Turtlenecks and Cardigans

I am doing a lot of things at once... BUT... I decided to blog about these turtlenecks I love.

I was cold  this week and I wandered into 'The Treasure Hunt Room'.  I work at G Street Fabrics-have a little Etsy store and make all my clothes.  I found 4 sweater style knits and just bought whatever yardage there was.  For a Turtleneck you really only need your body of your sweater length and the sleeve length. (1 1/2 yds)  that is 27 inches and 27 inches on a 60 inch wide knit for my sweater. There is usually enough to make whatever type of turtleneck you want unless it is really slouchy.

Our store is in Rockville, Md and if you have never experienced it, you must come some time if possible.  It is a big warehouse, with every kind of fabric casual knits to fancy dresswear and a Home Decorating Department where we do Custom Upholstery and Draperies and just about anything you want to ask for.  But, just looking at the fabric choices is a fabulous adventure.  DIYers are welcome.

I don't always use patterns, but I love to take things and mix and match like the body of one and the collar of another.  Exchange sleeves or necklines.

My three favorite Turtleneck patterns are vintage of course, but turtlenecks never go out of style.  And if they are not in a current pattern book, then you can probably find it on Etsy or Ebay or Pattern Review.

Butterick 6248 has a slouchy neck but the pockets are fun.

I love to put pockets in the garment.  You never know when you might want to walk the catwalk.  Come walk our ramp and announce if you made something from our fabric and are showing off.  We will be thrilled.

The Fuschia turtleneck in the blog before this one was one of the fabrics I found in the Treasure Hunt room.  I used the simple and fast pattern KWIK SEW K4069

It is Just a front and a back cut on the fold  and a sleeve piece cut 2

A one piece for the turtleneck that you just fold over and sew on the edge of the neck.  Once you cut it out you can sew it almost as fast as I can write about it, maybe faster.

I purposely make my clothes a little loose fitting, because I am rather shapely and I don't need enhancing.  I did turn the ends of the sleeves up on this and top stitched them as a small hem.  The bottom of the sweater I stitched twice.  I do not have a cover stitch machine, but I turned the hem up and top stitched and then stitched close to the folded up hem.-to give the effect of a cover stitch.  

It is not easy to see in the picture, but I thought it was a nice effect on this sweater.

Sometimes I don't do any hem at all because it is a sweaterknit that doesn't ravel.

Now as you see in this cardigan, which was made from left over scraps, I didn't really have a choice.  I made a small folded over trim down the front and I doubled the scraps over like the turtleneck piece itself and added it onto the sleeves..  The piece I added on the front as trim, I just did a seam folded it over to the front and topstitched on both edges.   Also on the bottom of the cardigan.

To make the cardigan, I used the jacket top basic pieces from this pattern McCalls Pattern 7076

Remember I was using leftover scraps, so I used the full back piece on the fold and then had to add on the the front pieces and the rib of the scraps went in the horizontal instead of the vertical direction

small handsewn snaps on the underside of the edges where you might want to attach fur trim

Doubled over scraps sewn onto the cardigan sleeves and banding on the front edges of the cardigan and bottom.... all from scrap pieces

Fur trim sewn in a circle folded over an elastic circle to slide over the cuff for trim that fits but is not truly attached.

Pants are my usual tubins.. wide enough to fit over boots, made like leggings but tube legs to look more professional, or in my case - more flattering than skin tight.

This is my favorite cowl neckline on a turtleneck.

Combo of this collar with the front with the pockets  would be one I would like best.

Madly Sewing Up My Stash

Many of my fabrics come from where I work part-time

Gstreetfabrics.com

Or 

Kittyscatscratches.com

Where I have fabric I have designed and many of my pillow fronts come from one or the other of these two sites... both have online selling of fabrics

the things that you can have made with my fabric designs

www.kittyscustomdesigns.com

The new wildlife series of pillows that I have made for sale will be on my Shop at

www.kittyscustomoutfits.com

 Looking at all the Scraps and Left Overs

Left Overs from pillow Back-- fur trim for detachable collar trim- clutch trim fun-Fur earrings

enough from this minky pillow back to make pockets on the end of my minky scarf to keep my hands warm when I am driving and walking to and from the car.

I just made 4 Turtleneck Tops because I was chilly at work.

Extras.. Removable cowel collar infinity scarves-earrings of course-braided bracelets and necklaces-if big enough pieces-cardigans-1.5 yds - on a turtleneck there is usually a big enough piece to do a removable cowel collar or infinity scarf from a side piece-always enough scraps for earrings and straight scarves or braided necklaces.

from the jacket there were little suede and skin and sherpa scraps good enough to crazy quilt a clutch and put pleather wrap pockets on the front of the clutch for cc case and phone case.

Always if there is enough scraps when you cut out a cardigan, you might want to add pockets in the side seams.

I managed to make cardigan to go with turtleneck and used scraps to make banding on sleeves and bottom of cardigan... narrow banding down the front  and then the fur trim I attached to a piece of black twill tape (1/2 inch wide).... folded the 2 inch strip of fur over and stitched to twill tape and added small handsewn snaps so I could attach by putting the small snaps on the under side of the cardigan banding and use the cardigan with our without fur strips..... but the feather fur is so soft I love it.   The cuff banding is just a circle of fur with a piece of elastic inside so I can just slide over the cuff to trim sleeve.

