Sew Grateful Giveaway from Lolita Patterns

This is the last post about Lolita Patterns I promise! I will still be posting my personal makes here...I even have a post in the works. But I wanted to make sure you all had a chance to enter the giveaway! As part of Sew Grateful week, Lolita Patterns is doing a fuchsia themed giveaway to celebrate the release of their first pattern this week!  Go over and check it out and make sure to enter because there are a lot of goodies in there.

Also, voting has begun on the One Pattern Many Looks contest. Nhi entered several different versions of our first pattern, Fuchsia. 

Please check them out and if you like them, go ahead and vote for us! We want to get the word out!

Exciting News! - Lolita Patterns

www.lolitapatterns.com

The day has come! Remember how I keep hinting about big news? My friend Nhi and I have started a pattern company! It is called Lolita Patterns. Our company is lolita inspired sewing patterns for a professional wardrobe. We both work in corporate positions and there was a severe lack of sewing patterns that addressed this and we also both love the Japanese lolita fashion styles. We remedied this by making our own and combining the two! No more needing to choose who you want to be at work and who you want to be at home...you can combine the professional office attire with a lolita twist and have it all.

Go check out the website and see what it is all about! Our first pattern, Fuchsia, will be released next Wednesday, February 6th and it will be FREE! Sign up for the newsletter or the blog and all the other social media to make sure you don't miss a thing.

Thanks for supporting us and I hope you love our patterns as much as we do!

Jungle January's Giorgio's Top

I decided to partake in Prttynpnk's Jungle January  over at Pretty Greivances and here is my contribution! It is another version of Silhouette Patterns Giorgio's Top. I made this version before out of a slinky knit and while it turned out looking fabulous, it did not have quite the flare I was expecting from the pattern envelope. So this time I tried it in a lighter weight fabric...only problem is it has sort of a plasticky type feel on the top--not like vinyl but something weird...so I don't think this is the right type either. I bought some tissue weight rayon knit for the next version...no mistaking that fabrics lightweight-ness!

This version turned out fine, it looks good and there were no construction problems, it just is not as peplumy as the pattern cover either...same problem as last time. In any case, I wear my other version tons so I have no reason to think this version won't get just as much wear. And how fun is the animal print?



I got a couple yards of this red semi plasticky type polyester knit in a bin at Michael Levine's loft...and I think after this garment, it should probably be relegated to muslin or t-shirt type pattern status...because of the weird plasticky overlay...it definitely affects the drape. I still love the fabric...which is weird because I am NOT a fan of red...but combination of knit and fun leopardy jungle print and I am all over it!

Oh and because of the last version being a tiny bit big, I took larger seams on this one. Of course I did not think ahead of time about how compounding that over the million seams this thing has (princess seams) would make it significantly smaller....so this version is a little small...it is only really noticeable on the arms because the flare at the bottom makes this garment very forgiving.

side view--look a little bit of peplumyness!

back view

You can check out the pattern review here.

In other news, I jumped on the sewing dares that are going around started by Crafting a Rainbow. Leila of the Three Dresses Project dared me to sew some trousers! (and we also had some awesome Buffy discussions in the comments as well...)And would I back down from a dare?? No way! So I'm in. I'm sewing trousers...at some point. There is no time requirement.

Anyone else want to be dared???? Leave a message below and I will scope out your blog or your pattern review/Burdastyle and come up with a dare for you....just as Leila did for me!

Don't forget to follow along either by email, friend connect, rss, or blog lovin'....I've got some big news in store...you don't want to miss it!

Giveaway Winner!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in my Epic Birthday Giveaway! The time has come to reveal the winner. Now if you will remember, the giveaway was for my birthday as well as one of my doggies Pumpkin's birthday. I have to also share with you Pumpkin's favorite toy in the whole wide world---paper and paper towels. She LOVES paper! Any time she sees paper anywhere she will grab it and take it. Therefore, I thought it was only fitting if Pumpkin picked the winner!

First I wrote everyone's name down on a piece of paper, giving each person the correct number of entries, and put it in her bowl. (Which I custom made on here on Zazzle.com)

Then I gave the bowl to Pumpkin.

