Embrace Your Outer Diagonals

I've not posted for a while, and I have a lot of great excuses, but instead I'll regale you with horrible photographs taken last night about three minutes before we had to leave for a friend's birthday party.

I got the Sewaholic Refrew pattern from my brother this Christmas and had this blue and white striped cotton jersey in my stash waiting for it. 

You may notice that the stripes are not particularly horizontal. That is because my fabric is cheap crap. I mostly buy cheap crap so I don't have to worry about messing up or being frozen with fear to cut into precious cuts of fabric from far off places (I've got a great piece from my trip to italy over a year ago that is slated for a jacket that falls in this category). 

When I laid the fabric out, I was not so pleasantly surprised to find that the stripes were ridiculously off-grain. I decided to just go ahead and make it a possibly not/possibly so wearable muslin. Turns out, when you sew with wild abandon, magical Christmas surprises happen: 

Those smug smiles on my face are because of the stellar stripe matching that occurred no thanks to any clever cutting I did. I just cut full-steam-ahead and this pleasant surprise happened. The stripes ended up matching on the bottoms of the sleeves and even somewhat on the bottom and sleeve bands as well. 

And the fit... this is my new tnt top. It's seriously fantastic, fast and easy to sew. And it fits my lifestyle of t-shirts and jeans. 

My official pattern review: 

Pattern Description:

The perfect basic tee! The Renfrew Top is a fitted knit top with sleeve and neckline variations. View A has long sleeves and a scoop neckline. View B has short sleeves and a deep V neckline. View C has a dramatic cowl neckline and three-quarter length sleeves.

I made view B with A sleeves.

Pattern Sizing:

0-16. I made a 6 in the bust and waist grading to a 2 in the hip

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Very easy, plus I had read through the tutorials/tips on sewing for knits that Tasia posted on her blog before I got the pattern, so I was very prepared.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I like everything. I put off getting this because its "a basic t-shirt pattern", but it is so worth it. 

Fabric Used:

Cotton jersey. The stripes were printed WAY off grain, so I just went with it and had some pleasant surprise stripe matching in the outcome.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

There is some gathering under the arms in the front that I've noticed in other versions, and I'm not sure if a tuck above the bust would eliminate this or cause more problems. Right now, it fits the same or better than a rtw top, so I'm inclined to leave it alone. The sizing was right on (just the Minoru jacket I made a few months ago). Also, I normally make a broad back adjustment in most tops, but after measuring the pattern piece I decided to leave it. Usually, the width of the back at the armpit needs to be 18 inches and this was just shy, but with the negative ease of the knit it worked out perfectly.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

I will most definitely sew this again. I've got a sweater with an awkward neckline that desperately needs a custom white crew neck. Now if I could only find a decent white knit...

And also, yes, for the love of Pete. Those of you on the fence about this one:  take the plunge for goodness sake.

Conclusion:

I'm totally sold. I'm so happy with this top and it took all of a couple of hours to make!

I have more Lekala goodness in the works and a couple of tragic peplum fails so more on that soon.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Another jewel of wisdom for beginners...

When you prick your finger on a pin and bleed all over the shirt you are making, it's time to go to bed.

Lekala 4042. I'm a fan.

This was the second of my aforementioned sewing projects that I was able to burn through, and my first ever Lekala pattern.

Review of Lekala 4042:

Pattern Description: 
Blouse with decorative neckline from knit fabric.

Pattern Sizing:
You give them a set of 5 or 6 measurements and they give you a size-accurate pattern.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes, but I lengthened the sleeves.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
There are a couple of places to find the instructions. One translation is better than the other. Look on this website:
http://www.lekala.co/women-sewing-patterns/blouses/blouse-with-decorative-neckline-from-knit-fabric.html
The instructions were pretty good for this one. It's a bit tricky, but if you've sewn for a while it should be not problem.


What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I loved that it was exactly my size and had seam allowances already added. This doesn't take a lot of fabric either and it's a quick make.

Fabric Used:
A very fluid jersey knit in a vibrant raspberry.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
My muslin, made out of a much sturdier knit was much too small in the shoulder width. I added 3/4" to the shoulder width and it ended up being a bit too wide in this drapey fabric (see arrows and circle in pictures). I'm not very familiar with negative ease, so I'll chalk this mistake up to ignorance. It's easy enough to fix if I ever get around to it.
I also made the sleeves long. All I did was measure myself from my shoulder to my wrist, then I added the hem and an additional 4" for rouching:

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, and absolutely. I was very happy with my first experience with Lekala and I recommend them to everyone (well, maybe not beginners since the instructions are not the greatest). I may make this again in another colour in a slightly heavier knit. I just saw someone else made this with a striped knit which gives a neat effect: http://www.burdastyle.com/projects/eye-twisting-top?image=226610

Conclusion: 
I'm so impressed with Lekala patterns. I've made the other knit top and will review it soon. So far the fit is really great. I've yet to try anything more complicated so my opinion may change.