Red Velvet Take Two

Hey Guys, I've finally recovered enough to feel coherent enough to write the next installment of my own personal Red Velvet Saga. This is the serious model edition with no bells or whistles.

Pattern: Sewing Cake's Red Velvet

Size: Mom
Mom's Measurements
High Bust: 34.5
Full Bust: 36
Bust Length: 13
Waist: 32
Her Shape: Short (5' 4") Mother of three in her fifties.

My pattern adjustments before cutting my fabric 

Bodice – According to her measurements I cut a 30 B Bodice front and back which I lengthened 1 inch to get the correct under bust fit.

Dress 1: the muslin 

Fabric: This was an upcycle from two brand new poly/spandex velvet dresses I had been given.

Large sad cowl neck dresses...

Construction
  Since I was up cycling I cut the bodice and midriff pieces out of the smaller dress. There wasn't enough fabric to cut the full skirt so I just cut the correct length from the body of the second skirt keeping the pre made hem. I folded some regular pleats in to ease the skirt onto the midriff. Not that you can see any of this since the dress is black.
Because the velvet was heavyweight I used a lighter weight fabric for the neck facing.
She didn't want any pockets.

Final Thoughts: Because of the spandex this dress is a tighter fit. We're waiting for Cocoa and Carmine to finish this outfit off because it definitely needs some color added.

Fabric: This is a Stretch Hatchi Knit in Purple from Fabric.com. It is also a soft medium weight poly/spandex blend. Otherwise known as the "Blood Clot Dress" "The Modern Take on Tie Dye Dress" or "The, I like this fabric Dress"

Construction
I used her same measurements as the first dress, just lengthened the sleeves to elbow length. I did the scissor pleat skirt. No pockets again.

Final Thoughts: She chose this fabric and I don't think she looks too bad in it! Contrary to what my Father, brother and Aunt think. The guys just think it's wild but my Aunt thinks "old" ladies should wear solids not prints.
What do you guys think? Is this not an age appropriate print? I think she looks pretty great for her age! And why can't she wear a "wild" print if she thinks it's pretty.

On a totally separate note, I got a Facebook page. You should come like me so we can giggle over all the cool stuff I find all over the interwebs. Hope you're all staying healthy and getting to spend lots of time with loved ones as we quickly approach Christmas......

I'm Dreaming of All Bows!

Ever since Erin announced her bow blouse sew along I've been seeing bows everywhere. Even though the sew along is over let the Bows Continue!

I wish I had taken screen shots of this Ajumma from the beginning.
She's head of a housekeeping agency in the drama
My Suspicious Housekeeper.
EVERY SINGLE TIME she's on camera she's wearing a bow blouse or
a ruffled blouse, but most often something with a bow. Solids, prints,
she doesn't care if it has a bow she's gonna wear it.
She's hilarious and I love her! 

Feeling dramatic! Found HERE

A lovely blouse for average day wear from the 30s!
On Sale Here

The Paradise a BBC drama has all the shop girls wearing bows on their
bums as you can see in this overexposed screenshot. I find this amusing.

Now this blouse I've had saved for awhile. She was a minor character in the
background of the shot but that didn't keep me from noticing her blouse.
This is something I'd love to figure out how to recreate! Isn't it stunning!

The Hills Are Alive... With Red Velvet

The hills are alive, with the sound of ...

Sewing machines... or sergers (we're not picky)... 

With songs Cake, (wait, not this cake)

With THIS Cake that will last for a thousand years...
(and is also completely gluten free) 

This dress fills me up with warmth and beauty
and My heart wants to wear every scarf it sees.

So, um just in case you haven't figured it out yet, Sewing Cake's Red Velvet Sewalong just ended and since it was also a contest I was compelled to make as many items as I could. You are now warned! Lots of Cake is going to be happening around here. To simplify things a bit I'm doing separate posts on my dresses, my Mom's dresses and the leggings. To try to keep things coherent I stole some of my template from C Sews who made a fabulous chevron Red Velvet and some from The Quirky Peach.

Pattern: Sewing Cake's Red Velvet

Size: ME
My Measurements
High Bust 35
Full Bust 37
Waist 29 1/4
My Shape: Tall (5'10")

Fabric: bridesmaid dress fabric of medium/heavyweight. Lovely soft probably synthetic stuff that was easy to work with.


My pattern adjustments before cutting my fabric 

Bodice – According to my measurements I cut a 35 C Bodice front and back which I lengthened 3 inches to get the correct under bust look. My second bodice I took the recommended amount out of the front side seam which I think helped with the wrinkles but I'm not sure cause I went crazy and drafted neckline pleats in...

Skirt- 3 inches added at the lengthen line so it would hit me right below the knee hemmed normally. For the maxi skirt I measured from the bottom of the midriff band to the floor (about 42 inches). I placed the pattern on the fabric and cut the top and side seam about 3/4 of the way down. I then measured down the center fold to the length I wanted and pulled the pattern down until the hem rested there and cut the curved hemline. I laid this cut piece out on the fabric to cut my second skirt. It made a nice full skirt without a bunch of billowy fabric everywhere.

