Like my clever title?

So, I made this blouse with the intention that it would be worn under a wrap dress and the ruffled collar would stick out the edge and it would just be super fab. Well, I tried it on with the last wrap dress I made from the batik skirt and it just didn't work for me. Far too "frou frou". And with black, it looked way too French maid. So, I just decided it would just be a blouse.



The fabric is vintage, it's a lovely fine woven stripe, but pretty sheer. I made "mock flat-felled seams" by serging the endges then topstitching that down close to the edge of the serged seam. Doesn't look too bad though I'm terrible with sewing a straight line. This was good practice.



This was also an experiment in adding embellishments like ruffles. If you've followed my blog at all, you'll notice I do very simple designs. So, this was fun. And it came out pretty o.k. The pinked edges made it easy and disguised a whole lot of *ahem* variations in the cutting line.

I should have modeled it with a camisole instead of over a green bra, but it's really too damn hot today to put on a camisole too. So, you get a 1980s Madonna-esqe look here.

Oh, and design is my own, based on the peacock dress pattern. I have gotten a lot of mileage out of this one pattern design!!

Posted on sew_hip.

Okay, I know I'm getting silly now.

But I just had to have a pencil skirt made from this great faux bois fabric. And when I was done, I just had to make a blouse to go with it that looked like leaves.



The blouse is lined with silk dupoini (I line just about everything) and the fabric is vintage cotton - probably 50s. The blouse pattern is Simplicity 5308, 1973. I took about 3" out of the sleeve gather because I didn't want it that poofy. It's still a tad poofy, but what are you going to do? I didn't line the sleeve, just the bodice.



I am thinking of wearing this with a snakeskin belt and maybe I should buy this apple necklace and have a whole "Garden of Eden" thing going on? Okay, that's probably stretching it. But I am so going to wear this outfit next Earth Day and see if anyone gets it.

Posted at sewhip

I found this skirt at the Salvation Army and bought it even though I knew it would look like crap on me. It was too long and it had WAY too much bulk around my hips (where I don't need any help). But I loved the fabric and so I offered it to my friend Mercedes who is 5'8" and looks great in long skirts. But she didn't get back to me in time and I couldn't help myself, I cut into it (I *did* warn her I might do it though, so she was aware). I just simply LOVE wax-died batik fabrics. I fell in love with it after going to southern Africa and seeing how the women there mixed and matched these wonderful prints in such creative and colorful ways - effortlessly.



I ended up making a dress of my own design that you might recognize from earlier posts. It's a wrap dress like the peacock dress but with ties instead of hooks and a belt, and like the Japanese print top but with a skirt, obviously. I just lined the bodice because the fabric was opaque enough that the skirt didn't need it. I also was able to salvage the pockets from the original, yay! Pockets always make a dress feel less "formal" and that's what I was going for here. There was just enough fabric to make a belt by sewing together smaller pieces - no one will ever notice that, I'm certain.



On the back, I wanted the ties to have a little detail because I always make such simple designs. So I used the leftover bead trim from my Christmas tie scarves I made a couple years ago.



Of course, it's already starting to fall apart. Anyone have any ideas how to secure beads like this?




For washing, since it's all cotton and I don't want to bother with dry cleaning for this, I thought I might just make a little drawstring bag and secure it over the beads and then just throw it in the wash. I'll secure it with safety pins so it should survive (famous last words).

And, lastly, I still have just not gotten the gumption up to make facings for my stuff. I am excused in this case because there would not have been enough fabric. As I mentioned, I had to "quilt" to fabricate the ties. Still, I would have probably done it the same way regardless. I just make it my rule that, if I'm not going to *do the right thing* and make facings for my garments, AT LEAST use pretty linings that you don't mind showing... and they will. In this case, I didn't use a lining that is especially *pretty* but it makes me smile - because the print is too funny, and the colors work perfectly with the main fabric.

If you look closely, you'll see basketball players in the lining... No, this will never be seen by anyone but me, but it makes me smile, anyway.

