Breaking Needles

So, I had to get my serger out and ready to roll with this dress which will hereinafter be named the bubble dress cause the fabric looks like bubbles.  I inserted my stretch needles and started in on some scrap pieces of fabric.

Blammo…right needle breaks.  Ok, that is unusual.  My serger needles never break.  Re-thread, put in a new needle and away we go.  So far so good.

Change the stitch length to figure our how to gather using the serger….blammo…right needle breaks again.  No biggie….re-thread, put in a new needle and away we go.

Blammo…right needle breaks again.  Stop, do not re-tbread.  Do not insert new needle.  Stop now before injuries occur.

Any ideas what is going on with the serger?

Sewing Outside of My Comfort Zone

I have a serger and I would like to make something using my serger.  A lot of the blogs I read have sewists who use their sergers to construct garments.  I only use it to finish seams.

Soooooo….for something completely different I am going to make a dress with t-shirt material (I have no idea what it is called….jersey? knit?) and I am going to try to use the serger to construct it.

Here is the fabric…..ooooohhh pretty.  My favorite colors, blue and brown.  It seems this is a remnant of a designer fabric.  Note the seam allowance notes.

You might ask what pattern?  Well I do not have patterns for knit materials so I am going to try and use Vogue 8182,, View B which I do have in a size which is too big for me.  When checking out pattern review for this pattern, a number of people made it in a knit and omitted the zipper.  So, I am going to try and do that!

Victorian or Art Deco

In making the 1930’s dress, I want to make a belt to go with…..so off to etsy I took myself to look for an appropriate looking belt buckle.

Imagine my surprise when I found this advertised as a Victorian belt buckle.

Ummm……really…what gave it away as a Victorian belt buckle….maybe the “made in” stamp on the back?  I knew when I looked at the picture it was not Victorian but would could be Art Deco…if not originally it certainly passes.  But Victorian?? Really?   I bought it because I liked the way the design echoed the dress fabric.

I tried to zoom in so you could see it.
Didnt work.
But it does say: "Made In" and a word
that looks like otto.  I cant figure out
where it was made.

Perhaps it is a tad naïve of me but I was simply shocked with the number of items clearly not Victorian advertised as Victorian.  I wonder how many people have been taken in by such false representations?

All I Need is a Hat

The 1930’s dress is done.  YAY!! For a relatively painless make.  That hand basting saved a lot of trouble.  Though I do think the collar area might be reworked; I am not happy with how it lays.  I can say I am pleased with how it turned out!  It is exactly what I envisioned.

It looks ok on the dress form but it really looks better on.  I thought the skirt would not be nearly as full as it turned out to be because the skirt is quite full.

Some details.  The hem is hand rolled as are the sleeves.  The v neck collar thing was hard to put on.  It took me longer to get that thing (not sure what to call it) on the dress than it took to make up the dress.  I do like the button accents on the pintucks and the sleeves…ah the sleeves are perfect and much better than the cape sleeves. 

Check out the buttons!!
Love that detail

Back view

What would I do differently?  The v neck thing I think needs be sewn starting at the v each direction.  I may try that because the left side is rippling.  Otherwise, the only thing I can think of is making the FBA just a tad bigger.  The bodice fits but I like a little looser more modern fit.  Amazingly, that is it!

Side

Now, I need to get some pictures of me in the dress.

Fluttering By

First take a look at the teeny tiny vintage buttons that I am going to use.  

Pretty and vintatge

I bought these years ago but had no idea they would be so very small.

Blurry but check out the button next
to a dime.  See ....super small!!!

 Because I am not doing the cape, the pintucks will be on display.  I am going to punctuate the pintucks by using these buttons.

Also because I am not using the cape sleeves, I need to draft new sleeves.  I want flutter sleeves which are still correct for this era.  How to draft the sleeve?  First, I grabbed a dress I own with those types of sleeves and traced it off.  It looked odd.  Next, I started going through the pattern collection looking for a pattern with that type of sleeve.  Luckily I was able to find one.  Traced it off and what do you know it looked odd.   

