Right off the Bat

I am not known for doing subtle well (I am sure that it comes as a shock that the person with purple hair does not do subtle well), so when Trystan announced this month's theme was hidden bats, I was at a bit of a loss.  Most of the batty things I make are over the top.  So I'll just call it hidden by my standards, as I didn't add batty earrings, barrettes, hosiery, etc.

I was at a particularly low point in my life when I made this blouse.  I felt like everything I did was wrong, work was terrible, my husband's grandmother had just passed away, and a dear friend disappeared off the face of the earth.  In an attempt to make myself feel better, I thought that perhaps if I tackled a sewing project, I might have more confidence.  I already had New Look 6179 in the pattern stash, and it looked easy enough.  I selected view A and grabbed this bat and spider fabric from the fabric stash.

(The story behind this fabric: I went into JoAnn's after Halloween and this fabric was 75% off.  I didn't have any particular plans for it, so I thought two yards would do.  There was something like two yards and four inches left on the bolt.  Rather than just have that four inches thrown away, I told the clerk I would take the whole piece.  She seemed to think I was just asking her to give it to me, though I most certainly was not.  It took considerable effort to make her understand otherwise.  Because those extra inches were considered a remnant, which is 50% off, and the fabric was already 75% off, those four inches she was thinking I wanted for free cost me a grand total of... EIGHT CENTS.)






Back to the review.  I didn't read the instructions before I selected the pattern.  If I had done so, I might have selected a different pattern.  Though cotton is the first suggested fabric, this pattern is designed for sheer fabrics; thus, French seams are used.  At that point, I made never tried to sew them, and considering how bad I felt about myself at the time, failure at this would have devastated me.

I am too stubborn determined to admit defeat, so I plunged ahead anyway.  I learned that French seams aren't so bad, but it is certainly weird to put right side to right side for sewing them.  Even now, I do have to double-check myself to make sure I've got it right.

This is a basic, loose-fitting blouse, so there aren't too many issues with fitting.  There is a slit down the front that is faced that I couldn't quite get to lie flat (enlarge the last picture).  The damn thing kept flipping outwards as well, so I tacked it down with some hand-stitching.  The upper seam is enclosed in  bias tape (I made my own from the fabric), and I threaded the ribbon through that.

Even after all my whining about the blouse, it wasn't too bad.  Once I got over my fear of French seams and my general malaise with life, this blouse came together rather swiftly.  Someone not wallowing in the depths of depression could do this blouse with beginner skills.

As for this other shirt, I think I got it from Target in their Halloween clearance.  It features an intentionally distressed bronze heart with bats fluttering away from it.

I just happened to wear this on a day when I was getting some bloodwork done.  The phlebotomist was surly to me from the moment she walked into the room, even though I was entirely polite and respectful to her.  After she drew the blood, she explained her rudeness was due to her being afraid of bats flying into her hair.  Apparently the cartoony bats from my shirt were going to come to life and attack her?  Bizarre.

UPDATE: Here is a close-up of the bat and spider fabric.

 

I'm Batty for You

The Sophistique Noir theme for March is purple.  I didn't have time to sew something new on such short notice (though I did have time to kick myself for not starting on the purple and black striped blouse a few days ago when I had some spare time).  I thought about using an old post (such as the evening gown or the multi-colored hearse blouse), but instead I dug this dress out of the summer clothes storage.  Please forgive the wrinkles.

The pattern is New Look 6774.  It's one of those "design your own look patterns", where you choose from several bodices, straps, and skirts to put together your own dress.  While I certainly like the flexibility that patterns like this offer, I think they are a bit misleading.  You can do that with most patterns, in fact.  The pieces here are I (the lapping bodice), J (the midriff, which was the only piece required of all the patterns), and K (the long skirt).  I keep saying it, but you think sooner or later I will realize that lapping bodices look ridiculous on my flat chest.  I hand-stitched the lapping such after the fact to stop the gapping. I also shortened the skirt (a first for me) to be mid-calf instead of ankle-length.

Another problem with these sorts of patterns is that each piece has its own yardage listed, so you have no choice but to add them all up and cross your fingers that it's correct.  Even though Simplicity and New Look have a reputation for being overly generous with their fabric allotments, this was just nuts.  I didn't buy any lining fabric and just used the leftover pieces after cutting out the dress, and I still have over a yard laying around in the stash.

Anyway, the fabric here is a sparkly purple bat fabric with little stars and crescent moons.  I think this is by Debbie Mumm, but I'm not sure.  I got it in the clearance section of JoAnn's for a song.  I have been meaning to make myself a matching sun hat with the leftover fabric, but I lack motivation and time.

Difficulty-wise, this has some jumping around because of the nature of this pattern.  It kind of reminded me of one of those "choose your own adventure" stories.  It might be a little much for an inexperienced sewist, but the steps themselves aren't too difficult.  There is some gathering and pleating, but I didn't find them to be onerous.  So I would recomend this for something who has a few garments under their belt, but is still a beginner.

 

Bats in the Belfry (Plus: Announcements and a Giveaway)

Firstly, on the which dress pattern to make for my younger brother's wedding, I think I'm going to go with McCall's 5269.  I had originally planned to go with view B, but view A is starting to grow on me. Hmm...

Secondly, Cuz I Said Sew turns one today.  Happy birthday, blog!  It's been a weird year for me; most are filled with ups and downs, but this year has seen higher highs and lower lows than usual.  But whatever doesn't kill me can only make me stronger, right?  I hope the coming year is more stable.

Moving on, as part of my resolution to work my way through the stash is to use up the scraps from other projects.  I still had some glittery bat fabric left from the overnight bag and the clutch, and I enjoy making stuff for other people, and the blog's birthday was coming up.  When such factors converge, it seems like fate, or close enough for me.

Best picture EVAR!  It's not this twisted IRL; this is just
a really bad photograph

Simplicity 9949 has a nice assortment of bags.  I made views H & K.  Let's start with K, the tissue holder.  This really is super simple.  Like easier than curtains simple.  It's all straight lines.  This would be an excellent first project.

View H is a cylindrical bag.  Once again, this fabric is not bidirectional, so I split the outer part of the bag on the bottom seam line again.  The lining is the same green I used for the clutch.  The ends were supposed to be piping (a cord encased in bias tape), but I used the bias tape to just cover the ends.  If you go that route, you'll probably want the tape a little wider.  This one is a little harder, but still easy enough for a beginner.

I'm giving away both of these, as well as some other assorted spooky goodies, as a thanks to my readers for sticking with me over the tumultuous year.  To enter, just leave a comment to this post.  You don't have to be a follower of this blog, or even have a blog of your own.  One entry per person, please.  The contest will run until 2/27, when I will pick someone at random as the winner.