I Sewed!

 I finally decided I needed to sew something. It still took me a bit of time to get to it, then even after it was done, I didn't even get to wear it right away! 

It's New Look 6807. I had made it before, but apparently it's been awhile. I looked at the tracing I had made, and compared it to the actual pattern and it wasn't all that much different. So I just went back to the original pattern, and made, I think, a 14 in the shoulders and back and upper sleeves, and a 16 from the chest down. 

I don't seem to have a picture of it, but you can see it in this YouTube Short during Me Made May 2026:  https://youtube.com/shorts/6X2yBYAHlW0?si=iUPwHTPkkQ_usiqf  

I have a pair of pants cut out but I haven't gotten to sewing, because Megan had a somewhat unexpected trip home and asked me to mend her welding jacket.

I used some twill behind it and mended it. I also did some on the sleeves, and fixed the inside pocket. It's a pretty basic jacket. I was thinking I should make her one with a bit more shaping for a woman.

But now she wants me to make her a new welding cap when she comes home next weekend. 

Snowflakes

This shirt is more than a year old and needs to get blogged! The delay was mainly to needing photos. So, since we woke up to snow again, I decided to just get it done.

I picked up this piece of fabric in a destash I think. It wasn't very much, maybe 1m. I decided to do New Look 6807 so it'd be a bit dressier for work, than New Look 6735 (check  them out over under "Labels" off to the right--desktop version). This is also a thicker cotton-lycra so I didn't want it too form fitting.

It doesn't have the greatest drape. It's soft and lush, but not drapey. 

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough fabric for full length short flutter sleeves, so I did them shorter. There are two things I dislike about this shirt, and that's one of them.  They sort of stick out rather than flutter.

The other thing I dislike is how there is a distinct line between the pattern repeats. I didn't notice it until after it was cut out. Probably couldn't have moved things around much with the limited amount I had.

I did have some scraps left and made some underwear. I did a white backside, so I could wear them under lighter coloured pants. The front may have been pieced. The seams do help keep everything compressed a bit. Scrundlewear.

These I don't have to keep relegated to just the winter LOL.

Red for Ed

The province I'm in is in the midst of contract negotiations with education workers. It hasn't been going well. One initiative the elementary union is promoting is on Fridays, wear "Red for Ed". There are official red shirts available through the union. As a supply (substitute) teacher, I can get one of these, but...in the True Tracy Way, I want to be a bit different. I go into so many different schools, and some of them, I don't see any of the shirts on Fridays. Other schools, everyone is in red. I don't want to stand out if no one else is in red. So, I thought a simple red shirt without the sayings/logos would be a good compromise. And....I could make it myself so I'd know it fit me!

I picked up some red cotton-lycra from The Fabric Snob..  I will say, it did seem to fade just a little with the first wash. Just a little. I used a TNT, New Look 6807 . The one I made in white cotton lycra seemed a little close fitting, so this time, I sewed with smaller seam allowances from the chest down. However, it seems too big now, especially the back. I like loose clothes for summer but this might be a little too loose.

Sorry for the super crappy photo. I'm just trying to get things caught up.

I wore it last Friday, and it was a good compromise. However, my Friday for this week got cancelled. I wish I had got this done much sooner, but the way things look, it could be a long period of negotiations.

Just a Shirt

I picked up some fabric from a destash. It was advertised as rayon spandex knit (I think...with being sick so much, a lot of details went poouff). It feels more polyester-ish though. It was supposed to be 2m but before she shipped it, the seller noticed that her daughter had cut it! By her description, I thought it would still be a good amount, but when it came, it was in two pieces and trying to fit this on was a challenge. I went with this New Look 6807 because I thought the looseness would cancel out any polyester. Longer sleeves means less body maintenance LOL. 

 Not a great photo cause I was using self-timer LOL

I tried to carefully match up the pattern on the back seam, but despite how the pattern looks, it's actually got a long repeat and is not flippable/reversible, etc. At least with the looseness, there's movement so hopefully it doesn't show too bad.

In many sewing groups, people ask about hemming knits. Twin needles is always the standard answer,or a zig zag. I have done lots of twin needle hems, but I realized that for a looser top or dress hem, it's not needed. I don't usually like zig zag hems unless the pattern hides it well. What I've been doing a lot of is blind stitch hems. It takes a bit of head scratching to make sure I have it folded right, but it ends up working out, has some stretch still, and is not distracting. I couldn't decide on what thread colours to use for this one--I think I was running low on the chocolate brown. So the white does show a bit on the right side, but again...it's a flowy top.

The backside. For some reason, even though I have it set to 6 stitch length (the longest stitch on my machine), the individual stitches are quite short. I'm not sure if that's how it should be, but I thought I had done it before with longer stitches. Maybe that was on wovens.

