Bronx dress for the first day of school

After seeing SBCC's new cowl-neck addition to the Bronx dress pattern, I couldn't resist.  I loved the look of a classic skater dress with a bit dressier neckline and elbow length sleeves.  If I were teaching, this style would be perfect every day....

But instead of teaching a lecture, this past Monday was my first day at WVC as a full-time student!   And I was lucky enough that the weather was (temporarily) warm enough to wear a dress without tights!  Yay!

I so appreciate that SBCC's patterns are drafted for us petite ladies.  It's so nice not to have to shorten bodices and hems!  However, when I sewed up the appropriate size (XS), the bodice didn't fit well across the shoulders (sorry, no photos!).  After looking at the pattern a bit, it seemed like the back armholes were a bit deep, at least for my broad back, so I took apart the bodice (cutting away the serged edges) and recut the back bodice to have a wider upper back.  It fits so much more nicely, but it could still use a bit more work.  It also looks like I need a swayback adjustment there!

I lucked out and ordered just the right fabric for this dress: midnight navy rayon-nylon ponte knit from Mood.  The weight is great for its structure and coverage, and it sewed up beautifully, but it's fairly thick, so the cowl isn't as drapey as it might be with lighter fabrics.  I also unwittingly matched the sample shown at the SBCC website.... :)

In the future, I'll alter the pattern a bit to increase the drape when working with this type of thick fabric.  (Notice my rainbow heart "Nicole" pin?  That's totally vintage 80s right there.)

The dress is an unbelievably fast sew, especially since I totally cheated and decided not to hem the skirt or sleeves.   Shh....I even left the back neckline unbound!  This type of fabric could handle it, since bias binding the neckline would have been super bulky.

I LOVE this dress!  I felt put together and comfortable all day, which made it so much easier to learn stuff :)  

Dress rain jacket with silk lining

My favorite "dress" rain jacket is now about 12 years old.  Despite its age, the lovely aqua color is still in style and fit is still so good...however, there are stains and discolorations that dry cleaning can't fix.  As sad as it is, I think it's time to pitch it.  Well, this is one of those times when I'm so, so grateful to be able to sew.  While my new version doesn't replicate that exact jacket, it's definitely a reasonable replacement.

I am a huge fan of this Burda Style pattern (B6747), especially after seeing the final product.  First off, it's actually designed for petites!  I didn't make a single petite adjustment (though the sleeves could be taken up by 1/2"...)   I sewed a straight size 10 and it fits well, with enough room for a sweater underneath.  The silhouette is obviously not fitted, but has a slight a-line shape.

The pattern has some thoughtful details, such as side seams moved forward to allow for a more ergonomic placement of the pockets, a different pattern piece for the upper and under collar (important for a good roll), and a collar "stand" that also contributes to the pleasant shape.

  

The original instructions call for a faux button over snaps.  I hadn't planned ahead for bound buttonholes, and I don't have the skills or gimp to hand finish a button hole, so I went along with the written directions.  However, I wanted to cover the male side of the snap, to make it slightly less obvious when worn open.  If you didn't see it the other day, I posted a little tutorial for covering snaps when working with thick fabric.

Horn buttons from Britex!

Yep, the green color is a bit bold.  Online it looked more "spring green" but in person it looks more "shamrock green".  Regardless, the color is definitely growing on me.  It's from Mood and listed as a water-resistant cotton canvas, intended for outdoor cushions and whatnot, but it is a great weight for this type of jacket. 

The jacket has a full lining and to up the luxury, I went with another bold choice--apricot gingham silk taffeta (also from Mood)!   I know the colors aren't a perfect match, but it was so beautiful and spring-y, I couldn't resist! 

Here are the jacket innards.  The sleeve hems are sewing on the machine (using a bag-type method) but I hand sewed the hem, with a pleat for the lining.

Action pleat in the lining! 

Overall, I am thrilled with my new jacket.  I love color, the vaguely vintage style and the lining just makes me happy.  I would be happy to make this pattern over and over again, as my jackets get worn out. Bring on the rain (but just for like, a day, please :)  

Pacific leggings (for all that exercising I do)

So I'm not the most regular exerciser, and if I do anything these days it's either walking or cycling.  I might not bother making "performance wear" (quotes required to indicate my decidedly lack of performance while wearing anything), particularly leggings, if it weren't for for a buy-one-get-one pattern sale at Sewaholic a while back, and recently purchasing too much dri-fit performance knit from Mood.  Tack on that I'm anticipating doing some serious hiking this weekend at Big Trees State Park and in a couple of weeks in Alaska, and this project skipped to the head of the queue.

