me made may 2014: week 4

Day 1: Rayon Laurel Top + Me-altered Outlier Daily Riding Pants

Day 2: Black Chardon Skirt with Pockets and Belt-loops

Day 3: New, Unblogged Rayon Sencha Blouse + Gathered Skirt

Day 4: Anthro-Inspired Spotted Laurel Top + Me-altered Outlier Pants (Again)

Day 5: Denim Miette / Day 6: New, Unblogged Belcarra Top

Day 7: Unblogged Leopard Print Ponte Laurel Dress

Ooh, week 4! We are so close to the end. I must admit I'm missing some of my summery RTW clothes that I haven't been able to wear even though the temperatures are perfect for it. This week, I ended up with double documentation (two photos) of some outfits, so I figured I'd throw them in the ol' round-up collage for kicks. You'll also notice several "unblogged" items listed. I counted and I have a total of 6 things I've made but not shared here, so stay tuned for those in the near future. Not too near, I'm afraid, though. I'm going on vacation very soon and don't think I'll have time to share before then. You'll just have to follow me on instagram for the final #MMM14 installment, and watch this space in June for some treats upon my return. Bon Voyage!

Me Made May 2014: Week 3

Short post this week, y'all. I wouldn't say I'm struggling to continue to wear me-mades, but I am starting to repeat outfits and find myself relying more upon refashioned and me-mended items than I'd expected to. Also, some days I just don't want to wear anything cute or fitted at the waist. Some days I just want to be schleppy! Luckily the weather's been beautiful, so that helps. How's everyone else holding up?

Day 1: Not-Yet-Blogged spotted Coco / Day 2: Not-Yet-Blogged FBA'd Emery

Day 3: Jupe Chardon Rouge / Day 4: 1st Floral Wedding Guest Dress

Day 5: (Part 1) Refashioned Outlier Daily Riding Pant / (Part 2) Me-mended h&m Mathilde lookalike

Day 6: Me-mended Striped RTW dress / Day 7: Back to School Laurel

Me Made May 2014: Week 2

Day 1: Peter Pan Laurel / Day 2: Colorblocked Coco / Day 3:  Me-Mended RTW Striped Knit Dress

Day 4: Floral Laurel / Day 5: Refashioned Thrifted Striped T-shirt

Day 6: Refashioned Thrifted '80s Hawaiian Dress / Day 7: Denim Miette

So how was #MMM week two for everyone? 

Things I learned this week: 

1) Teal!
2) Red/white/blue!
3) Floral.
4) All of these work!
5) I need a NETTIE BODYSUIT.
6) How to do my first FBA.
7) Pretty Little Liars is just as fun to watch the 2nd time through.

Me Made May 2014: Week 1

Day 1: Rehearsal Dinner Dress / Day 2: Unblogged Refashioned XXXL T-shirt 

 Day 3: Orange Gingham Sixties Shorts / Day 4: Unblogged Leopard Print Ponte Laurel Dress

How's everyone's first week of Me-Made-May 2014? Mine is off to a good start. Thank goodness spring is officially here, so I have more appropriate outfit options available. If you follow me on instagram, you've already seen these shots, but I like to do a little round-up each week, too. 

This weekend the weather was amazing and we did some antiquing. I wore my gingham shorts out into the wild for the first time. I also took a bunch of photos. Enjoy!

Another Floral Wedding Guest Dress

What a fun, beautiful (and exhausting) wedding! As I mentioned in my earlier post about the rehearsal, the venue at Mountain Terrace was simply amazing. The views were pretty and tranquil, the deck sparkled with white Christmas lights after sunset, and the glowing dining room inside was decorated perfectly, from the too-cute succulent plant place card holders to the pretty gold & white table runners and beautiful flower arrangements. So lovely.

It was an emotional and exciting day, and somehow that makes me even more glad I sewed my own dress to commemorate and celebrate such a fun and meaningful event. The day held a lot of firsts for me.

• First time I had my makeup done professionally and WORE FAKE EYELASHES! Felt like I was a movie star.

• First time I was in a wedding and did a reading as part of the ceremony. Yikes, I was nervous.

• First time I ate Princess Cake, which was so delicious!

