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Completed: Polyester Chiffon Archer Shirt (+ Announcing the Sprout Sew-Along!)

It’s that time of the year again – when we start our spring sewing in a desperate attempt to hurry the warm weather up. And by we, I mean me.

While it’s still a little warm here – not quite shorts and tank tops warm, but no-socks warm – I know that we’ll get at least one more cold snap before the temperatures steadily start rising. So while my wardrobe needs to maintain a bit of coverage, I’m using lighter colors and designs that look decidedly more spring than my standard black and grey winter wear.

Like giant tropical leaves. Now THAT is a spring statement, amirite

As the title of this post says, this shirt is the Archer button up from Grainline Studio. But wait, there’s more! I ordered my fabric from Sprout Patterns, meaning I got to choose the fabric design as well!

I feel like most people are pretty familiar with Sprout Patterns at this point, but in case you aren’t – owned by Spoonflower (beloved on-demand printer of fabrics, wallpapers, and more) – Sprout offers the same on-demand fabric printing but with the additional twist of also printing your pattern pieces directly on the fabric. This not only makes cutting a breeze (no giant flat table space needed – just sit at your couch and cut along the solid lines), but it also gives you total control over pattern placement without the additional brainbending. There are a few catches to this service – one, you are limited to the patterns they have on their site; two, you are also limited to the types of fabrics they offer; and three, having the pattern printed on your fabric does not leave room for flat pattern adjustments – but overall, I think the pros absolutely outweigh the cons.

I’ve heard of this service before – both through blogs and website ads, and also because one of my students at at Workroom Social class actually works for Spoonflower (!!!) – but I hadn’t actually tried the service until now. This year, I’m cooking up some fun plans with Spout pattern and Spoonflower (Spoiler: It’s a class. More info at the end of this post!!), so they offered to send me one to try out!

The Archer shirt works in a variety of fabrics, with the most common/easiest ones being the Basic Cotton Ultra and the Kona Cotton Ultra. While the cottons are definitely great, I love being difficult and asked if I could instead try the Polyester Chiffon. I really love this style of shirt in a soft, drapey fabric and I REALLY loved the idea of the cutting being way easier since the pieces are printed on the fabric. I made a size 2, View B (with the butt ruffle, because, butts) printed on Spoonflower’s Polyester Chiffon. The design is Monstera Leaves. You do have the ability to create your own design, but I’ve learned over time that I am decidedly NOT a fabric designer and would rather use something already made by someone who knows what they are doing. I chose this design because I liked the predominantly dark colors over a white background – it feels breezy without actually being super see-thru – and, of course, who doesn’t love some big ass tropical leaves?

Some notes about this fabric:

Polyester is not something that gets a lot of praise in the sewing community, present company included. To be completely honest, I generally HATE the stuff. Hard to wear, hard to sew, sweaty pit dump USA, etc etc. I gave this one a chance because, one, there were no other options for sheer drapey fabric (no silk!); and, two, I thought the sheer chiffon would offset the fact that poly doesn’t really breathe. I am happy to report that my hunches were right, and I actually really enjoyed working with – and now wearing! – this fabric. It’s a great quality poly, feels very nice against the skin, and while I can’t yet report on its heat-retaining properties (it just ain’t hot enough here yet, y’all), I can say that it’s been really pleasant to wear on our warmer days. It also took really well to pressing, so no problems there.
I told you this shirt is chiffon, and it is. I should also tell you that I’m only wearing a bra underneath it – no cami. It’s only slightly see-thru, and even then mostly shadows. This chiffon is slightly thicker than some chiffons I’ve tried – almost like a double chiffon – and the dark colors also help with preventing a peepshow. Not having to wear a cami under this really helps me feel, you know, ~breezy~.
Chiffon can be tricky to work with, as it is very lightweight and VERY shifty. My first combat against this was to get the pattern via Sprout, which saved me the drama of worrying about whether I was cutting the pattern pieces on grain. Since the fabric has the pattern pieces printed directly on it, cutting is WAY easier – seriously, you can just sit on the couch and cut it with scissors like you’re making a paper snowflake (this was me, in case you were wondering). My other combat for dealing with the chiffon was to soak the entire yardage in a gelatine mixture before cutting, which stiffened up the fabric to more of an organza weight/hand, making it much easier to cut and sew. I talked about using a gelatine mixture in this blog post (and here is the method I used on the Threads website), and ugh you guys it is is a LIFESAVER. Made the fabric soooo much easier to manage, and it washed right out when I was finished with the shirt (machine wash cold, normal dry). If you want to try a tricky pattern like this in a tricky fabric, I really encourage this method – it was one of the easiest experiences I’ve ever had with chiffon! Like, even my sleeve plackets look amazing. Super stoked.

Anyway, I LOVE how this turned out! The soft, drapey fabric – the shape of the shirt – and the leaves offering a bit of modesty so I can continue to be immodest 😛 This shirt looks equally good with the sleeves rolled up or left down, with the front buttoned or unbuttoned (ok, I guess THEN I’d wear that cami), or even knotted into a crop.

Some additional sewing notes:

I used French seams to construct the shirt, 1/4″ for each pass (for a total of a 1/2″ seam allowance). Since the fabric is so sheer, I like how the visible seams look this way.
I used black thread for constructing and topstitching, and a new 70/10 microtex needle for this lightweight fabric.
For interfacing, I made a few test swatches (there is plenty of extra fabric around the perimeters of your pattern pieces that is ideal for this use) to determine what would work best. I ended up using this lightweight woven fusible interfacing (from Workroom Social), which was a perfect match for the chiffon – it offers enough support for the collar and buttons, but it is light enough that it doesn’t interfere with the drape of the chiffon. And since is it white, it brightens up the white background of the fabric without looking super obvious. I also considered interfacing the back of the yoke for this same reason (since the yoke is a double layer of fabric), but I found that I actually preferred the look of the 2 layers so I left them as-is.
Like I said, this chiffon pressed without a problem. I use a gravity feed iron (affiliate link) with a shoe, which works the same as using a press cloth. This allows me to press at a high heat without melting my fabric or giving it a weird shine. I definitely do not recommend trying to sew a shirt like this in a fabric that won’t hold a press, however, this fabric didn’t give me any issues!
Buttons are just plain black plastic buttons from my local fabric store. Nothing fancy there!

Ok, so here’s the fun part! I was sent this fabric + pattern by Sprout patterns, in preparation for a workshop that I will be teaching at Spoonflower! Here are the details:

Spoonflower presents the 2018 Sprout Sew-Along with Lauren Taylor (also known as Lladybird)! With the help of Lauren and her sewing expertise, students will be led through the construction of a Grainline Studios’ Archer Button Up from start to finish using their custom printed Sprout Pattern. Our intimate class setting ensures all students the chance to get one-on-one instruction from Lauren as we tackle this wardrobe staple. This class is sure to build your confidence in garment construction! We hope you can join us!

