hitting the books

I'm close enough now to being done with the secret baby gift that I've decided it's way past time that I did something related to that wedding dress thing! So even though I could probably finish said secret gift if I just sat down and did it, here's my plan for the rest of the evening instead: I'm going to finish my cup of tea, I'm going to get a shower, and I'm going to curl up with a Craftsy video or two (and maybe my actual reference books) to mentally prepare myself to start the muslin. Given how stressed out I'm becoming over not having started the dress yet, I think it will be good for me. Besides, Tuesday is my longest workday, so curling up with some books (and a laptop) sounds way more appealing than sitting in front of my sewing machine right now!

(There may be more tea involved, too.)

What's in her pocketses?

Nothing, at the moment. But while the rest of the jeans remain to be sewed, I have pockets!

I thought maybe I'd done something wrong with making the pattern for them, because the one side is obviously way more slanted than the other.

But when I put it on top of my jeans, except for being a little longer, the angles were just right. So I guess that was a design feature.

So this, and the pocket on the other side, is all of my progress on the jeans so far. At least if they don't work out, I can make a pretty darn good-looking pocket, if I may say so myself!

midweek musings

• I'm trying something new with my sewing this week, in the name of just getting something done, darnit!! So I'm just trying to do one sewing-related task a day. Yesterday, I got my real jeans all cut out! Well, the wearable test, anyway. But they're denim. (Monday, all I got done was laying the denim out on the table. But it's one less thing I had to do yesterday, so it still counts!) I actually have enough left that I just might be able to squeeze out a pair of shorts, after The Dress. Which is good, because I have been seriously hurting for a lack of shorts that fit this summer, denim or otherwise.
• I really need to get my remnants and scraps better organized, so I can find cooler pocket fabric next time. All I could find in the 5 minutes before Craft Wars started, that I was certain I had enough of to cut all of the pocket pieces, was a solid. Oh well....this is still basically only a test.
• The wedding is 10 months from today! Which brings me to...
• I have a plan now for all of my wedding dress fabrics! Except for the green bit. But at least I know where to order from now. Bonus-- I discovered that the Dharma Trading Co. fabrics, while not a good color for the outside, don't change the color a bit as underlinings and linings. So I can save myself some money there!
• Since I've got that part figured out, other than purchasing, my mental energy during the slow times at work has been far more occupied with sewing rooms. That's right--I'm getting my own sewing room! My fiance is rather generous, isn't he? I'm thinking of going with a turquoise & coral color scheme--something really bright and happy, so I'll feel energized and creative! So I've been pondering various solutions for how I'm going to fit all of my fabric, my sewing machines, a cutting table, all of the other various tools, my yarn, my scrapbook stuff, and my beads into one room. It's a good thing Doug likes organization challenges, because I am a walking one...

 And so this isn't an entirely picture-less post, look what came in today! This prettiness is going to be my future kitchen curtain! He already had the bright green on the main wall in there, and really likes it. And I've always wanted a sunflower-themed kitchen. So this was the perfect compromise fabric. I wouldn't be stockpiling home dec fabrics so soon, except I was kind of afraid this one would get sold out before next year. But one accent curtain shouldn't take me too terribly long to finish up. After The Dress, of course.

Ok, off to grab some dinner and catch up on some blogs, since it looks like all of the rest of you have been way more productive than me this summer!

Weird.

The good news: aside from the waistband, which I still have NO idea how to draft even after watching the Craftsy video due to having to make a dart in the muslin, therefore throwing off the grainline in anything I draft unless I just seam it at the center back, the jeans pattern is done. And I know it's hard to see, but I think the front turned out pretty good.

The bad news: The back is another story. I just keep looking at it and saying "whaaaaaaaaaaaat?"

I mean, look at that back crotch seam. After all that muslining (because you know that's a verb), this is the curve I ended up with in my attempt to fit what my Trinidadian friend refers to as my "black girl booty" without making it too tight. Plus trying to fix my usual gapiosis issues, and altering the seamlines to attempt to make them look like a straight line going down the side of my leg.

This is, undoubtedly, the weirdest-looking pants pattern piece I have seen in my entire life. Does that mean it's crazy enough to just possibly work? Stay tuned...

Muslins, muslins everywhere...

....and not a project to show! Seriously, everything is in that completely not safe for work zone. Or safe for public consumption, period. But I actually have made some progress, so I figured you all wouldn't mind if I at least talk about it a little, right?

First off, the Lonsdale dress. Long story short, I have to start over completely on the muslin stage. I thought I was being all smart--after double-checking my measurements, I figured that since it looks like I fit perfectly into a size 10 at the bust and a size 6 at the waist and hips, I could just cut it as a 10 at the top and grade down those two sizes and it would work. WRONG. It was so ridiculously gappy at the top (and surprisingly a little too small at my waist--that pretty much never happens). So then I tried taking it in at the top, and letting it out a little at the waist. The waist was fine, but now the top pretty much doesn't cover enough of anything I want it to cover. Of course, it wasn't until about halfway through this adjusting process that I remembered that Tasia has a post about making an FBA for this particular pattern. Oops. So I'll be starting over with that in a proper fashion once I get some time to do so--probably not today, but maybe tomorrow. I've also gotten the boning, and I decided that I'll make the rest of the support (hopefully) easier for myself....to be explained in a future post. So, over a third of the way through the month and I have zero visible progress for the Summer Spark Sewalong....can I finish this in time? Stay tuned....