Weird sleeve pattern

But it also matched what I traced off my dress so I took a deep breath and went for it!!

Taming Silk Chiffon

Last time I made a 1930s dress out of silk chiffon, I had a blog post entitled “Silk Chiffon is Evil.”  I know this because I tried to use the same title again simply because silk chiffon is evil.  It is slippery and difficult to both cut out and sew.

Look at those sweet pintucks!

This time, I was prepared.  I tackled that silk chiffon and beat it into submission.  Last time, my silk slipped all over the place when I cut out the pattern pieces.  This time, I took care.  There was no placing on a fold; there was no laying out all the pieces.  Each piece was cut out individually one at a time.  If a piece needed to be placed on a fold, I traced the piece off twice and taped it together.  A lot of work…yes indeedy but worth it.  Each pattern piece was correct and not morphed by the cutting process.

I hear you…big deal you are thinking so you managed to cut out the pieces.  What about the sewing???

The sewing was incredibly easy going this time.  No ripping out of seams.  No seriously no seam ripping happening on this dress for one simple reason: I hand basted everything tighter.  WHAT??  Hand basted every seam??  You heard me….hand basted.  Not as much work as you would think.  The hand basting was quick since there really is no need for precision…I am removing the basting.  However, the end result was perfection in sewing.  The basting stitches kept that silk from slipping around while sewing.

Front bodice with pintucks

I am a convert.  I raise my right hand and pledge to hand baste all seams in silk fabric from here on out.  It was worth it!!!!

Resolved

At least I hope all of my computer issues are finally resolved.  Ever since the power went out in a wind storm on December 1^st, I have been having significant computer problems.  Basically, the computer has been not working more than it has been working.  That makes blogging tough since I cant download my photos onto my work computer.

A flippy little number made with
a modern pattern....ooohhhh bad
of me, I know

However, it now seems that the problem has been fixed ….something with the hard drive.  Let’s hope so.

Without further ado….yes I have been sewing.

I whipped up this skirt while manning a costume repair station at a local Doctor Who convention.

I also started this dress a typical 1930s cape sleeve dress.  But, I dont like the cape bit, I think it is too young looking for me.

Using this fabric:

Perfect for a 1930's dress

Silk chiffon, a favorite of mine but so hard to sew….

But more to come on this little dress.

Pleating a Plaid

Why pick a plaid if I want a pleated skirt?  I don’t think I realized what I would be in for and not having directions certainly does not help!

My not so dainty slip stitching but it
seems to be doing the job

Once I cut out the skirt, only one pattern piece cut twice, the fun horror began.  Pinning the pleats….easy, matching the plaid not so hard.  Brain strain over how to get the pleats with the matched plaids to stay in place during sewing.  Basting think I.  Wrong, did not work for me.  After the steam started streaming out of my ears from the strain I determined I would slip stitch the two pleats together.  Great, I suck at slip stitching!  Fun times.  Though about 1/2 way through the second pleat I got to wondering…why do this.  Yes, I would like the plaids to match and I certainly don’t want my friends pointing and laughing at my mismatched plaids.  But, would slightly off plaid matching stop me from buying a similar ready-to-wear skirt.  Nope!  Not unless the mismatch was glaring.  So why put myself through this exercise?  I guess simply because I am making the skirt and want to do the best job possible.  I wonder if anyone else struggles which the high expectation you place on yourself when sewing versus not as stringent rules for RTW clothes?  I then had to stop thinking and just do because I knew I would not be happy if I did not ensure my plaids matched.

One side pleated and stitched together.
Not bad.  But now I notice one pleat is off
and that I should probable do it over.

Off I went slip stitching away, ripping out the slip stitching, and trying again.  I think it turned out ok.  Lets hope it holds in place during the actual sewing.  

Match Made In Heaven

Mmmm pleats

Or just influence by the picture on the pattern.  I have had Simplicity 4547 for year having purchased it in a lot of other patterns on ebay.  I love the pleated skirt pattern and when trolling through my fabric stash I came across a relatively new purchase which screamed to me pleated skirt. Subliminal programming perhaps.

