Mad Men Week 4

Week 4! How is that possible? Well, I do actually have a bit of sewing to share. So... let's remind you of the pattern I've chosen for my black pencil skirt.

As one of my astute readers, lsaspacey, pointed out, view 2 is not actually a true pencil skirt. I knew that, but was hoping, since it's so darn long, that by lopping off the 9" from the bottom, that it just wasn't too much of an a-line.

Well, I wasn't that lucky, but my plan of starting with the lining has paid off. I put the lining together, using a long basting stitch for the side seams and the back seam. The waist fit well, so it was just a matter of tapering the side seam. I'm not sure it's still "officially" a pencil skirt, but it works for me.

Keep in mind that while I'm making this for the Mad Men Challenge, I'm also making this to wear "in real life". Like to work, where I've got to be able to move and bend, and pick up stuff off the floor, etc. In fact, I may be changing my Mad Men Challenge plan, but I'll let you know about that next week.

There you go. It only took 2 tries to get the side seam I liked. I saved the cut off pieces and traced them onto my traced tissue. I went ahead and hemmed the lining after removing the seam in the back center, which will be sewn later.

Finally, what did the best grandma in the world wear in the early 60s taking her adorable granddaughter on a walk around the block? Why this of course:

Some Random Projects

In my last post, I mentioned that up next would be a skirt, but that's not true. First, I had totally forgotten about the Ruby Slip sew along (see the badge over there with the gorgeous slip?)... I have actually started on it, too. The pattern pieces are traced, and it turns out my lace is too narrow. Sherry will be posting some instructions on dealing with that, so I'm waiting for that. In the meantime, I cut out the skirt, sort of using her instructions.

No fancy pattern weights for me, just some heavy books. Sherry recommends tracing around the pieces, drawn on heavier paper (mine are on regular tracing paper), with chalk. I used *ahem* a fine line sharpie. Whatever works!

Good results!

Next, instead of the skirt (which is temporarily being put on hold until after the new year), I'm working on a 1953 Simplicity blouse, and decided to make a muslin. The blouse pattern:

I want to make the 3/4 length sleeve, and I hope my amount of fabric will cooperate. Bust 36 is my size, but I am not wasp-ish of waist, so a bit of alteration was in order. It has darts and tucks, which I could have just eliminated, but I think it give a nice silhouette, so I just did some slashing and spreading. I'll show you some pictures of the tissue in a future post. I did make a muslin, and I had lowered the bust dart (do you see it in the drawing just under the armpit?), but lowered it too much.

By about an inch. Ugh... so I sort of fixed it in the muslin on the other side, but definitely fixed it on the tissue.

Harder to see in this picture, but trust me, it is better. Finally, I made a sway back adjustment, by "scientifically" sewing a huge tuck across the back (and then translating it to the tissue, adding length back in on the hemline).

Finally, I finished a knitting project... I think I'll show you that on Thursday. I went to the CVS pharmacy Minute Clinic today, and it turns out I have an ear infection, and a sinus infection. Yay for antibiotics. I have to summon up some energy because most of my presents are unwrapped, and the tree still is naked!


I hope all your holiday preparations are going well! And Happy Hanukkah to any of my Jewish readers!

Mary Lou Needed a Slip

Crinolines are all the rage over at Peter's abode, and while it might seem I'm jumping on the bandwagon, this really was part of the plan. I was going to chronicle the making of said crinoline, and I took a bunch of pictures, but they really don't look like anything but a heap of tulle. It's not really a crinoline either.

And then, as I was making it, just about every step was kind of different than what I planned, and took way longer than I expected. Anyway, it's a little bit big around the waist, and I might have to safety pin it to the waist stay, and alone, looks kind of sad. Good thing there will be a dress over it. Oh, yeah, and I'm pretty sure the whole thing is highly flammable.

More Peeks at the Finished Mary Lou

I've named this dress Mary Lou after the woman who made the original skirt. She's a friend of my mom's who was (and I imagine, at 80 still is) quite the fashionista. And quite the sewist! My mom and I are still not sure how the original skirt came into our possession, but a skirt it is no more.

I'll do a full photo shoot with accessories, hair, makeup... you know, the whole works... on Saturday. The dress is finished, and tomorrow I'll make the petticoat/crinoline. Until then, here are a few of the details.

Grosgrain waist stay (to help support the skirt, and for general couture fabulousness):

Hand-picked zipper and another view of the inverted box pleats:

Original velvet trim on the skirt. No side seams, only a center back seam and lots of fullness:

You've already seen the bias trim on the yoke, lined with silk organza:

Finally, inside out, the lined bodice, French side seams and a full view of the waist stay:

The Trim Solution

Thanks so much for everyone's input. For all those that said "no trim", given the choices I gave you, that's what I would have picked, too. That trim was pretty lame, if I do say so myself.  One of the things I should have mentioned that I was concerned with is that the delicate yoke/sleeve basically holds the weight of the dress. I was feeling like adding something would give it more structure. But not the trim.

Ginny (who didn't think she was being helpful - HA!) gave me the great idea of the narrow bias trim, and voila! I've lined this, and those points gave me fits! I started with the back pieces, and the front definitely looks better. Still needs some pressing finesse. And I haven't sewn the side seams.

So there you go. What's left? Side seams, obviously. Get the pleats worked out on the skirt, and rehem (parts of the hem are ripped out). Attach the skirt, and install the zipper. That's it for the dress. Then a petticoat/crinoline of sorts.

Ruh Roh

So our fabulous rescue dogs are not so well behaved after all. One of them, in fact, is a chewer. One of the first victims is pictured above. I was going to just chuck it, and then thought that perhaps I'll just remake it. How hard can it be? So, let's call it a WIP right now.

Now that the raincoat is finished, I'm feeling a bit unorganized, but finally just impulsively bought a new sewing toy. Something I've been wanting for awhile. I'll reveal it later, but it has prompted a massive reorganization and clean out of what I call the "basement" part of our basement. It's the part with the cement floor and the storage shelves, but also the part that houses my cutting table and fabric stash among other things. It's been 3 years since the last big purge, and you know how these kinds of areas get. Well, let's just say that I'm not quite a candidate for Hoarders Anonymous, but it's pretty cluttered.

So furniture is being pushed around, garbage bags are being filled, the shredder could possibly be working overtime, and the Goodwill pile is growing. And while this is happening I've decided to tackle my UFO's, both sewing and non-sewing. My challenge to my self, that I'm putting out here in cyberspace, is to finish one a week in each category. Friday is going to become Finished Friday. Embarrassingly, more than a handful of my sewing UFOs are items destined for my Etsy shops. Non-sewing UFOs will mostly include some organizational projects, but right now I'm calling the basement studio a WIP. Good thing I'm allowed to make up my own rules!!

Look! Someone ate the painter's tape! It wasn't me!

Yep, I realize that now Friday is the day after tomorrow, so I'll cut myself some slack and pick a couple of super easy projects. Sadly, there are a few of those that just need a teeny bit of finishing and they'll be ready. Sheesh *slapping my forehead*! This, of course, does not mean that I won't be starting new projects, too. In fact, a new knitting project will be cast on tonight. Dog related, though not for one of my dogs. That's all I'm saying about that right now.

GUILTY!

 

 Teddy, surrounded by his stash of approved toys. He's quite the hoarder.