ann carolyn smock

Freshly washed dobby + the urge to sew from a purchased pattern = a finished Ann Carolyn Smock shirt!

I had picked up Ellen Mason's Ann Carolyn Smock pattern last year at the Squam retreat because one of my cabin mates had been wearing a fantastic version and then I met the lovely Ellen in person. And in one of those weird coincidences that makes the world seem very small, as I was looking at the fabric options in The Workroom for this pattern in particular, another customer was talking to her friend about using one of Ellen's patterns and then working with Ellen's wool (and it isn't like we have access to Ellen's patterns or wool in Toronto). Clearly I took this as a sign that I was supposed to sew this smock right away.

I did make a couple of modifications, though the fabric might be the most obvious. In the fabric photo at the top, you're seeing the right side of the fabric with its fluid scalloped pattern of dots. But after washing, I actually liked the wrong side better because it was darker and more subtle. As for pattern modifications, I used the large pattern sheet to grade a smaller size by hand right on the paper (love those large paper sheets for being able to do this!). After that, I just traced my pattern pieces using tracing paper to keep the pattern intact (in case my hand grading went horribly wrong). I had learned a couple of things from doing a muslin first, mainly that I needed to remove some fabric from the back piece and a little from the back seam of the sleeves. Pretty simple to do, and now it fits perfectly. And I loved trying shoulder darts! I had to move them forward by 1/2" based on the other modifications, but they are pure magic.

If you're looking for a comfortable and cute shirt/dress pattern - definitely give this one a try. I'm already sorting through fabric options in my mind for a breezy, springtime dress version...

pattern release

Did I just type the words "pattern release"?

Yep, and I also just had to catch my breath as soon as I typed them. Because instantly my heart started racing and I got a little shaky. I've got a whole bunch of emotions swirling around, but one thing is for certain: a sewing pattern that I've been working on has been released today. Gasp.

Okay, with that now said, let me fill in the story.

About a year ago I was tinkering with a tunic design when Elizabeth, the amazing woman behind Squam Art Workshops, suggested a collaboration to make this pattern available to others. I was thrilled at the idea - and also terrified - but Elizabeth's "let's just try it" attitude was SO inspiring. We jumped in even though it was an entirely new project for both of us. A few roadblocks and many revisions later, I can wholeheartedly say that the journey towards today's release has been...wonderful.

The pattern is called the West Water Tunic, fittingly named for one of the cabins at Squam. As a garment, it's simple, comfortable and customizable. I have a strong bias for sewing the tunic with Robert Kaufman's Essex Yarn Dyed Linen (my closet and Instagram feed can attest to that!) but I can't wait to see it made with other fabrics. Personally I've lined up some fine wale corduroy for my next one.

As for the "terrified" bit of the story, I must admit that putting something out there in the world is scary. My inner voice keeps asking, what if I missed a spelling mistake? What if my way of writing instructions is really unclear? What if I get called out for not being a professional something-or-other? Fingers crossed this kind of paranoia is natural. To distract myself from worrying, I'm trying to focus on what I've learned through this collaboration. Skills like grading to layout design are great, but they actually give way to a much bigger lesson, and one that I should have learned - or better yet, realized - long ago: I love designing clothes. Not just making, actually designing. It might sound small, but it's quite a significant acknowledgment for me. And I have Elizabeth, and this project, and the very fact that I attended Squam in 2014 to thank for it.

But enough about my inner dialogue, there's a pattern to share! More information about the digital and paper version of West Water Tunic pattern can be found at the Squam site here, and Elizabeth's pitch perfect introduction is here.

Phew, secret project officially shared. And now I've got some corduroy to wash up and start cutting out. 

Happy sewing!

