Completed: Gingham Thurlow Trouser Shorts

Fair warning: I am way WAY excited about pattern. Words cannot express.

When Tasia announced that she was releasing a Trouser pattern specifically for those of us with a generous lower half, I was already pretty excited. As with, well, *everyone* who sews pants, there are always mounds of alterations that need to be done before you can even cut into your fabric. For me especially, it’s the kind of stuff that requires a muslin & flat pattern adjusting – the adjustments don’t fare well with pinching & letting out seams. So naturally, I’ve kept my eye out for pattern companies that cater to my body shape so I can deal with less alterations. I already knew this pattern was going to be a go, regardless of the style – but wait, have you actually seen these trousers??? OMG WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE.

I think Sewaholic might be my new favorite pattern company. I’ve made up a handful of her patterns, and the more I see/work with, the more I’m just incredibly impressed. This pattern is no exception – it is wonderful. Thanks to the extra ease allowed for curvy hips & full thighs (and a narrow waist!), these fit almost perfectly straight out of the envelope. There are a million little pieces, but everything goes together supremely well & the instructions are clear & straightforward without being dumbed down. These shorts weren’t just sewn – they were practically engineered.

So anyway, let’s talk about my shorts!

This gingham was one of the few pieces I allowed myself to buy during the biannual 50% off sale at my local fabric store (I’m saving my pennies for Chicago, eep!). I REALLY wanted giant gingham shorts, although a few people gave me the side-eye when I showed them the fabric lol. Whatever, I love them! The fabric is quite sheer, so almost every single piece (save for a couple facings) is underlined with cotton batiste. Cutting out all those pieces, plus making sure the gingham matched up, plus underlining – I think I spent close to 3 hours just prepping everything for sewing! Totally worth it, though. And as an encouragement to anyone who fears plaids – cutting it out kinda sucks. A lot. But once it’s cut, everything goes together with very little drama.

Like I said, the muslin fit pretty well straight out of the envelope. I usually have to make a few drastic changes to my pattern (adding room for a full butt, reducing the waistband circumference & shortening the crotch), so this was a relief! I did pinch out the tiniest bit of length from the front crotch – about 1/4″ maybe, tapering to nothing at the side seams. I also added another small wedge extension – again, about 1/4″ – to the back crotch for a tiny bit of extra room. These are a size 0, btw. Haven’t fit into that size in a few years haha

The only design change I made to the pattern was cutting the waistbands & welt pockets on the bias – I didn’t want to deal with matching those stripes. I do have a little bit of rippling at the waistband, which I also had with my Clover jeans (which, come to think of it, that waistband was also cut on the bias. Hmmmmm). But it’s no big deal – I just pressed the shit outta it. Ironing solves everything!

I also took about 2″ off the hem – the original length is a smidge too long for my frame. And anyway, I like wearing short shorts. Deal with it.

Don’t my welt pockets look gooood? I think those & all the action going on with those fly facings (patience, grasshopper, we’ll be looking at that in a minute!) make these pants look super nice. I may make the pockets a little deeper next time, however – these are only about 2″ deep! No room for the wallet!

Here are some close-ups (I told you! I’ve gone craaaazy!)

(I am very sorry, I have no idea why this is so blurry!)

As you can see, I couldn’t get the pocket area to line up perfectly, gingham-wise. The lines on the leg are straight, though, so I guess it’s ok!

Isn’t the facing fabric so pretty?! It was a (handmade)pillowcase I found at the Goodwill Outlet. I barely had enough to cut all my facing pieces. I just love the colors against the black & white gingham.

You know, in retrospect, I should have checked that the bobbin thread was white when I was stitching on the waistband – that black thread on the waistband facing looks kinda dumb.

Close-up of welt-y goodness
Oh, and just for the record – I used ONLY the instructions to assemble these. No additional help via books or blog posts for that fly/facing or the welt pockets (these are the first welt pockets I have ever sewn, btw). The instructions were great & I am pleased with the results!

Oh, and not only do the pockets have these fun insides, but they are also faced with the gingham so it doesn’t show when you’re just walking around or whatever. I’m telling you – this pattern is legit!

I’m so so thrilled with my first pair of these – I can’t wait to make more! I want to make some corduroy shorts for winter (I’ve never been one for shorts with tights but I think this style of short would actually look really good!), and of course trousers. Trousers in every color, wheee!

Shabby Apple Giveaway

!!! THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED !!!

Who likes a giveaway? Who likes a Shabby Apple giveaway? EEE me me me me me! Ok, maybe not me… maybe I’m just the host. But I’ve got a sweet treat to give one lucky person – could it be you?

