2014 in Review...Kind Of

Friends it is hard to believe that it has only been a little over three and half months since I started this blog!  Some of you already feel like old friends that I have known forever.  In my short bloggy career here, there have been over 6500 hits on my site.  What wut?  I would have never dreamed that would be the case back when I launched in September.

I was sewing long before I was blogging.  The idea of showing my clothes on my body was a little intimidating.  But as I read posts by other plus size bloggers, I felt like there might be something that I could add to the conversation.

My name is Alicia BTW.  Yet, this blog is called Pandora Sews.  Who is this Pandora person?  Friends, I have an Etsy shop called Pandora's Vault, it's kind of a long story and no, there isn't much for sale there right now.  When I first started this blog I was planning to blog more about refashioning and vintage clothing, than my sewing endeavors.  However, the name stuck with me, and here we are.

Enough of that.  We are here to review 2014.

First, a shout out to my favorite bloggers this year:

Photo stolen from tanyamaile.com

The lovely Mrs. Hughes (or Tanya as it may be) over at tanyamaile.com has had an epic year.  From sewing an amazing evening gown, to finding her perfect sweater pattern, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Tanya's sewing journey as she has really come in to her own style wise.

Photo stolen from sewingfantatic.blogspot,com

Then there is the always sophisticated Carolyn over at sewingfantaticdiary.blogspot.com/.  Carolyn's Tri-Color Ponte Dress is the stuff that sewing dreams are made of.  Then there is the Leather and Ponte Sweater she made...perfect use of mixed media.  If only I had half the sewing knowledge and skill that Carolyn has!

Next up, my favorite me made pieces of 2014.

Of course the Red Dress that was a winner in the Curvy Sewing Collective Wrap Along (this is the last time I will mention it...promise).

And then there is my latest make...a grey and black textured knit Centerfield Raglan.  I am loving this shirt, and it gets so many compliments!  I am starting to really think I have a problem with textured knits, and raglan shirts!

This brings me to my pattern of the year for 2014!  The Green Style Creations Centerfield Raglan T, has become a go to pattern for me, and this dotty one is a favorite.  It took a little bit of tweaking, but now I have got this baby set for TNT status.  There may or may not be a few of these that I have not shared on here, as I fear you may think I have gone stark raving raglan mad!

Friends, these are my favorite things of 2014 as far as this crazy sewing thing goes.  I have to know, what was your pattern of the year?  Which sewing blogs do you love?  What was your most enjoyable sew of the year?

Pattern Addiction...Another Green Style Centerfield Raglan

Friends, I do believe that I am addicted to the Green Style Creations Centerfield Raglan!  This one is my favorite one that I have made so far.

I love this textured/quilted knit that I made it out of.  I can't remember if I bought it at Joann or Hancock, but I am positive that it was bought at one of those two places.

Ill fitting skirt made for a lumpy bumpy mid-section

I changed it up a bit with the cuffs.  I like the contrast of it, and it helped me get the sleeves to my perfect length.  

My husband gave me the ultimate compliment when I finished it last night when he said that it looked like something you would buy in a store.

The neckline went in like a dream on this particular one.  It was truly a joy to sew, and went together quickly.

I love the way that it looks from behind as well.  It smooths out all the lumps and bumps.

I serged off the lower hem of the shirt and then used a twin needle to hem it under.

The Centerfield Raglan has quickly become one of my go to patterns.  It works well with my plus size body, it is easily manipulated to change it up, and it only has four pattern pieces. I am able to lay out the body pieces on a 60 inch wide one yard long piece of knit, and then I can use 1/2 yard for the sleeves.  I have never had a shirt pattern that only required 1 1/2 yards of fabric before.  I am able to cut and sew this shirt in about an hour with my rotary cutter and serger.

Friends, if you haven't given the Centerfield Raglan a try and are looking for a good plus size raglan pattern, give it a try.  With a few minor tweaks (widening the neck band), it sews up like a dream.

Polka Dot Raglan: Green Style Centerfield Raglan Part 2

Friends, I know that I haven't posted many me mades of late.  Part of that is because you can't post sewn gifts for people who read your blog, and part of that is because the weather has been terrible for blog photos of late.

This afternoon while looking through my blog roll, I found that Andie over at Sew Pretty in Pink had just posted about a Dotty Parisian Top she had recently made and lo and behold, she used the same fabric for the base of that top, as I did for my most recent make.  So, I threw on a wee bit of makeup and ran a brush through my hair, inspired to get a few pics for the blog before we lost daylight.

Yes, it is another Green Style Centerfield Raglan.  This time I made it with sweatshirt material for the sleeves.  The material that Andie and I both used is a nice knit from the juvenile fabric collection at JoAnn.  It is from the Doodles Collection and is called a reversible sweater knit.  It almost has a wooly texture on the dotty side of the fabric.

 
I have been able to work out most of the kinks with the neckline on this raglan by making a wider neck band.  Despite the sweatshirt fabric having no stretch, I still cut the same size sleeves and they worked fine, though I think if I had sized up a bit to compensate for the lack of stretch, I would probably not have the fabric pooling at the elbows.