So since I didn't have the time to go through that process at the moment, I worked on the jeans muslin some more. And I think I've actually got that pretty close! I still need to test it with a waistband, and perhaps let out a teensy bit more in the thigh area, but I've just about got it to the point where it's not too tight-looking in the back, there isn't a whole lot of wrinkling in the front like the last attempt and I can pretty much sit down in it without feeling like my circulation is being cut off. (I probably should let that extra bit out, just to be safe, since I'm making this is a non-stretch denim.) So then the next complication is figuring out how to transfer the multitude of changes back to the pattern, seeing as how the only pattern tracing paper I can get around here is crap that won't even mark on other paper. That, and seeing if I can still add pockets if I straighten out the side seams like Mr. King says to do. Because wow, if I drew this line right, the wedge that I have to take out of the front is HUGE.

(Incidentally, has anyone reading this ever purchased from Sil Thread? I found this, after reading the recommendations in the question section of the Jean-ius class, but there's no descriptions on anything so I'm not entirely sure this is the right stuff. A shame, because this is waaaaaay cheaper than the other site he recommended. Plus I'm not sure if I could find enough useful stuff on the other site to make the $35 minimum order...)

I can show one thing, at least. This is how far I've gotten on the Strafford Tee. It doesn't look like much other than a block of purple, but you see that little twisty bit towards the right? My self-figured "darts" are working out much more nicely on take 2. I've actually started increasing again, sooner than I'd done the math for, because this is about 6-7" long now and according to the pattern I only need to do 10" before I have to start actually following the instructions again. But I figured that I'll just get it back to the right number of stitches and take it from there--I don't mind if it's a little longer than what it calls for.

And Mr. King made it look so EASY....

The good news: I've managed to scrape together a couple of hours over the last couple of days to cut out and baste together my test "muslin" for the jeans.

The bad news: the fitting is going to be way more complicated than I thought! I'm going to assume it's probably my own fault for tracing the pattern the way I did-- for lack of good paper to use with the tracing wheel (the only option at Joann's is terrible), I had to approximate with a wash-off fabric marker. But somehow, not only were the jeans too small all around my thighs, the rise sits lower to the point where my cut line is probably where my seam should be, and they gap in the back. And I still don't know how to draft the waistband. So no pictures of the progress so far, because it is not going to look good. Or safe for public consumption, for that matter.

On the plus side, the wrinkles in the front that I had so much trouble with on my last jeans-fitting attempt weren't that bad, and when I have a waistband to hold the top up, that problem just might be solved. (I won't know for sure until I have a waistband, because I also need to see what happens when I try to sit down.)

So I've already abandoned the idea of trying to reuse this particular piece of fabric-- I'm going to have to do a lot more marking up than I thought, and possibly re-cut the yoke entirely. If it's bad enough, I may have to just suck it up and make another one with regular muslin, because I don't want to blow another $18 on twill that I'm just going to destroy. I'm a bit bummed that I blew this one. But I guess it's better than ruining the more expensive denim, right?

So far, I've let out both the inner and outer leg seams about 1/8" (for a total of 1/2" per leg) down to about the knee, and that made a big difference already. At least I can put them on without breaking the zipper now! I think I still might let it out a little bit more, because it's still a bit tighter around the thighs than I want to do with non-stretch fabric. I can't continue on it any more tonight, because I have some chores around the house that need to get done, but at least I have something started. And if I can get this figured out, it'll be a great learning experience!

I may need to look into getting some of that better tracing paper from some website or other....I'm already cringing at the thought of transferring this back to the pattern!

Of muslins and me-mades and major craft withdrawl

Seriously....with all of that fabric that I have lurking in the basement, taunting me, how is it that I had nothing that would make a good jeans muslin? I mean, sure, I had some khaki twill. But only enough to make a pair of shorts, and I'm going to save that for my actual pants-making tests. And, well, everything else was stuff like the denim I actually want to make the jeans out of. No good. I didn't want to use regular ol' muslin, because it's too thin and I felt like it wouldn't give an accurate idea of what a thicker denim would look like. And of course I didn't want to bust into all of that twill-type fabric that I just bought, because I got those specifically to make pants that I actually want to wear. So it was off to Joann's with me. I considered getting an inexpensive denim, if I could find one with a light enough color that I could mark on it like I'd need to, but all of that had a bit of spandex in it and that's no good for testing before my non-stretch final fabric. But in the end, the least expensive feasible option (after my handy 40% off coupon) ended up being a white twill. Not my first choice of color, but the only other options were brown, black, or paying $3 more per yard for a slightly different twill to get khaki.

