Summer Buttericks & Sewing Updates

Three new Butterick patterns caught my eye. This beautiful pleated knit top:

Butterick 5354

And this unlined jacket/top pattern:

Butterick 5360

One more cute top:

Butterick 5356


Does anyone know of any upcoming Butterick pattern sales?


I finally finished my denim herringbone top. The buttonholes and buttons were the last tasks. I only had to sew one test buttonhole and knew the real ones would be fine. After wearing this top at work, I decided I don't care for the slight flare at the sides. So, I will gradually take in about 1/2" at the sides from the lower bust down.

Denim top with the slightly flared side


I found time to practice and play with my CS machine. Since I got my triple stitch down and settings documented, I went ahead and rethreaded for a narrow double left stitch and removed my right needle. As you can see, my test results were not too pretty.

Double stitch disaster


After playing with the tensions, it finally dawned on me that it was a threading issue. So, I rethreaded the machine and my stitches came out perfect. There's a valuable lesson that I learned...hold the thread taut when I pass each thread through its tension disc. Also, when I pass the looper thread through the tension disc, it makes a click sound. I realize that was my main threading problem. Before I thread each needle, I release the foot (drop down) so the tension discs are enabled. This allows me to thread through the guides (above the needles) and the needles better.

Here's the results of my rethreading:

Rethreaded and stitching fine


I finally hemmed my RTW t-shirt after stitching in the round. I used Debbie's technique for pulling the threads to the front of the garment, clipping the front threads and then pulling the garment towards the back and clipping the looper thread. This caused my upper threads to get pulled towards the bottom of the garment and locks the stitches. A valuable technique that can be found on the right sidebar of my blog under My Favorite Sewing Sites. I did manage to do a test run with a knit fabric and it stitched out beautifully. I've been enjoying my time with my cover stitch machine.

Narrow cover stitched hem

On the bling front, I've been making my own stitch markers for my knitting projects. Here I've made some for my friend, Sabine:

My knitting stitch markers

Another Butterick 5223...in the works

I'm back to sewing garments. I'm working on my TNT Butterick pleated top pattern. I am using a lightweight denim that has a herringbone pattern in the fabric. I have altered the pattern in the back by removing the middle pleat, thus removing about 3 inches all together. The top should be more slender fitting, especially from the side profile. I'm hoping I won't have to take in the sides as well. I will make that call later.

My favorite Butterick pattern with the pleats in the front & back

Here is how I set in the sleeve into the garment. Instead of basting two rows in the sleeve cap, I just ease the sleeve in with my fingers matching notches and seams. I do end up with a lot more pins, but it's easier for me to sew in the sleeve this way.

Pinning & easing in the sleeves by hand

Here's the result of my work. I still need to finish the sleeve/armhole seam (e.g. serging) and give it a good pressing.

Close up of sewn in sleeves

I'm off to the fabric store in search of buttons. Will be back with more pictures later and hopefully a finished garment (and loose threads removed).

Happy Sewing!

Wearing My Butterick 5251 Cardigan

Here I am wearing my new cardigan. I could not wait to have a picture taken. I took my pictures this evening. Then one thing led to another and I went ahead and posted my review on PR. You can find my review on the right side bar under my recent sewing projects.

I think this cardigan looks better on me than on SusieQ. lol! This sweater knit print is a bit too masculine for me. I would like to find a floral knit and sew this up again. What do you think?

Butterick 5251 - Sweater Knit Cardigan Completed

This is a follow up post to the previous one from this morning. This sweater knit cardigan is finished. I have included more pictures and more details.

Okay, I mentioned in this morning's post that I would post a picture of the finished seam. Here it is. The main seam I sewed with my sewing machine (SM) using the narrow zigzag stitches. I then serged the seams about 1/8 inch away from the main seam and trimming the excess fabric off.



I hand sewed the inside collar to the base of the jacket using a slip stitch. I also slip stitched the front facing edge to the shoulder seams.



