Self draft strappy top

Thanks for accepting me to come and join your challenge. As the weather has been heating up, I wanted a new strappy top... so I drafted my own!

 

For all the details on how I made it and how you can make your own, pop over to http://www.sewingbeefabrics.co.uk/draft-your-own-strappy-top

 

Thanks!

Skirts made using patterns by Serendipity Studios

I've been so jazzed by all the posts here, I am still committed to buying no clothes and making them!

I ordered Fashion Formula Skirts Mini Books from Serendipity Studio and went on a sewing bender. Kay Whitt has a lot of great ideas in her books, especially for sewers who come from a quilting background. They do not contain pattern pieces. All cutting is made with measurements calculated, based on your hip size.

More info with pictures of other skirts on my blog... On The Mend.

Thank you for all your inspiration!

McCall's M6653 Misses' Top

I made this McCall's M6653 Misses' Top a few weeks ago. I confess, I have made a few garments since then, but I have been remiss in contributing here. I hope to catch up this weekend.

This is a loose fitting pullover top with cut-on sleeves. Two pattern pieces only! It took longer to sew on the bias binding than to construct the actual blouse. I made it out of a cotton voile, for summer weather.

Your posts have inspired me so much. I do enjoy reading them and getting great tips. Thank you!

I blogged about it here:
http://threadsovmetal.blogspot.com/2013/05/mccalls-m6653-misses-top-using-denyse.html

StitchSlapped: Stephanie

I tried to make this McCall's M6437 blouse in style D. It ended up looking like a martial arts Gi or Victorian bathrobe!

I made a muslin that fit, but the final fabric still made it look stifling and old-fashioned.

I get exasperated trying to gather that fabric! I really want to know - ladies, do you use a gathering foot? Doing this with basting threads always looks uneven to me, and I get tired. If you do use a gathering foot, how do you measure the gathers to fix exactly around the joining piece that is not gathered? Does the foot just help do the work that your arms would do, or does it sew down the gathers, so that they cannot be spread apart or put back together to fit?

I even added button loops on the back using the voile. The final disaster was the bubbling of the interfacing. I learned that I should use sew-in interfacing, or pre-shrink it, or use more expensive kind that does not shrink? What do you use?

This gave me quite a sad face. I hope I can remove the collar and save this fabric for something else.
I posted more details here.
I'm not giving up on our challenge, and I look forward to seeing more of your new clothes! It is very motivating for me!