Flint wide-legged trousers

I've finished teaching until the Fall (!!), but a few months ago, I was in need of some work-appropriate items.  Enter the Flint trouser by Megan Nielsen.  This style is a bit of a departure for my normal slim-legged pant wardrobe, but it's kind of refreshing (and certainly comfortable).  

The pattern itself is simple, as far as pants go.  There isn't a zipper, so to open the waistband, there's a clever opening system (buttons at the side, which transition into the pocket). 

Since I was kind of loving the sailor-inspired buttons on the side, I matched them on the other side, complete with non-functional "buttonholes".

The legs are definitely wide, and the width starts at the butt.  I need to somehow reduce the crotch length a bit for the next go around, since there's a little *extra* fabric in there.

And for the record, the back seam is sewn correctly--I must just have shifted them around a bit, so it looks funny in the photos!

 The fabric (stretch double weave cotton in Charcoal) is from Hart's and is really quite perfect for this particular style.  It has some weight, but is still a bit drapey.  I definitely enjoyed sewing with it and it's very lovely to wear.

Overall, I like the pattern a LOT.  There are some minor fit issues, but the style is fun and different and a good addition to my wardrobe.  I'm looking forward to trying the shorts version, perhaps with the waist bow, for the summer!

Liberty blouse knock-off

I've been hoarding this piece of Liberty lawn for ages.  Since I didn't have a set plan when I purchased it, the ideas of what I could sew with it have run the gamut: pajama bottoms, dirndl skirt, button down shirt...  However, browsing through the J. Crew website the other day, I found a blouse in the exact fabric, with a really cute and summery design.  Done!  Here's the inspiration piece:

Analyzing the garment, I figured the blouse was a simple pull-over with no closures.  My recently drafted shift dress had the right general shape, so I shortened that to hip-level and removed the back zip.  There are ruffles at the neck and top armholes, and looked to be just gathered rectangles with baby hems.  Easy enough!

I faced the neckline and front slit because I didn't want the ruffles to weigh down the super light fabric, but I used matching bias to finish the armholes.

The shape is slightly fitted with French fish eye darts, but plenty roomy to be comfortable and cool.

Even though I'm typically not a "ruffle person", I'm pretty psyched about how this knock-off blouse turned out!  

I wore it for my birthday to the Berkeley Botanical Garden and Chez Panisse and loved it!  I have to say, I dread washing it for fear of what I'll have to do to get the ruffles looking lovely again, but I've got one more wearing before I have to cross that bridge :)  

Graduation dress in summery eyelet

After three and a half years of very part-time classes at West Valley College, I finally graduated a week ago with my A.S. in Apparel Production!  Since I made a new dress for my very first day of class at WVC, it was only fitting that I drape, draft, and sew the dress in which I accept my degree.

Not only did I just graduate, but tomorrow is my 40th birthday (!).  Both events together feel kind of momentous and I'm feeling all nostalgic...forgive me while I wander through my sewing history!  Of course, it all starts with my mom.  I have been sewing for about 35 years, thanks to my mother who would give me buttons to sew onto felt while she sewed our clothes.  She gave me my start down this path and I still chat with her about sewing regularly.

I sewed clothing in high school for myself (as well as one for my older sister, who doesn't sew) including my high school graduation dress. While looking for photos of that one, I stumbled on what I believe to be the oldest documented garment sewn by me, worn to the "Sophomore Soiree" as a 15 year old.  That is definitely quilting cotton.  How far I've come in 25 years!

I would wager I was the only undergrad at Trinity College (Hartford, CT) to have a sewing machine in their dorm room, and I sewed through graduate school at Cornell (when I should have been reading research papers).  Sewing has been such a big part of my life, yet I majored in Biology and then Plant Biology, never once considering to study fashion or apparel production.  I'm not even sure I knew that was a thing at the time!

So even though I have a few other degrees, this one feels particularly special to me--it kind of honors my life-long "hobby" and those that have influenced and encouraged it all these years.  And now it's official--this degree means I can sew clothes!  Thanks to my instructors, Tiina Keller, Sally Aitken, and Kaee Minn.  They are all amazing.

As it turns out, there is a lot more in common with Plant Biology and Fashion than you might expect and I could envision a career in that zone of commonality if I didn't love teaching so much.  So, back to the lecture hall and lab next Fall.  I'll be thinking about and researching "normal" and sustainable pattern design in my free time.

You want to hear about the dress now? Okay, enough nostalgia!  First up, let's talk about this fabric. The amazing eyelet from Britex just had to be the star of the garment, so a simple silhouette was the way to go.   I draped the simple sheath dress (with French darts in the front and fish eye darts in the back) on my personal dress form, tested the half drape, transferred to paper, tested the full garment in muslin, and sewed the dress in one day!  Phew!  

I'm particularly pleased with how well the back armhole fits, thanks in full to the tiny, nearly invisible shoulder dart.  Such an under-utilized feature of garments these days, shoulder darts are. 

To maintain my modesty in this open eyelet and keep it comfortable in potentially hot weather, I chose to underline the dress in muslin.  The arm and neck holes are finished with muslin bias binding.

Check out my pattern matching on the back.  It was mostly good fortune, but I'll happily claim to have meticulously planned it!

