Scatterbrained Sewing Questions

Hello Sewing Friends!
   My mind has been thrown into overdrive lately and I just feel not put together. So today's post is full of the random and unfinished.

As much as I love my rainbow wool sweater wearing it all day everyday is getting old. I finally decided to quit paralyzing myself by trying to match the perfect pattern with the perfect yarn and started knitting this! I'm going to make it a bit longer in the torso and they left some bits out of the directions but I think I have the cabling figured out now.... 

I think these shorts are adorable and I want to make them out of this brown wool, but then I found this herringbone wool
and think that might look cool... what do you think? Is it a waste of wool? How would the little herringbone look? Will it drape ok?

I'm going to test them with some icky polyester first but I'm also pondering this step...
Do they want me to put skinny elastic in ALL those casings? Can't I jus throw a big piece in?
Can anyone translate that Japanese for me?

Yesterday, I found out I'm going to be the Craft lady at a camp this summer so pants just got bumped to the top of my To Sew list. The left image is the same shorts pattern lengthened. Then I found this floral print this morning. Comfy like a maxi skirt but still pants... Is it too much floral? Will it matter if I'm the crazy craft lady? 

I appreciate any and all answers to my questions! I'm deep into Level 3 of my Korean language class, which I love, but it's taking all my thinking and decision making brain skills.
Oh yeah, I finally printed my copy of the Plantain off after the power came back on and seeing the pattern piece design has me really excited... she also said you could make it in fleece so I'm eyeballing that too... Maybe I won't have to wait until I knit another sweater to have a warm replacement. Is fleece as warm as wool??? With days full of -9F I'm kind of regretting my decision to not invest in some wool merino (is all merino wool?) for leggings this winter....
Ok enough babbling... I've got a ton of stuff to catch up on now that the power is back on... so I'll be dreaming of your clever answers as I scrub the toilets and mop the floor...

February Stashbusting Let's talk about LOVE

Welcome Stashbusters to February! We're already into month TWO of the Stashbusting Sewalong! This month's theme is all about LOVE! We're expanding the love from last year though.

February's Theme is make something for someone you love and/or go all project runway and take this theme to the abstract and make something that represents something you love.

Sneak peek on what I'm working on...

For unselfish sewing I've got this dress still on my list from last year... and a couple of knit tops for my Mom.

February's Curating Challenge is pretty low key and very geared toward garment sewists since that's what I primarily am and what most of you are... sorry my quilters. This can still apply for you...

February's Curating Challenge: Identify what you love! 

Go through your fabrics and find your 10 most favorite pieces. Why do you love them so much? Color palette? Print? Fabric type? Ease of sewing? Fit with your lifestyle? Not only are these are important things to keep in mind when you do decide to go fabric shopping; having all these lovelies sitting out where you can see them will hopefully inspire you to use one of them instead of buying something new. Decorate the walls with FABRIC!!!

Crummy photo of seven of my favorites!

ExtraCredit: Go through your closet and grab only your FAVORITE pieces. It doesn't matter if they are RTW or handmade. Ask yourself what those pieces have in common.

Once again, a reminder that everything is totally optional, except sewing from your stash because if you aren't then why'd you join this? :) Ok, I'm going to take my sarcastic self back to work now. Stay warm ya'all!

January Stashbusting Link Up

Hello Stashbusters!
  Whoohoo! Our first month has flown by in a flurry of plans and quite a bit of productive sewing! Our new Facebook group has exploded with 62 members. We weren't sure what you guys would think of it but obviously it was a good choice. :)  You can still join the group we just closed it so the posts would be private.
We still have the Flickr group going strong as well. Remember it is never too late to join and start using up the stash!

I made four projects that fit under January's Itty Bits Theme, the birthday dress, peanut babies and these two things:

I made a new cover for our bean neck pillow that ripped out and I used up a special itty bit for a padded electronics pouch

The blue was a free sample that came with
my Japanese sewing magazine! 

According to my pledge, I've completed 5 of 35 garments and 4 miscellaneous projects. I also accomplished one of my wishes or goals for the new year by sewing my chiffon blouse from my new Japanese sewing magazine.

What have you been making? Share a link in the comments below! Any stash busting you got done in January is eligible even if it doesn't fit the month's theme! I'm looking forward to seeing what's been made!
See ya in February!
Em

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!

Japanese Chiffon Top

Look what I got for Christmas!! My fabulous parents gave me an IOU for a Japanese sewing book of my choice! After several delightful evenings browsing, I decided on Cotton Friend Autumn 2012. As we know magazines have more patterns than the books and as I looked at all the photos I could find online, this issue won with the most designs I wanted to make up! It was also one of the few I could actually find for sale on an English website. :)

You get what you get and you don't throw a fit! Welcome to my tripod-less indoor winter photo shoot. So unlike
the clean uncluttered Japanese photo shoots. I think my model face is coming along though.

I chose a simple top pattern with raglan sleeves; gathered at neckline and cuffs. I knew it would be a perfect match with the chiffon I splurged on last November. But hey! It's all stash busting now! ;) I traced the pattern, added seam allowances, and simply because I chose chiffon as my fabric I added an inch to center front and back for fuller gathers.

I need to make some proper undershirts to wear with it this summer.

