Saturday Afternoon Randomness

It's Saturday afternoon and I'm in the sewing cave NOT sewing.  I wasted an entire day yesterday because I did nothing...absolutely nothing, didn't go to work because of the weather.  It's not like I don't have things I want to make, because I do.  I just didn't feel like doing anything.  And my mojo isn't gone, cause I want to sew...just not yesterday.  Weird, huh?

The weather has been frightful here.  Between the cold and now the snow, I'm missing the more comfortable temperatures of last winter.  Because of this, I've worn pants much more this year than last and I've found my pants wardrobe to be lacking.  Hey, I'm a woman who prefers to wear a dress so I've limited my pants making in the last couple of years.

I prefer solid color pants.  Remember I'm the woman who made five pairs of black lined wool crepe pants.  Well the years have not been kind to the linings in those pants.  The fashion fabric has lasted no problem...linings well that's another story. So I will be pulling linings out and relining these pants.  I've given up on trying to make linings last...it ain't happening so I will go with the flow and put in new ones.

As promised, if anyone creates a garment inspired by something you've seen here, I will feature you on the blog. This week it's Gaylen, who authors the blog, GMarie.  Gay had an interview recently and she "interpreted" my Pleasant Purple Dress & Jacket into an awesome dress and jacket of her own.

I think she did an amazing job, don't you!?

It's so dayum cold outside and there's at least 7 or 8" of snow on the ground so you know I'm not leaving the sewing cave until work on Monday morning! Especially since work is only three days next week - yippee!

My daughter will be over tomorrow with the grandbabies to take photos of the completed garments so look for those finished garment posts on the blog next. Here's how they're looking so far...

Finally, may I ask a question?  Do you guys visit the Mood Sewing Network blog? I was wondering because my Mood Projects always show up there three or four days prior to appearing on my blog. Also my comrades sew some amazing garments using Mood fabric that you should all see. Anyway, I hope that you will visit the MSN blog on a regular basis - there's some inspiring sewing going on there!

Well I'm out...having some lunch first and then figuring out what to do make while I'm ensconced in my very warm sewing cave!

...as always more later!

Twenty Thirteen is going to be a sewing year!

Do you know how companies have mission statements?  They come up with two or three catchy sentences that supposedly define the essence of the company. They print it up on everything...the walls at their headquarters...their promotional materials and handouts...everything.  I've come up with my own mission statement for my sewing this year, 

"It's A Sewing Year and It's All About 

the Designer Interpretation!"

There will be a few patterns sewn this year, again because I keep buying them, so I should use some of them. However, I really want to interpret some of the designer pieces I'm seeing.  Speaking to my plus size sistahs, I know that we look at thin models wearing some awesome pieces and walk away or turn the page thinking, not for me/us.  But this year, I'm gonna prove you wrong!  I want to show you that we plus size & bodacious women can have designer inspired pieces too.

So if you've liked what I've sewn so far, fasten your seat belts, it's gonna be a year of fun and funky, cool and capricious, professional yet edgy...and predominantly designer gear.  I also have a real faux leather thing going on...so expect to see more garments with leather accents too!  

My latest fascination is with Roksana Ilincic because of garments like these:

I've taken a few days off next week.  Originally we were headed to Vegas, but someone has to work unexpectedly so instead of giving my days back, I'm just gonna stay home and sew - make lemonade from lemons.  You know I've got a list. Besides my Mood Project, I'll be working on a couple of other pieces (DL jacket and dress anyone?) too.  

I'm gonna sew like no tomorrow because it's a sewing year and it's all about the designer interpretation!  Yeah that's my mission statement and I'm gonna be repeating it alot this year!  

...as always more later!

Saying goodbye to some old friends

I love ponte knit but not all ponte knit is created equal.  Don't you agree?  And it doesn't really matter what the price point is because some expensive ponte knits can pill even more than some of it's cheaper cousins.  