Winter makes my hair go flat!

This is my very first derriere pic.  I am quite gifted in the behind.  My Great-Grandmother used to tell me that when God was handing out behinds I asked for a double dose!  I had to throw this picture in though, because I was quite impressed with how well I was able to center the dots down both the front and the back of this shirt.

Mischievous smile courtesy of cameraman being crude.

Green Style is quickly becoming one of my favorite Indie pattern companies.  Their pdfs go together like a dream, and if they will continue adding plus size patterns to their line, I will be a happy girl, because they just fit me really well.

What are you sewing right now?  Do you ever find yourself oogling the juvenile fabric section, or is that just me?

A Purple and Grey..Gray...Green Style Creations Centerfield Raglan T-shirt

Over the weekend, I whipped up this great little number from Green Style.  I have been in search of a good raglan style t-shirt and after someone suggested this one to me in the comments over at Lladybird, I decided to give it a try.

All photos were taken by my seven year old, which helps to explain why I may not look the most relaxed and why there is a considerable amount of blur.  All that said, I am very thankful to have a little helper, because it has been raining a ton lately when my husband is home in the evenings and on the weekends.

First I must say that I truly detest pdf patterns.  All that taping and lining up drives me nutty.  I must say though that both Green Styles patterns went together really easily.  I was able to tape two patterns together (this one and the tunic) and cut the patterns out in less than an hour, which I thought was great.  I won't even go in to how long it took me to put my first Cake pattern together.

I went against my own best judgment and cut the 3X according to my measurements with the extra long sleeves.  The only change I made initially was to add 3 inches to the length of the shirt because I know that I like my shirts on the longer side.  The 3X ended up being so large that I could have worn it as a night gown.  Rather than starting over, I ended up taking 5/8 inch out of each seam (sleeve to bodice seams and bodice to bodice seams).  This made the shirt both shorter and more fitted.  Next time I would cut a 1X and grade out to a 2X in the hips, because there is still a bit of ease in the shirt.  My one real complaint about the pattern is that the neck is huge.  I ended up making a wider neck band to help cover my bra straps.  In truth, when sewn as drafted both of my bra straps were on full display and I had a hard time keeping the shirt even up on my shoulders.  I will be modifying the pattern so that the neck isn't so wide boatneck like.

The fabrics used were both medium weight knit blends from Joann.  These particular knits have a really soft hand, but drape nicely without clinging.  I would buy bolts of this stuff for knit projects because it is great.

All in all, I feel like it is a good start that I can modify to be the perfect raglan t-shirt for me.  It was an easy enough sew, mostly sewn on the serger.  I would worry that a beginner might get frustrated with the fit and not know how to modify the pattern and make it work.

Does anyone look good sitting in a picture?

Would I recommend this pattern to a friend?  Sure, but only a friend who is an experienced sewist.

Will I be making this pattern again?  Yes, with the above mentioned modifications.  

Will I try another Green Style pattern?  Absolutely, as a matter of fact I am working on that tunic tonight.  I also give Green Style major kudos because this pattern fell right along with RTW sizing if not a little larger than RTW, which is great for us truly plus size gals.

So friends, tell me...have you ever sewn a Green Style pattern?  If so, what were your results?

What I am Sewing Now...and What I am Not

I am headed down to my sewing haven here in a few to sew some patterns from a company that is totally new to me...Green Style Creations.  When I commented a while back on not being able to find a raglan t-shirt pattern in my size, someone (sorry I couldn't find the posting) replied that I should try the Green Style Raglan.  I downloaded it and while I was there perusing, I also decided to download their tunic as well.  In case you haven't figured it out by now, I am a tunic wearing kind of gal.

Photo from greenstylecreations.com

Photo from greenstylecreations.com

I would like to honest in that I don't really like downloadable patterns as a whole.  All that taping can be a real pain, but I sat down last weekend and in less than an hour had both of these patterns taped together and cut out.  I tend to not trace off downloadable patterns until after I have the fit the way I like.  It is just too easy to reprint a corner or a couple of pages, and I HATE tracing patterns.  Seems too much like work and not enough like play to me.

What I am not sewing now is the beloved tunic that I was so looking forward to.  When my fabric arrived from Mood, it was the wrong fabric.  I am waiting patiently as they try to locate the correct fabric.  It is a real bummer, because I was really really REALLY looking forward to remaking that tunic.  I hope that Qiana and the rest of the team at mood are able to locate that bolt and get me the fabric.

I also am not sewing my wrap dress for the Curvy Sewing Collective Wrapalong.  I just can't get in the mood for it.  It isn't exciting to me at all.  I want to do it, I just can't get enthused about it.  Hopefully whipping up these two patterns will get me back in the mood.

Also, in case you are wondering my St. John wrap copycat is finished and has been for quite a while.  I am just having problems styling it because there is a pair of shoes that I need to go with it and can't bring myself to buy.

I have taken myself off the disabled sewers list, hopefully it won't come back to bite me in the end.