His & Hearse

This is another It Came from My Closet! post, as I am attending a wedding this weekend and working on a project for someone else. It is no surprise that I, like most spooky types, dig hearses.  I love them, quite frankly, and they hold a special place in my dark little heart.  Ya see, when I met the now Mr Not Pixie, he drove a purple hearse.  (I wish I could say it was love at first sight, but it wasn't.  Not even close.  But he grew on me.)  Ever since I started sewing, I have been on the look out for hearse fabric.  I had even pondered doing something like Spoonflower, but always shied away at the cost. Then two summers ago, Robert Kaufman released Eerie Alley.  Not just purple hearses, but lime green and orange ones too!  On white and black!  (And another with pink hearses on black, which I, of course, made into a different blouse.)  "It must be mine!  Immediately!"  It was a designer release, and a new one at that, so this didn't come cheap, but I didn't care.  For purple hearses, I would pay, and pay gladly!  And so I did.  (Even a designer fabric is cheaper than Spoonflower.) New Look 6515 is so long out of print that it doesn't even appear on the Simplicity web site.  (This link will take you Pattern Review's, um, pattern reviews for the, um, pattern.)  I made view B, though my finished blouse doesn't really resemble theirs.  It's a testament to how much I love this fabric that I was willing t put in so much work to get a wearable garment. First up: blouses like these, that lap one side over the other, rarely (in my experience) instruct you to stitch the bust pieces to each other somehow.  I suppose that would work out just fine if you're the busty variety, but I most certainly am not; consequently, these always gap in the front.  Though I am flat-chested, I am also broad-backed, which tends to even out, usually, in terms of ease.  However, the amount of ease in both the front and back was ridiculous.  I kept pulling the bust pieces closer and closer together, and omitting more and more gathering (so the cup itself would be smaller), but it finally got to the point where I had no gathering left and the pieces were lapped straight over one another.  It fixed the gapping, but because there was no gathering, it ceased to be an empire-waist blouse.  So I grabbed a piece of elastic and hand sewed it into the white band that you see at the front. Even after all of that, the ease was still so extreme that I look off a few inches of the back of the blouse too.  Originally, this actually called for a zipper, but even now, I can still pull it on over my head with no problems.  I can't imagine why you'd need a zipper with as much ease as the pattern originally called for. So, in conclusion, this pattern didn't really work for my body type. It might work for someone who has a full bust (but not too full, or you'll spill over the top). It wasn't difficult to sew, but it did require a lot of adjustments to get it me-sized. I did see a lot of other people complaining about the same problems I did, so maybe it wasn't just me Sorry, once again, for my wet hair. Please admire my floormat in the background. I usually move it out of the way for pictures, but forgot to this time. It decorates my foyer year-round (I have another at the back door as well). They were gifts from my sister-in-law, who seems to live out her spooky dreams vicariously through me.

Lydia update: the day I write this marks four weeks of having this little grey terror live with us.  She's put on 18 ounces (~.5 kg) in that time.  The vet said she's doing well, though said with her feral start to life, she will probably have some delayed growth.

Outfit:
Skirt: Wet Seal, free at a clothing swap
Shoes: Famous Footwear, $70 (featured on Green with Envy)
Socks: from the same pack of vibrant colors featured on Green with Envy
Earrings: Hearses and coffins were charms I bought on Etsy and attached to fishhooks; skull earrings from eBay (featured on Skull Skirt)

I have a coffin necklace (made from the same charms as the earrings) that I usually wear with this, but couldn't find it this morning. I was so distraught that I forgot my awesome purple hearse barrettes too. :(  Not all bad though - at work, a guy in a suit that I'd never seen before, told me he liked how my purple socks, hair, and hearses coordinated together. :)

Green with Envy

Due to Red & Black week and being out of town this weekend, I don't have any new sewing to show you. Instead, I raided my closet to show you this dress that I made just before I started the blog.

