In Sewing News Today

This first week of Me Made May (MMM) flew by in a blink of an eye.  

Top row, L to R:  Toaster sweater by Sew House Seven made in 2026.  A remodel of my favourite skirt pattern Vogue 1247 (front) and vintage Vogue 9918 to make a pull-on elastic back skirt made in 2026.  Black merino wool cardigan made in 2022 with Kwik Sew 4192.  
Middle row:  Wool pull-on pants made in 2026 with Butterick 6717.  Pink pullover dress made with Butterick 6784 in 2025.  A raw silk pullover made with The Assembly Line's High Cuff Sweater pattern in 2025.  
Bottom row:  Cotton pullover dress made in 2025 with Butterick 6784.  And what I live in most of the time, flannel pajamas.  These two sets are made with Butterick 6296 for the tops and Vogue 9217 for the bottoms.  They were made in 2024 and 2022.  

I'm not really photo documenting what I wear this MMM.  I just don't have the time.  Besides, everyday is a "me made" day.  Same old, some new.  May usually means yardwork so I'm wearing grubby "me made" clothes that I don't mind getting dirty.  And then sometimes, I might throw on a dress or dress pants and clean myself up.   

Being May means unpredictability with the weather.  This past week we've seen temperatures one day in the +20 Celsius range as well as snow flakes and near zero temps.  So throw in a mix of cardigans and winter jackets and I do believe I wore a tuque this week.  

In sewing news, I did journey into the Sudoku challenge that ends tomorrow.  I also threw up a white flag and deleted the grid last weekend.  It was more difficult than I could imagine to sew up ten pieces in nine weeks.  I admire those who were able to accomplish all of the sewing and come up with eight cohesive outfits plus photos.  I was two items short when I threw up the white flag.  So close.  It was fun for awhile. 

Now, that I am no longer under a time crunch, I would like to revisit Named Clothing's Anneli top pattern which I made for the Sudoku challenge.  And I have a request for cotton knit cycling shorts to sew.   

Well, that's all in sewing news today.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Stash busting: Anneli Tee / Named Clothing Patterns

This double front t-shirt by Named Patterns has become my new favourite top pattern.  Here is the description found inside the pattern instructions:

The Anneli pattern includes two variations:  A straight, ankle-length jersey dress and a casual t-shirt.  Both variations have a round neck finished with a neckband and a double-layered front which creates an interesting wrap effect.  The dress is sleeveless and you can tie a belt at the waist.  The t-shirt is hip-length and has loose-fitting sleeves.  

It is so comfortable to throw on and wear over the back brace.  It is exactly what I've been looking for in a t-shirt.  And this pattern is so easy to sew.  I am already planning another one.  I will fan out the lower centre back next time, just for a little more ease.  If I am not wearing the back brace, the extra ease is not needed.  The pattern is perfect and well drafted.  The seam allowance on the pattern is 3/8" which I followed with the exception of the neckband.  It was sewn with a 1/2" allowance.  It appears a wee bit narrower than intended but I'm good with the look and how it fits.  

The fabric has been in the stash for decades.  I actually purchased four metres of this light-weight cotton knit with thoughts of sewing a wrap dress.  My wrap dress wearing days are long behind me, so the fabric lingered until I could figure out what to do with it.  It ended up being a good toile fabric for the Anneli pattern.  The fabric was pre-treated with a tumble in the washing machine and dryer.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free project.  The fabric was hiding in the stash for decades and came from Fanny Fabrics, a long closed down Canadian fabric outlet.  The pattern is from Named Clothing, a Scandinavian company.  And I picked up this printed copy via The Workroom, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The scissors used to cut out the fabric were from Merchant and Mills, an U.K. company and also came from The Workroom.  The threads were what I could find already in the stash, there was an assortment of white Coats and Clark and Gütermann threads that were made in Mexico and Greece.  

Project details

Seams:  Knit (lightening bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  Serged and Coverstitched.  

Fabric:  1.15 metres

Pattern:  Anneli (Double Front Dress & Tee) from Named Clothing's "Playground Collection"

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, tailor's chalk, assorted heavy objects to use as pattern weights, pins, pin cushion, paper scissors, fabric scissors, seam ripper, tweezers, threads, thread clippers, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, Janome 1000 CP CoverPro machine, Janome 2000D AirThread serger, iron, ironing board, hand sewing needle and tea.  

