As I’m now considered an ‘Adult’ aka over 30 years old (that’s an adulty age yeah??), I feel like I’m supposed to have actual sleep-wear in my wardrobe. Adults have that right?? But sewing pajamas that no one will ever see besides my husband, hasn’t been at the top of my sewing list…. until now.
So much skin… Eeek! Over the weekend I made up a wearable muslin version of Grainline’s Lakeside Pajamas.
My “wearable muslin” turned out 100% wearable as I don’t even need any modifications after picking out my size and stitching these up. So on the blog they go!
This is surprisingly the first garment I’ve made using Grainline patterns, and I have to say… this pattern is PRECISE. Lovely & precise! All notches matched up without fail – all curves were just *so* even the waistband seam fell right on the shorts side seam without forcing it to happen. LOVE!!! After sewing for several years, I really have come to appreciate precision in pattern drafting.
This is truly how I feel with wearing shorts!
Pulling these suckers down to my knees is my first reaction. It has really-truly-and honestly been 10+ years since I’ve worn any shorts. I don’t even lounge around the house in shorts….
So what prompted me to make a pair of pajamas??? Well… I’m going back to Paris in August and felt it was high time I pack & wear some actual coordinating pajamas. It was just time… Adulting and all that jazz.
I’m going kinda solo, too. I was offered the opportunity to go to France (after applying of course) through my work, DePaul University, as part of a Vincentian Heritage/Mission Learning guided tour with about 25 other folks from DePaul. My husband won’t be coming with and I’ll be with 25+ strangers from DePaul on the tour. Its gonna be a great learning experience… and something totally different for me. I’ll be spending the first two weeks of August on a bus/guided tour, which will be very interesting for an introvert like me. lol
So… back to Pajamas.
I’m sure I should have altered the back bodice in some way to prevent some folds – but again pajamas. They feel great on and fit, so really that’s all that matters to me.
I got this cotton voile fabric for free and its not quite *me*. It’s cute and all but I’m not exactly a paisley pattern kind of girl. I do love the color though… Perfect for a wearable muslin.
When I was cutting the bodice I made sure to align one of the major motifs down the center front. Any other placement would be a bit…. wrong if you know what I mean. Same goes for the shorts.
As you can see I have done some skilled & precise image cropping – this is as much thigh as the public gets to see of me & my legs. lol My thick, nordic legs are best left undercover. lol Don’t get me wrong, I love how strong my legs are… but they’re pasty white and well… let’s just leave it at that.
Let’s see… I cut the top with a straight size 6 and I believe I made the shorts in a straight size 12. Yup totally pear shaped.
While this is so not my asthetic… you really can’t beat a comfortable pair of pj’s. As soon as I made them up and tried them on – ON they remained for the rest of the day. While making 7 yards of bias tape almost killed me – it could have been worse since I decided to make 7 more yards of bias for the second pair. heh
I just got my fabric pre-washed for the second version and can’t wait to make them for my upcoming trip.
Emma One Sock – Click image to fabric source.
Isn’t it perfect?! I generally don’t want to look like a tourist and wear Paris-themed garments, but I kinda want to… so being made into pajamas is a total win. :D
Happy Sewing!
As soon as I saw this Molyneux (Vogue Paris Orig 1841) dress pattern on etsy, I couldn’t get it in my hot little hands fast enough. I knew it would be the perfect addition for my summer wardrobe as well as work for one of my Vintage Pattern Pledges for July.
While I’m more of a 40’s/50’s kind of girl, sometimes I can’t resist a Grecian, open-backed dress from the 70’s. I seem to be branching out to a lot of different styles this summer…
This is actually my second version of this pattern. While the first has yet to be blogged, I stitched up this dress literally days after completing the first.
I got this fabric as a large remnant from Sawyer Brook fabrics, without a plan of what to use it for. When it arrived I had finished my first (long) version and knew it would be lovely as a second (short) version; the perfect pattern to show off the lovely abstract floral design.
- Just an FYI – the remnants are actually in the regular fabric area and are called ‘last cuts’ and have special pricing on the Sawyer Brook website. I found it kinda confusing at first so I wanted to let you know. (In no way am I compensated here for my opinions or for fabric.)
This fabric is a rayon knit with lycra in it. I find that if you want drape, it’s rayon all the way! Or bamboo… bamboo has a really lovely drape also. But I really can’t resist a pretty rayon knit. And who knew that green + purple = wonderfulness.
