2013

I am not planning to make any resolutions this year but I do have some ideas on what I want to accomplish. I have sewn 1 knit top this year and really enjoyed it. I'll write more about that separately. I want to sew with knits this year because they are so comfortable and warm. I would also like to make some pants, a couple blouses and a simple jacket. I've read sewing blogs for a couple years now, and am looking forward to connecting with other bloggers. I'll have pictures for the next post.

New skirt

I haven't posted in quite a while. I did work on a couple projects. I made a quick costume for a birthday party (shout out to Michele!) including a red knit hat. I liked it better than I thought I would. I'll post some pictures of is soon-ish. I also worked on modifying a prom dress for my younger daughter, Shannon. It didn't work out as planned and I bought her a dress which was beautiful. Maybe next year! I'd really like to make some nicer dresses after a bit of practice. My goal would be to make a dress I really like for me in time for my brother's wedding next year. I think it is do-able!

I didn't quite finish the brown skirt I started and showed on my previous post. I put in the invisible zipper, but finishing the top edge has eluded me. A regular zipper finishes quite easily. what to do? Well, I am going to join a skirt sew a long that A Fashionable Stich is sponsoring! I think this will really help as there will be other people sewing the same thing and I will be able to ask questions and can post pictures as I go along. Then, hopefully, I can finish the brown skirt!

Almost done!

I'm nearly done with my skirt! I still need to sew the head and hand finish around the zipper. I'm including a few pictures of the skirt on the table now but will model it when I get finished. I was surprised when I tried it on last night how plain it is. I loved the brown and wanted a plain skirt but am not sure it is really the best color for me. I'll see what I have to go with it when I'm done.

This is my first invisible zipper! It went in relatively painlessly but I am still working on hand sewing down the top of the zipper so I can fold the seam allowance down.

I actually zigzagged the edges of most of my pieces so that I wouldn't have a bunch of it unraveling. As you can see, this fabric frays a lot so I either need to do something else to the edges or make a closer zigzag. I might try French seams next time.

Skirt snags

The first snag on the skirt showed up pretty quickly. I cut the pattern pieces out and prepped them. After adding the cute pleat pieces, I got down to the tough part: sewing to see if it would fit. The pattern directions recommend sewing 1" seam allowances on the right and left sides all the way from the bottom to the top. This meant that I had to remember to keep the seam allowance for the yoke to 5/8". I sewed the side seams inside out as instructed. This is so that you can see the side seams when you try it on. I'm not sure that that approach is very helpful to me since I had 1" pieces of fabric showing. So, I tried it on and as I expected, the waist was too small at the top. This is where I start to learn to fit. Since the yoke is curved and I am not, I just sort of sewed a straight line from about the widest part of my hips to the largest part of the yoke. It did work in that now the waist fits me about where it is supposed to do. I think all I need to do is take the yoke apart and cut a new one with the new dimensions. Hope that works! Next will be fixing the hips. My hips don't go out much, so I need to take in some fabric from the back side, but I might need to add some to the front so that the seam on the side stays straight. I keep reminding myself that future skirts (and maybe dresses) should be easier because I am figuring this out and NOT giving up!

Skirt Decision

Since I decided to make a skirt next, I have been trying to decide which pattern to use. I have a hard time trying to make things fit the way I want them to so I decided to go with a skirt pattern from Simplicity's Amazing Fit collection. I like this skirt because it has separate pieces for a curvy fit (which I am so not), an average fit and a slim fit. The terminology throws me a bit here. I am not a slim person but I don't carry my weight in my hips. I decided to go with the slim fit. The front pattern pieces are the same for each of the different hip styles and the back pieces are slightly different. I've cut out the correct pieces and am going to iron them today and then start looking for my fabric. The envelope recommends several kinds of fabrics that are all fairly light weight. I assume so that it drapes nicely. I'll be looking for a lightweight denim, wool, or gabardine.

Over the weekend, I, Karen's insanely nerdy daughter, Shannon, whom she adores very much, went to Naka-Kon, an anime convention! I cosplayed (a combination of the words "costume" and "roleplay") the vampire Alucard from the series Hellsing. That's me in the flamboyant red and no, I don't sparkle. Google him if you like. He's a creeper. We call him "Ala Carte."
The coat, hat, and tie are homemade. The tie was actually a hasty, day before/of con project. The hat is felt with stiff interfacing holding the crown up and heavy floral wire holding the brim out.
The coat, which got quite hot (>.< agh! Sunday was "casual Alucard" where I took off the coat and unbuttoned the vest most of the time we walked around), is a linen (or linen-like, we aren't sure) material, which isn't that weird orangey color the group shot makes it look like.
Oh, featured in that group shot are Father Alexander Anderson, Alucard's crazy rival/nemesis dude with the bayonets, and TWO Seres Victorias, one before and one after she gets awesome. I envy that gun-cannon-thing (the Harkonnen).

(Now, to take back the sewing blog from Shannon:) Shannon enjoyed her coat and hat very much and I had fun making them for her. I'll post more construction shots later.

(Shan's pics of her and her friends' shenanigans are on Deviantart if viewers are so inclined to visit: www.spaztastics.deviantart.com.)

Have a great day!

Makeup Brush Holder

I finished something today! I saw a darling makeup brush holder on Louise's blog (vintagegiraffe.blogspot.com) and since I will be traveling soon, I decided to make one similar to it. I used items I had on hand. The red fabric was from a yard I bought at a quilt shop because it was cute. I had no idea what I would do with it. the light blue seam binding was all I had that wasn't a shade of red that clashed with the fabric. It was unfortunately only a quarter inch wide. Next time I will use wider seam binding. It was really very difficult to get it to stay on the edge of the fabric. I'm sure there are easier and neater ways to do this, but I am happy with the result and very happy that I finished it!