Hey June - Union St Tee

Remember the year you bought that T-shirt and when you realized how awesome it was, you went back to get more and they were all gone.  Then you spent the next five years searching for the same cut and fit and you couldn't find it, so you cried?..... C'mon I cannot be the only one this has happened to. 

The Adrianna half of Crafterhours (hi Susan) has come out with one of the best staple item patterns I have seen. She did give us this pattern to try but the gushing about it is all my own. If you have a yard of knit, a couple of hours and you love a great T-shirt, you will want this pattern. I liked it so much, I may have gone a bit crazy. M kay, I was crazy to start but crazy likes comfortable clothes that fit.....

Jess and I have not had a ton of time to spend together lately so our "small window of time photo shoot" ended up being as chaotic as our lives are. There was chasing and shooing of kids and dogs. Then we got silly, but only because we love Hey June patterns.

If you're over it you can stop now.

I love that this pattern fits all sizes and body types. Jessica requested a more fitted top. I found this stripe knit for her at JoAnn. The red I had in my stash. I want to make one like it in my size, mother daughter twins might be awkward though.....

 

I made my version from some rayon knit I had in my stash. I loved one of Adrianna's versions, that I think only showed up on IG, where she used a woven fabric for the neck line. I had to try it and I decided to add cuffs on the sleeves. Cutting the woven fabric on the bias, allows for plenty of give and I thought it was a fun addition. As you can see, I chose a less fitted cut. In fact I did a FBA for my shirts (Full Bottom Adjustment) to accommodate my, ahem, fuller figure. 

I also had this silk/rayon stripe knit from Fabric.com in my stash. I love the way this fabric feels. It is super drapey and if you get caught in a torrential downpour will in fact have a life of its own where it tries to escape off your body, but if you stay dry, you're good. 

I gave it a vee in the back because I could. Jessica may think I went too far with this one....

I really was trying to use what I had in my stash, but I saw this at JoAnn and decided three-fifty for a shirt was too good to pass up. It looks kinda of slouchy here, but to be fair, the humidity at this point, was at about 300% and I was getting slouchy too. I chose the longer sleeves for this version. It'll be a good addition to my work wardrobe. What's going on here you ask?  I think Jessica told me to step on Micah. Not sure why I did, but its ok, cause he likes it. 

While at the afore mentioned store trying to resist more fabric, I found this piece of lace and thought a half yard would not be splurging because it was for Jessica. It's not a splurge when it's for someone else is it?? I did use this blue knit that I bought years ago in Germany (miss you Kelly). I really love the way it turned out. 

For this next one, I cut the front neckline about an inch lower, left the sleeves off (I may be too old for sleeveless, but I live in Florida) and added a lighter shade of strips to the neckline.  That part didn't turn out as planned but I still like it. I purchased a top that is cut like this and now I can make my own. Dear Adrianna, sorry about the purple, but thank you for a versatile pattern.

I promise, I'm almost done with my adoration of this pattern. I will be making more but I won't torment you with them, except maybe on Instagram. This was more Fabric.com knit that had been waiting for the right pattern. 

This last dark blue version was the first one I made. I thought it was black. Apparently I am a bit color blind at night. I decided to curve the bottom hem and I will be doing more of that in the future. 

Anyone ever have any trouble with their remote? I cracked myself up when I saw these pictures. Why. Won't. It. Work. I thought maybe some of you would like a laugh too. 

Thank you Adrianna for such a fantastic,  pattern. You know which one Jessica and I want next.

Our friend Jennifer at ParrishPlatz has her version up today too! Go see her. She's a very clever girl. 

If by any chance you haven't seen all of the other amazing people who have made The Union St Tee, go on over here and check them out.

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We Are In Fact Alive

Apparently the only thing that motivates us to blog again is a new Hey June Pattern. Adrianna of Crafterhours just released her Union Street Tee. Click on the button to see her shop and the tops she  made.

Jessica and I will be showing off our versions of her fun pattern June 27. 

You will want to get this pattern. 

We promise!

Hey June!

A couple of weeks ago a new pattern by Adrianna of Crafterhours came out. The Lane Raglan was a style Jess and I have been looking for so when it was released, we grabbed it. We had some "free" time two Saturdays ago and I was determined to get one done for the both of us. 

 Because this is a lovely, and fairly simple pattern, we were successful. I had some knits hanging around that happened to have enough yardage. Jess being my classic girl chose the black which was a heavy jersey. I picked this deep blue that was more of a tissue knit. This is a fun example of how different knits react with the same pattern. 