Class fee includes the printed Archer button-up, and there is an early bird discount for those who register before March 3! The workshop is April 6 – April 8, and will be held at Spoonflower Greenhouse in Durham, NC. If you’ve been wanting to tackle this pattern but feel a little overwhelmed with the steps, this is a great opportunity to have a little bit of guidance and hand-holding for your first go! While we will be sewing exclusively with the Kona Cotton Ultra for this class (just because we gotta speed everyone along so we actually finish in two days!), it will give you the skills you need to try this pattern later with a more complicated fabric – such as the polyester chiffon 😛

You can find all the details of the workshop – as well as sign up – here!

A side note about the sunglasses – it was very bright outside and I thought I would pretend like I was a fAsHuN bLoGgEr. Suffice to say, I am not happy with how these pictures turned out (and I had to delete more than half of them because it bothered me that you could see the tripod in my lenses haha) but I also don’t care enough to retake them. No more sunglasses photos for me. It weirds me out that you can’t see my eyes. Oh well, you live and learn!

**Note: The fabric for this shirt was given to me by Spoonflower, in preparation for my workshop with them in April! Will I see you there? 🙂

Tags: Archer, button-up, chiffon, completed, Grainline Studio, polyester, shirt, spoonflower, sprout patterns, workshop

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Categories completed projects - new

Completed: New Ginger Jeans (+ more classes listed!)

16 Feb

It just occurred to me yesterday that I never shared my Ginger Jeans that I made for my upcoming workshops! Fortunately, we had a weirdly sunny + 70° (look at how cool I am, I figured out the keyboard shortcut for making a degree sign lolz) day yesterday, so I jumped outside to take some photos! These aren’t the best – it was windy as hell, and for some reason I decided to take photos where I’d have to straddle over a fucking hole in the ground – but you know what, it works, and I’m moving on. I say this often, and it often bears repeating – no one comes to this blog for the stunning photography amirite.

Anyway.

These are my new jeans! I’ve made soooo many pairs of these Ginger Jeans that they don’t necessarily warrant their own post at this point (I mean, there are only so many times you can keep repeating the same pattern with no changes and expect people to find the information riveting haha), however, I did want to talk about this particular pair as I finally had a chance to make them in a new-to-me denim!

This denim is a super stretch denim from Robert Kaufman (FYI that’s an affiliate link). As I mentioned in my samples post, I chose this denim specifically because it was affordable, easy to source, and is great quality that is comparable to Cone Mills. I made all my workshop samples out of this denim – Robert Kaufman was generous enough to send me a couple bolts of the fabric; enough for 11 samples plus some extra so I could make a pair for myself! It’s an 8.6oz stretch denim, which is a hair lighter than most of the Cone Mills that people buy (I personally prefer the lighter weight, I find it more comfortable!). It’s also suuuuuper stretchy, which I love! Absolutely perfect for this jeans pattern.

Since this denim is indigo dyed, it is imperative that you prewash your fabric multiple times before cutting into it. It will shrink quite a bit, plus it bleeds a LOT! I only washed my samples once in cold water, and we all ended up with blue hands during class (true story; I went on a date immediately after the first night of my Nashville class and he totally called me out on that shit about halfway through haha). For these jeans, I washed + dried the denim three times before I cut it – twice with very hot water, and once with cold. This cut down significantly on the amount of bleed that I got, although they still bleed a tiny bit (not enough to damage, say, the upholstery in my car – but I do still notice a blue tint on my fingernails). Every single indigo-dyed denim I’ve used (especiallyyyy Cone Mills, oh god) does this, btw, but just be aware of it. Don’t carry a white purse, save your white undies for a different pair of pants, and for the love of god do not wash these in a load with anything but black fabric.

That being said, cutting down on the bleed does not actually fade the color. These are still super dark, even with all that hot washing.

Anyway, I made these a little over a month ago, and wore them on that first day of class so my students could see the ~jeans in action~. I’m happy to report that this fabric holds its shape really well – I’ve only washed these once since I made them (and even then it was mostly to try to bleed out more indigo, ha), and in these photos you are seeing them after about 4 days of wearing. No baggy knees or baggy butt! I still have a little bit of tightness at the calf, however, I have noticed with my more frequently-worn Gingers (i.e., the older ones) that over time the fabric will stretch and settle. I’m going to wear these a bit more and see if that happens with this fabric, before I slice up the calf and add more room on future pairs.

I also made the top I’m wearing, by the way! It’s a Grainline Studio Hemlock Tee (which is free if you join their newsletter). I used a beautiful striped rayon knit from Finch, which I bought when I was there last year for a workshop.

For these particular jeans, I used the same notions that we offer students in my workshops (copper topstiching thread, matching rivets and buttons). Combined with the fabric and pattern, you can literally see what your finished jeans will look like.

BTW, I still hate setting rivets. I’m getting better at it, but I still hate it. I considered getting a special die for my snap setter, but then I realized I couldn’t drag it along to workshops (that thing is cast iron and it weighs a LOT), so what’s the point? I generally prefer the look of bartacks over rivets, anyway.

I won’t go into detail about fitting these; but you can read my Ginger Jeans tag to see previous posts about what fitting changes I have made to these jeans over time. Spoiler: It took many, many pairs with lots of tiny changes (and I’m still making changes!). Fitting is a journey, and a lot of things just aren’t clear until you’ve worn your garment around for a few days.

Flat-felled seams on the inside, quilting cotton pockets (1-2 fat quarters is all you need!), and of course a shitty little thread nest in there #honestsewing

In other news – I just had some more classes listed! You can see all my upcoming classes here on my class page, but for those who are just browsing – here are the new ones added:

March 24-25 / Jeans Making Intensive / Workroom Social, Brooklyn, NY (head’s up – we will be making a Workroom Social exclusive jeans pattern for this class! I am so excited about this one!)
May 1-3 / Ginger Jeans Workshop / Stitch Sew Shop, Alexandria, VA
July 13-15 / Ginger Jeans Workshop / Darrell Thomas Textiles, Ottawa, Ontario Canada
July 18-20 / Ginger Jeans Workshop / Darrell Thomas Textiles, Ottawa, Ontario Canada
August 3-5 / Master Class: Make Your Own Jeans Workshop / Pintuck & Purl, North Hampton, NH
August 18-19 / Jeans Making Intensive / Workroom Social, Brooklyn, NY (again, this one is using a Workroom Social pattern 😀 )
September 26-30 / Jeans & Wardrobe Basics Retreat / A Gathering of Stitches, Biddeford, ME (this one is a littttle different as we are focusing on wardrobe basics! There will be jeans-making, but there are also a couple extra days to make additional basics! Or, if you’ve already tackled jeans and wanted to try something else – such as a tshirt or button-up – bring it on!)

