Warmer Weather Wardrobe Revisit

At the beginning of spring this year, I put together a Warmer Weather Wardrobe sewing plan. Now that spring is over, summer is wrapping up, and fall is rapidly approaching, I thought I'd do a little revisit to see how my warmer weather sewing panned out.

First off, I specifically noted in my plan that I was something of a slow sewer, seeming to take about a month to sew anything, regardless of the size or complexity of the project. I'd wanted to take this into account when trying to form a realistic sewing plan. I think I can now say that my sewing has gotten a little speedier, though nothing to brag about. I've just gotten some more experience under my belt, which always helps things go faster.

Anyway, my plan had me really trying to work from stuff I already had in my sewing room to meet my warmer weather wardrobe needs. The first thing I made was my vintage Simplicity 3266 blouse. This was my first foray into sewing with vintage patterns and I got to use some cute fabric I already had.

Simplicity 3266

 

I love the idea of this blouse, but it just hasn't been something I end up wearing. It's one of those tops that seems to demand to be tucked in, but even when I do, it still seems blousy and poufy and unflattering. I planned to remake it with a more subdued collar shape and slightly narrower sleeves to see if I could make it work, but have yet to actually do so. 

I also had grand plans for a Ginger skirt made up in denim, after being inspired by the numerous cute versions floating around out there on the internet. I wanted to perfect the fit before cutting into denim, so I made it first in dark blue broadcloth I'd had in my stash. 

Colette Patterns' Ginger

I like the way this one turned out, though I will make some tweaks to the waistband for my next version, but I still haven't gotten around to sewing it up in denim, or any other version for that matter! Luckily this first version does get some wear in my summer wardrobe, and will hopefully continue to do so, at least for the beginning of fall.

The two more exciting pieces on my sewing list were wedding guest dresses. I sewed them up from patterns that were already in my stash and most of the fabric was stuff I'd already had, as well. Even though these are party dresses, I think they might be the most wearable (or maybe just the most fun to wear) pieces I created from my spring/summer sewing plans. 

The Milly Wedding Guest Dress - New Look 6910 (modified a lot)

Polka Dot Wedding Guest Dress - McCall 5845 bodice (modified) + a circle skirt

And that's it! The above projects were all pieces that came directly from my warmer weather sewing plan. But that doesn't mean that's all I made to add to my spring and summer wardrobe. Sometimes you can't always just stick to the plan - you have to go where inspiration takes you! These pieces were created as quick, fun projects that were not really planned out at all. I find that these types often end up being my favorites.

 

My Estate Sale Dress made from McCall 9735

My Gathered Skirt made from Gertie's tutorial.

This cute blouse, that I still haven't completely finished (oops!), made from McCall 9458. I LOVE the fabric, though, so hopefully I'll be making this baby wearable soon.

My latest project, the bow blouse from Simplicity 2154, using the spotted rayon shirting I'd originally planned to use for a Sencha blouse (a pattern that's STILL on my to-sew list).

What was on my warmer weather sewing plan that didn't end up getting done? 

Well, for one, this pretty rayon challis is still sitting in my fabric stash. I love it but just haven't found the perfect project to use it for yet. Hopefully I will soon!

abstract floral rayon challis

Same thing goes for the pencil skirt that has been on my to-sew list for longer than I can remember. I keep telling myself I'll get a pattern perfected and then make a zillion versions, but haven't actually done so yet. Now that my dress code at my new job is very casual, I'm not sure if I'll even need many pencil skirts...though I do love them.

That's all for my little recap. In other news, I actually managed to sew Tom's birthday shirt up in time to give it to him as a gift, but I'm going to need to do some adjustments to it before I can post about it here. It's currently too big (surprise, surprise - thanks for all the extra ease, McCalls). Since he wasn't around while I was sewing it, and it was kind of a surprise, I wasn't able to fit it to him as I sewed, so I knew this would happen. Anyway, I'll share more details once I get it officially completed. :)

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! :)

Finished Project: Estate Sale Dress

This project kind of popped up out of nowhere. It doesn't really relate to my warmer weather wardrobe plans, but sometimes you've just gotta go where inspiration takes you.

