September sewing

Why hello there! Yes, I am still sewing, and no, you haven't missed a post. Since January, I have:

1) Sewed a shirt for my dad, which I forgot to take pictures of. The same Hawaiian-style shirt, in a nice olive green striped fabric he picked out. My first time sewing with stripes! I forgot to pay attention to the stripes for the most part, but I did perfectly match the pocket.

2) Tried once again to fit the dress that I've being trying to fit for a couple of years now. That's what took up most of the year (that, and abandoning sewing for a bit after that). I have finally given up. I'm not going to try again. I'm not even convinced the dress would have looked any good on me, I just wanted to sew everything in the Colette Sewing Handbook. But not that, apparently.

3) Sewed seasonally-inappropriate flannel pjs for my friend K.

She didn't say they were terrible, so I'm going to assume they fit. I have a sneaking suspicion they might be too short, but that's what fuzzy socks are for, right?

Elephants!

This is the Sewaholic Tofino pattern. I used flat piping, because I couldn't really find nice piping anywhere. Maybe I didn't know where to look. I think my pattern tracing is really going to pay off here, because I can re-use this pattern for myself or others, since I didn't cut the pattern at all.

4) Made my first repeat (for myself)!

This is another Colette Sorbetto, the freebie pattern on their website. Based on the last time I made it, I lowered the dart 1" and did a sway back adjustment that didn't seem to make a difference. But the dart placement is so much better.

The fabric has cat faces on it. Adorable, right? It's an oddly shaped remnant I bought in London. I took the decorative pleat out of the front, because I didn't think the fabric would hold that shape, and then had to add a seam in the back in order to fit the pattern on the fabric I had. I used pre-made bias tape at the neckline and armholes.

I love the shirt, and it's filling a navy-shaped hole I didn't realize I had.

5) Made another a-line cotton twill skirt. I now understand the allure of the tried-and-true pattern. 

Although I did have to make some edits - this was one of the first patterns I used, and I'd cut the tissue along with the pattern. Sadly, I have gained some weight since then (very few of my me-made clothes fit right now, which is devastating) and need the next size up, which...wasn't there. So I had to add some on to all the seams. It worked just fine, except with the waistband, where I messed up somehow. There's a little fudging. If you look at the right side, I ran out of fabric for the seam allowance so I had to just finish it with an overcast stitch. Luckily I don't really ever tuck shirts in, so no-one will see it.

Funny story: I had been planning on making another Sewaholic Cambie (and I still will! I have ridiculous fabric that is calling out to be used), but I would have had to re-fit it, and I thought by the time I finished it, it would be winter. So instead I started this fairly heavy-weight skirt...and finished it while it's still summer temperatures out there. I haven't worn it yet, but I'm sure I'll wear it as much as the previous version.

Pretty topstitching.

Next on deck: another Colette Moneta in a heavy mustard yellow. Except today I felt the urge to make a shirt, so I started making the required edits to the Sewaholic Alma (FBA and swayback, for sure, and possibly a narrow shoulder? Sloped shoulder? If I can get the bust right, I'll look at the rest.) I haven't decided what fabric, but I'm going to pull something out of the stash.

Summer shirt, owl skirt, and a seasonally inappropriate cowl

I made 3 things! And they go hideously together, heh.

After my fitting issues with the dress I was trying to make, I wanted to do something that didn't require adjustment. The first thing that came to mind, of course, was a skirt, and I had this Sewaholic Hollyburn pattern hanging around, just waiting to be used with this fabulous fabric.

Owls! In orange and lime green!

I had to cut the fabric in a single layer in order to have all the owls upright, so cutting took a long time, but it's a quick make otherwise. And a great skirt in a style I really like currently.

(It's not as long as it looks there - it's really right below the knee. I actually took a bunch of photos before hemming it with the intention of getting opinions on length, but when I looked at them, this length was the clear winner.)

I'm definitely looking forward to wearing this, and I'm sure I'll make more.

I also made a Colette Sorbetto, a free PDF pattern they offer on their website.

I didn't bother fitting this at all, just cut my bust size. Due to Colette patterns being cut for a larger bust, it worked - not perfect, but okay. The biggest issue was with my sway back, but all RTW clothing has that too, so I'm used to it.

I got to do two new things with this pattern - work from a PDF pattern (okay, but annoying to paste all the pieces together) and make my own bias tape (time consuming, but looks really good to use the same fabric). I would definitely make this again! And maybe try fitting it better? This is almost like a wearable muslin, given that the random mint green paisley from a yard sale goes with nothing in my wardrobe, so probably won't get worn much.

