From bored to overwhelmed

So in the last week I've gone from sad and bored and unemployed to overwhelmingly deluged with creative projects.  It started with rebooting my poor, neglected Etsy store (Cherry Lime) and deciding to try out the Alchemy section of the site, just for kicks.  It's a neat feature where potential clients put forth ideas of what they want and artisans bid to make them.  Fun idea.  Of course most shoppers think you can make miracles on walmart prices but those ideas are easily overlooked.  There are, however, the occasional gems.

My first accepted bid was to make a pattern for a loose, single shoulder summer dress for another seamstress.  Fun!

I sketched up some options to see what, exactly she wanted and, in the process, realized I really need to work on my sketching skills.  Oh, well, it at least conveyed the IDEA of what I was going for.

My client went with the wider strap, elastic waist, and full skirt.  We were off!

I decided to try draping.  After all, the Project Runway designers seem to prefer that so it can't be too hard, right?  Apparently my mind doesn't work that way.  After fiddling for too long with it, I gave up and went back to the way I know works - flat pattern drafting from measurements.  I determined how much room I wanted in the bodice, how wide the hem should be, and drew up a tall trapazoid from that. I added a single arm cyc using a mix of a curve of my own body (client and I had very similar measurements) and my already drafted (and 100% mine) jacket pattern.  Extend the shoulder seam the correct amount, add a gentle curve to connect inner shoulder to left side seam, check it all by pinning it up on Elanor (my dress form) and the basic pattern was done! All that was left was the addition of seam and hem allowances, the sewing line for the waist elastic, and basic written instructions.  The pattern was finished in time and hopefully soon I'll get to see how the client interprets it in fabric form.  Can't wait!

I wanted to test it out myself but the style is horrible on me and, frankly, the client wasn't paying nearly enough to do that much work.  Fortunately she knew that and chose to accept the risk.  And I have a new pattern of my very own!

And that was just the start ...

I'm currently sourcing fabric for a second client to make a custom robe and, at the same time, working with a third client to make ten adorable little outfits for her Lady Lovely Locks dolls.  I'm especially excited about that one as those were some of my favorite dolls as a child and I adore making small, beautiful dresses.  That will probably be my largest challenge these coming weeks because small clothes are hard (teensy seams!!) but so, so fun.  The client is giving me a lot of freedom in the design department so it's almost like doing this for my own enjoyment only I get paid.  And I don't get to keep the results - but that's ok.  My favorite part is creating, the finished product is just a nice byproduct.  I'd actually rather have the check.  So what a perfect arrangement!

And, of course, loving the actual INCOME after a summer of fruitless job searching.  This so beats sitting behind a desk!

SWAP 2010 progress and plan

Returning to the blogging world. :)

I'm doing the SWAP again this year and, though I haven't made as much progress as I really should have (spending the first month traveling didn't help - or at least that's my excuse). But I have made some!

My colors are browns and peacock blues and a dash of lilac.  I should probably have a bit more but just doing brown rather than black as my base was stretching enough.  And I apologize for not having a storyboard.  My attempts to photograph my fabrics didn't turn out so well (bad winter light!  bad, bad!) and at this point I figure it's better to just show the finished items anyway.

I finished skirt #1 a long while ago and I've worn it so much it's already showing it just a bit.  Oops.  Still, very happy with it.  It started life as a very ugly long green skirt with buttons up the front and a gathered back waist band.  Not so much my style.  I tossed it in with a packet of Rit dye, disassembled it, then used it as my fabric for my favorite (and sadly out of print) skirt pattern, Simplicity 3754.  I omitted the pockets as I just didn't have enough fabric and just laid the under pocket piece on top of the main front piece and treated them like one.  I did keep one of the patch pockets from the original skirt and sewed it on - I like the reminder of what it once was.  

I have a second skirt in progress again using this pattern (what can I say, it's a great one) from a denim remnant I found at Joann's.  I'm having some unexpected fitting issues but once those are worked out I'll share it.

Also in progress are a cape, a faux two piece dress, and a knit shirt.  I hope to do some serious cutting this evening and get a wool jumper, silk shirt, and rayon shirt all started on.  Then there's the light wool fabric Liccarit gave me that so wants to be a boyfriend cardigan-like jacket.  I think I might use the Lydia wrap pattern I made up a couple years ago as the base and add some darts for fitting.  And change up the collar just a bit.  But change it to what?  Hm.  Must continue pondering.