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.   

Stash busting: Lightweight Wool Toaster Sweater

This is another Toaster Sweater that I made to go with this skirt.  In reality, it will go with a few more pieces in the closet.  Bonus:  it is oversized, so, it can be worn over the back brace.  

There are two Toaster Sweater patterns in the stash, out-of-print (OOP) Simplicity 8529 and this Sew House Seven version.  This one has a cuff-less sleeve and the finish on the neckline is quite nice.  Even though both patterns are by Sew House Seven, this version is my favourite.  The sweater was cut as a size 20 on the sides.  The length on the sleeves were shortened.  That is about it.  

The fabric is a lovely lightweight wool knit from Winnipeg Sews.  It was pretreated with a tumble in the washing machine and the dryer.  I know, gasp!  Thankfully, it survived the pre-treatment.  It's soft and I will be taking greater care going forward.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free project.  Most of the supplies needed to sew this project were found in the stash.  The previously mentioned fabric was in the stash for a few years and came from a now-closed Canadian fabric reseller.  The pattern is from an American independent pattern designer and came into the stash prior to the convicted felon and his cohort starting a global tariff war and disrespectful rhetoric.  Therefore, the pattern did not contribute to the convicted felon's tariff economy. 

The label is from KATM, an Australian company.  The fabric scissors are from Merchant and Mills, an U.K. company and were purchased from The Workroom, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The threads are a recent purchase since I didn't have any threads that were close in colour to the fabric.  For the sewing and CoverPro machines, I ended up going with Coats and Clark cotton thread which were made in Mexico.  The threads for the serger are Gütermann threads.  All of the threads came from Fabricland, another Canadian fabric outlet.  

Project details

Seams:  Knit (lightening bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  Serged and cover stitched.  

Fabric:  1.7 metres

Pattern:  Sew House Seven's Toaster Sweaters

Label:  1--"Made with love" KATM label

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, fabric scissors, assorted heavy objects used as pattern weights, measuring tape, measuring gauge, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, threads, walking foot, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, Janome CoverPro 1000CP, tweezers, thread clippers, hand sewing needle, basting thread, iron, ironing board, heating pad, many breaks, and tea. 

Stand strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Monday's Mending Pile

These me-made sweatpants from 2024 made it to the mending pile because I wanted to replace the cuffs.  There was no ribbing in the stash when I made Vogue 8909 back then and I thought that I could get away with cutting the cuff pattern pieces in the fashion fabric.  It was a mistake.  One that was evident during the construction process.  And it didn't feel right when I wore these otherwise very comfortable pants.  

Today, I finally corrected that mistake and cut out some navy ribbing that has since entered the stash.  

First I had to cut off the cuff at the stitching line.  There was no way I was going to even attempt to remove a knit stitch by hand.  I'm at the stage of life that I am losing height so I don't think I will miss that 5/8" allowance from the leg length.  

Ah, that feels better.  

Elbows up and keep sewing.  
 

Stash busting: Black Cotton Pants / Butterick 6717

The latest version of Butterick 6717 was given a little more ease at the sides to see if they will fit more comfortably over the lower part of the back brace.  

And it worked!  There was also a little more ease added at the inner leg near the crotch area.  The length was shortened as well.  The hem lengths differ because of the shortness of one leg, all thanks to scoliosis.  But I didn't want to commit to a one inch hem because the shoes that I will wear with these have not been adjusted for the height difference.  This will give me the option to fix the hem if I loosen the purse strings for the shoes adjustments.  But I digress.  I left off the pockets on this pair, with the hard plastic of the brace it won't be an easy feature to use.  I'm just happy that I can wear these with the back brace.  

I used a printed copy of this pattern which I picked up years ago.  It is currently only available in PDF format.  I'm not a fan of PDF format patterns and I would have skipped this pattern if it were the only option back then.  I grateful to have the printed copy, the pattern for the pants is wonderful.  I like the dart free front and the elastic back is comfortable to wear.  I also like the shape of the leg.  

