Invisible Flower

Renfrews, Renfrews, Renfrews!

2012-03-04T16:29:00.002-08:00

Folks, I have a new favorite pattern. And it's not a 1950s dress or a even a full, flouncy skirt (though I do love those things!) I'd ask you to guess, but you already read the post title. Yes, it's the new Sewaholic Renfrew. I've already made it four times, and I could make a million more.

Typically I wear a lot of sleeveless knit tops (usually under cardigans or hoodies) because finding a knit top with sleeves that fit can be a bit of a challenge. I don't think I truly understood the problem, though, until I tried on my first Renfrew. The sleeves fit. The armholes are the right size, and in the right place. When I raise my arm, the shirt doesn't hike up to my ribcage. It's awesome.

My first attempt was the cowl-necked version (with short sleeves ... maybe a bit strange!) It's not perfect, because the fabric I chose was not quite drape-y enough for the cowl, and because I second-guessed the pattern and made it longer and a little wider at the bottom -- I always have problems with shirts being too short and/or riding up. (And, when do you not have to adjust a pattern, right??) After I had it together, I realized my mistake and took out the two inches I added to the length, but the bottom band's still a bit loose.

Yeah, I still hate photographing myself ... but it's a lot easier to see what a garment looks like on its intended wearer, so I did my best! Incidentally, the jeans shown here are my favorites ... Gap wide-legs circa 2008. They're about to wear through in the seat, so I have to savor their last few outings!

I made a scoop-neck next, with the 3/4 sleeves. I used a lovely remnant I got from JoAnn's a couple of years ago: there was just enough to squeeze this project out. This time I made the size 4 straight out of the envelope, with the only change being making the scoop a hair less deep in front. (I should have shortened the neckband slightly as well, but it was such a minor change it was okay.) This time around, it came out pretty much perfect! The instructions are very easy to follow, and I was able to sew the seams on my sewing machine. I chose to finish the seam allowances with the serger, because apparently if I can find a way to make a project take longer, I will do it. Even so, I can finish one of these tops from cutting out to final stitch in under 2 and a half hours, which is lightning fast for yours truly. A few minor things I did differently than the instructions were using fusible stay tape to stabilize the shoulder seams instead of twill tape, and sewing down the shoulder seams in the same way that the instructions have you do for the neck seam.

My third Renfrew is also a 3/4 sleeve scoop-neck, but this time the material used was extra recruiting t-shirts from my job. I love me a good floppy t-shirt for sleeping in or relaxing on the weekend, but at work it makes me feel like a slob, and sometimes we wear these shirts when we're representin' for the company. I took the front and back of the top from one shirt, the sleeves from another, and the neck and waist band from a third, so it was a bit wasteful of shirts, but I think the final result was worth it!

Renfrew number four is a cowl-neck with 3/4 sleeves, made from a lightweight striped rayon knit ordered from fabric.com last week specifically for this purpose. Wow have I not mastered getting stripes straight: the sad thing is, I did try! The bottom band looks the worst, but that's partly because I sewed it on wrong the first time and had to pick it off and re-do. I don't feel too bad about it, as this was clearance fabric and I don't expect it to be super durable anyhow. It arrived with a rip and a hole in it already, in fact. Like it was trying to warn me or something. Anyhow, this lightweight fabric was just the thing for the cowl neck, and it drapes very nicely.

I see a fleet of scoop-neck Renfrews in my future, plus several more cowl-necks. I'm not a big v-neck wearer, and with it being effectively Spring already here on the Gulf Coast, I may not do a long-sleeve version anytime soon. I love thinking of all the variations one could do: like using a contrasting color for the neck, arm and waist band, and I've thought about a cowl-neck version where the neck part is made from a drape-y knit while the body's made from a sturdier cotton knit -- kind of a shirt-under a shirt look. I'd love to see a tie-neck version or (ooh, ooh!) a hooded version. Not sure I have the drafting skillz for those, but who knows, I may try it one day! But for now, I'm going to let the Renfrew pattern cool off for a bit and move onto something else.

Winners, winners, winners!

2012-03-03T07:18:00.001-08:00

Here comes one those posts I stuffed with Random.org screenshots that I warned you about. We have winners for the 8th through 13th giveaways! Everyone's been contacted directly as well.

The winner of giveaway #8 is Gail (who also won #7)!

The winner of giveaway #9 is Fraulein To You! (I sent an email ... hopefully to the right address ...)

The winner of giveaway #10 is Renee G!

The winner of giveaway #11 is CarmencitaB (who also won #6)! This was the least popular group, it seems, with only two entries! But you gotta like those odds. :)

The winner of giveaway #12 is KittyMeow! This was the most popular one so far.

And finally ... the winner of giveaway #13 is Njeri!

As of now, things look good for mailing out patterns Monday morning, for everyone whose address I have by then.

And guess what -- I am a winner too ... because I have an awesome friend! Who mailed me a 22 POUND box of loaded with fabric goodies from California! Look at all this fabric from Ikea, waiting to be transformed into skirts:

There were also two already-made skirts with awesome tulle underskirts! Possibly I should have ironed them before taking pictures: it looks like the USPS has had its way with them. I love the tone-on-tone mini-stripe of the fabric, and I will have to steal the underskirt idea for my own sewing projects.

A big box of knit fabrics also arrived this week from fabric.com. I'm swimming in fabric (and I'm not complaining! Not at all!) I've also been cleaning out my husband's closet ... not at all altruistically, I might add. More on that later!

Pattern giveaway #18: all dressed up in dreams

2012-02-29T18:36:00.000-08:00

Here it is -- your final giveaway, on Leap Day, no less! I stole the title for this group from a song I like. (Anyone know it?) I do think that sewing from vintage patterns is a bit like dressing up in dreams. And the publication dates for this group span my favorite era for vintage, the 50s through the early 60s.

I confess that I have fallen a bit behind in choosing winners -- it has been a busy week! I'll try to catch up tomorrow. Anyhow, if you like this group, please leave a comment on this post by Wednesday, March 7.

1954

1952

1958

1963

Pattern giveaway #17: petite mail order patterns

2012-02-28T18:26:00.001-08:00

I love mail order patterns: somehow those line drawings seem ripe with possibility. However, I have not had great luck "un-petiting" petite patterns, so I think these will be better off in someone else's collection. If you would like that collection to be yours, please comment by Tuesday, March 6.

Pattern giveaway #16: dipping a toe into the 70s

2012-02-27T20:29:00.001-08:00

I mailed giveaways three through seven this morning, so if one of them is yours, be on the lookout later in the week! Now, on to giveaway number 16, which dips into my late 60s / early 70s pattern stash. All these are 34 bust, and if you like them, please comment on this post by Monday, March 5.

1967.

1968

This was one of the first vintage patterns I ever bought,
before I ever thought I'd be able to sew them up!
It's early 70s, I believe.

1974 (I've seen many, many copies of this one!)

Pattern giveaway #15: yet more 50s and 60s dresses

2012-02-26T16:46:00.000-08:00

Here's pattern giveaway number 15 ... more highlights from the 50s and 60s for lucky folks with a 34 bust. If you'd like to be entered for this group, please comment by the end of Sunday, March 4.

1958 -- I love the gray with yellow variant!

Has to be 60s.

1962 ... the four season wardrobe thing is
a bit of a stretch, don't you think?

Pattern giveaway #14 and catching up on winners

2012-02-26T06:23:00.000-08:00

I got a little behind there on picking winners (and on posting this giveaway lot, too) so let's catch up. (And yes, apparently random.org is grooving on the number 5. I didn't do all of these the same day, even.)

Pattern giveaway #4 goes to Samm -- Samm, I couldn't find your email, so send your snail mail address to me (I'm apound on gmail) when you get a chance.

Pattern giveaway #5 goes to Jane of Handmade Jane!

Pattern giveaway #6 goes to Carmen of CarmencitaB!

... and pattern giveaway #7 goes to Gail of Today's Agenda!

To answer a few questions that have been asked in comments about the giveaways: yes, you can enter (and potentially win!) as many as you'd like! I am shipping internationally, as well (it just may not be by a very fast method). And for those who expressed concern about how depleted my own pattern collection might be after all these giveaways, uh, don't be. I am hoarding plenty for myself! A couple of the patterns in these giveaways are pictured in that collection, but most were always set aside to be given away or sold on Etsy. It has just taken me a while to get around to it. A few years back, it was much easier to score cheap vintage patterns, and I would get huge lots of assorted patterns for a song sometimes. (I blame Mad Men for ruining this!) Even after the giveaways, I'll still have two boxes of patterns I plan to re-home. Most of the remaining patterns are from the 70s, and almost entirely 34 bust: if you have a love for this era and size, you should let me know!

This was a single lot won on eBay in 2009!

If you've read this far, you must want to see the next group of patterns! Here they are: these are size 40 bust (or 40 hip, in the case of the sport-skort). If you'd like to enter for this group, please leave a comment by the end of Saturday, March 3.

The "Lusie" dress (at least I think that's what it
says!) I love this, and have a copy in my size too.
(1964)

Looks 40s to me!

I love the graphic black and white version
with the yellow belt! (1963)

I love the artwork on the bottom -- it
would make a great print! (1961)

Pattern giveaway #13 ... lucky 13 obviously!

2012-02-24T18:59:00.000-08:00

It's Friday night, which means I am totally freakin' exhausted! So let's just get straight to the patterns. These are bust size 38, and hail from the 60s or almost-the-60s. If you like these, please comment by the end of Friday, March 2!

1959 (60s-ish!)

1964

1970 (barely past!)

Pattern giveaway #12: yet more 50s flair

2012-02-23T18:36:00.001-08:00

This giveaway was originally slated to be the last, but plans changed and now we're only two thirds through! Does anyone have giveaway fatigue yet?

If you want to be entered for this group, please comment by the end of Thursday, March 1.

Pattern giveaway #11: let's call it "day to night"

2012-02-22T17:53:00.000-08:00

Another day, another giveaway! They are all bust size 32. If you like this one, please comment by Wednesday, February 29. (Leap day!)

(1960) A work look. Classy, but envelope-less.
Umbrella not included.

( 1960) For evening relaxation.
I think adding cased drawstring waist
to this one would be cool.

(1953) Bedtime!
Did I mention I have way
too many pyjama patterns?

Pattern giveaway #10: 60s soiree

2012-02-21T18:59:00.000-08:00

Before I get into tonight's patterns, let's catch up on the results from giveaways #2 and #3.

The winner of #2 (60s ladies who lunch) is ... Wylde Hills! I mailed your patterns this morning.

And, the winner of #3 is ... Jillishness ... whose email address I cannot discover. Email me your snail-mail address (to the email in my blogger profile) when you get a chance!

OK, next patterns up are more sweet 60s numbers, 34 bust. One of them is a special favorite of mine ... I have a copy of it in my size too. I like to think of it as "the beast with three backs". If you want to be considered for this trio, please leave a comment by the end of Tuesday, February 28.

"the beast"

"the Sandy dress" (I love it when the pattern's
pattern's original owner wrote her name on it ...
instant name for your creation!)

This one you get to name yourself!

Pattern giveaway #9: '50s and retro '50s

2012-02-20T17:44:00.000-08:00

Another day, another giveaway -- these are 32 bust or thereabouts. A dress, a top and a bathrobe: an eclectic mix for sure. And yep, a repro pattern snuck in there -- somehow I ended up with an extra copy. If you want to be considered for these, please leave a comment before the end of Monday, February 27.

1957

1956

"The stars are right" dress

2012-02-19T20:52:00.000-08:00

Let me interrupt the stream of pattern giveaways to introduce ... my first completed sewing project of 2012! The "stegosaurus ass" skirt, travel, a busy schedule, and a need to use my off-time to just relax has certainly delayed my sewing progress.

This dress was inspired by the two previous dresses I made from Butterick 6075, obviously (here and here) but also by a cardigan I snatched from the clearance racks of Anthropologie back around Christmastime.

image source (Anthropologie, obv)

For some reason I immediately wanted to make a coordinating dress ... not sure why, as it's never crossed my mind to do this with any other cardigan I own (and I have many). I'm calling it my "the stars are right" dress, because hey, I had a vision and it actually came together! (And because I can't resist a Cthulhu reference.) I found the perfect fabric at fabric.com: isn't it amazing that there was constellation fabric just waiting for me?

I am proud of how nicely my pointy bits came out.

I had brought some shoes downstairs to wear with the dress, but I decided they didn't work. By that point my dog had already figured out that we were going to go outside! outside! and couldn't wait for me to go up and find a different pair.

I Photoshopped the thread and fabric
scraps off my floor.

So, even on my third attempt, this dress is still a little loose. This time it's because I tried something new and used a rayon Bemberg lining, and it's much thinner and slipperier (if that's a word) than the cotton batiste I usually line with. It probably changed the way the fit feels more than the fit itself. Overall, I like it and it wasn't hard to work with, so I'll be adding rayon linings to the ol' repertoire. I bought this lilac rayon a while back thinking it would be used for a skirt, not a dress, but I like the chance color combo.

I also changed my construction order a bit: normally I finish the side of the bodice and skirt that won't have the zipper, then gather and attach the skirt to the bodice. This time I handled the skirt gathering and attaching for the front and back separately, and sewed up the side seam last. Somehow this made the gathering (one of my least favorite sewing steps!) less onerous, so I'll probably keep doing it this way. This also makes it easier to adjust the side seams, but the dress is just so durn comfortable the way it is, so I don't think I want to. It's mainly for casual weekend wear, after all.

So, does it actually work with the cardigan that inspired it? I think so! Plus, I have a white cardigan that will go too. I never leave home without a cardigan (or a hoodie), so it's important to know my options!

Oh, and one final note: this dress has received the much-coveted Ratapoo Seal of Approval:

Pattern giveaway #8 (and, we have a winner!)

2012-02-19T16:25:00.000-08:00

Time's up for entering for the first pattern lot, and the winner is ... Juebejue!

I've already been in touch with her, so now I just need to get her prize packaged up and on its way! Since it's going to get annoying for everyone if I'm posting screenshots of the random number generator every day for the next couple of weeks, I will post results for several giveaways at once from here on out. But, I will contact the winner ASAP. FYI, I'll aim to do the random number thing the morning after whatever the deadline date was.

On to the next giveaway! I confess, the trio of patterns in this group was originally slightly different: I had second thoughts about one, so I snatched it back out of the pile. But I did find what I think is a very worthy substitute, so don't be too hard on me. :) AND, while I was hunting up a replacement, I pulled out six more groups of patterns for giveaway! Some of them are 38 and 40 bust, too. (Unfortunately, I didn't have any 36 bust ones: those were given away a while back).

Anyhow, here we go! These patterns range between bust sizes 30 and 32, and the 1940s through the 1960s. If you would like to enter for these, please leave a comment by the end of Sunday, February 26.

1945

1959

1963

Pattern giveaway #7: 60s shifts

2012-02-18T19:39:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more in bust 34: 1960s shifts, in styles spanning the decade. If you like these, please comment by the end of Saturday, February 25.

1962

1965-ish?

1969
(and it appears to turn you into a robot)

Pattern giveaway #6: sweet young things

2012-02-17T16:36:00.000-08:00

It's Friday night ... I notice that not too many sewing blogs get updated this time of the week! So, what are y'all up to on a typical Friday evening? Out blowing off steam? Enjoying a relaxing evening in with family or friends? Working? Getting the jump on your weekend sewing or crafting projects? I'm usually hanging out with my husband and dog, recovering from the work-week. It's actually a good time for me to blog, too ... if I actually have anything to post about!

This giveaway group consists of petite/teen looks for smaller busts: I think the art on these skews a bit young, but your imagination may take them to an entirely different place! If you're interested in this bunch, please leave a comment by the end of Friday, February 24.

1957

1949

1959

1963

Pattern giveaway #5: fifties trio

2012-02-16T19:52:00.000-08:00

Here are some fun 50s patterns. I'm more of a full-skirted girl myself, but I know many love the wiggle. As for pyjamas, I already have way more pyjama patterns than I need, considering I don't wear them. Not sure how I ended up with so many, actually! All three patterns are bust 34. If you're interested in these, please leave a comment before the end of Thursday, February 23.

1956

Eh ... can't see the number. 50s for sure, though!

They really shouldn't put those numbers so

near the envelope corners, huh?

Pattern giveaway #4: more petite looks

2012-02-15T18:19:00.000-08:00

Oops, giveaway number four was delayed by Valentine's Day celebrations! My husband and I went out to a casual restaurant we like, where I had breakfast for dinner -- my favorite! Then my husband suggested that we stop in at JoAnn's since it is in the same shopping center. He even helped me narrow down my fabric choices -- Handmade Ryan Gosling has nothing on my husband (so long as there's a place to sit and he doesn't need to pee). I ended up getting a New Look 6087 and several cuts of fabric. JoAnn's is dead on Valentine's Day night, in case you were wondering.

Anyhow ... giveaway! Up this time are more petite patterns, in bust 30 1/2 and 31. If you like this group, please comment by Wednesday, February 22.

Looks 50s to me.

1965

1952

1962

1964

Pattern giveaway #3 -- it's tops!

2012-02-13T18:06:00.000-08:00

Please excuse my bad pun, but today's giveaway features tops ... shirts ... blouses ... whatever you like to call coverings for the top half of the body. These are all bust 34, and span the late 50s and early 60s. The Western-style blouse would be perfect to wear to Houston's upcoming rodeo. However, my favorite is Simplicity 3716, even though I can't imagine myself wearing it! If you want to be in the drawing for this lot, please comment on this post by Monday, February 20.

1963

1960

1956

1958

Pattern giveaway day 2: circa 1960 ladies-who-lunch

2012-02-12T15:15:00.000-08:00

I've made some progress on my dress, though it won't be done before next weekend at the soonest. It's nice to be sewing again, and things are coming along well. Oops, I probably just invited disaster by saying that!

Here's the next giveaway: 1960-ish looks in bust 34. Three ensembles and a simple-but-sweet dress. And buttoning your scarf to your jacket? Don't knock it, could be the next big thing.