For those of you not familiar with Shabby Apple – we are talking about a fab online store that sells beautiful vintage-inspired dresses. Come, take a walk with me down Beautiful Dress Lane.

Overboard is a classic gingham shirtdress

Ipanema reminds me of something Trudy Campbell would wear while hosting an outdoor dinner party

Admiral makes me die with glee, just a little bit. How cute is that model!?

Che Bella! is reminiscent of my Hawaiian dress reconstruction, except quite a bit more regal – it’s like the casual version of a LBD. Love it!

Ming just makes me want to throw big honkin’ rosettes on every tshirt I own

I guess Academia may be a little off-season, but I had to include it because it looks a lot like my Galaxy dress ripoff. And y’all know I can’t turn down something that reminds me of, well, myself :3

Have I piqued your interest yet? Are you ready to throw down for your own Shabby Apple goody? I’ve got a $50 Shabby Apple gift card that is going to end up in the mitts of one lucky reader! You can pick whatever you want with your gift card – one of the dresses I listed above, or pick something completely different off the site. Dresses aren’t your thing this week? That’s ok, they have separates & accessories too!

To enter, here’s what you gotta do:
1. Like Shabby Apple on Facebook. You must do this to enter the giveaway. Make sure you leave me an email address in your comment so I can contact you if you won!!
2. For a bonus entry, leave a comment & tell me what you would get if you won the $50 gift card. The Facebook entry is mandatory, this one is just because I am nosy as hell

The giveaway is open to US readers (sorry international pals! I will plan something that includes y’all soon, promise!♥). You have one week to enter; I will close the giveaway on Friday 6/29 and draw a randumb name.

Shabby Apple has also generously offered a coupon code for 10% off any purchase – so even if you don’t win, or don’t live in the US, you can still get on a little deal. Simply enter “lladybird10off” at check-out (and make sure to admire that there is a coupon code with my name on it. Ha! It’s the little things, eh?). This offer is good for a month, so shop your hearts out, y’all!

I think that’s it! Big thanks to Shabby Apple for the awesome giveaway! Good luck, everyone!
!!! THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED !!!

My Blogger Swap with Casey

For the past couple of months, Casey & myself have been in cahoots with a swap we were planning. It started with me offering her my copy of Simplicity 5148 (which – can we just agree that this particular style would look darling on her? Yes? Yes.), and we decided to just take advantage of the opportunity & fill each other a little box of goodies that we swapped out over the weekend. Casey actually had a birthday on Friday, and mine is a little less than 2 weeks away – so the timing was pretty perfect!

I almost feel bad posting this because the entire package was full of the most AWESOME stuff, and it’s just going to make everyone else jealous aha. So sorry, y’all!

Here is the whole pile in all it’s glory:

Right?! Are you salivating yet? I swear, every single thing I lifted out of that box made me shriek with delight.

Here is a pristine white slip, with beautiful scalloped edging. I really love that this slip is white, and not that horrid pink that is suspiciously close to my skin color (like all my other slips).

This gorgeous linen tea towel – which, if you’re wondering, looks great in my coral kitchen

A generous length of fabric – it’s labeled Acetate, and even though it’s very clearly a lining I’m still tempted to sew it up into a circle skirt. Would that be painfully obvious?

Simplicity 4604, a simple – but perfect – sheath dress

Simplicity 8497 – this 60s style dress is one of my favorites (I have 2 vintage dresses just like the long one, although the fabric is quite a bit less formal). I know I’d never wear that brocade full-length one, but I am seriously tempted to sew it up anyway.

Simplicity 8496 – I’m imagining this in a soft wool for fall. I think it’s so sweet!

There were also books in my box…

How To Make Belts & Hems by Simplicity. UH HUH, my belt-making is sorely lacking so this is a great blessing to appear in my home!

Home Sewing is Easy – ahaha, this book is so awesome & unintentionally funny. The woman on the cover looks like she’s about to eat her young, and the book is actually written out like a comic book. I love it! Casey – where the hell did you find this, btw??

See what I mean? She’s totally about to eat a baby.

(on second thought, maybe she’s just planning on eating that other woman instead)

Hehe!

There was also the Complete Book of Sewing (the hardcover book at the bottom of the stack). I actually collect sewing how-to books – I know, it’s totally dorky, and I have at least a dozen lol. All mine are from the 60s-80s, though. This one has a copyright from the early 40s and the illustrations are gorgeous.

See?

(she is beautiful, but what I’m really eyeballing is that scalloped collar. Uh-mazing!)

And what sewing goody box would be complete without a few notions?

