joyandsmiles

Quick Bags for Travelling Necessities

2013-05-19T06:00:00.000-04:00

I'm almost on my way back to the States by the time this post goes live, but I wanted to show y'all a quick 30 minute project I whipped up while packing.

My mom wanted some little bags to keep her passport and goods in that is distinct from ziploc bags so people can't see what's in them.

Aren't the polka dot gradients pretty centered? I tried making the dots line up along the side. Considering I spent 15 minutes (max) on each bag, I think I did a pretty decent job, though I didn't capture a picture of it.

I cut out 2 9"x10" rectangles and quickly sewed up these bags with some leftovers. Add some matching ribbon from the stash as drawstrings, and voila!

A cute little pouch for the road. My mom wants me to mention that they're perfect little gift bags (and cheaper!), if you need something fancy.

FO: Avacado Hoodie

2013-05-16T06:00:00.000-04:00

I was super fortunate to be one of Marie's pattern testers for the wonderful Avacado Hoodie. I made a freaking sweatshirt, y'all!!!!! Who does that?! Oh yea--me! Whaaaaat?!

Smug is definitely how I feel about this!

Just to make y'all feel the jealously a tiny bit more (I swear I'm not this self-centered in real life), the day after I got the pattern from Marie, I received a FabricMartFabrics.com order. I had thrown in one of those Mystery Bundles, and I got.... 2.25 yards of sweatshirt fleece in that bundle! This is supposed to run $12.99/yard on their website, but I got it for the equivalent of $1.50/yard. Yea-that's right. This sweatshirt basically cost me $3.

Whatev's. I'm not counting that much, because--dude--pockets!

I had some grey cotton jersey leftovers from a Renfrew that I've never finished (can't find the pattern to recut a thinner sleeve...). I think it did the job.

Maybe I should spend some moolah that I saved on lotion to work on those ashy fingers. I probably just need a vat of vaseline to really get the job done.

And if I twist a tiny bit, there's another pocket!

That the Man can put his hands into! (Family-friendly-ish blog, y'all.)

Real talk--I get major love handle emphasizers with these pockets. I think Marie's fixed this in the pattern & there's the option of leaving them out--which will definitely be the case for me the next time (or two) I make this.

But otherwise, look how freaking awesome the shape of that hoodie is. I love how it hugs me in all the right places. I was right between a size 8 and a 10. I cut a size 8 (assuming the sweatshirt fleece had some give). Well, the fleece didn't have as much give as I thought it would, but I cut a few pieces on the cross-grain, which had more stretch, so it was all good.

This picture is mostly because my hair looks alright, anddd I really should always do a sway-back adjustment. I really need to learn this at some point.

While we're on this view, dudes--the hood is awesome!!!! It is absolutely the most perfect shape. I think this pattern is 100% worth it just for the hood shape.

But mmmm... pockets. :)

Another feature most people probably love are the thumbholes. It's not something that personally appeals to me all the time, but it's cool that Marie thought of them.

At the iteration I made this, there weren't any formal details on how to tack the thumbholes, so here it is the way Marie originally drafted them.

I actually end up wearing them folded down as such. Another real talk moment--I have thin wrists for my body type, and these wrists are snug on me.

But hole-y mole-y! I made a princess-seamed sweatshirt! Such clean lines! Beautiful drafting! Top-stitching perfection that just sink into the fleece! Hood! Pockets!

Gosh darn it. It's summer now, isn't it?

FO: Simplicity 2215-- Neener Neener, I'm a complete Copy-Cat; Blue/Green Chevron Skirt

2013-05-14T06:00:00.001-04:00

Okay, I admit it. I'm a big, fat CHEATER. I'm not very creative or original. I'm just a copy-catter all the way. But imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

You all probably know how obsessed I am with Andrea of Four Square Walls, already. Well, when I saw this skirt on her blog, I just absolutely had to have it right away!

I went to DenverFabrics to buy the fabric, but I stopped because I just didn't really want to be a copy cat quite yet. Well, fast forward approximately a year, and I spotted 1.5 yards of this stuff on sale in the discount section when I was ordering some fabric that I actually needed (uhh... well, mostly). I decided it was just fate that I had to buy it.

And then I even had Simplicity 2215 in my stash to be an even bigger copy-catter. And I'm entirely too lazy to hand sew that hem or even do more than just serge the hem of the lining. But (paragraph filled with horrible sentence structure), I LOVE the weight of this skirt. It's absolutely perfectly flow-y. I just love sashaying around in it all day.

I wasn't so sure how a pleated skirt would look on me, but since the fabric and the lining are both so light, I think it turned out just fine. This shows how I didn't get an invisible zip, nor did I do a lapped zip, nor does the zipper even really match (if you see it in person). That is how I roll, son! However--I totally did put a zipper in right next to a pocket. That makes me pretty baller, if I say so myself.

Mods:

-My sizing was all approximate, but I think I ended up with a size 16 waistband and a size 14 skirt fullness.

-didn't do button tab

-cut off about 1.5 inches off of skirt length.

-pleated in my own way; the pleats that the pattern was suggesting were cray-cray!

-cut 2 inches shorter than a size 20, but ended up cutting off an extra 2 inches beyond that.

-added a lining; cut the lining in an approximate A-line, so that the top of the skirt pieces were just about 2 inches larger than the waist band. That way, the gathers I put into the top of the lining didn't add unnecessary fullness/weight in an unflattering location.

Here you can see how I tried pleating for the majority of the skirt so that the green chevrons lined up mostly. You can also see how I definitely got some unintentional gathers into that beast, too. If I had planned this out more before cutting the fabric, I would have made all green pleats, but it might have been too full for my taste--perhaps.

Well, I must say--I have a very cute, cheery skirt for this weather!

The Deets:

Zipper: $1 (from this Craigslist find)

Main Fabric: 1.5 yds = $6.50 from DenverFabrics.com

Crepe Lining: 1.5 yds @ $2.39/yd = $3.59 from Fabric.com

Sewing Maintenance: $5

Pattern: $2.13

Total: $18.22

Me-Made-May 2013: Days 1-8

2013-05-11T06:00:00.000-04:00

By the time this post is up, I have jetted out of the country! I've been really enjoy wearing a bunch of me-mades, but what's really coolest of all is that it has been a surprising breeze. The hardest part is actually documenting what I've worn.

May 1: Putting in some effort for MMM '13 Day 1!

Dress: Simplicity 2209

Cardigan: Gap, really old

Belt: J. Crew, old

May 2: Last Day of Finals!

