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Completed: McCall’s 6952, Peru-Style!

I’m so happy that I finally got to use this fabric!

This piece of lovely came aaaall the way from Peru, when I was there for 2 weeks last year. Coming into the country with only a backpack meant I had to be really careful about what I bought and brought home (I did end up buying a small bag to carry some stuff back. And I wore my new alpaca blanket like a cape for the flight home. NO REGRETS), including fabric. Not that there were a lot of places to buy fabric in Peru, at least not what I came across. Gamarra is a big garment district that did come up in my searches, but everyone I spoke to said it would be really dangerous for me to go. Our host in Lima took me to a small strip of fabric stores during our last few days there – sorry, I’m not sure where it was exactly or what the stores were called! Anyway, I knew I could really only justify buying one piece, and this one definitely jumped out at me.

Even just buying the fabric was an adventure. The store we went into didn’t have any people working who spoke English, and my Spanish is mostly limited to being able to say hello and ask where the bathroom is 🙂 (and our host didn’t speak English either! She was seriously a trooper and treated us to such a nice time, even with the language barrier) I eventually was able to ask for, find, and buy 1.5m of this fabric. It’s a double georgette, some sort of silk blend (definitely with some acrylic, based on my burn test). I thought the print was really pretty and certainly have never seen anything like it at the stores here in America! Plus, it reminds me of all the beautiful tiles I saw while walking around Iquitos. It’s a lovely piece of fabric and a perfect reminder of my time in Peru. With all that at stake, though, it did take me over a year to figure out what to sew it into 🙂 Especially since I had such a small piece!

I have enjoyed wearing my green silk version of McCall’s 6952, so I decided to use that pattern again for this dress! This time, I made the version with the plain neckline and back cutout, to mimic the geometric pattern on the fabric. I used blue silk crepe from my stash to do the back contrast (the same fabric I used to make this dress, actually); it’s not a perfect match but it’s close enough!

Cutting the pattern pieces was a BEAST. After I’d already had my heart set on using *this* pattern with *this* fabric, and after I’d already cut a couple of pieces… I realized there was a very strong line in the print that would need to be matched. Since the pattern has Princess seams – both front and back – that meant a lot of pattern Tetris to get everything to line up. I ended up cutting everything on the single layer, which is a really good way to squeeze out every last drop of your yardage. Even with that, I still couldn’t get all the lines to match up across every seam – specifically, when it came to the side seams, decisions had to be made. I figured the princess seams were more important than the side seams, so I let those go a little haywire. Honestly, I doubt anyone would even notice that the print doesn’t match across the side seams – but I wanted to do it right, even if I’m the only person who sees it. That’s why I sew. I like the challenge, even if it makes my eyes cross and gives me a reason to drink at the end of the night 🙂

Speaking of challenges, the construction of this dress had it’s fair share of those, too! Since I already went the extra mile with the cutting and print-matching, I continued that trend and gave the inside of the dress the respect it deserved. Lots of French seams all over the inside of this garment, which are both strong and beautiful. Since the fabric had a fairly high synthetic content, it was a little difficult to press – I just used high heat (my iron has a silicone shoe, which acts as a press cloth and prevents scorching on stuff liek this) and then held everything down with my clapper while it cooled, which gave me a nice sharp press. Instead of using the facing pieces to finish the arm holes and neckline, I used bias facing that I made with the silk crepe, which I just find to be a more refined finish (plus, I wasn’t sure how to finish that facing edge without there being a lump across my chest – the fabric frays too much to use pinking shears, and a serged or turned under edge would be too bulky for this lightweight fabric).

I wasn’t sure how the back cutout was gonna work – I didn’t do a muslin (unless you count that green silk version – but it had a plain back, so it was only a half-assed muslin ya know), so things were pretty up in the air as far as whether this would work out or if it would be a gaping mess in the back. (My tip is to always have a Plan B should things not work out – in my case, uhhh, this would make a fabulous skirt! haha!) It actually turned out pretty nice, though, so I’m happy about that! The back piece is interfaced to give it some strength and smoothness, and also faced so the inside is clean and pretty. I think random cutouts are starting to not be trendy anymore, but I don’t care. I think it’s fun. LOOK AT MY BACK U GUYS.

The other change I made was the elastic at the waist. The pattern calls for 1/4″ elastic, applied in a casing. I like the 1/4″ elastic ok, but it doesn’t allow for a belt to sit very well over it (and I am not a huge fan of how narrow elastic waists look, at least on me). I used a 3/4″ elastic on this dress instead, which meant I had to widen the casing that it goes in (not a problem; it’s just bias strips. Which, again, I made myself – out of that blue silk crepe), but that’s about it. I also topstitched right through the middle of the elastic, which keeps it from twisting around and also just looks cool. I am thinking the waistline could be a hair lower, but this is good enough. I ain’t ripping that shit out!

Anyway, that’s all for this little dress! It’s pretty casual, which I love, and the pattern is simple enough that all the focus is really on that awesome fabric (until you see the back cutout and then it’s extra awesome!). I try not to hoard my special fabrics any longer than it takes to decide on a project for them, simply because them sitting on the shelf doesn’t exactly give me a lot of joy. There is, however, joy in wearing said fabric. Every time I wear this dress, I think about those awesome 2 weeks I had in Peru.

Tags: completed, dress, geometric, georgette, mccall, McCall's 6952, peru, silk

Comments 36 Comments
Categories completed projects - new

Completed: McCall’s 6952

27 Jul

I think this summer will forever be known as the Summer of the Silk Sundress, well, for me, anyway. That seems to be all I want to sew/wear – not that I’m complaining!

So, here’s my newest addition to the closet – McCall’s 6952. I think this pattern is actually from last year, but I only just discovered it this year. As far as dress patterns go, it’s pretty basic – wide shoulder straps (aka BRA FRIENDLY STRAPS), princess seams, and an elastic waist. The dress doesn’t even require a zipper; you can just slip it over your head. And I don’t know what is with me and elastic waists lately, but it’s basically all I want to wear these days. I’m not pregnant or anything. I’m just constantly in search of comfort haha.

