First vintage of 2013: Butterick 6520

Hard to believe that half the year is almost gone and I am only just now dipping into the ol' vintage pattern collection.   Well, for the sake of full disclosure, I must admit that I dipped into the vintage pattern collection that is Etsy for this one, rather than my rather plentiful existing stores.  But it's part of my collection now, that's what's important, right?

Anyhow, thar she blows.   Butterick 6520.  1950s Buttericks are my favorite!  And this one did not disappoint.  This time around I tackled the dress, but I'd love to get the jacket a try someday.   I made a "muslin" to test fit, after applying some best-guess alterations based on comparison to bodice pieces from another pattern that I knew fit well.   I added about two inches total width at the waist (too much, as it turns out), narrowed the front neckline a bit, and added darts at the back neckline.

This pattern's front pieces are cut on the bias, and it relies on gathering at the wide neckline rather than darts for bust accommodations, making it significantly different than my comparison pattern,  So I didn't figure the fit would be spot on with the very first attempt, and indeed it was not -- but it's not bad.  I'm actually pretty happy with it, enough that I wouldn't consider going back and trying to do alterations (bleh).  I'll just fix it next time.

The fabric I used is some rayon challis that was cheap ... I think from the High Fashion Fabrics clearance section.  I was a little eh on the overly washed out pastel-ness of it all, so it was a good compromise choice for this project.  However, it's not so great to photograph, especially in bright sunlight.

It's not super apparent, but the bodice is a bit loose.  I think I'll narrow it from the center front and center back seams, and add some length to the front of the bodice,which had a curved bottom that I thought was to balance out the gathering/bias cut, but instead just hiked the skirt up in front in an odd way.  I adjusted the hem accordingly, but I'd rather have a straighter waist seam.  I ended up letting the shoulder seams out to balance the bodice shortness, but obviously adjusting the pattern piece is the better way to go.

Here's a better shot of the fabric.  I used the lavender poly/cotton lawn I lined with (also from High Fashion) to make bias tape finishings for the neckline and armholes (as instructed) and hem (for the hell of it).

I fully lined the dress (yes, this dork even puts full linings in muslins -- I hate slips!) but took a few short-cuts that make the lining more of a lining-underlining hybrid.  Rather than gathering the lining and main fabric separately and attaching them, I gathered and attached the layers as one.  (Win!  I haaate gathering.)   This meant that when putting in the zipper it was easier to treat the layers as one there as well.  Minus one for the zip showing inside, but plus one apiece for the lining adding stability to the main fabric (resulting in a better zipper insertion), and for not having to do the hand-sewing of lining to zipper,  So also a net win.

I haven't shown any "dress guts" in a while -- do y'all find this kind of shot useful?  Hopefully this better illustrates the description above.

Hopefully this week I'll build my brand new Expedit to house my fabric collection, which has been packed away since we moved last year.  Whoopeeeeeee!  Only I think the fabric collection may have expanded while it was in the closet and may no longer fit on a single Expedit.  Yep, that's my story and I'm sticking with it ... 

A few more skirts

I've finished up a few skirts ... I'm gonna be lazy and just post pictures of them on hangers.

Skirt #1 is another Hollyburn.  Again, I went with the fullness of the shortest skirt in the pattern, but lengthened to the middle of the three lengths.  I made the waistband narrower, too.  Since I'm not wearing this at my true waist it just works better that way.   The fabric is a JoAnns find: some sort of cotton (a poplin, maybe?)  with soutache sewn on it.  I tried a closeup to show the soutache better, but there's too much contrast between the navy and white.  Naturally the skirt's lined too, with a navy poly-cotton lawn that is not really the same navy as the skirt (much greener in tone) but hey who's lookin'.

I finished this like two months ago, yet have not worn it yet -- it just feels so ... nautical.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.   I guess I just haven't been in a seafaring mood.   But now that Summer seems to be on our doorstep it has a bit more appeal for some reason.



Skirt #2 uses the skirt pieces from a 1950s Butterick dress (Butterick 6075) paired with a self-drafted waistband and in-seam pockets stolen from I forget which pattern.   I used silk dupioni which I machine washed to make a bit less shiny and crispy.

I lined it with a hot pink cotton batiste, and used a quilting cotton with white dots on hot pink to face the waistband.  All my pictures of that came out super blurry so just use your imagination.

I really liked the texture of the silk dupioni after it was washed.  YMMV.  It still feels a bit dressy but it's not quite as fancy-pants as it was before.

So OK, enough skirts already.  On to dresses.  Here's the project I'm currently working on:

It's another 1950s Butterick pattern ... I love these things.  I took my draft of  Butterick 6075 as a starting point and did some seat-of-the-pants re-drafting to get to what is hopefully a wearable starting point.  The making is currently in progress, using a rayon challis that was cheap and that I don't totally love, with the expectation that I will still need to tweak some stuff because the bodice shapes of the two dresses are not the same.

Besides sewing, I have also been working on our backyard a bit.  Among other things, we're adding fruit trees!  I'm kind of excited about them.  We have a satsuma (a small orange-like fruit), sweet kumquat, peach, and key lime (even though we a tad north of their ideal climate).   I'm hoping they survive and that a combination of the brutal Texas summer heat and my gardening ineptitude don't kill them.

