made by meli88a

Inspired by Vivienne Westwood: Burda 08-2010-107

2011-10-26T18:39:00.000-07:00

I love this skirt and want to wear it all the time. It's everything that I love about sewing: instant gratification due to quick construction and good fit. This skirt takes 2.5 hours to complete, from laying out the pattern to finishing the hem. It has an elastic waistband, and I left the pockets out. The decision to leave the pockets off wasn't so much a design decision as it was a wearing decision. I've found that side seam pockets on skirts tend to gape open and I've been sewing them shut on other skirts. I figured I would save the time of having to do that in the future.

The skirt is tapered and has a large overlap in the front. When I saw the design in the magazine I was a bit unsure that this would be wearable because of the huge overlap -- I was sure it would turn into a shapeless mess. My muslin proved me wrong and I went ahead with my Shetland wool from Fabricmart.

I shortened the skirt by 1" and think the length is still office suitable without being dowdy. I want to wear this skirt every day!

Almost matched plaids.

Better matched plaids.

I cut the back on the bias, to try to match plaids and to avoid the coffin look.

Here is the inspiration in bright red tartan, the Vivienne West Cosmopolitana skirt. As you can see, the back has deep pleats, but I didn't try to replicate them.

And there are pockets, as you can see in the photo on the left. Below is the line drawing, which you can see is a pretty close approximation.

Burda 08-2010-107 line drawing

What I sewed this summer, Part II: Burda 12-2005-111

2011-09-24T18:58:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, I've been wanting to sew this top for almost six years... and I've had this silk shantung remnant in my stash for almost as long! The two came together and made this top, which unfortunately I am hurriedly modeling for this photo so I can put it away with the rest of my summer clothes.

I usually wear it with dress pants or a skirt to work, not yoga pants, so that peek at my belly through the waistband tie keyhole is not typical! I swear! The fit of this top is very... 2005? It hits at the high hip and is quite fitted compared to Burda's slouchy 2011 designs. I wouldn't even wear this with jeans because all my jeans are just as low cut as these yoga pants.

The cowl neck is subtle from the side but still big enough to be a feminine detail to the top. The shoulders fit snugly.

The only trouble is that, as I've discovered, when walking on a windy day the inside of the cowl will blow out and look like this. Not really a look to go for!

What I sewed this summer, part 1: 11-2008-104

2011-09-21T17:31:00.000-07:00

This summer, in between complaining about the heat and sweating, I did a little bit of sewing. I made this skirt in July, and have been happily wearing it. It wasn't until I was sewing the godets in the side that I realized I'd forgotten to cut out the top ruffle (the ruffle is a double layer of godets) but I don't miss it. I sized the pattern down to a 36, but I think I could have sewn a 38, this is quite fitted and pencil like except for the godets which give the skirt and interesting shape and movement.

11-2008-104B, in a crepe gabardine

Here is my version, in a lightweight wool novelty weave. The texture of the wool makes the skirt interesting but isn't distracting. I am wearing Simplicity 2603, the wrap cardigan, with it.

Rodarte inspired: Burda 09-2010-112B

2011-09-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

Rodarte for Opening Ceremony draped skirt, in linen gauze.

You can pick up your Rodarte skirt (on sale for a reasonable $134.40, down from $448, heh) at Shopbop or you can make the at-home Burda version. Burda printed a similar pattern in 09-2010. Behold, 09-2010-112A and 09-2010-112B.


Burda 09-2010-112A and B, top version in jacquard, bottom version in silk batiste. Why must Burda make the samples in fabric that makes seeing the details so difficult?

And my version, in tropical weight glen plaid wool. I'm pretty happy with the shape. I cut a size halfway between 34 and 35, and shortened all pieces by 2". The waistband is a grosgrain ribbon, which was the easiest waistband application ever. I don't know why I've never made this kind of waistband before!

Believe it or not, the floor is not crooked in my new apartment.

Now I want a crisp white shirt.

These photos show the shape of the skirt a little better. The design is interesting, as in there are no side seams. The outer shell of the skirt is cut as two sides that overlap in the front. The skirt has what Burda is calling an underskirt, which is to be cut from the fashion fabric. I substituted stretch lining instead, and in hindsight I wouldn't have shortened it by 2 inches. There isn't any easy way to anchor it to the outer shell, which doesn't have side seams, so it rides up a bit.

This is the only seam in the outer shell.


Underskirt. It's not going to be seen, and having it 2" longer would have been good.

Robin's egg blue skirt: Burda 10-2010-115

2011-08-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

Big news: I'm moving out of my little shoebox in two weeks. This will probably be the last thing I sew here. The fabric is a pastel blue wool gabardine that wrinkles like nobody's business. It was left over from a failed project and has been in my stash for more than 6 years... surely, its age has nothing to do with its wrinkliness. I really did press this! Until I saw the photos, I thought I was still crisp and ironed! The skirt was an instant gratification project (start to finish in 3 hours) and is a near perfect replacement of this cotton pique skirt (same color) that I spilled tea on. That skirt just wasn't meant to be... it started off life with stains from the pocket lining fabric and then was permanently ruined by tea.

Here is my new skirt, which unlike the first skirt sits slightly below the waist. Here is Burda's magazine shot. It's a cute skirt, but they must not really want you to see what it looks like because the model is seated.

Burda 10-2010-115

The skirt comes in two lengths, 17" and 19". I could have shortened it to be a mini on me, but to keep it more office appropriate I made the 17" version without alterations. I generally like my skirts a little above the knee to offset my shortness, so this is perfect. This is a size 36.

Front view. I did not know there was a huge wrinkle above my right knee until looking at this photo.

Side view. I'm pretty sure this isn't poofy, I just have weird posture in this picture.

Back with lapped zipper.

Vogue vanity sizing?

2011-08-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

It has cooled a little bit. My schedule has slacked a little. And I've been sewing. I've sewed a few things that I'm very happy with, but haven't been blogging*. I am so miffed with this dress that I wanted to ask my fellow sew-ers, seamstresses, seamsters (whatever you prefer to call yourselves) whether you have experienced problems with Vogue pattern sizing recently. I haven't bought a Vogue pattern in years, mostly because I've had a Burda magazine subscription for the last few years and thought there was no need to buy paper patterns. I hypothesize that since McCall bought Vogue a few years ago, Vogue sizing has changed.

A little background on this dress and fabric... I've had this fabric for a few years now. I bought it from Gorgeous Fabrics, and until recently had no idea what to do with it. It's a huge abstract floral print, and I bought it during a period when I told myself that I needed to expand my wardrobe beyond black, black, black, and jeans. It also bled in the wash, so I wasn't dying to use it but still liked the challenge that it posed and the possibility of wearing it. Then one night a few weeks ago I came across a lovely DVF dress, which I posted about here.

I looked through all my Burda magazines, no dice. Then I looked on the Vogue website, and found this DKNY pattern (Vogue 1221) that looks like a close enough approximation of my inspiration dress.

Vogue 1221, taken from Voguepatterns.com

I diligently cut out the pieces (from single thickness, no less!), marked all the tucks (fiddly!), sewed it up (surprisingly Burda like in their instructions!) and learned that I am no longer a true size 10 in Vogue patterns.

Here I am, wondering if it is really a sack. Because I don't have a full length mirror (no space!) I had to take a photo. Note, I did not crop out my frown.

Here I prove I can't dress myself. Look at those arm facings sticking out.

Here I stand on my toes because it makes the dress a little more flattering, despite being enormous.

Admittedly, the dress doesn't look bad in photos. But it doesn't fit the way the pattern model's dress does.

Her dress does not gape in the front or sag on her hips. The drape is right below her bust. Mine is somewhere around my waist. And I can pinch out 2 inches in the front of the dress.

At this point, I was really annoyed. Although the fabric was bled, I was so-in-love with this idea of using the abstract print for this dress that I Had To Make It Work. I hate altering clothing, especially something I've just sewn because the point of sewing is to have clothes that fit right without having to alter. Anyways, in my attempt to Make It Work, I ended up taking it in 1 inch on each side, and then realized that I needed to take the shoulders up 1 inch as well... and with the facings and shape of the shoulder straps that just wasn't going to happen, even if I were to do a total hack alteration of pinching out 1 inch in the shoulder straps and then tacking them on the inside because the neckline shape would then no longer fall smoothly.

taken in 1" on both sides, and still gaping in the front and back.

Something is just not right about the hips, and the neckline has a giant gap.

The bodice is way too long. Again, weirdness in the hip area.

I think I don't need to go down just one size but TWO. That is ridiculous. Because I don't have a 23 inch waist, no matter how much I wish it to be so. Does anyone else have this kind of sizing issue with Vogue? It's annoying, because I really think that pattern companies should stick to real measurements rather than trying to cater to vanity sizing. Back in the day, I could count on being able to sew a straight size 10 without a muslin. I guess not anymore.

*I promise to share soon!

I'm still here.

2011-07-12T17:38:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm here. It's been a while.

Where have I been, if not sewing and writing about it? I spilled water on my computer at the end of May, and finally got a replacement about a week ago. That said, I have 2 unfinished pairs of pants that I just can't get myself to try on for hemming. Remember how I said I live in a shoebox? Allow me to correct myself: I live in an oven. The natural light that I loved in the winter turns my apartment into a greenhouse in the summertime. I am just not in the mood to curl up with a pair of wool pants (or anything for that matter) to sew hooks and eyes or hem the cuffs.

Instead, I sit in the dark with all the fans on. Kidding! There are a lot of nice restaurant patios in my neighborhood so I've been having a lot of evening drinks just as it's starting to cool down. Fun, but not very conducive to sewing.

So as not to end this post with a whimper, or Joaquin Pheonix, I will leave you with this inspiration from Diane von Furstenberg. How does she use giant prints in such a beautiful way? Me, I'll probably use the giant print that I have in my stash (and cause for searching inspiration) in as simple a design a possible.

Diane von Furstenberg dress (see more diane von furstenberg dresses)

Throwing in the towel

2011-05-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for your lovely comments and helpful suggestions to save this dress. For whatever reason, the light in my apartment is weird in the afternoon, hence the arty blue tint in these photos. I think that these photos get close to the idea I had in mind when I started down the road with this dress, but I just don't think I'm going to get there with this dress.

I think that the idea of taking in the shoulders and side seams, maybe even the back seam, would be good... but this is easier said than done because I sewed the entire dress with french seams. Between that and the gathering, I wasn't going to move any seams.

French seams, so lovely, so hard to alter.

In the photo above, you can see the quick save I tried with snaps to overlap the front. This is the outcome, which works if I don't move at all.

Front, revisited

Side, revisited

What happens if I move? It's indecent. There's not enough of an overlap in the skirt for it to stay wrapped when walking, sitting, or with your legs a shoulder's width apart. There also isn't any obvious place to add another snap or button. I will also save you from an unflattering view of the back, where the fabric bunches at my waist because the bodice is still way, way, too big. Oh well. Good idea, possibly. Not so easy to execute.

The shirt from my other post.

2011-05-18T20:35:00.000-07:00

I love fan mail, and while I'm often slow to respond... I am happy to fulfill an easy request. A nice reader, SewOm, asked for more photos of the shirt I said I was wearing the last time I posted. These photos are from my pre-blogging days, I think it was early spring a few years ago. If only spring would come this year!

Ignoring all warning signs.

2011-05-18T20:02:00.000-07:00

Sometimes things don't go quite as I expected. This is usually because I am dying to dive head into a sewing project, muslins be damned. I'm working on the muslin making, because too many times I've cut into and then sewed up a fabric that I love to find out that the pattern, or the fabric, or the combination of the two just aren't going to create what was in my head. Sometimes I blame it on misleading pattern photos, but really... it's operator failure.
I love this fabric. And I love the idea of this dress. So romantic and sweet looking! Look, fluttery sleeves but not too fluttery. Gathered waist and yoke, so early 50s/late 40s.

Burda 01-2011-103 dress. There is a reason why there is a self belt.

There's even a shirt version, which I have also traced out. Just as cute as the dress, if not cuter with the peplum. I had a hard time deciding, shirt or dress, shirt or dress? Then I decided that if one is to wear polka dots, one might as well go all the way and have a polka dot dress.

Burda 01-2011-102 blouse

I regraded the pattern to a size 36. Cut into this cute green polka dotted white lawn... and realized that the dress is a sack. Upon seeing photos, it doesn't look as bad as I imagined it would (one day I will live in an apartment big enough to have a full length mirror) but it is a big dress.


Burda 01-2011-103 unhemmed, front

Burda 01-2011-103, unhemmed, back

Now, as I so often do, I look back at the pattern magazine photos. And I realize that the model is seated in all photos so you don't get a good idea of how loose the shirt and dress are on her.

Is she wearing a dress under the dress?

And then I remembered the words of wisdom from the '90s SNL team: Just cinch it.

So I paper bagged it and put a belt on. This is what it looks like.

Belted, moderately better.


But not quite.

So the debate now -- finish it and wear it with a belt? Finish it and wear it as a sack? Give up and move on to something else?

Magic: the belt, or dressing like a grown up.

2011-05-02T04:22:00.000-07:00

I'm at work earlier than I've ever been, and I figure it's time for an uncharacteristic At-Work post. I'm wearing my new slouchy pants, friends, and I wanted to thank you for your suggestions about fit and style...

Thank you for all the lovely compliments on my new pants. I am a huge fan too. I look more Katherine Hepburn than Audrey Hepburn today, there's just something about a wide leg trouser that's still fitted in the waist and hips.

The Slapdash Sewist had a very interesting suggestion to insert elastic into the waistband. This is a great idea, and if I wasn't lazy I'd pick the waistband open and get right to it.

Many of you had the wonderful styling suggestion of wearing the slouchy pants with a white shirt -- so chic! Sadly, I don't have a white button down shirt (it's on my long list of Things To Sew One Day), but I am wearing a fitted floral shirt from my pre-blogging days and... a belt.

Burda 03-2009-106 in a loud floral print.