I have to admit that my subconscious may have been at work given the closeness of this fabric to the picture on the pattern. 

Yike…really close just different colors.  For me, this fabric also seemed Christmassy.  I am not a lover of a red/green Christmas palette preferring greens and blues.  Weird, I know.

Mmmm plaidy goodness

So whip out the pattern, check to see if the pieces are all there.  Yup….only one piece for this skirt.  But all the other pattern pieces were accounted for…..except wait a second…what are these 2 extra pattern pieces for?  They are for an Advance pattern …hmm….cool….but wait there is something missing.  The instruction sheet is not in there.  Oh boy, I am going to wing it on a pleated skirt in addition to matching plaids.  This should be fun!

Technical Difficulties

For the past little while, I have had some horrific technical difficulties.  Life was moving by, but you wouldnt know it by looking here mostly because of a break down in my computers.

While I had the good fortune to be forced to take a business trip to New York....yes forced or so I told them, but how were they to know that I was doing a happy dance just waiting for the weekend when I would be let free to come the New York fashion district, I did run into some problems upon my return.  That is my main computer was fried during a storm.  I have as yet been able to determine if it is good and truly dead......oh no....or if I will be able to bring it back to life.  Unsure what happened but upon my return, I could only get a black screen with a sort of dos prompt for my username and password.  I tried to start it in safe mode but that would not work.  I have not yet tried starting it with the system disk or taking it to my local Apple store for help.

To make matters worse, my lap top which barely works anymore will not let me upload picture.  Oh, there are pictures that I have downloaded but when you try to upload them or attach them to an email, nada...it just doesn't work.  And who really wants to read a blog with no pictures/

But I have been working to come up with some solutions so that posting can re-occur......and I think I may have figures something out....fingers crossed.

Happy New Year!!!

And lots of sewing to all!

With no Rose Parade today, it did not feel like New Year's Day.  I did not do any of my typical New Year's traditions.  Most of them will occur tomorrow.  Instead, it seemed like a normal Sunday albeit with little traffic.

I hope 2012 brings lots of good luck to everyone!!

Gasp.....I Sewed AND .............

It is not vintage!!!

Who knew I could sew something from a modern pattern.  Not I!

I had seen all the lovely versions of the Sobretto pattern on a number of blogs.  Having no time and not a lot of energy, one night I decided that I wanted to make one as well.  It looked simple, the pattern was free but a non-vintage pattern was really stepping outside my comfort zone.  I had never used a pattern that was downloaded and you put all the pages together.  What is next?  Am I going to be tracing out patterns from that Burda magazine I have read about.

Without further ado, here you go..........

The front and the back.  I opted to go with the non-pleated front and the scalloped edges.  It turned out very nice;  the fit was spot on without having to do a FBA.....YAY!  Of course, it took me about a week and a half to complete this tank top.

The fabric used was some black cotton blend I had in my stash.  It is a little stiff and I would like to make another in a fabric with more drape.  I think next time I will not have the bias binding show.  I am not sure that I am a fan of the exposed bias binding with this type of top.  Or maybe it is the fabric.

I am super happy with this top and would like the opportunity to wear it.  Last weekend, the temperature was in the 90s.   Yesterday it rained and today it is in the 50s.....ugh ....evil .....cold.  So, it may be a while before I get to wear this top but at least I sewed!!

Something for Self Stitched September or …Or Falling in Love Again

Last night I decided I wanted to wear something new to work.  I realized that with “Self Stitched September” I had worn nothing I made to work.  August was full of me made clothes but not September. 

But what could I do?  I am not a fast sewer so no whipping up something in an evening.  I have tried and failed miserably.  I looked around and the pile of UFOs caught my eye; I looked away quickly lest I be turned to stone.  Looking at the UFO pile is a no-no in this house, best to just ignore the pile and maybe the clothing faeries will appear and finish them for me.  They are mostly simple finishes needing a zipper or a hem.  Surely the sewing faeries can take care of it for me?