Finally, I knit a cowl. Yes, even though it's summer. In my defense, it was winter when I started - I just put it aside for a few other things.

Stephen West Purl Ridge. It's a little more teal than it looks there. I need to learn to do a looser bind off. But I'm pretty happy with it.

Now what? Maybe I'll tackle the dress with all the fitting problems again.

Break's over

Well, that was an unplanned sewing break. I blame summer - even with air conditioning, I find it hard to have enthusiasm for anything in the summer. Even reading! But we're having a few cooler days (bliss), and suddenly things seem interesting again.

Which means I finally managed to finish my skirt. HOORAY.

I blend into my living room. I'll have to remember this outfit if I ever need to hide in plain sight.

The skirt didn't turn out quite like I expected - based on pattern art I thought it was going to sit at the waist, but it sits quite a bit lower. The yoke is kind of oddly curved, too, and I'm pretty sure that's the pattern, not me (see how it comes up again at the side seam?).

I do like how swishy it is, though. The cotton voile I used for the lining is very soft, so it's quite comfortable to wear. I think the white kind of wiped out the funkiness of the pattern in the fabric, sadly - you can kind of see it in the picture below, but mostly it just looks lime green. And it's longer than I had planned, so I might re-hem it. Maybe. If I ever get the energy.

So, what did I learn? I figured out how to add a lining when there isn't one in the pattern - very useful! I also learned not to sew the lining too far into the zipper tape, or else the zipper will be hard to close. Oops.

All in all, a very useful summer skirt, even it's not exactly what I thought I was making. And it perfectly matches the awesome Miz Mooz shoes I just bought (which many people pointed out today, hee).

Summer skirt

After all the fitting and finishing of May, I wanted to do something simple for Jume. Okay, really I was secretly hoping to do two quick projects in June, since I'm one project behind for the year. In any case, "simple" means a skirt, since I don't have to make a toile or any alterations. Therefore:

 

Front, back, waistband, zipper. Done! HAHAHA. First, I realized that the fabric was really light and a little see-through. Whoops. So I decided to add a lining. And then I saw a cute version on Pattern Review and decided to add the pockets. This, as it turns out, was a terrible idea. Not only is the pocket pattern badly made, with markings that don't line up, but they looked horrible once they were on. Like some sort of pocket-y jodphur. 

I'm currently in the middle of picking the pockets off. I think it'll be okay - because the fabric is so thin, it got a couple of small holes just from the stitches, but they're not very visible. And then I think I have to attach the lining - I'm kind of making it up as I go along! Thank pete for the internet.

Baby's First Wadder

First, the good: I finished the February skirt! I actually finished about a week ago, so not quite so far into March. :)

It's okay. It's a very cute pattern - I really like the scallops on the botttom. The darts don't fit entirely, but I'm sure that's easily fixed. I'm just not convinced it's the best style for me and my sizeable waist-hip ratio. I think things with actual waists look better on me. It's funny - this is the kind of thing I always buy: not fitted in the waist, sitting on the hips. Comfortable, but not actually flattering.

Look at that gap! Since I've started sewing, I'm so much more aware of fit. In fact, I think I'm too aware of fit, to the point where I often can't figure out what proper fit is. I need the pattern designer there with me, to tell me how tight or loose it's supposed to be. I looked at this skirt, and I think it's fitting the way it's intended to fit, but that fit is just not the best style for me. But maybe it just needs to be adjusted? Maybe if I make the waist smaller? There's no actual waistband, though.

In any case, the skirt is fine, if not awesome. I wore it to work, and with a shirt over instead of tucked in, it's not noticeable, although the waist ends up rolling oddly through the day. Super comfortable, though, since it doesn't come anywhere near my waist. :)

And now the bad. The March shirt, which was going swimmingly and was totally going to get finished before April (the power of long weekends and the end of the month being on a weekend!), is a wee bit disasterous. I hit a point where it was basically sewn together, so I was able to try it on properly. My bust adjustment worked perfectly to put the band where it's supposed to be - except that it's now giant and gapey in the middle of the bust. I guess this is what 3 extra inches of fabric does! So I'm thinking maybe if I take it back to the original length in the centre, give it more of a W shape. I'm frankly just making things up here. Because otherwise this is a dead shirt, and I'd be sad to lose the fabric.

In any case, to make that change I have to basically unpick the entire thing. So I think it's going to go onto the back burner for a little while, and I'll unpick it slowly and see what I can do.

Instead, I'm going to move on, start something new. April's project is calling!

February update

Well, I didn't get my February project done on time. One month this year I will, I promise! I blame February for ending on a Thursday - I need that last weekend.