Of course, I'm trying to figure out a way that I can actually get something wearable out of this in the end, once I work out the fitting kinks. So I got one of those marking pens that's supposed to wipe off with a damp cloth, since the only ones I have fade after exposure to air and that's no good for this either, in hopes that I can get as many marks off as possible. I'm also thinking that dye will more likely than not be involved at some point, because white twill bootcut pants do not sound like a good option for my actual wardrobe! It'll probably also end up being a pair of shorts or capris or something. But that's ok. It's just that sewing time is a complete luxury right now, and even though I know the fitting is a Really Important Step, I don't want to "waste" that time on sewing things that will just get thrown away, you know? (Especially since I had to buy fabric just to test!)

I've got some MMM to catch up on from the last several days. I spent the weekend hanging out with some friends--I had to practically beg for the Saturday off, but we had a great time, and the friends that met my boyfriend for the first time liked him, so that was a good thing. (I did attempt to do some knitting, but it ended up being negative progress, as I had to frog several inches of it.) I'm definitely paying for it this week, with a 6-day run at the retail job, including what will end up being about 11 hours on Saturday. If I fail any day of this challenge, that will probably be the one. We'll see how I do. In the meantime....
Day 17:

Shirt: the vaguely Celtic Renfrew top
Jeans: Express, via Goodwill
Sandals: Auditions
Earrings: See below

Worn after work, to help my boyfriend transport his dogs to his parents' for the weekend, and then a quick dinner at Pizza Hut. Someday, I will make at least 5 more of these shirts. They're that comfortable.












And look-- turtle earrings!















Day 18:
Shirt: "Shakespeare on the Green" top
Skirt: "Cha-Cha" skirt
Sandals: Same as yesterday. (And since these were the only shoes I brought with me, you get to see them for the next two days as well!
Earrings: I forgot to get a close-up, but they're me-made with dragonflies.

The greens don't quite match up between my shirt and the skirt, but I don't care. It looked fine, and the green in the skirt is only a stitching line anyway so it's not like it was a big block of clashiness. I wore this for teaching, and then to drive up to my friends' house. I ended up changing into jeans once we got there and had eaten dinner, but the skirt's pretty comfortable so it was fine for driving. I was just getting cold.



Day 19:
Shirt: Reconstructed T made from a self-drafted pattern--pre-blog, but I did talk about it a bit in the last Self-Stitched September that I did.
Jeans: A different pair of Express jeans, also from Goodwill
Sandals: Can't see them, but they're the same as the last two days.
Earrings: A repeat from Day 4. (And the one day I wore this for SSS, apparently. How uncreative....but then, I don't have much red jewelry, so I guess it's understandable.)

This was our bum around/play hours' long board games/watch a movie/picnic by a little lake day, so jeans and a t-shirt was definitely the thing. Thus the reason I need more Renfrews. Also, this one is a little too short....I guess that's what I get for making it while I was in college.

Day 21
Dress: The "Convertible" dress
Bracelet & earrings: me-made, but again, I forgot a pic
Sandals: What do you think?

Today was this dress's public debut, and it ended up working really well--nice enough to wear for church, but comfortable enough for an afternoon involving more board games. If you look at my blog post on it, I kind of ended up morphing between the 2nd and 4th options from the left in the top row--more shoulder coverage for Mass and a little cooler for later. I think this dress is going to see a lot of use this summer!




And last, but not least, today's outfit:
Day 21:
Top: the "Frankenblouse"
Camisole: purchased
Skirt: The quickie batik skirt reconstruction that I may or may not have originally made. (It was either me or my mom.... I honestly can't remember which.)
Sandals: Montego Bay Club
Necklace: Repeat from day 2
Earrings: Me-made with butterflies

This outfit was a bit of an experiment for me. Ever since I found her blog, I've had a great admiration for Oona and her crazy print mixing. As much as I love prints, I've tended to be a bit boring in that it's usually a print with a solid. (See basically every outfit with a print I've ever posted on this blog.) So this was a pretty subtle way to ease myself in--stripes with a floral, but the stripes are thin and metallic and practically a neutral. I'll be honest and say this shirt only stayed on for a few hours-- I ended up changing into a t-shirt once I got done teaching because I wanted to get that twill washed up in case I have some time to trace the pattern onto it tomorrow evening, and my light-colored laundry tends to get put off for awhile (since nearly everything I wear is medium-to-dark colors) so I had to take advantage of having some things to wash it with.

So that's 2/3 of the month down! Like I said, I think this week is going to be the biggest challenge, seeing as how I'm practically full-time at a job that I can't wear anything fun or me-made at this week. Also, I miss sewing. So I'll just keep chanting my mantra that I'm thankful I have a job....and hope it slows down a bit once June hits.

adventures in pattern drafting

I finally had a chance to go through the next portion of the Jean-ius class, so I thought I'd post a couple of pics of what I spent the evening doing.
Ooh, sparkly. Part of the drafting process involves tracing onto organza. I had some silk organza left over from the LBD, and originally started on that since that's what the class called for, but my organza got so wrinkled and distorted in the dryer that it was basically impossible to work with. (Mental note to self: I probably should not throw silk organza in the dryer ever again.) I couldn't even get a straight grainline drawn on there, because it kept shifting to some wavy thing on me. So I used some black polyester organza instead. I have a rather large piece of this--it used to be the curtains to my brother's rather dungeon-like bedroom, and when he got married a few years ago he passed it on to me so I could use the fabric for things. I was still able to see the thread tracings pretty easily through the black, it just took a little longer on occasion because I'd have to retrace the colored pencil lines. But I thought the somewhat neon effect was kind of fun to play with!

