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.

Sew...much!

I feel like I've got a lot going on in my brain & sewing room right now! I'm clinging to multiple sewing ideas, while also trying to do some refashioning and complete my Pendrell blouse. I actually took some time off work to give myself a long weekend for getting things done. However, in the sewing department, instead of being productive, I've ended up spending a lot of time marveling over all of the ideas for things I could work on. There's sewing project inspiration, potential refashioning projects waiting in a pile, and my in-progress Pendrell blouse.



Inspiration:
Ever since starting to read (yes, read - not just flip through the pretty, pretty pictures!) 100 Years of Fashion, one particular style has been stuck in my head. I know I've claimed the '60s as my best style decade for its more wearable, cute fashions, but who can resist the New Look.

1947 'Bar' by Dior -  V&A

Something about the fitted jacket and or blouse belted over an a-line or full skirt, idea won't get out of my mind. For some reason I'm picturing myself wearing this type of suit, maybe in dark blue, boarding an airplane? Don't ask. I've found a pattern that I'm dying to try, but then again, I think I could turn Gertie's jacket and skirt from her book into just as nice of a suit, and I wouldn't have to purchase any new patterns. But, just look...

Source: etsy.com via Susan on Pinterest

It's even from 1960! But, then there's also this lovely '50s pattern, too.

Source: etsy.com via Susan on Pinterest

Pretty! I'm not normally into suits, but these seem so smart and fun to wear. I'm especially liking the look of the jacket being nipped in at the waist and extending down to cover the hips, but not as long as a '40s style suit jacket. This look definitely helps create that hour-glass silhouette, but isn't revealing or racy. I'd call it ladylike but cute - at least that's how I'm hoping it would look on me.

Drooling over inspiration is a lot easier than completing a sewing project, though. Which tends to leave me with too many ideas to narrow down to a starting point and no progress on my current projects.

That said, I'm also being tempted by the Polka Dot Frock Fest that's been talked up over at Scruffy Badger Time.

I already own this pattern but have yet to sew it up. I also own some blue, polka dotted fabric that's been sitting forlorn in my stash for longer than I care to recall. Sounds like a match made in heaven, if you ask me.

If I do participate in the frock fest, I'm hoping to make my version something I could wear in my casual work setting without getting "...you're dressed up today" comments. I'm liking the view that's already illustrated in a   spotted fabric on the pattern envelope. Hmm... we'll just have to see.



Refashioning:
Earlier this month, I picked up this black, wool herringbone pencil skirt at the thrift store. I think it's from the '70s or '80s? It's fully lined, has pockets, and has a little strip of elastic on each side of the waistband  This might not sound like a plus, but the elastic is not super noticeable and makes a big difference in terms of comfort! It's a great length for a vintage office-y look, but my office is pretty casual, like I mentioned, and I'll get more wear out of this piece if I shorten it to above the knee. Not really a drastic refashion, more an alteration, but yeah. That's the plan.

Thrifted wool skirt with pockets  - closeup shows elastic at side-waist

I also have 4-ish other thrifted pieces just sitting in a pile, unwearable until refashioned into something better. I've tucked them away for now because I don't want to get sick of them before I even have time to start working on 'em. I easily get carried away with all of the pieces I see with "potential," rather than keeping in mind what I'll actually have time/energy to work on and will be able to really wear when completed.



Actually Working On...
In the meantime, through all of the swirling inspiration and project plans in my head, I've come to terms with the fact that trying to work on, or even just think about, too many things at once ends up being bad news for my sewing productivity. Once I finish my current project, the Pendrell blouse, I'll move on to address any lingering sewing inspiration or refashioning ideas. That may sound dull, but I think I'll go insane if I don't focus!

In-progress, creased and droopy, teal Pendrell

Today I'm planning to draft a collar to add to my teal rayon Pendrell WIP. Gertie's tutorial from her book seems pretty easy to follow for collar drafting, so, hopefully that'll turn out nicely. I am trying to make an effort to not rush through this relatively simple project. I don't want to be tempted to cut any corners and end up with a poorly finished piece that I won't enjoy wearing. Wish me luck!

Sewing Table Snapshot

I've got a few things in the works right now. There's a sewing project I'm finally starting, as well as some refashioning of recently thrifted pieces. More details soon!

why is picmonkey making my "trasnparent" corners black?

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!

The '60s are my Jam.

Remember in my 2012 reflections post when I mentioned that one of the things I've learned over the past year is that even though I've loved 1950s fashion my entire life, I've found that 1960s styles are more my thing when it comes to making and wearing 'em? Well, yeah.

Recently, I've been infusing my wardrobe with even more sixties style (and working on my "wear more everyday dresses/skirts" goal). Over my little Christmas break, I snapped up a bright purple, all-season shift on sale on Etsy, and just this weekend I bought two more dresses while on an antiquing extravaganza in Frederick, MD. Check 'em out!

These dresses are easy enough to wear and not so fancy that they can't be worn for everyday, casual occasions. The linen one with white spots fits great, and the black wool one fits in the shoulders, but might need taking in along the sides for a more flattering shape.

In Frederick, I also picked up these two sewing patterns - a 1950s(?) blouse and a 1940s looking skirt. Just because the '60s are my fave doesn't mean I can't wear other decades, too, you know. Both of these patterns are the un-marked kind that don't have any printing or lines on them, only hole-punches in the shape of numbers to let you know which piece is which. Scary. I hope I don't chicken out and can actually make myself use them!

I didn't realize just how good I was being already, until typing this up now. I'm also in the midst of a refashioning project, too. Just chipping away at my "do more refashions" goal! Here's a peek.

I'd thought I would be using this black velvet ribbon to do some kind of embellishment or collar detail, but the stuff is too stiff to really work in this situation. Now I'm thinking I might make (or buy on Etsy?) some sort of embellished, detatchable black peter pan collar necklace thingy. I don't have any particularly rich black fabric in my stash to match with this spotted silk and I really don't want to buy any more FABRIC, since I'm already drowning in it.

Beaded Collar Necklace from SoStyle

I do like this collar found on Etsy. Any thoughts - make one? buy one? do something else entirely? I'm all ears.