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choosing a lining for my coat

21 Dec

hey friends – i need your input!

vogue 2925
i will be making this coat, view B (the shorter version). i am still gathering supplies, but i just got my fabric swatches the other day and y’all, i am in LUV.

coating fabric
isn’t it amazing? it’s a lovely deep teal blue – almost navy – with a wonderful nubby texture that should lend itself well to hand-tailoring. it is 100% wool, with light interfacing already attached to the back so it is very stable. again, LUV.

now i need help picking a lining!

i originally had(and still kinda do) my heart set on a bright celery green for lining. wouldn’t that look amaze with the teal?! unfortunately, the site where i got my swatches from sent me a pretty ugly shade of green. it is very reminiscent of some kind of avocado appliance from the 70s – which, don’t get me wrong, i’m a sucker for ugly retro, but it looks really awful with the teal coating. i stopped by my local fabric store yesterday afternoon because they have a KILLAH selection of linings, but the green was pretty sparse. here’s what i got:

which lining?
i wish they had something that was in between the two shades! bummer!

another option is to just buy more of that fabulous teal lining & use that:
leopard jacket - L tag
i love the idea of a statement coat with contrast-y lining, but maybe this coat is statement enough & can deal with matchy-matchy? what do you think?

i am also open to other color suggestions, although i don’t want anything super neutral – like black or brown or the same shade of blue. i might consider white, although i don’t like how see-through it gets on darker fabrics. i have also tossed around the idea of yellow.

FWIW, i polled all the ladies at the fabric store on the greens & their answers were pretty interesting. the older women all voted for the bright green, saying the light was too “safe” and “predictable.” the younger girls, aka the ones my age, all voted for the light green, saying the bright was too “cartoonish.”

so, now it’s your turn. what do you think?

and while we’re on the subject of picking each other’s brains, what kind of buttons would you put on this coat? self-covered buttons? giant sparkly rhinestone buttons? something understated? chime in!

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bound buttonholes and… knitting.

30 Nov

look, guys, i’m a featured member on pattern review!
feature
i don’t actually know what that means, but it’s kinda cool nonetheless! my picture! on the front page! wheee!!

leopard & teal jacket
remember when i said i was going to make a leopard print jacket?

i decided to practice my bound buttonholes last night. here is my first attempt:
bound buttonholes

i figured that was good enough & forged ahead with putting them on the jacket front:
bound buttonholes
they are actually fairly camouflaged (hurr durr because of the print, get it?), so it wouldn’t even matter if they were imperfect. actually, i think they turned out pretty good!

bound buttonhole

bound buttonhole

ok ok, that’s enough bound buttonholes for one day!

unfortunately, my progress with the jacket comes to a stop now because i can’t decide if i want to fully tailor the thing & interface the whole front, or if i just want to do some “light tailoring” and only padstitch the back collar & put in a back stay. what would you do?
either way, i’m out of hair canvas so i have to order more. BOO!

in other news…

knitting swatch
i finished my first knitting swatch! bound off and everything! this will be a… dish cloth.

close-up
i started my first real knitting project – it’s a scrunchable scarf! the yarn is some soft alpaca i frogged from a scarf i (very poorly!)crocheted a couple of years ago. aha knitting is so thrifty! anyway, i’m really excited! my first knitted scarf!

also, i celebrated black friday by staying home and painting my living room blue.
living room
with special thanks to my patient boyfriend (who did the rolling) and all the hit songs of the 90s – i couldn’t have done it without y’all.

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next up: the peony!

11 Nov

first, a sad story.

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this is my sewing machine. it is a pfaff 7570 and it is my lifeblood. i paid more for it than some of my friends paid for their first car. i bought this machine – used – at the tail end of 2007, so we are approaching our 4 year anniversary (aw!). to say i love this machine is a serious understatement.

so you can imagine how upset i was when, during galaxy dress construction, the tension started messing up really bad & nothing i did would fix it. i had it cranked up to a 7, which is pretty unheard of for this machine. and on top of that, it was… squeaking whenever i sewed. UHM. MY MACHINE DON’T SQUEAK.

i had a minor panic attack and spent the next 2 days researching where to take it – the place i originally bought it from is sadly no longer in business, and the woman who serviced it last year (yep, i take my machines in to be serviced every year! you should too!) was nowhere to be found. i was starting to think i was going to have to drive to lousiville or atlanta to have the thing checked out – you can’t get a pfaff serviced by any ol’ dude with a tool set. then i convinced myself that i was going to need to actually replace the machine. cue more tears.