There was this discussion on Stitchers Guild months and months ago...see how it's stayed with me...discussing how long ponte worked before it started to pill on sewists garments.  At the time, I wasn't experiencing any issues with the majority of my ponte garments.  Probably because I own so many dayum clothes that things don't get worn more than 2 or 3 times a season.

However, after I wore my Red Burda Dress two weeks ago, I realized that the pillation had begun and I could no longer wear it.  That makes me sad...because the black/white version of that same dress has also bitten the dust...and the Macy's Dress is starting to look a little long in the tooth.

All of these dresses were personal sewing growth dresses.  The Macy's Dress because I was really getting into cutting up my TNT pattern and because it was something that other celebrities were actually photographed in...

My Burda Dress was my first successful foray into Burda World of Fashion patterns, y'know what BurdaStyle use to be called.  Not only did I trace that sucka but I also enlarged all of the pattern pieces to get the dress to my size...

Finally the black 'n white version of the Burda Dress was wonderful because I remade the red dress with some extra touches...

Now I'm saying good bye to these amazing garments.  They've served me well. I've learned much from the construction of each one. Now I'm sorry that they will no longer have an honored place in my wardrobe because of pillation.

I guess I shouldn't complain.  They've been in my closet since 2010.  They've been well loved and now it's time to part...but it's with much sorrow that I see them go. I have plans to recreate the red dress using some red wool crepe from the collection because I really want that dress in my wardrobe.  I'm glad though that I've got pictures of the other two so I can remember them fondly!

...as always more later!

How Much Do I Love Thee?

Let me tell you how much I love, love, love my new Janome Memory Craft 8900 QCP!

• It's quiet.  O-M-G!  It is sooooooo quiet!
• It's fast. Very fast. I can slow it down so that the needle seems like it's walking or I can speed it up so that it's flying.  I don't make it go fast often because it's going 90 mph!
• It's precise.  What do I mean?  Well the needle stops EXACTLY where you want it to.  Now the 6600P had this feature too but I'm still in awe of this feature especially when making buttonholes.
• It has a free arm.  People I get giddy every time I pull that arm off!  I've been sewing without a free arm for the last three years and to have one again is just stupendous!
• Threads so easily you don't need a diagram because its so dayum logical!
• It has an extra large foot pedal.  I never have to search for it.  It's right there in it's place all the time!
• Wide bed - my 6600P had a large bed which I love but this one seems larger.  I mean my last jacket fit flat across the sewing machine bed making it easy to move around and sew...especially when making buttonholes.
• Now that I've mentioned buttonholes twice, I've used two of the types and they sew up so easily.
• Quite a few of the features of the 6600P that I loved are on this one too * Cutting tool  *Up/Down Needle  *The presser foot raises extra high making it easy to slip garments under the foot.  *Automatic needle threader

• Every foot that I can think of comes with this machine.  I only added a teflon foot.
• Storage - there is so much storage in this machine.  Loads in the free arm and built into the top of the machine...everything has a place without needing additional storage for all the different sewing feet.
• Simple bobbin winding - so easy!
• It comes with a clear table.  I'm not using mine now but who knows about the future.
• Plenty of light - even with the Ott Lite off I can still see clearly because there is a lot of light by the needle and a double one under the arm.
• The machine bed is well marked - going past the normal 1" markings and it's done on both the right and left side of the needle plate.
• It has a knee lift.  Again I haven't used mine but I'm sure I will in the future.
• The touch screen is soooo kewl and easy to use.
• Quite a few stitches, even several words that you can stitch out - way more than the 6600P.
• The silver wheel at first to me was a little imposing but now I twirl that thing with the best of them!  Seriously though, I love how you can scroll through the stitches and how the stitches are grouped ~ Utility, Buttonhole, Quilting, Satin, Heirloom, etc.

I've only made three garments on it so far but I do love my new sewing machine. It makes me smile every time I come into the sewing cave...and it's some of the best money I've spent in a long time!  I haven't used every stitch on it or run it through all it's paces but it works so well that I'm enjoying the learning process. Finally, I want to share my Instruction Book with you.

