elizabeth_mn

I like making everyday stuff in batches, so I made these four skirts at the same time from the same pattern. It's a pretty efficient way for me to sew.

I started them way back in August, got them all put together, then had zipper foot issues and ignored them for awhile. In November I sewed the zippers, then the only thing left was hand stitching the waistband facings down and hooks & eyes, so I ignored them again.

Recently the skirts from my last batch have been starting to literally fall apart, so this weekend I finally decided to get these ones off my loose ends pile and finish them.

The pattern is New Look 6079, a slightly A-line straight skirt with shaped panels in lieu of darts. I made view B/C without any of the ribbon trim or weird flappies.



I made these in various linens and cottons. I consider these 3-Season skirts, for autumn, winter, and spring. They are a bit heavy for summer. The linen might be a bit thin for winter, but as you can see I like to layer them with leggings and socks. It is crucial to have skirts that won't creep up with leggings. I like long, full skirts but they just get bunchy with leggings. So a shorter, slimmer skirt works better for layering.

Here are some not super flattering pictures.



( more )

Simple modern sewing is not much I know but I feel good to have been busy with some sewing anyway, and of course it is always nice to finish a long-overdue UFO!

Before I did the last-minute hat, I spent a few days on this petticoat.



Technically it's a class display for work, but I also just wanted a nice new petticoat. Still trying to replace some of my older, crappier costume components. And also, you always need more petticoats, period.

It's the early bustle view of TV 170, made in plain quilting cotton. I clean-finished all the seams, mostly French but I felled the CB to each side so I could carry the same finish up to the split opening. I planned to cover the horizontal seams (where the flounce and ruffle join) with binding, but ran out of time. I will add it later when I can take it home.

I like this pattern a lot; it goes together so easily and the tucks are just adorable, but it feels slightly skimpy to me for early bustle. It's displayed here over this natural form petticoat (It's all I could spare at the moment) and a bustle pad. I think next time I might make up a new side panel that's wider and gathered, to give more side fulness to the silhouette.

The waistband also seems a bit excessive to me. It's so wide! And the drawstring is really only needed in back. A tiny detail, but I like tiny details.

Something for work!



Ok, that's not entirely accurate. It IS for Treadle, but I get to keep my displays when they are no longer needed, usually a couple months.

When I saw the printed corduroy with the foxes I just knew that F had to have pants made of it. I decided to do them as a display and the pattern I chose (New Look 6257) had a jacket too, so I thought why not? The jacket is made of lightweight wool flannel and lined in a cotton print. The collar in the pattern is stupid so I drafted a Peter Pan collar, using the tutorial here as a guide. I made covered buttons from the apple print.

The pants took an hour. The jacket I spent a few days on. It was pretty simple but I made a few silly mistakes and had to do a couple do-overs. Plus when I say "a few days," I really mean "an hour a day for three days," because I just can't seem to scrape together a nice long sewing session lately. It's all bits and pieces for me.

It is suddenly chilly here. 60s in the day and 40s-50s at night. So probably more autumn sewing like this will be on my agenda. I kind of want to make the same coat over again in a cotton twill or maybe a wide-wale corduory. And she definitely needs more pants!

This morning I read m_of_disguise's post about sewing men's costumes, and it made me realize I've been doing a lot of sewing for my guy recently. There are a ton of helpful resources I've used over the years, so I thought it would be fun to share a list!

Books:

I love books. I love sewing books even more. I am constantly running to my bookshelf mid-project to look up a technique, compare a pattern shape, or get accessory ideas. These are my absolute faves for menswear.

Classic Tailoring Techniques by Roberto Cabrera. This is my #1 reference. This is where they tell you how to do everything the "good" way. How often do I do all of it? Eh, not very often. But it's still my go-to book for a jumping-off point. It's currently out of print, but I got it for about $30 on Amazon; if you keep an eye on it for a few months sometimes the price drops.





( More Books! )

( Patterns )

That's all I've got for now! I'm sure there are many things I've missed, so please share your favorite menswear resources with me!

Making this rayon challis dress for a work display.  Still needs: neck facings, hem, sleeve hems.


(Please excuse the wet, draggled hair.  I had just washed it.)

( Back, with sort-of matched print )

I love this print, and rayon is always so nice to work with and to wear.  The pattern is New Look 6093.  The hip panels are bias-cut, and altogether the piecing perfectly breaks up the linear effect this print had.  I used sleeve view D, but I took out the pleat because it just looked stupid.

When it's done, it'll hang at Treadle for a while, then hopefully I can wear it for a fun date!

Sewing for my HB is always slow because I have to wait to do fittings until we are both at home and available.  I'm still waiting to fit the doublet on him, and in the interim, I've decided to start on that pile of eleventy-million printed cottons I have for summer dresses.

First up is McCall's 6504, which is basically a princess-seam dress on steroids.  There are 13 pieces to make up the body of the dress.

