MADE: Burda 07-2013-130 Knit Skinny Pants

I've been wanting skinny pants for some time now. I have/had a couple of ready-to-wear jeans, but they just don't fit me well. I have to find something that will fit my hips and thighs, which usually means the waist is too big. I do have two pairs of Clovers that I wear sometimes, but they are not the best fit. Enter knit pants that look like normal skinny pants!

Pattern:  Burda 07-2012-130
Fabric:  Ponteroma Knit from Hancock Fabrics in Black
Cost:  $18.18 (fabric 2 yds at $9.09/yd) + magazine
Size:  42 with adjustments
What I Love:  I love that this trouser pattern is for knit, but it's not an elastic waistband! I also love the back yoke and the center back seam on the waistband, which made it much easier to make waist adjustments.
Notes:

• 1" seam allowances to help with fitting
• took out 1" on the front pattern piece
• had to go back after wearing and take in additional 1.5" at center back
• 1st fly front zipper application, and it was much easier than I thought except for a couple of snaffus on my part.  I used this video tutorial by Susan Khaljie.
• Remember to place zipper right side down. It's not mentioned in the video... it might've been self-explanatory, but when it's your first time it's hard to keep track. I made it with right side up, so I had to take it all out after I had already completed the fly front.
• In this particular video, the fly opens to the right instead of the left like most pants/jeans. I didn't really notice this until way later and wasn't willing to re-do yet again. 
• On a side note, we went to Half Price Books and found Power Sewing Step-by-Step by Sandra Betzina.  She has a very similar fly front method but also includes the facing. I'll probably reference this book more than video since it's easier to look at each step via picture rahter than pausing the video to work and then going back to push play. Also, Sandra's method has the fly opening to the left. ;)
• Finished the bottom of the waistband with bias binding just to make it look nicer and more fun!
• Wanted low rise (measured front and back of some pants to get the correct length) and made adjustments to the pattern.
• Used hook and eye instead of a button at 1/2" away from the end of the extended waistband... so it's doesn't lay as flat as I would like.  I will probably add a snap at the corner.
• Little bit of fabric pooling at the back thigh will need to adjust for this.
• Need to add pockets!
• Did not do the turn up hem, but did a 2" machine blindstitch hem.
• Used blindstitch foot to help me stitch in the ditch at the waistband... it was difficult for it to go over the thicker side seams but worked pretty well has a guide.

Here's the line drawing which show the back yoke details:

Here some of the line details on the actual pants:

My first fly application... I was so proud until the last picture... the zipper is on backwards!

Fitting pants is definitely not easy! Like I said, I have two pairs of Clovers that do not fit correctly to show for it. I'm not a muslin-ing type either... There are lots of online references on fitting; however, they didn't seem to help me with my particular issues. There are a couple of books I want to look into but haven't made any purchases yet. These fit relatively well. The front fits pretty well with no smiles or frowns other than the little bit of twisting near the knees. The back is actually not too bad except for the extra fabric along the back of the thigh. I need to do a little bit more research to fix that.

I DID have front and back pockets planned for this particular pair of pants.  I was going to put back pockets in the seam of the yoke and back pieces but I ended up putting the first one in backwards.  After that I didn't want to mess with them anymore... plus I would've had to add black facing in case the pockets gaped and showed the bright print. After basting all the seams to get the fit correct and working on these for so long, I didn't want to go back and cut the front pockets out either.  Haha... in the end these don't have pockets because I was just plain lazy, which makes me a little sad. How can you have pants without pockets?!  Oh well... I only have myself to blame.

I will make this pattern again. I already have the fabric pre-washed and ready to go! It's the same beautiful double knit that Susan used to make her beautiful skirt. I will definitely add pockets to this one!

EATS: Thit Kho - Vietnamese Braised Pork Belly and Eggs

My day job is banking analyst at Whole Foods Market so naturally we talk a lot about food at work. :) One of my co-workers that I am pretty close with is Vietnamese. She, Kim, helps me recreate some wonderful traditional Vietnamese dishes. One of them being thit kho, which is a caramelized braised pork belly and eggs. This adapted from The Ravenous Couple, which can be found here.  Kim advised on a couple of changes and those are included below:

The ingredients:

Saute the garlic and shallots: 

Add the pork belly:

 

Add seasoning:

 

Add the hardboiled eggs and coconut water:

 

Cover and braise for 2 hours:

Add to a bowl for rice and enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 lbs. pork belly

2 shallots

4 garlic cloves

4c coconut water

3 tbsp. fish sauce

1 tbsp. agave nectar

1 tbsp. pepper

1/2 tbsp. salt

4 eggs

Serves 4

Directions:

1. Hard boil the eggs. (I did 6 instead of 4 because we love eggs!)
2. Thinly slice shallots and garlic.
3. Slice pork belly into 1"x2" pieces.
4. Mix together fish sauce, agave nectar, pepper, and salt.
5. Saute shallots and garlic in dutch oven.
6. Add pork belly and sear meat.
7. Stir in seasoning and saute for a minute or two.
8. Add coconut water and eggs.
9. Cover and braise for 2 hours stirring occassionally. 
10. Eat with rice and veggies.

