Category: Erin_Sewing

Vogue 8728: This Time It's Liberty

Erin17 Comments

So Vogue 8728, which I posted about the other day, looks even better (I think) in Liberty "Mark": 

Mark_BodiceJuly2011

 

Here's a fuzzier full-length view:

Mark_FullJuly2011

And a close-up of the neck binding:

Mark_bindingJuly2011

You can't really see the fabric's lusciousness in those pictures, so looky here:

Mark_fabricJuly2011

And for the more technically-inclined among you, here's how I reinforced the pocket opening on the zipper side with organza (the midriff is also underlined with organza):

Mark_PocketJuly2011

The best part is that this dress matches the shoes in this post (from yonks ago). Yep, I now have TWO outfits that are Liberty-print-with-matching-shoes. Because I'm obsessive that way. (The other is a dress in the Enchanted Garden print, which J.Crew did flats in a few years back. That link is to the skirt I made in Enchanted Garden, can't find the dress link … )

Actually, no, the best part is that I wore this dress last weekend and on my way to the restaurant, a woman came out of a (different) restaurant JUST to comment on my dress. She knew the fabric was Liberty and so assumed I'd made the dress, and she wanted to see how I did the hem (answer: machine blindstitch), which was basically the best compliment, ever. It's so nice to run into fellow Liberty-enthusiasts! 

I also have a piece of fabric in this design in the pink colorway that Liberty used for their Target collaboration, but it's heavier (almost a poplin), so I'm saving it for a shirtdress. 

Do I have another 8728 cut out? That would be telling … 

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 … 

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). 

New. Obsession.

Erin16 Comments

Simplicity_1577June2011

Just so we're clear: I freaking love this dress. So far I've made it twice, and if I am ever in my sewing room while the sun is up, I will take a picture or two of the ones that I've completed. (I also have two more cut out and half-sewn.)

Here is why this dress is near-perfect:

1. The collar is adorable. Right?

2. Pockets!

3. It is extremely simple to put together. 

4. And, best of all, this dress is GREAT for novelty quilting cottons. Seriously, those goofball patterns I buy all the time that just aren't right for fuller-skirted dresses work great in this pattern. The vertical skirt seams are enough to give the fabric weight and the patterns I choose don't need all that much matching. I also am making it in Liberty Lemonia:

Libertylemonia
The only downside is that the neckline is a leeeetle wide for regular jewel-neck cardigans. It goes better with a v-neck cardigan.

Things I did slightly different-like:

There's a facing, but I just used bias tape for the collar. (Facings: bulky.) I shortened the skirt by four inches, and deepened the pockets by two inches, but I think that's too deep. I'm tempted to carry things like ball-peen hammers and small electric motors and suchlike if my pockets are too deep. I am using silk organza for the collar interfacing. (I've also been using strips of silk organza to reinforce zipper seams in lightweight fabric, not sure if that's really working, but hey, I'm trying it.)

Click on the image to visit the Patternwiki — there are a couple folks who have copies for sale, it seems. Because YOU WILL LOVE THIS DRESS.

In Which The Blue Gardenia Puts Up With My Wiseassery

Erin7 Comments

Denise at The Blue Gardenia very kindly asked me to send her information about my sewing den for her sewing spaces project … you can check it out (with some slightly-off-kilter pictures) here!

I was a little tired and punch-drunk when I answered her questions, so I apologize for exceeding your RDA of facetious answers (if you're wondering, the RDA is 3 for adults, 1.5 for children). 

Here is a special bonus bad-quality cell phone picture of shoeboxes full of notions, just for you!

CIMG0175

New Look 6981

Erin23 Comments

I'm completely in love with this skirt pattern (New Look 6981). Here's the line drawing (I'm not showing you the photo illustration because I find it cringe-inducingly hokey): 

NewLook_6981
I'll post some pictures soon of the two skirts I've made from this pattern so far — and I'm sure they won't be the last, either. This skirt is incredibly comfortable and goes together like a dream. Sewing at top speed I bet I could get one cut and sewn in a couple of hours, and that includes using an invisible zipper (instead of the regular one the pattern calls for) and adding on-seam pockets. 

It's a really cheap pattern, too — you can get it for under $5 — and very efficient in terms of fabric use. (I'm going to go through my large bin of "pieces of fabric too big to toss yet too small for an entire dress" and see what skirts I can eke out of leftover yardage.) 

