Linden Take 2: The Triangle Version

Posted on November 11, 2015 by oliver's fancy

triangle linden (4 of 5)

Yep, you read it correctly. Here I come again with another Linden. If you’ve followed me for any amount of time you might have seen this as a common theme. Once I find an easy pattern for either me or the boys, I tend to make several in a row while I’ve got the pattern pieces out and instructions fresh in my mind.

triangle linden (1 of 5) I bought several different Leah Duncan knits from Rachael’s shop back during a sale this summer (FYI for anyone reading in real time, she’s currently having another knits sale!!). I have always loved Leah Duncan’s fabric lines and was so excited when she came out with some knits too! One I used to make a short sleeve Union St. Tee that I love and get so many compliments on when I wear it…and I just realized that I never blogged it. Oops. Maybe I can get a few pics of it before it’s too cold. Because it really it so cute. Anyway, I have been saving this one for just the right project and after my cattitude Linden turned out so well, I thought I’d try it again.

triangle linden (3 of 5) I just so happened to have the perfect navy laguna knit in my stash to coordinate- justifying my stockpile immensely 😉 , and so I used that for the sleeves and neck binding. I made the size 6 per usual. I did make one mistake that kinda bums me out. I forgot to add the 1/2″ length to the bottom like I did with the previous version. So it still fits fine but that extra bit of length takes it to the perfection level. Oh well, next time I will remember! And I’ll just wear a tank top under this one so that it doesn’t bug me with pulling the hem down all the time.

triangle linden (2 of 5)

That’s actually why I liked blogging. I mean I love the sewing community and friends I have made through it all that but I also love having a journal of sorts of my sewing journey. I’m bad about making notes on my patterns, so when I go to make something for the second or third time, I usually pull up my blog post where I wrote about it and read over my modifications and changes I thought the pattern needed. It’s been super helpful! I neglected to blog about quite a few things last winter and I’ve had to work really hard to remember the changes I made last year as I come back to the patterns again this fall.

And one more thing- photo props to the 4.5 year old. I had some time where we were hanging out outside with not much to do, so I bribed him to take a few pics so I could throw this post up. Not too bad for his age, I think! We will keep working on his skills. 🙂

A Linden with Cattitude

Posted on November 6, 2015 by oliver's fancy

So this is actually my third Linden. Yep, I have two others that I wear all the time but haven’t gotten around to blogging. Oops. I have wanted some of this Lizzy House cat fabric since I saw it released. It just looked like the perfect choice for a Linden. I mean, who doesn’t want a crazy cat lady sweatshirt? Funny part of this is that I have never actually owned a cat. But I always wanted to as a child so I guess this is my way of getting my cat fix.The pattern is the wonderful Linden from Grainline Studios. I bought the paper pattern during her online Black Friday sale last year- FYI fabric and pattern sales are the only Black Friday shopping I do…cannot resist those deals and a chance to support independent shops. The paper pattern instructions came in this adorable little booklet that was quite fun to use. I’m hoping she runs another Black Friday sale this year because I want to buy some of her latest patterns. I’m so taking paper patterns over PDFs if I get that option right now. Burnt out on cutting and taping! Anywho, moving on. I made the size 6 with just a small modification of adding 1/2″ to the length of the body. My others were just a teeny bit shorter than I liked and that extra 1/2″ makes it perfect for me. I love how different the shirt fits in this lighter weight jersey. It has an awesome drape and is the perfect weight for cooler fall days that don’t need a jacket yet. It’s got the oversized-coziness of a sweatshirt with the lightweight recovery of a t-shirt. Kind of the best of both worlds.

Fabric is from Imagine Gnats shop. She’s out of this print right now but does have a few other Lizzy knits here. I have some more yardage of the purple butterflies that I may used for another Linden… we shall see. Definitely recommend the quality of these knits. And I have to say, this is seriously the quickest sew! I think I cut and sewed it in less than an hour! Perfect instant gratification project. And no hems. Can I get a woot, woot for that?! I’ll leave you with my two little photo bombers who had to jump into the pictures because they’re just little picture hogs now. But cute ones, no?