NAILS: Electric Pink

I did my nails!! My sister in law picked the color out for me. At first I thought it made my nails look too fake but it has definitely grown on me!

Most of the time when I do my nails, the color chips or comes off right away because I'm pretty rough with my hands. This picture is day 2 so not too bad! The nail polish is Mod Square by Essie. It's very PINK... very Barbie! Hehe... and I like! I don't usually do full color with bright colors and instead a colored French tip. I will probably do more full colored nails in the future.

FAIL: Burda Blouse

Most things I've made have mistakes all over them... imperfect stitching, un-matching thread color, etc. It's not that I don't like to have things perfect, but I would never wear anything if it had to be perfect.  And then I have the "Too many things gone wrong and I just don't like it!"  Here this particular specimen:

From afar, it seems really innocent.  I know I could just go back and remedy all the minor things, but I'm just not feeling it for some reason.  One of these days, I'll go back and make this pattern again, but for this particular top... a wadder.

Pattern: Burda 08-2009-117
Fabric:  Navy poly chiffon from a fabric swap so it was free!

There is nothing particularly wrong with this pattern (other than the difficult to decipher Burda instructions, but that's with all their magazine patterns).  Actually, I love this pattern and this particular issue is one of my favorites!  So what's the problem?  Well when I list them out, they're all really minor...

• I wasn't paying attention (I had pretty much already given up on this top anyway...) and I attached the facing incorrectly in the front.  There's supposed to be a keyhole in the front, but stitched it all the way up.  My head barely fits through the neckline.
• This was the first time I've tried a rolled hem on my serger.  I did practice and it's not too bad but it doesn't help how I feel about this top.
• There's a "tape stain" on the front.
• The facing keeps flipping out even though it's understitched.

MADE: Peacock Taffy Blouse

A tale of fabric and pattern...

I fell in love with this fabric as soon as I saw it in the "silky" aisle of Joann. I originally bought it with the intent to make another Scout, but as I looked at the fabric it just called for something with a little bit more girly-ness to it and it sat on the shelf with the rest of the prewashed fabric waiting for the perfect match.  The peacock print is actually on the bias so, when I cut the pattern pieces on the bias it made the pattern vertical.

For Christmas I knew I wanted to get 2 sewing books... I was gifted with Gertie's and Colette's book. As I was glancing through the Colette book I noticed a particular simply blouse with just the perfect amount of frill. I knew this would be the perfect pattern for the long awaiting peacock chiffon.

Pattern: Taffy Blouse from The Colette Sewing Handbook
Fabric: Poly Chiffon with Peacock Print from Joann
Cost:  $18.58 = $3 (book $15/5 patterns) + $15.58 (fabric 2 yds @$7.79)
What I Love:  The fabulous fabric and only needing 3 pattern pieces!
Notes:

• Stabilize/starch fabric MORE! 
• Left off the ties because didn't see a need for them.
• Chiffon hem for the sleeve instead of bias tape.

This was the first time I worked with fabric on the bias, and it was a beast to work with!  When using shifty fabric on the bias, be sure to use full pattern pieces.  I read several comments about this on the blogosphere, but didn't heed their warnings... BAD IDEA!  I couldn't get the fabric cut correctly on the fold or get the markings accurate, but it was close enough.  :)

I was also super lazy and didn't switch out my thread when attaching the black bias tape on the neckline.  I have some trouble stitching in the ditch, too, and the lavender stitching definitely stuck out. (For some reason, the stitching on the this part was particularly wavy... not sure why.) I almost redid it, but someone at my local meetup suggested using black fabric marker to color in the thread.  What a genius idea!  Here's the below and after:

The black ink did fade a little after the wash, but it's definitely better than without it...

I do like the top, but in general I don't think I like clothing on the bias.  It's hard to describe... it just feels shifty like it's always moving around on you.  Haha... that just sounds weird, but it just feels funny when I wear it.  I will wear the top and will hopefully have some coordinating bottoms to wear with it soon.

