More Border Print Tops

I couldn't believe I could get four projects out of my two yard cut of  Black Baroque Border Print Jersey Rayon Blend Knit.  But I made the most of this fabric and was left with only tiny scraps.  I think I may have enough to make a headband or scrunchy.  So the second top I made was this tunic which was a very easy sew in the pillowcase style top.  Even though this is an easy top to just cut out freehand without a pattern I choose to use a pattern.  I used _________ for this top.  And for the bow shoulder strap scarf I used the black chiffon I used on the tank top I made.  For the most part I like this top but I think I could have made it a few inches shorter.  I think it is a bit long on me for a tunic but a bit too short for a dress.  I will wear it as a tunic anyways.  I seem to always forget that patterns are made for very tall people.

The third top I made with this fabric was this contrast shoulder T-Shirt which is a free pattern from Icandy.  I seemed to be the most popular pattern for the June KnitFix post.  I thought it was a cute easy style and I wanted to try it too.  It only comes in a size medium but I just enlarged the sides a bit so it would fit me.  U used the baroque border for the back panel and for the front I used some of the pink and coral floral I had leftover from another project.  This top was so easy to sew I think it only took me about an hour and a half to put together and that included taping together the PDF pattern and printing it out.  This pattern is a good way to use small pieces of fabric for a really cute top.










I had a small piece of this border print left and I looked through my patterns to see if I could find something it would work for. This top had this panel in the front that just fit my fabric piece.  And I had enough of the floral left so I could use that for the cross over back panel.  I just had to find something to coordinate for the rest of the top.

I first tried to use The black and silver stripe for the sides that I used on the bottom of the back panel, but after sewing it together I didn't like the way it looked on the front.  So I changed it to this white and black lacy stripe fabric.  I liked that much better.  The pattern was sized for woven fabrics and I used knits that were not very stretchy.  I still wasn't really happy with the fit on me.  Mostly the neckline was very big and loose fitting and I knew it would annoy me because it would keep falling off my shoulders.  Also I am not a big fan of dolman type sleeves they always seem baggy and ill fitting.  I was going to think about what I was going to do with this top.  I showed it to Jessica when she stopped by and she thought it was pretty cute.  She tried it on and I think it looked good on her she liked it too.  She also had the problem of the shoulders falling off mostly because of the back crossover panel needed to be adjusted differently.  She wanted to wear it to work right away so I did a quick alteration to the back with a few safety pins.  She was delighted with her new top.

How many shirts?

This is what I received for my June KnitFix.  I really liked everything.  The Black and white border print on the bottom is one that a lot of people on the facebook group talked about.  The problem was that the border was orientated along the salvage edge which was the side with the least stretch.  I thought it would be fine to use it anyway.  I was going to use it in whatever direction I wanted and I encouraged others to do the same.  Go ahead and be a sewing rebel.  So this fabric is the first one from June that I decided to work with.  I thought it was pretty.  And I was surprised by how many projects I could get out of just two yards of fabric.

My first project was this tank top.  It is a free pattern called the Flutter-bye Tank from Hot Patterns.  I downloaded it several years ago and it has just been sitting on my computer waiting for me to use it.  I love this pattern it has a good fit and a few extra details that make it stand out from just an ordinary tank top.  While the body of this tank is made with a knit fabric, the neck ruffle and the bottom flounce called for a woven fabric.  I wanted a lightweight  chiffon for the flounce and the neck ruffle.

I went to JoAnn Fabric to find something suitable.  I found two fabrics that were kind of what I had in mind.  The one I liked best was lightweight and had the feel I was after, but the end of the bolt said it needed to be dry cleaned only.  It said the fabric could crock.  I had never heard of that in reference to fabric and I really wanted to be able to wash my finished top.  The second choice fabric was washable but had a slightly heavier feel to it and it was also a bit cheaper.  So I asked the clerk at the cutting counter what "fabric could crock" meant and to my surprise she actually had an answer.  She said it meant that the color could rub off onto your skin or other fabric next to it.  I goggled it when I got home and she was right.  I bought the fabric that could crock because I liked it better and I felt if I washed it first and it didn't bleed I would be safe to wash my garment when finished.  It was after all 100% polyester which I have never had any color transfer of any kind with over the years.  So I went ahead and used it never intending to have it dry cleaned.

I love this tank top pattern I have made it twice now and will probably make it again.  I like using the knits and woven fabrics in the same project.  I think the reason I hadn't sewed this up before is because it was a PDF pattern and I was intimidated by having to tape all the pages together.  Now that all the taping is done I can use the pattern over again.  However I have plenty of this fabric left for another project.