I have a few more classes in the works that haven’t been confirmed/listed yet (West Coast, I’m looking at you!), but I will share those as soon as I can! Other than that, pretty booked up for 2018! If you are a local shop who would like to discuss dates for 2019, please get in touch with me via email. If you are a person who wants me to come teach in your city, I encourage you to reach out to your local shop and tell them you’d like to see them host my jeans workshop 🙂

Ok, that’s all for this post! Happy Friday, y’all!

Tags: a gathering of stitches, closet case patterns, completed, darrell thomas textiles, denim, ginger jeans, Grainline Studio, Hemlock Tee, jeans, jeans workshop, pants, pintuck and purl, robert kaufman, stitch sew shop, workroom social, workshops

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Categories completed projects - new

Completed: Black + Grey Flannel Archer

3 Nov

IT’S FLANNEL SEASON AGAIN, Y’ALL.

I don’t like the cold – like, at all – but I do love the clothes that are associated with this season. Layers, textured fabrics, WOOL, dark colors and jewel tones… gimmie all of it. Flannel button-ups are at the top of my list. I love that they can be worn solo and buttoned up, layered under a sweater, or layered over a tank or tshirt and left to swing free in the breeze. Snaps at the cuffs make it easy to roll the sleeves up, snaps at the button band make it possible to Hulk out at the end of the day (don’t pretend like you don’t do this with snap-up shirts, you liar).

I have a few handmade plaid flannel shirts, all of which I love to wear, so I put a short hold on adding to that stash. I finally allowed myself this year to make 2 more – both out of plaid cotton flannel from Mood Fabrics. This is the first of the two. I haven’t taken photos of the second one yet, but rest assured – it’s almost the exact same as this one, just a different colorway. Because if I am anything, I am consistent haha.

As I said, this is the Archer button up from Grainline Studio. I’ve made this shirt a lot, so there’s not a lot to elaborate on here, just a few small changes. I sewed view A with the angled cuffs, swapped out the included placket for a tower placket (I use the placket from the Negroni pattern, but this placket download from Threads is basically the same thing).

Sizing-wise, I cut a size 0 (which is the size I pretty much always sew with Grainline). One thing I did change with this pattern was to increase the seam allowances at the side and sleeve seams to 5/8″ – the included seam allowances are 1/2″, and I actually sew them at 5/8″ since I like to flat-fell those seams. I’ve noticed that my shirts are pulling ever-so-slightly at the bust now (told ya I’ve gained some weight. And also an entire cup size, ughhhhh), so I added in that extra 1/8″ and the fit is much better now!

I cut my fabric on the single layer to get the plaid all matched up (see here for my plaid-matching tips!), and cut the outer yoke and pockets on the bias. I originally had the pockets cut to match the plaid at the front, but they matched so well they basically disappeared, and I wasn’t crazy about that look. So I re-cut them and I think they look much better!

As I mentioned, all seams are flat-felled so there is a nice clean finish on the inside. I used a super lightweight interfacing so that everything would stay nice and soft – I didn’t want a stiff button placket in contrast to the otherwise floppy fabric. Everything is topstitched in black, and I used black snaps for closures.

My cotton flannel was found at the Mood Fabrics store in NYC, back in August. I had a hankering for a new flannel, and I wanted one that was soft and lightweight, like it had already been worn to death. I found this and another similar flannel in a different colorway, both of which work perfectly with the color palette that my closet has ended up morphing into. Since flannel tends to shrink up quite a bit, I washed and dried my fabric three times before cutting into it. I kept the sleeves slightly on the long side, again, in case they decide to shrink up (my first flannel shirt has quite short sleeves now!).

I think that’s all I can say about this make! I’ve already worn it loads and I look forward to some hardcore layering here in the next few months 😀

A couple other things of note:
1. Yes, I made my jeans! They are Gingers that I made with veeeeery stretchy twill fabric (like, they are almost jeggings haha I love them). Just some basic black pants that don’t necessarily warrant a whole post. However, here’s a shot of the butt (and my new belt) (and this shirt, too, apparently lol)
2. Yes, that’s a new hair color! After a REALLY long time (for me anyway haha) with the same color, I decided I was ready for a change! I love the new color so much!

** Note: The fabrics used in this post were provided by Mood Fabrics, in exchange for participation in the Mood Sewing Network.

Tags: Archer, button down, completed, cotton, flannel, ginger jeans, Grainline Studio, Mood Fabrics, Mood Sewing Network, plaid, shirt, top

Comments 23 Comments
Categories completed projects - new, Mood Sewing Network

Completed: Lemon Print Rayon Challis Alder Dress

8 Sep

Y’all, my love for lemons is never-ending:

I have been on the hunt for a good lemon print for YEARS, basically ever since seeing Gertie use a particularly gorgeous one to make a dress. That post is from 2010, btw, see what I mean? YEARS.

Like everything I try to purchase, I get really fixated on something that seems reasonably attainable and then spend years trying to find it (let me tell y’all about my 2 year wallet saga. Just kidding. No one cares lol). I wanted a lemon fabric on a dark – not black – background, that was not a quilting weight cotton (THAT’S the hard part!) (that’s what she said). I found something nearly perfect with the lemon knit I bought earlier this year, but, I was really hoping to find a woven with no stretch.

Anyway, I’ll cut to the chase – I found it, yay!, and it’s also no longer available, sorry! 🙂 This lemon print is from Workroom Social, from their Miramar Fabric line. Here it is on their website, although, again, it’s sold out! But there are loads of other amazing designs that are still available.

The Workroom Social fabric is a beautiful rayon challis, that is just a bit weighter than other challis that I’ve sewn with. It still has that lovely fluid drape and that amazing breathability (my absolute, 100% favorite fabric to wear during the summer!), but it’s a touch more manageable to sew. Some rayons require a bit of prep to stiffen them before you start sewing (I have used spray stablizer and also a gelatine treatment in the past, both with great results), but this one was easy to handle without any special pre treatment. I just cut and sewed and got on with my life! The best of both worlds!

Another really big perk about this fabric is that it is WIDE – 54-56″ to be exact. Most rayons are closer to 45″, which means you need more fabric to make stuff (and some patterns won’t work with the narrower width). At $28/yard, this is not a “budget” fabric, but a yard stretches much further thanks to that extra width! I had about 2 yards of this fabric and I was able to squeeze out my dress and a cami, so, not too bad!

Btw, I hope y’all like my “fashion blogger pantomiming walking away” shots 😛

I have had this fabric since spring, but it’s taken me this long to decide what to make it into. I had LOTS of ideas – but ultimately realized that my current style go-to is anything with a collar. Seriously, I am loving me some collars these days, have you noticed? I decided to take that look and run with it, and make another shirt dress. This pattern is the Alder Shirtdress from Grainline Studio, in view B. I will confess that I wasn’t crazy about view B when the pattern was first released – but after seeing several versions made in drapey fabric, I was sold. What I like about this design is that it is a classic shirt dress – collar + stand, button front, back yoke, etc – but those gathers give it an interesting twist (and also a little bit of shaping!). The fit is slightly loose – which is perfect for warm days, and looks absolutely beautiful when made up in a fabric with a soft drape.