Here’s the pattern envelope image. The gal on the left is wearing the knit version, too.
I ended up increasing the deep plunging back bodice by like 2″ or so as my first iteration wasn’t quite as close-looking to the pattern envelope. I really wanted a deep V, almost to my waist, for dramatic effect like the pattern image is.
Most of the pattern directions are tailored towards using a woven fabric and I had to modify them greatly for my knit fabric – despite the pattern saying it can be used for either woven or knits. In one stage, I’m supposed to close the bodice wrap section with no less than 7 hooks and eyes for a 4″ piece gathered section. Nope! I just stitched the two pieces together and finished the edges.
Underbodice:
What’s interesting about this pattern is not just the design but the construction. There’s a whole under-bodice structure to this wrap dress.
You may be able to spy some white tape on the front image. Yuppp! Girl talk time: I taped in some support with athletic tape. This dress really can’t be worn with a bra but I don’t feel comfortable going bra-less. Tape suggestion came from Meg/Michelle and was such a good idea.
While this dress is made in knit, I added quite a bit of clear elastic to some inner seam allowances to make sure this dress would hold up over wearings. I added some to the under-bodice shoulder seam, the waistband seam, and the center back V area of the top bodice wrap section.
Fit:
I didn’t bother to make a muslin of the outer wrap bodice, what I did work on was perfecting the fit of the underbodice.
When I first made up a knit muslin, no matter how much I reduced the shoulder height the bodice kept falling off my shoulders.
What ended up being the fix was taking wedges out – triangles – both on the neckline side as well as the armhole side on both the front and the back bodices.
Unfortunately I don’t have any more photos of these steps, but I just made sure to keep track of how much length I removed from the underbodice so that I could remove the same on the outer wrap bodice pieces.
This pattern also has you sew on a cummerbund gathered piece on the front of the underbodice so that when the outer wrap bodice splits, you can still see lovely gathers in that area. I did it on version 1 but it really just added bulk and was pointless, imo. So on version 2 I omitted that piece, honestly no one is the wiser; but I will admit perhaps it is needed on a woven version…
Given my bad posture, I’m quite surprised that the shoulders of my dress actually stay up. I was worried that this design was going to not work on me (due to bad posture) and also due to my narrow shoulders.
But I wore this thing for a whole, hot day at the garden nursery with my mom. I bent over, picking up all manner of plants and I never had an issue. *win*
Actually all of the plants you see behind me in the photos is what I got that day with my mom. Got some knockout roses, hydrangea, lilac, a couple silver fluffy looking plants my grandma used to have, and so much more.
Now that I’ve switched to talking about plants & my garden I guess I’m all done talking about this dress.
I’ll leave you with a silly selfie and give my husband an ever present “Thank You” for taking my garment photos.
Cheers!
I love sewing garments for summer so much more so than winter, I find. While I love wool there’s just something to be said for easy, breezy garments.
First of all – Rayon! I am smitten with you, rayon. Let’s just take a second and hear me admit out loud that this is the first time I’ve sewn a garment with rayon challis. I know, right?!
I’ve always known rayon is wonderful and I have several vintage rayons hoarded saved for the perfect dress. But I really can’t believe I’ve never sewn with it before now.
I purchased this Cotton & Steel Rayon when I was in Austin a couple of months ago, knowing I was going to use it for Tania Culottes. I was able to get my culotte cut with 3 yards, total fabric hog. But it is like making two circle skirts, one for each leg.
I bought the Tania Culotte pattern last year and promptly made one in a rayon/linen blend near the end of last summer. Sadly that doesn’t fit anymore – so I knew I had to make up another pair for this summer.
My favorite part about this pattern is that you can’t even tell it’s a culotte – it looks very much like a skirt. To me it’s a total *win* of a pattern. No chafing when it’s hot out and no one is the wiser that I’m wearing culottes.
While the pattern now comes with 3 different lengths – I was forced to modify the original mini culotte pattern as I wasn’t given an upgrade for free (when I asked). Kind of a pain in the butt… but it was easy enough to just lengthen this to a knee-length.
I did add some additional height to the inseam crotch, I believe 1″ or so. In my first version my thighs still rubbed together – which negated the purpose of culottes for me to begin with (ie chafing in the summer).
