PR Sewing Bee Challenge 1: Living Coral Cardigan (Part 1)

Round 1: Sew a Knit Cardigan Inspired by the Pantone Color of the Year, "Living Coral"

"An animating and life-affirming coral hue with a golden undertone that energizes and enlivens with a softer edge. Vibrant, yet mellow Living Coral embraces us with warmth and nourishment to provide comfort and buoyancy in our continually shifting environment..."

I'll be honest... The first thing I did was google it! And I saw this:

Coral isn't a color I wear often, and I know there isn't a coral knit in my fabric stash (which needs to be depleted before I make any new yardage purchases). Two things came to mind... a teal blue knit in my stash and the Kacey Musgraves "Golden Hour" album cover.

If you're not familiar with Ms. Musgraves, you should check this country music "yeehaw queen" out. She's sassy and sweet, has a little country twang to her sound, but this album is different from her previous releases. Aside from the cover art coordinating with "living coral", this album was described in the following way:

 Throughout the songs on Golden Hour, the East Texas singer-songwriter is radiant, awestruck, taking the scenic route to the bar just for the hell of it.On Golden Hour, everything sprawls and swells and gushes, a gaping sky that makes the sonic landscapes of her previous albums feel like mere set dressing. 

You have to listen to the album to understand how it captures the "living coral" description of being life affirming and vibrant... the songs are soft and give me great comfort. So, that's it... my cardigan will have to encompass those traits, as well!

This McCalls pattern 7254 has been in my pattern drawer for while now, I just love the curve and depth of the collar and how it "swoops" around to the hemline. I like the extra length, so I've chosen view E.

The fabric is a double knit that I've had for 10 years! I got it from a fabric co-op I was in, and initially bought 3 yards with the hopes of making my mother-in-law a jacket or sweatshirt. Time passed and it was shelved... until now! Speaking of "living coral", this fabric has a tonal curled pattern to it, which resemble OCEAN WAVES. I took it as a "sign", and that pretty much sealed the deal for moving forward with this project! 

But, I don't just want to make a blue cardigan with a wave pattern on it. I want to incorporate the "living coral" color, as well as invoke a little "Kacey Musgraves" vibe while I'm at it. I did a few more Google searches and this image spoke to me... the flowers decorating the lapels of her jacket. 

Maybe that's how I can include the coral color, in a nod to the "country western jacket" style? I dug through ALL my bins: the scrap bins, the stash shelves, the trims bin, and the sparkles bin. Here's what I found:

Pretty crazy, right? The good news is, I know EXACTLY what I'm going to do next!

Celebrating

So much to celebrate!!!  We spent yesterday with my in-laws, watching the light snow fall. Little Miss helped Grandma make the chocolate pie the other day, so she was pretty excited for dessert!  She enjoyed the last top I made her so much, that I wanted to make her another.  This time something with a little sparkle like my luxe sweatshirt, which turned out to be a winner!

It's hard to photograph, but this crochet lace does in fact "sparkle", with a silver thread running through it...

I paired it with a heathered grey lightweight knit, and used McCalls 6832. I took a yard of the lace and a yard and half of the grey, with both fabrics came from Haberman's.  The lace was on the clearance table for $7, and I used less than half of the yard I bought!

Great pattern, lots of wonderful options for a 10 year old girl!

With cousin Miss S (and Little Brother photo bomb)

Like I said, my luxe shirt ended up taking 1st place in the contest, and I was beyond thrilled!

 My shirt was on display in their gorgeous store, which you can actually tour online. Go to their website, and you can't miss the "Tour Our Store" image at the top. Click on the arrows to rotate, click on the circles on the floor to walk forward. I'm so lucky to have this amazing store just 45 minutes away. So many beautiful fabrics (fashion and home dec), trims, buttons, patterns, and the largest selection of amazing bridal fabrics and notions.  There are classes offered for all levels and ages, too. Just a treasure of a store for someone who loves to sew.

The prize package was a $100 gift card for Haberman's and a notions package! A pair of Kai dressmaker shears, pin magnet, clips, zippers, buttons, thread, needles.Thank you, Haberman Fabrics... I'm so thankful for a local store with fantastic fabrics, helpful employees, excellent service, free tutorials, and fun contests.  I really appreciate the prize package and the opportunity to challenge myself, too!

 So, you'll find me in my sewing room this "Black Friday", using these wonderful notions, planning a garment using fabric I bought with my "prize money", and finishing the memorial quilt for my dear friend.  I'll be posting the final project very soon, I'm so excited to give it to her...

Sewing Lessons with M, Episode 1: A Dress

McCalls 5615
For a first garment, she picked a tricky one and a tricky fabric, but it turned out wonderfully.  I wish you could've all seen the smile on her face when it was done... pure joy.

We started at 10:30 am and finished at 5:30 pm, with her doing nearly all the sewing.  She cut the entire pattern and I helped layout the pattern, she did all the cutting and I did most of the gathering and the hem, but she did most of the work.  The fabric is one from my stash that I got on clearance a couple years ago.  It was a little bit see-through, so we used some white poly/silky to back it, and some black poly/silky for the sash.  All from my stash, all from Joann's (purchased at different times).  She can keep shopping in "Aunt Kristine's Basement", it will help clear out some of the "what was I thinking" fabrics! This particular print I decided to gift to her since it seemed more age appropriate for her...

We made one change to the pattern, and created ties for the back.  We cut them 7 1/2" x 30", folded them in half lengthwise, and turned them right side out, and pressed them.  Stitched them in the side seams when we put the front and back together.  Otherwise, the sash would've only been on the front, and we both agreed that the black needed to go all the way around.  Oops, we made one other change because of the sheerness of the fabric and cut an extra skirt front and skirt back.  For the front, I attached it to the bottom of the waistband facing and the two layers became one along the sides and at the hem.  For the back, we put the two layers right sides together and stitched the top edge.  When we pressed and flipped it, we created a channel for the top elastic band, and another channel for the mid-back, and eliminated the need for bias tape.

(The black band is really sewn on straight, I swear!)

The sizing was good, she fit a 12 according to the envelope and there was only slight gaping in the back elastic, but the shoulder straps took care of that issue.  No zippers, no closures, just 2 strips of elastic in the back.  The gathering was a bit much for a beginner, so I showed her how to do it, and she did some, but I did most to speed things up.

It's a great dress for lots of different occasions, and she can easily shorten it into a shirt when it gets too short.  By the time we were wrapping it up, the sides were fraying terribly, so I ran it through my serger for those two seams.  She was amazed at what the serger does, and I can't blame her, it's pretty darn cool!

By the afternoon, she was very comfortable on the machine alone, so I was just helping her with the directions and the tougher details.  Her sewing confidence really grew today, and I wish I could be a fly on the wall at the party when she gets to hear the famous reaction, "You MADE that????"  I don't know about you, but that phrase is music to my ears!