Cation Designs

Experimenting with Pattern Manipulation

2012-03-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

First off, the winner of the breathing-room-not-included skirt giveaway is Wylde Hills! I'll be contacting you shortly regarding a mailing address. Thanks to all of you who had nice things to say about my choice of sheet, even if you, like me, am attached to breathing.

***

Lots of other sewing bloggers have been posting lately (or not so lately) about what to do with older me-made garments that no longer fit one's life, standards, or closet. When I read Puu's blog post, my first thought was my Betsey Johnson-inspired dress. I love that vintage bedsheet, but the bodice is too big, the skirt is too long, and I just don't like all the extra bulk at the waist that results from gathering something like five yards of fabric into less than a yard of waist. I've only worn it once, and I felt uncomfortable the whole time. But I don't want to get rid of it because I worked so hard on it! My first hand-picked zipper and everything! Obviously, the only solution is...

...to make myself another dress from the other half of the sheet. This doesn't really help the closet situation any, but I DO WHAT I WANT, THOR. Um. Right. At least it uses up yardage from the stash? Anyway, I was itching to do some pattern manipulation, too, so I decided to whip out my trusty McCall's 5845. I wanted the look of Butterick 5603's bodice without having to buy it, so I traced off the bodice pattern pieces, figured out where to cut across to get the underbust seam, rotated the pieces to eliminate the darts, and then taped it all together.

Original pattern piece to the left, my hacked version to the right. Sorry about the curliness of my brown paper.

You can see where I snipped and rotated the piece, leaving the former darts to be gathered.

Back piece hack. I just trimmed a triangle off of the side of the top piece to compensate for filling in the dart. It worked pretty well, I would say!

See how the stripes don't quite line up? Argh!!!

I cut out my fabric, barely squeezing this dress out of the remains of the sheet. Unfortunately, I discovered that the only thing worse than not matching your fabric pattern is to not quite match your fabric pattern. See, with the former, you can at least pretend you weren't even trying. This way, it just looks a little sad. Oh well. I had a ball adding piping and seam binding everything except the armholes. The curves just don't work for my poor seam binding, but I reasoned that since I edgestitched it, it should be okay? Anyway, the result of essentially sewing each seam three times is that the insides are oh-so-pretty! I love that the pink seam binding goes so nicely with the pink on the sheet, and I don't even like pink that much.

For a wearable muslin of my "new" pattern, this dress is pretty good. For future reference, I still need to make these changes:

Extend the center back piece (I barely had enough room to add the zipper)
More of a curve under the bust where the gathers are
Less height in the top center front piece, more on the bottom center front piece, so as to get the curved look. As it is, I hacked the seam to make a random fold.
I feel like the scoop in front looks a little awkwardly shaped? I didn't want to scoop it out more, though, for fear of gaping up top.

Also, my piping is actually a pale pink, but it pretty much just looks white.

I didn't bother hand-picking the zipper (for the first time in ages!) since I already had pink edgestitching on the neck- and armholes, and just to make my life easier I didn't bother making the hem unobtrusive either.

So...final verdict, after all that work? It's pretty good for a spur of the moment "hey, let's hack this pattern!" pattern, but I think in the future I need to save this kind of pattern for a fabric that doesn't need matching. Also, does anyone have any tips for getting piping to meet properly at seams? I pinned and checked and tried to be very careful, but my machine just doesn't like all that bulk trying to make it through all at once and just squishes one pipe to the side. Also, it's very difficult to press open that seam and make it look crisp.

No pictures wearing the dress yet...it's gray and cold outside, probably to get us back for being a balmy 75 degrees in January. I'll just say that wearing this dress makes me feel like I should be herding sheep in a nursery rhyme. I don't know if that's a good thing.

Kind of a Giveaway

2012-03-09T08:22:00.001-08:00

[EDIT: I wrote this up a couple of nights ago before I'd seen Leah's way awesomer wool skirt giveaway. So at least I know that this idea isn't totally bogus, but maybe it only works if it's not a two year old skirt made from an old sheet with mysterious origins. Go enter the giveaway for her brand new, non-thrifted, not polyester pencil skirt!]

Totally random, but I thought I'd throw this out there.

Hmm...it's a little wrinkled from being squished into my too-small closet.

Back: check out my beginner attempts at pattern-matching at that center seam!

I made this half-circle skirt two years ago out of a thrifted sheet, but apparently I didn't know how to measure myself properly back then. It's a very nice skirt, but when I wear it I can't breathe. And breathing is something I'm rather attached to. I think I've only worn it a couple times (for me-made challenges, when I'll wear anything just to make it through the month), and both times I was dying the whole time. So, before I bring my bag of donations to Goodwill, would anyone out there happen to want it? I'd love for it to go to a good home where someone can appreciate that it's home-made, even if I'm not your grandma, sewing love into every stitch.

Details:
Waist: 25.5"
Length: 22.5" from the bottom of the waistband
Fabric: thrifted sheet, so I'm guessing it's a 50/50 poly-cotton blend...very machine washable!
Construction information: half circle skirt, 7" topstitched white zipper with a silver pull in the center back, 1" high, topstitched, interfaced waistband with a hook and eye on the tab, seam allowance in the center back is pinked, all other edges are enclosed, baby hem

Close-up of the zipper and the waistband back.

Hook and eye on the waistband. Hmm, that hook isn't looking so sturdy. It may need to be resewn. Actually, on second thought, a hook and bar would have been a better choice here.

The lobster that Eric won for me in one of those infamous claw machines (little green Toy Story aliens: "The Claaaaawww!") is being helpful and holding up the skirt so you can see how wide the hem is.

It's very thin fabric, and white to boot, so you'd definitely need to wear a half-slip underneath it. It does skim the hips nicely, though, and I love the autumnal-colored flowers on it. I'm sad to let it go, but I don't want to keep it around for fifteen years waiting for an imaginary daughter who may or may not even want to wear it. If you (or someone you know) want it, just say so. If for some reason more than one person wants it, I'll have Walnut pick a winner. If no one wants it and y'all are just sitting there staring at your screen wondering why on earth this lady thinks so highly of herself that she thinks anyone would want her cast-offs, I'll bring it into Goodwill next week. Which, I realize, is still me trying to foist my unwanted clothes on someone else, but just anonymously.

DIY BHLDN Yarrow-In-Flower "Dress"

2012-03-08T08:41:00.002-08:00

I'm sorry, is that too many capital letters in the title? Hey, at least I didn't abbreviate it as the YIF dress.

When Anthropologie announced that it was starting a bridal line, I was simultaneously 1) psyched, because I was sure whatever they put out would be amazing, 2) disappointed, because my wedding was already over, and 3) meh, because anything they had would be waaaay too expensive. Well, as it turns out, I'm pretty sure I could pin the entirety of the BHLDN catalog to my Pinterest boards. I love their shoes, jewelry, gowns, and even their waste-of-money drink stirrers. Their bridesmaids dresses, though, are probably the most dangerous for me, as they're things that I might actually wear. Thankfully (?), they're too expensive to tempt me. Instead, I'm using them as sewing inspiration; after all, I have four weddings and almost as many bridal showers to attend in the next two months! I've had the Yarrow-In-Flower dress pinned for ages, and finally found the right yellow sheet at the thrift store for DIY-ing my own cheaper, more casual version. But just to make mine more practical, I decided to make it into separates: a lace top and a gathered yellow skirt. Also, for ultimate practicality, my materials are NOT dry-clean only!

I had to darken this photo significantly to get the lace to show up.
I think I'm looking particularly smug here because I just saved $343.

This is closer to the actual color of the skirt. Also, check out that ridiculousness going on on the window behind me on the left. Apparently some parents just let their kids go wild on the windows with markers and stickers. I will never understand.

I still had about two-thirds of a yard of the stretch lace that I used for my DIY Dulcie Dress; in its un-dyed state, it was the perfect bright white contrast for the yellow skirt. I simply cut out two pieces using my cap-sleeve knit top block, sewed up the shoulders and sides, and did a simple single-turn hem on the sleeves and neckline. I'll confess that I didn't bother hemming the bottom, since it won't fray or show anyway. Now I have a nice top that will go will with many of my me-made and thrifted skirts. Yay for not making orphans!

The skirt was just a 22"x80" rectangle (to save myself the bother of hemming, I used the edge of the sheet, which already had a nice, deep, 2.5" hem) sewn into a tube and gathered, then attached to a rectangular, interfaced waistband piece. I didn't have a yellow zipper in my stash, but in the interest of not buying anything new (and also because it was 9 PM and I'd already been to Joann's the day before), I just used a white 7" zipper. The zipper pull is slightly distracting, though, so I might try coloring it in with a yellow Sharpie. I finished it off by adding three hooks and eyes on the waistband. I cut the waistband just a little bit on the tight side, but I guess that just means I'll be reminded not to eat too much if there's a buffet...

Oops...looks like I forgot to hook one of the hooks.

Summary:
Fabric: 50/50 poly-cotton blend bedsheet, thrifted; nylon stretch lace
Notions: 7" white zipper, three hooks and eyes, fusible interfacing
Hours: 3.5...I'm getting a lot better at doing hooks and eyes!
"Netflix" queue: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and Commentary! The Musical on DVD
Will you make this again? A two piece knit top that requires no seam finishing and a straightforward gathered skirt? Indubitably.
Total cost: $5 for the remaining lace (yay, totally used it up with no remnants!), $1 worth of the sheet (I still have enough for a very full-skirted dress!), $0.25 for the zipper; let's say $7 total with the hooks and eyes. I saved $343, along with an unknown number of dry-cleaning bills!
Final thoughts: I love how wearing yellow automatically makes me happier! This skirt is also deliciously full, but the softness of the sheet means that it's not bulky. The top is nothing special, but still accomplishes its purpose. Also, I love it when I don't need to deal with fussy patterns, but still get exactly the result I wanted. It's not as expensive-looking as the BHLDN dress, but it's much cheaper and more practical for my life (not to mention not as scandalously short).

It was an extremely sunny day, but very windy. It showed off the skirt's fullness nicely, though...check out the huge shadow it cast! Okay, okay, I know that's not all due to the skirt, but still.

Search Keyword Fun

2012-03-07T09:52:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when I check my blog stats page, some pretty ridiculous search keywords turn up, but at least they make sense considering what I've posted about in the past, like "gollum in love" or "how do hippos dress." And occasionally some normal search keywords that I'm pretty sure I've never discussed, like "a blank family tree that's printable." I have never made any kind of family tree, much less one that's printable. Of course, now that I've just talked about it, even more sad people will come looking for one and be disappointed.

