New Patterns

Okay, I think it's time I jumped on the bandwagon and throw in a post about new patterns I'm excited about.  Normally, I don't come across stuff that gets me this excited.  My first choice proves that I'm a huge dork.  One-piece pajamas!  OMG!!!  I once drafted myself a jumpsuit because I wanted one so badly.  Perhaps this year, instead of making myself a new pair of PJ pants (along with the 9 pairs I'm making for Christmas gifts), I can make myself a new jumpsuit!  *squeal!*  I can't tell you how excited I am about this!  

McCall's 6251

I'm almost as excited about pattern number 2.  I love anything asymmetrical, and I love really graphic design lines.  This skirt is super awesome.  It reminds me of a top I made many moons ago that had external darts.  This one is way cooler, though.

Butterick 5566

And just for fun, I thought this dress was really cute.  Again, asymmetrical design lines.  

Butterick 5559

And last but not least, I love this vest.  I'm a big fan of vests and anything you can zip up as an extra layer.  I plan on making lots of different types of vests or zippy hoodie shirts, sweaters, and jackets.  This one is kinda dressy, but I love it.  And I don't have much shape in my hips, so the peplum effect would work on me.  I love the design lines on the back.

Vogue 1214

Now all I have to do is wait for each brand name of these patterns to go on sale.  I'm totally making the PJ jumpsuit first, though.  So excited!  I thought they would never come up with a PJ jumpsuit!  Nice to see someone at McCall's has a sense of humour.  Now I just have to keep my eyes peeled for some extremely obnoxious flannel.  Tee hee!  Merry Christmas to me!

Scott's White Shirt & Halloween Costume - Oct 2010

My brother Scott was easy on me for Halloween this year.  We basically up-cycled his costume from last year.  Here's a reminder.  I made him a shirt, pants, and a jacket.

He decided to use the same outfit, but he wanted a new white shirt.  Here's a close up of his shirt from last year.

Out of the whole outfit, the shirt fit him the best.  I made the whole suit from vintage patterns.  

I got all the hard work out of the way last year when I graded this shirt pattern from a 34 chest to a 46.  It fit him perfectly; all I had to do was lower the armhole by an inch.  And of course, I added extra length to the sleeves and hem.  (He's 6'8" - perfect candidate for custom sewing) It has a really nice shape.  It's not just a rectangle, it's slightly tapered at the waist.  Those dudes back in the 70's sure knew how to dress!

I bought some nice white cotton poplin and it sewed up wonderfully.  The printed stuff from last year was quilting cotton.  The poplin was even better, but then again, it's kinda designed for shirts and stuff, isn't it?  The sewing went really well.  I felt like I was flying through everything, but it still took me 6 hours from start to finish.  I liked that I didn't have to measure anything.  It fit perfectly last time, so I didn't have to double check the fit or anything.

I hope you can see how good the fit is.  It looks even better in person.  I don't think I could have done a better job if I had drafted it from scratch.  What a lucky pattern!  I can't wait to make him more.  Except the next ones will have a slightly smaller collar.  Those wing tips go all the way to his shoulders!

Here is the Disco Vampire look he came up with.  The makeup is a little intense, but he informed me that it was exaggerated because he would be in a dark bar all night.  Oh, and I took in his suit a little more this year.  It was a bit boxy.  Now it fits him nice and snug.  Pretty spiffy!

Happy Halloween!

This is the first time since college that my hubby has dressed up for Halloween.  And for myself, it's the first time I've dressed up to actually go out.  I usually just dress up for work.  It was so much fun!  Tyler found a mullet wig, an old hat that said "Tomato Festival '85", and a red plaid flannel coat.  He makes a pretty cute redneck!  And I gotta say, for how obnoxious it was, I was really digging the mullet!

I wore my gypsy costume that I made 6 years ago.  This is the first time I've worn it since that year!  I lent it to my mom a couple times, and to 2 other people.  I didn't like how the vest cuts off at the waist (not flattering on a short-waister like me), but by wearing my corset underneath, I solved that problem.  I tried it with a blonde wig this time, instead of the black one I wore before.  I don't think gypsies are supposed to be blonde, but what the heck, I still looked cute.  

Here are some of my favorite costumes from that night.

Fiona & Shrek

Roman couple

Marie Antoinette

Men's costume contest

It was a really fun night.  I can't wait to make more costumes!  I already have one in the works (started it 3 years ago!), and I really want to finish it.  I also need to make something for Tyler.   