• First time I saw my dad out on the dance floor, tearing it up and cracking me up (in the best way). He was great!

• First time I got to really hang out with some of my (half)sister's relatives basically since I was a baby. So fun!

My sister picked the Avett Brother's song "January Wedding" to play as she walked out with my dad, and I totally started crying (somehow without ruining the multiple layers of eye-makeup). That song just gets me every time.

Once I got used to (as much as I could) my intense makeup, I found that I was rather pleased with my overall outfit for the wedding. My me-made dress ended up being pretty perfect -- certainly not made perfectly, but great to wear. Except for the fact that I was pretty cold (dramatically refusing to put on my coat) when we were outside for the ceremony, my outfit looked and felt good throughout the night. It was nice to not be wearing something the least bit uncomfortable and I just loved looking down at the pretty, painterly floral print.

For the dress, I used New Look 6000, just the plain sleeveless version. I stitched it up in a floral cotton sateen that had shades of purple, dark blue, black, teal, and white. The entire dress was lined in bemberg rayon, which was a little easier to do than on my rehearsal dress, because this dress is just one main piece, rather than being broken up with a waist seam.

Mistakes I made in sewing this dress include: not lining up the top of the zipper properly, so that it accidentally extends up past the back neckline opening and shows (oh well), and, again, not getting the length of the lining quite right, so that it bunches and shows a little in the front when I'm wearing the dress.

I don't know if this qualifies as a mistake really, but I also took two fitting shortcuts in sewing this dress. I added little darts around the neckline, which luckily don't distract the eye thanks to the busy print. This reduced the neckline and upper bust gaping that was going on. I also stitched the dress side seams including the lining along with the fashion fabric, as one - almost like underlining. This made it easy to take in the sides without needing to sew a ginormous seam keeping the lining separate from the dress. 

The dress is hemmed similarly, with a single hem including both the lining and fashion fabric. I just did a machine hem because, again, the busy print almost totally hides the stitching.

 

Cheers - to a fun wedding and a great dress! I'm glad I forced myself to finally sit down and sew the darn thing, rather than wimping out and buying something instead (I'd considered it). The fabric was somewhat of an unusual choice for me. I don't really have anything else like it in my closet, but I'm glad I chose it! The colors are pretty, the cotton sateen was easy to sew with, and the print hid all of my less-than-ideal sewing decisions. It was a win-win-win, if you ask me!

Archer, Schmarcher.

December was unofficially Archer Faux-preciation Month over here at Sewin' Steady. Ha. Okay, there was no sewalong nor cute blogger button. There weren't even any actual Archers... or much sewing to speak of, really.

There was, however, a lot of purchasing of RTW button-down Archer wanna-be's. I really do appreciate the Archer. But, 99% of my Christmas shopping this year was done from my computer and, with every few clicks of my mouse to purchase gifts for family and friends, there was a click or two to purchase something for myself. Because, SALES. Oh, and plaid. There was lot of plaid to choose from, which I now realize is like drugs for someone like me.

But, come on. Sometimes you just can't sew everything you want to wear, even if, well, yes... you totally could, in this case, but there's just something inexplicably holding you back. That was me during the entire month dedicated to stitching up the only pattern I actually wanted to sew and wear. Le sigh. I will be sewing an Archer eventually, don't you worry.

As for the root (or one of the roots) of the problem, though. I've noticed this late fall and early winter that it seems the colder the temps get, the fewer vintage and vintage-inspired, girly outfits I find myself wearing and reaching for in my closet, and the more modern, even tom-boy-ish pieces I end up wearing over and over, like a uniform. 

Lately, my daily outfits have consisted of essentially a combination of the following (with the occasional cardigan or non-plaid button-down, or boat-neck 3/4 sleeve shirt from Target swapped in).

jeans: Jesse Stretch, by Imogene + Willie

heeled brown boots: by Fossil, can't find exact link -- mine are similar to pictured, but are like this, only red-ish brown

wedge booties: by Dolce Vita (via ModCloth) 

riding boots: by Bandolino

red plaid shirt: Red Tartan Popover, by j. crew 

blue plaid shirt: Crinkle Boy Shirt in Black Watch Plaid, by j. crew

What about you all? Do you find yourself drifting away from the girly side of your style during colder months? Did button-downs and boots (with warm socks!) take over your life like they have mine?

