Month: July 2011

A Bunch of Links

Erin4 Comments

That's what this is.

For instance, here's a link to Diana Eng's laser-cut (with REAL LASERS!) t-shirts. (I feel as if we should all support any sartorial endeavor that involves REAL LASERS.)

Here's an absurdly complicated Adrian pattern that is going for an absurdly low price on eBay. Adrian! 

I feel like this woman, recently captured by the Sartorialist, would be a kindred spirit.

The New York Times does its annual "women wear dresses in the summer!" article. (But it's a nice one.)

Who makes spacesuits? The heroic seamstresses of Playtex. No kidding.

Has anyone been to the new roller-skating rink by the High Line? Please do tell!

Here's a creepy-cool fashion necklace from ModCloth. (It's like wearing a pattern story around your neck.)

And if you're wondering what I've been up to lately (aside from this blog), it's basically just been all thermogeddon and kispet around here. 

Keep 'em coming, folks … 

Vogue 8728: True Love

Erin25 Comments

I posted about Vogue 8728 a couple of weeks ago:

  Vogue_8728_June2011

And since then I've actually made it up. (Twice, but I only have one photographed.)

Vogue 8728

Here's a better view of the bodice: 

Bodice_Vogue8728

And the neck binding/gathers: 

Gathers_Vogue8728

And the zipper (not the best job I've ever done, but serviceable):

Zipper_Vogue8728

And the back view:

Back_vogue8728

And the inside of the midriff, which I underlined in silk organza to give it a little strength & anti-wrinkle mojo:

Innerwaist_Vogue8728

So: pattern notes. The gathers will make you look bustier than you are; decide whether this is a bug or a feature and act accordingly. This one is cut one size smaller in the neckline, but for the second version, I ended up cutting two sizes down in the shoulder/neck — either the neckline is very wide, or my shoulders are narrow, not sure which. I did a four-inch hem (folded two inches, folded again, blindstitched on the machine) because this voile fabric is so lightweight that you need a heavy hem to make it hang right … and it turned out to be the right length.

Oh, and I added pockets.

This dress is really fun to wear; it's light and airy and goes well with sneakers and with sandals, and it is PERFECT for Liberty Tana Lawn (I made a second one in Tana Lawn that I haven't photographed yet). The gathers would be trickier in heavier fabric — I think even quilting cotton would be too stiff. (I've also cut one out in dotted Swiss; we'll see how that goes.)

I've seriously had this flower fabric for one kajillion years, and probably part of my joy in finding this pattern is that it will work for several OTHER pieces of fabric of roughly the same geological era — all of which were too beautiful not to purchase, but too lightweight to make into shirtdresses. I feel so justified moving them all to California now … 

A Comic-Con Post

Erin17 Comments

No, I didn't go (sigh) — but Kristen did. In this dress:

Dalek_July2011

See how awesome it is on? (And it has pockets!) 

Exterminate_dress_July2011

The fabric (from Spoonflower) is here.

Can't get enough Dalek dresses? Scope the one in this pic.

(And did you Whovians know Chameleon Circuit has a new album out? You probably did. The eleven-year-old fanboy in my house has been playing it for me all week. It's really good! I think you can hear it here; my favorite I think is "Everything is Ending".)

Bee-yoo-ti-ful Suit

Erin21 Comments

Bullocks_suitJuly2011

This suit is listed on eBay (and it's crazy expensive). But it's oh-so-gorgeous … 

To me, this feels like the kind of suit worn in novels by heroines who take jobs as governesses, etc. before returning to their prior station. A conservative cut in a fabric that is just slightly too attention-getting, yes? (And of course it goes without saying that in the kind of novel I'm talking about, this suit would call attention to the heroine's startling blue or violet eyes …)

 

[Thanks to Robin for the link!]

Today's Pattern Story: Vogue 9747

Erin15 Comments

Vogue_9747_July2011

All the action here is with Pink Dress Lady. What the heck is that in her hand? Camera? Lorgnette? Laser sight? Smoked glass for viewing an eclipse? I just don't know.

Obviously, Blue and Black are sisters, with Black being the hard-charging executive running the business Daddy left them, and Blue sort of sweetly dim and willing to go along. Pink is … their ambitious cousin? Ambitious marketing executive? Ambitious next-door-neighbor?

I love how the wide black belt on Black's dress makes her torso look square, like a Lego minifig. (You can pull the top right off and put it on another pair of legs! Very cool.)

Here's what the three of them are thinking right this minute:

Pink: Won't be long now. They won't even know what hit them. Stupid cows.

Black: Quarterly earnings should be good. Got to figure out what to do with Doug in the Western Region. He's not pulling his weight. Jerry better have the new prototype ready tomorrow.

Blue: Puppies! 

(Today's pattern from Janet at Lanetz Living.)

Ring the Bell

Erin9 Comments

Through a link provided by Eirlys to Ruth Singer's wonderful blog I stumbled across this skirt from Clothkits: 

Rob-leafJuly2011

I actually bought the gray one, but for some reason Clothkits' site is bollixed and they only show the back view (which, while pleasant, is not inspiring).

The design is by the UK artist Rob Ryan, who is wonderful. I love his work.

I've never done a ready-made kit project before, and I'm looking forward to it — I think it will be quite soothing, like latch-hooking. Although I'm not quite sure yet where the pockets will go. (But There Will Be Pockets.) If you buy this (and warning: it's very expensive, even more so when you factor in shipping to the US) definitely check out the link to Ruth's blog above for her elegant variation.

Get On Your Bike

Erin20 Comments

So here finally is a picture of my favorite dress of the moment, made from Simplicity 1577:

 

Bikedress_1July82011

Here's something I had not considered when making this dress: a dress with a bike print is like catnip to the hipsters of San Francisco. In a five-block walk today from the BART station at Mission & 24th I had accumulated an equal number of dress-related compliments, mostly from people who were NOT under the influence of intoxicants. 

For extra hipster cred, this pocket is actually big enough to hold my large Moleskine notebook (not shown, you'll have to trust me, I didn't figure this out until today): 

Bikedress_2July82011

Here's the back view: 

I like this dress A LOT.

I still have two versions of this dress cut out and half-made; I hope to finish them soonish-like. (I have been alternating what I'm calling "rescue missions" — fixing dresses that need new zippers, or bigger pockets, or whatever — with New Sewing, and I'm actually starting to like the rescue missions. They take less time, for one thing, and it's very satisfying to take a dress from the Pile of Broken and restore it to the rotation.)

The bike fabric is available here (also in white).