Progress in the midst of chaos

It’s been quite the month around here.  I have not been able to sew for the past couple of weeks because we’ve had a few rounds of snow that melted the next day right INTO the sewing room.  Apparently there’s a leak somewhere that’s causing the window well to fill up.

The first time we got it 98% dried out with towels (oh so many towels) and 4 box fans.  I was so excited to get into the room and get working.  I had achieved the rare and coveted feat of getting the two younger boys down for nap simultaneously, so I was even more anticipating getting a LONG work day in the room.  As I went into the room, I was greeted by the scene of rising water just rising over the window level and directly dumping on the floor.  I was done.  I spent the next 2 hours not sewing away happily in my newly dry room by bailing out the window well with a coconut milk can (a Sisyphean task if ever their was one).

We’ve dug down quite a bit, but the well is still collecting water, and it got yet another leak last week and was smelling awful.  It boils down to that the carpet pad will be replaced, the carpet cleaned and and the well will have to be dug out and a drain installed that runs down to the sump pump.  If this sounds like a pricey, annoying, and long drawn out affair, you’d be correct!

My sweet husband shifted things around so that the unaffected 1/2 of the room is still usable.  It’s a tight fit, and I’m using tools from a former life like a college sized ironing board, but I managed to get a fast scoopneck tee made.  I made it extra long and ruched one of the side seams up to the waist.

 

One day a couple of weeks ago I got out of bed and my pajama shirt was sitting askew on me in a similar manner and I decided I liked the effect.  It’s exactly the jeans + flip flops vibe I was going for.  And it felt good to get something made when I haven’t been able to do anything for weeks.  Oh, but my fingers have been itching.  And here’s a curtain for the baby’s room that I finished in March and haven’t bothered hanging:

Also, we put in a vegetable garden.  The cook in me is determined to make it work despite my black thumb stained record.  Yay Square Foot Gardening for helping me believe that it’s possible to put things in the ground and actually see them grow.  Proper little radishes coming up, plus lovage and marigolds.  There’s bibb lettuce, cilantro, green onions, and nasturtiums doing their work underground too.

 

May your basement stay dry today!

The last couple of drops

Long raglan sleeves in Burda mags are pretty rare–that there’s a little frippery with the sleeve gathers makes it all the more fun.  I was tempted to download the pattern–I was saved the utter hassle because of the greatness of this issue.  At least 5 things caught my eye besides jackets (Burda always has great jackets), so I knew it’d be worth it to just buy the whole issue.

There’s only 3 pieces, so this sews together very quickly.  The gathers are in the sleeve, not the front, which I appreciate–bulk over the arms, not the bust is a great deal more attractive.

Version 1 is with a turquoise knit.  It was marked rayon at Denver Fabrics but it doesn’t have that cold feeling that rayon has.  I’d guess it’s some kind of rayon/poly blend with possibly a little cotton.  Because of the little recovery that it has, I had to unpick the neck binding and make it smaller as it was just not sitting flat.  Baste it in place before you serge it.  I know some other reviewers had issues with this, but really, it’ll depend on your knit.  I should have stabilized the neck as I’m almost certain that it grew due to the recovery issue.  The shoulders are just a little too wide even at a 32 on me.

Since I don’t have a raglan sleeved TNT (though I suspect I will soon with the new issue of Jalie 3245), I decided to test the too wide theory on another version.  I had this lovely hemp/cotton print from Eureka Fabrics in Eureka, CA.

It needed to be underlined, and I happened to have a turquoise mesh that worked perfectly for the task. Because of the underlining I cut the pattern a size bigger at the side seams.  I should’ve basted the side seams before I serged them because this version is definitely more fitted than I would prefer…it’s not tight, but it’s fitted.  It’s still a hair too wide in the shoulders (see the dip down at CB), but it’s not bad.  Again, I’d need to check it against a TNT to understand for sure.  When I have a TNT, I imagine I’ll come back to this pattern to make it work better for me.  As for now, this is a great instant gratification top that’ll be an excellent hard-working basic in my wardrobe.

My full review is here.

Onion 5038 giveaway winner + Simple sewing that makes a big difference

The winner of the Onion 5038 giveaway is…Jodie!  Thanks all for participating, and for sticking with me through this whole t-shirt voyage.