Oddly enough, the keywords that direct the most people here are "sniper team fortress 2," and all because I once helped my sister-in-law with a cosplay vest for said character from said game. I'm pretty sure that everything else on here is the polar opposite of a rugged former tracker of dangerous game from the Australian Outback. I'm sorry if you wanted more information about an imaginary sharpshooter; it's all just vintage dresses made from thrifted sheets here.

But of all the keywords that have ever turned up, my favorite is this one. Check out the second to last line...

I've also never discussed designer linen dresses or ribbon embroidery. And "doraemon" is second to "sniper team fortress 2" in directing search engine traffic here, all because one time I made a silly sweatshirt.

Yup, two somebodies searched for the awesomest thing ever, and Google kindly directed them here. Not even sure how that happened, but I'll take it!

But I'm still pretty sure that nothing will ever top this screenshot from Curves, Patterns, and Pins.

1912 Project: #E0200 Skirt Finished!

2012-03-06T08:58:00.000-08:00

Ignore the lackluster hair. I didn't feel like trying an Edwardian updo.

Here is my first finished garment from the 1912 project! This pattern is from February 4, 1912. I wrote about the construction of it yesterday, and as promised, here I am wearing it. I tried this skirt with my vaguely Edwardian thrift store blouse...and the verdict is that I look like an old maid schoolteacher with not a lot of money to spend on clothes. My cotton was a little too stiff to drape the way that I think this skirt is supposed to, unfortunately, and the color is too dark for the trim to really pop.

Front

Side

Back

Because the fabric is so dark, though, I was able to wear one of my tiered, ruffly bohemian skirts underneath as a faux petticoat. It worked nicely to keep the skirt from sticking to me, although the whole outfit got quite warm! I guess it would've been fine for England, but it was oh, 80 degrees out while I was quickly snapping these photos. In the process of walking around, I discovered that the inner waistband really doesn't do much to hold up the skirt; it tends to slide down in the back and cause awkward bunching over my butt. That might just be due to my swayback, though.

Bunching! Also, I cut my left side piece wrong side out. I didn't notice until too late,
since I was working on this at night, but it looks really obvious here. Yuck.

Trying my best to get the same angle as the pattern drawing.

Summary:
Fabric: dark blue, 100% cotton, thick, attracts Walnut's hair like no other. I need a lady's maid just to follow me with a lint roller.
Notions: 14 black plastic La Mode buttons, narrow black bias tape, snaps, hook and eye
Techniques used: I don't know that I had a technique for the bias binding, so much as I just manhandled it into place...I did like the canvas bias strip interfacing on the waistband, though! Also, my first time catch-stitching.
Hours: Eight. Pretty good, considering.
Will you make this again? Despite all my issues, I actually really like this pattern! I think that without the scallops, it'll make the perfect skirt for this gown (or even this utilitarian skirt) of Lady Mary's. Especially now that I've gotten it sized to mostly fit me.
Total cost: $13. One dollar for each scallop? The fabric only cost me $3, but the buttons and bias tape cost me $10! That seems unfair.
Final thoughts: Not bad, for my first century-old pattern? I don't even know what to think about it. My husband didn't either, opting out of making any dangerous comments by saying that he didn't know anything about fashions from this era. I don't know when I would ever wear this particular combination of top+skirt, but I feel like I should have a parasol or something. Also, I can't wait for my Astorias to come so that I can at least have proper shoes!

Black round-toed wedges really don't cut it. I suppose I should invest in some black stockings, too.

1912 Project: #E0200 Skirt Construction

2012-03-05T13:49:00.001-08:00

After much excitement and nervous waiting, I finally got my first pattern for VPLL's 1912 project last week. It's a very Lady Mary-esque walking skirt (actually I don't know if this is true; I'm just calling everything I remotely like "Lady Mary" since I love her wardrobe), described as having a scalloped edge with trim and covered buttons. According to the original description, it should have been made from heavy grey silk or taffeta; being poor and unsure of the pattern, I used a heavy dark blue cotton ($1/yd sale at F&S!) for my (hopefully) wearable muslin. Good thing, too, since those scallops were a beast to bind, and I'm not entirely sure of how that edge is supposed to be attached. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

My changes to the pattern, shown in red on the layout diagram.

To begin with, I had to size this pattern down significantly. Just my luck, that in an era of 25" waists, I get the pattern with a 35"-36" waist! After some fussing around with math and trying to hold the pattern pieces up to myself, I settled on taking three inches out of the center back piece by moving the "cut on fold" line over by 1.5 inches, taking another 1.5" off of the straight edge of each side piece, and sewing slightly larger seam allowances than the original 3/8" that the pattern called for. It seems to have worked pretty well; the skirt mostly hangs down from above my natural waist, as it's supposed to do, with minimal wrinkling to accommodate my uncompressed butt. I suppose I could make the 1911 long-line underbust corset that a lot of other sewists are making, but honestly, I think it looks pretty ugly. I know, correct undergarments are the foundation of a proper period look and blah blah blargetty blarg, but allow me to be obstinate and say that I'll go uncorsetted for as long as I can in this project, even if that makes me a loose woman (literally!).

Sewing the pattern pieces together was easy; the difficult part for me was the binding on the scalloped edge. Is there a nice way to do all those sharp corners? I just stretched and folded as I went, but it looks pretty wonky. I also found the directions on how to attach the scalloped edge to the rest of the skirt really confusing. Maybe I'm just too used to instructions with diagrams? Except that I don't even use the diagrams half the time. Anyway, I figured that a straight line up the side would look weird, and I was pretty sure that I wasn't supposed to do fourteen snaps, so I ended up topstitching the scallops up to the designated line. The buttons I used are most decidedly non-1912, being plastic and all, but they were the best combination of cheap+black+not too horrible.

They don't look as plasticky as some of the others, I promise!

I left the top three scallops open and sewed snaps to the tip of each scallop. To close the top, I sewed in a hook and bar with an additional snap to the side. Also, I only own light pink seam binding.

The inner waistband calls for a canvas bias strip as interfacing; I was so tempted to just use iron-on interfacing, but in the end I decided that I should do it right. Thankfully, there was a large piece of floral home-dec canvas in my bag of donated fabrics (along with the red corduroy I used for my corset). It does make the waistband nicely sturdy. Unfortunately, the shape of it doesn't help much with getting the skirt to stay above my natural waist.

This is what the wrong side of the facing looked like before I flipped it down and tacked it to my seam allowances. I still have a bunch of that fabric left. I thought about making it into another bag, but it screams "mom with a diaper bag" to me.

As for the hem, at first I wanted a floor length skirt, but besides being impractical, it also seems to be inaccurate. After some consultation with pictures from 1912, the ladies at the 1912 project Facebook group, and several screenshots of Season 1 of Downton Abbey (yes, yes, I know, TV is a horrible place to do research), I decided to hem the skirt to brush the top of my instep. In order to do so, I ended up needing to eliminate one of the scallops, so now I have 13 scallops instead of 14. Were Edwardians superstitious about the number 13? Anyway, my hem is a little over three inches deep. I folded the top edge over, stitched it on machine, and then catch-stitched it to the skirt. It was my very first time doing a hem by hand (thanks to this helpful video!), not to mention trying to make it show as little as possible on the right side! I think I did pretty well, considering, and I'll even confess that it was a relaxing experience. I think I'll be doing this on all my skirt hems from now on, unless they're circle skirts. Thankfully, the final circumference of the skirt was only 62" and catch-stitches are quite ground-covering.

Weee! So pretty! Also, it is ridiculously hard to photograph and then edit dark blue fabric so that you can see any detail.

On the other side: almost invisible!

Diagrams of the skirt courtesy of the Vintage Pattern Lending Library's page about the skirt. Pictures of me wearing this skirt will be posted tomorrow, assuming my husband gets home today while it's still light out!

Sewing with Small Human Being Update

2012-03-02T10:37:00.000-08:00

Remember SHB and her little heart pillow? Well, we've been meeting up on Wednesdays after school for the last few weeks, and her enthusiasm for sewing is unabated. Her seams are straighter and her ambition knows no bounds. We've been working on keeping her seam allowances even and it's kind of working. We've done some "pattern-making" from her ideas, like with this purse:

Her initial design sketch with dimensions, which I then helped her visualize into the beginnings of a "pattern." She was pretty quick on the uptake when it came to discussing seam allowance and sewing it right sides together.

The resulting product even looks like the picture (shown here without the strap, which was sewn on later). She sewed the button and buttonhole herself!

(Sorry about the picture quality; these were all taken with my iPhone in non-natural lighting.)
We ironed interfacing to the inside so it would be stiffer, then did the corners so that it can stand up on its own.

Her family is going to Hawaii this summer, so for the last two weeks she worked on (with lots of help) a little muumuu (her own design; I would never foist a muumuu on anyone, no matter how easy they are to make) for herself. When I saw the Hawaiian-print rayon she had chosen, I have to admit I quailed a little inside, since that is some slippery, non-stable stuff. Well, we made a "pattern" from one of her existing dresses, and she cut, pinned, and sewed everything (except the curvier parts of the bias binding) all by herself. We talked about the importance of pressing seams, and marveled at how much better everything looks after pressing. We only pinked the seams inside, since I don't think she was ready for a whole discussion on seam finishes (her mom assured me that this dress probably won't get too much wear, and therefore washing, so hopefully the fabric will last for a season). SHB was so pleased with herself; her enthusiasm is infectious, even for this high school teacher.

We're supposed to work on an elastic waist skirt next, which will be a sight easier than this dress! I love stable, sturdy, non-shifty cottons. Thankfully, since she is a small human being, I can use up some of my yardage leftovers that are too small for me to use. Which vintage sheet will she choose??

Another Blank Canvas Tee Hack

2012-03-01T08:55:00.000-08:00

I liked this pattern so much, I had to make another one. Besides, I still had leftover green and black fabrics, so in the interest of using it up before Walnut could get hair all over it, I tried a different hack. I was going for a sweetheart neckline, kind of like the Macaron Dress from Colette Patterns, but due to the sizing of the pattern, it didn't quite work out. That's okay, though, because I still like my resulting top just fine!

Here's what my hacked pattern pieces looked like. You'll need to mentally add seam allowance for the green and black pieces.

With another three inch extension for length.

Here's the back of the top, tucked into the skirt...
the green part ended up being lower than I expected. Oops.