Simple is good, though, if you want a nice plain backdrop for showing off amazing fabrics. Or not even cool printed amazing fabrics – sometimes a luxe silk in an incredible color is amazing enough, you know?

The silk I used here is another fabric gift that I’ve been too terrified to actually use. Sunni sent it to me last year in a big grab box of fabrics – any of y’all who lurk her blog or perused her store (which I’m really bummed to hear about it’s closing!) know that woman has got some taste when it comes to fabric. I believe this silk crepe was actually dyed by her, even. Of course. And she sent me like 4 yards (or something generous like that) and here I’ve been too skeered to actually use it.

This pattern seemed like a good place to start. The dress isn’t super close-fitting, so I didn’t have to worry about fitting issues (other than the length of the straps, which were surprisingly almost perfect for me). I originally noticed the pattern because I really like view A – with the plain front and cut-out back – but I decided to make view B for this dress – with the cool little ruffled boobie flounce. My boobs need all the help they can get, y’all.

Construction-wise, I didn’t follow the instructions at all. The instructions have you line the dress, but I like wearing as few layers as possible when it comes to summer heat. So I just finished the neckline and arm holes with self bias binding (jeez, I sound like a broken record. I should rename this The Summer of Self Bias Binding haha). All hems are rolled by machine, and the inside is entirely finished with French seams. The elastic casing is a strip of bias binding, with the elastic threaded through.

And I totally prewashed/dried this silk in the machine so this is some shit that will never see the dry-cleaners. Machine washed silk FTW!

Fit-wise, I only needed a couple very minor adjustments (minor enough where I was able to fit them as I sewed). The shoulders were almost perfect, but I did raise them by about 1/4″. I also ended up taking about 2″ off the hem, as I think the shorter length is a bit more flattering on me.

I am thinking this will be a good pattern match for the cool fabric that I bought in Peru. The plain version with the cut-out back, I mean. Right?? I better do it before I change my damn mind again haha.

Tags: a fashionable stitch, boobie flounce, completed, dress, mccall, McCall's 6952, silk, silk crepe, summer of the silk sundress, sundress, sunni

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Categories completed projects - new

Completed: McCall’s 7119

22 Jul

Allow me to introduce you to my ridiculous summer sundress for 2015.

I guess it’s not really that ridiculous, but it feels a little over-the-top (for me, that’s a good thing haha). This is totally the time of year for getting away with this sort of loud dressing, but I haven’t really taken advantage of it until now!

I used McCall’s 7119 to make this, which was originally sent to me by the McCall Pattern Company (contrary to popular belief, I usually buy my Big 4 patterns because I live in the mystical land of $1 Joann sales, but I’ll take free, too haha). I really love the photo on the envelope and was dying to make my own. I was not, however, dying to plunk down $$ for the 3 yards of fabric necessary to make this sucker up. Damn wrap dresses and long maxi-lengths! As if!

Anyway, I noticed that this blue cotton poplin paisley went on massive sale at Mood Fabrics for all of $4.99 a yard, and I realized that it was perfect – both in weight and cost – for the dress I was wanting to make. I’ve never been a huge fan of paisley – I’ve made a couple garments in the past with beautiful pieces of paisley fabric, yes (and I have a couple more pieces in my stash as of this writing), but for the most part, I’ve always considered it to be kind of an ugly print. Mostly because it reminds me of the horrible ties that my dad used to work to work in the early 90s haha. Sorry, dad! This paisley, though, is definitely much prettier (or that could be the $5 price tag talking to me, I dunno!). I think it’s due to the monochromatic color scheme, which tones down the tack and lets you focus on the pretty design. Or, again, could be that $5 price tag. Whatever.

Despite this fabric being inexpensive, it’s not cheap. It has a really nice hand and drape, the colors are beautiful and saturated, and it’s opaque enough to not warrant a lining. The right and wrong side are almost identical, which is good for this sort of dress – as you can see the wrong side through the back hem dip. The fabric cut & sewed like a dream, and it is fairly good at resisting wrinkling (see: these photos after a day of wearing). It also feels reeeeeal nice in this heat, a bonus!

The pattern was easy enough to make up – I finished it over a long marathon sewing weekend. I started with a size 6 at the bust and an 8 at the waist/hip, based on the finished measurements. I did make a quick little muslin mock-up of just the bodice, to see how the fit was before I cut into my fabric. The bodice fit well enough, except that the center front gaped like crazy! Surprisingly, the easiest fix was also the most efficient fix – I raised the shoulders by 3/8″, and then took 1/4″ off the side seams starting at the underarm and tapering into the existing seamline below the bust dart. I do think the bust darts are a little high – I should have lowered them after raising the shoulders – but the fit is pretty nice as-is, and the print is busy enough to where you can’t see it. Also, I don’t know what the horizontal fold/wrinkle is doing over my boob. I think it’s from how I’m standing, because it’s normally not there. Except, of course, in these pictures, and it’s making my eye twitch. Argh!

The last fitting alteration I made was right at the end – where I took off a massive amount of skirt length. I don’t even know how much, because I kept chopping and chopping. I started with about 4″ off the pattern tissue itself – because the measurements on the back showed that the back dip would drag the floor on me (I’m 5’2″, so, yeah). Upon finishing the dress – well, apart from the hem and closing up the facings – I realized it was still waaaay too long and the whole thing – print+style combo – was totally overwhelming on me. I just kept cutting that hem, and curving into the front wrap (definitely don’t cut too much off the front wrap or you’ll end up with something very indecent!) until the length looked good.

To sew this up, I used a brand new 70/10 Microtex needle and navy thread. The seams are all French seams – except where the hole is in the side seam (to feed the waist tie through), that one is just turned under and topstitched. I finished the neckline facing with tiny little invisible hand stitches, and the bottom hem is machine rolled. I think that’s it? Pretty straightforward pattern if you ask me!

