Käthes Schwester

One of my goals this month was to try Kathe's Sister Hoodie by Konfetti Patterns!

I'm pleased to say that not only did I achieve this goal but I've been wearing it nonstop! Each time I love it a bit more!

A few quick notes:

• The pattern is in German but if you've sewn a knit before, there is no reason why you can't do this! It has photos and it's a very detailed pattern. Also, Google Translate is your friend!
• Makerist is the easiest to shop with if you use Google Chrome, as it translates the page automatically.
• The pattern is meant to be printed on A4 paper. You can purchase it on Amazon *affiliate link* and it's easy to use. I adjusted the paper tray on my printer to A4, then when printing, selected A4 size. Easy peasy.
• You have to add seam allowances. This isn't hard and I learned on Facebook that you can measure a highlighter and if the pen measures 1/4 inch, you can just use it and go around the pattern! Super fast!
• Speaking of Facebook, there is a wonderful group called International Knit Sew-a-Longs. Everyone is very supportive and it's fun!
• Kraft-Tex *affiliate link* is a really neat thing to get and I think it elevates the look of your hoodie. A lot of the patterns on Makerist have cute little details that this stuff comes in really handy for! 

I'm hoping in 2018 I'll get a little more confident/better at taking photos of myself in clothes but...that might not happen! *laughs* 

The main things I love most are the thumbholes, extra long sleeves, pleat detail and the bust darts.

• Pattern: Käthes Schwester by Konfetti Patterns
• Fabric: Raspberry Creek Oatmeal French Terry
• Modifications: Moved the dart down. Took 1/4 inch off each side below the dart, shortened the longest sleeve option one inch. Size 50 made, I prefer my clothes a bit looser.
• Lessons learned: Translating a pattern from German to English, different style of thumbholes, darts on knits!
• Sew Again: YES! Absolutely! The pattern has quite a few different views, this is the extra long sleeve with thumbholes, middle cut length. It's long enough to wear over leggings which is awesome! I'd like to do the mini pleat version, regular sweatshirt length next. 
• Pattern Difficulty: Easy peasy! The only thing that I did incorrectly was I didn't pull the pleated bit up high enough on the shoulder, I think I missed a set of notches in the pattern.

Next up for February is Pattydoo Nelly! I've gotten sucked into the world of European knit fabric and patterns. I think I can easily sew hoodies to wear until at least March, then it may get too warm here! :D

This post contains affiliate links to amazon.com. That means if you click the link and purchase something, I earn a tiny percentage of your purchase without any additional cost to you. All items I talk about are things I've purchased myself with my own money. :)

New Hobonichi Cousin

I'm really feeling the relief of a brand new year and a fresh start! 

My main goal is to spend as much time as possible outdoors and with my camera. In November I started walking each morning and I've really been enjoying it. I have coffee with friends at Starbucks almost every day and it's a nice way to get some fresh air AND exercise. These photos obviously aren't from my walks but they are my favorite winter colors. 

I finished my 2017 Hobonichi Techo pretty strong! I didn't miss a single day since August, when things got busy, I was away from home or felt stressful I made a note in my phone of what I might want to write about and when I had time, I went back and filled in the days. That approach worked really well for me. It became something I genuinely looked forward to working on each day! I'm using the monthly page to write a seasonal quote about the month and track the weather and moon cycles.

For 2018 I went with the larger Cousin because I wanted more space to include photographs, practice hand lettering and use lots of stamps + washi. I realized I can walk to Rite Aid and have photos printed really inexpensively on nice quality paper. I have a Canon Selphy printer but I don't love it. Walking for photos = fresh air and encourages me to get the photos off the camera! I  have a 64GB card with close to 15,000 photos from just 2017. I don't know why I don't share or do more with them so that's definitely a big goal!

I recently took advantage of the Makerist sale and picked up a few hoodie patterns. My goal is to eventually make this one. I'd like to sew a bit more but I'm just not sure what. I definitely find fabric shopping more fun sometimes than actually sewing. ;)

I did recently make Pattydoo's Lynn out of some hilarious Christmas fleece from Joann Fabrics and *loved it*. It's currently in the washing machine but I'm going to do a blog post about it soon. I lined the pockets and hood with some bamboo fabric and it is SO soft. A total snuggle fest. I'd like to make it again but I haven't quite figured out how to lengthen it and take in a sides a tiny bit. 

I hope you had a Happy New Year!

Organic Chambray from Birch Fabrics

Fabricworm very kindly sent me some Birch Organics Yarn-Dyed Chambray to try!

What a dream this fabric was to work with! 

I've never sewn with chambray before, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was really, really, really pleased when I opened the package because the fabric is such a unique color and felt wonderful. This is Timber, it's a taupe-y gray that in some light has a brown undertone and in other light, a bit of a blue. The name suits it beautifully. I also like the subtle stripe-y ness of the fabric!

I had to include these two photos! Left is in Yellowstone, right is in Lassen. See? Totally a gray/brown! Timberrrrrr! ;)

My initial plan was to sew Colette's Aster but I've been having a hard time getting their patterns to fit. I made two muslins and wasn't in love with them, although I'll come back to them at a later point.

I searched around a bit more and came upon Bonn by Itch to Stitch. I thought this shirt had nice clean lines and would be beautiful with this fabric. I made a muslin and it went really well! I recommend this pattern, especially to anyone who needs to adjust for cup size.

I washed the fabric first and was pleasantly surprised at how the fabric bloomed. After washing, the fabric is very soft and light, before washing it's very crisp. Don't confuse it with linen, it's tempting to see it and think about linen but it's not. It's a thinner fabric with a much softer hand and delicate drape. I love how lightweight and breathable it is, I wore this outfit (Bonn shirt + black distressed skinny jeans) while running errands in the low 100s degrees and it was fine! 

Sewing the chambray was easy peasy. It loves, loves, LOVES to be ironed. I shared a photo on Facebook of that hem because it's just beautiful! While it loves to be ironed, it still retains a bit of texture which is nice. I think people who love the aesthetic of peeps like Grainline Studio or Fringe Supply Co. could fall HARD for this fabric.

I'm very pleased with my final shirt and it's going to become a wardrobe staple! In hindsight I wish I'd made my muslin with my "normal" bra on and not my "I'm hanging around the house sewing" bra, my darts are a bit too high and long. Unfortunately, I didn't realize this until I was marking the buttons in the above photo. Eek!!! It's not going to stop me from wearing it because I love the way it fits, in reality no one is going to look at me and think "gosh, those darts could be lower", lol. I think this fabric works really well for warm weather, it's nice and breathable which is crucial for Northern California. And I'm also excited to wear it under cardigans this winter, because it's not bulky! :)

• Pattern: Bonn Shirt by Itch To Stitch
• Fabric: Birch Organic Fabrics Chambray in Timber
• Buttons: Purchased at Heartstrings.
• Modifications: None!
• Lessons learned: Modified Mandarin Collar. I definitely did not nail it, but I can say that the chambray can handle 4+ times of being seam ripped with no fraying. ;) This was also my first set in sleeve, I pinned the heck out of the sleeves and they went smoothly.
• Sew Again: YES! I'm going to do the DD version and I'm *really* tempted to get the color Shroom for it. 
• Pattern Difficulty: Easy peasy! The only thing that I was stuck on was the collar, I couldn't for the life of me get it tidy!

A big thank you to Fabricworm and Birch for sending me this fabric to try! It was so fun to try a new fabric that I've never sewn with before!

*Fabric was provided for this blog post free of charge for this blog post. All opinions, patterns and other materials are my own. :)*