Lately...

This weekend, I had a couple of good thrifting trips. Some of the items I picked up you'll be seeing more of in the coming months (so secretive!), but one you'll get to check out right now. It's an eShakti grey/beige eyelet dress that I found at Goodwill.

As you can see, the color is a little bit ...meh, but the fabric says it's 100% cotton (I'm assuming that excludes the shiny, matching greyish lining), so I was thinking I might try to dye it. I've got a couple of packs of Kelly Green RIT dye that I'd bought with the idea that I'd dye a length of white (probably synthetic, not receptive to dye) lace I've had laying around and try to make some kind of blouse out of it. Sound weird? Well, it looks great in my head.

When I showed Tom the newly thrifted dress and held up the box of dye next to it, he was like, "Green...??," which got me thinking, maybe this is another idea that only sounds good in my head. I have no idea if 1) the lining that peeks through all of the little holes in the eyelet will take dye at all, and if it does, how much; and 2) if the silky (rayon?) thread used in the embroidery of the eyelet detail on the fabric will take any dye either. This means my results could be crappy. I'm thinking maybe a more subtle color might be better...but what?

Duke is by my side for support, but doesn't have much advice to share.

Also this weekend, I've been trying to do a little mending that's been waiting in the mending pile for far too long. More of Tom's shirts that need taken in with some darts (copied from the job the tailor did on another of his shirts recently).

I was initially surprised when I saw the tailor had made two long darts down the back of the shirt he'd asked be adjusted so the fit was more...fitted, but it seems to be the best/easiest way to take care of it. Taking the shirt in at the sides might sound simpler but would probably actually be more annoying than darts, I'd think, due to the fancy (flat-felled?) seams there.

Anyway, I'm working on those shirts. Mending, blerg.

Another update: remember that holiday gift-making sewing I'd mentioned briefly before? Well, now I'm starting to think I might end up waiting on that. I'm actually feeling rather un-motivated to sew lately. So those holiday gifts might end up being belated... or just random late-winter (think...January/February) "just because" gifts. We'll see.

It's a Bird... it's a Plane...!

IT'S A PETER PAN COLLAR! (not a UFO)

What! A new make with my favorite collar type, ever!

For this top, I used an animal print grey/black double-knit from my stash, that I think I'd originally bought months ago because I'm afraid of jersey and other slinky, stretchy knits, but wanted to make a Renfrew. Well, this isn't a Renfrew (double-knit would probably not be a good choice for that anyway), but it is a casual top and was my first time sewing with double-knit as well as making raglan sleeves.

I made it from this cute vintage McCalls pattern, using View B. These tops have that 1960s boxy-sack shape going on, which is super comfortable, but not always super flattering when un-tucked (especially when your hair doesn't look as cute as these girls' in the illustration, to balance out the look).

Anyway, the sleeves were great to sew and I'm already planning another raglan-sleeved project. The stretch of the double-knit helped work out any fitting issues and I pretty much just sewed it like a regular woven fabric.

Another thing, other than the raglan sleeves and peter pan collar, that I liked about this pattern (in theory) is that there are no zippers or buttonholes, just a little peek-a-boo closure at the back neck. The only thing I didn't like about the reality of this particular closure, is that the pattern has you make it like 17 inches (exaggerating) long, which is a bit excessive! I couldn't tell quite how big it really was going to be until I'd finished sewing, at which point I made a "harrumph" noise and threw a safety pin in there around the half-way mark in the opening.  I got even a bit more MacGuiver on this baby when I then used a chopped up HAIR ELASTIC for my little button loop, because I didn't have anything better. It actually turned out pretty okay.

The little sparkly button is just a lonely one from my button jar that had lost its mates. It was definitely fun to pour out my entire jar of buttons and sift through it looking for the perfect one - hadn't done that in a while.

Something else I hadn't done in a while? MENDING. Blerg. This weekend, though, I was a good girlfriend who mended her guy's favorite cardigan that had been sitting in the mending pile for EVER, and then even altered one of his dress shirts (pats self on back) by adding a couple of long back darts. That may make you think I have some sort of tailoring skillz, but we'd actually just been at the real tailor earlier in the day to pick up another of his shirts in the exact same size and cut, so I was able to basically copy what they'd done there.  Shhh, don't tell the tailor.

Also, I've just started reading this:

Over-dressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion

I'm probably the last sewing blogger in blog-land to read this, but better late than never, eh? I'm only on Chapter 2 so far, but it's already really interesting. Leah of Struggle Sews a Straight Seam did a nice write-up of her thoughts after reading it, which I enjoyed reading (and you might, too).

One thing I'm already appreciating about the book is that Elizabeth Cline, the author, cites the research of the author of Service and Style, which I read a little while ago. I looooved learning about the history of department stores in America. It really made me wish (even more) that I lived a few decades ago instead of now.

Anyway, that's enough nerding-out for now. I'll be back soon with more details on my next project, and maybe even an upcoming giveaway.

6 months later...

You guys, my official 6 month bloggiversary is here!! When I set out to start this blog 6 months ago,  it was a  little bit of a new year's resolution. I felt like my sewing was very disorganized and I kept getting distracted and losing motivation for projects. Starting the blog has really helped me buckle down and stay more focused and has also given me an outlet for my sewing obsession that's even more satisfying than I'd imagined!

Meeting new sewing friends (you!) who share thoughts and ideas as well as helpful advice has made a huge difference in my life - sounds corny, but it's true! I cant thank you all enough for reading and participating. :)

my first ever, wearable piece!

Sappiness aside, I thought I'd do a little revisit to check in on the goals I'd set for myself when I was getting started.

