Slapdash and Stashoholism Confessional

I gushed about the combination underlining/faux Hong Kong finish on my Simplicity 2827 '50s dress. However, nothing gets by my amazing readers!!!!

CJ asks:
I have a "slapdash" question. I love interior finishes like this, but how did you take the side seams in 1.5 inches after you did the underlining? Did you tear the whole thing apart after sewing it, and then re-underline it? Or did you test fit by basting the fabric before you sewed the underlining in? Or do you just have almost 2 inch seam allowances at the sides? It's alterations like this that always make me afraid of doing a nice interior finish. Thanks!

Ha! You totally caught me! Actually, Elizabeth did too over email. You all are too smart! You know I don't usually muslin but just adjust as I go, so it definitely is a danger if I've done a nice seam finish before construction that I will have nicely finished but unattractively enormous seam allowances.

In this instance, it actually worked out OK, just by happenstance. Because the bodice has a cut-on sleeve, the side seam kind of morphs into the sleeve's seam allowance. The pattern was drafted with much longer sleeves--low bicep or thereabouts--which just did not look modern or attractive. I shortened them considerably, when meant essentially eliminating the bend at the underarm. Because of that, I was able to fold up that extra side seam allowance into the hand hem (catching in only the underlining for a completely invisible hem on the outside) of the sleeve and it is not noticeable or unduly attractive that I have extra seam allowance in there. There have certainly been times I've not been so lucky! And just to answer your next question, I did not do the lower hem by hand! It is over 100 inches wide, are you crazy?!?! I used my machine blind hem.

==================================

I finally made it out to G Street Fabrics' new Rockville, MD location at 5520 Randolph Road. They used to be sort of catty-corner to the metro, but moved to a new spot further away. I had been meaning to get out there and make sure it is still walkable.

Bottom Line: I still consider it walkable, but it will be a 20-30 minute walk, depending on your speed.

Short directions:
Exit White Flint Metro and make a 180 degree turn to turn around.
Right on Old Georgetown.
Left on Nebel.
Left into Montrose Plaza.

Long directions with details and landmarks:
Come out of the White Flint Metro stop and make a 180 degree turn (turn around to face the opposite direction you got off the escalators).
Walk along Rockville Pike, the large main road that will now be running along your left side.
Make a right at the first street you come to, which is Old Georgetown Road. You will walk a fair distance on Old Georgetown (my random guess is a little under half a mile) down a hill, passing large apartment/condo complexes on your left. The road curves to the left at the Harris Teeter grocery store; stay on it. Old Georgetown dead ends at Nebel Street.
Make a left on Nebel and walk about 4 blocks through a complex of warehouse and retail space. On the way, you will pass Accents Beads on your left. If you have any interest in beads or jewelry you should try to fit in a visit.

Finally, you will come to a large traditional (as opposed to warehouse-y) shopping center on your left. It's called Montrose Plaza. You can't see the G Street at first, but you will see a Gold's Gym. Make a left into the shopping center and G Street will be on your left.

The store is slightly smaller than the old location, but it is definitely not tiny or cramped, and it does not appear that they reduced the breadth of the stock. I went because I was desperate for zippers, but I just *had* to cruise past the $2.97/yd table (hey, it was near the bathroom!). I found the knit print above, and couldn't pass it up. Love hot pink, love graphic prints, it is all me.


==================================

I have plans to make several solid colored straight or pencil line skirts using the stretch wovens I got from Kashi when I went to NYC last month. I have finally come to acknowledge that you really need a slippery lining in a skirt--whether separate skirt or skirt half of dress--because if you ever wear tights with it a cotton-y interior with catch the tights and look horrible while you walk. However, I am planning to make the skirts snug to take advantage of the stretch, so I need silky stretch woven linings.

I checked out the usual suspects, Fabric.com and Fabric Mart. Neither had any kind of stretch woven lining, or silky wovens with lycra that are not officially lining but could work as such. Crazy! So I went to Fashion Fabrics Club, which not only had some great poly/lycra prints (when did I ever think I'd say that?) but also a wide color spectrum of stretch lining. I ordered the two prints above and 6 yards of a light colored stretch lining.

After a long delivery saga, imagine my dismay when the solid colored lining turned out not to have any stretch! It is listed as 2% lycra, which I know is not much, but it is seriously the most stable silky polyester I have seen. Ugh. I am negotiating with them now on the return--I do NOT think I should have to pay return shipping for a fabric that was misdescribed on the website and therefore useless to me when I received it. I really wish Fabric.com had something that would work! Fabric Mart now has a cool gray-tone Pucci-esque poly/lycra print, but I really need a solid, light color to use under non-opaque fabrics. Grrr. However, I think I have enough of the two prints above to line my skirts, and I'll be on the lookout at PR Weekend.

Vogue 1086, Tracy Reese Sundress

When I found out Tracy Reese was doing patterns for Vogue, I was very excited. But when I actually saw them, I was not so much. I love the 1092 suit but it is, if not exactly beyond my skill level, beyond my level of concentration and attention to detail. But the 1086 dress goes too far in the opposite direction--it's a cute dress, but not really anything special. Cidell argues, convincingly, that it's actually kind of great that she released a fairly easy pattern, as it allows newer sewists to sew a designer item.

