Make It With Wool Last Garments of the Year

Hello Sewing Buddies!
  I figured it was about time I posted these! I came home from summer camp, found out I was moving and found out I was not only helping my friend enter SD Make it With Wool contest I was entering it too. Cue the exacting frantic sewing, because this was for a contest!

Why yes, I am a perky librarian. 

Notice the flowing sleeves that are so in style as I display how green our leaves still are.

I did add a high waistband to show off my tiny waist with different tops. 

How I'll probably wear this outfit since it is SO MUCH green together!

So fun! Now you can see the guts which were all stash busted! I had to add color somewhere.

Since red is my favorite color and I think topstitching that can't be seen is a waste I opted for this dark magenta. A little spice but not super loud.

This was actually my second top and I loved how it came together. Even if it involved a lot of hand stitching to hide all my seams. 

Thoughts:

• I used Cake's Hummingbird pattern for the pencil skirt since I'd already made it up several times. I used my shaped waistband and simply pleated a silky remnant I had for the skirt lining.
• For the final top I used a vintage Butterick 6856. I knew this era fit me pretty well so I made it up without muslining. Next time I'll lower the bust darts a smidge because I'm not going to wear bullet bras and things quite passable but not quite perfect.
• I really like these as a whole outfit but even more as separates. It's Italian wool and I didn't know wool could feel so nice!
• There was a lot of angst because of the deadline and the perfection needed in sewing but I'm glad I've got these pieces made because they will be nice to wear once we're done working on the house.
• I'm kicking myself for not pretreating the wool. The lady I got it from said, "No, no. You must always dry clean wool" so I just took it home and started cutting.

Any ideas on how to wash wool at home? 

February Stashbusting Link Party

Hello Scintillating Stashbusters,
  I don't know about you but I don't know where the month of February went. I've felt quite overwhelmed and have been trying to crawl out from under the pile most of the time. I found out I got a summer job, started teaching sewing lessons one day a week, kept up with my Korean lessons and dealt with all the drama that life likes to throw at you. :)
How much sewing did I get accomplished?

I managed to finish up three knit tops, two which fit the February theme. I made my Mom two simple tops to wear with her new skirt or whatever she wants. I love how versatile knit tops are. You can have such fun with prints. I made myself a basic navy tee that's gloriously long and will fill a huge gap in my wardrobe; however boring it may appear in photos.

So with my cat apron and Tiny World Tutorial that gives me 4 garments for February and my totals for the year up to 9 of 35 garments and 5 miscellaneous projects not counting two pants muslins made from stash.

Now it's your turn, how did February go for you? Leave me a comment and link to your sewing in February so we can all see what you've been up to. Before I leave you I just want to say I've so enjoyed Sew Grateful week and I am very thankful for all of you who read my blog and participate in the Stashbusting. You are an encouragement to me!

Chicken Sewing Hummingbird Skirts

Earlier this month I got on Twitter... why I don't know because now I have yet another place to browse online for inspiration and temptation. Sometimes it can be helpful and productive, though. Like when I dared HeatherB to sew up a brand new skirt pattern in the time it took me to make three skirts from a TNT pattern. She wasn't sure about it so I asked if she was a chicken and the race was on! (The older I get the more I realize we never really grow up :)

My three skirts were going to be from Sewing Cake's Hummingbird pencil skirt pattern. I had to make one for Mom's Wardrobe UpGrade from a wool blend, one as an skirt and nighty up cycle, and one out of a BEAutiful brown and cream pinstripe fabric I've had for YEARS!

Thankfully our measurements were close enough that I didn't have to trace out a new size for my Mom. I just had to actually put a hem in her skirt. Her skirt was the Only one made according to the pattern. I used a wool polyester blend fabric so she could throw it in the washer. It has a bit of gold thread running through it and an almost nubbly texture. I love it!

It's a great basic neutral that pairs with tops she already has as well as with some I've planned to make her.
The straight skirt silhouette is such a good look on her too!

Happy with the skirt,
Getting comfortable on camera...

My next skirt was this lovely wool plaid from a skirt taken from my Mom's closet. I had all these dreams about turning this old nighty into a cute summer top but decided to quit kidding myself and use it as a lining.

Sorry guys, indoor camera is having some issues. Trying to learn fast...

I had to cut what I could cut and hope the plaid would match. Thanks in part to the pattern itself all I had to do was a
bit of fudging on the side seam to get them to line up! I love this skirt a bunch!

I pleated the "lining" to fit into the skirt, basted and stitched on my waistband. I simply cut a slit for the zipper and so far it hangs free and far away when I go to zip it up! As you can see I had to take in the side seams after the fact. I think there
is some stretch in this wool.
Oh! I also used a snap to close the back waistband since I did some piecing to the old waistband so I could reuse it.

