Sunday, April 30, 2017

My #MMMay17 Pledge

I have a growing collection of me-made clothes, and generally do a fairly good job of working them into daily rotation. I'm excited to see if I can keep this Me Made May pledge (the brainchild of the inspirational Zoe):

"I, Michelle of "House of White" blog and @mdelilahcarlson, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '17. I will endeavor to wear at least 1 item of me-made clothing at least 4 days of each work week, and to document my outfits each week."


Friday, April 28, 2017

Testing the Anza Jumpsuit


I was very lucky to be able to test the Anza Jumpsuit by Itch to Stitch. This was my first experience testing, and it was quite fun to see the pattern "first" and see my feedback incorporated into the final product! Kennis was a joy to test for, and it was fun to see the inspiration of everyone else's makes coming together on the Facebook testing page. I am very pleased with the final result of my make, but I have definitely been inspired to plan another jumpsuit version and a dress version as well!

Love the pockets!
Things I particularly like about the PDF are the "layers" feature, the tile layout on page 7, the table listing tiles for specific views to save paper (page 6), and the complete body and finished garment measurements on pages 3 and 4. I always like to calculate the designer's ease to compare it to my own preferences, and often adjust this. However, as I was testing I cut the recommended sizes for my measurements, and I find the amount of ease perfect. I cut a 2 at the bust and a 4 at the waist/hips (the size at the hips must be followed at the waist as well to ensure that the jumpsuit will fit over the hips!). I lengthened at the bodice by 3/4 inches and at the legs by 1 inch, but I ended up not needed the extra inch in the legs. I did make a thin thigh adjustment, shaving about 3/8 inch off the inside of each thigh (taking it off the outside affects the fit in the hips instead).

Pleased with fit in the rear.
The instructions were very clear and beautifully illustrated with diagrams, which I prefer to pictures. I used a cotton blend from my stash, with colors and a pattern I love. I cut the waistband and the pockets on the bias for contrast. The only other deviations from the pattern were to leave off the pocket buttons because I didn't have enough buttons and to omit the elastic at the cuffs. This was because I made a poor fabric choice, and selected a fabric with insufficient drape (despite Kennis's clear instructions!), making my jumpsuit legs look like pirate pants when gathered with elastic. I should have taken pictures so you could have a good laugh--you'll just have to take my word for it. I will definitely be making a jumpsuit in a drapier fabric in the future, since I love the way everyone else's gathered legs look!

I especially love the cut-on cuffed sleeves.
I hope to be able to test again for Kennis (and for others as well!). I really enjoyed the experience, and ended up with a lovely garment from a pattern that I might have been afraid to try otherwise. I am now totally into the whole jumpsuit thing!

Baby bump
I am now almost 20 weeks pregnant, so my sewing plans for the year have been somewhat interrupted! I have not been blogging, but I have been doing quite a bit of sewing, and even got some of my #2017makenine makes done before my tummy intervened! Now I have a whole new ambitious set of maternity sewing plans--I will try to share those soon.