I got some free sunflower seeds and I figured why not plant them up and see what happens. I started them in my basement with the rest of my flowers and look how tall they’ve gotten. I noticed that some of the seeds were gone in the center so I decided to give one a shot myself.
I love these daily surprises that are happening in my garden.
The blouse I’m wearing is Ondee, by Deer & Doe.
This is my first make using Deer & Doe patterns, although I do have a couple others by them sitting on my shelf.
I made mine up using a cream-colored, french terry knit.
I did have a bit of trouble getting the center front of the collar to lay flat and not show the serged edge, but it does alright.
I love that this short blouse has a vintage flair. This silhouette reminds me of my earlier short-sleeved hand knits like this one.
The blouse falls at your true waist, so wearing a skirt (or in this case culotte) that hits at the waist is pretty essential unless you want to show some skin. Anyone tallish (aka over 5′ to me) may need to lengthen the bodice. It’s perfect on me, but I’m 4’11”.
These two patterns, the Tania culotte especially, is a summer staple of mine this year. I’ve since made up a second rayon version with a third happening shortly. All the rayon things are happening this summer, to be honest.
I’ve quickly learned that rayon and linen/rayon blends are my favorite summer fabrics. And if you’re not tempted to use some rayon yourself, let me just leave you with this bit of rayon loveliness that is coming out in August! You can be sure I’m getting that navy base floral as soon as it is physically possible. The periwinkle base will be purchased second… lol
(In no way am I compensated for my opinions… I just am currently smitten and need to share.)
Happy Sewing!
Every spring I get on a maxi skirt kick. I’m not sure why, but every spring I find myself hunting for the perfect long skirt pattern to make up. This spring was no exception.
I actually started on this skirt pattern late last fall and the fit wasn’t quite right. I set it aside while I worked on some other garments and let it languish. But the spring itch for a long skirt kicked in and I figured, I might as well finish my gabriola skirt that I had started.
I bought this fabric from my local fabric store and its to die for. It’s wool & silk blend, with a twill-ish style weave. It results in the most supple but drapey fabric. The color is just another bonus; I’m pretty sure I would have bought this fabric no matter what color it happened to be. In real life its a purple/blue kind of fabric – it changes color based on the light. In short – its the bees knees of fabric.
When I tried on my skirt this spring, it was too large. To get it to fit, I had to majorly reduce the side seams at the waistband, which resulted in a funky angle at that side seam – instead of a nice smooth waistband. Lucky for me, non-sewers rarely notice seam lines and no one has been the wiser.
The other thing I noticed was that I found I had removed too much length from the hem. I could only serge the seam and turn it up once (1/4″ hem) and you can still see the serged stitching from the inside of the skirt. Ack! Not sure how I managed to do that given my short stature. I can only wear flats with this skirt now, which isn’t a huge deal…
I had to majorly lighten these two detail images so you can see the yoke style lines.
Front View:
Back View:
As you can see, I added in my own lapped zipper, as I really loathe invisible zips and avoid them at all costs.
Lets get to the crux of my blog title for this one: “The Gabriola skirt: It’s lovely but…”
It’s exactly that with a big “BUT” at the end of the sentence. I love the fabric, I love the swish factor, but…. it really doesn’t feel like ME. I’m not sure what I envisioned with this one, but the style really feels off. I feel like I’m wearing someone else’s clothes when I put it on.
I know I have been sewing up some more modern garments as of late – but this feels like I’ve crossed the line between ME and too modern/stylish. It’s a hard feeling to have, given I love this fabric so much. I put a decent amount of work into this skirt in order to get it to fit right. So this conclusion is difficult to come to at the very end of a make. As nice as it is, it’s just not ME.
I wore this skirt to work once and got some nice compliments on it. I’ll probably wear it again on my “didn’t feel like shaving” days when the weather gets cooler again. But I have to say, I’ve only worn it the one time and its not something I gravitate towards given the option of something else in my closet.
It’s really just too bad… but it’s my own fault in the end. I feel like I should have known better – and I’ll be counting this in the ‘learning experience’ category of my sewing projects. Lovely fabric doesn’t make up for a design that doesn’t reflect who you are.
Has this happened to anyone else???
After I finished my first McCalls 6696 Shirt Dress last year, I knew I wanted to make up some other versions. Time got away from me, good thing it did, as I finally found the perfect fabric to use for my second version.
