But I don't wanna be a bridesmaid!

Continuing with my stash-busting mission....

This is a magenta / fuchsia / deep dark pink (Robert Kaufman calls it "berry" - whatever) silk-cotton blend.  Because of the limited yardage (only 2 yards), I chose a simple sheath with minimal practically no details... Burda 02-2009-124A

 I was aiming for a simple yet bold work dress, but the result is more like the world's most boring bridesmaid dress that J. Crew tossed aside as FAIL:

I wore it to work as a top, tucked into my gray trumpet skirt, cinched with a black belt at the waist, and black heels.  Somebody at work said it shows a nice silhouette.  She also reports to me so it could have just been an obligatory compliment from her part.  I can't think of how else to wear the dress so that it doesn't scream bridesmaid.  Any ideas, readers? 

The pattern itself is very easy and very fast to sew.  It took me only a couple of weekends including tracing, pressing, sewing a muslin, fitting adjustments, and sewing the dress.  There's no lining, although I probably should have made one, since the silk-cotton fabric is rather thin.

PR review here.

By the way, buy this.

This greatest-hits compilation was in heavy rotation in my iPod since I bought it a couple of weeks ago.  Very, very good music!  And Jim Morrison!  This explains why they were a big deal back in the 60's.

Batik skirt and scarf.

About 2 weeks ago, I subconsciously started a stash-busting mission.

I've accumulated a substantial amount of fabric over the past few months years and haven't done much about it.  Mainly because of lack of inspiration and general laziness. But no more!  I'm getting a little tired of the unorganized state of my little sewing studio, so those fabrics need to be used or go!

So.  The first fabric I tackled on is a a soft batik (the label says "batik halus", which literally translates to soft batik, so that's how I know) that my mom bought for me in Indonesia almost 2.5 years ago. It's definitely not silk.  It could be polyester or rayon or some other static-magnet type of fabrics.  I've got static electricity shocks every time I touched it.  In retrospect I shouldn't have rubbed my shoes on the wool carpet at the same time.

Cool print, no?  Dizzyingly groovy!  If you stare at it for 5 minutes, you will see a space ship!*

It took me all 2.5 years since I've had this fabric to decide what to make with it, because of the border print and the limited quantity (2-yards at 40+inches wide).  Whatever it is, it has to show off the border print, as it's the most interesting thing about the fabric.  The fabric is rather difficult to sew, because it's so drapey and slippery.  A more complicated design would just add unnecessary frustration that would lead to my abandoning the project. Finally, I settled on a simple a-line skirt, inspired by Tasia's skirt, using Kathleen's 20-minute skirt instruction. 

New technique learned is inserting an elastic for the waistband.  Basic, I know... having never done it previously, I consider it a "new" technique.

The result:

Hm.  It looks like culottes on the second picture.  I guess it would have been a more interesting piece as culottes.  Unless culottes are lame.  (Are they?)

I had a strip of leftover fabric that I made into a long scarf:

Not a bad way to start off the mission... the temporary great feeling of accomplishment, slightly lighter stash, more clothes!

* Just kidding, you will not see a space ship.  You might get dizzy and throw up, though.

Balloon skirt refashion + tutorial

I generally stay away from floral prints, because they can look dowdy on me.  Geometric prints are okay.  Florals, meh.

Once in a while, though, I come across some very nice floral prints that I just can't pass up, like this one:

Tell me this is not the prettiest floral print you've ever seen!  Okay, maybe it's not, but if you agree with me, thank you and I like you very much.  In any case, I like that it's more impressionist floral than literal, and the colors are deep, saturated (no pastels - yay!).

I bought this skirt about two years ago, from a consignment store (nowadays, I buy retail only if there's a gift certificate.).  It's a Perry Ellis silk number.  Haven't worn it much because the skirt hangs low, way past my knee, at the widest point of the calf, the fastest way to Dowdyville.

What to do?

I could just shorten it, but it's wouldn't improve the skirt so much, and also it would mean blindstitching the hem, which I hate doing, because I have yet to learn how to do it with the machine.

So why not turn it into a balloon skirt instead!  It adds just enough interest without being too obvious or trying too hard.

There's suprisingly a short supply of balloon skirt tutorial on the interweb (By short supply, I mean none.  Then again, it could just be my nonexistent research skills).  It took a couple of epic-fails, but I finally figured it out how to properly balloonize a skirt.  I thought might as well share this with my fellow sewers.

(Start tutorial)

1.   The best skirt for this project has a full or A-line silhouette, and drape-y or silky fabric in light to medium weight with lining.  Mine is lightweight silk, and the lining is considerable less full than the outer skirt.  This allows for automatic ballooning without any elastic.  (If your lining is as full as the skirt, then you will need to insert an elastic tape to create the balloon effect.  I might do another tutorial with the elastic in the future.). 

2.   If necessary, cut some length of the skirt, approximately 1.5 to 2 inches below the desired length (this includes seam allowance).  I cut mine roughly at the knee, because I want it to fall just right above the knee.  Cut the lining fabric 1 inch shorter than the skirt fabric.

