MMM’15 Week 1 Round Up

Though I didn’t really plan it, this week saw many old favorites!

Day One 5/1/15: Colette Monetta hack. I added a color blocked waistband and cowl neck to the basic pattern.

Day Two 5/2/15 : Colette Monetta straight from the package. I wear this dress a LOT.

Day Three 5/3/15: Colette Monetta deja vu. Worn at Biltmore Estate to see the Dressing Downton exhibit!

Day Four 5/4/15: Kate and Rose Patterns Roza blouse. Added gingham lace embroidery to the front.

Day Five 5/5/15: Colette Oslo cardigan. This is from the December 2014 issue of Seamwork Magazine.

Day Six 5/6/15: Cake Patterns Cabarita top. Originally made for July 4th baseball viewing but I typically wear all summer.

Day Seven 5/7/15: Old Navy Tee embroidered with Anna Maria Horner design

Nothing new this week but everything I wore is much loved. How did your first week of Me Made May go?

Hummingbird Sewalong Wrap Up and Pattern Review

The Sewing Cake Hummingbird Sewalong ends tonight so I finally got around to taking photos of my completed skirts. The Hummingbird was the first time I used a Sewing Cake pattern and I really liked it.  Steph’s patterns are not traditional but I really like her approach to garment sewing. The pattern is printed on thick waxy paper and intended to be traced instead of cut out. This method allows multiple sizes to be sewn over time without damaging the pattern.

 

I made one skirt in 7oz denim and another in red cotton twill. Both were part of the sewalong, so I cut and stitched them at the same time. The pattern allows for a high level of customization while tracing and cutting the pattern which was super helpful. Since there is a nearly 12 inch differential between my waist and hips, skirts usually require a ton of fitting which always bogs down my sewing mojo and leads to many half finished garments. This was not the case with the Hummingbird pattern. There is a “mid-construction” fit check to allow for some tweaking but I found that other than deeper waist darts in the back, there were no modifications required.

 

Things I need to work on from a sewing/experience perspective for the next time are:

1. Back dart apex on the red skirt does NOT lay flat. Steph had a good tutorial on the sewing cake website that I used for the denim skirt with no issues
2. Peg the side seams so they are not as “flowy” at the bottom. Since my booty protrudes, I think the skirt would look better a bit tighter at the knee
3. Do a better job lining up the waistbands. I didn’t take a photo of this but had to realign the waistband at the zipper multiple times to get it right!

Now it’s time to finish my Bombshell Swimsuit designed by Heather Lou before July 4th!

Cake Patterns Hummingbird Sewalong

As if I didn’t already have a lot going on, I have joined StephC’s Hummingbird 30 Minutes a Day Sewalong. It starts today and will run for the next two weeks. The patterns were shipped in colored envelopes and the color indicates which “House” you are in. The houses are named after specific types of hummingbirds and I am in the pink Anna house. To make it more fun, there is a contest to see which house produces and photographs the most garments. The winning house gets a $10 gift certificate to spend at Cake Patterns. I plan to do my part to insure the Anna house wins!

The first week is devoted to the peplum top, green view. I plan to make one top using this knit I bought from Fabric.com:

The second week is devoted to the straight skirt, orange view. I plan to make two versions of this skirt using fabrics I bought at Joann:

This is my first foray into Cake Patterns but based on the reviews it won’t be my last. In fact I already have StephC’s new Cabarita RIFF pattern and I will be trying that out over my July 4th vacation. I also have the Tiramisu dress and Bonny top patterns on order so I fully expect my summer to be filled with sewing Cake Patterns!