I bought this novelty print from Emma One Sock sometime last year (I think). I didn’t have a pattern in mind for it at the time so it just sat around in my stash. I love the print, but didn’t realize the print was on a taupe/flesh tone background; not such a good pairing for a my pale skin-tone. But this spring, I didn’t seem to care anymore and knew it would be the perfect, light-weight cotton match for this pattern.
I really wish I could find a vintage shirt dress pattern that fits as well as this modern McCalls pattern does. I’ve tried over and over again to sew vintage 50’s shirt dresses but they never seem to turn out right. At least the novelty print gives it a more vintage flare, which feels more like me.
No shirt dress is complete without pockets. :D
Although you can’t see it in the images… I modified the waistband piece so that it’s easier to alter and fit.
The one thing that I always disliked about this pattern is the the waistband is one continuous piece around the body. Which means, if you ever need to take in/out at the waist, you have to disassemble the entire dress & button band in the front – which is totally NEVER going to happen!
So I made my waistband into 3 pieces: one back and two fronts – with a side seam at either side. That way, I can easily take in/let out the side seams to re-fit this dress.
As a side note: I actually do this modification now on nearly every dress & skirt I make. I know the waistband isn’t clean with a side seam, but practicality is always a win for me! And I do find my garments just fit better when I have that side seam as I’m curvy with a short waist.
And guess what?? I already have taken in the side seams before the first wearing!! Felix and I have been consciously eating better and as a result I’ve lost a bit of weight. (YAAAYYY!) What’s sad is that between the time I stitched this up to when I was adding on the buttons two weeks later, I found the waistband didn’t fit anymore.
So I unpicked the inside waistband finish, took in the side seams, restitched the inner waistband again and voila, a dress that fits once again.
I decided my dress needed some more flair, so I added this little pocket to the right bodice front.
Dark brown vintage buttons – directly from my time at the Paris Flea market.
Last but not least – I finally have a backdrop in my own backyard for photos! I know its just a plain old fence, but it’s a huge improvement for us! And my empty hanging basket has already been rectified with some pretty purple petunias.
Cheers & Happy Sewing!
In light of last week’s news, I thought it was about high time I share my love of the Renfrew pattern by Sewaholic.
If you haven’t heard, moving forward Tasia will no longer be the woman behind the helm at Sewaholic. She’s turning things over to the peeps at Spool of Thread. This came as a big surprise to everyone, with the exception of Ms. Tasia herself of course. I’m attempting to remain positive about the change – but am holding my breath till the next pattern release.
I realize this happens all the time at large companies and in the tech industry – expected even. But I feel like this is the sewing community and correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this the first change like this in the indy pattern scene??
I feel taken aback – but of course I’m happy for Tasia, as this is obviously what she wanted. It’s just hard to let go and to accept change sometimes.
Back to Renfrew:
I’ve been sewing up Renfrews tops steadily since I learned how to cut & sew with knits in a Meg-Michelle-Liz sewing day August 2014. But one of my favorite Renfrew tops doesn’t quite look like a Renfrew.
I’ve made two of these particular versions – boat neck, wide hem, along with no binding. This one is a creamy white French terry knit and my second is a cotton/rayon blend of some sort in a heathered-grey and black polka dot.
How did I make it?? I quite simply took a boat neck vintage pattern I had in my stash (for wovens) laid it on top of my Renfrew pattern, lined up the shoulders (ignoring the shoulder angle difference) & then just redrew the neckline.
I could wear this particular outfit every day of the week. This is the closest I’m going to get to an Audrey Hepburn – style outfit: flats, ankle-length trousers, and chic top. Of course in no way, shape or form do I have the figure of Ms. Hepburn – I am me. Being said, I feel lovely and put together in my boatneck Renfrew tops. Tres Chic. ;)
At this point in time, I’ve sewn up at least 10 Renfrew tops. It’s a staple in my wardrobe as an easy summer Tee with short sleeves, made in rayon/lycra jersey blend; or made for the Chicago winter made up in a wool jersey knit with long sleeves and a cowl neck. I know there’s more T-shirt patterns out there, but why fix a pattern if it isn’t broken?! As it is – I’m happy as a clam to continue to make up version after version of my tried & true Renfrew Top.
Thanks so much Tasia for making Sewaholic what it is today. Cheers & Happy Adventures!
If you missed my latest backyard post, this is what Felix and I were starting with when we bought our house.
