Wiksten Tova all finished and so am I!

Ahhh, Wiksten Tova pattern...how I have coveted you for so many years (like, two whole years) and finally, on this, the last day of Selfish Sewing Week you are done...you are mine! You took longer to sew than all of my other projects combined and I didn't think we were going to make it when on the second to last step, I realized I'd sewn the left arm on upside down (yes, yes, I did), but we got there in the end. You're a little drapier around the neck than I'd expected, but this is Dunedin and I'll be wearing a merino underneath for most of the year so I'm sure it'll all work out. I love how comfy you are and that you cover all of my lumps and bumps very nicely without making me look like a house. Perhaps you will be lonely being the only Tova in my closet. I think I will make another one to keep you company...but first I'm going to take a little break from sewing...OK?

Two Tessuti Tops

If you haven't seen it before, let me introduce you to Our Fave Top by Tessuti Fabrics. The pattern is a free download on their website so you have no excuse not to make this top for yourself right away. Go, do it! After making my first one earlier in the week, I loved it so much I whipped up another one (due to poor planning, in a very similar colour!).

This would be one of those Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants sort of patterns that comes in one size only but somehow manages to fit just about any body type. Bless pattern designers who are able to concoct such brilliance. They say to use a serger, but I sewed it up on a regular machine without problem. I used a stretch twin needle where indicated, but otherwise, just used a regular ballpoint needle and a stretch stitch where they called for a serger. I suppose the raw edges on the inside might bother some people, but I'm fine with them.

I can see already that I'll get a lot of wear out of these tops. I may even have to make myself a third after Selfish Sewing Week wraps up just so I can have one in a different colour!

Big thanks to TDSH who took these photos just moments before we rushed out the door for Abner's birthday party (clever parents that we are, we rented a hall so that we wouldn't have to deal with 10 little girls wrecking havoc in our tiny house). Abner has taken quite an interest in photography lately so we've passed on one of our old cameras to her. She tends to come out and shadow whoever is taking photos around the house, so it's no surprise we had this little audience during the photo shoot. I must say her pictures are getting quite a bit better already!

Wiksten tank, I'm in love

Be still my heart. The Wiksten tank pattern is my new favourite pattern. Ever.

Anyhow, this pattern is absolutely lovely. Easy to do. So totally accurate. And it fits beautifully. I think I might make about 50 more! The pattern calls for encased seams so I love that I still get a totally professional looking finish even without a serger. I can see why it's still among the more popular patterns in the blogosphere even though it's been around for a while now.

My only trouble last night was that pesky little pocket. My sewing machine kept eating it. Really. Just "munch, munch, munch..." about eight times. I finally managed to get it sewn by switching to a finer needle and starting well in from the edge of the fabric. I don't like how far in my stitches are, but I was honestly beyond caring last night.

Sorry for the lame photos, but I had a super busy and very long day at work today and didn't get out to take any pics in the nice bright autumn sun like I'd hoped. Sigh.

Anyhow, Selfish Sewing Week is trucking along as planned here at maison Milkybeer. In case you missed it, my first project was the Roza blouse (a pattern by Kate & Rose) that I sewed up and reviewed over on imagine gnats. Tonight I'm either going to work on some t-shirts or another Wiksten pattern - the Tova dress. I have been coveting that pattern for so, so, so long now. Finally biting the bullet and making a nice soft, cozy one for winter!

*****

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Sewing up a storm and then some

Behold just some of the patterns and fabric on my list to sew up this coming week during Selfish Sewing Week. Lots of prep work going on around here to try to help me juggle my sewing ambitions with the fact that Abner is on school break and I'm in hand-over mode at work as the editor I've been filling in for is back from maternity leave.

I've had a blast playing editor but it will be nice to hand the reigns back to a professional. It's like every day for the past nine months I've been worried that someone will wise up and figure out that I'm a complete fraud. This must be how con artists feel - constantly worried that they're going to be found out.

This week is also a big one as a certain little girl turns six! Our tradition is to go out for dinner to the restaurant of the birthday person's choosing. Abner has already informed us she's choosing McDonalds. High taste, that girl! We've got a party to plan as well for next weekend. Since our new house is so tiny (there's really no other word to describe it) we've opted to rent a hall nearby. The kids can run amok all they want and I don't have to worry about my couch getting covered in chocolate and broken chips. It's a win-win situation.

Other than that, we're trying to keep busy seeing friends, going to movies and just have a little fun during the second week of term break. Hope you're week ahead looks just as fun-filled as mine!