P.S. Don't forget to enter my vintage sewing jackpot giveaway (because, I'll always love vintage even if the weather prevents me from wearing it as much) by the end of the day tomorrow!

Finished Project: Floral Wedding Guest Dress

Come to My Window Box Dress - ModCloth.com

As promised, I've finally got the photos and details of my latest dress project to share. It's another wedding guest dress. This time, I was inspired by a dress from Modcloth.com that didn't fit when I ordered it, so I decided to make my own version.

I searched high and low for this floral rayon fabric, but couldn't find an exact or even a close enough match in any apparel-specific fabric. I settled for a pretty quilting cotton by Moda Fabrics in a similar pattern and color scheme and paired it with Retro Butterick 5748, a pattern I'd admired for a while and finally decided I had a good excuse to buy.

When I started to get the dress cut out and put the project together, I realized I didn't have quite enough fabric to do the circle skirt in the pattern, so I created a gathered skirt instead, using Gertie's tutorial. I lined the entire dress in rayon bemberg, which feels great and makes the gathered skirt nice and swishy. It was my first time using the stuff and I'm pretty much hooked. I'll definitely be using it in future projects - it's so soft!

The alterations I made to the dress to improve the fit, since I didn't make a muslin, are the only part of the project I'm not 100% pleased with. I ended up needing to shorten the bodice, but chose to reduce at the already sewn shoulder seams to do so. This makes the armholes a bit tight and still leaves the fit a little off. It's still a fun, wearable dress, though. Here are some shots of the final product as worn to the wedding.

Belt - Target

Wedges - Jeffrey Campbell c/o ModCloth

One thing I'm really enjoying about this dress is how wearable it is. Since it's made from regular quilting cotton, it is easily dressed up or down. I felt fancy enough at the wedding wearing wedges, and then paired it with flats and a cardigan for work the following week. I'm looking forward to wearing it again soon!

MMM Week 5

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN! I can't believe I've made it through an entire month of me-made-may.

For my final week, the weather started to really turn to summertime temperatures and we even had some summer-style thunder storms.

On Monday, I wore my new Turquoise Taylor dress. This was Memorial day, so no work, just running errands and frolicking.

Tuesday, back to work, I paired a striped top with my trusty ol' gathered skirt. This was a pretty comfortable outfit to wear for work, though sometimes this skirt makes me feel a little like a cupcake.

Wednesday, I wore my favorite new thing, my rayon Laurel top. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I LOVE THIS TOP.

Thursday, I wanted to show off my new dress to my coworkers (read: I was lazy) and repeated the Turquiose Taylor dress I'd worn Monday, but with a bit more muted styling. No neon pops of coral in this outfit.

Friday, today, I wore my estate sale dress made last May. This was great for running errands in the 80 to 90 degree weather today.

Phew! I had such a great time this month, challenging myself to only wear me-made pieces from my closet. As you saw, there were some repeated outfits, but I didn't even have to cheat (wear vintage instead of me-made) ONCE! I must say, I am looking forward to wearing some of my vintage dresses, now that May is over, but I do plan to continue to make the effort to wear more me-mades, more often.

MMM Week 4

Welcome to my week 4 recap of Me-Made-May!

Monday, I wore my new rayon Laurel top. I am in love with this top. I'll have a dedicated blog post soon, so you'll see more. It's pretty much my new favorite thing in my wardrobe.

Tuesday, I wore my brown gathered skirt, created almost exactly a year ago using Gertie's gathered skirt tutorial. It's so easy to pair this skirt with various tops from my closet - I should really wear it more often!

Wednesday, my wrap dress made an appearance. This is another piece I've made that does not get worn super often. I always end up fiddling with the wrap at the waist and adjusting the ties, so it can be a little annoying to wear for a full day at work.

Thursday, I broke out my polka dotted bow blouse. This is definitely a good go-to piece in my wardrobe and it pairs well with skirts, shorts, or pants - definitely a plus!

