Completed: La Sylphide, Dude-Style

Ok, I actually finished this *before* the Coppélia, making this top the very last thing I sewed for 2012 (finishing up on 12/30, no less!). I hate posting stuff out of order because I’m weird like that, but it is what it is!

Anyway, here she is – the La Sylphide, another sweet gem that Katie from Papercut Patterns sent me. I’m not sorry if I’m coming off as a bit of obsessed – I think this pattern line may be my new fave for 2013! Yay!

As you can see, my version is quite a bit different from the pattern cover – I really dude’d this one up with the plaid and pearl snaps. Yeehaw!!

This is technically a wearable muslin – I wanted to test the fit before I made my ~real~ version, hence why it’s a top instead of a dress. And if you think I’m wack for making a muslin with plaid… I guess I am kind of wack. But the shirt turned out really awesome, so no complaints here!

Size-wise, I cut the XS. The ONLY alteration I made was to suck in the center back by 1″. Again, this is a pretty typical alteration for me as I have a small back (I wear a 32 or 30 bra band, fyi). Everything else fit perfectly! So happy!

The pattern calls for a floaty/drapey fabric, which is what the samples are sewn with. They are totally lovely – and totally what I want to make my future dress with – but I’m actually really happy with how this cotton/poly plaid ended up looking with the pattern. It doesn’t have as much body as say, quilting cotton, but you can see there’s not a lot of drape to my top. It has a nice structure that really makes the peplum stand out. And the bow! I love how crisp the bow is in this fabric!

Sorry this picture is blurry. You can see my center back seam here. Well, sort of.

I’m pleased to report that the plaids matched up pretty well here. I probably could have done a better job with the peplum at the center front – but I was running low on fabrics, and I guess this is acceptable for a wearable muslin. I also think this would look much better with the tie cut on the bias, but again, low fabrics means we make do with what we have.

I am going to change my name to the Plaid Boss. Because, FUCK, I love plaid.

Don’t worry – the stuff under the bow matches too

I decided to go with pearl snaps instead of buttons for this guy. I was eager to try out the buttonholer of my new machine, but I also really love using hammers on my sewing projects. Plus, pearl snaps just really fit with this style of shirt, you know? The original pattern calls for 4 buttons on the top, but I was getting too much gape so I added a few more. I am also fully aware that the snaps are on the wrong sides. I thought I was being sneaky and clever by checking Landon’s shirts and doing my snaps the opposite way, but I forgot that pearl snaps are the opposite of buttons, so I ended up with a double negative button situation. Oops.

I love the way the sleeves are sewn here – there is light interfacing at the bottom, which with the top stitching makes a little built-in cuff. The sleeves are attached to the bodice in the flat, and then the side seams are sewn up after. It makes easing everything in much quicker!

Also, I’m sorry for the weird wrinkles. I took these pictures after a full day of wear, so the peplum is a little squashed at the back.

Pearl snaps are awesome because at the end of the day you get to rip your shirt off and pretend like you are the Hulk.

As a side note, did you notice my cute little tights!? DID YOU??

Rain and lightning! Aren’t they the cutest!? I love that the lightning cloud looks like the TCB bolt hahaha.
My friend Victoria just opened a Galaxy Cauldron Tights and she sent me a couple of pairs to try out. These are the Stormy Skies. I was pleasantly surprised at how thick they are – not as thin as those cheap $5 ones from Target (which was what I was expecting, tbh). There’s a bit of heft to them, and the design is my favorite thing ever right now. I guess you could also wear the print at the back, like calf tattoos, but I like them on the front. They make me so happy! I thought y’all would like them too

I guess that’s it! I’m fully infatuated with Papercut Patterns at this point and I can’t wait to make the full dress of this (and maybe some more plaid peplum tops, because of reasons).

Completed: The Plaid Clusterf-

The real name for this shirt is actually The Plaid Clusterfuck. I wanted to put it in the title of this post, but I realize that a lot of people have my blog linked so that the titles show on their blog and I don’t want to make anyone mad soooo YOU’RE WELCOME. Also, meet the Plaid Clusterfuck, as well as my unstyled hair. I like to call it my Brentwood Soccer Mom hair.

Princess seams, bias side panels, and a front ruffle? DON’T MIND IF I DO.