Can you see me back there on the right?? heh
Last week I caught you up to 2015:
But now it’s time to wrap up with what we’ve done so far this year in 2016.
Last year I missed out on vegetable planting for the season. After apartment-living in the city, I’ve longed for my own vegetable garden! This year I wanted to hit the ground running and make it happen! What can be better than wandering in your own back yard to pick vegetables for dinner or feed some hungry bunnies?!
Early in the spring (but not early enough), I planted seeds to start plants in my basement under grow lights.
All of my vegetable & herb seedlings are non-gmo, heirloom seeds from Baker Creek.
I have spaghetti squash, zucchini, yellow squash, tomato, bell pepper, yellow beans, green beans, cilantro, basil, parsley, and numerous types of lettuces. (Shout-out to Michelle who told me about this company. Thanks lady!)
After much research – since that’s what I do before starting any new endeavor – I decided that we should build sub-irrigated, raised planter beds.
Image: Courtesy of Albo Pepper – FYI I used his directions to build out my box along with this.
There’s basically a reservoir of water at the bottom of the bed that always holds water. That way the roots go down for the water which results in a nice root system; it’s supposed to reduce weeds, rot, and other issues that may happen with watering at the top.
Felix and I started planning and then building two raised planter beds, what feels like months ago. But we finally finished them.
The reservoir does need to be filled about once a week, but I can go several days (like on vacation) without worrying if all my plants are going to die on me. There’s also drain holes on the side, at the bottom, to prevent any flooding from rains.
I have a tendency to ‘go big or go home’ with projects, so I do hope this works out for me this year.
As an FYI, Felix posted each and every time we worked on our garden boxes. You can find many more in-depth construction blog posts here.
I intended to get these boxes finished like 2 months ago, so I missed out on some springtime peas. But I’ll survive. heh I have read that I can actually do peas again in the fall when the weather gets chilly.
The other large project that we worked on was a new fence!
The old fence was all warped and very unattractive. I felt like I couldn’t really start to plan out my garden until a new fence was put in, since I didn’t want to plant & then remove it all for the fence install. That and …… I was having some major territorial issues with the dog that lives next door. It was getting to the point that I couldn’t be outside without my adrenaline rushing & having heart palpitations due to the dog. (Happening again right just now thinking about it…) So Felix and I decided that it would be in everyone’s best interests (mainly mine) to make the fence a priority this year.
Of course, we like to save money when we can, so we did all of the leveling/grading of that fence area on our own which took us several days to do.
Just a few bricks we found in the yard – even after things were cleared and leveled last year.
We ran into some issues during the grading with an old tree stump that we already had ground down. Turns out it needed much more stump grinding, so we had to call out our tree guys to get rid of it once and for all.
After the grading was done, we were able to just kick back and watch our fence be built by professionals.
I now have a brand new fence and a vegetable garden in progress, in what once was basically wilderness!
It feels like a fresh, blank slate that I can finally start building out/planting in.
I have all sorts of schemes saved in my pinterest page, but I need to sit down with my mom again so we can plan on how to make it even more lovely.
Some of the top things on my list that I’d like in the backyard are:
- Espalier Tree/s
- Lilac Shrub
- Fire Pit area
- Fountain
Even though I may only be able to do one of the four this year, it already feels like I can breathe again in my backyard with some privacy; I can enjoy being outside once again. It feels so good.
You saw my front yard renovations last year, but prepare your self – as the back yard is a horse of a different color.
When we bought our house it was the end of October. The first thing we had to spend our renovation money on was tree removal.
It was both sad and hard to spend so much money right off the bat to remove some lovely, old trees but they were either in the process of dying or in the way of power lines so they all had to go.
We always knew the backyard needed some work, but once the following summer hit we really realized just how overgrown and awful things really were back there.
That first summer – young and naive – I thought I could just spend a couple hours each day/week and pull everything out gradually.
I was ohh soo wrong. As soon as I called it quits in the fall, I would look to back where I started and the area was once again covered in small weeds.
Felix and I had a *real talk* and we decided that we’d call in some professionals to deal with the situation, as it would take me far too long working as I had been.
Fast forward to Spring 2015, 2 quotes later and after much research (and drama) we had a crew working on the yard, clearing out all of the stuff.