I don’t know what possessed me to drag the dressform outside for these photos. I mean, they look really nice, but holy hell that thing is heavy! Never doing that again lolol

Here’s the inside – look where my fingers are pointing, you can see the hole for the waist tie. There is also a tiny snap right at the bust where the wrap crosses over, to prevent any northern wardrobe malfunctions. Due to the wrap, a big gust of wind will definitely show some leg at the skirt. I’m ok with this, though. Legggsssssss. Also, see how similar the right and wrong side look? Because of my finishing, it’s actually hard to tell when the dress is inside-out! I have to look for the French seams 🙂 haha!

Overall, I enjoyed working with this pattern and I’m definitely not opposed to making it up again – although probably a different view, because this particular one is a little fancy for my daily use. I’d like to try the shorter, mullet-less skirt with some contrast on the facings. Maybe in a silk? Fancy without really being fancy, yeah?

Note: Every month, Mood Fabrics gives me an allowance to purchase fabric with, in exchange for writing a post on the Mood Sewing Network. This fabric was purchased with that allowance. The pattern was also given to me by the McCall Pattern Company. I like to think it’s because they love me, because I am forever an optimist 🙂

Tags: completed, dress, mccall, McCall Pattern Company, McCall's 7119, Mood Fabrics, Mood Sewing Network, paisley, wrap dress

Comments 66 Comments
Categories completed projects - new, Mood Sewing Network

How to Create & Apply Fringe To Your Me-Made Clothes (With Workroom Social & McCall’s)

13 May

Hey everyone! Lil’ something different up in the blog today (aka no pictures of my mug – go ahead, breathe a sigh of relief! Especially after I forced y’all to stare at a bikini-clad me the other day hahaha). Instead of a finished object, let’s have some inspiration. Specifically, FRINGESPERATION.

You’ve probably seen these videos floating around on various blogs over the past month. Jennifer of Workroom Social has teamed up with McCall’s to provide some amazing and fun videos on customizing your me-made clothes (seriously, I have a short enough attention span that I can’t even be bothered to watch a 5 minute video but I loooove these!). These videos are intended to get you thinking outside the ~~box~~ er, pattern envelope, to inject some fun and flavor into an otherwise simple pattern. This is something I’ve noticed a lot of us have trouble looking past – dowdy art and/or photography on the pattern envelope can cause us to overlook what could be an awesome outfit. Jennifer has made these funny & informative videos to get those gears turning & creative juices flowing so you can start designing a wardrobe that reflects your personal style and not that of the artist who designed the envelope art.

I was asked if I’d like to debut the video for How To Create & Apply Fringe to Your Me-Made Clothes, and I’m SO excited to share this with y’all! The video features two McCall patterns and includes instructions for making your own fringe and how to apply it. The patterns you see here are M6359 (the white tank top with the pink & purple superhero fringe) and M6551 (the navy & white striped sack dress with a fringed bottom). I have seen these pieces in person when I was visiting Jennifer back in March for the Pants Making Intensive – hell, I saw all the pieces because I’m fancy like that – and that superhero fringe is just the best. I kind of wanted to steal it, but I’d also like to be invited back into Jen’s house soooo I did not 🙂

Now, I don’t think it was a coincidence that the fringe video ended up getting paired with me. Y’all know I’ve got some strong Southern roots, and I hope you know that those roots include a love for western gear & classic country music (if you mention ANYTHING that came out after 1980, I will smack you, just so we’re clear. Ha! No Brad Paisley or whatever the hell they’re trying to pass off as country these days). I’ve got some western shirts, I’ve got the cowboy boots, and I even have a Stetson (look, if you’re gonna whoop it up in the Honky Tonks on Lower Broadway, you might as well embrace the tourist culture and dress the part amirite) – but I’ve been lacking in the fringe department, which is kind of unacceptable! Who else to glean some serious fringe inspiration from other than Our Lady of The Fringe, Miss Patsy Cline:

Patsy’s such a BAMF, she can even rock the shoulder fringe and still look like a total BABE:

Of course, Etsy is a great resource for fringesperation as well. There’s the classic fringed Western shirt with subtle embroidery:

Want something a little more eye-catching? Try a contrast fringe & embroidery to really make it pop:

Or maybe add some horses (Devon, this shit has your name written ALL OVER IT):

Or up the luxe factor with a fringed suit jacket (!!!):

Even vintage patterns were all about the Western fringed flair! McCall 2137 is a pattern that I actually own – clearly I haven’t gotten around to making it (honestly, the endless possible color combinations stump me!), but it hangs framed in my sewing room so I can stare at these sassy ladies as much as possible:

Ok SO, that’s all good and fun for Western fringesperation, but how about all the people who DON’T want to look like a Nashville tourist (I feel you, I really do)? Lucky you, fringe is apparently super ~in fashion~ right now, so there are plenty of way to inject a little swishy swishy in your every day clothes without looking like you are about to hop on the stage at the Grand Ol’ Opry. Check out this super fun, swishy skirt from Giambattista Valli Spring 2015:

This delightful ’20s inspired mini from Free People:

Or how about some fringed swimwear?:

And speaking of modern fringe that does come out of Nashville, nobody does it better than my homegirl Amanda Valentine:

Of course, no outfit would be complete without a blatant display of pure patriotism:

And then, there’s always our resident beloved maker of crazy clothes in crazier colors & prints, Oonaballoona, whose love for the swishy // swishy should never ever be questioned.

What do you think? Does this fringesperation make you want a little bit of swish for your own wardrobe, or does it make you recoil back in horror? How cute is Jennifer in this video series? (I can personally vouch that she’s exactly that dazzling in real life, too!) Do you feel inspired to try out some of these techniques on your next project? Make sure you check out the whole series – all the videos are so awesome and inspiring!

Adding Luxe to Your Handmade Fashions with Leather at Workroom Social

Adding Bias Tape to Create Design Interest at Closet Case Files

Creative Ways to Use Sheer Fabrics at Madalynne

Custom Quilting for Fashion Sewing at True Bias

How to Sew Stripes to Create Striking Fashions at Sew DIY (debuting next week!)

