More Morphed T-Shirt Pictures and a Very Productive Weekend

It appears I'm sewing and posting like crazy. Probably to make up for lost time in October. It feels absolutely wonderful to be sewing again. I'm in the mood to re-design t-shirts. I had a pile of them sitting in my sewing room waiting for action. Now, they are done and as a result I'm also getting back a bit of sewing space.

In my previous re-design t-shirt post, I had forgotten to show what the Men's XL t-shirts look like on me. Well, I remembered to take some "before" pictures. First up, is a really cool VA Tech t-shirt (okay...the backside logo is really neat).


As you can see, it makes a great nightshirt, except, I'm not a nightshirt kind of person. So, this one got a re-design...


...into something that looks like this.



I bought this "Wild by Nature" t-shirt when I was in Seattle. Funny, I bought the same size for my DH...XL.


Now, it fits me to a "T".


I was recently asked a really good question...why don't I just buy a Men's size Medium? Well, I could, but a Medium would be too narrow in the hips for me. The XLarge size gives me some room to place my pattern pieces. A Large size would be cutting it too close. Plus I have to allow for shrinkage in the washer/dryer.

So, this takes less than an hour to re-design a t-shirt...from cutting it apart to sewing the bottom hem.

NL6856 Muslin...Not Too Crazy About It

It's been raining all morning and all day. Great opportunity to do some sewing. No running around or shopping today, just blissful peace in my sewing room and the hum of my SM. Oh, and of course Christmas tunes are playing in the background.




Here's my NL muslin knit top on SusieQ. This NL knit looks better on her than on me. I'm not too crazy about the neckline treatment as it appears to stand up along the edges and more noticeably around the shoulders and back areas. I still need to hem the sleeves and the bottom. Maybe it will look different once I finish the garment.

Maybe there's a reason why NL did not include a picture of a real live model wearing the clothes on the pattern envelope.


I'm off to finish two more t-shirts (morphing from Men's XL to KS size M).

I'll try to post more pictures later today.



** Update **



Here's a picture of the finished New Look knit top. What do you think?

Another Gift in the Works...Knitting

My goal this year is to make one "handmade" item for each of my family members for Christmas. I am knitting a scarf for my DH. I am using two yarns: Patons Divine (brown) and Colorado Native Yarns in 100% alpaca (brown/black). I love this combination of yarns and it's soooooo soft. I also love using bamboo knitting needles. Since I'm still learning to knit, I found the bamboo needles are easier for me hold and don't slip out of my hands. The needles I'm using are Clover Takumi size 11 (8mm).

I love this kind of hobby as I keep my hands busy when I'm away from my SM or when I'm sitting in front of the TV. I'm almost done knitting this scarf. I can't wait to get to get back to my sewing projects later today.

Playing Tourist for a Few Hours

I took my DB#2 to the Air & Space Museum in Chantilly, VA. We spent over 3 hours here. This was my 2nd trip to the museum and there was much more to see as they had finished the "Space Hangar" which included the Space Shuttle Enterprise. I let DB#2 linger around all the airplane engines displayed...as for me..."if you've seen one, you've seen enough".

Here's some pictures I took of our adventure:



The planes were everywhere:


Yellow ones:


My favorite shuttle picture...a winner:


The backside of the shuttle with DB#2 underneath:


One of 4 flight simulators:


Two simulators that actually roll and bump:




More planes:












And I couldn't get enough pictures of the space shuttle:


We were sooooo engrossed in all the planes, that we forgot to take a trip up to the tower. Next time.

So, if you are in or near the DC/Northern Virginia area...I highly recommend visiting this museum. It's less than a mile south of Dulles International Airport off of Rt 28 in Chantilly, VA. There's an entrance fee of $12/car. A real bargain if you can more than 4 people in your car.

Re-Designing Men's XL T-Shirt to Fit Me

I was definitely in the mood to sew today. I have been collecting Men's XL t-shirts in the hopes of being able to re-design/cut down to fit me.