Toddler Underwear

When I ordered my first Girl Charlee KnitFix I added some extras to my order so I wouldn't have to pay for shipping.  I would much rather spend that $12 on some more fabric.  Some of the fabric I bought were these half yard knits.  I thought it would be enough to make something for my grandson so I picked out some fabrics he would like not really knowing what I would make with them.  A half yard would be enough to make a t-shirt with.  I decided to make a t-shirt with a Stretch & Sew Pattern from the 70's that I got at the auction several months ago.  I was pleased to discover that there was enough fabric left to make a pair of briefs to match.  The brief pattern came from The Little One Yard Wonder Book.  The first pair I make was the olive with the fawns and I made the size 4/5 thinking that would be plenty big enough for a 2 year old to grow into.  He is not quite potty trained yet.  Even though I could get the briefs on him they were a bit tight.  I think I should have chose a bigger size partly because the fabric I used was not very stretchy.  And little man has pretty hefty thighs.  But he liked his Deer Underwear and T-Shirt.

 

The olive set turned out so cute and sewed up so easily I decided to make some more.  This time I used this triangle print that also had some deer in the print.  I made the briefs in the next bigger size and I used the pattern for the tank top from the Little One Yard Wonder Book.  I think these turned out even cuter than the first set.  I like the way the buck ended up on the front of the briefs.  I couldn't really plan it that way because I was working with only a half yard of fabric so I had to fit the pieces on there wherever they would fit.  

 I had an idea this tank top would make a nice summer set of PJ's if I added a pair of boxers with it.  I got this pattern for free from Shwin and Shwin. I is a size 5/6 slim. They turned out much larger that the 6/7 briefs, but I think that will be fine as a pair of PJ shorts that he will wear over a diaper.  I had just enough of this fabric to cut out the sides of this boxer brief pattern.  I used some aqua cotton spandex for the accents on the boxers and white cotton spandex to trim the tank and the briefs.  Both of the solid fabric were half yard pieces as extras on my order.

 These little underwear were so fun to make.  I think they are just adorable if that is possible for underwear.  They only take tiny amounts of fabric so you can easily use scraps leftover from other projects.  I think they would be a great project for someone new to sewing with knits because they use very little fabric.  And if you make a few mistakes hey they are underwear and most people will never see them.  But these are so cute you may want to show everyone.

Floral Garden Top

I was able to sew up another top from my Floral Garden Jersey that I got in my May KnitFix.  I used a pattern from my currently most used book The Magic Pattern Book.  This time I used the Avery top pattern.  I did make a few modifications to the pattern.  First thing was to go down a size from a large to a medium.  I did this because the pattern was sized for a woven fabric and I wanted to use this very stretchy knit. And I had previously used a knit for another top from the same book without going down a size and I felt it was a bit large for me.  Since I usually find that the neckline is too low for me I made the shoulder seam at the small size.  I also eliminated the darts because i felt they were not really needed with this slinky knit.  The pattern called for an exposed zipper in the center of the upper back panel, I didn't use that either.  Instead I just used the seam line as the fold of the fabric.  I didn't need a zipper in the top and I believe it was just decorative.  And my fabric was pretty lightweight so I thought a zipper would only add unnecessary bulk.  Instead of the bias binding the pattern called for I used knit fabric strips that I cut from the same fabric as the back panel. One last change was to make the length a inch and a half shorter because the pattern pieces would not fit on the fabric I had.  I probably would have done that anyways because I am short so I usually shorten everything.  Wow after writing all the changes I made it sounds like I didn't like anything about this top, but I still have the basic style which I do like a lot.

It is hard to see in the pictures but there are some gathers at the center front neckline that I think give the top a bit more flair than just a basic tank top.  And I like the contrast back panel, it gives you a chance to use a small piece of fabric in a fun way.  I only had a half yard of this stripe fabric so it was not enough for a whole adult top.  This is the second project using this 2 yard piece of fabric and I think I have enough for one more project too.  I think this fabric is so pretty and I love the style of this top and the fit is good too.  I will definitely be making this again.  Actually I have plans for a woven version with the exposed zipper.  

Flutter-Bye-Tank

I really loved this fabric from my second KnitFix.  It is a light weight Jersey knit with a floral print, very soft and stretchy.  I used a pattern that I had downloaded for free several years ago.  It has been saved on my computer for a while now.  I discovered that you can still get the Flutter-Bye Tank  as a free download.  It comes with sizes 6 to 26 so a wide range of sizes.  The pattern uses a mix of knit fabric and woven fabric.  The main tank is made with knits and the flounce and ruffle at the neckline are made with woven.  Also the pattern calls for the neckline edging and the arm hole edging to be done in a bias woven fabric.  Since the dimensional chiffon fabric that I used for the flounce didn't really work for bias edging I just used strips of the same knit I used for the body of the tank.  I got the flounce fabric in the remnant bin at Joann Fabric and I thought it went well with the flowers in the knit fabric.  It was something I already had and I was trying to not make another trip to Joann's.  Love this top it is comfortable and it fits well and it is a bit different than just a plain tank.