I think I’ve said before here that HGTV is evil because it shows you perfectly perfect spaces that happen in the span of 30 minutes (okay a couple of days, but there’s still troupes of hardworking elves).  Insta-house doesn’t magically happen, but I will say that a good bit of fabric can go a long way towards making a dent in making your home pretty.

Case in point: we’ve had these curtains in our house “hiding” our laundry area downstairs.  They came with the house, and after 2 years, it still astonishes me that somebody at some point having a choice, chose these curtains.

I’ve racked my brain over what to do about it, and it occurred to me to use the same fabric I used to make a curtain for the kids’ train table last year.

10 yards, #12 grommets, this cheap, efficient grommet setter, and some careful pattern matching, and I get this.  So much better.

I picked up a little fabric in January to make a curtain to cover this ugly awkward storage in my sewing room closet.  

I connected it to the shelf via snap tape and my trusty staple gun, and though there’s more work in the closet to make my stash more useful, it is a big improvement too.

What say you readers?  Have you ever transformed a space dramatically through the use of beautiful fabric?

The T-shirt project wrap-up and giveaway

I made it!  And whether you made 1, 2, 12, or 27.47 t-shirts this year, feel free to add your efforts to the link party below.  Here’s my recap:

1. CAbi Gather Tee knockoff
2. Peach Ginger Snap henley
3. MariaDenmark Kirstin Kimono tee
4. CAbi Gather 2.0
5. Boden Twist jersey top knockoff
6. White House/Black Market summery cowl knockoff in marigold
7. WH/BM summery cowl in ice blue
8. Madewell Toulouse tee knockoff
9. Boden printed summer vest knockoff
10. Jalie 2787
11. Sweatshirt Blazer ala Isabella Oliver
12. Isabella Oliver Wrap-around top
13. Onion 5032
14. Ottobre sugar for my oldest 
15. Onion 5039
16. Onion 5038–v-neck faux henley

I realize a couple aren’t in the collage, but the links are comprehensive.  Towards the end I was giving myself a hard time not adapting patterns for knockoffs. With the realities of being uber-pregnant and then having a newborn, I realize I need to let myself off the hook for that.  Besides, looking back over my progress, I’m surprised to see that I was looking to RTW influnces for the majority of the project, and that was certainly a goal of mine.

Favorite: it’s a toss-up between the ginger snap henley and the green zebra-striped CAbi gather tee.  They both just turned out to be pretty shirts.

Moving on: I have lots to think about in terms of color and form.  My current stash is not serving me well towards those ends, and I’m trying to squeeze that lemon dry until I can replenish with some birthday fabric.  For sure, when I find a gorgeous jersey, I’m jumping on the Burdastyle 2-2013-127 bandwagon–a pattern I’m almost certain will be a best of 2013 pattern.

Onion 5038 giveaway:  For the giveaway, leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite tee you created this past year.  If you haven’t made a tee or didn’t participate in the project, feel free to choose one of my tees or someone else’s.  I will pick a random winner on Sunday, April 7th.

Also, if you’ve done some sort of wrap up post, I’ll be happy to add a link on the project page.

A very small dragon

The giveaway for Onion 5038 and The T-Shirt Project wrap-up post is coming.  Programmer Husband needs to figure out if it’s possible to add a link party in WordPress.

My oldest son’s best good favorite buddy is having a knight-themed birthday party next week.  After looking over our options concerning knight costumes, and coming up with creative differences

not a knight, definitely a spaceman

sorry son, I’m only pulling out a viking pattern if you’re producing a kiddie version of the Ring cycle

Noah concluded that he did not, in fact want to be a knight at all.  A dragon was a great deal more appealing to him.  Even after explaining the general fate of dragons in such tales, it was firm in his mind.  Dragon it must be.  McCalls 2335 fit the bill, though I will be adding wings.

