Hardware and Hammers

I decided to enter the Pattern Review Surprise Sewing Bee even though this is an entirely impractical thing for me to try to engage in right now. But sometimes leaping into the impractical (and sticking out your tongue at the practical) is good for the soul.

It's impractical because I've got a ton of orders to fill and any personal sewing should be directed at making a coat. I desperately need one and it's starting to get cold here in the Midwest. As in snow cold, as it snowed on Halloween and actually stuck to the ground overnight.

But, like I said, I decided to go for soul.

The first challenge was to make a lined, a-line skirt with zipper, waistband and button/closure. I haven't made an a-line skirt for myself in a while now. I like what pencil skirts do for my figure and I like that they have a sexy/gritty vibe. If I were to give skirts a personality rating, a-lines would be the girl-next-door with her demure sex appeal, and pencil skirts would be her cousin from the big city who likes to stay out late drinking cocktails and flirting with the bartender, head thrown back laughing. So the challenge for me was to see if I could give the a-line skirt a bit of edge.

My inspiration came from a RTW jacket I own with interesting hardware. There are rivets and grommets and hooks. I particularly like the front closure:

I did a quick search online but couldn't find what I wanted and wasn't sure anything I ordered would arrive in time anyway. I think it might be a scabbard hook, like this one that I found on Richard the Thread, attached with rivets. I don't like the bright brassy color of the one on RtT, so if anyone has leads on where to get something more like the original, I'd love to hear them!

Then I drew up a couple of sketches and got to work.

I used the skirt block I created from the Studio Faro worksheet. I shortened the length by about five inches and added 6 inches to the sweep to get an a-line shape. I wanted this one to end a few inches above my almost 45-year-old knees (muttonlambs be damned). I drafted the wide waistband from the block and eliminated the darts. I added a center front seam that continued up through the waistband/yoke. I thought about adding pockets but thought I might not have time to do those well. I also played around with the idea of moving the seam closure to front left, and I'd like to try that in the future.

Since I hadn't been able to find the hardware I wanted, I foraged through my own stash and the notions wall at my local Hancock's for something that fit the look I wanted and came up with large brass snaps like these:

Photo from Dritz.com

I also pulled out some gold jean thread for topstitching and a chunky metal jean zipper, both purchased from Wawak.com. And this skirt emerged.

Check out my new stretch boots from Boden! Love them!

I sewed a flat fell seam for the front/back center seams and finished them with a double row of topstitching with jean thread. I used a single row of topstitching around the waistband and hem. I installed an exposed metal zipper using the tutorial in Thread No. 162. The waistband closes with three metal snaps and I added three more decorative snaps to balance out the design. I hand stitched the facing to the lining and the lining to the zipper. 

I like that I can wear the skirt with a somewhat dressy top and a concert tee and it works both ways.

 Side note: you know I took the photo shoot seriously when I actually put on make up. This happens around 4 times a year, and I'm still using the make up I bought for my wedding in 2006. At this rate, I might run out of product when I'm 80. I needed to disguise the fact that I'd been up until 3am finishing the skirt for the deadline.

You might wonder why the middle snaps in each row are not solid. Two problems emerged post midnight when I was finishing up the skirt. First, I had made the waistband so that the right side would overlap at center front by about 5/8" so that I would be able to center the snaps over the zipper. This is what I did with my muslin and it worked great. I had purchased six snaps and only planned to use three, so I used one up to practice the installation. When it came to the real garment, I forgot that the right waistband needed to overlap, and I eased the waistband to fit the skirt exactly. Don't know what I was thinking. I didn't realize my mistake until after I had completed the topstitching and handstitched the lining and facing. So now my snaps couldn't be centered over the zipper. I went into "Huh" mode (as in, "Huh, this is a problem. How can I solve it?") And decided to do two rows of snaps. This was a good solution, except that I only had 5 snaps. Luckily I had the exact same snap in silver, so I could use those on the inside. Don't know if that makes sense, but it all worked out! And if you follow me on Instagram, you know this was my second time getting out the hammer this week.