So, I took one of my DH's discarded t-shirts and morphed it into a Kwik Sew 2900 t-shirt...View C. My version came out shorter.

Here's the steps I took:

1) I cut up the sides of the t-shirt:



2) I carefully cut around the sleeve and sleeve cap seams
3) I left the ribbed neckline alone and the existing shoulder seams
4) I folded the t-shirt lengthwise, matching the shoulders and neckline and bottom hems.

5) I took my KS pattern pieces front and back and placed the pattern pieces on the fold of the t-shirt:


6) I carefully cut out the front and back. Notice the ribbed knit neckline and shoulder seams are still intact:



7) For the sleeves, I placed the KS sleeve pattern over each sleeve and cut the new piece out:


Here's a picture of the before (top sleeve) and after (bottom) for the sleeve. Notice the nicer sleeve cap of the bottom sleeve and the sleeve hem is still intact:


8) I serged the new sleeves flat into the new t-shirt
9) I serged the sides of the new t-shirt from the underarm of the sleeve to the side for the left side and the right side.
10) Hem the new t-shirt.

Since the typical RTW logo t-shirts have very little stretch, I ended up tracing a Medium in this KS pattern. I shortened the pattern length at the bottom by 2 inches. I usually use a size Small when the knit fabric has quite a bit of stretch.

Here I am modeling my new RTW t-shirt. Notice I have kept the vendor's logos (front and back) where they should be:



DH was quite impressed with the outcome and how quickly it was sewn. He asked me if I had taken a "before" picture of the XL t-shirt on me. Well, I forgot. I was caught up in my sewing mood that I forgot. DH has offered to dig up another XL t-shirt from the same vendor, but in a different color. I will be back to post what the before t-shirt looked like on me so you can get an idea of the difference in size.

I'm off to cut up some more XL t-shirts, including one from my recent trip to Seattle.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's a quiet morning and I'm getting ready to make some hot chocolate and head into my sewing room. I need to start on my New Look knit top and also figure out which cardigan pattern to use for my numerous cardigan knits I've recently collected.

This afternoon's meal will consist of cornish game hens and sword fish and the typical side dishes of sweet potatoes, green beans, mash potatoes, and cranberries. For dessert, it's plain and simple: a variety of Cheesecake Factory cheesecakes. Yummy.

I hope each and everyone of my my fellow US sewists have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I also hope that you get a chance to do some sewing during our long weekend.

I will try to post some pictures of today's activities. So, check back later.




** Updated to include pictures: **

Cornish Game Hens:


Swordfish:


Simple Buffet Menu:


My Plate:


Cheese Cake Factory dessert:

Off My Fabric Diet for an Hour

This is what happens when I have to pick my DB#2 up at the airport...I automatically stop at G-Streets on the way. I found 2 nice sweater herringbone-type knits (left and right) that I plan on making cardigans from. I found a nice soft dark denim remnant for pants or a long skirt. The bright floral/paisley print will be used to line some future jackets. So, now I have added 10 more yards of fabric to my stash. I have to say this will be my last purchase for the year and into the first quarter of next year. We'll see how long I stay on my next fabric diet.

Gift #2-Completed & Other Things

My gift #2 is completed.  As I mentioned before, I can't say what it is other than I used the VA Tech fabric and it turned out nicely.  I do know that a certain someone (DB#1) has been visiting my blog.  So, I can't include any pictures until Christmas time.  Now, I can finally put away that bright orange thread.  I can also cross off Gift #2 from my project list (right side).  

I am back to my normal healthy self and accomplishing a lot on my "to do" list from this past weekend.  I've been in a cleaning mood and trying to get in some sewing time here and there.  Now, that the two gifts are completed, I can now focus on sewing for myself.  

I don't know if I'll get any sewing time in before Thanksgiving.  My DB#2 is arriving tomorrow and I know we'll be busy catching up and sight seeing in DC, etc.  I hope to sneak in an hour of sewing at night.  

I'll be back....