What's Up: Corsetted Skirt (done!), Coat Muslin, Fabric Surprise

What a satisfying week.  It's much more fun when I have actual finished projects to admire at the end of the week, instead of pattern pieces and cut fabric!  This week I finished Diane's two denim skirts, the corsetted pencil skirt and a regular pencil skirt with funky material.  I'm very pleased with how the corsetted pencil skirt turned out, which is a good thing because I had to work hard to get it right:

I want to make myself a version of this, and I think I'll use a thread with more color contrast on the topstitching to really make the corsetted seams stand out (Diane wanted something more subtle).  I also hope to get a tutorial in the next week or two for those of you who want to try it yourself (I need the tutorial myself so I don't forget what I did!).

The fabric for Diane's second denim skirt is a heathered grey denim.  I don't think the photos do it justice (they didn't on the website where I first saw it).  The fabric has a lovely sheen and feel, and looks almost metallic when it moves.  The heathering creates interesting vertical streaks and is very slimming.  I found it at MoodFabrics.com and last I checked they still have some here.

I also finished my coat muslin this weekend, thanks to a visit from Grandma Polderman (she spent hours and hours playing with the girls.  I now feel that I have a chance of finishing the real coat on time for the competition (the deadline is next Monday at midnight).  I'm so glad I did a muslin for this.  It gave me practice with the in-seam pockets and pocket flaps (not in the original pattern, so I had to figure this out and draft the pieces), it showed me where the coat needed to be altered for a better fit (hips), and I now know what changes I want to make to my additions (collar, pocket flaps).  I don't usually do a muslin for skirts unless I'm making something unusual (like the corsetted skirt); instead, I follow the guidance of a costume-maker friend of mine who suggests making the skirt with a 1 inch seam allowance so that it is easy to make adjustments.  I always do a muslin for dresses, or at least for the bodice, and now, for jackets/coats.  Here's a sneak preview, although I didn't finish the sleeves, hem, or add the buttons (not needed for the muslin):

The fun surprise of the week was receiving a box of (free!) fabric and a dress from my husband's Aunt Wendy.  She has a friend returning to Malaysia who is downsizing her goods and Wendy told her she could find a home for the fabric.  I received YARDS of beautiful silk.  Some lightweight, like these:

I think they'll make lovely scarves or flowing summer dresses.  And then there were a couple heavier brocades:

I love the grey/purple brocade with dragons and I'm already dreaming up what I can make with it.  Also in the box was a Chinese-style red dress.  Wendy wasn't sure it would fit, but here it is (and here's me, vamping it up with Cora):

This week I'll be finishing Melissa's skirt and then working on Jen's dress.  And I also hope to finally get my finished bags up on Etsy.  And then I'll rub my tummy and pat my head.

Fashion Focus: Building with Color Blocks

I like zippers and I love bright colors, so you can imagine how I felt when I saw this new pattern from BurdaStyle's February 2012 magazine:

From BurdaStyle's February 2012 pattern magazine

This skirt is made with stretch jersey so it would really fit (and if the jersey is thick enough, maybe even shape) one's curves.  Oh, mama!  BurdaStyle suggests color blocking on this skirt, with a different color for each  panel (if you look carefully, you can see asymmetrical panels on the front of the skirt).  I can picture it with both a mixture of two bright colors (purple and tangerine!) or  neutrals (using two shades of grey really draws me).

And here's a dress from BurdaStyle with colorblocks:

BurdaStyle's two-tone dress, #110A

If you are into the color blocking thing, you could probably do this with most dress patterns, as the bodice usually fits with the skirt in a vertical line.  I'd love this dress with something (hot pink?  lilac?  deep red?) and tangerine orange.  And if you did something like this with cotton or linen fabric and an A-line skirt, you could probably get away with wearing it to the park with the kids.  I like to dress up as much as the next gal, but sometimes you just need a dress that lets you run! 

What's Up: Skirt Party, New Clutch Wallet, New Bag for Etsy, Progress on Corsetted Pencil Skirt

This week was . . . something.  I had big goals for what I wanted to get done before the skirt party on Saturday night.  And then, of course, my plans hit some bumps.  Bumps in the form of crummy tummies and drippy noses and hot heads (not me, but my kids).  I managed to get most of it done with the help of Disney (so I could get 90 minutes of sewing in while the younger one napped) and at the sacrifice of a few hours of sleep.

I did find success with my two big problem-solving challenges of the week, even though the first solution didn't work out in either case.  I had to have a talk with myself at the beginning of the week about this.  I wanted (due to the constant pressure of feeling like all sewing minutes should be used fully and productively) my projects to turn out right the first time, and when I felt this wish I had to say firmly, "No, they won't."  Remembering that helped me approach the projects with curiosity instead of desparation.

Challenge #1 was the clutch wallet I talked about last week.  I looked at some tutorials online and tried one of them but didn't much like the result and jumped ship halfway through when I realized it wasn't going where I wanted it to.  I tweaked things and the next wallet turned out a little better:

I almost broke my sewing machine trying to get through all of the layers of upholstery fabric and the end result was still too messy so I decided to keep this one for myself and try again.  Number two worked out much better and it found an owner at the skirt party on Saturday night!