I rather enjoyed the process, actually. The Craftsy videos make it really easy to follow, and it's a technique that I could most certainly use again (assuming I have something RTW that I like the fit of enough! And, well, I'm not sure how well the process would work with knits. But it's still a good technique to know.)
And so I have a preliminary pattern now! No seam allowances added as of yet, So here's the front....


















And a closeup view of the back.Getting the pocket placement was a little tricky to transfer, and I'm still not 100% sure it's right. But I guess that's an easy enough change to make.

I only have 3 pieces so far--the front, the back, and the yoke. (And the start of pockets as marked on the pattern--my big concern is the waistband, since these jeans have a contoured band, and I hope that gets covered in a later video.) It felt good to finally get something done! And I'm hoping that I can remove the thread tracings soon so I can actually wear my jeans again. I've definitely been missing this pair over the last several weeks!

The next adventure, according to the end of the video, is making a muslin. I'll have to figure out if there's any way I can swing a wearable one--only problem is I may not have any appropriate fabric on hand. And with something that takes more heavy-duty fabric like jeans, I'm not convinced a regular muslin test will cut it. Guess I'll just have to watch and see!

And the productive streak continues!

First, the big news: my jeans muslin is finally starting to work! After literally hours of stitching and ripping out and adding fabric and whatnot over the past several days, the crotch is starting to fit like something I could actually wear in public. The turning point was in the last chat for class yesterday, when Jennifer mentioned that if we had a pair of well-fitting jeans, we could look at those and use it for a guideline. And I actually do have one pair that fits the bill...

These are pretty much the perfect jeans for me. The rise is perfect--not too high, not too low. They don't gap in the back. I don't get weird wrinkly "smileys" right under the zipper. They also have this awesome swirly embroidery down the sides. There's only two things wrong with these jeans: a) they're just a liiiiiiittle tiny bit too short, and b) they're falling apart because they are literally at least 11 years old. Probably closer to 12 or 13. This, my friends, is one of the few articles of clothing I still own that I bought in high school. I definitely got my money's worth out of this pair, and whoever constructed it did a pretty good job, since after being washed at least 500 times, there aren't any real holes (just one threadbare spot starting to form on the back yoke--not even anything on the knees!), that usual bit of jeans seam fraying, and one back pocket where the topstitching is partially undone and making that pocket flake off a bit in the corner. The main reason I don't wear these outside of the house/working at the garden center is because they are so incredibly faded--the one thing that makes them look their age. (I'm quite seriously tempted to try my hand at re-dying them to a darker denim to see if I can get another couple of years out of them!)

Fortunately for me, these jeans are also made out of non-stretch denim, which is what I'm making my muslin for. I've learned over the years that even 2% lycra means I'll inevitably need a belt by lunchtime to stop the gapping. So I took a ton of measurements on both these and my muslin to compare the two, and finally ended up with this:

Still a little "smiliness", and I do need to fix the rise (the front isn't bad, but I've determined that I need to make the back a good 3" higher in order to not show my underwear when sitting!) But those wrinkles might be a little better in denim rather than the heavy muslin, and this is still about a hundred times better than how they looked when I left them on Saturday. (Which I refuse to show pictures of, because I'd just be embarrassing myself.) So there is a light at the end of the muslin-covered tunnel!

Aside from that, I've been getting a couple other small things done that I've been putting off. For instance, I couldn't sew on Saturday night since Cassie was over and we were watching stuff on TV, so I made a bunch of bracelets for Wendy, and when I ran out of beads for that, I did some necklace repairs that have needed to get done for awhile. (The blue one needed to be restrung because the tigertail had stretched out and it was looking bad, the grey one had to be restrung because the tigertail actually broke, and all the small chain necklace needed was a new clasp. Talk about lazy on my part!)

And I was so happy with how the muslin turned out (and didn't want to mess with it any more until I saw what the instructor had to say), so I did a small refashion this afternoon.
I found this dress a couple of weeks ago at Buffalo Exchange, and completely couldn't resist it. But there was one major issue with it, at least for me--the strapless bit. It's not that the dress wouldn't stay up...I was actually surprised at how well it stayed. (It's that super-smocked type fabric on top.) But I was a bit nervous about actually wearing a smocky tube-top style dress out in public, because the thing is, I'm clumsy. I'm constantly dropping things or knocking them over, I somehow managed to maul the back of my leg last week while shaving (I think I must have scratched it beforehand and didn't notice) to the point where it's probably going to leave a scar, and back when I was in grad school, I managed to break my toe by walking. (Granted, I probably fractured it the night before when I kicked it into my bed, but I swear it didn't fully snap until the next day when I was walking across campus.) The point of this little ramble is, knowing me, I would probably do something like step on the hem of the skirt and yank the whole thing down in a very public location. And I don't particularly feel like flashing people, so this needed to get remedied!

