One week in

I promised in my last post that I would try to post my Self Stitched September outfits every couple of days, so here it goes! All outfits include self stitched underwear, you'll have to trust me on that
Day one has already been posted so I'll skip on over to day two.

Day two: Literally a pain in the neck. I don't know exactly what I did that morning that caused my neck to make a horrible grind/pop noise that it did, but boy it sure did hurt a bunch. I decided that I would go for comfort over style that day. The skirt was refashioned from a long and large skirt at the salvation army. I made a new elastic casing, shortened it about 5 inches, and turned it into an a-line skirt rather than a rectangle. I'll get a standing up picture of it at some point.

Day three: A busy day working from home. Later in the evening the boyfriend and I strolled into downtown and checked out a meditation labyrinth that would have been more peaceful if that family hadn't shown up and provide commentary on our wanderings. We then grabbed a quick dinner and dessert at the diner and headed back out for a friend's monthly goth/80's dance night at a local club. Not my normal scene but I had a really good time, the people were friendly and the tunes were enjoyable. I made the circle skirt a few years back, but until this summer I had never worn it, now it's one of my favorite pieces of clothing ever.

took this picture the morning after, excuse the hair

Day four: Never got a proper picture of the outfit, but you aren't missing much. Just a quick t-shirt refashion. Worn while going to garage sales and a really awesome thrift store that featured mostly knick knacks.

Day five: Went to visit the boyfriend's parents and attend a family BBQ. Up until this day I had never work the shirt out in public. I believe it's simplicity 4076, one of pattern review's most reviewed patterns. I really do like the top, but I still feel like it is too short and that is why I don't wear it.

Day six: I totally dig this outfit. I refashioned the green leopard tank from an XL salvation army shirt topped it with my second version of simplicity 2560 (made in late July, never blogged). I loved the color combination, however due to strenuous physical activity (stuffing the futon cushion full of foam) I only wore the tank top for a majority of the day.  

Day seven: Lazy day around the house, ended up doing that thing to my neck yet again. The tank top is made from the same fabric as my circle skirt. I don't know when it was made exactly, I had forgotten about it up until a few weeks ago when I found it while rummaging through my scrap bin. I promise I will get a picture wearing it at some point. Also being worn are my refashioned shorts from day one.

 Day eight (today!): Broke out the moose shirt. This is one of those shirts that gets neglected for whatever reason. not much to say about it. Wore it out to the farmers market, then to ihop for some new york strawberry cheesecake pancakes, followed by a not so fruitful trip to the Salvation Army, and  wrapped up with a grocery store run.

 I've really enjoyed checking out the outfits people have been posting on the SSS Flickr group, and I'm slowly trying to check out everyone on the participants list. It's been a great month so far, let's see how the rest of the month pans out.

it was a day of firsts

A few weeks back I went to visit my family and see the first of my childhood friends get married (She looked gorgeous!). I'm still finding it hard to fathom that we are actually adults now, and that our 10 year high school reunion is only a year and a half away.

It was my first time wearing heels much higher than 1 inch. Technically they were wedges but still, they count in my book.

Ah yes, and it was my first time wearing a dress since 5th grade. My friends didn't even recognize me when I came running up to them outside the church.

That dress was the first dress I have made in my life. I used simplicity 2406 and made the closed back version of it sans pockets. When this pattern came out, I knew I had to have it if only for the sleeves.

 The fabric I used was a cotton/poly stretch twill that I picked up from Joann's, sure I didn't have the greatest selection to choose from but at least I could touch and see the actual fabric. I personally have bad luck when it comes to online fabric shopping, I chalk it up to lack of fabric buying experience which I vow to work on.

 Back- Take 1

 

 

 I was slightly worried about under taking this project for two reasons. One, I'm really not a dress person and I find it really hard to visualize things like this on myself. Two, I doubted my ability to actually create something nice enough for such a special occasion.

I went ahead and checked out all the reviews on pattern review. The one thing that every one seemed to mention were the directions for making the sleeves. Taking that information, I sat down one night and read the sleeve directions about 10 times, made my muslin and jotted down notes to help myself out along the way.
Once I figured out the sleeves, everything else just came together.

Well, almost everything, I didn't mention that this was my first time inserting an invisible zipper. I tried to put it in by machine three times, but ended up with puckers every time. So I did what anybody would do, popped on Bright Star (followed by Zombieland) and hand stitched the 16 inch zipper into my dress.

Back- Take two,  the back facing was tacked down after this was shot

I am quite happy to say that the dress held up well, even with my 3, possibly 4 hours on the dance floor.

Front- I still need to work on standing like a lady

In action!