I'm not going to bother with my usual sewing summary, since it's pretty much the same as the previous one, but just a little less green fabric and a little more black. Also, hemming this mesh was a bit of a nightmare.

In a fit of non-procrastination, I also made up the black skirt that I was promising myself. I originally wanted a full circle skirt, but it turns out that I only had enough for a half-circle skirt. To that end, I decided to test out one of my vintage patterns, Simplicity 8349 A, from 1969. It's a supposedly above the knee bias cut skirt, with a side zipper. I was initially concerned, since my pattern is meant for a 24" waist, which I am definitely not! But it seems that even back then, considerable ease was built into the garments, because mine fit just fine without any modifications. I made View 3, and since I used jersey, I didn't bother hemming it. It's a bit on the long side, but I kind of like this 1930s length.

Definitely not above the knee, even if I did do a two-inch hem like the pattern called for.

With my Jason Wu knock-off tee, it reminds me a bit of this ensemble from Revamp Vintage, but updated. And much more casual materials. And much cheaper.

I also added another rectangle to the tie on the top to get the bow look.

Swish! Swish!

Summary:
Fabric: 1.25 yards 60" black cotton-poly blend knit.
Notions: zipper, 2 hook-and-eye pairs, interfacing for the waistband
Hours: 1.5...easy peasy, especially with no seam finishing. Yay for knits!
Netflix queue: Switching it up since I'm tired of similarities between Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton (servants stealing! issues with the cook! rebellious daughter! pregnant housemaids! dalliances while your spouse is busy! maids who aren't content with service but want more!)...what could be more different than documentaries like Slave Ship Mutiny and Lost in the Amazon?
Will you make this again? Maybe. I like the shape and its movement a lot, and I might want a shorter version in a nice wool plaid.
Total cost: $4 with the zipper, fabric originally $2 from SAS Fabrics in Tucson three years ago
Final thoughts: Love the bias skimming my hips, the very practical, goes-with-everything black, and how easy it is to wash. I might still chop off a few inches and hem it, but I'm undecided.

I know the Sew Weekly theme is supposed to be a refashion, but honestly, the sleeveless top I had set aside for it is totally uninspiring. It just needs to be taken in at the sides, but there's bias binding around the armhole that I don't feel like dealing with. Does refashioning a pattern count?

End of February Already!

2012-02-29T10:36:00.001-08:00

I think I read somewhere that the older you get, the more quickly time seems to pass since each year represents a smaller and smaller fraction of your overall years lived. Like when you're five, a year represents, well, a whole fifth of your life, so waiting to turn six seems like ages. Makes sense to me...and also February is an especially short month. Anyway, here are some links I've enjoyed this last month:

I really appreciated this blog post about conquering knits from Lladybird, because even though I started sewing on knits, sometimes I fall into a wovens rut and get scared of knits all over again. Her post contains lots of helpful hints about sewing stretchy fabrics successfully.
Made by Rae posted about Pinterest and photo copyrights. I don't have kids whose faces I want to hide from teh interwebs, and I don't think anyone is pinning photos of Walnut, but it's definitely a good question for those of us who create things. I'll be interested to see what Ben's reply is.
Simple Simon & Co. talked about lessons learned from sewing. I can totally identify with all of these! Especially #5, as I can be quite a perfectionist, and therefore quite hard on myself.
I don't think I ever had thoughts about the word "dainty," as broached by Peter at Male Pattern Boldness, but my mom definitely tried to impress on me the Chinese equivalent, being 斯文, that is, polite and gentle and refined and cultured and, when used to describe a female, ladylike. Which if you lump that all together, is essentially "dainty" without the frills and ruffles. I like that a lot better. I may not always be ladylike, but I would like to always be the rest of those.
Not sewing related, but I appreciated these thoughts about how the Asian-American identity intersects with faith. Having grown up in a Chinese church, with very very Chinese parents, sometimes it's tricky sorting out which of my values are Chinese church culture, and which are actually biblical. My ethnicity definitely influences how I interact with God and people, and it would be foolish to deny it.
Extant Gowns is a blog dedicated to showing photos of vintage, nay antique gowns. If you're in the 1912 project, trying to make your own version of Lady Mary's wardrobe, or trying to sew up a gown for a Titanic party, this is an invaluable reference. These are real pictures of the insides, the details, the construction when possible -- all the stuff I'm interested in seeing.
Boing Boing linked to this dictionary of vulgar language from 1811; I knew a few of the words from reading historical fiction, but a lot of them were new to me! For example, words for talking about the bust area: apple dumplin' shop and cat's heads! Readers, let's start talking about a small apple dumplin' shop adjustment, or full cat's heads!

And lastly, I was so thrilled to see that my little fake-torials* have been helpful to other sewists out there! Monika made this lovely, lovely dress from my maxi dress directions -- doesn't she look so glamorous? And the talented Liz actually referenced my cutout dress directions to make her V-Day dress! Have you used any of my fake-torials to make your own projects? I'd love to see pictures!

*fake-torials = fake tutorials. Fake, in that I don't realize until afterwards that I might want to make a tutorial out of my steps, so the photos aren't always complete/the best, and then I get embarrassed about actually calling it a tutorial.

Just so that this isn't an entirely pictureless post, have another gratuitous Walnut photo:

Walnut is a quality vegetable (he does nothing but sleep all day),
he wakes up fresh 'n' natural (not quite: his salmon breath is anything but fresh, but at least it's natural?),
he was organically grown (he grew up on a raw meat diet as a kitten!),
and his fluffy coat will keep him warm even when refrigerated (not that we've ever done such a thing).

Blank Canvas Tee Turned Jason Wu

2012-02-27T18:21:00.000-08:00

As in, 3hourspast's Blank Canvas Tee turned into a vaguely Jason Wu knock-off, not into Jason Wu himself. Gosh, if Jason Wu suddenly materialized in my sewing room, I'd be a blushing, embarrassed mess, given its current state of disarray. Right. Anyway.

Side view.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a seamstress faced with the task of finishing up the seams in a completed dress will instead opt for an easy and satisfying quickie project. I still need to bind the raw edges on either side of the zipper in my Alice dress, as well as sew on a hook and eye, but, having already taken photos of it, it feels much less pressing. I even repaired my husband's jeans instead, but even that wasn't enough procrastination for me. So what did I do? Print out and tape up Steph's free pattern, then cut into my lovely rayon knit from the F&S remnants bin. Two hours later, I had a nice simple top that feels like a dream to wear. I feel like I'm swimming in butter. Or dreaming about swimming in butter. Whatever. Suffice it to say, this tee is super comfy, while still looking put together.

Steph has generously made the BCT available in multiple sizes for people to download and try. I used the smallest one available, meant for a bust of 35", but it's still a little bit big on me width-wise. The neckline is much wider than the illustration, and the back is definitely bigger than my normal tees. Which is totally fine, since I like this loose-fitting look; if I decide I want a tighter fit, it should be easy to grade down. That said, I did have to add three inches to the length, as well as leaving it unhemmed, to get the length I like, but then I know I have a long torso. I can still add a band at the bottom if I want, later, but for now I like it as it is. The pattern calls for a medium-weight knit, which this tissue-thin rayon most decidedly is not, but I think it still works. Combined with the larger size, it's nice and drape-y and will be great for tucking into that black circle skirt I'm planning to make at some point in my life.

The back view. Loose, but I like it.

This is what it looks like when I'm just standing with my arms down.

To make the black collar tie, I cut a long strip out of a black stretchy mesh that I almost threw away (a lady at church gave me a giant bag of fabric, which I was initially psyched about, until I discovered that the entire thing was sequined spandex in old lady floral patterns, and hideous synthetic knits. I did save the more normal pieces, like this plain black scrap). I made a 44" tube 1.5" wide, turned it, and sewed it to the neckline. I left a little half-inch gap in the middle so that I could tie a knot. I'm still contemplating cutting another strip to make make a bow, since mine isn't long enough to tie a nice one.

You can see how ridiculously thin and drape-y the fabric is here.
Also, that mesh was impossible to press into any semblance of a crisp edge.

Summary:
Fabric: 2/3 yd green rayon jersey knit, a 3" of 44" black poly mesh knit
Notions: None! I love that knit sewing means no closures!
Techniques used: None, aside from remembering to switch to a ballpoint needle. Since the neckhole is so large, I didn't even have to use a stretch stitch. This tee is so simple and easy!
Hours: Two. It would have been half an hour if I hadn't put on the tie. Seriously, I cannot say enough how easy this is. And even with the tie, it would've been only 1.5 hours except that I managed to sew it on inside out the first time...
Netflix queue: Another couple of episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs. Can you tell I've been going through Downton Abbey withdrawal?
Will you make this again? Undoubtedly. As its name proclaims, it's a perfect blank canvas.
Total cost: $3! I love free and remnant fabrics! Much better than the $23 for the Jason Wu version, which was only available for like, five minutes after it launched. I went to my local Target and they had only one sad, ripped XL left in the less desirable color scheme.
Final thoughts: I love that I can wear this with jeans, or with my imaginary circle skirt. It's perfect for dressing up or down. Stairs. Hah, sorry, I couldn't resist.

And in case you're wondering what's going on in the background of these photos...it's Walnut, eating his afternoon snack.

My Alice in Wonderland Inspired Dress

2012-02-26T22:12:00.001-08:00

This week's Sew Weekly challenge was to make something inspired by any movie that's ever been nominated for an Oscar. I decided that and movie ever so much as nominated was too broad; I do better with limited choices. I decided to stick with movies that had actually won for costume design, and with that in mind was able to narrow it down to a few recent ones whose costumes I fell in love with: The Return of the King, The Duchess, and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. As I mentioned before, I figured that ROTK would involve something slinky, which I didn't feel like tackling just yet, and The Duchess would require proper undergarments first. So that left Collen Atwood's Alice. I love all of her light blue and black dresses; I think it's a genius color palette. I knew I didn't want to make an exact copy of her main dress; I wanted to keep mine a wearable length and use one of the patterns I already had, and most of all, I didn't want to do any embroidery. So the aspects I decided to keep, beside the colors, were the tiered skirt, the princess-seamed bodice, and the little point at the waist.

I really, really didn't want to do my normal tiny hem, but I just didn't have
enough fabric for a nice, deep, two inch hem.

