Toddler Bermuda Shorts)

Hello summer!

Background

Ottobre 3/2012 #2 is a sleeveless knit shirt with a neckline and armholes finished with rib knit. Two snaps at the left shoulder help with dressing. It is drafted for sizes 50-86.

Ottobre 3/2023 #5 knit shorts are hemmed just below the knee, with a hem finished with rib knit. The side seam has a decorative stripe made out of rib knit. The waist is elastic, with a decorative drawstring at the center front. It is drafted for sizes 62-98.

Materials

For the top I used a cotton/lycra jersey from Nature’s Fabrics. I had it leftover from another project and it was just enough to squeeze this shirt out of it.

The shorts were made out of a cotton velour, also from Nature’s Fabrics. I really liked using this fabric for his shorts. It is durable, soft, and washes well.

The snaps are from KAM Snaps. The rib knit is from Fabric Mart. The grommets for the drawstring (not shown) are #00 metal grommets from WAWAK. The 3/8” wide cotton drawstring tape is from Amazon. The 1” elastic for the shorts waist is also from Amazon.

Fit

I used a size 86 for both shirt and pants.

For the shirt I added about 2” width to the hem at the hip. My son wears cloth diapers and I find that adding some width helps it not ride up as much over the bulk.

For the shorts I added 1/2” height to the center back seam.

Construction

I found I needed to mark where the binding went at the bottom of the armholes of the shirt, because otherwise it is hard to see exactly where the bottom of the armhole is when you’re binding it and you may end up halfway down the side seam! Otherwise it was a straightforward process constructing the shirt.

For the shorts, a Clover bias tape maker to make the binding for the side seams made the process go much easier. No having to manually turn under the edges, just run it through the tape maker and then sew it onto the front before stitching the side seams together.

For both projects I used a 5/8” finished width single fold binder for my cover stitch machine to attach the ribbing to the fabric. I found the velour was too fussy when it came time to stitch the elastic casing for the waist with my cover stitch machine (so many skipped stitches) so I ended up using a zigzag stitch on my regular sewing machine for that.

Ottobre 5/2012 #13: Women’s T-Shirt

Background

This fitted women’s t-shirt from Ottobre features a gathered scoop neckline and long sleeves. The fit is slightly looser than the other two t-shirt tops in this issue due to the front gathering adding extra ease. It comes in sizes 34-52.

Materials

I used a lightweight, stretchy rayon/lycra jersey purchased a few years ago from Gorgeous Fabrics.

For the neckline gathering I used 1/4” clear elastic I found in my stash.

Fit

I cut a size 44. This was the first of the trio I made. I added about 4” to the hips. After making it I discovered the front upper chest was rather wide, so I narrowed it on subsequent versions.

I also found the length of both the body and sleeves really long. The sleeves were very tight around the elbows. When I went to hem the sleeves I accidentally hemmed the same sleeve twice, which is why I ended up with three quarter length sleeves!

Construction

To gather the neckline you use clear elastic. I actually hate using clear elastic; the ultra thin 1/4” width elastic stretches into a skinny rope that’s almost impossible to stitch and the texture is sticky. I do have a heavier and wider elastic but it was packed away somewhere and I couldn’t find it at the time. (STILL haven’t finished unpacking after over a year!) once you gather the neckline though the rest of the shirt goes together quickly.

The neckline binding length is left up to you; I cut it 85% the length of the measured neckline and that seemed to work well for keeping it stable and snug.

Conclusion

Not sure if I would make this one again. I prefer the snugger fit of the other two tops in this issue. I do think it would make a nice shell for under a blazer though (if I ever wear one again!)

Another Ottobre Women’s Hoodie (Download)

Previous hoodie post

This time I made this hoodie out of a stretch bamboo fleece from Nature’s Fabrics. This fabric is so soft and cozy! The greater stretch is across the length, not the width, so I cut it against instead of with the grain. For the rib knit I used a gray heather bamboo/spandex rib knit which as you can see coordinates perfectly. Overall this is a much softer and stretchier version of my first hoodie.

The zipper is a YKK #5 molded plastic zipper that was in my stash, likely from WAWAK/Cleaner’s Supply. I finished the hoodie neckline seam with twill tape from Amazon.

For this version I also added a hanging loop, as I noticed with my other hoodie that I needed to hang it up more than I anticipated.

Ottobre Women’s Hoodie: PDF Download

The whole outfit for today!

With Ottobre 5/2012 #11 tshirt and Jalie 3022 yoga pants

Background

This downloadable fitted hoodie pattern is available from Ottobre’s Etsy store. It has front kangaroo pockets finished at the opening with rib knit, a full length front zipper, a concealed hood drawstring, and fairly wide rib knit cuffs and front and back hem bands. It comes in sizes 34-52.