I really like this top/pattern. I have brown pants and shorts, and even bright pink capris. I have a pair of white capris with an animal spot texture...I don't know if that would look right together. I'm not sure I've ever worn the white capris cause I just don't know how to style the textured look and most of my tops are not plain LOL.

It's White, Alright!

I wanted a white shirt. White-white, not soft white. I couldn't decide  if I needed a t shirt or a woven shirt, but since I was on a t-shirt roll, and that seemed to be the only white fabric in the entire store that was white-white AND affordable AND attractive/suitable, a t-shirt is what I got.

I went ahead with another New Look 6807. I didn't want too much fullness though, however, I think it's a smidge snug given that it's a heavier weight cotton (5% lycra). It was $22Cdn/meter, which is crazy if you just want one meter to make a t-shirt. It was on sale though, get two free meters, so it works out to $7.33/m. Plus tax. Which still seems crazy for making a t-shirt. Especially a plain white t-shirt. But at least I know the conditions it was made in, and it's a OOAK, and I value the time spent to make it.

Especially when I manage to get mashed black beans on it, on it's first trip out of the house, before I even got photos taken.

 To try to eliminate neck gaping, I really stretched the band this time, which meant I had more gathers which didn't get placed all that equally. However, I'm still quite pleased.

 I was hemming the bottom and my bobbin ran out with this much left!  I still haven't fixed that. I did a blind stitch hem on the bottom and sleeves and quite like it. I've been using it a lot lately, rather than zig zag or twin needle.

 This picture is actually to show the shorts. So ignore me from the waist down. I did a wider neckband again this time, and I think I sewed it properly so when I got to the tie portion, I didn't have fudge it.

I don't like how it's a little snug around my middle and shows the lumps of the shorts. I just need to keep moving so I'm a white blur :) I still haven't tried it on with the pink floral pants, which was my main reason for making it. Those pants annoy me.  They need more altering, but I think I'm going to make them into shorts. Stay tuned.

Blue Shirt

Another fancy title.

This shirt was from awhile ago now.  April? It was my first run at New Look 6807. I read a lot of reviews, and many people questioned why there was so much ease for a knit shirt. Style? Maybe? It was styled to be loose. Others complained about doing a seam on the back, and the little opening. Uh, again, that was a design feature!!

I did take out a little bit of ease in the front and back.

 Other people didn't like how skinny the neck binding is and widened it. I did too, but I still sewed it on with a 3/8" seam allowance, which mean a bit of fudging when I got to the back opening. Plus, I didn't really know how much shorter to make the band, after taking out some of the body ease. I couldn't figure out the dots and notches either. So, I eyeballed it and centered it so the ties would be however long they would be. It is a bit droopy in the lower back.

 There's a bit of weirdness with inside the neck band. The SA flips up, even though it's been pressed.

I liked the big floaty sleeves. Sleeves that are too snug make me sweat and then get stained. These are nice and floppy.
The fabric was an old jersey bedsheet. Actually, I don't think it was all that old, LOL.
I made this twice more. Once has already been blogged. Another one is pure white and it's a "wear and wash" shirt so it's been hard to get pictures LOL.
I really love this shirt, especially after raising the neckline.

Brown Floral Shirt

Boring title, but exciting shirt! After a few of the New Look 6735, I wanted to branch out. Something still easy to make and wear, but not so "t-shirt" looking. Enter New Look 6807. I made one using the blue sheet I used for Megan's t-shirt, but somehow don't have pictures of that one. I love it. Actually, I do have one picture but I hope to get more. And it seems I have only one picture of this one. I really need to do a proper photo shoot.

I opted for View A (again). I already have a couple woven shirts like view B and C. I like the large flowy sleeves for summer. In reading the Pattern Review reviews, some of them looked too flowy, and some looked too stiff. My fabric did have great drape so I was optimistic.  I also read so many reviews that said there was way too much ease in this shirt and they took out the gathers. Then why use this pattern? The point of it is the gathers and the looseness. Others said they didn't understand why there's a back seam and neck tie and eliminated those. They're part of the styling too!  These little features were why I was choosing it, so it wasn't just a plain t shirt. My fabric was a scrap picked up at Value Village for $2.99. Can't beat that!

Yeah, that photo doesn't really show everything. I raised the neckline by half an inch. I widened the neck binding a tad but still sewed it on with a 3/8" seam allowance, so when I got to the ends that make the tie, I had to play a bit so the tie would be evenly folded (it's just like doing bias binding around the neck, and then the tie ends are just folded in half and topstitched closed). I didn't realize the mathematics of binding. I did a tiny rolled hem for the bottom and sleeves since the fabric is so light I didn't want to weigh it down with folded hems. The overall length is a bit too long now, but oh well.

My biggest complaint is that the fabric is looking worn now. It's gotten a sort of fuzz to it, the fuzz is lighter so the shirt looks faded. I washed it in cold water. I'll still wear it. It just doesn't have that "just bought" look. I wish it was more summery looking. The design is, but the colours aren't.