A belt! I don't know if you've noticed but I almost never ever sew belt loops on my pants because I hate wearing belts. I decided with these pants that the belt loops made the look -- you don't see men's pants without belt loops. And, I was lucky the last time I was at GoodWill and there was a size S brown perfectly aged leather belt for just $3, so I figured I might as well pick it up. I decided to break the belt out with these pants today and... who knew -- wearing a belt actually can serve a purpose: holding up your pants so that they fit properly. And, it's an easy simple accessory that defines your waist. Two birds, one stone. Imagine that.

Burda 11-2008-121, slouchy trousers

2011-04-24T13:22:00.000-07:00

I spent a lot more time on these pants than I thought I would. First, it was a stop-and-go project because I was in and out of town. Second, there is something about this version of the pant where the back waistband keeps slipping so that it sags on my butt.

This is making them fit differently than the muslin. The fit is affecting two things:

The pant legs hang more loosely in the back because the pants aren't as fitted in the waist and butt. I kept moving the hooks and eyes until if moved any further the fly would start to twist.
I had to hem them a half inch shorter to make up for this, and playing with the hem took a lot of time.

I chose this light gray wool with stretch specifically because I figured I'd need the stretch to fit my his comfortably. Maybe it's the lycra that is causing the difference in fit? (Doesn't really make sense.) I wonder if I should move in the hooks and eyes to make up for this? It seems like a cheap fix but then the front fly will be wonky.

It's a gray day here in Cambridge, hence the pictures with flash.

Front.

Back. The photos of my muslin show that the pants were more fitted in the hips, which is what I'd prefer. I am also seeing that my right leg might be slightly shorter than my left leg.

Side. The waistband doesn't look like it's sitting low in the back but it sure feels like it.

Pant muslin, or I always want to wear what I can't: Burda 11-2008-121

2011-03-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

Every so often I get this wild idea in my head that I can wear pants cut like this.

DKNY 2008, Style.com

In reality, I know it's more likely to be squat and lumpy rather than lean and chic on me. But maybe I'm onto something with these pants. I'm wearing them with 2.5" heels, I have a pair of 3" heels on the way that I will try with these pants before deciding whether to move forward.

For the record, I won't be making the final pair from cotton muslin.

These pants are cleverly drafted, so that the pocket makes the front fit like a straight cut pant, but there are still pleats overlaying them for slouchy effect. I think it's genius that you get the pleats without pouf (see side and three-quarters views above). I shortened these pants by 2" and I suspect that if I shorten them any further (or wear shorter heels) I will be skipping my way to Stumpiness.

Here is what these pants look like in the magazine. Long, lean, slouchy.

Burda 11-2008-121, center photo.

Cocoon: Burda 11-2010-133

2011-03-20T09:31:00.000-07:00

I don't knit. Sometimes I'll have a very short lived knitting streak that often ends with me balling up whatever it is I'm working on, needles and all, and throwing it into a box or bag and shoving it to the back of the closet. I just don't have the patience for knitting. I won't lie, it's partly instant gratification that keeps me sewing. Sewing, you can produce something in about 4-6 hours (an afternoon). In that same amount of time as a knitter I will have... a sleeve of something.

I bought this "sweater knit" fabric on Fashion Fabrics Club this winter, intending to make a sweater dress with it. It turns out that the knit backing is a little too scratchy for my liking so I decided against a dress, but a cardigan could be a go. Burda issued an open drapy cardigan, intended for woven fabrics, in November and I debated trying it. Here's the result.

Burda 11-2010-133, front. I don't remember what was so fascinating on the floor.

Burda 11-2010-133. I am in there somewhere. My arms are so short I needed to roll the cuffs.

Burda 11-2010-133, The Coccoon

If I can work out some way to stand around with my hands on my hips all day, this might work.

Inside is all serged. You can get a good idea of how fluid the collar is in this photo.

The fabric is super drapy and given how much ease there is in the pattern (I cut the smallest size, 36), I am lost in a sweater cocoon. I think I could have interfaced the collar to give it more body and shape, but what's done is done. The fabric was a mess to sew, lint and little black specks of knit confetti all over my apartment! I thought that the sweater would be drapy enough that it wouldn't be so cocoon like (I guess, be more fluid?) and while I'm not unhappy with it, I'm not exactly thrilled either.

Is the problem that I'm mismatching fabric to design? Or that I haven't taken the time to style it? Here's how it looks in the magazine. In the first photo, it does look pretty drapy on the model. In both photos, it's apparent that the sleeves are super long so it's not odd that they are orangutanish on me. Maybe I should belt it as in the lower photo? Thoughts, dear readers?

It doesn't seems quite so huge on the model.

Maybe the secret is having a friend hold it snug to your waist.

Favorite shirt, twice in paisley: Burda 09-2009-105

2011-03-13T07:47:00.000-07:00

I am noticing a trend in my wardrobe. There's plenty of paisley and I went on a fuchsia fabric kick a while back so there's a lot of that in stash and soon to be in my working life. I never got around to sewing the shirt I was planning to sew from the September issue. I found a plain button down shirt pattern in the same issue that I thought would be perfect for some dotted swiss paisley in my stash (pretty loud, when it comes down to it) and it turns out that it was a good match. A good match for the fabric and for me, as far as having a good basic in my wardrobe.

Here's Burda's version in a subdued business blue. It's a classic shirt, vented cuffs, shirt tail hem, and yoked back. I love the fit and that the collar is small and flattering.

Burda 09-2009-105, to be accessorized with glasses and a paper cup.

Here's the first version of this shirt I made, in November, in dotted swiss paisley.

Dotted swiss paisley button down, front

Dotted swiss paisley button down, back

This is my second shirt, which I finished this week, in yellow paisley cotton lawn and yellow buttons. I think that after it's washed it'll feel more like the first shirt, which is my favorite. This yellow shirt seems to have more ease in it, and I'm not quite sure why. Having put the shirts on one after the other for photos this morning, I think I forgot to fold out the ease in the upper sleeve on the pattern while cutting out this shirt. It makes a difference in how the sleeves fit, and I'll have to pay attention the next time I make this shirt. There will be a next time!

Paisley cotton lawn, front

Yellow paisley cotton lawn, back. Extra ease in the sleeve cap?

7 things.

2011-02-17T19:38:00.000-08:00

Thanks Kerry! I'm a total sucker for flattery. I did the 7 things about a year ago, and here a 7 more.

The rules are slightly different this time around:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Award 15 recently discovered bloggers
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award

1 and 2, I can do. I always break chain letters, end email chains, I'm a party pooper, I know. I guess that's a freebie fact about me.

1. I have a tattoo that I've been meaning to have embellished, but haven't done so because I can't stand to sit still for that long. I mean, seriously sit still -- you're not supposed to heavily sweat for 4-6 weeks after going under the needles or you'll bleed out the ink. It's probably just as well because I'd probably have covered my back by now.

2. Speaking of heavily sweating, I still have yet to complete a marathon without crying like a little girl.

3. Peggy is my favorite Mad Men character. Everyone seems to love Joan (and I don't deny that she's gorgeous), but every time Peggy is featured on that show, I think "there's my girl!" I bought some black check buffalo plaid to make a shirt inspired by this dress that she wore in a few episodes of (I think) Season 2. Then I cut the fabric off-grain.

Oh Peggy, can we be best friends?

4. I have a hard time concentrating without some music in the background.

5. I used to joke that if I could get paid to sleep, I would accept the position. And then I found out what happens to people who do those paid sleep studies. And I haven't joked about getting paid to sleep since then.

6. I am not on the cutting edge of technology. I finally joined the 21st century by getting a text plan this summer. Now I don't know how I ever spent so much time talking into my phone.

7. That said, I am a veteran Mac user. I have two at home, and my last two employers provided me one of my choice so that any given time I had three Macs. At my current job I have a PC and am having a hell of a time trying to figure out how to get anything done.

Another pair of skinnies: Burda 08-2009-127

2011-02-15T13:00:00.000-08:00

This is my third pair of pants made from Burda 08-2009-127. The first pair I made are red cotton sateen, the second pair are denim, and this pair is wool ponte. These are more like the first pair, as in they are cuffed.

I love this pattern because of the way the seat fits. Simplicity 3850 used to be my skinny pant pattern, but we broke up after the red pants. It's nothing against Simplicity. I actually prefer the legs on the Simplicity pattern over the legs on this one. I liked the Simplicity pattern because I thought it fit me well in the back, all until I realized that it was giving me what the Fashion Incubator calls mono-butt. While mono-butt may be the current look in the designer jeans and RTW world, it's not very comfortable. I didn't know what I was missing out on until I'd made these Burda pants. And once I knew... well, I can't go back. You can have skinnies that are also comfortable. Go figure!

I've worn these twice to work already, the fabric has amazing resiliency. I wish I had more of it, I would make a dress too.

Burda 08-2009-127 in black wool ponte, front view

Burda 08-2009-127 in black wool ponte, back view

Burda 08-2009-127 in black wool ponte, side view

Vogue 1051: Wide legged pants

2011-01-28T10:37:00.000-08:00

This is probably the 4th pair of pants I've made with this pattern. Hands down, this is my favorite waistband as far as fit goes. In a size 6, 8, or 10, it's still a flattering waistband, the fit in the hips changes by size though. (Admittedly, size 10 swathes me in fabric but the first pair I made was the size 10 because I wanted big pants -- go figure.) I petite them by 2" and taper to the size 6 from the knee to hem so that it doesn't look like I have sails around my lower legs. I am still up in the air about what my size is, because I like my pants more fitted in the hips and have made them a size smaller in the past so that they are tight in the hips and upper thighs but because I need professional looking clothes opted to make these in my prescribed size. I'm not sure that I like how these fit, though.

My apartment is too small for a full length mirror, so I've found that taking photos gives me a good idea of how my clothes fit. You get to see, too!

The fabric is a stretch gray wool gabardine, origins unknown.

With a modelish pose, fit looks ok.

Straight on like this, though they look saggy in the thigh. Who knew they were so wrinkly from sitting in my lap to sew the hooks and eyes? Not me, apparently.

Back seems OK.

Next up are some skinnies with a black wool ponte and a dress shirt. I think that'll set me up well, along with the last 3 dresses I sewed, with some basics for work. I'll add more grownup clothing to my closet over time.

Butterick 5559 in wool jersey

2011-01-20T07:02:00.000-08:00

If you are thinking of making this dress, make good friends with your iron. Make sure it's clean and steaming right, because if you want the tucks to turn out well you're going to have to press, press, and press. The dress front bodice and skirt have darts that are hidden in the tucks (essentially, you need to stitch in the ditch for parts of the front tucks). You'll need to press those darts well in order to sew the tucks. When I made my muslin, I thought that I'd sew the darts, then assemble the dress and sew the tucks in order to get perfect matching on the sides. I found out that the way that Butterick recommends you do this, sew the tucks and then assemble the dress, is better because the tucks chevron on one side.

This dress is also short. I shortened the pattern by 2" in my muslin and realized that it would not be an office appropriate dress unless I left the hemline as drafted. The dress in the pictures are a straight from the package hemline length, so if you are not wee like me you'll have to add some length.

There's a lot of up front work with this pattern. The pattern pieces are cut from single thickness fabric, you need to carefully mark the darts and tucks. I think that altogether, this took me about 2 hours to do, because I wanted to be sure I got all the markings right.

This is the result. I made it up in a heavy teal wool jersey that I bought last year from Gorgeous Fabrics. It was amazing to work with, and I think there will be more wool jersey in my future. My muslin was a lighter jersey that draped wonderfully but was a pain to sew. So if you want a slinkier dress, I recommend a lighter jersey but it will be tricky to do the darts and tucks.

There's a little sagging in the upper chest, but this didn't happen with the lighter jersey.

Again, some fabric bulging in the small of my back, but it's the fabric.

Here's a detail photo on my left side, where some of the tucks match and others are a little bit off. I figured I could drive myself crazy trying to get this perfectly lined up, but that's not the kind of seamstress I am.

Tuck detail at left side seam.

In fact, what kind of seamstress am I? I'm the kind who experiments with Steam-a-Seam for the hem and finds out that it's a wonderful way to get out of handsewing a hem! Yay for discovering Steam-a-Seam!

Necessary sewing

2011-01-15T09:15:00.000-08:00

The nice thing about sewing is that it's so affordable to make things that are otherwise stupidly overpriced. Like, why would I want to pay $80 for a pillow sham? $120 for a duvet cover? I detest the idea of sewing home dec (snoresville!) but the pay off is huge. Each pillow cover was a half hour project (cut to stuffing with a 26" square pillow form), busted up some of my stash, and saved me some dough. Now that I'm finished preaching to the choir, I'd like to thank everyone for your comments on my last post.

Thanks to Audrey and Dei for your suggestions on saving the coat. I especially like the idea of an exposed zipper... As Marie-Christine and KMQ suggested, I agree that the bust point is too high on the coat and this confuses me. On full-size Burda patterns I need to petite the bodice but apparently my torso is too long for the petite Burda patterns?

Now, back to my home dec project. Each pillow has a lapped zipper on one side, so I can take them off to wash. The top one is a little smaller than the bottom two giving it a plumper look. Who knew that half an inch would have made such a big difference? The fabric remnant I used wasn't as wide as the other fabrics, and I went with it.

Here's my sofa.

Wherein I inadvertently sew a sausage casing

2011-01-14T07:45:00.000-08:00

Greetings from my new apartment. The natural light here is fabulous. It's a new year, new apartment, and new job. Now that I've told all the important people in my life, I figure I'll share a little bit of my non-sewing life with my online friends. This fall was a frenzy of job searching and ending my postdoc research position. Everything ended on December 31st -- my job, and my apartment lease -- without any way to extend either. I was counting on what everyone was telling me, "It'll all work out," so I hadn't made a request to extend either one in time.