Here's a picture of the front facing and the hem. I serged the outer edges of the facings. I topstitched the facing to the cardigan along the facing edges. For the hem, I turned up 1-1/2 inches and also topstitched.




I turned my cardigan inside out and placed it on SusieQ to show you what the insides look like.








Here's the finished cardigan with the self fabric belt.









Here are the side views with the self fabric belt.








Here's another view of the cardigan without the self fabric belt. I actually like wearing this cardigan loose.



I think this cardigan will look great with a pair of jeans for a casual look or with a pair of slacks for a dressy look.

This sweater knit cardigan could be completed within a weekend day or within several hours over a few evenings. I will be posting a review on PatternReview.com within the next few days and include pictures of me wearing my new cardigan.

I need to take a break from this marathon sewing I have been doing. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my cardigan and the sewing techniques I have used and the many pictures I have included.

Butterick 5251 - Sweater Knit Cardigan-WIP #1

I am currently working on the Butterick 5251 knit cardigan. I have to mention, it's coming along nicely. It is turning out to be a wonderful looking knit garment. This will be a long post with lots of pictures for your viewing pleasure.

This is a close up of the bulky sweater knit I am using for this knit cardigan. It's a pretty blue and dark brown diamond patterned knit that I found at G-Streets. I had about 2 yards and 2 inches of this fabric. Turns out it wasn't enough to fit the belt pattern piece. Since this fabric had a 4-way stretch, I was able to reposition the belt pattern piece along the selvage.


Here's the fusible knit interface applied to the collar. I used Pellon's Easy Knit (that's what it said on the paper that came with it). I applied and fused it with a damp press cloth and medium/high heat setting.


Here, I am pinning the front pieces to the back piece. I match my notches first and then match the ends. Then I gently pin along the seam line and careful not to stretch the knit fabric.


I'm sewing a 5/8 inch seam using a narrow zigzag stitch. Once I'm done with the seams on my SM, I go to my serger and finish the seam edges. I stitch about 1/8 inch away from my SM seam (main seam). This gives the seams a nice finish as well as reinforces them. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the finished seams. I will include a picture in my next post.


To give you an idea of the narrow zigzag stitch I used, here's the display on my SM. This shows what the actual stitch would look like. Your SM stitch settings will be different than mine. This gives you an idea of what you should try to get your machine to stitch out.



Here's a picture of the narrow zigzag stitch I used. As you can see, it's not quite a deep zigzag and not quite a straight stitch. The narrow zigzag gives the seam some stretch and prevents the stitch from popping or breaking.

Here's the collar after it is sewn together (interfaced with non-interfaced). I pinned the back collar area away from the seam line.


This is the first time I am sewing a knit on my Sapphire SM. I tried sewing a knit over a year ago and had some issues. I guess with experience and getting to know my SM, I didn't encounter any problems with sewing this sweater knit fabric. You'll notice the thickness in the picture. That is about 5 layers of bulky knit fabric. I set my SM speed to the slowest setting and it did not hesitate one bit.


Save the best picture for last. Here's the collar and front facings installed. The collar is actually a bit wider than what's presented on the pattern envelope picture. The line drawings appear to be exact. I think I have to get used to the collar. It just seems a bit wide towards the bottom when I tried on the cardigan. I do like the style...very contemporary looking.

This cardigan is about 80% completed. I still have to finish (hand sew) the collar back, hem the cardigan, topstitch the hem and front facing areas, and create the self fabric belt. I will be back with more pictures and another post later.

Happy Sewing!

Shifting Gears...Now onto a Butterick Cardigan?

I made a mistake. I went to Hancock's to buy more sheer curtain fabric to make a curtain for my sewing cart. They were having a Butterick pattern sale. Like I need more patterns. Well, the sick person that I am...I skimmed through the pattern book. This pattern called to me...BIG time! I am shifting gears and changing my sewing priorities.

