Diary of a Sewing Fanatic

Cardigan Follow-up

2012-03-09T23:28:00.001-05:00

There were quite a few questions about the seam down the back of the B5760 cardigan. My first response to the question was, "Why not?" My second response is a little more involved. Of course any time you add a seam you add a fitting opportunity. I do admit to adding seams to garments so that I don't end up wearing large expanses of fabric on my plus size body.

However, about 12 years ago when I first started making cardigans, my friend Colleen, suggested that I put a center back seam in my cardigan. I, of course, was appalled because RTW cardigans didn't have center back seams. Colleen in her wise way simply said was I trying to get RTW fit or was I trying to fit the garment to my body.

from a twinset made in 2008 with a back seam

from a twinset made in 2010

w/o a back seam

So, I've pretty much lived by those words of wisdom...quite a few of the cardigans I've made have a center back seam. If the fabric has an interesting pattern or design, I don't put a seam in, but that is rare.

Trena made a statement about homecky looking cardigans and I have a few suggestions to help avoid that look...

Fabric Choice:
I think its easier to find fabric that looks like RTW sweater fabric now than when I first started making cardigans. And that should be your first question when you consider using a piece of fabric to make a cardigan - would I see one like this in the store? If the answer is yes, then use it. If not, then toss it back and save it for another project.

Second part of the fabric/RTW question is what level of RTW are you knocking off? I try to sew higher end garments rather than something I can buy in WalMarts, Jessica London, etc. You know those upscale places where a cardigan costs upwards of $100 or more, that's what I'm trying to duplicate.

The third part of the fabric choice is the type of fabric. I don't use cotton knits. I've never gotten a good result using one. My preference is to use rayon/lycra knits. I've also noticed that knits purchased at a higher price point work better except for the inexpensive, high quality goods that I get from Fabric Mart, as long as I don't use a cotton knit! Some of my other favorite fabrics for cardigans are ~ wool blends, rayon jerseys, silk jersey, cotton lace, and wool jersey.

Interfacing:
Knowing what areas should be interfaced helps eliminate the homecky look...and then the type of interfacing used is also important. I use a soft flexible knit interfacing that doesn't change the hand of the fabric but does provide some support for buttons and buttonholes. My two favorites are: The Pro Sheer Elegance Fusible Interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply and from Farmhouse Fabrics, Baby Interfacing. The front band is totally interfaced and then folded in half. The sleeve hems are also interfaced. And on most of the hems, I use stitch witchery either with a machine stitched hem or sometimes alone. I'm always looking for that RTW look and the stitch witchery hem does that but you could substitute Steam A Seam and achieve the same look.

Button Placement:
The best thing about making your own cardigans is that you can decide the number, size and placement of buttons. I usually place a button in the middle of my bustline and then measure from there up and down the button placket for button placement. Personally I like an odd number of buttons, it just looks more pleasing to my eye. Lately I've been using smaller button plackets as well as smaller buttons because it looks more RTW. Also, determine if you want the buttons to stand out or blend in. For this latest cardigan, I wanted them to blend in...

...for the one I made in the Lavender & Gray collection, I used buttons that stood out:

Additional Information:
~always check cardigan lengths in RTW to make sure that the length you are making is current.
~check button size and buttonhole placket size in RTW cardigans and use something similar
~sleeve lengths change from season to season...so I would check those also.
~sewing the cardigan together using flat sewing techniques also help to insure that you don't have bunchy sleeve heads and a homecky look. I always sew sleeves in flat and not in the round.

I hope that some of this information helps someone make a RTW looking cardigan but with a custom fit!

Since it's the weekend, I'm once again going to attempt to work on one of my two dress ideas. I'm a little more relaxed this weekend and hopefully will get to spend some quality time in the sewing cave. The mild winter continues here on the East Coast with temps in the 60s next week...so I would love a new dress to wear to work!

...as always, more later!

Online Fabric & Notions Sources

2012-03-06T00:01:00.000-05:00

Sewing Spots asked, "Where have you shopped online for fabric and notions?"

A better question might be where haven't I? *LOL* Even though I have access to the NYC Garment District, I am a huge proponent of online fabric shopping especially since quite a few sources are small business owned.

So here is my list of online fabric sources that I have purchased from:
1. Fabric Mart
2. Fabric.com
3. Gorgeous Fabrics
4. Sawyer Brook Fabrics
(btw - the Dogwood Majesty knit is up in the New Arrivals Section.)
5. Emmaonesock
6. Vogue Fashion Fabrics Club
7. Marcy Tilton
8. Fashionista Fabrics
9. Trim Fabrics
10. Fashion Fabrics Club
11. Christine Jonson
12. The Fashion Sewing Group

This is my list and not all of them ship outside the US & Canada so I would check the policy on their website if you are visiting from outside the US. I'm sure that there are others but some like Moods, is much easier for me to visit the bricks and mortar store than to place an order online.

My favorite online notions stores are:
a. Atlanta Thread & Supply which have taken over by Wawak Supplies.
b. Newark Dressmaker's Supply
c. Home Sew
d. Nancy's Notions
e. Fashion Sewing Supply - interfacing
f. Farmhouse Fabrics - interfacing
g. Create for Less
h. Thai Fabrics - silk organza

But I still purchase notions in the Garment District as I need them at Daytona Trimmings and Pacific Trimmings.

I'm sure that others have some favorites that I'm not using...please feel free to leave a link in the comments section...maybe someone else would like a listing of these too.

...as always, more later!

Butterick 5760 - The Cardigan

2012-03-04T21:50:00.000-05:00

I've made a lot of cardigan sweaters using Burda 8869. However, the pattern only has a v-neckline version and I've always wanted to make my own crew neck cardigans. I've tried a few other patterns but none of them worked as well as the Burda one. Last night, I got the bright idea to use my Burda TNT pattern as the basis for the Butterick one...and it worked like a charm!

Some details:
Fabric:
2 yards of Mohair poly sweater knit from Fabric Mart

Notions:
Baby interfacing from Farmhouse Fabrics
5 - 3/8" buttons from the collection

Construction Details:
I started with a size 22 - which to me is a slim 22 not a woman's size 22 especially since the finished pattern piece measurements are 45.5" at the hip line. So I added several inches to the sides of the front and back pieces by layering the Burda TNT pattern, the actual pattern piece and a piece of tracing paper on top to make new pattern pieces.

I also altered the armhole opening. Because of this I used the sleeve pattern from Burda 8869 instead of the piece included in the pattern envelope. That way I wouldn't have to worry about making alterations to the new sleeve's bicep area.

Some additional tidbits:
*I used stay tape in the shoulder seams to stabilize the knit.
*Stitch witchery was used in the hemline, which was pressed together, before stitching it down.
*Instead of cutting the back piece on the fold, I added a 5/8" seam allowance and sewed the two pieces together.
*The pattern instructions tell you to slip stitch the neckband down but I carefully topstitched it instead.
*I added an inch of baby interfacing to the sleeves hems and machine stitched them.

After that it was an easy sew and would have been even easier if I had followed the instructions. I kinda went my own way so my neckband and front band were improvised. Really, I should have just followed the pattern instructions because I would have had a cleaner finish at the hemline. Other than that it really was straightforward sewing...and I ended up with a new pattern for a crew neck cardigan so that's a good thing.

A few more pics:

the back and front views

close up of the crew neck buttoned

front button band

Finally, I know that yesterday I said that I was going to work on one of my three involved projects...but today I just wanted to sew something quick and easy...something that would let me feel the joy of sewing and bring a little settling to my creative soul...yet let me produce a completed garment. Sometimes you just need a quickie...*LOL*

...as always, more later!

Is it really March?

2012-03-03T14:02:00.000-05:00

It just seems like time is marching by so quickly...before you know it...spring will be here! And I've been so busy at work this week that I haven't thought much about sewing. My equilibrium has definitely been off because I didn't sew last weekend...so some time will definitely be spent at my sewing machine this weekend. But first some follow-ups...

Recently there were two Questions of the Day and I wanted to share some totals with you. On the Press or Smooth post here are the totals:

Press only: 42

Smooth only: 17

Press and smooth combo: 24

I guess pressing your pattern first is what most sewists do!

The second Question of the Day was Construction Details Yea or Nay. Here are the totals for whether you like just pictures or construction details - there were no votes for photo only blogs so here are the vote totals:

Construction Details: 82

Both: 29

I'd like to thank everyone who left such thoughtful comments on both blog posts!

I'm really digging (now that's a throwback word, isn't it!) Vogue 8786.

This will be a perfect throw on work dress for me. It's loose-fitting with seaming details which will give it the appearance of a slimmer look. I want to make it out of a ponte knit from the collection. But that is the easy look that's on my immediate sew list.

My next three projects will be more involved. I'm not expecting to have anything completed quickly...The McQueen Dress, another version of The Rachel Dress and a surprise project. One I'll talk about more when I've gathered all of the pieces...but it's something I haven't made in quite a while and never since I've started blogging. I'm pretty excited about it and will share more later.

I've already planned my Easter Outfit. The fabric, patterns and notions are all in-house. I have my shoes and handbag. I just need an Easter bonnet, though I know what I want just have to find it. Since Easter is early this year, I will be working on it before the month is over...or into Easter weekend since I have Good Friday off...more about that later.

One more thing...
Thursday morning I received an email that Melody at Fashionista Fabrics was having a sale. Being that I was having a difficult work week and fabric always makes me feel better, I moseyed on over and checked out the sale. Here's what arrived this afternoon...

Lots Polka Dots

Spider Mums

(I made a blouse from the orange/white version)

Palazzo Silk - this piece is

so pretty it makes my heart sing!

The sale has been extended to Tuesday, March 8th so use the code "ANNIVERSARY50" to get 50% off all the fabrics on the site (Burda Magazines are not included). So go, shop and help Melody celebrate five wonderful years selling amazing fabrics!

Okay that's what's on my mind this first weekend of March...

...as always, more later!

Upping My Game in 2012

2012-02-28T23:15:00.001-05:00

I truly believe that there is always something new to learn...even with sewing, especially with sewing. Times change and technology has invaded all aspects of our lives...including sewing...so there are new ways to learn things. Because of that I recently signed up for Susan Khaljie's, "Couture Dress" class at Craftsy. In full disclosure, I have yet to watch one of the classes but one of the reasons I signed up for them is because I can view them whenever I want and I can watch them over and over again. I enjoyed her sewing show on the DIY network, so it's good to glean some knowledge from her again. I'm sure that I will learn something new or see something in a different way that will enhance and take my sewing to another level.

www.powersewing.com

In that same vein, I also signed up for Sandra Betzina's, Video Sewing Lessons. I own every book that she's written, quite a few of her Vogue patterns and use to watch her faithfully on HGTV when she hosted a sewing show there. She has definitely influenced my sewing in the past and I'm hopeful that she will help me up my sewing game in 2012.

I'm sure you're wondering why I need to take some video classes since I obviously know how to sew and have a pretty extensive sewing library...and the answer is simple...there is always something new to learn. I will report back on how the video classes are working for me...gotta carve some time out to sit and watch them...but I'm excited!

...as always, more later!

Do you press or smooth?

2012-02-27T05:01:00.000-05:00

I was pulling out some pattern pieces to work on a garment last night and I had this thought..."Do you press your folded pattern pieces before laying them onto your fabric or do you just smooth them out and lay them down?"

See sometimes I press and sometimes I smooth. It depends on how heavily creased the pattern pieces are. If I can smooth them out, I do 'cause I'm really quite lazy. All I really want is to get to the sewing...so how about you? Do you always press your pattern pieces first? Or are you a smoother?

This is the Question of the Day, so talk to me, okay?

...as always, more later!

Its Sunday and I've done nuthin...

2012-02-26T12:15:00.002-05:00

...and I'm okay with that! *LOL* Yesterday I babysat my grandchildren so that day was lost...but not lost in a bad way...okay maybe when the almost 3 year old threw his juice box against my new vanilla walls, I wondered why the h*ll I was doing this. But my DD and her husband do need a rest from children (my own mother did this for me) so I sacrificed sewing for them. It was worth it.

However, today I'm slow getting started and am not sure just what I'm going to accomplish...especially since the Academy Awards are tonight and I really want to watch the Red Carpet shows. But before I go any further, I want to thank everyone who left comments on The Whitney Dress and the McCalls 6460 posts. Thank you so much for taking the time to compliment both dresses, to leave some constructive criticism and to marvel over either of the dresses. The positive reinforcement is appreciated.

I did wear both dresses to work this week...the good weather is still holding here on the East Coast...and I actually received more compliments on the M6460 dress. I think it's the print/color combination and it wore better than I thought it would. I think my dislike of the dress was directly related to the challenges I had with getting it completed. I will wear it again but I won't sew the pattern again. The Whitney Dress was a champ. But of course it would be because it's made from my TNT dress pattern...and it did receive a few compliments also.

The May 2012 issue of Threads magazine showed up this weekend and there is an article, "One Pattern, Endless Options" by Patricia Keay in it that really caught my eye. This article of course speaks to my way of sewing, however, the author also used her dress pattern to make a cute little fitted jacket. Whoa! I've never done this before and never even thought of it. So now I have to add this to my sewing list. Can you imagine? Maybe my quest for the perfect jacket pattern is over! Maybe I can get the jacket of my dreams from my TNT dress pattern...seriously I'm quivering with excitement peoples! *LOL*

There are two dresses that I really want to make in the next couple of weeks...of course, The McQueen Dress and then my fall/winter version of The Rachel Dress. I don't really have a great desire to sew today...maybe I'm still tired from watching those little people...or maybe I just need a breather...I've been sewing pretty steadily since the beginning of the year...11 garments made so far.

Speaking of dresses, I loved this Victoria Beckham that Viola Davis wore to the 5th Annual Essence Women in Hollywood Luncheon.

Ummm, this is like my Whitney Dress but with three quarter length sleeves...I need one of these! *LOL* Just have to decide what color I want mine in. See another dress added to the list...but isn't it just lovely!!!

Okay, I'm off to figure out what I'm working on in the sewing cave today...

...as always, more later!

My Fabric Addiction has run amok...

2012-02-24T18:01:00.000-05:00

...absolutely and totally run amok...

