On my recent trip to San Francisco I knew exactly the jacket/coat I needed, both there in the misty mornings and at home in Halifax.
Unfortunately I didn’t have exactly that coat with me, but the first thing I did when I got home was start sewing one.
Jalie’s Stretch City Coat pattern has been around for a while. Many folks have made it, and many of them have made it in a woven, just using a larger sized pattern. I really wanted to stick to the original intent and having been keeping my eyes open the right stretch fabric for a couple of years now.
I finally found it along the back wall of my local Fabricville – a place I have learned you can really find great quality and interesting fabrics, if you can keep yourself moving past the distraction of this season’s fashion fabrics.
I decided to use a grey with a black fleece lining. It is a pretty interesting fabric. The outer side is a tightly woven poplin, much like commander if you have sewn that, and the inside has a very fine micro finer fleece bonded to it. Perfect if you want weather resistant with a little warmth but without the hassle of putting in a lining.
I found this fabric very easy to sew. I used a standard sharp needle and Gutternman polyester thread but I did lengthen my stitch length to 3.0 for construction and 4.0 for topstitching. There is a fair amount of volume to this fabric, sort of bouncy like ponte and I felt that the longer stitch length was just more compatible with it.
I made a few changes to the pattern.
First I couldn’t decide on whether or not to do the collar or hood view – one is dressier one more useful – so in the end I made the collar view but sewed the hood up as a separate unit and added three snaps to the back of the collar stand so I could snap on the hood as needed.
This is a bit of a pattern hack and I do realize that one result of that is that the collar has to stand up when the hood is attached. You might think this looks weird but living in Nova Scotia I have no problem with as many rain barriers as I can get. I have also convinced myself that this detail looks edgy and works with the techno nature of the fabric. If you disagree, don’t tell me.
The other variation I made was to change up the suggested buttons and buttonholes for big sew-on snaps. I test sewed a few buttonholes and they just looked small and wimpy to me in this fabric so I went back down to Fabricville and got these wonderful snaps – large ones for the coat and smaller ones for the hood/collar attachment.
A word on the snaps. I have observed in RTW that the stitches for big fashion snaps like these go right through to the right side of the fabric. Once you get your head around this, and the fact that your hand stitches might not be 100% perfect and that is OK, this are easy to stitch on. Each snap has two holes at each corner which I used in the coat but for the smaller collar snaps just sewed them on through one hole as we are used to doing with snaps.
Use a biggish needle and I really recommend a buttonhole twist or heavier thread for the snap sewing on. The metal of the snaps tends to break an ordinary construction weight thread.
The pockets in this coat are interesting – sort of free floating square bags that the pattern instructions tell you to tack to the facings, giving you a reference to an illustration that seems to be on longer available on Jalie’s site.
As a result I sort of improvised here and folded the pocket bags slightly vertically and did a short row of machine stitches to secure the pocket top and bottoms to the facings. This actually seems to work quite well, holding the pockets in place so they don’t flop around but not pulling on the facing.
I really am very pleased with this coat – it has a combination of style and function that really appeals to me. I know I am going to wear it a lot – both at home and when I am on tour visiting.
As we were deep in the throws of another Canadian winter, I was longing for summer days and warm weather. To get myself through, I was clinging to my laptop, taking in all the Spring 2017 fashion trends, dreaming of what I would make and wear.
I have to say I was thrilled when Jalie patterns appeared at my local Fabricville. I have long been a huge Jalie fan and it was so nice to know that I can now just go down to the bottom of my street to buy them – no more taping printed letter sized sheets together, no more waiting for the patterns to come in the mail.
Here are the reasons I love Jalie patterns.
1. The fit is ready-to-wear more so than many sewing patterns.
2. There are up to 29 sizes in each pattern. This means I can make a knit top and tracker pants for me and trace off from the same pattern to make a top and pants for my two year old grandson. I have used some patterns to sew the same garment for six family members, all with the same great fit!
3. Jalie styles are very wearable for my everyday life. Current but never transient Jalie designs have a long fashion shelf life in my experience.
I was particularly pleased with the new series of patterns Jalie released late winter of this year. I will probably be making most of these patterns eventually but for the time being decided to start with two that intrigued me, the Marie-Claude knit top https://jalie.com/jalie3667-marie-claude-raglan-pullovers and the Vanessa fluid pants https://jalie.com/jalie3676-vanessa-fluid-pants
I was lucky to find very high quality fabrics for both these garments at Fabricville both are available in store and online.
