Ankle, Cropped, & Capri Pants Lengths - Post #2

Now that "summer" has officially started early with the hot temperature (90s) and lots of humidity, I have been wanting to sew some summer pants. I had a bunch of pants patterns in my hand...wondering what length to make? Since I can't go by what the pattern suggests on the back envelope (yes, I am only 5 feet tall), I decided to thumb through my latest Talbots' catalog. Why Talbots'...you asked? Because Talbots' includes some finished garment length measurements with most of their outfits. I know I can go into their store and pull a size 6 Petite pair of pants off their rack and the length would fit me 85% of the time. Yes, I do love to window shop. lol!

So, here's what I have come up with for my personal preference on pants inseam length (give or take a 1/2 inch):

Long - 27-1/2"
Ankle - 26"
Cropped - 22"
Capris - 19"
Pedal pushers - 14"
Bermudas - 11"

As I start sewing and completing my pants, I will keep this updated.

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.

Lots of Hand Sewing

So, my B4659 pink shirt is requiring a lot of hand sewing the past few nights. I have been slipstitching the front facings to the princess seams and shoulder seams. Also hand sewing the back facing to the back seam. It is time-consuming, but in the end I am getting a nicely finished shirt on the inside. Oh, I also had to spend some time slipstitching the inside of my sleeve cuffs

I have also used my serger to finish the side seams. I stitched the side seams with my sewing machine and then went back and serged each seam edge to give it a finished look.

Tonight, I will tackle inserting and sewing the sleeves into my shirt. After that, hem the shirt and sew the buttonholes and buttons.

Happy Friday!

Butterick 5223 - Finally completed (2nd version)

I can't believe it took me this long, but I finished the jacket. I ended up using Dritz size 10 sew-on snaps instead of sewing the buttonholes. And yes, I also added 1-1/4" buttons to the front of the jacket to complete the look. Several mornings I would wake up at 5am to hand sew the snaps. It was the only quiet-type of sewing I could do without waking up the whole house. I know...it was only 3 sets of snaps...but I'm a bit rusty with the hand-sewing. I wanted my stitches to look neat. And was I really wide awake at 5am??? lol!

I also took in the side seams to give the jacket a slimmer look.

So far, this is my favorite version of this jacket. I think the bright and cheery fabric has a lot to do with it.

Progress on my shirt

My pink floral shirt is coming along nicely. I made a lot of progress last night. I was able to stitch the front and back facings into the shirt. It needs a good press.

For now, the main part of the shirt is on Susie-Q...until tonight when I tackle the sleeves and split cuffs. I am learning to sew in stages (versus sewing for hours on a weekend). Thank goodness for the brighter June evenings as the sun doesn't go down until around 8:30pm. This allows me to have atleast 1-1/2 hours of sewing time after dinner.

I did take some interim pictures, but decided not to post. I want it to be a surprise. My attempt to sew something with light colors. This shirt is light and cheery and will definitely stand out in my closet (among my black pants and my black tops). :)

Butterick 5216 - Blue/White Floral top

I finished the top this morning and have been wearing it around the house. It is very comfy. I did run to my local Hancock's as they were having a "Grand Re-Opening" sale. Can't beat their $0.99 pattern sale...Simplicity, McCall's, AND Butterick. Ooops...I am digressing...sorry. I didn't tug or fidget with the top while in my vehicle or in the store. So, it's the perfect summer top for me. And better yet, I did not worry about my bra strap showing. It does peak out a bit where the tie comes out of the casing. Better there than on the shoulders.

While at Hancock's, I picked up some nice rayon fabrics to use with this pattern. I think it will drape nicely and my bow won't be so frumpy.

Now, on to my next Butterick project...the shirt with flounce sleeves.

Happy Sewing!

Two Butterick patterns in the works

This is Butterick 4659. I had previously posted this pattern on my to do list and I am finally going to make it. I have traced view A (purple top in the drawing) and the fabric pieces are already cut and ready to sew. I am making a muslin in a size 10. The finished bust is 38 inches. This looks to be semi-fitted. The muslin I selected is a light pink/off white/pale yellow/rose colored floral cotton (soft) fabric from my stash.

I have read the previous PR reviews on this pattern and will watch for the gotchas. It appears the collar might be an issue, but I have worked with a similar KS pattern and believe I can get through this pattern without any problems.


This cute pattern is Butterick 5216. I am in the process of hemming view A, the gathered top with the ties in the front. Does this look familiar? Yes, I have done a similar version using KwikSew 3610. The KS pattern uses front and back facings to incorporate a casing for the tie. This Butterick pattern uses a fold over (casing) and stitch method.

A big plus with this Butterick pattern is the option to have the tie in the front of the top instead of the side. All it means is stitching a buttonhole in the front. Another plus for this pattern is the wider shoulder strap created from the wide tie. I have tried this top on with a regular bra and the tie straps does a decent job of hiding my bra straps. You will have the opportunity to see that when I post my review on PR. So, I already give this pattern a "I highly recommend" and "easy to sew" ratings. A bargain if you can get this pattern on sale for $0.99 (like I did).

Happy June!