I had a pale blue twin flat sheet for my fabric, which was unfortunately stained in a couple of areas (both questionable brown ones and a couple neon pink blotches), even after washing on the hot cycle. This necessitated some tricky cutting, and I still had to use a couple of the less questionable parts for the pockets, which nobody is going to see. To capture the original dress hem's idea of delicate black work, I chose to use black lace, both large and small trims, as well as a giant applique piece that I've had sitting in my stash since my first trip to the fabric district. For the pattern, I went with my trusty princess seam bodice, New Look 6723, and modified the neckline to fit the applique. New Look 6723 also conveniently includes puff sleeve pieces. The skirt is just gathered rectangles, sized appropriately for the tiers. As an afterthought, I also piped the waist seam for more emphasis and to bring in a line of black somewhere in the middle, too.

I was so glad that I bought two sizes of black lace trim...the tiny one was perfect for the sleeve cuff.

This is a dress of firsts. It's probably the first really embellished dress I've ever made. Normally my dresses are really simple, mostly because the fabrics I choose are already crazy enough. It's also the first "real" sleeve I've ever put in; previous dresses have all been sleeveless, cap sleeved, or so ineffectual at covering my arms they hardly counted. Unfortunately, I didn't muslin these sleeves at all, so...I can't lift my arms. Or move them forward much. I think it's because my sleeve cap is too high? Hmm, time to consult my sewing bible, the Reader's Digest handbook. At any rate, this dress is just for standing around in and looking pretty (and confused and in awe in turns), so it's kind of okay.

The buildings really spoil the effect, don't they?

Going for the classic pose Alice has in all the promotional pictures.

My husband got down into the mulch to get this "Alice looking down the rabbit hole" shot. What a stud :)

Out of the bushes, so you can see the poofiness of the petticoat from the side.

Summary:
Fabric: thrifted poly-cotton twin flat sheet
Notions: zipper, ~3/4 yd black piping, ~1/2 yd narrow black lace trim, ~2 yd larger black lace trim
Techniques used: My first time using piping! It looks so good; I want to pipe everything! And then the usual hand-picked zipper, but no waist stay. The waist seam got so thick, I didn't want to add in more bulkiness with a grosgrain ribbon.
Hours: Hard to say, since I interrupted work on this with making last week's corset. I'm guessing ten hours? Enough to watch a good portion of The West, Sense and Sensibility, and two episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs.
Will you make this again? Not this exact costume, no, but seeing as how I've already made a good handful of dresses with this pattern, I don't see stopping any time soon.
Total cost: The sheet was $3, the applique $2, the zipper $2, and the laces a whopping $0.15/yd! I also managed to use up an entire spool of thread on this, so the whole thing was probably about $10. Much better than this $40 polyester monstrosity.
Worn with: My thrifted-skirt-turned-petticoat, and black wedges with white socks to mimic the look of Alice's boots. Am I resourceful or what?
Final thoughts: Aside from the not lifting my arms thing, I really, really like this dress. I was so excited, I talked my husband into doing a slightly more involved photo shoot...by slightly more involved, I mean we didn't just step outside. I went poking around our very manicured apartment complex trying to find an area that looked slightly more overgrown, like the landscapes in the movie. Granted, these nicely shaped bushes aren't exactly giant mushrooms, but oh well. There was a family having a barbecue about ten feet away, so I certainly got my share of side eyes, poking around in the bushes with my frothy petticoats. Their little girl gave me a wide-eyed look, and I'll just tell myself that she was thrilled to see a character step out of a story, and not because there's a crazy lady peering out from behind the bushes.

Walnut did NOT want to pretend to be the Cheshire cat.

FIDM's 20th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition

2012-02-25T16:44:00.000-08:00

We were greeted by this beautiful confection of a dress, Anne Hathaway's gown as the White Queen from last year's Alice in Wonderland film. It was surprisingly not nearly as white as it looked in the film. {picture}

Today was a red letter day. I not only got to see real live movie costumes, but I also got to meet a fellow sewing/costume blogger for the first time ever! I met up with Ginger, the Seamstress of Avalon, at FIDM's costume exhibit, and let me just say that I was not disappointed. Ginger is just as awesome IRL as she is online, and the costumes were just as spectacular as I was hoping they would be. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures at all, so I've combed teh interwebs for pictures of the lovely, lovely frocks I saw.

From The Artist. {All exhibit photos from here.}

From Jane Eyre.

From Anonymous. There was a lady there who pointed out that the blackwork on the queen's sleeves was done by machine and not by hand. She seemed quite put out about it.

We also got to see this amazing gown (among others) from the film W.E., about Wallis Simpson. The line matching on this gown was A. MA. ZING. Especially the back. {photo}

It was a treat to be able to put my nose up to these costumes and see the level of detail put into the beading, the pleating, the laces...all the things that make my heart go fluttery. Best of all, it wasn't just movie costumes -- they also had several historic gowns on display, mostly from European royalty.

The wedding gown worn by Elisabeth of Wied, Queen Consort of Romania, in 1869. {photo}

One of Queen Victoria's classic black mourning gowns, from 1897. Goodness, I knew she was a short, stout lady, but this dress is practically hobbit-sized! I think if I met her, I would, unfortunately, burst out laughing and offer her a pint and some Longbottom leaf. {photo}

All in all, a totally inspiring exhibition, even if it was a bit small. But hey, it was free. If you're ever in the LA Fashion District and have an hour to kill, check it out! And now, back to work on my own Alice in Wonderland dress.

The Big Damn Movie...errr, Dress

2012-02-24T13:09:00.001-08:00

After all that wibbling about the issues with my UFO dress, I finally have pictures to show! It took long enough to finish the dress, and about equally long to get pictures, what with a combination of gray skies and husband being gone and Jeremy Lin playing what seems like every night. Even these pictures were sneaked in during yesterday afternoon's game.

Anyway, since it's inaccurate to keep calling it the UFO dress, seeing as how it's finished now, I'm renaming it the Big Damn ~~Movie~~ Dress. If you're at all familiar with the Firefly fandom, you know that the long-awaited Serenity was nicknamed the BDM; I don't think anyone's been waiting for this dress' unveiling except myself (and possibly Shayna, but only because she is so kind), but here's my BDD, since LBD it's not. It's rather too floofy and un-sleek for that. And it certainly felt damned while I was working on it. Even now, though I feel okay about it, it's definitely not one of my proudest creations. But hey, at least it's out of the UFO pile. Thank you, Sew Weekly, for giving me the kick in the butt I needed to finish it off.

You can totally see the wrinkles in this blown-out shot.
I added a big be-flowered grosgrain ribbon belt in an attempt to hide some of the wrinkles.

Without the belt. My petticoat is showing, and the lining is caught on it...

I love the gold zipper on the back.

I'm not going to say too much more about its construction since I already ranted at length about it, but I will add a couple more thoughts. First, my SBA apparently wasn't S enough, as I had to stuff socks in front to fill out the B. Also, on going back and reading the pattern instructions, I found that I was supposed to have interfaced the entire bodice. Well gee, maybe that would have helped with all my lumpiness and wrinkling issues! Fellow sewists, here's a PSA: please learn from me and DON'T ASSUME YOU DON'T NEED TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. You're welcome.

I am pretty pleased with the inside of this dress; everything looks so nice bound up in that pink seam binding. For once, I feel like the insides look nicer than the outsides...maybe I just need to run the lint roller over the bodice and iron my tulle. And only wear this to events with dim lighting.

You can see the edgestitching, the nice seam binding on the zipper tape edges, and all the stuff stuck to the plush.
Gosh, it looks pretty awful in this picture.

Summary:
Pattern: Vogue 1042
Fabric: Some kind of polyester black plush fabric with a very short pile, just enough to make it difficult to iron, but without any of the luxuriousness of plush. Also attracts cat hair like no other. I lined the bodice with my husband's old 100% cotton flannel pajama bottoms, but only because it was my muslin and I hated to see such a nice muslin go to waste. In retrospect, I wish I had chosen something with a bit more body to it, and something not quite so green-plaid for the times you get glimpses of it. That said, the inside of the bodice is like wearing lovely, soft, butter. But breathable butter, since it's cotton. The skirt is three yards of tulle and some nice polyester lining. I am a walking synthetic cloud of fabric.
Notions: Gold "fashion zipper" from Joann's, seam binding
Techniques used: Edgestitching on the bodice, French seams (my first ever, on the lining of the skirt), and screaming.
Hours: I don't even want to think about it. Upwards of thirty, I'm pretty sure.
Netflix queue: I think I'm going to start adding this category into all my summary posts. This dress, fittingly, was constructed with all of Firefly and Serenity going on in the background.
Will you make this again? HAH. HAHAHA. THAT IS A FUNNY QUESTION.
Total cost: The bodice fabric was purchased four years ago for another project (my first and only Ren Faire bodice), so I think by this point it counts as free. I still have more leftover, because back then I didn't know how to estimate how much fabric a project would need. Bodice lining = definitely free, skirt lining was $4, tulle was $6, huge gold zipper $3, so a total of $13.
Final thoughts: I was going for a Dior New Look-esque look with this dress, and I think I kind of got there. Even if it was way more trouble than it was worth. I do like my final dress, although like everything else I make, every time I wear it (if I ever wear it, poofy monstrosity that it is) I'll be secretly worrying that people are disdaining my shoddy bodice construction.

I need one of those cartoon-y thought bubbles that says "Hmmm...are they looking at all the wrinkles?"

I would like to get some gold dress clips for the corners of the sweetheart neckline, but that's not in the budget right now. Maybe I can hack some out of old clip on earrings and my button stash.

Let's go back to standing in the shadows, shall we?

Red Corduroy Corset: Finished!

2012-02-22T12:47:00.000-08:00

I feel like a pirate queen. If there even are such things. Actually, I'm pretty sure red corduroy is totally malapropos for a life of swashbuckling and treasure hunting, but hey, maybe the bloodstains would show up less? Kind of like Mord-Sith and their red leather outfits. Um. Anyway, as you can see, I'm finished with my corset! I finished trimming down the cable tie "bones," added a few lines of narrow black lace, bound the edges with black bias tape, and re-laced the back with a less blinding ribbon.

The top is not laced as tightly as it could be.

Red is ridiculously hard to photograph, never mind the corduroy.

Even though it's not perfect (especially inside), what with the lack of steel and coutil in its construction, I am really thrilled with my first "real" corset! The Bellatrix leather-grandma-pants thing did its job, but it was definitely very costume-y and difficult to put on and take off. Since there are hooks and eyes in front, and the back doesn't go up very high, I can put on and lace this one myself. The cable ties and corduroy are quite thick, so even laced tightly it's still on the bulky side. Whatever, this is strictly for wearing over, not under my clothing.