I made a new stool cover for my sewing room. I was thinking of reupholstering my dining room chairs in this fabric but I think it's too much pattern and color for that much coverage, so my little sewing stool wins.



Isn't it cute though?

Posted on sewhip

O.K. my friend Sarah once referred to me "the pants-rippen-est person I know." Because somehow I used to rip my pants a lot. I wore my clothes tighter, I guess, when I was young and it didn't seem so "cougar". I am happy to report I haven't ripped any pants in the recent past.

Which leads me to my new dress...

The design is my own based on the basic pattern I designed for the peacock dress (see last entry in blog). It has a little notched "v" in the front and princess side seams, pencil skirt and back slit. The fabric is vintage cotton and lined with moss green silk dupoini. I am a lazy liner and, with the silk at least, I rarely do a facing. I guess that's because the silk irons really crisp and so it doesn't show much and if it does, it's so gorgeous, I don't mind. But I really should do arm and neckhole facings more.

Seen here Saturday night on the way to the train for a friend's birthday party in San Francisco... this is before the Big Rip of 2009.









It's pretty obvious now why it ripped, I sewed it too tight across the hips which you can see in the picture. I also hadn't yet added the skirt lining because, if I did, we would have be even more late to the party than we already were. The combo of the tightness and poor choice of tights made it very "high maintenance" to keep straight all night. But at least it stayed intact until the drive home. I was so bummed that I thought I'd have to toss it but Michael convinced me to fix it (I had had 3.5 martinis over the course of the evening which added to my melodramatic response.)

AFortunately, there was plenty of seam allowance (due to my sloppy, rushed sewing the night before) so I patched the rip and reinforced the back seam a little, added the skirt lining and finished it up proper on Sunday. I replaced the quick-y top-stitched hem with a hand-sewn, invisible bagged-lining hem) and wore it out to dinner again, this time belted with a great Façonnable cardigan I got for $2 at thrift store.



I just love this dress and am so glad that, after thinking it was a one-night-stand dress, I was able to fix it so that it fit even better. I can wear it this way (with the sweater) to client meetings and also out on the town.

I need to take a closeup of the patch (which came out better than expected) and the invisible zipper which came out FLAWLESS for the first time ever!

An actual quote from the hostess at Garibaldi's last night after we had dinner to celebrate another completed dress. My spouse usually takes me to Camino but we thought this dress was a little "fancier" so that's where we went. Also, he treats himself to a steak whenever (and only ever when) he rides 100 miles or more on his bike which he did yesterday too so we were celebratin' the little things in life that make us happy.

So, I am especially proud of this because I designed this dress myself last Friday and I have already made two tops based on the bodice part and had a dress to wear by Saturday.



So, here are the deets.

Fabric is some peacock cotton I bought at Longs. Yes, Longs Drugs - the one in Oakland is massive and has a fabric section, some Walmarts also do I've heard. It's hit or miss but I usually find something. I actually bought ALL they had of this because I just love it. Flip side is a peacock blue silk dupoini. The reason I say "flip side" instead of lining is because....

it's completely reversible:



It's like having two dresses!!!! One fancy and one extra fancy.

The style princess seam full wrap with back darts on the skirt and inverted box pleats (or would these be considered gussets?) with the blue dupoini contrast on the peacock side of the sleeves and back. The blue dupoini side is solid, no contrast.



I made the belt from a vintage cover-your-own-belt kit found in a thrift store. I love cover-your-own-button kits and snatch them up when I find them at thrift stores and yard sales. Things always look so "finished" with matching buttons.

Okay, one more pic for you:



I guess truly the best part about this is that I really enjoyed working on it and it gave me confidence to try designing again. (I used to design clothes when I was much younger, as in 20 years ago... If you ask nicely, I might post some pics.)

Posted on sewhip

Posted on sewhip.

Just a little pillowcase top I made to wear around the house on hot days (Not something I'd wear out in public probably since it's hard to find a bra to go with it, but maybe over a bikini top in summer?):



I love the detailed crocheted edge and the fact that it says "Mine" in cross-stitch. I imagine it was part of a set once and its mate probably said "Yours."