I've mentioned previously that I am frequently get on kicks for a particular style (usually vintage-inspired) or color combination.  In this case, it was both.  New Look 6776 wanted desperately to be sewed, but I hadn't yet found a fabric that tickled my fancy.  I woke up one morning wanting to wear green, which isn't too prominent in my wardrobe (despite being my favorite color). To remedy this, I went on a fabric search.  Unfortunately, black and green isn't too common a color combination.  Although I love this fabric (Boo to You! by Riley Blake, which also comes in purple and grey), I wasn't too happy about making another vintage-inspired dress in polka dots, because I had just made one the previous summer (in orange, which I will feature at some later date).  Obviously, my reluctance was overcome in the end. The fabric for the sash is nothing special.  It's just a quilting cotton from JoAnn's.  They did have an exact match for the dots, but it was just too stark against the dress.  I thought this one, with its own dots, looked better.

If the bolero looks familiar to you, I direct you to my second pattern review, featuring Simplicity 2183.  I am getting more use of out of this more than I thought I would, because the bolero is frequently waiting to be washed when I want to wear it.  This means, of course, that I must make another and/or more in a different pattern.

Finally, onto the pattern review.  The dress isn't as simple to make as it looks.  There's gathering under the bust, which I expected, but it also has pleats in the front and back (which are covered by the sash).  It is also lined.  It isn't difficult at all, just it's more complicated than it seems.  The sash, however, is ridiculously simple.  I would recommend this for an advanced beginner.

Modifications made: I shortened the straps (as always) and lengthened the skirt (as always).  I made the sash in the largest size in the envelope because I like having lots of dangly ends.

One final word of caution here: take care when choosing a fabric for this dress because some of it is cut on the bias.

Accessories:
Barrettes: Etsy, ~$2
Earrings: Etsy, ~$5
Socks: Target, $7 for a package of six vibrant colors
Shoes: Famous Footwear, $70 (more expensive than what I usually go for, but so comfy and so worth it)

Yeah, my hair is wet again.  Sorry.

Watermelon Dress

Welcome to my final post for Sophisique Noir's Red & Black week.  Today's post is New Look 6900, view A.  The fabric here came from Fabric.com, of course.  I acquired it on my last fabric binge.  The name is Metro Market Watermelon Slices.  Okay, okay, so it's red and black and pink - pink is pastel red!  It counts!

Regular readers know of my love-hate relationship with pockets in dresses (tl;dr: I love having pockets, but hate that they bulge and look like crap).  This pattern's pockets are external, so I decided to take the plunge and include them for once.

You'll also notice a ruffle on the pocket.  The pattern did not call for this; I had a sudden urge to use up some of the pink fabric in my stash.  (It came from the much-mentioned Daisy-Head Mayzie costume.)



The facing details for both the pocket and the bodice (to the right) are attached in an atypical matter; you can see here that the right side of the facing is facing the wrong side of the bodice.  Because it is such an unusual method, I had to reread the instructions several times to ensure I was doing the right thing.  After these are sewn together, the facing is flipped over to the other side.

I learned my lesson from the coffee dress: do not straight stitch on elastic, even if the pattern calls for it!  You can see that I made a casing here and threaded the elastic through, catching it at the ends. 

I added a ruffle to the bottom too, using the same fabric.  Unlike yesterday, when I stole pieces from another pattern, here I just cut a piece that was twice as long as the edge of the skirt, gathered it, and sewed it on.

The dress is cute, but I fear it looks a bit like an apron, and would even more so if I hadn't extended the length by three inches.

I wanted to add another ruffle to the straps as well.  I cut and gathered the fabric, and was about to pin it on when I changed my mind.  I'm not sure why I 180ed.  Maybe I didn't want it to look too much like the cherry dress?  Anyone out there with any thoughts on adding ruffles to the straps?

Thanks for reading my R & B week posts.  Looking forward to seeing you again next year!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry Bomb

We're in the home stretch of Sophisitque Noir's Red & Black week, and I have a final blast from the past for you (today's) and a new outfit (tomorrow).  I apologize for the quality of pictures for today and tomorrow: the batteries in the camera were dying and I had to take them as quickly as possible.

The pattern here is McCall's 5094 in view F; if that sounds familiar to you, it might be because I used the straps from this in the Space Invaders dress.

I believe that I made this last spring, and I wanted to make it out of just one fabric (view D, basically).  However, when I went shopping for fabric, nothing really struck my fancy.  (Must have been before JoAnn's releases their Halloween fabrics for the year. :D)  This cherry and dot print I finally picked was cute, but I thought an entire dress would have been overwhelming. I couldn't resist its cute rockabilly/gothabilly charm though, so I went with view F.

