Heart 'n Bones Renfrew

Wow this post is a long time in the making. You can see the first glimpse of my Renfrew way back here! Yikes! I still wear it regularly. I love the fabric and the idea of a simple t-shirt. However, the shape doesn't curve quite right with my measurements, and it is not long enough. I have a long torso. I plan to improve this the next time around. 

A few years ago I made a t-shirt (unblogged) from this Connie Crawford pattern here, B5215. (I should blog it because these patterns get such a bad rap and I had a wonderful experience with it)  I made the extra small and it fit my curves and everything wonderfully! And it was the right length! However it only has the scoop neck option.

For my next Renfrew, I will use the bodice from B5215 for the bodice of the Renfrew and then use all the other options the Renfrew has to offer. That will give me the right length and shape and then the options for the other necklines and sleeves. I think it will be the perfect combination!

For my Renfrew, I used this fabric from Mood here.

Fabric closeup of cute hearts and bones!

I discovered this fabric from this patternreview. Now the eagle eyed among you would realize that this review is from none other than my friend Nhi! However, I never met Nhi until the garment district shopping trip mentioned above and in the blog post written here. I showed up to shop in my Renfrew and Nhi exclaimed she had the fabric! I didn't realize that it was her review that had shown me the fabric and led to me buying it! What a small world! Crazy coincidence! 

The second I saw this fabric in her review, I had to have it. Those of you who follow my blog know my love of Halloween and skulls and then also hearts and stars. This fabric was a natural! I had to get it!  I still have plenty left...I used under a yard on my Renfrew since I cut the bands in a black matte jersey from Joann's. I will definitely be using more!

After attaching the bands according to the instructions, I topstitched using the coverstitch portion of my Babylock Evolve serger to hold the band seam allowances down. 

Overall, this was a simple and easy make that I made entirely on my serger. (Except for the one part of the v-neck band that had to be stitched by sewing machine.)  I cannot wait to make a cowl collared one for the cooler weather that is coming!

In this closeup you can see how the curves don't quite match the
curviness of my waist to my hips and that as a result it rides up

Not that you need any encouragement, since this shirt has been made by nearly every sewing blogger, but just in case you haven't made it yet...go for it!

My pattern review can be seen here.

I won!

I won a giveaway for the first time! I hardly ever enter giveaways...only if there is truly something I want so it makes sense that I have not won any before since I am not upping my chances by entering a lot. But who cares?? I won one! And it was for a great prize. I won The Art of Manipulating Fabric by Colette Wolff which shows you all kinds of cool ways to texturize and add fun details to garments that may otherwise be plain. And I won it from a lady with the coolest blog name ever (if you are a lawyer)--KC from The Sewcratic Method.

After winning, she suggested meeting up  for fabric shopping and lunch since we were both in the Los Angeles area...no way was I turning that down! We met up at the Loft and spent awhile there finding all kinds of goodies. For those of you who are not familiar, or who didn't read about my last Loft experience, the Loft is an offshoot of the famous Michael Levine's that sells an entire room full of fabric in boxes and on bolts for only $2.50 per pound! It is an amazing deal....especially if you are getting a ton of chiffon--they hardly weigh anything! But of course my aim on this trip was to get bottomweights and suiting materials because I have so many knits and chiffons...all I make are blouses! But I plan to expand on that....wait until you see my planned lineup for my sewing projects...I must be feeling ambitious because there is a LOT on there!

KC also made out with a lot of great fabrics.,..she even used some for her Promaballoona dress! Here is a picture I stole off her blog to prove this event really happened. Nhi, another sewer who I have shopped with at the Loft before met us as well and joined us on our expedition.

The three of us at Fabric Planet

Warning!!!! Anyone looking for Fabric Planet...do NOT follow the address on their website for their downtown location...it is totally not there! We walked like 250 extra blocks to go to this address, in the heat, and it was not there and had moved to 8th and Santee...which was so close to Michael Levine's (where we had been) that we did all that extra walking for no reason! Ok actually nevermind...I just checked their website and they updated it!  Good!  Because it had been since before April that their location was different...and I told them when I was there about how ridiculous it was that their address was STILL not updated on the website!  Well it looks like it worked...feel free to actually follow the address on their website and ignore my warning.