new vogue sewing patterns: just checked, still ugly

30 Sep

ooh you guys, vogue just released their winter sewing patterns! in fact, it’s been almost exactly a year since i last shit all over them. happy anniversary to me! let’s celebrate with a snarky shit-talking post, shall we?

i’ll start off with the 3 that i like.

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vogue 1271, kay unger
gorgeous dress, although the fabric choice is pretty tragic. can you imagine this in a lush black with a jewel-toned belt? i die.

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vogue 1265, pamella roland
i hated this one the first time i saw it – i thought it was some kind of awkward dressy romper/suit hybrid. EW. actually, it’s just a dress – that is a slit in the front, although i have no idea why they put it there since it obviously doesn’t need it once you see the back:
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again: i die. twice.

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vogue 8766
ok, this one isn’t really that special, i think i just like the lacy lace. pretty sure i have a dozen patterns exactly like this, but with different cover art. still – me likey!

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vogue 1273, badgley mischka
i like this ok – it has some neat detailing – but, again, tragic fabric choice. what’s with all the shiny polyester satin, vogue?

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vogue 1267, tom & linda platt
i like the detail seaming, but for the most part, this dress is pretty meh.

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vogue 1272, bellville sassoon
i know we are still in the middle of an 80s revival, but this is just uncalled for.

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vogue 1269, chado ralph rucci
i want to like this, i really do, but the flounce overload is giving me hives.

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vogue 8768, vintage vogue
actually, this one isn’t so bad aside from the WTF STYLING. this mess doesn’t fit the model AT ALL, especially that unflattering hemline. she looks horribly awkward & uncomfortable. i don’t blame her.

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vogue 8769
well, that’s practical.

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vogue 8780
what is this i don’t even.

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vogue 1279, pamella roland
not a bad suit by any means, but why did they decide to make it up in 3D hologram fabric? excuse me wtf r u doin.

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vogue 8776
actually, this one just made me laugh for about 5 minutes straight. thanks for the mood-lifter, vogue!

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vogue 8783, marcy tilton
i love that this purse is ~designer~, if by designer you mean totes appropes for hauling around in the minivan on the way to the soccer fields. i’m side-eyeing that woman’s hair so hard right now, willing it to morph into this. and oh, look, she’s wearing 8780! in green fleece!

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vogue 1276
this is actually a sleeveless vest, thoughtfully covered in hairballs.

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vogue 1268, guy laroche
looks like a cheap pocahontas halloween costume.

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vogue 1277, koos van den akker
you can defend koos van den akker all you want, but every single one of his designs is ugly as shit, as far as i’m concerned.

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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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a new sewing room for LT!

12 Sep

sewing room eye candy time!

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yes, that is very much a duran duran poster on the door.

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i feel like everyone has an ikea expedit at this point. gah, it’s so handy for storing fabric & patterns! don’t plan on it ever leaving the room, though. i’m actually really surprised this thing survived another move, tbh.

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it is a *very* small room, so getting the furniture in was a bit of a challenge. i had to forfeit my white serger table for lack of space… not sure if i’m too keen on keeping both machines on one table, but oh well! we all make sacrifices sometimes.

the paint is “refreshing pool” by behr, i had it mixed into glidden paint (NEVER AGAIN.) it is very blue-blue in these photos, but it is a definitely tiffany blue in real life. very pretty, i love it so much!

because i was feeling super crafty yesterday, i swatched out the fabrics i want to use for my fall/winter sewing:
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sorry ’bout the giant piece of boning. that piece of leopard print is over 5 yards! DUDE. what should i make with it??? it’s very drapey & flowy. and five yards.

and because i feel so gushy & lovey for my new house…
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my kitchen 🙂

the paint is “tropical bloom” by valspar, the cabinets are “vibrant white” and i really really love back to the future.

many of these supplies purchased using these home depot coupons.

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another rooibos – v2.0

29 Aug

well, big moving day is this week – september 1st, which is this thursday! everything is all packed up, which is why i’ve been nonexistent as of late. no worries, though, i left my two current projects unpacked… so here’s a rooibos for y’all’s troubles!

i loved my first version so much, i decided to follow the rooibox sewalong on the colette blog for v2.0! well, “follow” is loosely defined – it was kind of half-ass. but it’s done! and – bonus! – my first garment for my fall 2011 wardrobe 🙂

i used very lightweight/fine wale corduroy – you can’t even tell that it is corduroy in these pictures, but i promise it is! the facing & pocket piping are sewn up with soft red plaid – from the ~plaiditude~ line at joann’s. i’ll be honest with you, i mostly bought this plaid because the name was so awful. haha! i was apprehensive because it is very thick & soft – almost like flannel – and i was afraid it would be too bulky with the corduroy. fortunately, the corduroy is very lightweight, so this fabric works as a facing. and it is sooo soft – the pockets are especially luxurious!

i kept the bodice at a size 4, but cut the waistband & skirt down to a 2, since it was a little loose the last go-around. should i make this dress again (and i probably will! i love this dress!) i will cut it down to a 0 – the 2 was still a little big! i took in as much as i could but i do feel like it’s a little loose. the belt helps a lot.

other than that, pretty straight-forward! too bad i can’t even wear it right now since it’s NINETY FREAKING FIVE DEGREES outside. oh, nashville. never change.

red rooibos
ameeeeeeeeerica!
it looks awful with my harlot-red hair, i know, but i’m pretty sure i’m going back to brown within the next month or so. don’t judge me!

my only issue with this fabric is that i can’t get the darts points to lie flat, no matter how many times i resewed them. they are almost completely flat irl, but the nap of the fabric highlights the point and, well… i look cold. oops. and it wrinkles pretty bad – i even ironed it before taking these pictures. oh well.

red rooibos
pockets!