I shortened the legs and arms to fit him a little better, as well as shortening the tail by two spine pieces.  Construction was simple, but time-consuming.  I probably put about 10 hours in this from start to finish.  I kept the tail stuffing until the entire jumpsuit was made because wrangling it under the machine stuffed per the instructions was obviously nonsensical.  I also made my life easier by using easy-to-sew flannel vs. some hideous synthetic.  I figured, if I’m taking 10 hours of my precious sewing time to make a costume for my child, I’m going to make it easy on myself.  Plus, the flannel will be nice and warm come H-ween time (hey, I already have a costume for him!).

It’s been a popular item for #2 as well.  Maybe he can be a knight until he’s big enough to really fit into this costume.

My full review of the pattern is here.

The T-shirt Project #12: a v-neck faux henley

It’s the end!  I’ve been really looking forward to the end of my year-long commitment of a t-shirt a month because I don’t think I can get a SWAP together until the first project is out of the way.  I think I’m like that.  Rarely can I handle multiple projects–I like things wrapped up before I move on.

To finish, I pulled out Onion 5038, a v-neck henley with an empire seam.  I called it a faux henley because the buttons are simply sewed in place.  The v-neck makes the otherwise masculine henley shirt some femininity.  The over-shoulder gathers and the variation with the buttons up the cuff add to the girly flair.

In comparison to the other Onion patterns I’ve made, the sizing seems to run snug.  I ended up overlaying my TNT t-shirt pattern over the pattern when I was cutting, keeping the style lines from the Onion and aligning the patterns at the waist.  Indeed if I had cut according to the pattern, my top would have been about a size too small.

I lowered the empire seam by an inch and gave myself a wider SA in case I needed it (I did) to avoid the cut-the-bust problem that I always have with empire seams.  I also stuck to my rule of using a print with an empire seam as I dislike the general look of empire seams.  I will say that the use of an empire seam in this pattern makes for easy easy construction of the binding/placket.  There is no funny slashing or exactitude necessary because the bottoms of the placket are simply sewn cleanly into the empire seam.  At some point I will compare this to my henley variation tee as I love the over-shoulder gathers and v-neck but would prefer a plain front.

I have another copy of this pattern to give away, but I’ll save that for a wrap-up post for the project as it seems more fitting.

My full review of this pattern is here.

For Friends of PR: Spring cleaning fabrics

With my birthday coming up, it occurred to me to get rid of the fabrics that I ultimately will not use because the colors are not my thing.  There’s some great stuff here, just not for me.

1. Stone RPL from EOS: yds, $18

2. Italian suiting denim from Hart’s (different weave though than denim): 2 yards for $25

3. Grey wool/silk/linen tweed from Elliott Berman: 1 yd before washing, $10

4. Red/white abstract dot knit from Hart’s: 1 yd, $8

5. Berry/cream linen herringbone: 2.5 yds prewashed, $18

For Friends of PR members, here’s the classified listing.  My Flickr set gives you some bigger pics of the fabrics too.  I’d rather any of it go to PR members as I know we’re mostly garment sewers, and good fabric gone to waste is after all a terrible thing.  Let me know if anything looks interesting via the ad.

Rompers from blankets

The magic closet has aged the dress well enough with the aid of a belt that I’m not going to call it a wadder.  It’s not my favorite, but it’s not near as bad as I thought.  I wore it to a CO Opera production for kids of the Barber of Seville that I went to with my oldest (I’m so proud he likes opera).

This week has been sewing for Josh week.  My husband and I are both being baby minimalists, our perfect number of blankets is the number of blankets that will get spit up upon before laundry day -2.  Despite this formula, people always give you blankets, and some of them have really nice fabric.  I have a hard time simply donating extra blankets if they’re made from good fabric when kids’ fabric is not the easiest thing for me to procure.  So, I whipped up a very cozy fleece version and minky version of Ottobre 6-2009-4 from 2 such blankets.  I’ve had a hard time with my homemade onesies’ snaps pulling out, so I liked the zip front idea featured in this pattern vs the snap inseam.

I thought I could forego the pockets on the inky romper, but the finished product looked a little bare, so I cut pockets from my scraps…hence that “eyeballed” sort of look to the pockets.  The pockets on the fleece version went on better.

The fleece one is also extra warm, which is great on a snowy day like today .  As cozy as he is in it, he’s even more cozy to hold.  My child, the Snuggie:

The minky, when it was a blanket was backed with a striped cotton interlock. The same issue of Ottobre has a little snap shoulder tee that works really well under the romper, and the cotton knit was a good choice for that pattern.