There was a crew of around 5 guys who came in with a bobcat and boy did they get rid of everything quickly! As soon as 30 minutes had passed – Felix and I were looking at each other saying *we made the right decision* as doing the work manually would have taken us… oh let’s say 3 years! lol
This landscaping crew was at our place for 2 days and cleared out so much stuff. I can see the back fence again! heh
Yes – we’re talking Summer of 2015 still.. and you may be thinking but Liz, this is 2016! Bear with me…
After the crew was done with the clearing of the yard, Felix and I coordinated a sod delivery and we set about installing the sod ourselves which saved some major $ but was also quite labor-intensive, back breaking work.
The string/line on the left is our property line actually. The neighbor went in on the yard renovation with us which was nice & we were able to split the cost and share on the delivery fees and whatnot.
Felix would carry over each sod piece and I would put it in position and join up all of the seams.
On the second day, my parents came over to help with the remaining pieces of sod and my mom surprised me with a load of flowers.
We got into a good rhythm and we finished the sod install in 2 days. Our section of backyard is roughly 25 ft wide x 70 ft long.
It looks so great! Fresh sod – all the craziness gone!
Here’s where things got complicated…
The crew didn’t grade our yard properly and when we watered we were left with a large pool of water in the middle of the yard.
I have VERY sandy soil and there’s no reason why water should ever pool in my yard. They tried to tell me I must have clay… which I don’t. I’ve dug down over a foot in my yard & even more so in my basement and never, ever, EVER have found any clay.
The crew had to come back out – add more soil – and then relay the sod.
It was a major headache and made me feel quite icky at the end of the project. Turns out Felix and I are better at laying sod than the landscapers. You can totally see where our sod was used vs. the contractor’s sod. Our was so much nicer, and greener. Till this day the backyard section of sod is better than the front areas. I’m still a bit sore about all of that as it was a lot of yard work to lay the sod ourselves.
This was mainly the happenings of 2015 if you can believe it! Don’t you just hate it when you have to wait to see the second part of a two-part series?! I’m sorry to do it to you guys, but this post is already huge and I don’t want to leave out too many of the details.
You can be sure that there will be another post up soon since I don’t want to leave you hanging.
Before I left for my birthday drinks & dinner, I was able to hop outside really quick and take some photos of my newest make & official first make towards my 2016 Vintage Pledge.
I feel so very 50’s with my blouse & hair even though I’m wearing thoroughly modern jeans.
I can’t believe it’s already May and I’m only now posting up my first ‘vintage garment’ of the year. While I did post about my 1940’s suit, it technically wasn’t made in 2016 – just blogged about – so it didn’t seem fair to add it in as an official Vintage Pledge Garment.
Oh and hello Me-Made-May, I am totally participating in you too!
I don’t have enough bottoms to feasibly wear more than 1 item per day – but I consider it a win if I do. So I’ve just committed myself to wearing one me-made article each day.
Back to my blouse…
I used the Spadea N-1149 pattern, I personally call it my Katharine Hepburn pattern. It was a very happy day when I finally snagged this off ebay a couple of years ago!
I love Katharine Hepburn and her movies. I think she’s utterly lovely but she had a dislike of her neck so you can always spot her in fashionable, high-necked dresses, tops, or sporting a scarf. This Charles LeMarie (aka Spadea) design is no exception.
Image courtesy of Blonde at the Film (Quick aside: I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole that is The Blonde at the Film; such a great site full of old, new-to-me movies and love all of the drool-worthy stills.)
Katharine even wore a short necklace on top of the dress to ensure the neckline stayed closed.
As you can see – I didn’t make a dress but I made up a little blouse instead.
Modifications:
- Raised the armscye up by 3/4″ – both on the bodice and the sleeves.
- Shortened the dress into a blouse height
- Shortened the sleeves to elbow length
- Omitted the cummerbund/belt
Fabric & Notions Used:
- Stretch Cotton via Emma One Sock, currently being re-ordered & in stock soon.
- Marcy Tilton also has some in the black colorway.
- Steam a Seam for easy hemming on sleeves and bodice
- Iron-On Interfacing for neckline/collar facing
My first iteration of this was a dress in green silk shantung for Christmas. But when I made up my muslin I made it short & loved the look of it. I knew I had to make up this dress but as a blouse later on. The idea ended up in that “When I have time I’ll do _______” category of makes; its not high priority but would be fun if I did. Somehow I just decided that now was the time to make it and I’m so happy I did.