Stripes askew and I'm OK with that

Stripes are classic, aren't they? Especially crooked ones.

For the life of me, I could not get this fabric to lay flat the other night when I was cutting the pieces for this top. After about 30 minutes of folding this way and that, I gave up and accepted the fact that the stripes were never going to run perfectly horizontally. My stripes were destined to be askew (as an aside, type the word "askew" into Google and see what happens - you're welcome).

I didn't have a pattern to follow for this boxy top. I just placed one of my favourite tops on the fabric and got cutting. My goal was for a loose-fitting, comfy t-shirt, so I think I've hit the mark.

True I would like it so much better if the stripes had cooperated and run straight, but I think I've got a good workaround - just wear it off one shoulder! No one will notice. I'm so sneaky.

If all goes according to plan, I should have a few more projects ready to share with you in the next couple of weeks: a cute wee little tank top for Abner, a little something for the local Scout troop, a finished scrap quilt and a new quilt pattern to share!

Foxy sleeveless top

Warm weather is coming back to Dunedin - at last! How about a fab new sleeveless top to welcome back the heat? Good idea? I thought so.

The pattern: I don't often buy commercial sewing patterns. I think the last one was something like five years ago. Longtime readers will know that I'm usually not big on garment sewing in general and I usually don't even wear the few items I do make for myself. The Kwik Sew 3691 pattern is very similar to a couple of store-bought tops that I absolutely love to wear so it seemed like a smart buy to me.

The top is a pullover style (no zippers, buttons, or fasteners of any kind) with tucks along the round neckline. The pattern calls for the neckline and armholes to be finished with facings (more on that below). It's shockingly easy to sew and could probably be done by even the most novice of sewers.

The fabric: a cute fox print Japanese lawn fabric at Spotlight a few weeks ago. I loved it so much, I bought a couple of meters even though I had no projects in mind at the time. The weight is much lighter than I'm used to but it sewed up beautifully.

The making: Since the fabric is rather sheer, right off the bat, I decided to deviate from the pattern and line the top instead of finishing with facings. I knew I would never wear the finished top if it were completely see-through, so lining it seemed a good way to go.

For the lining, I used a plain, solid cotton the same weight as the main fabric. I cut the back using the back pattern piece as indicated in the pattern. For the front though, I used the actual front piece of the top once I'd finished sewing in the tucks. If I'd simply cut the front lining using the pattern piece, I would have had to sew in the tucks on that piece as well and that would have been too bulky. Using the front fabric piece ensured the neckline lay nicely and my lining neckline would match perfectly with the main fabric neckline. Does that make sense?

Were it not for that rather significant alteration, I probably would have had this thing sewn up in under two hours. As it was, it took me a while to figure out how to finish the armholes nicely. I wound up zigzag stitching around the main fabric armholes, then pressing them in 1/4 inch. I also pressed in the lining fabric the same amount. I then tucked the edge of the lining under the crease of the main fabric and edge stitched to finish both armholes. I'm still left with a somewhat raw edge on the inside, but the zigzag stitch should keep the fraying to a minimum.

To finish the bottom hem, I just trimmed a little length off the lining, folded up the main fabric twice, tucked the lining under the crease of the main fabric and machine stitched the hem. Beautiful.

I picked up a new tip from this pattern: understitching. Just fold the seam allowance toward the facing (or lining in my case) and stitch on the facing close to the seam through the facing and the seam allowances. It seems so obvious to me now, but this little trick is a handy one to prevent facings or lining from rolling to the outside of the garment. 

I couldn't be happier with the finished results. I absolutely love my new foxy top! I've already worn it to work a couple of times - the ultimate test of whether I actually like something I've sewn!

A reversible skirt to call my own

I finished up the first of my adult-sized reversible skirts last night and am loving the finished result...so much so that I *may* have already bought enough fabric to make two more! I start a new job next week and I think this is going to be my new work uniform - comfiest clothes EVER! I'm still wracking my brains trying to think of a way to add pockets to this pattern without the result being a bulky mess. With pockets, this skirt would be perfection in my books!

The design is basically the same as Abner's original from a few weeks ago. The only difference is an extra row of elastic in mine and obviously, I had to make mine much wider, so I needed more fabric than just the selvage-to-selvage piece on Abner's.

The fabrics are both Repro Depot prints I found at Spotlight (think Michael's combined with Fabricland for all you Canadian readers). I used a solid orange to finish the hem. I love how it pops so brightly! My aim is to get two more sewn up this week. Think I can do it?