Tags: fringe, fringesperation, inspiration, mccall, patsy cline, western shirt, western wear, workroom social

Comments 24 Comments
Categories misc

NYC Part 3: Pants-Making at WORKROOM SOCIAL

12 Sep

Final NYC post! I’m so sorry to have spread these out so much – and sorry to keep y’all waiting for the final round-up (I know, you were just hanging off the edge of your seat in PURE ANTICIPATION amirite). I was waiting on some photos from Jennifer (the resident memory maker, sewing expert, and brains behind WORKROOM SOCIAL)- which, trust me, these are way better than anything my pathetic Instagram account could have coughed up 😉

Anyway – Pants-making at WORKROOM SOCIAL! Wheeee!!

An intensive at WORKROOM SOCIAL means that you’re there for the full weekend – two 8 hour days, with a break for lunch (catered by local Brooklyn eateries!) and a low-key cocktail hour at the end of each day. It might sound intense to spend that long in a sewing class, but really – that sounds like a normal weekend for me 😉 The main difference being that, instead of a solo-sewing binge, this one involved some pretty fabulous company and about 16 hours straight of giggling.

Classes start with fitting – all the sizes for the pattern are pre-made into muslins, so students can go straight into fitting without having to sew up a muslin first. This is one of the most brilliant things about WORKROOM SOCIAL, I think – it cuts down on a lot of prep time, so you can get straight into the good stuff! Of course, sewing pants means that there is a lot of crotch-grabbing going on. I’m so glad that we were all comfortable with one another from the get-go, bc I totally had my hands up in everyone’s business within the first hour of class.

See? We giggled about crotches a lot. Crotches are funny!

Another big benefit to sewing classes at WORKROOM SOCIAL is that the use of all tools and machines is included in the class fee, so you don’t have to lug your machine into class if you don’t want to. The machines on site are the snazzy SINGER Quantum Stylist Touch 9985 (I never thought I’d say that, but forreal, SINGER is seriously stepping up their game these days) that even clip threads for you. A couple of the students did opt to bring in their machines – which is also fine, since it’s nice to work on something that you are comfortable using! – one of which was this sexy, sexy model. Jenny perfectly captured my sultry feelings toward Kim’s machine (Photo by Jenny).

Once we got past the fitting and initial pattern adjustments, it was time to start making pants! We skipped the second muslin, and had students make changes directly to their pattern pieces and then cut their fashion fabric. While I would normally urge y’all to continue making muslins until the fit has been tweaked to perfection (since one fitting change can completely affect the way the garment looks, which may result in needing additional fitting), the WORKROOM SOCIAL Pants-making Intensive focuses on the sewing and construction techniques that a student needs to know to feel confident to tackle that second pair at home and have them turn out extra awesome.

We used McCall 6901 as the base pattern, with a few additional modifications (namely, adding pocket facings and a proper front-fly zipper – as the original pattern is only for a mock-fly). This pattern is designed for both straight and plus sizes (ranging from 8 to 24W), so it was perfect for the group of students in class, as we had a great variety of sizes and shapes. Almost everyone ended up shortening the crotch length (for whatever reason, it’s super long in this pattern!), as well as modified the legs to be less tapered. Jennifer showed us all a really cool way to sew the waistband – something I’d never seen before and am now DYING to try!

Oh, and everyone’s pants turned out great!

Jen & I at the end of day 2 – Jen is modeling her finished pants, which looked AMAZING on her! Seriously felt like a creeper because I couldn’t stop staring at how good they looked, haha! (Photo by Jen).

Jenny & I – we are not modeling pants, but we are modeling how much we love each other (Photo by Jenny).

One really interesting thing about Jenny’s fitting process – turns out her and I have the same crotch shape, the J-Cro (which is why we are now Crotch Buddies, and everyone should be ok with that). You’d never guess by just looking at us, because our bodies are otherwise completely different – but it just goes to show that a pattern not working for one person does not mean that it won’t work for you. Even if the person in question wears the same size as you – you might have different crotch shapes!

Also, it delights me that we are both J crotches because helloooooo my first name is Jennifer (and just in case you were keeping track – yes, we had 4 Jennifers in that class. Haha!)

Anyway, I had a blast teaching the WORKROOM SOCIAL Pants-making Intensive – Jennifer has managed to create a gorgeous, welcoming (and inspiring!) environment, down to the coffee bar and Parisian music. I loved that the class included the pre-made muslins, the use of tools and machines, the pattern itself, and even little goody bags for each student to take home 🙂 Speaking of which – my students were obviously the best part! I’m so excited about the new friendships I made, and it was so much fun getting to know everyone (as well as their crotches :P) throughout the course of the weekend. Meeting other awesome sewing-obsessed ladies is the best part of teaching!

Jennifer and I worked so well together, and the class was such a hit – we are thinking about having another go in 2015! What do you think? Would you take a 2-day sewing intensive – pants-making or not? (Ooh, apparently there’s one seat left in WORKROOM SOCIAL’s October Dressmaking Intensive omg someone take that spot asap) Have you ever taken something like this before? I’ve never taken a sewing class (and only taught a couple before this experience!), so I had NO idea what to expect! Let’s just say it was even better than I had been anticipating 🙂

(All photos taken by Jennifer, except where otherwise noted!)

Tags: class, hot damn this is my jam, mccall, mccall 6901, NYC, pants, pants making intensive, teaching, trousers, workroom social

Comments 58 Comments
Categories misc, Uncategorized

Completed: McCall’s 6901

10 Sep

Told y’all I had another pair of polka dot pants just waiting to be photographed 😛

These bad boys are McCall’s 6901, a Palmer/Pletsch fitting pattern. If you’re thinking that these look exactly like most other pairs of trousers I’ve made, you would be right. Honestly, this pattern would have remained completely off my radar had I not needed to make a sample for the ants class that I taught at Workroom Social last month. Ya can’t really teach a class if you haven’t made the pattern up – I mean, I guess you can, but I’d personally want to make sure I understood any fitting kinks and weird pattern directions before unleashing it on my students! – so I made myself a sample to see what I was getting myself into.

For a first-time trouser pattern, these aren’t too bad. They have front and back darts, front slash pockets, and a straight waistband. They also have a mock fly, which I absolutely don’t understand – basically just some weird flap extensions on the front of the trouser that get folded back for the zipper. I did it, it looks like a fly from the outside, and that’s that – but I don’t really understand why you’d sew a mock fly instead of a real fly? Whatever. (Our class pattern was modified by Jennifer to include a real fly, with a shield and facing, just in case you were wondering!).