You can see where some of my lining seams didn't match up with the outside, hence ugly wavy seams in the middle of my boning channels. Also note the water-soluble ink marking the waist stay placement that I forgot to wash out.

Sketchy hand-stitching of the folded-over bias tape ends. I didn't know how I was supposed to finish the facing on the back, so I ended up just cutting it close to the last boning channel and then using seam binding to cover the raw edge.

Hook and eye tape instead of a proper busk.

Summary:
Fabric: The outer layer is 2/3 yard of 44" red corduroy, of unknown composition, given to me by a church lady, who in turn got it from her cleaning lady, who in turn got it from an old lady whose house needed cleaning; the inner layer is a linen-looking 100% cotton curtain remnant from hemming a friend's super-long IKEA curtain. Yay for giving materials new life!
Notions: about 10" of black hook & eye tape that I've had in the stash for years, 20 grommets (unfortunately not the fancy two-part kinds), grosgrain ribbon for the waist stay, black lace, black bias tape, black satin ribbon for lacing
Techniques used: Making boning channels, setting grommets...and cutting plastic cable ties? That can't be right. I feel like there should be a lot more techniques involved. But really, making a corset doesn't involve any complicated sewing, more like fitting. But I think this pattern is pretty forgiving. And it's free, to boot!
Casualties: This was a dangerous project. Two sewing machine needles broke, but thankfully didn't fly into my face. I also managed to gash my thumb with the awl while making holes for the grommets. Not really sure how that happened. Like I said earlier, good thing the red hides blood, right? Just kidding, it was a very tiny stab wound that didn't bleed much.
Hours: Somewhere around 17? I worked on this for a good ten hours while my husband was in SF, and then another seven or so on President's Day. It was enough to watch a good deal of Ken Burns' The West documentary, and now I feel incredibly sad for the Native Americans. For all that my dad rants about racism against the Chinese during the gold rush era, Native Americans definitely got the shortest end of the stick. To break up the sadness, I also started re-watching Season 1 of Downton Abbey.
Will you make this again? I originally made this as a wearable muslin corset, hence the inferior materials. But now that I'm finished, I don't think I'll be making another underbust corset for a while; I prefer the overbust look (and I don't have to figure out bra underwire issues). Thank goodness this one is perfectly serviceable as a costume piece.
Total cost: All the fabric was free, and the grommets I got from my dad, so I only spent money on the bias tape and ribbon ($4) and cable ties ($4 worth). The hook and eye tape I bought ages ago, but I'm guessing its cost was about $3. So a total of $11! Not bad at all!
Final thoughts: This was a good experience. I didn't get too frustrated despite all the finicky cutting and sewing, and now my appetite is whetted for more corset-making! I like my final corset; it turned out well enough that I wish I had gone ahead and bought steel materials and coutil so that it could be a "real" corset. Right now, this is like the wooden Pinocchio of corsets; I need the Blue Fairy to come make it real! But then, knowing my previous sewing experiences, if I'd used expensive stuff to make this, it would've been a big flop somehow and I'd regret spending so much money on it. That's always how it is with my projects...

I'm so glad I added the lace for a special touch!

I'm so glad I decided to tackle the "Paint the Town Red" challenge for Sew Weekly, even if it is a little late. So far I'm six for six on Sew Weekly challenges! Now back to work on my Alice dress...

Next in the corset queue: a Georgian conical corset so that I can make my The Duchess-inspired dress!

Dabbling in Corsetry

2012-02-20T22:58:00.000-08:00

I know there hasn't been much sewing blogged here lately, but I promise I'm not just turning into a Jeremy Lin blog (incidentally, thank you all for sharing your thoughts about that and agreeing that we should NOT go back to the old days)! My husband was gone for several days for an interview in SF so I haven't been able to get pictures of the UFO dress, and I've been working on my Alice-inspired dress but don't have anything much to show for it. But since my husband was gone, I decided last Thursday night to start a new project instead of finishing any current ones. Cutting and laying out patterns and fabric are easier when I have the whole living room floor to myself.

After my experience with the amazing Dark Garden corsets at the Vintage Fashion Expo, I decided that it was high time I just bit the bullet and started working on a corset. I did my research (mostly using advice from House of Marmalade and Steam Ingenious), found a free pattern for an underbust corset, and purchased a packet of 24" plastic cable ties from OSH for $5.99. In an effort to keep my costs for this first foray into corsetry as low as possible, I used fabric that was already in my stash: some stiff-ish (but as I later discovered, simultaneously loosely woven) cotton leftover from hemming IKEA curtains for a friend, red corduroy (from a bag of donated fabric from a church lady) for the red Sew Weekly theme, and black hook and eye tape instead of a proper busk.

Right after I had followed the instructions to lay out the pattern pieces for marking so that I wouldn't mix them up,
Walnut woke up from his nap and walked over...

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you need to do something with these little pieces of comfy fabric? Also, did you need more work to do? Because I've got all these little red corduroy bits in my fur that need to be brushed out now."

The pattern was easy enough to use, being only four pieces (with the fourth piece mysteriously upside-down -- so make sure you rotate it if you use that pattern!), but I think I'm not used to being quite so precise in my cutting and stitching. My inner and outer layers definitely did NOT match up! As a result, once I sewed my boning channels, the inside looked pretty ghetto-tastic. Also, my topstitching on the corduroy just looks wonky. That said, once I painstakingly cut and filed my boning and set all my grommets, it was really exciting to lace it up and try it on.

Excuse the odd choice of lacing material...this ribbon was all I could find that was anywhere close to long enough.
The cable ties were curled up in the package, so they're still a little bent.

I was scared to lace it too tightly, as I don't trust my own construction. There's no coutil in this, and my grosgrain ribbon waist stay is a little too high for my actual waist. As a result, it doesn't actually reduce my waist any, but it looks pretty cool (at least, for being totally unfinished and missing binding and all) and will be perfect for if I ever get invited to a pirate-themed costume party. Or possibly a very campy Western saloon party?

Awkward shots in front of the bathroom mirror.

I really need to clean that bathroom mirror. And that side seam isn't exactly straight, but the other side is. Also, I feel like the top of the underbust part gets uncomfortably high, but I'm not sure if that's normal. It's starting to run into the underwire of my bra.

I shot this over the back of my shoulder, so it's not in focus at all, but you get the idea.

Tomorrow, I'm going to get some more bias tape for the binding, as well as pick up some pearl buttons for the cuffs of this lovely thrift store find:

Front of the blouse: it closes with a series of hooks and eyes down the front. One of them was missing, but otherwise the blouse is in very good condition. No sweat stains or anything, as is common in thrift store white blouses.

I took these in front of our shower curtain since I was taking pictures in the bathroom mirror anyway? Not sure.

I know it's not nearly period accurate, but it's a 100% cotton white embroidered blouse with tucks and hooks and eyes, which are all at least period appropriate, I believe. There's no shaping to it, so it will poof out nicely with a high-waisted skirt. And guess what! My VPLL 1912 project pattern for the month is a skirt! So it's perfect. I'm trying to decide between a dark blue cotton or a forest green wool/poly blend. I've got nine yards of the former and "only" five of the latter, but the recommended fabrics are wool, silk, linen, or twill.

Vintage Fashion Expo Recap

2012-02-16T10:28:00.000-08:00

This was just one half of a booth.
Imagine hundreds of these booths in a giant hall.

Two Sundays ago, I got to drop by the Santa Monica Vintage Fashion Expo, thanks to a tip from one of the ladies from the 1912 project. I meant to write up my experience earlier, but life (and Sew Grateful Week!) intervened. So here it is now!

I went into the expo not entirely sure what to expect, but also pretty sure that I wasn't going to buy anything. I was mostly hoping to get a chance to examine some Downton Abbey-esque clothing, since museum pictures don't really give one an idea of actual construction. When I walked into the Santa Monica Convention Center, I felt like I had just walked into Comic-Con, but for vintage clothing...it was amazing! Although, for the record, more people are dressed up at Comic-Con. I did wear my Pan-Am dress, it being the most obviously vintage thing in my wardrobe; several ladies there commented on it and one even thought it was an actual vintage piece! She was very sweet when I said that I had made it myself, although I didn't tell her I made it from a poly-cotton bedsheet for less than $3.

[Incidentally, if you're planning on going to Comic-Con, ever, either paid or as a volunteer, you need to sign up for a member ID. It's not a commitment to go, but more to streamline registration. *end PSA*]

There were a ton of vendors selling clothing (mostly more modern vintage, think 1930s and on, but there were some Edwardian things a couple of absolutely lovely Victorian pieces), accessories (hats! gloves! belts! jewelry!), notions (lots of lace trims and appliques and crocheted pieces!), and shoes (not especially interesting to me). I did see a couple of stalls with sewing patterns, but they were frankly not that special and kind of overpriced ($8+, when normally I get them for less than a dollar each). Unfortunately, most of the clothing was waaaaay out of my price range, even if I'd been interested in buying. I did snag a few pictures, courtesy of kind vendors, but the lighting was quite bad and I only had my iPhone.

The front of an Edwardian era blouse. Note the high neck, lace insertion, tiny decorative buttons, and amazing embroidery. Try not to note the fact that it's out of focus. This piece was $125.

I love the look of white on white embroidery. Pintucks and lace insertion seem to be common design features. This more elaborate piece was $250!

The back of these blouses mostly closed with tiny buttons or snaps. Another thing they all had in common was the relatively short back, with a much longer front, presumably to get the poofed-out pouter pigeon look.

Beautiful 1930s dress with a pink slip and a pale pink embroidered net overdress. This piece was $400.

The bottom of the dress. Love the glorious drapey skirt.

I really need to learn how to do this whole bias-cut gown thing.

I loved the back of the gown. I also didn't even bother trying to find out how much this piece cost.

The highlight for me was getting to try on a couple of actual corsets from the famed San Francisco company Dark Garden. Their corsets are extremely well-made, but well out of my price range, unfortunately. It was still a treat, though, to see what a steel-boned corset should feel like: very supportive, like a tight hug, and nothing at all like the cheap, plastic-boned one that I used for my steampunk costume. The kind lady running the booth laced me down to 23", which looked a little too exaggerated an hourglass for my taste. And while I can't imagine Scarlett O'Hara's 16" waist, or Ma Ingalls' "when-I-was-married-Charles-could-put-his-hands-around-my-waist," I can see how some of those extreme-looking, old-timey photos of women in corsets weren't actually that extreme; the women were just smaller to begin with.