It is constructed completely from scraps: the outer fabric is scrap upholstery fabric (when I showed it to the woman who gave me the fabric, she said, "Oh, it's Anna's couch!") and the inner fabric is upholstery swatches.  I need to make another one this week for a custom order and then I'll write up a tutorial.

Challenge #2 was the corsetted skirt for my client Diane (see picture here).  I turned the pattern I drafted into a muslin and had her stop by to try it on.  The "corset" lines weren't quite where they needed to be but now I know what to do (see blue lines):

 

So I now have a map and once the fabric arrives (charcoal denim), I know I can get there!  Which is a good thing to know because I wasn't quite sure when I told Diane, "Sure I can do that!" 

With all of the new challenges to contend with it was fun to end the week by making something that I know.  I made a new MaiseyBelle Reversible bag to bring to the party Saturday night.  As you know (see here), I've been hankering to make something with the colors tangerine tango and purple, and here it is:

The MaiseyBelle Bag is my version of Heather Bailey's Marlo Bloom Bag.  I didn't like making the fabric & interfacing handle in the original pattern, so I figured out how to make a casing for a wooden handle and use that instead (let me know if you want a tutorial for this).  For this bag, I made a Kanzashi flower - thank you Dani at Live Creatively Now for the tutorial!  I wanted it to be extra big so I used a mixing bowl for the circles instead of a glass.  This left a big hole in the middle to fill, hence the large button and felt circle.  Next time I think I'll make a second flower of smaller petals to put on top of the larger one.

The week ended with my second skirt party, hosted by Jen.  There were five smart, creative ladies present, which turns out to be the perfect size.  I got bunch of orders and even sold a couple of things (but not the aforementioned MaiseyBelle bag so that will be going into my Etsy shop soon).  And I've now got work lined up for about the next 8 weeks!  Not a bad way to end the week!

A Twist of Tangerine Tango

Pantone Color Institute

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/12/09/tangerine-tango-the-bright-encouraging-color-of-2012/#ixzz1kb8KAfZs


So as you may already know, Pantone's color of the year is Tangerine Tango, a reddish-orange that certainly has a lot of pop.  I love it in combination with neutrals and other colors, and it's got enough red in it to compliment most complexions (me and orangey-orange are not such great friends).  Tangerine Tango plus any shade of purple is my current favorite combo, like this flower pin I made (free tutorial here). 

I just finished this pencil skirt for Diane, one of my best clients:

The fabric is a super-soft, stretch corduroy that I found on Fabric.com.  I love the retro print!  I'm trying to convince Diane that the perfect top for this is a tangerine tango blouse, like this one that I found in an Australian vintage shop:

I think that this top has sold but the same shop has a gorgeous tangerine jacket. 

Here it is paired with one of my bags (in my Etsy shop).  See?  The tangerine color works!

And then who wouldn't want these shoes to go with it???

I just bought this beautiful tangerine fabric to make myself a blouse and I'm now on the hunt for a pattern (preferably something with a cowl neck).  Any suggestions??

Mother and Daughter Skirts

I thought I'd update you on my skirt projects, as I've been working on these for clients alongside my personal projects. I finished a skirt for S. this week but then forgot to take a picture before delivering it to her. I can show you the fabric, which is this lovely stuff from Gorgeous Fabrics:


She wanted to do it as a gathered yoke skirt (like this one I made for D), and I found a dark brown gabardine for the yoke that matched perfectly with the brown in the fabric.

Now I'm working on skirts for a mother and daughter client pair.  They are both using a similar idea - a dark wash denim skirt with contrasting fabric at the hem and pockets - but each has it's own twist.  The mother wants a pencil skirt with a wide waistband and a zipper slit at the back, and she chose a faux suede for the trim.  Here it is before the fitting (and I haven't attached the pockets yet, so they aren't really uneven!):

The daughter wants an above-the-knee A-line with small slits at each side seam.  Here's the fabric she picked out:

I love this print!  It's called Scales Grey by Brandon Mably (it coordinates with another lovely fabric called Fish Lips).

I'm happy to get the bias tape maker out again as I haven't used it since making E's funky skirt.  We'll see what I get up to now that it's back in action . . .

That's it for the week, Readers.  Have a great weekend!  Onward, ho!

Peter Piping Pencil Skirts

It has been WAY too long since I last put up a post, but I have been busy busy busy.  I feel like a little sewing worker bee! 

As you know, I fell in love with pencil skirts a while back and I've been playing around with new styles.  My latest inspiration came from fellow Etsy seller Dig For Victory.  Eleanor Callaghan has created a line of lovely dresses that she sells through Etsy and her own website.  This is my favorite:

Stunning, right?  I particularly love the contrast lines around the midriff.  I wrote to Eleanor to find out what it was and it's piping - that's right, the stuff that you often seen on the edge of a throw pillow!  So I experimented with using it to define the yoke on a couple of yoked pencil skirts.  And, ta-da!, here they are:

(Remember this fabric?!  It was one of the prints I listed in my post on corduroy for grown-ups.)

And here's a yoked pencil skirt without the piping:

I found this stretchy twill fabric online at Mood Fabrics - and then learned that the Project Runway contestants get their fabric there, so I felt very cool and trendy!

I bought a couple of Vogue dress patterns recently and I'd like to try the piping around the midriff idea on these, too.  What do you think?  Can you picture it??

Vogue V8555 & V2960