Tracing up a storm

I've been on vacation the last 5 days - blissful! I've been hanging out with family at my parents - eating lots of yummy food, watching TV, laughing at my sulking cat (she does not like visiting my parents, she prefers to lord it up at my apartment...) and tracing a few BWOFs.

Now, I sewed - wait for it - 0 BWOFs from my 2010 issues. 0. That's pretty pathetic. For me, most of the inertia with BWOF is the tracing. Once I get past that, I'm golden.

So, in my 5 days, I traced 5 patterns.

Three skirts...

BWOF 08-2010-135


BWOF 08-2010-127


BWOF 11-2009-120

One dress...
BWOF 09-2010-122

And one top
BWOF 09-2010-121

I head back home tomorrow morning, which means I'll be able to get some of this cut and sewn up... maybe even before the end of the year.

Franken-patterning the cowl

Did I mention I wanted a simple cowl t-shirt? I am on fire, dear Readers. I pulled out some left over fabric, used the front and sleeves of McCalls 6069, and the back of a plain t-shirt pattern (I can't find my go-to Simplicity, so I used McCalls 4923 for the back, and here it is, a couple of hours of work! (I still have to hem the sleeve though.)

Here it is!
(The front.)


(The back.)

Sewing pattern review - McCalls 6069

Fabric: Some kind of knit I bought at G Street over the summer. It was $2.97 a yard, I think I bought 2 yards, and I used most of it on this dress.

Pattern: McCalls 6069

Pattern adjustments: I cut a size 10. I took a bit out of the bodice bottom, and a bit out of the skirt top (maybe an inch each?) to petite-size.

Time taken: Not the promised hour - how do they count this? I took ~4 hours, but some of it was also watching the Patriots game, so I was pretty distracted.

Favorite bits: I love the cowl, I've been wanting a cowl knit t-shirt for a long time, and this is a good substitute.

Unfavorite things: Ah, here goes, quite a bit actually.

- I've already complained about the bunching of fabric at the waist. Still don't like it.
- I hate how low the back is. In every picture I took, I can see my bra strap. That's too low, people. I need to figure out how to raise the back.
- It keeps falling off my shoulder. Right now, its pinned to my bra, and I still have to keep adjusting it.


(The back.)

In conclusion: I'm thinking of this one as a barely-wearable muslin. I need to think of a way to tweak this so I can keep the awesome bits (the cowl) and adjust the fit better.


(I tried it with a jacket as well, but I think it just makes me look square.)

Styles I shouldn't wear...

I worked on a McCalls 6069 (View B) dress last night, using some black & white printed fabric I bought during my G-Street shopping trip.



I made a size 10. The dress is close to done, but I'm facing a couple of issues, the most pressing being that the dress is literally falling off my shoulders. I think I need to shorten the back strap.

Trying it on though - I was a bit disappointed. This just doesn't look that good on me. I'm trying to figure out what it is, but I think it has to do with the bunching of fabric around my waist. Another classic 80s look, but one I shouldn't wear, I don't think. Also, I think more tailored clothing looks better on me that this kind of loose, unstructured dress, comfortable though it is...

Anyhoo, this is just assorted photo-free rambling. I'll finish the dress tonight, style it properly and take a photo.

Simplicity 4020 - View A

Dear Readers, despite my many wishes to the contrary, the 80s are here to stay. I've fought it all along, but I'm tired and am giving in.

Cue to this top - Simplicity 4020 - View A. This look screams 80s to me, but it is also ridiculously comfortable, and I'm ok with that.

Not much to say about the sewing here, really, it barely took a couple of hours to make. I'm a little uncertain of whether the style suits me at all, but then again, so comfortable!

The fabric is from WalMart - part of the 5 yards for $5. My mom was shopping there and bought it for me, knowing I'm always willing to buy knits,

Not quite a winter dress...

But finally, I have sewing to show.

I've been sick and miserable for most of the last week (people with children - I sympathize completely. I'm pretty sure I caught my persistent cough from a parent who caught it from his kid who caught it from daycare. Not good.) However, last night, right in the middle of the sickness and misery*, I decided to cut out and sew something, and I pulled BWOF 12-2008-113/114 from the stash.


(Since every revision of the BurdaStyle site seems to remove features - previews, magazine archives, etc, I just found the technical drawing at the Russian site and am pasting it here, vs. linking to it.)

I've made two versions of this pattern before - here and here. This time, the fabric I pulled out (a remnant from Joanns that my mom bought for me) was enough to make a dress, and so I did.



There's not much to say about this pattern. It has 4 pattern pieces, and is super-easy to sew. Even with my incredibly low-energy sewing, I'd say I only spent 2 hours on it, max. (Neckline finished with the magic Jalie technique, of course.)

So yay. A new dress for me.

*I am incredibly whiny and sorry-for-myself when sick. Thankfully for all around me, I'm rarely sick.

I'm going to whine (and maybe goal-set)

This is ridiculous, dear readers. Absolutely freaking ridiculous.

Do you ever have times when you are crazy busy, but you can't identify why? That's what I'm going through right now. I'm busy every evening, but with no great purpose. I'm just busy.

I've barely cooked in 3 months! I've barely touched my sewing machine. Biscuit is pining away, neglected (ok, this is a lie. Biscuit is my best-est friend. She always gets taken care of.)

My life is insane.

But, there's a silver lining in sight. My brother comes to visit next Saturday - December 18, and in his honour, my calendar is completely, utterly clear from the 18th until the 31st. No evening plans at all. I'm even going to take a couple of days off work, and even though I'll be hanging out with family, I still think there'll be a ton of time to sew. (Fingers crossed.)

Before the 18th, my calendar is also completely clear on Sunday (I'm cautiously optimistic about this). I think I need a GOAL! A huge, audacious, Reethi-are-you-freaking-insane kind of goal.

Could I:

- make 2 skirts and 2 knit tops in a day?
- make one so-necessary lined woolen dress?
- get to those long-forgotten pants?

I'm pondering. I feel the need to do - something - anything! - to shake myself back to sanity. (Your suggestions are welcome.)