Old sewing - my first ever BWOF project

Today, I dug up a dress I'd made sometime in September/October. I made BWOF 09-2007-121 then, my first ever BWOF project, after seeing and loving Cidell's version. It took a little work (and some ripping) to trace and make my dress, but I thought it was worth it.

I really didn't wear it though, because of the back view - I thought the pleats in the butt stuck out funny, and I wanted to fix it.

Then a really good friend came into town, saw me wearing the dress, and told me, kindly, that it kind of made me look pregnant. (I have a tummy - my mom thinks its a beer gut. Hee hee. I don't care, I love me some beer) So, the dress got shoved to the back of my closet.

But since I've lost some weight with the Joshi's Holistic Detox thingy, I tried this dress on again, and OMG!!! I actually look kind of good. At the very least, not pregnant. Sweet!!!



Now, the detox has been a huge pain in the ass. I've had to give up - you name it, I've had to give it up. I've given up wheat, yeast, any kind of alcohol, any kind of processed food, coffee, sugar, potatoes, dairy and a whole lot more. In its place, I've been eating a lentil-rich, greens-rich, low-carb diet.

Seriously though, trying on this dress - all worth-while. (And the back pleats don't even look that funny anymore...)

I've an outfit!

I think this is the first time I've made a top and a bottom, and actually worn them together. Woo hoo! I'm very pleased with myself.

Without further ado, the pictures.

The top is Simplicity 4076. The pants are Simplicity 4135.



Simplicity 4076 is going to become a favorite pattern of mine, I can tell. I love this t-shirt. Its pretty, its simple, I can wear it over jeans, and its cuter than just a plain t-shirt. The fabric was a remnant I found at Fabricland for a $1.25. Woo hoo! It worked well as a muslin. (Its just a tiny bit too short, I'd prefer it to be an inch longer. Can fix that easily next time.)



I also really like the pants, though they might be just a little baggy? This is my second muslin - the first was a bit tight, this one's a bit loose, so maybe the third will be just right? (I feel like Goldilocks & the Three Bears right now.) Still, this is a wearable muslin, which makes me happy. The fabric was a Goodwill find, maybe $2?

Woo hoo for me.

SWAP info: I've thought about this over the past two days, and I've decided to pass on the swap. I do believe I can sew everything up in time, though it is an aggressive goal. I also really, really like the pieces I'd wanted to sew.

But, when it came down to it, I really, really want to sew from stash, and with this wardrobe, I'd have to buy the white fabric, and yellow fabric, both for the blouse and the jacket.

My stash has grown incredibly the last few months, and there's a ton of things I want to sew from it. This SWAP, while really calling to me, will be a distraction. I sew a lot anyway, I don't need a SWAP to motivate me to sew.

I will save the images anyway. Spring in Toronto doesn't really set in till May? So, perhaps, if I'm incredibly productive sewing-wise in March and April, I'll buy some fabric and get to this in May. Also, there's a mini-wardrobe contest coming up sometime later this year on PR, so maybe that will be when I do this.

Up next - sewing wise.

I'm going out drinking on St. Patrick's Day, of course. I'm wondering if I can make myself something green. I'd really like to wear a dress, but Toronto weather might hastily put that to rest. If it is nice enough to wear a dress, there's a couple of BWOF dresses I've been meaning to make for the longest time.

BWOF 09-2007-117 - see Cidell's, Christina's & other versions!



Or BWOF 10-2007-105 - some great versions of this...



Then again, we might be buried in a meter of snow (again!) in Toronto, so perhaps, I'll just make a t-shirt, and wear it with jeans.

No guar gum here...

I've been doing Joshi's Holistic Detox. Its a 21 day detox, I'm on day 13, and have lost 6 pounds so far. I have to admit, losing weight was my primary motive. Its been good, the first few days were kind of rough, but better now. I'm pretty excited to be done soon, though.

