9 – 5, what a way to make a livin’

Disclaimer: I am not a Dolly Parton fan… I also don’t work from 9-5, I work in sales in NZ for both Australian and US companies, I can be on an early call to catch the US or a late call to catch Australia and then my customers are here in NZ… 🙂

I bought the 9-5 pattern bundle and although you’ve seen one Alberta skirt from me, yep, this is another. I also made up the Anderson blouse. I’ve not photographed them together, I decided they don’t really go together…

The Alberta Street skirt

Not my first Alberta Street skirt on here, but it’s the first I actually cut out! It just took a wee while for the zip to arrive from the US.

The fabric is a ponte knit from the Fabric Store which I bought in April. Again, I was pretty true to the pattern as before, I’ve just omitted the pockets and inserted a full length double ended zip.

The pattern is great and drafted really well. The instructions are so clear and easy to follow. The skirt went together really quickly again, once I’d got the zip! I took the top of the basque in again probably by about 3/4″. Due to the fabric choice this version definitely feels looser than my denim version.

The double ended zip came from the US, so obviously took a wee while to arrive – not to mention the postage costs! I originally thought to use an open ended zip finishing above the hem to give a split, but the original had a double ended zip and so I had to have one which went the full length of the skirt which I could open from the bottom to create a split if I wanted to.

The details
Fabric:  Black and white Aztec print ponte from The Fabric Store, purchased in April 2016.
Notions:  Thread, interfacing and a double ended exposed zip.
Pattern:  Sew House Seven Alberta Street Pencil skirt, size 14.
Changes made:  Top of the basque/yoke taken in by 3/4″each side, omitted the pockets and changed the zip from an lapped zip to a full length zip, so removing the back vent.
Another one/recommendations:  Erm well, this is my second version of this skirt – is that a recommendation enough. My first finished version, the denim one gets worn so much. This knit version too I love and have worn it a couple of times already. It’s quick and easy to make and the fit is fantastic.

The Anderson blouse

I’ve been eyeing up this pattern a while and the pattern bundle just made me go for it.

Starting from the beginning, I’m afraid I’m starting with issues. My first gripes were with the PDF pattern. Far too much blank space. If they’d shifted the pieces around and put the test square inside one of the pattern pieces I reckon almost six pages of printing could have been saved.

Next problem, the front pattern pieces have the grainline in line with the side seams, but the cutting layout has the front crossover edge as the grainline. I checked some other similar patterns and decided to go with the grainline marked on the pattern pieces. The fabric allowance is also way over. For 140cm wide it says you need 2.2m. I used about 1.5m…

Rant over, the pattern instructions though are great. They even have photos to illustrate the points. I will say though that I didn’t really use them much. I used them to check the basic construction and also how the neckline binding was attached. Apart from that I didn’t really use them.

I made a number of changes. I changed the gathers on the shoulders to pleats, they just look flatter and better. The cuffs were also way too big on me and I didn’t like where the button placement right on the sleeve seam, so I followed Handmade by Heather‘s recommendation and cut a slit where the edge of the pleat would be and shifted the pleat across. I also added another pleat to give me a smaller cuff. I also interfaced the cuffs.

I also didn’t add the casing on the bottom to add a tie. Quite frankly I am never going to wear this blouse like that. Just check what it looks like untucked… Nope tucked in all the way for me 🙂

The details
Fabric:  Bright coloured rayon from Evans in Masterton, bought in March last year.
Notions:  Thread, interfacing and buttons from stash.
Pattern:  Sew Over It Anderson blouse, size 14.
Changes made:  Lots, I changed the gathers to pleats on the shoulder seams, I completely changed the cuffs by taking them in more, moving the slit and interfacing the cuffs. I also removed the casing on the hem.
Another one/recommendations:  I’m not sure if it’s the pattern itself or the fabric I’ve chosen is too much in your face. One thing which I’m not sure about is that there is so much fabric around the hem, that when I tuck it in, I can see bulging fabric below my waist around my hips… Let me wear it a couple of times and I’ll let you know 🙂

One thing it doesn’t do, is gape and it doesn’t show everything when I bend forward either. I’m not sure how it’ll come out after washing, I have a feeling that neckline is going to be a nightmare, since it’s not stitched down really, just catch stitches so it doesn’t gape. Also, it certainly isn’t a difficult make. I cut this out Friday and finished it Monday and no I didn’t sew all day every day!

And there ends all my contributions to Indie Pattern Month 2016! I joined in everything, all competitions (one of them twice), joined in all pattern swaps, bought a pattern bundle – phew! I’m worn out thinking about it…

Thanks editors, I reckon we’ve had a good one 🙂