However, that didn't stop me from acquiring both of them! Cidell got me the suit pattern when she chanced to visit Joann during a Vogue sale, but she wasn't able to get the dress pattern. The last time Joann had a Vogue sale it was on my list.

I checked the drawer, and drat! Only one copy of the pattern, and only in the larger size range. I was so annoyed. Here was a dress pattern that I didn't even really want *that* much and yet its unavailability made me determined to have it. (This is why I should learn how to play hard to get in dating.) So I spent about 30 minutes leafing through the entire pattern drawer, convinced that somebody must have misfiled a copy of it in my size somewhere else. I think the employees thought I was nuts (the pattern drawers are close enough to the cutting table that they could hear my steady rustling but not actually see me) and were possibly scared they had a Crazy Lady on their hands, but my obsession was rewarded when I indeed found a misfiled copy in my size.

I also found some darling cotton print fabric, and decided they were a match made in heaven. Well, heaven may or may not be missing an angel but here it is:



My biggest gripe with this pattern is that there are no finished measurements provided. Rather than rely on the unreliable sizing situation in the Big 4 (though Vogue is a misdemeanor offender compared to felonious Simplicity) I always choose the size to make based on finished garment measurements. I scoured the pattern envelope, direction sheets, and tissue, and the only finished measurement I could find was the length. Frustrating!

Based on the model photo, it looks like the dress is intended to have a relaxed fit at the midriff with several inches of ease, and I wanted to make sure I got that look. I cut an 8 in the bodice, a 10 at the top of the midriff transitioning to a 12, and a 12 in the skirt. I shortened the skirt about 2 inches in cutting and hemmed off another 3 inches or so. And although I couldn't tell what the finished bust measurement would be, I figured that it would be too much for me so I took a smidge of gathering width out of the bodice front. As the bodice gathers on top and bottom I took out a straight vertical piece. The final bodice looks fine; I probably could have left it as is *or* taken a little more width out and it would have looked ok either way. The relaxed fit gives some wiggle room.

As this was a designer pattern, the instructions included a lot of couture techniques; lots of french seams and such. Obvs, I totally ignored all that. Heh. The bodice construction is interesting as designed. The bodice has princess seams (which don't really show in the line drawing) and front and back yokes.

Only the yokes are intended to be faced/lined. However, my cute fabric from Joann was almost a batiste weight and fairly sheer so I lined the entire bodice. This had the advantage of making it easy to finish the neck and armscye. I cut the bodice lining of batiste and then assembled the upper bodice pieces, leaving the side seams and center front seam unsewn. Then I sewed together at the neck and the armscye, as shown at left. I trimmed the seam allowances very close using the serger. Then you reach up through the back, through the armscye tunnel, and pull it all right side out.

The next step is the center front seam. As others have noted: Whoa. BWOF's low necklines have nothing on this pattern. I didn't put on a bra for the pic at right, but if I had, the neckline would have showed it. It was SO LOW. And of course I didn't realize this until *after* I had twin-needle topstitched. I had to pick it out and close up the neckline a good 1.5 inches higher.

After that, everything went together quite easily. I lined the midriff with a heavy cotton sheet because I didn't want it wrinkling, and the skirt with a cotton/poly Knoppa sheet from Ikea. I think I should have gone with batiste for the skirt, though. One of the things I like about using the Knoppa sheets for lining--aside from the fact that they cost only $1.99--is that the cotton/poly kind of "sticks" to the fabric, so there's no issue with the lining twisting around or otherwise asserting its independence. However, in this project that quality sort of weighs down the skirt, which would be better served as a little more light and airy. As per usual, I pleated rather than gathered the lining to reduce bulk.

As mentioned, I topstitched everything using a twin needle. I really don't think this shows from more than three paces, but at least I took one of the designer-y "suggestions."

Concern has recently been expressed that I am losing my slapdash edge. I would like to assert my bona fides in this zipper. Ignore the fact that the midriff lines match up perfectly because I hand-basted half of it in (again, as per usual) and look at that offset at the underarm! I have no idea how that happened. And I have no intention of fixing it.

I wore this to meet up with a friend for happy hour. She does not sew but was a patient photographer, so I got some cute Urban Scenery shots. All photos are here and the review is here.

========================

And a follow up from the last post...

The lovely Vivienne, who I got to meet at PR Weekend 2006, generously offered Amy the BWOF 07-2008 she was searching out for the 108 tunic, but if someone else is still looking check out Hot Patterns 1028, recently reviewed on PR by Off the Cuff. It's not an exact match, but has a lot of similar styling.

Knip Mode Pencil Skirt with Pleats

I didn't make many skirts last year because, well, I already have a.lot.of.skirts. I was on the phone with a friend a couple years ago complaining that I didn't have the right skirt for an outfit. She made me go in my closet and count how many skirts I had. I think it was somewhere around 50. So I have slowed down my skirt making since then! That said, I am ready to speed it back up because most of my skirts from years past are A line, and the pencil line is all fashionable now. And maybe I'm just being influenced by fashion, but I think it may be more flattering on me, and unquestionably it looks better with voluminous tops, of which I've made a fair amount recently. When I saw this one, Knip Mode 11/2007 #12, it had to go into my closet.

