April rocked and no snow cancellations!! Woohoo!

The calendar for May is set in stone now-

Saturday, May 10, Ginny’s Fine Fabrics, Rochester

Wednesday, May 14, Lakes Makerie, Mpls.

Thursday, May 15, Creative Sewing, Apple Valley

Without further ado:

Debbie’s Garments:

Floral Print Jean Jacket

I loved this fabric and always love toppers in the warmer months so I was ready to try out the Butterick pattern again.

For fit I did my standard petiting and narrow shoulder adjustment. Because I eliminated the bottom band I added length to the jacket. The sleeve and cuff on this pattern are too big for my liking so I narrowed the sleeve 1 and 1/2 inch at hem and shortened the cuff width and length to match sleeve adjustment.

I also appreciate a double yoke so I added that with the burrito method.

I like this make but I wish I would have considered the Jordan Jacket by Serendipity Studio. I made that jacket about a year ago and it has lots of pluses such as welt pockets, placket interfacings and excellent collar and sleeve placket construction methods. I think the front pocket panel could be eliminated.

*Tee shirt is from Love Notions Classic Tee Pattern.

This dress pattern has been around since 2017 and can be made into so many looks.

I have made this dress a few times and thought the fringe trim would be fun. The fabric selvage is fringed so I eliminated a lot of extra work by just using that for the facing trim.

I did extra work however working around facing construction, installing an invisible zipper and not putting pull at the top of neckline (Becky’s method) instead of a lapped zipper. I did place front and back facings on fold for this process to work correctly.

I disregarded armhole facings and instead did a serged bias edge finish.

I love this fabric and I thought it would make a great, easy to wear dress.I made a muslin, adjusted pattern for fit issues and was excited to sew my new dress. Yikes – it was awful. I must have had on rose colored glasses when seeing myself in the muslin!

There was no way I was going to give up on this fabric. So on a not so nice day in March I decided to rescue it even though I had to do a lot of piecing such as putting a seam down front and center of sleeves.

I also put a yoke on back and did my least favorite button method for back closure Did a serged bias finish around neckline instead of facings.

I am satisfied with my rescue. The blouse is a nice layering piece and the flow and feel of the fabric is yummy.

Kristin’s Garments:

Both the pattern and the fabric have been calling out to me so I gave in and glad I did. I doubled the back yoke and installed with burrito method. The front pockets are constructed with a second backing piece so I doubled the front yoke while I was at it (it was one of the cold days 🙂 By this time I ran out of main fabric, had no lining that I wanted to use in the sleeves-because I couldn’t leave them single layer! So I used another wool that I had purchased to use with the main fabric. Very happy I did as the fabric show in the front band right up by my face!

The back lining-it’s not called for in the pattern but for some reason I wanted to make a subtle statement. This canvas has been in my stash for some time and then I have been pondering free motion embroidery so i did a little of that-it only shows if you are up close on the outside. The selvedge had a great name “Beautiful Life” so I used that as my label. I wanted a hanger tab but my label was off center so I put the tab on the outside-which I see in RTW 🙂

I omitted the dangling part of the front button band. It’s a long jacket-not my jam.

Another technique I explored was the bias binding on inside edge of collar, cuffs and button band. I used 1 3/4” strips and serged them on to edges at 5/8” (pattern’s seam allowance. Wrapped the bias to wrong side, stitched in ditch and trimmed. Then pinned facing piece in place and topstitched in the ditch from the right side.

This jacket was a process-lots of thinking and a few of the directions were conflicting. I used the Hampton Jean Jacket Sew Along from Alina Designs to apply the collar. I won’t make it again but I hope to wear it to shreds!

It’s fun to be involved in somebody else’s creative process so I couldn’t say no when Julie showed me what she was up to: a showcase to highlight the programs at the Rochester community center 125 Live. Someone from the knitting and crocheting group donated the scarves and jewelry and crocheted the hat and doodads 🙂

I picked up the pattern at the fabric swap because I liked the cuff and neck band idea and have a piece of wool I’d like to try it with. So two birds, one stone.

The pattern is simple-I added center front and back seams. The scarves were fringed so I used it. Definitely a keeper pattern for those fabrics that you just can’t cut up.