• tackle my mountain of mending! - I did some small chipping away at the mending mountain, but haven't really made a lot of progress recently...and none of it is really interesting or blog-worthy.
• try some new techniques - I've definitely tried some new techniques/skills since setting this goal. Some that come to mind are: making collars (for my violet blouse, my mad men dress, my estate sale dress....and more, I'm sure - they're kind of my favorite thing to add to a garment), sewing from a vintage pattern (my easter egg blouse), gathering (gathered skirt and my wedding guest dress), buttonholes (violet and easter egg blouses), lining (my mad men dress), underlining (my peony and violet)...and more!

my mad men dress

• de-stash! - This one is a little weird to address - in some ways I've done a horrible job and in others I've done great. I've kind of stopped randomly buying fabric and patterns online without a project/purpose in mind (for a while it kind of took the place of impulsive clothing shopping for me - now I don't do too much of either!), and I've been able to de-stash a lot of stuff by giving it away, but I've also collected a rather sizable pile of new-to-me stuff from yard sales and estate sales over the past few months. I can say, though, that I really try now to plan projects from my existing stash, only purchasing new supplies if totally necessary...so that's....good!
• sew actually wearable pieces. - I think I've definitely made progress in this area! When I started out, I only had one piece of wearable me-made clothing, and now I've got several. I've really tried to make practical pieces that I can use in my every-day life. Some things do get more wear than others, though, (like my gathered skirt and estate sale dress) while others are honestly somewhat neglected (like my violet and easter egg blouses), so I still have room to improve here. It can be hard to know if something will turn out the way I want it to and if the way I plan to use a piece will actually work. (my easter egg blouse was really fun to sew and was my first foray into vintage pattern sewing, but is not as wearable as I'd expected and doesnt look as great tucked into my skirts as I'd hoped, but that's how it goes!)

my gathered skirt

• learn to make properly fitting garments!- I think I've made some steps in this direction, though I'm still intimidated by fitting. I have learned more about how to pick the appropriate size for me for a pattern (something I'd thought I knew, but apparently didn't really) and some of the types of adjustments I'll likely want to make (or at least keep in mind) to certain garments (like shortening the waist slightly). I'm definitely expecting to work on the whole fitting thing more as I continue to gain experience sewing different types of pieces.
• start learning to knit by the end of 2012. - Here I can frankly say I've made no progress at all. I do really hope to get started learning to knit by the end of the year, though. :)
• sew at least one thing each month - this idea came after I'd officially made my list of goals, but I'm happy to say it has been accomplished successfully each month so far!

Not too bad, though there's always room for improvement!

my peony dress

While I've been working towards those goals, I also participated in a few activities with other bloggers, like making a mad men inspired dress for Julia Bobbin's mad men challenge, participating in Kerry's summer sewing swap (which you'll hear more about soon!), hosting my own giveaway (yay!), being a featured seamstress at Coletterie for my peony dress, making the seamless pledge, and posting a project on wesewretro.com.

Not too shabby, eh?

Thanks for sticking with me through my first six months, and here's to the next six...or twelve...or hundred! :)

Return of Mad Men ...and Goals!

The past few days I've been thinking a bit about the goals I mentioned when I first started this little blog. I've done fine when it comes to some of the things I'd wanted to aim for, like trying new techniques and working from my fabric stash rather than impulsively buying new fabric all the time ($5 boxes from yard sales don't count!), but I wasn't making much progress in other areas, such as MENDING. Yeah, who wants to mend when they can start new projects!

I decided to focus my efforts a bit and last night, with the two-hour season premier and long awaited return of Mad Men on the tv, (can we talk about Megan's eye-makeup and Joan's shocking, hot pink dress?!!) I grabbed my pile of to-mend pieces and camped out on the couch.  I was able to complete four items at my slow, meandering pace, (amidst much oohing and aahing over the tv show) and was rather pleased with myself.  I hand-stitched my little heart out.

Megan

Ahh! That pink!

I replaced all of the buttons (some were missing and the rest didn't match) on my boyfriend's cardigan with some vintage buttons from my stash that were a perfect match, did a very amateur darning job on a hole in one of his shirts, and re-stitched the blind hem on a Banana Republic (typical, BR!) skirt that came undone at the hem about a week after I'd bought it...2 years ago.

The last piece I mended was a 1960s plaid sheath I've had for a year-ish? It is a little snug in the shoulders, which causes me to bust the seams on the armholes every other time I wear it (and had been waiting to be mended for a looong time). 

'60s summer sheath and jacket

It's a lightweight linen-like fabric, great for spring, but not the most festive, springy color scheme? I do love a plaid, though, and am definitely glad I snatched this baby up at an antique mall. The tag just says Lord & Taylor and there is a little matching jacket, which is cute in theory, but makes me look like a boxy cube-person whenever I attempt to pull off the look.

plaid!

bias bound neckline

jacket insides with little Lord&Taylor tag

cute lace trim on every raw edge

I decided, in honor of the return of Mad Men, to break out this little, freshly mended, '60s office-appropriate dress and paired it with a cardigan to wear to work today. Of course, at the end of the day when I was getting out of the car and straining to reach my 56 lb. purse, I busted the shoulder seams. Back to the mending pile! Sigh.

'60s sheath with cardigan

I'm really going to try to keep up with my mending. It's so easy and even relaxing to work on it while watching tv in the evening, so I'm going to try to make that part of my routine. As for my de-stashing goal, past projects have used stash fabric, including my Joan dress for the Mad Men dress challenge (minus the lining), so that's good. I'll plan to keep up the good work as I get crackin' on my spring/summer wardrobe sewing.

Speaking of my Joan dress...it's done! Here's a look. I'll have to get better pictures (like better lighting and me actually wearing the dress) and put together a post so I can share all the details. But for now...

Joan dress