Friday, I wore my newly completed Turquoise Taylor Dress. It was actually chilly and windy that day, so I wore a thick navy cardigan and matching navy belt. UPDATE: I've just posted a new photo of me wearing this dress on my project post, too!

Saturday, I dug out my first ever completed top! This baby hasn't seen the light of day in a loooong time, but every time I wear it, I re-realize that it's pretty nice to wear and, though it's not perfect, it's still cute!

Sunday, back to my collared Laurel - an instant favorite in my wardrobe. I love the sixties vibe of this blouse and the cheerful pop of bright pink.

Ok, guys! Let's gear up for the fifth and final week of Me-Made-May. I'm going to try to come up with some fresh new outfits using my me-mades, as a last hurrah. I have a feeling I'll just want to wear my rayon Laurel top every day though. We'll see! :)

MMM Week 3

Wow, I can't believe I've already made it through week three of Me-Made-May! This week I found myself starting to repeat some pieces, but that's ok - it wasn't part of my pledge to have no-repeats (too hard!).

On Monday, I pulled out my Blue Ginger skirt, which I'm finding pairs very well with a lot of tops in my closet. I wonder why I don't wear this more often?

Tuesday, I wore my refashioned, polka-dotted, gold silk blouse.  I really only seem to have 1 way I like to wear this piece - with a black cardigan, black beaded necklace, and jeans - but hey! It works.

Wednesday, I threw on another refashioned thrifted piece, that I completed a couple of years ago and have not blogged about. It's a 1980s Hawaiian print dress that was too big, so I added some back darts to the bodice and very sloppily adjusted the shoulder & arm hole seams (hence the cardigan). Even though it's not a pretty job, it's still a go-to piece in my summer/spring wardrobe because it's casual & comfortable (sounds so boring, but those things are important).

Thursday, wow, another refashioned piece from the thrift store. This dress is some cheap, juniors department brand, but I liked the piping (and tiny white polka dots that you can't quite see) and the buttons. It had these horribly uncomfortable scrunchy puff sleeves with elastic cutting into my upper arm, so I chopped off the sleeves and, voila! Unfortunately, after wearing it to work all day, I was literally ready to throw the thing in the trash because it's so uncomfortable, due to the poor construction & cut of the dress. It went straight in the donate pile when I got home. Oh well - you win some, you lose some.

Friday, I repeated my sunny gingham blouse with some shorts from h&m c. 2011. A bit more put-together than my previous running errands etc. outfits this month.

Saturday, we celebrated my dad's 70th birthday! (yes, 70th!!! I have a sister who's 8 years older than me, so it's not so crazy). I wore the same floral laurel I'd worn the weekend prior & loved it. Such a fun dress to wear.

Sunday, I was back to my old tricks with my double-knit collared top. Definitely a rainy day (and any other excuse to feel "cozy") favorite.

All in all, a pretty good week 3 for May. It was great to see my sister (she flew in from San Francisco), and we had an awesome time giggling our heads off while wine tasting at some Virginia wineries to celebrate Dad's big day. How has week 3 shaped up for you all?

MMM Week 2

MMM Week 2 - Monday thru Sunday

For week two of Me-Made-May, I managed to put together enough outfits to get me through all seven days - and even had a me-made outfit change on Sunday, for Mothers' Day.

Starting out on Monday, I wore my Blue, polka-dotted New Look 6000 dress. I have to admit I still really like this dress, even though you might notice some overall wrinkling present that wasn't there when I first made it. I'd thought my muslin used as underlining for the lightweight fashion fabric was pre-washed, but apparently it wasn't (who knows how long it had been sitting in my fabric stash). That means when I finally did go to wash the dress (cold water, gentle cycle, hang to dry), the fashion fabric did not shrink, but the underlining did a little bit. Now the polka-dotted shell is slightly larger...but still attached to...the muslin underlining. It has a bit of a baggy effect (though the dress now fits a bit tighter overall), but I feel like it still works, for whatever reason.

Tuesday, I pulled out my peter pan collared Pendrell blouse. This one doesn't get worn so much, but every time I do wear it, I'm like "Oh, YEAH. I like this one!"