And things did work out. What can I say, I live a charmed life? With 15 days left in 2010, I was offered a grownup job and 2 days later I found an apartment. I finally signed an employment contract on the 4th, and turned a year older on the 6th, leaving for the first vacation in 5 years on the 7th. Now I'm back and have 2 and a half weeks till my job starts. I plan to spend this time relaxing, doing some visiting with friends, and sewing new clothes for my job. The last few weeks have been moving, wrapping up the postdoc work, and running around buying furniture (more shopping than I've done in a year.)

I'd been sewing all along, but from October through oh, today, my life has been really hectic and my blog was the first to get neglected.

It's tempting to blame the looming stress of potential unemployment and homelessness for the outcome of this coat (at the time, I would completely forget where I had put my car which made picking up furniture really difficult!) but I honestly don't think I've made a mistake. This coat is Burda 09-2010-101, a petite dress coat that I thought would be pretty marvy in a light wool coating. I traced and cut a size 19, which is my size, and this is what happened.

I have it pinned just shy of center front and am only wearing a t-shirt underneath. There is no hope for this if I were to wear, say, a sweater. Extremely impractical for New England.

Front view, much more snug than anticipated.

From the back, it's not so readily noticeable but who wants to stand in a corner all day?

Having put it on again today, I think I also sewed the sleeves on backwards but at this point that's the least of the fit problems. I don't know how this could have happened, other than Burda either drafted this small for "petites" or it's intended to fit more like a dress than a coat?

From the magazine photo, I get the sense that you're not supposed to wear this closed. Maybe it fits the model like a sausage casing as well and she just opted to leave it open?

Burda 09-2010-101, not to be viewed from the front. Ever.

So promising. Maybe in a larger size?

I'm going to leave it at this: if you are teeny, and interested in finishing the coat get in touch with me. m3li88a(at)gmail(dot)com. I will send this to you if you want to finish and wear it. I had a friend who is an inch smaller in the bust and waist try this on and it was still too small for her. I think that you will need to be 31" or smaller in the bust, have a waist of 24" or smaller and be willing to put up with possibly backwards sleeves as well as bagging the lining and adding snaps... the coat is unhemmed. I'm going to keep this for a couple days to see if anyone's interested, but after that it'll be considered a wadder. Sad, I hate seeing things go to waste.

Here is a photo of the lining, if you're inclined. The fabric is lighter than a melton, heavier than a gabardine. To be completely frank, I am a little disappointed in the quality -- it was pilling as I was cutting and marking. Maybe, given that and the possibly backwards sleeves, this should head straight to wadder heaven?

2011 sewing resolution

2010-12-28T11:26:00.000-08:00

I have to get real about sewing from my stash. When I moved 2 years ago, I had 2 boxes of it, and I thought I was being so diligent in sewing from my stash! It turns out it grew, so that now I'm moving again into a tiny apartment (about 200 s.f.) with 2 boxes and a giant Samsonite suitcase full of fabric (oh, there's other stuff too, not just my sewing supplies). Speaking of the Samsonite suitcase, that puppy is heavy empty never mind completely stuffed with fabric!

As I was packing, I had to force myself to get rid of the larger scraps. I don't know if you're anything like me, but I'll look at a scrap and if it's big enough to cut a facing or pockets I will squirrel it away. This time, I asked myself if I could honestly use the scrap if given 2 more years and if the answer was NO, it had to go. I filled an entire trash bag full of scraps!

I also took the opportunity to get rid of ridiculous fabric, like the extra yard of red poodle hair fur that I used to make Lee's Clifford costume a few years ago. I am on the edge about getting rid of the left over tulle from the Bjork swan dress because I imagine making a crinoline. Someday.

It's not like a hoarder... Oh, but that's probably denial speaking. In going through my stash I couldn't help but feel that I am one step away from living in complete squalor or becoming a candidate for TLC's Hoarders show.

Not my house... but maybe soon? EEK!

I really tried to cull the fabric stash, I did. I also tried to organize it as I packed, but the only thing I could really separate out was coatings. How do you destash? How do you determine when a scrap is too scrappy to keep around? How do you organize your fabrics? Any ideas for living in a closet-sized apartment with a full-sized stash?

Linen hiking shirt: Burda 09-2010-109C

2010-12-26T13:58:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all your kind words on my last post. The shirt is couldn't be salvaged and I'm glad to have a bunch of sympathetic readers to cry to! Melissa, I love it that you know them Stillers! The fabric will be used to make a gift bag for a Teacup Piggy. Personal joke.

In the meantime...

There are two types of hikers: those who like natural fabrics and those who like technical fabrics. I'm the latter while my sister is the former. I went hiking with my sister a few months ago and she pulled out an old linen button down shirt from Goodwill that she'd hurriedly hacked off at the waist. So hurried that it was cut at a jagged diagonal. She was trying to counteract the enormity of the shirt (XL, when she is more of a S). The effect was kind of Jack Sparrow.

So for Christmas, I decided that I would make her a linen shirt that fit. This shirt is rayon linen, prewashed. I chose the design because of the deep vent in the front, simple collar (easy to layer!) and cuffs that can be rolled up.

It fits fantastically. All seams are french seams to reduce chafing. Instead of applying the plastron with raw edges, I turned in the edges on both sides for a completely smooth bib.

Front. Isn't my model lovely?

Plastron or bib front. Where does Burda get names like Plastron?

Vented cuffed sleeves.

Back, also with smooth application of Plastron.

Here is Burda's line drawing. It's also available as a dress, and I think it would look great in a crepe satin as they use for the sample in the magazine. I wish that it was drafted in my size. I'm just too lazy to size down because there are so many patterns that I could easily just make a different garment that's drafted for my size.

Burdastyle 09-2010-109A,B,C

Distracted with scissors.

2010-12-23T05:06:00.000-08:00

Can you see what's wrong with this picture? I didn't realize it until I had almost finished the sleeves...

All cut upside down!

This was going to be Lee's Christmas present. After the Celtics shirt last year, he requested a Steelers flannel shirt. I scoured the internet for fabric. It turns out that you can get Steelers broadcloth, but Steelers flannel is rare. And then... well, I guess you can see what happened! For maybe a split second, I considered finishing this project but it's a little too time intensive for a joke gift.

A little housekeeping on the blog

2010-12-04T14:02:00.000-08:00

I enjoy blogging, because it helps me keep track of what I'm doing and I get a lot of inspiration from the blogs I follow. I also like getting comments on the things I sew and tips on how to improve my sewing. Along those lines, I've only recently discovered that I can reply to some individual comments via email.

I don't understand why it's only some comments I reply to; the comments come to the gmail account (m3li88a(at)gmail.com, if you're so inclined) associated with this blog. Sometimes when I hit "reply" it will go to "noreply-comment@blogger.com" and other times it will pull up the commenter's email address so that I can respond individually. It has nothing to do with whether I've been able to reply to someone's comment in the past. It appears that whether I get someone's email address when I hit "reply" is a random event.

Do any other blogger users know how to reply to commenters individually? I'd rather do that when I want to answer specific questions or follow up on advice rather than posting another comment in the comment section or writing another post to address comments.

That said, @Slapdash Sewist, I think that the tulip pleats don't pooch out the way one would expect them would (I thought they would) because the dress is very fitted in the bodice, back, and waist. No chance for pooching unless you're standing on a subway grate!

Menswear and sleeves, Burda 08-2009-128

2010-11-30T19:21:00.000-08:00

I swear, the August 2009 Burda is my favorite. I've sewn so many things from this issue, now including this dress. The only part of this dress that I'm not doing absolute cartwheels over is the front of the skirt, which is probably due to operator error rather than the pattern. No matter how much I press it, I can't get the seams or the hem to stop rippling. All I need to complete the picture is a belt...

There is a half lining for the bodice only, though you could line the skirt too with a straight lining. I used a glen plaid wool and rayon for the lining. The only alteration I made was to shorten the skirt by 2 inches.

I have a feeling I didn't pull the lining down in the front before taking this photo.

I put in a center back lapped zipper. It's a metal zipper that tends to get stuck.

No pooch from the side!


I opted against the bow belt. That would be a little too twee on me.

Burda 08-2009-128 line drawing

Why hello, Butterick.

2010-11-28T15:54:00.000-08:00

I am a sucker for advertising. Though I'm sure that their designs are well developed, I always steer clear of Butterick and Kwiksew patterns. It's just that the pattern illustrations look so dowdy and frumpy. So by extension, I assume that the clothing to be produced from said pattern will be dowdy and frumpy. Perfect for, say, making robes as gifts. Not so perfect for what I want to wear everyday.

I am also weak. I am completely out of black and white thread, so decided to stop by Joann Fabrics after climbing since I would be in the suburbs anyways. It turns out that there is a $0.99 Butterick pattern sale, so I had to check out what was available.

My preconceived notion that Butterick patterns are intended for a Woman of a Certain Age has been turned on its head. Or perhaps, I have reached a Certain Age myself (I actually think that chronologically speaking, I have about 10 or 15 more years to go.)

I got two dress patterns. A Maggy London design, Butterick 5559 and a retro design, Butterick 5281.

Butterick 5559. I love the front and back seaming details.

I will probably make the elbow length sleeved dress as shown on the model.

Butterick 5281 with interesting seam details.

I am actually a little worried that it may be on the matronly side in real life.

But the envelope illustration (and I am a total sucker for this) looks amazing!

Butterick 5292 almost came home with me as well. I love the asymmetrical collar on the jacket. But I decided that I need to be honest with myself -- I have a long list of projects already, and don't need more patterns!

Butterick 5292 line drawing. The jacket of interest is C.

A dress for any occasion: Burda 05-2009-117

2010-11-27T20:11:00.000-08:00

Now that I've figured out that I'm truly able Burda size 36 rather than a size 38 with endless petite adjustments needed* I whipped up two dresses this month. This is the first of them, and I love it. I'm seriously thinking of making it again in the spring with a solid fabric to show off the constructions lines and front drape. This is a cotton printed stretch sateen from Gorgeous Fabrics. It was a delight to sew, and unfortunately for anyone who may feel inspired to search for it... all sold out.

Hopefully I will one day have a job where I can wear this to work, but until then I'm happy to wear it to dinner, a wedding, a funeral, or even a work cocktail reception (which I did a few weeks ago.) It's flattering, a discreet length, the surplice bodice follows your chest so that there's no peekaboo, and all it needs is a red belt. I have no belts, but that problem (and the red belt issue) is going to be solved shortly. The only changes I made were to shorten the skirt by 2" and move the zipper from the center back to the side. I really like having zips on the side if the design allows, because I find zipping up the last 2" of a back zipper can be tricky and I don't really care for having a seam down my back.

Burda 05-2009-117

The construction lines are pretty great, aren't they? I'm not going to lie. The front and back princess seam godets were a little tricky, I found that it was best to sew from the point down and then clip to the stitching to make everything lay flat.

*In an upcoming, whining post (don't say I didn't warn you!) I will complain about the difference between the Burda "half size petite patterns" and Burda full size patterns that supposedly have the same measurements but result in completely different fits.

Muslin fail: this just isn't for me.

2010-11-27T07:59:00.000-08:00

I consider myself pretty cavalier when it comes to sewing. Until recently, I rarely sewed a muslin and so would end up tossing something or just wearing something slightly ill-fitting or even worse -- completely ill fitting. You know, there's a certain pride in having sewn something... or maybe it's inability to recognize a sunk cost. Anyways, I decided I wanted to sew some interesting Fall/Winter shirts.

In September, I think, Fabric.com had a $9.95 sale on Hot Patterns. I'd had my eye on the Wong-Sing-Jones Mandarin wrap top so decided to give it a try. I even bought some black rayon for the shirt.


I love the envelope illustration. Drapy, interesting. Possibly flattering.

Well, I am so glad that I took the time to make a muslin. This being the first time I've sewn at Hot Patterns pattern, I wasn't sure what size I would be or how it would fit. It turns out it fits. This is a size 6. I just couldn't make it look like the envelope illustration, though I did use drapy lightweight fabrics and when my hands are on my hips like the models' it is somewhat fitted in the waist. When I don't have my hands on my hips... Hello, fabric sack!

The overlay just doesn't drape as much as in the illustration.

I like it much more from the back but unfortunately, I spend most of my time facing forwards.

Fuchsia wool flannel skirt, Burda 06-2010-112

2010-10-26T16:55:00.000-07:00

I mentioned having made 2 purple skirts in my last post. I didn't realize I had so much purple fabric, or realize that I'd made 2 purple skirts until I'd gotten halfway through this one. It's made from a Vera Wang fuchsia wool flannel that I got on crazy sale last winter for, like, $1.99. This skirt uses less than a yard so I have a little bit of this stuff left over. Maybe it will be a hat? It was dreamy to sew with, it really pressed nicely and didn't slide around or misbehave. The Slapdash Sewist also bought some of this in that same sale, and made this lovely fitted jacket with her piece. One of the things that I like about sewing is the possibilities that can come out of a piece of fabric, and seeing what other people do with the same material as me.

I really wanted to wear it today, but it was really warm. Of course I also wanted to wear boots. All of this was too much bundling for the unseasonable 70F (that's about 23C for my non-U.S. friends!) weather we had today. I'm not complaining though, because I'm not looking forward to a return to the normal cold weather we have at this time of year! I ended up wearing a cotton tank I'd made with Simplicity 2593 with it.

The pocket lining peeks out. I'm thinking to bar tack either to top or bottom of the pockets, but haven't decided which would be better.

I used a lapped zipper in the back with hook and eye on the waistband. One day I might try doing the lapped zipper with the waistband as well.

I'm actually surprised that this design works with a wool flannel. Eugenia used a linen for her version, and I was afraid that this would turn out stiff. Not a completely irrational fear as I have experience with cartoonish skirts.

I have Eugenia to thank for tuning me into this skirt. It doesn't look so great in the magazine photo.