Although actually what slowed me down was the zipper foot I needed for the invisible zipper. I thought the machine came with one, so I didn't think about it until I sat down to sew the zipper in. Sadly, no zipper. So eventually I found somewhere to buy one...and promptly lost in on the way home. In my defense, they're tiny!

I did buy another one. So annoying. Even more annoying when I tried to use it this weekend and it didn't fit on my machine. AUGH. I faked it with a regular zipper foot, but the results weren't spectacular.

Not exactly invisible! Also there's that bump at the bottom, but I'm pretty sure I know how to make that not happen next time. I'm going to attempt to find the correct foot for future projects.

Onward! There are technically only 2 steps left, but, as always, tons of tiny steps contained within those.

When is a pattern not a pattern?

I've hit a small bump in February's project: I just discovered that I don't have an invisible zipper foot. Not that I mind getting one - I'm sure I'll use it lots, especially since it seems to be the preferred zipper for Colette and Sewaholic patterns - but I'm not totally sure where to buy one. I'll have to look into that this weekend - this is my last weekend to get this skirt done and keep on track!

Meanwhile, a peek at what I've done so far.

In my sewing classes, and what I remember from watching my mom sew, cutting a pattern is pretty simple. You pin the pattern to the fabric, and then cut it out with scissors. Which is what I did for my first few projects. But then I started reading (there it is again, reading above my level), and there was a lot of "no! don't cut the TISSUE! what if you want to make a different size? and think of the future!" Instead there was talk of pattern weights, and rotary cutters, and tracing, and templates. Too much.

But, I thought, if all the cool kids are doing it, I should see what it's all about. So I bought some "pattern weights" (washers, because there's a Home Depot right near me) and some posterboard (because there's a Staples right near me) and got to tracing.

The tracing was easy, if time consuming. I simply put the tissue pattern on the posterboard, held it in place with the washers, and drew over my size with a thin felt, which bled through to the posterboard. As a bonus, I didn't have to do this part on the floor! Score.

See the pink line?

And here it is after the tissue is gone

Then once I'd traced out all the patterns and copied all the markings, I cut out the posterboard and ended up with a bunch of templates.

Sadly, then I had to get back down on the floor, to lay out my fabric and the pattern pieces.

Look Ma, no pins! This part makes me really happy - I always find it kind of painful, getting the pins in. I have delicate princess hands, clearly. And an amazing ability to instinctively avoid using whichever finger has the thimble. It's uncanny.

Finally, I traced my template pattern pieces with tailor's chalk, and cut the fabric. It occured to me after that if I were very careful, I might be able to moved the chalked fabric onto the table to cut it out. My knees would certainly thank me for that.

So, was it worth it? I guess that depends on whether I end up liking the pattern. If I do, I've got this great, sturdy set of pattern pieces that can be used over and over again. The tissue patterns are definitely not long-lasting - I've used the men's shirt pattern twice and it's looking a little ragged. But it's a process and it takes time away from actually sewing, which is the part I like. So I guess we'll see!

Future projects

I'm very close to the end of the shirt that I've been making forever. Side note: it's very depressing to see that you only have 2 steps left in the instructions (woo!), only to realize that one is a ton of hand sewing, and the other is make buttonholes and sew on buttons. Sigh.

Anyway.

I'm very close to the end of the shirt, and not quite as close to the end of the dress that I'm making in class. Side note #2: this is taking me way longer than I expected. It's embarrassing to admit, but I thought I'd be faster than the rest of the class. Not that I'm a super fast sewer (I'm actually incredibly slow), but I have made a few things on my own, so I figured I'd just need a little help with the fitting and then I'd be off. Oh, the irony! I think I'm probably the farthest from finished in the class.

Anyway. Again.

I'm very close to the end of the shirt, and not quite as close to the end of the dress that I'm making in class. And I need to get started on the shirt I'm making for my dad for Christmas. But I can't help thinking of starting new projects. And despite my best intentions, I seem to have developed a stash, both patterns and fabric. So I decided to do a little matching, indulge my interest in starting something new, and plan my next couple of projects.

I'm not convinced that this is the best fabric for the shirt, being just a basic cotton, but I think the pattern would look so cute.

This is from the Colette Sewing Handbook - it's a sewing guide arranged around a series of patterns that increase in difficulty. This is the first one. The fabric is a fairly heavy cotton so that the scallops will hang properly. And it's purple, if you can't tell - purple is so hard to photograph well.

Is that not a ridiculously cute pattern and a ridiculously cute fabric? I bought it to make for a wedding this summer. If I start now, maybe I can finish it in time for next summer.