3.   Put gathering stitch at the bottom edge of the skirt. 

4.   Unstitch one of the lining seams approximately 3 inches at the bottom.  This will create an opening for turning the skirt right-side out at the end.  (Depending on the quantity and weight of your own skirt fabric, you may want to allow more opening.)  Then, adjust the gathers at the skirt, so that the seams line up with the lining seams.

5.   Turn just the bottom edges of the skirt and lining, so that the right sides are facing (Just turn the bottom edges over, not the whole skirt! Keep the skirt / lining positioning as is, like if you're wearing it normally.  This is where I made the error at previous tries).  Then, pin away!  I start pinning at the seam where I made the lining opening.  Keep pinning alongside the bottom edge.

(Yes, I have man fingers and man nails.  Don't judge me.  And I won't say anything about anybody's foot fungus.)

6. After pinning the bottom edges, your skirt should look like this.  Well, not as pretty, maybe.  But see how the lining ends up on side and the skirt on the other, forming some kind of a tube.

7.  Stitch the skirt and the lining edge together. 

8.   Then, through the lining opening that you created at step 4, turn the skirt right side out.  Stitch the opening close (slipstitch or edgestitch.  I did the latter to avoid handstitching.  Sloppy, yes, but I 'm not expecting anybody looking up my lining without their faces being accidentally stepped on with major force).

9.   Finished!  Now wear your old-but-improved skirt and pose with a satisfactory gesture!

(Note to self:  In the future, do not tuck in sweater; blouson effect can look like muffin tops.)

10.   Better picture!

Hopefully this tutorial helps anybody looking for a quick way to freshen up their skirts or dresses.  Let me know if there's an error, so I can obligingly act embarrassed for a few moments and issue a correction.

Vogue 8646, the Almost-Fail Dress

Well, it turned out rather well, despite fitting challenges.

The "very-easy" rating is true to its claim.  With no buttons or zippers, and just a couple of side seams, maybe some darts and pleats here and there, the Vogue 8646 is a breeze to sew.  The A-B-C-D cup sizes is a nice bonus.  These are the main reasons why I bought this pattern, by the way.  Those, and the $3.99 sale price.

Some new techniques that I used on this project are:

• Underlining.  The self fabric is cotton dotted swiss, which is rather transparent, so I underlined it with cotton batiste to add opaqueness.  I was thinking about lining it at first, but it would take longer, so I let laziness get the best of me, and it paid off!  Not only I learned a new technique, the project also finished faster. 
• French seam:  Ah... The French sure know how to make things pretty!  The lack of zipper makes it possible to "French the seams".  I've been meaning to use this technique for a while, but zippers have been getting in the way.
• Bias tape finishing:  The pattern calls for finishing the armscye and neckline with bias tape.  My execution wasn't the greatest... there's puckering and pulling especially at the armscye area, probably because I shaped the tape half-heartedly before sewing it on.  Luckily the texture of the fabric hides the imperfection and makes it less obvious.
• Hemming a full skirt:  Thank goodness there's no blind-stitching here, I would have poked my eyes!  (Then I would be blind-stitching, literally).   By ease-stitching and gathering the extra fullness at the edge, hemming was quite easy.

Here's worn: 

It's rather decollete... might have to make a detachable modesty panel so can wear it without worrying about accidental exposure.  The not-centered front shoulder pleats are not as bothersome as expected, so I'm pretty happy about it.

And here's twirled:

Ready for summer! 

(PR review here)

I'm not dead and here's a new one

Haven't put up anything new lately, because there hasn't been anything new made.  Last week though, I decided to do something with the growing stack of fabrics, so I resorted to this quick & easy project to see if it would get my motivation going again.  

Burda 08-2009-117, the Parisian Chic flouncy top:

Parisian chic indeed.  At least the model is.  Mine?  Well, take a lookie here:

Wrinkles are not Parisian Chic.  I'm really bad at pressing.  So, pardon me.

The pattern is a loose fitting one, so I went down a size (40 to 38) because my figure doesn't take loose fitting very well.

I used chartreuse - my new favorite color - Radiance silk-cotton blend that I splurged on a while back (You're welcome, Britex).   This fabric is really amazing.  It's lightweight (perfect for the warm weather), soft, silky, with a little bit of drape, and it's washable.  The right side of the fabric is shiny and the color richer, however I used the wrong side because I'm opposed to shiny things.

If you notice, the outer edges of the flounce are raw, because I didn't cut the seam allowance I did it on purpose.  If J.Crew can get away making (and selling at $80!) tops with unfinished edges, I can too!  No, really, I got confused by Burda's direction and thought, the hell with it, let's just cut the outer edge without the seam allowance and see what happens.  Luckily I think it turned out okay.

Here's me modeling it:

And again with a ribbon belt:

For some reason, the flounce follows the shape of elephant ear/trunk.  Not very Parisian chic.

Anyway, I wore this with white jeans to showcase the color.  I rarely wear green and do not own many green clothes, so as a result I always get punched on St. Paddy's day.  (Is it pinching or punching?  I always get punched).  Well, no more!  Now I have something visibly green!  Or chartreuse!  But it's green to some people!