After the Eve Trousers from last month I had to give Duet a try (a free paper copy of it fell into my hands!)

The pattern has a full tummy pattern piece and straight and tapered legs. There is also a “curvy” back waistband piece that I used with much success.

The pockets are one piece that goes from side seam to side seam. Easy Peasy. The zipper is invisible-no button or anything at the top.

The “curvy” back waistband piece is quite curvy and may have shifted out of shape a bit but who’s looking? I used the bias binding technique from the jacket on the waistband.

Great fit-as long as I don’t sit down but I think the linen will relax and give me some room. All seam allowances are 5/8” and there is a great fitting guide to go with it.

Workshops at Ginny’s/Rochester-3 Day Pants Fitting, June 3-5, 3 Day Hand Tailoring, June 6-8, 3 Day Couture Dressmaking, June 9-11. More info www.LoveCoutureSewing.com

Debbie’s Garments:

1. A TNT pattern that is quick and easy with lots of options for necklines, sleeves and length.

2. Standard fit adjustments for me include shortening between shoulder and bust, bust and waist and waist and hip as well as a narrow shoulder adjustment. I have built the adjustments into the pattern which makes it easy for me to sew it up fast.

3. To step the dress up a notch I made front and back neck facings instead of using a neckband. I also added a pleat detail where the sleeve meets the cuff.

4. I plan on wearing the dress in the cooler months – therefore I wish I would have lengthened back at neck-the unadjusted neckline is one and one half inches below the the neck base. BRRR!

1. This is my second make of this pattern. My first make was my “muslin” made from a basic cotton. The cotton version is more structured and requires more care than I like.

2. For the second make I tweaked the fit, and made just the top button function on the back placket. It is easy to put on the top without the other buttons working.

3. I like the pattern, especially with the “exit interest”. It is a nice change from a classic shirt. The fabric is one of my favorites to sew.

*Apologies – some of you may have seen this garment at January GSG

1. I had difficulty finding a pattern for a quilted jacket that wasn’t oversized or drop shoulder.

2. Looking through my patterns I came across the Burda blouse pattern that I used last year. It had the details I wanted in the quilted jacket so I thought why not give it a try.

3. The changes I made include keeping the bust darts but eliminating all vertical darts, trimmed facing to fit neck edge and serged as much as possible using 1/4 seams.

4. I had thought about using single edge bias trim to finish edges without facings, or add bias to wrong side and topstitch to rs but in the end I made it as simple as possible without any closures.

5. I am happy with this unexpected make and will wear it often.

1. Another TNT pattern that I use often.

2. The only change I made was to add cuffs to the sleeve.

3. I love stripes and was excited to sew this quality fabric. However it was a little disappointing even though the stripes are knit in, not printed. I needed to “pull” the fabric to get the stripes to line up. I wasn’t very successful at the hemline though.

Kristin’s Garments:

1. This is a new pattern from Love Notions and almost exactly what I was looking for. First version is in a heavier rib knit/fleece made to pattern.

2. There is fit shaping at the waist and the armhole bands made it a bit more oversized than I wanted so for the second version I omitted the hem band, took in at underarm and turned armhole band under.

1. I had to sew up this cotton for Valentine’s Day just cuz 🙂 I’ve also been seeing lots of oversized shirts in the magazines and trying to decide how oversized I like my shirts.

2. This pattern has cut on placket so I turned the right side to outside to show off the reverse weave and then turned the left size to the back. Nice pattern.

1. Started down the “Top Down Center Out” rabbit hole! Mostly watched videos by “crooked hem”. It definitely has things to teach me. Don’t know that it’s the be-all and end-all but certainly worth looking into further.

2. Very much liked the 1” waistband-no need to contour. Also like the side zip.

3. Added 2” to the length. I think I like them!

4. Fun reading the directions-I chose the “Hem with Turnup” I kept thinking I was reading about vegetables!! And then there’s stitching in the crack 🙂

March 2025 Garment Sewing Group

Wednesday, March 5, 10:30, at Lakes Makerie, Minneapolis

Thursday, March 6, 10:30, at Creative Sewing, Apple Valley

Saturday, March 8, 10:30, at The Sewing Lounge, St. Paul