hmm...

I started making muslins for two different patterns that are essentially the same project. I have about 3 yards of navy blue pinwhale corduroy and I have been trying to figure out what to make out of it. I originally bought it to make a pair of wide leg pants but honestly I hate wearing pants and my wardrobe needs more fall/winter skirts. At first I thought just a simple A-line skirt with a center seam and the panels cut on the bias so they chevron in the center. But I wasn't really sold on it. Then I actually pulled out the material and it is much lighter weight and finer whaled than I had imagined it. I never really wanted a skirt anyway so I decided to make a jumper. The corduroy is so fine that not only can I not find the nap (I am slightly embarrassed to admit it) but it is almost like velveteen so I thought maybe a jumper that could be dressed up with snap in chiffon details and go cocktail hour. (a la the left)

Not really sure how that would work out so it is scrapped or at least on the back burner for now, mostly because I am on muslin number 2 and I am getting sick of it. I originally was making the Coffee Date Dress by Elaine May over on BurdaStyle because it was the overall shape and style I wanted and the pattern is free (so I don't have to buy it and I don't have to draft it myself). This was my first time using a pattern from BurdaStyle and while I think it is convenient and awesome that I can print a pattern at home it is sort of not convenient and not so awesome. There is a lot of taping and a lot of matching up things that don't exactly match and the trying to get it to print the right scale. Pluses and minuses, pluses and minuses. Back to the pattern I am mostly finished with the muslin except for a zipper to see if it does indeed really fit and I had decided to lower the back neckline. I was all settled on it. Then because of several other things going on that started influencing my every waking consciousness (more on this in another post) I remembered that I had this:

It is one of the two patterns I bought in July at my favorite shop. I had never pulled them out to check if they were complete. So I did that. And THEY ARE!! best $2 ever spent. So I decided to make a mock up of this jumper because I know the waist will need to be um...let out and it will need to be shortened by about 10 or so inches. I did the darts on the bodice and then I lost my sewing mojo. I just want it done already and what am I supposed to do with the muslins other than relegating them to the scrap bin? Then I read on Gertie's BurdaStyle Vintage Thursday column that women used to do tissue fittings and basted fittings because doing muslin mock ups is expensive and a more modern phenomenon anyway. Honestly I am always terrified that I will accidentally destroy the tissue if I do this but I think I am going to try it on this and then trace off the alterations onto kraft paper so I can still keep the original, original. And that is where I am now.

Sewing: Summer Shirt

This shirt was made from the Summer shirt pattern in Downtown DIY Sewing by Alice Chadwick. I bought the book on sale because I liked the dress on the cover (which looks nothing like the photo of it on a person inside the book). I have several critiques of this book. First of which is that I think the instructions are poorly written and particularly confusing if you are a beginner and have no solid previous knowledge of how a garment comes together. And some of the instructions are just bad and could be made better very simply. For example the cuff piece on the sleeve is just a band folded in half lengthwise. The directions have you sew this folded piece directly to the right side of the sleeve and leave all the seam allowance hanging out. What?? Sew one edge to the right side of the sleeve and press the other raw edge under and stitch in the ditch. Also the seam allowance is 3/8 in or 1cm. That is tiny! Way too tiny to even comfortably finish properly. I bound the seams with seam binding as it seemed to be the easiest thing to do with out suffering severe burns on my hands. All in all this is my new favorite shirt and I do have plans to make one or two more despite the issues that I have with the book.

1 1/4 yd Floral Print Cotton, Vogue Fabrics, Remnant room, $4-5 total
Vintage buttons from Broadway Antique Mart

This is how I like to wear it. I have become very fond of wide belts worn at the waist.


And this is the muslin from it. I made it into a work shirt/messy shirt. it reminds of a french painters smock for some reason. You can see how it is wider at the bottom where i decided to take in the real version. I made the pockets out of the sleeve pattern. I shortened the cuff to the width i wanted for the pocket and removed the sides of the sleeve and adjusted some of the gathering so it was less full. 2 shirts for the price of one!!!

yarn*con 2009

Spinning seemed to be the main topic of the day, at least for us.

and needle felting pumpkin pins

and $5 mystery bags of yarn. the three dark pink ones were my bag (it was labeled as dark pink, that is why i chose it) all acrylic but i am happy with it. the little green one is leftovers from my stash that i thought contrasted nicely.