If you like this group, please leave a comment by the end of Sunday, February 19. I'll pick a winner sometime after that. As always, no pattern-piece inventory has been done but I have no reason to think these aren't complete.

1962

1960

1958

Twelve days of pattern giveaways

2012-02-11T19:45:00.000-08:00

Well, I've managed to get through the past month or so without finishing a sewing project! I've been busy, but also taking time to enjoy other things. Including a new pet. We added a budgerigar to our menagerie, to keep our canary company. The canary finds her new friend to be a bit of a pest, but we prefer an annoyed canary to a semi-catatonic canary. She was getting pretty lonely during our long workdays.

Booberry, the new budgie, has been with us for two weeks, and has already assumed command of the household. He thinks nothing of picking on the dog or giving me a firm chomp if I'm trying to take him somewhere he does not want to go. He prefers the company of my husband and Sunshine the canary, and is generally nicer to them -- though I think Sunshine doesn't always appreciate the attention Booberry pays her. They live in separate cages, so while she may not be used to another birdie staring lovingly at her from the other side of the bars, he can't hurt her.

But enough of that -- on to something sewing-related! I set aside some time today to do something I've been meaning to do for a long time: sort out some patterns to give away. I ended up with 41, divided into 12 lots, loosely grouped by size and style. The sizing ranges from 30 to 35 bust, and some are teen or junior sizes. Most are from the 50s and 60s, with a few from the 40s and some reproduction patterns mixed in. (I have a metric buttload of 70s patterns in bust 32 and 34, but I'll deal with them later.) I HATE counting pattern pieces, so I'm not gonna. Probably most if not all are complete.

I'm going to try to post a giveaway per day: if you're interested, leave a comment on the post. For some giveaways, I may ask a question too, just to make it a little more interesting. If you choose to enter, make sure your contact information is available, either in your comment or via your blogger profile, or obviously you can't win! Also, I ask your patience when it comes to shipping: one of the reasons it's taken me so long to do this is that I have trouble getting to the post office during business hours, and for international winners, I can't use the 24-hour automated postal machine. Probably mailing will occur after all 12 giveaways are complete.

Sooo ... let's get started! I'd had the vague thought that I might sew myself a Valentine's Day dress -- you know, something pink or red or romantic or something. As it turns out, I am only just starting a dress that has been in my head since the beginning of January, which doesn't fit that particular theme (though we'll see ... maybe if I get it done in time I'll invent a reason why it does.) Is anyone else out there making something for Valentine's Day? Do you have anything special planned? Or do you despise the holiday and the horse it rode in on? (In which case, I guess you could make an anti-Valentine's dress. That might be even more fun.)

Pattern giveaway #1: romantic late 50s / early 60s teen stylin'.

The full skirts and color choices on the pattern illustrations in this group seem kinda romantic to me ... possibly good choices for Valentine's. Or square-dancing. They're all teen sizes bust 34, and I think the Advance pattern is bust 35. If you're interested, please leave a comment before Saturday, February 18. I'll randomly pick a winner sometime after that date.

Here's another look at the patterns up for grabs:

Circa 1957:
... are those pockets or is the skirt eating her hands??

Circa 1961: just add clogging shoes!

Circa 1961, with Colonel Sanders bowtie.

My Abingdon fabric finds

2012-01-24T19:01:00.000-08:00

I'm back from my travels, and I'm happy to say that I did not return empty-handed!

My company has an office in Abingdon, a small town seven or eight miles from Oxford in England. Most of my trip was spent there (and mostly in meetings) but I did schedule a few days for sight-seeing. And what lover of sewing goes sight-seeing without checking out whether there's fabric to see as well?

A quick Google turned up Mason's right in Abingdon -- I was surprised, as I figured that if there was a fabric store to be found, it would be in Oxford. Better yet, it was just around the corner from where I planned to catch the bus anyway. Mason's actually has three storefronts: apparel and quilting fabric is at 20 Bath Street, ribbons and trim and other crafting odds and ends are next door at 22 Bath Street, plus a nearby home decor fabric store.

The apparel fabric store is small, but jam-packed. Reviews I found stated that it was rather disorganized, but I found the fabrics to be more or less grouped by type. I didn't see a lot of really fancy stuff, and the prices seemed reasonable to me -- not bargain-basement cheap, but not out of sight like the fabric stores I dipped into in London a year and a half ago, either. I went into the haberdashery annex next door briefly too, but nothing caught my eye.

I told myself when I stopped in on Friday morning, that I would just browse and that was it: I have a ton of fabric at home and I didn't want to be lugging a heavy sack of material around Oxford with me all day. A nice practical resolution, and I kept to it with some regret. But when it became apparent that I would spend my second sight-seeing day in Oxford too, I figured I could manage to get back to Abingdon in time to hit Mason's before closing. (I had hoped to find a day tour to Stonehenge that I could join, but I guess they're not so popular in January! Plus, there were still a lot of things I wanted to do in Oxford.)

Two of the fabrics I had spotted the day before had vanished from the shelves, but I found others worthy of my love. Here's what came home with me: 9 meters, and 48 pounds ($75) total.

Sorry for the poor-quality photo: I didn't want wait until the weekend to take a photo in daylight. The top and bottom pieces are lawn, the dark green print on black is micro-corduroy, and the brownish gray pinstripe is a bottom-weight cotton that has little, widely-spaced flowers embroidered on it -- should be fun playing around with the stripe direction and flower placement on that one!

I really enjoyed my trip, whirlwind though it was. If you haven't visited Oxford, I highly recommend it! Hopefully I'll get another chance to go back someday, as there's definitely more to do and see. I could easily spend another whole day in the Pitt Rivers museum alone. It's good to be home, though, and I'm looking forward to sewing this weekend. I've had my next project planned for weeks now, which is very unlike me!

The next Butterick 6075 and a case of stegosaurus butt

2012-01-14T20:22:00.000-08:00

I hoped I might get it together and get pictures of myself actually wearing my latest Butterick 6075, but two weeks have passed since it was completed, so I give up. I made a few minor tweaks to this version, including narrowing the front neckline a smidge and adding small darts at the back neckline, both of which improved the fit. It's still a little on the loose side, and I think I could narrow the front an additional smidge. I will do that on the next version, which is definitely going to happen: I ordered fabric especially for it to match a cardigan I own. Unfortunately, with my travel plans, I don't anticipate starting on it for another two weeks.

So, anyhow, the completed dress -- this time I at least got a good closeup of the neckline!

This wasn't the fabric I intended to use: after I had already cut out the lining, I realized that the print I had chosen was directional, and I didn't have enough of it to get the print running the right way on both the skirt front and back. Ditto for my runner-up choice ... so I had to hunt up something else that went with the lining color I had chosen. I bought this quilting fabric at JoAnn's a few months back. It's a bit busy, and maybe a little too cute as well, but I'm a sucker for cherries!

Here's a lining shot. It's cotton batiste, and though the green color is beautiful, it is wrinkly as heck! The main fabric resists wrinkles pretty well though. All quilting fabric is not created the same, and I wish I knew how to identify the less wrinkle-prone ones! Often it's impossible to tell until they've been through the washer and dryer the first time. It doesn't seem to be tied to whether or not they're the "designer" fabrics or not, or what their weight is. Anyhow, I did the usual and attached the facings (which are also interfaced) to the lining.

Last weekend, I started a Colette Ginger skirt. Unfortunately, I think this one is dead in the water, mainly due to bad fabric choice. I did version 3, the one cut on the bias, and I guess my fabric (a cotton or cotton blend from the clearance aisle at High Fashion Fabrics) wasn't heavy enough, as even with a lining, the drape is drape-y enough to be unflattering. I also need to do some fit adjustments, ere I attempt this pattern again. Between the fit issues and the drab color, this skirt was clearly wandering into "dowdy prison matron" territory. And then I did this:

Look, my butt has humps! I'm pretty sure this happened because I pulled the bias-cut fabric too taut when inserting the zipper. I'm not too experienced with sewing fabric cut on the bias, and so I did what I do when normally, which usually ensures I don't get any puckers when I sew in the zip. However, in this case it gave me the dreaded "stegosaurus ass": the fabric tried to tighten back up but the zipper wasn't having it. I picked the zipper out, but I think I'm done with this one. I'll try Ginger again later, with a heavier fabric.

The calamity dress

2012-01-02T06:40:00.000-08:00

Finishing this dress was a battle. Not because it's a challenging pattern -- it's actually very straightforward. But it seemed I just could not get into my sewing groove with this one, and kept making mistakes! Maybe it was because I was fighting a cold, maybe it was because it was the first time I'd sewed in a month. Maybe it was just bad luck. By the end, I was just trying to get through it, and I figured I wouldn't want to look at this thing again once it was finished. But surprise -- I like it a lot, mistakes and all! It's easy to wear, and very much my style.

The pattern is Butterick 6075, from 1952. I was planning to make the sleeved version, but that didn't pan out. I got one sleeve in but found I could not move my arm, so it had to come out. And unfortunately, scissors were involved in that process, as I had finished my seam with a stitch on my sewing machine that refused to be picked out. When it comes to sleeves, think I have a fit issue I don't understand yet ... possibly I need a broad back adjustment? The problem I often encounter in RTW is, in a garment that otherwise fits, binding across the front of my bicep if I try to raise my arms. It's not a problem with the overall width of the sleeve (though that was an issue on this dress, too). Aside from the sleeve drama, I also sewed stuff together wrong over and over again. I left the skirt pieces sewed together wrong since I figured it didn't matter. There are four pieces, and I swapped the side and center edges. So the front sides are joined at the center, and the same for the back.

There you can see it coming and going. Not the best photos (the light was failing, and I have a wrinkle across my chest there ...) but I hope its awesomeness shines through! I'm realizing that I really love pockets in a dress, and I'm glad I added some despite being unsure whether things were going to come together. The bodice only has darts on the sides and not at the bottom. I hadn't sewn one like that before, and was surprised that it seems to fit me better. The bodice is a little loose, but in a comfortable sort of way. There is some gaping at the back neck, so I'll add small darts there in future versions. I should have taken a better photo of the neckline, but I'll have another chance to show you: I'm already well into my second version of this dress! The fabric's just quilting cotton from JoAnn's, and the lining is black poly-cotton batiste.

I also wanted to share my big post-Christmas sale find -- a trenchcoat with a crinoline! I spotted it when I was returning stuff at JCrew. It's called the Encore Trench (or the Ethel Trench -- a coat so nice they named it twice?) and I paid a good bit less than half price for it. The crinoline is attached with buttons, so you can remove it if you want a less poufy look. I've never had (or wanted) a trenchcoat, though I had thought about looking for a longer winter coat to wear with dresses. However, I suspect the trench is more useful in my semi-tropical climate.

Today's my last day off before I return to work. I had hoped to finish more sewing projects during my time off, but isn't it always that way?

Treasure box

2012-01-01T10:56:00.000-08:00

A fabulous surprise arrived in the mail this week from my Aunt Dora, a fellow vintage sewing enthusiast. She's doing a bit of de-stashing, and I was the happy recipient!

Fabric, buttons, and patterns from the 50s - 70s plus a couple of modern ones.

Sewing books, and a pattern pamphlet from 1956.

What a bounty! And all the patterns are my size! But my favorite thing is the fabric -- it's a vintage piece, probably from the 50s. The bird print is right up my alley. It's 35 inches wide, and there a little more than two yards of it. There isn't enough for a dress, but it will make a fantastic skirt.

And here's a better look at the buttons, and that fabulous rick-rack. I don't have very many vintage buttons, but I find them fascinating. The button cards have a great vintage-y feel, and I'm sure help date the buttons too.

Happy New Year, everyone! I didn't get my dress finished on New Year's Eve (I sew so much faster in my head ...) but hopefully today's the day.

Adios 2011!

2011-12-31T06:53:00.000-08:00

It's the last day of the year ... time to wrap it up! I summarized the first half of the year back in June, and good thing since it seems a million years ago now. This has been the year of serial sewing -- making multiple garments from the same pattern. Butterick 6149 (four very different variations), Sew Serendipity's Claire Cami dress (four pretty similar variations), and my own mash-up of Sewaholic's Crescent skirt (four for schmeebot, nine for me) got the most love, but I also made a couple of dresses from Anne Adams 5753.

Here are the counts for this year (sorry, no pretty infographic):

Dresses: 13 (hopefully 14 by the end of the day!)
Skirts: 11 for me, 4 for schmeebot
Other: 2 camera pouches

Thirty-ish items -- woo hoo!

I started a blouse but it ended up in Waddersville and I walked away from it. I can't recall any other categorical failures. I had to re-do a few dress bodices and I started American Weekly 3794 which totally did not work for me, but I was able to morph Butterick 6149 into a similar style, and it became one of my favorite dresses of the year. It was also the first time that I had attempted pattern re-drafting, and it turned out not to be so scary.

B6149 inspired by American Weekly 3794

That's not to say I wear everything I made. I do wear most of the skirts, but the dresses don't get as much love as they should. Some of the vintage styles come across as a bit costume-y for everyday, but I love sewing them and don't plan to stop. (I might sell some on Etsy though.) The Claire Cami dresses I just kind of forget about, as I tend to reach for t-shirts and jeans on the weekend.

Here are a few more of my favorites for the year (and hm, three out of four have birds on them):

Original B6149

Claire Cami dress #3

Aviary dress (B6149 variant)

Birds of Norway skirt (Crescent variant)

But my most favorite garment of the year? I just finished it! Photos coming soon!

The best thing about sewing in 2011 was getting the bodice of Butterick 6149 to fit me well: it proved to be a great starting point for fitting other patterns. It's the reason I had so few wadders this year. When I put my B6149 bodice pieces over another pattern, I can quickly see how darts need to change, and where I need to add or remove width. It would be nice to get a princess-seamed bodice similarly figured out.

I took a look at my final post from last year, and while I didn't have an exact count of garments made in 2010, I think I finished a few more projects this year than last. As for the non-sewing 2011 goals I mentioned in that post, I only did the last two: selling some of my cameras and contributing more to the knowledge communities at work. I should do more of both those things in 2012. I failed to draw regularly, but I'm going to get back on that horse this year. My house is still messy and I still eat cake for breakfast sometimes, but I did try to do battle with those particular demons even if the result was somewhat less than transformational.

I don't have any sewing goals for 2012, other than to keep on making stuff I like. But there are lots of things I dream of doing: get going with knit tops (a wardrobe staple for me), make a bunch more skirts, since I wear those to work a lot nowadays, make some blouses I like (store-bought blouses rarely work for me), try a 1930s pattern, make more 1950s dresses since they always turn out to be my favorites, and finally cut into some of that Liberty fabric I got in London last year. I'm sure I'll discover other things I want to do as the year unfolds.

Finally, a big thank you to everyone who reads my blog, and especially to those of you who provide feedback! It gives me perspective on what I've done -- sometimes it's hard to spot fit issues, or to get past the frustration of making a particular garment, and that's where y'all come in. I enjoy reading your blogs too -- I'm not always the best commenter, as I generally read blogs first thing in the morning or at the end of the day: not the best times for me to string together a coherent sentence! I will try to do a bit better this year.

Holiday roundup

2011-12-28T20:10:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had (or is continuing to have) a good holiday break! December was a really hectic month for me, and I feel like I am still catching up. I took two trips -- to Las Vegas, for work, and back to my hometown in Florida, because my dad needed emergency heart surgery (which went well thankfully!) I also had a lot going on at work, and on top of everything else, I got sick. I did absolutely no sewing this month until Christmas Eve, when I started a dress. And I intend to finish it or die trying. For some definition of "finish", anyhow ... It's not particularly complex, but it seems that everything that can go wrong has!

I want for little in the sewing room these days, but I still managed to find a few sewing-related items to put on my Christmas list: The BurdaStyle Sewing Handbook, The Colette Sewing Handbook, and two Colette patterns: Jasmine and Ginger. My book-loving husband was more than happy to oblige! I also got an awesome sewn gift from my friend schmeebot: a stuffed owl made from thrifted mens' suits. How cool is that?? She used a pocket from a suit jacket to give the owl a little pouch for treasures (there was a gift card in there!) and a sweet little heart with mine and my husband's initials on it. The owl was my and my husband's university's mascot, so hopefully he feels right at home with us!

I'm off from work until 2012, and life is good! Hopefully I'll finish my uncooperative dress and move on to at least one of my Christmas patterns before I have to go back to work. I enjoy being a bit reflective this time of year, and while I don't make resolutions, I do think about what I want in the new year. I'm not making any sewing goals, other than to enjoy whatever sewing I do have time for. That said, I think I'd like to learn a little more about fit and finish, the two things that bring me the most satisfaction in a finished garment. I got better at both this year, but it may be time to study up on techniques.

Anne Adams 4753, take two (this time it's all my fault)

2011-12-11T09:09:00.001-08:00

I tackled Anne Adams 4753 (of abundant bodice space fame) again over the Thanksgiving holidays. The second attempt is better, though still not perfect. This version is made from rayon challis, and the olive contrast material is some mystery blend of (I think) polyester and rayon.

I took a good bit out of the bodice area, which helped the fit, but I think I could have done even more. Unfortunately, the way I did the modification enlarged the armhole a bit, which was not a particularly good thing. I have no immediate plans to make this a third time, but if ever do, I'll try to redraft to fix those issues. The neckline's also a bit wide: the first time I sewed a narrower seam to give a little bit more coverage, but I forgot to do it this time.

It's also a little baggy in the back -- not sure how that happened, as I didn't change the back piece. I think it's the result of using a more drape-y fabric (that also may have grown a bit while I sewed).

The round tab part could be a little better, but I don't think its flaws would be too noticeable to the non-sewer. And I really like the buttons I found: they were on clearance at High Fashion Fabric, and remind me of contour maps.

I hung the dress for days before hemming, but still managed to achieve the most crooked-ass hem I have ever sewn. Also, I noticed as I was finishing that there's a visible irregularity in the print that shows up in the skirt pieces. It disappears when you're up close to the fabric. I self-lined the bodice, but used cotton/poly lawn for the skirt. Next time I'll line the whole thing in lawn for added stability. I only interfaced the lining of the contrast fabric: next time I'll interface both sides. That would fix the pucker you see in the photo above. Nit-picks aside, the dress isn't so bad. I like that it screams "Autumn!" ... it's the perfect Thanksgiving dress. Too bad we're well past that and hurtling toward Christmas.