So I don't speak any Dutch, but I'm pretty sure "Met slimme details" means you'll look skinnier so I was sold on this skirt. Actually, I just loved that assymetric pleat detail. It gives a little interest to a straight skirt without making it too crazy. I am really digging the Knip Modes I borrowed from Cidell. In a way I almost wish I didn't know it existed because now I wants and have no way to gets.

The fabric for this came from Kashi, purchased during PR Weekend 2007. I thought that I could brag that I had used all the fabric I bought that weekend within 2008, but dang it! Now that I look again I see that the blue/gray stretch woven on the lower right is still in my stash. (The maroon jersey became a hideous wadder.) This skirt is a lovely gray stretch wool (on the blue-ish end of gray, but not actually blue) with orange windowpanes. Kashi alleged it was Italian, but as Karen points out, doesn't he always?

I hesitate to point an accusing finger at Knip Mode, because the patterns seem exquisitely well-drafted, but you can see that the skirt does not hang quite right at the side seam with the pleats. I actually corrected the line a bit during construction when I first noticed the problem, but it's still not right. Normally I am happy to take the blame, but I actually made a serious effort to get grain-perfect in cutting this out. It was cut out in single layer, so it's not an issue of folding it incorrectly. I even cut off the selvages of the fabric because they were distorting the lay a little bit! So I don't know where the problem arose.

The pattern directions have you cut a straight piece of fabric for a waistband, but I really prefer a contoured waistband so I drafted one. It pulls away from the body a little bit above the pleats, another thing that bothers me. I thought this was because I was an IDIOT and cut out my single layer lining the same orientation (right side of fabric up) as my single layer fashion fabric when, in fact, they should be cut out opposite. I didn't want to re-cut so I just put the lining in backwards or sideways or mirror image or however you would describe it. That's slapdash for ya. But it bothered me so much that I actually went in, opened out the lining, and added a gusset there. No effect. So perhaps a straight waistband would be best for this after all.

As you can see, I reversed the pattern in cutting to change the pleats from the left to the right side. I prefer to have details on my right side, probably because I am right-handed. I just put the pattern piece on the fabric upside down.

Although in theory I love the higher waisted skirts that are coming in style, I think it will take a while to get used to them. They seem perfect for my body type--emphasizing a small, high waist; shortening my relatively long torso and lengthening my relatively short legs--but I felt kind of thick around the middle in this. Cidell's comment on seeing the photos (without me telling her how I felt) was that the waistline is very flattering, so maybe it's just a comfort thing. Low-rise was the thing for so long and it has been a decade and a half since I tucked anything in; maybe I just need an adjustment period.

All photos are here and the review is here.

McCall 5577 Jumper

Since I am so behind on photos and hate taking them so much, I am trying to combine project photos with travel. When I was going to NYC over the weekend for Mermaid Parade, I wore my new McCall 5577 jumper on the bus, and had my friend take photos of me at the giant button.



They're not the best, clearest pictures but at least they're done! I kind of love this little number. I bought the Ikea fabric last year sometime and have been looking for just the right project. Which is kind of ridiculous, because it's from Ikea for heaven's sake! It was more expensive than I thought it would be though, around $5/yd. It being Ikea I thought everything would be $2 and $3. I have another one that is similar circles but more widely spaced; it is still looking for a pattern, something with a little fullness because otherwise the circles will look too lonely because there will be only a few of them.

I was hoping I could wear this to work, but I'm not so sure. To get it to look right I had to hem it pretty short (though I accidentally wore a short skirt to work yesterday--it kept riding up and nothing I did kept it down--so I suppose that barrier is broken). Also, I mean, it is a little child-like (I refuse to use "childish"). However, I think for Fall with a 3/4 sleeve tee and bright colored tights I'll probably be wearing it to work anyway! Maybe for Summer it will just be play clothes.

What's slapdash, easier to see in a closeup shot*, is the little bubble at the right front yoke (right when I'm wearing it, left when you're looking at it--even though I interfaced the outer yoke) and that despite my best efforts, ripping it out once, and sewing from the center outward in each direction, the center circle motif is not at the exact center of the yoke. I'm frustrated about that. All photos are here, and the pattern review is here.

*It's not really a closeup, I just cropped the picture. It's a little pixielated and low quality because it was dusk and there wasn't really enough light, but you can see well enough.

Green Coat: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

I already exhaustively catalogued the emotional issues surrounding the green coat, now it's time for the nitty gritty.

The Good

This jacket has really exceptional design. Now, I'm not talking about the style here, although that is fun and a little different than anything else on the market. I'm talking about the actual pattern draft. Sewing it is a treasure hunt, searching for the next really cool bit of design. I was truly humbled by the skill and ingenuity of the drafter, and I felt like it was really a sewist's pattern--the result is great, but it's the almost invisible features that keep you interested.

This was exemplified most by the sleeves and the collar area.

The three piece sleeve is just ingenious. It is the hybrid love child of a raglan and a set-in. The movement ease comes from the design--there was no easing involved, which was a big part of why I chose it. Easing heavy fabric is painful, and even with three pressing hams to choose from I knew I wasn't going to get a good eased sleeve cap.

It's sewn in using an alternate in-the-flat construction (I have recently been converted to inserting sleeves in the flat). You sew the middle sleeve to the back sleeve, then sew the front and back sleeve units to the garment, and last sew the shoulder and front/middle sleeve seam as one. Very clever and very much easier to construct in heavy wool than a traditional sleeve.