Oh, and have you met Simone? She is the lovely model above whose first attempt at spinning you are witnessing.

am I crazy?

I just came across this picture of Karolina Kurkova and thought "huh, i kinda like the fringe cape. Especially with jeans. In the cascading shades of grey. It wouldn't be that hard to make one. Maybe I should make myself one." and then I thought that i would look totally crazy in a fringe cape because I am NOT Karolina Kurkova or any other model fashionista person in New York City. What do you think? Is a fringe cape crazy? even in neutral shades of grey?

Welcome Back!

Hi Everyone! I am back from my travels and I know I have been slacking in my posting seeing as I haven't posted anything on either blog yet. Bear with me though I have lots I want to share including the spoils of my Get Out of Re-Fashionista Jail Card (yes. i went shopping in Israel) and the shirt I have been working on and some knitting. I am having some issues with downloading pictures right now since my computer memory is mostly full and my external hard drive and my computer are no longer getting along so it will be a bit longer.

BUT i cam across this today and had to share with you. I haven't looked at it too in depth yet but looks like an interesting project.
Garment Industry History Initiative

let me know your thoughts and hopefully I will have a real post for next week.

I'm an Arabian Princess and my Daddy just bought me a tiger...

I bought this dress in Tel Aviv 2 years ago. It is one of my favorite dresses and I feel really special when I wear it. Last year I put it on to see how it would work as a skirt and all the elastic shirring popped and I was just left with a swath of fabric. It sort of just sat in the closet because I thought it would be a huge pain to fix. Then I cam across this post from Sugar City Journal and realized it might not be so bad. Then I forgot about it and it continued to sit in the closet. Then it joined the list of items that I own that I need to fix or re-fashion or alter. Then I thought I might want to wear it on the trip I am going on so this week I did it.

I bought some elastic thread and now I am a princess again! And it was SO easy and fun. I want to do more smocking just because but it will have to wait until September.

And the title of this post is what B taunted me with when I first wore this dress.

So I have tried to be good about posting every week as per the rules of the game but I am leaving the country tomorrow. I am going to Israel for 3 weeks, part with a group and part just hanging out with my fam and friends. For more info and updates on the first part of my trip check out www.israeldiplomaticfellowship.wordpress.com.

A Guide to Better Sewing

I am in love and obsessed with Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing. The idea is based on this book from the 50's

which claims to be able to make you a better seamstress one project at a time. There was a line of patterns that corresponded with the projects in the book but were sold separately. Gertie has tracked down some/most of the patterns and is sharing her experience of working through the book and use of sewing techniques from the 50's (copious tailor tacks and hand overcast finished seams, anyone?).
The thought that i probably do not have to add for those of you who have been on this blog before or who know me even just a little bit is: I TOTALLY WANT TO DO THIS. I am generally not as much of a fan of the 50's as the 30's and the 40's (the huge skirts are fun but not so practical, same with the wiggle skirts) but the pattern's in the book and the projects of Gertie's that she has posted on the blog seem really nice and fairly practical. i love the portrait collar blouse, the background dress and of course the evening dress. The bow tie blouse and the shirt dress are of course classics. And initially not really taken with the slim skirt until i read Gertie's post about her slim skirt where she talks about the construction of it, now I want to make one whether or not it is flattering. The skirt is made with only one yard of fabric and has only one seam, up the back, and it is shaped only by a the series of pleats at the waist line. it is the vintage construction techniques that really get me. That is what I really want to learn. (and more on that later)

In other news, I am trying really hard to post something every week. Thursday seems to be the day with the exception of this week. i mostly have bits of vintage stuff i have found to show you as my own sewing has been a bit off and going slowly right now. I did pick up the green sweater i was knitting again and have just about completed the body and will start the sleeves soon-ish. I did sew up a dress a couple weeks ago but i broke one of the straps on it during our last trip and need to mend it. I will hopefully post that for you next week. I have also been working on the muslin for a shirt and it is going really slow. it has been hard to find my mojo in my new sewing studio. it is cute button down with short sleeves and gathering along the yoke. i think I want to make a shirt dress out of it too.

So in lieu of photos this week go check out Gertie's blog and report you thoughts back to me!