Busy As a Bee

My life has been pretty frenzied for the last month, and will continue to be so for the next 6+ weeks, so updates will probably sparse or non-existent for a while.  So don't worry, I'm not dead, just busy.

McCall's Summer 2013

McCall's summer collection for 2013 has just been released.  I am not abundantly impressed, though this dress (in view D, the long, sleeveless on) is kind of cute.

McCall's 6770 gives me a bit of pause.  I suppose one would describe this as steampunk or neo-Victorian?  Or perhaps even colonial?  Don't get me wrong, I really love that jacket and the skirt (though the fabric appalls me), and I appreciate that they showed a more modern take on some of the items.  I guess it's really the terrible "I just rolled out of bed" hair that is distracting me.

Not a Ghost of a Chance

The Sophistique Noir theme for April is vintage, so I wanted to share two of the vintage garments I own and one that I sewed.  I love the look of vintage garments, but given that modern RTW garments don't fit my odd shape, I don't own all that many.  The benefit of sewing your own vintage repo garments is that they'll actually fit.

This jumper (US English)/pinafore (British English) is Simplicity 3673 view A.  The pattern doesn't give an exact year, but it does say 1950s retro.  It does feature a good deal of darts, some gathering, a rear zipper, a back vent, and a little bow-belt thing (which I omitted).  It was a bit finicky, so I would say this is probably an intermediate-level pattern.

The fabric I got on eBay an eternity ago; probably four or five yards for $15.  I couldn't give an exact year I bought it, but I remember bidding on it using a Sidekick I or II.  It features tiny little embroidered ghosts on a plaid-ish, and I believe it is cotton.

This cowl-neck sweater was my mother's.  She wore it as part of her uniform when she was in boarding school in England, so it is probably from the mid-60s.  The fabric seems acrylic and in cold weather, I wear the jumper with the sweater, heavy tights, and boots.  I suppose it isn't really vintage-accurate to combine the 50s and 60s, but I don't care because I'm warm.  In spring and fall, I wear the jumper with regular tights, a long-sleeved shirt, and heels; a t-shirt and sandals completes the outfit when it's hot.

I am not sure what to call this other vintage garment.  Is it a sleeveless jacket?  It doesn't really seem like a top, so I guess sleeveless jacket is what we'll go with.  The sleeveless jacket is lace covered with beads and has a synthetic lining.  A separating zipper up the back serves as the closure.

This belonged to my grandmother.  It was no tags, so I don't know what it is made from or where it came from.  I am not all that versed in vintage clothing, but if I had to guess, I would say this came from the 70s.  The lack of tags, plus the fact that the lace is quite similar to the standard one from JoAnn's, makes me wonder if someone made this for her.  (She certainly did not make it for herself.  She knitted and crocheted, but hated sewing.  She started a club called I Hate Sewing which I did not join.)  Due to the time period that I think this came from, if someone made it for her, it would probably have been my great aunt (her sister).

I might also add that all the beads on this make it heavy as sin.

It Suits Me to a T

A while ago, The Art of Darkness ran a contest to give away a t-shirt of your own design from T Shirt Printing, and I won!  I combined my love of sewing and my spookiness to create the design shown.  If it isn't apparent, the design is meant to mimic a skull and crossbones, with the bones replaced by sewing needles.

If you're in the market for a custom t shirt (or hoodie, or polo shirt, or...), definitely check out T Shirt Printing.  I couldn't be more pleased with how the shirt turned out and the transaction was thoroughly pleasant.

And if you aren't familiar with The Art of Darkness, check that out too.  It provides 100% RDA of spooky fun.

Easy As Pi

Happy Pi Day!  As a giant nerd, I have several t-shirts celebrating my favorite transcendental number.  I purchased this one recently.  While digging through the stash recently for something else, I came across fabric from the cherry dress, and thought it would make a nice hair accessory.  It didn't turn out as well as I would have liked, but it's still cute.

I cut a long strip from the cherry fabric and then folded it over.  I pleated it and then gathered it into a circle.  I hand-sewed it onto the barrette, and then sewed on the cherry buttons.  I had purchased them for the cherry dress and then changed my mind.  The barrettes I already had in the notions stash.

So the total cost of the project was nothing, as everything came from the stash.  It took under an hour.  I'll probably make more of these out of other scraps in the stash.  It's nice to have a perfectly matching hair accessory.

Earning Your Stripes

I mentioned last time that I had some purple striped fabric in my stash that would have been perfect for March's Sophistique Noir theme of purple.  Lack of time and motivation got in my way.  In between carting two sick cats repeatedly to the vet over the weekend, the motivation resurfaced.

The pattern here is Butterick 4609, which you may remember that I made previously in orange and black.  I usually cut a pattern in a size 10, but for some reason when I made this, I cut a 10 in the waist and a 12 in the bust and hips.  I do like my dress shirts a bit loose, so perhaps that's why?

These pictures make it abundantly clear that Azzurra and I are not the same shape.  She has a flat butt, whereas mine is quite round; she has a bit of a of a tummy, and I don't really.  So please excuse the bulging and tugging in the pictures; the blouse actually fits me quite well.

The fabric here is Trick or Treat from the Camelot Collection.  The pattern calls for 2 1/4 yds in a size 10/12, but fabric.com only sells in half-yard increments.  I had twenty inches of fabric left, so you could probably get away with just two.  I'm not sure what I'll do with it; make I can buy some coordinating fabric and make a skirt.

I had only half-remembered this fabric (I washed it and immediately stuck it in the stash pile), so I didn't reacall that there was was so much purply-pink in it.  I was a bit disappointed in that, but obviously not enough to stop me from making the blouse.

I didn't realize until I got to the cuffs that I was out of interfacing.  I dug through every nook and cranny in the sewing room and couldn't find any scraps big enough to use.  I finally resorted to using embroidery interfacing.  It is really quite stiff, but for French cuffs, I figured it wouldn't be such a big deal.  I actually liked how it turned out, so it wasn't such a horrible thing.

The cufflinks here were a gift from my husband for our anniversary several years ago.  They are garnet and were purchased from Pushin Daisies.  I don't care if they don't match!  They're garnet coffins!

Difficulty-wise, I remembered the pattern being pretty easy, and except for the cuffs, it is.  Not that they're hard, but there's a bunch of fiddly bits.  It just requires lots of pins and patience.

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.