carrotflowers

Made: toddler jacket (Ottobre “Veikko” pattern)

Project Notes: I procrastinated starting this project because it looked like it might be hard. I was intimidated by the hood and separating zipper (a first). However once I figured out how to attach the hood, all went swimmingly.
It was easy and fun and a really nice pattern. It calls for a woven bias binding to hide the neckline SAs on the inside, which is a nice touch and a great place to stick a sweet piece of contrast fabric - I used aqua with white polka dots, mostly because I had some. The pockets are left with raw edges and call for double rows of topstitching. As my main fabric was a darker grey, I opted for a bright red for the topstitching, also to match the little sushi fish I appliqued to the front left.
Mistakes/Complications: I struggled with attaching the hood - it was the right length to pin exactly to the body of the jacket. But then how would the zipper attach? With help from a member of the Ottobre sewing group on yahoo, I learned that I needed to match up the ends of the hood with the CF seamline. It took me awhile to understand that meant the seamline , right before the allowance which the zipper attaches to - in my case right before the 1cm allowance on my CF pieces. I only pinned with barely noticeable ease and I was all set.

My zipper was too long, and there is not much info online for shortening a separating zipper. I cut the zipper so that it would fold over the top edges by about 1/2″. I did have to stitch, rip, and stitch a few times to get the stitching distance even on both sides of the zipper. I do a little too much adjusting the needle position as I go without noting what I do so that I can be consistent. I also forgot to line the pockets, I just spaced out. But I think it’s fine that way.

Notes for Next Time: Make sure the markings for the hood’s outer fabric extend a couple of inches. By the time I needed those marks they were sewn away into the SA!

Tags: jacket, knitfabric, Ottobre

Made: Slim T from Ottobre

Project Notes: I was so excited by the success of my knit fabric onesie, I moved onto a T shirt. I decided to try binding with some foldover elastic (often called FOE) that I had just received from a co-op. The color went well with some knit fabric I’ve had sitting around for awhile, waiting for me to figure out how to sew with the infamously hard stuff. I thought the color of the FOE would look nice at the hem so I used it there too.

The pattern was simple and came together easily, although the sleeve was just a bit longer than the armhole so I had about 0.5 cm sleeve extension each time. I should have pinned it with ease, it never occurred to me. I assume that directions will tell you when ease is needed.

Mistakes/Complications: The FOE was hard to work with. Unlike using knit for binding, it’s stiff and hard, even though it has stretch, and gets bulky and misshapen when pinned, like any stiff or bulky material. It was very hard and I tried sewing one side then flipping it over and doing the other, and I tried sewing it on with one go…I don’t remember what worked best. I did discover, when the hem was ruined by my adding it, that you don’t need to stretch FOE very much at all.

Notes for Next Time: I didn’t use FOE the next time I made this pattern.

Tags: knitfabric, Ottobre, tshirt