Lace trim, red buttons, and pretty buckle. I think the buckle *may* be Bakelite – it smells like formaldehyde, anyway

Oh, and knitting supplies!

Those little sheep are STITCH MARKERS. That’s actually what killed me in the end. When I realized what they were (at first I was just a little confused but I still thought they were cute!), I actually yelled & the cat practically fell off my sewing table in surprise hahahaha. These are seriously the cutest things I’ve ever seen. And there are actually 6 of them, but you see 4 because 2 of them are already stuck on a knitting project

I can’t even tell you how much it delights me to reach a stitch marker and then remember that it’s a SHEEP.

Ok, I think that’s it! I hope I didn’t forget anything – as soon as I unpacked the box it ended up strewn all over the house because I was carrying everything around like a mama kangaroo carries around her young… I forgot to take pictures! Oops! At any rate, I can’t even express in proper words how much I love love love everything that was in my little box – best birthday present ever! If Casey enjoys her box even half as much as I love mine, I will consider this a splendid success

Thank you, Casey, for organizing this swap with me! Everyone else, I hope this inspires you to reach out & maybe have a mini-swap with someone else – it is so much fun to plan & collect everything, and get an awesome surprise on the receiving end!

If you want to lurk the box that I sent to Casey, she has written a post about it here!

Me Made May – Week 1 Roundup

Holy cow, is it Friday already? Where did the week go?

Time for a round-up of the first week of Me-Made-May!

I wanted to put these in a cute little collage, but since Picnik died & left me all alone to grieve in private, you get individual pictures. Them’s the breaks.

5/1
Dress: Simplicity 2458
Belt: thrifted
Shoes: Target

5/2
Dress: Colette Patterns Rooibos
Belt: Handmade
Cardigan: Thrifted
Shoes: Target

5/3
Dress: Simplicity 6268
Belt: Thrifted
Shoes: Steve Madden

5/4 (that’s today!)
Blouse: Colette Patterns Violet
Skirt: Colette Patterns Ginger
Cardigan: Thrifted; reconstructed by me
Belt: Thrifted
Shoes: Target Kids

Sooo… about that Violet blouse… we need to talk.

The original incarnation just wasn’t doing it for me. I know it’s looks super cute in the pictures, but it was very uncomfortable in real life – mainly because those damn armholes were WAY too low-cut for sleeves. Every time I moved my arms, the whole shirt would ride up. As a result, I never wore it and felt very sad inside since 1. dotted swiss; and 2. cotton batiste, aka my two favorite fabrics that very instant.

So I cut the sleeves off.

I wish I could tell y’all that cutting the sleeves off immediately solved the problem, but that would be a lie. Remember those low armholes? They were so low, sans sleeves, that you could see the whole side of my bra without even being sneaky about it. Which, I mean, I’m definitely known to let it all hang out from time to time, but we’re talking about a freakin swiss dot button up with a peter pan collar here. Not really the right vessel for looking tarty.

I used part of the sleeves to add an extra wedge of fabric at the bottom of the arm hole – I ended up having to raise it a good 2″, and it’s still a little too low but I am NOT in the mood to fiddle with this blouse anymore. I finished with bias tape facing (machine-stitched because, again, NOT in the mood). I also took in the side seams a bit more at the waist to give it some more shape, since I was feeling pretty box-like at that point. I’m not 1000000000% happy with the finished result – it kind of looks, well, homemade – but it’s much better than the sleeved version.

The lesson here: don’t buy a loose, free-flowing boxy blouse pattern when you prefer to wear everything with little to no ease.

On a happy note, look at the newest addition to my house as of last night!

YES YES YES
It’s actually Landon’s set, not mine But OH MAN it’ll be SO FREAKING NICE to do laundry in my own house! I really love doing laundry (and folding it! Haha!), but I hate dragging it in & out of the house. So I’m pretty excited about this. And yes, this is absolutely relevant to MMM’12 since pretty much all the good stuff is in the dirty clothes bin right now.
Also, check out my reel mower on the right (don’t look at the recycling on the left, please & thank you). I mow my lawn with a reel mower because I’m a BAMF. And also because gas is expensive.

Oh, and my Bombshell dress is almost done – all that is left is securing the vent (seriously, a little 2″ diagonal line haha) and figuring out how I want to attach the strap. It’s lookin’ good and I’m feeling good about it!

I leave you with this -

In case you were ever wondering what it looks like when the plastic cone inside a spool of serger thread crumbles into pure nothing.

Complete: My First Sweater!

Fair warning: There are a lot of pictures in this post. Can you blame me? I’m so proud of my little wool baby!