So yes, that is my first ever foray into dressmaking and it turned out well in my opinion. I will probably never make this dress again, but I would love to make a tunic length top from it at some point.

That is it for now, hopefully I'll be posting a smidge more often, but I make no promises.

Not much sewing going on...

except for this little thing, which will be fully completed tonight or tomorrow. More details and pictures (with accurate color) eventually

Still Kicking

First off I want to say that it has been so freaking beautiful outside for the past week and I love it. This early spring weather has most certainly helped motivate me to start thinking about spring/ summer wardrobe pieces that I would like to make.

The last time I posted I was venting slightly about my wrinkly fitting pants. Since then I have picked up Palmer and Alto's Pants for Real People and have spent many nights since trying to absorb all of the fitting knowledge that it contains before I start another pair of pants. That being said I have been able to accomplish quite a bit of sewing these past few weeks- 4shirts woohoo! Of course I still need pictures for three of the  four shirts but that is besides the point.

 The first shirt I made was simplicity 3789 view B. I had been very intimidated by this pattern ever since I picked it up last spring...I mean come on it has a collar and buttons.

 I wanted to play it safe and make a muslin out of a lightweight bed sheet before using any of my nicer fabric. The shirt, to my surprise, was relatively easy to make. The instructions for the button placket required a few re-re-readings but I eventually caught on. I made a size 14 according to my bust measurement and it turned out to be somewhat roomy, next time I think I will make a 12.

{Front}

In addition to going down a size I would like to bring the shoulder line in a bit so that it rests on my shoulder at the pivot point rather than at the end of my shoulder. I have a feeling if I do that that I'll look a little less linebacker-y.

 {Back}

 By next week hope to have pictures of the other shirts I have made, but I make no promises. If I still have my sewing mojo intact after a week of working for the man I'm going to focus on production rather than pictures.

Oh crud...

It has taken me one week to write this post about my first completed attempt to make real pants, and I think I'm going to use the word "crotch" as many times as I possibly can because I find it to be a fun word. Here we go!

What I wouldn't give for a well fitting pair of pants, a pair that doesn't require constant tugging at the belt loops (despite wearing a belt) to prevent the waistband of my medium rise pants from slipping half way down my rear and simultaneously thwart the crotch seam's attempt to migrate down to my knees. I live my life in pants and I spend it constantly tugging and pulling and readjusting. Sitting down is the worst thing ever, it requires holding on to the waistband while descending, if I don't do this the waistband slips down and once seated the crotch seam will have migrated 2 inches down from were it should be leaving me with all this fabric just stretched out across across my lap. It's not a pretty picture but it is what it is. With that being said I set about to make my first real pair of pants, well at least a muslin. 

 

The pattern: Simplicity 3850, View A. In retrospect perhaps this style wasn't best suited for my figure, but I loved a lot of the project photos that reviewers had posted on pattern review...I just couldn't help myself.

The pants came together fairly easily, some issues with the fly front zipper but I stuck with it and eventually I got it.I finished them about a week ago and was admiring them in the mirror, I acknowledged that there were some flaws but that is what a muslin is for right? Then I saw the pictures and my bubble burst.Every wrinkle, every flaw hit me at once. I have front crotch wrinkles, under-butt wrinkles, extra fabric pooling right above my butt and very little clue as to where to begin fixing these flaws.And the crotch seam, don't get me started on the crotch seam, I hate the crotch seam.

Still I am determined to find my fit, from what I've gathered there are a few possible alterations I could make.

The first one being a full front thigh adjustment, what can I say? I have muscular thighs that will come in handy when the zombie apocalypse eventually comes. As you can see in the diagram below, the front of my thigh extends past the crotch line which could possibly lead to pulling and whatnot in the front.

The second adjustment I've been pondering is a full inner thigh adjustment. I'm leaning towards this one, I know that much of my RTW pant frustration stems from the fact that I have to buy pants to fit my thighs.Perhaps the wrinkles pictured below have been caused by my fabric stealing inner thighs. Unfortunately I just don't know, and there is only so much internet research I can do before getting all head-achy.

So that is were I am, I'm planning on purchasing Pants for Real People: Fit and Sew for Any Body by Palmer and Alto in the next few days and I will continue my horrible new habit of glancing at the crotches of strangers to see what wrinkles and imperfections they have until the book arrives.

I know won't be able to achieve perfect pants right away but I'm willing to invest some serious time and effort into, because if I leave it up to RTW, I will be 80 years old with my crotch seam hanging down around my calves.

Its 2010, where is my robot?!

This is one of those obligatory New Years resolution posts, nothing major, nothing ground breaking.

To start it off I'll post the unfinished garment that made me feel the need to make said resolutions.