Skirt and Cardi

I wasn't really fond of this Brown Pink Stamped Floral Cotton Spandex Knit that I received in my 2nd KnitFix but I was determined to try and make something with it.  I decided on the Bridget Skirt from The Magic Pattern Book.  The skirt is a mock wrap style with elastic in the back waist band.  A very easy sew and easy to wear skirt.  I like the skirt overall and even got some compliments on it when I wore it to work the other day.  However I think this bold large print may not have been the best choice for this style skirt.  I tried to match up the design for the most part but it doesn't always work with such a large print.  You can't really see it in the picture but the skirt has a yolk which I have covered with my pink top because that is the part I am not that happy with.  I think it would have looked better with a smaller scale print or maybe a solid fabric for the yolk. And even though the skirt feels nice and comfy I could have made it one size smaller.  I will wear the skirt but it is not my favorite although I do like the pattern and will probably make that again.


To bring out the brown in the skirt print I picked up a Brown Hacci Knit with a bit of sparkle from Hancock Fabrics.  I made the same cardigan as the Coral Hacci from the previous post.  I like this brown much better for this pattern because it is much more stable and easier to work with.  This is a more wearable sweater too.  The Coral was so loopy that I was afraid it would get snagged on everything.  But the first time I wore the brown it got snagged on my car seat belt.  I was able to fix it so it doesn't show to much.  I guess you have to be careful with all of those Hacci Sweater Knits.  I have another striped Hacci Sweater knit that came in my June bag I will have to find a different pattern for that.  I am thinking something other than a cardigan.

Some KnitFix Sewing

I know these are not the best pictures Mary but I couldn't find my camera and I wanted to post them on the https://www.facebook.com/groups/GirlCharleeKnitFix/?fref=nf site which is a closed group.  It is really fun to see what everyone is making with their KnitFix fabrics.  This is my first project with my KnitFix fabrics.  I used McCall's 7122 and made the tunic which is view A on the pattern, except I made the cap sleeves as shown in the view B dress.  I used the lovely Pink Coral Floral on Black Cotton Spandex Knit from my very first Knit Fix bag.  This was one of my favorite fabrics from the bag.  The fit of the tunic is great and I love the way it looks.

The pattern has a pair of basic leggings included in the envelope so I decided to make a pair of those too.  I purchased some black dancewear knit from JoAnn Fabrics to use.  This fabric is nice and thick as I don't like the look of thin see through leggings.  Actually I am not a big fan of leggings at all except that they are very comfortable.  They definitely need to have a longer top to cover up the rear in my opinion.  Or be worn only in the privacy of your own home.  These legging were super easy to sew because there are no side seams.  But they are very basic as the front and back are the same size rise.  I had to cut off about 2 inches in the front to make them fall at the right place on my waistline. And I had to taper off several inches in the legs from the bottom all the way to the top of the thighs because they were quite huge there not at all like leggings should fit.  But that was an easy fix.  The pattern was a super easy and quick sew great for beginers or anyone who wants quick results.  It also has several tips to help those learning to sew.

In the same bag I received a Coral White Boucle Hacci Sweater Knit.  It was really soft and pretty but I had never sewn with this kind of fabric before so I was excited about using it.  I made the Diana Cardigan from The Magic Pattern Book.  I shortened the pattern 2 inches in the sleeves and the body so that it would fit on my 2 yards of fabric. Since I am pretty short it worked well and I could have probably shortened it a bit more and it would have been fine.  The pattern only has 3 pieces so it is a really quick sew.  However working with that loopy fabric was a bit challenging, it was very stretchy and kept getting caught in my feed dogs.  I was sewing it at work so I didn't have access to my coverstitch machine or my serger which would have made it much easier.  But still you can sew knits on a regular straight stitch machine you just have to be patient and know how to hold your fabric.  and when to stretch and when to not stretch.  The cardigan came out fine I think I will make a few alterations to it after wearing it once.  The sleeves need to be tapered a bit and I need to do something to stabilize the back neck that seemed to have stretched out quite a bit while sewing.  I think I will like the cardigan much better in a more stable fabric.

Overall I love my new outfit and I am going to wear it this weekend at a Woman's  Retreat I am attending.  I think I will use this pattern again because I love how the top fits and I think I may try a dress next.  It is a good basic pattern for a raglan style dress/top.