Phew! and New Look 6648

looks like I need to clean the camera lens.....

New Look 6648....a ridiculously comfy top that has been reviewed many many times on PR. I made this out of a poly/rayon/spandex I got on my recent excursion to LA's garment district. This knit was only 2.99 per yard in this store that I wish I remembered the name of! They had all your basic colors as well. I wasn't sure about the quality but it washed well and wearing it is amazing!!! This is the most comfortable fabric and top that I own. So comfortable in fact that the first day I wore it, I wore it to sleep as well because it was just that comfy! I did not want to take it off!  This fabric is so soft and warm its incredible. I want to go back and find that place so I can get more!  Also, sewing with the fabric was not very difficult...the edges curl a little but such is life with a knit.

Here is a good picture of how large the sleeves are....but they end up making the shirt warm.

back view

Now I ended up cutting too many of the bottom band because I misread the cutting layout...which I normally don't even follow anyway! So I made another colorblocked one with this same fabric used as the band at trim. But that one bled in the wash....which is so weird because I wash the teal one all time with all my clothes and there is never any bleeding! And I prewashed the fabric! So I don't understand what happened with the second one....weird. I will show you all when I get pictures of the second. It is currently in the washer...I still wear it around the house...my husband is so lucky :)

These are the cute shoes that match so well...I got these approx 8 years ago from Nine West

Also on the second, I tapered the underarms up some so the sleeves were not quite so large...but I kind of like the original better. Well it really depends on the look you are going for...the sleeves I redrafted below are much more casual than the originals. Here are some close-ups of how I changed the sleeve on the second version in case you want to redraft yours in a similar manner.

I drew a line out from the arm

then drew a line up from the underarm

Then connected the two lines using the curve to make a nice rounded shape--if you look closely you can see the white chalk from the two lines made by the above pictures

closeup of the chalk marked curve

after it was cut off

close up of where it was cut off so you can see the relation of the notches

So in summary, just read the layout carefully because I didn't pay attention to how it is not folded selvage to selvage but otherwise, the million reviews on PR are not wrong...this shirt is easy, fun, and comfortable!

Check out my pattern review here.

Promaballoona!!!!

Yes I have been absent....but I have definitely been sewing. And fabric shopping. And partying with sewers at Promaballoona!!!  I was one of the lucky ones that actually lived in the location where a sewing themed event was being held! And I was in town! It was like the stars aligned. And even crazier, Miss Oonaballoona herself commented on my own humble little blog the day before Promaballoona...so I was able to write her back and tell her I was coming to her prom! Now I know the true mark that a sewing blogger has made it is when they get a nasty/useless anonymous comment on their blog....still waiting (fingers crossed lol!)....but I think a sewing blog has made some sort of mark in the sewing world when Oonaballoona comments!

The prom was held at Sew LA in Los Angeles on Sunday night. I met up with the sewing friends I met at the last Sew LA event I went to for Colette Patterns. A new friend also came to the Prom. I met KC, blogger of The Sewcratic Method (fyi coolest blog name ever if you are a lawyer), when I won a giveaway on her blog! I won The Art of Manipulating Fabric by Collette Wolff. This book has some very cool techniques that can be used on fabrics to make interested textures and designs...I cannot wait to try some of it on a simple garment to make it shine.

I am not giving many dress details on this post because I will do a separate post on it, the amazing shoes, and the amazing makeup, but it was a piece of work! I originally started this dress for my sister-in-law's wedding (well sister-in-law now) but I only started it the night before (like I do) and it did not get done in time. But in my defense, the pattern was a Vogue Easy Options and I should have been able to get it done no problem in around 5 or 6 hours. No...absolutely not. This Vogue 8280 Roland Mouret Galaxy dress knock off is anything but easy. I would even call parts of it advanced...like the flanges where the directions are incredibly difficult to understand. But all this has been said in the numerous reviews on pattern review I looked at after this dress did not get made in time for the wedding.  Also, I had my heart set on some hot pink and black houndstooth fabric which was no where to be found...anywhere...at all. But FabricMart had some white and black houndstooth rayon suiting (similar to this) that I bought and dyed...with Fuchsia Rit dye. Now that was also an experience I will save for the detailed post. But I did finish the dress...about 20 minutes before I left on Sunday night for the prom...and it does look good in the pictures if I do say so myself...and I do. Here they are:

It looks like I am pushing KC out of the way :( I'm not!

Did I know she was behind me? Why am I jumping in front of her?

OMG there is a theme! I keep cutting KC off!  Sorry KC!!

From left to right: Nhi, Sandra, and Jill

Now I stole some of these off Sew LA's facebook page because there was this pretty sparkly backdrop that said Promaballoona and an unattended camera with remote where you could just hang out and take pictures of yourself. Yes! I did that! A lot...so that explains some of my random candid shots. Oona also has some pictures of me somewhere...maybe she will post them on her blog and I can steal them for mine!