Oh, do you like my little sewing corner? I did some freshening up in the ol’ sewing room over Thanksgiving weekend. I got a second desk from Lauren Winter, painted it a really obnoxious shade of teal green (and I will never do that again. SOO many coats, even with a primer, and it’s STILL not solid! BOO), and also touched up the mint desk as it was filthy with dirty kitty paw prints. Next order of business is to deal with the other side, where my fabric is stored. Mama needs more shelves, wah!

This is McCall’s 5803, which is so out of print, it’s not even in the out of print section of the McCall’s website. Also, it is a Hilary Duff pattern. Remember when she tried to do that?! HAHA. Anyway, I picked this pattern up for free99 during the free out-of-print pattern sale at my local fabric store (actually, it was on the same day that I got that Butterick knit dress pattern. I love free shit, gah.). I thought the shirt was really sweet, in a kind of over-the-top way.

I tried a new FBA on this pattern, adding 1.5″ to the side front. I still don’t really get princess seams; I can never really figure out exactly where that seam is supposed to hit. But I think this one worked out ok.

The original pattern is cut in a size 4, with the aforementioned 1.5″ of bust room added. I also shaved the front seams down by about 5/8″, the back seams by 3/8″, and the side seams just under the arm by 1/4″. I still think the armscyes are a bit too high, but at least they aren’t stupid droopy like The Dress Who Shall Not Be Named. Oh, and I also lengthened the button placket by about 1/2″ and shortened the collar band by a LOT – it was way too long for the neck opening. I’m not sure if that’s because of a pattern error or because I cut that piece of the bias and it stretched when I was fusing the interfacing to it. Either way, it fits now, so whatev.

I had a devil of a time trying to match the plaid up at the princess seams. I futzed around with that shit for-fucking-ever – I’m the kind of plaid cutter who cuts everything on one layer, one painstaking piece at a time – and the lines STILL didn’t match up. UGH. So I ended up cutting the side front and side back panels on the bias, with the front and back on the straight grain. The neck band and button placket were also cut on the bias, as was the front ruffle. Hence why I am calling this shirt a Clusterfuck – it’s going in all kinds of directions! I’m actually surprised at how well it works, to be honest.

Here is my shame, though – THE SIDE SEAMS DON’T MATCH. ARGH!! I guess I forgot to flip the pieces so they were opposing (instead of mirroring). BLECH. And, of course, I didn’t have enough fabric to recut. Not that I would have anyway; by the time I discovered this little issue, I had already serged everything together. It’s not the worst thing ever, but it still drives me nuts. Oh well, I guess we can’t always have perfectly matched plaids :’(

Let’s keep this our Sacred Secret, k?

I just love these front ruffles! FESTIVE.

I don’t know why there are basically two of the same picture. Sorry.

Here’s a better picture of those mismatched plaids. FUCK.

This shirt ending up costing VERY little to put together. The fabric was part of a big lot I picked up from a fellow blogger, the buttons came from the flea market last week (2 cards for $1!), and even the pattern was free. Not bad!

I topstitched the placket and collar band because I think it makes the shirt look more profesh. Also, I totally love these buttons.

This was not intentional, but look at how nicely the plaid matches up at the button plackets.

The ruffles are finished with a rolled hem edge (done on my serger), instead of the suggested turning under and stitching.

As a side note, I’ve been watching my stats for the past few days and I’m like 50 hits away from reaching half a million! HALF A MIL, Y’ALL. OHMEGERD.

Completed: Another Negroni for Landon

Alternate title: This Was Supposed To Be Landon’s Christmas Present for 2011.

This has actually been completed for a couple of weeks now – the actual sewing of the shirt came together rather quickly (it helps when you don’t have to futz with the fit during construction!), then it hung for a week or so while we debated buttons. Landon originally wanted pearl snaps – and I was originally excited because I love any sewing that involves using a hammer – but then he decided that they actually hated them… and every other button I offered. Picky guy! Then we were faced with the Darkness Dilemma (I do get up early to take my pictures in the AM, but Landon actually leaves for work far earlier than I do – not happening!). So the shirt waited to be photographed.

I ended up taking these pictures at the first available opportunity – which happened to be on Thanksgiving, at my grandparent’s house in Somerset, Kentucky. Such a pretty backdrop, although a bit bright. Oh, and I guess I should mention that while this shirt waited to be photographed, it did NOT wait to be worn – it’s been worn a lot, and washed twice! Plus, we drove 3 hours that morning. So please pardon the wrinkles

This version is essentially the same as the first Negroni, and other than the original laundry list of changes, I made no other alterations.