So that's it! The denim is a charcoal/indigo stretch denim that has been in my stash so long I'm not sure where it's from. The lining is a stretch lining I purchased at the Discount Textile Outlet in Chicago. The facing fabric is leftover from a skirt I made for a client a couple years ago and I was so happy to find it in my scraps - it was exactly what I wanted! It's an Alexander Henry cotton lawn. I hope I make it to the next round so that I can see what my imagination cooks up for the next challenge.

Happy Weekend!

Simple Fun

One of my new clients asked me to replicate a skirt she bought at J Crew some years ago.  It fits her perfectly and she wanted to have more versions of it.  The original skirt was made from a coral poplin, and she wanted one with a dark chambray (Robert Kaufman Cotton/Linen Chambray Shirting in Indigo from Fabric.com) fabric. It was a fairly simple design with some lovely details.

Piping on the waistband, made from 1/8" cotton cording and bias strips (Coletterie has a good tutorial):

Side seam pockets (I found a good tutorial for adding side seam pockets around a side seam invisible zipper - just ignore the red/white stripe background fabric):

And contrast hem tape with blind hem stitches:

I love it when a garment looks almost as pretty on the inside . . . .

. . . as it does on the outside!

I used the pin-through technique for copying the pattern and it was easy to do but took some patience to do well.  I love it when designs like this have that little bit of extra that takes them from simple to special.

Next up, I'm fitting this same client for a corsetted pencil skirt.  And if the sky stops being gray long enough to take some pictures, I'll finally be able to show off my new peplum knit tops.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Paisley-ish Matellasé Stretch - Bittersweet Chocolate

First, the name Ann bestowed on this fabric is just fantastic.  I could drink this name, and not just because the word chocolate is in there.  Matellasé makes me think of something whipped and creamy - add that to chocolate and I'm sure you have a dangerous cocktail or a yummy coffee drink.

I spied this fabric in early fall and immediately pinned it.  And just as I suspected, it attracted my clients attention - like bees to matellasé, as it were (sorry, couldn't help it!).

So far I have made three skirts for clients out of this fabric.  Two Gertie pencil skirts, one with boning and one without, and a simple A-line skirt with a corduroy hem band.

Gertie skirt for Diane

Gertie skirt for Melissa

A-line for Jennifer

Corduroy hem band - bought this from an Etsy de-stasher

The fabric absolutely lives up to it's scrumptious name.  It is slightly spongey with a good amount of stretch.  There's a slight sheen to the paisley thread design.  It's warm.  It's soft.  And there's still some left.  Unless I decide to order it all up!  And I might just wear it around myself like a toga, I love it that much.

A Few Finished Skirts

I finished up a few client skirts last week that Carol started for me before the holidays.  My process with Carol has been that I draft the pattern, she cuts the fabric and bastes the skirt together, then I do the fitting and finish it off.  So far this has worked well and it allows me to get skirts out the door a bit faster.

I think Carol did a stellar job using the fabric print on these first two skirts.

This is Kendra's straightforward yoked a-line skirt and the fabric is a stretch poplin I bought from Fabric.com ages ago.  Don't you love the colors??!  Because the yoke is curved, we decided not to try to match the print there.  My instructions to Carol were something like, "Be thoughtful about how the print comes together at the yoke line."  Yep, that's me, super helpful.  And I love what Carol did!

This second skirt is Lisa H's gored a-line using some kind of stretch drapey twill I bought from GorgeousFabrics.com.  Because the skirt has six panels, we knew we couldn't match up the print across the seam lines or we'd run out of fabric (I had three yards, but it was only 42" wide and the skirt is long).  Carol and I took a look at the fabric together to figure out how best to use the print, and Carol came up with the diagonal idea.  When she went to cut it out, she didn't have enough fabric to continue doing this across that back, so genius struck and she reversed the direction for one panel.  Nice, huh??!

Front

Back

This last one took me a while to figure out how to draft.  Lara wanted a pencil skirt with a front pleat, but I didn't want to do panels because the wool had a somewhat looser weave, and I was worried about it getting all stretched out of shape.  I spent a good hour or so reading through the Adele P Margolis book, Make Your Own Dress Patterns, and finally came up with the ideas of inserting a side pleat that ran from the top of the skirt to the bottom, that is sewn shut until about 7 inches up from the hem.  The pattern piece looks kinda crazy:

with pleat un-pleated (disregard length difference between two halves)

with pleat pleated

The lovey wool fabric is from a haul I bought from a woman selling off her stash (thank you, Craigslist!).  I've had this lovely button (from the Eonomy Shop) in my stash for a couple of years now and I'm glad it finally found it's place.  I knew there was a reason I didn't use it earlier!

