pj party time

Whew, making it by the skin of my teeth here-it's still April 28th on the left coast!  I tried to take photos this morning before work, at 6:00 AM mind you, and needless to say, they were terrible.  Who's up that early anyway, gross.  Got home this evening and gladly put them back on for my pictures :-D

I wasn't sure if I was going to have time to participate, but sheepishly jumped in when Karen, our PJ Party Hostess, posted her giveaway, hehe.  I do really need more cute PJs after all.

A quick survey of the jammy situation made me a wee ashamed:

-yoga pants, cut off and paint stained (on the bum, no less!)
-flannel skully pants-a definite favorite, but flannel, not appropriate for coming summer
-2 pairs of Madeline bloomers-cute, husband loves them, but sometimes leave me feeling a little exposed when just chillin, not to mention, I can't go fetch the laundry out back in them
-and finally, the sad, stretched out t-shirt nightgown.  It's on the frumpy side.

New Look 6139 was employed as a base and altered quite a bit, as the crotch length was massive, and the ease ridiculous.  I can't be bothered turning fabric inside out for a drawstring, so I switched the waist to elastic.

I originally bought this fabric for a Violet blouse.  It felt soft and drapey at the store, but after washing just feels like quilting cotton.  I guess it was that chemical stuff that's put on fabric?  Not to mention, as much as I love this color, I don't think it looks good with my complexion.  But perfect for the PJs.  Only having 2 yards, not quite enough to make a full pair of pants, I improvised.  SO, don't tell the sewing police, but I cut them on the cross grain!  And had just enough, with spare scraps.

 what's happening with my arm here?

I thought of putting in pockets, but that's as far as it went-just too lazy.  However, piping is easy and aqua and red is such a splendid combo!

too lazy to change my thread, too!

To tell the front from the back, I attached a wee bow

Now, I love that Karen asked for our current read, cause aside from the pretty jammies, it's such good stalking material, no?

In the traditional sense of reading, by my nightstand I've got Confederacy of Dunces and a Bust magazine.  However, I'm currently smitten with audio books.  It's wonderful to listen to a story and be able to do other stuff at the same time.  Right now I'm listening to 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami.  This is my third Murakami book and my crush continues.  The stories are fantastical, the characters real and flawed, and all delicately woven together.  They make me want to study obscure Japanese/Chinese history and places.  This book, while slow to me at first, has now got me in it's clutches.  (However, my favorite is without a doubt "Wind Up Bird Chronicle"-go get it now!)

puff puff green, y'all

Sleeves, puff sleeves.  And green dye, geez.

I know what day it is, ahem, but all I'm offering here is my gussied up, green, puff-sleeve Violet

  

A couple things:  dye, sleeves and making it fitted

First, let me ask you something...Have you ever tried to find this color green at stores or online, in a natural fiber?  Cause it's nearly impossible.  I consider this (and slightly deeper emerald) the perfect shades of green, my absolute favorite color.  But it alludes me.  Why oh why are you so hard to find in a nice, natural fiber with good drape?

So, a dye it is.  First I tried iDye in Emerald, curious about this brand, having never used it before.

image source

Now, I've had bad luck at stove top dyeing in the past, so I tried the machine and followed the packets advice.  Unfortunately, I had two yards of fabric and realized after the dyeing/washing that I should've used more than one packet.  It just wasn't enough to dye that amount of fabric.  It turned out lime green.

Soldiering on, I bought Tulip Brand in Green

image source

I tackled the stove top method again, brought the water to almost boiling (hotter the water, darker the shade), used 3 packages of this stuff and followed the directions religiously. I really like the color, but wish it was just a smidge darker.  I've heard if you let the fabric dry overnight before rinsing clear, that it will set better.  I'll let you know when I do it again :-)

Onto the sleeves, I've decided I want a closet full of puff sleeves, so after my muslin, I chopped up the pattern, again using this tutorial

From the looks of it, seems like my fabric is a little too thin to really puff up.  The potential is there, they are just lazy little gathers aren't they?  Isn't there a trick to make fabric stand up in the shoulders, using twill tape, or something like that?  Must research. 

