A New TNT!

I finally got around to photographing my new top. Dh was home from work for a week & a half on vacation & I just didn't get it done.  But here it is. I do wish I could've taken better pictures, but these'll do. :) Also, I had my husband cut my hair, so, yes, it is different :) in case you were wondering. :)

Pattern: New Look 6735
Fabric: Cotton/Lycra knit from Girl Charlee
Notions: Thread & seam stabalizer for the shoulders. Wooly Nylon in the bobbin for the hems. 
Size sewn: 12 in the shoulders, bust & waist, grading out to a 14 at the hips. I ended up using a 1/4" SA on the side seams instead of the 5/8" as the pattern suggested. Just wanted  a tad more wiggle room. 
Alterations/Design Changes: This is the exciting part! I added gathers to the neckline & sleeve caps to take this from a "t" to a top. I blogged those alterations here.Also, since I messed with the neckline, I drafted one myself using this tutorial.  It worked out well! I also did a double fold hem instead of the single fold that the pattern suggested.

Likes: Everything? It's a super fast sew and I was able to squeak this out of 1 yard of fabric. I really wish I would have made 2 or 3 at once, but I wanted to make sure it worked out first. Next time! I love that it can be dressed up or down.
Dislikes: None. I thought I'd dislike the center back seam, since I don't think I've ever seen it in RTW,  but it really does provide some nice shaping.

Time to Complete: Not too long, but I took my sweet time with it. It could probably be finished in just a couple hours.
New Techniques: Pattern drafting :)
Total Cost: $6 for the fabric, everything else was from my stash! SIX DOLLARS!

In progress...

I was all excited to reunite with my TNT S4076 for my next project. Those little cap sleeves, that little gathered neckline...swoon. But when I got out my tracings I realized that I did not have my original tracings OR original pattern tissue. All I had was the pattern I made for my maternity version. And the pattern is OOP; I've found a few copies of it on the web, but none in the smaller size range.

After some pouting and a whole lot of rummaging, I decided to just take advantage of this conundrum. I've been wanting to delve a bit into drafting & making design changes to TNTs.  So this was a great opportunity. I started out with the very popular t-shirt view New Look 6735 and set out to add the neckline gathers. I asked the opinions of more qualified seamstresses, and I also found this video.

First I traced the pattern in my size (or what I hoped would be my size). Then I traced the bottom portion onto freezer paper and then I pivoted my pattern piece beneath the armscye.I moved it about an inch at the CF, and truth be told I was really worried about the changed neckline shape, but figured that (in theory) that gathering would pull it back to its shape...more or less.

Here's how my new pattern piece compared:

And then I got to thinking about other ways to dress up a basic tee. I eventually decided to gather the sleeve caps. I used the instructions for the at clothingpatterns101.com. First I traced my pattern on to freezer paper and removed the seam allowances, just to ensure that I didn't mess those up. :) I never really realized how much space those 5/8" seam allowances take up.

And then I sliced & spread. I probably have sliced the same distance from the center dot on each side,  but it turned out ok in this instance.

After that I traced my new pattern & added the seam allowances back.

I only had 1 yard of fabric for my final top, so I made a practice sleeve & armscye from some scraps  to check my drafting and it turned out great.

I should have pictures of the final project next week, it's just waiting to be hemmed now. 

I fought the Cardi...

.....and I won. But it was a close fight. Turns out the nipping & tucking was the easy part. I took the side seams in an inch & tapered to 5/8" at the hips. I took the arms in about 3/4". And all was well.

Then I had to decide whether or not I wanted buttons. For versatility's sake, I decided yes. So I moved on to the button holes. Which went beautifully. Once I figured out how to do it on my new machine.

Then came the buttons, which I sewed on by machine just to see if I could (I can!!!). After that I put her aside for a couple days & debated whether or not to take up the hem. Ultimately, I decided, yes. It needed shortening. So, being lazy & totally "over" this whole cardigan thing, I just folded the hem up again & stitched. Put her on and....the front centers didn't match. I mean, really didn't match. So, out came the seam ripper. And in my ripping fury I ripped not one, but two holes in my fabric. I just shrugged it off & kept on going. (After all, it is a knit so they won't fray. And they are rather inconspicuous.) I restitched the hem and...ta da! I'm declaring this one good enough. Wearable. Semi-well fitting, comfortable.  Warm. And purple.

I'll be writing up an official pattern review soon, but I wanted to get this post up, so consider this your sneak peak ;)

You know, it's funny. I drafted this post yesterday before I took pictures and now that I've taken pictures & am posting them-I like my sweater even more. I think it looks even better today than it did yesterday. I must've been holding a grudge ;)

Good News & Bad News...

So, the good news is that I got mroe thread & my cardigan is effectively finished. It still lacks the buttons that I'm not sure it needs & I need to figure out how to do thread carriers for it, but for all intents & purposes, it's wearable.

The bad news is that it's too big. Not just too big...but bordering sloppy.

I do try my garments on as I sew them. In fact, I hacked 2" off the bottom of this before I added the sleeves. I should have taken more off. And, yeah, I noticed it was pretty loose, but I decided to let it play out. You know, in case it just spontaneously fit me when I finished.

It didn't.

When I put it on, it reminded me of my white cardigan, that I've never worn out the house. I was going to, but when I put it on, DH said it looked too casual with my skirt. And another look in the mirror told me he was right. It was too big to wear with a pencil skirt. And now, every time I put it on I feel self-conscious.

Anyway, back to this cardigan.  I took it in an inch at the side seams, using a basting stitch.  And then I did the same to the sleeve. I actually took in both sides, but pulled out the right side so I could get before & after pictures.

Also, the length. I was really unsure about the length--it hits me right in my widest spot. For the pictures, I just pinned the hem up again, taking it up an additional 1 1/2". I'm not sure if that's going to be the final length, though.

So, back to work. This thing will be wearable by the time I'm done. The weather might be too warm to wear it, but it'll fit.

Question: How many yards of thread....

......does it take to sew a knit cardigan?

Image Credit

Answer: Over 220 yards. That's over 660 feet. Longer than 2 football fields lined up end to end. That's a lot.

The good news, I guess, is that my cardigan is almost finished. The bad news is that it won't be finished until I get some more thread.  I got this 220 yard spool from my mother-in-law's stash (Thanks Mom!) back when I first bought this fabric. I anticiapted the possibility of running out since I'm using my serger for the bulk of th sewing on this project, so before my trip to JOann's I took note of the thread number so I could match it. I did not take the spool.

Once I got my new thread home, I realized it was the same number, but it was, without a doubt, a very different shade. My new shade was magenta. Not purple. There could be a number of reasons. The "stash" thread could be "old", hence the different number. The stash thread is also labeled "quilting thread", the new thread is not.

I think I have enough thread to finish the cardigan & belt, but not enough to do the buttonholes. Sigh.

Let that be a lesson to us all....take the spool or a fabric swatch to the store. :)