Here's a photo of the dress on Graduation Day with my two boys, and another of me in my robe and mortarboard (dress hiding underneath).   

A big thank you to Britex for providing the fabric for this special project, and for believing in me over 4 years ago when they invited me to be a Britex Blogger.  I definitely gained skills, inspiration, and confidence as a sewist as a result of my time working with them!  

Finally, as a combined graduation and 40th birthday gift, I am continuing my education for a little while longer; I will be spending the month of July in Paris while I take classes in Couture Techniques at the Paris American Academy!   No, I couldn't get any luckier and I'm fully aware of that.  

Quilt finished!

Quilting really isn't my thing; I've made a handful of quilts over the years and while I have been really proud of the resulting blankets, it's not something I enjoy very much.  So, clearly, making a new dress or blouse has taken priority over a long-term quilting project!

On the spare bed for a moment

Truthfully, I had intended to make a quilt for my younger son when he moved into a "big boy" bed. But that was about 4 years ago.... However, with an impending long trip away from my kids, there was an impetus to get that project off the queue.  Finally buckled down and got it done!  Phew!

The pattern I used was "New Wave" by Elizabeth Hartman.  Such a simple, modern and beautiful design!  I can imagine it in tonal solids for an adult bed.  But for this one, I chose 19 different prints (over the years I've swapped some out as I've found new and exciting prints) that had a similar color scheme to the quilt I made for my older son.

Since the blocks are trapezoidal, cutting was not quick!  Then there was the perpetual fear of stretching along the near-bias of the slanted edges, so sewing was not the quickest, either.  It was also not trivial to line up all those diagonal lines!  However, the result is totally worth it.  Love!

Since the only thing worse than sewing the quilt piece together is the actual quilting part, I "subcontracted" that part out! Local long arm quilter, Melodee Wade, who also quilted my older son's quilt, did the work.  She does a beautiful job and in hardly any time at all!   She also trims the edges so all I had to do was apply the binding--pretty awesome.

Laid out on the kitchen floor in preparation for quilting

Melodee suggested the "bubbles" design for the quilt, which nicely complemented some of the wheels and other circles in the prints.  

The edges are finished with handmade binding, with mitered corners. 

The back is a solid orange color, with a strip of fabrics from my son's original baby bedding that I made when he was an infant.

Here's the photo of the two mom-made quilts together.  The idea was to have them coordinating but not identical.  My older son's (on the top) is a Denyse Schmidt design from her book, made about 7 years ago (before this blog).  It's shocking how much wear it is showing already, and that makes me sad.  Some of the blocks are ripping and the whole thing is very faded.  Honestly, we don't wash it that often, but clearly this isn't going to be an heirloom!  Below is a close-up of some of the worst blocks, how the quilt looks on his upper bunk, and finally what the quilt looked like originally (on Melodee's long arm machine):

C'est la vie, I guess.  Perhaps I'll be making replacements for these in the next few years!

It's such a nice feeling having this project done...now now back to clothing!

Two summer shirtdresses: M6891

I was definitely not kidding when I said I tend to sew up a pattern twice!  Since I made this two dresses just days apart, I thought I would post them together :)

The pattern is McCall's M6891.  It's a good, classic shirtdress style with a convertible collar and pockets.  I love the full skirt, waistline seam, and ungathered back (why do designers do that??). Since it's a Palmer and Pletsch pattern, there are extensive directions for tissue-fitting and adjusting the pattern. The fit I achieved on the first go-round was good enough that I didn't have to make too many changes for the second version (though the fit was slightly different...).  

So I made the checked dress first with fabric purchased at Style Maker Fabrics.  The check has "running stitches" along some of the vertical and horizontal lines, which gives the fabric a bit more personality.  Unfortunately, after washing, the stitches shrunk a little more than the rest of the fabric, which gives it an overall slightly puckered look.  I'm okay with it, but I would have been happier without the extra texture.

 I did my best to match the pattern all around, but it wasn't always successful--quel domage!

For the closures, I used navy snaps from Snap Source--they worked perfectly!

The dress is so comfortable and cool, I can't wait to wear it all summer!

I chose this amazing linen fabric (on sale right now!) from Britex for my second version.  I had purchased the fabric for another purpose, but the plan quickly changed after my first dress.  I LOVE this fabric--it's linen, and while it looks a tad "rumpled", it doesn't get the serious wrinkles that other linens can get.

I went with the sleeveless option for this version.  Normally I don't love sleeveless garments, but it seemed to fit the style of the fabric and I'm sure I'll be appreciative of the extra cooling in the dead of summer. 

Somehow, this version is a bit tighter than the other, but it's still perfectly wearable.  I'm super pleased with the back coverage and the depth of the armhole.

Again, I had to worry about pattern matching, and I made a mistake!  If you look junction of the bodice and skirt, the colors are opposite.  Oops!  

Again, I used snaps (antique brass color, again from Snap Source).  In both versions, I added hidden snaps between the visible ones around the belly area to keep the placket from gaping.  These are tiny, clear plastic ones that are just perfect for this purpose (from Dritz). 

I love these two shirtdresses and I'm certain they're going to be a staple when the weather warms up a bit!  Bring on the summer!