Finally, when I wore this on our holiday, I of course had my husband take photos.  In every.single.picture I looked pregnant.  And I'm not pregnant.  I think this fabric is just more flowly than the muslin one, not sure why this one made me look preggers and the other one not. 

So, had to take it in.  I probably did not do it correctly, but just a little pinch and pin, then turned those into darts, in the front and the back. 

 you can see where i started pinning, but moved it closer to the seams

looks a little better, but methinks I've got a sway back going on

What I've learned/will do next time:

1.  Practice gathering-I don't think the sleeve gathers are very even
2.  Remove the gathers from the back yoke and do the sway back adjustment
3.  Try my hand at moving the front darts and turning them into princess seams (maybe will help make more fitted?)
4.  Figure out sleeve head, standing up thingy

Also, if you have any advice on where to buy natural fiber green fabric, I'm all ears!



And, I just couldn't resist this...

a renfrew parade

About a year ago, I started sewing clothing again, and my first item was a long, maxi knit dress, basically a rectangle with neck and arm holes, that I belt.  I still wear it, just choosing to not look closely at the construction.  After the renfrew came out, I figured it was a good lead into a proper knit make and promptly ordered it.

I have some heavy, green knit, that is kinda blah to me, perfect for a wearable muslin.  I cut a size 2, for a little negative ease. I really like how it came out, it's comfy, even with my slightly off V-neck, whoops. 

note:  hands look big compared to your head

Now, if you notice, it's pretty loose.  I guess this is where different types of knits work different ways, cause my next two renfrews are TIGHT.  I don't mind the tightness all over, just not in the pit region...

I was trying to do a boat neck sorta thing on this black/white stripe, but didn't move the neck toward the shoulders like I should have.  I've since got the Sew U Home Stretch, Built by Wendy book by Wendy Mullins for sewing knits.  I know where I went wrong now.  But, I do like it anyway.

My only gripe with this version, is it's really tight under the arms.  The muslin doesn't feel that way.  Same size cut.  Just an illustration of how different knits can sew up differently I guess.

what? tight pits? no, not bothering me at all.  well, maybe just a little.

An example of my amazing product shots in South Africa:

 I may have been drinking.  I may have demanded my husband take a photo, then broken into a run.  He may be shaking his head.

Of course I didn't realize how tight the underarms were, just plowing ahead with the next shirt!  

I've had this lil cutie on my pinterest sewing board for a while.  I love the white lace overlay, thought it'd work as a knit top. 

image source

Again, I was hoping for some epic clothing/scenery shots in South Africa, unfortunately this day it was really, really windy.

trying not to get blown away

So, more pictures at home.

whew, back with my other love

The overlay part was really easy, but doh, forgot to take pics of that!  I used a stretch lace, cut it out exactly like the white knit underneath, and machine basted the pieces together.  Then treated them each as one piece throughout construction.

 oh hi, puff

I looooove me some puff sleeves, that's ok for a 35 year old woman, right?  I'd never altered a sleeve like that before and it was really easy.

I used this tutorial found here

What I've learned:

1.  Different knits behave differently

2.  After sewing up the last two renfrews, I've come to the conclusion that lowering armholes is probably one of the adjustments I have to make on certain patterns.  I've lowered the armhole on my sorbetto pattern, as well, leading me to that conclusion.

3.  I like sewing with knits, it just takes some patience. 

4.  Matching smaller stripes, like the above renfrew, is a pain in the arse.  I had to pin every other stripe and kept double checking that everything was still lined up.  (Tasia talks stripes tips here)

5.  Double check that everything fits well before getting serger happy with your seam allowances!

taking it easy-an ode to the elastic waist skirt

Last week, I was recovering from having all four of my wisdom teeth yanked, and forced to lay on the couch for hours on end.  Sounds great to some, but I have itchy hands.  I can't just be still.  After a whole day of painkillers and Dr. Who, I got stir crazy.  I couldn't look at any more blogs without the pang of jealousy-people are creating and I'm not, wahhhhhhh!  I had to make something, but it couldn't be too strenuous.  (I fancy myself to have a pretty high pain threshold, but damn, at 35, getting your wisdom teeth out HURTS).