Wednesday, I finally got to wear my linen Laurel dress. It's on the mini side, in terms of length, so I paired it with some light pink tights and think it went pretty well...

Thursday (which is like my Friday, since I work on Sundays), I re-wore my new pink, collared Laurel top. I like that I can just throw this on with jeans and not have to think about it, which is definitely nice come the end of the week.

Friday I wore my new, un-blogged denim cut-offs. These started out as some skinny, holey jeans from Gap that were always a little off in the fit (loose in the rear and tight in the calf), and really didn't serve a purpose in my wardrobe. Who needs torn up, holey jeans? Well, I'm sure some of you do, but apparently I don't anymore! Enter my new favorite weekend me-made.

Saturday, I wore my floral Laurel (wow, all 3 makes from this pattern worn in 1 week!). This just might be my favorite thing to wear that I've made...or at least recently. It's cute and comfy and my friend Andrea might have me make one for her after seeing me in this one. We'll see!

Sunday, I wore my sunny gingham Simplicity 2154 blouse two ways. For work, I put a green sweater over it, and then for dinner with my parents for Mothers' Day, I tucked it into my gathered skirt, to dress it up a tiny bit.

All in all, it was a good week me-made wise. I'm surprised I haven't had to cheat at all (I gave myself the out of wearing a vintage piece from my closet if I'm totally stumped for me-mades that day), and am actually finding it rather satisfying to only wear certain things in my closet. I might just have to do a clean-out at the end of the month. It would be nice to weed out stuff that doesn't mix well with the pieces in my closet that I've sewn or refashioned.

MMM Week 1

MMM Week 1 - Wednesday thru Sunday

Hello, there! How was your first week of Me-Made-May 2013?

Mine was pretty good. I was rather pleased with my first two outfits (Wednesday & Thursday), because they were both things I don't usually turn to - my blue ginger skirt, and my green-dyed eyelet dress.

Friday, my day off, was a little bit of a stretch because I really only had 1 thing I wanted to wear around the house for doing errands and chores. It's an un-blogged, XXXL men's t-shirt that I turned into a 1/2 sleeve, fitted t-shirt. It's nothing remarkable, and I just used zig-zag stitch for taking in all of the seams and neckline.

Saturday, my other day off, I wore my freshly completed Laurel top. We went to the antiques fair that comes to town every other month or so, and I ditched the cardigan for that. Funny, because the only thing I managed to buy there was another cardigan.

Sunday, back to work, I wore my collared, raglan sleeve double-knit top. It's a good go-to piece because it's comfortable (and cozy in my frequently cold office).

I have to say, it's easier to take my daily photo in the huge, floor-length mirror in our office bathroom than it is in my teeny, tiny "full length" sewing space mirror (the only one at home that I can get any amount of light near, which was still a bit crappy). Hopefully I'll come up with a better at home, self-portrait spot.

Anyway, on to Me-Made-May week 2!

More Frock Festing & ...More!

Hey, y'all. I'm back, and as promised I've got photos of me wearing my latest project - New Look 6000, sewn for Scruffy Badger's Frock Fest. Tom helped me out as cameraman for these, but it seems that no amount of photography talent on his part can help me be less awkward when posing for blog photos. Enjoy!

(my go-to pose)

"..should I look off to the side, like this...??"

(trying something different...)

(looking in the mirror)

"what about this?"

(cuffs close-up)

"Sue, look over your shoulder." - "ohhh, like this?"

(grab the cat as a diversion)

(much better;  just look at grumpy Duke)

I promise to keep practicing posing... and sharing all of my awkward results along the way. Some day, I'll be more polished (and will even remember to brush my hair before throwing myself in front of the camera). Anyway, I wasn't expecting it at all, but I've fallen completely in love with this dress. I've already worn it to work once and can't wait to wear it again!


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In other news, I'm about to embark on an exciting vacation, which I'll try to share with you via iPad/smartphone blog posts. Bear with me, there's a learning curve there.
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ALSO -- the adorable (and quirky) Sally of The Quirky Peach has included me as one of the bloggers she's passing her Leibster Award on to. Thanks, girl!

Firstly, can we just take a second to note how cute the Liebster Award has become? When I was awarded it in the past, it was rather drab-looking, if you ask me.