Fourth of July Skirt

(btw, those are sitting, not fitting, wrinkles. Just to make myself feel better about showing this picture)

New skirt just in time for the 4th! And yes, you'll notice I do go in for themed dressing. :)

The skirt is from the sadly out of print Simplicity 3754 which is my current favorite skirt pattern. It's also my most-used skirt pattern with three different incarnations hanging in my closet. Love!

The fabric is a medium weight cotton that was originally in Joann's home dec section before getting thrown in the remnant bin. Our Joann's seems to have a new policy on what constitutes remnants because out of nowhere the bins showed up and more often then not you can find up to two yards of very nice fabric for 50% off. And when the remnants themselves go on sale it's just happy times for me. This red cotton came home with four other pieces and I think the bill was less than $5. Serious score there. Two of those pieces are "in process" as I finish little details and such so hopefully they'll make their debut soon.

But back to the skirt, it's my sole "mini" skirt (in quotes because I've found what I consider mini is simply short to most people) and a fun skirt to wear. So bright and happy! My only dislike are those criss-cross belt holders - I put them in correctly so it's not an operator error. I'm thinking that they're just drafted too long, especially since this skirt is the recommended fabric weight so they SHOULD be perfect. Oh well.

Beyond that, we had a lazy Sunday that SHOULD have been spent getting the place ready for our evacuation. Oh, well. We'll work on it tonight and I've got tomorrow morning free so it'll get done. And it was a very enjoyable lazy so the time wasn't wasted. :)

Work in progress and an interesting meeting

Here's Elanor modeling my drawstring skirt pattern, version 2.0. I'm trying to work up a beginner-friendly pattern that's easy yet flattering and figure if I get a few nice things to wear in the process then, hey, bonus! It's made up from some rather icky linen from Joann's (that I didn't realize wasn't part of the LINEN SALE!! until AFTER it was cut - grr) that I really should have cut out on the bias rather than straight grain since, as is, it's got all the drape of a feed sack. Oh, well, sew and learn. I have a little over a yard left so trying to decide if I want to add deconstructed ruffles for weight or cut another on the bias (need to check if there's room) or something else so at the moment it's unhemmed. But I do like the shape and it is quite comfy so if it's never anything beyond a test and swimsuit coverup then it's done it's job.

In other news, yesterday I was chatting with my parents who are back in the DC metro and about five topics of conversation in dad mentioned that they had an interesting time last weekend. Apparently they went out golfing and just as they were about to hit the greens (or whatever the appropriate term is for getting started) the whole place went into lock down and men in black with little earbuds were everywhere. See where this is going? A few minutes later Obama walked by, gave my dad a wave and hopefully went on to have a lovely, relaxing day golfing. It was another hour until the security perimeter around him allowed my parents to go on with their game but, hey, they got a story out of it. And I got to tease my staunchly republican dad since he keeps having these sorts of random run-ins with democrat presidents. Never republicans. Just democrats. It amuses me. Mom's only comment was that Obama's shorter than she thought. Just another weekend for them... Life in the DC area, how I miss you!

Sewing Classes!

I've just solidified my Summer sewing class schedule so if you are or know of a Dallas-area beginner or advanced beginner looking for lessons, I've gotcha covered. :)

Classes are $125 for all 6 hours of instruction while micro-classes will be $45. Full-time students get a sympathy discount. :) All classes are held at my apartment (low overhead cost!) near Baylor hospital. Precise directions along with class materials list will be sent out after registering for a class as I'm not so keen on posting my home address online for any to see. Just in case.

If you're interested email me at alicia.marshevans AT gmail.com (replacing "at" with "@" - doing it this way snags up the spambots) and I'll get you signed up!

You should have your own machine though I do have a couple class machines if you need one, whether because yours is too heavy to bring in or you want to take this with your child/parent/spouse/roommate/etc and you only have one between your or whatever. Just know that all classes past 101 have homework and you will need a machine for it!

Classes

101- Learning to Love Your Machine
For beginnings. Learn the basics of threading, tension, and sewing through making a number of small projects.