Top: Gap, old

Skirt: Me-Made, unblogged; used about 1 yard of quilting cotton from The French Seam to make a simple rectangle skirt with an elastic waist band.

May 3: Recovering from Finals

Top: Banana Republic, old

Skirt: Simplicity 2226, not yet blogged; Fabric from FabricMartFabrics.com

May 4: Day trip with the Man to Chicago to enjoy end of the semester

Top: Tiny Pocket Tank, not yet blogged; Fabric from clearance rack at WalMart

Skirt: New Look 6107, not yet blogged; Linen/Rayon blend fabric from Fabric.com

May 5: Lazy Day at home (didn't even finish the laundry)

Dress: Macaron

May 6: Back to work (still didn't finish laundry)

Shirt: Old Navy, old

Skirt: Me-Made, unblogged; Used from the generous leftovers from this project to make a rectangle skirt with an elastic waistband.

May 7: More Hectic than I appear

Shirt: Butterick 5216, not yet blogged

Skirt: Simplicity 2215, not yet blogged.

May 8: Packing

Dress: Simplicity 2209

Cardigan: Banana Republic, old.

How have y'alls MMMMMMMMMMmmmmMMMMmmm's been going?

FO: New Look 6107

2013-05-09T06:00:00.001-04:00

I needed another skirt for clinic, so I wanted to make a wool houndstooth pencil skirt. I was going for an Erika B. look, but I just do not live up to her level of fabulosity!

Unfortunately, all of the pictures are taken after a full day of work, and boy do I look it!

The skirt did not do a bad job of holding up to all of the bending, walking around, and general wear and tear I put on daily-work clothes (a.k.a. not much--ha!)

I put in a lining, using a few tutorials. A Fashionable Stitch's series on pencil skirts, especially the back vent lining part was invaluable. This experiment produced a few questions for me:

1. What exactly is the purpose of all linings? Sometimes, I think it's because the garment would be too see through. Sometimes, it seems as if it's to help the garment hang better. Sometimes, I think it's to help give the garment a nice weight. Any other suggestions?

2. How does one best hem a lining versus a skirt? I just sewed my lining into the skirt. Is this what should be done or are you supposed to hem them separately? I guess this answer has something to do with Question #1.

I made View D of New Look 6107. I still need to make the adorable top that comes with it, which is what I originally bought the pattern for. However, I wanted a pencil skirt, and after trolling around pattern review, I realized I had one in my stash all along.

I also made a lapped zipper, but I think I lapped it too much. Thanks to Retha's suggestion, I used the Noodle-Head Tutorial and looked into the Vicki Kate Makes tutorial for future reference.

So the mods to this thing are:

1. Cut an 18 at waist; almost 16 at hip; graded down to 14 at knees. This ended up being too big, so I went down a size at each step for the next one. (There was a 2nd one!)

2. Decreased length by 2 inches

For future reference:

I should actually start sewing the lining to zippers.

The lining was way too static-y!

The waist was very uneven! My shoddy sewing skills definitely need improvement in this area.

Overall, the skirt does the job and got compliments, though it wasn't my favorite make thus far.

The Cost:

Zipper: $1.27

Lining: $0.80 (Feels like Bemberg Rayon) from Craigslist awesomeness

Fabric: $4.49*7/8= $3.93 from Fabric.com

Pattern: Approx $4.27

Sewing Maintenance: $5

Total: $16.95

FO: Baby Bibs and Burpcloths

2013-05-07T06:00:00.001-04:00

Fair warning, I was kind of on a baby kick in the beginning of this semester. The next few posts will show all of that off.

I made a bunch of bibs

and a bunch of burpcloths.

I had several fat quarters in my stash, and I realized I wasn't quilting as often as I had hoped.

I had some white flannel in my stash from a JoAnn's sale for $0.99 per yard.

When I peruse the web, I'm constantly pinning things to my Pinterest boards. I had pinned these wonderful tutorials on how to make your own bibs and burpcloths. I realized that one fat quarter would make a set, and Bam! I made a ton.

I even had snaps in my stash perfect for this. Unfortunately, I kind of messed up one of the snaps so it had to be velcro. I realized that velcro was infinitely easier and probably better in terms of possible choking hazards. Lesson learned.

All of these took only a few evenings for me, one of the slowest sewists out there. Oooh! Good blog name. Anyway, since a lot of my friends are getting married now, this is perfect stock for when they'll start popping. If you're looking for a quick satisfying project & have an expecting someone in your life, this is a great project!

Episode 21: Our Freak Flag Geometries

2013-05-06T10:13:00.000-04:00

Tune in to understand what that title means.

FO: Baby Quilt DONE!

2013-05-03T06:00:00.000-04:00

Fair warning, I was kind of on a baby kick in the beginning of this semester. This is the last of the posts that shows that off.

I had finished the patchwork on this quilt top a long, long, long time ago.

I podcasted about how I had finished the quilting.

But then the binding took forever.

I finally gave in, and just did some of it, but pawned most of the binding to my mom.

She finished it in a jiffy, and now, I have a baby quilt top! Perfect gender neutral. I love the color combination. I think this is a great way of showing a baby some good old fashioned love when it comes into the world. If I ever get back into quilting, I think these baby quilts are the way to go!

FO: Baby Diaper Covers

2013-05-01T13:06:00.001-04:00

It's officially Me-Made-May time! And in it's honor--I'm showing non-for-Me garments. Ha! Actually, it's the end of the semester, and I'm getting in gear prepping for an international trip, so I haven't really had the time to take pictures and post about recent garment finishes. I do plan on taking daily pictures of my Me-Made-Wear the time I am still in the States and posting over the weekend. So, I have a few pre-written posts to take help me finish the semester.

Fair warning, I was kind of on a baby kick in the beginning of this semester. The next few posts will show all of that off.

If you want another quick baby project that takes very little fabric, I highly recommend the Perfect Diaper Cover.

I won this fabric in a giveaway by Stumbles and Stitches.

Each pair took only half a yard of fabric, so one fat quarter should be enough for one. I made the 12 month size, for reference, so a larger size may need more fabric.

I made one following the instructions without using any extra bias tape. I found the elastic casings very fiddly and taking a very long time, so I caved in and bought the bias tape for just the legholes.

One package of bias tape lasted for 3 diaper covers.

Conclusion, if you have a lot of the necessary items in your stash (appropriate sized elastics, fat quarters, bias tape), then this is a great stash-busting project. If not, it might be a bit fiddly to be worth it. Do you have any great sewing-for-baby tutorials?