Since I'm learning a new machine, I refer to it often.  I've started to bookmark items that I refer to often by using stickies with the title on it.  This way I don't have to search through the manual each time I need something.  It does come with a CD but I have to admit that I haven't watched it yet.  I just jumped in and started sewing.

So I'll be happily creating new garments on my Memory Craft 8900QCP and absolutely encourage you to purchase one of your own, if it's in your budget.

...as always more later!

Butterick 5679 Print Blocked Dress

I had two dresses that I wanted to make this weekend.  The first one from Butterick 5679, a top pattern that I've changed to dress length...

from this fabric combination...

I'm also adding an inch or two to the hem because I'm going to wear it with a belt.  I know, you're wondering who is this woman?  But twenty thirteen is a new year. I've made a lot of garments these last couple of years, so I need to move in new directions. I don't want to sew the same thing over and over again.

I've made this dress before and it was so comfortable to wear.  It looked professional with a black cardigan over it and it wore like I was wearing my pjs to work.  A good thing for my wardrobe because we are entering the darkest days of winter and I'm developing a serious case of Winter Blues...so I need some colorful, fun, yet professional pieces to wear.

Here is the dress on Lulu...

Since I've made the dress before this time I constructed it totally on the serger.  Do you know how fast it is to make something if you serge all the seams?  Faster than fast! *LOL*

So my original idea was to have a totally solid back and a print front, that meant print sleeves and cowl on the front and solid sleeves and cowl at the back.  Ummm, the idea was kinda goofy.  When I started to lay the fabric pieces out that idea quickly bit the dust.  I went with the print sleeves and cowl although I'd cut both pieces in the brown ponte knit too.  The dress with just a solid back looked so much better and less schizophrenic than my originally planned dress.

I'm not sure if I cut this version larger (I tend to do that!) or if the fabrics behaved differently than my polyester knit version either way I ended up taking another 5/8" off both sides. 

I also handled the cowl neckline differently on this one.  First I cut the cowl pattern out halfway, just like the first one because even though I was originally drawn to the large cowl neckline in reality it is too much material at my neckline.  However, I didn't fold it in half as the pattern instructs and stitch it to the dress' neckline.  I just stitched it onto the dress, added a serged edge and let all the excess puddle around the front of the dress' neckline.

The sleeves were stitched to bracelet length and a 1" hem was turned up at the bottom of the dress.  For some reason this version seems more shapeless than the first version, so as stated earlier I will be wearing a belt with it.  Modeled shots will happen later...it's Super Bowl weekend and my daughter is hosting a Super Bowl party this weekend.

Honestly, I'm not sure if I like this dress.  Hopefully hair and make-up, heels and jewelry will improve my outlook on the dress. I am moving onto the next print blocked dress which I'm calling the CK Dress.  

...as always more later!

The First 31 Days of 2013

Januarys and Julys seem to be good sewing months for me.  I guess I take a few more vacation days and there are holidays during both months that give me several days off in a row to sew.  

January was good to me this year too. I made six pieces and my sewing is moving in another direction which is very encouraging to me.  I've had great highs this month - the Ponte & Leather Dress and incredible lows - The Vogue Jacket.

Four dresses and two jackets were completed this month.  More progress was made on The City in Winter Collection.  A few more pieces and it will be done.  Two items were featured on The Mood Sewing Network...

...and I'm moving forward with another designer inspired garment.

Of course more fabric was added to the collection.  I do have a healthy fabric addiction after all! *LOL*  But most importantly my new baby arrived.  I love coming into the sewing cave and seeing the Horizon 8900 sitting next to my Babylock serger.  I feel like my sewing has finally grown to the point where I can use the best of the best to create.

I also added a new piece to the sewing room to handle some of the fabric overflow.  

(Notice how it's already filled with fabric!)

