Blue is my Favorite Color

I need clothes and I need to sew. I've bought a few RTW pieces but with all the fabric I own and the ability to make my own, it makes me loath to spend a lot of money on RTW.  So if TNT bothers you, click out now. This is the first piece I made during the Labor Day weekend but I'm showing it last. Probably because we shot it pretty dressed up, the way that I would wear it to church vs the way that I would wear it to work.

So a pretty piece of fabric and a TNT pattern gave me this ~

There is nothing new or even different about this...except that a dress that should have taken 3-4 hours to make took me way longer.  It's usually like that for me when I'm trying to reclaim my sewing mojo.

Once again, I'm just tired of my current wardrobe. I haven't had that feeling in a very long time but the feeling is definitely affecting my sewing mood and what I want to create. While I long for new patterns, complicated sewing and new sewing challenges, reality says that I need to clothe my body.  So that's why I reached for my tried 'n true dress pattern to go with this fabric.

The fabric was purchased from Emmaonesock in late July.  Yeah a record for shelf life in the collection considering I haven't been sewing much...but I really wanted a dress from this fabric so that's what I made. 

• It has an invisible zipper in the back. 
• It is lined with white rayon bemberg.
• I also added white piping to the neckline and bias binding to the armholes. Originally I thought about adding some pockets to the front of the dress but caught myself in the knick of time since I'm not really a pocket kinda girl.

Of course I will pair it with a cardigan to deal with the air conditioning that I spend most of my time in. However, after seeing the exhibit at The Met, I really wanted to add some sequins to the dress...especially seeing this dress up close...

...but in all honesty I would stand out in a way that would make me uncomfortable...though it took a lot of self-control not to add those dayum sequins! *LOL* That part of the exhibit really fueled my desire to finish up this blue 'n white dress because it seemed as if I translated my love of the exhibit into a wearable garment!

A few more pics ~

I'm moving on to other things. The heatwave has broken and it's going to be cooler around here this week. I will be recycling some of the skirt/cardi combinations I wore earlier in the season giving me time to sew some more things for late summer/early fall.

...as always more later!

A Vogue 9048 & TNT Pattern Mashup

I started this top prior to leaving on vacation but after making so many maxidresses so quickly I was sewed out.  I left it to finish up when I returned from vacation.  Well we all know that I had a really eventful vacation and two weeks after, so I'd just started thinking about it again.

After looking at it with fresh eyes, I realized there wasn't much left to do to finish it up.  Also, I've been seeing a lot of this type of look on the streets of NYC and I realized that I could wear this style now...

I started this top by using Vogue 9048 and my TNT dress pattern. Originally I wanted the neckline and collar from the Vogue pattern. To alter the pattern, I used my pattern sandwich trick, layering the new pattern piece, the TNT dress pattern piece and a fresh piece of pattern paper to make up new pattern pieces.

I lengthened the pattern pieces by 15" and cut it out from a black and white cotton voile from the collection.  Originally, I cut out short sleeves and I went back and forth over whether to add them or not. Finally, I decided not to use them. Why? Because I'm still living in manufactured air everywhere and I always wear a cardigan against the cold.

• There is an 18" zipper in the center back.
• I omitted the collar - decided it would be too hot.
• I scooped the center front neckline out another inch at the center decreasing on the sides until it met the original seam.
• Turned the neckline and armholes down 1/2" pressed and stitched flat.
• I secured the side seams against tearing by pressing some Design Plus Fusible Stay Tape at the end of each side seam. Then stitched it flat.
• Cut 3" off the bottom then turned up 1/2" pressed and stitched flat.

Voila! It was done!  As you can see I'm wearing it over my leggings. It's a cool outfit for these last hot summer days especially since I no longer have a dress code.

Wearability Factor ~
I wore this on one of the hottest days during the past week and going out the front door I knew the leggings were going to be hot. I really don't like pants or anything on my legs during the heat so wearing this outfit was tricky, but I like it so much and wanted to wear it.

I also realized that I'm most comfortable wearing a boatneck and since this one is closer fitting, it bothered me all day. I kept having to tug at it because either my handbag pulled it tight up against my neck, sitting down without adjusting it also pulled it up against my neck. Even moving around in it caused me to tug at it.