So far the ones I've made have been in heavy denim, but I also just bought some velveteen that I am dying to sew up … and this would be really cute in lightweight cottons with the heavy contrast border. Do I sound obsessed yet? It's trending that way … 

Camouflagellation

Erin34 Comments

So I was wondering if I've already posted about this dress, or if, because it's camouflage, it has merely blended in with the rest of the blog, and that's why I can't find it:

Camo_heidi
 

This is currently my favorite casual Heidi dress, even though the fabric is a bit on the pilly side. Here's a closeup of the bodice — I took this picture after I'd worn the dress about a dozen times, so you might even be able to see the pilling: 

Camo_heidi2
 

I do think it's a little disturbing, how much I love camouflage as a print. Perhaps it's my knee-jerk Gen X "irony" (in the debased sense of "incongruity") or maybe it's just that I am in love with idea that you need so much technology to ape what are supposed to be organic forms, or that I enjoy the absurdity of making fairly distinctive clothing out of something that was originally intended to make the wearer blend into the background. Whatever it is, I just keep doing it. If you had to categorize my fabric stash, the second-biggest category (after "Liberty," of course!) is "camouflage."

I have pink, blue, bright green, and several colors of brown camo, in addition to this gray, but weirdly enough I can't seem to find what I think would be the ur-color of non-blending camouflage: blaze-orange camouflage. Wouldn't that be awesome? Hunter orange camo! If I had some of that I would probably have to be physically restrained from wearing it twice a week, but that level of absurdity and self-contradiction would make me really happy. So if you see some, let me know, okay?

Future Heidis

Erin8 Comments

These two have been languishing on the sewing machine table for weeks — I just have to hem them and sew down the bias-tape facings, but man, getting the time to do that … hasn't happened. 

But aren't they nice? I can't wait to wear the blue one. Maybe by the time you read this I will have managed to get it done!

Heidi_ComingSoon
  

Newest Heidi

Erin12 Comments

I'm really pleased with this Heidi (which I have been working on in ten-minute bursts for WEEKS, it's been so busy here). Even though it looks like nothing in the picture:

Heidi_Orange1

It's this lovely heavy cotton with a thin orange stripe. Think a cross between ticking and seersucker. Bought it from Fabric Mart Fabrics, very cheap!

I plan to wear it with a white sweater and an orange watch, or maybe an orange sweater and a white watch, and white penny loafers. And then I will eat a Creamsicle. 

Here's a closeup of the fabric/pocket: 

Heidi_Orange2

See? Very subtle, for me. Except for it being ORANGE.

I also took some more pictures of previously-constructed Heidi dresses and will try to post some this week. Stay tuned!

 

What I Think About When I Think About Sewing

Erin23 Comments

Stripeydress_half
 

When I think about making a new dress, this is what I think about:

  1. Fabric. Is there some in my stash or lurking somewhere on the internet that I simply can't live without? Have I been obsessing about a particular event for which a stunt dress is necessary? Have I been thinking about a particular theme, like stripes or eyelet or giant florals? Do I have a new cardigan in a weird color (yes, I'm looking at you, Land's End) that needs a mate?
  2. Pattern. Is the fabric the right weight? If not, how do I compensate for that? Does it have pockets? If not, can I put pockets into it? Where is it tight? Where is it loose? How will it move? How low or high is the neckline? The hemline? 
  3. Construction. Are there difficult bits that WILL cause swearing, like gussets? Can I change a facing to bias binding? Is there a lining, and if so, can I skip it? Can I move a back zipper to the side, or change a placket zipper to an invisible one? Where are the stress points, and how will I reinforce them? Are there places where too many seams meet, and will my fabric make those points lumpy or bulky? Where will I have to match prints or plaids?
  4. Time. Is it a simple pattern to cut out (looking at you, Heidi), so that I can do it late at night, while watching Chuck on Hulu? Or is it complicated, so that it needs me first thing in the morning, when I'm fresh, while listening to podcasts? If I start after breakfast, or after dinner, when will I hit the putting-the-zipper-in place, and will I be awake or cranky? Have I drastically underestimated how long hemming a very full circle skirt will take (the answer to that last question is always YES).
  5. Interest. If this dress will take a long time to make, will I still care by the end? (There are several dresses lurking in my sewing room RIGHT NOW that I gave up on in the middle.) Is there an event driving me to make this dress, and what will happen if I don't finish it in time?
  6. Visualization. Where will I wear this dress? Who will be there? Will I wear it once, or over and over again? Will I blog it? 
  7. Shoes. Which ones? Do I already own them? Would this dress require shoes that do not, in fact, actually exist? (E.g., every pair of boots I've ever wanted.) Do I have a pair of shoes in a weird color that I need to make a dress to match? Am I looking for an excuse to buy a new pair of shoes in a weird color? (Lather, rinse, repeat for "Coat" and "Bag".)
  8. Fun. Will the whole process involve more fun than not-fun? This is my hobby, not a job or a chore. If it starts turning not-fun, can I bail and go watch Dr. Who? Where are the possible not-fun parts, and how can I make them fun? (See Chuck, podcasts, stunt fabric, etc. above)

I'm sure there are other things I think about while sewing, but these are the things I think about, or try to think about, before I start. What do you think about when you think about sewing?