(More) Spring Stash Sewing

I have enjoyed making collages of projects to sew from my stash, so here's the latest iteration:



I finished the last plan except for the yellow eyelet dress that reappears on this one, with of course a few little detours along the way (like the BWOF 10-2008-115 gather front dress and the BWOF 07-2008-126 gather back tank, among other unphotographed projects). The issue is partly that I can't wear it until it's sandals weather so I don't want to put the effort in yet. But it's also that I'm not wild about the pattern. I love the princess lines and even the little horizontal bust dart (which I'll have to narrow), but as mentioned in my pear post I'm not crazy about A lines right now and would prefer a straight shift.

What stops me is the rear view of Vogue 8408, displayed to the right. It looks OK in the photo, but in real life...I'm not sure. When I was working in our headquarters building, the bathroom was set up with mirrors over the sinks and then a full length mirror on the opposite wall. It was impossible not to catch a glimpse of your butt while washing your hands. And on the day I wore this dress, I was in for quite a rude awakening. I mean, I know I have a large booty. But since it's behind me, I sometimes forget that. I learned that day that even if I forget about it, it has not forgotten about me. For the eyelet dress, I'll make the lining first and then see if/how much I can narrow the skirt, but I don't think I'll end up with the classic shift I hoped for so I'm less enthusiastic about the project.

I am kind of in the groove of stash sewing and sticking to my 6 yards/month fabric buying allowance--in fact have saved up 6 yards from the past two months--so I don't feel so "obligated" to this plan. I have sooo many other ideas that it's hard for me to maintain focus!

Sustaining focus on moderated fabric buying is even harder. I usually do very well the first several months of the year. It's only later that I throw up my hands and then buy enough to fill them and then some. So far I'm still feeling good about moderation and staying away from online shops hasn't been too hard. But I would love to go to NYC or Philly for a nice big shop!

The upper left fabric for Vogue 1086 is from Joann over the weekend, so it isn't stash.

The next newest fabric is the lace in the lower right for BWOF 02-2008-108, from Jomar during the Philly get-together in November. I was thinking that was just a couple of months ago. It turns I bought this nearly six months ago. Seriously, had you asked me I would have guessed about 6-8 weeks. Can you believe how long ago November was?

I only have 1.5 yards of 45" wide for the pink underlay--incidentally, the oldest fabric in the plan, from Summer 2007 as I recall but possibly 2006--so I may not be able to make that dress as planned. I might also have to abandon the BWOF 02-2009-129 exclusive design blouse (the last exclusive design ever???) made from the Paris fabric I used for my birthday dress. I don't have much complete yardage left, but I have some long strips that are fairly wide (approx 12 inches) so I needed a pattern that had lots of little pieces. When the magazine arrived I knew this was perfect. I feel pretty confident I'll be able to eke it out somehow, with a contrast midriff band if necessary, but I haven't traced out the pieces yet to make sure. The fabric has some crosswise stretch so it won't be as simple as cutting some pieces on grain and some on cross-grain, which I'd normally do in such a limited fabric situation.

The Tracy Reese Vogue 1086 is on my cutting table now. Who knows where I'll go from there. I am crazy, erratic, and unpredictable...at least when it comes to sewing.

Butterick 5209, Retro '47 Dress

This one had been on my project list since June so as soon as it was conceivably early enough to start Spring sewing, it went to the top of the pile. It was so perfect for Miami that I had to get it done for the trip!

I love that the pattern has both a halter and a sleeve variation, but the dress is otherwise the same. It's unusual to find an evening dress and a day dress with the same lines. It sort of glams up the day dress, to my mind.

I started where I always start, with an SBA. I pulled out some of the gather width based on my tissue fit. In the end, I think it wouldn't have been so bad had I made it as drafted and it takes away a little of the shape, but the horror of having a baggy, saggy bust on a dress often leads me to the more extreme end of SBA. I considered, rejected, but later realized I should have slightly shortened the V neck distance, which is a usual part of my SBA arsenal.