Burdastyle 06-2010-112 line drawing

You can probably tell immediately that one of the things I changed in my version of this skirt was to leave off the patch pocket. I was going to put it on, but because I shortened the hemline by 2 inches (I typically petite skirts and pants by 2 inches) the pocket looked enormous even though I had petite-d that by one inch as well. Because the flannel was so thick the pocket just wasn't going to work. I think my skirt looks all the better without it. (Another thing that the thick flannel wasn't going to work for was folding the hem band over, so I cut a lining piece and turned and stitched it in the ditch from the right side.) At first I thought I shouldn't have petite-d the skirt so that it would be close to knee length and more suitable for winter wear but (a) what's done is done, and (b) I'm happy with it. The other thing I did was add a rayon lining using this Threads tutorial called "Adding a Lining to Your Custom-Pleated Skirt". It was super easy, but I think that because only the waistband is pleated rather than the hem line being pleated as well, the lining is too big. It tends to peek out when I sit.

Brocade mini skirt, Burda 02/2010 104

2010-10-24T21:48:00.000-07:00

I've been sewing but I haven't been blogging about it, I'll have more posts coming soon. This is one of two purple skirts I've made -- I realized I had no Fall or Winter skirts. A travesty I tell you! So I went ahead and made two skirts, realizing after I'd cut the material for the second one that I now have two purple skirts. When it rains, it pours.

I wasn't sure what my size was, as in the past I've always thought I was a 38 and made petite adjustments accordingly or gamble over whether a size 36 would fit me. I haven't been running because of an injury that isn't really worth getting into here other than I was pretty sure that lack of exercise would make me heavier and thicker. It turns out that since I've replaced running with going to the climbing gym more frequently, I've gained weight but lost a few inches. Who knew? I took new measurements a few weeks ago and learned that I'm a now a size 36. It pays to take your measurements regularly!

I wanted to test how a 36 would fit with no adjustments, and wanted a simple skirt that could use a cut of fabric already in my stash. This is 3/4 yard of 45" wide brocade that I bought at least 6 years ago with plans to turn it into a purse. File that under What Was I Thinking. I can't imagine having a purse made out of this stuff. It snags and sheds all over the place.

The skirt is fitted in the waist through hips, I ended up having to make the back seam 1/2" instead of 5/8" due to snugness. I'm not sure if it's due to the pattern design, the unforgiving nature of the fabric I chose, or the shape of my runner-turned-climber butt.

This is really shiny.

Front. There are slant pockets with self bias binding.

Back. I had no idea it could get so wrinkly without sitting. I used an invisible zip.

Side. You can see the pockets a little better

Inside. I underlined it in silk organza. The waistband lining is a poly lining material.

burdastyle's version in cotton.

burdastyle 02-2010-104B

Ugh!

2010-10-20T16:53:00.000-07:00

I cut off-grain and it's obvious!

Here is the yoke on the back of what would have been a new shirt.

Faux fur leopard print jacket, Burda 09-2009-127

2010-10-15T15:05:00.000-07:00

Getting back to my sewing plan, I've just finished the leopard print jacket. The photos don't show the furriness very well. It's a short nap fur called "minky." Not sure what "minky" means, but it's easy to sew with, presses well and doesn't shed. The fabric has been in my stash for about 2 years, I bought it for a different jacket but figured it would be a great fit for this one. Another note about this fabric: I noticed in my stats that several people have made their way to my blog with the search terms "make buttonholes in faux fur." So here is some advice to people who are looking to make buttonholes in faux fur. Because the nap was so short, I didn't have to do anything special to make buttonholes. I have made buttonholes in fur with longer nap, and as I'm sure you've noticed if you've tried to do this -- the hair gets in the way. What you need to do is separate and lay the hair away from the area where you are going to put the buttonhole, so that you're stitching on fabric rather than on the fur. Hols the fur away from the stitching area with your fingers as you're stitching the buttonholes. Depending on how long the nap is, you might want to trim around the buttonhole, but I've never found this necessary.

The jacket is unstructured and fits a lot like a sweater It's double breasted with cropped sleeves and very mod. I lined it almost to the edges, which makes it feel very sweatery to me. I am not sure about the fit. It's princess seamed but the princess curve falls above my bust line so that there are wrinkles in the upper chest and a rather boxy fit through the rest of the torso. I suppose that this is what I get for not having fit a muslin first.

Here's a picture of it in the magazine. They used a wool, which lends their version a lot more structure. The collar in this photo falls better than mine (I have to adjust it when I put the jacket on) and I wonder if my collar would behave better if I pressed it more. As it is, I've left it kind of shawl-like.

I was a bit torn about what to do for buttons. I didn't have 8 large buttons in my stash so took the jacket to Windsor Button in Downtown Crossing to figure out a good fit -- in my mind, 8 bright white buttons would fit with the mod look I was going for. But when I laid 8 white buttons on the jacket they were way too bright. The clerk and I had some fun matching buttons to the jacket and I ended up with 8 shell buttons, which are the most expensive part of this jacket... I think that the fabric was less than $10 when I bought it years ago!

In all, I think the result is very cute. I don't know how much I will wear it, though. Do you wear animal prints? I had all kinds of ideas for outfits that this would complement but now that it's done, it just seems too loud for my lifestyle. Maybe I could have worn this regularly when I was in my late teens and regularly wore fishnets, mini-skirts and baby tees. Is there a way for grownups to wear faux fur?

A longstanding favorite: Vogue 2742

2010-09-16T05:44:00.000-07:00

This is now the third time I've made this shirt. The pattern is Vogue 2742 (out of print, and unloved, Vogue doesn't even offer it in the out of print section of its pattern website!), a DKNY design. It was issued in 2003, about a year or so after I started sewing. I chose it because it doesn't have a button placket in the front and I was terrified of making buttonholes. The first version I made of blue Egyptian cotton, which was too big (this is before I understood sizing and ease), the second version was made of white striped batiste (which was a little too drapy and fell apart over time). This one is gray chambray.

Front of shirt


Fabric drapes well enough so as not to look knocked up from the side

After all these years of sewing, I still don't really have the knack for making button holes. I made the buttonholes on the wrong part of the cuff, the part that should be on the underside rather than the overlap, so I put the buttons on the inside of the cuff to make up for my mistake. The result is a very clean finish with no buttons on the outside.

This was an unplanned project (not one of the items I listed in my fall sewing) but after that plastic like skirt I really wanted to sew something that I knew would be gratifying and turn out well. This was perfect. As for my next project, I've already cut the leopard print faux fur for my jacket and am trying to decide what to use for a lining.

Finally, for posterity, here is a photo of the pattern. Sad that it's nowhere on the internet anymore, it's a great design.

Skirt fail: Vogue 1170

2010-09-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

Don't let these photos fool you. I chose the wrong fabric for this skirt. It's a lovely tangerine colored stretch cotton pique that would have been better suited to a pencil skirt, fitted dress, or jacket. It doesn't have enough drape for this skirt. I thought I could use it because the recommended fabrics are lightweight wool flannel, lightweight denim and lightweight crepe. I think the key word there is "lightweight."

What should have been a fun and flippy skirt is a skirt that is shaped like a fluted bell. A full-bodied fluted bell that will not be moved. The fabric is way too stiff. The flounce in the back falls awkwardly. On my skirt, the center of the flounce is inverted and the sides stick out awkwardly. The envelope illustration shows that it should fall oppositely -- the sides should be inverted and the center stick out.

Betcha think I'm twirling! I'm not.

Aside from my tragic fabric choice, I went all out in construction (which took a while because I was in and out of town) with bound seams. I even did my best to find an orange zipper in my stash.

Still, I like the shape of this skirt and the seam detailing. I might sew this again but in a fabric with the right amount of drape and a lot less body.

Looking forward to Fall

2010-08-11T15:25:00.000-07:00

It's a nice day here in Cambridge -- while we've had weeks of hot and humid weather, today it's 70F (about 25C for my non-U.S. friends) and breezy. I left the office early and got to thinking about my upcoming sewing projects on my walk home. I am working on a muslin for the skirt portion of this Rachel Comey design (Vogue 1170), which I'll probably make out of a tangerine cotton pique that I bought earlier this summer. I probably won't be wearing it with the top that I made from this pattern, although it would be a perfect match for the orange flowers... Overall I think it would look a little too Rainbow Brite.

The cool weather has me thinking about Fall and well, the impending end of my post-doc at the end of the year and the need to finally start dressing like a grown up (and work at a grown up job, whatever that is). This also means that I need cool weather clothes for an office setting, which I am loathe to sew for several reasons. Among these reasons -- summer clothing is just so much cuter. I like showing my arms, I like wearing dresses. In the winter, I feel like I am just a bundle of jeans and sweaters and any interesting details on shirts or pants will surely be lost in there somewhere. And so, this perpetuates a cycle of me not sewing winter clothes and then complaining that I wear the same thing every day all winter long.

Maybe it's time to revisit the button down shirt but... that's so boring. Maybe I can get myself to master the fit of the button down shirt (I think I will need some as basics in my closet) and make one of each of the following:

Burda 03-2010-122 in white shirting

11-2009-118 in teal shirting or gray washed silk

09-2009-117 in a striped shirting that I don't have

I love the details on these -- the long sleeves on the first one, tuck on the second one. I'm not crazy about the third one but I think that the gather and ruffles will look great with striped fabric, as will the cuffs if the stripes are just slightly misaligned. Alas, I have no striped fabric in the stash and since I will be moving again at the end of the year I don't plan to buy any more fabric.

Lastly, my plan is to sew two jackets.

09-2009-127 in leopard print faux fur

05-2006-102 in mustard corduroy (apologies for the fuzzy photo!)

I'll definitely sew the first jacket, but the more I look at the second jacket the less inclined I am to follow through on my plan. Given the rate at which I have been sewing, I am a little worried that I might be a bit too ambitious to sew all of this before winter!

Cute but stinky

2010-08-09T17:48:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you want to make something today to wear tonight. Well, that happens to me all the time. Last Saturday my running club was having a progressive dinner and it's still to hot and sticky to wear the Fishy shirt or the Bells and whistles shirt (as an aside: I was looking at my Google Analytics page the other day and that shirt was a hit when someone searched for "ruffles on a shirt, ALL THE RUFFLES" yep, it's got ALL THE RUFFLES and more.)

I'm decidedly riding this ruffle wave till it crashes. I've had this sheer poly in my stash for a few years and have wanted to use it for something this summer.

This is the ruffle shirt, 117 from the August 2009 issue of Burda, it was either going to be this or 105 from the April 2010 issue. I was inspired by Toy's version of 08-2009-117 and Eugenia's version of the 04-2010-105 top. The decision came down to having already traced 08-2009-117 last year and never having gotten around to sewing it. From start to finish, this is pretty fast to go together, just 5 hours.... even with a mistake that I made partway through where I managed to sew the center front seam in such a way that I turned the top into a Mobius strip and had to unpick the french seam and sew it again. What a pain! As a result, the facing in the front doesn't sit quite flat because I had to unpick that as well and it didn't line up right after being sewn again.

I love this, even though the fabric is, well, polyester. It's sheer but it really gets sweaty and clammy, and stinky. It's like those cheap technical fabrics that dry and keep the stink in the weave. Yuck! I assure you the hem isn't uneven, I'm just standing weirdly.

Another note - the ruffle is enormous. When I was walking to the subway, it was billowing around my chest. Handy for a dinner party, it's like a bib!

Here's the part I'm particularly proud of: the narrow hem on the bib. I've tried applique scissors to trim the seam allowance, but I find that using my straight scissor is the best way to get close to the stitching without slicing it.

I could see making a few more of these, maybe playing with the fit. It's really loose and shapeless, but because it's shapeless it's airy and comfortable. So maybe there won't be any adjustments in the future if there's a repeat.

A whole lot of shirt.

2010-07-21T16:48:00.000-07:00

I'm still trying to decide whether I'm wearing this shirt or it's wearing me. I'm not exactly channeling Seinfeld's puffy shirt, but I feel like it's pretty close to it. It's #125 from the May 2010 issue of Burda magazine, made up in a crinkle voile that was an impulse buy at Joann Fabrics last summer. This shirt has it all. Ruffled collar, puffy sleeves with ruffles, shirring at the waist and collar, a drawstring keyhole neckline (which I didn't notice in the magazine anywhere)! I made a size 38 with my usual adjustments.

It's kind of at an odd length where I think it needs a few more inches to be a dress. I suppose it could work as a swimsuit coverup, but it's quite a shirt to wear to the beach.

You can't see from these photos that the bottom of the keyhole opening falls to the bottom of my ribcage (it's just as well.) You also can't see how messy this is on the inside. There's really no way to make a neat finish with all the shirring and gathering, plus the drawstring casing that you make by folding over part of the neckline.

Here's shot of the inside of the collar. Looks like a mess, eh?

I don't know what I was expecting, but I couldn't really get an idea of length or puffiness from the magazine photos. The model is wise to wear something underneath if she's going to leave the ties open. It's a really deep neckline if you're going to do that.


Too small to see anything!

Now in hindsight, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by the keyhole. You can see it right there!

Despite all my fussing about it, I will admit that it's a very feminine cut and it was fun to sew. If you are looking for something that has a lot of details, this is your friend. You have to shir the collar pieces, then gather them to attach them to the front of the shirt. Next, you have to make a casing for the drawstring, which I think is a little redundant; you could just sew the ties to the collar opening; the casing is only 1" long. You have to sew the ruffles to the sleeves, then make a casing and insert elastic. Lots of busy work!

It is one of a kind, and because of the cut really has to be worn with something tight on the bottom to balance it out. I experimented with a couple pairs of skinny jeans and found that these long boot cut jeans (I always have to wear heels with them) were the best match for the volume and length of the shirt. I'm sure that there are some taller readers out there who won't have this problem, though!

Simplicity 2593: Cute and easy

2010-07-19T17:06:00.000-07:00

It doesn't get much better than this. I managed to squeeze this shirt out of 1 yard of fabric (the pattern calls for 1 1/2 yards), which was a whopping $2.95 at my local fabric shop. You can sew this in about an hour. Possibly with your eyes closed. The frills on the shoulders really make this top different. There's no way to make them "perfect". They change shape and position as you wear them, making this shirt artsy but not in a bad way.