I guess there’s not much more to say, since I’ve documented most of the progress here on the ol’ blog. So just a recap, for anyone who is new -
The pattern is the Agatha Cardigan by Andi Satterlund. I knit a size Small with no alterations – for the record, my bust/waist is 36/26.5 and the negative ease in this sweater fits perfectly. I did have to size down my needles to a 5 to get gauge. The yarn is Cascade 220, a worsted weight, and I used about 3 1/2 skeins.

This sweater is knit top-down, so there wasn’t any seaming to deal with when I finished. I did have to knit the sleeves in the round, which was an interesting learning experience (just don’t look at all the little mistakes I made hahaha). I blocked the shit out of it (especially the sleeves) and it definitely made a huge difference in the fit. As far as I’m concerned, the fit is perfect! Yay!

The only change I made was to stabilize the back of the button bands with petersham ribbon. This wasn’t called for in the pattern, but those bands are stretchy as hell & I didn’t want them to get all stretched out over time (especially since I rarely wear my cardigans un-buttoned). I didn’t follow any specific instructions for this, just hand-sewed the petersham down with teeny tiny stitches & sewed around the button holes to keep it from unraveling. I also used much smaller buttons – the pattern calls for 3/4″, but I could only squeeze 1/2″ buttons in those things.

I learned a LOT making this sweater! Short rows, fairly intricate lace work, knitting in the round with double-pointed needles, reading a pattern, picking up stitches, different ways to cast on… I can’t even remember all of it ahah. One thing I should mention is that this sweater doesn’t have any cables – it kind of looks like it does, but that’s just lace work & ribbing. I do want to learn how to do cables, though! They look like fun!

Extra extra special thanks to both Mika (for knitting along with me & answering all my frantic questions!) and Sarah (for teaching me how to knit in the first place!). I couldn’t have done it without these two fine ladies!

You know what’s really neat? According to my Ravelry notes (psst! Add me if you wanna!), I started this sweater on 1/17… and ended on 4/17. So it took me exactly 3 months! I don’t think that’s too bad, considering I mostly knitted for an hour a day on my lunch break

Here’s the petersham! I got a pretty good match, color-wise I know traditionally, the ribbon goes on top of the button band, but I liked the way the ribbing looked so I sewed it to the back.

See?

The button holes are kind of terrible looking, sorry, but I did the best I could. They look good from the front, though!

Side decreases

Lower arm shaping

Whew! I think that’s enough knitting excitement for one day! I wish I could tell y’all that I was gearing up to tackle another big knitting project, but unfortunately I had to spend my knitting budget at the pharmacy this month (that stupid cough! ARGH.) So maybe next month! I really want to knit the Miette. Andi has the best patterns, srsly. Love her stuff.

Thanks for letting me indulge, you guys!

Well I’ll Be Damned – It’s A Sleeve!

Well, what ya look at that?

My sweater has a sleeve!

Sleeves are awesome!

I think it’s safe to say I’ve got a pretty good handle on knitting in the round. I still have some areas I would like to improve – namely, pulling the yarn between the needles (I’m still getting little gaps occasionally), but I feel pretty good about my progress. And hey, a sleeve came out of it! Short rows, knitting in the round, lacework… and all!

It is a little tight, but not uncomfortably tight (I can still easily fit my hand between my arm & the sleeve). I’m not one to wear long sleeves (other than sweaters and hoodies), so I’m not too concerned about layers. And I haven’t blocked it yet, obviously, so I may be able to squeeze a little more room out of it.

I love the lacework & the decreasing at the elbow.

There are some boo-boos, though

But you know what? I think it’s pretty good for a first try! I’m trying not to think about the fact that now I have to knit the OTHER sleeve lol. At least I can get more practice out of it, I guess

SLEEVE.

As a side note, here is my next sewing project:

It doesn’t look like much, but there are actually 10 darts in that thing… and I haven’t even started the skirt yet. Eep.

The Big Reveal – The Fabiani Coat!

Finally! I get to show off my new coat!

Notice anything different (aka: good) about the pictures? Yeah, it’s because I didn’t take them! Ha! These were all shot by Sarah McDonald – aren’t they gorgeous!?

Quick details recap-
Pattern: Vogue 2925 (Thank you, Molly!)
Fabric: Coating – Sea Green Solid Coating (Thank you, Tracy!!); Lining – Bemberg Rayon Ambiance Lining in Kiwi
Notions Used: Horsehair interfacing, fusible interfacing, silk thread, self-covered buttons (made to order, yeehaw!), and the tiniest piece of silk organza.
I didn’t initially intend on this, but I guess this actually ties in quite nicely with Sew Grateful Week – showing my thanks for this pattern, fabric, and the pictures! Yay!

