So I finally got around to writing my review of the Sewaholic Renfrew on PatternReview. The actual review is here with all the links and such. But here it is as well.

Pattern Description:
A knit top with three variations for sleeves and three variations for neck. Mix and match!

Pattern Sizing:
0-16. I made a 6 which is pretty much what I should be based on the measurements.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Pretty spot on.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Very!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I’ve only made a couple other things out of knit. Knit and my serger kinda scare me. Or rather, they did scare me. This pattern really helped me start to love my serger. It looks like a real shirt! Like I would buy in the store! If you’re scared of knits, this is an excellent pattern to start with. There’s nothing I disliked about the pattern.

Fabric Used:
Some rayon spandex stuff I had bought to mess around with. But this has turned out to be one of my favorite shirts even though it was “mess around” fabric.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
None. I did a straight view A.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes! In fact, I’ve already bought fabric for two more casual shirts. I want to try it out of some nicer fabrics for a fancier look, too. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to try knits or who just wants a solid knit shirt pattern.

Conclusion:
You should buy this pattern. Now.

Additional Information: I’ve got lots of photos on my blog showing construction details for those interesting.

Tags: patternreview, renfrew, sewaholic

So I’ve been meaning to do some photos of my sewing studio for a while. Because we did it pretty much all with IKEA and a lot of it is pseudo IKEA Hacks. But I just haven’t gotten around to it. However, a friend was looking to make a new cutting table so it provided the impetus I needed to put up some pictures of at least the cutting table which I’m pretty proud of.

Basically, we took two 2×4 Expedits, built those and laid them on their side. Meanwhile, I ordered a 40″ x 60″ cutting mat from Dick Blick.  Then we took a piece of plywood and cut it to size to fit the cutting mat. My husband took his router and routed the edges to make them nice and smooth. We sanded it and painted it white.

Then my husband attached the plywood to the expedits using 4 screws (see above image). We laid the cutting mat on top and voila! The expedits actually have little felt bits so I can move it around but it’s heavy enough with all the stuff I have in it that it doesn’t move on its own. The expedits provide tons of storage! You can see how I fitted mine out below. 

And I also attached a hook on the side for my rotary cutting ruler.

There are many ways that you can customize this for yourself:

• Use different sized Expedits since expedits come in 2×2 or 2×4. You could put 4 2×2′s in a square!
• Use different inserts to suit your needs.
• Combine two cutting mats to get an even bigger awesomer cutting table.
• Home Depot will cut your plywood to size for you if you don’t have a saw.
• Skip the plywood edge routing by using ikea table tops!

Tags: cutting, hack, ikea, table

There’s another angle of my Sewaholic Renfrew shirt. Below I’ve got some details of putting it together. The directions are pretty easy. I consulted the web for some general knit questions. Can you believe this is the first “real” knit thing I’ve actually finished? Not just a muslin type thing. I know. Crazy.

Anyhow, good instructions. I was going slowly because I didn’t want to mess up but the next one will be much faster now that I’ve got the hang of it. Although I’ll probably have to slow down around the V-neck when I do that one. But I think I’ll whip out the same size just for fun on the next one.

I started by tracing out the pieces. This pattern wasn’t cheap (compared the usual 99 cents I can pay for a Simplicity pattern a JoAnn’s) so I didn’t want to screw it up. I traced both the 4 & 6. Such wishful thinking The 6 was just fine and I might actually go up to the 8 to account for my healthy hips.

Everything cut out. Hey! I happen to have some green thread. Awesome.

After stitching up the shoulder seam, time to add some stay tape so it doesn’t stretch. I’ve never actually owned stay tape. However, I almost always have some grosgrain ribbon on hand and it works just as well in my opinion. So used that.

Stitched it right on there. I sewed it to the back of the seam so that it won’t actually be touching me when I have the shirt on. Softer that way.

And served the edge. My serger was full of purple thread and I don’t have any green so I figured purple was just as good. Not that anyone will be seeing it, but adds a little fun, I think

Sitched up the v seam for the neck banding.

And trimmed that. No need to finish. The seams will get caught and knit stuff won’t really unravel.

Pinned the collar into the next line, lining up all those notches.

Got it sewn. So, I didn’t sew it perfectly. There were definitely some portions that had to be ripped out and re-sewn because of puckers. Still learning the stretch tension thing. But still I think it went pretty well. However, for that reason, I will definitely be sewing and *then* serging (that is, not serving direction) for at least a few more shirts until I get the real hang of it.

And the neck link is all serged up. A lot of versions I’ve seen do a zig zag top stitch to the neck. My neck laid really flat so I didn’t bother. Haven’t noticed any problems with it.