I also used my usual invisible zipper insertion technique: Start by sewing one half of the zip in by machine. Then zip it up and carefully pin in place on the other side, matching lower midriff seam and marking bottom of sewn line. Hand baste a few inches in either side of midriff seam, then hand baste remaining length of zipper. (Sometimes I get lazy here and don't hand baste the remaining length; the important thing is to get the midriff/waist/whatever seams to line up exactly on both halves of the zipper.) Then sew in by machine. This gives excellent results. To my mind, there is really no need to hand baste both halves of the zipper.

I lined the skirt, which was not called for by the pattern. I decided to hem it by sewing the fashion fabric to the lining so it would have a nice invisible hem. When I pinned it in place, I found that it created a cute bubble-type hem so I decided to keep that effect rather than press it down.

I had stitched the bodice and midriff lining to the zipper, but left the lining free at the bottom of the zipper. This pic also shows that I pleated, rather than gathered, the skirt lining to reduce bulk. To sew the hem, I pulled the lower edges of the skirt through the hole between the lining and the zipper and stitched together.

Ok, the real truth is that I first pulled the skirt over the bodice and the lining up through the bodice and sewed together that way. This created a Moebius Strip that could not be worn by a human-shaped person. I had to unpick it and then figure out that I needed to pull the lower edges through the zipper opening. I should have thought to sew a layer or two of tulle there to keep the hem from flattening out, but so far it's still poofy.

I loooove this dress. It is so retro fantasy. My only disappointment--and really, that's a strong word--with this pattern is that the midriff cannot be piped or made in a contrast fabric. It's obvious if you look at the line drawings but my 2D mind did not grasp it until I was making it. The front midriff is an upside down V and the back midriff is a V. So the top edges of the midriffs are offset at the side seam by about 3 inches (higher in the back, lower in the front), and I think it would just not be pleasing to the eye to have the contrast or piping offset like that.

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.

Monday Miscellany (and stashoholism confessional)

My neighbor/best friend is out of the country for two months, and asked me to drive her car every two weeks. I gave up my car last July and have a fantastic car-sharing arrangement with another neighbor. He parks in my parking space (we had to buy them separately and there were only five for seven units) and I drive his car once a month, to Fashion Sewing Club on the second Saturday. Once a month is really enough for me to run errands (I can walk to several grocery stores and take a quick metro trip to Target), but Joann seems to have a pretty fixed schedule for when pattern brands are on sale. Simplicities are always on sale the second Saturday of the month. I haven't caught any other sales in almost a year!

So when I saw that Vogue was on sale this week, along with McCall, I decided to head to the suburbs (braving cherry blossom traffic to do so).

My Joann is somewhere between Lindsay T's Pit of Despair and Cidell's Shiny Shiny one. It's clean and the employees are friendly, if not knowledgeable. The pattern drawers work. But they are never fully stocked and they are slow to put out the new books. And the fabric selection is abysmal--rows and rows of shiny polyester with one or two knits (literally one or two) and one or two cottons. So the new Vogue book wasn't out, nor were the new patterns stocked. That's ok, as I had almost a year of Vogue to catch up on.



So I like dresses, maybe? I didn't even realize until I got home that it was all dresses, other than the Alice + Olivia pant. Now, I am still not convinced I will ever make pants, ever. The fly front fills me fear and trembling, and I hate wearing pants (partly because RTW don't fit me and look pretty bad), but I've seen so many great pants from these patterns I figured I should pick one up while I could.

I was thinking about the dress obsession and I recovered a suppressed memory: When I didn't have time to sew, I didn't wear dresses. Because I am a pear I am three different sizes, at least (small on top, medium in the middle, large on the bottom). If we can reach far enough into our memories to remember "back in the day," there was a time when dresses were fitted rather than billowy and empire-y. So I simply couldn't buy RTW dresses that fit. If it fit at the hip, it was grotesque at the bust. If it fit at the bust, I couldn't even pull it all the way down past my booty. Apparently, I am now making up for lost time! According to my stats from last year, dresses are a little over half of what I make.

The Vintage Vogue 2401 will be interesting to sew. It's a little bit like the Butterick 4790 Walkaway Dress, but I love the collar and that it ties rather than buttons. They really don't make sewing patterns like this anymore. The pattern pieces are seemingly random shapes and the sewing is non-intuitive, based on my somewhat confused reading of the directions. But the result is cool. Nowadays, other than a few Vogue patterns, the companies don't want to make it so challenging for the sewist.