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red rooibos back

red rooibos - bodice

red rooibos - belt
i made the belt with lightweight belt backing & an old wooden buckle i found ages ago at the flea market.

red rooibos - collar

red rooibos - facing
facings are trimmed with red bias binding – the very last of my stash!

red rooibos - pocket
i love how the pockets turned out :3

love this dress so much! if you haven’t hollered at the rooibos yet, definitely give the pattern a chance – it’s a great shape/style & it’s sooo easy to make up!

red rooibos
seeya!

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a nonsensical post of whatever

9 Aug

i’ll be laying low this week… the tomato art festival is saturday (this saturday… eek!) and my booth stash is quite lacking. as it stands now, i’ve been feverishly sewing tomatoes & more tomatoes with no end in sight. well, saturday, anyway. so i won’t be unveiling any new clothing this week!

however, if you’re in nashville, i highly recommend stopping by 🙂 our booth – the wicked tomato factory – will be on 11th avenue, in front of the green wagon! we will be selling tomato-themed art, jewelry, headgear, and of course tomato pincushions 🙂

so this post isn’t entirely no-sew, have a cardigan i refashioned into LT-size:
cardigan - before
before

cardigan - after
after
pretty easy revamp! i cut the sides smaller (the original shirt was an XL… i usually wear an XS or a S), shortened the hem a few inches, reattached the sleeves much shorter. i love cardigans, but the ones that fit me are usually reeeal pricey & the cheap ones are always the wrong size! so glad i can sew 🙂

i also started cutting out my fabric for the leopard print peplum jacket.
it would have started much sooner – it did start much sooner, actually, but i was having major fit issues with my muslin. i’m pretty sure the muslin still isn’t perfect but i totally gave up after the 4th one. whatever! it’s a jacket!

this kind of steamed me, though:
leopard jacket
laid out my pattern pieces

WTF
LOOK AT ALL THAT EXTRA FABRIC WTFFFFF

i ended up cutting the long sleeves out as well, because damn, i don’t want to waste fabric. it worked out perfectly in the end, though. well, perfectly if the sleeves are well-drafted i guess. i didn’t do a muslin of those because i thought i only bought enough fabric for short sleeves. LOL RIGHT.

i want to do some light tailoring with this jacket – bound buttonholes, padstitching the collar (but not the lapels – they are separate pieces from the jacket front so i don’t think it’s necessary) and a backstay. i have a beautiful teal bemberg rayon for the lining, and teal buttons. bring it!

i must get back to creating tomatoes. in the meantime, here is a present for you:
lol
you’re welcome 😉

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birthday dress, revisited

5 Aug

over at oona’s corner of the blogworld, we are having a party-dress-party. please! i will take and and every excuse to pull out my fancy party duds & parade around the room!

my contribution: my birthday dress, of course!
what did you think i was gonna wear? 😉

dress front
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completed: colette sorbetto, v2.0

3 Aug

sooo i tried another sorbetto over the weekend. after my disastuh of a first version, the second version is kind of “meh” so i really don’t think this pattern works for me. which makes me sad – everyone else’s sorbettos are goooorgeous.

my version fits me weird – i don’t think i have the body shape for it – and maybe i just got too excited about the promise of a 1 hour/2 piece pattern because the construction is shoddy as hell. i’m not going to show you that. i’ll show you pictures of it on me, though.

first, look at the fabric i used:
sorbetto fabric
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completed: colette patterns rooibos

2 Aug

can you believe that i actually started this dress a little over a month ago? i got halfway through the construction – completed the bodice, basically – and then sadly put it aside to work on lladybird duds. i was so excited to finish it, i went straight home after the big event & had it completed in time to wear it that night! yay!
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lladybird summer 2011: done!

28 Jul

just finished the rest of my stuff for lladybird’s summer 2011 line and i feel gooooood. like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

here is the last piece to be photo’d (not the last piece made, but i realized i forgot to take a picture!), plus a quick recap:
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lladybird: more summer 2011

25 Jul

i actually don’t have much to show here. i’ve been in a sewing frenzy/rut for the past week, alternating between feeling like i work in a sweatshop & not wanting to even go near my sewing room. part of the problem is the mess – oh god the mess. i’m the kind of person who cleans up her workspace at the end of every day… and right now, there are piles everywhere. it’s awful, but i don’t have time to clean. and i should be packing this stuff up anyway. arghhh!!

okay, i’m done complaining! promise!

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