Alas, the sewing faeries have never popped in to help.  But hope does burn eternal, so I wait and ignore the pile.  Until last night.

I knew if I was taking on an UFO it had to be this skirt.  I have been “meaning” to finish it since November.  It only needed a hem on the lining.  Yup you heard me, all that was unfinished was the lining hem which I would sew by machine.  I had dragged this skirt to many a sewing days thinking I would sew up that hem.  It never happened.  I have been dragging that skirt with me for months.

The whole hemming process took no more than 10 minutes!  Done, finished, wore to work and I love the skirt.  I loved that it swishes when I walk.  I love the long length, the color, and how I styled it.

Ok, old picture.  I did
not get a new one.  The skirt
has been pressed.

So….how did it become achieve UFO status?  In December, I thought the skirt made me look fat.  Ok, maybe not fat but the fabric seemed to emphasize my pouchy tummy and I did not like it.  When I looked in the mirror it was a case of “its not you, its me” so why bother finishing it.

The irony is that the skirt is now too big.  But then I do not like tight fitting clothes so I am happy.  

I Didn’t Need An Assistant

Not to get too excited but some sewing happened.  I cut out a skirt for something which should become a 1920s style dress.  Also a waistband was cut.  I dug right in and was powering away.

However, because I am using a border print….my first time, I was going very slowly with the cutting.  Turns out I made the skirt much too long.  But of course I did not realize it until I put on the waistband.  This is what happens when I power away and do not take my time!

The furry assistant getting
involved in the sewing process

So after sewing on the waistband ( it really isn’t a waistband but I do not know what to call it; it is the lowered waist of the 20s and will sit around my hips) with double stitching…..I had to undo the whole thing and re-gather the skirt portion lower down.  That’s when my furry assistant jumped in or I should say laid down on the job halting all progress.  He was not to be moved!  He apparently likes the fabric I chose.

A better picture of the fabric.  Notice the
gathering!  Notice the pins!
I was actually sewing!!

You can see my furry assistant plopped down in the middle of the fabric but you can also make out the pins for where the new gathering is going to go.

Some not cat related details.  The skirt is going to be slightly gathered.  This is going to be a simple dress with the fabric as the star!  The waistband thing has been interfaced to give it some structure.  The dress will be sleeveless and I think with a “v” neck.  

Labor Day Catch Up

I tried.  

I honestly tried to sew a lot over the long weekend.  Does draping count??  Well the tedious handsewing, has to count, doesn’t it? 

Borrowed from
http://trouvais.com/2009/07/10/caleche-etc/

On Saturday, I did a couple of hours of the aforementioned tedious handsewing.  Lines of running stitches.  Why…well to finish the calash I started in a class in July.  I have now sewn 5 channels for the bamboo.  Go me…….I do not even have a clue why I am doing this.  I don’t need a calash.  It was peer pressure I tell you.

A calash is a type of bonnet. Though what I need with a bonnet is beyond me!

It was super hot weekend.  So motivation was at an all time low.  Plus, I was being handed glasses of wine…..yes almost as if they appeared out of thin air straight into my hand……so what could I do but imbibe.  Wine and sewing are not a good combination for me.  So, after spending 45 minutes ironing my fabric for a different project, all I could muster up was draping it over a dress form to get ideas.  Some pins were used in the draping but, alas, no fabric was cut over the weekend.

I wanted to sew last night but it was so hot I just couldn’t.  The problem was that I was supposed to throw together a dress for a picnic this weekend and that has not even motivated me to take action!

A Coloring Book for Grown Ups

I have been spending some time thumbing through my Originator Smart Fashion books.  Every time I open a page, I want to take out my pens and colored pencils and start colouring in the fantastic outfits.  Of course, I could never deface these books this way but hey….that’s what copy machines are for!

I wanted to share a few more of the sketches with you.  Are these dresses not lovely?  Don't you want to run home and incorporate some tucks onto a drapey skirt to emulate this look?  I know I do!