Now if I could just get those last three garbage bags unpacked from Hurricane Sandy! *LOL*  I have one more corner of the sewing room to fix...I want to add another bookcase to store my books on which will free up two more shelves for fabric storage.  I will also be able to move my sewing knick knacks onto a shelf and out of storage.  The other change I want to make to the sewing room is to get my sewing magazines unboxed and stored away.  I'm using some shelving poorly in my sewing room and I want to repurpose it which will give me space for my magazines.

My sister who hasn't been in the sewing cave since my fabric was in plastic bins, came down the other day and was amazed at how much it's changed.  Just a few more changes and I think I will be done for a little while! *LOL*

Hopefully February will be good to me sewing-wise too!

...as always more later!

Print Blocking

Everyone knows that color blocking has been very popular for several seasons. Lately in my travels through designer sites, I've noticed this trend that I'm calling "Print Blocking."  Here are some examples...

...from Erdem's Pre-Fall 2013 Collection...

This from Calvin Klein that I found on MyHabit.com...

...and finally this new Vogue 1336 from Vogue Patterns 

(Which are on sale until Friday!)

Of course this meant some scrounging around in my fabric collection to see if I had some comparable fabrics.  This combo features a brown/purple print ponte knit from Mood with a brown ponte knit from the collection.  Beautiforius, right Marcy! ;)

I had the red ponte knit in my collection that is left over from making The Macy's Dress. I'm combining it with a new purchase that I'd seen online and remembered as soon as I saw the Calvin Klein dress.  So you know I bought two yards with a quickness and a hurry to make my version of the CK dress.

My excitement for these dresses have bumped the DL jacket & dress.  I will work on these dresses this weekend from TNT dress patterns.  The CK dress will be made using my TNT dress pattern with a few changes made to the pattern. The Erdem interpretation will be made using Butterick 5679.  I mean it's SuperBowl weekend, no one will be around to do things with so I will have the weekend to myself to sew, sew, sew!

These will be palette cleansers to help renew my sewing aura that was badly damaged and inflicted with so much pain from the last jacket make. I need a little fashion forward dress sewing to restore my sewing faith! *LOL*  

I know I'm changing my mind about the sewing order of my next couple of garments but it's "My Prerogative!"

...as always more later!

Vogue 8208 - The Jacket is Done

This jacket is part of my City in Winter Collection.  I've been sewing this collection since last October. As you know I wanted to create a versatile wardrobe that I could use for any part of my busy life ~ work, dates out with friends and church. I've finished quite a few pieces but I was dragging my feet making the jacket.

The jacket is from Vogue 8208 which is an out-of-print pattern that has been reviewed several times on Pattern Review...and now I know why there are only four reviews for it!  This jacket is a very involved sew with a lot of pieces!  I also decided to line an unlined jacket which added quite a bit of time to the jacket's construction.

I liked this pattern (notice I used the past tense here!) because the military influence was big for Fall 2012.  I thought this pattern encapsulated that trend well and it was already in my pattern collection.  It also worked with the basic bottoms I've already made.

Some stats:
Fabric ~
Brown wool crepe from Mood.  I bought mine at the NYC store but there is quite a selection online and if you specifically want brown it's here.

Notions ~
black silk organza 
brown rayon bemberg lining
10 7/8" buttons
fusible interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply

All of the pattern alterations can be found in this post and the construction details are in the last post.

As you know, I did omit a few things. There is only one breast pocket without a flap.  I thought that all of those flaps were a little too much for my body.  The pattern calls for you to cut the back pattern piece on the fold. I added a center back seam to get a better fit.  I also shortened the length of the cuffs.  Not only did I add a lining but I also underlined the jacket in silk organza to enhance it's wearability factor.

All of that work and honestly, I HATE this jacket.  Not because it doesn't look good on me, or that it doesn't work with the bottoms, but because it's construction was difficult...too difficult!  There was no joy in sewing it.  I don't even know if I would have finished it, if it hadn't been a Mood Project.  I'm sure you're asking why since from the pics it looks decent.  Well, I removed those pockets 4x! Seriously 4x!  I measured and remeasured them before BASTING them to the jacket front several times. Even with all of that, they still had to come off again and again until I was in tears and wanted to throw the dayum thing in the garbage.