I didn't find a single McCall I wanted. When I used to sew exclusively with the Big Four I think I sewed more McCall than anything. But other than McCall 5752, which I bought ages ago at regular (40% off) price and made up for Miami I wasn't interested in anything. Partly because I have half the patterns in the book already, ahem, but I'm ignoring that part of it.

I bought Butterick 5318 at regular (40% off) price, because they never seem to go on sale and I never have enough knit dress patterns. It looks a little bit fussy to make with all the tiny pleats, but the result looks really cute.

And speaking of Butterick--the Joann I go to (Seven Corners in Virginia) is right next to a Dress Barn, where they had Butterick 5130 in the window. I am serious. It was identical. I hope that Butterick has sued them for copyright infringement. I hope Buttericks go on sale while I still have access to a car, because there were a bunch more I wanted to get.

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So despite the abysmal fabric selection, I gave it a once over. I found this cotton print misfiled with the knits.



I hemmed and hawed over for quite a while. I love the colors and the print but it is perhaps a tad juvenile for me. I am trying to look slightly (and I mean very slightly) more grown up at work and this print doesn't really fit in with the plan. But in the end, I was won over. On sale it was $4.79/yd and I am always thinking I don't have enough cotton prints.

It's going to immediate use as the Vogue 1086 Tracy Reese dress. I know I recently said I wasn't wowed by this dress, which I'm not. But if you put aside the fact that it's Tracy Reese and what a bummer it is that she chose this rather simple and conventional look to share with the sewing world rather than, say, this fabulous blouse and high waist sailor pants, this Roaring 20s throwback, or this very similar dress but with flirty frilly sleeves, all from her Spring 2008 collection, it's a perfectly cute little dress.

I can't even find Vogue 1086 in her show; is it a toned down version of this? The Vogue 1092 suit, on the other hand, is directly off the runway.

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I've had a few comments lately asking me about the shoes I'm wearing.

The green sandals I wore in Miami are Dansko Mirabelle, which Dansko doesn't seem to be making anymore (boo!) but a few places seem to still have it in limited size and color range. I have flat feet, bad ankles, and a very bad lower back--not to mention I walk at least three miles a day for my commute--and I absolutely have to wear comfortable shoes. Finding Dansko several years ago literally changed my life. I cannot say enough good things about them.

I need the staple clog style bottom and I bought Mirabelle in black, brown, green, lilac, and red. The only color I don't have is blue, but by the time I realized Dansko had stopped producing the Mirabelle I couldn't find them anywhere. If anyone ever runs across Mirabelle in blue in a Size 37 PLEASE let me know!

I'd recommend trying them in the store first before buying, if you can, to determine your size. I wear a 37 in staple clogs and a 36 in the other styles. Zappos carries the full line of Dansko, and they have free shipping and returns. And don't forget to check their closeout site, 6pm.com, to see if they happen to have your shoe in your size at a discount. I also periodically pop by the Dansko Outlet; these are "seconds" but I've never managed to find the flaw in any of the pairs I've purchased, and they are discounted by about 1/3. You have to keep checking, because they don't have much of a selection

Danskos are not cheap (but not so very expensive either, compared to department store shoe prices), but are absolutely worth every penny and more.

I also got a question about the crazy beaded cowboy boots I wore with my tulip skirt. Those I cannot help with, unfortunately. I got them at Ross several years for $15. Ross is not a pleasant shopping experience, but you can find great stuff there. When I used to buy clothes that was my main source. There is one next to the G Street at 7 Corners and I sometimes stop by to check out their shoe collection. It's mostly crap and I am really working on not buying crap shoes, but they do have a fair amount of Aerosoles and Easy Spirits and sometimes Born (I got Born boots for $15 a couple years ago) and even Dansko. To me, the shoe prices at TJ Maxx are not really worth the effort of shopping there; I'll just go to DSW instead for a slightly easier and nicer experience. But the prices at Ross are significantly lower than either of those two places.