The Fabric Mart daily sales are killin' me. Seriously, every day they put another fabrication on sale for a great price...for that day only! So for the last few weeks, a box a week has been arriving at my home. One box a week with 2 to 3 pieces in it...means I'm starting to accumulate quite a bit of fabric. Fabric that is now sitting on top of several bins because I still haven't bought the shelves to take the fabric out of the bins. Maybe I should make that a priority, huh?

Do you see the conundrum here? I truly don't need another piece of fabric but my off switch just isn't working because a large box of beautiful pontes and knits arrived earlier this week from Sawyer Brook...and I know another package of pontes is coming from Marcy Tilton soon. See what I mean? Too much coming in...too much accumulating...

So you wanna see what I got?! *LOL*

Magnolia knit

Pinky coral ponte

Border print linen

(its a border print people, of course I bought it!)

all of these pieces are from Sawyer Brook and

they are Subscriber Exclusives which hopefully

will be available to the general public soon

Just want you to know that I'm not really complaining about the fabric that I've purchased recently...I just need to make a public confession every now and then to keep myself honest.

Since it's the weekend, I'll be working on The McQueen Dress. I was going to start working on it last Monday but I needed to think through the steps on how to construct the dress. I even briefly considered making a muslin to work out my collar issues but you know how much I hate sewing muslins.

So since I also have some dark navy wool crepe, my black one will be my wearable muslin, if necessary...but if everything works...I'll move onto my next project. If it doesn't and I need to redo something, I'll use the navy blue wool crepe...either way, I'll end up with a wearable dress.

The last thing I need to do is go through the pattern collection (one more time) and find a faux welt pocket to use on the left shoulder/breast area for the dress. I'm starting to get excited about the dress because I think I've worked out the construction process for the collar and if it works it's gonna be fabu! Finally, it's nice to have two days to work on this dress so that I can concentrate and not rush through the process. Hopefully I will end up with a wonderful garment at the end of the weekend.

...as always, more later!

McCalls 6460 - Final

2012-02-22T22:19:00.000-05:00

Here is the dress completed:

Pattern:
McCalls 6460

Fabric:
2.5 yards wool/silk rayon floral print rayon from Vogue Fashion Fabrics
.5 yards of navy blue ponte knit - Fabric Mart

Notions:
22" blue invisible zipper
2 yards blue bemberg lining

Construction:
I don't like the finished dress. It doesn't fit as well as I thought it would. I'm sure it's operator error but there's pulling at the raglan sleeves that I don't like and have no desire to fix. I've already reworked the sleeves to make them bigger for my bodacious biceps and changed up the neckline so that it would lay closer to my chest and back...it's good enough...not perfect...not amazing...just good enough...and I'm okay with that.

A few more things...

The pattern goes up to a size 22 and I added additional space by using my TNT pattern as the body for the dress.
There is a dart in the top of the original raglan sleeve pattern that left a funny bump at the dart tip...that was one of the issues with the original sleeve pattern.
I did have to add that dart back in but I did it by making a larger stitch in the seam allowance...the seam that I added to the sleeve pattern to add width for my biceps.
I only used the side darts in the dress omitting the center front darts.
The rayon fabric is underlined because it was light and sheer. I wanted to build up the fabric a little and insure that it was no longer see thru.
The sleeve and dress hems are machine stitched. I honestly didn't care about quality by this point. I just wanted to move this from the UFO category to being finished.
My daughter and my Mom like the dress and I did sit around in it for about an hour so it was comfortable to wear...

...a few more pics...

Earrings: Judith Ripka

Necklace: Honora Pearls

Shoes: Jessica London

Back View

I have to honestly say that I don't recommend this pattern. I like the styling but the finished dress is just okay.

P.S. ~ Parting Shot - me and my oldest grandson!!! He will be 11 at the end of the month.

...as always more later!

The Whitney Dress - Final

2012-02-21T00:01:00.000-05:00

Here is another version of my TNT dress pattern that I'm calling, "The Whitney Dress".

My initial post detailed the pattern alterations I made to my TNT dress pattern. Here are a few more details:

Fabric Prep:
Since I used a wool crepe for this dress, I used Pam Erny's method of using a wet (not slopping wet) white towel in the dryer with the fabric for 40 minutes. Then I steamed the heck out of the fabric before taking it to my cutting table.

Fabric:
100% worsted wool crepe purchased from Fabric Mart

Notions:
22" brown invisible zipper
2 yards of orange bemberg rayon lining purchased from Elegant Fabrics in NYC
3 yards brown lace hem tape

Construction:

Topstitching

One of the predominant features of this dress is the topstitching. It would have been attractive with tone-on-tone topstitching but I wanted something a little more intriguing so I went with a contrasting color, orange. After making a sample, I really liked the way the brown and orange worked together especially since I have an orange cardi to wear over this sleeveless dress.

Back on October 1, 2009, I wrote a blog post on topstitching tips which has some great comments at the end of the post. This is the way that I topstitch garments but I wanted to add a couple of additional points:

I used the triple stitch (No. 25) on my Janome 6600P sewing machine. This stitch goes back and forth three times, thereby producing the very pronounced stitching line. I also lengthen my stitch length to a 4 to get a more attractive (to me) look.
Even though I've used scotch tape in the past as a guideline, I don't like to use it on wool crepe because when the tape is removed it leaves a fuzzy like appearance to the fabric. So in this case to make sure that the topstitching was even on both sides of the seaming, I used the edge of the machine foot. For this project, I used the basic zig zag foot.
The thread I used was the regular Gutterman thread that I purchase from Atlanta Thread and Supply.
Sewing slowly, paying attention and being concise are really important to me in getting a good topstitched seam.
Lastly can I stress that a sample should definitely be made. You want to check to make sure the thread is laying down on the fabric well, that there is no pulling and that after ironing the sample that there isn't any shine.

Seaming Details

After the topstitching I think the other star of this dress is the seaming detailing. Now there are many ways that you can add seaming to a dress pattern but I have to admit that the seaming in this dress is influenced by the Burda color blocked dress 117A in the February 2012 issue.

To insure that the all the seams met, I basted the seams together at the junction points before machine stitching them. I wanted some control to insure that the seams met properly, the hand basting provided that.

There is more seaming on the front of the dress than the back...and the back will probably be hidden by the cardigan but that's okay with me. I wanted some detail in the back and even debated putting a double line of stitching down the back but scuttled that idea...deciding that simpler was best.

Other Details
This dress has a v-neckline. Not something I typically do in the winter but its been such a mild one this year that I went with something atypical for me. If it gets really cold in future winters, I won't wear a dress anyway, so the more open neckline doesn't faze me, however, it does add to the uniqueness of the dress.

I shortened the zipper because I didn't want the zipper to go through the seaming detail on the back. I measured how long I needed the zipper to be and then added a thread stop. After making the thread stop, I cut the zipper off about an inch from it. This is how I handle shortening a zipper after watching one of the sales clerks at Steinlauf Stoeller cut a zipper and having him tell me that you could use a thread stop to do the same thing he was doing.

The dress is lined but I decided to be as bold with the lining as I was with the topstitching so I used some orange bemberg lining I had in the collection... even though only I will know that it's there...well and all of you too, *LOL*...I thought it just complimented the dress.

I didn't add lace to the lining hem. I didn't have any orange lace and even if I had stashed some I probably wouldn't have used it. A simple machine stitched hem seems to go better with the spirit of the dress.

Other than those points, it was a regular sew. A well-thought out and much pondered sew but a regular sew...so a few more pics!

Dress with vintage Sarah Coventry Pin,

Isaac Mizrahi bag & Aerosoles shoes

Dress with orange cardigan

from Jessica London

Showing the seaming & how

it works with the cardigan

Back view with seaming

on dress back

The soundtrack of the weekend and last week has been tunes from Whitney Houston...I find that I'm gravitating to quite a few of the songs from her last album, "I Look to You" even though she doesn't have the range of her earlier songs, these seem especially poignant due to her untimely death...

...as always, more later!

The McQueen Interpretation - Pattern Alterations

2012-02-20T01:20:00.001-05:00

While finishing up The Whitney Dress, I spent some time thinking about what pattern alterations I would need to make to my TNT dress pattern to make my idea work. At first I thought I would just find a shawl collar from another pattern, trace the pattern pieces out and add it to the dress front. Especially since I really want to preserve the zipper application in the front of the dress.

Then Sheila left a comment about using a shawl collar on a dress that didn't work for her and it made me rethink my original idea. It wouldn't work because the collar would be flat and it probably wouldn't lay right. So I spent some time digging through my considerable pattern collection to find some jacket patterns with shawl collars. I figured I could add the collar pieces to my TNT dress pattern.

By looking at the pattern pieces for the shawl collar it made me realize that I needed the under collar to be an extension of the dress front...this meant that some serious pattern alterations needed to be done to my dress front pattern. It also meant that I would have to have a top collar facing piece for the dress. This was turning into a much more complicated pattern alteration than I'd originally envisioned when I decided I had to have a version of this dress.

But I preservered because I really wanted the dress. I finally found an out-of-print McCalls pattern that had a shawl collar on a coat dress that I could use to make my version of the McQueen dress. And after looking at the pattern pieces and reading the pattern instructions, I was ready to work on the pattern alterations.

I started by making my pattern sandwich...my TNT pattern piece, then the shawl collar pattern piece and finally the pattern paper to use to trace a new pattern on top of it. Here's what I came up with...

The back dress pattern piece didn't need any modifications except that I needed to make a new back facing piece. All of these facing pieces will have to be added to my lining pieces...more alterations...*sigh*

Anyway, I've started working on The McQueen Dress and this is going to be a complicated kinda project...even though I didn't think it would be when I first saw the dress. As always when making alterations to my TNT pattern, I'm worried that they won't work...

...so stay tuned cause this is definitely going to be an adventure!

My Image Patterns and a few other things

2012-02-18T01:51:00.002-05:00

About two weeks ago I received an email from the marketing department of My Image Pattern Magazine. They offered me the fall/winter and the spring/summer editions of their magazine, if I would do a review. As you know I'm very selective about what products I will endorse but there has been a lot of positive buzz in the sewing world about the My Image pattern magazines so I thought for the cost of postage what could it hurt.

A few things about My Image ~
1. They are published out of Europe and is a sewing/pattern magazine similar to Burda.
2. The instructions are in 4 languages - English, Nederlands, German and French
3. The patterns go up to a size 48...or a size 18US
4. Which means there are no plus sizes because Burda says a 50 is a 20/22 and a 52 is a size 24. (although Burda lists plus sizes as 44-52)
5. The pattern sheets are included in the center of the magazine (just like Burda) but since they only do 16 patterns per magazine, the sheets look simple to trace.

So what's a plus size chick like me going to do with these patterns...why use them with my TNT patterns to get the garments I want! I mean this will be an adventure and I really liked this dress...

Dress M1157

(I like the center panel!)

...so why not take the journey to experience something new! You can get more information on these patterns, here. And there are a couple of reviews of garments on PatternReview.

I know I should work on that this weekend but "The Whitney Dress" is calling my name. That is what I will be working on during the funeral later today...I can mourn my girl in the comfort of my sewing cave doing what I do best.

*****************************************************************

This week was Fashion Week in NYC and since they are showing Fall 2012, I was kinda paying attention. I haven't scoped out all of the details of my favorite designers shows but I have seen quite a few pieces from various lines because I've become addicted to the blog, Red Carpet Fashion Awards. I'm sure quite a few of you already know about this blog but I stumbled onto it by following a link from a NYTimes article. Did I say I was addicted? Seriously totally and completely addicted...

There was a link to theoutnet.com where I found an amazing Alexander McQueen dress that I could "interpret" for work...

I really want to make it from my TNT dress pattern using a black wool crepe (which is conveniently out and easy to get to!) I think I'm exhibiting a classic case of sewing ADD because this is NOT on my sewing list for this weekend, but I've just got to have it! Of course, I'm going to make a few changes...I want a shawl collar instead of a notched collar...and seriously darts at the waistline...that just aren't happening! *LOL* The description states that it has padded shoulders...I may or may not do that. It will depend on my mood at the time!

*****************************************************************

It's a three day weekend here in the US (President's Day Weekend) and besides a trip to the supermarket later this morning, I have no plans except to sew, sew and sew some more. Hopefully, I will have a couple of new dresses to wear to work next week...especially since the weather continues to be mild...thank goodness!

...as always, more later!

A little follow-up...

2012-02-16T05:01:00.000-05:00

Boy did the Question of the Day generate some interesting answers...and I will get to them...but first I want to address a blogger issue. I am aware of the fact that Blogger is doing something with their Open ID process and that it's affected the ability of some people to log in and leave comments. I've even received some requests to go back to the open commenting which allows anonymous commenters to leave comments.

At the time I changed my blog settings (because once upon a time you could leave an anonymous comment here) it was because the harassment had become more than I could stand. As I've stated time and again, I blog because it is a release from my very stressful day job. This is part of my creative outlet so I've drawn a line in the sand here on how much b*llsh*t I'm willing to deal with...and yes, I'm aware that this is a very strong statement.

But after the crap I had to deal with last year, I will not go there again. As nice, informative and encouraging as the internet sewing community can be, there are trolls out there that get great pleasure in causing drama. I'm a drama free kinda woman. I won't put up with it at work or in my personal life so I'm sure as h*ll not standing for it here. So in the most adamant way that I can say it, I'm not turning on anonymous comments ever again.

I'm truly sorry that Blogger is making it hard to leave a comment but since I have no control over that, all I can do is once again say that I wish you could leave a comment but the anonymous setting will never be turned back on...NEXT!

First ~ thanks to everyone who left a comment. They were all appreciated especially the ones espousing support for my blog. Cause truth be told who doesn't like a compliment or two! *smile* I truly am humbled by the fact that quite a few of you stated that I've inspired you to continue sewing or to try different techniques...that just makes my heart sing because more than anything I want to encourage everyone to continue to grow in our artform!

Next - if you author a product only blog, please realize that I am not belittling your choice. The thing about a blog is that it's your own space and you get to occupy it anyway you want. So please know that I respect your choice, it's just not my choice.