My Personal Fabric Designs

 If you like the Beach-Kayaking or Water- You can get a pillow, all sizes, blankets, out of minkie or velvet, duvet covers out of cotton with ties for your comforter inside, and wonderful, beautiful total bedsets out of my waterview fabrics and Garden surroundings.

Bedding in my heron design

Kittykittypurrs design fabric shop <-- water love

Babies Babies Showers Gifts

 Baby Gift Ideas...?

Gifts I have created in the past and what I am doing now... remember.. as in the purple sueded coat blog-I go back and add on to the same topics, or may put them on a different blog.

In the past I have made gift baskets...start with a theme or animal:

Frogs -

Cover a scrapbook or photo album-with or without lace trim..can put a ribbon to tie shut...can add something on the front and put a push button music box inside the front. The front of this one had a beanie frog under a blanket and his head was on a heart pillow.  The music box was inside the heart pillow on the photo album.

Booties with frogs cross stitched on toes hung from the handle with a matching drool bib.

The one below was all about Bears.  A suncatcher for the window of the baby that was a bear (I was doing stainglass at the time, too)  There was a gingham burp drool and tinkle set in the basket-which was a teddy bear basket with the head on the one end and the legs and arms on the side.  If you want any further instructions or amounts of fabric etc.  You can always find me at G Street Fabrics in Rockville, MD ...Sun.  Mon. Tues.  or just email me ... at kittykittypurrs@gmail.com

Teddy Bears-

COWS

Included a simple panel quilt with lace around it and outline quilted the characters on the quilt panel..Always a burp drool and tinkle set of the same theme.  Different kinds of  bibs, cloth books and photo album.

Cross-stitching is fun and easy to add that handmade look to items...

Pigs:

As you can see from the fuschia glow it was wrapped in Colored Cellophane

Dog Themes:

Music box in the ladies skirt

This was one of my favorites..

Hoody Terry Fleece Bath Towel

Right now I am doing a Sheep Theme

and a Butterfly Theme...so in a later blog I will post what I have done and how.

I do many different things and have many different blogs, but I love the fabric and unless I print the fabric myself the fabric comes from Gstreetfabrics where I work  or WWW.kittyscatscratches.com

Combining Different Textures for a Jacket

 

This was a true texture challenge for me.

Did it work?... Well, I felt good about it, so I think that is what counts... I felt like a Silk and Velvet Queen!!

.

2 Different colors of Velvet Burnout combined with Irridescent Dupioni Silk that was a combination of Teal and Blue at different angles.

I did not have enough of the teal Burnout to make the whole jacket so I found a piece of Very Dark Blue (looked black in some lights) Burnout that was just enough size for a scarf... about a quarter yard or 3/8 yard piece.

I wanted to use it, but it just wasn't right by itself.  I ended up hunting for something at 

https://gstreetfabrics.com/   when I was at work and bought a quarter yard of Irridescent Dupioni Silk thinking I could use it for a trim of some kind.

Nothing looked right by itself... so I used the silk on the cuffs..... and put a trim piece between the two colors at the bottom of the Teal... then added the dark blue.... but still didn't seem together for me... soooooo.... I decided to braid the three fabrics and make an accent trim to pull it together at the edge between the two colors...

Three long strips one of each color when folded in and top stitched make about 1/4 inch strip.

Sew the three together on the end and then braid to make the braid.  This was sewn onto the 1 and 1/4 inch piece of dupioni that separated the Teal and the dark blue burnouts.  This created a trim.

I did a large Covered button of each color and added it at the bottom closure...

I LOVE THESE COVERED BUTTONS.... I also use them for earrings of all sizes... needlenose plyers

and a package of earring backs some glue and you can make earrings for all your outfits..

Scarves together of 3 colors

Did it work?... Got a couple of compliments today... think it worked... my new fun thing... braiding the fabrics for trim!!

I paired this jacket with a silk drapeneck blouse of all the colors... 

This is a drapeneck silk blouse...

Quick pants of leggins or tubins

1. lay out 1 piece pattern

2. cut out

3. sew right leg...sew left leg

4. sew crotch

5. turn up bottom of each leg twice and topstitch

6. sew elastic together size of waist

7. lay on top of pants and fold over the fabric to the inside over elastic

8. Topstitch leaving an opening at the front so you can make tighter or looser when needed and also to identify your front from your back easily when you are pulling your pants on.

DONE
These pants take 1and 1/4 yard fabric for my height -some type of stretch for pulling over hips...elastic waist.

Hem is turned under twice about 3/8 to 1/2 inch and topstitched.  I make the leg long and straight so I can pull the top over my boot tops.  These are what I call tubins...you can make them tight with a light stretch knit and call them leggins....

Two pieces cut from 1 piece pattern laying on 60 inch wide fabric folded over and sew right leg...sew left leg...sew crotch... make elastic circle the size of your waist out of 3/4 inch non roll elastic... lay over the top of your sewn together pants...roll top over the elastic to wrong side of pants...turn under 1/4 inch-leave enough space so you do not catch the elastic when top stitching.. start your stitching at the front waist seam and end about 1/4 inch before the seam so you have an adjustable elastic.... can make tighter or looser at your needs... comfortable and quick pants...no pockets.  I wear tunics or mock neck sweaters or loose silk blouses hanging over my waist so I don't need pockets in my pants.