It has been two weeks since I did any sewing! I have another vintage pattern and not-so-vintage fabric waiting for me on my sewing table -- hopefully I can spend some quality time with them today.

Pacific Moon, Christmas Edition

2011-12-10T10:26:00.001-08:00

These two have already migrated towards the Pacific rim ... and yes, the orange one is pretty much that bright in real life! The aqua mini-dot fabric is actually home decor fabric, and the orange is a fairly substantial bottom-weight cotton fabric with a little stretch in it. schmeebot prefers heavier-weight fabrics for skirts, so they won't be whipped around so much on windy hikes.

I used scraps left over from skirts I'd made myself in the past. The fabric for the aqua mini-dot skirt came from a version of Burda 7741 that doesn't see much wear because for some reason the lining likes to creep out and show itself while I'm walking.

The facing for the orange skirt is leftover from a drawstring-waist skirt I made in the 90s. I did wear it some at the time, but I have no photos of myself in it and there will not be any. :) That skirt currently resides in my attic but I think Goodwill is probably a better place for it.

While looking for facing fabric for these skirts, I found another skirt I made earlier in the year. I had declared it a failure and stuffed it in the scrap drawer. However, it doesn't seem too bad to me now. Does anyone else ever need time to forget your sewing mistakes in order to be able to accept something you've made?

Anne Adams, we meet again

2011-11-21T08:19:00.000-08:00

On the drafting front, Anne Adams and I have had our differences before. But I'm happy to say that with the continued improvement of my sewing skills, I was able to take it in stride this time around, and I really like the finished product -- definitely a "make again" dress! (Incidentally, I picture Anne Adams as a stern, bespectacled home ec teacher. Whereas Marian Martin seems just a little bit more fun-loving.)

Anyhow, the dress! It's a mail order pattern (number 4753) from the 1950s. I like it a lot, but short of extreme plastic surgery I will never have the bosoms to fill it out. I'm wearing a padded bra in these photos. It doesn't make a dent. (But I will wear the dress anyhow, though maybe not to work.) I had hoped that the lightweight fabric would make the extra leeway look more like ease and less like space for rent ... it almost does.

With trusty sidekick, ready to investigate
the Case of the Missing Boobies.

I wasn't sure how this was going to work out, so the fabric's some cheap stuff nabbed from the clearance section at High Fashion Fabrics a few months back. The plaid's approximately lawn-weight, and the burgundy material is also fairly lightweight. And has a sort of polished shine on the "right" side -- ew. So I used it wrong side out. There's not actually any burgundy in the plaid, but it "goes", as they say. The dress is fully lined in a pink poly-cotton batiste (As usual, I just cut the pattern twice, and cut interfacing from the facing pieces and fused it to the lining pieces at the appropriate places.)

I shamelessly re-used the belt pattern from the Colette Peony to make the belt for this dress. Since the sides were too angled for me, I lopped off the angles -- now the pattern pieces are just two rectangles. I used the plaid for the gathered section in front, and the burgundy fabric (with some interfacing) for the back pieces. I really dig this belt -- it's fairly easy to make, and looks more refined than a simple tie belt.

Look how I matched my plaids for once!

This was one of those patterns that bore signs of previous use -- the skirt pieces were pinned up to make the length shorter without losing fullness. (I decided that losing fullness was the better route, and just lopped six inches off the bottom). The previous seamstress had already shortened the sleeves as well -- not quite evenly, but it worked out without much fuss.

Now, the drafting issue: the bodice piece had this little hump on it, and I could not for the life of me figure out how it was supposed to fit with the neck yoke. The instruction illustrations don't show them, either. I ended up just trimming them off, but I am bemused. Why on earth were they even there?

Original version with "hump" on top,
shown with my "humpless" second draft.

I'm working on another version of this dress, this time out of rayon challis, which is one of my favorite fabrics. I removed about an inch off each side of the upper bodice, and I'm hoping that plus the more drape-y nature of the challis will resolve the issue in the bust area.

Colette Peony: round one complete

2011-11-13T11:52:00.000-08:00

I went back to the Colette Peony, and this time I got it done! I ended up tossing the first version of the bodice I made (well, actually, I used it to dispose of a dead bird that had crashed into the living room window ...) and just re-drafted the thing using my old standby Butterick 6149 as a guide. From the armpits down, it's pretty much 6149 -- I was not even close to filling out the bodice as drafted! From what I understand, Colette patterns are drafted for a C cup. I'm a B, so I expected it to be a little loose, but clearly a larger under-bust measurement is expected as well. Rather than twiddling with dart size and placement, I just took the easy way out, and more or less got away with it. I also brought the neckline in on the sides about 3/8", and scooped out the front neckline about 5/8" because (not to be dramatic or anything!) I felt like I was choking in the first version.

Needs a haircut.

I think it's perfectly wearable as is, but the fit in back needs work. Deeper darts at the back neck, and maybe shortening the bodice length in back will help. It also feels tight when I extend my arms forward, so I need to figure out the best fix for that. And eek, as drafted the skirt is pretty short! I finished it with self bias binding so that I wouldn't lose any length, but as a work dress it's pushing it.

There are some neat little details in the design that I love: like the neckline, and the two gathered areas in the front of the skirt. It looks early 1960s-ish to me. And the belt -- I'm not that big on belts in general, but I love this one! I need to do some re-drafting on it: it's too loose, and expects you to taper in at the waist, which I don't, so it's sitting a little low. But I love the design, and will use it to make belts for other dresses too. I actually made it twice: the first time I tried to use the main fabric for the gathered part, and it didn't gather nicely, so I did it again using the lining fabric, which happily is a really good match color-wise.

The dress fabric is Tencel twill, purchased from the clearance area at JoAnn's last year. I made a skirt from it already too, and have enough for one more garment, probably. The lining's a poly-cotton lawn. I expect to make another Peony at some point, from aubergine lightweight suiting material. I'm not sure I want the longer sleeve as originally planned, as I like moving my arms a lot, and do not wish to feel constrained. :) In fact, I might go sleeveless.

While pondering the sleeve question, fitting changes, and other deep earth-shattering issues, I have pretty much finished another dress. I had been away from my vintage pattern stash too long, so I dove in and came up with a nice 1950s mail order pattern. I can already tell that I'm going to love it!

Do you have a uniform?

2011-10-23T18:15:00.000-07:00

As I just completed my ... er, ~~sixth~~ seventh version of what is basically the same skirt, I don't think I need to answer the question that is this post's title. I wear a broad range of colors, but I tend to return to the same basic shapes that work for me: a-line to fuller skirts that hit just above or below the knee, boot-cut to wide-leg jeans with a middling rise, fitted tank tops to layer with classic cardigans and/or hoodies, and the occasional scoop or boatneck top. I like blouses, but finding ones that me well is not easy ... this might be a sewing challenge for me someday. Though alas, even if I come up with a tried-and-true blouse pattern, it's still not gonna iron itself.

Here's what I avoid: skinny jeans: I just look ... weird in them. Like I need to go put on some pants. Long-sleeve knit tops with tight sleeves do me no favors. Overly blouse-y tops often look poorly fitted on me, and tunic lengths usually don't work either, though I'm less sure of the reason there. Straight skirts have historically been passed over for the ease of fuller shapes, but for my birthday I acquired this one from Anthropologie so we'll see if that changes things. I was going to just try it on to see if I should give the much-loved Beignet from Colette patterns a whirl. However it was more comfortable than expected, and the husband gave it a thumbs up, so home it came!

Sooooo .... I'm wondering whether there's the makings of a uniform in your closet? Or do you sew to try new things, to reinvent your personal style? Sewing has certainly tweaked my personal style: my wardrobe was very low on prints pre-sewing, and I had far fewer skirts, and even fewer dresses. (I still haven't figured out what kind of dress I want to wear to work, but that's another subject.) I have learned that sewing's not the place to try totally new looks ... what a lot of work to end up with something it would have taken two seconds to reject in a department store dressing room. Your mileage may differ: it does seem to me that some sewists let their imaginations run free and come up with all kinds of unexpected but flattering looks. Is that you?

Anyhow, here's the latest skirt for my uniform collection. (And yes, a few co-workers have picked up on my tendency to have a new-but-somehow-eerily-familiar skirt more Mondays than not of late.) I'm calling this one the "Moroccan Meadow" skirt. For some reason I did a terrible job getting the waistband seam aligned with the skirt side seam ... it's shifted fully a half-inch. Actually, I know what the reason is: I lined things up with the lining seam when pinning, instead of the outside seam. I hate sewing gathers so I didn't re-do it! I don't think it'll be so noticeable anyhow. I added navy piping and trim because I thought it looked nice with the light yellow-green, and I have plenty of navy options to wear on top. And navy shoes. Matchy-matchy-matchy-matchy.

As for the main fabric, it's quilting fabric from Quilthome ... I can look up the name if you are interested. The facing fabric was a JoAnn's fat quarter purchased a million years ago, and the lining's poly-cotton batiste from High Fashion, as I recall.

Now I think it's time to return to the Colette Peony!

The slower sewer

2011-10-16T07:59:00.000-07:00

Another skirt came down the assembly line last weekend ... I am not tired of making them or wearing them yet! Once again, I piped the pockets ... not tired of that either! Here it is:

The images are a tad blurry because it was pretty dark and rainy when I took them, and because I was using my new Holga lens for my digital camera (Olympus Pen E-P2) -- just like the Holga, it performs a little better in brighter lighting conditions.

The fabric is quilting cotton -- a cute bird print by Carina Gardner. Strangely, this fabric ends up crazy wrinkled by the end of the day, whereas my Birds of Norway skirt barely wrinkles at all. Clearly not all quilting cotton is created equal, not even designer quilting cotton. But the reason I'm sewing with it in the first place is because all the best prints are on quilting cotton, so if I want them in my life I have to make it work. :) Anyhow, here's a better look at the print:

I also tracked my sewing time. I did this a while back while I was making a shirtwaist dress ... then it took about 14 hours, and the skirt took me almost seven, which makes sense I guess since a skirt is half a dress!

Now, I do line pretty much everything I make, and do serged French seams, and hand-sew the lining to the zipper, but still ... that's pretty slow, isn't it? I only ran the timer while I was actually working ... okay maybe there was a few minutes of dog-petting or enjoying the (very rare!) rainy weather, but really, it was mostly sewing. If I left the sewing room, I stopped the timer.

While it would be nice to be able to sew faster (since I could make more stuff!) I don't really want to rush the process, so if I am slow, so be it. But I am curious: have you tracked how long it takes you to complete your sewing projects? I imagine lots of things -- skill level, but also attention to detail, and degree of prefectionism impact how long sewing takes us. It's a bit like cooking, I suppose: some people follow recipes to the letter, while others just throw stuff in the pot based on instinct. You can end up with a lovely result either way.

Birthday awesomeness

2011-10-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I celebrated my 39th birthday by doing all the stuff I love to do ... spending time with my husband, photography, sewing, and a little shopping for fun stuff! My husband and I both took a day off from work so that I could do even more of what I like to do.

The shopping part of the weekend included a trip to High Fashion fabrics, where I bought five pieces of cotton to make into yet more "new moon" skirts. I, uh, also ordered a few additional pieces from Quilthome. (Hey, it's my birthday!) I'm definitely set for fabric for a while. Maybe until the apocalypse.

My iPhone was challenged by he harsh sunlight. But you get the idea.

One of my birthday gifts was made possible by the kindness of another sewing blogger! Back in the Spring, Liberty of London collaborated with Nike to produce a run of sneakers in Liberty prints. I really wanted some! But my size was long gone by the time I discovered them. Later, I saw that CarmencitaB had been lucky enough to get a pair, and I mentioned that I'd missed out because I'd heard about them too late. Lo and behold, Nike and Liberty came up with another collection for Fall, and Carmencita forwarded me the announcement! Thanks to her kindness, I was able to snap up a pair this time! They were pricey at 70 pounds plus 30 for shipping, but they are so cool. And you do get your money's worth on the international shipping -- I had them within 48 hours of placing my order. Then my husband hid them away until my birthday. :)

My birthday weekend also included sewing -- I got the bodice of the Colette Peony dress done. It's going to require some redrafting to get the fit right. The neckline's quite wide on me, and I need to figure out how to adjust the bodice. Not only do I have a smaller bust than Peony is drafted for, I have a smaller rib cage: I could almost fill out the upper bodice with a padded bra, but then I had a lot of bagginess right underneath the boobs. I suspect there will be a few other minor adjustments, but I need to attach the skirt and baste in the zip to be sure. I think I'll be able to figure it all out, and I have plenty of fabric to re-cut the bodice.

Looks a little sinister, doesn't it?

However, just now I have more than enough challenges to deal with at work: thus I want fewer of them in my sewing room, if that makes any sense. So I'm going to do something I've never done before: put away a dress mid-make simply because I'd rather be working on something else. I will return to it, but I don't have much sewing time right now, and the thought of spending the rest of the month trying to get one dress right doesn't appeal to me. So back to making more of my favorite skirts!

Birds of Norway

2011-09-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

Can you stand one more New Moon? I hope so -- this is my favorite one yet!

The fabric is quilting cotton -- Michael Miller "Birds of Norway". I love prints with birds in them, and this one is so cheerful and full of great colors! The background is dark brown: to the extent that I have a Fall wardrobe wish list, adding more brown items to my wardrobe is on it. (I may share a little more about my Fall yens before too long.)

I made the waist a little smaller than I have on previous skirts, so it sits a tad higher. Turns out I really liked the fit, so this is something to repeat. I also added a total of four inches to the skirt width, which seems just right for this fabric. I have so many things in my closet that will pair with this too! No surprise, I guess, given how many colors there are in the print.

Apologies for the morning face (and canine back-end) -- I did a quickie photo session before heading to work in my new skirt Monday morning. At least the skirt looks great! The light olive top is from Target a few years back, and the cardigan is a super-ancient Gap item that I'm not sure whether I thrifted or bought new back when I was in grad school. It was actually lost in my closet for a while, but I hunted it down just for this outfit. The shoes are Dansko, from last year. They are awesome.

Here's the inside. The blue voile is just something I had on hand, and I used a scrap of vaguely-coordinating yellow quilting cotton to face the waistband. (The same yellow fabric is used for the fronts of the pockets in schmeebot's latest skirt, not that it matters, but it did a nice job keeping the bright flowers from showing through the white.) The zipper is green, because for all the colors in the skirt, that was the closest I had in my zipper-wad. The pockets are piped perfectly -- I am so very proud. When it comes to the sewing on the bias tape bands, maybe not so much: turns out that stitching wobbles there are kinda noticeable. But not enough to motivate me to pick it off and re-sew.

I did not bother at all with pattern-matching, one because it never quite works out for me, and two because I decided to be a fabric miser instead. I could just cut the front and back lying side by side, and now I have a yard plus of this fabric left for something else.

Though I am EAGER to make yet more of these simple-yet-addictive skirts, I am taking a break to try something new:

Colette Peony! It has a slimmer skirt than my usual, so we'll see how I like it. I have it traced off already, and will try making a test run of the short-sleeved version, probably with the blue splotted Tencel twill (which I have used before) on the right. If I get it fitting well, then I may try a three-quarter sleeve version outta that aubergine suiting material, assuming there's enough of it there. (The green and white quilting cotton lost out this time around -- probably not the right fabric for this fit.) Hopefully Peony will come out more flattering than my only other attempt at a three-quarter sleeve dress.

The "moon" kick continues

2011-09-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

I fear that this blog may be getting boring. I own many hundreds of patterns ... why is it that I've spent this year mostly making the same two over and over? Eh, rhetorical question. Anyhow, long story short ... here's another New Moon. Boring? Maybe, but this sucker is gonna get worn.

Front

Back (and inside-out)

Piping on le pockets!

I used some lovely voile I got from http://www.fabric.com a while back. (It's gone from there now, but I see it at http://quilthome.com.) I actually have a lot left over from the 3-yard piece I bought, so I can probably make another top or skirt from it sometime in the future. I lined with pink batiste, and faced the waistband/yoke with some almost-matching quilting cotton found in ye olde scrap box from the attic.

I bought some navy piping to use on this project, but once I got it home, it seemed too bright compared to the blackish-navy in the print. Fortunately, I had some of this cranberry color on hand, so I used that instead. It doesn't match, but I declare, it "goes", as they say. And I should do more piping. I heart it.

At some point during the construction, I became convinced that the skirt (which I have sewn several times already, so WTF???) was going to be too short. So I added a three-inch strip of navy voile to the bottom. Then, guess what -- it was too long. Duuuuuh. But I thought the navy at the bottom added something, so I reduced it to about 3/4 inch. The lining would have been the perfect length if I had not already added some navy voile to it too. Usually I like my lining to be an inch shorter than the skirt: this is barely 1/4 inch shorter, but it beat picking out the seam!

I've already worn it to work, but failed to even get a camera phone shot of it. It may not be exciting, but I do so love having dependable favorites to reach for in my closet, and that it will most certainly be! And I have another already cut out, plus I think I'll make a basic black one as well -- that'll be my fall New Moon lineup, and then for God's sake someone take this pattern away from me! (No, please, don't really -- I promise I'll put it away and make something else ... really soon ... )

Pacific moon rises again

2011-09-11T17:01:00.000-07:00

The next skirt for schmeebot is done. I showed you the fabric (from Ikea) in the last post. The pattern is the same one I made for her twice before: an adaptation of the Sewaholic Crescent skirt, which I'm calling "Pacific moon". Here's the finished product:

... and here's the back. Look, I almost got the print matched up, both on the back and the pockets! The circular elements of the pattern are actually slightly egg-shaped, so it was hard to line things up. That, and I may not be all that good at it. I know schmeebot likes pink, and orange, so I focused on those parts of the print as I was laying out the pattern, and tried to get a good overall balance of shapes.