i did end up finding an authorized pfaff repair shop within 20 miles of my house (yay!). the guy looked at it and said that, while it doesn’t sound good, it doesn’t sound like i need to junk my machine or anything (double yay!). so right now it’s in the safe hands of the repair shop, and i anxiously await their call. there is some discussion that the woman who fixed it last time may have messed it up, which sucks since i paid her $89 and now i have to pay another $89+ to undo the damage she caused. ugh. anyway, fingers crossed!

in the meantime, i’m using my back-up machine:
back-up sewing machine
it’s a janome memory craft 4000 and i hate it. it is actually a decent machine, it just isn’t my pfaff. and i’m spoiled as shit and all i can think about are it’s shortcomings – like, i have to adjust the tension? ew, my pfaff does that automatically. and why isn’t there a light to show me the bobbin is running out? my pfaff could tell me when the bobbin is running out. i miss my dual-feed. this machine is ugly. i need a needle-threader. etc etc.

anyway, enough whining. let’s talk peony!

oooh u guise, this dress is EASY. easy easy! i started sewing on it last night & it’s practically finished! and it looks GOOD. i can already tell i’ll be making a few more of these 😉

i did start out with a muslin, as suggested by a few people. i’ll mimic them: make a muslin! i decided to try a different approach with this pattern – i usually cut a straight 4 for the bust, this time i cut a 2 and added a 1/2″ FBA. i also found out that i needed to move the darts around a little, as they were placed kind of weird according to my body shape. here is my altered bodice front:
peony alterations
see the ruled paper sections? that’s how far i had to move the darts. again: make a muslin! 🙂

for the 3 of you who live under a rock & don’t read good sewing blogs, jane hosted a giveaway recently for the colette sewing handbook. and i just wanted to rub in everyone’s face that i won! hehe 🙂 seriously, though, if you haven’t picked up this book – do check it out! it is full of great information & beautiful pictures. and PATTERNS. anyway, i mention the book because i used a few of the tips with working on the peony – the diagram for a FBA (a little more concise than fit for real people) and gathering stitches with 3 rows of basting. it is kind of tedious to sew three rows of basting stitches (especially on this stupid machine! ok ok, i’ll stop.), but the results are worth it. setting in the sleeves was SO easy. mine still have a few puckers, but it is mostly from my fabric choice – a thickish velveteen that i didn’t realize was stretch until it was too late. oops.

pockets
the pockets are some cheapie red lining i found in my stash… apparently they grew when i serged them, wtf.

peony progress!
and so far! there is piping at the neck & waistline, which was also found in the stash – a match made in heaven, i must say! i am headed to the fabric store to pick up cummberbund fabric – i’m thinking olive green. and a fancy button, of course. oooh buttons.

what are y’all working on this weekend?

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clover muslin #3

28 Oct

continuing my saga with the clover, here is muslin #3. yes, i made a second muslin and no, there are no pictures because i made them in brown fabric & you couldn’t see ANYTHING except the fact that i was wearing shorts (shorts muslin ftw!).

i have stopped hyperventilating about using up my stretch fabric in a thousand muslins, as i had a fabric epiphany the other morning & realized i had an entire stack of this awful polyester that i can’t seem to get rid of for some reason. there is just the right amount of stretch, and several yards of it – which, if i remember correctly, cost me something like $5 for the whole stack at a thrift store. why i have kept it for so long, i can’t tell you, except that obviously fabric hoarding *does* have it’s benefits 🙂 so anyway, i’ve got plenty of fabric to keep making muslins. yay!

to be frank, the only thing keeping me cranking these out is knowing that once i get it perfect, i can use this pattern over & over… and also as a block for other pants-fitting needs.

i don’t think i’ve quite reached the wearing point yet, but i know i’m close. what do y’all think? so far i have shorted the front crotch by 1 1/4″ (I KNOW. and it looks like i need to shorten it more!), added approx 3/8″ FBA, and lengthed the back crotch an extra 1/2″. oh, and i tapered the legs about 1/4″ down the sides. excuse the lumps at the hips – that will be smoothed out in the final pattern.

clover muslin #3 - front
i may take the waist in a smidge more as it’s the smallest bit too loose

clover muslin #3 - front
i still get a little excess when i stand a certain way… not sure if that’s something that can be adjusted out, or if it’s just the nature of wearing tight-fitting pants like these.

clover muslin #3 - side

clover muslin #3 - back
excuse the panty lines, but hey – the fit looks good back here, no? can i also add that i think it’s hilarious that i need a FBA top & bottom? hahahaha

these were originally going to be a ~wearable muslin~ but i don’t think i’m quite there yet. i do see a light at the end of the tunnel, though!

in other news, here’s a sneak peak at another project i’m working on:
green wool ceylon
ceylon in green wool. it’s been on the backburner for a week or so because i decided to hand embroider the yoke on a whim. i like the way it’s looking, though!