A few days ago I posted a picture of some fabrics I found at G-Street. Remember the sweater knits? It dawned on me that one of those knits would make a lovely cardigan jacket like the one in View A. (I shudder at View B as it reminds me of a bath robe). Anyways, this pattern is now on my tracing/cutting table. My two sweater knits are being pre-washed.


View A should be quick and easy to sew. I just need to decide which sweater knit to use. Hopefully, I can find a cool belt in my closet to go with it. I can already tell that I will need to shorten the cardigan length. The sleeve length (which will be a bit longer on me) should be fine. Maybe this will be the jump start I needed to start sewing with knits again.

In other sewing news, I finished my doorway panel and hung it on the spring tension rod. It's working out great. I have my much needed privacy along with the much needed air flowing in and out of my room. I have to take a picture to show you what it looks like. That will be a new post for another day.

Brocade Jacket...WIP#2

Additional progress was made on my jacket this afternoon. The sleeves were sewn in. I had to stop sewing in order to make dinner. I also took the opportunity to take some more pictures.

I found these buttons in my stash. They are temporarily pinned to the jacket. We'll see if I end up using them.

Now, all I need to do is hem the jacket and do some test buttonholes.

Brocade Jacket...WIP#1

I thought I'd take a break from sewing and give you an update. I finally found some blocks of sewing time. I am holed up in my sewing room. Blinds open to let in the wonderful sunshine. I am making some progress.

Yesterday, I spent an hour sewing my jacket (e.g. pleats, shoulder seams, side seams). This morning, I sewed in the facing. You can see my progress in the following picture.



I took in the sides quite a bit and made the side seams straighter (removing the flare at the sides). Basically, sewing a regular 5/8 seam at the underarm area and then tapering until I've taken in about 2 inches at the bottom of the side seam. I had a little help with a ruler and chalk to draw my line.

To press the brocade, I have been using a dry press cloth and medium heat setting on my iron. It's working wonderfully. I did have a slight issue with getting my weft interfacing to stick to the fabric. I ended up misting my press cloth with water and applying the slightly damp press cloth over the interfacing and fabric. That worked out well.

I am getting used to the idea of not topstitching down my pleats. Here's a close up of the front and back pleats.



Still hard to take a good picture of this brocade. I've been using my external flash and practicing picture taking. Bouncing my light here and there to see what I get. Part of my artistic expression. lol!

Well, back to sewing my jacket. I need to finish my side seams with a serger, sew in the sleeves and hem the jacket. I'm still debating what buttons I should be using.

Do you think I should stick with plain black buttons?

Me and My Butterick Jacket...

It's all done! I finally got around to sewing the buttons on my jacket last night. I must be getting good at handsewing as it didn't take that long.

I plan on wearing this jacket to my friend's birthday party. She will be the receiver of my LGD Runaround bag that I posted several days ago.

I have to say the more jackets I make from this pattern, the more I "live" in them. And you already know, denim is a comfy fabric and quite durable. I think this particular version could be worn all year round. During the cold months, I could wear a long sleeve t-shirt underneath. What do you think?


Here is one of the 3 buttons I used. I went down in button size for this jacket. I found these 7/8 inch buttons at Joann's. I like this size as it doesn't compete with the overall look of the jacket. I like the gold trim as it makes the jacket look more dressy casual.

I am happy that I've managed to sew one garment this month. My goal has been two a month. We'll see what I come up with in the next week or two.

Butterick 5223 in Denim

Wow...this jacket went together a lot faster than I expected. Believe it or not, I made one test buttonhole on a scrap of fabric. Then I proceeded to sew the 3 buttonholes. Perfect! That gives you an idea of how wonderful this denim fabric was to sew. SusieQ has been wearing it for the last few days until I had the time to sew the buttons on. So, tonight looks like the night to do some hand sewing.


This is my 4th jacket from this pattern. This time, I decided not to topstitch the pleats down. I did baste them to hold the pleats in place while I sewed in the facings. Afterwards, I removed the basting stitches. As you can see in the pictures (front and back), the pleats look softer.