I think the most concise answer to the question goes to Faye, who simply wrote "Yea" ~ Faye you made me smile!

LauraSJ wrote:
"I wonder if some bloggers are getting tired of all the work involved with sharing the process because it must take an amazing amount of time to share the "how".
Thanks for sharing that viewpoint...because that hadn't occurred to me.

Linda wrote:
"Also I find myself shuttering when I see unpressed seams on sewn garments...but it sets my eye to twitchin' Oh yes and machine sewn hems on skirts with materials that should be hand sewn...I want to scream into a pillow for that one. No negative comments ever though...
I appreciate your honesty and love your no negative comments stance...

Janice wrote about participating in Sew Weekly challenges:
I didn't know that if you participated in Sew Weekly challenges that you can't write about the construction process when you post your garment. That's an interesting thing to know. Thanks for sharing it!

There was a question or two...

M&M asked how I had energy to sew after work...
I primarily sew on the weekends...when I'm well-rested and have left work in the dust! *LOL*

RomonaSewingJourney asked,"can you tell me your pattern you use for your twin sets?"
That would be out-of-print Burda 8869. Here's a link to my flickr album so you can see all of the versions I've made of it.

Jeannettec wrote ~ "I think its time for you to do a sew along."
Ummmm yeah okay! *LOL* I've thought about it but I just don't know if I have the time to devote to one...

Finally since no post should be this long without a picture (especially since this did push a few buttons in the comments!) I present to you a hanging shot of the front of the Whitney Dress with the seaming topstitched:

It's looking like I'm going to be working on this during the 3-day weekend and only one of the two dresses I originally planned on making will "hopefully" be finished.

...as always, more later!

Construction Details Yea or Nay

2012-02-14T20:21:00.001-05:00

I've noticed a trend lately that sewing blogs have more pictures and less construction details. Yes, there are still a few sewing blogs out there that detail the construction process...but it seems like so many more only post pictures of the finished garment with a brief paragraph or two regarding the sewing journey.

Is this the wave of the sewing blog future? Is this what sewists want to see/read on a sewing blog now? Are tutorials and construction details no longer relevant because there is so much information available on the internet now? I'm curious because I'm feeling a little like a throwback...funny since I've only been blogging for six years. However things move fast on the internet super highway.

So the question of the day is, "Construction Details ~ Yea or Nay?" Do you look for techniques/descriptions/features about how a garment made it to the finish line? Or are you just looking for pretty pictures with a brief synopsis? Or is there some place in the middle?

Okay talk amongst yourselves because I'm really interested in your responses...

...as always, more later!

The Whitney Dress - Part One

2012-02-12T18:16:00.000-05:00

So named because while I worked on it today, I listened to Whitney Houston videos and music from my iTunes account. I was at a loss this morning because I knew I wanted to make a dress but none of the ones remaining on my fall/winter sewing list appealed to me. Not because I don't want to make them, but two are scheduled to be sewn next weekend during the three-day weekend and the other two just didn't push any buttons for me today.

I knew that I didn't want a regular sheath dress from my TNT pattern. I wanted something with some seams since I've been seeing a lot of them in the street, and the seaming is slimming. Then while watching the Whitney videos, I was inspired by the one that she wears in the video for the song for, "Inspired by the Best."

www.vevo.com

Now the dress that Whitney wears looks more like the Burda dress I made a couple of years ago and the dress I subsequently starting working on has seaming but not the same type. Of course since I'm using an idea and no pattern, there needed to be some pattern alterations done to my TNT dress pattern.

the front with the first alterations

made to the pattern

pattern pieces cut apart with

5/8" seam allowances added

front & back piece laying side by side

to make the back pattern alterations

Back pattern piece alterations

With 5/8" seam

allowances added

After pre-treating a brown wool crepe to use for this version, I got down to cutting out and assembling the dress.

The brown is pretty dark and you would only see the seaming detail if you were standing close to me, so I decided that I needed to emphasize the seaming with a bright color. At first I was thinking about using a tan...then I decided that I wanted something bright and almost went with a spring green...but that was a little too avant for me.

Next I decided to check the color wheel to see what color was opposite brown on the color wheel. However, brown is not on the color wheel which I didn't realize. Then I decided on a color that was bold but wearable to work and that I already owned a cardigan in...orange. I think this works great...

I've already started to assemble it so the next post about this dress will be the reveal. This is a dress made from my TNT pattern so besides the additional seaming and the extra stitching, this is a run-of-the mill sew for me.

...as always, more later!

R.I.P Whitney

2012-02-11T21:33:00.000-05:00

I think this passing has affected me just as much as Michael's did...just this one was expected. *sigh*

Rest in Peace, Whitney

May you harmonize with the Angels in Heaven!

August 9, 1963 - February 11, 2012

A Day of Reflection

2012-02-11T19:29:00.000-05:00

This post has nuthin' to do with sewing so if you don't want to read about something other than sewing, I would click out now.

Today I went to my Uncle's funeral. It was an Uncle (actually the brother of an aunt so he wasn't really my uncle) that I hadn't seen since I was a little girl but my mother really wanted her children to attend with her and who am I to refuse my mother. It was an interesting funeral because even though he had five children and 25 grandchildren, very few of them attended...only three of his children and a handful of grandchildren...and it gave me pause.

The funeral was a nice one considering that my Uncle did not go to church and the Pastor really didn't know him. Have you ever been to one of those - where the Pastor is basically vamping because he doesn't know the deceased? This one wasn't like that because the Pastor spoke to the living, the ones who cared about the actual proceedings since my Uncle had long since passed from this world.

It also gave me an opportunity to spend time with my brother, sister and a few of my favorite cousins at the repast following the funeral. To tell stories about each other and laugh at memories from when we were younger since we all grew up together. Inevitably the question came up about whether I still sew...yes, I've been sewing for so long that ALL of my family realizes that it's an integral part of my life.

...and that's what caused the reflection...since sewing is such an integral part of my life...what will the stories be that my family shares when I've passed on? Will they laugh about all the boxes of fabric that arrived? Or the times I dragged my daughters to the fabric store? Will they tell tales of garments I made for them and their children? Will I get to share my gift with my grandchildren (at least one) before I pass on?

...and will my daughters remember to put one or two pieces in the casket with me before I'm cremated? I know morbid right...but if someone can get buried in their car why can't a couple of pieces of fabric burn with me?

It's just reflections...things I'm thinking about as I sit in the sewing cave...realizing that we have a finite number of days and checking to make sure that I'm spending my time doing the things that I really want with my life. The concern about what would happen to my enormous fabric collection never once entered my mind. That is for my daughters to handle and dispose of as they see fit. My collection is here now to inspire me to create, to encourage me to think of new ways to use it and garments to make, and to be a touchstone of my craft.

...as always, more later!

Some Victoria for me...

2012-02-10T00:01:00.000-05:00

What does this silhouette have in common with my own? Why did I look at this dress and think I could make this and it would look good on me? Seriously, I know you think I'm crazy but this would look amazing on me. Why? Because if I choose the right fabric, cut it right for my body so that it emphasizes my bustline, de-emphasizes my waist and hips by gently flowing over them and cut a side curve onto the dress, it would work on me...basically rework my TNT dress pattern.

It's from Victoria Beckham's Spring RTW 2012 line:

www.style.com

This dress just made it onto my spring/summer sewing list. I think I have an amazing silk buried in the bins that I could use for this and have a pretty new spring dress. Sometimes you just have to look at a silhouette more than the person in the dress to realize it would work for you.

...as always, more later!

Shoes and Jewelry

2012-02-09T00:01:00.000-05:00

There were a couple of comments about my shoes from the "May I Present" blog post...so I thought I would discuss a few of my other obsessions, y'know besides fabric!

First I L-O-V-E shoes. And I buy shoes from everywhere...if I like them, I buy them...from department stores, to online sources and a few favorite vendors that I always use because they always work for me.

The pair that generated the most interest were these:

jessica london.com

I got these from Jessica London online. The tips are gray and the body is tan. It has a 3" heel with a 1/2" platform. These were purchased especially to go with the Lavender and Gray Skies wardrobe.

The other pair featured in the pictures was purchased from The Avenue last fall and are no longer available on their site.

Normally, though I don't shop for shoes online unless I've worn the brand before. My favorite brands are Bandolino, AK Anne Klein, Aerosoles, Nine West, and Sofft. I will admit that I have alot of shoes, not an Imelda Marcos amount but alot...*sigh*...I love shoes! MY latest obsession are these...

which I've purchased in two colors (blue 'n white & black 'n white)...yeah I know...but unlike someone asked...no I don't own a pattern for TNT shoes but I wish I did! *LOL*

As for jewelry...I am mostly a pearl girl. I love pearls in all colors and shapes. Most of the pearl necklaces featured on my garments are Honora Pearls. I have a pretty extensive collection that my daughters have put their names on before I've even passed on! *LOL*

this pair is a Jacqueline Kennedy

reproduction from QVC

Other favorites are Judith Ripka sterling silver pieces, Joan Rivers pieces from QVC, vintage Sarah Coventry purchased from eBay, and Heidi Daus.

link to necklace & earrings

The necklace worn with the Lavender and Gray Skies collection was purchased from NY & Co. I'd bought the black'n white and clear one (worn with The Rachel Dress) from them in the spring so when I was in the shop with my Mom during Christmas season and found the purple one, it had to come home with me too.

I'm trying to upgrade my jewelry so that it's something that can be left to my daughters and future granddaughters (btw, two are on the way and I'm more than excited!) and I get to wear it in the meantime! *LOL* I have a few pieces from my maternal grandmother that are treasured and my daughters each received a necklace so I would like to continue the tradition.

I like jewelry but not as much as fabric and shoes. Almost as much though! *LOL* Anyway, hopefully this answered all the questions that were left about the shoes and the necklaces.

...as always, more later!

Blouse by Simplicity 2566

2012-02-07T13:49:00.002-05:00

This is a version of the Khaliah Ali top in the Simplicity 2566 pattern. By version I mean that my finished result is nuthin' and I mean nuthin' like the original pattern. I had planned to make the top just like the pattern suggests but I made a serious error in sewing on the collar...like I sewed the collar onto the wrong side of the top and just couldn't fathom ripping it apart to correct the mistake. Especially since I had already cut the slit to make the v-neckline. So after angrily casting the top aside and saying a few choice cuss words, I decided the top was salvageable.

Taking a deep breathe I picked the top up and realized that I could just stitch the facing down to the front of the top and hide the facing edges under the collar since it's quite wide. I followed the pattern instructions on finishing the collar by hand stitching it down...

...although the hand stitching is on the right side of the garment but again the collar hides that.

My version is sleeveless because of opportunity. See I had a limited amount of time to have pictures taken by my daughter...it was Super Bowl Sunday after all...and due to the challenge of getting the collar on the top, I hadn't finished it by the time she arrived. So I just tucked it under the cardigan but after we took the pictures I realized that I really liked it like way. Here's how it looks on Lulu now:

A few other things:
1. The darts needed to be raised like big time on the top. I guess I'm just not busty enough but those darts were so low it was ridiculous. I moved them up two inches but will adjust the pattern so that I get my bust points correct. Right now they are a little too close together.

2. I started with a 22W for the shoulders and bust area and a size 28W for the abdomen and hip area. The good thing about multi-size patterns is the ability to merge sizes.

3. Even with this adjustment, the top is close-fitting. And I really don't like close-fitting but thankfully this shirting has some lycra in it which helps. However, for the next version, I will add a back seam for some additional fitting since the original is cut on the fold.

4. The armholes are pressed under 1/2" and stitched down.

This is a wearable muslin. My collar needs work and the facing is not equal on both sides...but it will work for my first version. I have loads of shirting purchased from Fabric Mart last summer and I'm going to pull some of those out and make a couple more versions with and without sleeves. I don't really like button front shirts and I think this one will work perfectly for my figure and my wardrobe needs.

...and yes I will make up the tie that came in the pattern to accompany the top especially since it's already cut out...

...as always, more later!

May I Present...

2012-02-05T22:02:00.001-05:00

"The Lavender and Gray Skies Collection" in pictures...

Patterns:

TNT Pants, Dress and Skirt Pattern

Burda 8869 Cardigan pattern

Butterick 3124 Cowlneck Top

Simplicity 2566 - sleeveless white shirt

Fabrics:

100% tropical wool in gray

Lilac acrylic cable knit

White cotton & lycra blend shirting

Lilac felted/fulled wool jersey

Garments:

Gray lined sheath dress

Gray lined straight skirt

Gray lined pants

Lilac sleeveless cowlneck top

Lilac v-neck cardigan

White sleeveless top

Lilac felted/fulled wool jersey jacket

A couple of things:

**I like the jacket in the pictures...still not so sure about it in real life. Will need to wear it to see how that goes before I pass final judgement.

**The Simplicity shirt is sleeveless - more on that in my next post when I review the pattern.

**Love the versatility of the wardrobe

**Added a RTW pink cardigan over the dress in one of the pictures, will use this so that I can wear all the pieces to work this week.

**Yes, I will finally be wearing these pieces. I haven't worn any of them yet.

**I didn't make the white version of B3124. Just didn't feel like looking for the white knit. However, I will be making this top again.

I'm thrilled that this collection is finally completed. When my daughter showed up this afternoon to take pictures she couldn't believe that the twinset was made by me. She thought I had bought it. That was a fantastic compliment especially since this is the daughter that sews and knows the quality of my work. So look for a post on the white shirt...boy was that an adventure! *LOL* And my next piece after that will be a dress...y'all know how much I love a dress and I've got dress ideas running through my brain that need to be worked out!

Finally, a parting shot of "The Little Prince" - who will be 3 next month! Boy does time fly!

Congratulations to the New York Giants

2012 Superbowl Champions!

Whoooo Hoooo!

...as always, more later!

In Real Life - Part 2

2012-02-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

This will not be a regular thing on my blog because we are starting to get really busy at work, so to stop and have pictures taken is just a little much. However, my photographer (my boss John) was very willing this week so here are the garments I wore in real life this week....