Cotton+Steel Tiny Pocket Tank

Posted on August 25, 2015 by oliver's fancy

I’ve made a few tiny pocket tanks (this chambray+art gallery one from last year is one of my faves) and wanted to make another one for this summer. I picked up this cotton+steel double gauze for a steal at pink castle fabrics (looks like they’re sold out of this one now, sorry) when they were running a 40% off apparel fabrics sale earlier this year. I knew this would be the perfect fabric for a summer tank as it breathes so nicely!

I made the tank (pattern- tiny pocket tank) in a size 8 but angled the back pattern piece over the fold about 1/2″ at the top- gradually angled down to nothing mid-way down the back- because I remembered that I’ve had shoulder gaping with this pattern in the past. I ended up taking out too much width as it’s a bit tight across my shoulders, but still wearable- especially after I wore it a few times and stretched out the double gauze a bit.

Another mod I always make to this pattern is to raise the neckline by about 1.5″ so that I don’t have to wear a tank under it. Otherwise, it ends up too low for me. I didn’t do a super good job hemming it as you can see in some of these pics, it flips up pretty badly. But if I give it a good ironing, it will stay down better. Ha, who am I kidding that I’m ever going to iron this, though? 😉

I actually made this tank at the beginning of the summer and just now got around to taking pics of it. I do so love how cool and breezy it is. I’m never 100% sure that these types of flowy shirts are flattering on me because I feel like the billowing around the waist makes me look bigger than I am, but I still like to wear them because they are so comfy. I did end up taking the sides in about 3/8″ starting right below the bust to the hem to take a bit of the width off. Basically I have an 8 in the top and grade it down to between a 4/6 in the hips. I just can’t get enough of all the cotton+steel lines and I love that they are producing fabrics in so many different substrates. Makes it so fun to try more and more garment sewing.

Sleeveless V-Neck Archer Variation

Posted on July 20, 2015 by oliver's fancy

So this is probably the most I’ve ever hacked a pattern for one garment! This shirt kind of evolved along the way to end up where it did, but I enjoyed the process. It took me several weeks to finish because I didn’t hurry through any of the decisions but it was nice to not have a deadline and really take my time to get something just perfect.

I started out with the Archer button-down, size 6. I knew I wanted a sleeveless shirt for summer so I used Jen’s tutorial here to take out some width from the shoulders- I think I ended up taking about 1.5″ off each shoulder and then a 3/8″ wedge from the back piece at the yoke seam line. I did have to take a little more off the sides due to armhole gaping so next time I would probably increase my wedge to 5/8″.

At first I thought I wanted to do the v-neck mandarin collar variation of the shirt so I followed Andrea’s tutorial here for that. Super duper easy to do if you follow her instructions! I love how easy the plackets were to draft! Unfortunately, once I was finished with this part of the shirt, I decided that I didn’t like the mandarin collar. Because you take some width out of the collar, it ends up being really close around your neck and with this summer we are having, I knew I would never wear it because it was sooo hot!

I did an after-the-fact hack and used Jen’s v-neck alder variation as an example to help guide me. Basically I seam-ripped the collar stand, cut 3/4″ off the shirt back neckline, and then angled it down in the front to make a V- this cut out most of the v-neck that I had created with the placket so I kind of did this work twice, but oh well. It was a learning experience. Once I had the angle right on the shirt, I used bias binding to finish off the neck seam. I held my breath a bit during this part because I was so afraid that i wouldn’t be happy with the collar-less result but I am so happy to report that I love it! It’s so perfect for a summer top- so light and airy along the neck.