I was so excited this weekend to have nearly the whole weekend to sew. I've had an idea for a summer wrap dress for some time and I've just been trying to figure out a pattern for it because I can't find anything I like in an existing pattern.

After several unsuccessful attempts at draping (I have no idea what I'm doing which is most likely the problem), I was ready to chuck the bodice muslin when I had an epiphany. Since I was just trying to make a basic bodice that fit me, I thought, "what have I made that really fit well?" and I remembered my little waistcoat that i love.

So, I adjusted this pattern by extending it to the waist, adding to the back arm/shoulder so it meets my arm (for an eventual sleeve), and adding the front wrap part - which was a little bit of guesswork but I eventually got right after a few tries. Only took two muslins to get it right and I celebrated the success by making myself a little top. The peplum I made by tracing one of my dinner plates and adding 4" to it all around. It happened to be just right.







I wore this out to the Greek Festival Saturday night and felt like a hottie. Thanks Stacey for the birthday fabric that I used for the outside - I lined it with a green silk dupoini. I just love love love it.

Now, onto the dress...

My neighbor Bella is learning to sew. I have given her a couple of lessons now and she keeps getting better. She is now 8 and informed me that she'd like to make an apron with some of the fabric I gave her for Christmas a while back. So, last Saturday, we had another session and we did just that. She designed the apron herself with a pocket, and another pocket for a pencil. So cute. She learned a few new skills, gathering, sewing on rick rack and honed her skills at sewing a good, straight line. I'm very proud of her.

... that I have made a lot of things in the past few months but have not gotten good pictures of them all. That said, partly what makes a "good picture" to me is, you know, do I look good? I recently changed my hair color from blonde to brown and I cut bangs which I decided quickly after were just bad, bad, bad and immediately started growing them out again. So, I have a hair color I'm not used to and bad bang grow-out situation preventing me from posting my latest designs. I'll try to be less vain and just post what I have, though. Bad hair be damned.

So, I used the pattern for this dress (Butterick 5243) and made a top out of it by just cropping the pattern.

This pattern says for "moderate stretch knits only" but all you need to do to make it work for wovens is to add a side zipper. I did that with this top and it works great. I used a vintage rayon-y kind of fabric that I think was formerly a curtain judging from the hem and seams on the fabric. The fabric wears much better as a blouse. And I needed some blouses more than I need a new dress. Anyway, the message I'm sending is don't be afraid of every pattern that says it's for stretch knits only. A zipper does the trick for some of them.

It's a little low-cut but I somehow don't have that problem with the dress version. I wish I could tell you what I did differently for some guidance, but I can't remember. So, I just pin it for now.


Okay, here's the pic and this is my disclaimer. I was wearing (against my better judgement) a pair of skull leggins when I asked my husband to take a picture of the top. So, you can see my self esteem and sense of decorum reaching all new lows in that I'm even using this picture instead of insisting on a re-shoot. But I really feel the need to update my LJ, so there you go.



See? I told you it was bad. But the top... I like it.

I finally caved and bought the $80/year magazine Burda World of Fashion. Considering what I spend on patterns currently, this really isn't a splurge but if feels like it.

My first issue came in April and I decided to make the 114 dress.

I ended up using the fabric from my old squirrel shelving unit cover because I bought a new dresser for my sewing room that pretty much eliminates the need for it and looks so much cuter. (Don't worry, squirrel lovers, I saved the squirrel crests - I just haven't done anything with them yet.) I just didn't want to use good fabric on my first attempt.

This actually came out okay. I've worn it out a couple of times and I have to say, I felt rather stylish both times. The lining on the pockets, pocket flaps and shoulder flaps is a silk taffeta in a sort of orange/red plaid. Buttons are vintage - dark, dark red bead style buttons. I'll probably make it again, I think the 115 is the same but without the pockets/shoulder flaps and is lined. I have some green silk dupoini I might use.

GOD, though, why does BWOF make you add seam allowances? I would pay twice what is already kinda high for me (who does her regular fabric shopping at yard sales and thrift stores) to get a pattern with seam allowances added already. Does anyone know why they do this?