This is a very easy project and I'm quite happy with the result.  In the process I actually started thinking about the next project (a summer dress), so this quick top turned out to be just what I needed to get back in the sewing mode.

So... what do you think?

(PR review here)

Burda skirt 11-2008-110

This is Burda 11-2008-110 skirt, an 8-gored flared-hem trumpet-y number.  

 

I used the wool suiting fabric from the stash and this nightmare of a lining, worked on it for three weekends, finished it last week, and wore it to work.  It's a very feminine skirt, a lot more than I'm used to.  All of a sudden all these curves just show up!  Wearing the skirt made me feel odd, giddy, and girly that my voice went up an octave or two.  My coworkers thought I was sick.  So I went home early and took some pictures.

 

 

 

The last picture I'm just showing off my shoes. 

Please don't be offended by the bad pressing job.  It's not my forte.  I don't  forte in everything I do no matter what people say.

(Edited:  Here's my review of the pattern on PR)

Purple knit dress

Good thing I used the cheap polyester knit for this one. 

As predicted, I did some wrong math on the pattern drafting effort.  The armholes ended up very tight.  The book says to up the armsyce by .75 inches, so I did my usual .5, which in retrospect wasn't necessary (might actually need to lower it instead).  Also, the pattern calls for a straight silhouette, but I cut mine on the curvy side.  So the resulting drape looks a bit funny.

Construction-wise, it's a mixed result.  I didn't have any idea how to attach the roll collar, so it was pure improvisation, full of turning inside out and stretching here and there.  At one point I actually heard "rrrip!"  Thankfully I saw no sign of broken stitches, just a very stretched collar.

I used French seams for the sides.  It's my first time using French seam and I love the finished look, so I think I'll be using it a lot from now on.

Some pictures:

Full length (the stripe effect is from the window blinds):

I lightened up the picture a bit so the draping would show better:

I think I will make this dress again in the future, with a straighter silhouette, corrected armsyce, better construction know-how for the roll collar, and of course, nicer fabric, because apparently polyester melts when pressed.

Knit I don't: The circle scarf

Remember this knitting attempt?

Yeah... that's about as much as it's going to be. Knitting requires supreme ability to sit still, which I lack. I managed to knit and purl my way out of about 20 inches, and now it's been collecting dust on my nightstand for the last two months.

So I made this instead:

It's a circle scarf, the idea of which was inspired by Karin (also see mywakingmemories' tutorial and styling suggestions). It can be worn as a double scarf as shown above, or a bolero:

Or a halter:

Or draped unceremoniously as a shawl:

The fabric made the project, in this case. It's the softest rayon jersey that was definitely a splurge. Not so proud of the construction; the flat fell seam is most pathetic looking and I wasn't even drunk at the time!

Oh well... what do you do when life gives you lemon? You give out the lemon as a gift!

Ha ha... just kidding, oh gift recipient. Or, am I?

Actually I did intend to give out the circle scarves as gifts, before realizing that sewing knit fabric is a bitch and the resulting solitary seam looks like it was sewn by my dog, who is practically blind in one eye.

Practice makes perfect, I guess.

Spring colorblock dress in the middle of winter

For once, I'm ahead of the game! Well, really I'm very late, since this dress started in - wow-has-it-been-that-long - three months ago.

Without further ado:

A close-up of the mock buckle, inspired by a J. Crew dress, and also to cover up the seam because I didn't cut the band on fold:

Here's me modeling it:

The end of the zipper is usually a struggle. As you can see here, it's all wonky. (Anybody have any tips on how to solve this? I use the regular zipper foot to connect the back seam and the zipper-end, and it usually ends up bunchy.)
Also, the sloper calls for a back shoulder dart, which I did not transfer to the pattern, thinking it wouldn't make a difference. Apparently it does: the back neck band is too big and now it gaps away from the body. Lesson learned.

The dress itself is fully lined in self fabric. I pretty much winged the construction part of it, with the help of my new best friend, the seam ripper. It's not completely finished yet, actually. Hemming needs to be done (still can't figure out how to use blind-stitch foot and am dreading hand-sewing), and hook-and-eye fastener needs to be attached.

Generally it fits a little loose on me now, because I've shrunken a bit because of a little diet and exercise. It's good news, actually. I feel physically better, am sleeping better (didn't really need help on that department), and theoretically should be looking better in clothes because the boobs are now correctly positioned "above" and not "at" the waist. Although, it also means I have to draft a new sloper.

The Burda-inspired dress is done...

... and it looks like a sofa:

With me wearing it, it IS a sofa.

Hee... hee... Just kidding, I don't have body-image issues. I like the dress. I've worn worse things.

Anyway, a couple of technical highlights following.

Instead of sewing the v-neck in one continuous stitch, I did it shoulder-to-front on one side, then repeat on the other. No puckers or bunches like I used to get! Although, still have that pointy dart issue.

The fabric probably wasn't the best choice. It leaves needle holes, as you can see here (the white dots are the holes from the stitches):

I hemmed it with straight stitch because the fabric is not blind-stitch friendly. (Well, okay, fine... I didn't feel like blind stitching by hand and haven't figured out how to use the machine's blind stitch correctly.)

Okay... probably need to study now.