Pattern: Simplicity 4076 - View E

Status: unfinished, unwanted

1. When buying and choosing fabrics I will take into consideration that I am a 25 year old woman, not a 15 year old girl. I like bright colors and loud prints, but this is just a bit too much.          
   
2. Though I don't plan on purchasing tons of fabric this year, I promise to purchase better quality fabric when I do. I purchased this fabric about two years ago from fabric.com, I'm pretty sure it was from the "everything under $1.95"  section. At least it feels like it was from the 1.95 section.                   
   
3. When choosing a pattern I will try to base my decision on what suits my figure, my taste, and my lifestyle. I originally picked up this pattern for the faux-wrap top (views A & B) which I loved. This top was really made out of curiosity about the construction of the twist, I never thought about the fact that I wouldn't wear it due to several factors:
   

• The shirt hits a little too high for me.What can I say? I have a long torso and I like to keep my backside covered. I added an inch in length to the pattern anticipating this problem and still it is too short.

• The deep neck line- I don't really show off "the girls" that much. I'm just more comfortable that way. I knew from the envelope that this shirt had a deeper neckline than I'd like, but still I made the top not taking my personal preferences into account.
  

• Those damn bell sleeves- I took an inch off the bell and it is still way too much.

      4.  Finish what I start. Honestly I do not plan on finishing this particular garment due to my dislike for it.   That being said this year I hope to finish more of the projects that I start or have previously started but since lost interest.

 Happy New year and until next time, take care.

Back again

Once again I am back after a brief hiatus. November marked the start of the Christmas season at the studio so I've been working a bunch. Add to that a malfunctioning computer that I ended up having to reformat, and the cold that EVERYONE in the studio has had at some point, and there is how I spent my November. I did manage to squeak out a project though.

Craftster is/was running a challenge where one was to go to a thrift store, find something that would normally be passed over due to its ugliness, and give it a new life by turning it into something awesome. Total project cost was to be under 20 dollars. I was intrigued by the contest, at the time I wasn't sewing much other than hems and minor repairs, I felt like I was in a rut why not give it a try.

I managed to sneak a two hour long visit to the local goodwill one day after work. I found my ugly item fairly quickly, at first I thought it was beyond hope. It was a 100% acrylic sweater dress from the 80s with fabric accents that were poorly sewn on. I put it back on the rack and continued perusing the store, but I keep looking back at the rack holding my breath anytime someone was looking through the rack. In the end it had to be mine. I brought it up to the cashier and we had a good laugh about it after I explained why I was purchasing it and headed home, total price paid: 4.99. The rest of the evening was spent brainstorming ideas.

{before}

I kept coming back to the idea of a motorcycle jacket inspired cardigan. There was just something about the diagonal line of black ribbing on the dress that reminded me of the typical biker jacket. So I went for it. Armed with fray check, double fold bias tape, a really long zipper, and my seam ripper I went to work. Due to time contraints I worked on it about 30 minutes each night, I like to think my mood dramatically improved because of my nightly sewing.

{Gatsby inspects my progress -all pins were removed for his safety}

Lots of pre-planning, basting, machine and hand sewing later I ended up with this.

{after}

The collar overlaps in the front and has a snap closure, the button is merely decorative. Please excuse my weird hand placement...I don't know. Anyways, once the collar is undone the sweater can be unzipped.

{zipper action shot!}

So there it is, win or lose I had a lot of fun during the whole process and I got out of my sewing rut and that is truly what matters. If you want to see the other entries into the contest here is the link.

Simplicity 2804- I feel like Batgirl

Can I get a "Da na na na na na Batgirl!" I recently decided to make Simplicity 2804 view c out of some left over dollar a yard fabric that I used in a previous project.

I had very high hopes that this project that I started on a whim could possibly lead to a nice summer shirt for work. From what I have heard form others it gets unbearably hot in the studio over summer, Simplicity 2804 seemed to be a nice solution with its breezy dolman style sleeves. The pattern was easy enough, a front piece, back piece, neck band, waist band, I cut everything out and sewed it up in a span of 5 hours with multiple breaks for eating and watching Across the Universe.

Then I tried it on, like the title of the post says, I felt like bat girl. Not only that, but a stumpy bat girl.

As you can see by the picture above I probably wasn't wearing the best pants for the outfit, I just happened to have them on when I finished. It wasn't until today when I tried them on with a pair of straight leg jeans(which I've worn two times counting today) that I realized the shirt wasn't a complete wadder.

I played around in photoshop to show a comparison of the shirt with my flood pants vs jeans + strappy sandals. The photos could be better, but my camera was running low on battery so I'm short on pictures. I wish I had more shots that actually show off the shirt but oh well, maybe another time.

