Thursday, January 31, 2013

Mad Men Challenge II

JuliaBobbin asks... are you in? Oh, I so want to be. It seems so unpractical. I mean, I should make things that I just need, right? I haven't even worn the LBD I made for last year's challenge. I will though. It's black, and actually work appropriate, amazingly. It's just that it's sleeveless, and of course... it's winter. How many times can I use the word it's?


Mad Men Challenge 2012
Nope, I can't resist, and the deadline is April 19. So that's workable. Plus, I have plenty of patterns, and actually a couple of possibilities that I was seriously considering from last year. Will it be shirtdress or sheath? Early 60s or late? Betty, Joan or Peggy? So stay tuned, and I'll let the challenge unfold.




mmc27

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Naughty Knits

So, I'm in the process of making Tiramisu version 2. It will be awesome. It should be done. But I suspect every sewist worth her (or his) salt, has had best laid plans go awry. A snip here, a rip there, a miscut piece. And where the hell did the facings go, right? And you only had 30 minutes and wanted to get to step 12!

Let's back up. Version 2 is going to be a thicker jersey that some of y'all would call beefy. For the record, I had that term. I love a steak any ol' time, but I don't want to wear one. I'm going to go with spongy. Which behaved in a rather unexpected way when I stitched the center front seam of the skirt. With the lightning stitch, which is a bitch to rip out, by the way.


Yep. The edges are supposed to be even. It's the bias. It's the fabric. I even used a walking foot. Ok. Fine. I put it aside to do the back, with a decision to baste first. As I basted, I decided that really a straight stitch would be fine, because I didn't have the movement when it basted. And this seam is just hanging. No real stretch needed, or even wanted really.

So, I just spent 40 minutes ripping that lightning bolt stitch out, and it's ready to re-do tomorrow. Let's see if I can finish (or get closer to finishing) tomorrow morning before work.

Have you ever had a fabric do something unexpected?

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

It's Out of the Oven! Tiramisu -- Done!

That title should probably say, Tiramisu Version 1... done! Yes, I will make more (or at least one more in the very near future).

I've been following along with the sew along, and probably averaging 30 minutes a day, but just haven't managed to sew every day. You do what you have to do, right? Initially in the sew along, I was ahead of the game, but once the actually sewing commenced, I was a couple of days behind, and that proved to be beneficial, because I was prepared for some tweaking that I may have to do. As it turned out, I ended up having some major tweaking of that underbust seam, and spent about 2 hours Sunday morning getting it right. Well, almost right, but right enough that my next version will have a cleaned up pattern piece and should, fingers crossed, work right off the bat.

So. Pictures. With commentary beneath them. And at least a couple will be posted to the Tiramisu flickr group.

  •  Black, but my work uniform color. A cotton knit from fabric.com
  • It's a top. Duh. I had about a yard of this knit, so that's all I could get, and I'm fine with that. Some of y'all might call it a wearable muslin, but I hate that term so let's just go with version 1.
  • I cut out the 35C with a 35 waist.
  • Ended up raising the underbust seam of the bodice about an inch in the center to about 2 inches at the sides.
  • The gathers worked better for me in the center. That was deliberate and not a mistake.
  • I haven't done the actual checking, but the top of the midriff piece ended up cut at about the size 30, grading out to the 35 at the natural waist.
  • ACK! I have red hair now! When did that happen? ;)
  • After seeing these pictures I might go back to bangs.
  • Oh, the top. There is one issue with the neck binding that is a mistake on my part. Will be rectified with the next version.
  • Because I had to raise the underbust seam, I had to shorten the edge of the front sleeve. It worked, but in version 2, I'll shorten the back sleeve edge and lengthen the front to make them proportional again.
  • It basically means that it feels a little weird in the armpit area, but doesn't look bad. Only I will know that.
  • I'm debating on narrowing the midriff band about half an inch.
  • Ultimately, I think it will work better as a dress. It definitely needs the weight of the skirt to pull the bodice into the proper place. Scroll down a bit for my solution.
  • Back shot. Um, there will be a little tweaking. Yep, I do see the drooping of the top midriff seam.
  • Ah, yes, the belt. This is how I'll wear it probably 100% of the time. And even though we have to wear all black at work, we're allowed to have a little fun with accessories.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Pre-Heating the Oven

The Tiramisu sew along has begun (see button in the sidebar for more info). Amazingly, I'm a little ahead of the game. I had the weekend off, so took that opportunity to do a little "pre-heating" as it were. It turns out, that was basically the instructions for Day 1 of the sew along. Good news for me, is that time-wise, Steph is many hours ahead of me in Australia, so this gives me the "class", essentially, the day before.

Of course, I've already broken some "rules". And by rules, I mean, that 1) I'm making a top, 2) out of shorter yardage, 3) I didn't use the cutting out guideline, 4) oops, I've already cut mine out, and 5) I'm not putting everything in a box. Actually, the box is a GREAT idea, and one I've used before, and will use again. It's just for this project, for me, it won't be necessary. Now, if I decide in the middle of this project, to start making my dress version, then, yep, into a box or a shopping bag the various pieces will go.

Anyway, my timer is about to ring and off I'll go to work, but here's a picture of the way I laid out and cut my fabric. While I flaunted the "rules" of the layout, note that I did pay strict attention to the way the pieces were laid out in relation to the stretch/grainline. That's one rule I'll NEVER break.


Friday, January 4, 2013

The Tiramisu Sew-Along

This time I mean it. I'm going to do this sew along. I got the pattern for Christmas, so that's a check. I have fabric. Check. The only question is do I have time. It's 30 minutes a day. Clearly I should (should is of course the operative word here) be able to handle it.



Sewingcake

It starts Monday.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Happy New Year and the Sewing Room Hangover

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

With that out of the way, I do hope that you all had a wonderful December and were able to spend time with the friends and family you love. I was able to have 4 days in a row off of work, and those days happily coincided with Christmas and a visit with daughter Laura (plus entourage). I feel like I've been so lax in blogging that I must reintroduce you to my family... that is if I have any readers left.
no sewing happening here
Anyway. I've been reading with envy what I'll collectively call the sewing blogger's 2012 round-up. Truthfully, you have all made many MANY gorgeous things, and in the last quarter, I've pretty much made bupkiss, so I haven't had the gracious feelings of awe that perhaps I should.

Do I resolve to change that? Well, I do want to make a few things, and I did get a Tiramisu for Christmas, so look for that sooner rather than later. Steph is hosting a sewalong starting next week, and I might just attempt it! She calls it 30 minutes a day, and c'mon... surely I can manage that!

I would like to blog a bit more, because I do enjoy that, but my topics may not be as sewing related as in the past. Having worked in the bridal industry for 3-1/2 months now, I have formed a few opinions, and might just share a few of them with you. And, in lieu of actual sewing, perhaps a little indulgent fantasy sewing.

My Etsy shop is still open, and I just celebrated my 600th sale, so do drop in now and then. I have some "new" patterns that have yet to be listed, so look for some fresh merchandise appearing soon. You can keep up with the latest in that little Etsy Mini in the side bar on the right.

Finally... and just in the nick of time. Yes. There is still time. There really is. You know you want to shop there. Denise, aka The Blue Gardenia, is having her End of the Year sale, and it ends TOMORROW NIGHT PEOPLE! Click HERE to shop for your favorites and get a great deal. Hurry before they're all gone!

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