I made a few more little tweaks to the shirt along the way just for fun. Instead of pleating the back, I gathered it between the pleat lines. The pockets were giving me some fits at the very end. I was going to leave them off completely, but my husband thought the shirt needed small pockets so I tried them out. Two pockets just wasn’t doing it for me- looked a little too symmetrical if you know what I mean? After polling the IG world, I took the majority’s advice and just did one pocket which I altered it into a v-shaped bottom to mirror the neckline. I’ve still wavered about leaving that one on, but I think I like it. Adds a little contrast to the front. One final tweak I made to the pattern was to try out a split hem at the side seams. That was a really easy tweak, and while it’s not super noticeable it’s still a fun added feature.

I bias bound the armholes to finish them off. Like I mentioned above, I had just a bit of armhole gaping once I was all done so I took the side seam in another 1/4″ at the armholes and angled that down to nothing to fix that problem. This fabric is one of the three fabrics I bought in London- such self control I showed there!! It doesn’t have any information on it but it feels like a light-weight shirting. I had plans to use it for the boys but it was just calling out to be made into this shirt and I’m glad I gave in to its siren call. 😉 I really love how this turned out and I think it will get a ton of wear during the rest of this HOT summer. Also, it’s another entry on my #GrainlineBingo card. ;). Yep, thanks to my friend, Kristin, that’s totally a thing now. hehe.

Double Gauze Archer

Posted on October 1, 2014 by oliver's fancy

So I’ve had a bit of a sewing slump since returning from our big trip. Just had so much re-adjustment to regular life that I didn’t have any extra creative energy to work on things. Didn’t help that I had some sewing commitments to catch up on and had that nagging over my head until they were done! But selfish sewing week last week was the push I needed to check something off my list. I’ve had the Archer pattern since Thanksgiving (P.S.A.- pattern makers have black friday sales too!) and just haven’t gotten around to it yet. So glad I finally got one made and let me assure you, it’s the first of many!

Like I mentioned this is the Archer button down pattern from Grainline Studios. I made the size 8 based on my bust measurements. Continue reading →

Chambray+Meadow Tiny Pocket Tank

Posted on June 9, 2014 by oliver's fancy

In my previous summer sewing post, I alluded to the fact that I had finished one of the items on my first wish list and here I am to share it with you. I am pretty pumped about this tank because it was one of those ideas that I had in my head and it actually turned out as well as I had pictured! I have seen a couple of color-blocked tanks and tank dresses around the inter webs (Sew Caroline has a version here) and really wanted to make a version of my own. I made one of these tanks last year, (blogged here) had some trouble getting it fitted correctly since I had just recently birthed a baby and my body was a bit out of proportion. V. happy to report I re-measured myself for this tank, was able to go down several sizes this time, and ended up with a much better fit! Yay for body normalcy finally returning.

Pattern: Tiny Pocket Tank by Grainline Studios, size 8.

Continue reading →

Summer Sewing Wish List, part 2

Posted on June 5, 2014 by oliver's fancy

Here’s part two of my summer sewing wish list. I had this all typed up and uploaded on Tuesday but my laptop crashed and deleted all my edits. Boo. 😦 Finally getting a chance to sit down and re-do it. In the meantime, I’ve managed to finish one of my items on my previous wish list! Woot. Will get pictures taken this weekend and have a post for you next week about it. If you follow my instagram (@oliversfancy) you got a sneak peek of it already and I hope are as excited about it as I am. 🙂

Archer Button Down by Grainline Studios, swiss dot fabric found at Hancock. Note: I don’t actually own this fabric yet, but I saw it on a recent trip to Hancocks and couldn’t come up with a reason to buy it but after I saw Kristin’s Archer I knew I needed to copy hers. I’m thinking a sleeveless version for summer would work really well.

Weekend Getaway Blouse by Leisl + Co., Robert Kaufman Chambray in Slate- purchased at Westwood Acres but no longer in stock. Again with the Kristin fan-club, I’m totally knocking off her version here…except for the pregnant part…no babies here for a long while!

Everyday Skirt by Leisl + Co., Robert Kaufman Chambray Union Woven Dot purchased at Pink Chalk Fabrics.

Well that should keep me busy for a while, huh? Gotta get these knocked out especially since I may or may not have already ordered some more fabric specifically for garment-sewing. I think I may have a problem…