I'm delighted to have another top I can wear
with this fabulous skirt!

I am Size LL for this pattern, which I find highly amusing. Only in Asia or Hollywood would I be considered an LL size. THIS is why SIZE NEVER MATTERS and MEASUREMENTS ALWAYS DO when you sew!
I'm 5' 10" and added several inches to the length so it would be semi tunic length on me which was easy peasy since they had already drafted this pattern to dress length; all I had to do was draw in my hemline.
I'm a 37 inch bust and I flat pattern measured to make sure there was enough ease, and there was, since this is a looser style. Most of their stuff is looser. How do they manage to look so put together and stylish in all these loose and flowy things? The magic of Japanese style!

I took my time and did french seams on all FOUR of the seams in this top. I also "tagged" my back with a bit of lace
since I knew there was no way I was going be able to tell the back from the front!

I did that hem where you sew it three times.
1/4 in. to mark the allowance around
Folded up along stitching line and basted
Rolled 1/4in. of fabric up neatly encasing the raw edge and stitched.
This gives one line of stitching on the front and two in the back as seen in
this photo. Supposedly this is supposed to help give the hem some weight
so it falls better or something...

I'm delighted I got to accomplish one of my goals so quickly and practice a new skill! I'm delighted to finally get to try some of these Japanese designs I've been drooling over for years! I even have enough chiffon left over to try something else too!
I know NO Japanese but I found it easy to put together because most of the instructions are in PICTURES! Besides, how many of us, who have been sewing for awhile even read the directions on most patterns anymore? If you've been sewing for awhile and want to try something new give a foreign country's patterns a try! Oh yeah! I'm so pumped! 

Birthday Dress In A Day McCall 8128

Pebbles had a birthday on Monday. I was kicking myself for forgetting again when I realized this is only her third one and only the second time I've had to remember to do something for it. Initially, I was going to make this adorable tiered skirt that she would be able to throw over tights in the winter and transition easily into summer. When I opened up the fabric there was just a bit over a yard and since I'm stash busting I switched plans when I remembered this darling vintage McCall 8128 I've been looking for an excuse to make up.

I love the contrast yoke! And all those tiny pattern pieces are so cute!

Just a heads up the pattern envelope said it was a Size 2 for a 21 inch chest. I measured the flat pattern and it only measured 21 inches so it gave just enough ease for her 19 inch chest. I don't know if that was just this pattern or something from this time period. I'm just glad I measured!

Since I had to deliver this that night I knew I wouldn't have time for several of these little details plus I didn't have enough fabric so the first thing I did was eliminate several details.
No Collar
No Bow Ties
No Piping
Used bias tape instead of facings on the neckline.
I also pieced the skirt a bit differently so I could get all the pieces to fit.

Instead of trying to join two pointy seams, when I basted the lace to the fabric I did it right along the seam allowance and attached the yoke with a lapped seam I carefully topstitched down. Much faster, neater and with much nicer results.

Right and wrong sides half pressed.

Next thing I did was get rid of the button back and insert a simple zipper. In about four hours I went from fabric to a dress; just in time for us to walk out the door to her party. I was kind of amazed at how quickly this "detailed" piece came together.

She was thrilled to have her own dress and I was thrilled it fit her. My Dad even said it's one of the best pieces I've made.

Fits so well and she loves it despite the weird faces...

Without intending to I managed to make this fit January's Stashbusting theme. One down, many more to go!

Things I Learned Stashbusting Interview

Good Morning World!
 Today we have an interview from the lovely Cari Homemaker. I met her through the Stashbusting 2013 and she happily agreed to share what she's learned from a year of stash busting. I hope you enjoy it and maybe pick up a few tips! Psst, you can peek at her fabric stash here!

"In January 2013 I pledged to use 25 pieces of stashed fabric for projects before the end of the year. I met my pledge, just barely squeaking by in the last week of the year. That’s 25 pieces I might not have otherwise used, so that was a win, but on the other hand, my stash continued to grow throughout 2013, despite pieces getting used. I plan to continue on into 2014, after all, I did learn some stuff during my year of stash-busting.

1)  Goals are extremely helpful. Even though I did keep adding to the stash through the year, there were pieces that did get used that probably wouldn’t have if I hadn’t been actively working on getting them made up.

Pink Lace Leggings!

2)  I have some lovely things sitting around in my basement. They look even better when turned into something useful and brought out into the light.

Banana Anna

3)  Having stashed fabric isn’t always necessarily a bad thing. Maybe the fabric really would work for something that I didn’t need at the time I stashed it. Maybe the person that fabric is perfect for wasn’t even born when it went into the stash.

Hoodie and a total stash bust!

4)  If I give myself permission to buy more fabric, I will end up finding a reason to buy more. I didn’t impose a fabric-buying ban on myself during 2013, and the stash grew. I don’t know that the opposite will be true or whether denying myself permission to buy fabric will keep me from buying it, but given last year’s results, that’s what I’ll be trying.

5)  Stash-busting is much more fun when done in a group. Thanks Emily and Cindy for hosting us last year and for keeping it going this year."

Can you guess the literary character? See Here

Thanks for joining us for our second year Cari! We look forward to seeing what you come up with this year. 
How about you? Did anything change after a year of stash busting?