The fabric was labelled as a 100% cotton, I'm not a 100% sure about that claim.  I guess time will tell in how it wears.  It is the same fabric that I used to make this skirt.  It was pre-washed before hitting the cutting table and ironing board.  

Sewing IS Political

This project is another Canadian and tariff free creation.  All of the supplies required to make the pants were found in the stash.  The fabric came into the stash via Fabricland, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The elastic is Tailor brand and was made in China and also came from Fabricland.  The cotton thread used in the sewing machine is from Gutermann threads and was made in Greece.  The threads used in the serger are a combination of Gutermann threads and H.A. Kidd, a Canadian company, and were labelled as made in China.  All of the threads were purchased from Fabricland.  The scissors used to cut this project were made in Taiwan and purchased from Fabricland.  Butterick 6717, is an American product that entered the stash in twenty twenty-two before the convicted felon's resumed his tariff war on the world.  

Project details

Seams:  2.8 straight stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  1.5 metres

Elastic:  0.7 metres

Pattern:  Butterick 6717, circa 2019

Label:  1--KATM label

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, pins, pin cushions, measuring tape, measuring gauge, fabric scissors, iron, ironing board, tailor's ham, screwdriver, tailor's chalk, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, blind hem foot, safety pin, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, thread clippers, threads, back brace and tea.  

Stand Strong, elbows up and keep sewing.  

Gift Sewing: Cardigan / OOP Butterick 5760

It's been a few years since I made a cardigan with out-of-print (OOP) Butterick 5760.  The last time I made one was in 2018.  And then another request came for one with pockets and more ease.  I'm not quite sure what happened to my original copy of the pattern, lost in time I guess.  So I felt very grateful that I found an uncut copy of this pattern through a reseller.  

There were a few more changes to the pattern this time around.  The shoulders, armhole and neckline were cut at a size fourteen.  The sides were cut at a size twenty-two and the lower centre back was fanned out from the neckline to the hem on the centre fold to give a little more ease.  The sleeves and bodice pieces were shortened.  And front patch pockets were added.  

The fabric is a bonded knit that I found at Marshall Fabrics and one that has been seen before.  I used this fabric to make this top.  I found that this fabric worked best with OOP Butterick 5760.  It was a lovely fabric for the cardigan.  The fabric was previously pre-treated and ready for the cutting table.  There is still a couple metres left so there may be another appearance in the future.  

Sewing IS Political

This is another Canadian made and tariff free project.  Everything used to make this cardigan, except for the pattern, was found in the stash.  The fabric, as previously mentioned, came from Marshall Fabrics, a Canadian fabric outlet.  The out-of-print pattern, circa 2012, is a product of the U.S.A but did not contribute to the convicted felon's tariff econony.  I found the new copy of the pattern through a Canadian reseller.  The scissors used to cut this project were made in Taiwan and were purchased at Fabricland, another Canadian fabric outlet.  The cotton thread used in the sewing machine is Gütermann threads and were made in Greece.  The threads used in the serger were from H. A. Kidd, a Canadian company and they were made in China.  All of the threads were purchased from Fabricland.  

Project Details

Seams:  Knit (lightening bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:  1.6 metres

Pattern:  OOP Butterick 5760, circa 2012

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, measuring tape, tailor's chalk, pins, pin cushion, fabric scissors, paper scissors, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, Jean-a-ma-jig®, thread clippers, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, tweezers, iron, ironing board, measuring gauge, clapper, sleeve roll, good tunes and tea.  

Elbows up and keep sewing.  

Stash busting: And Then There Were Two

There was just enough cotton knit left over to sew one more body sock.  And a head band.  

Now that I have two extra body socks made, the original ones from Brace Buddies were shortened, basted and cover stitched.  

Project details

Seams:  Knit (lightening bolt) stitch

Seam finish:  Serged and Coverstitched

Fabric:  1 metre

Pattern:  None used for the head band, the body sock was copied from the original Brace Buddies

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Cutting table, measuring tape, straight ruler, tailor's chalk, fabric scissors, hand sewing needle, silk thread for basting, Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine, walking foot, lint brush, screwdriver, tweezers, threads, Janome CoverPro 1000CP, Janome AirThread 2000D serger, thread clippers, iron and ironing board.  

Elbows up and keep sewing.