A Recipe and Some Rectangles

Happy Sunday to anyone who happens by :)

I am truly trying to get myself back on track. I have been cooking, and I have been sewing, just not posting. Although I do post everyday on Instagram. Hoping for a good, back on track week this week. Fingers crossed :)

Sunday's are special to me, and I always try and make something good for breakfast. This morning it was my Spinach and Rice Cakes. This is such a versatile recipe. Great for breakfast with poached eggs, and great for dinner with a mushroom sauce. The patties freeze well, so make up a batch, cook what you want, and freeze the rest for another meal. You can find the recipe HERE. When I originally posted them, so many wrote to me and told me how much they love the recipe. Like I said, a favorite of mine too!

I've posted a couple of garments on Instagram that a number of people have found interesting. Both were done for my Fabulous Free Pattern Friday series.

First up is a skirt that I wore yesterday. Such an easy piece to make, and it's so comfortable to wear.

I called this piece the Sweeping Rectangles Skirt as the lower portion of the skirt is 2 rectangles that sweep around the body. You can find the instructions for the skirt, as well as the top I made using this idea HERE. 

The second piece is a fun top. It looks complicated, but it is anything but. I called this piece The Rolling Rectangle Top, as it's really just a rectangle that rolls to the side.

Here the top is laying flat. You'll have to look closely, but it all begins with a rectangle. The neckline is on the left side. Like I said, it looks complicated, but it is not. You can find all the info on making 1 for yourself HERE.

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I'm rather excited as I had an idea for a somewhat new version of vegetarian stuffed bell peppers. When the weather begins to change, I so long for warm, abundantly flavorful food. And anything that requires the oven, all the better! If it's as good as I think it will be, the recipe will be up tomorrow.

I'm off to do a little cooking, and I hope, a little sewing. I've been having the best time with my 1 year challenge. I plan to catch you up on that as well this week.

Happy Sunday!

Hope you have a great day :)

Rhonda

Fabulous Free Pattern Friday

Sweeping Rectangles Jacket

It began with the Sweeping Rectangles Tee.

Moved on to the Sweeping Rectangles Skirt.

Then, the Sweeping Rectangles Dress with Pockets. This is exactly the same as the tee top, just lengthened and pockets added to the contrast panel.

And the final installment in the series is the Sweeping Rectangles Jacket. The jacket is made up of 3 rectangles and it is so very easy to do.

The solid fabric is just a rectangular piece that forms a shrug. The piece that goes around the neck is another rectangle.

 The back view. The third rectangle is the sweeping rectangle portion, which is just another rectangle.

With the piece laying out flat, you see the shrug which is just a tube. With your arms stretched out, measure from one wrist to the other for the length. For the width, measure around your bicep and add at least 2" of ease.

In this picture you can see the rectangle that goes around the back. I used a 60" wide piece of fabric. Once the shrug portion has been sewn, try it on and measure from the bottom of the shrug to your desired back length and then use the full width of the fabric. If you are a little wider in the hips, you may want to put a seam at center back in order for your back panel to provide more room.

The back panel will be sewn across the back of the shrug, across the bottom and will stop at the seam intersection of the sleeve of the shrug. At this point, the remainder of the rectangle will hang free. In our next step we will attach it to the front panel.

The front panel is as I said, just another rectangle. Measure around the opening of the shrug across the neck from one arm seam to the other. Then measure the back panel that is hanging free. This will determine how long the front panel will be. I put a seam in my panel at center back. 

To determine how wide the center front panel should be,try on the shrug and measure from the seam at the armpit to the center of your chest. Double this measurement. So if your measurement from the armpit seam of the shrug to the center of your chest is 12", your front panel will need to be 24" wide. The front panel will be folded in half so that it is finished on both sides. Fold the panel in half and sew it to the back panel portion that is hanging free, across the neck area of the shrug and then down the other side of the back panel that is hanging free.

That's all there is to it!. Very simple and quick to make. Be sure to use a knit fabric as you will need the stretch for the shrug. The neckline rectangle and the back panel could be made out of a lace or any other fabric that has a nice drape.
The jacket can be worn with pants or a skirt. I made a matching skirt which is also just a rectangle with an elastic waist.

Fabulous Free Pattern Friday

Sweeping Rectangles

First came the top version which you saw here.

Then the skirt version that you saw here.

And now the dress version with pockets. I was asked if pockets could be added and the answer is yes. There are 2 ways to add pockets. One method would be to do an in seam pocket on either side of the center front panel, or you can add pockets to the contrast panel like I did.

