Pinking Seams

Last post here!

noreply@blogger.com (Brenna) — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 23:58:00 +0000

Hey guys! It's been almost a year since I last posted. I thought I'd leave an update of my new home, www.wefthem.com. I'm going to leave these posts up on pinkingseams, but be sure to come visit my new space.

Thanks,
Brenna

Scout - the Dress

noreply@blogger.com (Brenna) — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 16:37:00 +0000

This little number here is a modified Scout pattern. I shamefully ripped off of Jens' - the brainchild of Grainline Studios - tunic version she made a while back. I loved her variation so much that when I found fabric (rayon, my favorite of all fabrics) that looked similar to hers I snatched it up knowing exactly the crime/compliment I would commit. Don't judge me.

I used this tutorial for the sleeves that Jen made. I liked the look of long sleeves, but this dress is meant for spring, early summer, and fall so I thought longer short sleeves would make a better balance for those seasons.

The only other changes I made to the pattern was adding 9" to the hem and tapering out two sizes at the hips to give myself a little more wiggle room and dropped the neckline by an inch. I left the subtle hi-lo hem for extra bun coverage.

Let me just say that I LOVE this dress. Obviously the weightless rayon gives this dress a wonderful drape with zero clinginess to the body. The dress just swings around me when I walk. Or dance....

I got the fabric from fabric.com during a serious bender during Christmas so I'm still trying to get through my off-grain stash. Most of the fabric I buy from there is fine. Sometimes I think it's like buying clothes from Target; the kind of clothing you know will fall apart. But sometimes you can get some nice stuff like my sweater fleece for the Lola dress that just feels and looks luxurious (or as luxurious as sweater fleece can get).

This stuff, however, is like a total Monet. One side totally matched up at the side seams, but the other side...woof. It looks like textile balls. Luckily the print is busy enough that it hides my mismatching side seams.

I could wear this dress everyday. It's so comfortable and pretty. So thank you Grainline Studio for the Scout pattern. I might call this variation the Eagle pattern because dang, this pattern just took a step up in my book.

These are my first outside pictures for the blog this year! I couldn't believe that I didn't even have to wear tights. Taking pics outside is much more fun than trying to find a sunny spot (or clean spot) in the house.

How's your springtime sewing coming along?

Hemlock in Pink

noreply@blogger.com (Brenna) — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 03:15:00 +0000

We are so close to spring I can hardly stand it. I prematurely sewed up this pink tissue-knit top in preparation for warmer weather. I think that's basically all I've been wanting to sew lately, anything that prepares me for warmer weather. I'm not talking about summer days, I just want temperatures to be above 40, it's not like I'm asking for the moon here.

Oh this simple, yet oh so flattering Hemlock Tee from Grainline Studio. The bonus is that it's free, but I'd totally pay for this pattern.

I made a few quasi serious changes to this pattern:

took off two inches from the hem
sliced an inch chunk from the middle of the pattern to decease width on both front and back pattern pieces
added a curve hemline
finished the sleeves with bands

I fuggin love this top. I have another one planned, but I can't decide if I want to drop the neckline a bit. I really like Andrea's versions here, but definitely need to take off two more inches from the hem. It's too long and almost tunic length on me.

Also, I can't decide if I want to add the width back to the pattern. It's pretty loosey goosey now, but I think it looks like a t-shirt more than a boxy top look I wanted.

I got this pink fabric from fabric.com. It's the babiest pink tissue knit with flecks of black. I don't have this color ANYWHERE in my wardrobe and thought it'd be a nice break in color. I did a straight stitch on the hem (I know, I was just asking for a wavy hemline), which turned out like I thought, riddled with ripples. The hem twisted and turned after pulling it out from the dryer. It gave the shirt a nice worn-in look.

I would definitely recommend this easy knit top. Lot's of those made around here. To be fair, these are the things I wear on the reg. Someday I'll spend my time sewing dresses and tailored blazers, until then, I'll be whipping up projects made for Sunday brunches and casual dinner dates.

What's your go-to outfit for Sunday brunch?

La Lola Perfecta

noreply@blogger.com (Brenna) — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 01:58:00 +0000

This dress is my dream dress. I could wear grey sweater EVERYDAY. Victory Patterns, thank you for allowing a fleece blanket to become an acceptable form of casual day wear. Is that sad? Am I really admitting that wearing sweater fleece outside of my home is what I want to wear in life? Victory Pattern's Lola dress is off the chain, though.

And yes, I will inundate this post with the same, but slightly different photos of me in this dress because sometimes you want to run around the track, trophy in tow (or dress on, as it were), embracing that moment for as long as possible. Victory.

This pattern is classified as intermediate, but I would say that's because the beginner would lose patience cutting out ALL of the pieces. Srsly. I think it goes up to L. L! Putting the dress together isn't inherently difficult, just time consuming. Like, I spent almost five hours on Monday sewing this guy up. To be fair, I'm a wiener and basted each step before hitting up the serger. Also, that triangle. If you and your serger are just acquaintances and not pals, then I would suggest cutting a few triangles out just in case. My machine gobbled up three like they were after school snacks.