The next one is scanning rather oddly, I have no idea why it is not getting the entire page or why it is skewed sideways..  But look at the bishop sleeves and that low waist.  Looking at this, my creative juices are flowing.  Could I be getting over my sewing slump?

What do you look at for inspiration?  What are you sewing for National Sewing Month??

The Silence is Deafening

Did you think I disappeared completely?  I would not have blamed you if you did!  To say my sewing mojo bit the dust is an understatement.  Other than some repairs, I did no sewing during August.  Oh, I had good intentions.  Every day at work I would think about sewing projects I needed to start.  I even washed some fabric.  By the time I had finished dinner all those ideas of sewing and projects had vanished.

Oh wait…..I lie.  I did sew up a fast, down and dirty full 50’s crinoline petticoat.  It took about 10 minutes once I got the serger to do what I wanted and it is a big full petticoat with no need to spend hours gathering.  Anyone interested in the secret??

But….alas….that was as far as I got.  Was it the heat?  The summer?  Who knows.  For weeks I would walk past my machines trying not to look at them so I did not have to the see the accusations of neglect. 

I have made a pact with myself to work on a sewing project over the long weekend.  I guess this is my version of the me made September.  Need to do something to kick start the sewing.

While not sewing, I had the opportunity to do a bit of cleaning of the sewing area.  I had forgotten about all the monthly Originator Smart Fashion booklets I had inherited with the dress forms.  Boy are they amazing.  Wanna peak??  I think you all deserve a look for sticking with my silence.

I love these shirt; especially
the striped one.  What
a great way to emphasize
the stripes

Is this dress just to die for?

Now, I noticed online people are selling CD copies of these for 10$ a pop.  Wow!!  I never thought anyone would ever pay for these.  I have a bunch.  I would have to believe it would be a copyright violation.  Wonder how people get away with this.  I guess they could be old enough to escape the copyright.

I would rather share these out to my readers………….

Fantasy Outfit

Oh it seemed like such a great idea when I thought it up!  But, I admit it….this outfit has sucked the life right out of me.  Sewing mojo? What is that?  Any mojo I had was sucked out of me.  The outfit has been finished for 2 weeks and nary a post.  Why you might inquire….is she unhappy with the outfit? Was it a big fail?  Nope, it turned out wonderfully but blech I cannot seem to recover.

Pictures.  I hear you asking for pictures.  Hmmmm yup there are some and I will post one at the end.  The one where you can see the outfit is silly and a tad embarrassing.

So construction.  It was a journey.  Ideas came and went.  Starting with the bodice: I originally bought a pattern that I thought I could translate into the bodice.  2 muslins later and still not getting coverage over my boobs ( I was going for a g rating not an xxx rating with this outfit) and I realized ….nope not going to work.  But then, when cutting out muslin number 2 I had a flash of genius, the old light bulb went off…..why not use a bodice pattern that I knew fit.  You know, one of those TNT patterns that so many bloggers who I respect talk about.  That aha moment meant that muslin #3 was a winner.  It worked on the first go!  So bodice sorted, just need to find fabric.

That right, you heard me, I worked out the kinks of the bodice before spending a couple of weeks finding the fabric.  I eventually went with the ultra suede mentioned here.  But really, what in the world was I thinking.  Let’s use an unbreatheable fabric for an outfit to be worn in the middle of summer.  Hindsight is 20/20 and that thought did not enter my mind. 

Next up the skirt.  I muslined that one and it was too big.  I made it smaller for the final version.  Guess what?  Still too big.  I fussed and fretted over making it smaller.  It never seemed to get smaller.  Finally, I gave up.  Yup, you heard me, I just figured what the hell, so its big.  So, the skirt won’t stay up on my waist with out some serious fold over and pinning of the waistband.  The safety pin is my friend!