Monday

Black Doubleknit Suit

Tuesday

Designer Inspired Dress

worn with RTW Cardigan

Wednesday

Heidi M Inspired Dress

worn with RTW Cardigan

Thursday

Versace Inspired Dress

worn with RTW Cardigan

and I even have a Friday shot because yesterday was "Wear Red for Women's Heart Health Day" and I wore a reddish twinset with my jeans. Yes, I've been in jeans on Fridays for the last few weeks because now that we are on another floor and don't see as many visitors, my area has taken to wearing jeans on Fridays. So here is Friday's outfit:

Like I stated earlier, this will not become a regular feature on my blog, however, it will probably show up from time to time. I'm definitely taking pics of the Lavender and Gray Skies wardrobe this weekend, so look for them soon!

...as always, more later!

End of the month recap

2012-02-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

January 2012 was a great sewing month for me. I made eight pieces.

1. The Erdem Inspired Dress
2. The steel gray pinstripe lined pants
3. The lt. gray tropical wool lined pants
4. The lt. gray tropical wool straight skirt
5. Lavender wool jersey and knit jacket
6. Lt. gray tropical wool sheath dress
7. Lilac sweaterknit sleeveless cowlneck top
8. Lilac sweaterknit Burda cardigan

The sewing cave really got a workout because the month started with a three day weekend and then I had four days off for MLK Day. The extra days allowed me to spend some quality time working on getting the Lavender and Gray Skies wardrobe finished since six of the eight pieces from the list were part of the final tally.

I used 19 yards of fabric and purchased 13 yards...more went out than came in. So that's a good thing! My main goal for January was to get as much of the wardrobe completed as possible and with only two pieces left to sew, I think I accomplished that. I have several items left on my sewing list that I really want to make before the soft breezes of spring show up and turn my head! Hopefully February will be as fruitful as January has been.

...as always, more later!

Lulu's Home!

2012-02-01T22:39:00.001-05:00

When I moved I didn't know if I had room for Lulu so she took up residence with my daughter for a couple of months. But when I made this last twinset, I knew Lulu had to come and live with me...

Now don't these pieces look so much better with Lulu wearing them? First the cowlneck sleeveless top...

...and now the two pieces together...

I have some white t-shirt knit (somewhere *sigh*) that I want to pull out and use for another cowlneck top, as well as, the white top from Simplicity 2566. So the wardrobe will end up being 8 pieces instead of 7 and I'm fine with that. I think having two white tops will give it more versatility.

After these last two tops are completed, my daughter has agreed to come by and photograph the entire wardrobe, so I will have some decent pictures. We will also work with my tripod so that I can get acclimated to using it.

Regarding the tripod, thanks to everyone for the tips on how to make the tripod work. Schoomom, the tip about the tape is ingenious, and I will be using it. And I need to say a special thank you to SueC56, it was her initial encouragement that started me on the road to purchasing a tripod ~ so thank you! Finally BetsyV, as you can see Lulu is an amputee...she's hard working but she is legless!

There were a few questions on the last couple of posts:

bpatricia74 asked, "I'm actually looking for a clothes rack for my sewing room. Do you have any suggestions?"
Sorry but I don't have a clothes rack in my sewing room so I have no suggestions.

Farhana asked, "How many hours do your really spend per item or outfit?"
I don't time myself. I kinda head downstairs to the sewing cave and sew in spurts. Sometimes I sew for hours at a time and sometimes I kinda piddle along. Timing myself would definitely take the joy out of it. If I get the item completed by the end of the weekend, I'm happy.

Stash Empress - I bought the book for $72. It was over $94 when I put on my wishlist, so I was thrilled when I flipped into Amazon and saw it for $22 less.

Kuby asked, "If I always use Bemberg?"
Yes, unless I'm using a cotton or silk batiste. I love how Bemberg feels and wears in my clothing.

A Sewn Wardrobe asked, "What fabric I was going to use for my second Rachel Dress?"
It's a black 'n white herringbone with black lace appliques that I bought from the craft store that masquerades as a fabric store several years ago.

Oh and I have a horrid confession to make...I haven't seen Project Runway in years or any of the Project Runway All-Stars episodes. I know, horrid, right! *LOL*

...as always, more later!

The Cardigan and the Top

2012-01-31T22:54:00.000-05:00

Pieces number 5 and 6 are now done. The cardigan was made from my tried and true Burda pattern 8869 and the top is from Butterick 3124 which is now out of print.

I took several pictures of the process because even though the cardigan pattern is a TNT, the fabric dictated that it get some special consideration. There is a lot of fusible interfacing in this garment to give it structure in all of the important places like the sleeve hems, the hem of the cardigan, and the binding along the neckline.

interfacing at the seam hem

At one point I contemplated adding pockets to the front of the cardigan but discarded that idea after I let it sit overnight. I didn't like the idea so much in the morning.

Otherwise, it was a pretty straightforward construct with most of it done on the serger.

The top is a good first make and it will be a wearable muslin. I will make it again because I love the way the neck and the shoulders fit. Although, I still need to do some work on the body because this one was cut too big and I had to take the side seams in alot.

Here is a picture of the collection so far:

Cardigan, top, pants, jacket

skirt and dress

I will have more about the pieces after I work some more with the tripod. Because this is the best picture from my first effort. Now if I can just learn how not to cut my head off, it will be a good thing! *LOL*

The last piece in the collection is the white shirt from Simplicity 2566 which I will work on this weekend...

...as always, more later!

Saturday Morning Diary Bits

2012-01-28T14:39:00.002-05:00

Well it's the weekend again...and thank goodness because it has been a long week! I've done no sewing this week but that's no surprise since I rarely sew during the week. However, I have purchased a few things:

1. A tripod

Thanks to Shams who fielded quite a few questions and gave me a lot of encouragement, this arrived a couple of days ago. So not only will I hopefully be able to take pictures of myself in my garments but you will probably be subjected to a few posts on me learning how to use it too.

2. A book, "Professional Sewing Techniques for Designers"

This book has been on my Amazon wishlist for awhile, ever since Ann, of Gorgeous Things, reviewed it. It went on sale earlier this week, a $22 savings, so I snatched it up.

3. February 2012 BurdaStyle Issue

You know I gave up Burda Style pattern magazine last year. In my opinion, the subscription price is over the top for patterns that I was no longer inspired by and the Universal newsstand where I bought the issues one off closed a few months ago. They had stopped carrying them before they closed and I just didn't have the time to troop around NYC to hunt down copies. So why did I buy this issue? I loved this dress.

The color blocking is awesome and I thought I could make it using my TNT pattern but I really wanted to see the pattern pieces so that my rendition would be as close to the original as possible. Then Audrey of Sew Tawdry went and reviewed it on PR, and I knew I had to own a copy of the magazine. I don't know if I will get to it soon (like in the next 2 or 3 weeks) but definitely before February is done...there is that 3 day weekend coming up for President's Day and it would give me the time I needed to work on the pattern alterations since it only goes up to a size 42.

4. A piece of fabric

I was in a bad place earlier in the week and the only thing that would soothe my soul was fabric. You know how it is, the imaginings of a new garment from a new piece of fabric ~ okay maybe you don't know how it is! *LOL* But it works for me and in this instance I even showed restraint and only purchased one piece along with a piece of lining to make the $35 free shipping on fabric.com. Anyway, I also found this Vintage Vogue Pattern on eBay that perfectly displayed the idea I saw in my head when I bought the fabric...

Vogue 9127 is on the left and the one I want to make

Another idea added to my sewing list...this is a piece that can be worn into early spring and would make a great work dress...so even if it doesn't get made until April it would be fine since the wool is a lightweight wool blend. Speaking of April...

5. 10 more weekends to sew winter gear
...that's including this weekend of course and also includes one more three day weekend. I worked this out earlier in the week which was really helpful in figuring out how many outfits from my sewing list have the ability to be completed. Sometimes my sewing list can overwhelm me, so knowing how much time I have left to complete it, helps me to assess what from my list will actually get made. I mean not like anyone else is as obsessed with sewing as much as I am! *LOL*

So I'm off...I want to work on my cardigan and top for the Lavender and Gray Skies wardrobe. I'm getting close to finishing up this wardrobe and I want to wear it to work this week especially since we are experiencing unseasonably warm temps for winter here in the NY/NJ metro area.

...as always, more later...

Pockets, Pockets, Pockets

2012-01-25T23:00:00.001-05:00

Last night "The State of the Union" address was given by President Obama and this morning I went to the blog, Mrs. O, to see what the First Lady wore. I missed the address because I was out. She was wearing a Barbara Tfank dress from the Resort 2012 line so I moseyed on over to style.com to check out the line. After closing out the screen, the Spring Couture 2012 lines popped up and a blue dress in the Chanel line caught my eye. I clicked in and thought I would just take a peek...

You know I ended up taking more than a peek. I ended up viewing the entire collection, then printing some pics out for my inspiration board...but as I looked at garment after garment, all I could think is that it was all about the pockets.

Now what does this remind you of:

(all pics courtesy of style.com)

And doesn't this look like

McCalls 5007 and the Rachel Skirt

Aren't these pants kewl with

the deep pockets on the side:

I just love what I can see of this dress:

Almost every model walked the runway with her hands in some type of pocket. But what struck me the most was the use of that invisible pocket that was featured in the Rachel Cormey skirt. I mean Karl Lagerfeld used this pocket quite a bit in some really creative ways...he added a satin band, he added a floral embellishment, a sequined embellishment, and the frayed edge of the fabric. I thought I was doing something when I used that pocket on my Rachel Dress but Lagerfeld took it to an entirely different level.

I have another Rachel Dress on my winter sewing list and after seeing the Chanel Couture Spring 2012 line, I'm moving that one up to the top of the list cause those pockets, pockets, pockets are doing a number on me!

...as always, more later!

It's starting to look like a collection

2012-01-23T22:43:00.004-05:00

There are now four pieces of the Lavender and Gray Skies Wardrobe completed.

The dress, the pants & the skirt are all from the

gray tropical wool using my TNT patterns.

I know hanger shots stink

but they're all I've got now!

The jacket is finished and made from the wool jersey

and sweater knit. I'm still not in love with it...*sigh*

I've cut the pieces for the cardigan out so its up next. Thank goodness because I so need to work with some color because the gray is seriously getting to me. So glad I've sewn the last piece in it...Yes!!!...It's starting to look like a collection...

...as always, more later!

Saturday Update

2012-01-21T14:29:00.000-05:00

So it's Saturday afternoon here in NJ and it's stopped snowing...I'm safely ensconced in the sewing cave with the heater going and the TV playing...more Law & Order of course! *smile*

I'm going to spend the weekend working on the rest of the pieces of the Lavender and Gray Skies wardrobe. I'm adding the facings to the jacket and hemming the sleeves then I'm moving onto the dress. If I have time left this weekend, I will work on the cardigan also. If I get all of this done, it will leave only the two tops to be completed.

As a reminder the two tops are, Simplicity 2566 ~ in the white cotton stretch fabric and I've added Butterick 3124 an out of print sleeveless cowl neck top from the cardigan fabric.

I've read the PR reviews for it and Lara's review on her blog, Thornberry. One of the first things I plan on doing is lengthening the top. Even from the photos on the pattern envelope the top is too short. If I have enough fabric I may make it dress length but that's something that I will determine when I'm working on the garment. I do like the fact that the top has side bust darts, which are my darts of choice.

Since I no longer have a photographer and haven't figured out how to take pics of myself yet...trying to decide if I want an entirely new camera...it will be a minute before I have pictures of me in the completed garments. But I am happily sewing away in my sewing cave working on finishing up this wardrobe.

...as always, more later!

Just the Basics...

2012-01-17T21:01:00.000-05:00

I finished three pieces this weekend...

I'm really missing my white closet wall these days!

...although all the pieces didn't belong to the Lavender and Gray Skies wardrobe. As you can see from above, I made 2 pairs of pants and a skirt. The pants belong to the UFO vest that I mentioned in this post. I guess the cold got to me because when I sat down to sew on Saturday I started working on the pants first. Well actually I spent Saturday cutting out all the pieces from the gray tropical wool, the lining for the pieces and pretreating the white fabric for the blouse.

I made the pants on Sunday with no changes to the way I make my TNT pattern. Except that when I made the gray & white pinstripe pair last year, I used a flat lining technique. After wearing them, I realized that I don't like the seams on my inner thighs. So even though the linings don't rub out this way, I'm not comfortable using this technique in my pants. The cheater method (serging the lining fabric to the fashion fabric and then sewing them as one piece of fabric) works so much better for me.

The fabric for the second pair is from the Vera Wang fabric haul from a few years ago. And of course, both have rayon bemberg lining in them, the stretch elastic in the waistline and seam binding in the hems.

The Lavender and Gray Skies Straight Skirt
Pattern:
TNT skirt pattern

Fabric:
Gray wool tropical from Fabric Mart

Notions:
White Rayon Bemberg lining
9" invisible zipper
2 - 1/2" steel buttons
1 yard of 2" wide lace
1 yard of gray seam binding

Again this is a TNT pattern so there aren't any new construction techniques. However, the fabric did require a little assistance. I added a 1" strip of fusible interfacing to the center back seams to stabilize them for the invisible zipper insertion...

The lace that I chose to add to the lining will also be used on the dress lining...

...and I added two buttons to the waistline...the same buttons that will be used on the cardigan and coordinating jacket.

Gawd is that stitching crooked...thank God it will be covered!

Egads, I'm gonna have to remove that...I don't think I can live with it. *sigh*

I have to admit that before I began working on these pieces I was worried that they wouldn't work with the jacket...that light/dark contrast thing. But they seem to be fine and I'm encouraged enough to continue working on the rest of the pieces.

I'm finishing up the jacket now and will move onto the dress, cardigan and shirt. I hope to finish these pieces up by the end of the month because I really want to finish off the other garments on my list before I catch spring fever.

...as always, more later!

MLK Day

2012-01-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

January 15, 1929 ~ April 4, 1968

"Now I say to you today my friends, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. I have a dream that one day, this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed - 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'

Speech on Civil Rights March on Washington, August 28, 1963

Watching the Golden Globes...

2012-01-15T21:29:00.000-05:00

Okay this is a very exciting Sunday for me...

www.yahoo.com

First the Giants Won! OMG! The Giants won!