I used this bright pink bamboo knit https://fabricville.com/en/bamboo-knit-pink.html for the top and this grey tencel https://fabricville.com/en/denim-tencel-charcoal.html
for the pants. I notice that both fabrics are now on sale.
Before I get to the this is what I made part I want to talk about the fabrics and why each of these two patterns caught my eye.
First the fabric. Bamboo fabrics have only been fairly recently available to the home sewer and whenever I can snap some I do. Bamboo knits in particular are so so soft, drape well and don’t wrinkly quite as much as rayons in my experience. The top I made in this bamboo knit feels so silky and comfortable I can tell you right now I am going to be wearing it a lot and am likely going to be getting some more for another top and some underwear for this Jalie pattern https://jalie.com/jalie2568-women-s-underwear-pattern
I was also very happy, and a little surprised, to see tencel at Fabricville too. Tencel is one of my favourite fabrics, particularly for travel, and can be pretty hard to find. It has a nice hand and weight, wrinkles minimally, breathes well and has that silk feel like bamboo but of course is so much easier to care for than silk.
Both the bamboo and the tencel were perfect matches for these patterns.
The Marie-Claude is a raglan T-shirt with a shaped hem and a fairly high crew neckline, with an option as well for a turtleneck or a close hood. Given it is now spring, even in Nova Scotia, I decided to make the crew neckline. The result is what I would call a base layer type top, fine on its own, particularly as it has a body skimming as opposed to very fitted silhouette, but idea as a top to wear under a jacket too. It seems these days that many necklines are either scoop or boat neck and I really enjoy wearing a comfortable round neck for a change. I can see this pattern could easily be made in a lycra for a sunshirt to wear around the pool with the kids and I think I might trace a smaller size and do just that.
The Vanessa tracker pants are excellent. For some reason all us home sewers for years struggled with pants fitting and now we finally have access to great pants drafts with real ready-to-wear fit that have eliminated so many of our fitting issues. And about time too.
These pants really require a fabric with drape, indicated quite clearly in the flowing pants description, so the tencel is perfect. They can be made with either the elastic at the bottom, which I did, or hemmed, which I might do in the next pair. The pattern has interesting nice deep pockets and a flat section at centre front the break up the gathers of the otherwise full elastic waist casing. This flat piece is supposed to be a place for eyelets and a drawstring but I left that detail out in mine – I don’t like or need any extra bulk around my waist.
I made a few changes to the pattern in my versions. First I lengthened the top by 2”, something that was super easy to do as the top pattern pieces are one lower section and two different top sections (one for the front and one for the back) that you lay above the bottom pattern pieces to cut each out. It was easy to just spread the pattern pieces apart at 2” at this point. I am tall and this extra 2” is an almost automatic adjustment for me.
I also made one change to the pants after I had worn them for a day and surprisingly this was to shorten them 1 ½” If you look closely at the bottom of these pants in pictures that were taken before I made this change you will see they blouse out a bit. I decided after having observed other folks wearing tracker pants (OK so these were bearded mean barrelling past my on bike on the streets of San Francisco) it seemed to me that theirs were sleeker at the bottom so I made this change.
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Now that winter is finally behind us and the sunny days have begun, it won’t be long until your patio once again starts playing host to garden parties, BBQs and other fun gatherings with friends. However, before that, you should make sure your furniture is up to the task. If your patio furniture has not aged well, you should consider refurbishing it by updating the fabric. Ditch the dirty old cushion covers and replace them with something that has style and sophistication!
Le look sport chic est encore bien présent dans les magazines de mode. Il est fort à parier que sa longévité peut être attibuée au fait qu’il est facile à porter et ultra confortable.
I decided that this Spring and Summer were going to be all about dress this year! When I saw the lovely fabric for the Spring collection of Fabricville, I knew I was going to have a lot of fun creating dresses this year!
My most recent make is this beautiful floral dress (Very trendy this year) I made using McCall’s 7119 pattern and the Bubbly Crepe coordinate.
Hey there! I’m back with another dress…(I promise you, I do make some practical, everyday garments, really I do) …but it’s no secret that I love dresses and this one is on the favorite list for sure! It would be perfect for a summer wedding.
Ruffles are definitely getting some attention this year and with the weather getting warmer, I had to celebrate by making this gorgeous fit and flare ruffle dress.
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The history of knitting is certainly a tricky one to unpick. Due to early knitting projects being made from natural fibres such as wool, cotton, and silk, many have since decomposed leaving few surviving examples of the craft. So where did knitting originate? Let’s deconstruct this mystery!