With a little help from my friend Nicole, I managed to find a near-perfect match of knit fabric the same day we went to Buffalo exchange. And without realizing it, I had loaded pretty much the perfect color of bobbin thread into my machine while working on the muslin. So making straps for this thing turned out to be a pretty quick job this afternoon, and I think the dress actually looks better with the straps! I'd normally show this off on Donna (the mannequin), but I couldn't resist taking a pic of myself in it because, after all of that personal style "research" I did earlier this year, I can safely say that this dress pretty much epitomizes everything I like about the Boho style, while avoiding all of the things about it that annoy me. It's flowy, it's comfy, but it doesn't make me look like I'm wearing a maternity sack. Plus it has great embroidery on the skirt. And it's tie-dyed. And somehow, even though I usually avoid wearing shades of red because I'm a quasi-natural redhead, the colors look really great on me! I think the red is just burgundy/plummy/brownish enough to not clash with my hair. And I think the fact that I'm so pale actually helps it. Which is good, because I pretty much have to bathe in sunscreen to avoid getting burned, so no tanning for me! So I'm excited that I can actually wear this dress!

I also spent a good chunk of Saturday and Sunday working on this shirt. I'm kind of nervous that it's not going to fit me right-- I enlarged the bodice, but I'm thinking I may not have done enough. I guess I'll have to see once I get it all sewn together. No pics of this one yet.

And hey, look, the header of my blog doesn't clash with the background anymore! Maybe someday I'll actually put pictures there that's relevant to crafty stuff, but the water is good for now. And I did take the picture that I manipulated that from, so that counts as creative, right?

A 2-for-1 finished project post!

First up: my finished plaid button-down shirt!

The plaid shirtings, when I bought them from Fabric.com, were all given boys' names. This one was the "Mason" plaid, but I'm going to call this my "happy camper" shirt-- it just looks like that sort of style. I finished sewing the buttons onto this one on Tuesday. Or was it Wednesday? Oh well, doesn't matter, it's done!

Just to recap, I made this one based off of New Look 6407--my third shirt from this pattern. Though I made some tweaks to it, mainly in terms of the sleeve. (By the way, the giveaway for this pattern is still open, but only until Monday! I'll pick the winner on Tuesday. So if you're interested, comment away!)

I am so happy with how the sleeves turned out--exactly how I'd envisioned them! I'm still learning how to manipulate and alter patterns without tweaking-as-I-sew, so the fact that I was able to draw out this sleeve, sew it together, and have it look just like what I wanted is pretty huge for me. I'm also glad that I went with these shell buttons instead of plain shirt buttons like a plaid shirt would usually have-- I think it makes it just a little more interesting. (And a little less lumberjack-ish. I guess I'll be saving that one for the other plaid I bought from the same sale! Though "Ayden" isn't really a lumberjack name...)

The second project is a bit of a cheat.  I mostly finished it last August--it was intended to be a part of my mini-wardrobe experiment. But since I decided I didn't want to bother with adjustable straps (and honestly, with the hardware for that I was able to find, I really didn't think it would work with the thickness of the sewn straps), I did the construction a bit differently and it resulted in this funky batwing effect. I'd already picked a bit of the binding off with the seam ripper, so all I did last night was gradually take in the top of the side seams about 1/2" each, took 1/2" out of the binding, and sewed it back together. I think it made a pretty significant difference! And now I can finally take this one out of the mending pile and start wearing it. (Actually, for me, 10 months to get to that is pretty good!) I'm hoping that the pleats hang a little better on me than they do on my perpetually-crooked mannequin...poor Donna.

One final note on the jeans fitting class: my muslin still has a lot of work to go. The teacher, Jennifer Stern, has been very kind and helpful about my plethora of questions! Where it stands right now is that the thighs fit pretty well (yay!), the back crotch is in pretty good shape, but the front still needs a good bit of tweaking--I'm getting these weird wrinkles, and actually have too much room in the front for my stomach! She gave me some suggestions in the chat last night for how to handle it, so I'm hoping to test those out and see if they help. Once I finally get the crotch fixed, the next step is going to be to make it a higher-rise jean...covering my underwear is good. And then I get to work on all of the fun that's going to be actually getting that waist to fit, which was my main incentive for taking this class in the first place--the hope of jeans that fit that I don't have to wear a belt with! Belts certainly have their place, but since my style is generally more longer, tunic-style shirts that stay untucked, I really hate the look of a bulky belt buckle under my shirt!

So the plan for today is to work on that muslin some more, and then hopefully start sewing my next project, which I cut out on Tuesday. Oh yeah, and do some cleaning, because my best friend is coming over tonight so we can catch up/do some crafty stuff (at this point, I'm thinking I'll be making more bracelets for Wendy while she's here--it's quieter) and watch Doctor Who. I guess I should get on that first!