Amazeballs $40 Craigslist Purchase

2013-04-28T21:46:00.001-04:00

Warning: This is a picture heavy post. I apologize if it takes a while for your browser to load all the pictures.

I was on Craigslist ... again. I had seen this particular listing for about a month. When I first saw it, it looked really good, but I figured someone would snap it up before me, so I didn't bother asking.

I noticed the listing being reposted, so I decided to ask the guy if he'd be not so firm on the "$1000 FIRM" sale. I think one reason the posting had issue selling was that the owner had conflicting pieces of information between the title and the description. Since I noticed the listing was up for so long, I decided to give a lowball offer. I was thinking $75 would be pretty good for all of this, but I started typing the email with $50 as my offering rate. (Rule of thumb: I offer 50% of asking price if I ever feel like the seller is highballing their price. It sometimes works.) I then thought about it a bit more before clicking send. I changed my offer to $40 last minute just because I didn't think the 30 minute drive out to this place would necessarily be worth it. I suggested I didn't need some of the vintage stuff, books, and yarn. Guess what? He accepted!!

Those "ribbons" underneath the elastics looked like seam binding/bias tape and such, which just added to the awesomeness.

So now, I will show you the gluttonous amount of well-kept vintage goodies I got for a ridiculously good price. When I was buying it from him in person, I felt badly for pricing for so low, but I kept my poker face on about how giddy I was. This guy didn't know much about sewing and clearly came upon this stuff some way but had experience selling on craigslist/ebay.

He clearly got the supplies from a very organized sewer. (I assume a she, but could have been a male, too.) She sewed garments for a very long time, and it was such a delight to dig through every piece and discover so many vintage delights. I especially loved seeing how the prices of her notions increased over the time she was sewing.

I totally just doubled my thread stash. I don't know how well the threads held up over this time, but she didn't shy from color. They look like they're in pretty good shape, and I'll try to use them. Just from this image, you can see how long she sewed for: there are some wooden Coats & Clarks spools (which I can't buy from my local JoAnn's), and some more contemporary Coats & Clarks spools. There are even some styrofoam spools!

Aren't those wooden spools just delightful?

I also got some contemporary serger thread. These were not taken as good care of, but I think if I undo a few layers of the thread off the top, all the dust and particles will disappear.

On the left is one of the unwrapped cones of thread from the Craigslist find, and on the right is an un-opened cone that I bought from Wal-Mart or JoAnn's the other day. I guess I didn't realize that Coats and Clark must have bought out "Talon" at some point. I've never seen a Talon sewing notion before this purchase, and there were a lot of Talon zippers and such.

Speaking of zippers, look at this delightful assortment. This was really fun to go through price-wise. The zippers ranged from 25 cents to 80 cents or so. For reference, my JoAnn's sells zippers at $1.99 for the smallest sizes without any coupons.

How charming are the back of these packages! I almost don't feel like even using them. I love that the invisible zipper "Vanishes when Closed"!

There were several zippers that weren't in their original packaging, but that won't stop me from using them! That's a total of 27 zippers from this find. I think the $40 was well worth it almost just for that! I had a red linen skirt and a blue mini skirt planned before I got all of these goodies and before I bought the appropriate zippers for them. I'm so glad because the perfect zippers were in this stash!

My favorite part was all of the little seam binding/bias tapes! I always hate buying these from the store for myself, and now I have a nice little collection to scavenge through when I'm making a garment. Again, I love seeing the prices slowly increase on all of these packages. Tasia once found a score on vintage seam binding, and now I have some of my own 19 cent kind! It really is fun to see how the packages look so different over time. In the top left corner, the piping is in a (relatively) current Wrights trim packaging, and the light blue seam binding on the left-most of the second row is the oldest Wrights packaging in this lot. So fun!

The Craigslist poster emphasized the buttons found in this lot, and boy are there tons of buttons! She had little ziploc bags organized by color.

She had several in their original packaging, too. It's fun to see how "La Mode" button packagings have changed over the years, too.

My favorite were these mint green buttons. I think they'll go perfectly on a grey/white/baby blue coat I'm planning on making for next winter. (Sigh; I already have the appropriate fabric and pattern. Must. Sew. Faster!)

I love how thrifty this sewist was because she kept some self-covered buttons and the kit in this zipper container. I loveee the "collared" look on top of the 6" neck-opening sized zipper container.

I got the pinking shears box, but no shears. I lovee the box! It's a shame that the shears didn't remain with the box. (I don't need another pair of pinking shears, so I wish the person who got the shears had actually kept the box, too.) I did end up with "The Buttonholer," which is an attachment for a sewing machine.

Look at how adorable all of the templates are! I have no use for this, so I just listed it back onto Craigslist. I actually sold it the other day.

And then, there were all of the other notions! She clearly had a Pfaff. Those needles say they only work on a Pfaff machine. I may try them on mine, but I should just get a Pfaff machine instead, huh? ;-) Once again, I love how the packaging changes over the years--especially evident in the basting tape packages. How fun!

When I came across this little MarKay eyelash container, my jaw dropped. First, how adorable was the Mary Kay emblem back then! (This is part of why I assume this sewist was female.) Secondly, that is filed with sewing machine needles. There were about 15 needle packages in this container. Now I don't have an excuse not to change needles because I don't feel like buying some more--I have a ton at my (sewing) feet! (Ba-da-bing!)

Word salad thoughts on this picture:

Her little box of thimbles was so precious. The label has kind of worn off, but she had carefully printed "Thimbles" by hand on some sort of fancy label maker type paper.
There were a ton of plastic and metal bobbins, but unfortunately, these were all a bit too big for my machine.
I love the needle threader packaging changes over the years.
The zipper guides are very intriguing (still in their boxes--wonder if she really ever used them, lol).
I had always wanted a seam gauge, and now I have 3 of my very own! (along with a button hole spacer.)
You know how much of a sewist she was because she had a plethora of measuring tapes. Definitely the mark of an engrossed sewist.

Sigh-her notions definitely seem like where I was heading towards. I lost my seam ripper just last week. When I went to go use my back-up seam ripper, I realized it had rusted. So, I trekked to JoAnn's with a 40% off coupon and bought another seam ripper. Of course, karma helped me find my seam ripper about an hour after I had taken the new one out of its packaging. If I had just waited a week, I would have all these new seam rippers. Or if I just waited an hour, I guess. Life is funny.