Though a dress entirely out of that print would have been too much, I thought just the band and straps weren't enough, hence the ruffles in the polka dots.  They came from Simplicity 2325, an Alice in Wonderland costume that I adapted into Daisy-Head Mayzie for a friend of mine.








As for the pattern itself, it wasn't too bad at all.  I would recommend this for an advanced beginner.  The technical challenges were:

• inserting a zipper
• a lining
• a bit of gathering under the bust
• a lot of gathering if you go my route and add ruffles

I wish I could have taken pictures of the full outfit, but the husband wasn't at home and my self-photography skills are quite lacking.  The pictures don't show how fun this dress really is.  I get a lot of flattering comments whenever I wear it, which I inevitably follow with "...and it's fun for twirling!" and then promptly spin around in a few circles.  And then I get some weird looks (which, to be honest, is not a rare occurrence for me).




And for good measure (not the original, sorry):

A Harley Quinn Romance

Today's Red and Black entry is another blast from the past.  This one comes from Halloween 2006.  My husband and I, for the first any only time, opted for a couple's costume for Halloween: The Joker and Harley Quinn.

I didn't use a pattern here because spandex is pretty forgiving (in terms of getting a fit, at least).  I wrapped the fabric around myself, safety pinned it in place, and then cut it accordingly.  The diamonds were a little difficult to sew on because the fabric needed to be stretched for that, which basically meant that I had to be wearing it.  It was easy enough to put them on the left side (using my right hand), but not so much on the right.  I am ridiculously right handed.

The gloves were easy: I traced my hand, cut it out, and sewed it together.

The headpiece was a little difficult.  It's a separate piece from the costume, and I had a terrible time getting it to lay flat.  In the end, I think I made three of them before one worked.  The points on the headpiece (dunno what else to call them; does anyone know the technical term?) are just curved pieces of spandex and stuffed with polyfill.  If I did this again, I would line them, because little pieces of the stuffing kept creeping out through the fabric.  I attached two jingle bells at the end of the points and added elastic around the face opening for a tight fit.  

Hubby's costume was created out of thrift store finds.  For the jacket, I cropped it to the waist, flipped the pieces around, and sewed them on as tails.  The fabric went against the grain for that, but for a thrift store costume, it wasn't too bad.  The flower was just some yellow satin I had in the stash.  I cut out a few flower shapes, layered them in a staggered fashion, and sewed them together.  The vest is just a satin blouse.  I cut off the sleeves and altered the neckline.  From those pieces I cut, I made the tie and pocket square.  His shirt and pants, thankfully, I didn't need to alter.

His costume is great because it shows how you can make a fabulous costume without spending a lot of money or time, or having a lot of talent.

We won first prize at the Halloween party we went to!

A Pirate's Life for Me!

This post is going to be a blast from the past.  I was a privateer for Halloween 2009 (for those of you that don't know, a privateer is basically a government-sanctioned pirate).  This costume was a bit of a rush job because I had to sew six costumes over the course of two months.  I apologize for the poor resolution of these images - I can't seem to locate the original high-res pictures.

First up here is the blouse.  It's Simplicity 4914, and if you want it,  I suggest you buy it as soon as possible.  It's been out of print for several years and I imagine that supplies are quite limited.  I actually didn't make the blouse to wear with the costume, I made it much earlier to as an everyday wear item.  It's a beautiful black-on-black brocade featuring phoenixes (phoenices?) and dragons.  I wish I had bought more of it, because it would make a fantastic vest or dress.

The blouse appears as though it would lace up the front, but it actually has a zipper in the back.  Unfortunately (though you can't really tell in this picture, but you can in the pattern link), the blouse starts to end at the actual waist.  I usually have to wear something under this, which is unfortunate, because the brocade is both quite heavy and lined.  The sleeves are also ridiculously short, so I lengthened them, but that only adds to the weight of the garment.  For those reasons, I don't get to wear this as often as I would like to.  Don't get me wrong, I love the blouse and get a ton of compliments on it, but it isn't as convenient to wear as I would have wanted.