What's on the sewing table....

First up: an in-progress look at my latest rendition of New Look 6407 (which is still up for grabs on the giveaway--the pattern, not this shirt!) I still need to sew down the facing in the back of the neck, add the sleeves, add buttons/buttonholes, and hem it. I was hoping to get some time to work on it today, but other things (which will be revealed in a few paragraphs) took precedence today.

Check out this plaid-matching job! Seriously! That's the side seam and a back dart, and the stripes actually line up! It's not perfect all the way up, of course, because there's this dart that kind of throws off the groove, but still!

(And yes, Marmota, I guess I do have a bit of a thing for green! That and blue kind of fight for the top spot on my favorite colors list...it honestly depends on the shade, my mood on any given day, what I'm wearing, etc.)

Also, no, I didn't pick this color so that I could camouflage myself against the wall!

And that other thing that took precedence today: the muslin for my jeans class on Pattern Review. Which I'm not posting pictures of me actually trying on, because then my blog would get flagged for inappropriate content. Plus my mom reads this.

Let's just say that it needs a LOT of work. I'm using Jalie 2908, which seems to be the sewing blogosphere's favorite jeans pattern ever. So far, the pattern doesn't seem to like me so much! The good thing: I can actually pull them up over my legs, which is already a huge improvement over my first jeans pattern. The bad things: that gaping hole in the crotch is because the basting stitches snapped completely in the front as soon as I pulled it on, I can't quite pin it together across the top to get an accurate idea of how the front fits (and honestly, my stomach is pretty flat!), I think the inseam might be a little too short above my knee, and even when standing, my underwear is quite obviously showing! Thus the lack of action shot. I posted to the class instructor, and she at least pointed me to what I should try to fix first...I'm thinking it's a good thing I decided to go with 1" seam allowances for fitting purposes, instead of the 3/8" ones that the pattern called for! (She also suggested that part of the problem could be that I'm using non-stretch muslin on a stretch jeans pattern, and apparently I should have traced a size larger...I just don't want to use stretch denim yet because they always gap in the back for me!)

Darn you, Pattern Review!

I had my next several sewing projects plotted out--I even made a list at work the other day to figure out a good order to work on things in. I even started on that list yesterday (at least until I had to stop for reasons I will disclose later in this post), and then you just had to go and offer a jeans-making class! Which of course you knew I couldn't resist signing up for, since I've been trying for what, 2 or 3 years now to get a decent pair sewn up? And especially drawing me in with that class outline saying that two of the topics covered would be denim selection (since that was probably the first major problem with the ill-fated jeans of last summer) and adjusting the pattern to avoid things like gapiosis (which is always a problem with my jeans, and the fit of the last pair wasn't so hot overall either).So much for the best-laid plans....but at least I'll (hopefully) get a successful pair out of this!

I also ordered this pattern, which I've heard a lot of good things about both from PR and from sewing bloggers that I follow. I'm hoping it will be nicer to me than this one, which was a resounding failure on me and didn't even make it past the muslin stage. And let's not talk about that self-drafted one that I had to make out of masking tape....it fit better, but was still somewhat disappointing. I guess that's what I get for using "imperfect-but-basically-best-fitting jeans", as I put it. Oh wait, I guess I just talked about it!

Well, the class doesn't start until the 26th (which is fortunately after I'm done with band for the school year and will therefore have a little extra time!), so I've got a little bit of time. And as I said, I did start on some other projects. Like, for instance, I had an idea awhile ago to turn this sweater into a more summery cardigan. I picked it up at the thrift store earlier this year with the intent to wear it as a winter layering piece, but the open-knit parts of it made it not work quite so well for that purpose, and then I got one I liked much better off of the clearance rack at Kohl's. So my idea was to cut this one up a bit, serge the edges to keep them from unraveling, and piece it back together so I'd have a shorter, waist-defined, short sleeved cardigan that would still preserve that cool zig-zag hem. The kink in the plan is actually my serger, sadly...I don't know if it just didn't like those more open bits when I was trying to go along the edges of the stripes in the chopped-off middle section to use as a waistband, or if something just went really weird in the mechanism, but I had to stop using it because one of the needles is now hitting one of the loopers. I replaced the needle twice (I had to do the first one because it broke), checked the instruction manual, cleaned it, oiled it, tested it again multiple times with just turning the wheel,and it's still making that clicking noise and rather obviously hitting the looper. So I'm not really sure what to do with it at this point, other than take it to the repair shop! :-( So I had to abandon that project for now, as I don't have quite enough serge-edged pieces to start sewing it. But hopefully I'll get this taken care of quickly, as I'd like to have it for my projects again soon!

On a brighter note, I did cut out a pair of summer pajamas today, which I just might be able to get sewn together quickly. Since I can't use the serger right now, I'm thinking I can either zig-zag the fabric edges or just trim them with pinking shears to keep the fabric from unraveling. The latter might be more comfortable, actually, and since they're just pajamas, I can probably be a little more lax on the inside finishing than I've been allowing myself to for awhile now. (And this one was on the planned summer sewing list-- #7, to be exact. I did decide to go with the Jane pajamas, and it's probably a good thing as I had barely enough fabric to do it! Particularly since I'd already lengthened the shorts...)