And just for fun, here are a couple pictures I took of a house in our neighbourhood.  They always have this ghoul hanging over their door (the one on the right), but they went all out this year and filled their whole front yard with creatures and scary things.

 I was particularly tickled by this poor lady.  I thought you guys would get a kick out of her too.  

 I don't know about you, but every once in a while, I work so hard on a big project, that I feel like this when I'm done.  Let's remember her and remind ourselves to take it easy!  Sewing is supposed to be fun!

  I hope everyone had fun on Halloween!

Amy's Black Vinyl Corset - Vogue 2810

This is probably the coolest thing I've ever made.  A few months back, I was daydreaming about how many different ways I could make corsets, because I wanted to start selling them.  One day in the upholstery shop, I was sewing some vinyl pieces together and topstitching them (which is one of my favorite things), and I got inspired to make a vinyl corset!  I immediately dreamed up the colour combo: black vinyl with red topstitching and a red zipper.  Amy immediately came to mind.  We took Fashion Production together in College, and she was always dressing gothic.  Almost everything she wears is black, and she loves to throw in a little red to spice things up.  I thought this would be perfect for her!  This is essentially a trial run to see if the vinyl would be usable in a corset.  Turns out, it works!  

I rifled through the giant stash of vinyl at my dad's upholstery shop, and I found this satiny slippery black vinyl that wasn't too heavy or too thin.  I borrowed some red upholstery thread, and I went home and got to work.  I wasn't sure if my Juki industrial would be able to handle the vinyl like my dad's heavy duty upholstery machines can, but I tried it out, and everything was great.  Heavier vinyl probably wouldn't work as well, but this weight seems to do the trick.  It's so cool.  It looks like something batman would wear.

Here is the inside layer of denim and interfacing.  The boning is sewn to this layer.  The bust is a size too small.  I let out the bust a full 2".  Also, the zipper is too low.  When I sewed the zipper in right up to the top edge, it zipped up perfectly.  I was a little wary of how tight the vinyl was when I sewed it together.  Thankfully, it has a bit of stretch to it, and when everything was finished, I finally relaxed and knew it was going to fit.  

I am so thrilled at how this corset turned out.  Amy is just as ecstatic as I am.  She's wearing it for Halloween.  I can't wait to see what she's come up with!  As soon as I get her glammed-up photos, I'll post them.  

Brown Satin Dress - Simplicity 2401

I made this dress for Nina to wear to her brother's wedding.  We went fabric shopping together, and she picked the pattern and the fabric (with my 2 cents thrown in, of course!).

Simplicity 2401

The bodice is lined in cotton broadcloth, and the skirt is a slinky polyester satiny fabric that we found in the bargain bin.  I gotta say, I'm loving the contrast of the funky skirt!

Lining

 I love pleats!  There are 3 pleats on each bust piece.  I am loving how nice they look and how much more forgiving they are than darts in regards to fit.  Not to mention that they are so much faster and easier to sew than darts.

Finished Dress

I used the lining as my muslin.  I had to make a few minor changes.  I chose a size 14 based on the finished garment measurements.  The only measurement provided was the bust, so I didn't know what the waist or the hips would be.  I had to let out the waist/top of hips a bit, and I did a 1 1/2" swayback adjustment.  I also shorted the bodice 1" at the waist seam.

 The back of the bodice of this dress was kinda weird, so I changed it completely.  They have you make an elasticized section at the center back, and there's no zipper.  Judging by how snug it fits at the waist seam, I don't see how you could pull it on without a zipper.  I created a seam at the center back and put in an invisible zipper.

I originally put in side seam pockets, but when Nina tried the dress on, they flipped out funny.  So I sewed them shut.  Problem solved.

 I was pleasantly surprised that this dress went together very easily.  The design was very simple, and it practically sewed itself!

Burda 7866 - Kimono Sleeve Top

 Last week, Fabricland finally had a sale on Vogues and Burdas, so I bought a handful of each that I've been wanting.  Among the Burdas was this top.  I wasn't planning on making this anytime soon, but as I was reading through each of my new patterns, I noticed that this one was really easy.  So, I decided to be spontaneous and whip myself up a top.  This is the second thing I've made for myself this year.  I figured I deserved to try this "instant gratification" thing that everyone's been raving about.