Usually it's fit that ruins a pattern for me.  This time it was the actual pattern and the degree of difficulty in achieving perfection.  Now I'm not a perfect sewist but I don't want my garments looking Becky Homecky and if I hadn't gotten the pockets right, it would have.  So enjoy the pretty pictures.  I've worn this to work and now I will bury it deep in the back of my closet until I'm no longer scarred by the trauma of making it!

I'd really wanted to make the belt that goes with this jacket but by the time I got the buttons sewn onto it, I was done.  Done and more done! *LOL*  I have about two yards of the brown wool crepe left.  My original plan was to make a dress from Vogue 8828...that's not happening now.  I'm thinking another version of my TNT dress just so that I can move onto the pieces that are going to be made from the gray fabric. 

I'm really ready for this collection to be completed and since the gray pieces are all made from TNT patterns hopefully, I can knock them out by President's Day weekend.  

So even though I worked my way through the pain and ended up with a wearable garment, it will see the back of the closet until the memories of it's birth have faded away.  Hey I have other toppers from the collection that can be worn with the basics so it's not like they won't be worn!  The jacket is done.  It challenged me.  It made me cry.  It's wearable...and now it will be put away for another day.

...as always more later!

Vogue 8208 - Construction Details

Jackets are not easy sews for me.  I can construct them but lining them, that's a whole 'nother story. I'm just not as proficient at lining them as I am of other garments.  To make sure that I didn't screw this up, I watched a how-to video on lining jackets on the Power Sewing site. I picked up quite a few useful tips from Sandra Betzina and Ron Collins.  

As an aside, if you're not a member of Sandra Betzina's Power Sewing site, I highly recommend joining especially since she's running a special this month.  She has an awesome number of videos on her site that will assist you in taking your sewing to the next level.  I found this short video on YouTube, in case you've never seen her and Ron in action.

Construction ~
In my last post I mentioned that I was cutting out the fashion fabric, silk organza and lining fabric. I added silk organza to the construction of the jacket because it works as such a great stabilizer of wool crepe without changing the hand of the fabric.  The silk organza also helps with minimalizing the fabric's wrinkling.  It's just a great extra layer to add to wool crepe.

Pockets ~
There are a lot of pieces to this jacket.  It took hours just to make pockets and flaps and to get them situated on the jacket front.  The pattern has you apply unlined pockets to the jacket front.  I didn't want unlined pockets because I was worried that with the drapiness of the wool crepe that they would bag and sag. So not only did I line all four pockets but I also added interfacing to the upper part that folds into the pocket.  The pattern calls for you to add a button to that part of the pocket, so I wanted to stabilize that area.

I was also concerned about the placement of the pockets on the jacket.  It would be very easy to end up with crooked pockets.  To insure that didn't happen, I hand basted all of the pockets and the flaps to the jacket front before stitching them down.  Now there are two small breast pockets with flaps and two lower pockets with flaps on the jacket front.  While I like the look on the pattern envelope, I knew I didn't want that much pocketage on me!  Yeah, I know I just made that word up but you know what I mean! *LOL*  For the top pockets I omitted the flaps on the pockets and just made buttonholes in them for the buttons.

Of course I didn't get the pockets on straight the first time, or the second time or even the third time!  That would have just been to perfect...no, I had to remove two of them and reapply them after carefully measuring the fronts.  I was going to leave them a little crooked and be satisfied with good enough but as I completed an additional piece of the construction the crooked pockets stuck out like sore thumbs!  So off they came again, once even after they'd been topstitched.  Thank goodness the fabric had been underlined with the silk organza or I could have possibly ruined the fabric...*sigh*

See why one of these had to go!

Topstitching~
Each pocket was topstitched onto the jacket front.  I was a little more "perfect" with this because having the pockets basted onto the jacket front made it easier to move the jacket around on my sewing machine.