Lastly, I added my TNT waistband to my new summer staple skirt! I love my neon floral skirt but I needed something a bit more neutral to pair with the summer tops I already had. I decided to use this stashed favorite.

It was so fun getting to play with the subtle stripes! I cut the top pocket pieces on the bias and interfaced them with a featherweight interfacing so they would not stretch out of shape, I love how they almost chevron with the waistband.

The insides are as pretty as the outside! I used some vintage iron on seam tape to hem it.
FINALLY I had an invisible zipper I could get to insert! Up until now I've been putting lapped zippers in because I never had the right color...
The pocket and waistband fabric I absolutely love and am happy to get to finally use it in a successful project.

The pockets in this skirt will never cease to please me! I love that I am able to use fun fabrics!

Whew! Three skirts in about six days. All of them successes! Hurrah! In case you're wondering, Heather beat me by two days because I had no hook and eye closures and by adding the waistband and working with the challenges of up cycling I had to rethink things which slowed me down a bit. It was great fun and great motivation for me to get them done! That's three projects knocked out of my stash busting and three fabulous garments ready to go!

Top 5 Hits and Misses and Reflections of 2013

My Hits, those "favorite creations, most worn or most loved" seemed to match with my misses, those "sewing fails, UFOs, worn once or complete disasters".  So I decided to collage them together.

Hit: Maxi Red Velvet A neutral color allows it to be accessorized and it's simplicity means I can were it anywhere.
Miss: Maxi Tiramisu I only wore it a few times because it was big, heavy and too odd of a design.

Hits! I've got a basic straight leg trouser pattern that I love.
Five pairs of Espresso leggings that are seeing tons of wear.
 Lastly, an almost wearable muslin for a bootcut jean. I just have to make two alterations to the pattern for a perfect fit.
From there I can use it for some skinny jeans.

Misses: The green pants are very wearable as pajamas or lounge wear not the elegant trouser I was going for.
Pink was a vintage pattern that I played and played with. I think they'll be cut up into something else this year.
Half Miss: Navy cords were very wearable but I copped out of a fly front for a side zipper and it has given me nothing but trouble. Next time I'll knuckle down and insert my fly front and if I use that heavy of a corduroy, I'll narrow the leg width.

I'm going to interject here and say, "Nanner nanner, Mistress of the Jar! I tried one leggings and four different trouser patterns this year. One of which is now a TNT and another is two alterations from being perfect as well. No trousers were bought by me!"

Hit: the striped knitted sweater was finished the end of last year but I've worn it TONS and always get compliments. So far the wool has shown little sign of wear.
Miss: This sparkle knit sweater was never blogged. I experimented with a vintage pattern and I just feel like the results are messy. I wear it very infrequently.

Hits: Lots of fabulous tops this year! If I had to choose just five of them it would be these: Cabarita,  Beauty, Camo Fluff, Vibrant Tunic, and Nautical Stripe.  Two were made with my TNT knit top pattern and the other three were patterns made with my measurements.
Miss: My Sew Weekly Top started out as a vintage pattern was cut down and still didn't fit me correctly. I already passed this baby on.

Without any scientific study my top patterns for the year were:

• Cake's Hummingbird Top (I made 3 and am loving the camo print one now that the cold weather has come)
• Cake's Red Velvet Dress (I've made 4 dresses 2 for me and 2 for Mom, and one more is planned.)
• Cake's Espresso Leggings (I've made 7 pair and they're in constant rotation.)
• Built By Wendy Sew U Home Stretch knit top pattern (This is my TNT set in sleeve pattern and I've used it at least 6 times for myself and twice for others this year)
• Lastly There have been two children's patterns that I've used quite a bit and have many more plans for. The Parsley Pants and the Tumble Tee. Both simple, both gender neutral, both easy to customize and alter.

Blogging has been so beneficial in helping keep a record of my projects; to helping me think through my choices and discover more about myself. After doing this round up my Top 5 Reflections are:

• When I start with an idea and follow it through I can come up with some beautiful things. My gut leads me well.
• I'm a real baby when it comes to putting in fly fronts........
• Making a list of projects helps me keep from getting overwhelmed by fabric and patterns and allows me to pick up something quickly when I find a few moments to sew.
• A warm turquoise is my magic color! 
• I need to let my time online inspire me and not let myself get sucked into Happiness and Creativity Killing Comparison. I also need to get off the computer and go create more.

Inspirations post here.

So what have you learned this year? Do you have a magic color? Do you ever get HCKC? I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season and has a Merry Christmas!

The Prison Maiden Dress

I believe either Mission Impossible or the James Bond theme music is playing right now...

 As I was walking to the mailbox in my brand new dress my father hollered out, “What are you? A prison maiden?" Apparently the new dress code for inmates is pink and oatmeal stripes made from a Hummingbird top and a Tiramisu skirt. Now you too, are enlightened, as I was. But when I saw this pin I knew a simple tee was not what my new fabric was destined to be, even if the finished result was inmateish. 

source

As I said, I used my 35 Hummingbird top for the bodice of the dress. I do not know why, unless it is because the fabric is so lightweight but the waistline rode up a little higher than I wanted. 