The only things I brought home with me were a pair of white 60s-era gloves for $5, as well as an assortment of trims, which I'll hopefully utilize in the 1912 project.

4 yards of the wide lace, 4 yards of the mint beaded trim (do I see a Lady Mary-esque evening gown in my future??), and 4 yards each of the other crocheted lace trims; all of these were from the same vendor, for a total of $14! That's not bad, right? I'm hoping to make a blouse with lace trim like the creamy one Lady Mary always wears with that belted, slightly flared skirt.
Let's just hope that the 1912 project drawings are in my favor!

The Santa Monica Antique Mall and the Rose Bowl Flea Market are still on my list of vintage-y things to check out, but I don't know when I'll be able to go. Hopefully their prices will be better than the ones at the expo! Does anyone know of any other sources of vintage clothing in the LA area?

Thoughts on Being Asian-American, and Don't I Miss the Old Days?

2012-02-15T09:30:00.000-08:00

[This has nothing to do with sewing or geekery, so move along if you're just looking for more of my ridiculous projects.]

It was one of these beauties, but much dustier and rustier.
{image}

I tagged along the other day when my husband went to get a haircut in preparation for a big interview, but rather than stay and supervise and play backseat hair-cutter, I decided to check out the vintage store across the street. August Rust has some fantastically-priced vintage wool skirts, but since it was 75 degrees out, I was just browsing. After some poking around, I did spot a lovely old defunct Singer sewing machine hiding behind some old chairs, but much as I would love one of those beauties, I don't exactly have the budget for restoring/repairing one right now. The owner of the store seemed surprised to hear that I was interested in actually sewing with the machine, as opposed to just dusting it off for display, so I started explaining to her all that I've learned in the past year of reading sewing blogs: that these old metal beasts could be sturdier than their plastic descendants, and that depending on what you wanted to sew, it might actually be better to use something so "outdated."

This led to a pleasant conversation about how some vintage items were so much better quality than their modern counterparts, and then that meandered into a discussion about the travesty of being able to Google or Wikipedia anything, and how kids these days don't need to work their brains because everything is just a click away. As a teacher, that is definitely a topic near and dear to my heart, especially since I have seen my homework questions show up on Yahoo! Questions/Answers. I know that students often (not always, and not all of them) take the shortcut of just looking up solutions instead of thinking through them. I've had students take shortcuts that end up being more work, just because they were trying to avoid thinking/studying too hard in the first place (so you're going to go research all the past AP Psych exam questions and memorize entire essays rather than just study properly for the test in the first place?! Really, child??? Did you think I wouldn't catch that?). But I digress.

Anyway, the store owner concluded our vintage vs. modern discussion by saying something to the effect of "Don't you think we're worse off now, as a society? Don't you miss the old days?" Readers, I have to confess, I really wanted to burst out laughing. First off, this lady, at least in my estimation, was probably close to twice my age...I'm not sure how old she thought I was (I was even wearing a cutesy little sundress), but I'm pretty sure her idea of "the old days" doesn't match mine. But after I swallowed the urge to laugh, I had to say no; no, I don't miss those old days. I tried to explain that while it was too bad that plastic appliances and Forever 21 clothing don't last forever (ironically), and yes, I do wish kids still needed to use their brains to draw conclusions, I wouldn't trade our progress as a society for her old days. Maybe it's because I'm too attached to my Apple products, or maybe it's because I'm an Asian-American woman, but I'm pretty sure that growing up in the old days would've sucked.

I do wish, sometimes, that I lived in an era where women still lunched in lovely lace tea gowns and wore cute hats and gloves, but then I remember that back then, that's pretty much all they were "allowed" to do. I like having the choice to wear my full skirts and gloves, but also having the choice to go out in jeans and flip-flops without being thought under-dressed or unfeminine. Even though I ended up in the quintessential 19th century single lady job -- a teacher -- straight out of college, I like that I chose it out of many possible professional options, and that I even had the chance to go to college (and not just to get my Mrs. degree!). I don't have kids now, but I'm glad that when/if I do, they'll have examples of Asian-Americans breaking barriers to look up to. I was really fortunate to grow up in San Francisco, where being of Chinese descent wasn't a big deal, but my dad has stories of being a college student in the Midwest, fresh off the plane from Hong Kong in the late 60s, and getting all manner of racist comments. Granted, that still happens today, but at least magazines don't print articles like this anymore:

An article from Pageant, published in May 1959. It's so un-PC it's comical.

I know this article was written by a well-meaning Chinese-American man, but still! I think part of his statement has to do with the fact that back then, it was unthinkable for someone like Jeremy Lin to have the position he has now, so most Chinese-Americans really did just have to settle for making money and big families?

For some reason, eh?

This article, while progressive for its time in trying to educate America at large, was still miles from where we are now as Asian-Americans. I really appreciate the progress that's been made in America's ideas of Asian-Americans, and while we're still not quite there yet, it's better than having people look at me and ask where I'm really from, or how come my English is so good. Oh wait, that still happens.

Anyway, the lady at the store seemed unconvinced even though I tried my best to explain about more opportunities and all. But even though that was a week ago, I'm still thinking about it. I don't have any clever conclusion or deep thoughts to wrap this rambly post up, but suffice it to say, even though I'm not a sports person at all (and basketball holds a particularly non-soft spot in my heart for the part it played in my middle school torment), I'm really excited for Jeremy Lin. I know, everyone's jumping on the JLin bandwagon now, but I think it's more because his success is especially meaningful for every Asian-American that's ever been teased at school for being too short, scrawny, or bookish for sports, than because of a desire to cheer for a suddenly winning team.

It's not fair to Jackie Robinson, who had to fight actual segregation laws and a firmly entrenched culture of discrimination, to say that Lin is "the eastern Jackie Robinson." That said, however, I do hope that Lin can be a symbol of changes in both the broader American culture, and Asian-Americans' view of themselves.

So no, I don't miss the old days.

And just in case you all were wondering, here's what the cover of that publication looks like. Oh honey, must doctors tell lies?

Happy Bacon Day, the Reprise

2012-02-14T12:15:00.000-08:00

Three years ago, I gave my husband a set of plush bacon (along with a list of reasons why he was better than bacon) for Valentine's Day.

Excuse the three year old blurry webcam picture.

I know, loving bacon is the most overdone thing on teh interwebs, but it was quite meaningful, I promise, since we looooove bacon in this house. We get pounds of it from Costco, and we love our candied bacon, bacon cookies, bacon with brussel sprouts, and just plain bacon for the heck of it. Mind, we are aware of how cured meats can increase one's risk of cancer, so we only eat it sparingly. But when we do, gosh darn it, we enjoy it! Anyway, this year I decided that we didn't need anymore breakfast food plushies (does one ever need breakfast food plushies? To be honest, though, I just couldn''t think of any new ones), so I decided to immortalize bacon love in a more practical, wearable every day way. Enter the embroidered bacon polo shirt:

Making this was incredibly easy. If you should fancy a bacon shirt (or dress, or clutch, or anything else, really!) of your own, here's what to do:

1) Cut out a little piece of white fabric, preferably of of less-fraytastic material, and a similarly sized fusible web piece. Using embroidery scissors, cut out a vaguely wavy bacon-shaped piece. Iron it onto your polo shirt, about even with the bottom of the button placket, about halfway between the middle of the shirt and the side seam.

Like so. I used a piece of muslin, which I wouldn't actually recommend since it frayed quite a bit.

2) Cut out a piece of lightweight fusible interfacing bigger than your bacon piece. Iron it onto the underside of the shirt, directly behind the bacon.

3) Thread your machine with red thread, set it to a satin stitch or very small, tight zigzags, and go to town on that little piece of bacon! There's no set way to do this, but I would aim for an outline and at least one "meaty" strip down the middle. Make sure to leave some white showing for the fat. I also added a couple lines of straight topstitching for more of an organic, actual bacon feel.

Looks just like one o' them Lacoste polos with the little embroidered crocodile, right?

4) Trim your threads, iron, and you're done!

Here's what the back looks like, if you're interested:

I was stupid about cutting out interfacing, and didn't think to add it until I'd already started stitching. And obviously I am a terrible judge of the correct size. Don't do what I did.

And the best thing about this project is...

It cost $2! While it may make me seem like a stingy wife, let's remember that we're contending with business school tuition here. I think I made a smart economic move in not going overboard for V-Day, yes? And just in case you want a more valentine-y picture to end this madness, have a picture of Walnut:

The box claims "Nature Sweet Cherubs: Heavenly Sweet Tomatoes" as its contents. Instead, have a most non-cherubic cat sticking out his tongue. "Take that, Cupid! That's what you get for having me neutered!"

Giveaway Winner and Gollum Embroidery

2012-02-13T13:19:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all of you who participated in my little Sew Grateful week giveaway! The winner of the fab Simplicity 9333 pattern is The Seek Speak, so I'll be emailing you shortly for mailing information. Also, let's have a round of applause for the intrepid Debi, who was such a gracious hostess of the whole Sew Grateful week!

Something like this?

Nothing sewing-related to show here, though, as I've been suffering from what-to-sew-next ADHD. I originally wanted to make something for the next Sew Weekly challenge, which is use any movie that's ever won an Oscar for inspiration. I had in mind a grand The Duchess-inspired gown made out of a vaguely chintzy bedsheet I found at Goodwill, but after some research I've concluded that one does not simply whip up such a costume in two weeks. At least not if you want to do it some justice. Especially since I don't actually know anything about historical fashion, and I haven't any proper stays, and my pattern is this sadly inaccurate Simplicity 4092 costume pattern. I know anything I make won't be anywhere near accurate, as my fabric is much too brightly colored, has polyester in it, and I'm not interested in hand-sewing, but I want it to at least look somewhat respectable. So here's to more research, and possibly dipping my foot into making a corset. Although what I really want to do is make a Victorian-era corset, not a conical one.

Love this dress. From here.

So since that's obviously not happening anytime soon, I need to decide if I want to churn out something red, or pick a different film to be inspired by. There's the obvious Lord of the Rings trilogy, but that almost definitely involves slinky fabric and an untested pattern. I fell in love with all the blue dresses in both Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland and (500) Days of Summer, but the former is embroidery-heavy and the latter didn't win anything. And then there's all the great yardage sitting in my fabric stash that could turn into something, but nothing concrete yet. Goodness, I am all over the place.