I added a candy-striped facing: I just happened to have gotten this scrap out of the attic the week before, when I was thinking about camera cases. I think it's a nice complement to the the happy floral.

I didn't add a lining, as the fabric's a home decor fabric and fairly heavy weight. Because schmeebot uses these skirts for hiking, they go through the wash a lot, and she's had some problems with areas coming unsewed on the previous ones. This time I did a lot more serging of seams: the inner parts of the French seams on the sides are serged, as are the yoke seams. There's no serging in the hem or where I turned under the facing, but maybe I should have done it there too! We'll see how this one holds up as compared to the others.

After a delightful week of slightly cooler weather, temperatures will be back up near the century mark again in Houston. However, I am still determined to ease into the Fall spirit. I got out a few fabrics to ponder this afternoon:

I'm thinking the chevron patterned fabric (it looks 1930s-ish to me) is destined to be skirt in the very near future. I'll probably be boring and just do another variation of the same skirt I've been making all summer, but I haven't made myself a version of it with a print, or in voile, so it will be different! The rusty burgundy rayon may become a skirt too. The center fabric, with the giant rust-colored poppies, simply has to be some sort of 1950s dress, don't you think? The print was a bit larger than I was expecting when I ordered it online, but I am determined not to let that put me off of it. I think the top fabric, with the Norwegian bird design, would make a great shirtdress. I want to try out a new pattern, with a longer sleeve than the ones I've used previously. And finally, the fabric on the far left ... no hints yet as to its destiny, but it looks like Fall for sure!

Playing dress-up with my cameras

2011-09-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

I finally found a pattern drafting project I could handle: making cases for my cameras. I now have three Lomo LC-As (an original LC-A from 1988, an LC-A+, and an LC-Wide) and it would be nice to have a case for each! Pictured above is my first attempt, which didn't reach completion because it was clearly way too big. (I guess cameras don't require all that much ease!) The next one came out better, and I've been test-driving it for the past week.

It's a bit too big, but the biggest problem with this version (besides the wonky sewing!) is that the zipper didn't go far enough around. That meant it was hard to get the camera in and out quickly, plus, the wrist strap had to curl up inside. It'd be nice to be able to use it even when the camera's in the case. With those things in mind, I tackled the next version yesterday. Here it is:

Better! It could be a little closer-fitting, but I can live with this. It's much easier to to get the camera in and out, and as you can see, the wrist strap can hang out the side. On this one, I used a nine-inch zipper, whereas the previous version only required a seven-incher. Other details of the design: I interfaced the outer fabric, but there's no padding or anything in there. Sandwiching some felt or something like that between the layers might be worth a try, for a little added protection. I found it was worth it to mark all the sewing lines on the pattern, and to use a contrasting thread, because there are lots of fiddly stops and starts and tight corners, and I am not used to that kind of sewing.

From doing my pattern re-draft to the hand-sewing of the lining to the zipper tape, this took me close to four hours to make: slow by many of your standards, I suspect. But I think I will get better with practice, and I do plan to make a few more.

This morning, I accomplished a sixty-second refashion project. The sad thing is, it took me two months to get around to it! Here's the result:

Lovely, no? But since I didn't think to take a "before" photo, you have no idea what the hell I did. My contribution was replacing the sad gray tie the skirt originally had with black 3/4 inch twill tape straight outta the package. Who thought a gray tie would be just the thing for a tan skirt? Maybe that's why large numbers of these skirts were on the clearance rack at Anthropologie for 60 percent off. Anyhow, I just tied this black twill tape to the end of the gray one and pulled it through. Easy. So easy, in fact, that I might make some other ties to swap in, too. Yellow floral on white? Pale pink? Royal blue? Heck, anything but gray would work!

My next project will be ... another skirt for schmeebot! She sent me the fabric:

It's a floral kaleidoscope, hailing from Ikea. It's a home decor fabric, which has a nice weight to it. Happily I found the missing pattern pieces for the "pacific moon" skirt version, so I am ready to get started on this.

One final note ... we finally got some cooler weather here! By cooler, I mean the high today will be in the low 90s. But we haven't seen that since May, so it's pretty amazing. And they're forecasting a few nights in the 60s -- wahoo! Suddenly I'm ready to think about Fall! And maybe do some wardrobe planning, even. More on that soon.

The skulls aren't on fire, but it sure is hot

2011-09-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go? Not so much to sewing, of late! I do have a finished dress to show you from a few weeks ago, though:

Since this is the fourth dress I've made from the Serendipity Studios Claire Cami pattern, I won't say too much about it. I lowered the waist a tiny bit more on this one, which is a bit more comfortable for me, since it hits under, rather than on, my ribcage. My brain wasn't in the right gear while I was sewing this, and I made like half a dozen mistakes or almost-mistakes, but it came out okay nonetheless. I forgot that this pattern uses a 1/2 inch seam allowance at first, so the straps came out narrower than the previous versions, but no big deal. I showed a closeup of the fabric in a previous post, but since that was a million years ago, here it is again. I used a bit of a third fabric, with a gray pattern on black for the self-made bias tape hem and belt. None of the fabrics used were purchased specifically for this project, but think they play well together!

I know for many in the northern hemisphere, it's time think about sewing for Fall. But here the temperatures have been 100 degrees F pretty much every day since May, so I think I have forgotten what Fall feels like. The picture on the right was taken in my car last Saturday, in a freshly paved parking lot with no shade. It truly is the hottest, driest summer on record for Houston. Anyhow, I am thinking about sewing cases for my new cameras, and skirts for schmeebot and myself.

Finally, Krafty Kat chose me as a recipient of the Liebster Blog award!

This award is for "those who have less than 300 Google followers but deserves a lot more recognition and following than what they currently get. They are the unsung heroes of the blogsphere, plugging away in their little corner, churning out fantastic work and we need to do something to help them get some publicity." I'm not sure my blog deserves so much publicity, given how little updating I've done of late, but I appreciate the award nevertheless. I also like that it has a German name! I'd like to pass the award along, as well. I know some people love this kind of thing, and others rank blog awards somewhere alongside chain letters and spammy emails from Nigeria, so don't feel you need to do anything with the award, unless you want to!

Rebecca, of Ugly Cute Designs. Rebecca's gone back to school for fashion design, and I find her window into this world fascinating. (And also, it confirms that I would not survive fashion design school.)

Little Black Car, fellow Houstonian and lover of vintage patterns. I love her taste in patterns, and penchant for quirky contrasting facings!

... and finally,

Bea, of Butterflies and Hurricanes, who also has incredible vintage style -- I love her shirtwaist dresses, especially. She started selling custom vintage-inspired clothing this year, so you should check out the site for her business too.

Another finished project!

2011-08-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

I'm finished with my latest project, McCall 6520:

And by finished, I mean this is as done as it's gonna get! Wadder! It's a cute pattern, and I could certainly do some pattern alterations and make a version that doesn't pull tight around my hips and have room for like 15 extra boobs. But I'm just not so sure this one is "me", after all. I don't wear a lot of blouses in real life, and when I do, I probably look better in ones that have a set-in sleeve. Both things that should have been obvious to me before I started this project. But it's such a cute pattern.

I've been away from the sewing machine most of the past month. The air conditioner for that part of the house has broken twice (we've had eight AC repairs this year, believe it or not), and I've been cleaning junk out of the garage. Fun stuff, I know! Plus, I finally sorted through my large film camera collection, and put a bunch on eBay, along with paint I no longer use. I used to have a studio space, but those days are gone! Selling on eBay takes a stupendous amount of time, folks. I had no idea. I will probably take a break before I tackle vintage sewing patterns and other odds and ends!

For most items, I don't make much money, I'm just trying to find some vintage objects good homes. Nevertheless, I treated myself to a few new cameras, ones I'd been hesitant to spend on since they're expensive compared to the junk I usually buy. I'm getting rid of about 75 or so cameras, all told, and might make enough on them to cover like half the cost of these! I know there aren't many camera junkies reading my blog, so I'll spare you the details, but here they are.

Lomography LC-A+, Lomography La Sardinia, LOMO LC-A

Now that I have my wadder out of the way, I've gone back to my old friend the Claire Cami dress from Serendipity Studios ... version number four, with the skull fabric, is underway! One I get the last round of eBay sales out the door, I should have more time for sewing!

The Strawberry Shortcake dress

2011-07-17T09:15:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite Claire Cami dress so far! Mainly because of the bird fabric, which I have had for ten-plus years. I made a first attempt at clothes-sewing in my 20s. Back then, my skills were rudimentary at best, and so I hoarded this piece of fabric, hoping that I would not waste it on some failed project. Well, it took a while, but this fabric finally found its harmonious match. It's just quilting cotton, but it's nice and soft, and neither too heavy nor too light.

Hiding behind a Kurabayashi Karoron.
(Say that ten times fast!)

The dotted fabric was purchased earlier this month, specifically to coordinate with the bird fabric, and the watermelon pink lining was left over from another project, but matched well enough.

I love that there's very little to fit on this pattern. I may drop the waistband another half-inch on my next version, but really, it does not matter too much. The neckline is slightly loose, but with no darts for fitting, I think it needs to be for comfort.

My husband (who really does like the dress) said it reminded him of Strawberry Shortcake. I'm pretty sure it's Blueberry Muffin who would wear this, though. But kudos to the husband for even remembering a circa 1980 girls toy!

Thanks for the input on my print mashup from last post. Sophie Miriam -- I had not clued into the fact that the skulls were wearing sunglasses! I thought they just had freaky eye sockets. Duh, I guess. And Little Black Car, I was seriously considering ordering this chicken wire fabric, which was one of the ones you linked to. But then I found something in my stash that I think will harmonize well.

I hadn't considered this before because it's a four-yard piece. However, I only need 1/4 yard of the contrast fabric, so there will be more than enough left to make a dress later. That will be my next project, after I take a first pass at the McCalls 6520 blouse. I have the blouse pattern traced off with my speculative alterations, but I'm not sure how much more I will work on it this weekend.

Help me with my next print mashup

2011-07-13T19:11:00.000-07:00

I've finished Claire Cami dress number three and yes, I am thinking about number four. I'm going to make something else first, but in the meantime, I humbly solicit your input.

Here's the main fabric I want to use:

This shot's not well lit: the print's black and true white (with gold sparkles on the skull teef ... and eye sockets??) Quilting cotton, naturally, but it's not too heavy or stiff. The thread is just to give you a sense of the scale of the print, not a color scheme suggestion. So, what fabric would you pair with this? Probably the second fabric would be the belt piece, and contrast at the hem. I was thinking of the some coral with white polka dots I already had, but polka dots are kind of obvious. (Plus, I ended up using that fabric in CC #3, so it's no longer an option). My husband suggested a flame-printed fabric, which is a cool idea. I considered red roses on black, too, but haven't seen a good one. And I feel all the ideas so far are a little obvious, maybe even cliche. I feel there's something better out there.

Meanwhile, I just got this pattern, which I have been looking for ever since Marie got her hands on a copy:

Another crappy lamp-lit shot. I usually document my patterns on sunny weekend mornings. Anyhow, though I swoon over vintage dress patterns on a daily basis, I don't see many blouse patterns that wow me. So when I spot a special one, I don't forget! Since I don't sew (or even wear) many blouses, I accept that my first attempt is destined to be a thoroughly unwearable muslin. But I have faith -- an awesome blouse is gonna come out of this pattern!

Daffodils are for March (too bad it's July)

2011-07-05T04:40:00.000-07:00

Claire Cami dress number two is finished! I made the bodice like 1/4 inch narrower in front and back (so, 1/2 inch smaller total), and lowered the waistline 1/2 inch. Getting pretty close to perfect, I think! I fully lined this one, too. Naturally I like that better than the facings, but since this has no front or back opening, I couldn't do the "pull the lining through the shoulders" trick that I usually use for sewing linings, and had to do the shoulder seams after the neckline and armholes. At least I think I had to ... visualizing inverting the lining taxes my puny spatial awareness skills.

The main fabric has been with me probably ten years. It's cotton, and presumably quilting cotton, but it has a slightly looser weave and lighter weight than what I typically find, so it drapes a bit better. The name on the selvage is "Daffodils are for March". As it turns out, they are okay for July as well. The fabric for the green band at the bottom was purchased just for this project -- it's Donna Dewberry's "Spackle". The taupe pinstriped fabrics is leftover from this dress from last year. (Which I will never wear, because it does not fit well and has some sewing issues -- gotta toss that one and try again someday.)

We're still without air conditioning in half the house, and may be for a few more days at least. I think I'll be wearing one of my two new Claire Cami dresses today! I have fabric picked out for a third (yes, really!) but today I should really try to get some other things done ...

The 'Hey baby, it's hot inside' dress

2011-07-04T05:25:00.000-07:00

Weekend sewing project number one is done: it's a Claire Cami dress. I must say, I was inspired by Patty's gorgeous versions of this dress, but I wasn't really sure whether it would look good on me, given its high waist. So right out of the gate, I lowered it two inches, and I really love the result! The waist is still high: it's close to my narrowest point, just above the place I'd like to think of as my waist. It's super comfortable, and while it's too casual for work, it'll be great to wear on weekends.

This dress is really fun to sew, once you get past cutting out all the flippin' pieces! The assembly is all super simple, and there's really not much fitting to do, so it's great for novices. Based on the stated measurements, I cut from XXS tapering to XS for the bodice, XS for the waist, and XS tapering to S for the skirt. But the cut is quite forgiving, and I probably could have made the whole thing XXS with no issues. The XXS bodice is a tiny bit loose, so on the next version (which is already underway) I took a tiny bit out of the center front and center back -- not too much, though, because it's gotta pull on over my head.

I used the included facings for the bodice ... ugh, I still hate facings, unless they are the kind you sew down completely. I turned under the 1/4 inch of the facing edges and stitched, rather than finish them with the serger. For version two, I'm doing a full lining, and skipping the interfacing for neck and armholes. I'll wear 'em both then and decide which works better. I finished the inside waistband the way I'd do a skirt yoke, which is not how the pattern directions instructed. As I recall, their way would be faster and easier, but my way looks cleaner inside.

I'm naming it "Baby, it's hot inside" because the main fabric came from somebody's "Baby Essentials" line and because one of our two air conditioners is broken ... with highs near 100F (37C) here, parts of the house are pretty darn hot! I got the main fabric from JoAnn's clearance section not too long ago, and don't think the fabric looks overly "baby" with the taupe, tan and yellow dots in the mix. The contrasting fabric is leftover from this dress: too bad I could not cut it straight for the life of me.

The finish on the hem is bias binding made from the main fabric, and for some reason I kept falling off the edge of the binding as I tried to attach it, or I'd catch the front and not the back. I had to go back and fix so many spots, picking out the mistakes was going to take forever. So I decided to turn them into a feature -- I motored around and around the edge of the dress sewing purposely wavy seams until I ran out of bobbin thread. It was kind of cathartic!

For the waist tie, I made what amounts to a wide bias binding and sewed it together. I was in no mood to turn a yard-long tube. I wanted to have a finished dress already.

Anyhow, I heartily recommend this pattern, especially if you have orphaned bits of quilting fabric lying around. (Though I think it would be cool to try a lawn or rayon version of this, too.) It's a lot of fun to dream up fabric combinations, and I have several more planned, some of which feature fabrics I bought many moons ago, in lengths a little too short to be useful. But I can cut the main parts of this dress from a little less than two yards, and could use even less by making the bottom band bigger.

I have two more days off from work, so I will certainly finish the next Claire Cami today. My sewing room still has air conditioning, but the rooms where the bed and the computer are don't. Talk about an incentive to keep on sewing!

It's a four day weekend

2011-07-02T04:12:00.000-07:00

... and I am up at 4:30 am to embrace it! Not really my decision: the dog was hungry, and decided to make that my problem. Nevertheless, it's wonderful to stand at the precipice of an extra-long weekend and think of all the things you could do. Never mind that experiences teaches that only a pallid fraction of those will actually get done. At the moment every possibility is available!

Obviously, I'm hoping to get a lot of sewing done. Perhaps I can finish ~~ten~~ ~~five~~ three garments? I'm thinking of starting with the Claire Cami Dress from Serendipity Studio. I am not one hundred percent sure I'll love the high waist, but I have been lured in by Patty the Snug Bug's cute renditions of this dress and what the heck, it's actually meant to be made from quilting cottons. It seems like it would be a nice weekend or dog-walking dress in this one million degree heat we're enjoying here in Texas.

But before I start on the dress, I have some housekeeping to do in my sewing area! All the variations of the two patterns I've been working with are spread out all over my sewing space, so I need to gather them up and sort them into folders so I can put them away. In some cases that means doing some pattern tracing, because some of the variants share pieces, and I want to have a complete pattern in each folder. Last night I did some speculative alterations to the evolved Butterick 6149 bodice, and it kind of makes me eager to try that one again ... but really, I gotta make something else first.

So .... ready, set, sew! I do plan to do a few other things over the long weekend though. I want to kick off a daily drawing habit. In theory I love to draw. But because I'm out of practice, I am frustrated by not being able to get the pencil to do what I want. (In my mind's eye, this used to not be a problem. But that may be just a rose-colored memory.) The only way to fix it is to get the pencil moving on a regular basis. Who knows, if I ever get myself out of this hole, it might be fun to illustrate my blog posts. And until then, who cares -- once I turn the page in my sketchbook, I never have to look at that drawing again, right?

I also want to get some vintage patterns into my Etsy shop again, and sort out a few for a giveaway here! It's been ages since I've done either of those things. Why? Because I hate counting pattern pieces, or to be more precise, folding and unfolding them. Makes me apoplectic.

Want to know what else makes me apoplectic? All these insanely cute Michael Miller fabrics. There are like ten of them I must have immediately, and this is nuts. I just bought a bunch of fabric, and should not even be looking at more fabric. I don't know how it happened. (OK, yes I do.)

And finally, for no particular reason: my new polka-dot Nikes! (I bought mine on sale for less at Zappos but they're already gone from the site.) They're not quite as cute as the Liberty of London Nikes but I never could catch those in stock in my size (and then there's the price ...) I'm still jealous of CarmencitaB's pair, though.