But moving right along now. Onto the survey! I'm going to be a rule breaker here, guys. Instead of nominating 11 bloggers to pass this baby on to, since I did that the first time around, I'm just going to ask that you, my lovely readers, chime in below in the comments to share some of your own responses to the following questions:
 
1. What is your favorite thing you have ever sewn?
I'm afraid that's a tie between my Holiday Dress, and Gathered Skirt. They've been my latest favorites to wear.

2. Do you tend to sew more for yourself or others?
Definitely myself. The last thing I sewed from scratch for someone else was a button-up shirt for Tom, that's since been deconstructed and nearly completely abandoned. I do, however, do most of my mending for others, and just a little bit for myself.

3. What is one thing you love about where you live?
I can WALK to places, like lots of restaurants and bars (i.e. no drinking and driving) and shops. I do wish there was an exciting fabric/sewing store close-by. That's something that my area is sorely lacking.

4. Do you listen to music while you sew? If so, what kind?
Sometimes. When I do, it's usually some Kate Nash, Lily Allen, Nicole Atkins, Adele, Feist... or whatever other (girly) tune strikes my fancy.

5. What is your dream project to sew?
A skirt-suit inspired by Dior's New Look. Who knows when I'll get around to it, though. Someday!

6. When did you start sewing?
I... don't quite know. I stitched by hand a lot of little doll and Barbie clothes when I was young. I also worked on a few mom-daughter projects, where my mom did all of the difficult parts of sewing something for me to wear, and I hopped in front of the machine for a couple of straight-stitching parts, then claimed equal credit for sewing the garment.

I've always liked making things in some way or another, but it wasn't until I re-taught myself to sew in 2010 that I became obsessed with sewing my clothes.

7. What is your favorite kind of fabric to sew with?
I find myself wanting to buy lots of drapey Rayons for clothes-sewing, but then not enjoying sewing them as much as something like cotton sateen. Maybe someday, I'll even sew something with the pretty silk that's been sitting in my stash forEVER, but I'm still a little intimidated.

8. What do you do if you get in a sewing funk?
Pack up all of my half-finished projects, organize my space, stay away from the sewing area for a few days, then throw open the drawers/closet/boxes and pour over everything to find a quick project. It doesn't always work, but I've had some success. Oh, and reading lots of other blogs helps, too. It seems like there's always someone out there making something that inspires me.

9. If you could be any fictional character (movie, book, etc) who would it be?
Hmm...I know I'm ignoring some perfect, clever answer that's somewhere in my brain from all of the books I've read over the years, but lately I find myself just wanting to be Jess from the New Girl for a day. ALL of her clothes are adorable. And she has a sewing machine.

10. What is always at the top of your grocery list?
Scones! We buy them weekly from Trader Joe's and I eat one with coffee every morning at my desk when I get to work. I make a point to alternate every week between blueberry and cranberry to avoid getting sick of one flavor.

11. Who is your biggest fan?
My Mom & Dad (Hi guys!) - they think everything I sew is super cool, even if it's heinously ugly. Tom is right up there too, obviously, what with sticking around to take photos of me for the blog while I flop around in front of the camera. Thanks guys!
Duke? not so much a fan. Just look at his face in that last photo. :(


And now I turn the questions over to you all.
Do we have anything in common? Are we opposites? Are there any other questions you'd have me answer?

2013 Refashion #1

I've shared my sewing goals for this new year with you guys, and if you recall, one of those goals was to do more refashioning. I'm hoping to get the instant gratification of a quick sewing project, without sewing something from scratch and rushing through the steps because I want it to be done already. You know? I'm always on the lookout for pieces with potential when I'm at the thrift store, and am planning to also do a bit of refashioning of pieces I've sewn but don't seem to wear.

Up first is this spotted silk blouse from Goodwill (and the 1980s) that started out looking like this:

spotted silk, long sleeved, '80s blouse (after I'd already removed a sleeve)

The armholes and baggy sleeves were huge, but the fabric was nice and it was a well-constructed blouse, with french seams and bias-faced neckline and hem. I cut the sleeves off and made the armholes smaller. I should have added some bust darts, but I couldn't quite set them up the way I wanted them to look, so I just skipped 'em. There's some bagginess above the bust now, so I might revisit that later... or just continue to style the shirt with a cardigan.