Shoulder seam all pinned up.

Shoulder seam all sewn. There appeared to be some puckers but after pressing they were not there.

Pressed shoulder seam. I had no idea that pressing made such a difference in knits! It really makes it look finished.

Pretty even from the inside!

Basted the cuff and waistband edges together.

And the waistband sewn on. The serging of this is pretty obvious.

And that’s it. That’s all there was too it. Really fast and easy. Love it. Will definitely make more!

Tags: renfrew, sewaholic

Okay, I got some pictures of my Sewaholic Renfrew shirt yesterday. Here it is! I’m so happy with how it came out. It’s so comfy. I used this really soft rayon modal stuff I got at JoAnn’s. I got it super cheap with a coupon for messing around and trying things out. Basically knit “muslin” fabric, but turns out it’s really comfy.

Anyhow, this is a size 6. The arms are a bit loose, but the hips are a bit snug, but the bust seems just right. I might try making it in a slightly more “stable” knit (as they call it on the Sewaholic site) and then fiddling around with different sizes at different places. I am eager to try the V-neck version as well.

Tags: renfrew, sewaholic

So I’ve been debating about what sort of Cambie dress to make. I actually made the Renfrew top last weekend but haven’t had a chance to take pictures yet. I will try and do that this weekend.

Anyhow, I’ve seen so many Cambies that I love online. I found this great site called Flickriver which looks like a Flickr scraping site. Anyhow, putting in “sewaholic cambie” as the search yields many useful results. Here’s the link so you can look for yourself.

But for those of you that don’t want to sift through tons of Cambie pictures (why ever not??) here are some of my favorites. I’m only providing links right now because I’m not sure what I’m “allowed” to do with respect to posting pictures from other blogs and I don’t have time to ask for permission from a bunch of people. But I know I can post links.

White with red polka dots by Sew Busy Lizzy

Romantic floral by Cloth Habit

Red with white polka dots by Dolly Clackett (I’m sensing a theme here . . .) 

Fun floral by Very Purple Person

Grey eyelet by Just Skirts and Dresses

Those are just some that I really like. The ones Tasia posted on sewaholic.com as samples are also nice. And most solid colors seem to do well.

I have to make the muslin first so that gives me some time, but I’m hoping to make one to wear for my birthday at the end of the month, so not too much time. Right now leaning towards a solid because I want something that can be a little nicer in case we go out to a place with cloth napkins for dinner.

P.S. If anyone does know the answer for how I can post photos of things I like that I see on other blogs, please let me know. I know to download and then link back so that I don’t suck bandwidth, but I find it hard to believe that all the sites I see ask permission from tons of people, but maybe they do? Until then, I will err on the side of caution.

Tags: cambie, dress, sewaholic

Back in college, my mom and I made the duvet cover below. This was thick upholstery fabric. It didn’t really fit in my dorm room, but it was so regal looking. I felt like Shirley Temple in The Little Princess after the guy brings her that plush comforter. Not that my dorm room was nearly as bad as the attic where they put her, but you get the idea.

Anyhow, the upholstery fabric was rather thick and not so comfortable. Now that I’m a bit older, my tastes have changed and I prefer lighter, more comfortable fabrics, but this was a king size comforter so I couldn’t let the fabric go to waste.

We also happen to have a random feather bed that was bit worse for wear, but folded in quarters made for a perfect fluffy bed that Minnie was quite happy with. So I repurposed the duvet fabric and made the dog bed you see above. My little princess is quite happy with it.

Tags: bed, dog

Yay! My Sewaholic patterns came today. I’m so excited! Ever since I saw the Cambie dress on Sew Busy Lizzy, I’ve been eyeing the Sewaholic patterns. When I went to the Sewaholic website, I also loved the jacket and knit shirt patterns as well. I tried to hold out for sale, and wouldn’t you know it, she send one out the day after I place my order. Oh, well! I still can’t wait to get started. Here’s what I got:

The Cambie Dress

I just love the shape of this one. I also love that it has pockets. I want to make a polka dot one.

The Cordova Jacket

Love the peplum on this one. Especially the double peplum. Took a look at the instructions and it actually doesn’t look too difficult which I’m excited about. Now the only question is what fabric to make it out of?

The Renfrew Top

This just looks like a super comfy top. All the reviews I saw of it looked great on people. I love the different options and can’t wait to try them all! Also excited about the cuffs and color which look much more doable than binding.

Stay tuned for reviews of them once their done!

Tags: cambie, cordova, patterns, renfrew, sewaholic

I love bunting. I think it’s awesome. I wanted some festive decorations for Hanuka last winter so I decided to make bunting. Even though I love bunting, you’ll be surprised to know that this was the first time I’ve made it!