What else is there to say about this coat? It was definitely a task, although it went together much faster than my first coat – I guess I had enough practice to better understand what I was doing

I am REALLY pleased with how it turned out! The coat is so warm & snuggly – too bad it’s been 60* (that’s 15* for all you non-Americans ), and thus too warm to wear a coat! Ah, well, maybe I’ll go on a short vacation somewhere cold. Ha!

Pretty much the whole thing is interfaced – in addition to the interfacing already fused to the fabric (which definitely gave it a nice hand and made it really easy to handle), I used horsehair interfacing on the front pieces & on the collar/lapels. The hem & sleeves are interfaced with a lightweight fusible that was cut on the bias. This coat is nice and heavy!

There are snaps under the fake buttons to keep everything in it’s proper place.

Oh, yeah, and the lining is pretty freakin’ bright!

I love how the top-stitching turned out and I’m really pleased with my buttons. I tacked the spare on the inside by the hem, but forgot to take a picture of it. Sorry

Here’s my tag!

And some flat shots – sorry these pictures are awwwwful, lol you can definitely tell I took them.

The functioning buttons are backed with small buttons – partially to keep them on the coat, and partially to cover the ugly threads on the lining :B

I tacked the lining pleat down with feather stitches, as originally suggested by Gertie.

Bound button holes

Here’s another label shot. It’s hand-embroidered on bleached muslin & then catch-stitched down to the lining. I sewed everything in after the coat was finished, which was a bad idea… very difficult to get everything in there! Next time, I will sew the label in while the coat is still being assembled.

So yep, that’s my coat! I hope these pictures were worth the wait Hehe!
Thanks again for all your patience/input/contributions – and thank you Sarah for taking these amazing pictures!

Soooo, now that that’s over… have I inspired anyone else to make a coat yet?

Coat: The Final Countdown

Yep. I’ve had this song stuck in my head all week.

Guys! I’m almost done with my coat! We are entering FINAL COUNTDOWN phase – all the pattern pieces have been removed from their respective fabrics, folded & replaced back in the envelope, and my cutting table is (mostly)clean. I just have a bit more hand-sewing to do and then it’s time for a coat fashion show! Yay!

Here are some in progress pictures to get you pumped & ready…

Steaming the undercollar – I wrapped it around my seam roll & propped it up against my clapper. Doesn’t it look so smug & satisfied in that picture? How can a seam roll look smug, anyway?

Part of what has taken me so long with this coat is all the hand-sewing involved – there is a LOT. I pressed every seam open and catch-stitched down both sides. This really helps eliminate bulk, which is really necessary with fabric as thick as mine. I also beat the shit out of every seam with my clapper. That was fun.

Ever wondered what the inside of a tailored coat looks like?

Here ya go! I already sewed on the facing pieces, so no pretty padstitching pictures for youuu – but you can see how the front is interfaced with hair canvas. I told you – lots of handstitching! And look at my cute sleeve heads I used Gertie’s tutorial for setting in tailored sleeves – I have done this before with my Lady Grey (and much success!). It is my favorite method for setting in sleeves and it makes everything easy easy! Got it right the first time, yeah!

Here’s the coat back – not much to see here, just a back stay. Boring!

Collar is looking good, thanks to all that padstitching.

And then topstitching. I was a little apprehensive about doing this – I think topstitching can really make or break the look of a garment. Usually the latter – sometimes it looks kind of cheap. But I like the way it looks on the coat, which is good! Don’t wanna rip all those stitches out, el oh el.

So that’s where we are as of today! I actually dropped the lining in the coat yesterday afternoon, although you can’t see it from the pictures – all I have left is more hand-stitching. And sewing on the buttons. And then I’m going to throw a hissy fit because this whole week is going to be a balmy 60*. Lovely, but coat-wearing weather it is not.

One last thing…

Look who is coming home with me today

WE ARE IN LOVE.

my bad

just dropping in to report…

i may or may not have put a deposit down on a singer featherweight yesterday :X

MY BAD.

happy day!

just picked up my fully serviced, fully functioning pfaff 7570 from the sewing machine repair shop!

i also picked up a piping foot – i felt like i deserved it, after dealing with the Back-up Beast (appropriate nickname brought to my attention by prttynpnk!) for the past week-plus. and a pack of bobbins. i am bobbin-rich today!

if you need me, i’ll be spending some ~quality bonding time~ with my machine this evening.

plaid peony to come soon! i haven’t forgotten!