Session 1 - Mondays, 7-8:30pm, June 22-July13th (4 sessions)
Session 2 - Saturday 10am-1pm, June 27, July 11 (2 sessions)

201 - First Pattern (Apron)
Learn to read a commercial pattern while making a beautiful and practical apron. Cutting and marking will be covered.

Session 1 - Tuesdays/Thursdays, 7pm-8:30, June 30, July 2, 7, and 9th.
Session 2 - Saturdays, 2-5pm, June 27 and July 11

202 - Perfect Fit Pencil Skirt
Learn to fit and sew a pencil skirt that's perfect for your figure. Darts, zippers, facings, and basic drafting will be covered.

Session 1 - Tuesdays/Thursdays, 1pm-2:30pm, June 30, July 2, 7, and 9th.
Session 2 - Wednesday/Fridays 7pm-8:30pm, June 24, 26, July 1, 3rd.

-----
In addition I have some elective classes and micro classes (one session classes) that I'd like to do, if there's interest. Please note if one of these sounds good and if there's a general time that works best for you!

Possible "elective" classes (all need 101 experience - 102 very helpful but not necessary)

Full Classes (meet 4 times over two or four weeks)
- Sewing a maternity skirt (emphasis on making one pattern up in different ways)/maternity wardrobe (top and skirt)
- Sewing a camp shirt (buttonholes, collars)
- Little Black Dress

Microclasses (Meet just 1 time)
- Next Step Techniques - setting in sleeves, darts, zippers, and different hems
- Mending
- Fabrics - different properties, choosing the right one for a project, intro to knits, etc.
- Sew a Knit Top - it's really easier than you think!

Two new garments from May

The end of May I participated in the Wardrobe in a Week contest and, while I didn't finish all I'd planned, I did get two garments out of it and that's two more than I had before!

Here's the outfit together...



The dress is from McCall'ss 5576 and this is my second time making it. The first time I went by my measurements and sewed a 14 - yeah, shouldn't have. The only fitted part is the shoulders/neckline and I'm really a size 8/10 at that point. So for the first version the neckline was huge. I pulled it in through the back (the only place I really could) and while it now looks alright it cuts into my arms if I've got less than perfect posture. So for this version I went with a size ten grading to 12 at the hips and it's MUCH better. Moral - flat measure, pinfit, or make a muslin, just check before cutting!

The fabric is pure linen with border embroidery bought at my wonderful little local Joann's.



I made a few alterations for this version - first I changed the cutting layout so I could take advantage of the fabric's border print. Second, instead of gathering the neckline I took advantage of the fabric's linen crispness and sewed little darts, topstitching them to help them hold and to give a little added visual depth.



I also made the dress sleeveless. This must be the ONLY dress in McCall's arsenal that's doesn't have a sleeveless option - usually the problem is finding a dress WITH sleeves. The dress, in it's natural, sleeved state has a high armhole so I didn't have to modify that at all. I just redrew the facings to include the armcyc and sewed up as usual with this configuration. I had planned on putting a side zipper in but the dress slips on without any opening needed so I just ditched it altogether. I prefer having the zipper in the side rather than the back but I prefer not having to deal with a zipper at all, if possible. So there you have it, one summer dress/jumper!



The top is from my TNT knit top pattern, an out of print Butterick that's no longer on their site. Sad! I snatched the sleeve from Simplicity 4076. I used the flared sleeve, folded out some of the flare, then gathered into a band that's just a little larger than my bicep. I also gathered the neckline to match the sleeve. I like how it worked out. :)



Anyway, hope to have more to show you soon - tonight is DH's guys' night so I've got the place to myself and I plan to use it to sew along to all the music that annoys him. :)

Back in the game!

I live!

After the craziness of finals and finishing up the SWAP I just needed a little vacation and took it, as much as I could, last week. Now I'm back and keeping busy. Whipped up a ton of little rice and flaxseed heat packs for the shop as well as some nice little cases for them and have a few robes in process. But that's boring work stuff. For myself I'm participating in the Stitcher's Guild's Wardrobe in a Week sew along starting ... today? Yesterday? Now-ish, either way. The idea is to whip up four garments that form a little mini capsule. I want to start on a summer addition to my SWAP stuff, with the end goal of getting ready for the trip to florida we're taking with the in-laws later this summer. We'll be doing the standard sight-seeing, beaches, and snorkling. Or at least everyone else will do all that - last time I went snorkling I nearly drowned. And since I was in the "learn to snorkle" pool at Disney World it was rather embarrasing. Five year olds were flippering past me as I clung to a rock trying to breath. The problem's the mask - I breath with my nose, not my mouth, and that led to a string of errors that wound up with me almost needing the cute young lifeguard to come out and rescue me.

