Remember Seinfeld's puffy shirt?

About a week ago I saw that Vogue had released some new patterns for a holiday collection. I paged through the new releases and found four shirt patterns I really liked that I could see myself wearing.

For whatever reason, Vogue 9059 was one of them.

Vogue 9059

I think it's the golden yellow that got me. Or maybe the fancy sleeve application? I am a sucker for sleeves if you remember.

In walking through Hancock's, I found this pretty melon colored mystery polyester for 80% off the sticker price. It was $.99 a yard! So I got three yards and picked up the new Vogue patterns and off I went.

I had a few free hours to myself last night (my mom took the boys to dinner) so I started in on this blouse. I managed to get it cut out and start in on the front before I realized this was going to be a wadder. Instead of stopping midway, I really wanted to see what it would look like with these sleeves, so I put the rest of it together, albeit in an abbreviated way.

Yikes, look how hideous the fabric hangs!

Check out how big the sleeve piece is. This fabric is a full 60" wide and the pattern piece doesn't even fit on it, you have to turn it to fit the grainline.  Also, this is my kitchen island, you can see how big the sleeve is!!

All I can say is YUCK.

The sleeves are interesting, but they're gigantic. You could remove six or eight inches of volume and still have an interesting sleeve.

Right off the bat, I messed up the hidden placket. I've sewn them in before and had no problems but for some reason this fabric gave me fits and when I was done I realized I was missing the buttonhole shield. That's when I decided to make this as a muslin so to see if it was even worth it.

It was doomed. Last night I still was optimistic and thought maybe I would make it again in a better fabric with less sleeve volume but in the light of day this top is so bad I'm not sure I have the guts to try again.

Onwards and upwards, I guess?

Under construction...

Pardon the dust, I'm trying to configure a new layout for the blog that's a bit more up to date with technology. I'm also ready to post a new project that I made this morning with a free pattern, so check back later for updates....

Hope springs eternal - free sweatshirt pattern

Last winter, when I still wasn't sewing, I bought an adorable sweatshirt with zippers on a diagonal at the shoulders. I wore it a few times before I had to admit that the sleeves were too short and the body was way too short. I like to wear leggings and yoga pants and I don't like my bum exposed. Plus I wanted it to have a more shaped shape instead of a boxy shape.

I took it downstairs and traced the pieces off onto craft paper, noting my wish list, before giving it away.

I should be working on the Cookie jacket, but instead the other night I decided to pull out some sweatshirt terry (feels kind of like a heavy French terry?) and take a stab at making it longer.

I could use a little more room around the belly and the front ended up a little longer than I'd like, but otherwise I am super happy with it.

After having a mini-rant on the availability of free sewing patterns, I decided to trace off my pattern and share it so that anyone else who wants to make one can do it without paying for the pattern. 

This is the link to the pattern. There are NO SEAM ALLOWANCES printed on the pattern - be sure to add your own!

I'll post some simple instructions at the end of this post and if anyone has any questions about the construction process please feel free to email me at heathertyfeatherty@gmail.com.

Hope Springs Eternal Sweatshirt

This pattern is for a size 10/12 or Large. My measurements are 38 bust/30 waist/40 hips. I haven't yet graded it to other sizes (or drafted it into Illustrator for that matter), so you will most likely need to make adjustments. I'm also quite tall, so please pin-fit the pattern to yourself before cutting your fabric!

I added almost six inches in length to the body. You may want to remove that extra length in the middle of the bodice sections. I marked one section with a dotted line where it would be appropriate to fold and remove excess fabric, repeat for other three pattern pieces if you choose to do that.

You will see I added pattern pieces for neckline facings but you may choose to simply turn and stitch down your neckline, or finish it some other way.

The pattern is a PDF file and is printed three pages across and five down for a total of 15 pages.

This is the link to the pattern. There are NO SEAM ALLOWANCES printed on the pattern! Be sure to add your own. I cut it with 1/2" allowance to leave room to let it out in certain key areas.

1. Sew side front sections to front.

2. Sew side back sections to back.

3. Attach zipper to upper front bodice.

4. Attach other side of zipper to upper front shoulder section.

5. Attach back bodice to back shoulder section.

6.. Pin-fit the front and back to you or your dress form to ensure proper fit.

7. Finish the neckline to your taste, using the methods below:

7a. Attach front facing to front section, then trim seam and topstitch 5/8" away from edge, turning at zipper edge to catch zipper ends neatly inside the facing.

7b. Attach back facing to back section and shoulders, trim seam and topstitch 5/8" away from edge, repeating zipper technique.

OR 7c. Turn neckline down and topstitch/finish to your taste. 

8. OPTIONAL - attach kangaroo pocket to front. Turn pocket edges down and topstitch before sewing pocket to front section along top, bottom and sides.

9. Attach sleeves flat.

10. Sew side seams all the way through sleeve.

11. Hem bottom.

Voila! Please let me know if I've forgotten steps along the way or if you have any questions. I'll try to check email regularly. If there are any technical difficulties with downloading or printing from Google Docs I'll try to fix them or I can email the PDF file.

H