Half-year wrap up

2011-06-29T17:44:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd do a quick half-year wrap-up post, because how hard can it be to do one when you've spent most of the past six months sewing from just two patterns? Butterick 6149 and Sewaholic Crescent. At least they are different types of garments, or at least they were until my last post when they managed to grow themselves together.

Anyhow -- in total I sewed five dresses (four involved incarnations of Butterick 6149) and eight skirts (six of which involved variations of the Crescent, though at least all six weren't for me. Not that I probably won't end up with several more eventually). The other dress was made from Simplicity 4294 from 1942, and the other two skirts evolved from Burda 7741.

I wear all the skirts I made, and love and will eventually wear all the Butterick 6149 variants. But I'm not sure that Simplicity 4294 is gonna get any use. I like the way it looks in pictures, but it's just not "me" somehow. I think it's the shape of the sleeves. Plus, the fitted waistband bugs me. I think I'll hold onto it for a while longer before I decide its fate.

I am surprised that I sewed so many repeats, especially all those skirts in solid colors. Boring, huh? I rarely take a practical approach to sewing! I think my next project really needs to be an over-the-top ball gown in wildly patterned quilting cotton, just to balance things out.

I reckon repeat-sewing did show me a few things, first and foremost that even after four versions you won't necessarily have the fit perfect! I did enjoy adding some practical stuff to my wardrobe, but I doubt I'll ever be a slave to clothing "needs". For me, sewing is all about the fun. Knowing that, I should push myself to experiment more.

Speaking of which ... look what came in the mail today!

51 yards of fabric.

http://fabric.com had (and maybe still has -- I daren't look!) a bunch of fabric on sale for $1.97 a yard, so I stocked up on cheap stuff that I won't feel too bad about ruining, yet also wouldn't mind wearing should things go well. I got a few special pieces too. But not too special: I didn't even think about getting any of that gorgeous Liberty fabric, because the five pieces I have from our Europe trip last summer have proven to be too scary to cut into! A couple of my cheapy fabric treasures have somewhat unexpected textures (the navy voile is stiff, like netting!) but we'll see how things look after a trip through the washer.

Excuse me, but I have to go roll in my 51 yards of new fabric now. And then figure out where the heck I'm going to put it all.

The mashup dress

2011-06-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

Heeeey! I took the skirt I've been making over and over, and attached it to the bodice of the dress I've been making over and over. How original. (And yet I own over a thousand sewing patterns. Go figure.)

Haircut. Soon, I swear.

You'd think, given that this is the fourth time I've used this bodice pattern, that I'd have worked out all the kinks. But no. Sadder still, there are some I've noticed and just done nothing about. With this version, it's really clear that there's too much fabric between the bust and waist. Bodice patterns typically get narrower from bust line to waist line. My smallest point is somewhere in between my bust and waist, as I've mentioned before. I typically straighten out the sides of a bodice pattern, but it seems I should actually shoot for a concave edge, or change the shape of my dart. The alternative would be to bring the waistline up to my smallest part: I know this works well for some people, but on me I hate it.

There are a number of stupid sewing mistakes on this one. I had to let out the side seams at the waist (did that last time too). There was barely enough allowance at the waist to put the zipper in properly. The zipper installation's no work of art, but with the narrow margin I was working with, I was thrilled that the damn thing even zipped up and down. The button placket has an increasing overlap as it moves from waist to bust. Fortunately it looks pretty straight, but it happened before too, and I could have fixed it on the pattern pretty easily! The button placket also opens on the wrong side, but whateva. I knew I'd make that mistake sooner or later, and I don't really care. The bust points are a little high, but it doesn't actually look bad so I may not tangle with that one.

I thought I was making the skirt with enough extra length to account for the lack of waistband, but I didn't measure or anything all scientific like that. And guess what, I was wrong. So it was bias binding hem to the rescue (again!) It's still maybe an inch shorter that I planned, but it's okay. I intended to fully line this, as usual, but decided that the waist would be too bulky if I had a gathered lining up under my gathered skirt, so I skipped the skirt lining. This material is not even a little bit see-through, so the lining would just have been there to make me feel better or something.

Despite the fact that this dress is totally gooftastic, I like it quite a bit. Big, big hearts for this Tactel twill fabric. Must get more Tactel twill fabric. It's fluid, but has a nice weight. It's easy to work with, but doesn't wrinkle. If it had a Facebook page, I would totally hit that Like button, and I hardly ever even log onto my Facebook account because I am a social networking moron.

I like the buttons I used too, but I'm not sure whether I love them with this dress. I got them at Sew Crafty before it went away, and my best guess (based on the button card, which sorry, I should have photographed) is that they're from the 1960s. But if they don't go with a plain navy dress, what the heck would they go with? Maybe I'll keep an eye out for a better match and swap 'em out. Or maybe these will grow on me. Or maybe inertia will carry the day, and these'll stay on the dress because they got there first. (That last one seems most likely.)

I used this button spacer thingy that I got in a lot of sewing junk on eBay, and this I definitely love. You just accordion it into whatever position you want, and mark. Brilliant. I imagine you can buy these new somewhere, but I've never seen one.

Finally, a parting question for y'all -- what do you think about the belt I made for the dress? I made it to hide how my side seams don't line up even a little, but it seems a little fussy when I've already got pockets and buttons in the vicinity. Thoughts?

In anticipation of schmeebot day

2011-06-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

Though it's kind of hard to tell from my blog, I am still sewing! Here's the latest completed project: a skirt for an annual event known as schmeebot day. It is currently wending its way to the site where the festivities will take place.

I also decided it needs its own name -- it has several details that differentiate it from the skirts I've made for myself so far. So, behold ... the Pacific Moon! (The first version can be seen in action here, by the way.)

Pacific Moon has a wider waistband, and a two-inch hem. The fabric is the same as for one of the skirts I made for myself ... at the time I said the fabric was rayon for some reason, but it's not, it's Tencel twill. I love this fabric: it's soft, not too thin, hangs well, washes well, and doesn't wrinkle too badly. I need to find some more.

I'm currently taking a break from skirts and making a dress. But what is a dress if not a skirt with a bodice attached? (That's foreshadowing, by the way!) I've been working on it a little each evening, and I'm hoping it'll be done by the weekend.

Red moon, yellow moon, blue moon ...

2011-06-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

I've made a few skirts since I last posted! My blue "new moon" skirt has been joined by cranberry rayon and sunny yellow cotton versions. All three are lined with cotton lawn or batiste. The blue one (which I showed you before) has celery green; the reddish one has pink; and the yellow is lined with white. I wasn't much in the mood for self-photography, as it's hot outside (but too dark inside for good photos), and I was tired, and it's Saturday, and wow, I could probably come up with a dozen other reasons. But don't worry, the karmic payback for my crappy attitude is crappy photos, but you can see the skirts in them, so mission accomplished!

I left the red one a little longer, and the rayon fabric makes it seem somewhat dressier. It also doesn't wrinkle much. I bought the necklace in Key West, and it goes great with the red skirt. (It doesn't go with the blue and yellow ones, but I forgot to take it off. And also to put my shoes back on -- I love shoes, but I love not wearing shoes even more!)

I had been wanting a bright golden skirt since I started seeing them around last Fall (though the Fall ones were usually a touch more mustard-y than mine). I even tried on the corduroy version that Anthropologie had, but it didn't look right on me. When I bought the fabric, I had intended to add self-made bias binding from the scraps of this dress, but if I had any leftovers, I can't find them now! I do have another piece, but I didn't want to cut into it just for this. Plan B was to use some of the bias binding I got in Paris, but somehow it didn't feel right. I added some to the pockets, but with the twill tape already re-enforcing the pocket edge (as per the instructions Tasia gives in the Crescent skirt pattern) it was too stiff. So off it came. Instead, I took my inspiration from Patty the Snug Bug (who employs decorative stitches in dozens of awesomely creative ways) and bust out one of my sewing machine's approximately 600 unused fancy stitches for the pockets and hem. The "in the ditch" stitching looks terrible because (A) I had no matching thread and (B) I used the specific foot for this purpose for the first time. I do a better job with the regular foot and a watchful eye, I think.

On all the skirts I've made like this, I've just serged the pocket bottom seam with my thread rainbow. But in this case it backfired on me: you could see the colored threads through the skirt fabric. So I hid the serged seam with some self bias binding, and disaster averted. And these pockets won't be developing holes anytime soon!

And finally, the blue skirt you've already seen hanging on a hanger. I think it may still be my favorite, because of how soft the fabric is. It has been worn to work twice already, and the red and yellow ones once each. I reckon this is my TNT skirt pattern now.

Next up is another skirt for schmeebot, made from the leftover cranberry red rayon. Then I may make another version or two of this skirt in prints, but after that I'll really try to move on. I have a bunch of vintage dress patterns that are feeling quite neglected!

New moon skirt

2011-05-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

I'm back from a much-needed vacation! The trip was zero-percent sewing related, so I won't say much about it, but I did get to enjoy views like this:

Key West: Fort Zachary Taylor State Park

Before I left, I made another skirt adapted from the Sewaholic Crescent skirt pattern. I think I finally have it the way I want it, so I'm going to give it a name: meet the "new moon" skirt. I used the waistband from Burda 7741, and attached it to the same skirt pieces I used for schmeebot's skirt, except I made mine several inches longer. Here it is, inside and out. It's made of a super-soft light blue cotton twill, and lined in light avocado green poly-cotton batiste. I swear I ironed it ... but I suck at ironing, apparently.

I ended up taking a bunch out of the waistband so that it would sit a little higher than the Burda 7741s I've made. The one place I screwed up was when it came time to cut out the lining: I cut the lining front as if it would have pockets inserted -- oops. I just cut some wedges of fabric and sewed them in there -- you can hardly notice, and hey, it's on the inside. I've already worn this to work, but I'm too lazy to try it on for you now. It's a straightforward skirt, and it looks about as good hanging on the patio fence as it does on me. Plus, I think I am going to make a trillion more of these. In fact, the next one is already in the pipeline -- burgundy rayon twill and rose-pink poly-cotton lawn. After that, maybe a fun print one. Or two. Or three.

Skirt-to-be.

I must confess, I made a wider-waistband version too, but it was a bit of a failure. The waistband came out huge, and in my attempt to fix it without removing the zipper made it fit kind of wonky. Technically it's finished, but now I accept that it needs work if it's ever gonna get worn. Someday I'll put a new waistband on it ... but eh, not right now.

The green skirt of knocked-off happiness

2011-04-29T17:54:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, schmeebot made a request: she wanted another skirt like this one, which we both bought at Old Navy a while back:

It's a great, basic little skirt, made out of a super-soft lightweight twill-y sort of fabric. And if you squint a little, it kinda resembles another skirt seen recently around these parts:

Not twins, but possibly siblings, right? Same sort of pockets, and basic shape, just different yokes and hem treatments. So I used the Sewaholic Crescent pattern as my starting point, and re-drafted the yoke shape (and the corresponding parts of the skirt pieces, to end up with this:

The fabric is a soft baby-wale corduroy, as I couldn't find any twill like the Old Navy skirt. I decided that this was actually better off unlined, as it was already thick enough and hung nicely as-is. I used some leftover quilting cotton for the yoke facing, and to make up for the fact that I'd cut the hem a little short!

I actually dusted off my serger for the pockets, and you can see the shameful fact that rather than match my serger threads to a project, I just use four cones of different colors I like and serge the rainbow.

It took me another week and a half to get the skirt in the mail, but now it's winging its way to its new home in California. This is my first garment "made to order", so hopefully it will hit the mark!

I am all that (whatever that may be!)

2011-04-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

Kat of Krafty Kat recently bestowed the "I am all that!" award on me a few days ago! Like some of the other awards floating around, this one has a little survey attached to it. I found these questions a little more challenging than most, but I'll give it my best shot.

1. What size shoe do you wear? If you wear size 7, can I borrow your shoes?

I have biiiig feet. (And loooong toes.) Size 10 to 11 in US sizes, 41 to 42 in European sizes. So probably 8 to 9 in UK sizing, I reckon? Technically my feet measure to size 10.5, but most shoe manufacturers stop making half sizes at 9.5, so I am very loyal to brands whose 10s run a little big!

As for borrowing shoes ... while it's not as bad as, say, borrowing someone's toothbrush, I have only shared shoes with people I knew well. For the brief period of time in junior high when I wore the same size as my mom, I test-drove all her running shoes. And I inherited a beloved pair of shoes from one of my best friends in high school and wore them to death. Of course this hypothetical size-7-shoe-wearer isn't gonna want my shoes anyhow!

2. 30s or 60s?

In terms of sewing patterns and women's fashion, I'll take the late 30s or the early 60s. But I'm guessing I'm not allowed to assemble my own tailor-made decade from just the parts I like (especially as I am not willing to loan out any shoes). Early 60s styles are probably the best look for my figure type, so I'll settle for that!

3. Have you ever kissed someone you shouldn't have?

Well, yes, but I was framed. Actually, it's kind of a funny story.

I was in high school at the time. One morning before classes started, I was heading toward my locker when my German teacher rounded the corner from the other direction. Now this teacher was in the habit of calling out a verb to decline whenever he encountered one of his students in the hall, so I was getting into a German frame of mind as quickly as possible. Before 8am, this required serious focus!

At the same moment the dreaded verb burst forth, someone slammed into me, and before I knew it, that person's tongue was in my mouth. I was completely unprepared for this, not least because my attacker was my best friend's boyfriend. Oh, and this was also my first kiss ever. I can't say I enjoyed it, as I was too worried about where my best friend and my own boyfriend were, and how I was going to handle the whole German verb situation. (I don't think I did handle it, actually.) Naturally the whole thing was my best friend's idea: she had a twisted sense of humor. My boyfriend was in on it too, so maybe I shouldn't have been surprised when that relationship didn't last even three weeks.

4. Have you ever been poisoned? Was it by the girlfriend of the person you kissed? That is awesomely "Knot's Landing".

I've only been poisoned by a negligent Chinese restaurant. No funny story there.

5. Who is on your "Celebrity Free Pass" list (top five)?

I'm just not up on my celebrities. My husband is always proud of me if I even recognize someone I've seen before in a movie or TV show. I'm not sure why I have so much trouble ... maybe it's because I didn't have too much exposure to celebrities as a kid. So I guess the short answer to number five is "nobody" ... boring, but true. But here are some of my favorite celebrities (and maybe this goes some way towards explaining the problem):

Hint: it's the one on the left!

Ook, the owl who played Hedwig in the Harry Potter. What could be more awesome than an owl named Ook? Oh yeah, an owl named Ook with an acting career!

Alex the African Grey, who invented terms like "banerry" and "cork nut".

Alas, Alex is no longer with us -- he died a few years ago at age 31. But he devoted his life to science! You can read about him at http://www.alexfoundation.org.

Now who shall I bestow this award upon? (Hey now, don't all run away at once!) I'm not at all offended if prefer to let this one pass you by, but should you wish to jump on board ...

Handmade Jane
Jenny at Chronically Uncool
Jenny Stitches
Sassy Lassie
SuzySewing

Crescent skirt!

2011-04-17T05:26:00.000-07:00

The Crescent skirt is the second pattern offering from Sewaholic patterns, and I'm happy to report it was just as awesome to sew as the Pendrell blouse! I thought about waiting for the sew-along, but I had time to sew and the Crescent was what I wanted to make. I made View A, and consider my first attempt to be a "wearable muslin": I wanted the waist to sit a little lower than the pattern intends, so I made a bigger size. Because the narrowest part of my body is actually around the vicinity of my bottom rib, skirts worn at my true waist tend to ride up. For some reason this doesn't happen with skirts that sit closer to the hip.

Now that it's finished, I can see that what I should have done is sew my proper size and take an inch or so off the top of the yoke. On my version, the fullness starts a little low, and I can see (by pulling up the skirt to where it was meant to sit) that it is more flattering as designed. That said, it is still a great skirt, and super comfortable. I think I'm gonna make a lot of these! One other thing I'll change for future versions is the length: I added an inch, but even so it was still barely long enough for my taste, hence the bias tape hem-job. I wish I could have found some blue that matched my ribbon, as the orange I used is close-but-not-quite and it annoys me a little.

The fabric is just some I had lying around. It's the same quilting cotton I used for the godets in this skirt. I lined with a pale peach batiste, also leftover from another project. The trim on the yoke is grosgrain ribbon, which I also used in lieu of twill tape for reinforcing the pocket edges as the pattern instructs. And speaking of what the pattern instructs -- the instructions were great, and I learned several new tricks. They were also very clear ... until I got to how the zipper and yoke facing were attached. There I got lost, and ended up doing it my usual way. I'll be watching this step closely during the sew-along, to figure out how it is supposed to work.

Two things I love: pockets and lens flare!

I love, love, love the pockets on this skirt, and I think they may sneak into other skirts and dresses I make in the future. They're nice and roomy, and so easy to sew!

I finished this last weekend, and my next project is well underway. It's a knockoff of an Old Navy skirt my friend schmeebot and I both bought. She wanted another one like it, Old Navy no longer has them, and I figured it would be easy to make one. The basic shape of the skirt is not so different from the Crescent, so I used it as my starting point. I'm hoping to finish it today. I'll probably make one for myself too.

Finally ... I decided to take the plunge and buy zippers in bulk:

This is what 100 zippers looks like ...
sort of a bouquet of zippers.

I acquired these from Zipperstop (who also has an online store in addition to selling on eBay) in color assortments of the two sizes I use most: 7" to 8", and 14": 100 of each! That should keep me in zips for a while. The 7" and 8" group was only $9.95, so a HUGE savings over buying these in brick-and-mortar stores, as I have been doing. (The 14-inchers were $32.) And it's the same YKK zipper that my local fabric store carries. I didn't get to pick the colors in the assortment, but I often don't care if my zipper (or my thread, for that matter) matches perfectly.

I've also picked up some vintage sewing notion lots on eBay recently, and at some point I'll share some of my favorite items. Provided that someone else doesn't have their heart set on it, you can often pick up these lots for cheap, and they're like finding buried treasure. It's a blast to sift though the box when it arrives!