How cool is this contraption! I assume it's to mark seam lines!! I adore it! (Clearly, I adore it, based on all of the exclamation marks it deserves.) The powdered chalk comes out pretty easily, so I have to be careful with it. Have you ever seen anything like this? Brilliant!

Finally, I did end up with a ton of beading supplies and a pattern for an organizer. I don't really do much bead work, so it's back on Craigslist.

If you've made it this far--thank you, dear reader. I have a few blog-wide announcements to make.

First, I will be out of the country for a bit sometime soon. Unfortunately, since I did not plan this in advance, I do not have appropriate me-made-wear for this trip. :( I'll probably do Me-Made-May for the days I am in the states, and maybe make up for the missed days in June.
Second, the podcast may remain on an indefinite hiatus. I feel badly recording so sporadically, and since Molly will be leaving soon, there is not much motivation to keep the podcasts going. I may just do video blog posts from time-to-time instead.
Third, the podcast anniversary is coming up in June, so... be prepared for some giveaways to balance out all this good karma.

Happy Crafting!

FO: Vogue 8749, a.k.a. UGH!

2013-04-25T00:13:00.000-04:00

The face says it all (and it was a candid shot). Have you read Cation Design's recent post about Stop Blogging Your Perfect Sewing Life? This is one of those skirts where I had high hopes. I wanted something gorgeous and quirky. Something like the wonderful circle skirt creations of the lovely Lladybird. Instead I got a big bunch of UGH! Okay, I wasn't exactly dressing this skirt up, either. Dudes/dudettes--I most definitely do not have a perfect sewing life.

Please excuse the pictures. This is how I look most days after I come back from work. Nicer pictures of me on this blog are basically weekend pictures. I even forgot to put on shoes that could have stepped this outfit up more. When the Man went "Ugh! I'm not taking pictures of that hot mess" as soon as I put on the skirt, I knew I was in trouble.

At least my plaid matching was pretty darned good!

I think what this skirt is missing is some horeshair braid along the hem to help make it more circly, and maybe some lining. I have some in my stash. If I ever get the courage to face the ugh-acrylic fabric again, I may try this out again.

But there are some snazzy pockets if I ever do wear this skirt.

Every picture the Man did not immediately delete after I convinced him to take some shots were horridly unflattering. This lone picture of my caboose kind of hints at why this skirt was such an ugh! It makes the love handles look... loverly, a.k.a. humongous! Oh, and my butt looks even flatter than ever, too. How does it manage to add a ton of width to parts I would like to hide and very little width to places I would like to enhance?

Have you seen Tilly on the Great British Sewing Bee? On the first episode, the judges critique her lovely skirt my mentioning that her pockets distorted the shape of her A-line skirt. I have a sneaking suspicion that's part of my problem.

Oh well, I'm still stupendously proud of my first attempt at plaid matching. Oh, and I just serged the edge instead of proper hemming because I was so mad at it.

The Deets:

Fabric: $4.18 (1.5 yds of plaid acrylic from Fabric.com @ $2.79/yd)--Lesson: Don't buy cheap fabric!! Oh gosh darn it. I just bought a bunch of $1/yd fabric from Wal-Mart.

Pocket: $2.87 (Crafty Cuts Fabrics Solid in Christmas Red; used some for McCall's 6027; still have leftovers)

Zipper: $1.18 from JoAnns.com

Pattern: $4.60

Sewing Maintenance: $5

Total: $17.83

FO: Minoru Jacket

2013-04-23T00:06:00.000-04:00

I made my very own Minoru! I have been planning on making one of these for quite some time now. In fact, I used to just browse sewing blogs, but when Tasia first introduced the pattern on her blog, I decided I wanted to sew to one day make one of these for myself. I can't believe I'm decently good enough to sew one now!

Please excuse all of the squinty eyed pictures. It was about 3pm when my photographer was willing to take pictures. More importantly, I made welt pockets!!!!!! Yayyyy!

Look at those welts! I'm really brave I guess because I didn't even try making a welt on some practice fabric.

I had pinned the welt pockets that Mika and Sophie had made as I watched all the bloggers post their Minoru's over time. I read through the Colette tutorial that Mika had suggested, but once I started, I didn't quite get how it all fit together. Looks like I'm not the only one who recently discovered the beauty of welt pockets on a Minoru. For the record, I actually finished this jacket ages ago and only now am I posting pictures--just so y'all don't think I copy everything Andrea makes.

Then, I just googled "welt pockets" and found that this video that was excellent at really showing how to make welt pockets.

My favorite part of this whole thing is the brightly patterned ikat lining! I used some Crepe du Chine from fabric.com that I bought a while back. It gives this jacket just the touch of fun I wanted. Also looks like I'm not the only one who discovered the amazingness of an ikat lining.

I made several mods, including shortening the back to suit me.

Mods
-1"x6" single welt pocket; slanted @ 60 deg angle; 3" deep in the smallest depth. I'll make a slightly skinnier welt pocket, with the top top-stitched to prevent pocket sagging for the next iteration. I'll maybe try out the double-welt look.
-did about 0.5" reduction for the sway back; may do another 0.5" reduction for a future one
-Cut size 8 for the shoulders, size 10 for the bust area, size 8 for the waist, and size 6 for the hips. I'm not a pear shape--I'm an hourglass.
-I reduced the body by about an inch (I think) above the waistband and by about an inch below the waistband.
-added label
-sewed waist band 0.25" above where I marked it after shortening above the waistband
-I shortened the sleeves by about an inch. I cut the size 8 to fit the armsyce, but extended to a size 10 for right at the bust area. Then I tapered the sleeves to a size 6. I would shorten sleeves another 0.5"if I were to make this again
-need to interface collar the next time I make this

Of course, I have some oopsies. Here, you might be able to see I had issues with topstitching. For some reason, some of the facings were not exactly the same size as the other side, so I had puckers in my sewing. The light is very bright, but you may be able to spot it on the inside of the zip.

Another oopsie is that one pocket is about 1" lower than the other, which I thought was the case when I measured it, but it looked funky upon eyeballing. After I was done, I realized measurements never lie (as long as they were correctly made.) Still-no one I know can actually see it even when I point it out until they look super closely.

And I was a doofus and sewed the lining inside out to the collar. By the time I realized it, I was very committed because...

Can you see it?

I had already sewn in the label! It makes me super happy that the color matches the jacket.

Please excuse the ashy fingers. The most fiddly part of the entire jacket was the cuff.

I did all of the basting by hand, and very carefully machine stitched the cuff to the sleeve. I just did a not-so-blind stitch to attach the lining to the cuff. It all worked beautifully.

