Our Lakes Makerie meeting was full of great makes! Keep scrolling down for Debbie and Kristin’s garments-

January Garment Sewing Group

Debbie’s Garments:

I am a fan of toppers and the Metra Blazer is a TNT for me.

On this version I lined the sleeves with a stretch crepe and finished seams with a Hong Kong finish.

The front facing connects to the side panel and creates the pocket bag and gives the jacket some structure and stabilization to compensate for soft corduroy.

I find this topper versatile, an easy and quick make and a great addition to my wardrobe.

I mistakenly thought this was going to be an easy make but became a challenge mainly due to some decisions I made.

I had a limited amount of fabric to use so that made matching plaid a challenge.

The first fit adjustment I made was adding 3” of length to jacket – Not a fan of cropped jackets-and shortened the sleeves 2 inches. I also did a narrow shoulder adjustment.

The pattern is unlined. I lined the sleeves and underlined the jacket body. I wish I would have made a lining for the jacket and a back neck facing to connect the center front facings. Not having that back neck facing piece means the shoulder of the front facings is slipped stitched – Not a fan of that procedure!

I lined the pockets, repositioned them and topstitched them onto the jacket. Not sure that was the best idea.

The pattern calls for 2 buttons – I added a third.

The jacket hem is a contour facing. A nice finish to the jacket.

For fit I did my standard adjustments. Then considering this make a wearable muslin I did a lot of machine basting as much as possible to get a good fit. I feel the shirt runs large and/or is oversized-I would go down a size next time.

This is a Palmer/Pletsch pattern so there are a good construction tips such as a painless placket, front “yoke” and neck binding finish.

I like to use the burrito method for yokes – the pattern does not use that method but I did. Unfortunately once again since there is no back neck facing I have the shoulder section of the front facings needing to be slip-stitched to keep them from floating.

This is a good pattern in that it makes up quickly, it has good construction tips and variations for sleeves and hems.

Kristin’s Garments:

After an exhaustive search for a pattern that had the same neckline, I chose Vogue 1648 because of the funnel neck. Surprising how hard it is to find this particular neck style. I found another pattern “MonoPattern Oversized Coat” but it was also a funnel neck even tho the photo didn’t show it that way.

The bell sleeve is from Burda 6059-I shortened it (maybe just a bit too much) but if too long the bell becomes a blob 🙂 Hem is the casing for elastic.

The Vogue pattern has a welt pocket so I gave it a try-pretty small and weird. Went to YouTube and watched Sew Anastasia-How to Sew a Welt Pocket and made that work. Not pretty on the inside but I am happy with results.

I cut down the neck, especially at center front, pretty much eliminated the back curved hem and eliminated the back pleat.

Weirdest thing is discovering -almost at the end of construction-that the fabric has a nap and is probably directional but you really have to look!

Had to give it a try and this stripe called out to me 🙂

Added 3/4” at center fold (1.25” total) and cut apart, serged, folded and lapped. Learned how to sew buttons on with machine.

Added buttons to cuffs. Neck was tricky because of the back neck section.

Handy trick when beginning coverstitch at an edge: stitch on Solvy to get started, then on to fabric. Solvy tears away quickly and you can knot the end and hide it.

I’ve made this pattern before but needed to try again as the others turned out too big. I wanted a smooth front (as opposed to a zip and button) for wearing under the stripe turtle.

The side zip has a flap that makes it classy. I used woven interfacing for the waistband-convenient in a pre-cut width.

These pants are keepers and I love the wide wale cord for winter.

February 2026 Garment Sewing Group

Wednesday, Feb. 11, 10:30 at The Sewing Lounge, St. Paul

Thursday, Feb. 12, 10:30 at Creative Sewing, Apple Valley

Saturday, Feb. 14, 10:30 at Sew Inviting, St. Paul

Other dates for your calendar:

Sew Inviting Sale-Semi annual sale going on now!

Frocktails-April 11- “Making Through the Decades” Tickets on sale 1/11

H+H Americas Fiber and Craft Festival: April 30-May 3, Chicago area

Need a last minute Christmas present (for yourself :)?