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clover muslin – unflattering pictures, ahoy!

21 Oct

internet, i know we are close, but we are about to get real close with this post.

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starting with my butt.

i just finished up my clover muslin, and i need help with the fitting! help! help!

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there are lots of wrinkles at the crotch & sides, and the butt is straining. the waist & legs fit great, as do the hips (minus the butt area). i’m thinking i need a swayback adjustment, which is just confusing me because i’ve *never* had swayback issues with clothing – both patterns & ready to wear. huh.

here, have some more pictures.

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this does not show in the pictures, but there is a small pool of excess fabric at my lower back.

what do y’all think? swayback or something else?
also, if it’s a swayback, how much am i supposed to add/remove? the diagrams on the coletterie are great, but all they say are slash and spread. need some guidance here, plz.

on a related note, the fabric for these pants is a mostly-decent stretch poplin i bought from fabric mart for something like $2/yard. it is kinda sorta see-through, which means future pants will be underlined – not a problem, since the pattern called for about 2x as much fabric than actually used wtf. also, no love for fabric mart – i had some problems with my post office, which resulted in the package being returned to sender (ok, i put the wrong zip code on the address because i am forgetful), and when i emailed fabric mart for a solution, it took them nearly a week to get back to me. in the meantime, the post office found the package, corrected the address, and had it shipped to me in less than 24 hours. i am not planning on ordering from fabric mart again.

enough about fabric mart, let’s talk about my pants!

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plans for fall 2011 sewing

14 Sep

i suppose it’s time to get crackin’ on my new season wardrobe.

i already pooled through my fabrics & clipped swatches of what i want to use… yardages are noted on the swatches. look at how organized i can be!
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as a side note… i don’t have a whole lot of storage in my sewing room, so i box up my out-of-season fabric & store it elsewhere. opening this box & pulling out all the pretty wools & autumnal colors was like christmas! wheeee!

now i’m pulling out my patterns & trying to figure out what to match up with what. i can already tell i need to go buy more fabric. my life, it is so hard.

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here is my ~board. it is very simple because i really can’t be arsed to make it pretty. ha!

some discussion:
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butterick 5078 – i bought this really sweet knit dress (also maggy london, actually) at the thrift store a few weeks ago and I WANT TO LIVE IN IT FOREVER. so comfy! clearly, i need more knit dresses. i consider myself a global ambassador of the knit, but i’ve never actually sewn a knit garment from a pattern (as opposed to the zillions of self-drafted knit stuff i’ve made… seriously, queen of knits over here). i would love to make this in a deep jewel tone, like that lovely green (which is actually a shantug over at gorgeous fabrics but the color is A+)

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self-drafted circle skirt – i’ve already started this one! i had *exactly* enough of that tweed to cut it on the fold – barely under 2 yards at 60″ wide, cut for a 27″ waist & 26″~ length (knee-length for me with a 3″ hem). the pink is the lining – i bought too much so it will probably end up lining something else. ooh matchy!

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vogue 1059 – thinking about making me some wide-legged denim pants. i will wear them with a vest & button-up shirt & pretend that i am annie hall.

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parfait – ok, my corduroy is a little more navy (navier?) than this one pictured, but same idea! the parfait looks great layered, and corduroy is very seasonally-appropriate.

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ceylon – i have a nice olive green wool twill that i think would work with this dude. well, provided i can finagle the cutting layout – i only have two yards. SHIT.
anyway, yeah, covered buttons & a covered belt, y/y? ooh i just love olive + red. or olive + cream. a beautiful beautiful marriage indeed.

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clover – my favorite of colette’s new pattern offerings! i never even realized i needed skinny cropped pants until these came out lol. i want to make mine in a stretch suiting – tweed or herringbone – cropped at the ankles. LOVE.