Oh yeah, and the black skirt is done as of Wednesday night. Or yesterday, I suppose, as that's when I pressed the hem as the last detail. Just haven't taken pics yet.

Almost, but not quite, a skirt

First of all, thanks for all of the nice comments on the tutorial! I'm glad to know that people enjoyed it--and if you use it, I'd love to see the project!

I've ended up with an unusually light teaching week, between a few planned and some completely last-minute cancellations. So I've had a good bit of sewing time this week, and have been working on my Burda skirt. Which for the most part has been successful, but it still needs some tweaking. (I'm a bit disappointed, because I was hoping to get all of the machine work done today so I could do the handwork while I'm hanging out with Nicole this weekend!)

This is the first time I've been able to make a skirt since the Pattern Review class I took on skirt-fitting last fall, and I used my master skirt pattern to do a few fitting tweaks before I started. I think they did help, since it's not as big and gappy at the waist as usual. Though I wouldn't exactly call it snug-fitting yet either, and it might need to be taken in a bit more. I'm thinking that once I get through some of this summer stuff, maybe I should make a skirt straight from the master pattern and make sure that's ok!


Also, please ignore the mirror...apparently I need to clean it.

The main difficulty right now is the hip pockets. (I tried to take pictures of it while I was wearing it, but it was too dark.) As you can see, they kind of bulge out funny. I'm hoping that taking in the seam at the hips just a little more will solve that problem--the other thing I need to figure out is whether to take in the waistband a little more while I'm at it, too. Actually, I may need to partially redo the waistband altogether, since I attempted something a little different with the facing and I'm not quite sure it worked.

You can see the bulging even better from the back. My hips aren't quite so....pointy. (And ignore the blue thing-- I used a hair clip to keep the waistband properly closed, since I have no hooks and eyes on there yet.)

I did screw up the instructions just a little bit--apparently I was supposed to put the zipper in as part of the waistband, but I put the zipper into just the skirt part. (That's what I get for completely ignoring the instructions after deciding I could find better ones for the pockets elsewhere!) The waistband wasn't quite additionally long enough for a real overlapped waistband with hooks and eyes, and I didn't have enough fabric to cut a new piece, but I think it'll be ok. I just didn't want to redo the zipper, because it's definitely one of my better invisible zipper jobs!

It's good to finally be able to start applying some of what I learned in the fitting class, though as I said, I think I'm still going to need to work on this pattern a bit. On a sad note, I'm glad I took the class when I did--the instructor on PR, Shannon Gifford, passed away from cancer recently.

I forgot to mention...

I kind of spontaneously decided to sign up for another Pattern Review class. This one is all about dealing with knit fabrics, which really excites me because while I've gotten pretty decent at finishing wovens and making them look good, knits are something that's still a bit tricky for me, even though it's gotten a LOT better since getting the serger! Especially in things like hemming them, reconstructing them in situations where sometimes there's different knit fabrics involved (and sometimes even some wovens), things like that. So I'm looking forward to learning about things like when to use the regular machine vs. the serger, what sort of needles I should be using, etc. Plus the class starts in February and ends in early March, which means the same timeframe as when I'm not working at the garden center again yet, and therefore I can probably stay on top of the classwork a lot easier than I could for the skirt muslin class! So I think I'm going to hold off on any knit-sewing projects until after this class. But that's ok, because I've still got bibs to sew (cut out as of last night), a quilt to quilt, and a bunch of curtains to make.

Speaking of knits, I had a really odd dream last night--I dreamed that on Project Runway, the judges were making them include knitting samples along with their finished garments and judging them based on how well they did their knitting, and Michael Kors was saying something about they should be able to knit their own fabric or they weren't really worth much as a designer, and he also commented about the girl that got cut that she could take some time to sit down and knit 2-3 times a week. And it was making me wonder if I should attempt to take up knitting again! Subconsciously, of course....now that I'm awake, I know I have enough crafty hobbies!

Not dead yet.

I've just been super-busy at work. But here's a little of what's been going on in my crafty world lately...

1. The Pattern Review class. I've been kind of feeling a bit behind, mostly due to needing to get the feedback from the instructor on the fit and that usually takes several days (I post one day, she posts the next, I fix and post again, etc.) So far, it's been helpful, though, and I think I'm getting close to the point where I might actually have a muslin I can make a real sloper out of. Here's where I'm at:
I think the front is actually fitting pretty well. Still having a little trouble with the back, but hopefully the instructor will be able to let me know what to do and I can get the actual sloper made soon.

2. I've actually started to make some progress on things for the bedroom makeover. Nothing actually in the room yet, as my brother hasn't finished moving his things out. I might have to just box them up and stick them in the middle of the room and work around it. But I did start priming pieces for the computer desk as of Monday. And since I've felt the need for a sewing project that I can work on in between bouts of muslin-tweaking, but nothing really demanding of my brain, I've been working on this instead.

