Things I've Sewn (With Nancy) Lately: McCall's M6408

Continuing my recent theme of snuggly tops to wear with my Jalie leggings and boots, I recently picked up McCall's M6408 by Nancy Zieman. Oh yes. Sewing with Nancy. 

Since fleece was on sale for $3 a yard, I decided to make this out of fleece first to be sure I liked the style on myself. Plus, fleece is snuggly. I know it's totally '90s of me, but since I cannot wear any kind of wool at all ever, so I love my fleece. Somehow I bought juuuuust a smidge too little fabric and ended up having to piece one of the ties. Woops.

I was worried this might be much too bathrobe-esque for public consumption, but my Instagram followers seemed to be overwhelmingly in favor of this outfit, which, in pictures at least, I think looks like wool.

And I will admit, this outfit is comfortable beyond belief. 

This pattern is also ridiculously easy to make up. I did this one, cutting the pattern to hemming the bottom, in a single night.

The only thing I hated in this pattern was the original sleeve. It was almost kimono-like in its largeness. I removed a large portion (maybe 5 inches?) of width from the elbow down and then added a cuff so it wouldn't flap in the breeze. 

After the success of the fleece version, I made one out of stone-colored ponte knit from Mood.

The ponte is much thinner and less fluffy than the fleece, so the sleeves are a touch long and the shoulders are a bit slouchy, but, surprisingly, this bothers me not at all. I kind of like the slightly oversized slouchy look in this sweater. I could see myself shortening the sleeve at the cuff I added maybe, but probably not.

For both of them, I basted the seams and then serged. This was my first time using ponte, and let me tell you -- the rumors are true. It's amazing. So amazing, in fact, that I ordered more ponte during Mood's Black Friday sale. Serges like a dream!

You can tie this in the back, too, but I wasn't a fan of that look. The pattern also includes a straight hem and options without a tie (definitely not a fan of that look.)

Overall, I really like it. I might even make it again sometime, though for now, I think two is enough, so I'll have to find another use for the ponte I just ordered. Ideas?

The real question though: Who knew Nancy had this much style?

Things I've Sewn Lately: Avocado for Women

I posted last week about the Avocado hoodie I made for Greg, but I also wanted to show off one I made for myself. 

This one is out of plain old apparel fleece from JoAnn's, which was on sale for $3 a yard a couple weeks ago. The lining for the pockets and hood is a small piece of black stretchy fabric I had left over from something else. Which means that this project came in SUPER cheap. Love that!

This hoodie is super snuggly and I wear it all the time.

I actually made a different Avocado for myself before this one, out of heart-print terry fabric (I know, I know, another heart print -- I swear I can't help it!) I bought off Etsy from South Korea. Unfortunately, since it wasn't very stretchy, I sized up, and I don't particularly care for the fit. Also, I royally messed up the hood on that one.

For this one, I sized down to my correct size and I couldn't be more pleased with the fit. The one thing I did need to seriously fix, though, was the sleeve length. For some reason, possibly fabric-related, I had to add a TON of length to the bottom part of the sleeves where the thumb hole is to make the sleeves long enough for me. (Could also be my ape arms -- I'm fairly tall.)

Of course I put the awesome back pockets in this one, so that Greg has a place to warm his hand when he's got his arm around me.

I love the style lines on this hoodie -- they are so different from a normal hoodie and they make it much more flattering than your average college-style hoodie.

I did MUCH better with this one's hood. I had to think carefully about the overlap, but I finally got it together.

And here's a close-up of those sleeves I had to lengthen.

I'm wearing the hoodie here with some Jalie leggings and a Sewaholic Renfrew, which is a go-to outfit for me these days.

Not a whole lot else to say about the pattern since I reviewed it fairly thoroughly in my last post, but definitely a pattern I'll make again. I love this outfit for working at home and when I like a pattern, I tend to make it several times. I was like that with RTW clothing too, back when I bought my clothing. If I find something that I like, that fits well and is comfortable, I want multiples!

How about you? Do you like multiples of the same garment? Or is that just me? ;-)

Things I've Sewn Lately: Knits, knit and more knits!

Recently, I became a leggings and t-shirt machine. In the wintertime, I love to wear leggings -- whether I'm working at home and wearing leggings and a shawl, or going out with a shirt dress and boots, leggings are warm and wonderful. My old store-bought leggings were starting to get holes and get stretched out, so it was time to make some!

My pattern of choice is the Jalie leggings pattern. It's one pattern piece and two seams -- I can whip out pairs of these leggings like nobody's business.

The sizing for these is great, too. You size by your hip measurement and length -- and there are about a million sizes included in the pattern. This was my first Jalie pattern, but I love the heavy paper they print on. I've made four pairs of these leggings and the pattern is still in great shape.

I made these out of some yoga-pants-esque fabric I found in Chic Fabrics in New York, so they're a little thicker than most of my store-bought leggings, which I appreciate. I had two yards and I managed three pairs of leggings. I also made up a pair in fleece-backed lycra I purchased at Fabric Mart in Pennsylvania. Talk about snuggly!

The only change I made to the pattern was to cut the elastic much larger. Elastic waistbands with negative ease bother my tummy (yeah I'm a wuss) so I cut my elastic waistband in the exact measurement of my waist so it barely stretches. They look a little weird flat, but these are the most comfortable leggings I've ever owned.

I've also made quite a few Renfrews lately. This one is my absolute favorite. Fabric Mart, if you've never been there, is an online fabric retailer, but you are allowed to shop their warehouse (whuuut!) Any remnants they have (i.e. like 5 yards left on the bolt), they sell for $2 a yard. I picked up a ton of t-shirt knits. This one is a great weight and feel. It serged like a dream.

I know I probably sound like a Sewaholic saleslady, but damn I love their patterns.

So proud of this neckline -- this is my best Renfrew.

Sleeve!

This long-sleever is some lovely knit I picked up in New York with the crew on Male Pattern Boldness Day. (I asked Peter if it was too bright -- at the time I was wearing a pink dress and carrying a hot pink Kate Spade bag -- he looked at me and went "You wear a lot of pink, don't you?" No idea why he'd think THAT!)

This fabric is super cute -- the little black dots are actually tiny velvet hearts. I got this fabric at Elfreide's in Colorado.

 The neckline topstitching is a little wavy, so we won't look too closely, here, but I still love this one and I wear it all the time.

And finally, my first Renfrew, which I realized never made an appearance on the blog. I don't wear it much because it came out kind of funky. I was having trouble with my serger tension that day.

I love the neckline, though. I'll have to make another now that I'm a little better with the pattern.

So there you have it, folks! Knit essentials for everyday life.  Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday and are enjoying your own comfy knits and easy waistbands today. ;)

Also, haven't heard from Kim about the giveaway. I'll choose another winner if I don't hear soon.