The only thing that I'm not so crazy about is the shoulders, which I think are a little wide on me so that the straps often shift and show my br.a straps.

Oy vey. Now I see that I have quite the runner's tan -- look at the top of my white X!

And... for those of you following along at home: I got the dye stains out of my blue skirt with Oxyclean. Amazing stuff!

A tale of 1 fabric, 2 skirts

2010-07-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

This is a story of Fabric Fail. I bought this cool abstract print from an online retailer who will remain nameless because it's not their fault that this fabric didn't work out for me. I washed and dried the fabric when I got it, and noticed that the black dye had bled out a little. Because the print is so abstract, I figured - eh, annoying, but not the end of the world.

See? The bleeding just looks like shadows and even though I know it's there it's really not that noticeable. You can see it faintly a little to the right of my hand.

So I figured I would go ahead and sew a summer skirt with it. This is the skirt I decided on, 111B from the April 2010 issue of Burdastyle. I wasn't going to be put off by its "tall" designation. I'm anything but tall, but I decided to trace the smallest size and adjust it. My usually petite-ing (it's a word now!) is to take up a 1/2" between the waist and hips on Burda patterns, so because this pattern was intended for Amazons, I took it up a full inch between the waist and hips.

Well. That worked in theory. I probably should have also taken a little width out of the back. Looks good in the front...

It also looks all right from the back, but it it is way unflattering from the side. I really thought that hanging this skirt in the closet for a few weeks would relax the fabric some, but I think the design was really never meant for someone of dimunitive size.

The second part of this story is where I still try to help this fabric redeem itself. I used it for the pockets of this skirt, a tried-and-true pattern for me (110 from the September 2006 issue of Burda). It has princess seams in the front and back, with small pleats at the high waist. I made this in black pique two years ago and wore it death. This is a size smaller (36) than my actual size (38), which sometimes works for petite-ing instead for of going through the hassle of adjusting the pattern. This one is pastel blue, pique again. I would love this skirt.... maybe you'll agree, looks good from the front:

The back (excuse my inability to dress myself, I must have left the bottom hook undone!):

And the pockets in the pleat front are great:

Speaking of the pockets, they bled onto the front of the skirt after washing! You can see what looks like gray smudges on the front of my skirt. This makes me so mad, because I thought that all the bleeding was done after the first wash.

The moral of this story is: Don't trust anything that bleeds before being cut. This fabric will be for muslins only from now on.

Inspired: Vivienne Westwood Anglomania via Vogue 8385

2010-07-09T15:54:00.001-07:00

As I've discussed before, one of the nice things about sewing is the ability to replace your favorite garments when they wear out or get lost. Even better is being able to copy things you see, and even better than that is when you get instructions on how to do so. Look at this knockoff of Vivienne Westwood's Anglomania "Atlantis Sunday" top by Kristin at Very Prairie, which she describes in tantalizing detail AND provides her alteration to the peplum to get the same look as the designer version! How fun! How can you not make one of your own?

I think that Kristin's version is fun in plaid, but I decided that stripes would be the way for me. Mine is made from silk striped broadcloth from Fashion Fabrics Club, with just enough randomly placed goldfish to add a little whimsy. I made the same peplum alteration that Kristin made, and switched out the 8 buttons for 6 snaps. If you see below, the Anglomania version uses snaps attached with a cross-stitch... I hate making buttonholes, so this worked out pretty well.

The waist falls at my natural waist, and I didn't need to make any alterations in length. I'm also pretty happy with how the stripes matched up at the sides (at least on the left side... sorry, no pics of the right side but you'll have to take my word for it that I got a pretty close match there as well!)

Here are some detail photos: I used white broadcloth for the back lining. I bought the recommended amount of striped fabric for my fabric width but ran out of fabric because of the peplum change. The lining doesn't show at all, even in the front, so you don't have to worry about using fashion fabric for all the pieces... the pattern instructions call for fashion fabric lining but you could get away without as I have.
Now, I'm not trying to show of my b.ra or cle.avage here, but these photos show how the folds works in the front of the top, and how good the coverage is despite being a wide and low cut U-shaped neckline. Overall, I love this top and look forward to an occasion to wear it!

Tucked + Smock = Smucked shirt?

2010-05-28T05:16:00.000-07:00

Wow, the whole month of May is almost gone. I realized when I logged in to start writing this post that there's a half-written one from two weeks ago when I wanted to write about having gone to some local fabric shops in Somerville and Cambridge... I will sum it up here: cheap and beautiful fabrics, one store well organized with cute quinceanera tiaras on display and the other like something out of Hoarders. Like, I was afraid that the fabric (crazy long pile neon pink tiger fur! shrek green sequins! beautiful white flocked cotton lawn! all piled to the ceiling!) was at any point going to topple and smother me. Luckily I was shopping with a friend, because I don't think the employees would ever have heard or found me in that barely lit shop.

Despite my criticism of the second shop, I bought this light weight teal poplin, and two other shirtings. I decided against making the jersey top that I was considering in this post because when I traced out the pattern I realized that it called for a facing in the neckline. I hate sewing facings into knit shirts, hate it, so that was an easy decision. I made the shirt with the tucked bib inset instead. It fits really well in the shoulders and is very loose from the bust down. It turns out that there were a few surprises.
It's got 4 tucks in the back, which with the gathers under the bib in front make this a pretty voluminous shirt. These tucks are each 5/8", which isn't clear from the pattern markings.

In this second picture you can see I pulled another Paul Smith button trick. I had only 4 white ball buttons and then used a clear ball button for the collar. You see the front band below the bib? This was the next surprise for me... it's supposed to be a hidden button placket. Well, I'm not about to make more buttonholes than I need to or hunt down more buttons than I have to. So I sewed the bands together with topstitching, the shirt's loose enough that you can pull it over your head so long as you unbutton most of the buttons on top.

And then, the biggest surprise which I'm not sure was operator error or a problem with the pattern draft. In the teal shirt, the bib didn't have enough seam allowance around the edge to set straight into the shirt front. You can see my wobbly seam at the corners. Somehow on my muslin, I'd managed to not only set it in straight with enough seam allowance but do a french seam! I think if I were to make another one of these shirts I would cut the bib with just a little extra around the edges to make sure that I can set it in straight, because it was really tricky to do this without getting the tucks caught in the seam.

edited to add: This is #124 from the March 2010 Burda issue.

Seamstress' remorse

2010-05-05T11:35:00.000-07:00

If you're like me, sometimes you'll buy something and bring it home and realize it's not really want you wanted. It's known as buyer's remorse. Luckily you can bring it back to the store and exchange it for something more suitable or get your money back. Not so with sewing! How many times have you charged ahead with a project, cutting into a piece of awesome fabric to make a garment that doesn't fit quite right, doesn't drape the way you want to, or just doesn't look the way you thought it would based on the pattern photo? Enter in, seamstress' remorse! This has happened to me so many times that I get a little gunshy about cutting into my fabric. I hate making muslins, but I've learned that this is the only way not to feel that pit in my stomach over having used a lovely piece of fabric for something that is only so-so.

Of course, I could argue that there are many other reasons why I sew; I enjoy the creative process, it is instantly rewarding in ways that my day-to-day job is not, I now have a wardrobe of clothes that fit me unlike what I can buy in a store. My sewing regret has more to do with the opportunity cost of having used a piece of fantastic fabric for something less than desirable. It's rarely about the lost time in the process (I've recently learned that if there is something I don't really want to sew, I should just buy it... Dear Reader, I bought a suit after much mulling over what kind of suit to sew and realizing that I'd rather just sew cute casual clothing) but the thought that I could have used that lovely fabric to make this other awesome thing.

Why this deep and digging post today? I traced off two patterns from the March 2010 Burda issue. The first is 118b, a loose fitting top that is made up in a jersey. I am a little leery of this pattern because it looks completely different on the model than it does in the garment photo. See?

Interesting draping going on with the model...

Kind of blah unworn.

I am thinking to make this up in a light and drapey DVFesque print. Here is DVF's Asher Tiger dress, my fabric has similar print but is cotton weave instead of silk jersey.
I've traced out the pattern, made petite adjustments, and now have cold feet. Does this happen to you too? A little hesitancy when it comes to project commitment, no matter how small?

In other news, the other top I've traced out is 124, which I plan to make from a poly sheer that's been in my stash for a few years. I think it will be the perfect summer top for work.

I have a type: lots of ties and twists

2010-04-30T05:13:00.000-07:00

Let's take a trip back in time, to a time before there was this blog. Say, back to 2004. It was a time when I took photos with my camera phone (you can see me holding it in the second photo), and a time to make both of these shirts.
In 2006, that first top disappeared and I replaced it (that's the nice thing about being able to sew) with this toile version that I still wear regularly.
Two years ago, I experimented with a little color, and there was this.
I would continue, but you get the idea. This isn't post wasn't meant to turn into a retrospective of my personal style...

And today, there's this, made from the Vogue Rachel Comey top and skirt pattern (1170) that I posted about here. You'll see it fits my type very well. I like it untucked, but I think that there's a reason why the model is wearing it tucked in. It bulges in weird places when it's not tucked in... Luckily, it's not misbehaving in my photos. It's made from a light cotton voile with a vintage-y print that I'm pretty sure I bought to make a similar top -- and has since been sitting in my stash for years.
I followed the directions to a T, even though my intuition told me I could make the narrow hems just as well with a narrow zig zag and trimming the fabric. I do like the narrow hems, they really make the vintage inspired look, which you can see on the sleeve tie.
I probably could have gone a size down, but figured with such light and flowy fabric it would be OK to try this in a size 10 to see how it would fit. I think this will be great in the summer when it's super hot and sticky. It is very loose, and this knot shifts around a bit but I think it wouldn't be a problem if I were more inclined to tuck in my shirt (and make my mother proud!)

Open letter to Vogue Patterns

2010-04-27T08:37:00.000-07:00

Dear Vogue Patterns,

Can you ask Tracy Reese to share the pattern for the Delaney dress from her frock! line? I would make mine in cotton pique, possibly with contrast color for the straps on shoulders and back.

Thanks,
Melissa

p.s. Here are some photos to jog your memory.

A raincoat

2010-04-26T04:14:00.000-07:00

Two firsts: a Patrones pattern, and sewing with rainwear. I'd tried sewing rubber backed microfiber last year to make a raincoat and it was a disaster. This stuff is a poly woven raincoating from Gorgeous Fabrics, and it was easy to press and sew. So much so that I'm thinking of making another raincoat, in a traditional trenchcoat style. If I do that, I'll be sure to leave seam allowances on my pattern pieces. It was really hard to keep from pinning outside the seam allowances since there aren't any on the Patrones patterns, and I didn't want to pierce my fabric (kind of defeats the purpose of having waterproof fabric to make holes in it!)

Patrones doesn't have a website, but here is a photo of the design.

I made a muslin, and decided agains the gathered sleeves. The cuff turned out to be tighter than depicted, more like a shirt cuff than a jacket cuff. (I also briefly had it in my head that this could be a second coat if I underlined it, but I think it's a bit loud for my tastes.)
The thing that I love about this pattern, and that I think I'll love about all the other patterns in the magazine are that I didn't have to make any alterations at all! Normally, I have to take shoulders in, shorten the bustline, narrow the ease in the upper arm, shorten the sleeve, shorten the waistline, bring up the hem a few inches... but the proportions were perfect straight off the tracing sheet. I was really surprised, and then learned that Patrones Joven is designed with teenagers in mind. Now, don't you all go running out and buy all the Patrones Joven! I get dibs!

That said, I don't think I'd recommend this magazine to absolute beginners unless you are fluent in Spanish and have a lot of patience to ease the curved pattern pieces together. I used Google Translate to translate the instructions and while the tool was really cool (it was fixing its grammar as I typed!) there definitely was a lot lost in translation. Regarding the ease, I had to really adjust the sleeve cap and carefully clip the neckline and collar pieces to make them fit. That said, I love how the sleeves and shoulders fit me. I am so in love with the sleeves that I now want to make more coats from this issue, and hate all the coats I've made with patterns from other companies.

Because I wasn't crazy about the sleeves, I switched out the sleeves with another coat in the issue for simple straight sleeves. I like the stand-up collar, but will likely wear it open, as in the right photo.

The lining is also from Gorgeous Fabrics.

Here are some detail photos. The magazine would have you do a lot of decorative hand top stitching, but that's not really my bag. I actually wanted the coat to be as minimalist as possible, so did very little topstitching, all close to the edges with the purpose of reinforcing seams or holding the facing in place. I used the machine to bartack the epaulettes, though I suppose I could have hand tacked them for a cleaner look.

And finally, my little secret... I ran out of the buttons that I was using, and so am using a different button on the collar. I've seen this on some of Lee's Paul Smith jackets, and I figure that if Paul Smith can do this and make it look fresh and fun, I can do the same.

Sewing per body type

2010-04-06T17:05:00.001-07:00

You know how they always say that everyone wants what they don't have? For example, if you have bone straight hair, you wish for ringlet curls or if you have curly hair you blow out your hair so it's straight?

It's not that I wish I were tall, but I do wish I could wear some things that you definitely need more bread to spread on. When I saw this design in the June 2009 Burda issue, I wanted to make it up so badly. It looks so sleek and elegant and I have the perfect washed silk in my stash for it.
But I won't make it. Because as you can see in this photo, there is A LOT of fabric in those batwing sleeves.
I would be swimming in fabric. I have little twiggy arms that would be lost in there. As I learned from making this blousy and flowy sleeved top, I feel lost when I'm wearing a lot of fabric on my arms, no matter how elegant the design promises to be. (I have intentions of refashioning that top into something else, as I've only worn it once...)

How about you? Are there cuts and designs that you avoid but wish you could pull off?

That was some good advice.