No before pictures, as I forgot to take one, so an in-progress one will have to do. Basically, I'm just taking my cream-colored (at least, it used to be cream....use and the occasional spilling of tea have taken their toll) IKEA storage ottoman--it's similar to this one but more square-shaped (the lid's a little off here, which is why it looks more like a Super Mario mushroom tower)--and recovering it with this blue moire. I'm hand-sewing it directly onto the old cover because I'm feeling too lazy to figure out a pattern for the cover of the top. Especially since it would involve about 3 zippers and hammering in some grommets in the exact placement it would need to screw in the little feet on it that helps it sit in place within the box. I am leaving the handles on, though planning on leaving them tucked inside the box. What I store in there are things like my high school and first half of college scrapbooks (which are this odd bigger-than-12x12 size with no page protectors and therefore a bit unwieldy for a bookshelf), old journals, etc., so it doesn't get the lid taken off too often. In my current room, the idea was to use it to sit in front of the computer, but it's really more of a dumping ground for my stuff since I generally just sit on the bed instead. In the new room, I'm planning on using this more as a window seat of sorts, to give me a nice place to sit and read.

3. I was planning on going backpacking this weekend with the outing club at my church. Since the forecast basically sucks and I don't want to spend two days straight outside when the temperature isn't going to crack 40 (and be raining and possibly snowing for much of it), I decided to wimp out and stay home and work on stuff for my bedroom and whatnot. (Besides, I got scheduled to play on the worship team even though I already told them I wasn't going to be there...and my brother is the one in charge of the scheduling and was standing right next to me when I blocked out the date and he still didn't realize I was supposed to be gone! Go fig. I guess I should cut him some slack since this was before the wedding and he's only been married for a week and a half.) Anyway, since I'm staying indoors, I'm on a quest for the perfect baked potato soup recipe. I'm feeling inspired by this awesome potato soup they used to have at Bennigan's, may it rest in peace, so here's my rules:

1. It must be more or less smooth instead of chunky.


2. It must be creamy and use bacon.


3. It must also be a healthier version (since the inspiration is decidedly not, and I want this to be something I can eat on a regular basis!)


4. It must be able to be made in a crockpot, since I basically just want to dump all the ingredients in something and then be able to prime furniture for a couple of hours.


5. It must taste good. (Obviously.)

So I'm arming myself with a recipe from this book, this magazine, this tv chef and this blog, and basically just taking all of my favorite parts from each to create my own recipe. We'll see how it turns out. And when I actually end up making it...there's a fairly good chance I won't have to go into the garden center tomorrow due to the crappy weather (I got sent home early today), and if that's the case, I might just make it for lunch tomorrow. Possibly even on the stovetop, just for kicks. (And warmth...we're getting a new heater installed and therefore we don't have heat right now!!)

Catching up, 1/4: The Sunflower Skirt

I've been a bad blogger lately, but I have more to say about pretty much everything I wanted to post than would be nice for a summary post, so I'm just going to give each item a shorter post.

This is the skirt that I ended up making from my Spoonflower fabric. I made it from a pattern I've used before, McCall's 2029 (the bias-cut view)- I was originally planning on using the BurdaStyle Sidonie, but realized I was about two sizes smaller at the waist than I was at the hips, and also stupidly decided to lengthen it from the line within the pattern rather than at the bottom, so I was having a good bit of trouble with changing the pattern to work. The fabric is a tiny bit see-through, as is the nature with white, but rather than line it and risk that extra line showing at the side seams, I underlined it with some white lining fabric that I had in my stash and it worked pretty well. I just really love the graphic look to it-- I found a tank top that I have that matches it decently, but I'm going to need to invest in some solid tops that pick up the colors in the skirt! Maybe a nice royal blue...

Thanks again to Gwen for the giveaway, and Beth for doing such a lovely job on the print!

Speaking of pattern-fitting issues, I took the plunge and signed up for one of the upcoming classes at Pattern Review--the "Make a Skirt Muslin" one. (7th one down on the page-- I can't link to it directly.) I like that the idea is basically to teach me how to make a skirt sloper and then use that to fit other skirts--I'm fortunate in that I don't really have any major fitting issues, but it would be nice to learn how to adjust the patterns to work around my waist-to-hip ratio discrepancy instead of just taking in the seams as I'm sewing! (Plus this one is a recommended prereq to the pants-fitting class, and I need to learn that!) I think I know which skirt I'd potentially like to use for the pattern that's my choice--I've been drooling over this BWOF pattern since the day I got the magazine. (Though I do wonder if that's too close to the starting point for me to really benefit from it, and maybe I should go with something more A-line or bias-cut instead?) For the first pattern, though, I'm required to use a straight skirt with darts and a waistband that actually hits at the waist. (Ugh, I'm used to hiphugger everything, and the waist feels constrictive to me now!) I usually get A-line skirts instead of straight skirts, so I'm going to throw the question out there: do you have any recommendations for a good basic straight skirt pattern?