I made a size 0 with no alterations – including to the length (tall people – beware! I’m 5’2″ and I love the length, but it might be a lil’ short on y’all ;))! For my next version, I will raise the armholes a little because they are definitely a bit low on me – you can see my bra sometimes. This is a common fit issue that I have across the board with most patterns, not specific to Grainline.

I had fun putting this one together! I used French seams everything – yes, including the gathered waist and that corner that connects the gathered piece to the front. I am not going to lie, that shit was RUFF and absolutely not my favorite part (but I survived, so hey, go me). Jen posted a tutorial on how to sew a French seam on a right angle, which was very helpful, but I still managed to fuck it up somehow idk. Anyway, it worked out great in the end – just tried my patience REAL HARD up to that point!

I also used the method outlined in the pattern for inserting the collar and collar stand, rather than my usual method (which is this one, if you’re curious!). That whole process might have actually been worse than the French seamed right angles, to be honest! I ripped out my stitches several times before I got it right – and even still, it’s not my best work, but it’s passable. I think trying to do it on a rayon challis was probably not my most brilliant idea, since the fabric is thin and shifty. On a more positive note, I just tried the Grainline method again with a nice cotton flannel, and it turned out PERFECTLY on both sides the first time. Probably because I have so much practice under my belt at this point! 😛

Now let me show you some close-up detail shots while I also instruct you not to look too closely.

This has been my go-to summer dress ever since I finished it – it’s lightweight and breathable, easy to pack (yes it wrinkles, but the wrinkles also drop out pretty easily on their own), and looks pulled together with very little effort. I can see why this pattern has been so popular – it’s fantastic! Of course, Tennessee had an unexpected blast of fall weather immediately after Labor Day (I’m still not convinced it’ll stay cold, however – it’s usually very hot in September!), so I’m currently hunkering down in pants + a hoodie. Hopefully it’ll warm up again so I can get some more wear out of this dress before next summer! 🙂

Tags: alder dress, completedd, dress, Grainline Studio, lemon, miramar fabrics, rayon, rayon challis, workroom social

Comments 36 Comments
Categories completed projects - new

Completed: Linen Archer Button-Up

11 May

Does anyone remember my first linen Archer shirt, and the disaster that it was? Like, I don’t even think I wore that thing out in public one time. I’m pretty sure it went straight to Goodwill, where a less discerning eye was hopefully excited to find it. Hopefully.

Well, I always said I’d revisit this pattern+fabric combination again, once I’d had a little more practice with it – and here we are! I can’t believe it’s taken me nearly 4 years to actually get around to making that linen button-up of my dreams, but better late than never, I reckon!

Basic details first: This is the Archer button-up from Grainline Studio. Sewn up in a size 0, with all my former modifications (shortening the hem, shortening the sleeves, and also adding a tower placket to the sleeve instead of the bias placket, which I’m sorry but I just don’t like). I’ve made this shirt several times, so if you want more in-depth info from an earlier version – check out this tag! The only former modification that I did NOT make to this version was to sew the side seams at their 1/2″ seam allowance (all my other versions, I used a 5/8″ seam allowance for this, to make the the body a smidge narrower. But for this one, I kept it as-drafted).

Ok, boring shit out of the way – what makes this one so special is the fabric I used! Omg you guys. It’s hard to convey in a photo – even harder with these less than sub-par ones I have going on (and yah, I’ve already started packing for my move at the end of the month. Backgrounds are about to get a lot sadder ’round here haha) – but this particular linen is one of the prettiest solids I’ve ever seen! It looks like a basic chambray from a distance, but once you get closer – it’s really more of a periwinkle blue, with a definite purple sheen to it. I am not a huge fan of purple – and honestly, wasn’t a huge fan of linen until recently (something about getting old idk but god bless I feel like I sweat more than ever now, which is disgusting I know) – but this one is pretty freaking special.

I got my magical linen from South Street Linen, waaay back in 2015 when I was in Portland, ME for my first retreat at A Gathering of Stitches. We took an impromptu class field trip to the shop after we’d been told there was a linen sample sale going on… and DUDES WHAT A SAMPLE SALE. So many amazing pieces of absolutely beautiful linen, priced according to their yardage. You couldn’t get the pieces cut, but it was easily enough to split with someone else (we’re talking bundles of 6-10 yards per piece, so some people split 3 ways and still had tons). I personally got 2 pieces myself – both shared splits – and this is one of them. It’s been so long that I don’t actually remember what I paid, but I’d guess probably $30-$40 for 3 yards. Maybe less, again, I don’t remember!

Again, these pictures do not do this fabric justice – but it is even more beautiful in person. It’s also incredibly soft – not rough at all like some linens can be. It’s a slightly heavier weight, too, which means it’s more opaque and a bit less prone to wrinkling and fraying. I’ve been sitting on this piece of fabric for a very long time, waiting for inspiration to strike, and I’m glad I waited! I like the idea of having a summery button-up shirt (I’m not opposed to wearing my flannels in the summer, but this just looks better, yeah?) that is made of a nice breathable linen, with long sleeves that can protect my skin from the sun and/or insects (seriously, Morgan had one of these in Peru and I was SO JEALOUS of it!)…. or more specifically, air-conditioning, ha!

Construction-wise, this was waaaaay easier than my first linen attempt. I suspect part of that has to do with my now experience sewing this type of pattern- and part because of the fabric itself. Being a heavier linen means it is less shifty and less prone to fraying, which made the entire experience a BREEZE to navigate.

An unexpected perk of this style is how good it looks when it’s unbuttoned to be borderline scandalous. Since I’m not rocking much in the boob department these days, I can totally get away with these things hahahaha.

A few more minor construction notes: the shirt is finished with flat-felled seams, for a neat and durable finish. I did add a tower placket to the sleeve, as mentioned, so it would be easier to roll up (I use the placket pattern piece from the Colette Negroni pattern, but there are other options available). I also added button tabs (nabbed from my copy of B5526) to further aid with rolling up the sleeves (sorry, I didn’t think to take a photo of them rolled up – but you can see a shot here on my Instagram). The topstitching is off-white, and the buttons are just standard off-white shirt buttons, nothing fancy.

I guess that’s all for this make! I have already worn it several times since finishing (hence the wear-wrinkles in my “modeling” photos – but as you can see, it doesn’t wrinkle that much! And there are pressed fresh-off-the-sewing-machine shots on my dressform, if you’re a hater of wrinkles!) and it’s been a nice and cool alternative to my standard cardigan. I like that the purple makes it a little less plain than an ordinary chambray, yet it’s still a really versatile color that can be worn with most of my wardrobe.