Look at that ginormous collar! I don't mind it so much, so I may not reduce it for the next version. There will be a next version. Don't worry. I may add an interlining, though, to make it better for slightly colder weather. The jacket is perfect for 50-70 deg F in its current iteration. I'd like to make one that fairs better in the 30-50 deg F range.

People have commented how much they love the gathering at the collar. I agree.

The whole shape is very flattering!

Weather permitting, I haven't stopped wearing this jacket since I've finished it. It fits really well; it looks great opened and closed; and it's a great marker of the beginning of spring!

Costs:
Pattern: $22.98/2 = $11.49
Main Fabric: $9.36 for 2 7/8 yds; used only 1 3/8 yds of 59" wide Pale Aqua Green Twill, 100% cotton; This fabric has been collecting a ton of dust/staticky things. Does anyone have any suggestions for treating the fabric to prevent this? My color choice probably didn't help.
Lining Fabric: 3 yds of Ikat Crepe de Chine Purple/Blue (used 1 2/3 yds of 44" width) from Fabric.com @ $4.98/yd = $14.94
Heavyweight Brass Separating Metal Zipper Navy zipper: $4.60 (from DenverFabrics.com)
Elastic: $2.41 (inc. tax & 50% off coupon)
Sewing Maintenance: $5
Total: $47.80

Episode 20: Our FOs

2013-04-21T22:35:00.003-04:00

Our condolences to those affected by the bombings at the Boston Marathon, but we have a bunch of FOs to make ourselves feel better.

FO: New Look 6104 v.3, a.k.a. Grown Up Minnie Mouse

2013-04-18T02:18:00.000-04:00

a.k.a. third time is the charm?

I'm gearing up for Me Made May 2013, so I'm getting ready by make a lot more useful, everyday garments. Tops with bottoms are what I mostly wear (not dresses so much). I'm doing alright in terms of tops (more tops to come soon), but not so much on the bottoms. Eh :-\ That's the purpose of Me Made May-- to show us what parts of our wardrobes we neglect when we sew. This year, I'll probably make sure I wear at least one hand-made item every day. Next year, maybe I'll be able to wear handmade everything (except underwear, shoes, and bags). The year after that may only exclude shoes and bags. Ohhwhee!

So this is another New Look 6104. I've made two before. Since I've basically got the fit down, it's really easy to churn a couple of these out and be really happy with them. Just some good old sewing satisfaction.

"I can't get no. Satisfaction." -Britney Spears

Oh wait. I can. That's right Brittany. Just looking like Minnie Mouse makes me happy. Clearly, I'm not the only one.

Swayback alteration is as good as it will get!

I picked this fabric because my mom totally made me a dress in almost the same print from that silky satin stuff you see at JoAnn's all the time. I've been spotting the silky satin version here and there but haven't gotten the courage to buy that because I probably don't need a full Minnie Mouse dress.

Clearly, I need a picture to compare 5 year old Joyatee in Minnie Mouse dress with 25 year old Joyatee in Minnie Mouse top, but alas--those pictures are somewhere at my parent's home. Maybe in the future.

I do have these pictures of dresses that my mom made me, though!

As a kid, I was a complete chatterbox. As soon as I discovered my infant baby brother wouldn't complain if I talked to him, I started talking his ear off. If I couldn't think of anything to talk to him about, I would read him stories. I guess things haven't changed.

He grew up to like the dresses my mom made, too.

That's okay. I stole them back.

Ah, my hair would be in a spectacular bang-riffic 'fro most of the time except for the part of my hair that my mom managed to pull back into a braid or two. I may or may not have managed to learn how to work with my hair, 20 years later.

Oh ya, back to the topic at hand:

I still love Minne Mouse.

Costs:
Pattern: Free because I have made it twice. (1, 2)
Fabric: 1 3/8 yd of Red dotted cotton shirting from DenverFabrics.com, $5.74
Notions: Buttons from my stash, free
Sewing Maintenance: $5
Total: $10.74

FO: Simplicity 1804

2013-04-16T00:11:00.000-04:00

I lived in the Boston area for 5 years. Every Patriot's Day, the city would be abuzz with excitement for the Boston Marathon. My heart goes out to everyone there during this very sad moment in history. Let's make sure we all try to do our part in doing good for this world. Please, be safe.

I finally forrayed into knit-wear!

I apologize for all of the pictures. I look like I'm sleeping or partied to hard the night before I took these pictures. The reality is probably a little combination of both, lol!

I bought this rayon jersey from Fabric.com in 2011. The fabric is very light and seemed a tiny bit see-through, so I didn't get to make the dress I had originally planned on making. I think this turned out surprisingly well, though.

I didn't hem the bottom or the sleeves because the fabric didn't unravel and I honestly felt done with the project before hemming. The neck facing was surprisingly delightful, even though it was a knit fabric and the neckline is a skoosh too low for everyday-appropriateness.

One noticeably big problem I have with the pattern, though, is the waist twist. The pattern calls to tack it down at the "waistline". The "waistline" sits at the bust, so when I tack the waist twist there, I look unfortunately pregnant.

Zoe was starting to make maternity wear like crazy since she found out about her great news. I guess I just got a waaaaaaay head start. :) I still might be rocking this one during the summer because it's oh so light!

Costs:
Pattern: Simplicity 1804, View C length & View A bodice, $1.07
Fabric: 3 yds (used about 2?) of rayon jersey from Fabric.com@ $4.89/yd = $10.93 (about 25% off sale!)
Notions: 1/4" elastic $0.28/yd ~ 2 = $0.56
Sewing Maintenance: $5
Total: $17.56

Me Made May 2013

2013-04-15T00:40:00.000-04:00

I have been wanting to participate in Me Made May for a few years now, and I think I can finally do it! I've always had plenty of knitwear to allow me to wear at least one handmade garment during cooler months, but May was always tricky. I think I finally have enough sewn garments that will get me through the hotter days! I'm still cranking out more clothes, and I have two weddings to go to in May at which I'd love to wear handmade garments. Must. Keep. Sewing. I am so excited!

'I, Joyatee (joyatee.blogspot.com), sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavour to wear at least one hand-made item each day for the duration of May 2013.'

So, prepare to see weekly updates in May about how I succeed (no failures!) at wearing at least one handmade item every day for the month of May. Are you participating?

FO: Simplicity 2209, Take 2

2013-04-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

It's time for another Simplicity 2209 (PatternReview). I had made one earlier, and I made a few mods to make this one fit me better.