(And wow, thank you, thank you Elizabeth - for your courage, patience, kind words and excellent vision. You're simply amazing.)

essex everywhere

I have bought more yards of Robert Kaufman's Essex Yarn Dyed fabric this year than I have written posts for my almost-10-year-old blog. I can easily explain the Essex love: it's the perfect fabric, a cotton-linen blend suitable for clothing, quilts and home decor, it washes beautifully and comes in the perfect colours (black being my favourite, hands-down). As for the post count, well, that's not so easy to explain. I'm too fond of Instagram these days? I've lost the work-life balance I once had? Making is paramount to writing about making? Without a clear conclusion on that front, I'll stick to writing when I can. Which will often involve writing about this amazing fabric.

This shirt is a case in point. I've been drafting a pattern that has this gently rounded collar that's partly sailor, partly prairie style. Using the black Essex, I made one for myself which I haven't taken any photos of (except with my phone, which is becoming a bad habit). Sadie loved it and asked that I make one for her in the denim blue for the first day of school. I missed that deadline and procrastinated until Picture Day and in classic Mom fashion, I was still sewing long after Sadie was in bed the night before. I didn't grade the pattern - I've never learned how - but by taking in the armholes it fit her fine. She's 10 now and her chest circumference isn't that far from mine (sadly). It's meant to be worn with a shirt underneath and we made it tunic length so she can wear it with leggings too. She loves it and wore it two days in a row that week, which may not be ideal hygienically but hard to argue when you've hand-sewed half a dozen snaps to a button band. 

Clean, shmean.

frankewiksten

Four patterns, one shirt. Who knew that a Frankenstein approach to sewing could work so well? I've been loving my Tova pattern, but there were two things that just weren't working for me: the sleeves and the collar (I hope this isn't considered blasphemy...I don't mean to say this pattern needs improvements, it's really just a style choice on my part). So far I've simply ignored the collar but I really wanted a shirt I could wear in cooler weather so I borrowed the collar from a Sew Lisette pattern. It worked with only a tiny modification to the length. Next up - the sleeves. Gathered, blouse-y sleeves just aren't my thing and certainly wouldn't suit the new, more traditional collar choice so I opted for a button cuff, typical sleeve borrowed from a really old McCall's pattern. I simply lined up the Tova sleeve cap with the McCall's sleeve bottom and Bob's your uncle. Then the fourth pattern Frankensteined into this shirt was Wiksten's Tank, but just for the hemline. I love the curve on that pattern's hem.

You only get true success with the right fabric though, and I'm a huge fan of this Kokka gingham. Sure, I look like a walking picnic blanket, but who cares? It's red gingham! BIG red gingham! It's all I can do to stop myself from making one of everything with this awesome fabric. I mean, imagine a dress! PJs for Sadie! A laptop cozy!

Oh, speaking of laptops, I am currently without one which is making my posting difficult (and sharing a computer with a husband isn't easy). Hopefully I get my own technology sorted out soon so I can get back to sharing. Laptops may bust, but the "making" doesn't.

(Knock on wood. Did I just tempt fate with my sewing machine's life?)

little things

A little bit of sewing almost forgotten. My mom sometimes brings tea with her when she comes to visit, so I made her a tea wallet with a few herbal options (this might explain why she brings tea - we don't have the real thing around these parts). It always surprises me what a tiny bit of cotton batting and some favourite fabric can create.

wiksten-a-thon

Whoops, there goes 3 weeks. I'm going to gloss over the fairly comical story of finishing a 10 month renovation and then experiencing a freak rainfall that not only drops an unheard of amount of rain in your city but also knocks out your power for 3 hours. Which means your brand new sump pump can't work and your brand new basement floods. Yep, that happened. But before that happened, there was a whole bunch of sewing. Of the same garment, over and over again.

In total I made 4 new Wiksten Tank dresses. It started with a black and white striped version which I randomly threw jeans under when it got cold one night. Suddenly I realized how awesome the pattern is - a dress when hot, a tunic when cold. Amazing. So then I made a gingham version. Both of these gaped a little at the back neck, so after a quick search I came across Rae's suggested modification. It worked like a charm and the next one - made from mushroom linen - fit perfectly. Thank you, thank you Rae!