Tags: a gathering of stitches, Archer, button-up, completed, Grainline Studio, linen, shirt, south street linen

Comments 35 Comments
Categories completed projects - new

Completed: Navy Ponte Morris Blazer

10 Nov

Continuing on the Navy Train (although not really, bc I actually made this shit ages before I made my Navy Twill Gingers), here is what I guess we can consider the other half to my ~casual navy suit~ – the blazer!

Although, unlike most blazers – this one is made of a ponte knit, which makes it about as comfortable to wear as a knit hoodie. I dunno about y’all, but this is basically a huge score as far as I’m concerned.

The Morris Blazer from Grainline Studio has been out for a while (and yes, I completely acknowledge that my finished blazer looks exactly like the shop sample no regrets), but I initially disregarded it as an option for my wardrobe as I haven’t bothered to wear a blazer since pretty much my very first office job. Even when I was working in office environments up until I switched to a more casual work life a few years ago, I eschewed the (often uncomfortable, often ill-fitting) blazer in favor of simple and much more comfortable cardigans. Actually, I had a really beautiful black wool blazer that I bought on sale at Bebe when I was in high school (lol anyway, but you’d lol even harder if you knew me in high school because my preferred places to shop were generally Hot Topic and the kid’s section of Goodwill hahahahah oh teenagers) that I wore the hell out of, and it was sadly stolen right my desk when I was 19, at the T-Mobile call center I was working at. To whoever stole that thing: fuck you. Also, I hope you couldn’t fit into it. I was really really small back then, like 90 lbs small. My clothes from back then were fucking comical… and also the reason why I learned how to sew in the first place. Alterations! Yay!

ANYWAY MOVING ON.

What eventually caught my attention about the Morris Blazer is that it is a much more casual take on the traditional blazer – obviously you can’t wear this in a corporate environment, but it’s still a step up from that aforementioned hoodie. It is intended to be made using a stretch woven fabric, and the blazer is unlined. I’d seen some people make it out of a ponte knit, which really piqued my interest because I am all about some ponte knit and its secret pajama properties.

I used a navy nylon Ponte de Roma from Mood Fabrics – it’s currently sold out in this colorway, but they have other colorways and it tends to go back in stock pretty frequently, FYI. I have also bought this ponte in the black & wine colors – it is great! Nice and thick, a good heavy stretch in 4 directions, and it remains opaque and holds its shape quite nicely. It washes really well and I haven’t noticed any pilling on any of my pieces. The rayon content makes it feel a bit nicer than the pure poly stuff, but the spandex/nylon additions give it that good recovery so it doesn’t bag out of shape over the course of the day.

I initially was a tiny bit concerned about using this fabric, as the Grainline website really suggests against using knits with a 4 way stretch – this pattern is intended for 2 way stretch wovens, so that the blazer doesn’t stretch and sag downward against the facing. I couldn’t find a good knit fabric that was heavy enough, had the intended stretch amount, *and* came in the color I wanted, however. So I threw caution to the wind and just used this stuff. I’ve been wearing the finished product for about 2 months and I reckon it turned out fine. So, in case you were wondering about 2 way vs 4 way stretch with this pattern!

I made the size 0, which is my usual size for Grainline patterns. I lengthened the sleeves to full-length – bracelet length is pretty, but I’ve decided there is no place in my life for that nonsense (either I’m cold enough to need full sleeves, or don’t want sleeves at all. My sleeve opinions are very black and white haha). I had also originally raised the armholes by about 1″, since I found the armholes in my Lark tee to be about that much too low (if you’re wondering why you don’t remember that post, it’s cos I haven’t written it yet haha), but lowered them back down to the original size when I tried on the blazer without sleeves. I used fusible tricot knit to interface the facings (I did not interface the entire front section, which is suggested in the sew along if you use a 4 way stretch as I did), and sewed most of the construction on my serger, with all topstitching done on my regular machine with a straight stitch.

Overall, I found this pattern really easy to follow. There is some interesting seam wizardry going on to create that shawl collar out of the shoulder seams, but none of it is particularly difficult. I like how the hems are all faced, and I like the topstitching detailing – especially at the bottom hem, which I know some people weren’t a fan of. I like that the knit fabric makes as comfortable as wearing a ratty hoodie, without actually looking like a ratty hoodie. I wasn’t sure if I would like that it didn’t have closures – I am the sort of person who never wears things open; if there are zippers or buttons, they are done up – but it hangs really nicely and I rather like how smooth and streamlined it is. One thing to note is that the facing is not tacked down at the front of the blazer, except at the shoulders and where it is caught in the hem. I read some reviews that people did not like how it flipped out, however, I haven’t found this to be an issue with my blazer.

I have worn this quite a bit over the past couple of months – it’s a nice protection against the freezing a/c blasts Tennesseans love to subject people to, and a pleasant style change from the basic cardigans I usually carry around. I think this pattern combined with the Pinot pants would make an awesome ponte fake suit – you know, kind of dressed up from a distance but TOTAL LEISURE COMFORT in reality haha.

Also, in case you were curious -I also made the rest of my outfit! The jeans are Cone Mills Ginger jeans, and my tshirt is a Renfew made with bamboo knit ♥ that knit is another fabric I buy over and and over again – because it’s awesome! It’s super soft, incredibly stretchy without being sheer, and has an amazing recovery. It’s also super wide, so I can cut a long sleeve shirt out of a single yard of fabric. It tends to go in and out of stock quickly, but it looks like they just restocked the website. FYI!!

Tags: blazer, completed, Grainline Studio, Mood Fabrics, ponte, ponte knit

Comments 28 Comments
Categories completed projects - new

Completed: Silk Chiffon Archer Button-Up

30 Aug

So I guess we are now officially in that time of the year again – when the shops are screaming FAAAAAALLL (Wool caps! Corduroy bottoms! Pumpkin spice everything!) but our temperatures are still firmly stuck in summertime. While I’m not ridiculous enough to pull on my Ugg boots when it’s still 100 degrees outside (LOL JK I don’t own Uggs hahaha) (but seriously, Ugg-watching in 100 degree weather at the ritzy mall is absolutely my favorite pasttime during these months. Bonus points if they are wearing a wool hat, too.), I still want to at least look the part of the changing seasons, which still complying with the temperatures outside. For me, that means colors and silhouettes that give a nod to fall – but sticking to lighter-weight fabrics so I’m not sweating my arse off.

So anyway , with all that being said – here’s another button-up shirt! HAHA

I used the Archer pattern to make a fall-inspired button-up, but with a twist – instead of the traditional plaid flannel (which I lurrve, but again – HOT!), I used a light and breezy wide silk chiffon from Mood Fabrics for the main, and woven silk crepe de chine for the collar, collar stand, button band, pockets, and bias facings. Mood Fabrics carries tons of colors of both of these fabrics, but I went with boring ol’ basic black. In the future, I might go completely insane and try this with a PLAID silk chiffon. Maybe.