Okay, wow.  First off, I made leggings!  Second, they are awesome!  The pattern (Pacific leggings by Sewaholic) is easy and interesting, with the seam that wraps around the leg and the optional back pocket for your phone, chapstick, or FitBit.  I went with view C, with the pocket from B.  The main body of the leggings are size 0, grading up to 2-4 at the waistband. They might be a touch tight, but I guess that's what keeps them up!

The wide waistband makes the waist pretty comfortable, with an extra layer to hold stuff in.  In the future, I might lengthen the rise of the tights, since I'm an old lady.  However, these leggings are yet another stellar pattern from Tasia at Sewaholic.

Back pocket!  Brilliant.  It perfectly fits my moderately sized phone, and while it's a bit bulky back there, the blame can fall squarely on the phone.

For the construction, I wanted the look of decorative topstitching on the seams, but I'm not sure my coverstitch machine would do it properly.  So, I sewed all the seams on my serger, wrong sides together.  Then, I pressed the serged edge to one side and stitched it down with with a straight stitch.

It's important to be symmetrical with the direction in which you press the seams, since it's so visible!

Here's an inside shot of the crotch gusset (above).  I was able to serge the edges in two passes, which worked well.  Since all of the seams are sewn with the seam allowance on the outside, the inside seams are super smooth and lovely (see below)!

 I might have to go out and actually exercise in these babies!  

50 shades of gray (topstitching)

And by 50, I mean 3...I was a lazy, lazy sewer and didn't change out my bobbin when I realized that it was not the same as my thread, and then when I ran out of the thread, I didn't have the same color--so yeah, three shades of gray thread were used and you can see ALL of them as topstitching in various locations.  I suck, but I've already worn the skirt so I clearly don't care too much about it!

I've used this pattern (vintage Butterick 4309) once before, and I wear that skirt quite frequently.  It is a bit heavier, so it can span 3 out of 4 seasons here in NorCal.  For this version, however, I wanted to make something more versatile, in a lighter weight fabric for the summer.  And after learning so much about fibers and fabrics in my current Fabric Analysis class at WVC, I ended up being wooed by a chambray Tencel (darn, sold out!) from Mood.  I've definitely never worked with Tencel before, and I don't do manufactured fibers very often, but this was a pretty easy-to-handle substrate.  It was a bit lighter than I expected, and not as wrinkle-resistant as this fabric is generally know for, but I think it makes a good wrap skirt. I can see some faint pilling on the inside already, so I don't know what to make of that.  I'm skeptical about manufactured fibers, so I'll be critically evaluating the longevity of this one for sure.

So on a normal day, this skirt would have taken 2 hours, tops, to sew, but I spent at least that long just adjusting the fit.  For a wrap skirt, that's just dumb!  The pockets weren't laying right, so I had to rip them out and redo them multiple times.  I'm not sure the pattern was drafted to account for the fact that the skirt will actually wrap around a body, so I'll make some adjustments in the future.

Oh, I also lost the waistband pattern piece, so I had to redraft.  I opted for a slightly narrower waistband for both stylistic and fabric conservation reasons.

I've got so many projects in the works, now that I'm done teaching for a while.   I'm excited to be able to spend more time at my machines, and I've got an actual spreadsheet of all the projects I have to complete.  Now if only I can stick to my proposed deadlines!

Katie of The Creative Counselor is planning a Back 2 Basics week in the second half of April.  This skirt is a workhorse-type of basic in my wardrobe, so I'm getting a bit of a jump on the it all!

What I made to wear to the French Laundry

Spoiler alert: I didn't wear this outfit (insert sad face).

When I found out we had gotten highly-sought after reservations to the French Laundry, I immediately knew I wanted to wear something me-made.  After all, I was so proud of having worn a complete handmade outfit to Quince for my birthday.  But other than men having to wear a jacket, there isn't a lot of guidelines for what to wear to a 3-Michelin star restaurant.  So, I decided to try my hand at sequins...sequins are always fancy, right?

The fabric I selected online wasn't what I expected in person, and holding the length up to my body, I immediately saw the 70s (and not in a good way).  So my uncertainty of the taste-level of the fabric planted the seed of doubt into my mind.  My initial style plan was a simple A-line type dress.  Well, the dress length only accentuated the 70s-ishness of the outfit, so I scraped that idea and went with a simple top and navy slim pant outfit idea.