The collar area also has a lot of moving parts that add up to a really interesting design.


This was a little confounding at first. I couldn't get the pieces to fit together. The back facing was the problem. I hate facings and haven't used one in so long that I had to call Cidell and make sure that the narrow part of the facing goes around the neck. She said yes. But it wasn't working. I turned the facing upside down and everything went together. There was no indication in the instructions or on the pattern (such as through the use of seam numbers) that this was correct, but Melissa at Fehr Trade reached the same conclusion in a different BWOF jacket so at least I am in rareified company!

I was nervous about doing both parts of the collarstand in the heavy wool--it was a thick fabric for such small pieces--but in the end decided using lining for one of them wouldn't look right. It turned out not to be as difficult to wrangle the fabric as I feared, and when it was done I saw the cool disappearing collarstand effect that gives a nice collar roll in back (after I hand sewed in the ditch between the collars as shown at right) while maintaining the tidy little 60s collar look in front.


The Bad

Other than not understanding some of the instructions, I only had one beef with this pattern. There was some sort of issue with the sleeve draft. You know how when a knit shirt gets stretched out by a hanger and has a weird bubble on your upper arm a couple inches below the shoulder? It looked exactly like that about three inches down from the shoulder at the front/middle sleeve seam. I kept flattening the curve more and more; in the end I think I flattened it about half an inch and I think I still see a bit of a phantom pooch.


The Ugly

The ugly is all me. I couldn't get the back point straight and centered.


I ripped it out a couple of times but that was the closest I came. I ended sewing one leg of the point by machine and the other by hand because I couldn't even get the machine to go in there. Check out how many layers I was working through there! I clipped the point of the upper back all the way to the stitch line, but it still didn't give me enough room to get it right. I am sure a more skilled and patient sewist could have done it, so I'll call it what's slapdash about this project.


Making it Mine

I had to add some little touches to make this coat mine. And what's more me than pink? Rather than the depressing lining I originally chose, I ended up with a bright pink paisley poly print from Joann.


I used it for my pocket welts, and wanted to bring it into the rest of the coat somehow. I found a place for it on the back belt, cutting it about 1/2 inch wider than the coating so it would roll out over the seam allowances. Then I got the idea to add a sleeve belt, as I wanted to do something fun with the sleeves and I like sleeve belts on RTW coats. But I was in sort of a quandary. I knew I was going to use my Pacific Trimmings closures instead of buttons, so I didn't want to introduce buttons on the sleeve belts. But how to make sleeve belts without buttons? By sewing the ends into seams. I debated which seams to use for the sleeve belts and finally decided only to do little ones over the middle sleeve. It's an unusual look but I think it works. I also brought the lining fabric near the face by cutting the undercollar of it.


If you just can't get enough of my endless prattling about this coat, you can check out the review. If you just like pretty pictures, you can visit the photo album.

Grain? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Grain

When I was writing my review of this Simplicity 4074 dress it was nagging me that I couldn't remember how I arrived at the length. I am petite (i.e., short), long-waisted, and can't wear any skirts between knee and lower calf because they make me look stumpy so as a general rule I shorten skirts a lot. Normally, I fold some length out of the skirt about halfway down, and then chop a bunch off the bottom before hemming. For some reason, I couldn't remember taking any off the bottom before doing the hem finish. Now, I did do this project in two hours on a Tuesday night well over a month ago, so it's not surprising I don't have much by way of clear memories, but it was still needling me that I couldn't recall.

Then I remembered! And I remembered that when I had been making it I was like, Hoo boy, that's one for the blog.

I learned to sew from my mom. She sewed a lot when I was a kid so most of it was by osmosis rather than formal instruction. When I started doing proper sewing with real patterns (rather than hand-sewing barbie clothes) around age 13 or so, she helped me out when she was able but unfortunately she suffered from unmedicated bipolar disorder so most of the time she didn't have the patience and I just muddled through on my own rather than risk her unpredictable wrath. So there are large gaps in my sewing knowledge. In a way, this was freeing. I had no idea knits could be intimidating, for instance. If I wanted to do something I'd just wade right in and do it (except for fly fronts, which still TERRIFY me). But I was certainly doing a lot of things "wrong."

One thing of which I knew nothing was grain. I mean, I knew you folded the selvages together for cutting, but I didn't realize you were supposed to be all precise in doing so. And I didn't know there was a difference between grain and crossgrain. I just laid out my pattern pieces any which way so as to do it the most efficiently.

Joining Pattern Review and coming in contact with other sewists--which I do not do in my real life--has been a real education for me. I am not quite fastidious about grain, but I am certainly aware of it. I try to get the proper grain when folding my fabric for cutting, and now if it is at all possible I cut everything on the same grain and nap.

Well, this dress calls for 2 3/8 yards. I think I had 2, but it may have even been a generous 1 1/2 yard cut. Even shortening the skirt and the sleeves left me unable to fit all the pieces on. I was *determined* to make this dress so I took a deep breath, pretended I didn't know better, and cut the front on the crossgrain.



Since this knit, while not actually a slinky (too lightweight), has a slinky-like hand and rib I knew I could be setting myself up for disaster. Slinky is notorious for growing and growing and so there was a distinct possibility that the different components of the dress would grow at different rates and I'd end up all misshapen. That was part of the reason I did the zigzag finish on the hem. I figured it would be easy to just cut off any part that had grown and re-zigzag (instead of having to take out a hem, recut, and rehem). Well, that and the fact that I'd had to cut it to the exact length I wanted it because of my limited fabric. So far so good, though. Maybe the fabric is lightweight enough that it's not going to grow.

