Stay Fancy: 5 out of 4 Patterns Nora Bolero Pattern

Life is a party.  Dress Like it. 

5 out of 4's newest pattern - the Nora Bolero - is a quick and easy fancy sew.

In my office, it's freezing. At home, it's freezing - I'm just always cold.  So layering is a must. 

But sometimes a cardigan or hoodie just don't make me feel fancy enough.  But a bolero - it does! 

This bolero includes:
- Lined or unlined versions
- Banded or non-banded finish for hems
- Short dolman sleeve, elbow, 3/4, or long sleeves

The Nora is a relatively quick sew - you can easily whip one up in under an hour - quicker than a load of laundry! 

The instructions are simple to follow (two pages for either version!), and the 5 out of 4 Facebook Group peeps can always assist if you get confused

As you can see, the bolero works for a fancy dress and sexy knee highs, or just a casual day around town. 

I opted for the 3/4 length sleeve unlined version, and I love it! 
The front sits at my bust, and actually stays put - pattern drafting at its best!

The back sits well on my shoulders, and there's no weird bulges. 

I opted to not grade from my bust - normally I grade from Small bust to Large Waist/Hips for 5 out of 4 patterns, however, I found grading was unnecessary with the Nora, as it's more of a bust hugger and just touches my natural waist.

I paired my fancy-looking Bolero with the Virginia Dress (which of course, has pockets!), and it works quite well.

The armcycle is so nice - not too loose or tight - sometimes my biceps are just too darned big for sleeves and there's a 50/50 chance I need to do a bicep adjustment on the pattern piece. 

The sleeves on the Nora are meant to be a bit looser - so if you do prefer a tighter sleeve, you can certainly take 1/4" or so off to accommodate this preference.



My main floral fabric is Liverpool from Water Tower Textiles - it was on sale due to some sort of flaw in the pattern....I still have yet to find the flaws, and scored a good 40% off both times I ordered it! 


The band is from an Etsy fail - some sort of weird wrap around lingerie spandex thing that I could never figure out.  But the fabric is nice and soft - and made the perfect band!

Overall, I can't wait until I have time to make more Boleros - like a long sleeved for the office from sweater knit, and a nice cotton lycra for the summer to hide my shoulders from the sun, but keep me aerated throughout my core.

Arrrr, Me Mateys! Patterns for Pirates - my Intro to Moderm Day Sewing Patterns

So (or Sew - ha ha!). January 2017, I was tired of my nylons tearing after half a use, and tights are difficult to find that:

a) Don't cost an arm and a leg for what they are

b) Don't cause extreme Muffin Top

I decided leggings would be a long lasting option.

But apparently in the middle of the Winter in Canada, Leggings aren't available in 12 of the zillion stores I looked in during a few lunch hours.

That on top of not being able to find more than 2 plain tunics to wear underneath work and t-shirts that have shrunk up over the last years, shopping for any kind of clothing was proving to be futile.

Pants shopping alone is the most depressing thing I do - and I only do it when I've worn through all but one or two pairs of wearable pants. I have very little choice, and only the Rickis' ridiculous priced pants and the Gap's Curvy jeans fit me without making my legs look like squished sausages, or like the waist band needs its own postal code it's so darn big!

So. 

I started looking at those online leggings shops - Sweet Legs, Mayberrys, Lotus Leggings, and more. the pricing was pretty much the same for all these companies, and what I was taken with were the patterns!

SO MANY PATTERNS!

Then I thought..."Hey Crystal, you should make leggings - you have a good sewing machine."

And that was the beginning of the end.

I discovered Facebook groups for patterns & fabrics, and that was that.

The first Facebook Group I joined was Patterns for Pirates where I discovered Peglegs!.

I love pirates, and Peglegs is a cool name, so I decided that would be my first pair of leggings. 

I had some stretchy thin fabric of sorts I bought a boatload of when Fabricland in town closed down, so tested out my first leggings with that, so I didn't screw up with the beautiful Black Rabbit fabric I ordered from British Columbia.

Black Rabbit Fabrics - I used the two bottom left Black & Teal striped fabrics for leggings!

First step was printing out the pattern - patterns these days all seem to be PDF's, and you print them out at home (or any printing place), stick them together with tape like a puzzle, and cut out the pattern! 　

There is a layout on one of the instruction pages, so you don't have to be good at puzzles - just matching numbers. If you can't match numbers, go back to school and try again.　

The Peglegs pattern has a sizing guide, and I fit between two sizes, thus I created a gentle line from one size to the next to make it look natural, hoping I measured right and that they would fit without giving me camel toe or have any unsightly bulges. 　

The pattern also indicates the most suitable fabrics - and the Facebook Group has a lot of support and help from the pattern maker and those of us who love P4P patterns and have flubbed so future people don't have to!　

It took me less than two hours to cut the fabric and finish my first pair of leggings. They were slightly snug at the waist, I had to redo the waistband twice before I got it right. I ended up switching the waistband fabric to my newly arrived Black Rabbit 95% Cotton/5% Lycra fabric, and it gave the stretch and support the band required. 　

Due to the thin fabric, these are perfect for underneath dresses and skirts - I wouldn't wear them out as leggings pants, even with a tunic length top.　

 

Ta da!

 

 

So, learning from me:　

a) Follow the directions. Don't deviate unless you have experience with the pattern and are good at knowing how things will fit together. 　

b) Have the right fabric for the right fit and piece you are sewing. 　

c) Leggings are freaking simple to make! And SO comfortable. I now live in them outside of work. I have been assimilated.　

Thank goodness I work from home Fridays now, as I can now wear leggings instead of Jeans, which are not leggings. 　

I had NO idea how many variations of fabrics there were beyond 100% cotton. 　

I never really cared before. 　


Despite some roller coasting with my first real-live wardrobe piece, it began my disdain for unfit store-bought clothing, and love for fabrics and unique patterns that I could MAKE fit my body in a good way. 　

My enjoyment for the pattern, the ease to which it was written, and being jealous of the nice Cocoon Cardigan - SO me, and so pretty. 　

That's another day and another blog!