Sewing sequined fabric sucks.  We all know you have to remove the paillettes from the seam allowance, but you really do actually have to remove all the paillettes from the seam allowances. That took significantly longer than sewing the top.  The linear arrangement of square paillettes made matters so much worse (diagonal seams and darts were impossible).  I couldn't take it anymore, so I finished the neck, sleeve, and hem allowance with shimmery gold HugSnug.  I felt like this was a good solution, but the seed in my mind was growing and growing ("my garment is slap together!", kept running through my mind).  But, I figured with the right accessories, it might still be okay.  On to the pants!

I used the Amazing Fit slim pant pattern (Simplicity 1696) and this fabric from Mood for a pair of chic slim pants.  They turned out okay--not perfect.  But hey, I have these fab velvet heels to fancy it all up!

Our dinner reservations were at 5:30, and we were staying a 5 minute walk to the restaurant.  I dressed in my outfit but at 5:17, I got too nervous to wear a "handmade pants outfit" to the French Laundry and I quickly threw on my Plan B.  Plan B is NOT homemade, but designed by one of my favorites, Byron Lars (with the same awesome shoes):  

Between my uncertainty of the outfit, the grandeur of the restaurant's reputation, and the fact that I feel much more confident, stylish, and myself in a dress, I chickened out!  However, after seeing what other folks were wearing, I felt sad and disappointed that I didn't wear my own outfit.  It would have been perfectly appropriate, and even pretty cute, I think.  And much more comfortable.   By the end of the 8 course meal (and 7 desserts), I felt (and probably looked) like a stuffed sausage.  

So...unfortunately, the memory of our lovely experience at the amazing French Laundry now has a tinge of disappointment in myself for being a wuss.  Ugh.  We'll just have to go back again so I can supplant that memory with a new one (in which I proudly wear something homemade and tell the server that I don't like lamb!).  

Undocumented Garments of 2015

I don't need to review my year to recognize that I didn't blog a lot this year!   I sewed a lot less and had a lot less time to take photos and write posts, just in general.  But I sewed more than I reported, so instead of reviewing my "hits and misses" of 2015, I decided to post a photo or two of each garment I didn't blog about when I made it.  I just spent an hour digging through my wardrobe and photographing them all.  So, ladies and gentlemen, here are my Undocumented Garments of 2015.

Blouse and pants (made in June, worn to my birthday dinner at Quince in SF)

Blouse pattern: Myrtle, cropped by Colette Patterns
Blouse fabric: Britex Fabrics (not available online)
Pant pattern: self drafted
Pants fabric: Mood Fabrics (no longer available)

Summer top (made in July, first worn during our vacation in upstate NY)

Blouse pattern: self drafted
Blouse fabric: Britex Fabrics (no longer available)

Spotty blouse (made in August, first worn to my son's birthday party)

Blouse pattern: Alma blouse (with sleeve alteration) by Sewaholic
Blouse fabric: purchased in person at Hart's Fabric

Chambray shirt-dress (made in October, first worn to travel back to NY for my 20 year high school reunion!)

Dress pattern: elongated Granville button down, by Sewaholic

Dress fabric: Harts Fabric

Flannel PJ bottoms (made in October, I think)

Pants pattern: self drafted
Pants fabric: Harts Fabric (no longer available)

Funnel-neck dress (made in the fall sometime--maybe November?)

Dress pattern: vintage McCalls 2506
Dress fabric: Mood Fabrics

Lace-front top (made in December, to look "fancy" while spending way too much time outside on the playground with the kids)

Top pattern: Linden top, by Grainline
Top fabric: Mood fabrics (French terry and lace)

Silk peplum blouse (made in Nov/Dec as a muslin)

Blouse pattern: self drafted
Blouse fabric: vintage silk, purchased on Etsy

I didn't just sew garments that weren't documented!  Here are two Christmas gifts:

Jewelry roll (made in December, for my mother)

Roll pattern: Modkid 
Roll fabric: Tweed from FabMo, with some scraps from my stash

Waxed canvas shaving bag (made in December, for my husband)

Bag pattern: adapted from Thread Theory tutorial
Bag fabric and notions: Thread Theory kit

In 2016, I've already sewn a few garments.  I'll try to post photos before 2017 :)  Happy New(ish) Year!