I'd say cutting a piece--in a knit, no less--on the crossgrain counts as slapdash.

BWOF 10/2007 # 114, Kimono Top

This pattern was the sewing course for the October 2007 edition, which I don't quite get. It's a pretty easy knit top that could easily be made with no instructions at all. Maybe Burda is trying to welcome the new sewist by choosing an easy pattern, and assumes that those of us who are old hand at it won't be in the least intimidated by making a lined jacket with a complicated closure with only a few cryptic words and no illustrations. The original has a tie neck, which I found a little too va-va-voom for work, so I left the neck plain.

The bottom half of this shirt is doubled so the lower hem is actually a fold. This is sort of a novelty design that I feel eh about having completed it. Doubling the amount of fabric that clings to my belly? Not really a Dress For Success strategy for me. I also didn't like how they wanted you to finish it, which was to sew the doubled bottom piece as one to the top and then "neaten the edges." If you have a serger this might be ok, but even then you're going to risk having some seam allowance show through. Here's what I did instead. (Click on the pics to see larger versions.)


First, sew the doubled lower bodice as one to the upper bodice to within about two and a half inches of the top.



Next, by machine sew the outer layer of the lower bodice to the upper bodice by machine, being careful not to catch in the inner layer.



Fold in the seam allowance of the inner layer of the lower bodice, finger press the seam allowance of the upper bodice down, and handstitch the lower bodice seam allowance in place.



The final result eliminates danger of seam allowance show-through and is a lot tidier than the original instruction!



Now, if I weren't so slapdash I would have hand-sewed the entire inner layer to the outer layer, but that would have been way too much work.


I had another issue with the pattern--the lower bodice as drafted is way too short, and also a little tight for my taste! I added four inches of length to the lower bodice (for a cumulative gain of two inches), and about an inch and a half in circumference.

In the end, I don't really love this blouse. This is not the most flattering for a woman with a small bust and I epitomize the woman with a small bust. I kind of hated it when I first finished it, but when I put it back on to take photos I don't so much hate it as feel indifferent toward it. Give it a few more weeks and I might even like it.

CHEAP ASS MOOD FABRIC

Cidell loaned me a couple of issues of BWOF (before she gave me a subscription for my birthday and got me well and truly hooked) and one of the projects that really caught my eye was this blouse, from the 6/2007 edition, #127. It's even a petite, so I didn't have to adjust anything. It didn't grab me at all from the photo, but the line drawing showed its true potential. I didn't see it as a short sleeve blouse (as designed) with that high necked collar. Then I got the idea for a long cuff to go with the Edwardian kind of collar. Here's the photo gallery.

My main challenge with this project was the fabric, or, as I kept referring to it when on the phone with Cidell, the CHEAP ASS MOOD FABRIC (and yes, I was shouting). This was part of my PR Weekend haul. We were looking in the cotton shirtings section and I found this gorgeous polished cotton gray with tiny pinstripes and had to have it. It was $12/yd, which seems an awful lot for cotton shirting in life (though not at Mood), and there was only a little over a yard left. I was so excited to work with it. I was pressing the first seam, admiring the beautiful sheen of my "polished cotton" when it began to melt under the iron. AAAAARGH! That is so sucky! Mood totally screwed me over, selling me some cheap-ass melty fabric for $12/yd by putting it in with the cotton shirtings.

I was really stretching to fit the pattern onto the fabric. There was a little less than a yard, and the exposed edge had been swatched mercilessly, taking away even more length. When I was done, all I had was a minuscule pile of tiny scraps. I read The Good Earth in junior high and all these years only one scene has stuck with me. The protagonist goes to meet his first wife and at that time he was a humble farmer. He said all he wanted was a woman who could make a kimono so efficiently that you could hold the scraps in your hand. (Figures I'd remember the sewing scene!) This project came pretty close.

Because I did not have enough fabric to recut the left center front panel the gathered part of the left bodice is hard and rough and melted. Ugh. It put me in a really bad mood for the rest of the project because it was ruined from the very start. And although I knew it would *look* great at the end, *I* would always know that it was poor quality because of the CHEAP ASS MOOD FABRIC, and I really hate putting a lot of work into poor quality materials. I considered abandoning the project, but I refused to be defeated by Mood and its CHEAP ASS FABRIC.

In the end, the project does look great. But I did some stupid things because I was just so mad and distracted, like forgetting to interface the plackets (which I think qualifies as What's slapdash about this project). The lower placket turns under and shows my belly so I have to unpick the stitching and interface it (with a very cool iron) and then stitch it back up. I haven't done this yet. Maybe when I'm giving a sewing lesson on Saturday I can wield the seam ripper. I also need to shorten a few of the button loops because there are a couple that are a tad too long and don't stay buttoned. But I love the look of them and also the totally awesome Dior buttons that came in one of Cidell's 4 lb bags of buttons from Fabric Mart. It's a couture blouse! Made out of CHEAP ASS MOOD FABRIC.