I'm getting so thrilled with my finishing! A serger helps tremendously, of course.

I even added this super fun pink dotted trim to the inside of the hem for myself. It goes with the seam binding of the armholes.

The Man caught me in a mid-Marilyn Monroe-attempted pose.

Then he captured the moment he told me what a failed attempt at Marilyn Monroe I was.

Mods: (These mods are mostly like the previous version of the dress)

-Shoulder and arm syce: Size 10

-body, size 14

-Waist: 5/8" larger on every side (+ 1 in. from center addition) for the bodice; For this version of 2209, I cut the size 14 skirt because I wanted less of a gather at the waist.

-Shortened 1" above waist on the bodice.

-sway back adjutment (0.5")--I probably needed to add a tiny bit more of a swayback adjustment on this one higher up on my back. Then again, maybe I'd be over fitting.

-gathered instead of pleats

-used ribbon in stash for hem

-sewed entire dart up

Since I actually sewed the whole dart up, I didn't have any unfortunate nipple incidences. Yay!

My zippers are getting better, too. :)

This dress was a super fun one to make. I loove the fabric. It's a light,light weight twill from the Lisette fabrics line. I loved using a Lisette fabric for a Lisette pattern. Gosh, I'm so darn unoriginal. Well, not too many people are making their clothes these days.

It's like my running: My 14 minute/mile pace is still running laps around those sitting on the couch. Problem is, I'm sitting on the couch right now.

Costs:
Single-Fold 1/2" bias binding, bright pink $1.27
Fabric, JoAnn: Probably ~ $18
Zipper: 14" invisible, sea mist from JoAnn.com, $1.75, including shipping and tax
Pattern: Free since used before
Overhead costs: $5
Total: $26.02

FO: New Look 6104, Take 2

2013-04-11T00:29:00.000-04:00

Sometimes when you get a pattern to fit just right, you want to make a trillion more of it, no? Well, I've made NewLook 6104 before, in a polka-dotted fabric, nonetheless.

I totally get why Andrea of Four Square Walls used it as her OWOP project. It's just so darned versatile!

Excuse me, while I practice the art of mugging (while smiling).

Clearly, I wear this shirt a lot. One benefit of wearing the shirt before blogging is that I can show you guys all of the wrinkles that I'm getting, advertising all of my fitting flaws. It is also an excuse to wear out some shirts before doing blog posts about them.

Though I did a swayback adjustment, it seems like I may need to remove a little more fabric. That neckline is killing me! I really need to put in some back neck darts for a future one of these that I haven't already sewn up. Oh, maybe I shouldn't have cut a size 10 for the armholes. This shirt is a tiny bit tight across my upper chest. You can see those drag lines very obviously in the front, but they're evident in the back, too.

Can you tell my buttons are different sizes? I love self-fabric biasing. I also looove the pintuck details. I never realized how they were made. So smart!

I love that rolled cuff, too.

I think I may have to make another view C version someday!

Details:
Pattern: New Look 6104, View C, made before, so free
Fabric: 1 5/8 of a Grey Multi Dot Shirting from DenverFabrics.com clearance section for $6.75Notions: 9 Buttons from my stash, so free. They're technically 3 different sizes, but I arranged them such that it wasn't so obvious.Time to complete: Last time, it took me 11 hours to make this thing. This time, I cut two of these tops in one afternoon, and sewed this one in one afternonMade for: Me!
Size: Cut a Size 14, but graded to a size 10 for the shoulder height and neck hole separationMods:
-Shortened bottom half of back darts by about 1 inch.
-Shortened at length adjustment mark by about 2 inches.
-Button placket is non-functional as the shirt fit over my head without opening it, as many other pattern reviewers have noted.
-I omitted the interfacing for the center placket.
-Did about a 0.5" swayback adjustment.
Cost: $6.75 + $5 sewing machine upkeep = $11.75

FOs: Baby Chalice Blankets--done!

2013-04-09T06:00:00.000-04:00

Note: This is a post I have been meaning to update you guys on officially on the blog forever. I am slowly catching up, but you may have read bits and pieces of the entry elsewhere on the web, like in this post.

Ever since I saw the Baby Chalice Blanket , I was in love. I had been wanting to make it for quite a while, but my personal yarn ban prevented me from getting the appropriate yarn. After looking at many other people’s projects, I realized what I really fell in love with was the combination of that particular colorway in that particular blanket. Something about Huron and the Baby Chalice blanket was perfect.

So I needed to have it--despite the fact that this baby blanket was going to cost me $60 or so, and I did not even have a baby in mind!

Then, I saw a friend of mine knitting with some Berroco Comfort in Antipasto Mix. The colorway was gorgeous, and I was surprisingly pleased with how Comfort felt when knitting my Aran blanket. I needed to have that yarn, even though I had no project in mind. After oogling it quite a bit, I realized the colorway was very close to Lorna Lace’s Huron, with a touch of tan.

The total for a Baby Chalice in Berroco Comfort cost me about $18.

This was an experiment to see if the $60 blanket is worth it.

Isn't that color just gorgeous?

Though the Lorna's Laces produced a beautiful color, the Berroco Comfort was actually much softer and huggable. Plus, I am not scared at all of dumping it in the washing machine, which is crucial for baby stuffs. The Lorna's Laces is superwash, but I have never really loved the tactile feeling of superwash merino wool.

The Lorna's Laces Baby Chalice Blanket project notes are here, and the Berroco Comfort Baby Chalice Blanket project notes are here.

What do you think?

Episode 19: Our Slow Progress

2013-04-07T16:54:00.000-04:00

In this episode, everything we are knitting seems to be taking a very long time to finish.

Another Craigslist Score

2013-04-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

I was perusing Craigslist, as I often do, before a trip down to Bloomington, IN for the weekend. I stumbled across a posting for lots of fabric for $75. It looked like a pretty good deal to me, so I went ahead and bought it. It turns out that the lady I bought the fabrics from recently developed arthritis so she can't sew very much anymore. She wanted it all to go to a good home.

Must. Sew. (and knit.) All. The. Things! (before I come down with some really unfortunate ailment that prevents me from crafting.) :(

Here are all of the pieces folded on my ironing board. They filled up 3 brown grocery bags completely, so I don't think it was that bad of a deal. Some of it is pretty wonky, bad stuff; some of it is amazing that I can make some really great things out of. I figure I can use all of the wonky stuff as muslins, if needed. I washed everything in the machine on a cool setting, and nothing went horribly wrong, thankfully.