And let her get her favorite toy!

She is not the cleanest player in the entire world so she kind of made the papers fly everywhere (I cleaned them up--don't worry!)...but more importantly...she took one in her mouth! She was so proud!

I had to grab it but she was stubborn! She wanted her new toy!

But I got it!

And here is the slobbery paper with the winner's name!

Congratulations Alison Esther! Please email me with your address so I can send you all your goodies!

She is a new blog discovery for me and when she commented and started following me on Pinterest, I checked her out and did the same! She has a great blog named Cats & Crafts. She is as into cats as I am into dogs! It is always great to find fellow sewasaurus rexes that are animal lovers as well.

Thank you all again for participating. I have big news coming out in this new year and will definitely be having more giveaways!

I leave you with one more cute picture of Pumpkin, I couldn't resist. Hahaha, she has the sticky note on her head...so sad I took it away!

Vogue 8815 Peplum Top

Here is my much altered version of Vogue's 8815 Peplum Top. I've been a fan of peplums for a long time! You can see evidence of this here when I made a peplum top back in 2006! I snatched up the pattern when it was released and have been watching versions being made up around the sewing web. However, I didn't really like one thing about all those versions...the peplum started too high. It was made to start at the high waist and then the peplum would jut out from there and look like a maternity shirt from the side views! Being long torso-ed already, I did not need a peplum that started at the high waist..practically empire! (okay I know that is an exaggeration) So what to do? I got out my tape measure!

First I measured from my shoulder down over the bust to where I wanted the peplum to start and that measured 18". Then I measured from where I wanted the peplum to start to how low I wanted the hem to go. (adding additonal for hem and seam allowance) This meant I had to add 4" (I think..I'm away from the holidays and my altered pattern is at home--I'm doing this from memory). So I cut along the lengthen shorten line on the bodice and separated it by 4 inches and added tissue behind. I did this to the bodice front and back. Those pieces are done.

Next I measured the flounce/peplum. I had to shorten it by 3" to get the measurement I wanted. So I drew a line through the flounce, and then drew another line parallel to the first line but 1.5" below the first line. Then I folded these lines together to take out a total of 3". But unfortunately, by doing this, the piece gets all wonky and out of shape. To fix this, just line up your ruler at the top edge of the flounce and the lower end of the ruler at the bottom edge of the flounce and connect this line to make your new side. (You will need to add tissue under this) This should make your new piece. (Let me know if you want me to supplement this with pictures!)

The other alteration I had to make was to make a 1" sloping shoulders alteration. However, it looks like I need more according to the picture below. That is what those wrinkles by the neck mean right? I need to lift the outer edge of the shoulder up some. At least 1/4" maybe even 1/2'? That's crazy. Is this drafted for super square shoulders??

I also used an invisible zipper and bias binding around the neckline. Another thing...these sleeves are horrendous! I don't know what it is, I have never had a sleeve behave this way. There is plenty of sleeve cap ease, but not too much and I set the sleeve in fine but it is like completely flat or does not have room for the shoulder? It is bizarre..in any case, I am using different sleeves next time. (and yes I fixed the sleeve when I did the sloping shoulder alteration instead of lowering the armhole more)

I used stretch cotton poplin from FabricMart when they had all those colors for 1.99/yard earlier this year. This fabric is super thin and wrinkles very easily. I originally bought a bunch of colors to use for pants but there is no way this fabric will work for me to make pants. (Check out Lladybird trying to make pants from this fabric) I was using it to test out the pattern for when I use my pretty stretch silk poplin type weight that I got at Metro Textiles in New York.

I love how the side view does not look maternity! Yay! Mission accomplished! Lastly, I noticed as I was wearing it, that the waist would ride up. In hindsight, this makes sense because the original bottom of the bodice that attached to the peplum was made to be up at the natural waist and I lowered it to the high hip which is wider. So I now realize that it makes sense that it would need more room. So next time I need to make sure I add a little to where the bodice and peplum connect to keep it from riding up. I know it sound like so many alterations but it means I can make it exactly how I like it. Plus it looks so cute!

Wow how many times did I say peplum??