My side slits are too high. When the wind blew the cotton voile flew in the wind and you could see my leggings clearly. Now while I was fully clothed, I'm still getting used to this whole close-fitting situation and I was definitely uncomfortable...especially after I caught a dude staring at my ass-ets.

Now would I make this again...yes! If I change the neckline, maybe to a v-neck and add some short sleeves using a little heavier fabric, this would be even better. This version was sooooo comfortable to wear and I felt very trendy and cool in it. Also, it was a head turner and I got quite a few compliments...so you might see a fall version of this one sooner rather than later.

In Conclusion ~
This was fun to wear. I would have never been able to wear this to my former job and it was freeing to be able to do so now. It also works as part of me trying to find my new style. I like how it's funky, cool and even a little sexy...

....always more later!

A High-Lo Dress from Simplicity 1621

Well I'm at the tail end of another trend. However, I've seen so much of this look on the streets this summer, that I wanted at least one of my own. Since I had three days of uninterrupted time to sew, I decided to find some fabric in the collection that would go with Simplicity 1621.

I wanted something colorful, not a solid and not a wild print. I settled on this blue & white pinstripe seersucker. To avoid the housedress look, I added white bias binding to all of the edges...the bias binding took way longer to make than it took to sew the dress.

Pattern Alterations ~
This is a very simple dress with only two pattern pieces and very little fitting required.  I cut the XXL size for the body and the large for the top of the dress blending into the XXL at the waist area.  

Construction Techniques ~

• I used the medium bust darts for my version even though I cut the large top.
• The neckline was cut using the small version for depth but I ended up rounding it out a little when I cut it out. I wanted to make sure that it would go over my head easily.
• I ended up cutting about 2" off the center back of the "lo" hem. It was longer than I wanted it to be.
• The pattern suggests that you use a flat felled seam on the center back seam because you can see it from the right side. I didn't do that because for the little bit of hem that you can see, it wasn't worth it.
• So you can see a bit of the seamline at my "lo" seam.

This is a quick and easy sew reminding me of the sewing I used to do back when my girls were younger.  Then I sewed quick & easy items so that I'd have something to wear. Hey I had teenagers and they spent ALOT of my money! I had to make do where I could.

The other thing about this dress is that everything is from the collection ~ fabric, bias binding that I made from the bias tape roll collection, and a stash pattern from 2013.

A few more pics ~

This was the third item I made during the Labor Day weekend and it was perfect for the weather we experienced that week.

Wearability Factor ~
Even though this is the last thing I sewed, it is the first dress I wore after Labor Day weekend.  It was perfect for the heatwave we were experiencing.  

Here's how it wore...
It's a little too long in the front and could be longer in the back to improve the sweep. I shouldn't have removed the inches from the back when I first started to bind the dress. Also, if I make this again, I would eliminate the front seam and cut it on the fold. The underarm seams are a little lower than I like so I would raise them and the side darts need some work. These are all construction issues and easily fixed, otherwise it was perfect for the weather we were experiencing. 

It was so easy and comfortable to wear that I'm wondering if I should try to bang another one out maybe using a rayon before the last of the hot weather disappears!

...as always more later!

Musings at the end of a good sewing weekend...

I finally spent a good weekend sewing.  I didn't sew what I'd originally planned to sew but I made three pieces anyway.  Actually I finished two pieces that were hanging around the sewing cave and made a quick and easy dress. This sewing gave me some new things to wear to work that are weather appropriate.

I'm glad that I've added some more things to my wardrobe but I'm still just banging out simple pieces to be worn right away ~ well all except my TNT dress. 

The black 'n white print is a cotton voile tunic/dress to be worn with leggings in the middle of the three pack.

On the end the blue & white seersucker dress is Simplicity 1621 - a hi-lo hemmed dress made for the unbelievably hot 90 degree weather we're currently experiencing.

None of this is challenging to sew. It's just wardrobe building so that I don't have to wear the same thing over and over again. However, I'm learning a few things about myself, which is helping with the direction that my sewing is going to take in the fall.

1. The dress/cardigan that I use to live in had become my uniform. Part of the reason I felt so lost was because I no longer have a uniform.  Yes, I made a boatload of variations of that combo, added jewelry and shoes to make each outfit individual, but it was a uniform just the same. So now I have to think about who I want to be.