The picture above shows some of the more iffy fabric. From top to bottom:

Leopard print fleece? It has a stiff backing, but is obviously polyester. The person I bought it from bought it March '12 for $3. It's a 36" x 1 yd piece. Any ideas of what to make? I was thinking of a fabulous baby jacket/bolero, but it seems kind of stiff.
Baby pink/baby blue canvas? She bought it September '11 for $6. It's a 34" x 3 yd piece (probably not that much left). It may make a good bag or something. It's a bit stiff even after washing.
Maroon print canvas, June '12, 44" x 2.5 yds (probably not that much left) for $2.00; I have no idea what to do with this.
Another plaid in home decorator weight; there is very little of this left. It's a scrap, basically. It came with this hideous home decorator weight fabric that reminded me of my mom's couch in the early 90's. The Man said his mom had a couch in the same print. I threw that one away. This scrap will probably never surmount to anything either.
Purple/olive striped polyester knit; This print isn't so bad. It's an awful polyester fabric though. I will perhaps make a Renfrew out of it, though it may resort to a muslin because the fabric quality is so painful.
Black/white striped polyester knit, May '12, 32" x 1 yds, $2; It's in a tube, so it's really 64" width. I will try and squeeze a skirt out of it for myself. I think it'll be nice, easy & breezy.
Ronald McDonald striped polyester print, March '12, 2.5 yds x 60", $2.50; Um WHAT?? I have to stretch my mind a lot to be seen in this print. There is a ton of this fabric, and it's that awful polyester again! It's so sticky and stiff, despite being a knit fabric. Definitely using it as muslin fabric if all else fails. Can you think of a fantastic design for this one? Maybe a Halloween costume..
White with black star print, February '12, 68" x 2.5 yds, $6; The print is large and placed very panel-y. It's also in athletic jersey material, so I'm not quite sure what to do with it. My initial guess was a maxi dress until I saw how the print was placed. This will be a challenge to do something with, but in reality will end up as a muslin, if anything at all.
White, yellow, grey scratchy terry, May '12 56" x 2 yds, 4", $3.00; a baby something perhaps? It's scratchy though. :( An accessory for a baby something?
Green/white polyester knit, August '12, 58" x 2 yds, $1.50; Again print isn't so bad but awful polyester fabric. I will try my hand at one of the Vogue patterns I have for a top.

Okay, so I decided to go with the bad news first, so here's the good news: The fabrics in the last picture are all delicious and will be most definitely loved and used. Before I purchased the lot, I made sure that the fabrics I would actually use summed up to be worth $75 for me. These definitely made the cut.

Again, from top to bottom:

Plum twill, May '12, 60"x 1.5 yds; Though this is a polyester twill, I think I can make a skirt or something out of it. It's a nice color, and the feel isn't so bad.
Maroon twill; Again, this is a polyester twill, and probably has less yardage than the plum one. I could combine the plum and maroon to make a color-blocked dress, possibly. Ooooh.
Brown twill; though this twill seems like it's polyester, the feel of the fabric is very nice. It is very drapey and probably has some natural fiber content in it. The color on close up is much more complex than is showing up in the picture. There is pretty decent yardage, so I can make a dress, pants, or a complicated skirt.
Pink/brown floral peachskin; This is some significant yardage from JoAnn's Fabrics. I remember seeing this print everywhere last summer, and I liked it then. I imagine a nice ruffly wrap dress for myself. It will probably be for dressier events.
Blue/brown floral peachskin; I'm not as big of a fan of this print, though it's very similar in color scheme to the pink/brown floral peachskin. This, too, is from JoAnn's and has quite a bit of yardage. I may make something for my mom out of this fabric, if she'd like. A matching wrap dress perhaps?
Pink and brown jersey; This lady seemed to really love brown. This print reminded me a lot of the print I had stumbled across on Hart's Fabrics website and Fabric.com earlier. Unlike the other two prints, this one is a jersey. I have a slinky wrap dress in mind for this one.
Black and white plaid; This fabric has a nice weight to it. It's such a clean plaid, I really want to do something that plays with the lines of the plaid without looking too Catholic school-girly and without looking too much like the Vogue 8749 I plan on finishing up sometime soon. A skirt or a cape would be delightful. It seems a bit Sherlock-Holmes/costumey though. Sigh. It's a wonderful plaid, and I would love to use it smartly.
Black polyester lining, April '12 43" x 1yds & 28", $0.80; Uh, duh. It's black lining! Very useful.
Ikat, plaid cotton shirting; This is another one from JoAnn's. It's a print I wouldn't have necessarily picked out, but I will definitely wear this one. I was thinking of making Simplicity 2365 out of it, especially since Simplicity patterns seem to suit me well.
Hemmed tan linen look, April '11 47" x 2 yards, $5; I think this is an old curtain. It's a polyester/rayon blend I think. If I sew it up into a bad, it might not look too bad. I'm thinking of New Look 6080, especially since the fabric looks a lot like the fabric in view D anyway.
Poppy print chiffon/georgette, February '12 45" x 3 yards, $5; I think there was more like 6 yards of this stuff. It's another JoAnn's fabric, but the weight is pretty heavy for such a light fabric. I always forget which is heavier--chiffon or georgette? I'm thinking Vogue 1223 for this one. Pretty... In fact, I don't think I would have ever actually sewed up this pattern that I already owned if I didn't stumble into the fabric like I did this one. I'd probably use a white lining, but doesn't a red lining sound appealing, too?
Pink yellow paint splatter print; April '12 44" x 3 yds $2.50; this is some cheap polyester/chiffon/georgette, and the Man cringed when he saw it. He thought it was too '80s-riffic. I actually think it will make a nice Butterick 5744, though, so I'm happy about it. It will be bright and cheery, and I would just need the perfect modern accessories to go with it.
Navy vintage floral border print, 3.5 yds x 44", $6; This one is a stunner. The Man was speechless in a good way when he saw this fabric. It's actually inside out in this picture because I've washed it and folded it ready to cut into a Cambie dress. I already have some perfect navy lining fabric, and I bought the last navy invisible zipper at JoAnn's to make it. I can't wait till it's done. In fact, I saw this border print dress on pinterest this morning that has a similar silouhette as the Cambie dress, and it retails for $162. I think this dress will come out cheaper than that.
Yellow vintage tulips print, March '12, 44" x 3 yds, $5; The color is a bit muted in this one, and can possibly look dingy if sewn into the wrong garment. It is a very nice vintage cotton like the navy floral print, but I'm trying to figure out what would be best for it. I have Simplicity 2250 and Simplicity 2215 in my stash. I may pair it with another fabric to subdue the possibly dinginess. Any suggestions?