Topstitching samples

  
So you know I'm sewing this on my new sewing machine and even that is taking me a minute to acclimate myself to.  Things are similar to the 6600P but after sewing on the 6600P for several years I knew where everything was without thinking about it.  Since I'm still unfamiliar with the 8900, it takes some searching to find things.  Such was the case with my favorite topstitch pattern.  At first I couldn't find it and almost pulled out the 6600P but I kept spinning the silver wheel and finally it popped up.  

Final Construction Thoughts ~

• I thought that the collar would be my downfall but that sucker went on easier than easy!  It topstitched up well and was easily applied to the jacket.  
• Then it was the lining's turn.  I started this post by saying that I'm not proficient, okay let's go as far as saying, that I avoid making jackets and sewing their linings like the plague.  There are things that each sewist is good at making, mine is dresses not jackets and this lining is good but doesn't deserve a gold star.  Thank goodness for the lining video at Power Sewing because I literally watched it, stopped it, sewed and started it again.  I will definitely be renewing my subscription to Power Sewing!
• Lining the sleeves - I didn't exactly bag the lining.  I used all of Sandra's techniques but since I was adding cuffs to the sleeves, I basted the lining to the sleeve hem and then sewed the cuff on.
• The cuff pattern was long...way too long!  I ended up cutting an inch and a half off the pattern to get a cuff that fit me better.  I also ended up adding just one additional pleat to make the sleeve fit into the cuff.  So my pattern alterations worked.  Here's a pic of the finished cuff...

The jacket is finished and I will share it with you tomorrow...suffice it to say that I don't have much love for it...and will share this tale of woe then!

...as always more later! 

It's just too danged cold!

Here in the NY/NJ area we've had single digit temperatures for the last three/four days.  I hate the cold!  I especially hate having to look like a polar bear to spend 10 minutes outside every morning waiting for the bus and then the 5 minute walk to work from the subway.  So I've been in a little bit of a panic about staying warm...last year the temperature never dipped below 32 degrees F...so I wore dresses & skirts the entire winter.  That ain't happening this year, for sure!

Last Sunday I reached deep into the back of my closet and found this jacket that I'd totally forgotten I'd made...

...and this recent make (Butterick 5760) worn with a black cashmere turtleneck & black wool crepe pants kept me quite toasty this week...

I've been in pants all week and will be again tomorrow when all I can think of is sewing dresses and jacket/dress combos.  BTW, thanks for all the compliments on the last make, I really appreciate all of you who took the time to leave a comment. 

As a lot of you suggested, I will be making another version of it...just have to figure out which fabric to use.  But that's further down the list because I have another designer interpretation fighting to be made...

This is from 10 Crosby Derek Lam's Pre-Fall 2013 line.  Do you see that jacket? The top is made from a tweedy fabric and the sleeve bottoms and the jacket bottom are from leather.  

I'm going to use these fabrics from the collection along with the buttons that I bought in Chicago last May...

Faux leather & black 'n white wool blend tweed

Soutache wrapped buttons purchased from Soutache Embellishments

The designer shows that fabulous jacket with a leather skirt...kewl but not practical for my lifestyle.  I'm going to substitute a dress using my TNT pattern made from the tweed fabric with a faux leather yoke.  Edgy, right?  But I have enough practical work clothes and I want some fun and funky looks that will play nice in my corporate environment.  So this is what's up next on my sewing table!

Oh, one more thing!  You know how I was in love with those Salvatore Ferragamo pumps, discussed here.  Well Debbie Cook is always finding great shoes at Zappos, so during my holiday break I spent a little time on Zappos too.  Somehow these showed up at my doorstep...

...aren't they fantastic?  Love, love, love them!

Okay it's suppose to snow tomorrow...so not only is it colder than cold and a Friday to boot, now it's gonna freakin' snow!  Gotta go find something that I can trudge through the snow to the bus stop in, oh and stay warm at the same time.  Yeah, love winter...*NOT*!

...more later!