I've Been Granted Permission

For the first time in forever, I've felt like blogging!

No big issues, just busy.  I actually have a draft from January that is still unpublished, and still totally relevant...burning the candle at both ends means something's gotta give. 

But for today, I have permission to share a Halloween costume.  

To be honest, Amazon and Ebay were my friends, here for the vest and jacket.

The shirt, because every Marty McFly needs a short-sleeved window-pane check button down, is courtesy the new-ish Oliver + S Buttoned Up Button down.

Pattern: Oliver + S Buttoned-Up Button-Down

Fabric: cotton shirting from Joann's

Notions: buttons, from an embarrassingly large stash

Time to complete: not quite a weekend, minus hayride, errands, life, etc.

I cut shortened the sleeves and omitted the pocket flaps. 

And because it decided to snow a bit last night, we rocked the long underwear, too. 

The star, though, was the vintage 1980's walkman, complete with Huey Lewis and News on cassette. 

What can I say?  Every sewer knows it: hoarding pays off.

So rest assured; we're busy, but we're raising our kids right.

Surviving September

Apparently, the only way out of September is through.

Pattern: Sewaholic Fraser Sweatshirt

Fabric: Fuschia rayon/nylon/spandex ponte from Mood (here)

Notions: none

You know how it goes, when you're super busy, and you want to sew, but everything is so fiddly.  You start a dress, but it grinds to a halt when you realize it needs tinkering.  So you set it aside, and start an elastic waist skirt.  Then you realize it needs a lining, and you just can't bring yourself to cut the pieces, so you set it aside, too.  Then you just go for broke and cut out a sweatshirt, just because you need something you can finish.

Right?  

Please tell me I'm not the only one who loses momentum on a project, and just starts another.

This explains not only the state of my sewing room, but also my desk, the laundry room, and, well, my boys' rooms, too.

Anyway, this is view B, with the contrast collar.

Except I didn't have any coordinting ponte, decided it might be too limiting if I did make the collar contrast, and decided to just go with it -- for interesting seaming. 

And to just finish something.

It's really bright pink. 

This is a pretty easy sweatshirt, and it really didn't take very long. 

I made my normal size 10, and it's perfectly slightly-loose-and-yet-still-fitted.

I will admit I used the wrong cuff piece; I didn't realize there were different pattern pieces until I'd already attached these--they're the short sleeve ones--but decided it was okay anyway.  

This probably explains how my other projects ran aground, but couldn't risk losing momentum again!  I mean, I didn't even change out my serger thread to match.

And yet, I'm deliriously happy. 

 I am definitely making more of these.  It was quick, it went together easily, and fits without drama.  I'm not even going to think about how many I can have without my students starting to ask if I actually have anything else to wear.

It's September, and this is how it goes.

Anne Adams 4776

I originally started drafting this post over a year ago, got around to the hemming stage of this dress, and set it aside for some reason.  Maybe because I'd originally intended this to be a first day of school dress for last year, and didn't get it finished?  Maybe I'd worked on it, decided I wasn't happy with the fit, and meant to come back to it later? And then didn't really have a need for a fancy-ish dress?

In any case, on Monday, a call went out to wear school colors for the first day, and I remembered I had this mostly finished.    So of course, after sitting folded off in a corner for more than a year, I went to work on it at 11 pm, the night before I wanted to to wear it.

Pattern: Anne Adams 4776

Fabric: Rag and Bone textured cotton (here), muslin for underlining

Notions: 22" zipper

I fell in love with this pattern illustration when it popped up in my pinterest feed, saw it was my size, and pounced.  And all I could picture it in was red.  Bright red.  And okay, I kind of wanted her hair, too.

When it came in the mail, I couldn't wait to trace it and muslin it, pretty sure it might be a disaster after all my excitement.  And honestly? Not so bad!  The gathers are designed to hit right at the natural waist, which fell a little low, so I shortened the bodice all the way around with a 1/2 inch tuck, and that's it. Well, and I shortened it.  Like by 4-6 inches.  I honestly don't remember at this point.  Which leads me to beleive this pattern was drafted for an Amazonian.  The illustration shows the skirt ending mid-knee?  Much closer to tea-length as drafted.

As far as the pattern goes, I need to add here two great things:

1.  This pattern has options for short and 3/4 length sleeves, and the side bodice pieces have different markings for whether you're sewing the sleeveless vs. sleeved version.  So I love that there are built-in higher armholes for the sleeveless version.