Finally, I'm happy to report that Mooper eventually decided that she likes her birthday dress (she wore it three days in a row until I insisted that it needed a wash). 

 

 

And check out the pink cowboy boots that Grandmother gave her!  Yee-haw!!

Work in Progress: Lara's corduroy skirt

I'm super excited about a skirt I'm working on at the moment.  Lara wanted a corduroy skirt made from this super soft, cozy, stretch corduroy I bought from Fabric.com last year (I also made a pencil skirt for Diane from it).  I didn't have enough left to do the whole skirt, so I cut the yoke from a purple corduroy. 

Here's the part that has me giddy: hidden pockets!!

I'm excited to see how they look on Lara and I put a snap in one to make it lay flat (but this may not be necessary once it's on a body). 

This is one of those skirts that I've made for someone else that I really covet for myself.  If only I had more of that purple/pink corduroy left.  If anyone has it in their stash and is willing to part with it, contact me please!!

Out of Focus

I think I've lost my head.  Is that it over there?  Oh, no, that's just a giant hair&threadball that's accumulated under a chair because I've been too busy to vacuum.  Dear Readers, if you find a tired looking head with (mostly) dark hair, please send it back to me.  I don't know that it will do me much good but at least it will give me something to blame when things go awry.

I started the week with a high level of productivity, banging out two client skirts and making good progress on my Gertie bow-tied top.  Then somehow things began to fall apart when I found myself ahead of schedule for once.  Does that happen to you?  You finally have a chance to get ahead and you blow it just by being unfocused and stupid??

Here's one of the skirts:

I found this lovely, thick stretchy corduroy on Etsy and immediately thought of my client Jen (she's a bit of a pink addict).  There was about a 1/2 yard of the dark brown and 2/3 yard of the pink paiseley and I used almost every inch in making the skirt.  The dark brown actually has a damask pattern that's hard to see unless I do some crazy adjustment of the photo, like this:

In keeping with my productive-one-moment-and-stupid the next week, I completely forgot to take photos of the other skirt.  And it was cute, too.  Trust me.  Some of my best work.

I was able to be so productive early on because I tried a new techique I just read about on Grainline's Blog: Chaining.  I love this technique!  It put me in the mindset of being efficient without rushing, and I could get through the basic construction of the skirts much quicker.  Then (because, afterall, it's this kind of week), I smashed my finger under the needle housing thingy on my serger because I got carried away.  This is why I keep band-aids in my sewing kit: so I can keep sewing without bleeding all over someone's fabric.

I tackled bound buttonholes for the first time for the Gertie bow-tied top I'm making myself to go with the pencil skirt I have yet to unveil.  The fabric is a ponte knit, so I don't know if that means making the buttonholes was easier or harder than it would be with a woven.  Not perfect, but not bad for a first attempt:

Nice color, huh?  Then after that good bit of work, I've allowed myself to be stymied by the collar.  I don't think it's that hard, but my brain can't seem to process the instructions.

And speaking of being stymied, I have a dress that I need advice on.  I made this dress a few weekends ago and I'm not sure what I think of it.  It's one of my favorite knit/jersey patterns (Simplicty 2580) and I like the print of the fabric, but I think the fabric is just a bit too lightweight.  I feel like I'm wearing a nightgown  and I'm conscious that every little lump and bump is obvious.  I have some stretchy black lining that I'm thinking about putting in the skirt of the dress, but I'm worried that will make the skirt too heavy for the bodice.  I've also thought about cutting it shorter and just making it a top (the excess fabric would make a nice knit scarf).  Can my sewing friends please weigh in on this??

Please excuse the hair.  This was taken before I finally scheduled a much-needed haircut.

I included this second photo even though it a pretty sad shot because it shows just how much I need help with this dress.