Come to think of it, I should have let him. Hm.

Anyway, plan is to make up three florida worthy pieces and one piece that needs ironing so no traveling but I need in my life here.



Plan:
- Black drawstring skirt - mostly self-drafted by this point. It's in the background, being drafted.
- Black linen/poly sleeveless dress, with the white embroidered flowers at the hem. I think I'll add some more white details at the top... have to see what it needs. Anyway, cut out, will sew later this weekend.
- Blue TNT knit shirt from my old favorite, Butterick 3344. I'm playing with the sleeves on this one and cut out little bishop sleeves to see how I like them.
- Blue button-up shirt. I haven't cut yet but think I'll use Butterick 4985. A little labor intensive but if it takes longer than a week then that's ok.

Anyway, that's what I've been up to. It's great to be back!

Also, I'm starting up summer sewing classes. If anyone in the Dallas area is interested please shout and I'll send you details.

Award and A Fun Green Skirt

Thank you Sarah for the Kreative Blog award! I'll do some indepth research this afternoon finding out if any of you creative bloggers hasn't gotten one yet and pass it on. :)




In other news, I got piece #4 of my SWAP finished! Just ... 7 more pieces to go. Gulp. Don't think about it, just keep pressing on... And fortunately the last bunch (save for the pesky jacket) should be easy. Knit yoga pants, another skirt from this pattern, a couple more cowlneck sweaters, and a handful of quick knit shirts should do it.

Anyway, the skirt.



(review copied wholesale from my Pattern Review review.)

From Simplicity 3754



Pattern Description:
A set of denim-style skirts with narrow and flared options. Different lengths and trim make the pattern very versatile.

Pattern Sizing:
True to size! Yay, simplicity!

I measure a 14 but have learned to beware of the Big 4's assumption that I like ten inches of ease in fitted stuff and so traced and pinfitted a 12. It was just this side of snug (meaning that, amazingly enough, this pattern seems to run true to size!) so I went with it but sewed 3/8" side seams, effectively giving myself an extra inch. I also, during the pinfitting stage, pinched out a bit from the back waistband and skirt and, from that, redrafted the back waistband to be a little smaller and added darts to the bottom back of the skirt, all to account for my swayback.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes it did! I found it to be a very cute, very well designed pattern. Great job, simplicity! Granted, I would have liked to see approximate lengths of the skirts, instead of the line drawings they have with no point of reference. Ah, well, can't have everything.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes, though I tended to just use them when doing something I'd never done before. Like the faux fly front. Tip: bypass their faux way of doing it and just do it the right way. I've never put in an actual fly front but I've been told it's very easy, especially when using Sandra Benzine's (did I spell that right? Credit the right person?) method. I'll do that next time since the faux fly, while looking right, feels very odd when I'm zipping it. Like I short-sheeted my zipper opening.

Another tip: the belt carriers are not too long. They look it when you just lay them flat on the waist band and they overlap by a good 1/2". That's because they need to puff out a bit to hold the belt. Lesson learned. I'll need to do a little deconstruction and fixing to get that right. My excuse - it was 2:30 in the morning when I got to that step. I'm just thankful my finger isn't a part of this skirt.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
Great fit and style and comes together very quickly. A lot of look for a low investment. LOVE the deep pockets, very handy! And the little criss-cross belt carriers are a great detail. Dislike? The faux fly front. That's really it, everything else was and is great! Oh, and for those not sewing on an all-metal workhorse, this does have you sewing through (pauses to count) 8 layers of material at two points. My lovely vintage Singer slant-o-matic handled it without slowing down but I know my previous machine would have gone on strike, especially with this thick corduroy.