So, 2 blankets yielding 3 garments–I’m pretty happy with that return.

The t-shirt pattern review is here.

The romper pattern review is here.

A neutral void

As I said, I’ve been working on Burdastyle’s Jan 2011 cover dress.  I was immediately drawn to the collar, and indeed it’s a great design feature.  And though the thought of making a bagazillion buttonholes in a knit was initially scary, they went in without issue through the aid of some lightweight fusible interfacing.

That is where the love ends for this dress.  I fully lined it (beautifully I might add) because the knit was too sheer to go without.  While the pattern certainly had enough ease despite it not being a pattern with a lining, it added far too much bulk in the final dress.  This pattern needs more drape because you have to style it with a belt.

About that ease…it shouldn’t surprise me that a dress with this line drawing

would end up being shapeless and kind of nightgownesque right?  Why do we forge on hoping for a better end?  With all the bulk in the middle, this dress ends up feeling uncomfortably matronly on me.  Perhaps a better belt would help…

But the worst by far is that the color of this dress makes my skin look positively jaundiced.  You think you’re doing yourself a favor getting something close to your skin tone (hey, it’s neutral, it’ll go with everything!), but I think in that range, you have to be 100% right with the color or it kind of voids you out.

On the upside, it is the nicest finished wadder I’ve ever made.

My full review is here.

SWAP or a SISC…either way, it’s time

Among coming up to the end of 1 year of t-shirt sewing, working to get back my body post-baby, and Peter’s good thoughts on sewing with a plan, I’m thinking it’s time for me to really evaluate what I need to do and go from there.

Things to consider before I make a plan:

1.  Only use fabrics I love in the light, slightly warm/slightly cool colors that work for me.  I haven’t mentioned that I got my colors done yet (yay!).  The greens and purples were surprising to me, but I’m not at all shocked to see zero blacks and grays and deeply intense colors.  I’m a pale lady.   I reckon that this is a long-term goal that can’t be addressed fully in a SWAP.  It’s something I will just have to practice a lot for a long time.

Denim is going to be rough on me.  Fashion types be danged–dark denim swallows me alive not unlike black and visually shortens me since I can’t wear dark colors on top–so wearing a top with jeans will always yield a choppy break on me unless the value contrast between jeans and top is low.  I’m going to have to snoop shop so I can get a mental picture before actually shopping for light blue denim yardage.

2.  I’m sticking with good quality fabrics.  I’ve not been happy with the way that cheap rayon knits have aged in my closet.  And I’m done with sheer knits unless I find myself in a position where I can line them.  Yes, polyester comes in so many amazing prints, but it feels gross and traps body heat and odors (eww).  So natural fibers and better quality fabrics whenever I can get my hands on them.  There might be more outlay for them up front, but the # of wears over the life of the garment will probably be ultimately higher.  And if I’m spending my own time making clothes, I want them to last.

3.  Think hard about my lifestyle and the garments that will work with that.  Yes, I have 3 boys, but I’m girly.  I’m not an athletic pants + jacket kind of Mom, nor have I ever been that.  I’m the type that feels unclothed without a necklace.  I can run after them in dresses, but they need to be washable and not too fussy.  There may come a time when I can own several pairs of wool trousers (oh my cold winter self looks forward to that) and silk tops, but now is not the time.  Dry-clean only doesn’t work for me.  So girly and practical are my keywords.

4.  Make space for others.  The boys really love when I sew for them.  Noah walks into the room and says things like, “I would like you to make me a rocket.” I love that I can do that.  It’s a good mental break to do something for them and it’s good for my heart.  I can’t sew for them all the time, but a modest goal will help me have more energy for my own projects.  It’s a sewing Sabbath of sorts–a built-in rest period in my work that will fuel me for the rest of my work.

zipper tails!

As for garments, I have a lot to think about before I draft up a plan.  The more you plan, I think the better you get at it.  What about everyone else?  Have you done a SWAP or a SISC (self-imposed sewing club)?  Have you found it to be helpful?  Do you start with fabric, patterns, or thinking more philosophically first?