Made By A Fabricista: Ottobre for October

Like many sewing addicts, I am often on the hunt for new patterns to try. I had seen lots of reference to Ottobre magazine but felt a bit intimidated by a new foreign mag. But then I reasoned that I got the hang of Burda and therefore, I can get through anything!

The moment I saw the preview for the Autumn/Winter issue (05/2016), I went right to the site and signed up for a subscription -- seriously, I want to sew about 75% of this one! They put out two issues a year; a Spring/Summer issue sometime in February and the Autumn/Winter issue in August.

Having read several reviews for the patterns I chose my size using their size chart. It is in metric but I am quite comfortable with that - I know my 3 key measurements in both Metric and Imperial off the top of my head. But also, as a scientist, I have so many conversions memorized. I'll spare you the rant about the US still being Imperial! :)

I used a size 44 for the neckline and shoulders, grading out to a 46 for the rest. This is standard fare for me. With Burda I use 40/42 and with Big4 I use 14/16. Sometimes I still have to make additional adjustments for bust/waist/hip but I've found that Burda (and now it seems Ottobre too!) assumes a curvier/fuller figure than Big4.

The pattern is meant for jersey but I think a double knit works out okay! I like it!!

Another important note; hem allowances are added, seam allowances are not. Whenever I make knit tops or dresses from Burda I always use 3/8" seam allowances. I did the same here. It just makes serging so much easier.

Speaking of...This view is designed to have a visible seam at center front and back. This is to be done using the rolled hem setting on the serger. I found some info on how to do rolled hems for my Brother 1034D and tried some samples and it worked really well. But that was on single layer fabric.

This double knit is very thick and it's textured. Makes for an awesomely cozy sweater, but not something that's willing to submit to a serged rolled-edge seam.

In the draped photo, you can see it falls into wide folds. It's lusciously thick and stretchy and soft...but the rolled edge wasn't going to happen.

I briefly considered sewing normal seams and topstitching on either side of the seam and decided against it. I had to use something much closer to a normal serger seam on front and back and it's quite a bit wider than a rolled edge would be.

Below you can see the texture of the fabric vs the solid (and spongey!) wrong side. You can also see my twin-needled topstitched hem.

This fabric took to topstitching very nicely. Single turn only - double turned seems like it would be far too thick. It takes a press but be sure to press from the wrong side. Pressing on the right side of the fabric left a shine mark and flattened the texture.

I recently discovered that all of my heavier winter sweaters were lost (either accidentally tossed or donated) in my move. So this is certainly a happy addition to my wardrobe!

Love that snuggly collar!

~ Nakisha from KS Sews

Made By A Fabricista: Why Sew A Muslin

Here it is, my September blog post featuring Newlook N6692 and this pretty rayon challis from Fabric Mart! This pattern style is so in right now. The square neckline, cute puff sleeves and the tiered skirt are all exactly what I was looking for in a summer dress. As always I started with making a muslin first! Let’s get into why it’s important to start with a muslin. A muslin is basically a practice garment. It prevents you from cutting into your good fabric prematurely. I usually use a muslin fabric (natural cotton) but you should also consider using a fabric that is the same weight as your fashion fabric. This will give you a truer gauge of how the garment is going to lay in the final fabric. Anytime I try out a new pattern company I make a muslin. This was my first time using a Newlook pattern so I need to know what the ease would be like for this pattern. Also I need to see how the bust would fit me and where I would need to make adjustments. Plus there were some new techniques

Made By A Fabricista: End of Summer Swimsuits

My kids have been in desperate need of new swimsuits this summer, but with a busy season of moving house and spending nearly a month in Australia, it left barely any sewing time! When I spotted a whole collection of Beach Riot swim fabric land at Fabric Mart, I knew it was just the motivation I needed to get new suits made! Last year my eldest was on swim team and I was floored at the cost of her suit - somewhere in the ballpark of $80! Using less than a yard of fabric and some elastic, swimsuits are incredibly cheap to make yourself! I ultimately selected three prints and four solids (one being a beige color I intended to use as lining), with input from my children to get their preferred designs. I made an initial sketch in Photoshop to get a visual on what they would look like, and then made a few more changes once the fabric arrived. The easiest suit to make was my son's - I used Jalie Gerald underwear and Nico raglan. This was my first time making Gerald and I loved how quickl

Made By A Fabricista: The Love of Sewing - Basic Pieces for a Beginner

Happy Friday All! It has been a while since I made myself a dress. I am excited to sew after not making anything since my last post (whew) and finally sharing some photos. This past summer has been a roller coaster journey with plans to release a small collection and then deciding that right before the launch to postpone. Sewing has brought me joy over the past 8 years and the mere fact to sew daily for orders had me in a panic mode. I really don’t want to walk away from my craft due to burn out and decided that if I do sew for others, it would be only for local clients. Moreover, If next year I decide to launch, it would be seasonal and not year round. I really want to share my talent and love for sewing with others but don’t want it to be a full time job and lose the passion in me. After a bit of soul searching, teaching and sharing my talent with my community will always be my first love. For the past 2 summers, I was blessed to partner with two nonprofit organizations’ local sum

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