Enter the elastic waist skirt.

We've all made this item on the journey to zipperland, and mostly it's viewed as simplistic, amateur, even frumpy.  In my obsession quest to improve my sewing skills, sometimes I get hung up on techniques-trying new ones, or making a piece more complicated than it has to be.  The elastic waist is a stepping stone, and I'll admit, I've raised my nose at it, but, I'm changing my tune, and gonna sing it's praises...

-it's easy (duh)
-it's quick
-great stashbuster
-you can eat loads of food without hurting (my favorite, hehe)

These are all loveable traits, no?

Decision made, I thumbed through my handy dandy fabric index and picked a fabric.  Time to stash bust.

In the past, elastic waist skirts, for me at least, have produced an unwanted "pooch" in the front-not pretty.  Luckily, I happened upon a genius tutorial, that eliminates that yuck bump, found here, by making the side waistband flat instead of gathered.

I pretty much followed the tutorial exactly, except she makes her skirt as a straight rectangle, and I wanted a smidge of an A-line.  So, I cut two pieces, 24" for the waist each, tapering down to 26" for the hem.  Per her instructions, the pockets are supposed to be sewn in 4" below the waistline.  With the A-line shape, I had to taper the pockets as well, or they wouldn't line up with the top.  When the waistband is sewn the top of the pocket is caught in the seam, so it doesn't flop around.

still aligned 4" from the top, just slightly tapered at sides

A couple of Dr. Who's later, and all done!  Oh, and I got this fabric, about 1 1/2 yards, at a vintage store for about $5 ages ago.  Everything else came from my stash.

throw on a tank or t-shirt-good to go!

pockets are always good

see the flat part? and the pocket tacked down by the waistband?  

All in all, very easy make, satisfied my need to finish something, and I wore it to the great fabric district adventure on the weekend.  It holds up quite well while shopping :-)  

I could see myself making quite a few of these for summer, doing a little stash busting on fabrics that might not be right for other garments (i'm looking at you, quilting cotton).  Cause, in my day to day life, errands, walking the dog, etc, I'm not going to get gussied up, I want to be comfy, but cute, too!

In wisdom teeth news, today's the last day of antibiotics, tomorrow I can have some wine!  Happy dance, happy dance!

finished pendrell

I was determined to finish my first Pendrell a couple days ago, and I did it!  I stayed up pretty late finishing, but I blame Dr. Who for distracting me.  I made Version B, kinda.

I took a thrift store dress I scored for about $2, ripped it all apart and made the pendrell out of it.  Initially, I was just going to refashion the dress, but in the end decided to farm the fabric instead.  It's 100% rayon, and really drapey.

before-very little house on the praire

tiny flowers

I used every available inch of this fabric!  All the panels came out of the skirt-barely.  And the sleeves for...sleeves.  I fancy myself pretty clever, too, cause I used the actual hem of the skirt as the hem of the shirt-woohoo!  Unfortunately, there wasn't enough fabric to make the top ruffle on the sleeves, and I didn't want a tank top, so I made B, sans ruffle. 

I know the shirt is supposed to be drapey and have a lot of ease, but I didn't care for the way it looked after I was done.  So, I took it in about an inch total on each side.  I swear I took my measurements correctly, but next time I'll go down a size.

My dear husband got me a serger 3 years ago, and after some initial playing around with it, I put it away, where it's been gathering dust.  It just scared me.  After telling this to Nhi, one of the ladies I met at the Colette event a few weeks back, she told me I was being silly.  She's very matter of fact and ordered me to go right home, dust it off and use it!  My husband thanks her, ha!  So I did just that, and I'm so glad I did.  I read through the manual, watched the DVD, watched a bunch of youtube videos, and practiced on scraps.  And, then I DID IT!  The knife on it still scares me, but surprisingly, the threading and tension wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  I finished all my seams with it.  Now, what do you do with the ends??