I'm doing the red/white contrast version in two Amy Butler fabrics with a positive/negative effect.  Yesterday I traced the pattern and cut it; today I cut muslin and started sewing a mock-up.  The notches are somewhat unhelpful in matching the pieces, though, and I got confused at one point and sewed a piece in wrong about 3 times.  The third time I ripped it, it tore in two, so I'll need to cut another muslin piece before moving on.  Plus The Girl got needy after not very long and I put it down for the day.

But I am so determined to have new dresses.  I have a ton of cool fabrics just waiting.  I plan to use my basic shirtdress pattern for several more, but I want to tweak it with a side-seam bust dart.  I think I've made some cool dresses in the past with narrower skirts, but when I am standing in front of the closet, I always gravitate towards those fuller ones.

The Colette shirt is almost done; I just need to topstitch the cuffs and add buttons and holes.  Yay!

My pattern review so far:  Altogether it's a pretty nice, well-fitting pattern, although it has very little ease.  The instructions, on the other hand, suck.  There are a few nifty techniques, and they are mostly pretty detailed, but there are several sloppy mistakes and omissions.  Theoretically, the omissions could be intentional, but why would you go to the trouble to flat-fell every seam and have a totally clean interior finish and then do a sloppy hem on the facing bottom?

There are a few other weirdnesses as well, like the cuff.  If you sew it as written, the seams don't match up.  And I think I've already complained about the seam allowance information being scattered randomly throughout the directions.

Usually I totally ignore pattern directions, but I wanted to give these a shot so I could do a fair review.  Disappointing. 

If I’m going to plan a costume event for next spring or summer, I will need to figure out a costume for The Girl.

I have always liked Truly Victorian’s dress for girls, but maybe it is a little old for her. She’ll be 1 ½ or almost 2, depending on when we do the event.  It might be cute to do something a little more rustic, like prairie girl with an apron, but I want to avoid going too generically ye-olde-timey.  And it would be nice to not have to draft my own pattern from scratch.

I’m being vague. Clearly more research is indicated!

I needed an errand to get me out of the house the other day, so I went out to Jo-Ann to look at dress patterns.

I bought two patterns from Simplicity's new-ish Amazing Fit series.  One of them was reviewed in the latest Threads magazine, which is what convinced me to look for it.  I am feeling the need for more basic pattterns that I can really refine the fit of.  I thought I had gotten there with some of mine, but sadly it appears that is not the case.

I ended up with Simplicty 2404 and 2648.  Basic, classic shapes.  The thing that sold me was the separate pattern pieces for different cup sizes and optional shaping for curvier figures.

I'm visualizing the natural-waistline one in a small 30's-repro type print with contrast piping on all the seams and neckline, just like a dress I saw on a model in a Classic Elite yarn ad.  (So much cuter than the sweater in the ad!)

I probably won't get around to either of these for a while, but it's nice to know they are waiting for me when I eventually do.

I've been thinking about my next sweater. (I apologize for the links below; some are to Ravelry and therefore are not accessible to everyone.)

I've got 2 skeins (956 yards) of orange Cascade Eco+.



It was once destined to become a hoodless Heather Hoodie Vest, but that plan has been scrapped because I don't think the Heather vest would really flatter my figure, even if I add waist shaping.

But I still want to use this yarn next, because it is the only thing I currently own a sweater's worth of, and I am still trying to be frugal (vacation shopping aside) to save up for a new sewing machine.

Some options I've been considering include:

Star Cross'd Love is cute and cable-y.  I was a little put off by the shawl collar, but the cables won me over in the end.  Then I saw it is in only one size, a 32.5" bust.  Um, no.  I could try to size it up, but I don't really want to deal with modifying something so complex.

This Peplum Cardigan is pretty and has some interesting stitch patterns to keep me amused.  It's a free Lion brand pattern, though, which makes me a little uneasy.

Chunky Fudge might be my favorite so far.  Simple, fitted, with just a little stitch pattern.  The neckline is a bit wide for me, but that's better than fitting too closely.

There's also Cherie Amour, which has been in my queue longer than anything.  Although, I'm not sure if I was drawn to it simply because of the lovely variegated yarn, but I am also not sure about wearing a high-contrast variegated sweater.  And the Cascade Eco+ is fluffy and lofty; I am not sure if a lace pattern like this requires more drape.  Also, the pattern is very 1970s/late 60s, and my yarn is definitely 70s burnt-orange color, so I am not sure if that would be just a little too retro.  (Do people still say 'retro'?  I feel old.) 

Yesterday I swatched for Cherie Amour and got gauge on the lace pattern on sz 11 and on the rib section on sz 10 (pattern gives a 13 and a 9 for this, respectively, which seems a bit odd to me).  I am still not sure if I will cast on for this.  More mulling is required.