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simplicity 8155 – continuing my annie hall fantasy… a vest in grey herringbone. btw, this is *exactly* want i want for the clover pants, except the one i have doesn’t stretch. boohoo.

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violet – i think this will be lovely in this autumnal floral fabric, with matching self-covered buttons.

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vogue 8280, aka the galaxy dress – been hanging onto this pattern for a hot minute, waiting on the perfect fabric. i think i have it: tweed wool suiting. yeeeeesh, this stuff is itchy! depending on how much i can squish the cutting layout, i may be able to use the rest of that pink lining for this dress. i want to line the whole thing.

i also have simplicity 5154 that i would like to make, but i need to find a good fabric. and by ‘good fabric’ i mean exactly that plaid that the model is wearing. i need that plaid in my life!

sooo my fall/winter sewing plans are a little ambitious, to say the least. i doubt all of these will be completed by the time i am sick of winter clothes, but it’s nice to have a plan written out, at least for my own record.

what are your plans for fall sewing? tell me!

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sewing for other people- lladybird summer 2011 sneak peek

5 Jul

i kind of treat my clothing line like it is my bastard child. i don’t mean to, really, but sometimes i feel like the amount of money/effort that i put into what i make won’t get much of a return when it’s time to sell – i mean, yeah, i know that there are people ~out there~ who will pay $150+ for a simple cotton sundress, but they ain’t shopping on my rack. LOL. hence why i spend the majority of my time supplementing my already-gigantic wardrobe. i rarely bring stuff to the shop & i’m sure they hate me at this point. I’M SORRY.

anyway, i was invited to participate in the next local honey fashion show at the end of this month. nevermind that i have to move within the next month or so (did i already mention that? i think i already mentioned that. my amazing roommate was accepted into the peace corps! she is leaving the country in september, so i gotta bust ass & find a solo apt! eek!), oh and i’m still making junk for the tomato art festival. i will find the time! i am actually using this as an opportunity to do a gigantic stash-bust.
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bound buttonholes, revisited

21 Jun

time for a new sewing project!
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simplicity 3061, in a soft/lightweight navy linen with a contrasting white linen collar.
i was going to make view 1 with the sleeves, but i followed the wrong pattern layout and now i don’t have enough linen for sleeves… oh well! sleeveless it is!

this post is actually kind of boring because i haven’t had a chance to make much real progress on the dress, save for cutting. fortunately, the muslin fit pretty well (with a few minor tweaks that can be adjusted while sewing up the actual garment) so that’s a win! man, i love me a good sewing pattern that fits straight out the envelope.

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vogue 1227: the bodice from hell

5 May

picking up from where i left off, still working on vogue 1227, aka my birthday dress. actually, i almost gave up on this dress completely… and in all honesty, we’re still not out of the woods on that one. but i carry on, mostly because i’d feel really bad wasting this barkcloth. ughhh.

this pattern: hardest pattern i’ve ever sewn. not because it is complicated, but there are SO.MANY.ALTERATIONS. and i am not normally one with a difficult body to fit – a FBA, sometimes i reduce the shoulders, and i usually end up reducing the waist. i’m pretty sure i’ve redrafted this entire pattern at this point. ridiculous! after i was done with my redrafting, none of the pieces matched up at the top. this is not an error on my part – i only adjusted the sides, not the top of the pattern pieces. of course, this was after i already cut out + interfaced 30+ pieces, so now i’ve just been piecing bands to add to the tops to make everything match.

oh, and the whole thing cuts so low, i can’t wear a bra with it. that may or may not have been the pattern’s intention, but i like wearing bras. so i had to add ruffles to the tops of the boobie cups.

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vogue 1227 – a little progress

22 Apr

as i stated in my last post, my birthday is a month away. well… a month minus one day, to be exact. eee birthday! time to start working on my birthday dress!!

i’m using vogue 1227 & sewing it up out of this vintage barkcloth, the lining is super lightweight cotton muslin.

not really sure how i feel about this pattern… it’s been a pain from the get-go. my first muslin was absolutely horrible – way too big. i don’t trust vogue’s “suggested” measurements, so i cut by the finished measurements. according to the pattern, i should fit nicely into a 10… which as i just said, ended up several inches too big. i checked the measurements out of curiosity, and the finished bodice was a whopping 2″ bigger than the printed ‘finished garment measurements.’ wtf, vogue!

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