MADE: Cassette Tape Flannel Men's Shirt

The beginnings of a shirt for Mr. So...

After making a scoodie for my husband with lining in a flannel covered with cassette tapes, I jokingly asked if he'd wear a button-up shirt with the same print. Surprisingly, he said yes. So off I went back to Joann to find this flannel... to my dismay it was no longer available. However, the nearest Joann is only 1 mile away so I stop there frequently just to browse and get other needed items. One day, I was walking through the aisles, and what do I find... the exact print again! It was no longer on sale for $2.79/yd at which I bought it for the scoodie; however, I still had a coupon was able to get it for $3.50/yd and so it began...

This particular version is his wearable muslin. He actually wore it to work the day after I finished sewing on the buttons for "Dress Like a Celebrity Day" (he's a teacher)... he was dressing like Russell Westbrook who apparently wears some crazy shirts and thick lens-less glasses.  (We are OKC Thunder fans and went to Texas hence the Longhorn in the picture!) Haha... it still had yellow pencil markings for the buttonholes and buttons but I'm sure no one will even notice with the loud print. What do you think... did he dress like Russell Westbrook?

On to the project details:

Pattern:  Kwik Sew 2777 (no longer on the website)

Size:  Medium (default 15 1/2" collar)

Fabric: 100% Cassette Tape cotton flannel from Joann

Cost:  $11.79 (pattern) + $10.50 (fabric 3 yd @ $3.50/yd)

What I Love:  That the pattern has a collar stand and the fabric is so much fun!

Notes:

• Decreased sleeve length by 2"
• All raw seams are enclosed except for sleeves and side seams
• Sew carefully and make sure collar stand and cuffs incase all seams... my collar stand is a little off... which I need to go back and fix.

Future versions: 

• Adjust collar size to be 16"
• Flat fell side seams and sleeves (need to make seam allowance 5/8" instead of 1/4")
• Research placket insertion techniques
• If making a slim fit version, will need to add darts or some sort of shaping
• Label the under collar so it doesn't get attached upside down
• Try convertible cuffs
• Reference Shirtmaking by David Page Coffin

Overall:

Instructions are pretty easy to follow along... just need to pay attention on the yoke attachment because the first few times I read it I was like "Wha???". Also, I noticed that the collar corners were flipping up and didn't know why. Miss Lulu, who is also mentioned on Susan's blog, noticed amongst the busy print that my undercollar was stitch as the top so note to self to label the under collar! This will be my go-to button-up (button-down?) shirt pattern for him.  I have fabric that has been in my stash that was bought with the intention of making him shirts, and I'm finally getting around to it.  Making these types of shirts take time and precision sewing so not sure when I'll get around to the next one. :P  Sorry, hon!

MADE: Candice House Slippers

Pattern:  Candice Slippers by iThinkSew
Fabric:  blizzard fleece leftovers for exterior and cotton flannel leftovers for interior; both from Joann
Size:  8
Cost:  $3.90 (pattern on sale) + $0.00 (scraps of fabric)
What I Love: Simple, easy pattern that does not require much fabric
Notes:

• Made without adding seam allowances so sizing was not correct. Read the pattern and instructions because it clearly says it needs to be added... I just didn't read. 
• Interfaced the lining, but not on the exterior and instead added another layer of fleece. It could use more stiffness and maybe more cushion as well.
• Used fabric paint on the bottom for anti-skid properties as well as marking right and left.

I have small feet (usually wear 6.5) and these barely fit me lengthwise... I need to be careful and read the pattern and instructions before proceeding.  I was just WAY TOO overconfident and this is where it got me. :(  Many people request for slippers when they come over to our house, and I'm not sure why... Could it be because we keep it at 62 in the winter?  Hehe... well there will be more of these in the future and hopefully they will be the correct sizes.

Tops:

Bottoms:

Please ignore the unfinished areas... :)

MADE: Scoodies Galore

Long ago one of my brothers asked me if I could knit him a scarf, and then some time later he requested that this scarf have a hood.  I want to say this happened many many years ago. Well finally for this past Christmas, I made him this scarf with a hood known as a scoodie, except it wasn't knitted... I didn't get to take a picture of his particular scoodie, but here's one of out of the 6 that were made.