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I have a favor to ask. I mentioned a while back that my twin nephews, Cash and Fox, had been born. Lots of pictures on my SiL's flickr! My SiL loves twin outfits for them and she and my brother both love kitschy things and I thought it would be so fun to have little garage mechanic style name patches for them. I could embroider them by hand but it won't look the same. I don't own or have any desire or use for an embroidery machine, but it would be handy for this project. Is anyone willing to make me name patches like this? Just let me know and we can work out a price!

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It's cherry blossom time and I finally made it over there on Saturday. It was very windy starting on Friday and I was afraid all the blossoms would be gone by the time I got there. There were HORDES of people (good for the DC tourist economy) and it was windy and a little chilly, but there were plenty of blossoms and I was satisfied for another year.

Here's my parting shot. The rest of the photos are here.

Dressing a Pear Shape: End the A-Line Tyranny!

There's an interesting thread on PR about how to best flatter a pear shape. I spend a fair amount of time on my blog talking about how to fit (and implicitly flatter) a small bust, but my pear shape influences my style as much as my small bust so I'll give it a little attention here.

First, what does "pear" mean? Every pear is different and we all have our unique insecurities. I think the most basic definition is that your hips/thighs are wider than your shoulders, with a more or less defined waist somewhere in between.

I would add to that definition "smaller bust than hip measurement." Some argue there's such a thing as a "bosomy pear," which is different than an hourglass, because when viewed from behind the hips are the widest part of the body. I'm not really sure I buy that, and at any rate I am no help in dressing a bosomy pear body, LOL.

My particular pear shape has the following additional elements: very small bust, high waist, protruding tummy, wide thighs (meaning my widest part is actually a little below the hip), long torso, short legs, and very short overall (5' 1.5").

The PR thread links to You Look Fab's 2006 and 2007 posts about flattering styles for pears, which are quite detailed and useful. I completely agree on her advice for top/jacket length (never ending at your widest part) and plain flat front pants. She makes an excellent point about emphasizing the waist, and not going too shapeless because when you wear something too sacky everything looks as wide as the widest part of you. I take issue with the fact that we're all supposed to wear the highest heels possible at all times. Some of us have lives that require a little more mobility than just sitting on a barstool drinking a cocktail! Her advice is pretty much standard for pear shape dressing advice.

The big place I depart from the usual advice is skirt shape. I have always accepted the conventional wisdom that an A line is better for a pear shape, but I am questioning that lately. I feel like the flare of an A line actually widens me across the hips and saddlebags and almost negates having a smaller waist.

I am still not entirely comfortable wearing more fitted skirts and I feel like I look unproportional and larger than I am in them. But objectively, I think straight and pencil lines are flattering to me (as long as the bodice isn't too fitted to emphasize how small I am on top). It's a matter of getting past the discomfort of all the good advice out there that advises you to hide, disguise, cloak, and misdirect your shape. I have a curvy bum and thighs. That is fact. Whether that's good or bad is all a matter of taste.

A good example for a pencil line is this dress, BWOF 11-2007-106. When I first made it and wore it I felt like I was all hips and saddlebag (and belly, but that's sort of another topic), but looking at the pic I can see that it's a very feminine silhouette and although I am clearly wider at the bottom than the top, it doesn't look off balance. I think that's because it has the perfect confluence of elements that allow a pear to wear a pencil line:

-Less fitted top

-Ruffle detail at neck and sleeves draws eyes upward

-Puffy sleeves balance larger lower half

-Empire line shows off narrow ribcage and waist

-Narrowed bottom hem gives visual effect of "curvaceous" not "wide"




The trend toward high waists is good for the pear. I have a high waist, which I don't think is necessarily a defining characteristic for a pear but I would be surprised if there are many pears who have a low waistline. My narrowest part is my ribcage and I start flaring out from there. A high waisted skirt, like the Burdastyle Kasia, takes advantage of that narrow ribcage and emphasises a high, narrow waist. Key elements here:

-High waist captures narrow ribcage/higher natural waist

-Long waistline mitigates flare of hip/thigh by visually stretching the body, so the hip/thigh flare doesn't seem as abrupt

-Side buttons divide hip area into three "blocks," with each block narrower than a traditional center closure two block look or side/back closure unitary front. Contrast color side panels (as in this project Carolyn is contemplating) would give the same effect.

