Love Notions Classic Tee

I have owned this pattern for five years, and it has become a staple - in my mom's wardrobe!

My first one was a pink-striped poly-spandex from FabricmaniaBoutique on Etsy, with short sleeves for me.

My second one was coordinating blue DBP fabrics from JoAnn's with long sleeves for my mom.

My third and fourth were white jet fabric from Walmart bundles with short sleeves for my mom. I like to use variegated thread in the loopers of my coverstitch machine.

My fifth one was a mod flower print poly-lycra (possibly from JoAnn) with long sleeves for me.

My sixth one was a feather print poly-lycra (possibly from JoAnn) with long sleeves for me.

My seventh and eighth were cotton-lycra and DBP with short sleeves for my mom.

You can find the pattern here.

I will be sure to make this again, some other day!

Daniel Knit Shorts by 5 out of 4 Pattern Company

I use this pattern for my knit shorts because the waistline is fairly straight, unlike some pants patterns that have the waistline much lower in the front than in the back.

I have adapted a pocket method I learned from Stretch n Sew patterns. I made a template for the pocket opening shape by cutting out the side of a dollar-store placemat:

I placed a facing piece, right sides together, onto the pocket opening location of the side of the front pieces, traced the opening shape, stitched the opening shape, trimmed, turned to the inside, and topstitched:

Then I placed the right side of the pocket piece against the wrong side of the front piece at the pocket opening, pinned well, and used a medium zigzag stitch to hold it down:

Only partly shown are the next few steps of my construction method.

I stitched the back pieces to the front pieces at the side seams.

I hemmed each assembly.

I placed the two assemblies right sides together and sewed the crotch curves at each side.

I placed the back pieces on the bottom, which means folding it a different way, laid the front inseam over the back inseam, and stitched that from hem to hem.

I stitched the elastic into a circle, marked the quarters, and marked halfway between those points. I also marked the top edge of the shorts in the same way. I matched those up with the elastic on the wrong side of the shorts, and pinned them together:

I attached the elastic to the shorts with a large zigzag stitch:

I basted on a folded ribbon or tape of a contrasting color to mark the center back:

I turned the elastic to the inside, pinned well, and stitched it down along the lower edge of the elastic with a medium zigzag stitch:

I didn't stop there, though. Because I liked how they fit me, I also made a pajama pants with a double-brushed poly (aka DBP). I made the legs the length and width (at the hem) the way I liked in another pair of PJ pants, and did not add pockets:

Here's a close-up of the cute print. The DBP is very soft:

The pockets, hems, and elastic were constructed with my sewing machine. All other seams were constructed with my serger for a quick and easy project.

Virginia Tank by 5 out of 4 Pattern Company

I bought this pattern a while ago and decided to use it when I wanted to make a summer sleep top.

I found a white slub knit fabric at Walmart which I thought might work. When I laundered it and laid it out on my table, I learned two things:

1. The fabric is rather thin.

2. It was probably a tubular knit until it was cut on the diagonal.

I assembled it using my serger and added a tag of sorts to it. I stitched a folded piece of ribbon onto the seam allowance of the neckline, then trimmed off the ribbon below that seam:

I used variegated thread in the looper of my coverstitch machine for all the topstitching:

When I first put on the top, it felt like it was cutting into my arms:

Much to my surprise, though, the fabric stretched out a lot after wearing, drooping under my arms!

If I use this pattern again with a different fabric, I would lower the armholes.

Otherwise, the pattern fit me just fine, and it was easy to make.

Love Notions Cadence - Sleeveless Dress

I have owned this sewing pattern for 5.5 years and I finally decided to try it.

Since I have made so many garments with knit fabric - surprise! - I found that I have only one woven fabric that might be suitable for this garment.

But first I had to make a test garment to see if this pattern might work. I had to go out to buy a woven fabric. I went to my local Hobby Lobby and found a summery floral.

I traced the pattern in my size, as usual. I laid the front pattern piece over my body and decided that I needed to lower the bust dart one inch. I did that and cut out the floral fabric.

I sewed it up using all my machines (sewing machine, serger, and coverstitch machine). Here are pictures of the first garment.

Whoah, now. That last picture shows the fabric bunching at my back waist. That means I needed to do a swayback adjustment. Luckily, my friend Sherril showed me something I had seen, not tried, and forgotten.

Oh, goodness. My husband took one look at the last picture and said, "You don't have a swayback. It's just that your belly is pulling all that fabric to the front."

He may be right, but this seems to work for me now. The proof is in the next version of this pattern. I used a thin knit with almost no stretch - which just happened to be in my stash.

Oh, another surprise. I needn't have lowered the bust dart, so I moved it almost all the way back to where it started.

So I guess the next step will be to make up this pattern in the GOOD fabric.

I hope to report back within the next year!

Love Notions Laundry Day Tee - Tops with Short Sleeves

 I found a pattern for a top or dress that I really like, so I have made 22 of them since I first go the pattern.

This is the Laundry Day Tee (LDT) by Love Notions Designs. There is a special deal on this pattern when you join their Facebook group.

Here is the first top I made with this pattern using a red plaid ITY (interlock twist yarn) knit from Nancy Zieman's website (no longer available).

I had enough fabric that my friend made one, too.

She learned how to sew knit garments on a serger by making hers at the same time I did.

Here is a top for which I have proof that I made it but no pictures of it finished. I also think I did not like the print on me and gave it to someone for some reason. Here is most of the proof I have:

I made the next top twice - once for me and one for my pedicure lady's birthday. This was a knit mesh from JoAnn Fabrics.

I later decided to make a top for my mom with a blue floral that I found on Amazon. It's slightly fuzzy so I thought it would be warm (it was winter at the time). She likes it and sent me a 94-year-old selfie!

I made another one for Mom with a soft, stripe/floral DBP (double-brushed poly). More about my garment later.

At the same time, I made her another one with a knit from hobby lobby.

That's it for the short-sleeved KDTs.

Love Notions Laundry Day Tee - Sleeveless Dresses

I found a pattern for a top or dress that I really like, so I have made 22 of them since I first go the pattern.

This is the Laundry Day Tee (LDT) by Love Notions Designs. There is a special deal on this pattern when you join their Facebook group.

Here is my first sleeveless one using a swim fabric that I don't know where I got it. My topstitching and hems were finished with a medium zigzag stitch.

The next sleeveless dress I made is of a thin mesh fabric which may have been from JoAnn Fabrics. I did not have a lot of fabric, but it is a non-directional print. This means that I could add a back seam and cut it out in opposite directions.

Once again, my topstitching and hems were finished with a medium zigzag stitch.

I wear it a lot, especially when it's hot or raining outside, which are not mutually exclusive to Florida.

The older I get, the more likely I am to have coordinating earrings.

One of my favorite sleeveless dresses is this one, which I made really wide and really long. I added a center back seam to make this work for the amount of fabric I had.

I trimmed the hem after cutting using the method in my previous post.

A friend gave me this next fabric (which is no longer available online). It has vacation vibes, so I had to make another long, sleeveless dress. Once again, I made it longer, wider, and with a center back seam.

I believe this knit mesh fabric was from JoAnn Fabrics. It is so light and airy, but I did not get much, so it became a shorter dress.

So that's it for the sleeveless dresses ... for now.