The fitting was a little… I don’t want to say tricky, but let’s just say that the muslin of these pants looks NOTHING like the envelope art. Obviously those models were fitted specifically for those photos, and they look fabulous. The actual pattern itself involved quite a bit of work to get a similar look – and you’ll see that mine are still pretty different, because I ended up fitting the pants to suit MY liking and not the pattern cover (such as lowering the rise, and keeping the legs relatively straight and relaxed). I don’t know what it is about Palmer/Pletsch patterns, but they tend to be drafted to fit very loose, despite the cover art being quite the opposite. They also include 1″ seam allowances at most of the side seams, which I kind of hate (maybe I’m just butthurt because I always end up cutting out sooo much of the side seams, thanks to the ease situation)

I cut a size 8 to start. I lowered the front crotch rise by 2″ – which is a LOT, even for me. Actually, most everyone in class ended up taking out quite a bit of crotch rise as well, which leads me to believe that this pattern must just have an excess up there. I never actually figured out where the waistband was supposed to end up sitting – the cover art looks like she’s got it at her natural waist, but most trousers tend to look better on me when they’re about belly button. In the end, I figured – I was gonna be the one wearing the pants, so they might as well fit the way I like – and I made the rise hit at belly button and called it a day. I also added about 1/2″ of extra length to the back crotch, as the butt was a little tight. I could probably stand to add a little more, because it still looks a little tight, but whatever. I also narrowed out the legs quite a bit, and changed them so they were more straight and less tapered. I don’t have a specific measurement for that; I just tried them on inside and pinned and based until I got a good width.

Here’s my shirt pulled up so you can see where the waistband actually hits. It’s still a little high, but not as bad as it was before – the pattern is supposed to sewn with a 9″ zipper! Woof!

For a first stab at a new pattern, I think these turned out quite wearable. They’re obviously not perfect – for me, I’ve found I need at least a couple tries before I start making good progress – but, like I said, they’re wearable, and that’s all that really matters. Next time round, I may scoop out the front crotch to more of a J shape, because they are a little poochy. I also evidently need to shorten the crotch length a little more, because I’m still getting those wrinkles that indicate it’s too long.

Landon also informed me this morning that the legs were too wide and would be much more flattering if I tapered them. Argh! I actually like the wider look, but now he has me second-guessing myself. What do you think? Unpick the hem and fit the legs more? Leave as is?

(Note to self: Don’t wear black socks with these pants again. Eep!)

So how ’bout this fabric, amirite? This is a Marc Jacobs cotton blend from Mood Fabrics, that I bought while I was in NY in March. If it looks familiar, it’s because I used the navy colorway to make my Miette wrap skirt and also my Rite of Spring shorts. I love this fabric – I love the texture and I love the way it feels, and it just gets softer with wear. I was so excited to see the brown colorway, so I snapped it up with no real use in mind. Pants will work!

There’s that mock fly that I don’t understand. Whyyy.

But hey, look – fun pocket lining! 😀

The construction (and fitting, to some extent) on these trousers was very straight forward, and I think they are quite suitable for first-time attempts. Just be careful to watch that crotch length and don’t be afraid to pin out a giant wedge if necessary. Like I said, I took 2″ out of the front and I STILL have a little excess that could stand to be removed. But all in all, I think they turned out pretty cute – or is that because polka dots make everything cuter? 🙂

Three more things!
1. Planning for my London trip is now in full swing! I’m trying to work out a meet-up (if anyone wants to help me plan this shit, holler! I have not been in London since the late 90s and I have NO idea what I’m doing hahaha), but it’ll likely be Saturday 22 Nov. If you’d like to join in on the fun, shoot me an email and I’ll keep you in the loop as things progress.
2. Speaking of Europe – Clare and I decided to take advantage of the fact that Paris is a cheap train ride away, so obviously we are going! We’ll be arriving the morning of the 27th (funny, that’s Thanksgiving Day in the US. Sorry, mom! I bet you’d rather I go to Paris anyway :P), stay overnight, and I’ll be back the evening of the 28th. We will be have a meet-up – Paris Edition – on Thursday 27 Nov, so again – email me if you want to join :)!
3. For the rest of y’all who are not in London or Paris – how bout some patterns, yeah? Indie Stitches is currently running a sale on all digital PDF patterns, woohoo! Use the code DIGITALLOVE to get 10% off all PDF patterns. Code is good through 9/14/14 at midnight! I don’t know about you, but I’m eyeballing that Darling Ranges Dress and those Virginia Leggins extra hard right now…

Tags: completed, fitting, indie stitches, LONDON, marc jacobs, mccall, mccall 6901, meet-ups, Mood Fabrics, palmer pletsch, pants, PARIS, patterns, polka dots, travel, trousers, workroom social

Comments 51 Comments
Categories completed projects - new

Another Weekend in NYC!

22 Aug

Hey everyone! Sorry I went into dead radio-silence for a minute there – as most of you know, I spent the last long weekend in NYC, and I got home to Nashville on Monday. I’ve been running around like crazy trying to catch up since then – all the work-related things I put off while I was gone, prepping for a court date that was set for yesterday, and my video shoot for The Sewing Party is early next week! Oh, and I agreed to housesit this week, too, which means I’m not even home right now! I’ve been replying intermittently to emails and comments as I can, and this is the first chance I’ve had to actually sit down and type up at blog post. Whew! Now I understand how people fall off the blog wagon – it’s hard to get back when you’ve been off it, even for a week.

Don’t worry, though – I’m not going anywhere. I enjoy this space waaay too much 😉

So, anyway! NYC! Today, I just want to give a lil’ recap of what happened over the weekend… I’ll be going over a couple things in more detail in future posts next week (I knowwww, I didn’t want to drag this out into multiple posts, but otherwise we would have had something that was the length of a small novel! Anyway, it’s my blog, I do what I want :P). I also don’t have very many photos that I actually took myself, because as we all know at this point – I don’t ever take photos. Too busy having fun, that’s my excuse!