I still don't have pictures of my UFO dress, as it's been too gloomy and gray for pictures. But! Just to show that it can be done, here's my embroidered version of my Gollum+The One Ring valentine. Gollum is in dark gray, the ring is in the same gold as my Rohan horse, and the hearts are red, obviously. I wasn't particularly careful with my stitches, but I can report that I have gotten much, much better at the split stitch. I haven't done the words yet, and I'm not sure if I want to. I'm afraid anything I stitch won't look as good as the actual calligraphed version. But hey, it actually works as an embroidery pattern!

So creepy, all stitched up he is, yessss, he is, precioussss...

The mess on the back. Also, I didn't tie off the last thread.

Close-up of the horrible heart-stitching.

It took me all of watching Wall-E with my brother, plus the latest episode of Downton Abbey (without my brother) to finish this. Admittedly, it was pretty sketchy-looking at the end of Wall-E, before his face was filled in...my brother eyed it dubiously and asked, "You're not planning to actually give that to anyone, right?" Well, no, not anymore I'm not...

Before the Blog: Easiest DIY Maxi Dress Ever

2012-02-11T09:47:00.000-08:00

Guess where I am!

I swear this really happened. Walnut
just went over and sat down like that.

I know I said I was going to show off my finished UFO, but even though the dress is finished, I don't have any pictures yet. Blame Jeremy Lin for starting his basketball game right around the golden hour before sunset. There was no way I was going to ask my husband to step away from watching a Chinese-American guy play in a groundbreaking game to take pictures for me. Goodness, what's happening to my blog? First I mention COD: MW3, now basketball. As if my search results aren't already skewed enough, what with having made a Team Fortress 2 sniper vest in the past.

Anyway, I thought I'd share some pictures and a fake-torial for a dress I recently wore to the Getty Villa instead. Since the Getty Villa collection is mostly Greek and Roman art, I wore my most Grecian-column-esque dress. This was the actually the first dress I made when I started sewing, right after two elastic-waisted skirts. And let me tell, you, this was even easier than the elastic skirts. It's really an awesome beginning sewist project, especially since it's so simple to get such a glamorous result. Every time I wear this, I get compliments on it, my husband loves it, and it is SO EASY. So even though it's a little late for the Sew Grateful week tutorials round-up, here are my instructions anyway. Mind, though the waist is very adjustable (it's entirely dependent on your having a nice wide belt), the length is based on my height, which is 5'5". If you're significantly taller, you'll need to cut a longer piece of fabric.

I love how maxi dress can make one look so tall and columnar.

I made a super long tie so that I could have a huge bow at the back.

You'll need a drapey fabric, preferably a stable jersey knit, a long sturdy ribbon for the tie (or make your own super long tube of fabric), and the aforementioned belt to complete the look.

That's it! And in the spirit of full disclosure, I got the idea from American Apparel. I was just browsing their store, feeling a little heady with my first sewing successes, and I looked at the Le Sac Dress and realized it was just two rectangles sewn together. I thought, I can do that! And I can make it not scandalously short, too! So I dropped by my local Yardage Town, found this lovely soft black and white bamboo print jersey knit in the remnants, and snatched it up. An hour later, I had a new dress.

Please don't look too closely at my horribly non-parallel lines of topstitching, though.

I love these super fast projects that have disproportionately awesome results. Granted, this kind of dress is also just made for SoCal weather, but if you're taking a beach holiday, try it!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day to be at the Getty Villa, wandering around, looking at a great art collection...

...enjoying the beautiful architecture and marble floors everywhere...

...and the fantastic statuary. I just couldn't resist once I saw the crazy eyes on the statue.
I am a serious, mature adult who knows how to appreciate art, I promise.

Meet My Little UFO

2012-02-09T21:16:00.000-08:00

Ages ago (probably after yet another crazy bedsheet creation), my husband commented that I didn't seem to have any normal me-made dresses...you know, like the ubiquitous LBD that every woman's supposed to have in her closet. Well. I guess I'm not a woman, then! Indignition aside, he had a point. So last December, after a spate of easy make-in-my-sleep dresses that involved a darted or princess seamed bodice with a boat neck and low back and gathered skirt, I decided it was time to move up the sewing ladder and tackle a very different style of bodice: enter my very first Vogue pattern, 1042. The envelope picture almost turned me off, but I looked past the plaid to the line art and was bewitched. With its bra-cup like top and scooped neckline and wide shoulders, I thought it would be a nice challenge. The fact that it was only $2 at F&S didn't hurt either. I would use all stash fabrics, and thereby free up some space as well while I whipped this up.

What you may not be able to tell here is that the whole thing is an inch
too high because of the short straps. Also, there's a centimeter gap between
the neckline and my skin.

Friends, I was grossly unprepared. Part of it was my own fault; I didn't bother making a muslin despite all the reviews of the pattern that had ominous labels like "Did Not Work for Me" and "Recommend, But With Modifications." I think I was just on a no-muslins-necessary high since the last several things I made had worked out with modifications on the fly. I knew that it was a very low-cut pattern, and that the distance between the cups was waaaay to big, but even though I made adjustments on paper before cutting out the fabric, it wasn't enough. After a good 15+ hours of working on the bodice, I was ready to cry. The cups were too big and far apart, there was serious gaping whenever I leaned over, where the cups attached to the rest of the bodice was too wrinkly, the straps were much too short, and yet for some reason I had gone ahead and lined and topstitched the whole thing (?!?), so I threw it into my UFO pile. Actually, it was what started the UFO pile (and until the horrible failed fancy mannequin cover dress, it was the only thing in the UFO pile). Up until then, I'd been proud of myself for being so good about not having UFOs, mostly because once my obsessive brain starts on something, it's like that bulldog with a death grip on White Fang's throat; I can't stop thinking about it until I finish it. Except that in this case, I was totally sick of staring at that bodice and wondering WHY ISN'T IT WHAT I ENVISIONED. So there it was, taunting me, until Shayna visited and declared that it was worth saving. If Shayna believes in something, I'm willing to give it a chance.

I don't know if it looks very different from before, but it felt tons better.
Also, ignore the spots on my bathroom mirror.

I unpicked my topstitching (trying to unpick black thread from a black plush fabric FILLED ME WITH ANGER) and moved the shoulder pieces in so that the cups were smaller, then added a really obvious dart (DOES IT EVEN DESERVE TO BE CALLED A DART, IT'S SO UGLY) in the front between the cups. I cut open the shoulder straps and pieced in a little trapezoid in each, but then got lazy and didn't bother with the lining. SO SUE ME. Only thing is, now that I have some distance from it, it's going to bother me and I might have to go back and fix it one day. I ~~didn't bother~~ couldn't fix the wrinkles in the cups and midriff, but I decided to let it slide. Then the holidays rolled around and we left for San Francisco, so I threw it back into its Pile of One. When we got back, I had those delicious Star Wars sheets to play with, and then I got all into the new Sew Weekly Challenges, so it continued languishing.

Finally, Mena's call to finish UFOs helped me muster the courage to look at this Bodice From Halifax. The mental distance had helped; I was able to look past its flaws and decide that if the skirt was in-your-face enough, nobody would be paying attention to the wrinkles in the bodice. Hopefully. Using these pictures of vintage 1950s dresses on Etsy as inspiration, I purchased three yards of tulle, gathered it, and added a vaguely-half-circle-skirt lining squeezed out of the remainders from my capelet. Once I attached the skirt and added a flashy, unnecessarily huge gold zipper for good measure, I decided that while it wasn't perfect, it would do, pig, it would do. Stay tuned for the reveal of my UFO!

Before I decided on a black tulle skirt, I toyed with the idea of doing a red skirt. I took a picture to see what it would look like, and when I saw it on my computer screen I suddenly realized what was wrong with it: my high school chamber choir dress was a black velvet bodice with a sweetheart neckline and cap sleeves with a long red skirt. Urrgh. Friends, I just barely escaped remaking my choir dress. That was too close a call for comfort.

Sew Grateful Week: Non-Humans

2012-02-08T18:10:00.000-08:00

Okay, this is a little silly, but there are some non-sentient items that make my sewing possible, and they should get their recognition too. Besides the obvious, like my sewing machine and scissors and seam ripper and pins and all.

Probably #1 on the list would have to be Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. This is also probably (hopefully) the only time I will ever mention violent video games on this blog. But really, it's so great that husband and I both have hobbies that only require one person, and the other person has no interest in participating. This means that we both get our nightly fix of fun without feeling like we're depriving the other person of entertainment. I get to sew, he gets to shoot imaginary people.

Second on my list is Netflix streaming + the iPad2. This combination means that my information-hungry brain, which has a hard time uni-tasking (watch a movie while my hands are idle? horrors!), can learn while my hands and right foot are busy sewing. The only thing is, I can't watch visuals-heavy shows, like Downton Abbey, while I'm keeping an eye on my seam allowances, so I tend to choose documentaries. Most of those are talking heads, along with some bad "historical" reenactment, so I'm not missing much if I don't look at the screen. Thanks to PBS, National Geographic, and History Channel shows, I feel like I'm making up for not taking AP Euro or AP World in high school. In the month of January alone, I managed to learn about the Dark Ages, Auschwitz, the Salem witch trials, Jamestown, the ill-fated Greely Arctic expedition, conquistadors, and the colonization of Africa. Previous months have included castles, human sacrifices, medieval dragon legends, and the Civil War (and possibly all three seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender...*shifty eyes*). So maybe it's not the most complete history curriculum, but hey, I've got to start somewhere in making up for three years of high school history classes spent passing notes and staring at cute boys.

You no can haz teh interwebs. Feed me first.

Lastly, I have to thank Teh Interwebs. Without the wealth of information, tutorials, and blogs out there, I would never have been able to get to where I am now. I have my one sewing book, the Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing, but honestly, I'm more likely to look online for information. I'm especially grateful for the Burdastyle and Sew Weekly communities, and individual bloggers who've helped and encouraged me. Gosh, this is sounding like an acceptance speech. So, in conclusion, it is with great happiness that I accept the Rambly Blogger Who Doesn't Know When to Shut Up Award!

And as obvious as it might seem that I left Walnut out in my list of thank yous, I'm telling you, it's purposeful. This guy deserves no thanks for choosing to make biscuits on slippery fabric that took forever to get on-grain, or depositing tufts of his hair on all-black, super-staticky lining. I swear, he can decide to release them just like hens laying eggs.