Our shirts are very basic but this pattern gives you a lot of space to express yourself. If you go HERE you can see Adrianna's friends in her gorgeous examples.

 Then, since it was a Hey June kinda weekend, I made another Greenpoint Cardigan for miss Bella out of the leftover fabric from Jessica's shirt. I love this pattern. 

I pretty much love anything with a raglan sleeve..... 

This is my forth cardi in this pattern and I started a fifth this morning!

I found some perfect black flower buttons in my vintage stash and I just realized my only close up of those is on my IG feed.

By the way, if you're on instagram, we'd love to follow you. If you're not, try it, it's fun and that's were Jess and I post more day to day stuff. 

Miss Bella in the middle of our frost ravaged yard. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Skirt Week - Color Block Skirt

We are so happy to be a part of Skirt Week! It gives me an excuse to sew for myself and the  inspiration I gain from seeing what others are sewing is always fun. Thanks so much to Crafterhours for hosting and offering up such fantastic prizes. If you haven't entered yet, go whip up a skirt and do it!

If you were looking in on the Pintrest boards started by Crafterhours, you may have seen my inspiration skirt.  You can see that the skirt isn't anything many of us haven't done already. It is the same process I used last year for my simple maxi skirt only this time I made the silhouette more of an a-line instead of fully gathered. So, this is not so much a tutorial, it's more of a, have you thought of doing this?

I started with my four colors and decided how wide I wanted each stripe. I added an inch for the seam allowances, with a bit extra on my hem and waist pieces.  I cut two strips from each color. When I sewed the strips together, I decided I wanted to make the seam lines a bit more. So after sewing them together, I finished each seam with a flat felled finish. It's the one you see on jeans. I figured with everyone loving embroidery the way we do, why not be a bit more decorative with my seams!

You can see here, I didn't try to blend the stitching, just coordinate it. I want to try this again and maybe go a bit crazier.

When I had my strips sewn, I layered my new pieces of fabric right sides together. I laid my pattern piece on top. You can see my very simple pattern in this picture, I measured my waist where I wanted the skirt to sit and added 6 inches for ease, and my hips plus 10 inches of ease. Then I divided that in half and decided on my length. If this does not make sense please do a search for drafting your own a-line skirt, there are so many awesome tutorials out there.

Next time I try this I want to cut it out on the bias. That could be really fun!

I marked on one side where I wanted my pattern to hit on the seam lines, then transferred those markings to the other side, pinning at each so my stripes would be even.

I sewed up the side seams and decided to do a clean finish on them. The waist is a wide elastic, I finished the waistline edge of the skirt and zig-zagged it to the elastic. If you've been following along and making this skirt, now is the time to try your skirt on and mark where you want your hem. I made my hem with a simple double fold 3/8 inches wide. It makes all the seaming cohesive within the skirt.

The fun part about this is, if I ever dress in the dark, I'm not sure anyone will notice if it's wrong side out! 

We've been having a little rain in these parts, it makes picture taking a bit more challenging. 

And maybe a bit more fun.

Jess told me to jump.

 This is what she got. 

She wasn't impressed.

  Not sure who I was channeling here but I figured you could use a chuckle. 

Thanks so much for stopping by! We can't wait to see everyone's skirts in the Flickr pools. If you've been inspired here, let us know, we'd love to hear from you.

&

Skirt Week!

Just click on the picture for all of the details!

Flicker pools are open!

Straight Skirt

Full Skirt

A-line Skirt

Children's

You can also find some inspiration over on the pinterest boards.

Women's

Girl's

So go get inspired! Make a skirt for yourself or a special little girl. 

At the least, give other sewists some encouragement. 

&

The Greenpoint Cardigan

The Greenpoint Cardigan - Do you ever have one of those moments when you are looking for a particular something, and then that exact thing practically falls in your lap? This happened to me three weeks ago when Adrianna, one half of the Crafterhours dynamic duo, released her first pattern. Oh. My. Goodness. It is cute. It is adaptable. It is unisex. It is downloadable. You can find it on her new shop website, "Hey June Handmade". I knew exactly what fabric I wanted to use for my first attempt. I've had a Michael Miller clown stripe in brown sitting around for a couple of years. Not a single time did it speak up and say, "make me into this!", til now..... Within two days of downloading the pattern, I had the Greenpoint Cardigan made up, it is that straightforward. Three weeks later, I did the buttonholes and sewed the buttons on.... go me..... Those buttonholes almost didn't happen, my machine and I had a mild disagreement over whether it would make them for me. It actually won, but I'm not going to talk about it. 