Don't forget to enter my epic birthday giveaway! I am extending the deadline to enter until after the 1st of the year so that people who are super busy for the holidays (me!) can have time to enter. One person will get 30 goodies! Make sure you go and enter!

You can see more detailed pictures and a list of all
30 giveaway items on the original post.

Pattern review can be seen here.

Epic 30th Birthday Giveaway!

Here it is! The day you have been waiting for! (Or maybe I have been waiting for because it is highly unlikely you all are waiting for me to do a giveaway...) Today is officially my 30th birthday. And it is also my puppy Pumpkin's first birthday! Today, I have an epic giveaway that consists of 30 things in its honor! Ready to see the swag???

Now it's hard to fit 30 things into one picture and make it look nice so I know it looks a little crowded in that pic...and it is even missing one! So I took some more individualized pictures so you can see it in detail...

1. Set of brown faux leather buttons

2. Set of ceramic blue and white flower buttons from button mad

3. Set of white sparkly buttons--same as the ones used on the naughty sailor dress

4. Package of vintage blue lace seam binding

5. Package of vintage blue green seam binding

6. 22 inch long blue green zipper to match the seam binding

7. 22 inch brown invisible zipper to match the fabric being given away below

8. Brand new seam ripper (can never have enough of those!)

9. Pair of bra cups for your next swimsuit!

10. Cute ladybug travel size nail file

11. Vintage lilac silk buttonhole twist on wooden spool

12. Butterick 5484 OOP pattern in sizes 8-14

13. Ready Set Serge book by Georgie Melot

14. 1 yard of 60" high quality fusible tricot interfacing

15 & 16. 2 yards of brown and white polyester charmeuse houndstooth print

17. 1 1/2 yards of orange ponte (we will only call it 1 item even though its 1.5!)

18. A PR button handmade by Nhi--she made a bunch of these for us when we went to a sewing expo so we could find other PRers!

19. A roll of pink and purple stretch elastic trim (so perfect for headbands!)

20 & 21. 5 yards of fuchsia sequin trim--remember the sparklier the better!

22, 23, & 24. 3 yards of 2" wide elastic--perfect for yoga pants

25, 26, & 27. 3 yards of black foldover elastic (perfect for So, Zo's underwear and tank tops/vest patterns)

28, 29, & 30. 3 yards of ban roll to keep your waistbands from stretching out

Phew! That is a lot of stuff...I know I actually cheated and gave more than 30 if you count the quantity but I figure the more the merrier!

So the rules of the giveaway?? 

1. I will ship anywhere on planet Earth

2. You must follow this blog with the Join This Site button in blue on right right hand side of the blog so that you show up as a follower OR you may subscribe by email which is on the top left hand side of the blog, just enter your email address and then activate it

3. Leave a comment on this blog post for the entry (after "joining the site" or subscribing by email)

4. You can gain an extra entry by following me on Pinterest - just leave a separate comment stating so--button is also on the right hand side of the blog

5. You can gain a third entry by mentioning this giveaway on your blog and leave another comment letting me know--except chances are I already follow your blog and will see it!

This giveaway will be open until the 1st at midnight PST--I will announce the winner on the 2nd!!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW OVER! THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING!

I hope you all enjoy this giveaway...I would love to do some more often but did not feel there was enough people reading or interest in winning! So if this giveaway goes well, keep an eye out for more! Thanks everyone for all your support and for reading my blog..I love each and every comment and reader!!  

 Stay tuned for some exciting news in the new year.........

Awesome Birthday Dress!!!!

My Oona pic---there is a
jello shot in there!

Can I just tell you how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE this dress???  This is the Burdastyle Colorblock dress from the February 2012 issue #117A/B. There have been so many fantastic versions all around the web that I bought this issue immediately upon seeing the first one. Yes...that was back in February. Color ideas and fabrics have been brewing the entire time. I knew I wanted black and chartreuse and fuchsia..but the fourth color was a mystery to me. I thought maybe gray, or maybe repeat the chartreuse and pink somewhere else...but nothing was working right. Then the thanksgiving sale email from Gorgeous Fabrics came in and showed the super fun houndstooth doubleknit and I knew that was it. All the other fabrics were pontes and as far as I can tell from research around the web, pontes and doubleknits are pretty much the same. I knew it was important that all the fabrics have the same weight.