Finished bird dress

2011-04-09T05:18:00.000-07:00

I finished and photographed my dress last weekend. It's yet another variation on Butterick 6149. For this one, I took the adjustments I made on the asymmetrically-buttoned one, but moved the buttons back to the center, and made a dirndl skirt rather than using the full skirt that came with the pattern. As I mentioned previously, I also pulled out some of my most favorite fabric, from Joel Dewberry's Aviary series. I really love fabric with birds on it!

For some reason, I managed to make a number of little mistakes on this one, but I don't think they show in the final product. I had to use Fray Check not once but twice on this project, which is a first. It's along part of the seam where the zipper is installed, since there wasn't enough width to finish it the way I usually do. I also used on the top corner of the button placket, where I poked my point-turner (aka a knitting needle) through while trying to turn it. Argh!

I also managed to make it too narrow at the waist somehow. I ended up letting out the back darts a little to give myself some breathing room. I think less dart-y darts at the lower back may actually be a good adjustment for me. I have narrow shoulders and routinely increase the darts (or add some) for the shoulders/upper back, but never thought about adjusting the back waist.

I was worried that a lined, dirndl skirt made out of quilting cotton would be too bulky at the waist with all that gathering, but I trimmed the seam allowances as much as I dared and it seems to work. I like this skirt shape, and it's a nice way to change up a pattern. And in this case, it allowed me to avoid sideways birds on the skirt!

The bird placement is part planning, part luck. I really should have cut the two bodice fronts separately for max birdage. (And to avoid birds with their heads eaten by darts in my armpit. Oops.) I suppose that I should just be happy that I cut everything right side up, given the high error rate on this project.

Here's an inside-out shot. The lining is a cotton batiste, as per usual:

I used to try and attach the entire facing edge wrong sides together and turn. But with those two sharp angles, it's enough to make you crazy. I've decided I'm just as happy sewing the top and bottom (the two vertical stretches) wrong sides together, and then just turning the the horizontal edge under and top-stitching. Since I imagine that explanation made very little sense, perhaps a photo will help:

There were some pockets on here too but I decided I didn't like them. For one thing, the placement wasn't quite right, but I think they made the front of the dress a little too busy with this print. So now I have some orphan pockets: I'm hoping they will be a fabulous addition to some skirt or dress someday.

I tried tried photographing myself without a camera, but those shots came out far more awkward. I need something in my hands! Here's a better short of the camera: it's a little grubby, but it still works great.

It's a 1950s Herbert George Co. Imperial Mark XII. They came in black, red, gray, tan and light green too, but this light blue color is my favorite. There were also "official" Girl and Boy Scouts versions of this camera.

What I didn't finish over the weekend

2011-03-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

I hoped to complete a dress -- it has been a while since I've finished a project in a single weekend. I didn't quite get there, but it's close -- just need to finish off the lining around the zipper, sew on buttons, and hem. If I hadn't had to rip out so many mistakes, I probably would have made my goal. Even re-doing the worst of the boo boos, this dress won't be my best sewing job ever, but I like it and nobody else will notice. I used some of my favorite fabric: a cut from Joel Dewberry's "Aviary" series, purchased in 2009. Do you have trouble cutting into your favorite fabrics? I do, but the release of Aviary 2 made it much, much easier in this case. :) Since I have no dress to show, here's a preview of the fabric.

I also made labels for my pattern storage boxes. Last weekend, I did a little reorganizing of my patterns, since my collection had, uh, grown since I set up my boxes. I added four new ones, and made the labels below. I know I could have made nicer, neater ones using a computer, but hand-drawing them was more fun.

I buy the fabric boxes I use for pattern storage at the Container Store. They're collapsible, but have a metal frame inside to make them sturdy. The top zips open, with a Velcro strip sealing the flap.

The weather in Houston has been gorgeous, and azaleas are in bloom everywhere. I wish I could take a week off to enjoy it. I hope you had a good weekend, and got to do things you like to do!

Another one of these Burda skirts

2011-03-24T06:17:00.000-07:00

Here's the next Burda 7741. I used a fabric I found on clearance at High Fashion Fabrics that I'll describe as a "twill challis" -- probably rayon, but it could have some cotton in there too. Even though it has that twill texture, it's not as heavy as the twills I usually see.

This fabric is left over from a dress that didn't come together from a year or so ago. I love it, and I'm glad I could re-use it. I still have a little left ... maybe I can get a sleeveless blouse out of it.

I left the pockets of this version to make it (hah) dressier. It's lined in cotton lawn, which gives it a little more structure, and keeps it from wrinkling quite as much -- this fabric loves to wrinkle!

Can you stand to hear about another camera? I picked a modern one, to go with this modern pattern. The Supersampler is a four-lens camera from Lomography -- you may have seen them at Urban Outfitters or your local museum gift shop (which is where I got my first one) too. It shoots four image "slices" in the space of a normal 35mm negatives. When you press the button, the shutters fire every 2 or .2 seconds, depending on which setting you choose. There's a pull-cord that advances the film.

My Supersampler is probably my most-used camera, and it has evolved a bit over time. It started out like all other Supersamplers, making images like this:

But over the years, my original Supersampler has developed some quirks (and I have given it some too) and now I use it to take shots like:

... or this

I've also used my Supersamplers with other cameras (by shooting the film multiple times) to get stuff like this:

Photos of my customized Butterick 6149

2011-03-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

I originally posted about this one here. I'll probably wear it as I am here, with a shirt underneath. It just looks jumperesque to me.

The camera du jour is a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye -- this model is the one without the flash, which was made from 1949 to 1951-ish. The Brownie Hawkeye Flash (affectionately known as the BHF --the same camera with a flash attachment) was made from 1950 on into the early 60s. It's another simple box camera, designed for 620 film. This camera was extremely common, and they're still easy to pick up cheap on eBay. My parents had one, and I have a roll of film that I found in theirs that alas, I cannot develop because of its C-22 based emulsion, which is no longer processed. I did however find and develop a roll of film in one of the BHFs I bought on eBay. Given the angle of perspective, I suspect it was shot by a child. Here's one of my favorites:

There goes the dog!

One last fun fact about the BHF: you can date them based on a four-letter code found inside all but the earliest ones. It works like this:

C A M E R O S I T Y

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

So if you found a camera with the code CARO, then you have 1256 -- 12/56: the camera was manufactured in the 12th four-week period in 1956, so November or early December. I think that's kind of cool.

My 40s gingham dress -- finally photographed!

2011-03-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

I took my camera out to the patio yesterday and caught up on photographing my sewing projects. At first I felt kind of weird -- as much photography as I do, I don't take many photos of myself. But after a while, I started to have fun with it, and I like the shots I got. The keys to success are good light and lots of takes, I think!

The camera I'm holding is an Ensign Ful-Vue, a British-made camera from around the same era as the pattern (Simplicity 4294, from 1942). I thought I'd feel less silly posing for photos if I had something in my hands, and this is a fun way to share my other collecting obsession -- vintage cameras. The Ful-Vue is a simple box camera that takes 120 (medium format) film. Later versions of the Ful-Vue got quite strange looking, but the early model that I have is more rare. You can read more about the Ful-Vue on Camerapedia (and the "early Ful-Vue" pictured there is in fact mine!)

Making bias tape, and the birthday beast

2011-03-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

Kat asked in the comments on my last post whether my reference to "self bias tape" meant bias tape made from the same fabric as the garment. And yes, it does. She didn't ask how to make it, but if you'd like to see a tutorial, there are some good ones out there, notably this one and this one on the Colette patterns blog. However, the question reminded me that I had taken some photos of how I get the fabric going through the bias tape maker, because I haven't seen a tutorial for that. This was my least favorite part of the process until I found it was easy when you pull the fabric through with a needle and thread, like this:

You anchor the thread as if you were about to start stitching, at the middle of the end of the strip. Then you can drop the needle through the bias tape maker, and use it to draw the fabric through smoothly.

In other sewing news, I finally took photos of me in my finished dresses from earlier in the year, which I'll post soon. And I finished my skirt -- now I need to photograph that. Looks like my posting average will go up a bit, at least temporarily.

A vintage pattern I got recently had a facing piece cut out of newspaper, which included this partial photo, which amuses me for some reason. Are they having fun? It's hard to say. The pattern this came in is a mail order pattern, and there was a date on the mailing label of 9/13/46. The clipping looks to be of a similar vintage.

Finally, today is Dinky's third birthday! The birthday boy got a fresh rawhide chew, playtime at the park, an afternoon walk, and pepperoni off my pizza. All things he gets each and every weekend. Maybe it's good he doesn't know it's his birthday -- he might be disappointed!

Here's a shot of Dinky from this morning, featuring his warm-weather haircut. The temperatures here are already reaching the 80s!

I made a skirt all by myself, and I photographed it all by myself, too

2011-03-18T21:09:00.000-07:00

In uncharacteristic spurt of sewing practicality, I made myself up a skirt and am well into a second. Both are from Burda 7741, which despite its disturbing cover art has become a pretty decent basic skirt pattern. It ain't stylish, but it's very "me", and I'm sure I'll make more of them eventually.

I made two skirts from this pattern in 2009, and blogged about them here. It's the bottom part of the strange bibbed item worn by the mildly possessed girl on the right in the pattern's illustration. I lengthened the pattern about two inches for those first two. For the current versions, I kept the length, and also added about two inches of width to the front and back skirt pieces, keeping the yoke the same. Voila, nice basic dirndl-ish skirt. Here it is, adorning my pantry door:

... and here, adorning me. I wore it to work with a pink shirt from Target that and a cardigan from Old Navy that is all schmeebot's fault.

Neither the stool nor the back end of
the dog were meant to be in this shot.

As alluded to in the title of this post, I finally busted out the tripod and self-timer and gave them a try. The frantic beeping of the self-timer sets me on edge (and by the time the shutter actually fires, it's all I can do to keep from twitching), but I have batteries on order for my long-lost-but-recently-found camera remote, which I hope will help. And eventually I'll arrive at a better camera set-up: it is clearly too low here!

There isn't much more to say about the skirt, so have a look at its insides:

It's lined in pink batiste, and I used self-fabric bias tape to finish both the skirt and lining hems. As finishes go, it's not exactly a couture look, but I like doing it a whole lot better than hemming, either by hand or by machine. Also, I didn't want the skirt to get any shorter. I was originally contemplating a pleated flounce around the edge, but decided keep it simple. While this skirt is fine for work (and I've already worn it there) I expect it'll see a lot of weekend wear too.

If you're paying close attention, you might have noticed that I used this same fabric for my first Pendrell blouse but I promise I'll never wear them together!

This post was brought to you by the letter B

2011-03-12T16:47:00.000-08:00

I have done a *little* sewing, and have a skirt about half-finished but I've been swamped at work of late so I've set it aside for now. I hope to be back to it before too much longer. But enough about the alleged skirt -- what's this about the letter B?

Thanks to Bea of Butterflies and Hurricanes, I was inspired to buy some Seriously Awesome Jeans. I've been having trouble finding good jeans in this era of the dastardly skinny pant, in which I look like a freak of nature, if I can get the damn things on at all. Usually they don't pull up over my thighs. I have a very curvy, muscular lower half, and it wasn't meant for this look. The good news is that for Spring we apparently are to expect a 70s vibe, and while I can't say that in itself sounds like great news to me, it apparently means that higher-waisted flare-legged jeans are on their way in.

I never thought the high-waisted look was for me -- too mom-jeansy on my figure. However, this morning I spotted Bea's me-made March post, which included some adorable high-waisted jeans that she made herself. Alas, making my own pair is not on the map. (Remember from just two paragraphs ago how I am struggling to finish a simple freakin' skirt?) Anyhow, Bea's super-flattering jeans were enough to make me pause in front of the high-waisted jeans at the Gap. I grabbed some. I tried them on. They were a tad too big, but I was surprised to find that I loved the look. I went home without them, but checked online, to see if I could order them. Nope, they were sold out in all but one size (not the one I was looking for, of course). Uh oh ... now I was really sure I wanted them! I went to a different Gap, where I found some the exact same size as the first pair, but these miraculously fit. I could damn Gap for their inconsistent sizing, but I think I'll just be delighted that I got my jeans. :)

I also bought another, not quite as high-waisted but equally nice fitting pair. The first pair has now been taken off the website, so I can only show you the photo. The other pair is here. I think a big part of what makes these work is that the waist truly fits me (I'm used to higher waists being super gappy) and the back pocket placement, which is lower than the typical "mom jeans" look. Now I need to get cracking on some vintage blouses to wear with them! If I ever finish my skirt ... Anyhow, thanks Bea for the inspiration!

Though I have not been sewing, I have managed to stock up on sale Butterick and Simplicity patterns from JoAnn's. It kind of boggles the mind how modern patterns can be $17 most of the time and then suddenly $1 on sale. Not that I'm complaining.

There's one more B to mention in this post ... this one is for Barbara, my neighbor, who gave me all this lovely fabric:

The fabrics in the upper left (a black one that's hard to see, and the two teal tweedy ones) are heavier, home-decor-like fabric that would be good for making bags and such. In the upper right are some smallish (about 1 yard each) quilting fabrics, which could become bag linings, or perhaps used for trim, or facings, or with coordinating fabrics. There are also some bigger pieces of cotton fabric (the purple striped one is probably seven or eight yards!) plus a sampling of rayon and/or poly fabrics that will be good for blouses. And that lovely pin-striped wool suiting! Anyhow, it's a wonderful windfall, and I look forward to using all of it!

Seven things

2011-03-02T20:26:00.000-08:00

Marie tagged me for the Stylish Blogger Award, and I am honored! (And also slightly amused, as I am stylish approximately zero days a week. But we can be whoever we want on the Internet, right?) Marie has been turning out these wonderfully detailed aprons of late, and you should go check them out on her blog. There really should be more occasions for wearing such fantastic aprons -- they are wasted on mere cooking!

Anyhow, the Stylish Blogger Award stipulates that you share seven things about yourself, and that you pass the award along to seven other stylish bloggers. So here goes ...

1. I am a huge animal lover, and I've had a lot of different pets over the years, including birds, fish, reptiles and invertebrates. I currently have a four year old canary named Sunshine (but called Eeper for the most part, because of the little sounds she makes) and a dozen land hermit crabs who dwell in a 75 gallon terrarium. Hard to say how old the hermit crabs are (they cannot be bred in captivity, and thus were all wild-caught) but I've had them for five-plus years. A little less than three years ago, I got my first dog. You've seen him lurking around in my sewing project photos. His name is Dinky, and he's a "ratapoo" -- a rat terrier / miniature poodle mix. And let me tell you, my dog is amazing. I never knew I was a dog person (though my husband did!) but clearly I am. I could go on and on about my dog, but I'll stop now. :)

2. My husband is also amazing! We celebrated 20 years together last month (we've been married 16 of those). He's my best friend and supports me in everything I do. We've always had fairly different hobbies and interests (and sleep schedules!) but we share fundamental beliefs and aspirations, and have a similar sense of humor. I think at this point he knows more about me than I know about myself.

3. Besides sewing, one of my other major hobbies is film photography. I also collect vintage cameras, the crappier the better (so long as they work), and I have over 300 of them. I use digital cameras some too, but for me, film is where it's at. I love double exposures, light leaks, cross processing, scratches, colored gels, long-expired film, dirty lenses, you name it! My flickr stream is here, but this is a sample:

4. I'm a software developer, and have a Master's in Computer Science, but before I figured out that I enjoyed programming, I got a BFA in Fine Arts (Drawing) and a PhD in Cultural Anthropology. I was in school a looooong time, folks, but I'm happy to say that I did finally end up with a career I enjoy.

5. I'm a native of the state of Florida. I was born in Tallahassee, and went to college in Gainesville (where I met my husband). As far as I'm concerned, North Central Florida is the most beautiful place on Earth. Fun random fact: Samuel Coleridge's description of Xanadu in the poem Kubla Khan was partly inspired by descriptions of North Central Florida written by the naturalist William Bartram. Yep, paradise ... certainly it will always feel like home to me, no matter how long I am away.

6. Another thing I love to do is run. I've been running regularly since I was around eight years old, though back then it was because my parents made me! At this point, it's more of an ingrained habit than a hobby. I do pretty much the same run (about 3.5 miles) every day, and just relax. I have no interest in pushing myself or being competitive, I just do it because it feels bad if I don't.

7. I am a major introvert, and my husband and dog provide all the social life I could possibly need. I feel uncomfortable at social gatherings because I've never mastered the art of small talk. I can geek out about hobby stuff, but I don't know anyone in real life who shares my hobbies (so I'm fortunate that my husband is happy to listen to me prattle on about them!) Lately I've been doing more presentations for work, and that has actually helped some, but I'll always be a loner, though not at all in an unhappy way!

So there are my seven things, and here's who I'd like to nominate ... some of these folks may not read my blog, but I won't let that stop me. :)

1. First off -- schmeebot! We met a few years ago through our shared interest in photography (and specifically, in sending Polaroids through the mail) and have become close friends despite living a thousand miles apart. Or maybe because of it -- who knows how I might drive ya crazy if you had to see me every day, schmee!

2. Georgi is a fellow animal lover, and of all the photographers I know of, nobody has a closer photographic aesthetic to mine She has many breath-takingly beautiful film shots in her flickr stream.

3. Shannon of Hungry Zombie Couture's blog was one of the very first sewing blogs I started reading, long before I ever imagined I'd blog about sewing myself. I love her sarcastic wit, her gorgeous sewing projects, and I would happily kidnap her shoe collection. And of course, she also has an amazing dog!

4. Bea of Butterflies and Hurricanes who keeps turning out these enviable vintage garments -- I love each and every one!

5. Little Black Car, possibly my closest vintage sewing neighbor, who has brought many a 1970s-does-1940s gem of a pattern to my attention. Plus we both love rick-rack!

6. Jenny of the ironically named Chronically Uncool who brings us Tetris fabric and gorgeous full-skirted 50s numbers.

and finally,

7. Marianne of Dancing With Poodles, who hasn't posted in a while, but I hope will post again soon. I love her sense of style, and what an awesome name for a blog!

