Half-year wrap up

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

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

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 ...

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

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

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!)

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