And today was mostly a wash because I had to rush Mooper to the ER last night.  She woke up in the middle of the night and could barely breathe (I'll remember that wheeze in my parent anxiety nightmares).  The poor thing has croup (or do you say, "The Croup"?)  That sounds like an illness that must surely be out-of-fashion but apparently it's back.  Thankfully we have up-to-date treatments for these old-fashioned illnesses.

If If I get some sleep tonight I'm going to try boning for the first time.  The UPS man delivered a package from CorsetMaking.com last week so I've got my spiral-steel boning, wire cutter, and pliers all gathered up and ready to go.  Now if I could only find my head . . .

What's Up: Maria's skirts, Cora's dress, Mishaps

Howdy, Readers.  This past week or so has felt utterly crazy, and I'm not entirely sure why.  Devon's on staycation, so the schedule has changed, but that's not the whole story.  The girls both came down with hand, foot, and mouth disease, so that added to the chaos.  And I think I was suffering from bad luck, at least in the sewing room.  Maybe that poltergeist returned.  Whatever the cause, my patience and my seam ripper have both gotten a good workout.  So I don't have much to show, but show it I will!

I finished Maria's skirts, and I'm happy with how they turned out.  The first is a chevron jersey skirt (the style I practiced by making my own).  I got very nervous at the last minute that it wouldn't fit well because the fabric wasn't as stretchy as my practice skirt (which I had her try on to judge size), but it all worked out so my jitters were for naught.  I love the fabric she chose (an Ella Moss Rayon Striped Jersey from Hart's fabric - now out of stock):

I did a fold-over yoga waistband on this one instead of elastic.  Maria liked it enough to order a second one, so that's good news.  And I am working on the tutorial, but it's harder to write up than I expected.  I'll get it out soon, promise!

Maria's second skirt was a simple A-line which we mixed up by added a band of solid fabric and then a band of the main fabric, but in the reverse direction from the rest of the skirt.  The fabric is Joel Dewberry's Heirloom Marble Stripe in Green:

I also made a dress for Cora a week or so ago.  Getting photos proved difficult as she's decided she's not sure she likes the dress (humpf), but here's my reluctant model:

I found the fabric in the remnant bin at Hancock's and put it together similar to how I made my refashioned t-shirt dress (but I made the bodice for this one).  Cora thought the polka dot fabric looked like a "fire dog" so I found an image of a dalmation online, used that to cut out the fabric, and then appliqued the dog to the dress by hand and machine.  Hopefully the dress will grow on her!

I've got a number of things in the works, including a new handbag style (for Jill), a linen skirt (for Eileen), skirts for a new client (Stephanie), and a dress for myself that I hope to finish in time to submit it to the Burdastyle Summer Sewing Challenge.  I sure hope my bad luck is cured.

Have a great week!

What's Up: Marides' Skirt, Bangle Bracelet

Greetings!  I am going to make this post short and sweet as I've hired a babysitter today (and Thursday!) to get caught up on orders and I want to be as productive as possible with this time!

I finished up Marides' skirts this past week and I'm almost done with Johnah's.  I had some more fun matching prints across seams - this really is becoming a bit of an obsession for me.  Here are Marides' skirts:

A-line with Yoke - Joel Dewberry Tile Flourish in Amber fabric

I'm starting to feel like a pro when it comes to matching the print along the center back seam!

But matching the print along the front yoke was a challenge!

Bias trim skirt with navy twill and Amy Butler Fresh Poppies in Sky

Button & pocket detail

Side slit detail

I didn't have a lot of personal sewing time over the weekend but I did want to do a little something.  My friend Candice runs a wonderful blog called Candoodles, and every day she posts amazing tutorials that she has found or created.  Last week she posted a tutorial for making a rosette bracelet.  When I read the title I pictured something different from what the bracelet actually looked like. 

Rosette Bracelet from SewCraftCreate

It's a lovely bracelet, but I decided to make what I had pictured when I first read the title:

I used curtain fabric that I bought from a thrift store for wrapping the bracelet and making the rosettes (I just added the pink serged seam finish).  The bracelet came from the same thrift store.  I want to do more experimenting with this idea and I'm hoping I can score big on cheap bracelets at the Family Dollar Store this week.  And then I'll likely put together my own tutorial!

Wish me great productivity during my babysitter hours this week!