In which I dabble in pattern drafting and well, yay!

2011-02-28T18:07:00.000-08:00

Here it is, the last day of February, and finally I have a dress to show! This one took the full month, both because I've been busy with other stuff (mainly work) and because I started out to make a different pattern, failed (or it failed me ... a little of both, perhaps?) and had to go back to the drawing board.

Here's the pattern I set out to make. Looks innocent enough, right? Well, it turned out to be "teen" sized, which is vintage code for "designed for someone way shorter than me". There was also something weird about the way it was drafted. I got the bodice together, but it did not look like the picture. The bottom neckline slanted a a weird angle. The fit was poor. It was just bad news all around. (Expect to see this pattern on Etsy sometime in the near future. Caveat emptor.)

I really, really loved the styling, though, and I might have pouted a bit to my husband about it. "Couldn't you draft that?" he asked. Well not from scratch ... but what if I took a pattern that does work for me as a starting point? That seemed achievable, so I got out Butterick 6149 and went to work.

Here's what I ended up with. And can I say, it really wasn't so hard? What was I afraid of?

I made the following changes to the bodice (the skirt remained unchanged):

1. Altered the left and right front bodice pieces so that one was a few inches longer, and the other a few inches shorter, in order to get the asymmetric placing of the buttons.

2. Figured out how big a scallop I wanted, and drafted a half-circle piece to trace. I started off thinking I wanted four scallops, but it looked too busy, so I tried three and that works for me. I accounted for the seam allowance as I measured, so that the bottom scallop wouldn't disappear into the waist seam.

3. I liked the neckline from Butterick 6149, but didn't want it to be so dramatic on this dress, so I relaxed the angle a bit.

That's it! For some reason, it came out a bit loose in the waist, which is probably a sewing rather than drafting error. But I like it, and heck, I find a looser fit more comfy anyhow. (And I'm afraid style loses to comfort every time with me. Sad but true.)

The fabric is some sort of cotton with a subtle stripe to it, probably purchased from the clearance section at High Fashion Fabrics, but I don't remember for sure. Weight-wise, it's probably not that different than quilting fabric, but it has a different hand to it -- hard to explain. The lining is aqua voile that matches the buttons, plus I used the last of my red polka-dot fabric from Butterick 6149 to the bodice front facings. So yes, what looks like a whimsical combination of aqua buttons and red stitching is actually anal-retentively color coordinated with the inside of the dress. :)

Still no pictures of any dresses on me, but here's a final dress-in-the-garden shot. The dog even got in on this one -- it's almost like I'm there, right?

I'm not sure what I want to make next. Maybe it's time to make some skirts, which arguably I wear a lot more than dresses. I could add some fun decorative elements to otherwise simply-shaped skirts, like a pleated hem, or more scalloped edges. On the other hand, I have a 1930s pyjamas pattern with a top that I think would make a cute blouse. And my vintage dress patterns always beckon. Argh, I really need to sew faster or find some more free time!

A recipe so simple even I can make it

2011-02-26T18:12:00.000-08:00

I actually did a little sewing today! I might finish a garment during the month of February after all. My project is in what I think of as the home stretch -- it merely awaits buttons, hand-sewing of the lining to the zipper, and hemming. Hopefully I can get some or all of that done tomorrow. Meanwhile, I thought I'd share something else I made today: ice cream bread. My husband found the recipe on BoingBoing and wanted to try it. So I picked up the ingredients:

Death by chocolate ... mmm.

I am about the furthest thing from a cook there is. It just doesn't interest me. I seem to be incapable of following instructions, which is part of the problem. I confess that I didn't even follow the link to the recipe until I was posting it here (and I still haven't read it). I just asked my husband for the pertinent details and off I went. But you can't really mess this one up. Or believe me, I would have.

Basically, to make ice cream bread, you take equal amounts of the stuff pictured above (I used two cups of each, then another spoonful of ice cream) and mash 'em together. Probably you should let the ice cream get a little melty before you try to mix in the flour. And for God's sake, don't do what I do and try to knead them together with your hands .... ice cream is @$#&! cold! I ended up mashing at it (right in the cooking pan, as I also hate washing dishes) with a couple of spoons. This is what it looked like right before it went into the oven:

Pardon the appearance of my pan -- it has seen much brownie batter.

Thirty minutes or so at 350 degrees, and what comes out of the oven doesn't actually look a whole lot different, but sure enough, it's bread! Actually, the texture is pretty scone-like. And it tastes pretty darn good, for something so simple. We ate it for lunch. :)

Don't worry, there is no chance that this will become a cooking blog! Hopefully I'll have a finished dress to show soon.

Bonehead no more -- the finished dress

2011-02-08T18:26:00.000-08:00

Last time I posted, I was bemoaning the many mistakes I made on this dress, but I'm happy to say, the bodice do-over took and it came out not half bad. It was worth the extra time (and thankfully I had the extra fabric). Unfortunately, the stupid cold weather leaves me in no mood to have myself photographed in it, so I sent the dress out to wander the back yard on its own:

1942's Simplicity 4294 in all its sunny glory.

It looks a little creepy hanging in midair like that, but the bamboo makes a nicer backdrop than my sewing room clutter. The pattern is from 1942. It has those nifty squarish-inset sleeves from the time, which my gingham does not show off to advantage. However, when I tried topstitching on bodice v1, I didn't like the way it looked, so I nixed it on the redo. Another design change I made was to make the collar white, which was a definite improvement. Incidentally, the collar was a bit confusing to me, as the back part of the collar is actually attached to the front bodice pieces. You sew them together at the center back of the collar, and then sew that to the back bodice. Once I'd gotten my mind around that, doing my usual full lining was no problem.

I did some pattern alterations on the bodice as I traced it off, and by round two, I had realized that the set-in belt was way too small. I added two inches, and wish that I had added maybe a teeny bit more. I also lengthened the bodice by about an inch, and went with three buttons instead of two. I waffled for a long time about which buttons to choose: I had red, yellow, and blue, all of which would work. Blue won, as you can see.

And here's a photo of the dress wrong side out. As I've done in the past, I both lined the dress and used the provided facing pieces. I didn't use interfacing (which I hate ... maybe because I've never bought the good stuff) and that was the right choice for the collar (the facing pieces are made out of a medium weight cotton) but the belt could have used some. I used the main fabric for the belt part of the lining just because.

I finished this close to two weeks ago, and have since moved on to other projects. I started with a 40s mail order pattern, but it didn't pan out -- the fit was off, and quite frankly, the drafting of the thing was wonky. It also turned out to be a "teen" sized pattern, though it didn't say so explicitly, and I've found those a challenge to work with, since apparently I am no longer a teen. I loved the style of this fail of a pattern, though, so I went back to Butterick 6149 and used it as a starting point to draft my own version. I didn't try to make it exactly the same as the one I was copying, but the inspiration comes through clear enough. I've got that version cut out now ... just need to find time to sew the thing together.

I'm still here, poking along on the sewing front

2011-01-29T05:19:00.000-08:00

Starting over ...

It looks like I will finish sewing one and only one garment for the month of January! It merely awaits its hem. Part of what took so long, is that in addition to my general slowness in sewing, I decided to completely re-do the bodice after I realized the set-in belt was too small. I could have just picked off the belt, and cut another, but as you may recall from my last (but not particularly recent) post, I had made quite a few mistakes on the bodice already. I was thinking of christening the poor thing the "Bonehead Dress". But I love the fabric I'm using, and it deserved better. And I had *just* enough to cut a new bodice. Things came together more smoothly on the second go-round, though there are still a few things I would do differently if I make the pattern again.

But that first attempt ... shall we count the mistakes?

1. I lined my version, which means I cut all the relevant pattern pieces in both the main and lining fabric. Well, I failed to notice that the sleeve piece included a fold-under facing, so I ended up with sleeves of an awkward length. Duh. Tried rolling that up into a cuff, but it looked stoopid. Bah.

2. There are some challenging curves to sew in the pattern, and I clipped the wrong side when trying to put in the first sleeve, which definitely impacted how nice it installed. The thing of it was, attaching the collar/front piece to the back was a not dissimilar sort of exercise, and I had already done that right!

3. I decided that I'd like some top-stitching around the edge of the collar, and on the sleeve edges, and where the sleeve joined the bodice. I didn't do a *terrible* job, but it was definitely looking a little too home-made. Plus it didn't have the impact I was looking for anyhow -- probably would need to use heavier thread if I try this again. For my re-done bodice, I skipped the this and am much happier.

4. When doing the above top-stitching, I just sewed the lining and main fabric together ... and did it at a point which made it hard to join the side seams. Had to unpick far enough to make it possible. Uh, duh. Since I line almost everything, I really should have been able to think that one through!

5. I added some length to the bodice (because I wanted to be able to raise my arms while wearing the dress) but added a little too much to the back. When removing it, I just cut straight across, instead of following the curve of the original edge, which is exactly what provides that arm raise-ability that I desired.

None of those were fatal mistakes, but they all left a noticeable mark (both on the dress and my psyche) so I'm happy that I can now trash 'em and forget 'em. And hopefully not repeat them. As for the set-in belt piece being too small ... I had just assumed it would fit because my waist measurement matched the stated measurement for the pattern. Maybe that measurement was B. S. (Before Shapewear.) Or maybe it was the other kind of BS. But anyhow, it would have been easy enough to measure before I cut.

In other sewing news, the same neighbors who gave me the patterns last year uncovered some sewing literature, which they also passed along to me. Sorry, no giveaways this time! Here's the pile:

There's a number of booklets providing mini-lessons, plus a fabric guide and a pattern drafting and grading book. It's all stuff I can put to good use, and I'm especially excited about the pattern drafting book, as I would love to learn that stuff. Maybe if I do, I can go back to my Pauline Trigere pattern and have better luck with it. Those Cloth World booklets make me nostalgic too, since that's where we went for fabric when I was a kid.

In parting, here are some crappy, early-morning iPhone shots of some random pages from the pattern drafting book. It dates from 1965 -- I love the line drawings!

When the sewing gets tough, the tough go shopping

2011-01-20T20:26:00.000-08:00

Sewing progress has been slow the past few weeks, though I'm hoping for a burst of productivity this weekend. I do have a dress meandering along, but I have made so many bone-headed mistakes it'll be a miracle if the thing's wearable. I think it's karmic punishment for saying that I hardly ever have to rip out stitches anymore a few posts back ... yep, it's "my words sandwich" time!

Anyhow, while I was busy not sewing, I did some shopping. Quilt Home lured me in with a 25 percent off coupon for some new shirting-weight fabrics designed by Patty Young. I love it when designers of quilting prints allow their work to grace apparel-weight fabric, and I hope it starts to happen more.

Here they be, three yard cuts straight out of the packaging. They hardly look like fabric when they're so perfectly smooth. Putting them in the washer fixed that -- yep, they're 100 percent cotton, not that there was any doubt.

I also finally took a deep breath, gritted my teeth, and bought an iron. I've wanted a new iron for a long time, but there is no type of appliance on earth that gets more dismal reviews. It seems that the average lifespan of a modern iron is around two months, at which point they spit rust on fabrics, or begin shutting off on a whim. I actually bought a Rowenta iron about two years ago, and after two months, it kacked and I went back to the no-frills Proctor Silex iron my parents sent me off to college with 20 years ago. (Actually, it has one frill: you can attach the cord on either the left or the right, which is nice for us lefties.) That iron had a pretty cushy life up until I started sewing, but I don't think it was made for the use it sees these days. The steam feature died over a decade ago, but the reservoir was so tiny it hardly mattered. It's easier to use a spray bottle. However, I've noticed that it now takes the heat setting as more of a gentle suggestion. It's still well-versed in super hot and barely warm, but those subtle distinctions in between are lost on it.

After sighing over the reviews, I ended up buying an iron made, strangely enough, by Singer. It was around $50, from Amazon. The beast arrived yesterday. I haven't had a chance to give it a whirl yet, but here's a side-by-side glamour shot:

Night shot, from the camera phone, but you get the idea. My old iron is the little whippersnapper on the left. Only 1000 watts -- the new guy is 1700 watts. Now that will really be able to put the meltdown on unsuspecting synthetics! I know, I know, with great power comes great responsibility. And, unfortunately, the auto-off feature.

In other shopping news, I also went on what my husband termed a "shoe rampage". No incriminating photographic evidence to share, but if you're interested, Zappo's has a bunch of Clarks (my favorite shoe brand these days -- Indigo by Clarks in particular) on sale, and I left a couple of pairs for the rest of you.

What's red and pink and spins really fast?

2011-01-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

My last project for 2010 was an appropriately celebratory full-skirted dress. I used Butterick 6149, circa 1952, because I really liked that pointed collar. Apparently I am ready for Valentine's Day, because I for darn sure made a Valentine's Day dress. I like the holiday fine, but I have never dressed for it! I wanted to make a fun, whimsical dress, because I'm realizing that is what I love to sew. Which seems more important to me at the moment than whatever it is I love to wear.

I used my 1950s sundress pattern as a sort of sloper to make bodice alterations on this dress, since the fit should be about the same. It worked! No muslin needed, and I'm really happy with how it came out. There are minor adjustments that could be made, but I'm not sure I'd even bother. The main fabric is quilting fabric by Heather Bailey that grabbed me when I was at High Fashion Fabric a few weeks ago. I squeezed this dress out of three yards of fabric (instead of the four-and-something the pattern called for) by taking several inches off the hem when I traced off the pattern. It ended up being the perfect length, which was pure luck. I would have had enough to make the collar out of the same material, but I wanted to bring out the flame red, so I looked for a solid fabric to use for the collar in that color. No luck -- all the solid reds were too blue-toned. I did however find this tiny dot fabric that was close enough, so I went with it, and I love the way the patterns work together, much more than my other pattern-mixing attempt, even those fabrics were designed to coordinate. To bring everything together, I added a tie belt (maybe some day I'll try a belt with a buckle, but it's already been established that I love bows) and made one-inch bias tape to finish the hem in the dotted fabric. ( Making that bias tape really brought home just how full a hem this dress has, too. My first guesstimate of how much I would need got me about 60 percent of the way around!)

I did a full lining in cotton batiste as per usual, but also used the included facing pieces to reinforce the area where the buttons and buttonholes would be in lieu of adding interfacing, which I kind of hate (I did use it in the collar, though). I attached it to the lining like this:

I'm probably jinxing my next project by saying this, but this one came together like it was meant to be. Wouldn't it be nice if they were all like that? I don't have the perfect shoes for it, but I think I'm most likely to wear it in the house without shoes, so it doesn't really matter.

And as the title implies, this dress inspired some spinning. Days later, my husband (who is my photographer for my finished items) mentioned that while I was twirling around out in the street, he could see London and France and probably destinations even further north. So that exercise will not be repeated. :) Fortunately the worst of it was not captured on film. It kept the dog entertained too, as you can see:

Pendrells in action

2011-01-02T18:21:00.000-08:00

I finally got photos of my two Pendrell blouses on. Though I have trouble making time for it, seeing photos of my finished garments being worn helps me see them more clearly. I'm not sure why looking in the mirror isn't good enough, but somehow it doesn't tell the whole story. Anyhow ... Pendrells, fore and aft:

Didn't realize I hadn't gotten the tail smoothed out on the red one -- it's one of the pitfalls of a prominent booty, not a fit problem. I don't think I'd normally wear these tops with running shoes, either. I already posted separately about both of these, so there's not much to add. The fit of the blue plaid one actually looks better through the back than I thought: it's a little loose, but not bad. The red one might have been better an inch shorter. And on both ... if the head-hole was any smaller my giant melon would not fit through! But overall, they work, I feel like a did a decent job on the sewing, and if I was trying them on in a store, I would want to buy them. I'm not sure I would say that about many of the things I've made up to now. Maybe it's because it's hard to separate the process from the product, and usually there's at least one sewing goof-up that I'm aware of, even if nobody else would be. Anyhow, I feel proud of these! And it gets even better: I just finished a 50s dress I love. That'll be my next post. :)

Alas, it's back to work tomorrow morning, and all those things that could be deferred until "after the holidays" ... well, now it's time to do that stuff. So probably not much sewing time for me in the next coupla weeks. However, I feel I'm pausing on a high note!

The requisite year-end wrap-up

2010-12-31T09:47:00.000-08:00

It's the time of year for taking stock. I always enjoy reading other folks' summaries of what they've accomplished over a year of sewing: it puts things in perspective. However, when I started to try and count up how many of what I sewed, I realized that I don't know exactly what I made when before I started this blog in April. Plus, I need some clarity on the definition of "finished": I completed some stuff that I considered a failure. But I also completed some stuff I wouldn't count as a loss, but don't wear. And there's plenty of not-so-successful stuff I really enjoyed making, and that has a value of its own. So screw counting. Let's say I made in the neighborhood of two dozen things, some of which sucked less than others.

This skirt has been worn a lot this year.

Even the dog doesn't like this dress.

I didn't particularly try to pick up new skills this year (though reading the many awesome sewing blogs out there, I might have accidentally learned a few things). However, I got better at fitting (thanks in part to helpful input from other sewists), and I am a ton more confident about what I can do than I was a year ago. I rarely have to rip out and re-do (no doubt I just jinxed myself) and generally things come together as I expect. I'm still sticking to "easy" cottons and rayons, but those are what I like to wear, too. I also wear a lot of knits, and thought I'd jump into sewing those once I got a serger. And while I've made a few tops which see a lot of use, I haven't enjoyed sewing knits the way I do wovens. Yet, anyhow. I think part of it is the learning curve. Something to work on in the coming year? Maybe, we'll see.

1960s shirtdress -- yay!

1950s sundress, and first fitting success.

For some reason, who knows why, I like to sew things that do not fit my personal style as I understand it. I'm a pretty plain dresser in real life ... bordering on a sloppy dresser, to be honest. And I prefer not to stand out in a crowd. I know the dresses I've made would blend in fine with many people's wardrobes, but they're a bit of a statement for me, and for my workplace full of engineers. For now, I've decided that I don't need a reason and I'm just gonna make what I want. Sometimes it'll be practical, and sometimes maybe not so much. Maybe I'll get more comfortable with dressing differently, especially as the quality of what I sew improves. At any rate, expect more, and perhaps kookier, vintage dresses from me in 2011. Maybe they'll never leave the house, but I'll have fun making them! I also want to focus more on adding interesting detail to what I sew, be it use of trim, addition of small design elements, or choice of finishing technique.