Anyway, here it is. Someone called it "1920s safari" but that someone was a straight male so what can you say - he got it partly right.

I scanned these pics to send to someone who loves vintage patterns and is a size or two bigger than me. She picked the ones she wanted already and these are leftover from that trade.

See the whole set here.

My size is 31-31&1/2 bust. I know I could alter these but I just don't want to do the grading required to do it right. I'm a lazy sewist.

I haven't checked these for all of the pieces but I got most of them from a woman who was meticulous and I haven't found a missing piece yet. I would check them thoroughly before sending them to anyone of course. If anyone is interested in any of these patterns, let me know and let me know what you have in my size and hopefully, we can work out something.

MY first attempt at a coat did not come out so good (neither did the pictures). So, this was second attempt. I found this gorgeous Pendelton wool in a fabric store in Colorado that was going out of business for $4. It has the most amazing hand and is soooo soft. It's a dark grey on white with the contrast stripe being a pretty pale yellow.

1. First successful coat:


I used McCall 5531 (combo of view A & C). I made the collar smaller because big collars overwhelm my small frame. I also can't stand a coat without pockets so I added some in the front at a new seam. Just split the pattern at the notch in the front and add 5/8" on each side of the piece for a seam allowance. Use a pocket facing if you don't want the lining to show too much. You'll have to eyeball where you want the pocket height-wise but the notch was the perfect location for the new seam.

And

2. First attempt at matching plaids:



I think I did a decent job on this one. Plaids no longer scare me. And this was about a 4" repeat so it was a tad more challenging.

I also used beautiful vintage buttons. Close up shot to come.

I made this dress for Michael's holiday party and didn't get a good shot of it. The best I had for you was the "hanger shot" since it was pretty tight and didn't want to go back on the dress form.

So, here it is in action (with BF Sarah on her 40th birthday):


Hopefully, I'll get an even better shot of it someday when I'm not having a "bad hair month."

For my friend Dan's birthday, I made a laptop sleeve for when he travels to protect his Macbook Pro from scratches and bumps and idiotic TSA workers (don't get me started!) He's about to do a lot of travel so I thought it was a perfect time for him to have a birthday and allow me to make him something. So nice of him.

It's nice and manly... in a nice Italian houndstooth wool.



But the best part is the lining. The reason why this lining is cool is because Dan came into our lives through Karen, who met him while he was working at a safari camp in South Africa. So, zebras, elephants, hippos, giraffes, leopards, etc. were part of his daily life and that's how they fell in love. So, when he opens up his laptop sleeve, he'll think of Africa.



I made sure to put the hippos at the top where he'd see them first because Karen, his woman, is a bit crazy about hippos. Did I say a bit? I meant REALLY crazy about hippos. So, they'll remind him of her when they're apart. Awwwwwww.



I made mine with piping so it had a more polished look but these are easy to make if you leave that detail out.

This outfit was made for my dear Benjamin who is my best friend Stacey's little man (I know I sometimes refer to Stacey as my best friend and sometimes Sarah but that's because they BOTH are. I'm lucky.)

It's pretty ridiculous. I want to make a hat that looks like the sky with clouds - because think about it - but I haven't gotten to it yet so all I have is a refashioned cashmere blend sweater:



And tree trunk pants. With a little owl.





Stacey better send me a picture of Ben in this get up or she's in TRUBBLE!

Posted on sew_hip

I made a few more bags for my friends and MIL based on "Tiny Happy's Tutorial. I got some "end-user" feedback which I'll share with you guys.

First though, I want to point out the changes I made from the original tutorial. I deepened the bag 2" so that it was 12" deep (instead of 10" as shown in her drawing.) I kept the strap 18" so it ended up being 30" total (including seam allowances) from top of strap to bottom.

Oh, and don't forget to "clip like mad" around the corners. I forgot to do it on one bag... and it showed.

So, Sarah's feedback was:

a) the phone slot is a bit tight and short for an iPhone w/ protective
case. the phone fits in about 1/2 of the pocket, but to not fall out
of the pocket, it has to be held in by the "made by" tag (which works
well actually!)