After the modification success I basically ran to the Workroom to get more fabric to make another. I settled on a blue chambray from the new Union collection from Robert Kaufman. I finished it that night (these take 90 minutes to sew, max!) but by the next night, my sewing marathon came to a quick close. A water logged studio will do that to any sewing marathon.

So now I'll get back to knitting while we re-enter the basement renovation phase. Spending time with wool is never a bad thing.

animal party

Not long ago I made a fox pillow for a friend. I was a little smitten with it myself and couldn't stop thinking about the face construction, so obviously I had to try another. The changes are subtle - I made the ears orange instead of white and then the cheeks are all white with a really tall nose. But it actually changes the whole expression.  This fox is quite sly by comparison. He's a great addition to a lonely black chair of ours.

In what is clearly an animal phase, I've been making a number of mini owls. It's birthday party season around here and they've been great additions to gifts for both 4 and 9 year olds. I tend to give them away as soon as they're done, but today I finally remembered to take a photo of a rather colourful version. The free pattern is super easy and it's a great way to use up scrap wool. Sadie and I estimated that with my scrap wool I'd likely be able to make about 1000 of them.

It's probably not even an exaggeration.

wiksten tova, take two

I've been wearing my first Wiksten Tova. All. The. Time. So making another just made heaps of sense.

This pattern is simple and so easy to tweak and modify. I added the sleeves this time but slimmed them, added two inches in length and made a deeper cuff. The shoulders were a bit broad for me, so I took 1/2 inch off either side which actually made the sleeve cap fit better. And the inset pieces overlapped too much in my first one so I cut the edge of each inset piece back a bit - and on an angle - and I really like how it sits now, with just a slight v opening. I excluded the collar again and finished the neck edge with bias trim. Next time I'll round out the inset corners and probably turn it into a dress.

Of course, a pattern only gets better with the right fabric. I can't say enough about this Robert Kaufman Essex Yarn-Dyed cotton/linen - it's soft, has an awesome heathery texture and sews like a dream. I ordered 6 yards to make a shower curtain with and managed to have just enough left over for this shirt (the kids like the idea that I can stand in front of the shower curtain and become a floating head. These are the things we think about around here). The black band at the bottom is the Brussels Washer rayon/cotton - not as soft, but helped give the shirt some definition and now the hem has a better drape.

My Tova love means I'm totally crossing my fingers that Jenny Gordy publishes more sewing patterns. Me and hundreds of other sewers out there, right?

a wiksten spring

Seeing all the Wiksten tops in the Spring Top Sewalong pool inspired me to run out, buy both patterns and whip up one of each in a matter of days. To my family it may seem a tad impulsive, but I'd like to think that's exactly what a sewalong is for - to feed a collective sewing obsession.   

So the Tova pattern is great. I used Robert Kaufman's linen/cotton which is a bit heavy so although I had added the sleeves, they were too stiff and I took them off. But I quite liked wearing it with a shirt underneath and having playful bias tape around the inside edges is just plain fun. I've never been crazy about the collar when I've seen other Tovas so I left it out and used bias tape there too. I just think it makes a nice shape. Overall a great pattern and well suited to my, er, flattish chest.

Next up, the Wiksten tank. Again, super easy pattern and this time no adjustments at all other than how I attached the bias edges (I pressed the strips in half, stitched them to the wrong side with raw edges lined up and then pressed to the front and topstitched down). Since the inside seams are clean - which I love even though I have a serger and could have simply serged them - the whole garment just feels so "finished". The fabric is some cotton shirting and I love seeing the diagonal version of the checks, which is why pressing the bias trim to the front seemed necessary, even at the hem. It might not be a very flattering neckline for me but this will be very wearable with a cardigan.

So Wiksten officially tried and loved. More in the future for sure.

spring, sort of

While I try to avoid facing another paint colour mishap, sewing has been a decent distraction. I've had this shirt pattern for years - Vogue 7998 - and I finally gave it a try. It's a kimono/wrap style and it turned out much better than I was expecting. Given it's "Very Easy" distinction there are one or two construction details I'm not a fan of but overall I think the seams will hold and the collar does a good job of hiding the questionable bits. I used Robert Kaufman's Brussels Washer fabric which holds its shape and is very wearable. I quite like the tie at the back but it would be great to leave the ties off so you could wrap any belt or scarf around the middle. Overall, a great, somewhat-dressy shirt.