I also took the sides in a lot, and could have done a little better with the shaping on the sides. Oh well. I'd planned to add some collar/neckline embellishment with black ribbon, or maybe even buy a peter pan collar necklace, as I mentioned in my earlier post, but am going to hold off for now. Here's what the top looks like for now.

I do like the way it turned out - it has a cheerful look and it's pretty comfortable! I styled it with a black necklace and cardigan, which helped tame the brightness of that gold/mustard shade. I'm still considering buying or making some kind of collar, probably black, since that'll look nicer next to my face than more of the mustard. We'll see what I come up with...


Here's to more refashions in 2013!

Finished Project: Simplicity 2154 Bow Blouse

Finished Simplicity 2154

So, my latest project, the bow blouse in Simplicity 2154, has been completed and officially released into the wild. I finished sewing it over the weekend but didn't get around to wearing it until today. It's definitely a comfy yet cute blouse, so I'm hoping to make some more versions in the future. And, just so you know, those are JEANS, not leggings I've paired it with in the above picture. :)

blouse front

I wish the bow would sit more like this...

As you can see, I opted for a floppy bow on this blouse, rather than the interfaced version prescribed by the pattern. I purposely left the interfacing out of the bow to make it softer, but kind of wish I'd actually put it in! It's just SO floppy (especially because of the drapey rayon shirting I used) and I think I might like it a little better if it was stiffer...with more of a defined bow shape.

details!

I used a vintage red button for the back closure and kind of fudged the back opening since I'd somehow not noticed that one side of my collar was about half an inch shorter than its mate, meaning things didn't quite line up where they met in the back. Boy, do I love the collar on this blouse, though! It's just too cute.

When putting this top together, I (on a whim) omitted the side zipper and am able to just fit it over my head with no zip needed, since there's the little opening in the back.

The sleeve and neck openings were finished with self bias strips, with their own pattern pieces for cutting 'em out and everything. It was nice to have everything all measured out for me and I really like the way the finishes turned out.

Blouse back with collar close-up

I really enjoyed constructing this blouse - it was so refreshing to make something simple and quick after sewing back to back dresses as my most recent prior projects.

Here's what it looked like when I wore it to work. I was a little nervous to go 100% sleeveless at work, for whatever reason...so you get to see a cardigan shot, as well.

How I wore it to work.

What's up next?

More blouses for me, maybe a dress... and a shirt for Tom's birthday (shh!)

Finished Project: Milly Wedding Guest Dress

If you'll recall, I left off with this dress having completed it but not being 100% pleased with the final product. The skirt is made from a piece of Milly silk that I snapped up from the remnants bin a little while back and this dress was my first time working with silk. The main part I wasn't pleased about on the final dress was the hem.

hem results

Here's what went down, as I'd previously reported:

This silk is so freakin' bouncy and buoyant and light and perky that it will not make a nice crease to save its life. I'm not used to working with silk but that perkiness was not an issue until I decided to hand-stitch a 3-inch hem. Also, though you can't see the actual thread on the right side of the hem from my stitching, you can see little dents from it. Damned shiny, sensitive silk. :( It doesn't look horrible IRL, but it makes me feel like foolish riff-raff who neither understands how nor deserves to work with nice material.

Well, after reaching out for suggestions (thank you all for your responses!), I was reluctant to un-do the hem I'd already sewn and was considering either continuing to press the hem to death to make it stop being poofy, or suck it up and re-do a much smaller hem.

What actually ended up happening?

I tucked the dress away in the closet, planning to revisit it before the wedding, and then promptly forgot about it.

the finished dress

That's right, I didn't end up making any changes to the completed dress after all.  However, if I were to sew the same thing again, I'd definitely do the smallest hem possible, as well as probably cut the bodice a size smaller (since it's cotton sateen with stretch to it), line at least the bodice, and cut the pink collar strips shorter and on the bias so that they fold over the curved neckline better and the tie isn't as long and floppy.