Fabric Used:
Chunky cotton corduroy from Joann's. Not the highest quality but a great, bright color and not something I was going to cry too hard over if it didn't work out.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
The pattern has you use the body fabric for all of the pattern but that would have been major bulk with this material, so I cut the pocket lining and facings out of a gorgeous bright pink and green paisley cotton. You can't see it when I wear the skirt but I know it's there and it makes me happy. I omitted the bias binding on the pocket edge - no need - and understitched and topstitched at every opportunity. For just a few minutes investment it adds a great finished look to the garment. Beyond that (and adding the back dart as described many sections ago), I actually left the pattern alone. Strange for me.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
In a heartbeat! This was piece #4 for the SWAP I'm working on and I still have another two bottoms to go. I'm seriously considering making this up in a longer version from some tropical weight wool I have. Very flattering, very fast to throw together (4 hours from pulling out the pattern to wearing it and that includes the 45 minutes of messing up the zipper three separate times - it'll be faster next time) and very wearable.

Conclusion:
What more can I say? It's a great, great pattern! Unfortunately Simplicity's website says it's out of print so Ebay or an understaffed Joann's might be your best bet for picking it up. Seriously what's with discontinuing such a great pattern? Ah, well, just means I'll have to keep up my habit of hording them at pattern sales.

Vampire slayer: in progress

My vampire slayer costume is coming together fairly nicely. I spent most of yesterday tracing, cutting, and sewing (and making a huge, huge mess) and it's starting to look like a real outfit.



The shirt is some basic butterick knit shirt pattern with that fun semi-mandarin collar drafted on. It's Joann's fabulous panne velvet which remains one of my favorite fabrics for costumes. It looks so much richer than it really is and it's fantastic to sew with. Since panne velvet is pretty drapey, I underlined it with a nice workout wear weight black knit, bought years ago at Golden D'or. The collar still doesn't stand up like I want it to so I need to experiment with some interfacing. More excuses to play with fabric!

The overvest is from Simplicity 3618 and a flat measuring of the tissue pieces showed me that Simplicity, as per usual, decided the pattern needed four or five inches of ease. Because a corset is all about being loose and unsupportive. Sigh. I cut out size 6 for the back and 8 for the front and it looks just about right. I need to finish feather-stitching the seams (my machine started giving me trouble at 10 last night so I took that as a cue to put things down for the evening) and then I can sew on the lining and figure out what I want to do for the closures. The pattern calls for lacing but putting grommets in this heavy of fabric seems like a special form of torture. I was thinking about getting some buckles, ala Anna from Van Helsing. I'm a little worried about the fit of those straps. They seem alright on me but it's not exactly easy to check the fit on oneself without seams or closures and no way to pin the garment without leaving holes. Oh well. Worst case my seamripper will get a good workout.

So anyway, finishing up the corset is this afternoon's and tomorrow's task and then it's on to the pencil skirt! I'm dragging my feet on that because the fabric I'm using is just so lovely and irreplaceable that I'm having trouble cutting into it. Yes, the skirt will be wearable in my daily life and yes, I've made sure the pattern is as perfect as possible, but it's still hard to commit. Sigh.

On the cutting table: Burda 7895

The first item for my 4-piece mini wardrobe is cut out and started on! My cold is still fighting for control so it was slow going but I knew if I didn't do SOMETHING creative I'd go crazy so, well, the skirt got cut out. I didn't have as much fabric as the pattern called for but some creative rearranging made it all fit. However after making up the lining I have a new respect for Burda's sizing - I measured myself a little more snuggly than I had in the past, saw I was a 12 by those snug measurements, cut out a 12 ... and have a snug lining. Hm. So unlike the Big4's standard, when they say a 12 fits a 36" hip they aren't kidding around. I plan on sewing with 3/8" seams and hopefully that'll give me enough extra room to keep it from looking and feeling too painted on. Of course, I AM making this out of faux suede so maybe sexy is impossible to avoid. Worst case I might be able to squeeze out two more back sides from my remaining fabric. We'll see! Another worst case is that only DH gets to see it on me and, if you ask him, that's a best case. :) So win-win.

August Wardrobe Plan

It's way past my bedtime so I'll save all the details until tomorrow - for now here's a peek at my super-secret planning board. :)

More videos!