Burda 7866

I bought this fabric from the bargain section at Fabricland sometime last year.  I was planning on making a long-sleeved V-neck top with it, but I wasn't particularly keen on it.  I decided it would be good to use for my first trial of this pattern, as I wouldn't be heartbroken if it didn't turn out.

 This top took me 2 hours and 5 minutes to make.  For me, that's amazing.  But I could have saved myself a ton of time by simply serging my seams instead of stretch-stitching and then serging.  Back when I was 18 and had my first serger, I thought it was the most wonderful thing ever invented and I rarely ever used my sewing machine.  I sewed all my funky cotton pants with serged seams, and they held up just fine.  Once I went to college, I discovered that the proper way to sew seams is to sew them first and then serge them.  It's certainly more accurate, but for a project like this, it wouldn't matter if my seams weren't perfect.  Anyways, to make a long story short, next time I will simply serge my seams, and hopefully cut my time in half.

 I was so impressed with the accurate fit of my Burda cargo capris that I cut and sewed the size 18 again.  I didn't make any alterations.  The only thing I fiddled with was how much to hem the sleeves and the bottom.  I wasn't liking how it was fitting at the hips, so I folded the bottom up 3", and it was much better.  I hemmed the sleeves 1 1/2".  I hemmed both with the coverstitch on my serger.

 I love how taking pictures of yourself makes you less judgemental of the little things.  When I first put my top on, I wasn't sure how I felt about it.  This top would probably be nicer in a drapier knit.  Nevertheless, once I saw a few pictures, I fell in love with it.  I love the neckline, the sleeves, and how it hugs me just right at the hips.  

 I'm inspired to make a few more of these.  I've been living in jeans and t-shirts for the past year, since I left the Bridal House and embarked on my new career of upholstery and seamstressing.  This top is close enough to a t-shirt that I feel comfortable wearing it around the house, and it's dressy enough to help ease me into the idea of embracing my funky fashion sense more often.

 I probably won't make another one of these right away, as I have a few more wardrobe basics that I want to tackle first, but knowing that it'll take me just over an hour to whip out another one makes it very enticing.

 Burda has won me over once again!  Garment #2 for 2010 is a success!  Bring on the sewing bug!

Simplicity 2442 - Bolero Jacket for Rita

I did alterations on a green/brown printed chiffon dress for Rita a while ago, and she asked if I could make her a matching jacket.  I wasn't sure if I had any patterns for a cropped jacket, since I've never looked for one myself, but it turned out that I had 2 patterns in my stash.  Both of them came with dress patterns.  Rita chose Simplicity 2442.  I liked the details of this pattern.  I love the darts that extend into the stand collar, and I like the gathering at the top of the sleeves.

Simplicity 2442 - View F

We went fabric shopping at Fabricland and found a nice green satin for the jacket, and since it was fairly thin, I decided to use the cheaper, stiffer polyester lining to give it more body, rather than the thin and drapey rayon Bemberg lining.  Besides, it was cheaper.  Easy decision.

The pattern I had started at size 14, and I wasn't sure if Rita would be smaller than that.  She's tall, so like me, she's bigger than she looks.  She measured up an inch smaller than the 14, but she says she has broad shoulders, so I was comfortable using the 14.  It fit perfectly at the shoulders, with enough ease that she can pull her arms forward and not be constricted.  I took in the side seams and center back seam 1" each at the waist.

The dart/collar construction was very easy.  I love it when cool designs come together so simply.


The lining is only meant for the bodice, not the sleeves, but since the satin was so thin, I decided to beef it up and line the sleeves as well.  I didn't use the sleeve facings, as I only had one day to make this jacket (including a lining fitting at noon), so I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to finish the sleeves properly.  I just turned them under an inch and topstitched.

I was quite impressed with this jacket!  Being short-waisted, I would never even consider wearing a bolero jacket.  I decided to have some fun and try it on.  As an 18, it was obviously too small for me, but I squeezed it on anyways. ("fat guy in a little coat", tee hee!)  I loved it!  I even like the gathered sleeves!  I think it would look really cute in black satin to wear with dresses, or even with jeans and boots.  And, I confirmed that I would definitely need to make it a size 18, because going up only one size definitely wouldn't cut it.   I love when I get to try on styles I normally wouldn't think of.  That's one of the perks of sewing for others.