I have to admit that I thought the Packers were gonna wipe them off the field (bad fan, bad fan!) and I could only watch the final quarter (kept updated by Yahoo) because I was watching the Red Carpet on E! But they won! They won!!!!! Next up the NFC Championship game...

Second, I LOVE red carpet season...the shows are okay and I do watch but I avidly watch the red carpet shows, check the internet afterwards to see the dresses I missed because I'm so inspired by the fashion. I'm sure you're wondering how can evening gowns inspire...but think about it. The colors that are on the red carpet are usually the new trends. I love the silhouettes and how the dresses are put together. I definitely get ideas for combinations and colors from the gowns...and my favorite of the night hands down was Angelina Jolie:

www.dailymail.co.uk

I also loved Viola Davis' dress, Kate Winslet, Claire Danes (wouldn't this combination make a great dress!), and for plus size chicks Octavia Spencer. To me everyone looked so amazing tonight! Even Sarah Michelle Geller who has already been panned for her dress.

Finally the red carpet fashion show made me think of my top five fashion movies. I own all of these except one on DVD and love them for the fashion inspiration that they provide. They are:

1. Lucy Gallant
This movie is from 1955 and stars Charlton Heston and Jane Wyman. It is the story of a woman who goes to Texas and starts a women's clothing store devoted to high fashion. One of the highlights of the film for me is the fashion show that is narrated by Edith Head. (btw I have this on VHS, I taped it from the TV one evening, have been totally unable to find this on DVD.)

2. Mahogany
This was Diana Ross' second film and was about a girl from Detroit who only wanted to design and the price she paid (giving up Billy Dee Williams - what the h*ll was she thinking!?!) to have her dream of designing her own fashion line. Okay she gets Billy Dee in the end but seriously she left him...

3. The Women (2008)
This is the adaptation of the 1938 movie featuring Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford but updated with Meg Ryan, Annette Benning, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett-Smith, etc. But my favorite part of the movie is the fashion show towards the end that features Narcisco Rodriguez's garments.

4. Valentino - The Last Emperor
This is just the most amazing display of photography...my friend called it an art show and not a movie and I have to agree! It is Valentino all the time and an awesome tribute to this marvelous designer.

and finally the one that would make everyone's list...

5. The Devil Wears Prada
Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, designer gear, and a much better story than the book! Oh yeah and the designer clothes! *LOL* ..."that's all"

So what would your top five fashion movies be?

...as always, more later...and sorry Packers fans!

The fabric collection spreadsheet

2012-01-14T19:11:00.000-05:00

Shannon of Hungry Zombie Couture is an Organizational Goddess. Seriously! Her last couple of blog posts have been about her fabric closet, how she organized & folded it and how she keeps track of her fabric. Since I'm getting ready to move my fabric from the bins to fabric shelves, these posts really caught my eye.

After moving all of this fabric from the old apartment to the new townhouse, I've decided that somewhere there should be some kind of list of exactly what I own. I have a good idea in my head but I can tell you that I definitely found pieces that I'd forgotten about as I packed up the collection. So instead of laying out and cutting my gray pieces last night, I embarked upon making my own fabric excel spreadsheet.

I decided to start with the pieces that are laying around. I can tell you that this is a very involved process and I applaud anyone who has maintained this type of database. I've entered exactly 17 pieces of fabric and I'm in awe of how much work this is. I think I'm gonna enter a few of the fabric bins before they are opened and placed on the shelves because can I say it again, this is ALOT of work! *LOL*

However, I've learned a few things:
1. Did you know that both Fabric Mart and fabric.com keep a listing of all your fabric purchases.
Now this can be a good and a bad thing. Good because I was able to find a piece of fabric on Fabric Mart's site that I purchased in 2005 enabling me to get most of the specifics onto the spreadsheet. However, they have every purchase I've made since 2005...people that's 7 years of fabric buying which is definitely the bad side.

2. Even the coupon codes are listed on both sites.
So you not only know how much the yardage originally was but what discount you received.

3. Thank goodness that I've been tagging my fabric as it's shown up. It will make putting most of the entries in very easy...time-consuming but easy.

I've only got 17 pieces entered but I want to keep this up because it's not only informative but it will be very helpful. It's just a very large task entering all of the fabric I have...guess I'll just have to take it one piece at a time.

There was a question on my "Thanks" post from Szmusil...
"Regarding wool...Once your garments are sewn, how do you care for them? Do you dry clean? Hand wash? Some other method?"

Szmusil - let me tell you first that I have ALOT of clothes. For the last few years on average I've made at least one garment a week. So most of my clothing gets one or two wearings a season. Pants get a little more wear but I'm trying to change that by wearing more dresses/skirts or my jeans to work and changing into a dress or a skirt. Okay so that was a huge aside but I think it's important to understand why I chose the method of cleaning that I have. I dry clean my wool garments and not very often because I don't wear them repeatedly. I just like how they are cleaned and how they come back pressed. I know that drycleaning is not everyone's preferred method of cleaning but it works for me.

I think I'll get to the actual business of sewing tonight so more about the new pieces soon...

...as always, more later!

In Real Life...

2012-01-13T21:18:00.001-05:00

I've wanted to do this before but I never get a full week of pictures taken and I didn't this week either. But I'm going to share the pics with you that I do have...

Monday

The revised MK dress

with a RTW cashmere turtleneck

Tuesday

The Erdem Dress

(notice it's missing the great shoes)

Wednesday

I made this skirt 5 years ago

and am wearing it with a RTW twinset

Thursday - I wore a RTW sweater dress that I got for a song so no pic. And today I wore jeans and a turtleneck with cardigan combination because we were cleaning out our storage room...and most of the staff was in jeans.

I called this post "In Real Life" because I find that many times I take pictures at home and I don't always bring "the look" to work for one reason or another...sometimes because I just don't want to cart my shoes with me that early in the morning! *LOL* Sad to say I have 2 complete sets of shoes at work and home...

Anyway, it's Friday! I'm home (jetted out of work as soon as I possibly could!) and I'm in the sewing cave with the heat pumping and the TV talking to me. I'm going to cut my basics (skirt, dress, pants) out tonight so that I can start stitching in the morning. I have no incentive to leave the house this weekend because the temps just plummeted here in my corner of the world and you know how much I hate the cold!

A parting shot:
A close up of my necklace ~ I love Heidi Daus jewelry and I just started collecting it. This is one of my favorite pieces and I love it against the Erdem inspired dress...

...as always, more later!

Thanks!

2012-01-12T00:01:00.001-05:00

Overwhelmingly, I was told that the Lavender & Gray Skies Jacket is a success in your eyes! You also supplied some food for thought with the suggestions you left in the comments section. Some of which I am seriously considering because they jive with my own thought patterns and some I'm considering because they have ignited a creative spark.

I am, however, taking the advice to withhold judgement on the jacket until all the other pieces are completed. I can see how I'm a little too close to it and even though I don't make alot of jackets, I still end up with 4 or 5 every year. So Sherrill, you are right that I do prefer cardigans but I still need jackets in my work wardrobe for certain events and meetings.

Someone asked what I do. I work for an investment bank so it's a pretty corporate environment and the only time its casual is on Fridays...and even that depends upon what type of meetings are scheduled for that day. MaryBeth, I'm definitely considering a scarf from the knit and I think I have enough left over that I may even see if I could make a sweater dress. So there are possibilities, which is why I'm keeping my mind open.

Ursula, thanks so much for your kind offer of the wool jersey but the jacket is almost done and the sleeves work for me so I don't need it. But that was very, very kind of you to offer. And to everyone who offered a solution, thank you for caring enough to share your thoughts. Please do not feel that you need to apologize or add a disclaimer when you offer your opinion. I have no problems with you leaving your comment/opinion as long as its done respectfully...and since all of you were so much more wowed by the jacket than I was, I don't think that was an issue!

I have three days off this weekend because Dr. Martin Luther King's Birthday is celebrated on Monday. I have no real plans for the weekend...so you know where I'll be...SEWING! I want to work on the basics, the skirt, the lined pair of pants and the dress from the gray tropical wool. If I'm really industrious maybe I can get the white shirt or the cardigan made too. We'll see.

Finally, I love crime dramas on TV. Give me a Law & Order (any of the spinoffs or the original), CSI Miami, The Closer or Criminal Minds marathon and I can happily sew away for hours...especially if I've laid in a supply of Mountain Dew to sip on while I watch and sew! So this year for Christmas, my daughters all gave me Amazon gift cards which I applied to the purchase of this:

It showed up this evening and now I don't want to go to work tomorrow. I want to sit in the sewing cave, slip in disc after disc and watch and sew. Seriously people, I have issues! *LOL*

...as always, more later!

Lavender and Gray Skies Jacket - Part 2

2012-01-10T00:01:00.000-05:00

Okay I'm officially back on track...*grateful sigh* My solution worked. So what was the solution? Well the "all sweater" arms was too great a contrast. One solution would have been to find more ways to incorporate the sweater knit into the jacket so the knit sleeves wouldn't look so extreme. But that wasn't the path I wanted to take with this jacket. Instead, I decided to use the small piece of felted fabric I had left to make the sleeves.

I folded the sleeve pattern in the center to take some of the width out. I cut out two sleeves from the remaining piece of fabric. Then I folded the cut sleeves in half and cut them into two pieces. I pressed the knit sleeves that I had removed from the jacket and cut the center out of them, stitching the new smaller centers onto the two each side of the sleeve. Here is how the sleeves looked flat:

With much trepidation, I pinned the sleeves into the jacket. I wish there was a way to add a drumroll here...*LOL*...but it worked. Here are a few "not so great" in progress pictures to show how the sleeve now looks in the jacket...

A bad mirror shot

A hanging shot

A view of the sleeve on my arm

Laying on the cutting table with the buttons

I'm thinking I need to invest in a new camera and move away from the point and shoot, but I digress. Because the jacket will work. It will fit around my body and will play well with the coordinates. But here's the thing...I don't think the jacket is me. Seriously. I know all of this drama and now I'm not sure. I don't know about you but there are two sides to me...my business side and my creative side...and I'm always trying to jive the two sides of me. My creative side loves this jacket...the manipulation of the fabric...adding the knit fabric...making something different and unusual. However, my business side likes a cleaner, linear line, something serious and same...this jacket ain't that!

So I will finish the jacket. And I will make the coordinating pieces because I want them. But right now, I don't honestly know if I will wear the jacket often...then again, I don't wear many jackets often...*sigh* Maybe that's why I'm on the continual quest to find "the perfect" jacket. Something I can make multiple times, have it work in all situations and feel comfortable in. I even wonder if that mythical, perfect jacket exists?

Anyway...this is my journey. This is where I'm at in the making of this jacket and wardrobe. This is my thought process as I work through the construction of these pieces...

...as always, more later!

Bits and Pieces from the Sewing Cave

2012-01-08T19:30:00.000-05:00

These are just some thoughts that rambled through my brain as I sewed these last few days:

1. I am enamored of my straight stitch foot. I put it on to sew the Christening Gown and haven't taken it off my sewing machine since it gives me such control over my stitching. I usually use my wide/zig-zag foot but lately this one has been working so well for me. So how about you? What is your favorite sewing foot?

2. I'm sewing along and I notice that something isn't right with my serger...it's ruffling the edges. At first I think it's the fabric because it is kinda loosey goosey but then after further inspection I realize that one of the settings has been changed on it. I've also done this with my sewing machine and was wondering if this happens to anyone else?

3. I love the fact that I can walk around my sewing table now. In my old apartment one main section was pushed up against a wall. In my new sewing room only one of the smaller sides is pushed up against the bins. It is pretty awesome to walk around all three sides of the table.

4. Am I the only one that has such a feeling of calm and peacefulness when they spend considerable time in their sewing room? I love how those feelings balance out the hecticness of my life.

5. The front of me is bigger than the back of me so now I use a larger front piece to make my dresses and skirts fit. Does anyone else do that? Or am I the only one cheating like that!

6. Sometimes I think I'm the only one that uses my TNT so extensively. I read other blogs or the sewing boards and people sew from patterns and I tend to sew from designs. I see a picture or a woman wearing something and I think I can make that. My first step use to be to find a pattern for the look. Lately my thought is to chop up my TNT patterns. It just makes me feel a little different and strange because it seems like everyone else can achieve those looks from patterns. Am I lazy? Do I have more imagination? Or are others just better at using and fitting patterns than I am? It makes me wonder...

7. I wish I sewed better! Seriously, I wish I was one of those sewists that did everything right and made these amazing garments because sometimes I feel like a rank amateur...*sigh*

8. Someone asked me in one of the earlier posts on my sewing room if I could tell them how I liked the floor after having living in my sewing room for a minute. Well I can tell you that the floor is no colder than any other and with the heater it is very comfortable. I love being able to sweep up scraps and pins so easily.

9. Which brings me to the fact that I love my sewing room/cave! I love having a dedicated place to sew. It has everything I need to make me happy creatively...and as soon as I get the fabric & books situated it will be perfect...well perfect to me!

10. Denise, the owner of The Blue Gardenia Vintage Pattern Site is having a sale. The details are below:

Take the left turn at ABQ and save, save, save on lovely patterns!

You're wondering— I know you are — about our annual end-of-year sale. The bad news: We didn't have it. We were in Prescott packing. We were. Box after box.

But.

There is good news: The Blue Gardenia is having a Take the Left Turn at Albuquerque sale instead. So here's the scoop:

Buy 3 or more patterns, get 35% off your total sale!
Sale prices good now through
11:59 p.m. PST Sunday, January 15, 2012
Payment must be received by Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Shop Early for Best Selection!

Happy New Year!

...I'm working on finishing up my Lavender & Gray Skies jacket, I think my solution is working, which is making me happy...

...as always, more later!

Lavender 'n Gray Skies Jacket

2012-01-07T23:25:00.000-05:00

I think I'm going to stay away from felted wool jersey because I don't think it likes me anymore. I've made several successful garments from it but lately the last few things I've made just haven't worked.