Anyway, onto the pattern review.  The construction of the blouse itself wasn't too bad.  Some pretty precise marking is necessary here for the sleeve's grommet tape, and the front was a little finicky, but this could be tackled by an intermediate, I think.

I think the only pattern I hated more than this coat pattern (Simplicity 3677) was the tuxedo I made for my sister's wedding, and the only reason I hated that more was because a good chunk of the instructions weren't translated from German to English.  This pattern wasn't really difficult, but it was quite lengthy.  Nothing wrong with a lengthy pattern, as long as it produces a nice garment in the end, but this most certainly did not.  I know that I frequently bemoan Simplicity for calling for more fabric than the garment actually needs, but this had nearly two yards left over.

That was the least of this pattern's sins; if you look at the pattern picture, it doesn't have the best shot of the front.  I made this coat two sizes larger than what I normally wear because the blouse was so bulky.  Even two sizes too large, this coat would not close over the blouse.  I tried it over something with a slimmer silhouette, and it still didn't close.  It isn't actually meant to close - despite calling for twenty-eight buttons (which I had to special order), this coat contains no buttonholes.

And again, the sleeves here are just too short.  Do people think that pirates loved walking around with exposed wrists?

The facing here looked stupid and the instructions for the godets were crap.  There is nothing redeeming to this pattern and I would recommend it under no circumstances.

The breeches/bloomers are from the first pattern.  They're made out of crepe-backed satin.  They were so easy that I think I completed them in about an hour.   Basically, it was just cutting out the two pieces; sewing them together; folding down the waistband and inserting the elastic; and sewing on the bias tape into the legs and inserting the elastic.  Very simple.  They probably are not historically accurate for any era, but these would make a great start to a beginning sewer's steampunk costume.

There are two things I made here that I didn't have a pattern for: the wrap and the bandanna.  Both were super easy: the bandanna was just a square of satin (made from the excess from the failed coat) and the wrap is just a triangle of costume satin from Joann's.

A breakdown of my accessories:
Rose choker: $7, Hot Topic
Striped knee socks: $5 - $10, Hot Topic
Shoes: $20, Journey's
Hoop earrings: Claire's

My Triumphant Return

Hi everyone. I will apologize, once again and hopefully for the last time, for my absence. Things are finally starting to fall into place and it looks like I might have the energy, motivation, and time to get back into sewing. I haven't returned to my former level of vigor, but I'm tryin', peeps. I'm out of the blogging habit, as you will see from the post, and completely forgot to take in progress pictures.

But despite my lack of outgoing projects, my desire purchase large quantities of fabric was only slightly diminished. So when Fabric.com has one of their clearing out sales, and I have coupons, and I feel the need to do therapy shopping, well, you can imagine what happens.

This beauty was on sale for $4.95/yd and I had a 15% off coupon. I couldn't find any designer information, and the only title I have for this was "Halloween Words and Motifs on Black" - quite creative, right? I didn't realize until after I'd purchased and washed the fabric that "scary" is spelled as "scarey". Dictionary.com actually has an entry for the usage on the fabric, so I guess it isn't strictly an incorrect spelling, per se, just non-traditional. I harrumphed a little, but in the end, I decided that if it had taken me that long to notice, no one else ever would. I valiantly resolved to press on.

I purchased this a while back. I picked it because it seemed simple enough to knock off in an afternoon (and it was). I sewed up view A. Despite its easy nature, this pattern did have its odd aspects. The facing had darts, but the dress didn't; it did, however, have gathering that the facing did not.

The facing was not understitched. You can see it that picture that it doesn't lay as flat as it should. I didn't press it, which is part of the issue, but if I made this again, I would certainly understitch. The only real modification I made was the length (I did a 5/8" hem instead of 1 1/4", as I usually do) and instead of creating a button loop out of thread, I cut some leftover fabric on the bias and used that instead. The button here came from the stash. I know it probably shocks readers to know that I just happened to have jack o'lantern buttons laying around.

It has become apparent to me that Azzurra and I are no longer really the same shape. While she is adjustable, I think the waist is at the smallest setting and is still too big. She also bulges in places I don't. I'll have to adjust her and she how much I can fix. I've heard of people taking these forms apart and adding or removing foam, but I think that might be beyond my skill level (and certainly is beyond my current level of motivation). She also doesn't stand straight, though that might be the carpet.