Patrones 252, #9 Sportmax Blouse

When Cidell loaned me her Patroneses (which always makes me think of a Patronus from Harry Potter), the first--and perhaps only, now I think about it--project she pointed out she was in love with was this blouse. I smiled and nodded and thought, OK, that's kind of weird.

But then the more I looked at it, the more I liked it. Something about the drama of the sleeves was calling to me, and I traced it out.

I bought the pinstripe fabric from Kashi when I was in NYC for the Mermaid Parade in June (here's the other fabric I got on that trip--this is the third project from that haul, which isn't *too* bad). I didn't really have a specific project in mind, just knew I wanted shirtings because I never have any when I want them. In fact, though I have yards and yards and dozens and possibly hundreds of yards, I never have what I want when I want it. But my fabric buying habits are a story for another time. Anyway, I got the fabric home and decided it would be perfect for this pattern. So I let it age. For months. And then finally picked it up.

It worked up pretty quickly and easily, as quickly as a blouse does at any rate. Blouses are a huge timesuck for me. I don't know what it is. The collar? The placket? The buttonholes and buttons? It always takes double the amount of time to sew that I estimate, hours and hours more than it seems like it should. I don't know why that is, nor why I keep making them! This is the third one in the past few weeks.

I like to find the designer reference Patrones uses for its designs so I looked at Sportmax's Spring 2007 RTW show (in case you did not know, as I did not, Sportmax is Max Mara's bridge line, or RTW line, or something--I should really learn the definition of all the types of lines). Oddly, there doesn't seem to be one. For all the other Patrones projects I've done, it's been a direct copy of a runway look.I looked at the other shows and it didn't come from an earlier season. I found a blouse with a drop shoulder and full sleeves, but they aren't gathered at the hem, at left. And then there was a dress with full sleeves gathered at the bottom, but the shoulder was at true shoulder and they're longer than the sleeves on Patrones's blouse, right. A mystery.

What's slapdash about this project? Probably the buttonholes. I'll admit it, I kind of just didn't want to have to wind a new bobbin of the light blue, and I wanted to use up the dark blue. I genuinely did intend to have the color blending and the bright blue buttonholes on the reverse, but it was kind of born out of laziness.

So Patrones's instructions are not models of clarity. There's the minor problem that they're in Spanish, but my Spanish is OK and having worked with so many of them by now I know a lot of sewing vocabulary (though I can't pretend there aren't still words that mystify me and elude translation). Perhaps the kinder descriptions would be "zen and spare" rather than "short and useless." Below is a direct translation (or as direct as I can get). As you can see, it leaves a lot to the imagination:

Patrones 252 #9
Sportmax Blouse

Number of pattern pieces: 5 (from 15-19)

Fabric: 2 m of 1.4 wide fabric in striped cotton

Cut:
17 Blouse front (cut two)
16 Blouse back (cut on fold)
15 and 15A Sleeve (cut two)
18 Cuff (cut two)
19 Collar (cut two on fold)

Construction:
Sew front and back darts.

Sew shoulder seams.

Pass a double gather in the sleeve cap and sew into the armholes.

Sew sleeve and side in one continuous seam.

Pass a double gather at the ends of the sleeves.

Apply fusible interfacing in the middle of the cuffs on the wrong side, iron, fold right against right, sew the short end, turn, and sew to the end of the sleeves, tightening the gathers and forming a pleat at the middle of the cuffs. Turn cuffs.

Fold the front placket and secure with a backstitch.

Apply interfacing to the wrong side of one collar, iron, and unite the two collars right against right. Sew the upper edge to mark A. Trim the seam allowance a little, turn and sew one layer to the neckline to mark A. Turn the layer opposite. [It’s not noted but assume here you hand stitch the other layer in place on the inside.]

Make hems, sew buttonholes, sew buttons.

Using Up Scraps

So, sewing the whole wardrobe from stash was quite a challenge. I have been aggressively buying fabric this year--I totally can't deny that--but I have also been aggressively sewing. I'm at 83 yards sewn in my rough tally on my PR profile; there are about 4 or 5 yards not counted in it yet; purchases are recorded at 93 yards. I had plenty of stash built up before the year started, of course, but I have outgrown a lot of it/become more of a fiber snob. I was really scraping to get enough fabric in coordinating colors to fill out the wardrobe, which helped me look creatively at some smaller pieces of fabric I had.

The floral print here is a beautiful print in colors I love on a hideous fabric. It is almost impenetrable by a needle and is a misery to sew (though a stretch needle, knock on wood, seems to work almost well). It has a great drape, though, and the print is really nice. I bought it to accent an infinity dress I made last year. I lined the straps with it and made a reversible tube top of the dress fabric and the print fabric. It was kind of a disaster. Lining the straps made them way too thick and ugly where they were knotted together, so I ripped out the looooong long seams of the straps. The fashion fabric is really cheap and thin and rolls together really terribly so I started ironing interfacing along the edges to give it enough body to be hemmed but got bored of it and gave up about 1/4 of the way through. I guess I can pull it out for the UFO contest.

Anyway, this is why I had only a little bit of this print. I had just enough to cut out the upper bodice. The scraps from it were quite small. It was pretty serendipitous. The blue heavy knit is from my Mermaid Parade costume and there was more than a scrap left of it, but less than a full yard (I still have plenty to make a skirt). I was pretty pleased with my resourcefulness in combining them, using up stash, and making something to fit in with my wardrobe colors.