This is the other pattern I bought for the class. I would really like to learn to make trousers.

This is one of the first patterns I bought. I think it's time to use it. I might buy some other fabric to make the contrasting bottom band.

I've been putting this one off because fitting issues, but I still like it.

So, what do you think? Which one should I start first? And by first, I mean probably not until January.

Skirt 1; Rachel 0

Okay, the title is an exaggeration. But this skirt didn't turn out quite as nicely as the other stuff I've sewn.

On the plus side, it's finished! Yes, despite dealing with buying a condo, prepping to move, planning a vacation, and organizing the spring concert for my choir, I decided it was Very Important that I finish the skirt before I move at the end of June. Which really translated into "finish the skirt before my parents come to visit next week" since I need to put the sewing machine and ironing board away so that the room is available for eating, games, and my air mattress so I have somewhere to sleep.

(Yes, I know, it's a blue skirt. It's actually quite a dark navy. Still. More on that later.)

On the minus side, I don't really love it.

• I think the pattern is okay - the pockets are awesome - but the zipper installation instructions were weird and it doesn't look the best (my fault more than the pattern, I'm sure, but still). 
• Also, after buying all these patterns with yoke waists (those wide non-waistbands), I've since realized that they're not the best fit for me, what with my high waist-hip ratio. These hips need a real waistband! So technically it fits perfectly, but it doesn't really contour to my hips. I'm sure a better sewer could fix that, but I think it's really a style thing.
• And finally, the colour. Here's the thing: I never wear blue of any sort. But I kept seeing people wearing navy and orange together (and I do wear orange) and looking fantastic. So I decided to make a navy skirt with orange topstitching. The thing is, from a distance it mostly just looks like a fake denim skirt. Not what I was going for.

 (Wow, it looks even lighter blue here. My photo skills are awesome, clearly.)

So there you have it. I'm going to wear it - like I said, it *fits* - I just don't know how long I'll keep it. We'll see! Maybe it'll grow on me.

Oh, and after all my complaining about having to go buy another zipper because I used the first and then bought one that's too long as the replacement, I ended up using the longer zipper because the shorter one didn't seem to fit. Like I said, weird zipper instructions.

Next up: I have the muslin for the shirt cut out, so after I move I'm going to zip that up and see if it fits. If it doesn't I'm going to attempt a full bust adjustment for the first time! And then, I am ambitiously going to attempt to make a dress for a friend's wedding this summer (for me to wear, not for her!). The pattern is even named after a street not that far from where the party is happening. Clearly it's fate.

Nothing much...

Apologies in advance for this photo-free update, but the camera is over there, and there are 2 cats on my lap. What can you do?

I got some gorgeous Liberty of London fabric for my birthday, and then an announcement of a super cute dress pattern in my email today. And I have a wedding to go to in August. So clearly it's fate. Although we'll see if that's actually enough time to get it done - I am a super slow sewer still.

Meanwhile I'm *thisclose* to finishing a skirt. I was zipping along until I...got to the zipper. Mostly because I accidentally used the zipper intended for this skirt over Christmas. So I had to go get a new one, but I forgot to check the length and so bought the wrong length, and had to go get another zipper. Etc. etc. I really want to finish it before I move! I don't want this to be like the last skirt I didn't get finished before I moved, which then sat in limbo for 2 years.

I also (because I was in a sewing mood but hadn't picked up the second zipper) started cutting out a shirt pattern. I'm scared of sewing a shirt for myself, so I grabbed an old bedsheet to make a muslin first. Look at me, like a real sewer.

So, in conclusion, I am in the middle of a couple of things and dreaming of another. Maybe next week I can actually put thread to cloth!

Christmas catch-up

Well, my Christmas sewing was a huge success. Yay! The project that I didn't mention was the 5 drawstring pouches and zippered bags I made for friends (one set was already in the mail when I took the photo).

Aren't they fun fabrics? It was so much fun picking them. Although if you can believe it, these were much more trouble than the shirt and skirt - I had to buy more fabric twice, once because the fabric I bought was far too stretchy to work with and I needed something different (the top blue flowers), and once because I bungled it so badly I had to start again (the stripes). But I got them all done in time, hurrah.


And then there's the presents for my parents. I didn't get a picture of the skirt for my mom before I gifted it, mostly because I was sewing the buttons on Christmas Eve, and the skirt didn't look like anything without them. (I got the shirt buttons sewn on minutes before leaving to catch my flight out.) But here are my parents wearing their new clothes.

No, I'm not such a terrible photographer that I cut their heads off. Close, though. Both things fit perfectly (yay, again), and they both seemed genuinely thrilled, not just with the thought, but with the final product. I was awfully happy.

