Hey look, a pencil skirt in a bright print–bet you haven’t seen anything like that before!
It’s the same Burda pattern that I used on all the others, and it goes together in under two hours now. The fabric is a print from designer Heather Ross’ collection inspired by fairy tales. I went with generic roses, but the Owl and the Pussycat fabric was tempting.
I have one more dress planned for summer, but lately all I can think about is fall and fall sewing–which makes me feel kind of disloyal to the season. I was secretly happy about the rain and the coolness last night. (Sorry, summer.)
sewing
Tuesday Project Roundup: Vacation Wear (I Wish)
Here’s that button-back top pattern from last month again. I tweaked the fit a little (lower neckline, longer sleeves, more room all over) and made it in a good cotton, and indeed I like it a lot more now.
I was going to add a collar, too, but I decided the print was enough. I also like how the plain neck makes it look like vacation wear from 1963:
Now I just need a vacation…
(Screenshot from Mad Men taken from the fabulous Tom and Lorenzo blog. If you’re not reading their posts on “Mad Style,” you should be.)
Tuesday Project Roundup: Sewing For Toby
Toby had a brown donut that he slept in all winter, but the velour on the top was getting ratty. So I recovered the top in a plush leopard print for him.
I debated re-doing the entire cover, but there’s a zipper all around the bottom and a zipper going in a circle seemed like more effort than it’s worth. The new top does have piping around the edge, though.
He jumped right in and had a bath, so even though it’s been too hot to sleep in it, I think he likes it.
Tuesday Project Roundup: Roman-American
I was ready for something easy after that involved sailor skirt and all the seam finishing, so what could be easier than making two big rectangles into a skirt? I think hemming all 85″ around the bottom took about as long as the rest of the sewing combined.
This is a patternless project that my mom first turned me on to, but you can find a tutorial here if you don’t have a mom who grew up in the 50s.
Every time I wear a full skirt I have to think of Roman Holiday, which has the best blouse-skirt-sandals look for summer, ever (in Rome or not).
Tuesday Project Roundup: Skirt Ahoy
Here are some pictures of the sailor skirt from last week–sorry, no action shots; the sun is so far north that the bedroom (where the full-length mirror is) doesn’t get any morning light.
It was hard enough to figure out how to assemble this, let alone make a lining for it, so I got all fancy on the seam finishes again. This front panel unbuttons to reveal a zipper and a pocket:
So the inside had a lot of seams to bind:
Ditto for the (flattering!) curvy panels on the back:
And inside:
(Obviously, I was getting bored working with plain navy so I had to add some color somewhere.)
I’m just pleased that this fits well, because there were a lot of steps to get through before I could even try it on to check the fit. Whew!
Tuesday Project Roundup: Even I Will Admit This Is Loud
I’m not afraid to wear a lot of color or to mix prints, so it’s strange that something that’s black and white makes me feel so conspicuous–while wearing green shoes, a turquoise cardigan, and a navy polka-dotted dress and carrying an orange purse doesn’t.
I think it’s the print:
The pattern is vintage; I’m guessing 1965 or 66 (check out the print they used on the left!). I left off the bow on the collar because there was already enough going on.
I’ve been trying to fancy up my finishes lately–I’ve lined all the skirts I’ve made–but I didn’t want to engineer a lining for this. So instead I finished the seam edges with bias tape. (That takes a long time, by the way.)
Now if I can get some pointy-toed kitten heels and a Moscow Mule, I’ll be set.
Tuesday Project Roundup: Jumping Back Into The Week. Also: Sleeves!
I meant to post something by Wilfred Owen yesterday in honor of Memorial Day, but the morning got away from me and I’m going to be confused about what day it is all week anyway, so…let’s move on to sewing!
This is a blouse I made in rayon; I hadn’t worked with it before and I really enjoyed it. As you can see, it’s very drapey. And it has big sleeves.
The fabric is from a designer who introduced some of his prints on apparel fabric (rayon and voile) in addition to quilting cotton. I actually used this same print on regular cotton when I made my quilt. So now I match my bedding.
Tuesday Project Roundup: More Polka Dots!
Finally, here are some halfway-decent photos of the vintage-style blouse I made a couple of weeks ago. It was fast and fun but I made it in cheap polyester print from JoAnn, so I think that is making me like it less than I would if I had made it in something a little nicer.
I do love the button-back detail, though. I have to thank this sewing blog for telling me how to put on a button-back blouse by yourself (button the middle two buttons and pull it over your head, then reach up and down to get the top and bottom ones). Genius! Who says living alone is inconvenient?
One final note: I debated looking for an actual vintage pattern, rather than paying full price for a new one, but then I read that the pattern manufacturer donates a portion of all sales to Ally Cat Allies. Sold!
Tuesday Project Roundup: Polka Dots!
I still need to get a picture of the blouse I talked about last week (which is also polka-dotted), but it’s dark AGAIN this morning so here’s a picture of the project after that, a polka dot skirt.
I found this fabric at Yellow Bird Fabrics and used a vintage pattern from my mom’s collection. It’s not a really fitted pattern so I had no problem riding my bike in it.
Toby, as you can see, is unimpressed. He just wants to go back outside. (That’s the story here Chez Meowing at any given time, actually: at 8:00 last night, 9:00 last night, 11:00 last night, 5:00 this morning, right now, etc.)
Tuesday Project Roundup: Should I Attempt Pants?
I have a finished project for this week (a blouse from this pattern, to go with pencil skirts), but it was too dark last night to get a good picture with my toy camera. So instead, let’s talk about pants:
That blouse pattern is very 40s, which is an era I love only for Raymond Chandler, but it and some sewing blogs I’ve found have had me considering a pair of high-waisted 1940’s button trousers.
I have avoided making pants because of difficulty fitting two curved tubes (vs. one mostly straight tube for a skirt), but I’m also fairly confident that Simplicity patterns fit me well. With that in mind, there’s this re-print:
Except it uses a zipper closure instead of buttons, which as I understand it is a modern tweak (it was considered unfeminine to have pants that zipped–and a fly was definitely out!).
I could also go full-on vintage, with something like this…
…but I think the potential for fit issues goes up exponentially.
I’m probably only considering pants because of the STUPID WEATHER, which should be warmer again by the weekend. So maybe I’ll stew on the pants idea for a fall project.