What's slapdash about this project are the sleeve bands. I didn't measure how wide the sleeve openings were, just cut binding pieces that "seemed" long enough. They weren't. Rather than measure and re-cut I stretched the bindings to fit the sleeves. This looked horrible so I ripped it out. Again, rather than actually measure I cut some extension pieces. The bindings still weren't quite long enough so I stretched them to fit on the under part of the sleeve. They don't look horrible like before, but are not quite right if you know to look for it (which nobody but you will). This is an instance where being slapdash is pointless and stupid. It would have been *easier* and *saved time* to measure in the first place. I even knew that at the time. I just like my slapdash ways.

You can read the review if you'd like.

Raglan Sleeve Jacket

I am finally getting around to doing my entries for One Pattern, Multiple Looks! A two month contest and I do all the sewing the last two weeks. Typical. You can read the official pattern review here.

A note on the pic--I made the dress I'm wearing for my 22nd birthday! Eleven years ago! I hadn't worn it in *years* but held onto it this long because I made it the summer after I graduated college, when I was a live-in nanny for one of my professors. His daughter's birthday was also in August and I made us matching dresses. Although I was very close with the family when I lived with them, for some unknown reason (I mean really unknown) they stopped communicating with me when I moved away for law school. It was quite painful to lose what felt like "family," especially because I didn't know why, and this dress was one of the few links I had to them and that time. Well, everything really does come back in style because with the current maxi-dress trend I wore this work Monday and felt completely stylish. I'm glad I never got rid of it.


This is the first variation on this vintage 1978 Stretch & Sew pattern (#1582) purloined from my mom's sewing room.

I have been using this pattern for over a decade now, which is a little scary! I think my first version was for a costume based on the 1990s Kenneth Branaugh/Emma Thompson movie version of Much Ado About Nothing, a really lovely movie if you haven't seen it. Try not to think about what happened between them afterward. Then there was the orange floral calico one I still miss. It is bad for me to be able to remember--much less miss--specific garments I have gotten rid of. Cleaning out my closet is emotional and difficult enough without knowing that I won't necessarily forget about something the moment it's gone and realize I was silly for getting all sentimental in the first place. I just need to remind myself of the hundreds (hundreds! I tell you) I have gotten rid of that I don't remember. Like the gray v-neck sleeveless t-shirt dress that was a little too short. Wait, I remember that one, don't I?

So, what's slapdash here? Mostly the matchup between the lining and the fashion fabric. I'm pretty sure I put the fashion fabric sleeves in the wrong sides (meaning backwards--left sleeve in right side, back of sleeve to front of garment and vice versa), because I had to trim down the sleeve at the neck a *lot* to get it to line up with the front neck edge. There appeared to be some major iron shrinkage going on, even though I pre-washed and dried, so that made the matchup wonky too. I had to pin the two pieces together at the neck and then trim off the bottom, then sew the sides and back together, turn, and then do another trimming & trueing before sewing the neck casing. And then I had to get the sleeves the same length! I don't know if this counts as slapdash because I actually did try to get it right, and I think I did ok because I don't notice any distortion anywhere.

Here's the "official" picture of the front curve topstitching.









Here's the other side:






I think that little point counts as slapdash.

Patrones 253, #40 Philosophy Shirtdress

Another pattern from Patrones. I am addicted to this magazine's patterns! Thanks a lot, Cidell. The official pattern review is here and the web album is here.

I said it in the review and I'll say it again here: I was verrrrry doubtful about this dress as it was on the sewing machine. Usually I love the process of trying on a garment as it slowly goes from flat fabric, to cut out pieces, and on through the process of assembly. It's so fun to see it take shape and become real clothes. With this one, at every step I was afraid I should just cut my losses and abandon it. It did not look good until the only things left to do were buttonholes and hems. Then I started really liking it, and now I love it.

I never wear anything with a fully buttoned neck, partly because I think my collarbones are one of my good features and partly because I love to make and wear jewelry so I always wear a necklace (this dress gave me an excuse to fire up the torch and make the earrings to go with it). I think with the buttoned up placket, rounded collar, and wide belt the style is a little Gothic Lolita (here are some photos from flickr for examples), which is not normally my style and plus my age makes it kind of laughable, but I am drawn to all things costume-ish so I guess it's not that surprising that eventually I'd end up with something Gothic Lolita in my wardrobe. I will not be carrying a teddy bear while wearing it, but I cannot guarantee I won't carry a parasol. I got one last summer that I carried a few times, and was told I was fabulous while walking around in Logan Circle (a gay area of town). That's my stamp of approval. Actually, I think I get catcalled more by gay men than by straight men. Perhaps this is another piece to the puzzle of my singleness. Straight men do not appreciate my style.

So I'm sure you're sitting there going blah blah blah yadda yadda, let's get to the good stuff! So here's what's slapdash about this project: the tucks. I carefully chalk marked the tucks on the inside of the underlining. I considered thread tracing, as Cidell did for her eyelet dress. That lasted about 8 seconds and then I laughed and went back to chalking. I pinned the tucks as drafted, and it seemed it make the front too small, so I made them half as wide as drafted. The dress didn't have enough shape when the tucks were the same width all the way down, so I took them in a little around the bust (why not around the waist? It just didn't feel right. I think taking them in at the bust somehow makes it look bigger because they curve around it.) The slapdashedness comes in where I didn't take out the old stitching. So there are two rows of stitching where I took the tucks in. You can't see from even two feet away, so I figured eh, I'd save myself the work. Also this fabric is quite delicate and I didn't think it would take well to the seam ripper.

