First Signs of Spring

Today I bared my legs for the first time this year.

And no one died.  Or shrieked in pain. Or claimed blindness.

Okay, one person may have cried, but I really don't think that was because of my vampire legs.

Pattern: Sewaholic Harwood

Fabric: navy/white geometric cotton voile

Notions: 1/4" elastic, light interfacing, and buttons.  A lot of buttons

So, this dress may be proof of my busyness.  Or laziness.  Or both.

I've had this in the works for over a month.

It waited a while for buttons.

It waited a while for hemming.

It waited a while for me to iron away markings.

And it waited a while for me to move that bottom button an eighth of an inch down.

Guess who finally just wore it today, with the bottom button unbuttoned?

And guess who noticed pink frixion pen during pictures?

(Maybe that happened at work?)

Notes:

Mmm.  I cut a straight size 10.  

I would normally grade down for the hips on a Sewaholic pattern, but it's a flared skirt, and grading felt like too much work.  It's fine.

This is the longer length version, which is a little longer than I usually go for, but a good transition length for shy limbs.  No special construction issues; Tasia writes clear, concise directions, and everything went together neatly.

I was originally worried the neckline might be too high, but it sits comfortably, and I don't feel choked.  I could probably tighten the waistline elastic a little more--it sits comfortably loose--and the belt helps it feel a little more secure. You can see it slipping a bit in the above picture, but that may have been due to yanking the skirt down after a particularly wild gust and a slight overreaction to the idea of my underwear and my husband with a camera. 

 

My house is a mess, and these are crazy bad pictures, but at least you can see the shape.

The only other thing to mention is these buttons from Grandma's stash.  They were the only ones I could find that I had enough of. I tried scouting different buttons, but there's not a whole lot of pizzazz when it comes to white 1/2" buttons.  These are thick and chunky, slightly frosted, and stand out from the print. 

Now if only I can make myself move that bottom one, I'll be good to go.

Gallery Tunic

Pattern: Liesl + Co Gallery Tunic

Fabric: Robert Kaufman London Calling--Periwinkle cotton

Notions: light interfacing for collar and cuffs, 4 1/2" buttons for cuffs

Time to complete: a couple evenings

So, I recently saw that there was a sewalong offered for this pattern, and since I already had it, and hadn't yet taped it up, I thought "why not?" and this jumped to the front of my to-sew pile.

I had originally purchased this fabric to make a sundress out of, but thought that might be too girly, and instead used it here.  I flat-out swapped the fabric I'd planned for a shirt with this, and now that's set aside for a sun dress. 

A not-too-girly sundress, but that's another story.

I made the long-sleeve verson with the collar in the shirt length in a size 8, and my only adjustment was to shorten the tunic by 2 inches.  Everything went together easily, and the sleeves are a great length.  Here I have them flipped up over my sweater sleeves, but they look nice buttoned, too.

Yep.  It's got green (check), and blue (check).

On the other hand, I think I need to stop saying I don't wear floral prints.

I purchased this fabric at KC Modern Makers in the fall, and it is nice.

It's from the Robert Kaufman London Calling line, and mental note to self--it's a good light-weight cotton for shirts. 

On a completely unrelated note, I was trying to get pictures done before the link up on the Oliver + S blog closed.  I missed it, but I still owe a big thank you to my sons for taking pictures for me.  We were able to negotiate a fair trade involving going out for pizza, which I think counts as appropriate compensation.

In addition, they snapped many a great gem, including, but not limited to:

"Let Me Tell You a Secret..."

"

"I Want to Be in the Picture, Too  (But Not Really)"

"You Can't Make Me Be in the Picture"

And my two personal favorites: 

"Exhibit A" ...

...and "Exhibit B".

Hope your February weather is as nice as ours right now!

The One in Which I Realize I Am not a Petite French Woman

Details:

Pattern: Pauline Alice Carme

Fabric: gray cotton voile

Notions: 5 3/8" buttons, 4 5/8" buttons, extra light interfacing for collar only

I have lusted over this pattern forever.  