If you're looking for some spring sewing inspiration - and not the all black, full length sleeve sewing that I'm indulging in - visit the Spring Top Sewalong Flickr pool. This top is especially awesome and could persuade me to sew something gray.

And then I remember the gray paint mishap. Sigh.

all things charcoal

As a break from moving supplies, I thought I'd actually sew something (plus I took some time off this week to do just that.  Sewing is very restorative as much as my co-workers tease me for it.)  And instead of making something for the house I put the time into making something for a friend (double restorative, it turns out). A while back I spotted Meet Me at Mike's fox quilt, but didn't until this week think about adapting it to make a  foxy pillow. To better suit a square pillow form I made the fox block out of 12 squares, each being  3.5" high x 4.5" wide. I also inset the eyes so that they were part of these squares instead of appliquing them on top. The fabrics are white linen, salmon raw silk and then my current favourite, Robert Kaufman's Essex Yarn-Dyed cotton/linen blend. It's such a great design and I think it makes for a nice gift. Maybe someday I'll get around to making a wall quilt version - I know a certain basement with bare walls that's just aching for foxes.

Over the holidays I made a scarf for my dad that turned out soft, squishy and quite manly. So it only made sense that Jay should get a similar scarf. I used Berroco Vintage to contend with Jay's rough beard, but he's not one for modelling so the shot above is the best I could do. He seems pleased with the dark gray and he's not a yarn snob, so the blend suits him fine. The pattern is really great - easy to memorize (a center marker is a lifesaver) and it makes a warm, dense fabric. 

Next to the scarf is one of the nicest book covers I've ever seen (at one point I thought the whole cover would be my palette inspiration for the basement). Ru by Kim Thuy was recommended to me my a complete stranger in the line at Indigo a while back. The line was long and we managed to trade a few suggestions while we waited - it was like an impromptu Book Club. Luckily this novel counts for my Canadian challenge and even better, it was a beautiful read. Rather than being a linear story it was more a meditation on Thuy's life told in lyrical and petite chapters. It's been translated from French but somehow I imagine the rolling prose was there to begin with and it's just that fantastic a translation. I was swept up by Thuy's writing and was a little heartbroken when it ended. Thank you dear stranger!

For more knitting and reading stories, visit today's Yarnalong.

kcwc: the inspired stuff

The photo for SweetKM's knit hood has been sitting on my Pinterest board for a while, inspiring me every time I glanced at it. It's so simple and so adorable. I guess I thought sewing one would be quicker, but between finishing it and then seeing that the talented lady behind SweetKM taking part in KCWC it seemed like the better decision was to order the pattern and knit it. So I found some red Mission Falls Superwash in my stash, started this red hood on Wednesday and spent two nights working on it.

There is an almost practical reason for making this one too - Milo is going to be the Tomten for Hallowe'en (Sadie is going as Pippi Longstocking and she thinks her brother should also be an Astrid Lindgren character, as obscure a reason as that might be). I may still add a pompom, but it works regardless. I only wish the strap was shorter but since you start the pattern with it I can't figure out how to change it now, and really, Milo doesn't care. He does care that I couldn't get a baby animal button on it though.

I finished my sewing week with an apron - something that Sadie certainly didn't need but that I was inspired to make. While checking out Trula's blog I spied some amazing linen aprons on her girls and started sketching out how I thought they must be constructed. I was a little wrong at the top (it should just keep tapering towards the top, not straighten out) but the resulting apron is still cute. I used Robert Kaufman's cotton chambray in black, fuschia gingham bias tape for the inside channels and black grosgrain ribbon for the ties. Sadie has dubbed it her "crafting" apron, so all is good. 