ROCK ON!

Moral of the story is this: Should you ever get a chance to attend a Promaballoona...or Oona event...do so!

UPDATE: Oonaballoona has posted her pictures! Go see them!

Yup...I Jumped on the Bandwagon--Vogue 1250

I have been meaning to make this pattern for awhile after seeing all the amazing versions running around the sewing blogosphere. Of course, as usual, the Pattern Review contests are what I needed to get my butt in gear. This contest is the Best of Patterns Contest. You have a choice of entering your version of any pattern that has won a spot in the Best of Patterns for the last three years.

This one, Vogue 1250, won the number one best pattern for 2011. So when I received this ridiculously shiny and sparkly (don't forget the sparkly the better!) slinky knit, I knew this was the perfect pattern for it. Of course I waited until the contest to make it up but better late than never!

I got the fabric off fabric.com but they no longer have it...I got it at the same time I got the pumpkin slinky knit I used on my first version of Giorgio's top.

The dress went together very easily...and looks as great as all the reviews suggest. This truly is an innovative style...looks good on so many different people in all different shapes and sizes!  I definitely plan on making this in black next with a black and magenta lace overlay...pretty!

I prepared my pattern before cutting using The Sewing Lawyer's recommendations to extend the facing so it does not flip out and close up the armhole a little so it is not hanging so low. I made my pattern pieces exactly how she pictures them in her blog post. Genius!!  Glad I had those tips ahead of time!

By the time I was done making this dress....my hands looked like Rumpelstiltskin from Once Upon a Time. They were all gold and sparkly from the sparkles on the dress.

Also, my makeup was super fun! I used turquoise sparkly eyeliner and bright blue DiorShow mascara.

Lastly, we cannot forget the awesome shoes!

bebe brand....from years ago..I got them in pink at the time as well!

Thank you to everyone who voted for me in the RTW Contest on PR!  I cannot believe I amassed 55 votes! That's amazing!  Sadly, I did not win but the Jason Wu inspired winning dress was incredible...definitely worthy.

I am entering this dress in the Best of Patterns contest on PR. Voting should start soon so if you like my entry...feel free to vote for me!

See my pattern review here.

RTW Contest

This is just a quick post since I am currently out of town. I just wanted to let everyone know that voting for the RTW Contest has begun! In my last post, I wrote about my entry into the contest. The photo is above. Now trust me, there is some stiff competition! But if you like my entry, please vote for it here. You are allowed up to 5 votes so vote for your 5 favorites!

In the meantime, I am currently on a trip to the east coast to Pittsburgh, PA, Hershey, PA and NewYork's Fashion District! (more to come on my great finds from this trip shortly!) I will resume regular posting when I return and I have tons of goodies to show you!

In the meantime, I have been following Me Made May so far even though I did not sign up and make a pledge....I wonder if I can do it late? 

Thanks for your vote!

The Naughty Sailor

with a cool 60's filter from Picasa

This dress is so cute and totally pin up style/nautical style-- I love it! I pinned it on my Pinterest awhile ago along with the caption stating how it was sooo not my style but I love it. I never wear outfits like this! My style is more Blair Waldorf than Retro Pin Up. Obviously I have been inspired by all that retro and vintage sewing going on out there in the sewing blog world!  I even used the "60's" filter thingie in Picasa on the pictures to make them look all old and pin up style. I left the second picture without filters. So when the RTW Contest (Ready to Wear) came up on PatternReview, I figured this was the perfect time to get my butt in gear and make this dress!

The idea of the contest is: Create a garment inspired by one that you have seen. The inspiration item can be from a Ready-To-Wear line, from the runway, or any other garment you have seen worn or pictured. My inspiration garment is the one in the center of the above picture.

no filters

I completely self drafted this dress from scratch! I have never done that before! Of course, looking at this dress you can see it is not the most complicated so it was probably a good place to start pattern drafting. I once tried copying a shirt I already owned...and it mostly worked...but this was different. So I am glad it was such a success!

The Details:

First, the fabric. For the skirt, I used a navy ponte roma from Joann's. For the bodice, I had to be more creative. You would be surprised how hard it is to find red and white striped knit fabric!  I finally found it on Etsy at Funkalicious fabrics. The stripes are not as wide as on the original but I think it works. Oh! And I matched the stripes! I have never bothered pattern matching before because I did not know how....but I thought real hard and realized if I cut it out on a single layer and then marked the stripes on the pattern piece, I should easily be able to match up the pieces...since they are the exact same. This entire dress only used two pattern pieces! One piece for the top, front and back. And one for the skirt, front and back. As basic as you can get! Except, instead of using the pattern piece to match up the stripes, I just placed the already cut piece on the fabric and lined it up on the stripes and cut!

