't work out a way of doing them neatly so did them this way instead. It actually turned out pretty neat, I did the larger pockets bags that I like and it all sits nice and flat and secure.

It turned out pretty cute and now we are on the lookout for any spiderman/superman fabric so she can have more superhero dresses!