I basically just added tabs to letters in Silhouette studio and then added a perforation between the tab and the letter. Then I cut them out. I wanted two letters wide and I was using 12″x12″ scrapbook paper so each letter was about 6″ tall.

As it turns out, the scrapbooking paper I bought was not ideal for this application It was this awesome blue glitter. When I put it on the cutting mat right side up, even a double cut at the deepest depth couldn’t get all the way through. So I flipped it over. This time it got through, but because of the glitter it would slide around. I finally figured to put tape around the edge which seemed to keep it. Even so, I was only able to cut out one letter at a time. So I probably won’t use this kinda of paper again even though it’s pretty awesome looking.

After cutting out all the letters and folding down the tabs, I laid them out for spacing.

Then I flipped them over (maintaining the correct order for when they would be hung up). I then put scrapbooking roll-on glue in the tabs and laid my cord over that, right up in the crease as best I could.

Then I folded down the tabs.

Unfortunately, the tabs did not want to stay down so I had to tape them down as well. Perhaps some better glue would have helped? Maybe I’ll use the glue gun next time.

Finally I hung it on my mantle Once I’ve had a chance to make the tabs longer and make the rest of the alphabet, I’ll make my silhouette file for the bunting available.

I would have spell Hanuka the “normal” way, Hanukkah, but I ran out of scrapbook paper since I kept having issues until I figured out my tape solution.

Tags: chanukah, hanuka, holidays

Apparently there were lots of New Year’s Eve/Day sales which I totally missed. I assumed things would be closed. We called and Eddie’s Quilting Bee was open so we made the trek over there since I love going to fabric stores with my mom. We were in luck. They had some of the cutest Hanukkah fabric I’ve ever seen. Brightly colored stuff from Robert Kaufman. I also picked up some fun fat quarters that I’m looking forward to messing around with. Not sure what I’ll make yet.

Tags: fabric

For New Year’s Eve, I decided to make a traditional Norwegian celebration cake. It’s called kransekake which literally translates to “wreath cake” and you’ll soon see why. My husband’s family enjoys one at Christmas every year and we had one at our wedding. My parents really like it so I figured why not make one for New Year’s Eve since they were visiting? I’ve had the cake molds for it for probably almost 5 years but never had the time or inclination to make it. 

I looked up various recipes. Kransekake is generally Scandinavian, not just Norwegian, but it’s important to note that Danish, Swedish and Norwegian kransekake recipes all yield somewhat different results. I like the Norwegian one which is a little less sweet and more like marzipan than cake. Here is the recipe I used:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb blanched almonds
• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 3 egg whites
• flour as needed (about 1/4 cup)

Directions:

Start by using your food processor to grind up the almonds into a fine meal.

I’ve seen almond meal/flour at the store. You could probably use that since it looks about the same. I’ve also read that you can use half blanched almonds and half normal almonds which is what I think my husband’s family does since their end result has more of a speckled brown look.

Add the powdered sugar and sift together before adding your eggs.

Make a well in your sugar almond mixture, add your eggs and begin stirring until a dough forms. Here’s where you may need to add some flour if your dough is too wet. This can happen if your eggs are huge.

Butter and dust your molds with flour.

Roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness. You’ll probably want to have some flour on the rolling surface and your hands to prevent it from sticking.

Lay the dough gently inside the molds, joining the ends as best you can to make it smooth.

Bake your dough at 350 degrees for about 13-15 minutes. You’re looking for them to have just the slightest tinge of brown. The mere hint of golden. You want them to be chewy inside.

When they’re done (you can see mine got a little too brown on one part because my oven doesn’t heat evenly), let them cool in the pans since if you try to remove them now, they’ll probably break. (Trust me, I broke a few.)

Once cool, remove them from the molds to cool.

Meanwhile you can start to make the frosting. I just did a basic royal icing recipe.

1 cup of powdered sugar with almost 1 egg white. I gradually added the beaten egg white until it was the consistency I wanted and didn’t end up using the whole thing.

I pre-stacked my kransekake in small parts to make sure I had the rings in the right order.

When you’re ready, start with your first wring. Squiggle royal icing on it to create a “glue” for the next layer. Repeat for each layer.

And that’s about it! I’ve read that kransekake is one of those things that you can make exactly the same way twice and one will turn out amazing and the other will be a  disaster, so if it doesn’t work out, it’s not your fault. I was pretty happy with the way my first one turned out. I’ll definitely make it again and perhaps try some other techniques like piping the dough into the molds for smoother tiers or using different ratios of almond to sugar.

Tags: kransekake, new year, new years eve, norwegian