SEWER'S NOTE: I didn't know she'd gotten a iPhone, fancy lady. She came over the week later and I made the correct sized pocket but if I'd known, I would have used the spouse's as a pattern. So, if you're making one for someone, find out what phone they use AND if they have any sort of cover they use that makes it bulkier. Make sure to leave enough room that it sticks out a bit and there's room for their fingers to get in and grab it when it rings!!!

b) the phone pocket would be easier to access if it was offset instead
of centered, as the button/loop closure is right on top of where you
would pull the phone out.

SEWER'S NOTE: Something I would have never thought of. Having the pocket centered seems logical but in practice, when it's right under the strap, it's hard to get to when it's ringing. So, we moved it.

c) the height/depth is just a *tad* too shallow for a standard
magazine to fit in sideways (the width/length is perfect).

SEWER's NOTE: Sadly, this wasn't something that I could fix easily but I think if I made the purse just 2" deeper (14" instead of 12"), it would solve that problem. I hadn't really thought of what she might carry in it, so that is something else to consider if you're making a gift. What does your gift recipient like to carry around?

Sarah's bag:



Vintage Czech glass button:



Jacque's (Mother in Law) bag:



Squirrel lining (I would not recommend the zipper. I pulled this out FOUR TIMES!!!!):




Mercedes Bag:
(She is the one who inspired this because she loved the Uzbek suzani bag I brought home from Turkey. I found this fabric which had a similar feel and made this bag for her. She LOVES bright colors (hence the lining):

Fabric - yard sale.


Lining fabric - thift store.

So, business is a little slow this week.

I needed to take down the Christmas tree (yes, I know it's January 22!)





I was having trouble fitting all of my decorations in one box. Mainly because I had so many random boxes I kept different ornaments in. I have a lot of glass ornaments and the don't need to be wrapped in bubble wrap since the box they're in gets moved twice a year, but i wanted to protect them a little. So, I made little pouches for them all out of my most "Christmas-y" looking fabric I could find. Yes, I know this is so close to needing a Martha Stewart exorcism-style intervention it's not funny.

I made nearly all my Christmas presents this year (yay, me!) but I've been too busy to get around to posting them all. Thankfully, some of my friends don't mind if their presents are late because we get together after Christmas is over. As far as they know, their presents were finished and sitting under the tree Christmas morning. Since I'm stuck in a client's office with nothing to do, I thought I'd update this blog a little.

For my darling Nora (who now has appeared in three other posts), I made a game of "Concentration." I got the idea from the great tutorial here here thanks to a now-forgotten blogger who posted this link a while back.

I found the printer fabric on joann.com (A web site my husband helped build!) It's not cheap, but I used a coupon which you can find online easily by googling "Joann promotion code". I am sure you ALL already know this.

Nora is 6 and LOVES memory games. She is really good at them too (the little smarty pants) and they make her happy since she wins most of the time. For this game, I used pictures of her family. I also had to throw in a pic of us because, if you make the game, you get to be in it. She loved it.



She is so damned cute. One thing we realized after playing a few times was that it should have an odd number of sets so there will always be a "tie breaker". Nora requested a pic of all of us that were there that evening so we took a photo I made one more tile out of it the next day.



Special thanks to Yasmine - the incredibly talented artist at "A Print A Day" for the matrioshka doll graphic. I brought Nora a set of nesting dolls from Moldova and she loved them so they were sort of a special "inside" story on the label.



I made her mom a purse but she's yet to get me the pictures. She also gave me some great feedback on the shoulder bag so I'll post her comments and suggestions with the pics. (When she sends, them, ahem, hint hint.)

I've been making purses all weekend but I thought I'd take some time and catch my LJ up with what I've been making.

I completely forgot I made these for my spouse. Robot Man PJs to match Benjamin's.

As you can see, Samson likes them:


I really need to fix the lame bias tape waist band drawstring though. I didn't have something better at the time and now I'm too lazy.



And for all you cycling geeks out there, yes, that is an "I placed at Copperopolis" t-shirt.