Enough planning on my part. I actually have another amazing Craigslist score I will post about in due time. Have you found any awesome Craigslist scores?

P.S. It's no secret I'm a Beyonce fan. Have y'all seen this amazing DIY replica of Beyonce's super bowl outfit! Those girls are amazing!

FO: Election Day Obnoxious Sorbetto

2013-04-02T00:11:00.000-04:00

Note: This post is the last of my Fall sewing FOs. We shall continue with our regularly scheduled posting after this episode, a.k.a. catch up with all of my Spring sewing FOs.

Sometime in September, I was walking around JoAnn's, and I stumbled across this glaring ostentatiously political print. It was the before election season hype, but after the 4th of July, so it was some percentage off on sale. I used to have no understanding of yardages back then, so I just asked for 3/4 yds of this 44" cotton broadcloth. I thought I could make an obnoxious Sorbetto for myself. I had already made one previously, and I was very happy with the result. It was fast project with fun results.

I took another stab at it. I bought some bias tape, and since I needed some buttons for my New Look 1604, I decided to embellish this one with some buttons in the same color family. (Note, all patriotic prints were on sale then, so I got the polkadots on sale, too.)

I didn't have enough fabric to make a center fold, as called for in the pattern, so I decided to do my own thing. I drafted a center placket out of some mysterious blue (not a cotton) in my stash, and used the button-hole setting on my machine to applique the placket. It wasn't perfectly centered, but you have to be looking pretty close to my chest to see that. I'd be surprised if someone was doing that because the print is so distracting!

The whole project took me 2.5 hours from start to finish. I'm getting faster! Of course, simple double-folded bias binding help tremendously because I didn't have to cut, press, and sew (multiple times) each of the facings.

Sorry for the unflattering shot + the gratuitous tank-top flash! I just wanted to show you guys the back.

I ended up wearing this blushingly on Election Day, and that's it. I wore a ginormous sweater on top so no one could see it, but it was my little secret that I'm now sharing with the world. Sigh. If you're not politically inclined this way, don't worry! JoAnn's had prints with some other political affliations, as well! You could make a matching or contrasting Sorbetto for yourself!

Costs:

Pattern: Colette Sorbetto, version 2 (My first version is blogged here.)
Fabric: .75 yds from JoAnn's : @$4.79/yd = $3.59
Buttons: from JoAnn's = $1.35 (w/ 40% off coupon; regularly $2.25)
Bias Tape: A little over 3 yds from JoAnn's = $1.99
Total Cost (inc. 7% tax) = $7.42

Not bad. :)

FO: Macaron

2013-03-30T06:00:00.000-04:00

Have you ever finished a project, and all of a sudden feel all grown up in your craft? The Colette Macaron did that for me.

I finally felt like I had sewn something sufficiently complicated and executed the project so that it was wearable that I had grown up as a sewer. Now, since I've finished this project, I have to admit--I've felt that way several times after other projects. Now, almost every new project feels like an amazing learning experience, and I use it to improve my techniques and finishing.

However, this one made me just go, aha! I can sew!

I made several adjustments as I went (instead of fixing them in the pattern before cutting it out, because I did not quite realize I could do this yet). Because of my sway back (which I was oblivious of at the time), the join between the main fabric and contrast fabric poofed out terrible. I pinned and seed out in the transition of the colors to fit my back. Turns out, the way I pinned the fabric out was a perfect swayback adjustment.

I also had to adjust the waist a bit. I was thicker than I though, so I just chopped off the top inch or two from the top of the bottom half before inserting it into the waistband. That did the trick on top of shortening the dress sufficiently. I did not sacrifice the pockets, though!

I made this dress with the intention of wearing it to a wedding, but I never finished it in time. I do wear it decently often when the occasion arises. The Man said that it had a distinct 1950's vibe to it. Well, that makes sense since it is a Colette pattern, after all. I'd sum up Sarai's style as vintage with a modern twist.

Regardless, I'm so happy with it! Look at those sleeves!

Cost:

Pattern: Colette Macaron, $18.50

Fabric: 2 yds of Stretch Cotton Poplin in Sand from Fabric.com @ $3.49/yd = $6.15 (sale discount)

2.5 yds of Pimatex Cotton Poplin in Buff from Fabric.com @ $3.49/yd = $7.68 (sale discount)

Zipper: $2

Sewing Maintenance: $3

Total Cost: $37.33

and Pockets!!

FO: Peter Pan Alma Blouse

2013-03-28T00:35:00.000-04:00

Note: I am so behind on posting several of my sewing projects from the fall. Over the next few weeks, I will try to have complete posts about them before I continue with the rest of the more recent FOs. It goes to show, this blogging thing takes up a solid chunk of time! I completely understand how some people make blogging their full time job!

After I made my first Alma blouse, I decided I wanted to try my hand at another one. This time, I would do the full-bust adjustment (FBA) that I desperately needed.

I ended up doing a 1/2 inch FBA. The FBA worked very well, but I need to actually probably go down a size now that the bust fits, because the waist is too big.

In fact, I lengthened the shirt by about 2 inches and shortened the waist by about 3 inches. If I were to redo this, I would shorten the waist by about 1.5" and lengthen by about 0.5". My waist sits lower than I think it does. Don't you love that collar?

I have narrow shoulders, so I cut a size 8 for the shoulders. (This probably indicates that I have a wider torso.) However, since the rest of the body fits well now that I've done the FBA on top of the narrower shoulders, I'm probably a size 8 in Sewaholic patterns from shoulder to hip, with a 1" FBA required.

This was also my first sway back alteration. Look at that lack of comparative back wrinkling!

I sewed View A of the cap-sleeves (so I didn't do all of the alterations I had hoped to eventually do with the full sleeves), and View B for the collar.

By the way, do you watch New Girl? This is what Zooey was wearing in an episode. I'm totally on trend, ha!

Costs:

Pattern: Sewaholic Alma Blouse, version 2 (My first version can be found here.) $16.46/2 = $8.23

Fabric: 2 yards of Black Dobbie from DenverFabrics.com @ $3.95/yd = $7.90+$1.79 shipping

Machine Upkeep costs: $3

Total Cost: $20.92

In conclusion, I love it! This is the Man's favorite sewing project I have completed thus far. That makes me very happy.

Episode 18: Our Indefinite Break

2013-03-27T00:54:00.002-04:00

We continue talking about various FOs, WIPs, and Stashquisitions.