So, anyway! I started out my weekend on Thursday morning in the gorgeous studio space that is Workroom Social. If you’ve ever lurked Jennifer’s blog or Instagram, you know the space is obviously beautiful… but I can’t even put into words how great it was to see in person! It’s very well set up, with a big cutting table in the center and machines surrounding it against the walls. There are shelves, stacked with boxes full of notions and supplies, and the pressing stations are that they aren’t in the way of the cutting or sewing machines. Everything is beautiful and filled with sunlight, and there is some legit Parisian sewing studio music playing in the background. Guys, I love my sewing room – but I’m INSANELY jealous of this one! Good thing I got to hang out there for a weekend, yeah?

Anyway, Jennifer and I went over the upcoming class – she’d made a couple changes to the pattern we were using (simple stuff, like adding a pocket facing), I showed her my sample I made up at home, etc etc. We had a couple of hours to kill before dinner, so we decided to kill the time by going to… Ikea! Hahaha!! Don’t laugh at me; I live in Nashville and the closest Ikea is 4 hours away in Atlanta. I am not exaggerating when I say you can sell used/broken Ikea furniture here for close to the same price as what it costs new (I know this because I’ve done it… I set the price high to get some haggling going and NO ONE HAGGLED WITH ME. Well, ok then!). People in Nashville think Ikea is special (well, I do too, but I wouldn’t pay $80 for a broken Expedit I’m just sayin’). Jennifer indulged me – she needed to pick up a couple things for class – and we even went through all the little fake rooms and apartments. Ha! I bought some boxes, but not much else because I wanted to keep my suitcase empty for fabric.

Afterward, Jennifer took me to see the Statue of Liberty, from a Brooklyn perspective. Can you believe that this is the first time I’ve seen this thing in person? Also never been to the Empire State Building, Central Park (kind of sad about that one!) or.. I dunno, touristy things. I love doing them, don’t get me wrong (I am SO not anti-tourist – in my own town or someone else’s!), but I never have time! Womp womp. So at least I got to see the Statue of Liberty from afar. Isn’t she so gorgeous and… tiny? Ha!

Friday morning, I managed to make it downtown with the help of Carolina (who also agreed to meet up with me way early in Brooklyn for coffee and breakfast – yay!), without which I might otherwise still be wandering around NYC, lost and confused (I’m sorry, I just cannot understand the subway system. The lack of good public transportation in my own city is mostly to blame for that). Anyway, I had an early meeting with the The McCall Pattern Company – you know, the same people responsible for Vogue Patterns!

YEP.

There is SO MUCH to say about that experience – all good stuff, promise! – way too much to tack into this blog post. It’ll have it’s own blog post (with all the dirty details and PHOTOS) next week! Just know that I had an amazing time, learned a LOT about the company, and I’m still alive 🙂 Ha!

Also, I totally tried on a $10,000 Ralph Rucci couture coat. That was pretty cool!

After McCall (and a brief walk down Wall Street, because lurking investment bankers is highly entertaining to me), I met up with Heather Lou so we could get to the Garment District for our meet-up! Oh, right, Heather Lou and Vicki came down from Canada to hang! It was awesome meeting both those ladies in real life – I’ve been email chatting Heather up for a good year or so now at this point, but this was my first chance to actually HUG her! My weekend schedule was pretty hectic, so I didn’t get to spend as much time when them as I would have liked, but we made every moment count. Starting with fabric shopping 🙂

I never did get around to getting a selfie with Heather, but here is a photo of her being incredibly cool, hanging on the stoop in Brooklyn. In case you were wondering, she always looks this cool. It is maddening.

The Garment District meet-up had a great turnout! I initially assumed it would be very small – we started at 3pm on a Friday, after all – but y’all New Yorkers sure know how to sneak out of work early 🙂 Or maybe your offices are just more lax on a summer Friday! (mine rarely was, boo! Good thing I’m self-employed now so I get to do what I want haha). We started out in Mood Fabrics, where I finally got to really sink my teeth in the wool aisles – I’m always there in the spring, which puts me in the ~mood~ (lolz) for summer fabrics. This time, though, I was ready for some winter pieces! We spent a couple hours in Mood before charging through the rest of the ‘District.

Since we started so late on a Saturday, we didn’t get to hit very many more shops. I did make it a point to go to Paron Fabrics, because I had a Groupon *and* they were having a 40% off sale. I did get some nice stuff there, although a couple of the employees were a little rude. The guy letting us out did not believe me when I said I’d flown in from Nashville to buy fabric – he asked me if I knew Elvis. My response was, “Elvis is from Memphis!” to which he replied, “Good! You passed the test!” Ha! Right, ok dude 🙂

After we were done shopping, it was time to find a place to eat! We originally were going to sit in Bryant Park, but a few people said the weather wasn’t really ideal, so we looked for a restaurant that could accommodate our large party and all our bags. The first place we looked at was massively full (figures, 7pm on a Friday!), but the guys across the street at Black Iron Burger were going crazy trying to wave us in so we obliged. The restaurant wasn’t very full, but there wasn’t enough table space to fit all of us, so they set about rearranging the damn restaurant to make a big enough table! This place was freaking awesome, by the way. Not only did they manage to accommodate us, they were unfazed by the additional drop-ins that meant they had to keep adding tables and finding chairs (we had a HUGE party! I wish I would have though to get a picture of everyone! I told you, I’m bad with photos). The service was great, the beers were $4 (ahhh yeeaaah!) and the food was delicious. Our party came and went – people dropped in, people dropped out – but a good chunk of us stayed until 1:00 AM. I tagged along with Fleur back to Brooklyn, and we got to have a lovely chat on the train (and then of course, I started talking about the Bell Witch and I think I scared her with my ghost stories. I’m sorry, Fleur! Come see me in Tennessee and we won’t go near Adams, promise!).

Saturday & Sunday was spent hanging in Workroom Social, teaching the wonderful world of pants-making! Again, I will be writing a separate blog post about my experience teaching at Workroom Social, and working with Jennifer, because there’s simply too much to squeeze in this post. It was an AWESOME weekend and I met so many amazing ladies (and got to spend tons of time with all of them!). Jenny, my newest little treasure, wrote a post on her experience in the class, if you’re interested to read about it from a student perspective.