I'm saying all this to say that my lavender 'n gray skies jacket looks like cr*p! How did this come to be? Well I ran short of fabric even though I purchased 4 yards. I thought I bought more than enough to felt but obviously it shrank more than I thought both width and lengthwise. And then in a fit of inspired stupidity, I added the sweater knit to the jacket as sleeves thinking I would emulate this Valentino jacket.

www.style.com

Since this is the basis for my wardrobe, I started to get a little hysterical at the thought that I wouldn't have the main piece of the collection. And that's when from the back of my brain I pulled the remembrance of the Valentino mixed fabrication jackets. Now in Valentino's collection the sweater knit used for the sleeves matches the jacket fabric exactly...but since I don't have the Valentino designers fabric budget or influence, I used the heather violet sweater fabric that I'd bought for the cardigan.

Sweater Knit from Fabric Mart

At first I was concerned because it is darker than the base fabric but then I thought that it would be funky and fun so I went ahead and cut out the sleeves and sewed them onto the jacket. Well ain't funky and it ain't fun! It just looks crappy!

So I have to come up with a new solution. And since I had to go into work today for a couple of hours, I've only gotten as far as picking this all apart so that I have the base of the jacket and nuthin else. Anyway, I think I have a solution. I'll work on it tomorrow and hopefully this will solve the problem. If not I really don't know what I'm going to do...*sigh*...because Fabric Mart has no more of the lavender wool jersey.

...as always, more later

Sewing Designer Inspired Garments

2012-01-06T00:01:00.002-05:00

Robin left this comment on my Erdem Inspired Dress post:
"After seeing your dress, it motivated me to learn more about Erdem. Honestly looking at the runway models does very little for me. It takes too much imagination for me to see how I might make it wearable for my age, my figure and my lifestyle."

Robin I'm sure you won't mind that I pulled your comment to use as the basis for this post because I think it will help not only you but other sewists.

First let me state that I love designer fashions. I spend a lot of time on style.com, net-a-porter and other designer sites (especially the iPad apps, which I love!) peeking at details, checking out colors and silhouettes. So here are my five rules/guidelines for deciding if I can "interpret" a designer look.

1. I always look at silhouettes and never at the models.
Come on let's face it, I look nothing like the models used in publications or on internet sites. But I'm not looking at them. I'm looking at the silhouette of the dress, just like you look at the line drawings on patterns, each garment has a line drawing (silhouette) and that's how I choose if I can interpret a garment.

2. I know which silhouettes work on my body.
And here is the catch...the thing that I believe trips up a lot of sewists...knowing exactly what styles work for them. And that's really important...see I know that I don't look good in waisted dresses. I love those styles but if I want to look pudgy, dowdy and fat, I should make one of those type dresses. I like long lines. I think that they make me look slimmer, taller and more attractive. So the first thing I look for is that long clean line.

3. Color and pattern
I'm always looking for an interesting play of pattern and color. The reason the Erdem line caught my eye is because he is doing a really fresh take on the play of color, print and pattern. I honestly did not care for his Fall 2011 line...it looked really grim and Morticia Adams dark to me. However, his Resort and Spring Lines for 2012 have a lot of color and pattern. But this is what I like. Have you determined what you like? What colors make you feel good when you're wearing them? What colors get you the most compliments? What styles are guaranteed to get someone to say, "Boy are you looking good today?"

4. Does it work for my lifestyle?
I think if you have a defined dress code for your job it's easier to pick garments. But, it is also easy to fall into the bland trap which is dressing like everyone else in dull colors. I know what the requirements for my job environment are and I try to stay within those guidelines but I need color so I try to add it in my jewelry, shoes and certain pieces (top, skirt, dress).

Now to me, working in a business casual work environment, gets a little dicey because I think you need to determine what you want to look like and that's where it gets a little confusing. At my last job I worked in a business casual atmosphere and I had to chose a path that wasn't very casual but not very professional. I solved this by wearing alot of twinsets with skirts and pants with the occasional dress. I never wore a suit. The minute you showed up in a suit, you were asked if you were interviewing.

Also you need to determine what is comfortable to wear on your job. I can't imagine wearing a suit as say a kindergarten teacher. I would think it would cause a distance between you and the children. Any job where you have to wear a uniform (nurse, policewoman, contractor, postal person etc.) means that you are only determining what to wear when you're not working. A SAHM has a different need than someone going out to work and I think you have a degree of freedom that I don't have.

I'm saying all of this to say that you have to determine what clothing is comfortable and appropriate for your job or lifestyles. Now there are books on this subject, magazine articles, people who have "the credentials" to tell you how to do this. I'm just saying that this is a journey...just like learning to sew is one...so is determining what to wear.

5. Is it fresh and new and does it touch something in my creative spirit.
That is a huge thing for me when picking which designer gear to interpret. I also keep a large file on my computer and with magazine clippings to inspire me. I'm looking to the fresh, the new, the different that inspires me and makes me want to leave work and sew. It's just something that grabs me. And if you like it, copy it! That's pretty much my motto!

Now these are all my opinions. This is what works for me. This may or may not work for you and please feel free to ignore me. But I thought I would respond to Robin's comment and tell everyone that first and foremost, I don't look at the models. They are a non-issue for me! *LOL* They really are just the hangers wearing the clothing, sad to say.

And Valerie C., feel free to copy anything you see on my blog. I'm honored that you like what I make enough to want your own copy of it. Finally to my plus size sistahs, having the ability to sew means that we can have alot more than what is available in RTW and even in pattern sizes. If you have a few TNT patterns and an adventurous spirit, you can cut them up and get the clothing you want.

...as always, more later!

Lavender 'n Gray Skies Wardrobe

2012-01-05T00:01:00.001-05:00

I've wanted to make these wardrobe pieces for the last couple of months. I haven't sewn a wardrobe (series of garments) in awhile and I've been jonesing to do some coordinated sewing. So I've pulled together all of the pieces ~ patterns, fabrics and notions, for the wardrobe.

First the wardrobe pieces:
1. Jacket from Butterick 6002
This is the foundation piece of the collection. The jacket will be made from the felted/fulled lavender wool jersey.

2. TNT straight skirt
3. TNT lined pants
4. TNT sheath dress
These pieces will be made from the gray tropical wool from Fabric Mart and have all made appearances here before. They are staples in my wardrobe.

5. White shirt
I've decided to go with a non-traditional white shirt. I've always wanted to use the Khaliah Ali Simplicity 2566 pattern and the shirt included in this pattern does have a collar but its a pull-on...not a button down shirt. It also comes with a tie which I will make because I like both of these features...so that's my non-traditional white shirt.

6. Cardigan from out-of-print (OOP) Burda 8869
Burda 8869 is my go to cardigan pattern. It always works. I just have to determine the right length for this collection. I want the cardigan to work with not only the dress and skirt but the pants too...so I'm thinking this will be a little longer especially since the jacket is on the short side which will give some balance to the collection.

It's a pretty basic wardrobe but it's perfect for work. Here's a look at the fabric combination:

I had the same button on hand in two sizes so that the cardigan and jacket will have matching buttons. I really like that the buttons will tie the pieces together. I've already made the pattern alterations to the jacket pattern pieces and have begun working on it's construction.

Finally a few answers to comments left on the Erdem Inspired Dress Final:
1. Glad everyone liked the shoes. I worried that they might be a bit much with the dress but I really liked the look...especially now that I'm on the second floor and not the main floor of our office...I can look a little more fashion forward.

2. No, I didn't wear the dress on Tuesday. It was wayyyyy to cold in NYC to wear a dress.

3. These shoes are old. The brand is Bandalino and I have no idea where I purchased them from...sorry!

4. The construction of the dress really wasn't that fast. I started it last week (Tuesday or Wednesday evening) and I finished it up on Sunday. I just had to wait for a photographer to post pictures of it.

5. Dharma asked about Julie's Swatch Club at Fabric Mart. I haven't been a member of the swatch club in at least 3 years because they have such great fabric on the website that I felt I didn't need it. So I'm sorry but I have no information on the Swatch Club. However, the club is being discussed on Stitcher's Guild in the Fabric Mart 3 folder. You may find more information there.

Finally thanks for all of your kind compliments on the dress...they are truly appreciated!

...as always more later!

Designer Inspired - Erdem Interpretation Final

2012-01-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

Technically this is an easy sew...I mean I started this journey with my TNT pattern...so first some pictures:

front view

back/side view

back view

another front view with the 3/4 length sleeves

Pattern:
TNT Dress

Fabric:
1 yard wool black/white houndstooth fabric from Mood
1.5 yard ltwt. black wool crepe from Fabric Mart

Notions:
ambience rayon lining
22" black invisible zipper
2 yards of 1" black lace
2 yards of black seam binding

Pattern Alterations:
I really liked the pleats in the neckline of the designer original. So to get them, I altered my TNT dress pattern front by simply adding some space to the neckline and two pleats to the side front. I went looking for the "how-to" amongst my sewing library, but since it's still packed in totes, I honestly didn't look that hard and winged it for most of the pattern alteration. That's my disclaimer so that you know that no real technical skill was used to make the alteration.

I added four lines at the corner of the neckline. Each line was 1" apart and 3.25" long. I chose this spot based upon the placement on the designer original.

After I made the changes to my pattern, I pinched it together to make sure that it worked. I was a little concerned that when I laid the pattern piece on the fold that I was gaining about an inch in the abdomen area but I thought that the dress was suppose to be shift like anyway so hopefully it wouldn't matter. If there ended up being too much fabric in the front, I would just make larger side seams. I know so totally un-technical right? But you know the cook who doesn't use the recipe or who doesn't look at the measurements but the dish turns out great...well, that's me when it comes to sewing sometimes. Not all the time, but sometimes.

Luckily my alterations worked but it did alter the neckline of my dress pattern making the fit a little closer to my neck...which was fine because the altered neckline looks more like the designer original.

The 3/4 length sleeves are one of the sleeve options I've developed for my TNT dress over the course of the dress' history. The 3/4 length sleeves are really the perfect finishing touch for this dress.

Construction:
I've made this dress a time or two before so there are no new construction details. However, the hand of the fabric did require some special treatment.

*I added a 5/8" strip of knit fusible interfacing to the herringbone wool's neckline because it was very soft and this added some stability to the neckline.

*I also added the same fusible interfacing to the back neckline of the dress after putting the invisible zipper in because the back was a tad wobbly. I probably should have interfaced the center back seam too but it worked out okay after some steaming and sewing the lining down.

*The tucks are just basted in. I considered stitching them down but decided against it. The released tucks are more like the designer original.

*I also stabilized the shoulder seams with stay tape when I stitched them together. I wanted to make sure that they didn't stretch out since both fabrics were a bit unstable.

*The dress is lined and has a lace hem...my standard lining hem treatment.

*The sleeves are also lined because the black wool crepe is a little lightweight. I don't normally line my sleeves but as I stated before I want to wear this dress without a jacket or cardigan.

*I used what I call the Nancy's Notions method of lining sleeves. Cut the sleeve lining an inch shorter than the fashion fabric. Add a strip of interfacing to the sleeve hemline. Stitch the lining and fashion fabric together. Press the seam open. Fold the sleeve right sides together and stitch from the top to the bottom. Press the seam open. Then fold the lining inside and baste the two pieces together at the sleeve cap. Give one more good press to the sleeve and insert it into the dress.

Those were the most interesting construction highlights...it is a TNT pattern after all! But I'm thrilled with the outcome. One final thing...the net-a-porter dress cost $1,390 and my version cost $49.98 ($35 for fabric, $13.96 for lining, $1.02 for notions).

So my first garment for 2012 is done and even though it didn't appear on my sewing list, I'm glad I was flexible enough to go with the flow. Next up will be my Lavender & Grey pieces...

Parting Shot:
These are the shoes I will wear with the dress in homage to the original designer look...

...as always, more later!

Designer Inspired - An Erdem Interpretation

2012-01-02T00:01:00.000-05:00

Prologue:
I was on Vogue.com last week when I spied Erdem's Pre-Fall Collection 2012 and I fell in love. I loved his mix of prints and patterns but the dress that really caught my eye was the Jane Houndstooth & Crepe Dress from his Resort 2012 Collection. I'd never really looked at his line before even though I'd seen it in the list of designers at style.com. So this led to a little research. I found out that he is a young designer working out of London. I also went back through several of his collections on style.com to get a handle on what he liked to design and I loved his silhouettes. I also viewed his pieces on a few RTW sites and was thrilled when I found several on net-a-porter because then you can see the garments walked on a model.

So the Jane Dress, really caught my eye...so much so that I was drooling on my keyboard at work! *LOL* I mean this is the perfect silhouette for my body. It is made up in my favorite fabric of the moment, Houndstooth, and it would work for my professional work life. My only concern is that the back of the dress is a white crepe. That's just not happening in my life so I envisioned the dress with a few changes.

Day One - Finding the Fabric
After becoming obsessed with this awesome dress, I came home and did something I swore I wouldn't do any time soon, I opened the fabric bins and dug through them until I found the black and white Houndstooth that I purchased from Mood and the black wool crepe that is a staple in my fabric collection. Because like I stated before, the white back is not working for me...however...a black wool crepe back would be perfect!

I also decided to add a center back seam and an invisible zipper for ease of getting into and out of the dress. Finally some 3/4 length sleeves from the black wool crepe will also be added to the dress so that I can wear the dress as is...without sleeves means that I would need to wear a jacket or cardigan with it...which in my opinion would detract from the dress.

Day Two - Pretreating the Fabric
By choosing to use the wool crepe I knew I would need to pretreat the fabric to prevent all of my hard work from shrinking...so since I'm impatient and I was pretreating after work, I used Pam Erny's method (which I can't locate on her blog, Off the Cuff, right now...so if someone has the link would you kindly leave it in the comments section!) Basically Pam's method is to take a damp white towel and place it alongwith the fabric in the dryer and pretreat the fabric. So this is what I did, white towel, fabric with serged ends in the dryer for 40 minutes.

Then I set up my ironing board with the blanket beneath it (to cover the floor) and steamed the heck out of both sides of the fabric.

The machine prep was next...making a couple of black bobbins and changing the thread on my serger and that's where I left the project for the evening. Since I've been working on this in the evenings after work during Christmas week, the dress has taken shape slowly. Again something unusual for me, I usually wait for the weekend to sew but I just couldn't wait for this one...it was consuming me creatively!

Stay tuned for more on this dress...