In any case, I was cooking tonight, and wanted to make something I hadn't made before. There's a blizzard raging outside, so obviously, I felt like making ice-cream. Coffee ice-cream, to be precise. Both coffee and ice-cream are strictly against the detox rules, so of course, that's what I made...



I loosely followed a recipe from Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments, but added a liberal amount of Kahlua. I really like David Lebovitz - he writes an entertaining blog, and this book is awesome. Over the summer, I'd make a batch of ice-cream every day, practically. (Umm, is it any wonder I need to do things like 21 day detoxes to lose weight?)

Anyway, I couldn't really eat the coffee ice-cream, but I did lick the spoon clean - bad Reethi! But the ice-cream will be waiting for me when I'm done...

(The ice-cream's a bit melty in the picture - since its just out of the machine. And the flecks are coffee-grounds, since my strainer wasn't quite fine enough...)

If you want to make your own ice-cream, David has a free recipe here for Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream. My ice-cream maker is the Cuisinart ICE-20 Automatic Frozen Yogurt - Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker, which I bought over the summer from Craigslist for $25. Its a bit noisy, but since I'm not really a heavy user of ice-cream makers, it works for me.

Black & White & Yellow all over...

I'm pondering about entering the Pattern Review Wardrobe Contest.

Inspiring me are these images from the Spiegel website. Evidently, I really like yellow.













And this bag!!!!



The contest needs 10 total pieces:

1. The bag - if not similar, then inspired by the bag above
2. A jacket - the yellow. I've been wanting to learn how to make a jacket, so this is good. Don't really know what pattern I'm going to use - but I'll make my jacket have full sleeves, I think.
3. White pants - using Simplicity 4135
4. Black or dark gray pants - also using Simplicity 4135.
5. White pencil skirt. I think there's a pattern in one of my BWOFs.
6. Black shirt - I've been wanting to make BWOF 07-2007 115 I've also never made a fitted shirt, so lots of adventure ahead.
7. Black tank top.
8. Yellow printed drawstring shirt. Kind of like this BWOF 03-2008-111 tunic.
9. Solid yellow shirt. Not quite sure what pattern to use.

Which leaves another bottom to plan. Hmm. Maybe a printed skirt - same print as the shirt?

10 pieces though is a really aggressive goal, and I do have other things to do between now and the end of April. I'm also seriously trying to avoid buying fabric, and I'll have to buy at least a little for this challenge. I'm not sure if its worth it... Thoughts?

Vote for me?

Thanks for all the nice compliments about the dress. I was laughing at the anonymous comment about me chickening out of wearing it - its well possible. Besides, I don't really do that many things that involve getting all dressed up - a nice blouse and jeans takes me through most of my social life.

Anyway, I did enter the dress in the RTW contest - so, shameless plug for people to vote for me?

Not perfect, but done!

Its not pretty. It won't win any neatness prizes. I will never show a picture of the inside. But its done!!!!!


Will write more later, but here are some pictures.

The dress:




Close up of bodice to show the incredibly painful ruching(and cleavage, evidently)



The back (I might change this around, but this will work for the moment...)



Incredibly painful ironing and steaming to get the cool pleating on the dress...



So much work for such a tiny piece...



Finally, side by side:


I learned a lot in this project... Will detail all those in an upcoming post.

Definitive proof that I have no focus...


I've cut out a muslin of the Simplicity 4135 - but got seriously distracted by thoughts of entering the PatternReview RTW/Designer KnockOff contest.

The dress that I'm in love with is this yellow Versace dress from their Spring collection...



More detail on the dress...



I just really love the color and the general prettiness of this dress. What I don't love is how its completely open at the sides, completely backless (you have to go on the Versace website, view the video of the runaway show to see the back detail, but its backless, trust me.)

So, I think I'll real-world it by upping the modesty factor slightly by adding sides, and maybe a really low cut back? Or maybe keep it backless, dunno.

Since I can't design patterns out of pictures (what, you didn't know this?) I think I'll use Simplicity 3750 as a jump off point... maybe?