Also, at some point during the week (that would appear to be Saturday, based on what I’m wearing), I ended up with a sandwich the size of my head. Oh, America. In case you were wondering, that shit was delicious.

This was the first time I’ve visited NYC and spent more on food than I did on fabric! I barely bought anything – I was feeling very restricted because winter-weight fabrics weigh so much, and plus, I only spent a few hours there on one day (vs my normal 3 days in a row, ha!). I assure you, my bank account was very happy with this situation, but next time I’ll definitely need to plan for more fabric time 🙂 Here’s what I ended up bringing home:

Top (from left to right): Stretch black denim (Paron), striped ponte knit (Mood), striped ponte knit (Mood)(fuck yeah I have this knit in all 4 colorways now – black and white, white and black, navy and white, white and navy. Don’t judge me.), reversible wool doubleknit (Paron).
Bottom (from left to right): Black wool knit (Mood), dark grey wool knit (Mood), black stretch twill (Mood), grey wool knit (Paron).
Middle: WOOL SWEATER KNIT WITH STARS. Omg is that shit not amazing!? It was sooo hard not to buy the whole bolt (ok, it wasn’t *that* hard – shit was $25 a yard!), but I only bought enough to make a long-sleeved top. It’s so soft and amazing, can’t wait to sew it up. Devra bought some too, so now we are fabric twins ♥
Not shown: I also bought elastics for bra-making (I looked for fabrics and powermesh, but the guys at Spandex House were being total dicks so I gave up and left. Speaking of dicks, there is dick fabric there. I’m not talking about cartoons. The fabric has actual photographs screenprinted on it. HA! I seriously considered buying some, but Landon draws the line at dick fabric. He doesn’t draw many lines so I’m ok with letting him have this one), and rivets and buttons and zippers for jeans. Some fun sewing coming up this fall, yay!

I had an amazing time in New York, and that’s 100% due to all the great company I had. Thanks to everyone who came out for a meet-up – or dinner – or coffee – or fabric shopping – or whatever! It was so inspiring and refreshing to talk to so many like-minded women, and to have conversations that didn’t focus on gossip or trash-talking, but encouragement and nerdy sewing and knitting talk! Y’all are all the best! I think I wore myself ragged from trying to do everything at once, but it was totally worth it 🙂

It was hard coming back to Nashville – hard, but also lovely. I love NYC so so much, but Nashville just feels good. It was good to see my wretched cat, my awesome boyfriend, and sleep in *my* bed. I snapped this photo of Nashville yesterday when I got out of court – I had already paid for parking, so I decided to play tourist and walk down Lower Broadway, as well as check out the Observation Tower at Public Square (which is that big patch of green in front of the courthouse). Such a pretty birds-eye view, don’t you think?

Oh, one more thing –

I’m coming to London at the end of November! I will be staying with my favorite traveling roomie, Clare, and YES there will be fabric shopping! I definitely want to plan a meet-up for one of those Saturdays, and I have some other plans that are currently in the process of being cooked up (more on that later!). I haven’t been to London in a good 17 years (wait, has it really been that long??), so needless to say – I’m pretty fucking excited!

Tags: fabric hoarding, Garment District, giant blog recap, mccall, McCall Pattern Company, meet-up, Mood Fabrics, NYC, teaching, workroom social

Comments 63 Comments
Categories misc

Come Sew with Me in NYC!!! (+MMM’14 Week 4 Round-Up)

23 May

Ok, I can’t keep this news a secret any longer- I’m coming to NYC in August!

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE-

I’m actually going to be teaching a class at Workroom Social while I’m there! Yay!! This is something Jennifer and I have been in cahoots about since I visited in March, and we finally settled on a good date and I bought my plane ticket! To say I’m excited is an understatement (although I reckon my overuse of exclamation points probably hinted at something, haha) – I love NYC, I love sewing, I love teaching, and I love helping people get all excited about sewing! So! Let’s sew together, yeah?

I guess I should give you some class details! I’m running Jennifer’s Weekend Pants-Making Intensive on August 16-17 (Saturday and Sunday). Yep, we are gonna make PANTS (or shorts… you know, whatever floats yer boat) – and they are gonna be awesome! Y’all know how much I love a good trouser pattern, and how geekily excited I get about pants-fitting and pants-making-techniques, so I’m REALLY excited to have an excuse to share this loveee in Brooklyn!

If you haven’t taken a class at Workroom Social, you are in for a treat. All of Jennifer’s sewing intensives are stocked with pre-made muslins in all the pattern’s sizes. You start by trying on a sample to determine sizing and adjustments needed, then we go into full-on pants-making-mode over the 2 day class. The class includes the pattern (a classic trouser pattern with a front fly), use of the equipment and tools, ME, and plenty of food. Seriously. Coffee in the morning, catered lunch, snacks and oh, did I mention there’s a cocktail hour at the end of both nights? Yeah. There’s a cocktail hour at the end of both nights (just in case you didn’t hear me the first time!). So basically, we are gonna get our sew on, get to hang out, and then you go home with the knowledge and skills to make all the pants and shorts that your heart desires (and probably end up with a completed pair by the end of class!). Arghhh so awesome!

If you are interested in taking the class (which you SHOULD be, because I am so so excited to teach it!!), you can read more about it and sign up here. I think this is a pretty cool opportunity for both locals and out-of-towners, since it’s two days over the weekend. Jennifer has lots of resources if you need help finding a place to stay (assuming you’re coming from out of town), so feel free to holler at her if you have questions! Also, I just booked my plane ticket and it was under $250 round-trip for those dates, so… yeah. Class spots are super limited, so sign up early!

