Monthly Archives: June 2014

The Michael Shirt

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My wonderful husband, Michael, is always supportive of my endeavors. He never hesitates to drop what he’s doing on a Saturday afternoon to take photos of me for my latest blog post. I thought it fitting to invite him to be a guest model for Fresh Make #12. I made Michael a stylish, modern fitting shirt. Perfect for summer. DSC_0310 DSC_0320 DSC_0321 The pattern I chose was Vogue 8759. I bought it on sale at JoAnn’s Fabrics for $4.99. (I can’t imagine that anyone would ever the $30.00 price tag printed on the envelope. As most of you probably know, Vogue patterns are always on “sale” for at least 40% off.)

I made the lower left view.

I made the lower left view.

Once again the fabric was purchased on one of my trips to my favorite DTLA fabric store, Michael Levine. I bought 1 5/8 yards at 60″ wide and $6 per yard.

Michael is standing next to his favorite fig tree.

Michael is standing next to his favorite fig tree.

DSC_0325DSC_0335DSC_0332 To attach the yoke facing by machine at the back, I rolled the shirt up inbetween the two yoke pieces with right sides facing together and stitched along the edge. This is not shown in the instructions. Please ask me if your actually interested in trying this technique. It’s easy. DSC_0326DSC_0329 The instructions called for French seams. I cheated and just serged the edges together while trimming them to about 3/8 and then top stitching 1/4″ from the seam.

LET’S BE HONEST:
1. This pattern is labeled EASY. Which I guess is OK as long as one doesn’t assume that EASY means “beginner.” A pattern with a collar with a band is definitely not a beginner project and requires careful, slow sewing.

2. I made size 44 for Michael and it fits perfect. It is a “slimmer” fit. There is no room for shrinkage, so even though I prewashed the fabric, we’ll be our best to keep it out of the dryer. This pattern ranges from 34 to 46. I can’t imagine who would actually fit a 34 and I think there are probably a lot of men who would be sized out of this pattern.

3. I think this is a perfect men’s shirt pattern. I didn’t make any adjustments anywhere, and I did not find any odd surprises once I started construction. As is common for me, I didn’t follow the instructions exactly as I draw upon my knowledge if I see an easier way of doing something such as the machine yoke technique I mentioned above.

I thoroughly enjoy putting the attention on someone else, being the photographer instead of being the one photographed. This week, reviving a few techniques and sewing him stylish. As always, thanks for visiting my blog. I welcome your comments and would be happy provide more details on anything I’ve shown. Just ask!

Sunny Day Beach Dress

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Without a doubt summer is here in Southern California for the next four months. I know I’ll want to be throwing on clothes that are cool and easy. Fresh Make #11 is one of many sleeveless dresses I’ll be making this summer. DSC_0294 DSC_0291DSC_0298 The pattern I choose was Sunny Day Beach Dress from the Sew Daily pattern store. When I received an email announcing 40% off their PDF patterns, I took a peek and this adorable dress caught my eye. I have not been particularly interested in trying a PDF pattern, but to keep myself well-rounded I decided to give this one a try. The sale price was $3.60.

Sunny Day Beach Dress by Katrin Vorbeck from Sew Daily pattern store

Sunny Day Beach Dress by Katrin Vorbeck from Sew Daily pattern store

The fabric I used is from Andover Fabric’s “Moon Flowers” collection by Jesus Cruz. I am excited to showcase this fabric as Jesus is a local artist in my community. His fabric can be found at many independent fabric stores. Because I knew exactly what I wanted, I ordered mine at Michael Levine’s online store. Michael Levine’s is much more fun to visit in person, but sometimes convenience wins over adventure.

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The armholes are finished with a self-made bias tape.

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The neck yoke is one piece with a seam in the back.

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The hem band is faced on the inside.

The hem band is faced on the inside.

I understitched the hem facing at the bottom to keep the seam rolled to the inside.

I understitched the hem facing at the bottom to keep the seam rolled to the inside.

LET’S BE HONEST:

1. After using my first PDF pattern, I’m not a big fan. In the future, I will only purchase a PDF pattern if it is a unique design that I love and it is not available in a paper format. I have no problem with, and rather enjoy, leafing through pattern books at fabric stores (OK, maybe I’m showing my age!) Also, I do not mind waiting a few days for a purchase to come in the mail; I have plenty of other projects I can work on in the meantime. Let me state, however, that I do understand one of the purposes of a PDF – it is a cost effective way for an entrepreneurial designer/sewist to sell a pattern. I think it is awesome that the internet provides this opportunity for enterprising individuals.

2. General thoughts on written instructions: Instructions that include illustrations from the established patterns companies are difficult enough to understand. I found the instructions accompanying the Sunny Beach Day Dress hard to decipher especially because there were no illustrations accompanying the text. I know I am at an advantage when I tackle a pattern because I can draw on my 40 years of experience and figure out what I need to do. While this dress is fairly simple, I’m pretty certain that a beginning sewist would have a problem sewing this pattern independently, especially the neck yoke.

3. I made one pattern adjustment. During my first try-on, the top of the back neck yoke stuck out from the base of my neck. I narrowed it a total of 1″ at the top, grading down to the original seam at the bottom. This created a slight V-shape on the back yoke as you can see in the photos. If I were to make this again, I would probably redraw the pattern a bit to make a nice curve.

4. The instructions called for 2 single-sided self-made bias tapes sewn together, outside and inside, to finish the armholes. I decided to make 1 double-folded tape instead. (You can ask me more about this if you are interested in making this dress.) The armholes turn out a little high into the armpit. I couldn’t determine for certain if this was because I changed the method or not. Neverthless, next time, I would trim out 1/2″ before from the armholes before applying the bias tape.

I love my Sunny Day Beach Dress, and I think Jesus Cruz’s Moon Flowers is the perfect fabric for it!

Thank you for reading this post, and please, ask me questions about the construction. I would love to help you if you decide to make this dress. Best, Lori