2010-04-04T06:37:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all the comments on my last post. I decided to hem the jeans and finish the waistband with a shank jeans button. I always have trouble getting the shank and the base to stay together while I hammer at it. My hack trick is to put the shank in the base and then step on it (of course, while wearing hard soled shoes), which gets the two pieces to stick just well enough so that I can hammer it.
Here are some photos of the finished deal. These jeans are so comfortable. I'm glad that I didn't get rid of them.
As I mentioned, I wanted a pair of jeans so badly that I didn't plan ahead. Luckily I had denim and a jeans zipper in my stash, but I didn't have enough of any one color of topstitching thread. I had beige, brown, rust, and white left over from past jeans projects... I used the beige and brown on the patch pockets and fly, the rust (which ended up looking red against this denim) on the waistband and inseams... and then ran out so stitched two lines of normal weight red thread to finish the topstitching. I think that throwing the white topstitching thread would have been too much going on.

Here's a closeup. You can see the different colors on the yokes, pockets, and waistband. I always stitch the pocketbag to the back of the leg with topstitching.

I used leftover seersucker from the sundress I made in January for the waistband and pockets. I like using a lighter weight fabric to line jeans waistbands. It's more comfortable to wear and the turn of cloth is easier to stitch. Win win, I think. I also always stitch twill tape at the waistband seam to keep the waistband from stretching from wear.

Here are the inseams and hems. Unlike the red pants, these didn't turn out skin tight (which is a good thing, I think) -- maybe it's the change in fabric, and I'm pretty happy to have a slim fit jeans pattern in my stash now!

Longest crotch in the east

2010-03-29T18:37:00.000-07:00

After my 3 month ordeal with the lined wool pants, I decided I wanted something quick and easy. Like a new pair of jeans. I decided to reprise my skinny pants from the Burda 8/2009 issue, but in denim with jeans style topstitching and patch pockets. You'd think this would be a slam dunk. I'd think so too. I am so desperate for a new pair of jeans that I decided to just sew with what is at hand, so there are three different colors of topstitching as I ran out of thread and decided to try to make it look like a design element... Aside from the beige, dark brown, and rust topstitching, and the fact that I haven't finished the hems yet, there is a bigger problem.

The shape of the legs is good. Back looks okay.

Front is okay... kind of.

Promise not to laugh? Here's what it looks like if you can actually see the front.
Longest crotch ever! I don't think the zip is supposed to be the length of the entire pant front, though this is how the pattern is marked... it looks so Busy-Hands-At-Home-y... At this point, I think I might just toss these. What a waste of otherwise good fabric!

A huge difference in 1"

2010-03-28T12:26:00.000-07:00

I wore the gray pants to work on Thursday, and on Friday and decided not to make any changes to them or the black pants. Here are photos (the far right are the black pair), of Burda 07-2009-102 in daylight... Can you tell the difference between what I'm doing differently today from Thursday? I'm wearing 3" instead of 2" heels. It's amazing how much better the pant legs fit with a little more length to drape!
And so you can see the pocket and waistband detail (photographing dark gray and black are tricky!) here is an overexposed view.
I am considering making a jacket to match the black pair (there's enough extra fabric left to do so) but the fabric was so fussy that I think it might be better to use it for something simpler, like a skirt or a sheath dress...

Aw, shucks.

2010-03-25T15:21:00.001-07:00

Thanks Andrea!

I'm supposed to tell you 7 things about me and nominate 7 of you to do this too... I'm actually not going to nominate anyone, but I would love to hear from someone who's never commented before. Tell me about yourself! Do you have a blog? I'll add you back!

I was born in the 70s, not the 80s. For some reason, this always surprises people.
I enjoy traveling alone. I've taken road trips in California and Australia by myself and met a lot of interesting people along the way.
The very first thing I bought when I got my first job after college was a used Singer sewing machine for $80, because I always wanted to learn how to sew.
I love bikinis, because it means beach to me... and I love swimming in the ocean.
I am a doctor, but not the kind that works in a hospital.
Apples are my favorite fruit. If you want to get specific, I'll take a Pink Lady or a Honeycrisp, please.
The first thing I did with my first sewing machine (see #3) was reupholster a love seat and 3-seat sectional. Believe it or not, that was much easier than learning how to fit clothing to my lumpy little body.

A big step outside the box

2010-03-25T05:37:00.000-07:00

I finally finished the two pairs of wool pants I've wanted since December. This is the Burda trouser pattern I mentioned about a month ago. I'm not sure how I like them. I made a short muslin (ended at the knee) so I didn't get a good idea of how the full leg looked. This pair is gray stretch flannel, the other pair is a wool/poly stretch that for whatever reason (different fabric?) feel bigger than this pair. My muslin was made from stretch corduroy and felt more fitted in the thighs than these do.

I took these pictures this morning because I plan to wear them to work. I wanted suitable office wear pants, but these feel really frumpy to me. Believe it or not, this is the brightest spot in my house -- I'll take better photos outside this weekend when the porch isn't covered in shade. I am trying to remind myself that the day is coming where I can't go to work in skinny jeans so I should get used to dressing like this, but the fit of these pants just feel so off to me. After doing the flat seat alteration, I'm somewhat satisfied with how this fits in the butt but the legs feel way too big and baggy in the thigh. I'm wondering whether I should have gone down a size in cutting the leg. Because I never put belt loops on my pants (and more importantly, I hate wearing belts) I am pretty sure that these will be saggy and even more frumpy by the end of the day.

click to enlarge

Sewing and running don't mix

2010-03-09T10:24:00.000-08:00

Hi! This is what I've been doing instead of sewing the ever growing list of things I want to sew.
This is a photo of me around mile 13 in a 30K (18.64 mile) race that I did on Sunday. Despite my humble goals in my upcoming marathon (finish without crying like a little girl), training for this race is really taking it out of me. At this point, I'm running 60 miles per week, which means getting out on the pavement at 6:15 in the morning, and another short run in the evening. When I'm not doing that, I'm working, or trying to keep my stomach full. It's amazing how expensive marathon training is -- I'm always eating!

And I'm always tired. Like, I have a hard enough time keeping my eye on the goal at work, never mind at my sewing machine. On Saturday, I needed a good sit-on-my-ass-and-drink-lots of water activity... sewing! I am almost done with my wool pants (that I wanted in December) and probably would have finished them but for spacing out after every other seam. I've also decided that I can't go to the Lowell textile museum meetup after all; I have a 20 mile run planned for that morning and the last time I tried to go to a museum after a long training run I spent most of it sitting on a bench outside the exhibition... not so great for hanging out when everyone else is actually looking at the exhibits!

Given the rate at which I'll be sewing until this marathon, I really need to prioritize what I'm going to sew. I want some new skirts, jeans, and shirts for Spring. However, I think that I need a suit or some other grownup attire for upcoming interviews and the like. Tomorrow I have a Big Presentation to give and no idea what to wear. I had an interview for a job a few weeks ago and freaked out for a few days over what to wear... and was relieved when it was a phone interview. So this is where I ask for your help -- what do grownups wear to work? I think that I can possibly make a long term project of a suit of some sort. I have plenty of suitings in my stash. What color is "professional"? Gray? Black? Is it "more" (whatever that means) professional to wear a skirt suit or pant suit (I'd prefer pant suit, I think)?

Slow pants

2010-02-28T09:22:00.000-08:00

I've been working on pants for the last month. After like, 14 muslins, I've finally figured out how to make Burda pants fit my stumpy limbed, flat-assed (never thought I was deficient there!) self. I also learned that really, you can't go back. I have Burda back issues from 2005 and 2006 with pants with adorable details (these are both from the February 2006 issue):
You would think that this would be my best bet. Classic cut, Burda's petite design. While this fit, it was so high waisted that it was saggy in weird places around my hips.

This one had such a cute waistband... but in 2006 I guess Burda was all about the matronly look because these were so long in the crotch and big around my hips and thighs I felt like I'd aged 15 years.

I decided to go with a more recent Burda design, though I was a little leery of doing so. It seems to me that Burda's all about skinny pants lately and as much as I love me my skinny pants and jeans I do need some variety. July 2009 had these, and I made them fit, flat seat alteration and all. I've already cut out fabric for two pairs of lined wool pants, and hope to sew them up this week.

A little behind: 1 dress (Simplicity 2497) and 2 fabrics

2010-02-07T10:24:00.000-08:00

I bought this pattern in the fall, thinking I wouldn't have the chance to make and wear it.

After I saw AllisonC's green silk dress, I knew I had to find an occasion for it... and it just so happened that Lee decided to get tickets to go to a New Year's party in DC, so I needed(!) a dress. I sewed this up just in time to leave on December 30th, and haven't had a chance to take photos until now. (It turns out that all those wonky photos meant my camera was dying, and I didn't have a chance to replace it this week.) As always, photos from that night are too facedrunkbooky to post.

The dress came together very quickly, made of gold silk shantung that I bought years and years ago. No major alterations other than shortening it. I wore it with the black tights you see here and a pair of black kitten heels. The party turned out to be a bust, but I got lots of compliments on my dress!

And I decided to keep the muslin, which I made out of multicolored seersucker from the stash. I have a feeling that this dress won't stand up to much washing because the seersucker turned out to be threadbare in some spots, but I guess that's what I can expect from $2/yard fabric from Joann Fabrics. I intended to bring this with me when visiting friends in Puerto Rico, but didn't have time to hem it until after my trip.

Nevertheless, I love how the stripes turned out in the collar and am glad that I cut the front as two pieces on the bias to make chevron stripes in the front. Here is a photo of me, seated, that shows the stripes in the ruffle collar, bodice and skirt.

Vogue, you shouldn't have. But I'm glad you did.

2010-01-20T11:44:00.000-08:00

A year or so ago, I swore off envelope patterns. I figured I could get whatever I wanted from my Burda description or my existing stash. But I don't think I can resist these...

This one, Anna Sui's V1153, looks so fun and breezy. I have the perfect gauze in my stash for it.

I love this blouse, Rachel Comey V1170. I love shirts with twist and knot details, and this is no exception.

This one, Guy Laroche V1155, is for the lifestyle I don't have. One day, I'll have a grown up job and will get to wear this. I think it'll be great in this crisp linen that's floundering in my stash...

Haiti and my 2010 resolutions

2010-01-15T07:31:00.000-08:00

I haven't sewn anything since last month (I made a dress for NYE that I haven't had a chance to photograph yet) and one of my 2010 resolutions is not to buy any fabric if I haven't been sewing. My other 2010 resolutions include sewing a work appropriate wardrobe because I aspire to have a grown-up job by the end of the year, and training for my third marathon. My goal in this marathon is to finish without crying like a little girl and (hopefully) qualify for the Boston marathon. Between traveling every week and marathon training there's been no time for sewing.

That doesn't mean that I don't want to buy fabric! Buying fabric is my favorite consolation for not having time to sew. Fantasizing about the things I could sew is almost as good as actually sewing them. Or not, because my self consolation adds up to a formidable stash that I've had to move over state lines. After you move 6 boxes (each large enough to fit a cocker spaniel... or two) of unsewn fabric, you realize how silly it is to indulge your hording tendencies.

So in the perfect trifecta of giving and guilt learned from Catholic schooling (I shouldn't spend money on something I don't need whereas someone else could do with that money), 2010 resolution (no fabric if I'm not sewing), I decided to donate what I would have spent on fabric to the Haitian relief effort. If you are like minded I urge you to donate some money to Partners in Health's Stand with Haiti Campaign. Partners in Health is a Boston-based charity that has done a lot of work with Haiti for 25 years.

From the Partners in Health website:

Partners In Health staff in Boston and Haiti are working to collect as much information as possible about the conditions on the ground, the relief efforts taking shape, and all relevant logistics issues in order to respond efficiently and effectively to the most urgent needs in the field. At the moment, PIH’s Chief Medical Officer is on her way to Haiti, where she will meet with Zanmi Lasante leadership and head physicians, who are already working to ensure PIH’s coordinated relief efforts leveraging the skills of more than 120 doctors and nearly 500 nurses and nursing assistants who work at Zanmi Lasante’s sites.

If you click on the Stand With Haiti banner below, you will be connected to the campaign's donation page.

Sweaters for everyone!

2009-12-29T10:05:00.000-08:00

The final gifts (yes, plural) I made were cowlneck sweaters for me and my sister. The fabric, which unfortunately with my lack of photography skill, comes across as flat in these photos. It is not! It's a delicious, textured, shimmery Japanese silk novelty knit from Gorgeous Fabrics that when I saw it knew it had to become this sweater. I've been wanting to make this design up since I saw the pattern in the October 2005 issue of Burda. One for me, and one sized up for my sister. It's lightweight and oh so snuggly warm.

You can play around with the neck.

This is also the first time that I've sewn with a twin needle. There's a dearth of good advice on the internet regarding how to sew with a twin needle. That said, this tutorial demystified the intimidating twin needle. Maybe that's why there isn't much more written about twin needles...

A rainhat for my mommy

2009-12-29T09:45:00.000-08:00

Last week was a rush of finishing gifts, and trying to wrap up some work projects before the end of the year. I was successful at the gift finishing... the work projects, not so much. At least I'll have something to do in January when I go back!

Have you ever bought an album for one song? Well, I bought this book for one hat, and it turns out the pattern wasn't in the book!

That said, it's a fun book even if some of the hat instructions are, "buy a hat, put a ribbon on it like this."

The last time I was home, my mother who is of a certain age pulled out a little rain bonnet to cover her hair in the rain. I understand wanting to look a little older than you are (people always think I'm at least 5 years younger than I really am) but this is too much! A cute rainhat was in order.

I had some rainwear microfiber left over from an attempt at making a raincoat (funny I didn't have that on my list of no-sew, because I have no plans to ever sew any rubberized fabric after this! The hat went together very quickly. I used a microtex needle and lined it with a lightweight stretch cotton from my stash. There was a slight smell of burnt rubber when I was done -- all finished in less than 2 hours!

For the record, I have a small head, as does my mom.

Burda 10/2005 #133: What to wear to get thrown out of a Cavs game

2009-12-14T19:58:00.000-08:00

Last year, Lee and his roommate went to Cleveland during the playoffs to watch the Celtics-Cavaliers game. Now, Lee has a special sense of style and is one of those people who can pull off almost anything. Crazy plaid mohair suit? Yes. Giant rabbit fur hat with earflaps? Yes. Sharkskin silk suit? Yes.