The chartreuse ponte is from Fashionista Fabrics (so sad they are going out of business!), the fuchsia ponte is from Sawyer Brook fabrics, the black ponte roma is from Joann's...I always have a stash of it, and the houndstooth came from Gorgeous Fabrics as I wrote above.

I got the amazing sparkly riri zipper when I went to the garment district in New York at Pacific Trimmings. I have seen those sparkly zippers going for $40 for a mere 18" length! I got that 36" length for only $22! I think it's amazing. I just hemmed the dress to the exact length of the zipper. Also, I cheated..I did not make the zipper functional. I just sewed the back up and topstitched the zipper on.

This was my first Burdastyle pattern ever! And thank goodness I chose this one since it was the class pattern for the issue. I'm not sure I would have figured it out otherwise. But I feel much more confident in making Burdastyle patterns now..I always shied away because I did not know what size to make and if I want to make a Burdastyle one, I cannot just open the pattern and go, I have to trace and add seam allowances, etc. No worries! All that is over now! Size 34 worked perfectly. I only added 3/8" seam allowances and took a 5/8" at the top of the neck tapering back out to just 3/8" by the shoulder blades and the rest of the way down. I added 3/8" seam allowance by cutting with this seam allowance guide attached to my rotary cutter. That way I did not have to trace pattern pieces again! This wonderful guide was sooo easy to use! It was the first time I tried it and I will be using it with every Burdastyle pattern from now on. See my notion review of this gadget here.



I did make a muslin, out of my crappy muslin knit...and yikes! Yikes! My husband said it was a Stegosaurus  dress..it literally had two large lumps going down the back...but also I was not being careful...just serging things up willy nilly and with all the patchwork...I definitely got my seams off some.

For some reason, no other reviewer notes this, but you have to pay very close attention to the diagrams. Because of all the angles and strange shaped pieces, you have to overlap and underlap some pieces without matching the edges or they won't line up straight...it's kind of like patchwork for quilting with 60 degree angles. I was extremely careful with the measuring and overlaps on the real version...and it turned out so well!

These are my shoes from
 metrostyle..click for source

Because I made the zipper non functional, it is a bit of a squeeze to get on but is still manageable. I hand sewed the three snaps on to the front about 1 hour before my birthday party began...I'm always so last minute! But the neckline is great and does not gape at all...I even took a rock on picture so you could see the non-gaping.

no gaping!

side views

back views

You can check out my pattern review here.

You can check out my post on Burdastyle.

Also, check out the link on Kollabora.

Lastly, my makeup! Readers of my blog know I used to be a makeup artist before I became a lawyer, and my opportunities to do fun makeup are few and far between so I take full advantage!

why am I tanner in this pic than below?

I really need to learn how to use photoshop..not only might that hair in the
middle of my face be gone if I knew photoshop, I might also be the same color
as I am in the other makeup picture above

I used:

Nars eyeshadow primer, Mr. Frosty by Benefit creamy pencil, Mac Chartreuse pigment, Nars Bladerunner dark green in crease, Lancome Action liquid liner on bottom, clear sparkle liquid liner from NYX on top covered with loose Chartreuse glitter from Mac and several coats of Maybelline Full N Soft Mascara. I also used an angled brush in Mac carbon shadow to line the inner rim of the lower lid. Powder sticks to the water line better than a pencil liner and lasts longer.

My lips you can see above were completely lined and filled in with Mac Magenta lipliner and then covered with a light pink sparkly gloss that I have had so long I don't even know what brand it is or color anymore! It is all rubbed off!

I had a wonderful party but the big fun is on Wednesday...my official actual 30th Birthday! I will be having an epic birthday giveaway. My giveaway has 30 things! One big winner will get all 30 items! Be sure to tune in Wednesday for a chance to win.

Thank you all who came to my party! I had such a great time! And a special thanks to my husband for throwing it for me. It is my first birthday party since my 23rd..and it was amazing! You are the best!