If you are feeling some major déjà vu about right now, you are absolutely correct – I totally and completely 100% shamelessly ripped off Kendra’s silk Archer from the Grainline blog. I don’t ever think I’ll look as chic as she does, but that doesn’t stop me from trying! 🙂 I followed Jen’s instructions for making the Archer sleeveless (basically shortening the shoulder drop and adding some contour to the back armhole, nothing crazy here) and shortened the length by about 2″. I sewed a size 0, which is what I normally make for this pattern.

While I have made my share of button-ups in tricky fabrics – silk georgette, silk crepe, crazy plaids, and a rayon challis that has yet-to-be-blogged – I did worry a little that this one was going to be a beast to sew. My last experience with chiffon did NOT go well (you didn’t miss anything – this was several years ago), but I think a big part of the problem was the quality of the material I was using (it was pretty cheap poly chiffon). Using a high-quality fabric makes a big difference in the ease of your sewing when it comes to tricky fabrics like this – you know they’re already on-grain (or it’s easy to straighten the grain if you need to) and the natural fiber content means you can actually press them (which, again, makes a world of difference during construction – especially for a pattern like this). With all that being said – I only used a yard of the chiffon to make this sleeveless version, which at $20.99 per yard isn’t really that expensive. I got a yard of the crepe de chine as well, but only used a fraction of that (I use silk bias on everythingggg so I have tons left over for other projects). Even having been made out of silk, it’s fairly economical! And you definitely cannot get a silk button up shirt for less than $50 in retail, at least not new. Plus, I machine-washed all my fabrics before cutting – so my silk is machine washable now 😉

So anyway, about that sewing! I didn’t do any sort of prep before getting into cutting – in the past, I’ve used fabric stabilizer to stiffen the fabric so I’d have an easier time cutting and sewing (and yes, it does work – see the aforementioned silk georgette button-up post for my full review on that), but I didn’t bother with any of that this time. It certainly would have been easier if I had, but obviously it was doable without 🙂 I did trade out my scissors and use a mat and rotary cutter to cut this, which was tremendously helpful.

Sewing was really easy and straightforward – I used a sharp 70/10 needle, polyester thread, and a lot of high heat from my iron. All seams are enclosed – the yoke and collar cover most of that, but the side seams are French-seamed, and the arm holes are finished with silk bias facing. The hem is just a simple rolled hem (I usually use bias facing there as as well, but I was afraid the crepe de chine would be too heavy for the silk chiffon). I used a super lightweight interfacing (which comes in black!) for all my interfaced areas – it gives some stability without making them weirdly stiff, which is important when you’re dealing with silk chiffon. The buttons are some vintage glass buttons that I’ve had in my stash for ages. The only thing I’m not thrilled about is the pockets – the crepe de chine sags a bit on the chiffon, so they’re not perfectly smooth when I’m wearing it (or when it’s hanging on the wall, for that matter). And also – they are a bit lopsided! Whoops! I hesitate to unpick them because I am afraid it may damage the delicate chiffon, but thankfully no one notices it – even when I point it out. Of course, that may be all you see now 🙂 Sorry 🙂

Oh, and in case you were wondering – I am wearing a black tank top under this, and I did not make the shorts (I WISH I did, though! Because then that would mean that I had found awesome fabric like that!). They are from Express, but the shape is quite similar to the Rite of Spring shorts. The fabric is a nice rayon challis. I pretty much never buy clothes these days, but these were given to me by my boss while she was cleaning out her closet in preparation for her cross-country move (she also gave me a pair of Jimmy Choo’s. Um, I WIN.). Speaking of which, I will be flying up to Rhode Island this week to orchestrate all the unpacking and whatever else you’re supposed to do when one moves cross-country (I’ll be staying here in Nashville and working remotely after that). I’ve never been to RI before so I’m excited to check it out! Wish me luck!

I don’t have much else to say about this pattern that hasn’t already been said to death, so I’ll keep this post reasonably brief. Yay for silk chiffon button-ups! Once we get into full-on winter mode, I think this top will continue to be useful as I can wear it under my cozy sweaters for an extra layer of warmth.

**Note: The fabrics for this project were provided to me by Mood Fabrics, as part of my participation in the Mood Sewing Network.

Tags: Archer, button-up, completed, Grainline Studio, Mood Fabrics, Mood Sewing Network, silk, silk chiffon, silk crepe

Comments 45 Comments
Categories Mood Sewing Network

Completed: 2 More Scout Tees

8 Aug

Apologies in advance for the big Grainline kick I’ve been on lately. Nothing intentional, no ulterior motives – I am just really loving the patterns these days! Brace yourselves for more where this came from (oh ho ho ho wait till you see my backlog of finished projects), but first – some Scout Tees!

I made 2 Scout Tees, both of which I will be sharing in this post because I think splitting it into separate posts is a bit of an overload – especially since I’ve already made and posted about this pattern twice (see: handwoven cotton and birds). What can I say – I love this pattern and it’s been a hardworking staple in my summer wardrobe this year.

First Scout is this one that I made out of a cool (both literally and figuratively) cotton gauze. The best part about this particular project is that the fabric didn’t start out as a yardage – it was actually a scarf! See?:

I don’t know the true origins of the scarf; it was given to me by the one guy in my knitting group (btw, every knitting group should have a Token Dude. It really makes you feel like you made it as a knitting group coordinator haha). He was in the process of helping his mother downsize and move, and thus ended up with a big stack of fabrics that needed to be rehomed – most of which ended up in the trunk of my car. This scarf was part of that loot bag. I originally wanted to keep it as a scarf and just wear it like that, cos I looove those gorgeous gauzy scarves and yes I wear them in the summer don’t you dare judge me, but the fact is I never ever come across fabric in this weight/print and I felt like I needed to take advantage of that surprise yardage. Once I realized that I could squeeze a little woven top out of it, my game plan immediately changed.

Since Scout is intended for wovens, it was a good pattern for this project. It’s also fairly small (at least in the size that I cut, which was a 0), doesn’t have a bunch of pieces, and is narrow enough to fit on this scarf. The scarf was also fairly wide – not quite as wide as true fabric yardage, but wide enough to accommodate the pattern pieces on the fold. I had enough length so that I was able to place the print where I wanted it, as well as match it across the seams. I decided the pattern would look best with the paisley design across the hem (which I made sure to account for the hem allowance while cutting), and the white/blue scattered paisleys at the top and on the sleeves. Having a large cutting surface is ideal for this, as I was able to lay everything out and make sure I had enough fabric to match everything before I started cutting.