I've also gotten in the habit of laboriously labeling each piece of fabric as I cut with blue tape to avoid any confusion about which piece is which. This also helps me identify the right or wrong sides of fabric during construction if need be. Is this normal? Do other seamstri partake in labeling with tape?

I'll definitely use this farbic again, purchased here, but unfortunately they're out of grey. The fabric was so dense I felt like I was cutting through a slab of juicy steak. And sewing through all of those layers, whew, it got real for a few minutes while attaching the bottom band around the skirt pockets.

And speaking of pockets, those things are huge. They basically wrap all the way around me. #bestpocketdesign

The only changes I made to this dress were using sweater fleece instead of ribbing and taking off 4 1/2 inches from the hem. The first two inches were cut off the pattern, then I removed the rest after trying it on. Listen, I'm 5 foot nothing and it doesn't take much fabric to take an outfit from super cute to marmish. This dress is too cute to swallow my legs!

I will definitely be making this again. Proooobably in navy blue or this pretty rose color sweater fleece. I really want to make a sweater out of the top half. Just lengthen the pattern pieces, right? Those princess seams are what make this dress extra flattering. Everyone needs this dress in their wardrobe. What are you guys sewing up during our last (hopefully) bits of winter? Or have you tried this amazing dress pattern yet?

I'll leave you with a pic of my dog being over this photo shoot.

McCall's 8337

noreply@blogger.com (Brenna) — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 19:22:00 +0000

This chambray shift was supposed to be my spring/summertime go to dress . I would throw it on and always look put together, with rain boots, converse, or sandals.

What I learned while making this dress is how to over-fit an easy fitting dress. It tugs in all of the wrong places. Look at these ladies on the pattern and their laid-back-ready-for-brunch-or-dinner-or-coffee-dress with plenty of room for movement. Ugh.

My dress doesn't look that bad. I mean, I'm still going to wear it, but it won't be that comfortable easy going dress I wanted. I learned a lot while making this dress in the muslin stage:

-you can relocate the zipper to a different spot for easier pinning. i.e. get a better idea of the actual fit around the back (all of which I did not do only realized this trick AFTERWARD)

I redid the back darts countless times to remove my extreme hunchback. The last dart I sewed I decided it was good enough.

-don't be lazy- do both sleeves in the muslin.

I omitted a few things from the pattern itself as well, like the extremely long sleeves and bodice. The color blocking looked cool, but I wanted this thing to be short and with tiny sleeves.

Just look at the tugging across the back and the sagging at the waist, and the weird placement of the darts. The dress doesn't lay flat around the neck either, only if I pull it down. I like how the dress looks belted, which is probably how I'll wear it. The chambray clings to the tights, especially around the high waist --you know, where Target tights are supposed to sit. It's basically the Scout t-shirt, but ill fitted plus a zipper. Should've made the shift dress with the Scout pattern instead. See, we're all learning here.

I might try to do another muslin fitting, but with so many patterns I want to sew, refitting this one is not on my priority list right now. I'm afraid if I just throw in the towel and get another shift pattern like the Laurel, I'll stumble into the same pattern fitting issues. Maybe?

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the 60 degree weather this week and some pattern tracing. Spring is almost here, guys!

Plantain, The Henley Refashion

noreply@blogger.com (Brenna) — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 18:15:00 +0000

Here's the thing I love about simple patterns like the Plantain, it doesn't take a bunch of fabric and when the fit is perfect you can use it for things like a t-shirt refashion.

I purchased this guy a year ago from GoodWill. An American Apparel men's large shirt. I planned on taking it in a little and giving it to the boyfriend, but god, I'm such a sucker for stripes. I have so much stripped fabric hanging in my closet. As you can guess, the shirt was huge on me, but I loved the fabric and the henley style. This is why refashioning is the shit. You can keep the things you like about the clothing and not worry about any complicated sewing cuz it's already done for you!

I might hem it later. As it is now it's more of a tunic length, which I'll never wear out in public, but I will wear around the house with sweats. I'll be honest, I've been wearing this top as jammies for the last four days and this morning decided 'hey, there's no food stains on this b, I can totally take pics of it now!'

That's right folks, I'm in my pajamas. But they're totally cute. I'm about to up the cuteness and throw in a newfie with me. This guy photo bombed my Plantain shoot!

I sewed this in size 34 and kept as much of the original shirt as possible. Took maybe an episode and a half episode of Gossip Girl. Sometimes I stop and watch mid stitch.

Everyone needs to get on this Plantain train. Also, when is this awful weather going to stop?!?

Plantain Mission Maxi

noreply@blogger.com (Brenna) — Mon, 27 Jan 2014 23:02:00 +0000

Listen, I'm not going to make excuses about these images. I was messing with my camera's settings and ran out of daylight. Ugh. These were not the images I wanted to use. I'll tell you what though, I think I'm getting better at the whole trinity combo settings on my dslr.