2.  The directions included in this pattern were 9 steps, confined to the bottom half of one side of a sheet of paper.  The remaining space was devoted to cutting layouts and technical drawings on the front, and general sewing tips on the back.  The directions made sense, but they pretty much assume you know what you're doing.

Unfortunately, this pattern does not recommend any specific type of fabric, so I figured something medium weight with body would work.

It's not perfect, by any stretch, but it was pretty comfy, and I may yet come back to fix it. 

I need to decide if I'm okay with it as is, or if I want to come back and tinker more.

My son took these for me after the first day was over, so I have a lot of wear wrinkles, but there are still quite a few fitting wrinkles, too.  

And in full disclosure, that one on the bottom front is a hem wrinkle from the catch-stitching the hem to the muslin underlining too high up.  It's an easy fix; I blame the olympics and the late hour there.

Here's a wrinkly back shot.  The collar is supposed to attach in the back with a hook and eye, but I liked it this way when I first worked on this dress.  The collar lays a little softer in the front without the hook.  I can see a little extra ease in the lower back, and some pulling at the back armhole.  They are very closely cut armscyes, and I may need to scoop them out a little.  They have facings which are tacked down, but a bias finish would lay smoother since the fabric is pretty thick.

I'm standing awkwardly on a sloping driveway; the hem is actually even across the back.

Here's a weird picture of the front, that looks relatively smooth, but you can still see a wrinkle there in the front armscye where it might lay smoother if I scooped out the armscye a bit.

Here's a better view of the same issue: 

So, what should I do: live with it as is, or pick out the armhole facings and do some adjusting?

My Favorite Things Coat

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen jackets...
Fabrics that press with a nice shot of steam,
These are a few of my favorite things!

Well, there is nothing like not blogging in a really long time, only to come back with a wool coat in July.  In full disclosure, I have been sewing a lot of pink things lately, and am keeping my hypocrisy and shame to myself.

But THIS coat, I am in love with.

I love it.  LOVE it.

This is my second go-around with this pattern.  The last version was a couple/6 years ago, not blogged, but worn a lot.  It's a good length for errand running--I don't sit on it in the car, it doesn't choke me, and the sleeves are short enough I can keep it on in stores without overheating or knocking crap off shelves.  (This is beginning to sound like I have a terrible life; not true!)  It's kind of cape-y, but not!




Pattern: Simplicity 5415 (copyright 1964)
Fabric: green/gray wool coating, gray bemberg for lining
Notions: interfacing from fashion sewing supply, two different weights
buttons salvaged from retired coat

In anycase, the old version was getting pill-y, and the wool blend was never really great to feel along my neck, and well, it was Catholic school uniform plaid.  Or at least, my Catholic school uniform plaid. So it's literally a step up when I say this new version reminds me of my high school coat.

The green/gray wool is something I purchased at Fabric Recycles, along with the gray bemberg lining, but not together.  I had originnally planned to reuse the navy lining from my old coat, but that was a bitch to take out, and I realized I had enough of this, so that was that.




I did a couple of things differently this time:

1.  I added single welt pockets at the front.  A jacket without pockets is not a good time.  Last time I added patch pockets smaller than illustrated, and they were very useful.
2.  I used bound button holes, using the spacing from the longer version.
3.  I added a hanging loop.  Which is really cool, but very underwhelming when typed out like that.

Cool change #1

Cool change #2

Cool change #3

And might I add, I've figured out how to do the bound button holes with a lining without teaching my children eight new inappropriate words.  Ignore the next part if you don't care, this is a note me for next time.

Dear future Joanne: 
Cut and press the windows on the lapel facing, but don't slip stitch  the sandwich closed.  Bag the lining.  THEN finish slip stitching the button holes. It's okay to have flappy windows in the facing till you get back to them.  Also, you actually did the top button hole all the way, and it was okay.  : )

PS.  Interfacing the window hole didn't work--it was too bulky.  
PPS..Whack the crap out of finished button holes to make them lay flat.  Like really.  People should come running to see what the noise is.  And steam.  Lots.

Pockets are lined with leftover polka dot scraps. (Secret polka dots)

And two more pictures just because:

Hands in pockets...

...and blurry back.

My oldest son took pictures for me, and you have to hand it to a kid who doesn't ask why Mom's wearing a coat and long-sleeved shirt with shorts when it's 110 degrees outside.