Tt really would be fun to enter the contest. Of course, I only realistically have 10 days to muslin, fit, find fabric, sew... Doesn't seem realistic to me, even as I write this, but hey. Maybe?

Early February sewing...

I did make a bit of progress on the Mix & Match wardrobe, despite needing to discard this top and this one.

I still had hopes for the BWOF, so I re-made it in this blue knit.



This one fits much better! I think it is because this knit is way more stretchy. (Technical term there.)

Mix & Match Progress - 1 piece out of 5. Ouch. Must get moving.

I also saw this Simplicity 4076 dress at The Slapdash Sewist and was inspired. I had some sweater knit that I thought would be perfect for this... although my sweater knit (another Goodwill find) is pilling quite seriously. I wonder what will happen when I wash it? Hmm.



I do like the dress, but I don't love it. I think I like the pattern though, (though it took me a lot longer than 2 hours to make up...) and I'll likely make it again, though in a less bulky knit.

I'm now off to write my pattern reviews.

I'm just saying...

I wrote on Cidell's blog that I was going to hold off on buying fabric till April, unless a trip to India was in the offing. Because, I can resist many things, but not pretty and cheap Indian fabric.

That being said, here's the temptation I face on a daily basis. This is (a part of) my mom's sari closet.



Here's the thing - she wears a sari roughly once a month. I know, I've counted. So, essentially, I face 6 yards of fabric per sari, under-used, tempting me, whispering, "cut me, cut me, she'll never notice I'm gone..."

So far, I've resisted.

But its hard.

More pics of temptation...






In the fall, my brother and me started taking out a couple of saris a day and hiding them. We were wondering how long it would take for my mom to notice. It took 10 days. I'm just saying...

One out of three. This sucks, really.

I've made a few tops in January, and its really sad - the one I was bitching about, Simplicity 3838 is the one I like the best.

So, Simplicity 3838.



Pattern review here.

Despite me complaining about how pregnant this top makes me look, (and it does, trust me. I took a shot of my profile, but I'm vain enough to never post it here), I still really like this top. Its comfortable, kind of cute, and its easy to wear. Tops like this fit perfectly into my wardrobe - I'm always looking for something just a shade nicer than a t-shirt to wear over jeans.

Dismal failure 1 - Simplicity 4020.

The pictures confirm - this is definitely a wadder.



How many ways do I hate this top? Ah. Let me count.

1. Ok, horizontal stripes at most out-of-shape body part? Ummm - no. (I couldn't help it though, that was the way the fabric stretched.)

2. The fabric is thin enough, you can see the indentation of my belly-button. And everything else, actually. You can see my bra through this. (Ah. Announcing that on the internet. Good idea.)

3. The worst is, apart from the above two points - it looks really dowdy. The kimono portion looks shapeless, its just dressing-gown like, and ugggghhh. Awful. Its not the pattern - I've made this pattern before, and that came out relatively cute. Its either the fabric, or something I did sewing. I'm not sure which one - but its back to the drawing board for this.

I'm not too bummed - I've wasted a buck on fabric(stupid Goodwill find, I must stop doing that) and a couple of hours of my life. It could be worse. I'm definitely going to try this again though, with either a floral (I think those work well) or a solid. Definitely, no stripes.

Slightly less dismal failure - BWOF 09-2007-101.



This was definitely my fault. For sure. I have this bad habit of buying remnants, and then trying to force my pattern to fit. To get this one to fit, I cut the ties a lot smaller, and made the shirt a lot shorter. Too short, as a matter of fact. This hasn't been hemmed yet - and its already about 2 inches shorter than I'd like it. (It was an accident, though. I thought I was measuring accurately.) And I made my sleeves shorter too, since I didn't have enough fabric, but it turns out, I like the sleeves in that length.)

I made a size 36 - which is my usual BWOF top size. In perfect 20-20 hindsight - I should have broadened to a 40 at the hip. The shirt is pretty boxy, and another inch at the hip would help it hang better. I could also shape it better at the waist - there's a lot of excess fabric there. My fabric doesn't stretch a lot too, so its actually a bit tight near the armpit. (I think its visible in the picture.)