Being a second make, it was supposed to be easy and effortless.
Shall I just say it was a horrible nightmare of a make and the scissor print is a pun on my mistake. Cutting!
I decided to cut this pattern late in the evening after a full day of something-or-other. The first piece (back bodice) was cut and then by the second (front bodice) I realized I had to cut it shorter than I intended. But… I accidentally cut it at the longer-length and had no room for the sleeves.
All in all, my cutting mistake meant I had to piece in one sleeve in the worst way possible – right across the arm. Ugh!
It was such a stupid mistake and I was just angry with myself… I mean I know better right?!?! But I still love this little top. Note to self: Don’t cut anything later than 10pm!
I used my scissor print on this top b/c I actually fell out of love with it shorty after purchase. I know….I know!
This top started off as an easy make, just something to wear around the house – gardening and whatnot since I didn’t care for the fabric anymore & I wouldn’t care if it got grubby.
But… now that it’s all sewn up I luuuv it and have since fallen back in love with my fabric – despite the horrible sleeve cutting error. (So far no one has noticed which I find both surprising and entertaining.)
Happy sewing and remember to think while you cut! :)
So much seems to be happening in my life right now and it feels odd to not share it – even if it isn’t about sewing/knitting.
My last blog post was about my initial planning of my veggie garden – since then my little seedlings have been growing non-stop.
(Cilantro, Sun-Flowers, and Spaghetti Squash)
It’s so fun to watch them grow and know that they’re all doing good and are happy in my basement light set-up. As a result, Felix and I had to get a move-on with building our raised planter boxes.
Felix and I have been spending the last few weekends working on these boxes. Boy are they huge! They’re each roughly 6×4 feet and I love the way they’re turning out.
We’ve been talking about & thinking about these boxes and the construction almost non-stop for a solid 3 weeks now.
I’ve been running errands to various garden stores – not an easy feat when you live in the city – and our supplies are busting at the seams.
I’m making a sub-irrigated type-system of planter bed. It basically will always have a reservoir of water at the bottom and the soil has to be *just right* for the moisture to wick up to the plant roots. I’m hoping they’ll work great for us and I’ll be able to water less over the summer and focus on other things while my veggies grow and feed us.
Other News:
My parents are moving. My parents have been talking about moving out of the state for quite some time and all of a sudden it’s happening in less than a month from now. This is my childhood home and I really haven’t taken the time to address my feelings about it yet.
As happy as I am for my parents about this huge change, it’s going to be hard and I’m not looking forward to it. We have a lot of memories together in this house – lots of growing has been done here and it’s hard not to associate the house with all of those good & bad times.
And one more thing:
I don’t think it comes as a shock to anyone, but I’ve gained a bit of weight; I’ve gotten a bit… shall we say… thick. heh My clothes do still fit – but I know once summer comes, those won’t be fitting. Felix and I decided to bite the bullet and do something about it.
We’ve done South Beach diet in the past and each time we see less dramatic results. And that’s all right. I’m just focusing on eating right and the S.B. diet really helps us on that path. It’s a *reset* button for us/me to cut my addiction to all things sugar/chocolate and to re-train myself that protein & veggies are my friends.
And yes – we had one last indulgent meal at Bang Bang Pie Shop before S.B. day 1.
Okay… a bit of Crafting talk:
I’m still sewing/knitting – but it just feels silly to sew something I’ll just have to possibly alter in a few weeks. That being said – I’ve gotten creative while sewing up my garments.
I’ve been sewing my garments in a completely different way than pattern directions state. I’ve been attaching a bodice FRONT to the skirt FRONT, bodice BACK to skirt BACK – THEN – sewing the side seams from skirt hem to the sleeve hem in one long pass. I’m doing this so that I can super-easily alter any garments that may get too large (or small) at the side seams instead of having to unpick the whole waist seam to take out the side seams for more/less room.
Happy to share some images/how-to’s if you guys are interested.
Well… that’s about it for now. It’s a lot to contend with and Felix and I are staying very busy. Hopefully I’ll manage to get out this weekend and take a few photos of my recent makes – but if things go the way they’ve been going – I imagine I’ll be having garden box images to share instead. :D
Hi, my name is Liz. By day I’m a research ayalyst; I work with data and run statistics all day long. But by night I’m all about creating things. I have a passion for making things and learning new skills... 