This is a combination Babylock Evolution which means it will do 4 thread overlock and coverstitch. It’s a few models back and not as large as the current models. Only been used about 6 times. $900 or best offer. Please email materialgirlsewing@gmail.com if interested.

Weather kept most people away from Sewing Lounge on Wednesday but a few of us made it. Fun to be together and enjoyed a quiet lunch after at Rose Street Patisserie!

Thursday gave us pretty good winter driving conditions and we had a good crowd at Creative Sewing in Apple Valley.

Saturday will be at Open Studio Sewing in St. Louis Park. We’ll start with breakfast/coffee at Yum! Bakery, just across the parking lot from the store.

I’ve been plowed out so on my way! See you other snow lovers at the Sewing Lounge! Today, Wednesday, Dec. 10 🙂

December meetings are right around the corner-

December 2025 Garment Sewing Group

Wednesday, December 10, 10:30 at the Sewing Lounge, St. Paul

Thursday, December 11, 10:30 at Creative Sewing, Apple Valley

Saturday, December 13, 10:30 at Open Sew Studio, St. Louis Park

And here are Debbie and Kristin’s makes from November:

Debbie’s Garments:

TNT pattern that includes a shirt, tunic, dress with sleeve options.

For this make I used snaps for closures and adapted width for cuff and used a faux snap for pleated cuff effect.

The pattern fit, construction, and instruction details are excellent.

Cranberry Cardi

I realized too late the pattern did not have a B cup. I thought with a few fit adjustments like petiting and taking in seams I might get a good fit – that did not work. Should have done a small bust adjustment.

This is a good pattern so I do not want to deter others from making it. I will pass this garment on and some day give it another try.

I did not use the cuffs because I neglected to shorten length of sleeve.

I increased the neck band width by 1/2” which I would not do next time.

Sewing with the fabric was a good experience. My standard machine, serger and cover stitch machine all worked beautifully with the fabric.

The only negative with the fabric is getting the rib straight when sewing – strictly an operator error!

I had planned to make the Terra Tunic with the funnel neck but accidentally cut the scoop neckline. I needed to rectify my mistake – then I remembered the neckband/collar feature from the Greenstyle pattern.

I had already stitched the shoulder and sleeves for the tunic so it was too late to add the zipper feature from the Greenstyle pattern . As luck would have it the neckband from the Greenstyle pattern fit nicely into the Terra Tunic without the zipper.

The neckband has a faced front and back pattern piece. The directions instruct to sew front and backs rst to neck edge and then fold under bottom edges of facing and slip stitch to neck edge – Nope – I treated the front and back pieces and facings as one and serged the neck edge.

I like the details on the Greenstyle Surge Sweatshirt so will give the entire pattern a try.

Kristin’s Garments:

Not wanting a kimono robe but also wanting some ease, I substituted a bit bigger sleeve with a broader sleeve cap. I also added an inch of depth across the back to make a bigger armhole to accommodate the sleeve and do a forward shoulder/neck adjustment. A bit unorthodox but it seems to have worked.

Ran out of fabric for the double thick and wide neckband but very happy I kept as is-nice and cozy.

Feeling chilly as I sewed so made the funnel neck version of this favorite pattern. No regrets. Running out of fabric fuels my creative juices-all good.

Going for more of a “pajama” vibe the cuffs were made same width as leg. The cuff hem gives a nice weight to the thin wool.

Pattern has been fermenting in my stash-had fun arranging fabrics.

It’s a unisex pattern (size Medium) and made for wovens so I made no adjustments to size-other than whacking off a bunch of sleeve length!!

Pocket construction was biggest challenge. In the end, double sided iron-on tape was my best friend and I didn’t follow their instructions.

Spray glue also became my friend as I layered the corduroy on the fleece. Not too much trouble sewing it all together-serger struggled a bit on intersections.

Check pocket size for your intended use-may need to adjust size. Fun make!

1. I have a great stash of warm pant fabric so had choices when making another pair of pants for the trip. The fabric is cotton on inside and wool on outside. Dreamy to wear!!

We had a lovely crowd at Sewing Lounge on Saturday. Beautiful new fabric, too! We’ll be at Sew Inviting on Wednesday and Creative on Thursday-see you!!