Anyway. Here is my version of the Plantain pattern from Deer & Doe. It's free, super easy to put together, and also it's free. I've made it three times already with one more to come. That damn bird fabric must be used!

This is a grey fabric that I purchased from Girl Charlee that you can find here. It kinda bounces up and down giving the maxi a nice swishy movement when walking.

I made the smallest size and thank god cuz this fabric is stretchy! It fits perfectly on my shoulders (so important) and skims right over the hips. And look at that neckline, so flattering. I basically mushed the Mission Maxi pattern bottom with the Plantain top.

And of course I put navy and grey together. I tried a knit with hearts on it for the patches, but let's bet real, it was too cutesy.

I hope can get the next one cranked out sooner than later. Muh dress form is starting to look like she's just draped with a knit blanket.

Anyone else getting in on the Plantain?

Hemming For Him

noreply@blogger.com (Brenna) — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 16:17:00 +0000

This is what I've done this week as far as swing goes. I've hemmed pants for a friend. Wah waaahh. Just serged the bottom, flipped up and blind stitched it. All in return for his drawing knowledge. He's an "artist," also the bar manager (my boss, sort of).

Kris and I went to this little art supply shop today. I couldn't resist buying a few things. Everything was on display in mason jars! So I walked out with an eraser, a micron pen, and charcoal pencils. I've already had to sharpen a charcoal pencil twice. These things are AMAZING. So much more fun to pay around with. The charcoal is so soft you barely have to push down to draw a line.

I tried this new technique my coworker (Thanks Kate!) told me about. Draw in 30 second sessions and build up to more time. It's great for someone like me who agonizes over the details that they still can't draw yet. Just pick from your pinterest images and GO! This counts as part of my croquis a day challenge. It's a one year challenge. I'm dating all of my drawings so I can see my progress. Watercolor--it's going to happen, but which ones? There are so many options. Do I buy artist or student? Palette or individual? I don't know anything about painting.

I traced out the plantain pattern last weekend. Now I just have to cut out this fabric. It's a super stretchy jersey from Girl Charlee, their last yard of this fabric. Should be an easy top to whip up. I love the birds on it. Not too many, just enough here and there. I still don't know if I want to put elbow patches on it. Maybe?

Stay warm northern hemisphere!!

Learning Croquis

noreply@blogger.com (Brenna) — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 18:33:00 +0000

I've recently been bitten by the fashion illustration bug. I can't get enough of them! Doodling has been a fun past time for me, especially back in school. I drew in every single margin available. Last summer I busted out my old crayolas to color sketches I did of patterns I planned to sew up. I called it my "Summer Funner" line. The sketches were abysmal, but I loved sitting outside with the dogs just drawing and filling in the lines.

Now I want to actually learn how to draw fashion croquis. I'm borderline obsessed with them. This is part of my personality, I can't just kind of know how to do something, I have to know EVERYTHING about the subject. For example, a few years ago I got interested in wine then ended up taking the level one sommelier exam, AND PASSING. My super power would definitely be absorbing all information out of books by touching them. I don't know what function that power would serve in a comic. Maybe I'd be that awful sibling to a legit super hero who constantly wants to tag along and talk about weird facts from books that somehow relate to a crime.

My drawings are total balls, and I love it. I'm totally into buying fancy markers and pencils for this.

What's your super power?

Closet Variety

noreply@blogger.com (Brenna) — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 23:42:00 +0000

Looking back on all of the fabric I purchased in 2013 and everything I pinned last year I came up with a wardrobe palette that best represented my closet. I don't know why I used my fabric stash and a web based closet as opposed to the real deal, but that's what I did. Here's what it looks like.

Later I reevaluated my clothing and looked at what I actually wear on a regular basis. This is the actual palette of my wardrobe.

I tried giving you a scale of importance with different sized blocks. I mostly wear black to work, then grey and blue everywhere else with a hint of green and red. I'm not necessarily saying that I want to change what I wear, but good god, it looks like I have a bruised closet.

I don't know that I'd call these New Year's resolutions (they've been on my to-do list for a while). I've seen some hefty looking lists on the blogs lately, my goals are pretty specific, but not outrageous. I think if I scratched these off my list by the end of the year I'd be a happy camper.

I'm off to help get the house ready for arctic blasts. Stay warm!

This is It

noreply@blogger.com (Brenna) — Wed, 01 Jan 2014 03:07:00 +0000

This is the last time I open up my computer and stare at the publish button. I've been working on this blog for almost a month now fiddling with color schemes and layouts. It's about time that I just introduce myself.

My name is Brenna and I like to sew and knit. I am a perfectionist with my work (hence the aforementioned agonizing over EVERYTHING to do with this blog). I'd like to begin journaling? logging (captain's star date?) showcasing? documenting? everything that I sew starting....right....now.

To the Brenna of 2014, thhhrrrrrrppppppppp

To everyone else, Happy New Year!