Another couple videos - these were filmed yesterday but took FOREVER to format and upload. Well, ok, 24 hours isn't forever. But it feels like it when dealing with computers. :)

Machine Basics 1 - Identifying some key parts of the machine


Machine Basics 1, extended edition - Identifying some key parts on other machines

Vacation and sewing fun

I'll be vacationing far away from the internet (and cable, and, just possibly, cell phone towers) for the next week so this blog will go into silence mode for that time.

To tide you over, here's some pics of what's I've been up to!


Some bags I've made. The far left one, the yellow and red one, is a padded laptop bag. The rest are green grocery bags. Lots of fun and very easy to make!


The two most green grocery bags ready for transport. The green flower one folds up into it's handy pouch while the solid green one rolls and gets tied up. I prefer the pouch personally but I wanted to experiment a bit.



More coasters, this time in fuzzy mode! The lighting's bad right now so I'll have to make it up with better pictures later. The blue one is showing that the blue felt isn't inheritantly tacky, it's just tacky when I try to pair it with red and white, like the previous coasters. I wound up googling wedding colors and got a truck load of ideas of what colors actually look good with others. This blue with lime green coaster was a result. And the green lime thread is serious stash - it's on a wooden spool and cost 30c when new. I assume that was whenever this color was last in vogue. But it's still strong and it's not like any important seams are depending on it! The brown coasters were me FINALLY trying to sew on a beginner's level (I never was any good at that, even as a beginner. Which is why I have so many ... interesting ... things ... as relics of that time) and just doing straight lines across the felt. I really like how they look. They're best when the straight lines are done with a slight zig-zag stitch for definition but even at their most basic they're nice. Good to know!

And, in other news, I finally have a sewing class ready to start up! It'll begin a week after we get back. So much to do!

Playing with my machine

After years of avoiding any sort of embroidery on my machine, I decided to give it a go. I've been making up samples of projects for the sewing class I'm teaching (staring in just a few weeks!) and our first project will be simple little drink coasters made from felt. Theirs won't look like these - at least I don't expect them to.  We'll start with straight lines.  I made up a handful of samples with just the straight lines and I like them - but these are the ones that caught my camera's attention.  :)

These were made with two pieces of felt, one red, one brown.  I put brown thread in the bobbin, red in the needle, and then followed the pictures I'd sketched in the felt.  More or less - the marking pen didn't show up very well so a good amount of it was freehand.  The tapering lines you can see in each coaster were formed by sewing along as I narrowed the stitch width.  Somehow the combination of guiding the fabric with the left hand while turning a dial with my right made me feel so very coordinated.  It's a rare feeling for me so I enjoyed it!

I did the border last, though maybe I should have done it first.  Will try next time.  Anyway, the cheap felt tended to stretch and skew due to all the dense stitches so I finished off by sewing the borders then trimming off a good 1/4" from the edges.  Anyway, this was a fun little project that whipped up quickly.  Hm.  Wonder if I could make coasters for my aunt's birthday present?  Wonder what she'd like ... 

A Tale of Two Robes

I thought I'd show off two of the robes I've made from the same pattern. It's amazing how much the fabric changes the look. The pattern is, by this point, practically self-drafted. I think I started with McCall's 2940 but hated how massive it was. There's roomy and comfortable and then there's being consumed by fabric. Even the small was too large to move in. So I began changing it. I narrowed it about 4" at each shoulder, redrafted the armcyc to fit a little more closely, redrafted the sleeve cap to fit, flared a bit at the waist, and shortened it to hip length. And that was the first round of changes. I think I made more after that but before the blue robe was made. So, yeah, I consider it "my" pattern by this point. I figure I've earned it!

Blue Robe

I love this robe. It was originally inteded to be a bridal shower gift for a friend but I finished a little late and we haven't gotten together since. I got married a few months after she did and she bought me some stuff as well and, since we haven't been in the same place at the same time, we both decided to just keep the gifts we would have given to each other. Odd, but it works. :) And I've been wearing this robe to bits! It's fantastic for throwing over a pair of pants and a cami. It's nice enough that I could wear it out but super, super comfortable. I let my DH cut out the tie and it turned out far shorter than it's supposed to be. This is why he plays with computer code rather than wood working or sewing or anything else that requires measurements. :) Still, it works well enough that I haven't felt the need to recut it. Lazy, me? But anyway, LOVE this robe. Need to make more. Many more. And it sewed up in less than an hour thanks to serging all the seams. Gotta love that.