-Ruching at side and back yoke panels makes wider hips look like design detail rather than body contour


Another way that a pear can wear a straight or pencil line is with a peplum blouse, like this Vogue 8196. I am a huge fan of the peplum for a pear shape. In this instance the outfit works because:

-Midriff band emphasizes waist, making peplum flare look like a design choice rather than a necessity to accommodate hip

-Relatively high waist, as with high waisted skirt, stretches the distance between waist and hips, making the hip/thigh flare look more gradual and proportional

-Peplum flare is wider than hip, so hip looks relatively small in comparison

-Blouse is long enough to obscure high hip, but does not cut off body at widest spot








If you're not ready for a straight or pencil line, a trumpet shape is very flattering for a pear. The flare at the bottom works like the flare of a bootcut jean: where the hem is approximately as wide as your widest part, it balances the heaviness of hips/thighs. It creates a "mini hourglass," which gives an overall impression of the entire outfit and body as balanced and hourglass. I think it is more classically feminine and sophisticated than a straight A line with the same balancing effect.

Simplicity 5914 is a perfect example (though remember that I had to dramatically shorten the distance between hip and hem flare to get it to suit my proportions).

-Hugs curves of bum and upper thigh for ultra-feminine look

-Flares out at lower thigh to de-emphasize saddlebags

-Reaches full flare at knee, so that skirt has hourglass proportions, meaning approximately equal widths in approximately equal proportions.

If the flare is much lower, as in the first iteration I made of this skirt, you lose the sense of balance--there is a short stretch of width at the hip/thigh, then a narrowing, and then a much longer stretch that gradually flares out to below the knee. That just creates another pear shape!

-In a length that can be viewed in a quick glance for instant hourglass perception(rather than having to sweep the eyes down to the calf or floor to get the full visual effect).








The tulip skirt (this one is BWOF 9-2007-116) is another style that pears are told we should never ever wear. I completely disagree! As with a peplum, the tulip skirt exaggerates the hips. That sounds bad but again, as with the peplum, the skirt is clearly larger than the hips underneath, which makes them look smaller. The tulip skirt looks like a style choice, rather than a necessary accommodation.

In this outfit we see:

-Fitted top to emphasize smaller shoulders and waist.

-Sweater buttoned just under bust to increase the illusion of curve there and build up the bust.

-Tulip skirt that hits right at natural waist showcases waist and disguises true size of hips.

-Shorter hem on skirt avoids heaviness and shows a few inches above knee, where the pear's legs start to narrow.


Admittedly, it is trickier to wear a straight dress than a straight skirt. I am definitely still working on this. After I was unhappy with BWOF 04-2008-128, IreneQ suggested on the pattern review that I make such styles to skim rather than fit.

I have shied away from t-shirt style dresses because of my pear shape, but I really loved 09-2009-119 so much that I had to try. I haven't reviewed this yet but I'll give a sneak peek of what I'll say:

-I added a CB seam so there would be shaping over the booty

-I made sure it had shape at the waist BUT I didn't bring it all the way in--this is much more ease than I'd usually have at the waist, 3-4 inches--so there wouldn't be such a huge difference between waist and hips

-Plenty of ease at hip as well, to continue the easy fit style

-I underlined with a fairly thick knit that smoothes over lumps and bumps

-As with the first example, the wider sleeves help balance out the hips/thighs, while the drop shoulder and wider neck add a little perceived width to my frame








Contrast the above with a traditional A line skirt, supposedly the best for a pear shape. Now, I love this skirt. I love the color and I love the tulle trim on the bottom, and it happens to be a lovely Italian silk.

But I never wear it because I think it makes me look needlessly wide. Rather than emphasizing my waist (also partly the fault of the less fitted top in that photo) and my feminine curves, it just sort of makes me look like there's nothing interesting under there and that I get wider and wider as you go down.






I still wear plenty of full skirts! I love dresses with a fitted bodice or midriff and a wider skirt. They are easy to wear and I don't at all think about how my belly, booty, hips, or thighs look because they're safely tucked away under lots of fabric. But even for those, I almost always go either for a gathered dirndl-style skirt as with McCall 5382 here, or a circle skirt as in BWOF 05-2008-127. The gathered skirt doesn't get too much wider at the hem, the way an A line has a flare that echoes the flare of the hip/thigh. The circle skirt widens quickly and dramatically, so it doesn't really reveal the size of the hips underneath; plus, the bias helps it flow well.