My gardening assistant with the satsuma.

Micro-peaches!

Let the Hollyburns begin!

I finally cracked open my Sewaholic Hollyburn pattern, and it is another winner.  I think it has kind of a 40s-meets-70s vibe, while being a classic shape that can be transformed by fabric choice and the little details you choose to add.

For my first version, I used the fullest, shortest style, but lengthened it by several inches to something closer to the middle-length style.  The fabric's cotton sateen from JoAnn's.  I was stuck for something to wear with it, but then schmeebot coincidentally thrifted me a lovely cardigan that works nicely.  Isn't it great when things work out?    It's amazing that I did not already have a matching cardigan given just how many cardigans I have ... but let's not go there!

The skirt is drafted to sit at the waist, but that fit bugs me: I find it more comfortable to have the waistband sit a few inches lower.  I realized this after having already cut out everything, so I just re-cut the waistband two inches longer (it's just a straight strip).  And somehow, miraculously, the skirt fit the new band just fine.

Now the second Hollyburn is the one I really love, because I used a very special fabric my aunt sent me.   It's vintage -- not sure how old, but only 35 inches wide.  Unfortunately there is a permanent fade line where it was folded in half, but I made sure to match up the marks so that they make an upside down 'V' on the front and back of the skirt, and I really don't think it's that noticeable.  I love the bird print (of course ... my love for bird prints is well documented) and the color palette as well.  It's cotton, but somehow does not wrinkle.  It's practically magic fabric, I'm telling you.

I went with the original width of the middle-length Hollyburn version from the package, and narrowed my lengthened waistband for a better fit.  Both skirts are lined with cotton/poly lawn.

I'm working on yet another Hollyburn now ... should have it finished up and photographed before the end of Q2 with any luck.  :)   I really love wearing skirts in the summer, and though they may not make for the most exciting blog fodder, they see more wear than the other types of stuff I sew.  Thus, I plan to eke out a few more before moving on to the next thing.   After the Hollyburn-in-progress, I have some lovely plaid silk dupioni queued ... no pattern chosen yet, but perhaps a trapezoid dirndl would work best.   I never really liked silk dupioni until I threw some in the washing machine and ran it through the dryer.  The resulting fabric is far less precious-looking and thus more useful in my non-fussy everyday wardrobe.  

San Francisco

Last month I traveled to San Francisco, and had a chance to do some shopping.   Happily, our hotel was quite close to Britex, and it did not disappoint!  It is a big narrow store, spread over four or five stories connected by a narrow staircase, and I was up and down quite a bit as I thought of things I wanted to see.  Cut fabrics are sent to the first floor to await you at the register, so that you don't have to lug them about, which makes it easier to navigate the many narrow spaces in the store.

I have been thinking about dolling up some of my plain cardigans a bit, so I found Britex's trims department a delight.  They had lots of paired beaded appliques, nicely displayed in the sort of moveable frames I've seen used for posters or artwork.   Happily, trims are easy to cart home on a plane, so I scooped up a bunch -- four sets of beaded appliques, plus a simpler pair, and some vintage deadstock lace.  Have I done anything with them yet?  Nope, but I will, I swear.

I had heard that Britex was pricy, and it was -- due to the quality of their merchandise.   I wasn't sure if I'd buy fabric, but I did end up with a two-yard remnant of green cotton with pink and yellow woven through it, and could not resist some divine green floral Italian lawn (think Liberty sort of quality, as well as price!) that I will probably be afraid to ever cut into. But hey, I can pull it out and pet it from time to time.

I don't have much sewing time these days, and that will continue in the coming months.   I have (part of) one day a week at most, so I'm continuing to focus on separates because they're usually shorter projects.  (I will have to make some dresses come summer, though!)  I've made a few more short-sleeve Renfrews that I'm quite happy with, and am working on my third Hollyburn skirt now.  I finally got pictures of my first two Hollyburns and I'll post those soon.

Oops (again)

So like two and a half months ago I said I'd be back soon with a post about the  Sewaholic Alma blouses I'd finished over the Winter holidays.   Oops.  What can I say, life has been busy!  I have been squeezing in some sewing here and there, but progress is slow.   I do have a couple more finished garments queued up though.

But first, those Almas.   I am not a huge blouse-wearer.  I usually choose knits: camisoles or tank tops with a cardigan or hoodie is pretty much my above-the-waist uniform.  But I do like these.  I added 3 inches to be bottoms of mine to achieve a more tunic-y length that I can wear with jeans that have a lower rise.

Blouse number one is a black rayon with little purple flowers from Fabric Mart.  As I was finishing it, I realized it would be shorter than I wanted.  I decided to add an extra strip of fabric at the bottom, but didn't have enough left to even piece a band together.  Fortunately Fabric Mart had four more yards in stock, so I ordered two and figured I'd finish my blouse the following weekend.