M's Robe

This robe was fun to make because I really got to let the fabric influence the design. Because it had a directional cross-grain weave and decorated borders I tried to make the most of it. The main pieces were cut with the bottom edge on the selvedge. Technically this affected the curve of the hem, making it straight, but the pattern's curve was already so slight that you can't tell. Due to a cutting error the long sleeves became elbow-length. I could have recut them but decided the shorter sleeve looks so good that I wanted to keep it. The sleeve cuffs are cut from the border and give a good weight to the sleeve. The neck band shows off the "wrong" side of the fabric. The belt is similarly made with the "wrong" side out but the border weave makes it hard to see in the picture. Ah, well. It was stunning in real life, if I may say so!

It took something along the order of 18 HOURS to sew this because I (a) had the bright idea to flat fell the seams which took forever and looked so bad I had to seam rip and redo them and (b) because SO MUCH of it was hand-sewn. I wanted it to be so beautiful on the inside that you could wear it inside out if you wanted. Part of doing that meant hand-sewing the band to the inside, stitch by TINY stitch. After seam-ripping my first (machine) attempt. I also blind-hemmed the hem. On the good side, I'm a far better hemmer now! By the end I was really enjoying the process. There's something very peaceful about hand-sewing and now I might be a little addicted. We'll see how long that lasts. :)



I really enjoyed making both gowns and have plans for yet another one in the works. I'll be sure to show it off when I get it made up!

Finished! Finally!

After roughly 18 hours of work, the robe for one of my friends is finally done! I'll talk about it more tomorrow (or Friday, or...) but here's a preview. I'm proud of it. :)

Next on the Sewing Agenda

Pretty!

I have a lot of things I SHOULD make but this would just be pure joy to try. It's Susan's "farewell to Narnia" dress from Prince Caspian, coming out on May 15th. I just love the look of the dress ... or at least the look of the top. Unfortunately this is the only picture of this dress so everything below the elbow is a mystery. There's a lot of chatter over on Narniaweb.com about the skirt and lower sleeves and really, any of the guesses could be right.

My guess? Look on.



Yes, it's a bit Pirates of the Carribean extra-ish, but I suspect it'll look better when made up in bright, crisp fabrics. I'm working on some technical sketches and such and will get back soon (really!) with some progress!

Sewing Videos Online

Just thought I'd start putting all those videos I find online into a neatly organized section on the blog so I (and others!) can find them again. Because it's so annoying to spend 20 minuets googling that video when all you remember about it was that it was about sewing and absolutely fabulous.

Singer Sewing Company quicktime videos. - Lots of short videos on how to use their feet. Since one manufacturer's feet look like another's, useful to anyone who has a machine.

Threads Videos - Quicktime and Realtime. Good videos on pressing (by GorgeousThings!), a tour of a fabric store, knit neckline bindings, and a video showing Pancho Martinez do amazing embroidery with just a zigzag machine. It's not something I'll be doing any time soon (especially after watching how close his fingers get to that unguarded needle!!) but it's pure inspiration and eye candy.

That's it for now, I'll get more up later!

McCall's Spring Preview - What's Hot, What's Not

Not Hot
Starting out with what's Not because it's just so much more fun that way...

M5578


This dress is giving me bad flashbacks to fourth grade. Baggy top, gathered knit skirt, and buttons in the back? And those horribly placed pockets? Trust me, it wasn't particularly attractive on a fourth grader in the early nineties and it's no better on a grown woman. Worse, actually. I'm pretty certain that this dress is specifically designed to make a woman look her absolute dowdiest. Yes, those longer sleeves are kinda cute. Do yourself and all who look at you a favor and morph them onto a better bodice. The world will thank you.

M5577


The purple line drawing doesn't look so bad ... but that's only if you can tear yourself away from the train wreck of the blue jumper to look. Seriously, could the proportions look any worse? That tiny top with the child-carrying pockets just looks off. Granted, it's the kind of look you can envision seeing during Project Runway ... but it's usually the result of too little sewing time, a bad choice of fabric, and strange materials. We don't have that excuse. If, for some reason, you just HAVE to have a jumper like this then take your cue from the purple girl - wear it with a full shirt, use drapey fabric (maybe even a lush silk knit) and DON'T USE THOSE POCKETS! Put discrete ones in the side seams, if you like but please, by all that's holy, run from those horrible ones. They give all pockets a bad name.