Inspiration is such a wonderful thing. Thanks to Meg for making this week happen again - quite simply, KCWC rocks.

kcwc: the practical stuff

Some sewing this week was for purely practical reasons: Sadie needed leggings most of all. I love that they are the easiest thing to sew. So a big piece of navy t-shirt jersey became a pair of much-needed leggings, another (and better fitting) drapey cardigan and then a pair of silly leggings for Milo (made wearable with a lion applique - he's really into animals). And I got one more pair of leggings out of the remaining striped cotton/rayon knit that her no-sew scarf was made from. 

Practical is good.

kcwc: bits and bobs

Not the most masculine garment for my little man, but I couldn't get this amazing knit hood off my mind and I had just enough stretch jersey to make a sewn version...sort of. Turns out that 3 year olds are incredibly understanding of your whims as long as you put an animal button on it. Anywhere. So we're calling this the "Ted the Skunk Hood" and Milo has happily worn it out in public. It's soft, ties nicely and has a hand sewn black grosgrain ribbon along the inside edge to cover the one unsightly seam (anytime I hand sew something it feels oh-so-satisfying). Ted the Skunk is from this little collection of forest animal baby buttons that Milo just had to have. I think he realizes that I'm easily convinced when shopping in fabric stores. Oh, and I'm responsible for those unfortunate bangs of his. Oops.

Next up, a drapey cardigan for Sadie which I first tried during the spring KCWC. Unfortunately I copied the original while Sadie was at school so it ended up a bit small (what, kids grow?). I fixed up the approach though - last time I cut straight slits to insert the sleeves into which resulted in holes because it was too much pressure on the seam at the two points. This time I measured the sleeve cap circumference and drafted an egg shape the same size and then cut that out. It worked perfectly! I've since made one more bigger which I'll post next time.

The fabric is especially dreamy. It's organic cotton knit, two thin layers held together in a subtle grid pattern. Perfect for baby clothes and pajamas, it's so soft. It's probably not very practical for a kid who pulls paint out everyday, but oh well. With such a simple rectangular shape the fabric could easily be repurposed later. The cardigan takes less than an hour to make - there's only 3 pieces to cut, and you could get away with only two seams to sew if you like raw edges. Perfect for the one-hour-a-day challenge.

More tomorrow!  And check out the latest in the KCWC Flickr pool.

kcwc: fall edition

It's that [exciting, inspiring, satisfying] time of the year again - the week of working on kids clothes for at least an hour a day (aka KCWC). Last fall I started with knitting too because I find it hard to start sewing when I have an unfinished knitting project sitting around. Especially one destined for a kid. So I wove in the ends, steam blocked and put some toggle buttons on this sweater for Sadie. The pattern is the simple, much-loved Cap Sleeve Sweater modified this time to be a cardigan (Sadie's request). The wool was reclaimed from a sweater I made years ago and it's taken me a while to figure out how to use it. One thing I learned is that as much as I love the colours of Noro's Kureyon, my hands just don't like it. I can get excema on my hands and this time I broke out exactly where the wool was wrapping around my fingers. So, no more Noro for me. Cute stripey sweater for Sadie.

Then this is a total cheat: I cut out a scarf for Sadie from some bargain striped knit fabric. Yes - I mean there was no sewing, just cutting a straight rectangle. But you wouldn't believe how happy this makes her. She was able to practice the new knot my friend taught us (who just returned from Paris with fancy French knots to share). Scarves like this are a big deal to Sadie right now and I have an urgent request from her for a knit cowl too. Guess kids are into neckwear this year.

I've also got some more Canadian reading to share. Admittedly, I read Inside by Alix Ohlin for the cover (and yes, I will also buy wine based on label design). Luckily it was mostly worth it. I enjoyed it, but as I sit here writing, I realize I have very little to say about it. The characters were interesting and shared a connection with a central woman who is a therapist in Montreal, but the other details are a little fuzzy. Turns out it's the cover I remember most, though there is a great review at the Amazon link which makes me think I just missed the point. The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger however, was far more memorable for me. We've been watching Downton Abbey so I was immediately drawn to the story of a British Lady's maid. Although I cannot understand Sally's unwavering allegiance to a "Lady" - or anyone of the upper, upper class - the insight was fascinating and the African setting was equally compelling. I felt emotional for Sally, and was near tears when she had to do the unthinkable (but my 21st century perspective made it hard to imagine there weren't other choices). It was a swift, great read.