In fact, the delicateness of the fabric is my only grip. I don't know if it came like that or happened in the wash, but there are two large holes in the fabric near the hem in the front. They are each about the size of a quarter and the fabric has just disintegrated there. I didn't notice them in cutting and didn't have enough to recut the entire front. I patched them from the back with fusible interfacing, but after a few washes I think they will be out of control and ruin the dress. I am pretty upset about that. I guess I'll have to hand wash this one, not getting the hem area wet (and certainly not agitating it) if I can help it.

Vogue 5766

This fantastic bathing suit comes to you courtesy of the lovely Sherril Miller of Pattern Review. I posted on the message board looking for an Ethel Merman style swimsuit, like those on mybabyjo.com. I google image searched Ethel Merman before posting my question, and came up with a number of drag queens and many pictures of a stately, handsome older woman. I was curious that there were no pictures of her in a swimsuit, her signature look, but figured that she must have grown out of her bathing beauty phase. It did not, of course, occur to me that I had the wrong person. Several people gently pointed out to me that I meant Esther Williams. It's the historical pop culture questions that always stump me on the crossword, too.

Anyway, Sherril said that she believed she had in her possession such a pattern, inherited from her husband's grandmother. And offered to send it to me! That is a generosity of spirit! She was laid out flat with back spasms, and even still managed to send her husband to the PO to send it off to me with a quickness. I was so touched and amazed, and knew I had to make the pattern immediately.



I used the fabric I got from NYC during pattern review weekend that I had leftover from my Alberta Ferretti knockoff. Having finished it, I don't think the pattern is shown to its best advantage in a print. The print is all distorted by the ruching and I think that distracts from the lines of the suit. Oh well.

So, what's slapdash about this project? Rather than do any pesky measuring, or perform algebraic geometric surgery on the pattern to get it to, you know, fit, I just cut out the lining as drafted and then kept taking the darts and seams in and in until it fit. That's why they invented lycra. Then I kinda sorta figured out where I had taken it in the most and cut out the fashion fabric layer a little smaller in the those places, and then sort of ruched the whole thing together. It worked out great.

You can maybe see a little bit of how much I took it in in these pictures of the lining after all the sewing but before I trimmed away the seam allowances.



I don't think this swimsuit can actually be worn in the water. With all that fabric it's pretty constricting, and I think the weight of three yards of wet lycra would pull me under like a riptide. But I will look freaking adorable sitting on a chaise longue at the beach with an umbrella drink in my hand, no? Anybody want to offer their beach house on the French Riviera (with cabana boy) in which to practice my styling and profiling?

You can see the web album, with way more poses and angles than is necessary, here.

The pattern review is here.

Patrones 252, #4 Celine Blouse

Another project from Patrones, a Celine blouse. And a really terrible picture of me. I look stoned/greasy and my eyeliner is a little smudged. I promise this was taken after a sewing binge, not a substance binge.

What's slapdash about this project? Mostly the yoke area. I really did try to decipher the Patrones directions, but ultimately could not make heads or tails of them. We'll blame it on the fact that I haven't taken a Spanish class in 15 years. And the fact that that means I am old and not as sharp with the mentalness now.

What I ended up doing, which you can read about on Pattern Review, was to finish the inside edges of the yoke and the placket, and then just sew them together. Four layers of fabric and their seam allowances? Not a really great looking seam. Also, the seam allowance of the four layers of fabric and their seam allowance peek outside a little, as you can see here.



Luckily my sad little wilty bow mostly covers that up.

Also, the hem is uneven (two different lengths at the placket) and I am too lazy to fix it. Yes, I am that lazy.

I am enjoying nit-picking myself. I guess confession is good for the soul.

Patrones 252, #53 Calvin Klein Dress

Let's play: What's slapdash about this project?

You can read what's not slapdash about this project on Pattern Review. This is where I lift up the hems and reveal the dirty secrets.

Speaking of hems, that's what's slapdash about this project. I knew I didn't want a stitched hem because it would be too obtrusive. I was hoping for a raw edge hem--this is a knit, after all. But I can't cut straight, especially on bias cut fabric with dull scissors. I really need to get them sharpened. But that would be so un-slapdash of me. The problem is I don't know where to go to get it done, except occasionally Joann has someone come in and do it. But I'd have to leave my scissors there (the person, naturally, is not there on the weekend when people who, say, have a job can come) and I don't think I can live without them for a week.

Annnnyway, after a lot of patient chopping I realized the raw edge was never going to work. In the chopping there was a little, um, unevenness created. I decided I actually liked the top being shorter than the lining. Much of being slapdash involves labeling a mistake a "design feature" and calling it a day.

To finally make the hem I resorted to the ultimate in slapdash: fusible web. Even I hate resorting to fusible web because it says "I give up" in the biggest possible way. But hey, the hem doesn't look half bad!

This is also slapdash in that the back lining is cut on the grain, while the front, front lining, and back are bias. I didn't have enough! And this is a knit, fer crying out loud. Bias knit? Those crazy Spaniards and their incredibly awesome pattern magazines.