Alterations:

-cut a size 8

(was a bit too loose, so ended up taking 1" off each side (next time, a size smaller)

-took 5 inches off the bottom 

(which eliminated the need to take in the hips, since it's a pattern for pear shapes)

-one ruffle vs. double ruffle

This particular shirt included a couple firsts for me:

1. This was my first Sewaholic pattern, and it was a breeze to sew up.  I'm really late on the pendrell pattern, lots of other bloggers have said the same thing, but I'm happy to concur.   

2. Never sewn princess seams before-that was easy!

3. Serger!! 

I'm really happy to be adding another wearable garment to my puny wardrobe :)

it's what on the inside that counts

Woah, it's been a while since I finished a sewing project!  But I'm firmly ensconced back home with my machine :-)  It took me a bit to get back to sewing, as I had the usual errands and household stuff to do.  But then I got down to business-and now there's fabric and sewing notions all over the living room, hehe.

Included in my apartment deep cleaning, I've organized (mostly) all my fabric and cleaned out my closet.  I went through all my clothes and donated everything I haven't worn in a while.  It was a little sparse before, but now it's looking even more bare.

 organizing the stash

Around the holidays, I got the Colette book and having very few separates, I figured I'd tackle the Meringue.  Trying to shop from my stash, I grabbed a black denim for the main, leftover black polka dot from my bombshell dress for the scallop facings, and some blue bemberg rayon scraps for a lining.  I've come to feel like I don't like A-line skirts too much on me, so I straighten the skirt out a bit, which, yes, did mess with the scallops, but I don't care much, it's not really noticeable.

Now, I thought I'd be smart and combine the facing and lining, basically making one big lining, but in retrospect, I think the facing and lining should be two separate things.  I see I'm not the only blogger to come to this conclusion, too bad I found Scruffybadger's post after I'd already cut all my pieces!  And I didn't have enough of the rayon to make a full lining.

purty innard-my favorite part

bias binding at the waist

All in all, I like the skirt OK, it does fill a hole in my wardrobe, however, following the size chart, I cut a 6 and it's a little loose.  The denim gets weirdly wrinkly, it's probably some cheap Joann's stuff, but I love the inside, ha!  It looks pretty.

I wore the skirt yesterday, and my conclusion is, when wearing tights, I need to wear a separate slip with it, or don't wear tights at all.  Plus, I think it looks better with a tucked in skirt, though it makes my hips look a little wide, whoops.  Wearable muslin, now?  Next time I'll cut a size smaller.

In other sewing news, I went to a Colette book signing last week, where patterns were 20% off.  And if you wore an article of clothing made from one of her patterns, and extra 10% off.  Now, I'm a pattern whore, so I took myself to the event, wearing my Ginger, and picked up the Peony and Negroni.  Plus, I got my first Sewaholic pattern, the Pendrell (on the cutting table now!), and a Decades of Style blouse.

A little confession though...I'm actually kinda shy, haha, and when I saw Sarai, then Oona, and then Mena, well, I got really shy and stuck to the corner and didn't introduce myself, doh!  Talk about blogger star struck, lol.  But, the good thing that came out of that, I met two really awesome ladies, local seamsters, that I chatted with for quite a while, and going for coffee after, where the sewing talk was nonstop (geek alert)!  We are even having a fabric district meet up in a week, sweet!

And now, on to the Pendrell...

 Pendrell fabric-upcycle from a rayon dress

FO knitting

I did finish my knitting project the other night, but, I just didn't get around to taking photos.  I don't love the pictures I ended up taking, but hey, I can only do so much with the yellow hotel lighting!  ONE WEEK LEFT, lol.

