Fleece Thoughts -Plus- Most Fabulous French Onion Soup Ever

From inbox

First, thank you for the comments on my fleece cami. It's nice and warm. Sally had an interesting thought, which made me think. She mentioned that she'd like something that came up higher on the back since her upper back was always chilly. I then wondered why you couldn't use a pattern like Jalie 2568 with fleece. You could make the back neckline higher without too much trouble, although at some point a CB seam, some shoulder darts or other shaping method might be desirable.
You might have to be a little careful of the size you cut, comparing the amount of stretch in your fleece to the amount called for in the pattern, but fleece is pretty stretchy, and I think this could be a real winner. I have an OOP KwikSew pattern that is almost identical that I would use.

Now on to the onion soup. The perfect meal on a cold, cold day.

I have to give all the credit for this to my dear friend Barbara, of Cat Fur Studio. She is many-talented, and also has a cooking blog where I found this. Her method for making Caramelized Onions in the crockpot is fabulous and unbelievably simple. I now make sure I always have some of her caramelized onions at the ready in the fridge at all times. Makes for some wonderful things, and of course real French Onion Soup is not the least of those.

Barbara's Caramelized Onions and French Onion Soup Recipe and one more look at the delicious result.

From inbox

Fleece Camisoles

From Lingerie

Perhaps not the most sexy lingerie item, but when it's below zero with 40mph winds outside, I think most of us are a little more interested in warmth. I am anyway.

I have a fleece camisole that was part of a pajama set I bought a few years ago that I use as a camisole when it's really cold. I've always thought I should copy the idea, and I finally did. I made two. The first one is very plain, with fleece straps, and just hemmed at top and bottom, and was made from a scrap of fleece I had. It was my test version, and I didn't even take a photo of it, I just put it on and wore it.

From Lingerie

The second cami is in a polka-dot fleece I bought with this project in mind. I used a piece of embroidered and scalloped sheer tricot (from my FabricDepot Stretch Lace Valu-Pack) beneath the hem edge, and found some large chenille rickrack in a hot pink that is the perfect strap. The top edge ended up a funny, but intriguing shape because of the way I cut the front and back together. I forgot to cut the front lower in the center after I was done with the double layer, but it is a very interesting look, almost like an Elizabethan corset top, and I like it. It would look cuter with a bow or twist of rickrack where the straps connect, but the chenille rickrack is so ravelly I think I won't bother, and it would make quite a lump under clothing anyway.

From Lingerie

The original has no shaping at all really, and I didn't give this much either, just making a small pleat where the straps attach, and giving it a fairly close fit, making the stretch of the fleece do the work. I love the sheer tricot hem edge and the straps give it a little kick, perfect with polka dots.


I think these are going to go on the list of great Xmas gifts, and my sister-in-law may get one for her birthday much sooner.

It's Cold Outside!

So naturally, I decided I wanted something warmer to wear. Seems like every winter I suddenly get the urge to 'sew warm'. Forget style, etc., just find something to bundle up in. Well, maybe not forget style, but it's not at the top of the list. I found a very cute RTW fleece vest that had a very droopy back on me, since it hadn't had my swayback alteration. (Strange that they didn't do that, isn't it?) I knew I had fleece, and I copied the vest.


Link to First Photo. You may click through them all from here.

Since the back was the problem, I pinned the RTW vest at the waist, taking out about 2 inches in length, and then copied the pattern that way, tapering to the side seam. I used a needlepoint wheel to copy the seamlines, etc. onto pattern paper, marked the pocket placement, then trued my seamlines and that was about it. The original vest had no princess seam, it was simply a row of coverstitching at the pocket placement. I did an actual seam there since it made the pocket easier (I just did an inseam pocket) and because I don't have a coverstitch machine, and I liked the line. My fleece is textured while the original was smooth, so I think an actual seam was necessary to even show up. I also added a CB seam to get the shaping I had put in.





The details are simple.
+ The separating zipper is very basic, with no facing on the inside, as per the original.
+ Hems and armhole edges are simply turned under and stitched.
+ All seams are topstitched. This doesn't show as much on my fleece as the original, but it makes for a nice finish anyway.
+ The collar is interfaced. I didn't want to use a fusible on fleece, so I used a fused suedecloth that I had and didn't use for a previous project. It was nice and sturdy without being stiff, and worked perfectly for this.
+ Each of the pockets forms an interior pocket also, because of the way it's sewn at the sides and bottom but left open at the top. I'm not sure I'm crazy about this, but it might come in handy. I can always go back and sew across the top.



I will say that everything for this project came from my inventory. I even had the perfect 23" separating zipper used in the original. Warm and frugal, that's me!

This is as close a photo as I can find to the original, which was one color, and did not have zipper pockets.