However, disaster struck: FedEx lost track of my order!   It was discovered and delivered a few days later, but in the meantime I went back online and grabbed the final two yards of the fabric.  So obviously you can expect to see more of this ditzy floral from me in the future -- fortunately it's nice quality and I really like the print.  

You can't even make out the band at the bottom -- even up close -- unless you're hunting for it.  I just measured the circumference of the bottom of the shirt and cut a six-inch wide strip that length.  I attached it so that it's folded double (almost like bias tape).  The extra weight of the doubled fabric makes the shirt hang more nicely.

Here's shirt number two.  On this one I just lengthened the pattern by three inches, and skipped the zipper because it's really not necessary.   However, think the first one is nicer, because of the bottom band and just because the quality of the rayon I used was a bit better.  FWIW, this second fabric was from Fabric Mart too, and the same price as the first one.

Like all Sewaholic patterns, Alma was excellently drafted and a pleasure to sew.  I can definitely see making more of these in the future.  Possibly I'd try a collared version, but I think I'll stick to cap sleeves or no sleeves for layering friendliness.

One final shot -- chosen solely for the cuteness of the dog. BTW these pictures were taken back in January, and it was colder than it looks!

That other hobby that has been stealing my sewing time ...

I've alluded to my new hobby a few times, which in a way, it's not a new hobby at all.   Probably y'all don't remember, but back in 2010 I shared the markers I got for Christmas, and mentioned that I wanted to get back into drawing.  Well, I did some drawing, but it still felt like a struggle and it was soon abandoned.  I tried and gave up a few more times.   I didn't know what I wanted to draw, in part because I didn't know what I could draw.  My ideas just weren't coming out onto the paper right.

A Luscious Lotus.

In November, I stumbled across ATCsForAll.  ATCs is short for "Artist Trading Cards", little baseball-card-sized (2.5 inch by 3.5 inch) artworks that are traded amongst artists.  At ATCsForAll there are a number of ways to trade, but the one that caught my eye was the themed swaps.  A swap host announces their theme in the swap forum on the site, along with the rules for play and the submission deadline.  Typically a swap participant submits 3 or 6 cards, with an optional extra card for the host.    When all the cards are in, the host will return a matching number of cards made by other artists to each participant.

My first ATC from my first swap.

Now this was something I could do.  The theme gave me some focus, plus a deadline (though there is no penalty for dropping out of a swap as long as you inform the host).   The small size of an ATC also helped -- I can still spend hours making one, but it definitely scopes the the undertaking a bit!

One of the cards I'm mailing out tomorrow.

Anyhow, long story short, I joined up and have now participated in a half-dozen swaps, with themes ranging from parakeets to animals wearing winter gear to pink things that are not pink in real life.   And those markers pictured in my post from 2010 are finally getting a workout!  I am not 100 percent happy with every card I make (and sometimes re-do them several times before I'm willing to send them out) but I am making drawings I am proud of, which didn't seem possible just a few months ago.   I think the habit will stick.

Yak rocking some warm woolies.

Since I know my audience here are primarily sewists, I'll not share about drawing and ATCs here regularly unless for some reason this post garners a strong response.  If you want to see more, you can check out my ATC set on Flickr.  And if you want to play too, join ATCsForAll -- as the name suggests, it's for everyone, of all levels of artistic experience, and all mediums (even sewing ... I'm not sure I could sew up anything ATC-sized worth having, though).   I've found it to be a talented, positive, and welcoming group.  If you join or are already a member, look for me there: my username is Lost Cities.

A Vulture does Violence to the letter V --
for the "V, W, X" swap.

Melty trees

I finally made a Pacific Moon for me!   Just like the ones I make for schmeebot, it has a wider waistband, deep pockets, and is made from Ikea home decor fabric.   I did have to add three inches to the length, but that's the only significant change I made.

The fabric is currently available Ikea stock -- They call it Fjallfly,  but schmeebot and I have dubbed it "Melty Trees".  If you look closely at the print, there are all kinds of zany things tucked in there:  bows on trees, mushrooms, transparent houses, newsprint, lost shoes, hedgehogs ...

Here are the back and side views.  I matched the print on the back seam but did not bother on the sides ... too hard to do that and make sure the parts of the design I like most landed on the skirt!

I think it looks a bit puffy in the ass, and would take an inch or two outta there for my next one. (There will be a next one).   schmeebot says it's perfect as-is, leave well enough alone.  What do you think?

There's nothing new to say about the construction of a Pacific Moon, at least not until I actually make the tutorial.  The yoke fabric's quilting cotton as per usual.  I did line mine, with some gold mystery fabric that came in a Fabric Mart bundle.  Oh how I love those bundles!  I've gotten several over the past year, and they've contained some strange and wonderful treasures (and a few WTFs).  Now to wrap my head around them and sew them up into something. 

As you can see from the above, finished garment photography finally happened, so I will be showing you my Sewaholic Almas soon.   This month does not hold a lot of sewing time for me, but I'm certainly still thinking about it (mainly while driving to and from work ... it's a 25 mile commute).  So maybe I'll share my half-baked ideas, if only so I don't forget them.  And then there's that other hobby I keep mentioning.  So, expect a few more posts from me soon!