Proportions...wow, always knew about them, but I've never really taken the time to experiment/visually document it until today. I think I'll be paying more attention to this now that I've actually seen it in action.

Its funny how memory works...

I distinctly remember coming home from work one night in March, eating a gigantic bowl of mac & cheese, and then set about cutting out pieces for my hopefully wearable muslin of simplicity 4076. After reading so many great reviews on it I decided I had to give it a try. Despite my eagerness, I got sidetracked with work and life. The pieces sat on my table for close to two months. Earlier this week I sat down in front of my sewing machine and bam, I got my groove back.

I made view b, the wrap top with short sleeves. My only issues are:
(1) I feel the non-gathered side feels a little looser than it should be
(2) I would add about two inches of length in the torso to prevent unnecessary exposure of my midriff.
(3) the neck line stick out a bit, but I think I'm at fault on that one.

Other than that I think it looks pretty good for a project that was almost forgotten.

{front}

{back and poor posture}




{side}

Thanks for looking


(p.s) I hope every one called their moms, or mother figures, today and wished them a happy Mother's Day

Pleats me

For your viewing pleasure I now present you new look 6868 - a work in progress. No before pictures, sorry :(

{Tie Detail}

Last post I was complaining about my latest project and the sack like qualities it had. I didn't want to have this project turn out as a bust, so all I could do was try to make it work.

I deemed the problem to be the mid weight fabric I was using. The pleats at the collar just weren't laying down as nicely as I would have hoped for. After doing some general fussing around in the mirror I decided to sew those suckers down. A second later I had tossed the shirt on my home made dress form and began basting the pleats in place, down to about my waist. I tried on the shirt again and it seems to have made quite the difference in the fit of the shirt. However, I think I need to continue the pleats further down on the shirt due to their extreme puffiness.

{ Far away}

{Close up puffiness and loose threads}

It is starting to look more presentable, looks much better on me than on my dress form, but it still needs more work.

*sigh*...

New shirt or bust?

As I am posting this I'm in the process of making my new shirt for work, work for me. When I first thought about making some shirts from work I was thinking about using some knit fabric that I had with simplicity 3790. Later I remembered that fabric had been set aside for a specific non-sewing related purpose. No sweat I thought, I'll just use some different fabric and pattern. The pattern I used was New Look 6868 view D.

Initially I was really drawn to the tie detail. However, after completing it I was left with a big sack like shirt that had a tie.

{Artist's Rendition}

The fabric that I used was a mid-weight cotton blend, which I think attributed to the sack like look of the shirt. The pleats along the collar don't drape as nicely as they should. So here I am, taking a brief break from my attempt to restyle this shirt. So much for having a new work shirt for tomorrow, maybe later in the week.

Spring fever

It's over 50 degrees here today, yay!

I doubt this nice weather will last much longer, but it is helping fuel my need to sew, specifically my need to sew new spring/summer clothes. A recent visit to my fabric collection unearthed about three yards of this black fabric with white floral silhouettes and plenty of stretch. I don't remember where it came from, but I do remember it being quite the deal. It didn't take too much time for inspiration to hit. Using simplicity 2852 view c, I was able to make this sweet little tank top/tunic with a bubble hem.

{front}

This top came together pretty quickly. I did most of the prep work the night before (cut out pattern pieces, fabric, applied interfacing, all that good stuff) and was able to sew this up in a an afternoon.

{back}

After seeing the pictures I will be looking at the actual garment to see is one shoulder is longer than the other, or if is just my typical schlumpy way of standing that is making it appear that way.

Thats about it for now, I just want to go outside today and take advantage of this early spring-like weather before it's gone.

Toodles

See my vest!

It's done, it's complete, it's snazzy, it's my vest. Using simplicity 4079, I made view E, minus the false pocket flaps and ties in back. The pattern wasn't very complicated, the most frustrating thing about the whole project was being bounced around while reading the instructions, a big focus breaker for me.

I think if I were to make this again I'd make my own straightforward list of instructions prior to even cutting out the fabric in order to save time and patience. After trying on the finished vest I would consider making it a size smaller, as its just a bit too roomy for me.

Now on to the pictures.

First up is a shot of the lining (which I'm still amazed I made). All in all it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The process of finishing the vest required that I learn the slip stitch in order to finish the lining. I'm debating top stitching along the edge of the vest due to poofyness that occurs around the shoulders and bottom of the vest while being worn.

{Side View}



{Princess Seam}

{Front Open}

{Back}

It looks uneven in the picture, but I'm actually just twisting slightly.

{Picture of my background for part of the shoot}