In addition, when making a dress with a full skirt I almost always have a fitted waist that is right at or (even better) above natural waist, as with Butterick 5209 or New Look 6394. This takes advantage of the narrow ribcage/waist and makes the full skirt appear to be a style decision rather than a necessity.





If it as an A line, I want it be gradual and tame. Compare Simplicity 4074 versus New Look 6429. The New Look is at a bit of a disadvantage here because it's too long, but if you can set aside the length you can see that the A line flare is too much, and it widens rather than complements my hips and thighs. Whereas the gradual and slight A line of the Simplicity creates a longer, leaner line.






I am in no way trying to create an Unbreakable Rule here. Style depends so much more on your personal body than on a generic way of describing your shape. Which is why I think it's a shame that pear shaped women are invariably admonished to wear an A line. Everyone needs to experiment and find out what makes her look and feel her best. And by "best" I don't mean most decorative, most traditional, or most feminine--I mean most confident. If you're too uncomfortable in a straight skirt to wear one, the world is not going to come to an end!

BWOF 09-2007-116, Tulip Skirt

I figured I should review this January project while it's still cold somewhere! It's not warm in DC--you still have to wear a jacket--but it is definitely Spring! The air is softer and we keep having gentle rain and when the sun finally comes out it really is warm. I am so happy about this.

When BWOF first published this project in September 2007 I was not sold on the tulip shape. However, over the course of a year they wore me down. When I was contemplating what to make out of the olive wool plaid I got from Joann in December I knew I didn't just want a straight skirt, but neither did I want a pleated skirt (not that I had enough fabric), and I'm kind of off A-line skirts right now. Then I thought of this pattern and decided it was perfect.

Because my wool is rather thick and coarse (it is wool, but still Joann quality) I left off the hip pockets because they would have been way too bulky. I would keep them in a lighter fabric, such as a crinkle satin--again BWOF has influenced me! When I first started getting the magazine I thought their obsession with crinkle satin was ridiculous, because satin isn't my style and then crinkle satin? and then satin for day? But it has insinuated itself into my brain and now it seems like a sort of reasonable fabric.

Plaids are totally obnoxious to cut and sew, as we all know. When I originally cut this out I cut the waistband in the same direction as the skirt. I matched the plaids at the sides of front and back because the front has pleats and the back has darts, so the plaids were only going to be able to match at the sides or the center but not both. I wasn't overly pleased with the result, and when I saw the pictures I decided it was too awful this way, especially at the back with the two dark lines next to the zipper so clearly offset from the dark lines of the skirt.

I ripped off the waistband--a much harder task now that I have a serger--and cut a new one on the cross grain. When (re)finishing the top edge of the skirt I managed to serge through the zipper I had so carefully picked out of the waistband so then I had to rip the zipper out and redo the entire back seam. Ugh! The back plaids do not match up, which is very frustrating, but I was not going to spend any more time messing with this waistband! Despite all my troubles and frustrations, I really like the shape and design of the actual waistband itself. The width is good and it sits right about at natural waist, which is very on trend right now.

My only complaint about this design is that the front double pleat is slightly off center, which is annoying. It's not far enough off center to look intentional (though looking at the BWOF photo it appears that is the design and not my error), but it's just enough off center to be noticeable. So I generally end up wearing the skirt a little crooked, with the CB zip to the right of my spine instead of at actual CB.

All this after the pleat gave me so much trouble! The large center front pleat on this is two pleats, and the directions were needlessly complicated. Basically, you pinch out the large pleat and fold it to the left, and then take about half of that and fold it to the right (at least this is the conclusion I reached, and the pleat appears to be correct). The BWOF directions first have you do the smaller pleat and then the larger and I just could *not* figure out how they worked together.

But that's minor and overall I think this is a fantastic skirt, and it's very comfortable and easy to wear.

All photos are here (I am having weird issues with flickr not always showing all of them but they are there) and the pattern review is here.