Easter Jacket

~ Pamela Klingensmith ~ 6 Comments

I was in need of a shorter jacket to wear with my new Colette Meringue skirt (and jeans, and capris, and slacks – you get the idea!).  This Project Runway inspired pattern, Simplicity 2728, was the answer.



Worn with my Colette Meringue skirt – beautiful, bright spring colors make me happy   🙂

Here it is with skinny, black corduroy pants, which is more weather appropriate since *sigh* it is raining and snowing here today:

Can you see that teeny little pop of light pink color at the top of the pockets?  The jacket was so solid, that I thought I would add just a subtle touch of interest by lining the pockets with the same light pink lining that I used inside the jacket.  By omitting the pocket facing that was included in the pattern, I was able to stitch the lining fabric to the pocket fabric, right sides together, then turn and press. Because the lining fabric is much lighter than the corduroy, and there is no facing, the lining pulls ever so slightly to the top of the pocket giving a glimpse of what is inside.

Speaking of lining, I really like the way this pattern has a facing that goes around the entire outer edge of the jacket, so the lining is attached completely to the facing (no messy hemming – well, my hemming is usually messy anyway!).  The facing is then sewn onto the outer edges of the jacket.  It gives such a nice, clean finished edge around the whole inside of the jacket.

Before sewing the lining to the facing, part of one side seam in left open for turning.

After sewing the facing, with lining attached, to the outer jacket, the open side seam in the lining can easily be hand sewn closed.

I used an itty bitty overcast stitch to close up the opening in the lining

I prefer to wear my sweaters and jackets buttoned just below the bust line and not all the way down to the hem, so I added only one button to the front of this jacket.  Why add all those buttons and buttonholes is I’m not going to use them?

Now if the weather will only cooperate, I can wear this short-sleeved beauty most of the spring and into summer.
Pam 

Still Stitchin’

~ Pamela Klingensmith ~ Leave a comment

Yes, it has been quiet here on a notion to sew lately, but scout’s honor (yes, I was a girl scout) I have been busy sewing and creating fun things to wear and to enhance the nest.  Here is a pink, spring jacket (Simplicity2728) in fine whale corduroy and another version of the Sassy Librarian Blouse done up in a beautiful Anna Maria Horner voile fabric.  I must confess, right here and now, I deplore having my picture taken, so I’ve procrastinated on photographing these so I can write pattern reviews.  Shame on me!  I must get over the camera phobia so I can share with other sewists how much I like both of these patterns.  That shall be my goal for the upcoming week.

On the home front, I stitched up a quilt top called Skipping Squares, and I am now in the process of quilting said project.  As I was pondering the quilting process, I envisioned a comforting, traditional, granny square throw to accompany this colorful quilt.  That’s what I need – one more project to complete!  Here is a photo of the progress of the aforementioned home projects.  Of course, I plan to post a full review of the quilt pattern when the quilting is complete.

Do you have multiple projects in progress at one time, or are you a focused, one-project-at-a-time sewist? 

Pam

Crochet Edging

~ Pamela Klingensmith ~ 4 Comments

Isn’t the crochet edge along the bottom of  that Martha Stewart cake stand just the sweetest accent?  It probably took a whole 20 minutes to crochet.  I’m not exaggerating!  The instructions are over at Raising Up Rubies and it is originally suggested as a shelf edging, which is a terrific idea.  But every time I passed my cake stand, I wondered what I could do to give it a little oomph, and this was just the fix it needed.

Here’s a close up of the crochet scallop edging:

I adhered it to the stand using ultra-thin glue dots from my scrapbook supplies. The glue dots do a great job of holding the crochet edging to the cake stand, and while they stick to the ceramic, they do not cling to the yarn when the crochet edging is removed.  They can then be easily removed from the ceramic by simply peeling them off with your finger.

A couple of completed sewing garments are awaiting pictures and reviews, so I plan to have those up here in a few days.  In the mean time, if you are stateside, keep your chin up, it looks like spring just might be blowing in!  Don’t forget to set your clocks forward one hour this weekend.

Pam