For more knitting and reading stories visit today's Yarnalong and for kids clothes inspiration make sure to check out the KCWC Flickr pool.

dress success

This post of Meg's from KCWC caught my eye last spring, and not only because Kelli makes some amazing kids clothes. The dress she is wearing in the centre photo looks amazing on her and it lead me straight to Megan Neilsen's patterns. Not that I went on a hunt for the pattern but when I saw that the Workroom in Toronto had some new patterns in I pretty much jumped in the car.

I checked out any post I could find about the Darling Ranges Dress pattern so I was loaded with great user information. I love the straight-forward instructions and honest measurements. Of course, those measurements are exactly what became my challenge - even the XS was too large for me in the chest (yes, after two kids my chest has shrunk to a size smaller than I had in high school). I had it in my mind that I needed the bodice to be fitted so that the dress had shape (although Kelli's version doesn't seem as fitted and I love how she can wear a belt with it). Anyway, I made a number of modifications to the bodice, including making the bust dart smaller, raising the neckline 2 inches and adding two vertical darts in the back. This resulted in a good fit for me. But even though I made it smaller, the XS sleeve had no ease at all. In fact, it was too small so I had to cut out the S piece instead. Truthfully, I think I'll make a larger cap next time around so there is some ease because it pulls a bit tight across the cap for me now. Otherwise everything went together great and I'm really happy with the dress. I've already worn it to work twice, so it's definitely a keeper. A comfortable keeper.

The fabric I used is a cotton eyelet, and since you can't possibly get through a garment without some kind of mistake - here's mine: I used the wrong side of the fabric. Seriously. Can I blame low lighting? It doesn't bother me too much though. The eyelets mean I have to wear a slip and for a reason I can't remember I used a fuschia gingham bias tape which you can see at the neckline through the holes. Hmm. And I didn't have 10 buttons that matched so I alternated between black glass buttons (love) and plastic ones (not so much love). But these are small details and overall I really like it. It's on the cute side of things but works well with a cardigan. Perfect.

More Darling Ranges to come.

september blues

As a kid, I couldn't wait for school to start. As a teenager too - I was just that kind of kid. But my mom was always a little sad around Labour Day, and as with most things you can't understand until you're a mother yourself, now I totally get why she felt that way.

The end of summer seems to mark so much more than the end of blueberries and bathing suits. The first day of school means your child is another year older, and this is starting to hit me more than it does on a birthday (personally, I think it must have something to do with associating all my childhood memories with what grade I was in). When I started this blog Sadie was a baby.  This week that baby began Grade 3. Grade 3! I don't know where the time has gone, but now I have the first day of school as a startling reminder that it is hurtling past much too quickly. And I'm no longer an excited student, just a wistful mother helping plan outfits for the first day of school.

So, on a happier note - some sewing took place to help with the aforementioned outfit. Sadie chose my new piece of Robert Kaufman's cotton/linen chambray for me to make a skirt with, and she was very sure of her ribbon selection. I tried to persuade her that black ribbon on blue wasn't the best but soon heard what I was doing (meaning, I was forcing my taste on her) and stopped.  Black on blue it was, and truthfully, it's a really cute combo. The skirt is super basic though for the life of me I can't find the original tutorial for it - but it's the formula that only has one seam and the hem is finished with ribbon. Simple and satisfying - even when a 3 year old is sitting in your lap while you sew (funny, Sadie never did this!).

Speaking of blueberries, it was an excellent summer for them. And so I'll just do my best to remember our blueberry moments and not what grade my girl is in. After all, she's still my girl.