2. This situation is interesting because sooner rather than later I will be retiring and would be having these challenges anyway. I guess I'm lucky because I will have the next 10-12 years to figure it all out.

3. I'm a rocker chick in disguise.  Seriously.  Don't laugh. All of the looks I'm really drawn to this fall have some sort of pleather, leather, suede and Doc Marten type boots connected to it. What the eff is that about? Cause I really like this look below and want to make the shirt...

photo credit:  Reuters

...look at the shirt not the young man in it. It's kinda funky right?! Over some slim pants or jeans...wearable even for an old chick like me.

www.chicos.com

4.  Also I'm a Chicos/JJill/Talbots kinda rocker chick. I mean I need to be age appropriate right? *LOL* Seriously though I really like the tunic, long blouse over slim pants look too. Maybe I'm schizophrenic...

www.chicos.com

5. Since I have the ability to work from home when the weather gets lousy (and if it gets as bad as it did last year that means a quite a few more days at home) for a change, I'm not so concerned about the whole standing on the corner in the cold thing. Especially since I now leave home almost an hour later (yeah I will be out in the daylight!) and return home at a decent time (no more rolling into the house at 9pm).

6. There won't be much TNT sewing going on around here. I've managed to lose another 10 lbs though I don't think you can tell it much in my last pics.  So none of my TNT patterns fit.  For every pattern I use, I will be starting from scratch. Let me tell you I'm lousy at fitting so some really ratched stuff may show up here as I work through things.  I need clothes not muslin after muslin to attain the perfect fit.  Hopefully it won't be too much ratchiness but you just never know. I perfected the fit on my TNT patterns outside the public eye. And since we no longer live in a warm and fuzzy online sewing community, there's a chance I may disappear for a minute as I work things out.

7. I have a sewing cave full of fabrics, trims, notions, etc. and I plan on using them. There are some amazing fabrics in my collection and they need to see the light of day. Look for some unusual combinations to be put together, cause I plan to play, since I have no rules. It's just learning to step outside the box I've played in for the last decade.  Learning to shed my uniform and be whoever I want to be. Gawd THIS should get interesting! *LOL*

Here are few other combinations I've recently put together...

Pictures of the garments I made last weekend will be up on the blog next week. My photographer will be here this weekend and we'll do pictures then. Can I also say something about that?  I take pictures around the complex I live in. Lately we've started walking a little further past my front door because it allows the kiddies to run along behind us.  So if some different locations show up, realize it's only a few minutes walk from my front door yet still in the complex I live in.

...as always more later!

A Day at The Met - China Through the Looking Glass

The one thing I love about working in and living close to New York City is that it's easy to get to the museums...and I love museums! I'd meant to see this exhibit at the end of July/beginning of August but things happened. Now that life is finally settling down, I was able to get over to the exhibit during it's last weekend.

First I can't believe how packed the museum was...probably because I don't normally wait until the very end of an exhibit to go. But it was so worth the crowds!  

It was an amazing exhibit that was so stimulating and beautiful that at certain points it made me want to cry.  The amount of craftmanship, the beauty of the garments, the way the items were displayed were so visually stimulating and touched me so deeply that I'm sad I waited until the end to see the exhibit. 

I would have loved to have gone back again to experience the awesomeness of it. I totally understand how this has been the most popular exhibit The Met has ever had.  Per this NYTimes article, there were over 775,000 visitors before we saw it.

I took loads of pictures...seriously way more than I did at the Charles James exhibit but here are just a few...

How the Exhibit opens when you enter it from the Great Hall

Loved the embroidery on this one!

There was this entire series of blue/white dresses that reminded 

me of the dress I'm currently working on...

This was the most amazing dress and the last one 

we saw in the exhibit.

After viewing the exhibit on the second floor and a late lunch in the museum cafeteria, we headed for the Costume Institute for the second part of the exhibit. Yes, those pictures are just from the Exhibit on the 2nd floor and it's a huge exhibit...way bigger than the Charles James Exhibit. But by then there were just so many people downstairs that we saw part of that exhibit and left.

We didn't leave the museum right away, we first headed to the gift shop where there is the most amazing section of books on Fashion and Sewing. We spent another hour there looking at books before biding the museum adieu.

