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.

A Wine Gift Bag with Pocket

The Sew Mama Sew blog did 30 days of handmade gifts in November, links to all kinds of tutorials and gift ideas for the sewist (here's the compiled list). It was a really fun read and there were lots of ideas that sparked my interest. I especially appreciated all the generous people who have posted tutorials. So when I found myself needing to create a wine bag, I thought I should spread the wealth.

After law school I clerked for a judge (two judges, actually) and he recently celebrated his 20th year on the bench. I didn't want to get him any tchotchkes or dust collectors, so I figured a nice bottle of wine is always appreciated. This occasion called for heartfelt words, not a scrawled signature on one of those little cards with a punchy hole threaded through a drawstring, so I puzzled a bit about how to attach a real card to a wine bag. I thought of punching a hole in it, but that's just not classy. Then I thought of a pocket. Of course!

This method works only with fabric that is attractive on both the right and the wrong side. Jacquard was an easy choice here.

Start by measuring your wine bottle against the fabric. I ended up with a rectangle 24" long and 13" wide. This should work for any standard bottle of wine. If you have champagne or a magnum, you'll need to do custom sizing. My pocket ended up a little tall, so I could have shaved an inch or two off that, but it was totally fine.


Next, fold up what will be the pocket based on your bottle size. Mine was 9 1/2 inches from the raw edge of what would eventually be the pocket.


Mark the pocket foldline.


Turn the pocket and top edges under. I did about 3/4 of an inch, and double folded them to hide the raw edges. They need to be hemmed on the opposite sides from one another--the pocket toward the wrong side and the top toward the right side (or vice versa--it doesn't really matter).


Now stitch along the pocket foldline you previously marked, with the finished pocket edge wrong side out.


Once you've stitched the foldline, you need to sew the side seam. I did a French seam so it would look all nice. To do so, fold the pocket up along the seamline, wrong sides together (so the bag looks as it will when finished). Make a narrow seam along the side, and finish with a zigzag. Next time I make this bag, I will sew a ribbon into the side seam at this point for tying around the neck of the wine bottle. I had a hard time keeping the ribbon in place on the finished gift.


To complete the French seam, turn the bag wrong side out and stitch the side seam again, encasing the raw edges of the first seam.


Turn the bag right side out and voila! Slip in your wine bottle, tie with a ribbon, and tuck your card or gift into the pocket. I was worried that having the pocket seam along the bottom might make the whole thing unsteady, but even with my thick jacquard the wine bottle stood up just fine.


If you want to make a little gift to go with the wine, it's easy to make little wine charms with ring-sized memory wire and beads. Memory wire is really hard on cutters, so use old ones if you have them.

How to Dye Your Eyebrows

There was a thread on Pattern Review about redheads and what colors are flattering. I'm not a real redhead, but I play one in my life so I read it. It turns out, not surprisingly, that not all redheads can wear the same colors. There was also a fair amount of discussion of eyebrows and what to do about them for those of us who get a little help to justify our fiery tempers. I never would have thought of dyeing my eyebrows until I went to get my hair cut several years ago and my hairdresser told me to hang on a minute so she could get the dye off her eyebrows. I figured if a trained professional said it was OK I'd give it a shot. It's great! It makes a huge difference in my face when I remember to dye them, as otherwise my eyebrows are clear (I'm a natural blonde).

**REQUIRED LEGAL DISCLAIMER** I am not a doctor or a cosmetologist. There is a danger from dyeing your eyebrows. Be careful, and dye at your own risk. I am providing this information for free and have no liability for anything you may do. Also, this will only work for dyeing your eyebrows darker; I don't know how to lighten eyebrows.

So here's how you do it.

You can either go to Sally and buy professional products (my choice) or just buy a box from the grocery store. At any rate you need developer, dye, an eyedropper, something to mix on (I use a yogurt lid), some q tips, and some cotton pads or balls.



Developer comes in different numbers and I know they somehow correspond to whether you're dyeing lighter or darker. I just don't know how they correspond. I chose 20 Vol because it's in the middle. It works fine. Make a small puddle on your lid; you really don't need much. It's thick and it helps to use a q tip to get it out.



I have an eyedropper whose sole use is hair dye. I recommend you get one too because it's really hard to pour the right amount. Drop dye into the developer so that they are in equal amounts.

As you can see, I'm a fan of the L'Oreal Mega Reds line. For my eyebrows, I use either light intense copper (shown) or a mix of light intense copper and medium intense golden copper. If you have darker skin you might be able to use a darker color.



Mix up the dye and developer using a qtip until it thickens. It only takes a second. You actually don't need to make as much as I did, I don't know why I mixed up such a big batch. This would have done 3 or 4 pairs of eyebrows. Once the dye and developer have been mixed they lose their potency really quickly, within a couple of hours. So you have to mix up a new batch fresh each time you color.



Here's where technique comes in. Using a q tip, apply the dye to your eyebrows opposite the direction of hair growth, and apply only to hair. Do not get it on your skin. Clean up any that gets on your skin with a q tip. If you are nervous about getting it on your skin, you can put a thin layer of petroleum jelly such as Vaseline on the skin around your eyebrow to create a protective barrier. I don't bother with this, though.



You can see here that while I have loaded the hair generously with dye, it doesn't go all the way down to the roots and touch my skin. Hair dye will color your skin. It fades after a couple of days, but you'll look really funny in the meantime if you don't take precautions.



My fine blonde hairshaft takes 13 minutes to dye. This is about half the time it takes for my whole head to dye (well, took, I've switched to henna for my hair which is 2 1/2 excruciating hours in a plastic shower cap--but the color is so much better and so much less damaging that it's worth it). Don't leave on your eyebrows as long as on your hair--try half at first and see if it's enough. I made the mistake of dying for 25 minutes the first time I tried it. I had cheeto caterpillars on my face.



When your time is up, wipe off the dye first with a dry cotton pad. When you've wiped off as much as you can use a damp cotton pad to clean it up the rest of the way. No need to use soap, but unlike with dyeing your whole head it's ok to wash that day--you don't have to wait three days to wash your face!



Immediately after you remove the dye, they're pretty bright. It will tone down quickly (usually after several hours).



And voila! Matching hair and eyebrows. Nobody will ever know your secret.