Somehow I figured wrong and cut my Tiramisu skirt waist too big. Maybe I should have checked the measurements of the pieces before I cut... ;) I stretched the skirt according to the directions to get the correct drape and serged off the extra 1 inch of skirt at the side seams, tapering down for a super fit. No visible evidence of my booboo. I added woven pockets again. The dress went together super quick and is a comfy fun everyday dress. It passed the trampoline (kinda) and road trip (totally) tests. My only complaint is the fabric was too see through so I had to make a slip for the skirt. Now I will leave you with the fascinating saga of my prison break!

What are you looking at! Why do you want to know when I
bought this fabric?

BUSTED!!! Caught buying fabric and breaking her stashbusting pledge! Leader fails and panic ensues as fabric
starved seamstresses run for the shops. (sounds like a pretty good news article to me.)

Lalala, look at me twirling in my twirly skirt... Are you dizzy yet?

PRISON BREAK!! Fabric addict escapes and runs for the hills. 

Help me dirty doggy, you're my only hope! ;)

Well, I hope that brought a smile to your face. I sure had fun setting up a photo shoot based on a prison break theme. 

While we should always try to do our best and not give up; sometimes we fail, give in to temptation, and fall short of our goals and expectations. Thankfully the consequences of this failure had very little adverse effects since it didn't really have a chance to sit in my stash and I got a very wearable dress out of it. I hope your stashbusting endeavors are going well. If they're not at least you know you aren't alone at falling off the bandwagon. Watch out for the fabric police though! 

Happy Hummingbirds: Part 2 The Skirt Edition

It's nice to be back after an unintentional blogging break. First our modem blew up so we had no internet for 24 hrs. Then I caught a summer cold that went straight to my head. Plus I'm dealing with wrist/hand pain which I'm assuming is carpal tunnel related which meant as little typing as possible. To top it off my grandparents showed up and at that point I gave up trying to blog last week. 

But today is the beginning of a fresh work week and I'm happy to be back at it with part two of my Hummingbird pattern review. (psst, Part 1 here)

I made two skirts during the sewalong. One of each view. I cut a 35 waist size and a 40 hip size. 

The first was some home decor weight fabric I'd had in the stash for several years. I bought it on sale because I like the color and pattern. It turned out to be a louder skirt than I expected but I'm glad to have it out of my stash and a wearable garment.  It already passed the "give five kids a bath" test.

Why do I love fabrics that hate being photographed? The colors are truest in the last shot

It sits on my hips and I did a lapped zipper insertion since I didn't have a matching invisible zipper. Do yourself a favor and go watch Steph's video on inserting zippers. It will change your zipper insertion for the better!

 I'm about 5' 10" and I cut this on the longest length. With a one inch hem it sits right at the end of my knee. I love my thighs but don't believe the whole world needs to see them. Plus I have enough trouble trying to sit like a lady in this length of skirt!

Skirt with Flounce

Purty polka dot piping.

I couldn't help myself. I was loving all the piped versions popping up during the sewalong and after Susan posted a tutorial I had to give it a try and show off that beautiful seaming myself! I used a whole package of navy and white polka dot double fold binding that I cut in half. Since the back was feeling left out I exposed the navy zipper teeth.

I quit fighting my body, which looks best with things sitting around my natural waistline, and took in each side seam about two and a half inches. I did part of this during the mid fitting check but sewing the waistband made it loose again so after it was finished I zipped down the side seams again to get the final shape. This brought the flounce up higher which prompted the men in my family to gasp in shock when they saw the back of this skirt. They think I look like I'm pooping fabric and have threatened to not let me leave the house in it.

I did peg this skirt and love how easy it is to walk in with the flounce. 

Flounce in action. Funny looking isn't it...

Now if only I can get the guys to agree... :D

Final thoughts

This is a great straight skirt pattern that is easy to adjust mid sew to get the shape and level of tightness you want.

 I hand basted the curve of the flounce at the tip before
pressing up to hem. This helped TONS

Don't let the flounce scare you, the directions are very thorough and I was able to insert mine with NO PROBLEMS.

POCKETS!! The pockets are wonderful and the way you construct them is brilliant. They also take such a minimal amount of fabric that you can use all those little bits of fun prints that you've been hoarding. With the understitching they don't flip out to the outside so you can be as crazy and mismatched as you want to be with them. 

My only disappointment is that I used all fabrics I had on hand and coordination was not a consideration so my peplum tops don't really work with my skirts... I'm working on this gross error and hope to have some more mix and match pieces soon.

So, do you like and wear straight skirts? Any tips for sitting like a lady?? Hope you all have a great week. Stashbusters, I'll be talking to you later this week!