Changes I made to the pattern - New Look 6910:

1. Gathered skirt (via Gertie's tutorial), not pleated
2. Made gatheres at the top and little pleats in the bottom of the cap sleeves - they looked like little wings, IRL before. This little trick was inspired by Gillian's sleeves on her Peony.
3. Drafted a pink collar inspired by the Beverly dress.
4. Didn't add pockets like the above photo makes it look, but should have!

All in all, I'd say the dress was a success! I got some nice compliments at the wedding and the (...interesting) DJ even dedicated a song to me out of the blue, while mentioning my dress - hah! The song was the American Bandstand theme song, which I had no idea how to dance to, but oh well. Tom and I gave it our best fake 30 second swing dance and then discreetly left the dance floor.

Tom and I dancing to another song

There is a definite sock-hop-ish feel to the dress, which isn't a bad thing, but it's definitely... a thing! I'd originally styled it with a wide black belt at the waist and some retro heels, but ended up opting more for comfort and lost the belt before the end of the evening and didn't even make it out of the hotel room without switching to flats.

Styled with heels and a belt

Now that I've finished my wedding guest dress sewing, I almost don't know what to do with myself! "Almost" being the key word there. I'm making slow, lazy progress on my Simplicity 2154 blouse and may or may not be planning a (already anticipated to be belated) birthday shirt for Tom's birthday later this month. Luckily, Tom's brother is getting married in June 2013, so I'm not without future dress planning to do...even if it is a way into the future.

Inspired by MMM

As I promised, I've finally got a few pictures of me wearing my latest me-made pieces, my blue Ginger and my plaid estate sale dress. I've been really impressed and inspired by all of the Me Made May outfits I've seen this month, and, even though I didn't' sign up to play along, I have been putting a little more effort into making myself wear my own me-mades...something I've been known to struggle with.

Instagrams (sorry!) of my Ginger  --  is anyone else as HYPED as I am that PicMonkey finally has collages??

In all honesty, I have to admit that I have some issues with this skirt. As I mentioned in my earlier post, the fabric insists on always being at least a little bit wrinkly. In addition to that annoyance, though, I think there are some slight waistband issues. The band seems a tad loose (which the little yellow bow belt helped fix), so I'm constantly re-positioning the darn thing whenever I wear it. I'm also not sure if I like the pointed waistband. It seemed like such a cute, kind of quirky, design feature when I first laid eyes on this pattern way back when, but, now in real life on my torso, I feel like it kind of just takes up extra space and makes my chest stand out too much. These complaints have not stopped me from wearing it, though I am planning to make another test version with the straight waistband before I finally cut it out in my denimy fabric.

fuller-sized image

I wore my Ginger  to work with a cardigan, which didn't make it into the photos. I was a little nervous wearing it to work, wondering if anyone would comment on it or ask me if I made it, but luckily no one did (I'll look at that as a positive thing!), so I didn't have to do any awkward "I like to sew..." explaining. Phew!

I also wore a cardigan when debuting my Estate Sale Dress to the world. I wore it to work and again to the art show over the weekend. Unfortunately, I've only got the one photo of me in it. It's such an easy, comfortable dress to wear - I love it!

Estate Sale Dress in action at the art show - ignore the dopey hat pose I'm trying to pull off. It was a million degrees out and high noon.

When I wore this outfit to work (sans sun hat) I ended up being complimented on it, so went into my whole spiel about liking to sew and making this dress. It turns out the coworker I happened to be talking to this time (unlike with my mad men dress debacle :)) has a mother who sews a lot and would make her clothing when she was growing up, so she didn't look at me like I was a freak. She did declare I was "weird" once I confessed I sometimes wake up at 5am to shower then blog or sew, though. Sigh, maybe she's right.

I wore it with the tie in front all day.

After work I met up with friends who suggested I turn the waist tie around, so it ties in the back, for a less casual look. I like it both ways, but hadn't really considered wearing it tied in the back until they mentioned it. 

All in all, I'd say wearing these me-mades has been a success. They're both comfortable and casual enough to be practical, and also make me feel good, even if they're not perfect ...and wearing them means I have to sometimes talk about my sewing to non-sewers. :)