Cotton gauze is super lightweight, as well as borderline sheer, so I used French seams throughout for a neat and delicate finish. The hem is 2″ deep, to slightly crop the tee as well as give the bottom some extra weight. The sleeve hems are a simple rolled 1/4″ hem. And I used silk crepe as the neckline bias facing, instead of self-fabric (I don’t even want to think about trying to do a bias facing with this gauze – that shit would have been a nightmare!).

The finished top is definitely a bit see-through if you look very closely, but the busy print helps camouflage things. I also make sure to wear a light or flesh-colored bra underneath (I’m wearing my yellow lace Marlborough in these photos) so there’s not too much of a contrast. The only downside is that the fabric – despite being pre-washed by me, as well as whatever washing it may or may not have gotten in it’s previous life – tends to transfer blue dye on anything it constantly rubs against. Learned this one the hard way after getting home from the flea market last month and discovering that my bra straps were blue, as well as the back side (the part that goes against my body) of my mostly white purse. LAME. Thankfully, most of it washed off with some dish soap and a bit of patient scrubbing. As a side note, if anyone has a good recommendation on how to get a white canvas purse cleaned – yeah, I think I’m gonna need that. I have put that poor Kate Spade through hell and back at this point haha.

All right, second Scout Tee!

Recognize this fabric?! I made a fantastic bird dress out of most of it (which is still one of my favorite things I’ve ever made to date, and I still wear it whenever I need to impress someone), but I had about 1 yard left over that I’ve been hoarding ever since, just waiting for the right project. Silk Scout Tee it is, then! And you can go ahead and laugh that I now have 2 bird print Scout Tees. It’s ok, I just really like birds 😛

As with the gauze Scout, this pattern is really great for letting the fabric take center stage. And same as with the gauze version, it doesn’t require a lot of fabric, so I was able to eek it out of my tiny yardage remains. Notice how completely different the shape is, though, since this georgette has a lot more drape an less body than the gauze. I think both look awesome, but this one is definitely a bit more flattering since it’s not so boxy.

Not much to say about this one that wasn’t already said about the gauze one (and hence why I’m slapping both into one post). It was sewn pretty much the exact same way – French seams, 2″ hem, etc etc. I did use self-fabric as the bias facing for this one, which I’m not entirely happy with how it lays and probably should have used silk or cotton voile instead, but whatever. I just don’t think the georgette behaves as well as a silk crepe would have. Too late now, though, cos I ain’t about to rip it out! It’s fine. IT’S FINE.

I don’t know why I got dressform and flat shots of this one and not the other, but here you go:

I’m trying really hard not to get all weird and hoardy with my favorite fabrics, because they don’t do me a lot of good just sitting on the shelf. I want to make them into things that I love so I can wear them and love them every day! It can be a little stressful when it’s fabric you know you can’t get more of in case you done goof it up (this bird stuff sold out REALLY fast!), but I’m working on trusting myself and my best judgement. Again – it’s not doing me any good sitting on the shelf! Gotta take that shit out and actually give it the use and love that it deserves!

I think I’m done with Scouts for now, but that doesn’t mean I’m over the woven tshirt! Right after I finished cutting these two, Megan Nielsen released her Sudley pattern, and the blouse is giving me all kinds of heart eyes. I’d love to make a version with the back keyhole!

As a side note – hi, welcome to my living room. I think I like these pictures better than the ones in my sewing room (the only good lighting in my sewing room has some wretched boring background action), although the changing light is a bit of a challenge. I dunno. Taking photos indoors in general is a bit of a challenge, to be honest, but it sure beats standing outside with a tripod while all my neighbors snoop on me through their windows haha (which is what I imagine is happening, and more than likely actually not the case at all).

Tags: completed, cotton, Grainline Studio, Mood Fabrics, scout tee, silk, tee, woven

Comments 41 Comments
Categories completed projects - new

Completed: Silk Lakeside PJs

19 Jul

Once you get to the point of having a fully me-made wardrobe (speaking as I write this now in a 100% me-made outfit – including my bra and underwear, HA! I’m not wearing shoes just yet so I can still say that :P), that’s when you start getting to fill in the really fun gaps. For me, that means practical things made out of impractical fabrics. Like silk pajamas. Ooh la la!

I have wanted to make a new set of Lakeside Pajamas for quite a while now, since I really love my original tropical set and have worn them so much they are starting to look pretty beat-up. For the past year, it hasn’t been much of a priority because my basement apartment was WAY too cold to wear something so light and floaty to sleep in (trufax, I wore flannel pjs to bed up until I moved. In June.), but now that I’m ~solo livin’~ and have full control of the a/c (I actually turn it off before I go to bed now, which is the opposite of what most people do BUT WHATEVER I LIVE ALONE AND DO WHAT I WANT), which means light and floaty pjs are totally a go again! I have been wearing the HELL out of those tropical Lakeside PJs and loving them, but like I said, they are starting to look pretty ratty. Also, I wanted to try out this pattern in something that had a softer drape.

I made these over the 4th of July weekend, and part of the reason why I chose silk (other than what I just mentioned) was because I figured the project would keep me occupied for a few days. French seams and silk bias binding are both pretty time-consuming, and I was ready to work on something that would take longer than an afternoon. I dunno what happened – maybe the holiday got me all riled up over my freedom to sew my own clothes – but I definitely finished the entire set in a few hours. I even had time to leave my house and drive out to a party (at my old stompin’ grounds in Kingston Springs, no less) for a few hours, and STILL finish in time to wear these to sleep. To be fair, there are only a few seams on these things – and once you get the hang of the bias binding (which I have sewn so much in my day that now I can practically do it in my sleep), there isn’t really anything time-consuming about sewing them. Of course, they would be even faster in a nice cotton – but SILK. Omg I am so in love.

The silk fabric is a piece that I bought at The Fabric Studio here in Nashville during their closing sale. I snapped up a yard and a half, originally thinking I’d make a button-up shirt with it. It’s a lightweight silk crepe with a little bit of stretch, and absolutely lovely. I was all set to make said shirt with the fabric, until I realized I wasn’t crazy about the shirt pattern I had chosen (obviously no B5526, my spirit pattern :P) and instead decided to enjoy the silk fabric in the form of pajamas. I have no regrets about this whatsoever. I didn’t even realize how nice it is to sleep in fancy PJs until I owned a pair! I feel like I’m floating around the apartment when I wear these.

