The Sewjo Returns

Steph's Laurel

This week my sewing mojo (Sewjo) returned. I completed the Laurel blouse I'd been slowly sewing for a friend (it looks exactly like my Rayon Laurel), and even managed to make another Laurel for myself.



The Laurel I made for myself had also been a long time coming. The fabric and pattern were sitting on my sewing table for at least the past month. It all started when I found a cute top at Anthropologie, tried it on and loved it, but looked at the price tag & fabric content and about fainted. Then I decided to make my own version.


A slightly more accurate representation of the fabric coloring can be seen here.

Lumine Dot Blouse from Anthropologie

The inspiration blouse costs over a hundred dollars, is imported, and is made of soft cream colored rayon embroidered with neon orange and pink polka dots. It has a 1/3 zip down the back, which seems a little trendy and unnecessary to me. The sleeves have a slight puff at the cap, which I was excited about because I'm horrible at easing/setting in regular sleeves and the puff/gathering gives you a little wiggle room.

For my version, I chose a Marc Jacobs cotton silk from Mood that I'd spied when Tom and I visited the LA store and I was too overwhelmed to buy anything. Thank goodness I was able to find it online.  It's very lightweight and has a bit of a sheen to it. The spotted pattern is a dark dot with a brighter outline around it, which makes for a pinky/red look. Gertie has some in the orange color scheme in her Etsy shop.

I ended up making about 17 miles of bias binding, which sounds tedious but always ends up being something I rather enjoy making. I used the binding to finish the neckline, sleeve openings, and as a facing on the shirt hem. I also decided to add a little bias tape bow at the back of the neckline, for what I thought added a '60s vibe.

My favorite part of this project, though, is how the sleeves turned out. I'd planned to give them a little poof at the top, so I wouldn't have to struggle with setting in the sleeves, but I didn't end up needing to! For once in my life I was actually, for some reason, able to insert the sleeves normally with minimal strain or effort on my part. Well, apart from the fluke when I put the first sleeve in inside-out.

Ahh, what a glorious sleeve! I'll be sure to post more photos, including some of me wearing the finished top, soon. Thanks for sticking around while I experienced my mental vacation/sewing rut this month. I'm glad to be back now!

Oh, and if you ever find yourself in a similar rut, may I recommend the Laurel from Colette Patterns? It's not complicated, but just involved enough to make ya feel accomplished upon completing it. :)

A Sort of Vacation...

Sometimes, when you don't take the time to set aside a chunk of your life and plan a vacation for yourself, some subconscious part of you eventually takes the reins and forces you to take a kind of mental vacation in your free time. At least, that's what I think must have happened to me this month?

In my free time, I've been totally un-inspired to do anything other than veg by the (new, fancy) TV and watch Gossip Girl on Netflix. There are a lot of seasons (and cute clothes to study)! At first, I was just watching one episode here or there as a way to wind down or relax, but now I've been completely sucked in. All my brain wants to do now to unwind after work or on the weekend is feed its Gossip Girl craving, not sew, not even walk up the stairs to the sewing room/office.





(source)

SOME sewing has managed to get done on my friend's matching rayon Laurel top, but nothing to brag about.

You may notice I've added a blog button for The Quirky Peach (Sally is just the cutest) over on my side bar. I'll eventually be providing her with a button for my blog, once I kick my butt in gear and wean myself off of the dang Gossip Girl. If any of you all have blogs and want to swap buttons, send me an email & let me know! I'm happy to post yours up right away and give you mine as soon as it's ready. :)

July

I cannot believe it's August already. To me, that means summer is basically OVER, but I'm not even sure what happened to my July. It was my birthday month, as you know, and it was a busier few weeks than I'd expected. The sewing WIPs are still moving slowly (I'm trying not to admit I'm in a little bit of a rut), but I did manage to acquire some new-to-me vintage things, which is always fun.

First up, I found this vintage dress at Goodwill on my birthday. I love the color palette of the fabric and the ILGWU tag indicates it's from the 1950s or '60s.

The fabric is soft and semi-sheer and has begun to pill slightly in some areas. There has been some mending done to it by a previous owner and a little more is needed now, especially along the waistline. It'll take a little work before I can wear this out in public, but I think it'll be great.

During my birthday weekend, Tom took me to my favorite antique store in downtown Leesburg. The vendor there who stocks her room with vintage sewing patterns and notions was having a closing shop sale, which was good and bad because I'll really miss shopping in her section, but there were great deals to be had. I picked up two cute patterns for an awesome price.

In another vendor's room I found this pretty blue cotton 1950s Swirl dress. It is just the right shade of blue and the floral fabric used for the skirt is so cute.

Some surprising construction detials on this dress include an elastic waist, just on the back of the dress, and a full front zipper, rather than a side or center back zip.  The bodice has cute rows of pin-tucks and the skirt is pleated, which always seems a little bit more flattering than a gathered skirt.

I wore this dress out to dinner with Tom to celebrate my birthday at a Thai restaurant in DC. It was delicious and I was so glad to be wearing this comfy cotton dress while sweating my face off as we devoured spicy food in the quaint, un-air-conditioned restaurant. :)

What about you all -- was July a busy month for you too? Did you pick up any exciting vintage or sewing goodies?