I started it on an impulse, did not plan it to death, and am finding myself rather pleased with the results. As Gillian noted recently, quick, impulsive creating sometimes pans out well and other times it falls flat. In this case, I think it worked in my favor. Not planning this project out too much helped me enjoy the sewing process on this simply constructed dress, kept me from stressing about working with plaid for the first time, and boosted my morale a bit, too.

McCall 9735 - view C

I used the plaid fabric, some navy bias tape, and McCall 9735 all from my recent estate sale haul. Now, I technically made this dress in April (with my Ginger and my Easter Egg blouse, that makes 3 finished pieces for the month...yay!), even though I'm debuting it in May.

Here she is! (the collar looks rather uneven in this photo, but I promise it's just an illusion.

Let's get down to some details about this dress, shall we?

I opted for version C -- SLEEVELESS! (I'm still pretty much over set-in sleeves) I think this will make it a good casual summer dress that can easily be paired with one of my ever-present cardigans. Now, speaking of the sleevelessness of this baby, at the last minute I decided to use bias tape to finish the armholes instead of just as armhole facing.  I'd even cut out the actual armhole facings with the pattern pieces, but now they're hanging out in my scrap basket - oh, well. The way I did the bias tape kind of extended the edge of the armhole over onto the shoulder a bit, so they're verging on cap sleeves of sorts, which I actually like.

I did end up using the neck facing pieces, but not as facings! I combined the front and back pieces to create a little collar and faced the inner neckline with more bias tape.

Bias tape bound armholes.

Collar!

As soon as I'd decided to make this pattern, I knew I wanted a belt involved, or else I'd just feel like a frumpy, plaid blob. Instead of opting for the exact belt option in the pattern, complete with buckle and eyelets, I just used a strip of fabric to make a little sash/tie. This helped eliminate the baggy tent-like aspect the pattern design, sans belt, had going on.

From the back - the belt/waist tie definitely helps give this dress some shape.

I was inspired by the soft, lightweight, linen-y feel of the plaid and wanted a casual warm weather dress (I haven't switched out my winter wardrobe, since the weather here has been all over the place. All my spring/summer clothes are still hiding in a bin). I love how comfortable this dress is. Part of that is due to the loose fit, though I'm considering making a couple of darts/tucks in the front bodice near the waist to keep it from looking super blousey on top - at the same time, though, I don't really care! like it anyway.

Might eliminate some extra bulk in bodice with more darts or tucks.

Now, about working with plaid...matching up the stripes in this project wasn't totally horrible, but I'd still call it a fail, mainly because I just couldn't really be bothered to care. If I'd been really trying, I'd say I did my best, but...I didn't. I did work to at least acknowledge the placement of stripes when I was aligning the pattern pieces on the fabric before cutting, but I didn't match anything along the seams. The bust darts plus the long french(?) darts combined to kind of make plaid-matching impossible, or at least not worth it for me. I came close, but then failed at matching the plaids at the center back zip, but, like I said, I'm not sweating it! I've noticed it's not terribly uncommon for inexpensive RTW garments to not bother with matching plaids and prints at seams, so for this quick project, I don't mind and don't expect to get any weird looks when parading around in my somewhat miss-matched plaid creation - or at least not due to my lack of matching stripes.

Is it even possible to match plaids on side seams of an A-line skirt??

Also of note for this project, I was finally able to install an invisible zipper with my regular zipper foot and not have it look totally bunchy, blatant/un-invisible, and gross! yay.

I promise I'll do an official fashion show with this dress and my Ginger(s) - I'm hoping to have a denim one in the works very soon - once I can get some photos of me actually wearing them.

Also, up next, I'm going to be picking one or two of these dress patterns from my stash to make so I can have a pretty new dress (or dresses!) to wear to the two back-to-back weddings I'll be attending this summer. What do you think? I've numbered them one through four, so feel free to vote on which one or two you think I should make!

As always, please excuse the crappy photo! Bonus points to anyone who recognizes the vintage McCall pattern. :)

Finished Project: Simplicity 3266 (or, Another Green/White Dotted Blouse)

Simplicity 3266

View 3 (shown in blue)

...or, Sue: An Easter Egg Personified.

Welcome to my first project from a vintage pattern! I finally finished the "simple to make" Simplicity 3266. I really enjoyed sewing this blouse, but am not sure it'll actually be a wearable muslin...I'm undecided. My main issue? I feel like an Easter egg. More on that in a bit.