As Spring approaches I’m trying to hurry it up by making a warm weather dress, from bright red quilting cotton featuring playful mice, of course! Unfortunately making a cotton spring dress means I had to wait a week for a day suitable for outdoor pictures after finishing it.
I recently returned from a trip to Punta Cana…I know…lucky me. Believe me, I’m still pinching myself! It was a 25th wedding anniversary gift to ourselves and we had a blast!
Every car seat needs a piddle pad. Especially during potty training!We had bought one for approximately $14 when we got our car seats. I then made one for
Source: Tutorial: Potty training car seat pee pad | InspiredbyMomxoxo DIY crafts parenting sewing
Même si je suis ce genre de personne que vous surprenez toujours à porter une paire de jeans, j’aime vraiment les robes;
Un grand merci à Fabricville pour le tissu et la mercerie utilisée dans le cadre de ce projet!
En attendant l’arrivée du printemps, je bâti tranquillement mon garde-robe pour la saison à venir.
I have been sewing up a storm lately. There are just so many things I want to make. Pinterest may have a lot to do with that lol.
Hello, I am Ann from Annmakes®, and today I am sharing with you, my very first Fabricville post. Hopefully not my last!
I love to sew and create all sorts of stuff. My first real love in the DIY world was sewing, and it continues to be one of my favourites. I just love the humming that the sewing machine makes, ahh! It is such a comforting sound. Another thing I like is comfortable clothing that travels well.
I chose to make this Tunic or Top from McCall’s (M7413). A Nancy Zieman pattern that is well designed, with clear instructions, and helpful tips from Nancy, which makes this an enjoyable project.
The fabrics I chose are Crepe Knit Coordinates in Floral-Grey/Red/Black LR439020, Black LR439004, and Red LR439002. Excellent materials to make clothing that keeps their shape, and minimizes wrinkling.
I found this awesome Peppermint Swirl dress pattern by Candy Castle Patterns.
My latest project was supposed to be a Fall shirtdress…
We’ve been working on redecorating our guest room in the basement in preparation for the holidays
Inspiration :
Ce patron était sur ma liste de projets de couture aussitôt que je l’ai vu dans la collection d’automne 2016 de McCall’s.
I consider myself to be a pretty crafty person,
My love affair with coats runs deep. Embarrassingly deep.
Winter is coming but first we have to survive Halloween.
Happy Fall everyone! I love the heat of the summer
Ces dernières années, les combinaisons sont partout dans les magazines de mode.
Fall is back and it is time to start covering ourselves again!
I usually start a project with a pattern in mind, but this time started with the news cycle and a fabric.
L’automne, la saison parfaite pour se faire plaisir en utilisant
Getting in a little more summer sewing while I still can.
There’s still plenty of sunshine outside so why not make another cute summer dress!
J’ai finalement opté pour le top épaules dégagées!
Avez-vous déjà confectionné la chemise pour homme?
I am declaring this the summer of the shirtdress, to help me overcome my fear of buttonholes and to challenge myself a little!
Que votre style soit un peu bohémien, inspiré de Woodstock ou
Peu d’inventions ont changé le cours de l’histoire autant que la machine à coudre. Imaginez si c’était encore aux femmes dans les usines de tout coudre à la main pour répondre aux besoins de 7,5 milliards de personnes sur cette terre. Il serait permis de dire que la machine à coudre, à elle seule, a fait avancer la production de masse et l’industrialisation.
Évolution de la machine à coudre)
Lately I have had the bright idea of actually sewing clothes that I would wear everyday, be comfortable in, and go together. An outfit.
So we’ve had a taste of nice weather and I think we’re all about done with sewing up
Hello everyone! I’m Margo and I can usually be found over at Creating In The Gap but I’m super excited to be sharing my coat here with you today!
Bonjour!
Le temps est venu pour moi de vous présenter ma dernière création : Une Robe Chemisier
I’m so excited to be showcasing this pretty dress!
Sometimes the fabric decides the dress. I saw a quilting cotton at Fabricville.com, called Mallowway Green Diamonds. It reminded me of
Bonjour!
Je suis malgré moi en train de devenir une accro de la combinaison! À chaque saison, à la sortie des nouveaux modèles de patrons, je vis la tentation de
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(Histoire drôle : Il commençait à faire de plus en plus soleil dehors avec des températures toujours plus hautes. Au MOMENT où j’ai terminé ma robe,
En découvrant les collections de tissus « Décor Maison » de Fabricville
je suis