Construction
Navy Bodice- Besides completely hacking the bodice so it would have neckline pleats, I sewed the pleats before I basted and stitched the neck facing. I stitched the facing down in the shoulder seams but it kept flipping out from the weight of the dress so I tacked it down in front under the pleats.

Lace Bodice- I marked chalk lines measured off the center front and zigzag stitched the lace down before attaching the facing. I stitched the facing down in the shoulder seams and sewed the buttons on front when dress was completed.

Pockets- No pockets in Lace dress. Tiramisu pockets in Navy Maxi Dress.

Otherwise I followed the directions as written! Now that we've gotten all that out of the way, MORE PHOTOS!!

Details and action shots!

So I'm not sure about the pleats, I probably shouldn't
have rushed them and I'm not sure even properly
drafted them... but I love the dress and since I don't stare
at my chest all the time it doesn't bother me.

Second dress for me out of some ugly fabric I dyed a prettier color. It was a nice cotton blend from the deep stash.

Quick photo before I went back to sewing.
Once spring arrives I'm looking forward to wearing
this little gem.

The more I played with this pattern the more I liked it. I wore my Navy dress non stop over the Thanksgiving holidays and even on the plane ride home. I've been trying to make a comfy, nice winter maxi dress and in this case the 4th time's the charm.

When I first began sewing with knits I bought Built By Wendy's book because it had the basic pattern blocks for most knit designs. I feel like Steph is giving us the knit technique building blocks with her patterns as well as giving us an arsenal of pattern pieces we can custom size and mix and match. I had never interfaced knits before and thanks to her tips it turned out beautifully. I can't wait to sew some more cake! How about you?

December Stashbusting Theme

Hello Stashbusters!
  Here we are, facing our last month of the Stashbusting sew along. It seems like just a few weeks ago  Cindy and I were sending emails back and forth getting ready to set this up and now we're discussing it's future.
  November was a crazy month for me and I'll admit I failed to fulfill the Charity challenge. Cindy, on the other hand, made up some adorable plushies and a free pattern! How did November sewing go for you? Link up here and show off your work!

But back to December! Our theme for this month is real simple, Gifts for You and Gifts for ME! Whether you're an unselfish sewist frantically creating for others or lavishing the sewing love on yourself this Christmas, the holidays are a great time to break out the sewing machine and make something special.
Here's my unmade Christmas list in no particular order with the names left off in case some of the receivers would happen to stumble across it.

1. Large Red Velvet Clutch faux leather, for me. 
2. Vintage housecoat/bathrobe
3. THIS DRESS!!! I've been planning it the whole year and it's time to get it done!
   
4. Three princess dresses. (already cut)
5. A prince cape
6. Tiny felt Chihuahua or chiweenie
7. Japanese bag (already cut somewhere)
8. Stargate ornament
9. Bird ornament
10. A couple other ornaments
11. Frame 2 Completed Embroidery pieces

What are your plans as we prepare to wrap up this year of Stashbusting? Is this something you would want to do again?

Pink Travel Tunic

Thrift stores are my downfall. How could I resist this vibrant hot pink in a warm woolish fabric? I’m flying to West Virginia with my Mother to visit her side of the family for Thanksgiving and was hoping it would make a nice tunic. Since I’m a diabetic wearing an insulin pump I have to pat myself/my pod down. So, easy yet private access is needed and tunics fit the bill perfectly!

I used my TNT knit top pattern flaring out from the waist line down to the edge of the fabric. Might as well use all of the fabric that you can and us tall girls have to eke out all the length we can. I decided to make the side seams pointy for a fun twist.

My dumb move was ignoring the writing on my pattern and cutting my sleeves too short. I should really trace off a new altered copy. I could have added cuffs but decided to go a bit classier and call it bracelet sleeve length or something…

My fabulous overzealous photography helpers.

I’m pretty happy that I got this done because it is also my contribution to the Bow Blouse Sew-a-long. I went back and forth between a big bow or something a little less in your face and decided to go with a Dior style bow (at least I think that’s what it’s called)  on a slightly scooped neckline. (sorry I don't have a better closeup)

I’ll have to wear an undershirt since it is slightly itchy but it should be warm without bulk and comfy yet cute for traveling. With everything going on this month I was super happy to get something done for the Sewalong. To see more amazing bowness check out Erin’s blog for bows in all their incarnations from the 20's to modern day.

In the second airport. Bow's looking a bit floppy.
I'll have to tack it down. 

Black Friday thru Cyber Monday Sale

Hey Guys! If you're like me you're hiding from the crazy local shoppers and getting your Black Friday Deals online. I'd like to give you one more great place to shop.

You can see all the new listings and all the shops having sales in this thread right here!

My shop, EmSewCrazy, is on the list with 20% off all patterns and fabric through Cyber Monday with coupon code HOLIDAYSEWING2013.
I'll be listing lots of goodies throughout the day so be sure to stop by and take a peek!

 

 

I've Been Busy...

More details coming soon cause I miss you guys! Is it too early to break my fabric buying ban? Will my Grandmother let me? Are there any special fabric shops in West Virginia that are worth breaking my fabric fast?