I used a tank top I had and traced around it...and then I grabbed a ponte skirt I love and traced it....and added seam allowances to both

ponte skirt from Marciano

tank top from BP (brass plum)

Then i added to the sleeve on the tank top by adjusting wider and wider. My first muslin that i tried did not have nearly wide enough straps to account for the gathering around the bows. So I redrafted the sleeve/shoulder by widening the sleeve. Then I used my trusty French Curve and drafted a nice deep scoop neck to match that of the dress.

french curve to make deep scoop neck

I originally thought I would only do the scoop neck in the front and do a high neck in the back but then I realized the arms wouldn't be able to gather with the bows unless the back scooped as well. Worked for me! This way I could use the same piece for front and back--score!

Then I tried to match up where the waist on my skirt matched the waist on my top.

And that is where I connected the two....When I sewed the pattern together, I sewed the front skirt to front bodice and back skirt to back bodice and then sewed the side seams up all at once. This outfit is very tight...as you can see from the pictures. I am in extreme denial about my recent weight gain. But the best part? I was working all night on the dress one night and tried it on after sewing up the side seams the first time. Guess what? I couldn't get out of it! I had to wake up my husband at 3 am to get the dress off me!

pretty white sparkly buttons!

Lastly, the white ruffle at the bottom was not something I was really into, so I was going to leave it off but then I remembered some awesome sparkly white lace I had (the more sparkly I can make anything, the better!) from back in the day and added it to the bottom. It also made it so I didn't have to hem the bottom! Plus the white sparkly lace matched the white sparkly buttons I used!

All in all, I do love it! I think it is good to get out of your comfort zone once in awhile and sew something totally different!

skirt close up

I sewed the buttons on by machine. I fused a small square of tricot interfacing on the back of where each button was going to go to give it some support in the knit fabric.

 

button closeup

bow closeup and matching striped on the side!

I made the bows by making two rectangles, one larger than the other and then sewing the smaller one around the center of the larger. Then I gathered the arm and attached the bow by hand.
 
Also, how great are these shoes! They are Colin Stuart for Victorias Secret. They totally go perfectly!

The grand finale!!

Lastly, here is a close up of my makeup. I used a frozen white with a bluish tinge for eyeshadow with some navy sparkly liner. And topped it off with some bright red lipstick!

This was such a great experience! I am glad this contest gave me the kick I needed. I hope you love the dress as much as I do! And if so, vote for me when the time comes! Thanks!

Pattern review can be seen here.

A special post for Green Apples!--Vogue 8231

Wow I have been gone for awhile. But do not worry...sewing has been happening!  You know how some people talk about their sewing mojo going missing? My blog mojo went missing! But it is back...and I have a bunch of new things to show you! But first off, I need to show you an old item...and this is in honor of the Green Apples blog.

Back in February, she wrote a post of lonely patterns she had and one pattern which she had never found a review on. Lo and behold, it is a pattern I made both pieces to years ago! And I still have the items! The pattern was Vogue 8231. This was many moons ago, before I knew about patternreview so I never got around to reviewing them. So I figured now is as good a time as any. And hopefully my review will convince Stitchywitch (author of Green Apples) to make up this adorable pattern.

Before we get too far along though, I must confess, this was the third garment I ever made...and I also made it back in 2006, so my memories of the details might be fuzzy. What I do remember, is that this was my first time working with a polyester fabric and I did not know about how it does not hold a press. It almost drove me crazy trying to do hems on this thing!  (I was unaware of fusibles, and other helpful items for this)  Also, this wonderfully sparkly fabric left glitter everywhere. I swear I still find some every once in awhile. My machine needed a major cleaning after sewing this!

Why am I not wearing the garment you ask?  Well this was back when I assumed because I was so tiny, I was petite everywhere. So I dutifully petited this pattern on the fold line and made it up. It fits perfectly except it is so ridiculously short! Ridiculously so... This is the pattern that taught me I am long waisted and have average shoulders so I do not need petite on top however I will always need petite on bottom. So this sits weirdly on me. However, the rest of the sizing fits well...

Lastly, I remember hand sewing the lining of this thing forever! It has those typical vogue instructions that have you attaching the lining by hand everywhere. Back then I did not know any better...(yay online sewing community!) I will do a completely different lining method next time I make this because I do not appreciate hand sewing at all...zero.

So without further ado...more pictures!

This was back when I had a machine that did 4 step buttonholes....I cannot believe I did so many!

button closeup....ha...slightly uneven...gotta love your beginning sewing...

 I have also made the skirt to this pattern and still wear it! I forgot to get a picture so I will get one tonight and then put up a review of the skirt so that pattern review will have not one, but two reviews of this pattern!!  The top and the skirt!

I hope this helps at least a little Stitchywitch!

Click here to see my review on pattern review.