Recommended fabrics are knits with 30% stretch.

Materials

I have a gorgeous bamboo fleece from Nature’s Fabrics in my stash I want to use for this pattern, but since I wasn’t sure about the fit or construction I decided to use something less precious for my first version, a cotton/poly sweatshirt fleece from Fabric Mart. It has about 20% mechanical stretch. I would not go below that amount of stretch for this pattern.

For the rib knit I used a pretty beefy rib knit from Jumping June Textiles. It ended up being lighter and paler in color than I had hoped for, but the quality is excellent.

The zipper is a #5 YKK metal zipper from WAWAK. The hood grommets are #00 metal grommets, also from WAWAK. The twill tape used for the drawstring and to finish the seam attaching the hood to the rest of the hoodie is from Amazon.

Fit

I cut a size 44 for most of the hoodie. For the hem band I cut a size 48. The hip of the hoodie where it meets the hem band is around a size 46. The hem band has negative ease so you stretch it to fit the hem of the fleece. I also made the sweatshirt length size 48 so I wouldn’t have to shorten my zipper.

I found the fit was spot on, though a bit on the snug side due to the lower stretch and lack of Lycra in my fabric. The sleeve and hem length were perfect for me. I didn’t know how I’d feel about the wide cuffs (about 3.5” wide) or wide hem (around 4”) but I like them! When I’m working in the kitchen I can just flip up the cuffs instead of pushing them up, and the hem band gives a good fit around my hips.

Construction

Ottobre instructions assume you’re using one of those cover stitch machines that does the faux RTW flatlock stitch. I don’t have one so I serged the edges together and any topstitching was done on my regular sewing machine. The seams were mostly sewn on my serger.

Once again when it came time to sewing on the pockets I used the Design Plus fusible web tape from The Sewing Place. It makes it SO much easier to do any sort of topstitching for tabs, pockets, etc when working with knits.

I should also mention the PDF download layers the pattern pieces onto the paper (much like the pattern sheets do) and no seam allowances are included. I actually prefer this as it’s less sheets to tape together and it forces me to trace onto tracing paper rather than take a shortcut and put the paper pieces directly onto the fabric.

Ottobre 5/2012 #11: Women’s V-Neck T-Shirt

Background

Ottobre 5/2012 #11 is a fitted v-neck tshirt with long narrow sleeves and pleats at the bust held in place with a self fabric tab. It comes in sizes 34-52 which is standard for Ottobre.

I had been admiring this pattern ever since I first saw it in 2012!

Materials

Ottobre’s sample was made from a viscose/lycra jersey with 30% stretch. No indication of it was 4-way or 2-way stretch.

I used a very stretchy rayon/lycra jersey from Gorgeous Fabrics.

Fit

I made a size 44 and added 4” to the hips. Based on my previous experience with the two other t-shirt patterns in this issue (which use the same block) I made the next few alterations:

Took in the upper chest 3/8” by doing a narrow shoulder alteration and easing in the back shoulder seam into the front. I feel like the upper chest ran wide on this pattern, but this also could have been my very stretchy fabric.
The length is LONG on this pattern. I shortened the sleeves 1.25” and trimmed off 1.5” from the body hem.
The sleeves were quite tight, especially around the elbow area. If you look at the pattern pieces the sleeve actually curves in at the elbow, instead of going in a straight line. I cut the sleeves in a straight line.

Construction

I love how this top looks, but the construction was a huge pain in the butt.

The neckline is beautiful but it took me several tries to get it right. This fabric is thin and stretchy and wiggly and unforgiving. The pattern doesn’t include markings for the front neckline pleats. You’re supposed to arrange them yourself based on how it fits. I just took a guess and made about five 1/4” wide pleats. I then faced a lot of issues with getting the front tab stitched in place in a way that looked professional and not wonky. I was not going to let it defeat me. I finally got it to work by doing the following:

Interfaced the front tab with a lightweight interfacing.
Once I secured the pleats in place with a row of stitching at the center front, I took a piece of iron-on tear-away stabilized and fused it to the wrong side.
I attached double-sided fusible web to the wrong side of the tab, then fused it to the center of the pleats before stitching.

All three of these steps FINALLY got me an evenly stitched front neckline.

It took me a few tries but I also finally got the v at the front neckline stitched more or less evenly as well.

Ottobre doesn’t give a measurement for the front neckline binding. Based on my fabric stretch I cut it to 85% of the length of the neckline.

Once the front neckline was finished it was super easy to construct the rest of the top. I’ve made all three of the t-shirts in this issue and this is my favorite view, even though construction of the neckline is not the easiest. I love it both worn alone and under my new Ottobre hoodie!