Since I am much less curvy than she is, the dress doesn't cling so much. I'm still pretty happy about how it turned out and I'm looking forward to starting the Halloween countdown. Less than six months to go!

As I previously mentioned this dress was pretty easy. I would say it is a good pattern for a beginner. The challenges include:

• darts, but in the facing only, so they don't have to be perfect,
• gathering, but only the small amount I showed above,
• facings, which I never thought were difficult, but some people do,
• and inserting a zipper, which is something a sewing enthusiast is going to need to master early on anyway

This could probably be tackled as a first garment.

Coffee Dress: Full Outfit

The fabulous Trystan of This Is CorpGoth suggested I accessorize my coffee dress with red. I rummaged through my closets and jewelry box, digging out things I forgot I had or hadn't worn in a while. Here's the full outfit:



Since the dress is somewhat vintage in style, I wanted to use accessories with the same flair. This hat certainly fits the bill. Whenever I wear it (which is usually to funerals, since this is really too fancy to wear elsewhere), I get loads of compliments. These pictures don't do this hat justice. It's truly elegant and makes me feel like a million bucks (at a funeral - oh how morbid!). It was custom made for me on Etsy by My Treehouse Studio.



The gloves were purchased from Target's Halloween 2011 clearance. Being the cliche that I am, I also bought two pairs of stripe-y tights at the same time (fuchsia/black and orange/black). While I wear the tights frequently and they have held up well in the months since, the same cannot be said for these gloves. The bottom seam fell out and the edge isn't finished, so it started fraying. Unfortunately, I had to take them off shortly after I got to work. It's an easy enough fix, but it's annoying and once again demonstrates the value of hand-crafted items. Wrist-length gloves probably would have been more appropriate here, but I don't have any. YET.

The earrings I've had for forever. I probably got them at Claire's as a tween. While digging through my jewelry, I discovered I have far less red than I though I did most of the vintage stuff is just too fancy. (You know what that means, right? To Etsy to purchase things I don't need!) I went for hoop earrings here, as that's pretty neutral as far as my earrings go.



The fishnets are from We Love Colors. If you haven't shopped there before, you should definitely check them out - 51 colors to chose from in tights, fishnets, thigh highs, etc! They also things like carry dancewear and gloves. And don't feel left out, guys and kiddos, they've got stuff for you too. I know some people - including myself - have had some issues with their sizing, but their wares aren't so expensive that one pair of ill-fitting tights is the end of the world.

I did almost go with solid red tights, but for one, it's just too warm for that here, and two, I thought it might be too much here. The fishnets do have a vintage flair to them that regular opaque tights don't have (IMHO).

While they're a little bit tough to spot, you can see that I'm wearing red barrettes here. These came from Etsy seller Nattie's Place (who seems to have closed up shop). I likely bought them in a lot of 10 or 20.



The shoes are from Famous Footwear and feature wingtip styling.

My hair is about shoulder length (this is after growing it out for a year - it was about nose length before), so there isn't a lot I can with it (not to mention my lack of talent and experience here). While it's difficult to see, I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and then flipped it under and wrapped that in the hair elastic. It looks somewhat like a bun, which my hair isn't long enough for. If there's a name for this style, I don't know about it. Also difficult to tell from this picture (partially because of the lighting and partially because my hair was wet), my hair is actually purple in the front and brown in the back.

As I mentioned previously, I did have issues with the sleeves of this dress. I did not like how they turned out and they won't stay where they were supposed to. I had to yank them all the way up to my shoulders, which is not how the dress is meant to be worn. While it looks okay that way, the slightest movement sends the sleeves cascading down my arms. I am definitely going to have to do something about it, which means ripping apart the dress I just finished. Harumph.

I apologize for my bra straps showing. I didn't realize that until it was too late. A strapless bra would probably be the way to go with this dress (especially if the sleeves actually would sit where they are supposed to). Lesson learned.

Cost breakdown:
Shoes: under $50 from Famous Footwear
Gloves: under $10 from Target
Fishnets: $9 from We Love Colors
Barrettes: ~$2 from Etsy seller Nattie's Place
Hat: $55 from Etsy seller My Treehouse Studio
Dress: ~2.5 yds of Lucy's Crowd Coffee Cups @ $7.21/yd (but I had $20 coupon!) from Fabric.com

Thanks to my dear husband for taking the pictures.

