Hi friends!! Spring has most definitely sprung out here on the west coast, and with that, I’ve been itching to add more spring pieces to my wardrobe. Today’s New Arrivals at Amelia Lane Designs were perfect for a couple new garments. I also took this opportunity to start purging some of my old printed patterns and of course that meant I needed to find new patterns to buy lol! One of these days, I’ll figure out a way to get the whole projector stuff to work in our house, but until then, I’ve occasionally gotta dwindle down the hoard to keep the under-bed storage totes full of patterns I’ve made before to a minimum. Anywho…onto the fabric!
The first one I sewed up is Ivey. I’m not big on green. Idk…certain shades of it often make both my son and me look slightly green and sickly in photos, so I’m always a bit weary to sew it up, particularly when it’s a promotion and photos are required. I took a chance with this one because that floral was calling my name and I’m so glad I did because I’m in LOVE and it photographed beautifully. This fabric is a double brushed poly, which is a 96% polyester/4% spandex blend. It’s 190 GSM and has 4-way stretch (100% horizontal, about 50% vertical). Though polyester tends to make me sweat, I find that I can never stay away from it. It’s so widely available in so many beautiful designs and colors, it’s super duper affordable, and it makes gorgeous garments. Keeping my temperature in mind, I sew short sleeves or sleeveless tops and dresses with it. I’m not big on polyester bottoms at all for the aforementioned reasons, so I stay away from poly leggings, despite their popularity.
The pattern I chose for Ivey is a new (to-me) pattern. I used the Coastal Crossover from Buttons and Bibs with the V front and the crossed straps in the back. I used Canyon solid cotton spandex from EmyJean Fabrics for the liner, and looking at the finished product, I think that either I should have used another brushed poly or under stitched, because despite pressing and adjusting, the lining shows. Perhaps understiching would have done the trick, or the fabric weights and stretch were just not compatible. I was cutting it close to the deadline for these photos so I didn’t have much time to troubleshoot. I will for the next one, for sure. I do appreciate the fact that I chose a lining color that looked nice, at least….I almost used white! I sized down per the recommendation in the pattern if using fabrics with loads of stretch like DBP, and I’m glad I read that because it would have been too loose for my taste if I had sewn my measured size. Overall, I’m in love with it!
Ivey has the perfect weight for this skirt to hang beautifully, but it also has a nice lightness to it. The wind kept blowing while I was taking these photos and the skirt just moved so well. This is one of the reasons I love brushed poly skirts! I finished the dress off with a rolled hem on my serger. I had the perfect thread to match and my brain was not functioning well enough to comprehend how to hem the center portion of the skirt due to its shape lol. In fairness, the tutorial did explain, I was just in a mood and it wasn’t clicking. I love the touch that the rolled hem added to he dress, particularly with the thread being the perfect match. Oh and I’m wearing cute shoes in these pics, so I had to show them off. When I first started sewing strikes I always wore flip flops or house shoes because my shoes were never in the photos lol. Now when I finally do wear them, our backyard is not large enough to capture my shoes without a whole bunch of adjusting to the camera…so most times you STILL don’t see them. Pic for proof 😉
The second fabric I sewed this round was Rust Two-Tone Pointelle. Pointelle has become one of my favorite fabric bases to sew as of late. This particular one is a 67% polyester/28% rayon/5% spandex blend that’s 190 GSM with 75% 2-way stretch. I’ve only ever made tops with it, but I’ve seen it made into joggers, cardigans, & hoodies, too. Amelia Lane is my absolute favorite source for pointelle. They frequently stock them in solids and various prints. If you’ve never touched it before, I recommend grabbing a yard or two on your next order.
The color of this fabric is really pretty and complements my skin-tone well. It’s a light red/orangey kinda color, though it picks up a little pink on camera (think rust lol). I love the weight of it for tops, and again, it drapes nicely. I chose another new (to-me) pattern for this fabric and sewed up my first Brooklyn from Sonia Estep Designs. I actually had been looking for a pattern with a tie hem for a little bit, and happened upon this one last week on sale, so I snagged it. It fit nicely overall based on my measurements, but I’m not a big fan on the finishing technique used for the neckband/hem ties. I luckily had the foresight to match(ish) my serger thread to this fabric. Despite the fact that it’s pretty nicely coordinated, I’d like the shirt way better if my inside threads didn’t show at all when tied. If I ever make this top again, I will have to figure a way modify it myself by creating a facing for the ties instead of the way it’s currently constructed. When I tried it on and tied it prior to installing my buttons, I realized I probably won’t wear this often because of that, so instead of going through the hassle and headache of sewing buttonholes, I just sewed the buttons through both plackets. It’s roomy enough to slide off and on anyways without needing them to be functional. All in all, this mostly suited my vision for the fabric, so I’ll take it.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my makes for the April Round 1 releases at Amelia Lane! All the New Arrivals are on sale until Monday, so if you see something you like, make sure to grab it. There is also Spring Bingo going on in the Facebook Group right now, so make sure to sew up some pretties and post ’em for a chance to win prizes. Until next time…..
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