I think this is my favorite cut for a tank top – floaty and billowy when made in a silk, not cut on the bias (don’t get my wrong – I love bias-cut anything, but it does limit fabric choices as it turns prints on the diagonal *and* can eat up quite a bit of fabric in the process), and with that fun little peek of skin in the back. This top would totally be suitable to wear on it’s own with jeans or shorts, too, which was something I thought about while I was sewing it. That being said, I sleep in this shit pretty much every single night soooo silk-pajama-tank-as-normal-everyday-clothes still hasn’t actually happened yet 🙂

I made the size 0 in both top and bottom (my usual size for Grainline patterns) and the only thing I changed was to shorten the straps as they are a bit long for me (this is pretty typical for spaghetti-straps + me). All the seams – both for the tank and the shorts – are French seams. To sew the binding, I followed the directions in the pattern EXCEPT I reversed the order that you sew from the right side vs the wrong side. I attached the binding to the wrong side first, and then once everything was folded over, I topstitched from the right side. I noticed on my original pair that if you do it in the order that the pattern suggests, it’s hard to get an even line of stitching on the right side – where it shows. By finishing on the right side, I was able to focus on getting my topstitching even and accurate. This was super easy for the top, not as easy for the shorts… but I made it work.

Speaking of change, I also didn’t add any binding to the curved hem of the tank – just the top edge that creates the straps. For the curved hem, I just double turned a 1/4″ seam allowance and topstitched it down. I felt that the hem would lay better without the added bulk and weight of the bias.

The only snafu I hit with modifying the order that I sewed the binding was when it came time to attach it to the side seams of the shorts. I had to improvise to get everything to work out, and while I can’t remember exactly what I did – just pinning things down and looking at them was enough to figure it out. One thing I noticed on my first pair of Lakeside shorts is that the intersection where the front meets the back is a bit weak and has a tendency to fray, so I reinforced the area with a little triangle of stitching. Time will tell if I’ve actually solved that issue or not, haha.

Here is the completed set! I ♥ my silk PJs 😀

2 weeks into wearing, and I can confidently say that sleeping in silk IS THE JAM. Despite being basically the opposite of an elegant person, these sure make me feel classy as fuck 😉 What about you? Are fancy PJs worth the effort or a waste of expensive fabric?

Tags: completed, Grainline Studio, lakeside pajamas, pajamas, pjs, silk, the fabric studio

Comments 50 Comments
Categories completed projects - new

Completed: The Lil’ Bird Scout Tee + A Giveaway!

3 May

I’m not really sure what prompted this, but lately I’ve REALLY been loving these boxy loose shapes on me. Made in a super drapey fabric and cropped just so, I find them really flattering and even more comfortable. It’s funny – the older I get (ya know, this RIPE OLD AGE of 30 lol amirite), the more I find myself comfortable with my body – and the more I’m ok with nto wearing things that are incredibly skintight. Both of those statements seem to contradict each other, but, it is what it is!

The Scout Tee is certainly not a new pattern – not even in my personal arsenal (I made a really fun one last year with some beautiful handwoven fabric, in case you missed it!). But hell, I have loved wearing it! My first version was made with a fabric that made it really boxy, which I liked a lot – but I wanted to see how it would feel in a drapey fabric. Spoiler alert: This is love. This is true love. I already have the next one planned.

This tee is pretty similar to my last one, in terms of construction. I sewed the size 0, and the only modification I made was to deepen the hem to about 2″, which is a good slightly cropped length for me. All the seams are French seams, and the neckline is finished with self bias facing. Overall, this was really fast and easy to put together. Since there are so few pieces – just front, back, sleeve, and that bias piece – it was even quick to cut. Yay!

I love the subtle high-low hem and I think it really benefits from some extra fabric down there to give it more weight. Especially with a fabric this lightweight and floaty!

Anyway, this post is less about the pattern and really about the fabric! What do you think of my AWESOME TROPICAL BIRD PRINTED SILK, huh?! 😀

The fabric is from Contrado, which is a company in the UK that specializes in custom printing – including on fabric! They reached out to me several months ago about trying out some fabric design, and I’ve finally had a chance to make that happen! It was the designing part that tripped me up and slowed me down so much – I’m not much of a designer, and most of my “art” involves direct copies. Tell me that I can design literally any print that I want, and watch the fear fill my eyes haha.

It seriously took me a couple of months to even think of what kind of design to do, but I had seen a few tropical bird prints floating around on RTW stuff and I immediately knew that’s the direction I wanted to take it. I googled around for some images that I liked and played around with them in my image editing software (it’s not anything fancy like Photoshop, just so we’re clear here haha. You could probably use pickmonkey.com to do your edits) until the design looked right. Then it was a matter of uploading the file to the website, making a few more minor tweaks – and that’s it! It was actually really really easy. The hard part is definitely choosing the design.

Narrowing down a fabric choice was also difficult! Contrado offers a massive array of fabric choices – over 75, in fact. From basics (such as cottons, polys, and knits) to fancier stuff (like cashmere !!!). They sent me a swatch pack so I could see all the printed samples, which made things both easier and harder 🙂

The fabric I chose to print on is a beautiful silk satin. It practically drapes like a liquid and it feels really incredible against the skin. I was initially a little worried about it being SO shiny – I generally use the “wrong” side of my silks, as I don’t like really shiny stuff. But since this fabric was printed, the wrong side looked.. well, wrong. I think the nature of this design works with a shiny fabric, although now I am wondering how practical it is to make a summery sleeved top out of white silk… I sweat a lot! Ha! Well I guess I can always yank the sleeves off if it comes down to it 😉

I will admit that this was not the easiest fabric to work with – the silk is quite slippery on the satin side, and there’s not much of a “grab” to the wrong side either (by “grab,” I mean like what you’d feel with a silk crepe). I chose a very simple pattern for this reason, which definitely worked in my favor. I didn’t do any sort of prepping before cutting – no stabilizers or using a rotary cutter or anything like that – and while cutting took a bit longer than it normally does, it wasn’t too terrible. I think when it comes to dealing with silks and other slippery fabrics, cutting is the worst part. Once you get past that point (assuming you cut everything correctly and on-grain), actually sewing the pieces together is relatively painless.

I actually took these photos after wearing and washing the shirt, and you can see how well the colors have held up (as well as the back wrinkles – sorry about that!). Speaking of washing, I get this question ALL the time, so it bears repeating – I wash all my silk on cold in the washing machine, and hang it to dry (it’s safe in the drier as I pre-wash and use the drier, but I hate ironing so hanging to dry is the way to go!). As long as you pre-wash your silk before cutting into it, it’s safe to wash it in the machine!

One last thing – in case you were curious 🙂

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.

Time to talk giveaway! The folks at Contrado are offering a whopping £100 voucher to use on their site, to print whateverrrrr your desires on your dream yardage! Further, this giveaway is open WORLDWIDE, so you don’t need to be a UK resident to enter! (My US folks – as of today’s currency exchange rates, that comes out to approximately $146.29, fyi!)

~~To enter the giveaway:~~
~~1. You need to LIKE the Contrado Facebook page. Show them your love and support!~~
~~2. Comment on this post and tell me what you’d design, and what you’d make out of said fabric.~~

As I said, this giveaway is open WORLDWIDE and the winner will be chosen by a random number generator. I will close the comments one week from today, on TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2016 8AM CST.

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.