He decided to take his bath here within three seconds of my setting the dress down.

Oh, I'm sorry, did my needing to finish that dress disturb your daily ablutions? Forgive me, your majesty. Carry on.

Yur new pattern book iz perfik place 4 mah butt.

Oh, cats. Getting in the way of silly hoomins since 8000 BCE.

Also, I just realized I lumped the real people/bloggers out there into the non-human blog post. Oops.

Sew Grateful Week: Friends and Family

2012-02-08T11:07:00.000-08:00

Besides being grateful for my mom, who started me off sewing, I'm grateful to several other people who enable this whole making-my-own-clothes thing.

Hey girl. You want those Astorias? Put them on my credit card.
{idea. photo.}

First off, my husband. I know I rag on him occasionally for being skeptical about some of my fabric choices, but really, he's the best. He's the first to point out to people that I can make my own clothes; when people comment on a me-made item I happen to be wearing, he'll always pipe up with pride, "Did you know she made it herself?" He's also the one to thank for my improved picture quality of late, being both the sponsor of the new DSLR and the wielder of such. It's so much easier than waiting for a bright enough day so that I can catch the light coming in the dining area windows! And of course, he shows his support in so many other little ways, like doing up hooks and eyes when I can't reach them, giving his honest opinion about frumpy versus vintage, putting up with going to fabric stores on vacation and carrying bags of fabric, and being the "bad cop" and dragging Walnut off my fabric when I'm in the middle of a tricky pinning situation. And let's not forget buying me my sewing machine in the first place. Best Christmas present ever.

Last year's extravaganza.

Next up: my friend Elaine. She is my costuming enabler. Seriously, no one else in the world wants to do these things with me. Or at least no one else I know of in my vicinity. Except that Elaine's not even in my vicinity! She drove all the way from Tucson just for our first SD ZombieWalk in 2010, and we've only been getting more elaborate since. We're making grand plans for someday when we're back in the Bay Area together and can attend the Edwardian Ball. Sometimes she makes fun of me for saying "I could totally make that," but her belief (and her mom's belief) in my creative abilities were what kept me going as a beginning crafter in high school. She's never anything but gracious about being gifted with my random DIY output. And one day, she's going to let me make her wedding dress. Now if that's not trust, I don't know what is!

And then there's someone I've mentioned before many times: my sheet supplier, Shayna. She's the one who gave me the sheets for my Star Wars Dress, Miss Lavender Goes to Hawaii Dress, Betsey Johnson Floral Explosion Dress, and Seamstress' Rendering Dress. Also my ill-fated mannequin cover UFO dress, but that's not her fault. Anyway, she is also super-encouraging; she's probably one of the nicest people I know. For example, she even confessed recently that she didn't read the summaries of my finished dress posts, you know, the boring part about techniques and pattern drafting and such. I think it's so sweet and indicative of her kindness that she felt like she had to apologize for that. Anyway, sneak preview: she said she found some Spiderman sheets for me...I can't wait to pick them up! Also, I somehow don't have any pictures with her; this is a situation that needs to be remedied ASAP.

She captured perfectly the old-timey
science illustration look that we wanted.

Then there's my sister, Emily. She is seriously the most creative person I know: she did the graphics for our wedding invitations, she's a budding metalsmith, makes crazy-cool anatomical art, and is the person who introduced me to zombie-walking in the first place. She's my partner in crimes against the craft world, fellow lover of NPH, and knows just as many Little House quotes as I do. And many of my downright funnest projects are the ones that involve her. She inspires me to be more creative every day.

Last but not least, I am so grateful to my dad. He doesn't sew a lick, nor does he like costumes or even SF/F (he's the ultimate realist: he only reads nonfiction books about non-made up universes), and he frowns upon spending money for unnecessary things (i.e. more than three sets of clothing). But! He's also the one who taught me to be rational, to analyze what aspects of x can be translated into y, to mentally take apart a made item and make it for yourself. The ultimate DIY-er, he taught me to use a drill, put in new tiling, and build a useable product just from an idea and some well-planned sketches, all before I graduated from elementary school. Some of my fondest childhood memories are the times he built us a tree swing, a seesaw, and dual-level tree house in our backyard, all from wood scraps and other things lying around the house. My can-do attitude is largely attributed to him. Even my inspiration for turning cardboard boxes into furniture comes from him -- one time he built us a castle playhouse from several refrigerator boxes. Also, despite being such a rational scientist type, he's always been the quirkier of my parents. So if I love hippos and giraffes on my clothing, it's because of him. And of course, he was the one who introduced me to Star Wars.

I love this shot of us during the traditional father-daughter dance, to "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof. These are the hands that held mine as I learned to drill, the hands that I held in a death grip when I learned to ice skate. Did I mention that my dad also introduced me to musicals, opera, classical music, and Impressionist art? He was my first example of a Renaissance man. {photo}

It's especially fitting that I'm thanking him during Sew Grateful Week, because it's his birthday this week, too. Happy birthday, Dad! Thanks for teaching me so, so (sew), much.

Happy LOTR Valentine, Love Gollum

2012-02-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

[UPDATE: See this as an embroidery piece here!]

Details: done by me in pencil, gold gel pen, calligraphy ink, and a normal red ink pen, as a weird mishmash of styles: Alan Lee's sketches for LOTR, and the goofy heart-as-eyes on the faces of the male Animaniacs when they say "Helllloooo nurse!" The calligraphy is done by me, but copied from the "Party Business" font.

Here is my one and only bloggy nod to Valentine's Day, a week early, in case you'd like to be prepared. Also because it's Sew Grateful Week, and even though I don't have a tutorial or pattern, I can at least offer this printable? Anyway, I'm not even going to bother with the red dress Sew Weekly challenge next week, only because I already have a fantastic red dress, and I'm getting a head start on my costume challenge. And although I love my husband so much, I still remember the angst of being single on V-Day, so I'm not into big mushy gushy parades. Instead, I drew my valentine based on this classic movie still of jubilant Gollum, reunited with his precious at last. If that's not obsessive, creepy, disturbing love*, I don't know what is.

B&W version, traced on GIMP.

Anyway, if you'd like this as a coloring page for your small human beings, download it here. Incidentally, since it's all line art, you could even use it as an embroidery pattern. Or, if you want my pencil version (with color for the hearts and ring!), download it here. And the obvious rules of decency, if you download this, don't claim it as yours, copy, reproduce, modify, or profit from this in any way. If you post it to your blog or Facebook or whatever, please credit or link back to me. Lastly, I would love to see pictures if your small human being actually uses it as a valentine for classmates!

And yes, I know, I'm a huge geek.

*For all that Gollum's err, feelings about The One Ring could hardly be termed as love, I think LOTR has such a beautiful collection of examples of various kinds of love. There's Sam's "If I can't carry the ring, I'll carry you" love for Frodo, Theoden's "I trust you to lead my people" love for Eowyn, Arwen's "I'll forsake immortality for you" love for Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli's bros forever love, Sam's love for Bill the Pony, Boromir's for his people, even implied loves like Celeborn's for his way- awesomer-than-he-is-can-see-into-your-minds-and-the-future wife Galadriel.

Sew Grateful Week Giveaway

2012-02-06T13:24:00.000-08:00

Let's start off Sew Grateful Week by thanking Debi for coming up with such a great idea! So much of my sewing is all due to other people's generosity; the week before V-Day is the perfect time to be thankful. I'll blog later this week about specific people I'm grateful to, but I want to start out the week by saying that I am so (sew) grateful for the fantastic sewing community that I've found online. Becoming more serious about my sewing and blogging coincided with moving to The City of Culver City, and while I'm making friends here, there's something special about connecting with people thousands of miles away over a common love: sewing. You guys have been so great with encouragement, fitting tips, and understanding the excitement of creating one's own wardrobe. Who else will geek out with me over fabric deals, vintage patterns, and cool notions? I've been really fortunate to not have had any snarky comments, so I'm going to continue rejoicing in the love and acceptance of my own corner of the sewing blogiverse.

I know I just hosted a giveaway not too long ago for reaching 100 followers, but I'm going to do another one. In the last few weeks, somehow another few dozen people have found my blog worth reading, which is still incredible to me. So in honor of 150+ followers, Sew Grateful Week, and the woman who originally started me sewing, I'm giving away a vintage 1971 dress pattern, Simplicity 9333, in Size 14, Bust 36. Its envelope is a little torn, but it's complete, uncut and still in factory folds.

Simplicity 9333; ©1971; Young Junior/Teens' and Misses' Midi-Dress or Blouse - (Designed for Knit Fabrics Only): The midi-dress V. 1 or blouse V. 2 & 3 with back zipper, high round neckline and set-in sleeves may be worn with self fabric tie belt or purchased belt. V. 1 & 2 with long sleeves has roll type collar. Collarless V. 3 with short sleeves has optional top-stitching.

Why a 1970s pattern, when that era seems to get very little love in the fashion world? See, it's all thanks to my mom that I'm even doing this. She taught me to use our old Singer, which has unfortunately gone to its well-deserved rest since then. She started me off with a bean bag, and twenty years later, here I am drafting my own qipao pattern! If I remember correctly, she learned to sew when she was in her teens, right around the 70s; her good friend's father was a tailor, so she learned to make her own shirts, dresses, and pants. She says she's never made a coat, though, so I guess I'll have to figure that out on my own. Anyway, since she was making her clothes in the 70s, this pattern is actually close to something she might have worn. And to be honest, I'm coming around to 70s patterns. The 80s and 90s, though, that's another story.

Giveaway Rules:

Leave a comment telling me who started you off sewing, and what your first project was.
I'm going to have to make this giveaway North America only, unfortunately! This month's budget doesn't allow for overseas shipping.
Same as last time: it goes without saying, but you really should be a follower of my blog. I'll assume that you're a follower if you leave a comment. Also goes without saying, but I hope you really intend to sew up the pattern! Please don't win it just so you can turn around and sell it on Etsy or use it as kindling or make a craft project (does anyone else feel slightly horrified by this?).

I'll close the giveaway at the end of Sew Grateful Week, on Sunday, February 12, 2012, at 11:59 PM PST. You'll need to court the spirits of random.org, and look for the winner on the following Monday.

Just for kicks, have a picture of Walnut, pretending to be ear-less.

I swear I didn't pose him that way. Also, his belly looks incredibly fat in this picture, but it's really just furry. If you press your hand down on him, three inches is just fur.