M5588


This one isn't terrible ... it's just not good, either. The proportions with that neckline just seem very, very off. It looks like it's both engulfing and binding the poor model. Not exactly the look I go for when I get dressed each day.

M5565


The absolute, no doubt, unarguable worst of the bunch. It screams Happy Hands at Home in a way that makes one flinch from sewing. It's giving a tiny model thunder thighs. It looks like a maternity outfit made by a sweet aunt who only bought her fabric on sale ... back in the 70s. It's got those horrid thick fabric straps that only show up in bad sewing patterns and those oddly placed buttons that just feel so wrong. From top to bottom it's just so completely ick. Congrats, pattern, you've won top price at worst pattern of the season.

Hot
Moving on to happier grounds, the best of the bunch. Honestly, this was really difficult. There were so many patterns in this batch that I really like and would love to comment on. However, these are the five that I finally settled on as my absolute favorites. Enjoy!

M5576


It's a sack dress that also has shape - beautiful! And I love the use of the silver fabric and the totally mod gems on the green. Just too cute. And how can you not love a pattern that says, under notions, that it requires "purchased plastic or acrylic stones to creatively embellish motifs within the fabric for dress B or front yoke on dress C."

M5575


What a hot little tunic. I've got a similar one that I've been wearing to death over a pair of simple black pants. No leggings for these legs. It's worked really well, I get a number of compliments on it and it really is slimming. I'm not sure how since empire waists and mid-thigh tunics are usually my kriptonite, but it is. I might pick up this top and try and repeat the previous one's success. With a cami underneath - that's a pretty impressive v there.

M5590


This is a basic that NEEDS to be in your collection this year. High waisted pencil skirts are back with a vengeance and this is the perfect template for a lot of very stylish creativity. Added bonus - once you've got this pattern fitted for your figure it's an easy trim away from being a perfectly fitted regular-waist skirt. Since I hate the fitting step I'm all for that.

M5597


Look at that jacket. Look at it! Is that not an instant trip in time to the suits of the 30s and 40s with their small but fantastic details? Despite not having any need for the suit jackets I already have, I'm feeling a need for this one. Just wearing it is instant glamor. A definite must have for my pattern collection.

M5584


There were a lot of great patterns but this one is the one that I fall in love with a little more with each look. It's so retro modern, so over the top glamorous, that I can't stop thinking about it. Logically I shouldn't even consider it - I'm a curvy hour glass that should, by all the rule books, stick with close fitting silhouettes. Yet I keep wanting to float around in a deep olive green satin version of view C with black tulle poking out beneath and thin gold and silver celtic knots embroidered around the top band. I'm very seriously considering making it up for a wedding we're going to tomorrow evening. After all, with as little fitting as this dress has, it can't be all that difficult to make. And it would feel so very glamorous. Maybe with a little black velvet bolero ... I'm sold.

Monday - Weekend Report (just a little late)

Sorry, I realized after I got in bed last night that I'd forgotten that I'd forgotten to do my Monday report. Granted, it's not like I have much to report anyway, so it wasn't like you were missing much ... but still, I like keeping deadlines. Especially self-appointed ones.

So what did I do this weekend?

Not all that much. As far as fabric and thread goes, it was all just mending and alterating, my two least favorite parts of sewing. My hubby needed his new cassock's hem shortened by a good three inches (not a standard alteration for my 6'1" husband - I'm not sure what giant they designed this thing for) and then he popped a button on his pants so that got sewn back on. So things that needed to get done but nothing really fun and nothing for me. This was mostly due to how full Sunday suddenly became - we went out to lunch with friends from Church, kept chatting until mid afternoon, and then were invited over to our neighbors' apartment for dinner. And, because we forgot to reset our kitchen clocks for daylight savings time, we showed up an hour early. It turned out great because that gave us more time to chat but when it was all said and done we had a whole two hours at most at home that day. Not enough to get started on sewing, not when a warm bath was calling. So for my first weekend report I get to report very, very little. Next time I hope will be far better!