Here's a close up of the denim dot fabric and the front pleats. I have to mention that this fabric was a fabulous find at Joann's. It's a lightweight denim that my sewing machine handled without any difficulty. I love that the white dots are part of the fabric weave. The fabric drapes beautifully and is perfect for this type of jacket pattern.

So, you are probably wondering what is the color of this denim fabric I used. The real color is shown in the pictures with the pleats. To give you an idea of the color...I ended up using Mettler Metrosene color #558 poly thread. Using a black would have been too dark and a thread with blue in it would have been way off. In essence, the top picture is not the true color (still learning to use my camera).


Since I will be wearing this jacket with jeans and casual pants, I decided not to take in the sides.

I'll be back to post another picture of this jacket with the buttons sewn.

Another Butterick 5223 in The Works

Remember this pattern? It's Butterick 5223 - the cropped jacket. Well, I'm now making another one...again in View A. This will be my 4th version which will lead to a 5th version in a fancy fabric I plan on wearing in September. Yeah, I would call it practice sewing.

So, here's my blue lightweight denim dot fabric ready to be cut out. The dots on the denim are actually part of the fabric weave and not painted on. I came across this fabric at Joann's, this past weekend. I got the fabric for 50% off. I've already pre-washed and dried it. It's nice and soft. I love this fabric!

My fancy fabric from EmmaOneSock (EOS) came in the mail yesterday. That's fast delivery...as I ordered it on Sunday. Anyways, I was worried that this fancy fabric would be too heavy, but it turned out to be lightweight and perfect for this jacket pattern. So, what kind of fabric did I get???? It's an Italian black/gray floral brocade fabric. Now, all I have to do is worry about how I'm going to press this brocade fabric once I start sewing it. I guess, I'll worry about that later. I need to focus on one project at a time. Now, to finish cutting out my denim dot fabric.

If any of my fellow bloggers and visitors have any tips on sewing and pressing brocade fabric...please post your suggestions. I would love to hear from you.

Happy Sewing!

Next Up On My Sewing Agenda

I have been in the cutting out fabric mood. I decided that during my upcoming 3-day weekend, I would sew two pieces of garments that I can wear together (top and bottom). The floral and butterfly print fabric will be made into Butterick 5216 – the gathered top without the front ties. The pale sea green fabric will be made into another pair of walking shorts, KS 2840. This might get me in the mood to do a future SWAP on PR.

I thought it would take me awhile to get used to wearing the longer shorts. You know what? I love them! They are really comfortable to wear. I think they look very stylish and hip for my 40-something age. After this 3rd pair of shorts, I plan on tracing out a pair of capris.

I am looking forward to a nice long weekend and practicing my stash reduction technique.

The Status of My Elastic Waist Shorts and/or Capris

Okay, I made a muslin out of this above ankle pants pattern. This Butterick 5000 pattern is correct, the pants are "semi-fitted". The size Small that I made were actually a bit too tight. So, what did I do? I moved on to another pattern. Don't worry, I haven't given up on this pattern. I just need to find one that fits and then go back and figure out my adjustments for B5000. That's how my mind works. No time for frustrations...just keep moving ahead and learning. lol!

So, onto this pattern Butterick 5044. I love this pattern...the drawings I see on the pattern envelope tell me a lot. I had a feeling I would have better luck with this pattern. The finished hip measurement is about an inch wider than the B5000 pants. I play it smart and decide to make the shorts in a muslin. You know, less fabric and quicker to make. Oh, I consider this to be a one seam shorts/pants pattern. There are no side seams.

The end result is...almost a good fit...in the front. The only issue I have is the back side is running shorter than the front side. Does that mean I have a bigger or non-standard rear-end?