This project is my 22.5 Degree Scarf found here on Ravelry.  This is the third time I've made it, but the first time I've done the cute little scallops-and I love them!  The thing is, this thing is done in garter stitch and it starts really quickly, and you're like "ohhhh, wow, this is gonna fly by, i love this lil 'ol scarf" and then...it takes freaking forever.  But it's cool, cause it's done now and I love it!  And a note, if you want to do the scallops, don't use the Ravelry link to the video cause it doesn't work.  Here's the correct one:  video!

scallops!

I've been wanting/needing a black scarf and actually knit one up using a lace pattern from a knitting book I have.  Buuuut, I'm really not a prolific knitter, and the edges were SO curled up, even after 2 blockings, it just pissed me off.  Frog city.  I decided to stray from the normal, long rectangular scarf and knit this pattern again and really glad I did!

 terrible pic, but can see how long it is on double bed

I used 3 balls of Trendsetter Yarns Merino VI.  I adore this yarn, it's soft, super squishy and soooo warm.  Highly recommend.  Seriously, I want to live in this stuff.

All in all, great mindless project.  If you know how to cast on, M1, yarn over, and cast off, you can do it.

tada!

bowapalooza and 2012 goals

I've had 10 days off from work, and honestly, my sewing took a back burner.  I had grand plans to whip out another garment, but truly, when it came down to it, I preferred to spend time with family, sans sewing machine.  Until...my stepdaughter joined us.  I taught her to sew this summer, and this girl can get in the zone!

So we commenced "bowapalooza".  It spanned a couple days, but we wrapped up 15 minutes after NYE last night.  We know how to party, hehe.

And 2012...

I decided on a whim to start this blog, not to actually document my crafty endeavors, but to encourage a couple of friends to start sewing garments for themselves.  Instead of exchanging info through email or flickr, I impulsively started this blog.  I figured I could do step by step instructions for the Sorbetto (the first project) and help them bridge the gap from home dec/kids stuff to personal garments.  One friend made hers, and she *you know who you are Leah* never took a pic of herself in it to send to me.  But I love her anyway :)  Most everyone that wanted to participate are busy mamas and when they have time, they'll make that leap.

I was hoping we could continue doing sew alongs, pushing our skill set.  But really, let's be truthful-sew alongs are A LOT of work!  So this blog very quickly morphed into my own show off place, and I'm totally fine with that ;-)  I mean, we are all "sewing along" with each other anyway, right?  Even if it's not the same project, even if we don't have the same skill level, the sewing community is one of the warmest, most welcoming places I've encountered.  Skills are shared, compliments, advice, tips-I feel grateful to have stumbled into it, and plan to continue nosing around here.  So, my lofty, but I think, attainable, goals for 2012 are:

1. organize this blog a little better
2. work on my fabric designs
3. tackle 2 sewing projects per month, depending on work
4. stop being scared of knitting a sweater/socks and GO FOR IT!
5. Decrease the stash (yarn and fabric)
6. organize my sewing area
7. make a sloper
8. have at least 3 TNT patterns when I want a quick sew
9. work on my accessorizing skills
10. completely cull my current wardrobe-either refashion or donate what's not being worn
11. make a some travel bags/covers for:  hard drives, laptop, makeup, etc.

Happy 2012 Everyone!!!

it feels good to finish something!

Got two things done while I've been on the road...

First up, these mitts.  I type lots and lots all day, mostly outside (whoever said TV production was glamorous lied).  My poor little fingers are getting really chilly, so of course fingerless gloves are the answer.

I love the design, I used Midnight Dreary, found on Ravelry.  Yay for free patterns.  I think it was serendipity cause I had just gone to the Edgar Allen Poe museum the day I chose the pattern!  Plus, it's interesting enough of a pattern with the cable to keep my post-work brain interested.

Now, the color tan is usually the last thing I adorn my body with, but I had a bunch of this yarn left leftover from a blanket project and I'm trying to stash bust.  They're pilling up already though, however, I think I'm really rough on my clothing and accessories.