I wore this out to dinner with a friend last Sunday night and she LOVED the dress. In fact so much so that she will be coming over soon to make one for herself. I like the pockets, but if I were to do it again, I would raise them up about 2", so closer to the waistline. Let me know if you would like for me to do a tutorial on adding the pockets and I will be happy to do so.

Now you see that the method works well with a top, skirt and a dress.
All of the basic instructions can be found here.
I have to do a little bragging. I always love it when someone actually gives one of my ideas a try. This is Jonadele of http://jonadelefashions.blogspot.com/2014/10/rhonda-busss-t-shirt.html
She ran a little short on her fabric, so the lower panel wasn't as long as she would have liked, but she was very happy with the outcome. I think there will be more in her future :) Great job!!!

If you decide to give the top, skirt or dress a try, be sure to let me know so I can brag on you as well!!
This design goes together so quickly. You could make a pile over the weekend ;) Actually, you really could! It's just that easy to do. Good Luck!

Fabulous Free Pattern Friday

Happy Friday Everyone! As promised, here are the instructions for drafting the 

Sweeping Rectangles Skirt

As a review, you can take a look at the instructions I posted for the t-shirt version here.

The principle is exactly the same.

To make the skirt version, you will need,
1. Your hip measurement
2. Your desired length

I did not add ease to my skirt as I wanted a closer fit, but you can add ease to your hip measurement, a maximum of 2" should be fine.
Divide your hip measurement in half and draw a rectangle that is half your hip measurement in width and the length will be the desired length of your skirt. Remember to add a little extra to the length for your elastic waist.

Decide how long you would like the upper back rectangle of the skirt to be. Mine finishes just below my my bottom,

the measurement should be approximately 12". If you are shorter the measurement will be a little less and taller, a little more. But remember, the upper back rectangle can be any length you like. I am just giving you a guide. Draw out your upper back rectangle, the width is half of your hip measurement and the length you have just determined.
Now that you have the upper back rectangle determined, we need to draw in the angled lines on the front of the skirt. The angled line on the front will begin where the upper back rectangle ends.

 The final pattern for the front will look like this.

The 2 rectangles that form the bottom of the skirt are next. The width of the first rectangle is really your choice. Mine is 8" wide. The length will be the measurement from the hem of the angled front up to where the front meets the back, across the back and then down the other side.
For the width of the last rectangle, measure from the bottom of the first rectangle that was attached to the upper back rectangle and then measure down to the hem of the front of the skirt.
The length of this rectangle will be the measurement from one end of the first rectangle to the other end.
And that's all it takes!!
Since this skirt is made out of knit fabric, you can eliminated most of the fullness around the waist. Once the skirt is together, try it on and pinch out the fullness at the waist prior to sewing in the elastic.  This will give you a nice flat finish over your stomach and hips. Check out this post for a tutorial on pinching out the waist and adding the elastic.
I want to do this once more as a dress, so there will be one more addition to the Sweeping Rectangles chapter.
Good luck. Be sure to ask if you have any questions. The skirt is so easy to make. It literally took me an hour from start to finish. Not couture by any means, but lots of fun!
Enjoy!

Fabulous Free Pattern Friday/The Sweeping Rectangles Tee

Before you think I've lost my mind, yes, I know that this is a top, but keep scrolling through and you'll see the rectangles. I'm calling this top,

The Sweeping Rectangles Tee 

The back.

Now you can see the rectangles. The 2 lower panels are rectangles.

The back of the top is short and the front is long.

 To make the top, start with your basic top pattern.

I wanted an angled line so that the front would not be too full. I simply followed the angled side seam line. I did extend the length of my top about 3".

A line was drawn across the back, 2" below the armpit.

The final patterns for the front and the back.

Sew the front and the back together at the shoulders and the side seams. Since the front is much longer than the back, the side seams will not match.

To add the rectangles: 

The first rectangle is 8" wide. For the length, measure from the bottom of the side seam of the front, up along the side, across the back and down the side seam of the opposite side of the front. Sew the rectangle to the front and back of the top. You will need to turn a corner at the underarm seam.

The lower rectangle will be the same length as the previous rectangle. For the width, you will want the back length to correspond to the front. In other words, the back should be as long as the front, so the width of the second rectangle will need to make the length of the back the same length as the front. If this doesn't make sense, please ask and I will try to do a better explanation.

Here you can see how the front angles at the sides. 

The top is so easy to make and super easy and comfortable to wear, so I hope you'll give it a try.