Apples of My Eye

I finished my jacket this morning. I wanted to wear it about town, but it was pouring rain and I didn't want to have to wear another coat on top of it, so it stayed in the closet. This was my first Built by Wendy pattern and it was pretty easy to follow. I only made one alteration and it was to keep the sleeves a little bit longer. They are almost the same length as the body of the jacket and I think it looks more like a cape. One warning: there is a lot of topstitching with this project, so buy an extra spool of thread. I ended up having to use another spool that I had left over from a previous project. The color was just a little bit darker, but you can't really tell. I used my new Janome machine, which was fabulous. I had to get used to a few little quirks, but overall, I'm glad I made the purchase. My favorite features are the needle threader and the automatic buttonhole maker.

Built By Melissa

My Apparel Construction 2 class starts next week and our first project is to make a pair of pants from a commercial pattern that is altered for each individual. I didn't see a great pants pattern, but I liked these city shorts from this Built by Wendy 4110 pattern. I chose this great striped stretch denim for the shorts. You can't tell from the picture, but there are zippers on the side slits. That's a nice detail. I don't often make pants for myself because of past fit problems, so I'm excited to pick up any tips I can. I also had this Built by Wendy 4109 jacket pattern and decided to buy fabric to make the shorter cape. Originally, I wanted this mondo fabric for the cape, but as I browsed the aisles at Fabric Depot, I found this cute apple corduroy from Robert Kaufman. Finally, a couple of sewing projects that will allow me to use my new machines!