The thing is, they kinda get in the way of my typing, haaaaaa!  I think regular fingerless gloves, not mittens, would work better.  Oh well, it was a fun pattern anyway and I'll wear them regardless.

And look, silly me, I forgot to do one of the cable repeats after the thumb gusset on my right hand!  I could take them apart and fix it, so it matches the other one, but I'm probably too lazy for that, hehe.  Embrace the mistake!

Mission Falls 136 Merino Superwash

Next up, another Ravelry pattern, Orca Tails.  I looooove the color!

 

goodness, I look so serious, I'm really not!

It was a really, really easy knit.  My only b*itch is that the damn sides are rolling in.  I've blocked the thing 2x and it's still not behaving.  I followed the pattern exactly and everything, grrr.

The yarn is 100% worsted cotton by Blue Sky Alpacas.  It feels great to knit with, and I would totally use it again.

I'm not sure if it will keep my neck super warm when it's really cold outside, but who cares, it's purty!

see? not so serious after all :) (And might I note, rockin my first Sorbetto!)

ironing board again?

A dear friend of mine saw my ironing board cover and immediately begged me to help makeover hers.  One fun filled weekend while the hubby was away, she came over.  Armed with copious amounts of Mint Julep Makers Mark and yummy food, we tackled her plain board.


Supplies:

2 cans spray primer (appropriate for metal)
2 cans spray paint in color of choice (appropriate for metal)
2 yards 100% quilting cotton
2 packages 3 yard bias binding
thread to match bias binding
1 package 1/4 inch elastic
medium safety pin or bodkin for threading elastic

optional if making padding as well:

2 yards muslin
72 x 90 cotton batting (NO polyester-things gotta breath!)

I'll spare you all the process shots, cause we essentially did the same steps as mine here.  Plus, don't we really just want to see the before and after?

**oh, and a little tip when spray painting (aka-what I didn't do on mine) wipe down the board really well before applying!

Before=blah

After-TADA!!!

I think it's a resounding success, and my friend is in love with it :) 

another home dec conquered: ironing board

Our apartment is pretty small and my ironing board kinda lives out in the open.  Thank goodness my husband is so laid back and doesn't really care.

I replaced our old ironing board a couple months ago cause the lining fabric didn't breath and it rusted. I had pools of rusty water on the floor whenever I had a good steam going on.  Really annoying.

So, got a new ironing board, and had been meaning to recover it, well, cause it's ugly.  And the lining is so thin on it, whenever I iron, I can see the diamond mesh depression on my fabric. I've been layering muslin under my projects so not to get that.

already stained (new iron is next on the list-any suggestions??)

I figured if the thing is gonna be out in the open, and I'm taking the time to redo it, it at least needs to be cute and kinda blend with the rest of the decor.

Originally I was going to get a dark gray fabric that would blend with my redone chairs but after I got to the store I found a great gray houndstooth and decided that was it!

At some point, I had a revelation-the legs of the iron don't have to be dark brown (b-o-r-i-n-g), so why not spray paint them something fun?? Off the the hardware store!

Primed

Inside while the primer and paint were drying, I used the old batting as a template for my new batting.  I want the board to be really cushy, so I sandwiched 4 layers of cotton batting between muslin and sewed it up.  To prevent it from shifting during future washing, I sewed 3 times around the edge, catching the batting in the seams.  The batting is prewashed 100% cotton needled batting from Joann's, 72 x 90 inches.

Then I used the old cover as a template for my new houndstooth one.  I cut that out, and right sides together, sewed bias tape around the edges for an elastic casing.

I want the cover and the batting to be separate, in case I want to replace the cover in the future, then I don't have to buy more batting.

After getting the bias strip on, I threaded 1/4" elastic through the bias casing, tested it on the board, then closed it up.

And all together!

I absolutely love the finished board and it looks so pretty in the space!  

Disclaimer:  I used a primer and spray paint suitable for metal.  The spray paint got a chance to set for at least 24 hours, and hopefully *crossing fingers* that is enough that when opening and closing the iron it doesn't scratch off.  We'll see...