Friday, April 22, 2016

Girl Charlee Knit Love

Simplicity 8052 with Henna print by Girl Charlee
The side benefit from teaching teens to sew, is ordering "in style" fabrics.  My teens go crazy over just about anything I order from Girl Charlee.  So when this henna print came in for a project, I just had to use a little.  It is so soft and feels like a great pair of PJ's.  

Pattern:
Simplicity 8052, view D 
Since this is a pattern made for wovens, I went down a size and used a size small.  
I did alter for my shoulder slope.

Fabric:
Henna print from Girl Charlee

Construction Notes:
Since I used a knit, I went down a size and also added clear elastic to the shoulder seam and high waist seam.  The elastic helps the knit keep its shape during the day.  I did my normal "wonky" shoulder slope adjustment and I am delighted with my comfy tunic top.





Sunday, April 17, 2016

Easy to Sew, Easy to Fit, Simplicity 1622

 The statement, "Easy to Sew, Easy to Fit," should not be said in the same sentence.  When a pattern has three pieces to it that happen to be almost square boxes, I have BIG doubts on the fit.  But I had this cute rayon fabric and trim that didn't need to get cut up into small pieces, so I chose to "fit" the square boxes.  
Simplicity 1622

Pattern: 
Simplicity 1622, View D

Fabric:
Black and white rayon crepe from Helen Enox in Oklahoma City (very see through)
Black fringe trim from Helen Enox.

Construction:
I usually cut a 14 and do a FBA.  Being lazy, I cut a 16 to allow for the full bust.  I wish I had stuck with my normal size.  This was just a little too big.  You can see right through the top, so it doesn't give that "big" look overall (except in the pictures).

My big problem with square box pattern pieces is that I have sloping shoulders and don't resemble a box at all.  So, I adjusted the shoulder slope.  DRASTICALLY changed the shoulder slope.  See my last picture and you will be amazed.  

I left the sleeves as they came and only altered the shoulder slope.  The fringe was added to the bottom of the shirt.

This is the first square box pattern that fits.  Shoulder slope is the answer for me.

A little too big.
Back view on a windy day.


Yes, I cut an almost 3" wedge out of the back right shoulder, 1" off the left back shoulder, and a little chunk off the front.