So, naturally, the thing he wanted for the game was a kelly green suit.

I'm not about to try out whatever suit making mojo I might imagine to have, so this is what he got for Christmas... a Celtics shirt! Kelly green with bright orange buttons. The fabric looks like nasty quilting cotton, but surprisingly it's a stretch poly/cotton blend.

The collar stand has an interesting pointy detail.

I drafted the sleeve vent bands by enlarging a pattern piece from a Vogue shirt pattern in my stash.

The shirt is a little on the large side. I didn't have any of Lee's shirts at hand, and was going from his telling me that he'd just bought a size 40 jacket. It's so much easier to sew a men's shirt than a women's shirt... there's so much more space to make a flat felled seam in the sleeve! Lee is happy with his shirt and I might make more in less obnoxious fabric and smaller size.

Leopard robe

2009-12-14T12:21:00.000-08:00

You know how they say that you should consider the cost-per-wear of a pair of shoes, jeans, coat, etc. when you're buying it? Because, like, if it's pennies per wear then it's totally worth it? I'm really optimizing my cost-per-sew with this pattern. I've now made 5 robes and 1 pair of boxer shorts with it. I have 2 of those robes, my ex has 1 robe and the boxer shorts, my dad is about to get a robe for Christmas, and now I've made a robe for Lee.

He's been talking about this robe ever since he went to a meeting in DC last year where they put him up in a fancy hotel where he had his choice of leopard print or zebra print bath robes. And now he has one of his own! The fleece is from FFC, and I was afraid it wasn't going to arrive on time. We won't be spending the holidays together, so when the fabric arrived last Wednesday I was under the gun to complete it in time for our visit this weekend... at this point, it takes me only 6 hours from the time I lay out the fabric to the time I have a robe... so this pattern is a total win for me!

I didn't skimp on the fabric because if my dad is shorter than the Butterick Man, Lee is probably taller... otherwise, there are no changes this time around.

Now, on to the pictures... When I asked Lee if I could take photos, he was like, "what for? your blog? I don't want anyone to see me!" So you get to see that the robe fits well, but only I get to see his handsome face. I hope you can settle for that! ;p

Things I don't sew.

2009-12-03T19:43:00.000-08:00

I'm traveling again for work which means in the evenings, after my meetings, I think about all the things I could be doing at home. Sounds glamorous, eh? My job is neither that nor lucrative. It takes me to places like exotic Columbus, Ohio and thrilling Long Island, New York.

Wah, wah, wah, I know.

This blog is not about whining, it's about sewing! And in this case, not sewing!

I've sewn most of my clothes, but there are a few things that i just won't sew. They can be categorized into the fabric scares me or it's cheaper to buy than to make, or it looks bad. This post is inspired by the current Patagonia fabrics sale at Fashion Fabrics Club. I run and climb, and Patagucci makes the best active clothing ever. You can sweat like a pig but your shirt will magically stay dry and stink-free. Their clothing is worth every penny, and they are not paying me to say that. However, buying their fabric to make my own t-shirts? File that under the fabric scares me.

so without further ado, here are my lists:
this fabric scares me
technical knit
technical woven
multi ply silk
chiffon
slinky (it just sounds like a nightmare)

cheaper to buy than to make
t shirts
socks
underpants
bras
sweaters
slips

it looks bad
corduroy pants*
small floral print

Of course, these lists are subject to change. Up until 3 years ago, jeans were on the list of cheaper to buy than to make. And then I figured out how to make them fit and haven't looked back. How about you? Anything you think I've left out?

*I plead guilty to having made, worn, and loved corduroy pants but after seeing this photo of myself from the back in black corduroy, I don't see the need to wear something that gets all poochy, nappy, and faded on my butt and knees. No more corduroy pants! From now on, corduroy will only be worn above the waist!

Burda 9/2009 #105/106, take 1

2009-11-28T09:58:00.000-08:00

In the September Burda issue, there is this shirt (106, too many ruffles):
and this shirt (105, nice but not special):

I wanted the plain fit of 105 but the ruffles on 106. In theory, the result is what I'd love to wear. Ruffles, gray, and fitted. But I think this will end up a wadder. I'm going to wait a few days and see how I feel about it.

I didn't need to make a petite adjustment in the upper bust. The dart now falls above the rack and there is a bit of fabric pulling in the top of the shirt.

The buttonholes turned out to be a mess because with three layers of shirting for the ruffles, I didn't need to put in interfacing after all. They don't look so bad buttoned, and if you don't stare at my chest (ahem)...

But I don't think this will stand up to more than a few washes.

Add this to the fact that the fabric was fragile and bruised and run in a few places. Here's a bruise on one of the shirt cuffs.

And a loose thread that turned into a run on the shoulder.

I think I'll try again but with a few changes...

Getting in touch with my inner prep: Burda 1/06 Henley jacket

2009-11-22T10:08:00.000-08:00

...and not getting in touch with my camera. Half of my photos when taking pictures of this jacket came out like this.

I'll spare you those and show some pictures of the fixed sleeves, lining, and trim up close. As you may recall from this post, I was having problems with the sleeve hem. I ended up taking out the sleeves, trimming 1/2" around off the top (1" in the shoulder) and setting them back in. There is very little ease in the upper arms now... and I have pretty scrawny arms. This jacket is pretty cozy and it's like wearing a sweater, so I don't lament not being able to wear a sweater under it.

The fabric is a heavy wool tweed from Fabric.com and the trim is black crepe back satin that I had in stash.

Here is a picture showing the lining.

Here is a picture of the trim. The trim goes on the facing and front pieces, as well as the upper collar. I don't have a good picture of the sleeve trim... it's one of the blurry photos I took.

This photo also shows a little secret. I used some of the trim fabric for the collar stand on the outside. I was trying to squeeze a jacket that needed 1 3/4 yards of fabric out of 1 1/2 yards and there was no way I could get two collar stands out of it while cutting all the other pieces out!

And another little secret? The upper collar on one side of the jacket turned out a little higher than the other side. Betcha can't tell from the photos which one it is... and I hope no one else but me notices!

Patriots robe

2009-11-22T09:48:00.000-08:00

The first of the Christmas gifts is done -- this went together very quickly. It's the third time that I've made a robe from this pattern and at this point I can almost do it in my sleep. I made a few unplanned changes this time, and if I make this again I have some additional changes I'd like to make.

Unplanned changes?
Sometimes I'm a space cadet. Sometimes I can't control what comes out of my mouth. Sometimes this converges so that when I want 3 7/8 yard of 60" fabric, I'll somehow have forgotten that I'm sewing for someone else so should get the full amount needed and blurt out "3 and a half yards please" at the cutting counter. Add the fact that the saleswoman cut each yard an inch short and I was 10" short on fabric for this project.

Not to worry, I'm not the only short person in my family! Shortness is inherited, and my dad is not as tall as the Butterick male ideal (he's about 5'7" whereas the Butterick Man is 5'10" So I could take 3" off the hem. I also cut the front facings an additional 2" short, which saved fabric and bulk -- I sewed up the hem like a facing over the facing... Sounds confusing, but here's a picture.

Changes for next time?
If I sew this again, I'd make the cuffs wider. With the turn of cloth for a bulky fabric like fleece, the cuffs are pretty skimpy. I've also made this in flannel, and the cuffs are about the right width.

Some other notes about this pattern and sewing with fleece
Butterick's pretty serious about the amount of fabric that you need. There's no waste in the layout and very little room for fudging around. I'm lucky that I could cop out and shorten the pattern pieces. The robe seems long on me (forgive the belly skin in the pic) but will probably fall just below the knee on my dad.

This fleece is such a novelty fabric... I bought it at Joann and it is Joann quality as in it shed everywhere. I've been sniffling all day from sewing with it. That said, it's still easy to sew because it doesn't fray and is stretchy so easing sleeves and the collar is very easy. I set the sleeves in flat with no problem.

To finish the seams, I mock flat felled them with a zig zag stitch. Here is a picture of the upper collar and shoulder seams.

And I bartacked the belt loops. I hope that they're in the right place. When I've made this robe for myself, I've had to move the belt loops up by 3". You can't see it in the photos either, but I bartacked the cuffs in place. The pattern instructions tell you to hand sew them, but I'm no sucker. If I can find away to avoid hand stitching by taking a machine short cut, I will!

this up next: Fleece robe

2009-11-17T17:18:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the compliments on my jacket and ideas for what to do about the sleeves. When I read A Sewn Wardrobe's idea about a stray string getting caught in the sleeve (and so making it bunchy) I was so hopeful that it would be that easy a fix. It wasn't. I sucked it up last night and opened up the jacket, took up the sleeves at the shoulder. In all, I took out 1" of shoulder ease and 1/2" in the rest of the sleeve. It didn't completely fix the problem (it's still a little bunchy) and now the sleeves are kind of snug on my upper arms. But it looks much better and the half hour of ripping stitches and pinning (pins in armpits are no fun, ask me how I know!) was worthwhile because now I'll actually wear this jacket. I'll post pictures this weekend.

The next thing I'm sewing is this robe as a Christmas gift for my dad. [Aside: Isn't this envelope hilarious? It's like the Bennetton sleepover and that glasses guy with the little red book is going to end up falling asleep first and getting toilet papered.]

With this fabric which I paid an embarrassing amount for, just because it has the Patriots print on it.

It was twice the price of unprinted fleece! But this is for my dad, and I'm willing to put my biases aside... I don't really sew with Butterick -- so dowdy looking! I'm a total sucker for good illustration. And I don't really care for football, unless we're talking about the Steelers. But that said, I know this will turn out well and will be something that my dad will like.

So close...

2009-11-15T11:36:00.000-08:00

This is the jacket, from Burda 1/2006, that I'm basing mine on. I didn't really pay much attention to this jacket when the magazine came out because the fabrics are not what I'd choose.

I'm almost done... I thought I was done until I tried the jacket on and the vents are all wonky so that the sleeves don't fall smoothly. I'm at a loss for how to fix this except for folding up the sleeves, which works well and all but I do want to be able to wear this jacket without adjusting the sleeves. Any thoughts?

Sewing sort of with a plan

2009-11-12T21:56:00.000-08:00

Lee and I went to the Big Deal Halloween party and my costume was a hit, but I have to say that the guy who dressed up as the Balloon Boy took the cake. Seriously, his costume was awesome. And I'd show you photos of the dress in action, but somehow I managed to only show my back to the camera (in the photos that I've seen) so there's nothing new to see unless you want further proof that I really need a haircut.

I am slowly, slowly working on a tweed jacket for myself. The lightweight jacket that I was thinking of earlier this Fall has kind of gone by the wayside. It was freezing here in October, and I decided that I didn't want to mess around with a cotton jacket (although I did make a muslin). Because I am IMPATIENT and have to have everything NOW I cut right into some heavyweight wool tweed for a jacket similar to this:

You can get one for a cool $425 here. And I hope you won't be making a pissy face like the model when you wear yours. The trim on the jacket is turning out to be really fussy, one of the most tedious things I've worked on in a while.

In other news, I've decided to make Christmas gifts for everyone on my list (my immediate family and Lee.) I figured I should start planning now because it seems that almost every week this Fall I've either had guests or been heading out of town (I am just returning from another work trip tonight) which means almost no time to sew! This is the first year that I'm making an effort to make all my gifts. I have made gifts for people in the past, and to be honest I am a bit gunshy of making things for others. Most of my friends are truly gracious and a joy to give to; they make you feel like you've received a gift yourself! It's the few people I've made things for who are very critical of my gifts that make me unsure of giving homemade gifts. They can't be returned, unlike a storebought gift, so if it doesn't suit the recipient's taste they're kind of stuck with it (until they unceremoniously throw it out.) The part that really gets me, though, isn't so much the critique of what I've chosen for them but the waste of my time in making something that garners me a load of complaints. I know, I'm whining, but that's time that I could have used to make something for myself or for someone who actually likes what I make!

What about you? Do you make gifts to give? Are you making gifts this holiday season?

The swan dress

2009-10-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the dress Bjork wore to the Oscars when she was nominated for best song in Dancer in the Dark? If not, here's a refresher:
Now, why am I thinking of Bjork's swan dress? Not only is it awesome, but it's a great Halloween costume. Every year for Halloween, I wait until the day of whatever party I'm invited to before I figure out what I'm going to wear. It's partly that I don't really want to be that person who has all the free time in the world to compose an elaborate costume. I'd rather do something creative and cheap. Last year, I painted my face and neck black, wore all black and a borrowed iPod to be an iPod dancer. This year, however, Lee and I are invited to a Big Deal of a party. Big Deal as in it involves a rented venue and is combined with a farewell-for-now for one of his closest childhood friends, and we are traveling to attend it. I can't put off the Halloween costume to the last minute. It took me a while to figure out what I'd be for Halloween, and decided that being Bjork in her iconic swan dress would be fun.

It turns out that it's also a lot of work. As you can see, Bjork is wearing an illusion net body suit with rhinestones with her dress. I'm not about to make a body suit, but I figured I could come close to approximating her look. I made a crossover front close-fitting dress from the 5/2006 Burda issue using white gingham and illusion net for the sleeves, one half of the front, and the back.
Then I gathered 10 yards of fine net tulle and 5 yards of wire net tulle. This took FOREVER. Tulle is a royal PITA to cut because it's not easy to see what you're doing, and cutting long strips up to 10 yards long takes forever. Then when you try to gather it on the machine or machine stitch it to another piece of fabric, you discover that there are a million little hooks around the needle area that will catch on the tulle... which is easy to do because tulle is full of little holes! The other thing about tulle is that it's voluminous, huge, giant, fluffy... and after the first few layers it's like having a tulle pillow stuck to your machine. In fact, after this experience, it will be FOREVER before I sew tulle again.