It was a wonderful day and an amazing exhibit.  If you can get there before it closes - Monday is the last day - GO!

...as always more later!

Summer's Not Done Yet

Even though I've made some plans, bought some patterns and trims for my fall sewing plans, there's still a lot of summer left here on the East Coast. It's going to be in the '90s all next week and I'm thinking that quite a bit of September is going to be warm too.

So with that thought in mind and the fact that I've just about had it wearing my limited summer wardrobe, I made a couple more versions of McCalls 6559. Hey I already had the fabric, so why not use it?

Black 'n White Version ~ McCalls 6559:
The first version is from a herringbone/houndstooth ITY knit that I purchased in late October/November of last year from Fabric Mart.

I've always been intrigued by how the herringbone/houndstooth print worked and thought it would make a great short version of McCalls 6559. 

What do you think?

• I added a black foldover elastic at the neckline. 
• Turned down the armholes and stitched. 
• Turned up the hem and ironed in a little stitch witchery then stitched it down. 

Easy peasy...a new dress for work this week...

Wearing it with a little cardi will make it perfect for public transportation and the office..

This one is golden because my oldest daughter gave it her seal of approval and said she'd even wear it! I know it's a good make when one of the daughters endorse it!

Large Floral Print ~ McCalls 6559:

The next one has a little backstory. I was cleaning a couple of shopping bags out of the storage area. I thought they only contained books because I'd cleaned off some more shelf space to store them. When I opened the second shopping bag, there were four pieces of fabric at the bottom of it...one still in the envelope from EOS with a date of June 2013 on the invoice.  

The first short border print dress turned out so well that I decided to make another. The fabric is from Fabric Mart and was $4.49 per yard - probably purchased during another one of their sales. I just loved the bold floral print and how it ended with a border!

So a few pretty pictures...

Next up is finishing off the blue and white print dress from the last post.  After I cut out the shell, I realized that I like a cotton sateen garment better with a lining. Then I decided to add piping to the neckline and finally maybe some pockets on the front?  I've turned this into a project...so that's how I spent this Sunday afternoon.

Oh and the little people were here...

A few behind the scenes shots ~ 
This is what happens when little people are running around when you're trying to take pics...

I know this post is picture heavy so thanks for understanding about all of them. You know I can't help but share grandchildren pictures! 

This is what I did with my weekend.  What did you do with yours?

...as always more later!

The Lace Back Addition to the Maxi dress

As you are aware, I found the image for my brown/black laced back maxi on The Avenue. I wanted to copy the details onto one of my McCalls 6559 vacation maxis.

Here's how I did it ~

1. I cut a piece of the crochet fabric and laid it onto the dress' back piece after the center back seam had been sewn together.

2.  I pinned it onto the piece and cut around it.

3.  Then I flipped the crochet piece back and stitched it to the dress back with a 5/8" seam allowance.

4.  Finally I cut the dress back piece away then serge finished the seam.

Yes you can see your bra straps through the back.  I am wearing a grayish black bra here but I did it deliberately so that you could see the straps of the bra through the dress. Every other time that I've worn the dress, I've worn a black bra and it's gotten lost in the crochet lace.  Or you could make the lace back a smaller area than I chose to do.

If you just want the lace illusion, leave the maxi dress' fabric under the lace. I would probably pick a print that's not as busy as mine so that the two pieces coordinate better.

The last thing I did was to bind the neckline in a thin black binding. The armholes are just folded under and topstitched down.  Ta-da - you've knocked off some ready-to-wear and you've taken the McCalls 6559 maxidress to another level.

Daughter Update:
Thank you everyone for continuing to inquire after my daughter's health. She is doing amazingly one month later! When I see her every day looking happy and healthy it's hard to believe how sick she was just 30 days ago.

Sewing Update:
I've started to sew again. If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen the proof! I'm starting slow with a new dress but I've started an Inspiration Board on my computer that I will eventually move to Pinterest. I'm gathering ideas, patterns and fabrics and coming up with a list of garments I want to sew for fall.

I also stopped by Daytona Trimmings today and bought these trims for fall ~

Absolutely positively can't wait to use these! Yeap, I think the mojo is back!

...as always more later!