I will actually be in NYC from 8/14-8/18, so if anyone wants to get and/or get our shop on while I’m on town, holler! I’ll mention it again when we get closer to the date 🙂

Ok, done selling y’all (for now, ha!). Let’s dive into this week’s Me Made May round-up:

5/17, Saturday
Top: Banana Republic
Pants: McCall’s 6440
Brooch: Nashville Flea Market
Shoes: Mix No.6

Another dumb cold day, another excuse to bust out these sweet pants. Ha! I love these so much, but I have a hard time finding a top that I like with them (especially color-wise). This particular top is nothing special – it’s originally from Banana Republic; I thrifted it a couple of years ago with the intention of using it as a pattern (it’s actually very similar to the Moneta sweater hack), because I hated the fabric but loved the shape. Obviously that never happened, but it’s got me inspired!

5/18, Sunday
Top: Megan Nielsen Briar
Skirt: Self-drafted circle skirt
Cardigan: Peacock Eyes
Belt: Thrifted
Necklace: Gift
Shoes: Franco Sarto

As I’ve said a few times, I’m kind of over circle skirts these days. I tried to pull this one out and make it work – I think it turned out pretty cute, but I do wish there was less skirt involved! Ha! I also tried to mix up how I wear this skirt – I usually just pair it with a mint top (the Pavlova I made to go with it is currently residing in the big scrapbag in the sky… bad fabric choice on my part 😦 ), but I wanted to try a little print-mixing. I do like how the floral looks with stripes, however, I think this Briar may be heading to the same big scrapbag in the sky. You can’t tell in this photo because of my cardigan, but it’s just tooo big all over. Lots of weird wrinkles at the armpit, ugh.

I do love that cardigan, though. So so much ♥

5/19, Monday
Dress: Colette Hawthorn
Belt: Thrifted
Shoes: Fergalicious

It was about this point that I realized I wasn’t even wearing my favorite handmades this month! I’ve been “saving” them for… well, I don’t know what, but it’s dumb and I should wear my favorite clothes! That’s why I made them! So, cherry Hawthorn (I love this pattern, and I have plans for more that should be put into action asap) + favorite Ferg shoes = awesome outfit.

5/20, Tuesday
Dress: Vintage Vogue 1610
Shoes: Jessica Simpson

See what I mean?? How have I not busted out the silk jersey until just now??? Ok, well, I fixed it 😛

5/21, Wednesday
Dress: Handmade (will blog soon :))
Shoes: Nine West

And here’s me, on my birthday, in my birthday dress! 😀 This is a new me-made (I finished it with a couple of days to spare!) and I have no post about it… yet. Soon! What I will tell you is that the bodice pattern is Vogue 8664, and the fabric is stretch cotton sateen. Other than that, you’ll have to wait for the post 🙂

Also, thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes! I was basically bombarded all day with love (including a birthday tweet from Vogue patterns, hah!! YES!!) and it was pretty awesome 🙂 I had a great birthday, too – ate a bunch of amazing food (including a fried green tomato BLT because YES I DID), hung out with my BFF, and oh, wore a pretty awesome dress 🙂 Yay for bithdays!

5/22, Thursday
Shirt: Express
Skirt: Sewaholic Hollyburn
Necklace: Me-Made
Belt: Thrifted
Shoes: Born (yeah, you can’t see them but just so you know… I’m wearing shoes :P)

Finally got to wear this Hollyburn! Yay! I need to make more tops to go with it because it’s kind of difficult to color match (hence why it hasn’t gotten wear yet!), but maybe I can make some of those Moneta tops 🙂 Ha! I wore this all day at work, and then afterwards to celebrate my birthday a second time with Landon (he had to work on my proper birthday, oh well!). And by celebrate I mean we got hot chicken. Yum 🙂

A few people asked if this was my sewing studio… the answer is I WISH. Haha! It’s definitely not my sewing space (I’m still sewing at home, which I have no intentions of changing anytime soon!); it’s Elizabeth’s sewing studio. It’s just as lovely as it looks in the photo – if not more. Lots of gorgeous natural light and pretty things to look at. Also, that machine I’m standing by is my main man Turbo and it’s fucking amazing. It backtacks and clips the thread and you do it all from the pedal so it’s totally hands-free. Seriously amazing, like to the point where I’m debating with myself whether an industrial machine is a good thing to buy right now hahaha. Because I want one! BTW, Elizabeth is still looking for part-time seamstresses sooo if you wanna experience the love of all that is Turbo, holler at her!

5/23, Friday (today!)
Dress: By Hand London Flora
Belt: Thrifted
Shoes: Sam Edelman

And here we are today! I’m working from home, so naturally I had to dress up like a princess 🙂 I love the Flora – thinking about channeling my inner Heather Lou and making a skirt with the pattern, because it’s SO much fun to wear. Seriously, every time I look at this dress in my closet I think, “naw, too fancy for today,” but then I actually put it on and it’s like, “idgaf I feel like a pretty pretty princess, whee!” haha. Anyone else feel that way with their me-mades? Man, I should dress up more.

That’s it for this week! FYI, the blog will probably be pretty quiet next week – because we’re going on vacation! Yeah!! Bout to take our annual trip to Santa Rosa Beach, FL, where I plan on spending the entire time laying on a towel, drinking beer and wearing my giant straw hat. I’ll still be updating my Twitter and Instagram for Me Made May, so follow along if you’re so inclined! I have a couple makes I’ve been saving specifically for this trip… including two bathing suits. Ooh la la! 😉

As a side note for those of you who are participating in My & Andi’s OAL, I was recently made aware that the sewing pattern we’ll be using is going to be on sale this weekend at Joanns! Definitely check your sales flyer to be sure (as it may differ for your state), but Simplicity patterns here will be 5 for $5 over Memorial Day weekend 🙂 Woohoo! Great time to stock up if you’ve been on the fence 🙂 And speaking of the OAL… I’m so so excited to kick this off. I bought my yarn last week, and while it was a liiiittle more than I planned on spending, it was totally worth it. It’s neon yellow and it swatched up so beautifully.

Ok, have a great weekend, everyone! 🙂

Tags: 6440, briar, By Hand London, circle skirt, colette patterns, completed, cotton sateen, dress, DVF, Flora, hawthorn, hollyburn, knitting, mccall, Me Made May '14, MMM14, NYC, OAL2014, pants, Peacock Eyes, sewaholic, silk jersey, skirt, teaching, Thurlow, top, vogue, vogue 1610, workroom social