A Sewing Weekend

I finished the hoodie and I'm quite pleased with it. I ended up taking out the hem and taking the side seams in a bit. Removing a coverstitch is easy if you a) pull the right thread and b) start from the correct end. Zip and it's out. After finishing the hoodie I traced off and cut out another Burda WOF pattern from the same issue (Jan 2002) for a sleeveless top. Based on my experience with the hoodie I traced off a solid size 42 and didn't increase it any in the waist. I also cut out some shorts using a Kwik Sew pattern. And just to squeeze out some more from this fabric, I cut out a pattern for an 18" doll top. I try to make something for an 18" doll (e.g., American Girl) out of the scraps from my projects and right after I finish my main project, while I have the machines threaded. So far I have a fleece jacket and a knit top. I intend them to be Christmas presents for a niece, if she still plays with these dolls.

I decided to start working on the top and then realized that I was supposed to cut out binding for the neck and arms. Oops. I barely had enough out of the scraps and the neck binding will have two seams (I'll just line them up to the shoulder seams - no biggie).

My weekend also involved a trip to the fabric store. I went out to get more thread but Hancocks closed at 6:00 and I was 5 minutes too late. I reluctantly drove over to Joanns, knowing theycarry Gutterman, not Mettler, which was the brand I was using, but hoping there'd be a close match. Nope. Their Gutterman selection was quite picked through. They did have the white cording I wanted for the shorts though. There's not much about Joanns that I like but they do have good pattern sales. This weekend they had Vogue for $3.99 and Butterick and McCalls for 99 cents. I picked up a couple patterns for purses and one reissued vintage Barbie pattern. I browsed the fabric just to see what they had and I eyed some more of the Chinese brocade-inspired polyester they've been carrying. I recently bought some in red to make a Chinese style top but I saw they had other colors now, including black, which I thought would make a great evening bag. Like I go out to the opera and stuff. Well actually, we do go out to concerts and are going to one this Saturday night. But no one dresses up in evening wear. Still, you never know when I might need an evening bag and I only needed 1/2 a yard. Joanns also had some purse hardware - it seems making purses is the fad of the moment. I picked up some bamboo handles for another purse I want to make and a large snap enclosure.

My sewing/knitting project list:

Green rib knit hoodie - finished!
Green rib knit tank - in progress
Green rib knit shorts - cut out
Green rib knit doll shirt - cut out
Off-white sweater - back complete, almost finished one sleeve

What's next:

Make up top in ugly knit as a test Kwik Sew 3003
Pink/lime/gray poor boy knit shirt - Kwik Sew 3003
Muslin of denim skirt pattern - Burda WOF pattern
Pink denim skirt - Burda WOF pattern
Pink tone EOS knit t-shirt - Kwik Sew 3003 or something similar
knit socks