Space Invaders III

If you haven't already, you might want to read parts I and II.

The last update on this dress had me considering my contrast options. If you recall, I was pretty confident that I could find a solid aqua or light blue to match the Space Invaders, but had my heart set on some kind of print. My first stop was JoAnn's. Let me first say that I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed. Despite the huge wall of quilting cotton that my local JoAnn's has, they had only one print that even came close to matching - but it was swirly, busy, and just didn't go with the blocky Invaders. So I gave up on that idea and decided I'd just go with a solid. Not my first choice, but eh, no biggie. Well, again, despite the huge selection of quilting cotton, I only found one color match. To refresh your memory, this is what the fabric looks like:



I would have been fine with either aqua or blue, but the only match was in that nasty yellow-green. With no other options, I purchased a minty green - it was in the same color family, but not as dark. I was pretty upset by that I couldn't find anything better - so upset that I went to Hancock's. I really dislike going to my local Hancock's. It's a pretty long story, but I'll just say that it involves rudeness and bad smells. But I figured that for Space Invaders, I could stand it. Their selection was even worse! Nothing even came close. I stared forlornly at the quilting cotton before admitting defeat and heading home.

At that point, my options were to go with the minty green or buy online. Matching colors online is tough without fabric swatches and I didn't really want to waste the time on that. I reluctantly settled on the minty green. The dress is lined and interfaced, so at least I wouldn't have to be concerned about my bra straps showing through.

As of my last update, I had sewn together most of the skirt and part of the top - that was as far as I could get before the contrast came in. Here was the first step in that process:



As you can see, the mint isn't a perfect color match. I grumbled every step of the way about how I was wasting this precious Space Invaders fabric (I'm just gonna say "SI" from now on, okay?), not to mention my precious weekend. Nevertheless, I plunged ahead because I don't like leaving projects unfinished.

My first challenge was the midriff section. The instructions said "sew broken lines together". That's it. It wouldn't have been so bad if there were only two lines, but this is the pattern piece:



I can think of any number of ways one could "sew broken lines together", and even tried experimenting on some scraps, but they all left me with a diminutive midriff piece that was far smaller than the lining piece. It took me longer than I care to admit before I figured out exactly what the instructions were telling me to do. You see where it says "tuck" up there? You sew the lines immediately above and below together, and they don't get sewn to anything else. That does leave an extra line at the top and bottom though, which is why I think I got confused. Those lines are never mentioned, so I think they represent the stitching lines for where the skirt and bodice are attached.

This is the piece pinned:



And here it is sewn:



Sewn to the bodice:



I proceeded with the rest of the pattern, which involved attaching the back, sewing on the skirt, adding the contrast band, and sewing in the zipper. This dress is a bit unusual in that the back is fitted with elastic and the zipper is on the left side (if you're a leftie making this, you might want to move it to the other side). Here's the final dress:








This is how a kitty sulks after you've shooed her off your dress one too many times:



So, overall, this pattern wasn't too difficult, but it was pretty time consuming. Part of the reason for this is that the instructions were very dense - four full pages, not counting the Spanish section. I understand the company has to pay more to get another page of instructions, but "sew broken lines together" is somewhat lacking in clarity. On top of that, I spotted a couple of typos in the instructions and the previously mentioned misprint on the pattern itself. The technical challenges here include: pleating, tucking, gathering, inserting a zipper, and inserting elastic. The last two aren't too bad, but the first three can be. For these reasons, I would recommend this pattern for those of intermediate sewing skills. If Simplicity can correct their typos and expand the instructions, an advanced beginner could probably handle this.

If I made this again, I would make the changes I did before (straps and pockets), but I would also change how the bodice is constructed. I didn't like that it left raw exposed seams. I finished mine, but it wouldn't have been to hard to turn them inside. It grieves me a little to know they're there. :( Also, I was a little disappointed in the length - it hits me about mid-knee, which is a little shorter than I'd like. My fault for not checking the length beforehand, but I would probably lengthen this by two inches, at least. Double check your lengths!