I could go on and on about the pattern but I'll post a bunch of photos instead. 

My grandson was my inspiration and model. He was a very good sport, even if he was bribed. 

The boy kills me and I love him so.

 

Buttoned up, it has a nice slim but not tight fit. The raglan sleeve makes for easy movement and this boy moves.

 Micah really got into modeling. He even turned back and forth so we could different views.

 Ahhhh blowing kisses?!

 NOPE! Eating brownies. You can see a bit in his right hand in the photo below.

Unbuttoned the look becomes cool and casual.

And then he was done!

Disclosure: Though this pattern was given to me by the designer the decision to make it, love it, write about it and make it again are entirely my own.

Crafterhours Skirt Week - Simple Maxi Skirt

Jess and I are so excited that lovely ladies of Crafterhours invited us to participate in Skirt Week again this year.  We really appreciate all the hard work that goes into hosting an event like this. They are amazing women with apparently boundless energy. We find them very inspiring, like, all the time.

If you’ve been following along and catching all of the fantastic tutorials so far, you may have noticed that there seems to be a similar mind set this time around…. fun, wearable & easy.  Here at Created Blissfully we are feeling the same.

The hardest part about making this skirt will be picking out your fabric. You’ll want a fabric that is lighter weight and falls close to the body; this is the time to try something like a rayon challis, voile or crepe de chine. Don’t use quilting weight cotton, the gathers will have too much volume, it won’t have a light, flowing look. Go to your local shop and touch the fabrics before you buy. If there are no fabric shops with apparel fabric in your area, go to a ready made clothing store and check out the types of fabrics they use and how they look and feel, then when you search on-line, you have a better idea of how certain fabrics will drape. Though there are times when these fabrics are more expensive, the plus side is, a lot of apparel fabrics come in wider widths. I shop for a lot of my fabrics here, here and here.

Before you read my instructions, please remember I do not claim to be an expert. I am constantly learning new things from people, so if you have a better way, do it and share it with me!

Supplies you will need – fabric
                                     2 inch wide elastic
                                     polyester thread (this has more stretch to it)

1.      To calculate how much fabric you’ll need measure where you want your waistband to sit and what you want the length of your skirt to be, plus 1 ¼ inches for your hem and waist seam. Cut two rectangles to those measurements. Set aside.

2.       Fit elastic to your waist; make it snug enough to stay put where you want it to sit. Overlap the edges by a half inch.

 Using your stretch zig zag stitch, (see number 13) sew two rows of stitching to secure the elastic.

I used contrasting thread so you could see the stitching. Use the same color thread and you won't see what looks like a mess.

3.          Take your two rectangles of fabric and sew together at the sides.

4.       Sew a gathering stitch a ¼ inch from the top edge of the skirt, starting and stopping at the side seams. Leave long tails so it is easier to pull the threads.

5.      Gather your waist up until it is approximately 5 inches larger than the circumference of the elastic waist band, this will allow your waist band to stretch after sewing. Distribute gathers evenly and sew again at a ¼ inch to set the gathers.

6.       Divide your elastic waist band and skirt waist evenly and mark with pins.

7.       Matching pins, lay skirt on top of the elastic waistband overlapping a ¼ inch and pin together.

8.       Sew with your stretch zig zag stitch. You will want to stretch your elastic out to the ease of the skirt as you sew.  Sew carefully to keep the overlap at about a ¼ inch. I used a white thread so you can see it better, please use a matching thread for your skirt. This leaves a raw edge on the outside of the elastic. It's not up against my skin, that's the way I like it.

9.      Hem skirt.

10.   Wear!

Little Folks and Square Dance by Anna Maria Horner.  I simply cut enough of the smaller motifs to go around the bottom of the skirt and sewed them on. I'd been hoarding this fabric....                                   

Does anyone else wonder what to do with their hands with being photographed? I've decided holding my coffee cup is good.. 

                                        Rayon Challis print from Fabric dot com, no longer available.

Not sure why the only "sort of" decent pictures are the ones where I'm looking at my feet. 

The back edge of the tropical storm made it interesting trying to take pictures.

Of course you can make this skirt any length you want to, personally, I'm just loving the maxi length right now!
Now, if you haven't already, go look at all of the amazing skirts in the Flickr pools!