Now I can do some more sewing for myself! I'd bought some fabric in the fall to make another version of the skirt I did for my class, because I liked it so much. So I pulled that out today, and struggled through the effort of prepping the fabric (side note: this is the most time consuming part for me. so annoying). In then end I decided on another pattern I had, just for fun. I layed out the pattern and started pinning, but didn't get very far - it was very hard (and painful!) to get the pins through this fabric. After putting multiple dents in my fingers I figured it was enough for the night. But still, it feels good to start another project, even if it is, yes, one more skirt.

Back again

Hello, lovely people in my computer! I've been neglecting you. In my defence, I've also been neglecting the sewing. No sewing, nothing to talk about. It's the time of year, you know? Plus I needed fabric before I could do anything.

However, I went to the giant Fabricland members sale, and now I have PLANS. Meanwhile, a couple of pics of skirts in the real world.

I got a couple of compliments on the skirt - mostly on how cute the rickrack on the bottom is. Heh. The rickrack made all the difference.

I don't know about this look. I am finding this skirt incredibly hard to style. I blame the pink. In any case, I just wanted to wear it, so I pulled out the black, but I don't love black except with other black, so it wasn't my favourite.

Number 3

I finished this skirt today. It's the same pattern as this skirt, although it looks pretty different to me. I liked the pocket so much I made two, as you can see. I also cut the skirt to be a bit narrower. And I made my own waist tie, out of the same material as the pockets (a pink and green check, if you can't see it).

I'm also wearing the same shirt in both pictures. I think this is a sign I need to stop making skirts with green in them.

This skirt feels much more homemade - the fabric is a pretty light (and cheap) cotton, but it also has a certain amount of stretch, which caused the hem to pucker a bit. Up close it's not the cleanest looking thing. But I love the pattern mixing. I'm not totally sure what I have to wear with it, though.

Finito.

I'm back...and I have a skirt!

Today was my last sewing class, and I managed to finish the skirt. Hooray! Even better, I'm really happy with it. I will wear the hell out of this skirt. I'm already planning another with the same pattern. Maybe navy (I know!) with orange contrast for all the topstitching? And maybe an orange band around the bottom if I can figure out how to add that onto the pattern?

I'm so happy I took the sewing course. Sure, I could have managed on my own again - I figured it out enough the first time. But there were things, like dealing with the fabric, that I might not have thought to figure out. And having someone help me interpret my first real pattern was so helpful - mostly to remind me what all the different stiches meant! I feel pretty confident that I can figure out another pattern now. And there's always the internet to help.

Proof that this was more involved than my first skirt:

Look! It has a real waistband and a zipper. And I clearly picked my pattern well (without realizing anything about what I was doing) because I didn't have to blindstitch the hem, which seems to be fairly time-consuming, at least according to the woman in my class, the best sewer there, who had only managed half her hem in 2 hours.  Her skirt was pretty full, but still.

7 down, 1 to go

I had my second-last sewing class yesterday. I'm really going to miss the class! The studio does offer other classes, but they seem to offer only the intro class on evenings and weekends. Which just seems weird to me, because I feel like I'm their target student. Who are they getting for the daytime classes?

Confession: I thought I was going to get my skirt done way before the end of the class. I had plans to take something else to work on the last class. But I'm actually a little farther behind because of the curved seams and the top sewing. And I didn't get nearly as much done this week as I thought. So now I'm wondering if I'm even going to get finished in class time! So much for feeling like a star pupil. :)

Update

I haven't had much time to sew the past few days - life is busy! But I did manage to sew the trim on my skirt! I found some more lime green rickrack during my last fabric store trip, much to my delight. I mean, I think the skirt looks fine without it, but it feels more *finished* with it.

Lulu agrees.

Skirt Progress

I made it a little further on my skirt during sewing class this week:

It almost looks like a skirt! All that's left is the zipper, waistband, and hem. I'm especially proud of all the topstitching, which hopefully you can see a bit better in the pic below.

(I'm still trying to figure out pictures in Blogger - at first all my pictures automatically went to the top of the post, and now I don't seem to have any justifying options. One day I'll figure it out!)

After I'd stitched it all together, I tried it on. It *just* fits. Or maybe it fits fine, but it's a closer fitting pattern than I thought. In any case, I'm relieved, because with all the seams being topstitched, it would be a pain to let out. Maybe next time I should baste it all first to try on? Or perhaps I should start making muslins for proper fitting.

...and once again I think I'm getting ahead of myself. Learn to sew first, perfect fitting after.