Since my mind appears to be working a lot lately, I decided to take my Kwik Sew 3314 pattern (where did this come from? I'll get to that in a moment) and see if I can retrace the back part of the KS pattern over the this Butterick pattern. Basically, raising the backend (waist area). I'll let you know how that comes out.

So, this my 3rd attempt to sew pants. My first attempt was 2 years ago and it was with KS3314. That pattern fits me. I can't remember if I posted a review on that pattern. Back then, I didn't care for elastic waist pants and didn't pay attention to the fit.

Why don't I stick to a potential TNT pattern? I'm pushing my own personal bar and I really need to understand my own fitting/alteration changes. I've been avoiding making pants for awhile and I think I need to change.

Also, I've been sewing a lot of Butterick patterns lately. I really like the styles I see. That is what's pushing me to change.

Plus, this new learning experience will help me when I teach my basic sewing classes.

Please feel free to comment on any ideas or suggestions that you may have for me. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :)

(Sounds like I'm getting all chatty again) lol!!!

What I Hope to Sew Next - Post #1

I have this pattern in my stash. I made the short sleeve cropped jacket late last year (posted on PR). I pulled this pattern out, in the hopes of making the cropped pants. Yes they are elastic waist, but I want to start making some cool pants for the summer. The pattern says these are "semi-fitted", above ankle pull-on pants. Looks like a winner to me.

I purchased this pattern recently for the cropped pants. Hint, hint...the black and white view D. I would definitely add the front pockets to this version. Here again, these are also elastic waist. These appear to have a little more ease than B5000 above. I think it's worth a try.

Since I am assuming the pants won't take too long to trace and sew, I am now contemplating my next top. I have two patterns (recently purchased) that I can't seem to put down. First up, is this gorgeous Butterick 4811. I saw the sleeveless top with the tie casing at JoAnn's on display...it was cute! I would nix the standing collar and go with the regular collar.

The other top is Butterick 5025. Sleeveless of course. I actually like both the top and skirt together. Another wing collar to tackle. Yes, this has a similar collar application like Butterick 4659...I just reviewed.

Now to figure out what fabrics to use...

Be warned...I think I am in a chatty mood today.

Butterick 4659 - Pink Floral Shirt is completed

My new shirt is finally completed. I sewed in the sleeves, the buttonholes and buttons last night. I tried it on this morning to take pictures. Guess what? It's too hot to wear right now. We are having a heatwave...90's and a bit humid. So for now, Susie-Q will model my new shirt.

I made this shirt in a size 10 with a finished bust of 38 inches and finished hip of 41 inches.

This pink floral cotton print is from my stash. Probably from G-Street Fabrics. The fabric is really soft.

I had fun sewing this shirt. It's rated as "fast & easy" and it truly was. There were only one area where I had to slow down my sewing. It was stitching the neck and shoulder area. This is typical for this kind of collar treatment. I have another shirt pattern on my to do list and I noticed it has the same collar application. This pattern does require a lot of hand-sewing (slip stitching). As you can see, it was well worth it.

Here's the different views on Susie-Q:

** Updated to show additional pictures and pertinent sewing information **


I wanted to show the inside details of my shirt. So, I put the shirt on Susie-Q, inside out. I serged the raw edges of the seams (e.g. princess and side seams) to give the shirt a nice finished look on the inside. And since the fabric is cotton, I wanted to prevent any unraveling of the fabric. After stitching the sleeves in with my sewing machine, I also went back and serged around the sleeve seams.


For the narrow hem, I serged the bottom edges of the shirt. I folded the hem up 5/8 inch and pressed. Then I would tuck the serged edge under and press again. I topstitched the hem. Here's a picture of the curved narrow hem (shirt is inside out):



Here's the inside neckline and shoulder area with the handsewn facings:



Here's a close-up picture of the wing collar:




Update: I finally got around to taking pictures of myself. Here I am posing in my new shirt. This is the correct shade of pink that you are seeing on me (the pictures above were taken with the flash set too high, sorry).

I have posted my detailed review on PR.