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

Wishing you and your family

a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

Cleansing my palette...

2011-12-31T00:01:00.000-05:00

For the last couple of years I've written an inspirational type post for my last post of the year. However, this year I want to talk about something that's a little more personal to me. I've been blogging for six years and 2012 will make my seventh year. For the most part, I've enjoyed blogging. I've loved meeting new sewing friends, the fabric buying sprees, learning new techniques, and documenting my sewing journey.

However, earlier this year I almost gave up on blogging. Why do you ask? Because for a minute blogging wasn't fun. It was stressful and obligatory but mostly I felt like I was dodging a bullet...no matter what I said or what I wrote, there were those who were critical and mean...and I couldn't understand why.

I write and maintain my blog for several reasons and I attempt to be honest about my sewing abilities (both good and bad), who I am and what I believe. I also try to keep my opinions strictly limited to my blog UNLESS I'm asked to provide an opinion elsewhere or it's a friend's blog who respects my opinion.

Here are a few things I will admit to:
1. I am a comment ho.
I love getting comments. And right here and now I want to stop and thank each and every person who has left a comment on my blog. I've loved reading them, laughing at some of them (Rachelle), shaking my head in disagreement with others, rethinking some things because of an interesting point of view and generally just being appreciative that you stopped and took the time to leave a comment...especially when I know that you've clicked out of Google Reader to do so.

2. I like visitors to my blog.
It's really encouraging that others like to come by and see what I'm making or talk to me about sewing. However, I don't think of myself as a blogging superstar...I'm just a plus size chick that likes to sew and avidly wants to encourage others to pursue our artform.

3. Yes, I do think that sewing is an artform.
An artform, a craft, a talent...yes, I do wholeheartedly believe that. It's why I like the term "sewists" which is a mash up of the words sewing & artist. I believe it encompasses all of what we are in the sewing world.

4. I do believe in experience...
Earlier this year I came under fire because I believe that experience is crucial to a new sewist's sewing journey. To me experience isn't a dirty word...it just shows that you are taking the time to invest in your craft.

5. I do believe in enthusiasm...
No enthusiasm, no conviction, no devotion, no exhilaration or passion equals no desire to continue to sew. So enthusiasm is a must and I welcome enthusiasm for our craft from all sewists whether newbies, advanced beginners, intermediates or advanced sewists.

6. I would never deliberately do anything to hurt or defame another sewist.
We are all an important part of the sewing/blogging community. We each have a point of view and a place to stand in that community and we all appeal to different sectors of it. That's what makes us a community. And our community is full of different stratas/layers with a little something for everyone. I love that and see no need to denigrate another because they serve a different segment of our community.

7. I'm a plus size chick and that ain't changing no time soon.
I love my full breasts, big behind and bodacious arms. However, I will admit that from time to time I struggle with the size of my abdomen and that my ankles seem to swell for no particular reason which bothers me...  But on the whole I love me and I blog from the prospective of a plus size chick who has to dress and go out and work in a professional workplace. I can only be me.

8. I'm a fabricaholic.
Buying fabric makes me happy, encourages my creative process and inspires me. I fully understand that others do not share my need to possess as much fabric as I can afford and squeeze into my sewing room and I respect that. I, however, will be leaving an enormous amount of unsewn fabric for my daughters to dispose of. I hope that they laugh, cry and curse me out as they have to deal with it but mostly I hope they remember fondly my love of my craft and how I adored collecting each piece. So if obvious fabric hoarding upsets you...maybe and I suggest this with great kindness you should stop reading my blog...*smile*...because I AM A FABRICAHOLIC.

9. I'm opinionated
Especially about sewing...I want to encourage others to love sewing as much as I do. I want others to find and enjoy the creative freedom that sewing provides me. Yet on the other hand, there are times when an experience or an incident upsets or concerns me and HERE on my own blog, I want to discuss it. I'm sure that this honesty is unappealing to some but here I'm allowed to have my say. I think that with six years of posts, a multitude of garments and much money, time and effort spent promoting and creating in this artform, that I have provided a basis for my opinions.

10. I'm not going anywhere...
I love to sew. I love blogging. I love encouraging others to sew. I love sharing a new pattern, piece of fabric, sewing blogger, sewing book or magazine, sew-along, basically anything related to sewing. And after finally getting over myself, I realize that what is most important to me is the sewing journey...so I will be documenting mine for some time to come.

Now here is the important part...if you don't like my opinions, my use of the word "kewl" or "feening", my fabric addiction, my plus size figure, my experience, the fact that I'm a comment ho or that others like to follow along as I continue to grow in my craft...it's okay. You don't have to visit...you don't have to like me...you can even think that I'm a fool and disillusioned...it's totally okay because I'm not going anywhere. This is me, this is where I live and this is how I sew.

I've pondered long and hard about whether or not to write this post since everything stays in cyperspace forever...and I can actually say that it's been a long time coming. I've waited until I was no longer emotional about the incidents that have occurred during the year to have my say because I wanted to address them from a point of view that was practical and encouraging...than from the viewpoint of being hurt and bitter.

I am closing the comments section to this post and am humbly asking that you do not post comments/opinions/support to any of the other posts because I'm looking for none of those things. In this instance, I have put my comment ho self in a drawer.

Instead, I hope that you read this, smile and understand or disagree and walk away (even if you never visit again) realizing that I'm just having my say, cleansing my palette and moving into 2012 leaving this behind. I hope that you will continue to journey with me into 2012 and if so...

...as always, more later!

Year End Wrap Up for 2011

2011-12-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

It's nice to take a look back at what you've sewn because it gives you an idea of what you've made and helps you plan what to sew for the new year. I had one specific goal this year...to sew more garments from purchased patterns instead of using just my TNT patterns. I think I successfully completed this goal since I used 12 new patterns this year.

However, there were two sew-alongs that I joined which I did not complete. The first was the Jacket a Month sew-along on Stitcher's Guild. The sew-along was to encourage you to construct one jacket a month. I was pretty fired up to sew a jacket a month but stalled on my first one and only ended up with four completed. While not a total failure, I didn't complete the task.

The second sew-along that I entered was the 6pack Autumn wardrobe sew-along again on Stitcher's Guild...and again I did not finish it. I picked out the patterns and fabrics, made up a great storyboard and even made a folder in my flickr account for the wardrobe...and then nuthin'. Well that's not actually true, I came up with another idea and off I merrily went down another sewing path never looking back to start the 6pack wardrobe.

That did not stop me from completing 40.5 pieces of clothing this year. This breaks down to 26.5 dresses, 9 skirts, 4 jackets and a pair of pants. Until I tabulated this I didn't realize that I hadn't made a single top this year. Besides my TNT patterns, the pattern I used most this year was Vogue 1250.

I made this dress 6 times and I really would like to make a winter version with sleeves which was all the rage on PR. Speaking of PR, there were 62 versions (and counting!) made and reviewed. It was "The Dress of the Year" as far as I'm concerned because it fit and flattered so many different shapes!

I also did some sewing that wasn't for me, specifically The Christening Gown and the Christmas scarves.

There were three other projects that stood out this year...

1. The Versace Inspired Dress

This was a project that enveloped most of the month of February. I saw the original dress in InStyle Magazine on the way to the Dominican Republic and came home with a desire to make my own version that could be worn to work. Everything clicked for me with this project and it was a journey but I was thrilled with the outcome.

2. The Rachel Skirt & Rachel Dress

These pieces were named after the designer Rachel Comey. Originally I made the skirt from Vogue 1247 because I loved the hidden pockets. The skirt coupled with a lace cardigan made a great work outfit. So when I saw a woman wearing a dress that looked similar to my Rachel skirt, I realized that I could have a dress using the same kewl pockets.

This was my second project of the year because it took some pattern work to get the dress I desired. However, everything worked and I loved my dress...so much so that it is one of my Top 5 Favorite Dresses of 2011.

3. The Designer Inspired Dresses Collection

For my September Sewcation, I got this idea to make several interpretations of the designer dresses I was seeing everywhere. I made three during my sewcation and another shortly afterwards. I still have two on my "to sew" list and hopefully they will make it off my list and into my closet in the near future!

I sewed quite a bit less than I usually do this year and I can chalk it up to one major life event, the move and new sewing room set up in October. While it was a traumatic event (when isn't a move traumatic?), I did end up with a new sewing room/cave that I'm coming to adore. It really is wonderful to have a room to sew in instead of sharing my bedroom with my sewing machines.

Looking towards 2012...
Sewing in 2012 will involve not only garments for myself...hey, I already have a list...but also sewing for grandchildren. My oldest daughter is pregnant and hopefully will have a little girl to add to the other grandchildren. So sewing for grandkids will be a major part of my 2012 sewing.

I also want to continue using more of my purchased patterns. Not that I'm going to kick my TNT patterns to the curb (like so not happening! *LOL*) but I have a ton of patterns and I really want to take their journeys. You never know, I might end up with another V1250!

Finally a few garments from the Colette Sewing book, maybe one or two of my vintage 60s patterns and a coat...I really would like to make a coat this year...these are just a few of my sewing goals.

I hope that as we approach 2012, you too will enter it with the love and joy of sewing high on your list. Hopefully you will stay tuned for whatever sewing adventures I have this year...because I will definitely be following along with other sewists in the sewing/blogging community.

...as always, more later!

Interrrupting our regularly scheduled programming...

2011-12-28T12:24:00.004-05:00

I'm sorry I need to interrupt our regularly scheduled programming...because Fabric Mart is having an AWESOME Sale that is TODAY ONLY!!!

BTW, if anything is already 20 or 50% off, this discount applies on top of that! So what are you waiting for?! You know you got a little Christmas cash...go, shop and spread the goodness around!

Now back to our regular programming....

26.5 Dresses in 2011 (Pic Heavy)

2011-12-28T09:37:00.000-05:00

Do you remember the movie "27 Dresses" starring Katherine Heigl? I kinda feel that way writing a title 26.5 dresses in 2011. Yes, I made 26 dresses this year. I do have a dress that just needs sleeves for it to be complete which is why I called it a half. I truly believe that it will be finished soon...if not before the last day of the year...so I've included it.

As sewists, we all have garments that we prefer not only sewing but wearing, mine happens to be a dress. I'd rather wear a dress than anything else as proven by the fact that I've made 27 of them this year or a little more than two each month. So without further ado, here they are in chronological order...

The first dress of 2011 was:

The DVF Inspired Dress

2. Michael Kors Inspired Dress

I'd had this idea for a dress for quite some time and a lucky fabric buy brought it to fruition. However, I just recently updated it by removing the sleeves. They were a little tight and the dress wears fine as sleeveless with a cardigan.

3. The Versace Inspired Dress

This one was inspired by a magazine picture that I saw on the way to my corporate retreat. It was a pretty involved journey but such satisfying sewing and very rewarding.

4. Vogue 1250 - Version 1

When I first made used this pattern, I wrote in my review on PR that I probably wouldn't make it again...I went on to make it 5 more times! *LOL* This was the dress of the year for me!

5. Playing with a border print knit

This dress is made from my TNT dress pattern using a border print knit. It is the beginning of a lot of sewing with knits this year.

6. The second version of Vogue 1250

I got the knit fabric sewing bug and I altered the pattern pieces to have side seams, so I made it again!

7. 3x the charm

That's what I titled this third version of V1250. It was made to wear to church on Mother's Day.

8. A Knit Dress Palooza

Yeah I was on a roll...making knit dress after knit dress. This one was totally inspired by the fabric from Elliot Berman and made from my TNT dress pattern.

9. Butterick 5600

This dress was also inspired by a great piece of fabric from Elliot Berman. And even though it was an easy sew the dress has been worn only once because of bad button placement.

10. Christine Jonson's Princess Seam Dress

This was one of my top 5 dresses of 2011. Like I said I've admired CJ's patterns but never really thought they would work for me...this one proved me wrong and I will make it again!

11. Vogue 1250 in a border print

This is version #4 of Vogue 1250. I was seriously digging this pattern this year!

12. Polka Dot Madness

This dress is a Connie Crawford pattern ~ Butterick 5620. It didn't make up well and after two wearings it truly is a fail...but I love the polka dot border print fabric...*sigh*

13. A Little Bias

I really wanted a woven version of my favorite knit dress (V1250) so I chose Butterick 3195 an out of print pattern to use with a silk crepe and came up with this dress. It wore sooooooo well during the hot and humid days of summer.

14. Another Donna Karan stunner...

...or Vogue 1179. This is another knit dress that turned out to be a winner!

15. The Rachel Dress

Another dress that makes my Top 5. It is a mash-up of Vogue 1247 and my TNT dress pattern. I loved having the pockets in my dress, a really kewl feature!

16. A Linen Summer Shift

This is a casual summer shift from Butterick 5618 for summer weekend wear.

17. A Wearable Muslin

This dress was made from an ITY knit using an out of print Vogue 9245. I was on a roll making knit dresses. The final dress was pretty but didn't wear well...but I think that next summer I will wear it with different foundation garments to change the wearing issues that bugged me.

18. Vogue 1250 Maxi-mized

Version #5 of Vogue 1250 was a maxi version with an enhanced cowl neckline, it was a fantastic dress worn several times to weekend events.

19. Jason Wu Lace Inspired Dress

For my September Sewcation, I decided to sew Designer Inspired dresses. This was the first one of the series.

20. Heidi M. Inspired Dress

I saw this dress on The Selfish Seamstress's blog and immediately knew I wanted one. This one made my Top 5 dresses list too because it was just so kewl to wear!

21. Mixed Fabrications Dress inspired by Dries van Noten

Mixed Fabrications was big in Dries van Noten's Fall Collection for 2011. I loved what he did but need to corporatize it to wear to my job. This was my version of his mixed fabrications idea.

22. Fabric Inspired Dress

I was and still am in love with Salvatore Ferragamo's Fall Collection for 2011. So this dress is from my TNT pattern and totally inspired by the herringbone fabric used in the Ferragamo collection.

23. Another Vogue 9245

I made this up in a purple ponte knit and it just worked so well. Will definitely be making this one again!

24. Vogue 8764

I liked the empire waistline on this dress. Again I used a ponte knit for this dress especially since ponte knits have become my new fabric obsession.

