Lekala 8004, a faux wrap knit top

What to do with an end of the bolt piece of lightweight knit in deep purple? Back in March BT (Before Tripod) I tried my first Lekala pattern. More on the construction and thoughts on sizing can be found here. What the pictures did not show clearly (duh, no wonder when you're not modeling your garment!) is how wide the neckline is. The shoulder seam is barely existing, the v-neck practically ends at the top of the arm.

As much as I liked the look, the combination of long sleeves and bare shoulders wasn't very practical. It was often too hot or too cold to wear this top. Time to get the pattern out again!

In brown the extra length added for a vertical only FBA, in red the extra inches now added to the neckline, front and back. It may not look like a big difference but it's much more comfortable when you're not feeling like you're sitting in the middle of a draught all day long. 

Excusez the weird look, it's the best close up shot of the new neckline....

And the back. Looks like I'm directionally challenged when I'm trying to take pictures of my back side. Always missing some limbs or even my head.

Looking at these pictures it may appear like I could go down a size. I pinned the side seams in to check and although it improved the fit, it did not improve the overall look. This fabric is so lightweight that the belt loops and button of my jeans show through it if I go any tighter. 

I do recommend this free pattern to anyone who wants to try a customized sewing pattern. Instant gratification: just minutes after sending my measurements the pdf was in my mailbox. 

Someday soon I will try one of Lekala's skirts to check the fit on my bottom half.

Did you try a Lekala pattern? Did you like it?

Mabel, what's not to like?

After a month of more sowing than sewing here at Foxgloves HQ I'm back to show you the first of many, many Mabels. I've made a lot of old school pencil skirts: woven fabric, pegged, lined, slit. The kind of skirt that is utterly useless when walking the dog, mowing the lawn or riding your bike to the grocery store. In my neck of the woods two out of three of these examples are daily business, so pencil skirts are SOO (Special Occasions Only). But, thanks to Colette Patterns there's a major breakthrough. Mabel is a pencil skirt that's so comfortable you could even go to sleep in it!

Colette Mabel skirt and Lekala 8004 top

The construction of this skirt is quick  could have been quick, if only I had put some trust in the pattern makers. In order to avoid the dreaded muffin top I chose a bigger size for the waistband. Which resulted in gaping at the back. After some seam ripping I even took out more than I originally added.

I was also worried about the length of the skirt. I'm 1.73 m (5'8) and could not find the heigth this pattern was drafted for. I added 4 cm to the pattern pieces. Guess what? Exactly the amount I had to cut off again at the final hemline. 

Colette Mabel skirt and Colette Jasmine blouse

One more note on the construction. Since I mentioned making the Mabel skirt I noticed some traffic to my blog via Google search on 'How to sew a kick pleat in the Mabel skirt'. Let me reassure you. It's not a slit construction, it's just a simple pleat. Sew a straight line, fold to one side and make a little topstitch. That's all!

Instead of using a twin needle for quick hemming I chose for hand sewing. My usual routine, never take the easy way if you can make things a little more complicated... 

This skirt is so versatile! I like all three outfits I made up with this simple skirt and can think of many more.

More on the Lekala top can be found here, for more on the Jasmine click here.

Since this was my first session with a tripod and a remote I'll make this post picture heavy, just because I can.

Well, you get the picture. When in doubt, make a Mabel skirt!

Testing Lekala 8004

During my search for more knit patterns I discovered the Lekala pattern company. For those of you not familiar with Lekala: you pick a pattern from their large selection, send them your measurements and within minutes you receive a printable PDF of the pattern of your choice. Customized for your size. Sounds too good to be true, right?

Time for some testing. Lekala offers some free patterns, to convince sceptical sewists like me. As it's serger month I kept it simple, though you could also pick a free pattern for a wedding dress, a teddy bear or men's trousers. I selected Lekala 8004, a faux wrap knit top.

The printed pattern was glued together a few weeks ago while I was watching Olympic speed skating.

Some quick tissue fitting told me something was off. The horizontal seam that is supposed to sit under the bust went across my widest part. Needless to say this is not a good look. Hey, wasn't this pattern supposed to be customized?

Well, the blame is on me. I sent Lekala my height, bust, underbust, waist and hip measurements but overlooked the adjustments section. If only I had told them about my 'increased breast width' they would have known what they were dealing with. Since the placement of the underbust seam was my only worry I executed a vertical only FBA, as per Sham's instructions.

From there it was a quick and easy make. I added clear elastic in the shoulder seams and used a twin needle for the hems, just like I did in my Plantain shirt.

I bought a nice plaid for a pencil skirt to go with the top, but it will have to wait in the sewing queue till autumn.

Right now we are enjoying some bright and sunny spring weather, and some surprisingly early polka dotted guests in the garden. 

I will make another Lekala pattern soon, just to see how adding those optional measurements will influence the fit. But for now I'm already impressed. Although at 1.73 m I'm not particularly tall, I'm just slightly taller than the average height most companies draft for. It's nice to have just that little bit of extra length in the arms and bodice and the overall width was spot on.

Happy sewing!