The fabric I used is a lovely flannel from my local fabric store. It’s super soft and super warm. It also super likes to shrink, apparently. I prewashed it twice, but I guess that wasn’t enough – the sleeves still got shorter after the third wash. BOO.

Cutting that buffalo plaid out was a BITCH. My usual workaround is to cut as much as I can on the bias, but I barely bought enough shirt fabric to make this, so it all ended up on the straight grain. I was feeling super nitpicky about the checks matching up (you should hear me when I’ve had a few drinks & I’m surveying the plaid shirts at the bar. Lots of plaid shirts, very little matching up. Drives me fucking crazy!), but it all came out perfect in the end. Well worth the effort!

I mean, look at those matched checks!

LOOK AT THEM.

I did cut the pockets on the bias. I guess I could have matched the flaps up better, oops.

The unfortunate thing about this materials is that it does tend to wrinkle pretty easily. But, hey, check out the winning buttons – we cut them off an old shirt that was destined for the trash can. Yeah!

I do love me a beautiful sleeve placket.

And, of course, the rolled-up sleeve test.

If you are wondering why there are a bunch of rocks scattered all over the grass here, that’s because I tried to clone out this giant shadow and accidentally added some rocks. I never claimed to be a master at photoshop, guys.

Overall, I think we have a winner! Landon has already worn this several times and it’s gotten lots of compliments (and a lot of people who think I’m fucking with them when I mention I made it. lolwut.). I keep catching him eyeballing my stash, like he’s trying to figure out his next shirt. Ha! I’m thinking the next one will actually have a collar stand and button placket – gotta step it up, keep things interesting! Also, no more handmade gifts from me. Clearly I can’t be bothered to finish them on time :B

Sorry, one more picture. He’s such a babe!

And here’s a terrible picture of the two of us. D’AWWW!!

CHICAAAAAGO!

Ok, I’m really jumping the gun on this on WAY too soon – but I’m excited! So excited! See, Landon & I scored a really great deal on plane tickets (think 2 round-trip tickets for under $200! I KNOW.), so we have decided to book a trip to Chicago in September! We were originally tossing around the idea of going to Riot Fest, although now I’m so enraptured with the idea of just being in the city, I really don’t care about the festival so much anymore (especially since I’ve already seen like all those bands. Except Built to Spill, waaah).

Anyway, this is relevant to some of your interests because I know there are a few of y’all who live in Chicago and/or the surrounding areas (I’m looking at you, Liz & Tasha!), and I thought I would stick my feelers out & see if anyone was interested in a little meet-up? Maybe we can get some coffee (or adult beverages, no judgement here!) and then squeal over fabric together? I definitely have the Textile Discount Outlet & Vogue Fabric Store on my must-see list

So let me know in the comments if you’d be interested in something like this – make sure you include your email address too, so I can email you closer to the date! I’m really not familiar with Chicago AT ALL – this will be my very first time visiting – so please feel free to drop some suggestions my way. The dates we have booked are 9/13 – 9/17, I’m thinking a Saturday or Sunday to meet up, depending on what is open on those days.

In an attempt to keep this relevant to everyone’s interests – let’s discuss this piece of fabric I bought!

I’ve been pining over Megan’s cream/black plaid coat for a few weeks now. I just love it so much! And I think it would be fun to make.

[image credit: Tom & Lorenzo]

Unfortunately, I am having a devil of a time sourcing the fabric. I assumed it would be easy – that is a pretty classic looking plaid – but apparently no. Not in coating fabric, anyway. My dreams: Shattered.

Then I picked this stack of wool fabric up at Goodwill a couple of weeks ago

Look in the back – red plaid! Is it fate? I THINK SO!

I even found the perfect dupe pattern- Simplicity 2311:

Fate!

I’m hoping the red plaid won’t look too garish as a coat – I originally grabbed it because I thought it would make a cute little jumper-type dress (honestly didn’t even make the fabric connection until a couple of days later!). What do you think? Obviously, I don’t shy away from red – but I also don’t want to look like a lumberjack

I have 3 yards of this stuff and it’s over 60″ wide, so I should have enough to cut a shorter coat on the bias. I’d like to make the lapels & pocket flaps with a really short pile black velour. Oh God, why am I planning my winter coat in JUNE? Lord help me.