Pattern: Scoodie (free pattern found here)
Fabric: Exterior - blizzard fleece (1.25 yds) from Joann; Interior - cotton flannel (1.5 yds) from Joann
Costs: $0.00 (free pattern) + ~$9.80(fleece $4.49/yd and flannel $2.79/yd or $3.99/yd)
What I Love: Super easy to make with 4 pattern pieces
Notes:

• The middle piece of the hood did not match up with the sides of the hood at the notches. I just cut the middle and added 3/4". 
• Added pockets to the ends of the scarf, which are just 8"x 10" rectangles in fleece. About an 1.25" of the top was folded over and then topstitched prior to attaching the the scarf.
• Used 1/2" seam allowances instead of 5/8" for no particular reason except that I had blue painters tape marked for 1/2".

Overall:  This was a fun gift giving pattern.  I made these for our siblings plus one for myself and husband for a total of 6!  The long straight stitching on the scarf portion was a little boring especially after doing them so many times, but other than that it's easy peasy and the recipients loved them!  I may even make 2 more for friends that saw ours and loved them, too.

Mr. So and I are sporting ours inside our house... I think we may have worn them a total of 2 times since they were finished... maybe we need to go to Chicago to get more wear out of them. :)  There's also not a good way to wear the scarf.  If you try to wrap both of them around the neck the pockets are super close to your face.  I ended up just throwing one end to the back and keeping one end in the front. RTW scoodies have a detachable hood that can be placed at different intervals to help with this, but I didn't want to do the extra work.

Coming up with the different fleece and flannel combinations for the different scoodies was pretty fun.  There are only 5 swatch combinations because one of them (black and white plaid flannel) was made twice. :)

In the end, my brother didn't even remember requesting this scarf, but nonetheless he was the inspiration behind making these!  :)

MADE: Scout Woven Tee

One of my fellow sewists at a local meetup is in love with this pattern (actually several of the sewists from the meetup have made this top and love it!) and so I decided to give it a try as well. It is a loose dartless woven top, which is not typically my first choice because I tend to lean towards more fitted clothes. I was a bit skeptical about it so I decided to use fabric I got at a fabric swap.

Uploaded this to flickr using the flickr app with the mammoth filter.

Pattern: Scout Woven Tee by Grainline Studio

Size:  12

Fabric: floral print cotton lawn/voile from a fabric SWAP

Cost: $6.50 = $6.50 (pattern) + $0.00 (fabric)

What I LoVE:  Simple, easy pattern.

Notes:  Added tiny pointed pocket, which was traced from my Target Boyfriend Tee.

Overall:

I don't think that this is the most flattering top on me, and I'm not sure I made the best fabric choice.  However that being said, I wear this shirt A LOT... it's super comfortable.  It's been a few months since I finished this project and it's definitely grown on me.  (Thanks, Susan! :))  Overall,  I may make a few tweaks and try it again.

Potential modifications for next time:

• Take it in a smidge in the back
• Needs small FBA
• Use drapier fabric

MADE: Burda 05-2012-113 Starburst Skirt

I've had a subscription to Burda for a couple of years now, but haven't used them much.  Recently, I'm making a conscience effort to use these magazines, and have traced several patterns.  This post has been sitting in my drafts for a few months now and was completed in 2012.  I need to be better about posting in a more timely manner.  I have a few more catch-up posts as well after this one... sigh... one of these days. :D

Taking pictures by myself is so awkward for me... I don't look happy at all. :P

Pattern: Burda 05-2012-113 Starburst Skirt view C (can be downloaded here, too)
Size: 42
Fabric: 1.5 yd remnant of floral watercolor knit from The Common Thread
What I Love:  ONE pattern piece!
Notes:

• Added 1" seam allowances to adjust for fit... since I haven't made very many Burda patterns and I'm all over the size chart, I decided trace the middle size and add large seam allowances.  I also measured the pattern piece to see if I was even close, and I was.  In the end, I didn't need the 1" seam allowances.
• Fabric choice is important on this one... need something not too thick but not too thin with nice stretch and good recovery. There are no closures or zippers on this skirt so the waist needs to be able to go over the hips.
• Cut slightly off grain due to fabric limitations
• Hand basted the pleats prior to sewing
• Weirdly graded pleats once sewn together to reduce bulk
• Cut the length for view C, but then cut off extra 2" in length (probably more like view A)
• Took in waist about 1"
• Didn't look at directions... just trace, mark and cut fabric, pleat, hand baste pleats, serge facing bottom edge, sew side seams, grade pleats, serge side seams, fold over facing and attach at side seams, flip facing, and hem
• Fabric is a little bit on the thin side and the waist is very flimsy... need to add something to stabilize... maybe elastic?
• Fabric was easy to sew, but was very "sticky".

Overall:  Easy, cute skirt and probably would not make again. I would recommend this to others... just beware of the bulk at the pleats.