This pattern was fun to sew. The directions were (mostly) easy to follow, the diagrams very helpful, and best of all there were no sleeves to set in!

There was one confusing part, though, where the pattern instructions seemed to want me to make a paper football/accordion strip of bias tape and put it on the armpit seam for reinforcement. After fiddling with the bias tape a bit, I realized I didn't really care to adhere to that step and tossed it. But what do you think, have you ever seen this before? Does this kind of kimono sleeve thing really need such reinforcing?

bias tape accordion fail.

now, magically fold up this bias tape and attach it to the armpit!

Now lets get down to the fit. I made view 3 and right off the bat, it looks like my sleeves are much flappier and less fitted than intended. They feel a bit flappy, too, and I think next time (there will be a next time!) I sew this, I'll make the sleeves narrower. I'll also probably make the waist tucks a little bigger, so the waist area will be a little more fitted.

my dream collar

Next time around, I'll also definitely be doing some adjusting in the collar area. When I showed Tom the finished product he said "it's a '70s collar!" Unfortunately,  that's not quite what I was going for. I'd secretly hoped, despite how obviously large it appears in the illustration, that the collar would somehow turn out more Pan Am uniform than floppy, winged '70s thing. Sigh.

actual collar

Another bone I have to pick with the collar is more...structural? I'd run out of fusible (or any kind) interfacing and for some reason figured, "whatevs, I'll just use muslin" instead of actual, stiff, interfacing on the facing. This makes the collar super floppy and not crisp at all, so I don't really recommend doing that on a shirt like this.

So, back to the Easter egg bit. I love this fabric, I think it's just the bee's knees, but maybe it's better off in craft land than apparel sewing.

Perhaps I'm being hyper critical (who, me?) but, for me, the colors and scale of the print combined with the fabric's quilting weight/lack of drape make this feel a little bit too Springtime craft project for me.

When I saw my finished garment on my dress form, "Easter egg" just popped into my head. When I'm wearing it, I kind of feel like a big, bright, floppy, polka-dotted BLOB (maybe it'd feel less blobby if I tucked it in? ...I'll get back to you on that).

Is it weird that I think it looks better on the dress form?

Things I like about this project? As I mentioned earlier, no setting in of sleeves! Also, I actually had success with the buttonholes (all four of 'em - though the pattern called for only three and then a hidden snap for the 4th), for once. I also had a super time adding contrasting light pink bias trim to just about every raw edge I could get my hands on - or at least the facing raw edge, the sleeve facings, and the blouse hem.

pink and green!

What do you think?

I know this is a topic of contention among many sewers, but do any of you ever use quilting cotton for apparel projects, or is that always a huge no-no?

If/when you do use it, are you usually pleased with the results?

I think the main things I like about it are: it's a breeze to sew with and there are so many cute prints available...if you can pick one appropriate for your project.

Warmer Weather Wardrobe

As you may have gathered by now, I'm kind of a slow sewer. It seems like, regardless of the project I'm working on, whether it's a simple blouse or a lined dress (with, evil, spawn of Satan sleeves), it takes me about a month to complete.

Trying to keep this in mind, I've put together a modest little plan for adding some warmer weather items to my wardrobe, working from what I've already got in my sewing room (let's just hope I can get them sewn up before the warmer season ends!). 

My spring/summer sewing ambitions are as follows:

I'm definitely in need of some cute casual blouses that aren't t-shirts. I'm currently (slowly!) working on Simplicity 3266 in this green and white cotton given to me by my boyfriend's mom, from her (amazing!) craft & fabric room.

Springy green + white dotted blouse fabric (Thanks, LuAnne!)

This is more of a test of this pattern...a wearable muslin, you might say? I know that another polka dotted anything is not really filling much of a gap, style/print-wise, in my wardrobe. Once I've got this pattern all figured out, I plan to make up many more in other fabrics!

As I mentioned last month, I'm also itching to finally make a Sencha blouse. I've been drooling over this pattern for what seems like forever and am determined to make one this spring/summer. I got this cute - yes, also polka dotted, - rayon shirting, so now all I need is MORE SEWING TIME!

Fabric.com - rayon shirting

One of my favorite (and most feared) parts of this pattern is the cute button-down back. I've got a disproportionate amount of red buttons in my stash, so I could use up some of those, or I could try my hand at the fabric-covered buttons I wimped out on for my Joan dress. I'm undecided at this point.

