Blackwood Cardigan and 3 Birkin Flares

I've been busy sewing but not busy blogging! I'm on a mission to make clothes I need, so once they are finished I throw them on and go on with life instead of pausing to take pictures.
The Helen's Closet Blackwood Cardigan is going to become a new favorite pattern of mine. I love how it's an open front that sits close to the body.  I am not a fan of boxy cuts, and I chose the shorter version because I don't gravitate to longer cardigans either.

The Blackwood Cardigan is easily a one day project if you're focused. There are minimal pieces to cut, and construction consists of sewing the fronts and back together, putting on the sleeves, putting on the cuffs, sewing the bottom band and sewing the front band.  No closures!

Fabric for the cardigan came from Style Maker Fabrics.  Don't you love the color? The quality is great.  The shirt is the Sewaholic Granville in fabric from Hell Gate fabrics.  

I made three new pairs of Birkin Flares in September and October, which brings my total to 5.  I've blogged the two previous pairs before here and here, so I won't go into details here. I like the fit through the hips and the flare that covers my shoes, so why not have more than one or two pairs?  The above fabric is Ralph Lauren stretch denim from Mood Fabrics.  The following two fabrics are also from Style Maker Fabrics.

It feels good to put together an entire outfit of separates! Happy Halloween! 

Birkin Flares + Two Colette Violets

I just noticed how long it's been since I blogged.  I had a men's shirt pattern go south on me in February, and then I made three pieces that I decided to blog together instead of separately. 

I'm obsessed with Birkin Flares, and I'm also obsessed with this Cornflower Blue stretch denim Style Maker fabrics.  I'm almost afraid to wear them because I love them so much.  Kind of like when you don't use your fine china.  If I wear a hole in them I will dissolve in a puddle of tears. 

The Birkin pattern is really easy to follow and super easy to fit.  If you are thinking about sewing jeans this is a great pattern to start with.  The fabric is so high quality and the recovery is great.  

The Colette Violet top is one of those patterns that I didn't try when it first came out, and now that I've sewn it up I don't know why I didn't do it a long time ago.



My wardrobe was in need of casual short sleeved tops for spring and the Violet is perfect.  All fabric for the Violet tops was purchased at the locally owned fabric store Sarah's Fabrics in Lawrence, KS

 The main fabric for this one is a Moda lawn and the contrasting collar and bias tape fabric is Alexander Henry quilting cotton.  I love mixing prints and this pattern is a great one for that. 

Please excuse the sideways picture and also excuse my inability to fix it.  I've forgotten which line they are from, but the bodice is a lawn.

Happy sewing!



Birkin Flares

I accomplished something major: I made jeans! Specifically Birkin Flares from Baste+Gather.  I feel so joyful. 

My material is burnt orange corduroy from IndieSew and it's great.  I snatched it up right when it was advertised and have no regrets.  I went rogue for this pattern and didn't make a muslin.  I like the fit. It's right under my belly button and there is negative ease in the hips which means they actually stay up when I walk around.

Everybody says jeans aren't hard, and they actually aren't.  There is a sewalong on the Baste and Gather website that is fabulous and really helped through the challenging bits. 

Close up of the front:

 Close up of the back:

You'll notice that there is something weird going on with the back yoke. The piece didn't look right when I cut it out, but since I didn't make a muslin I just went along with it.  The middle part of it seemed to have too much of a diagonal as compared to the sewalong pictures that seemed to continue up in a straight line from the leg.  I'll have to revisit that next time because the extra fabric makes the yoke wavy. 

I do not plan to wear a shirt tucked in with these and the rest is satisfactory, so I'm OK with that.  Being the opposite of Type A really helps in sewing....

I enjoy topstitching quite a bit.  It makes it all look put together. My sewing machine kept spitting out my needle when I tried to do the narrow row of zigzag on the pockets.  I eventually had to give up on that after doing the best I could. 

I chose to have the front of my pocket lining facing me so I can see the fun burst of color.  Nobody looks inside my pockets!

I highly recommend this pattern if you are a first-timer.  Go for it! You won't be disappointed!