Totally unrelated, but today is Amelia’s birthday! She’s 5!

Happy birthday, Amelia! I totally love you, even if you are the biggest bitch I’ve ever met ♥

recon: taffeta christmas skirt

my favorite kind of recon – easy easy!

i’ve been pining for a plaid taffeta party something for a couple of weeks now – didn’t care if it was a skirt or a dress. i actually wanted to make a taffeta peony, so i started lurking plaid taffetas online. well, i scrapped that idea to the back burner when i realized how expensive that stuff is – and i wanted silk!

so imagine my delight when i found a little girl’s plaid taffeta party dress during my saturday shopping trip with lauren. it’s polyester, but whatever – PLAID. and $2.50!

here’s what i started with. it’s pretty small, but that empire waist is exactly my waist measurement. and before anyone gets sad about the death of a little girl’s plaid taffeta party dress, i will point out that it’s a walmart brand. pretty cheap stuff to begin with.

anyway, i removed the skirt from the bodice (and discarded the bodice – not enough fabric to do anything with!) and cut the hem off the bottom to form a waistband. since the hem is on the bias, i stabilized it with horsehair interfacing to give it some structure. i shortened the zipper & stuck it back in there with the skirt lining. the hem is just a simple rolled hem. easy!

this whole project probably took about 2 hours, and now i have a new skirt to wear for christmas parties i already wore it this morning to put up the office christmas tree.

i even had enough taffeta left over to make a matching headband.

i look like a damn christmas present.

i’m okay with that

completed: peony, this time in PLAID

pretty sure the peony is my new favorite TNT dress, y’all. it is SO easy to make up – even with matching plaids! – and extremely versatile in all the ways you can change it up. i am already thinking about making a summertime-approps peony with a chiffon overlay & no sleeves. oooh i just inspired myself again.

anyway, before i get ahead of myself, let’s focus on the peony at hand. this is my second make up, floral being the first. in addition to the previous alterations i made to the pattern, i shaved about 1/2″ off the front neckline, as i felt it was a tiny bit too high. i omitted the facings & instead lined the bodice & sleeves. i wanted to line the entire dress, but i only had 1 yard so it was either sleeves or skirt… i went with sleeves, because i can always wear a slip with the skirt.

the plaid fabric is my new favorite! i bought it from miss lauren winter right before she moved house (and, sadly, out of my neighborhood ::sob!::), although considering she charged me $2 for the whole 2 yards it’s more like she basically gave it to me. it is a very fine/soft wool, super drapey & comfortable. the lining is a pale periwinkle blue bemberg rayon that i found in the remnant rack for super duper cheap & i’ve been hoarding for like a year.

i was concerned that this dress wasn’t totally appropriate for plaid, but i think i did an ok job at matching. this pattern really doesn’t use a lot of fabric – even with matching up the plaids, i used less than 2 yards. the side seams match perfectly (if i do say so myself) and surprisingly the darts match up. well, kind of. the bottoms don’t, but that’s just the way they are positioned. furthermore, the waistline doesn’t exactly match up & again, that’s because of how the pattern was drafted. i can’t decide if it bothers me or not. in the meantime, i’ll just wear a belt and pretend otherwise.

i actually cut out the pieces for the cummerbund (in navy taffeta), but decided to go thrifting last night instead of sewing it up. it’s all good, though – look at the belt i got for $3!

the dark vertical line is actually part of the plaid, and not my invisible zipper, fyi.

here it is without the belt
ooh the mismatched plaid at the darts actually is really bothering me

sorry ’bout the rogue white thread lurking back there

really pleased with myself here – i figured out how to attach the lining without having to slipstitch it to the zipper tape. so clean!

tiniest hem ever – this dress is SHORT!

and some bonus shots…

with my lady grey

a result of gertie’s sew-along last year, my first venture into tailoring. this baby is lined, interlined, padstitched… and it is nice & heavy, just like a coat should be

LOVEEEE THIS COAT

and, in case you were curious:

my shoes

i have the whole week off next week, and i think i’ve already overwhelmed myself with all the sewing projects i want to tackle. we’ll see how many actually get accomplished, though hehe