25. A Vogue 1250 LBD

Yes, this was my 6th version of this dress pattern (and truly I want a 7th with long sleeves). The dress just works. It was the dress I wore to my job's Holiday Party!

26. Leather and Knit - McCalls 6395

Leather and fabric combinations were hot this fall. I combined some faux leather with ponte knit to make this dress. Another great transition dress!

Dress number 26.5:
Is McCalls 6460. The body of the dress is finished, it just needs sleeves. I need to finish it before the end of the year, I just don't know if I will.

So a recap:
~ I made quite a few dresses this year using knit fabrics. This is definitely a first for me.

~ I made Vogue 1250 six times...in a border print, maxi-mized, as a little black dress and I would like to make a 7th version in 2012.

~ I used ten new patterns from several different pattern companies including one independent pattern company.

~ Even though my TNT dress pattern was used in quite a few of these dresses, it wasn't used as much as in former years.

My top five dresses for this year are:
Vogue 1250, The Versace Inspired Dress, The CJ Princess Seam Dress, The Rachel Dress and the Heidi M. Inspiration Dress.

I know that dresses will feature predominantly in 2012 because there are three from McCalls Spring 2012 collection that I'm already drooling over. They are, McCalls 6504, McCalls 6506 and McCalls 6518.

...as always, more later!

Before and After

2011-12-27T14:36:00.001-05:00

I made this Michael Kors knock-off dress earlier this year. It was scrimped out of 2 yards of fabric and I really believe that I shorted the sleeves because they were always tight. However, when I went to put the dress on earlier this fall, the sleeves were just too dayum tight. Part of the problem was definitely the trim that I added to the sleeve's hemline and I guess the other part would be that my biceps have gained in bodaciousness.

Anywhoo, I decided to remove the sleeves...I mean it's a perfectly good dress that can be worn sleeveless with a cardigan.

So here is the before:

...and here is the after:

I simply removed the sleeves. Pressed down the 5/8" seam allowance, stitched it flat and then pressed it again. It has only slightly changed the look of the dress especially since I'd styled the dress before with a cardigan. But it will still be wearable and that's what's most important.

Finally, one of my Christmas gifts was an American Express Gift Certificate which I promptly took to Bed Bath & Beyond and bought a new Rowenta iron.

My old one was leaking and caused me much grief during the construction of the Christening Gown. I'm glad that I bought it because there is a vast difference in the amount of steam the new one is putting out versus the older one...and I never even noticed it!

Finally, it's the last week of 2011 so the next couple of posts will be my yearly wrap-ups before we barrel into 2012.

...as always, more later!

The Day After Christmas

2011-12-26T17:08:00.000-05:00

Several pics of Christmas Eve at my house:

The Little Prince opening a gift

My oldest daughter and my grandson

Ordered chaos in the gift giving

Christmas has come and gone. Gifts have been opened, children have been amazed and adults are relieved. I've eaten more good food than on Thanksgiving since I've been eating ALL weekend! I'm finally home in the sewing cave relaxing before I head back to work tomorrow.

I ended up making 10 scarves...and it's interesting...they were much better received at work than with my family. I remembered yet again why I don't sew for people! *LOL*

Anyway, here are several more versions of the scarves...

the brown velvet again with a purple & brown print

this one was passed from family member to family member before finding a home

After two days of Christmas festivities, I'm glad I'm off today relaxing in my sewing room. Even though I have to work for the rest of the week, it's abbreviated days...so I may get one more garment made before the end of the year or I may not!

...as always, more later!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:01:00.000-05:00

It came upon a midnight clear,

That glorious song of old,

From angels bending near the earth,

To touch their harps of gold:

"Peace on earth, goodwill to men,

From heavens all gracious King!"

The world in solemn stillness lay

To hear the angels sing...

Wishing you and your family

A Very Merry Christmas!

Monday Evening Musings

2011-12-19T22:26:00.000-05:00

First, thanks for all of the compliments on the scarves. I know I've been doing a lot of sewing that isn't fashion related lately but it's all encouraging me to get back into the sewing mode I was in prior to the move. And truly I miss that...I really felt like I was firing on all of my creative cyclinders before I packed everything up and moved...

...and it hit me in the shower the other morning, I need to see my fabric. Part of my reluctance to unpack my fabric and put those closets together is that once again I won't be able to see my fabric. I know that I had it in a closet before but it was easy to open and purview the extent of my collection. My fabric inspired me. It encouraged me. It pushed my boundaries. Not being able to see it makes me feel imprisoned and all bottled up...so I've taken the closets back to Lowes.

Instead I'm buying shelves and I'm putting my fabric on them. I want to be able to easily access it. I want to know where it is when I think of it. But most importantly I want to see it. So somewhere in the next couple of months, I will be transferring the fabric from the bins to shelves and hanging a curtain system to cover them. Now I say somewhere in the next couple of months because there is some sewing I want to do...

This is the fabric I pulled from the collection to make my version of the Lanvin top and skirt. I picked this one because the black & white fits into my work environment and also because I liked the black fringe on the selvedge...

Now I won't have to make my own fringe, I can use the fringe from the fabric. This will be up right after the lilac and gray pieces...which have turned into a little wardrobe grouping because I now want to make a white shirt and a printed cardigan to go with the original pieces (jacket/skirt/dress/pants)...I know right! But wardrobe sewing is in my blood and I can't deny the process cause it's crying out to be made.

Finally I'm resurrecting a UFO. I started this jacket last January as part of the Jacket a Month sew-along on Stitchers Guild (of which I woefully only made 3 or 4 pieces!) but as it has hung for months, I realized that I really like it as a vest. So a vest it will become with a matching pair of pants and a bow-tie blouse.

These projects have me so energized now that I'm surprised I haven't tossed over the scarves in favor of one of them! *LOL* Actually I'm enjoying making the scarves...so I will get them finished up because I will have some good sewing time in the next couple of weeks and I mean to take full advantage of it!

...as always, more later!

The First of the Christmas Scarves

2011-12-18T22:15:00.000-05:00

I needed a few gifts to add to my daughter's presents, and a few gifts for the office. A couple of years ago, I gave scarves to friends and acquaintances that were well received. So this year when Fabric Mart had velvet on sale, I bought quite a few yards just for this purpose. After puttering around today, these are my first three:

I knew I wanted to make infinity scarves because I didn't want to deal with finishing the ends, adding fringe or beads like I've done in the past. However, I had no idea how to proceed. So I googled "sewing infinity scarves" and found this site. Which lead me to this post on Lazy Saturdays and one more on Make it or Love it.

Since I want to make 7 or 8 scarves, having another option was thrilling to me. I have to dig through the collection to find some flannel because I really want a couple of the scarf with the gathered insert. Anyway, once I'd figured out the dimensions I needed and how to assemble them, it was just a matter of choosing which fabric to begin with.

Here are the first three scarves:

This black one is using a fabric that I bought from Sawyer Brook. I thought it was a faux leather and SB calls it that but it isn't very faux leather like to me. I had no idea what to do with it but thought I would try it with a silky fabric (polka dot silk also from Sawyer Brook) back and I kinda like it.

The second one is from a blue tie-dyed velvet. This one is made totally from velvet and is a little thick. I won't be making a total velvet one again...

The third one is from a tan embossed velvet and some left over silk scraps. Several years ago Fabric Mart had Anna Sui silks on sale and I bought alot of it to be used for linings. This silk worked best with the velvet and is my favorite scarf so far.

So for dimensions...I used anything from 12 to 15 inches for width and 50 to 75 inches for length. The fashion fabric was cut in 2 pieces and seamed. Then the silk/lining fabric was cut to the same dimensions and seamed also. Finally both pieces were pinned right sides together and sewn. I pulled the tube right side out and pressed it. Then with the ends right sides together I pinned the edges leaving a slit open. On some of the scarves I added a sliver of fusible web and on others I hand stitched them closed.

There are a few more I want to make during the week. Now that I know what I'm doing and where I'm going, I will work on a few more of these during the week. I might even make one for myself!

...as always, more later!

The Last Fabric Purchase of 2011

2011-12-16T00:01:00.000-05:00

Yes, this is my last fabric purchase of 2011. It's the 16th of December. Christmas is in 9 days and after that it's Christmas Week and New Years Day 2012. I can guarantee you that there will be no more fabric purchases until the new year...like in 2 weeks! *LOL*

This is 5.5 yards of a grey/pewter tropical weight wool gabardine and 3 yards of a periwinkle blue tropical weight wool gabardine and I'm thrilled with both. This was purchased to go with the lavender felted wool jersey:

These aren't the heaviest weight wools but with a lining and some tights they will be fine...especially since I'm hot all the dayum time now! I really like the smooth hand of these gabs...much better in person than I even imagined...and they will be perfect for a pair of pants, a straight skirt and a sleeveless sheath from my TNT dress pattern. Good, solid work garments that will be well used.

Even though I'm chomping at the bit to start sewing for me, I will be making scarves this weekend. I need a few Christmas gifts for work and I can't go back in on Monday empty-handed.

BTW, I picked up a couple of Oliver + S dress patterns. I'm sure that next year there will be some little girl's dresses coming out of my sewing machine and I'm a little excited. It's been years (especially since my baby girl is now 22!) since I've made little girl's anything so I'm really looking forward to creating precious pieces.

...as always, more later!

(my youngest daughter in my sewing room)

It's Back!!!!!!

2011-12-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's been missing...kinda floating in and out when necessary...but can I tell you that the sewing mojo is BACK! And demanding to be fed! *LOL* I don't know about you but I can tell when mine is missing because when I'm in the middle of a meeting, I'm actually concentrating on the meeting instead of doodling on my notepad underneath the table...daydreaming of things I want to make. Or making a list and carting it around everywhere making notes on it.

So yes, I can't wait for this weekend to sew! Ohmygoodness, not since before the move have I had the urge this strong! I did end up buying the silver/pewter wool gabardine from Fabric Mart since the gabardines are 30% off. I went to find a picture but I guess someone else thought it was pretty too because it's all gone. The wool gabardines are 30% until tomorrow, btw! I'm sure this fabric will make great basic work pieces, as well as, work well with the lavender felted wool jersey jacket.

On another note, my January 2012 issue of Lucky arrived last night and this Lanvin outfit caught my eye:

I had to go and look it up on style.com because I couldn't find it on net-a-porter. It's from Lanvin's 2012 Resort collection. Here's how it's photographed on style.com:

I have several awesome tweeds on hand that are easily accessible. *LOL* I believe this outfit can be made using my TNT dress and skirt patterns. My interpretation of this outfit will have longer (3/4 length) sleeves and a longer skirt (thigh length is really not attractive on me!) I really want to make this up soon...so that it doesn't end up like my Salvatore Ferragamo obsession which got no further than the pattern making stage...*sigh*

Updated to add this picture from the Neiman Marcus site (thanks Liara for pointing this out!):

But my mojo is back so who knows what will come out of my sewing machine in the next couple of weeks! I mean Christmas is coming, which means less time at work and two 3-day weekends...hopefully that will add up to alot of sewing in my sewing cave! Enough daydreaming...this weekend it will be Christmas scarves and maybe if I'm industrious a little sewing for me too!

Next, Maria asked where I buy wool jersey online with international shipping. I bought this lavender wool jersey from Fabric Mart and they only ship to Canada. However, Gorgeous Fabrics does have some in several colors and they do ship internationally. Hope that helps!

Finally thank you so much to everyone who left a comment on the Christening Gown posts. I so appreciate all of the compliments because making the dress and jacket was truly a labor of love for an adorable little girl. I never had the opportunity to make my own daughters' outfits, they were all store bought, so it was a special treat to be allowed to make one for her...even if I did go overboard! *LOL*

...as always, more later!

I've Been Dreaming...

2011-12-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

Even though Christmas sewing is up next, I've been dreaming of what I want to sew after that. And believe it or not, it's not fancy outfits that I want to make but regular work pieces. I want a few new skirts, a vest/pants combo and to finish off the dress I was working on prior to the Christening Outfit (CO).

But what I want to make more than anything is a felted wool jersey jacket. In the midst of working on the CO, I bought a few yards of a lilac wool jersey. So I set about felting the fabric and this is the result:

I want to use this pattern for the jacket:

Butterick 6002 - is an out-of-print pattern from 1999.

This pattern has been in my collection for a long time and lately I've been dreaming of this jacket. So I'm definitely making my own version and soon.

Gray is a hot color for Fall 2011...and I've wanted some gray pieces (straight skirt, a pair of pants & a dress) with a lilac topper...for a while now. The choice is whether or not to paw through bins looking for a gray piece of fabric or to just buy another piece. I'm sure you know which way I'm leaning...*LOL*

Anyway, as soon as the scarves are done, the lilac jacket will be my next project...and I'll let you know if I succumbed and bought more fabric...

...as always, more later!

Christening Outfit Final

2011-12-11T22:05:00.000-05:00

Final pictures of the Christening Outfit are below:

dress and jacket

close-up of the bodice

bibs and ballet slippers

leather ballet slippers purchased from Macy's

Statistics:
Pattern:
Simplicity 7488 - Out of print Baby Gowns

Fabric:
2 yards rayon/silk satin
1.5 yards lace

Notions:
2 yards pearl piping
2 yards 1" lace
Cotton batiste for lining
2 large snaps

Construction:
I ended up not sewing the pearls to the empire bodice of the dress.

I ended up adding snaps to the back of the dress instead of the buttons and buttonholes. I just couldn't take more small sewing.

I hand-stitched the sleeves into the jacket. Again I just couldn't take trying to sew one small circle into another. So I used small stitches and stitched them together. It held just fine. I mean people use to hand sew garments all the time right?!

I didn't make a bonnet. Her mother decided that she would use a lace headband instead and it actually worked out really well.

I spent at least 20 hours on this outfit and it was worth it but I won't be making another one of these any time soon. *LOL* The pressure of making "the perfect dress" for such an important event is not how I like to sew. To me sewing is about relaxation and exploring my creativity and pushing the boundaries. This was pressure. I'm just glad that I was up to the task!

Next up is some scarves for Christmas gift giving...eventually I will get back to sewing for me...eventually!

...as always, more later!