Is the pintucks?  Is it the placket at the neck?  Is it the sleeve tabs which make it not so girly?  

Is it...the girlyness?

linked to source

I don't honestly know, but I remember loving it when it came out, pinning it to pinterest, and coming back again and again to sigh about.  Maybe I just secretly want to be Pauline Alice.

In any case, I did it.  I bought it, I downloaded it, and I jumped in with both feet.

And then I realized I am not a petite French woman.  (Spanish woman?)

I'm Midwestern.  And you'd think at 38, I'd know that by now.

But, hey, a girl can dream, right?

First off, the pattern went together perfectly.  Everything matches up well.  Directions make sense, pdf went together easily, etc.  I, however, am not perfect.  But I have decided I'm worth perfect fit.

So, me and Carme: we're close.  Tinker-y close.

An extensive list of personal alterations:

• lowered front neckine 1".  Adjusted collar and placket accordingly.
• 1/2" forward shoulder adjustment at shoulder line only.
• 1/2" broad shoulder adjustment.
• extra 1/8" ease added at fold line when cutting out the back piece
• 1/2" dart taken out of side front strap on muslin to pinch out extra fabric at top bust. (Ends up rotated out of seam where front placket meets shirt front...)
• Lowered armscye 1/2" to add back in ease.

That said, I'm so glad I got this pattern.  I LOVE the way it finally turned out.  The length is perfect, the sleeve length is perfect, and it is just loose enough to be comfortable while still being fitted.

I actually love all of Pauline Alice's patterns--they're a good mix of modern with vintage details, slightly feminine, and peppered with interesting details--and would love to try more.

Pauline Alice has a sew-along and youtube videos to help with construction here, although to be honest, I didn't really use them.  Her instructions are pretty and concise, and I may have imagined myself drinking coffee while sitting in a street-side bistro in the golden sunshine while making this. 

Which is weird, because I don't drink coffee.  

But still, a girl can dream, right?

Toy Soldier

 Whew!  

 I'd like to say that I have been sewing; I just haven't been finishing anything. 

 Literally.

  I have a vintage dress that I started in July that needs a hem, a silk blouse that needs a hem, a pair of cordory pants that got to hemming before being declared a wadder, and another pair of pants that need...well, a hem, but also a finished waistband.  

And of course, Halloween trumps all of those.  And hemming, apparently.

Fabric: cotton/nylon ripstop, (purchased on etsy)

Patterns: Oliver + S Fieldtrip Cargos & Oliver + S Sketchbook Shirt

Notions: 3/4" elastic and 1 random button for pants;

 7 buttons for shirt, plus patches from my dad's old uniform

Time to Complete: the ALCS championship and the first 3 games of the World Series

Notes:

First of all, there is probably nothing to say about either of these patterns that hasn't already been said 80 million times.  All I will say is that I sewed a size 5 in both shirt and pants, and while the shirt fits perfectly, the pants are a skoosh big.  But that's okay.  It's called growing room.

A couple of reviews noted that they added to the length in the shirt on the larger sizes, and while I didn't, and it was fine, I would definitely add to the length for my older son.

But the fabric, oh man.

First, I tried ording similar fabric from Fabric.com, but that turned out to be a cluster.

So I turned to esty, where I found the actual military fabric at half the price. (Score!)

The fabric is perfect, but I totally have to give props the army for developing fabric you can't pin.

Seriously.  My fine pins weren't strong enough to go through at an angle, and the cheap-y quilting pins were almost too thick to shove through. 

This stuff is sturdy as heck, and thanks to Elmer's glue sticks, 

my kid was super safe for trick-or-treating. 

 You know, in case of candy explosions or something.

E, after originally deciding he wasn't going trick-or-treating, 

declared pretty early on that he was just going to wear his BMX gear.

So you'd think I could go finish all those other projects now, right? Right.

Except game 5 is on upstairs right now, and I think that trumps hemming, too.

Go, Royals!