The head and neck are made from more of the white gingham, the beak and eye detail are felt. The whole piece is stuffed with fiber fill and the end was insert into the right shoulder of the dress. I originally thought to put a wire into the neck to pose it, but it wouldn't sit on my shoulders. Instead, I whipstitched the neck to the dress neckline.

I took one photo outside to show the tulle layers accurately. Yes, it is scandalously short.

The other photos are indoor because... I don't have Bjork's beguiling charm, and I'm not just talking about taking a Marilyn Monroe-esque pose. I just didn't want my neighbors to take notice that I was wearing about 2 lbs of tulle!

From the right side. I safety pinned the head to the net illusion bust piece. If I had sewn it to the piece, I would not have been able to shimmy into this dress. I suppose that now would be a good time to mention that wearing this much tulle is really hot. Perhaps that is why Bjork is playing with her skirt in the above photo; she needs to cool off! I will also say that with all this tulle sewn to the dress, and the swan's neck sewn to the dress neckline it's tricky to get in and out of. This may be a one time garment!

A view from the back. My hair is covering it, but the swan's neck is stitched to the neckline.
Now I just need to get some fake eyelashes and figure out how to squish it into a carry-on suitcase!

Simplicity 2603

2009-10-10T11:05:00.000-07:00

The last month has been a rush, going out of town for another wedding, having friends in last week (and then seeing them go, which is always sad), and going out of town again this week for 4 days of conference in San Diego. Allow me to whine: who in their right mind starts a conference during a holiday weekend (because I work for a school, I get Columbus day off)? how am I going to dress like a grown up for 4 days? I don't really have a suit, and am going to try to get by with wearing the same skirt or dress every day that I'm there. The problem boils down to a few things:

I'd rather sew something that I wear daily, i.e., jeans, shirts, jackets.
I'm not very good at sewing formal wear.
I don't really have the lifestyle that calls for regular suit wearing.
I am really hard on my clothes. I had 2 skirts until I clumsily stepped on the zipper of one of them, breaking the zipper and tearing the fabric irreparably.

So, when I had to go to the Canadian outdoor autumn wedding I was kicking myself for never having made a good pantsuit (this doesn't include the pant suit that I pulled out of my butt for my Defense, which still has safety pins holding the pants closed.)

Now I'll stop whining: I'm lucky that I can sew and whip up something like this the night before going out of town for an evening outdoor wedding north of the border. This was perfect, and I was warm all night. I made mine in black cotton-rayon jersey. The fabric doesn't ravel, but because I'm paranoid about knit fabric stretching out of shape, I zig zagged the edges to reinforce them, since the different arrangements call for lots of knot tying.
It's like a snuggy, but better. I'm taking it with me to the conference, you can wear it so many different ways nobody will know I'm wearing the same thing every day. I'm not sure how the picture hosting works, but I think if you click on the photos they get bigger.

Here it is, left open. Initially, I was worried that because I'm so short that the shoulders would be too wide on me and the front too long. But it seems to work.

These are two easy ways to wear it, that I especially like. You tie a little knot in the front piece and pop it over your head so that the fabric drapes in the front. It's fun to play with and whenever I've worn it I'll sometimes change it up over the course of the day.

Burda 8/2009 #127, just the thing to wear if you have no plans to eat, sit, or otherwise move.

2009-09-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, I had a pair of red pants that I loved. I wore them all the time. And then I lost a lot of weight and they didn't look so good on me. I gained the weight back, but the pants had already gone their way to charity. I bought red sateen stretch fabric with the aim of making them into pants again one day, and then forgot about it. Or maybe I couldn't make up my mind whether to repurpose the fabric for something else, like a jacket or a dress. Who knows. But I found the fabric again after moving and now is the time for new pants!

I decided to use the fabric for skinny pants, and found what I thought would be the ideal design. This is the photo in the magazine. The pants look slim, but not too fitted. I was looking for a skinny pant, but not too tight, and this looked like it would be just right. These look cropped, and I started thinking of how I could show off all my funky striped socks while wearing these pants.
The thing that hooked me was the description: Slim, petite women look great in ankle-length skinny jeans! This style is in petite/half sizes. I haven't had luck sewing Burda pants in the past because the crotch is always too long for me, and then when I shorten the pattern pieces they won't cover my bum. There must be some wrinkle in the universe that explains how in accommodating a short crotch I am neglecting to leave enough fabric to cover my butt. I am also willing to accept (the much more plausible explanation) that I am not shaped like a model.

So I took my measurements, and it turns out that I am exactly a size 18. I traced and cut the pieces for my pants without making an alterations. There was a little weirdness with the pattern, like two differently shaped pocket pieces. The small pattern piece is front of the pocket. The larger one is the back of the pocket, with an extension to attach the pocket to the fly front. It is a bit tricky to get the pieces to align, but it's nice not to have multiple thicknesses of fabric to battle with when sewing in the zipper.

But in all, it was a fairly straightforward pattern until I ended up with what look like pant-leggings.

Not so bad in the front view.

Not so bad from the side, either.

Luckily you can't tell from this photo that I am afraid that at any moment I am going to split these pants open in the back. I think that the model in the magazine is either wearing pants a size or two too big, or (likely) has twig legs. I have a lot of muscle in my legs, so even if the model and I have the same hip and waist measurements, I am going to fill out the legs of the pants more than her. And beat her in a foot race.
This is a bit daring. These pants do not want to sit, which surprises me because the fabric is so stretchy that I had trouble keeping it from rippling as I was sewing it. You can also see in this photo that the pants are longer on me than on the model. I think that I still need to shorten the pants, even with the Burda "petite" pattern.
The following are some details. Here are two closeups of the waistband. You can see in the first photo that the waistband is rolling even though I interfaced it, indicating that these pants are indeed a smidge too small.

In both photos, you can (hopefully) see the zig zag stitching I did on the outside of the waistband for fun. I think it's a nice little detail that makes them different.

Simplicity 3503

2009-08-23T18:19:00.000-07:00

I've made out pretty well with this dress pattern. This is the second time I've made a dress from this pattern.
Previously I made view B in orange jersey. If you squint out (squint!) the different dress drawings on the left side of the pattern photo, view B is the red checked short dress with dolman sleeves. What I learned was that this pattern has excessive ease and that jersey stretches if you hang it on the hanger. The orange dress was my go-to dress all last summer and then this year as I was packing to move I found that it was stretched out of shape from hanging in my closet all winter.

So this time around, I made the dress a size smaller than my measurements indicated (I'm at 10 by the package measurements, but I cut an 8.) I wanted a maxi dress but without a halter neckline or exposing my horrible runner's tan (sport bra line on my back, HOT!) and view E of this pattern fit the bill. This dress is the dress that I'm going to wear to 3 outdoor weddings -- one next weekend, on Labor day weekend, and one in mid September -- I wanted something packable that didn't need to be steam cleaned. So a jersey dress would be perfect!

The fabric is a jersey from Gorgeous Fabrics that's been sitting in my stash for over a year, and the lining is some mystery blue polyester knit (it's amazing what you find when you dig deep enough). The fashion fabric has a beautiful border print that's about 1' deep. You can see it in full from my mid calf down. I used on portion of it for the bodice, and the bottom most portion (with the brown trim) for the neckline to repeat the print. I like the result!

The thing that I hate about Simplicity patterns is that they're sized for Amazons. I took 3" off the skirt portion of the pattern, and the dress is still too long. I was really disappointed and didn't want to cut the border print off the dress. Because I am so short, I was able to squeeze this dress out of 2 yards of fabric, when the pattern calls for 2 3/4 yards.

If I had left the dress as designed by the pattern, it would have looked like a total sack. The waist line of the design was well below my natural waistline. So I took the midriff lining out, and sewed the skirt seam to the bodice seam. With this adjustment, the dress fits better on my body but it's still really long. I have to wear it with heels, and because I cut it so that the stretch runs lengthwise (to use that border print at my feet!) I'm afraid it's going to get longer if the fabric stretches as I wear it.

Here are some details. Apologies for the fuzzy pictures. I just can't win without someone to take pictures for me. They're either too dark because I take them indoors or they come out crazy bright outdoors.

Look ma! No runner's tan!

This is the doubled over midriff piece on the outside.

Not so pretty on the inside, but it works!

The neckline is hand stitched. I hate handsewing, but I'm happy with the result -- no visible stitches.

Some fall planning

2009-08-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

I've done a little examining my fabric stash, ahem, horde and thinking of how to use some of it for new clothes this fall. I have bought some more fabric, with ideas of what I want to make next. A list, for what it's worth:

Pants. I think my butt has gotten bigger. Strange, I know. You're probably wondering how this happened, and I am too. I haven't stopped running, and I've started climbing too, so I don't know why I'm having trouble getting into my jeans. But I am, and this is trouble because I only have like 3 pairs of pants. So it's time to make some pants. I have some red/wine colored stretch sateen in the stash that I bought years ago to make into a dress, that I think will become a pair of pants. I have also bought more denim to make into another pair of skinny jeans, because my skinny jeans are just a little too tight now!
A midweight jacket. I'd like a semi-fitted hip length jacket that I can wear into late October/early November.
Two or three button down shirts.
The cozy. After seeing Christina's version of the DKNY cozy, I want one too! This is really the coolest thing since velcro on shoes. After you watch this video, you'll probably want one too.

Burda 7/2009 #108 (overblouse)

2009-08-12T20:37:00.000-07:00

A year or so ago, I decided that part of the I-Can-Sew-My-Own-Clothes-Thing should be I-Should-Stop-Wearing-Black-All-The-Time (ISSWBATT), and I-Should-Wear-Something-That's-Not-A-Tshirt (ISWSTNAT). Sometimes it's a miss. But sometimes it's a hit. I just finished making this tonight, and I'm very happy with it. It needs to be ironed, (not that you can see from where you are, but the collar is puffy because I haven't pressed it into place), but this definitely fits the bill of ISSWBATT and ISWSTNAT. I promise, no more acronyms for the rest of this post.

The fabric is a linen stripe that's breezy and light. It's also a step outside the box for me, being that it's not black, can't be made into a Tshirt, and... it's striped. I can't tell you the last time I wore stripes. Maybe high school? I recall having a horizontal striped Tshirt that I wore to death.

Here's a picture of the pattern in the magazine. You can't really see the shape of the shirt and the model looks kind of pissed to be wearing it. I don't see why; it's a pretty cute design.
Here's my version.

Without the belt, it's still fairly fitted. Around the hips, it's not very loose. I think that's what keeps it from looking like a pillowcase.

Here is a close up of the tucks in the inset on the front.

The front stays closed because of a 3 inch seam at the front bottom. I am sure you are all grateful I took the shirt off before showing you how it stays closed!

To make the holes for the belt nice and neat as shown here:

I sewed the seam allowances closed on either side of the hole:

The sides are sewn up just below the armpit. Looking at the magazine photo, you might guess that the side is completely open...

Can we have a do over?

2009-08-04T07:18:00.001-07:00

Lady in the stripes is thinking to herself, "I should have tied the sash around my neck instead of my waist. She always looks so put together!" Let's look at this a little closer:
Look at our poor girl hiding her hands in her pockets. She is totally wishing she was wearing white gloves too!

mad menned

2009-08-04T06:30:00.000-07:00

Lee has been visiting for the last 10 days (lucky me, I should say!) so I've been doing little sewing. I'm about halfway through a linen pullover top, made from fabric that I originally bought to make Lee a pair of drawstring pants a few years ago... I brought the fabric home and he said it was way too girly. Lucky for me, I'll say again!

I bought this vintage dress pattern on ebay last week, and it arrived yesterday. It was just too cute to resist. When I moved in December, I got rid of half of my patterns -- I sold them all on ebay or gave them to the Salvation Army. I decided that now that I live in a much smaller space (having traded a one bedroom apartment for one room in a shared room apartment) that I should be choosier about what I buy for my everloving hobby that encourages my hording leanings. That is, I should buy patterns that have some possibility of fitting (likely to be my size) and that I could likely see wearing. So, no amazonian sized patterns and no evening dresses. And this is what I have: look at the buttons on the collar! The buttons on the back! So cute. I think I'll make the straight skirt version and hem it at the knee instead of below the knee.
I'm just not sure how it will fit yet because as you can see below, it has dolman sleeves. I bought and made another vintage dress pattern off of ebay that had similar sleeves and it turned out to be a very loose fit, as opposed to the like-a-glove-fit shown in the pattern envelope illustration. this would be good reason to make a muslin. We shall see. I'm always too excited to make a muslin, though I'm sure it would be worthwhile.

Burda tunic

2009-07-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

Strangely, the July issue of Burda doesn't have a photo of this online, but it had several tunic designs in it's "options" section where it takes a pattern and makes it up several different ways. I wish I could show you the magazine photo because I don't think that the sleeves were supposed to turn out quite so large. I have skinny arms and I think that the sleeves are ridiculous on me. So, I have an eensy bit of regret in using this fabric to make something that I'm not entirely in love with...

This counts as two firsts for me: silk and shirring. It took a few tries to get the shirring right, playing with the tension and stitch length on my machine, but it worked! The design was also simple enough that I made all french seams on the inside of the garment.

The sleeves were so big that shirring alone couldn't make the sleeves small enough for my wrists, so I improvised with 1/4" elastic on the inside. You can also see my narrow hem in this photo.
Finally, the last thing I did was tack part of the front slit closed. Even by my standards, it was a little too much (as the French would say) decollete for my liking!

Hello world!

2009-07-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late to this blogging game, but like the idea of cataloging my sewing projects and meeting others who sew. I like to sew clothing, and fast approaching the point where I've sewn almost everything I wear!

I'll leave you with this, a photo of a vintage pattern that I saw on ebay last week... I like looking at vintage patterns for several reasons - I like sewing vintage, but mostly I like looking at the stylized drawings. In most cases, it's wishful thinking on my part because all those gorgeous vintageous dresses don't really fit my lifestyle. Or the fact that in some cases, as below, the pattern is intended to be worn by alien-looking women. Seriously, the eyeliner and eyebrows on the center and bottom right models make them look like some kind of exotic insect.