With the skirt done, it is trim time.  I spent an entire day in the fabric district shopping for trim.  Naturally, what I wanted I couldn’t find and had to do an about face with the plan.  This meant me running blocks to return to stores just as they were closing.  During the day of trim shopping, I found some feather boas that matched the blue in my outfit to a “T.”  So, I complicated my plan further by determining that I needed to add feathers to the sleeves but did not bother buying the boas at that time. (Cue frantic last minute trip downtown to pick the boas up at a later date….yeah that was smart!)

Now we are heading towards the home stretch which means a sleep reduction and an increase in nightly sewing.  From years of practice, before I changed professions, I would routinely live off of no more than 4 hours or less sleep at night (granted I was younger then, but as I discovered I can still do it).  Thus, started the final couple of weeks push to get this done on time.

Recall, I did  not find the type of trim I wanted.   So making lemonade out of lemons, I spent 2 nights creating my own trim.  I sewed various different trims together, by hand to create the look I wanted.  Great idea ….right?  Nope….wrong.  Utter waste of time.  Plus I used invisible thread on this part.  Have you used invisible thread?  Its evil I tell you…pure and unadulterated evil.  So evil it deserves its own post!

After wasting 2 sewing nights of 6 hours each (yes I was keeping track) I had to start over on the trim. By now, handsewing was no longer an option.  Machine stitching time.  Also my plan was not working, needed to use different trim….luckily I had bought so much and such a wide variety of trim this was possible.  The next 6 days were spent sewing on trim.  Trim on the bodice, trim on the sleeves, and trim on the tabs.  Meanwhile, there was the frantic trip to buy the boas I should have purchased a couple of weeks before. ( I haven’t even mentioned creating the tabs and all the bias binding that went on the tabs and the bodice.)  And now the sewing is taking up more time; I am not just sewing all night but in the morning before work….byebye running….and I am not going to mention the all nighters….nope bad memories of feathers and almost crying…nope best forgotten.

Home stretch and I have not even started the obi/cumberbund thing.  I mean how hard is a rectangle to come up with.  Well, after a couple of hours muslining it…I cut one out and yup you guessed it….too big!  Not a little too big….A LOT TOO BIG.  Not a big deal except I did not notice until after all the embellishment was added to it.  A variety of trims were added as embellishments but I ran out of time to completely cover the obi/cumberbund.  The day before leaving for the convention, I was up all night finishing it up and finally added the hook and eye tape at about 5 am.  I finished sewing at 6:45 am the morning I left.  Whew……..talk about cutting it close

Enough with the words you are saying…don’t you know blog posts are all about the pictures.  Yes, I know……so without further ado…viola….me in the outfit looking rather silly.

Me in my best anime kid pose.
There are better pictures but you cannot
see the outfit as well

I feel better to get this finished and off my shoulders.  Now that I have written this maybe I can go back to my normal sewing.

Dress of Doom Revisited

Demure and ladylike with
only a bit of squinty eyes
happening

I have been sewing non-stop for the past couple of weeks.  By non-stop, I mean getting up early just to get some sewing in before going to work.  Ugh, I was getting 3-4 hours of sleep max.  With all that sewing, there was just no time to write about the sewing.

I will share what I was up to in a few days.

For now, I want to revisit the Dress of Doom: here, here, here and here.  As you may recall, I made up the Dress of Doom a year ago for the conference.  I did not get the chance to wear it.  So, when I came home it was put in the closet with no further thoughts.  Packing this year, I thought I should bring the DOD with me again as an alternative outfit.

I did end up putting it on because I wanted a picture of me in the dress, which I thought I would share with you.  I ended up wearing it for about 4 hours.  It went over quite well and I received a lot of lovely comments.  I also noticed that the buttons are sewn on in a wonderfully wavy line.  I really need to take those off and make them straight.

Really Big Sleeves

Lined sleeves with some ribbon
just pinned on.

Working away on the fantasy outfit and moving at a snail’s pace.  The ginormous sleeves are sewn and lined.  The trim is still not completely put on.  In fact, not all of it has even been purchased!

 

I love the sleeves.  They are so big they seem decadent.  The sleeves are longer than the skirt!!