I have other 2011 goals for myself outside of sewing, but they're not particularly revelatory: eat healthier (I have the palate of a six year old and could live on bread, cake and candy), keep the house tidier, etc. I want to do these things every year, and rarely succeed. For despite the wisdom of such goals, they don't make life feel richer or more interesting. As I mentioned in my Christmas post, I also want to get back into drawing regularly. To do that, I have to make time somewhere, so I also plan to do less photography. And while I'm at it, sell some of my 300+ cameras. At work, I want to be a more active contributor to the many knowledge-sharing communities that exist in the large organization I work for. I am always reluctant to put myself out there, but I'm at a point in my career where I need to start doing it if I want to move forward.

One final thought, on blogging ... thank you all for reading my posts! I doubt I'll ever be a wildly successful blogger, if for no other reason than that there's clearly a social networking aspect of it which goes right over my extra-introverted head. Sometimes I still feel unsure about what to write and how. But I am thrilled to participate in a larger sewing world, in my own somewhat disconnected way. Though I'm not a good commenter (something I should try to work on in the coming year), I enjoy reading the many great sewing blogs out there, and am always looking for more. Whether you realize it or not, y'all are great sewing instructors!

Happy New Year to you all, and I hope 2011 brings you great things!

Pendrell the second

2010-12-27T18:28:00.000-08:00

I've finished my second Pendrell blouse! Sorry the pictures aren't so great -- it was another gray afternoon here in Houston. I added a bow tie at the neck, side slits at the hem, and omitted the shoulder ruffles. The fabric is rayon challis, and some of the oldest in my stash ... not sure how long I've had it, maybe as long as ten years. I've been waiting for just the right project for it. I made a little effort to lay out the pattern so that I'd have complete branches on the center front and back.

I ironed the blouse, and then proceeded to get it all wrinkly again as I wrestled it onto the dress form. Oh well! I made the one fit modification I wanted, which was to make the mid-back a little narrower, by taking out a smidge (1/4 to 1/8 inch) from the sides and the princess seams in the back. I didn't even alter the pattern, but just marked where I wanted to start and stop tapering as I sewed.

Adding the neck tie was a simple change: I cut two of the neck binding, and sewed the ends together to make an extra-long binding strip. Then I did the binding as the pattern instructed, except on the other side of the fabric, so that the binding's on the outside. Of course, you have the extra fabric hanging loose: I treated it as double-faced bias tape (edges folded to the inside) and sewed it closed, then tied my bow. I didn't take pictures as I went, but it seems likely that I'll make another soon, and if there is interest, I could do it then.

I initially wanted to do a black binding/tie, but couldn't find any material of the right weight in black. I had some white rayon challis, but I feared that wouldn't look too keen. So I went with the boring-but-safe choice of self-fabric.

Next up: probably a dress. I'm still mulling over exactly what I want, but I'm leaning toward something nice and impractical for daily wear, possibly using this pattern:

My sewing-related Christmas

2010-12-26T07:22:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone -- I hope you had (and are still having) a happy holiday! I am looking forward to a full week off work. For me, the transition to the new year is a meditative time, and in addition to sewing, relaxing, and cleaning my messy house, I'll also reflect on the year that's ending, and think about what I want for 2011. I don't worry so much about making new year's resolutions, but around this time I like to take stock of things. But for now ... let's talk about presents, shall we? I got a few sewing-related gifts I thought I'd share.

Clearly the world is not a fair and balanced place, because though I gave no handmade gifts, I did get some! My parents gave me a Kindle, a totally unexpected and wonderful present. I'm already halfway through my first downloaded book and I'm really enjoying using it. I like that it'll fit in my purse or backpack, which means I'm more likely to read when I'm out and about. Anyhow, on to the point: my mother, appalled at the prices of cases for the Kindle, made a really cute one! It's slightly padded, so it'll do a great job protecting the Kindle from the cruel world.

I also got some sewing-related items from my husband that were on my wish list. First off, The Party Dress Book, by Mary Adams. I'm about halfway through this already, and it's an interesting read. Mary Adams describes the evolution of her design aesthetic, which tends toward fluffy, layered, colorful party dresses. What I find interesting is how strongly focused her body of work is. It's more what you would expect from a (fine) artist, whereas I tend to think of fashion designers as covering a broader range, since they typically put out an entire line, and are attempting to ignite new trends. (Not to say that fashion designers aren't also artists, but it's a different niche.) Adams is working with a very simple silhouette for the most part, but she finds lots of interesting ways to add creative detail that fit with her own design "rules". Anyhow, interesting book, and even if you don't want to copy her style, you might be inspired by the way she works.

I also got a pleating board and pressing cloth from Clotilde. On the last season of Project Runway, Andy South used a pleating board quite a bit in his final collection, and it seemed an interesting and fun toy. It took me a while to find one, but when I did, onto the wish list it went! I tried it out on some scraps yesterday, and while I did not do a perfect job the first time out, I was happy with how it looked, and will be finding ways to incorporate this sort of embellishment into future sewing projects.

Finally, my husband chose a handmade pincushion from Details by Des' Etsy store for me. I have been using one of those ubiquitous tomato pincushions, which serve the purpose, but not much more can be said for them. I know there are some good patterns out there for making pincushions (and they do look fun to make), but there were already so many pretty ones on Etsy, and I'm focused on clothes sewing at the moment. Anyhow, I love my new pincushion -- it is so big! It's already full of pins, and I expect to spend lots of quality time with it today.

Finally, my husband got me this fancy set of markers. This doesn't have much to do with sewing (unless I start drawing my sewing plans ... ) but I am trying to get back to drawing after many years of neglect. It's a painful process, as I don't yet know what I want to draw, or how, after so long. I need to start sketching more consistently, if I want to make progress. I am finding these markers support color layering and blending quite nicely, and I really enjoyed using them in the test doodles I drew yesterday. Hopefully they will help me find my artistic groove.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Pendrell, you're swell

2010-12-23T16:44:00.000-08:00

I just finished the Pendrell blouse from Sewaholic.net. It came together really fast: I traced off the pattern and started cutting on Saturday night, and had it complete by Monday evening. I was eager to try it, because I have never before been able to cut a straight size -- usually I have to grade up one to two sizes (depending on era and design) between bust and hip. Next time around I may take it in a little in the middle back via the princess seams, because I'm not going to wear it tucked in, and I want it to have a little more shape. Otherwise it was pretty much spot on right out of the envelope. When does that ever happen?

Sorry, photos on the dress form only for now. It's so hard to coordinate availability, presentability, and daylight! I plan to do lots of sewing over the break, and may just have a photography session at the end for whatever I complete.

I had enough left of my bargain plaid fabric, and it was a decent choice for a wearable muslin for this pattern. (A very wearable muslin, as it turns out!) The material is a lightweight cotton blend of some kind. I proved that there's definitely a touch of polyester in there when I got the iron too hot at one point and the frayed edges of the fabric in one place kind of fused together. Oops ... but it was barely noticeable, thankfully. Anyhow, it was easy to sew with and has an acceptable (if not super) drape, which this blouse needs for all those ruffly bits. I at least attempted to match the plaid, and was mostly successful except on the left side seam ... oh well. If you look at the plaid at the hem, you'll see I didn't *quite* get it straight, either. This didn't need lining, so I did French seams for a nice finish on the inside.

Pretty on the inside. As are we all, I suppose.

I made view two, the ruffly one, and followed the directions from start to finish, which is so very unlike me! However, they were clear and concise, and I probably did a better job for actually using them. The pattern is also well drafted. My one point of confusion may be a mistake on my part -- I had "cut 2" written on the neck bias binding piece, yet you only need one. However, I HATE folding up pattern tissue, so I can live without knowing whether I erred when tracing. Probably I did.

This top fits nicely into a big honking gap in my wardrobe, so I think I'll be making several more variants. (My layering tops are mostly those "wifebeater" style ribbed tanks. Hey, they're cheap and come in lots of colors!) Anyhow, I have some china silk that seems like it would be perfect for this! I don't see all that many blouse patterns I like, that fit with the way I actually dress: I don't wear bottoms that hit at my waist, or tuck in tops. Ever.

Now I'm dreaming of the other Pendrells I could make! It's fun to think of different ways you could tweak the design, and it even inspired me to dust off my drawing skills. Er, well, tracing skills, anyhow -- I enlarged the line drawing from the back of the pattern to use as my starting point. Apparently I like little bows on my shirts. On the color-blocked one, I'm not sure I have a good arrangement of blocks, but you get the idea.

I have fabric picked out for v2, but haven't decided on the design details yet (though that hasn't prevented me from cutting it out already). I'd like to get some velvet trim, if the fabric store is open tomorrow ... if it's not, I don't think this project wants to wait, so I'll make do with whatever's on hand.

Happy holidays, everyone!

An anthropologist* at Anthropologie

2010-12-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

I am off work until the new year, so that means lots of time to sew! I also plan to do a few boring, practical things, like shampoo the carpets and clean out the attic, but mostly I just need some time to chill after a very busy year. Now that I'm done rushing around, I starting to look forward to Christmas, too. I got my first presents already: my husband went ahead and gave me a book he'd gotten me after starting to feel unsure about whether I had already read it. (I hadn't!) And last night, we went to Anthropologie. Like many people who sew, I love Anthropologie, but I can't afford to shop there often. So, it's a special occasion treat.

We agreed that I'd shoot for about two items, and then ended up blowing the budget and buying four. However, one (black knit top with asymmetrical ruching) was a clearance item and was only $30: a steal in the land of Anthro. Two were pants, a constant need in my wardrobe since my office is so cold, and for some reason I have trouble finding pants anywhere but Anthropologie. Clearly I needed them both. The final item was an embellished cardigan ("Blooms above the snow" -- naming the clothing must be someone's full-time job). My other embellished cardigans are my favorite wardrobe items, so I just couldn't put it back either. Fortunately I have an indulgent husband!

I also tried on lots of cute dresses, but the waistline of every single one hit up on my ribcage, a common dress fit issue for me. It's for the best -- they wouldn't have been good buys in terms of price-per-wear. In fact, it would have been a struggle to find places to wear the ones I liked best, which tended to be a little dressier. They do provide good sewing inspiration, though -- these two in particular:

You can't see it well in the picture, but that navy dress (the Peggy Sue dress) is made of the most amazing basket-weave fabric! And there's a tulle under-skirt to give it some fullness. The second dress (the De Chelly dress) I saw featured in some magazine, and I knew even then that it wouldn't fit me (plus, I'd freeze to death in it), but I when I saw it in the store I just had to try it on. I would love to find some fabric like that: it's just gorgeous. And, it's cotton!

I have a finished Pendrell blouse to show you, as soon as I get some photos. I like it a lot, and am already planning to make more. I need cute tops to wear under cardigans!

* I have a degree in cultural anthropology -- shouldn't this get me some sort of discount? :D

Knowing when to say when

2010-12-19T09:08:00.000-08:00

After several weeks with no time for sewing, I finally returned to my project-in-progress: McCalls 7985 (the much-coveted Pauline Trigere pattern), this time in a blue-based plaid. I love the fabric, I love the pattern, and I think (well, thought) I'm getting close on the alterations. I had cut out the dress weeks ago, so I dove straight into sewing. First I pieced the back pieces (the fabric is 45" -- you need a 60" wide piece to cut this dress without piecing, as the skirt is cut all at once). And what do you know ... the plaids actually matched. Wonderful! Amazing! And for me, definitely far above par for the course. However, this was the last good thing that would happen for this dress. When I went to piece together the angled side pieces ... well, I kind of lost control of the thing. I wanted piping to accentuate the seaming details, and used my piping foot for the first time. That part actually was fine, and the piping looked pretty nifty if I do say so myself. Definitely want to pipe more in the near future. But clearly something about my updated alterations to the bodice did not add up, and so neither did the front and back pieces. I tried trimming off the weird excess in the back bodice piece that shouldn't have been there, but I just couldn't wrestle the two sides together. Plus there are sections that are gathered, and some that are eased, and all of them were jumping around, or so it seemed. As I was trying to wrestle the material through the machine, it occurred to me that I was working way above my skill level. And when I saw the sad mangle I had produced, all doubt was removed. Yeah, I could try again, but I think that would result in nothing more than a slightly different configuration of mangle. I don't normally feel this way about sewing failures, I promise. This is an acceptance of fact.

FAIL. (And that's OK.)

So, wadder. But I feel fine about it. At least I realized it early in the project, before too much time was invested. And through I love the pattern, there was no doubt I was in over my head when it comes to the necessary alterations. I love the fabric too, but it was cheap, and there was a big ol' bolt of it, and I intend to scoot back to High Fashion Fabric and try to get some more. Plus, I was able cut out a muslin for my next project from what was left, and I'm hoping that it'll turn into something wearable. I could tell you about it, but the plan is to just finish it soon so that I can show you.

On an unrelated note, my Burda magazine showed up yesterday. You might not realize that I subscribe to Burda because I haven't been inspired to sew a single Burda design in 2010. So, now that my subscription is up, I think it's time for Burda and I to part ways. We've grown apart style-wise. I have no love for drop-crotch pants or weird drape-y sack-dresses. I live near the Gulf coast, and don't need to make coats. This latest issue did have a 1940s-inspired spread, but the blouse from that I liked wasn't offered in my size, which seems to be another Burda trend. I might pick up Ottobre again instead -- there's less pattern bang-for-buck, but they're usually nice patterns.

This little gem from the current Burda issue is worth sharing, though. It leaves me positively bemused. There's something disturbing about the way the kid's face is squished in there between the octopus eyes.

o_O

I have only a few work-days left in 2010, and will wrap the year up with a nice long holiday at home. Which, needless to say, I am really, really looking forward to. Sewing is definitely on the agenda!

Holiday preparations

2010-12-12T12:56:00.000-08:00

No sewing going on here, I'm afraid. This time of year finds me rushing around trying to get Christmas together. Our families doesn't live nearby, and my husband and I prefer not to travel on Christmas, so we have a lot of gifts to get in the mail. I am happy to say that said gifts are all purchased, wrapped, and in boxes awaiting tomorrow morning's trip to the post office. As much as I admire the beautiful hand-made things many sewists turn out this time of year, I don't have the time, and I'm not sure it's what my family would most appreciate.

I enjoy wrapping presents ... in moderation, anyhow, and while it doesn't compare with a hand-made gift, I think it does show care and consideration. My wrapping paper preferences lean toward the more abstract evocations of the season, and I use fabric ribbon rather than paper stick-on bows, which I find don't want to stay where you put them. I didn't count how many gifts I wrapped, but it took most of yesterday to get it all done!

For co-workers, I made dipped pretzels in white and milk chocolate. I don't have much inclination to cook or bake, but these are simple, so I make them most years. My husband and I will each take a tin with us to our respective offices next week, before people start to leave on vacation.

As for decorations, we just put up a little tree in our bedroom, which is where we unwrap our gifts Christmas morning. Haven't gotten it out yet, since we need to clean up first, but the ornaments stay on the tree so setup is a two-second job. Even with the shopping and wrapping done, somehow it's hard to believe Christmas is only two weeks away!

Weekend plans

2010-12-04T12:46:00.000-08:00

Another long week with no sewing in it for me. That's becoming the norm, but I try to catch up on my hobbies over the weekend. This weekend, my primary goal is not sewing, but to finish my three rolls of Kodachrome film. Kodachrome production ceased earlier in the year, and Dwayne's photo, the last place on earth that processes it, will no longer do so after December 30. A few months ago, I thought I would plan something special photography-wise for these last little pieces of history, but now I'll just be happy for them not to go to waste. So I headed over to The Heights (an older neighborhood in Houston, known for its few remaining traces of Victorian architecture) this morning to get some shooting done, and will finish up tomorrow.

Bye bye, Kodachrome!

I'll have some time for sewing this weekend too, so I plan to work on round two of the Pauline Trigere pattern. I'm not sure y'all thought much of the first version, but I still love this design, and I'm making a few more tweaks to hopefully improve the fit of the bodice. This is what I'm working with, this time around:

The fabric is some poly-cotton (I think, anyhow) I found in the clearance area of High Fashion. It's only 45" wide, so I'll have to piece the skirt, since the whole thing is meant to be cut at once. I'm not sure how matching the plaids in the back is going to go -- knowing me, probably badly. And admittedly, the plaid will not showcase the angled side seams. That's where the pink piping comes in, though installing it may make me crazy.

Finally, I might have bought some fabric in the past week or so ... I hit High Fashion to look for coordinating fabrics for the Trigere dress, but came up empty. But of course, I didn't come home empty-handed:

I also hit a sale at Quilt Home -- they have an ever-changing 30 percent off section, and the alignment of sale fabrics was favorable. Who am I to argue with fate?

And then fabric.com had a Black Friday, or Cyber Monday, or whatever you want to call a post-Thanksgiving sale, and I picked up some rayon challis there. I love rayon challis, and I don't see a lot of it I find pretty. Often it seems like they have been smacked with a circa 1980 ugly stick. I actually bought mostly solid colors. They're in the washer now, so no photos. Just picture red, (lightish) navy, yellow, peridot green, and white. And red speckled with black. And yeah, enough fabric already.

While I was out doing the photography thing, I stuck my head into Sew Crafty Houston to check things out, and lucked into some vintage zippers and buttons:

Last but not least ... my wrist pincushion from The Cottage Cupboard on Etsy arrived! (Though alas, I don't see any others for sale in her store right now.) One of the designers on the latest season of Project Runway had a wrist pincushion and that made me realize I needed one. My pincushion always seems to be just out of reach. Anyhow, this is so comfortable to wear, I almost forgot I had it on.

OK, I think I have enough sewing supplies to last me well into the New Year now. If only I had a big bundle of free time to go along with them!