Lastly, for tops, I'm hoping I'll get to try the cute blouse that is part of the 1960's reproduction(?) pattern, Simplicity 2154. I have no idea what fabric I'd use for this. I might try this pretty rayon challis (not polka dotted!) I've had languishing in my stash for a while. I bought it with something twirly in mind, but haven't been able to decide on anything yet. I definitely like the soft drapeyness it's got goin' on and the colors would blend well in my wardrobe.

Green, blue, white, black abstract print rayon challis.

I'd been really drawn to pinks/reds/purples when I first began to think about sewing for the warmer months, but I'm trying to work from what I've already got. Greens and blues are more in my comfort zone, for some reason, so that's what I'm trying to work with...even though I want to be sewing with these babies I happened to notice (but didn't buy) over at Fabric Mart:

FLORAL!!!

pretty soft pink

As for non-blouse sewing plans, I'm pretty determined to make a dark blue, if not actual denim (which I'd have to go purchase), Ginger skirt. I've already tested this pattern out (resulting in an UN-wearable muslin, due to the horrendously ugly fabric I used), and I feel fairly comfortable with it. I've seen SO many cute denim versions out there in sewing blogland (Exhibit A), that I'm about to go insane with jealousy. I NEED ONE.

I've also had a pencil skirt on my to-sew list forever. Whether I use an existing pattern from my stash and try to get the fit just right, or try to come up with my own pattern using my measurements, I want to make this happen! In all honesty, though, it's not going to make or break my spring/summer sewing plans if I don't get it done since a pencil skirt is essentially season-less.

As for the exciting part, DRESSES, I've got a few weddings this spring and summer, so I'm hoping to come up with something, so I can be all  "OMG, congratulations on getting married! - p.s. I MADE this dress, people!!!!!!!!!!" ...I'll keep you posted. :)

Wish me luck!

Finished Project: Joan Dress

My Joan dress! (attempting to pose like Joan without consulting the inspiration picture first... blerg!)

Joan: my inspiration

Here's my finished Mad Men Challenge dress, inspired by the lovely Joan. I used a cotton stretch sateen from my stash and New Look 6968.

This project held a lot of firsts for me. To start, it was my first official sewing blog challenge...thing! I was so excited to participate. I've loved seeing everyone's projects progress and am SO EXCITED to see Julia's post rounding up all the entries!

full length shot - thanks, photographer Dad ;)

It was also my first time experimenting with lining. I had some trouble wrapping my head around how it all should work, but got a lot of help from some of you...which basically saved me (read the comments on my "Ides of March" post to check out the helpful tips)! So, a huge THANKS!!

Another first for me was constructing this type of collar, having only ever done a peter pan collar before. I feel okay about the way this turned out. I basically just followed the instructions and didn't alter any of the collar pieces, which I might try doing next time for a slightly different look. Mine didn't turn out exactly like Joan's but that's ok...it's called inspiration! I also decided to omit the gold colored brooch/fastener from my plan, even though Joan had one on her dress. I didn't think my dress needed it.

collar shot

My other 'first' was altering the sleeve pattern pieces by extending them by about two inches - not really complicated or anything. I wanted to go for a more '60s look and felt the cap sleeves prescribed by the pattern were just not it.

New Look 6968 with cap sleeves

Speaking of these sleeves...they were kind of the bane of my existence when it came to attaching them to the actual dress. After I'd gotten the bodice attached to the skirt and inserted the zipper, I tried the thing on and went about pining out the areas that were too big. Word to the wise, when you take off an inch or so from the side bodice seam and about half an inch from the shoulder seam, you've made your armholes that much smaller. As I'm sure you smarty pants have all guessed, this makes your sleeves just a little bit too big to "ease" (hah!) into the armhole. I fudged 'em a bit, but managed to get them in there, somehow. The stretch of the fabric helped make up for the sloppy job.

Anyway, next time I sew anything with set-in sleeves, I'm doing it this way.

I struggled with the lapped zipper a little bit, too. But, at this point, I'm not sweating it!

from the back

That's all, folks! Be sure to check out Julia's upcoming post of all the Mad Men Challenge entries. What fun!

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