The thing that makes me mad is, I really liked this fabric, and could have used it elsewhere, in a sleeveless top, or something. I tried to make it work here - and wasted it all. Bleah.

Anway. This top didn't take long to make either, so, back to the drawing board again. Not a total wadder, anyway, I think I can wear this one outside the house. (If I shouldn't, please, nice people on the internet, please tell me.)

Sewing - with a plan.

I don't want to call it a SWAP - because that would imply too much planning, which, quite honestly, I don't do.

However, ever since I saw this post at Carolyn's - the idea of cluster sewing has been simmering in the back of my head. 3 tops - 2 bottoms - I can do that.

So, here's what I'm thinking of making.

The Winter Collection - clothes to wear in order to go out for dinner and drinks.

1. Simplicity 3838



I want to make the view with the long sleeves. Some kind of print - I need to mull what I have in the fabric stash for this.

2. Simplicity 4020



I made this already in a pink striped sweater knit - though I'm mulling on whether I want to keep it, or throw it away. (I'll take photos, but the problem is that its a very thin sweater knit, and you can sort of see my belly button through the fabric. I'm a woman in her 30s, is this appropriate?)

If I do decide to wad it - I'll make it again, in some kind of colorful printed knit, or in a solid black.

3. BWOF 9-2007-101



I have a black and gray animal print fabric that I think I have just enough of...

4. Simplicity 4135



Pants! No shortage of courage here. I have a dark gray wool for this one. (I'd like to try a BWOF for this, but since I've never made pants before, I might want pictures. Hence, the Simplicity.)

5. Some kind of skirt. Potential candidates are Simplicity 4036 (as close to a TNT pattern for me) or Simplicity 3962.



or



I'll make this in a black wool.

So, some color in the tops and black and gray bottoms should make the 11 combinations possible. I'd like (optimistic here) to get this done by the end of February - so I'll still get some winter mileage out of it. Most of the patterns I've picked are really easy, in fact, the only one I'm a bit nervous about is the skirt - so, perhaps this is do-able.

I'm off to trace the BWOF...

Cidell and Sarah, thanks so much for offering to get me some patterns. You are too nice!

I did, however, manage to nag/cajole/persuade/whine and make my friend go back to Joanns. Here he is, in Wisconsin for the NFC game - detouring to go to Joanns for me. (Yes, I'm pretty spoiled.)



That look on his face is purely for me. The caption that accompanied the photo on Facebook said -

Packers fan loves spending game weekends finding sewing patterns. Thanks Reethi.

Umm. Yeah. I freely admit I'm spoiled.

(Ok, bonus picture, cause it was soo funny to see my never-been-to-Joanns friend root through a pattern drawer.)

D'uh!

Being in Canada, the pattern sales are rather scarce. Especially the really cheap, 99c ones - I'm quite sure those don't exist here.

So, when I heard about Joann's Simplicity sale this week, I wrote to a friend in the US who is visiting next week, and pleaded for patterns. He's a guy who's never been to Joann's, so, I gave him detail, sizes, numbers, etc.

Like so...

I need:

4135 - size H5
3533 - size H5
2999 - size H5
3997 - size K5
3678 - size K5
3835 - size D5
4014 - size AA
4045 - size H5
3750 - size K5
4076 - size K5
3566 - size K5

Detailed, right? Sizes, everything?

Yeah, not. I forgot to tell him what pattern company. He called me from the store, but I didn't hear the phone ring. Crap!

I am an idiot. Now I need to bribe him to go back.

(I'm still laughing at the image of him wandering around the pattern section at Joann. Does that make me a bad person?)

My top is done. It fits well and I'm really pleased with the way it came out, even if it makes me look pregnant. I need to take a pic...

Happy New Year!

Wow, I'm so sewn out, after 8 pairs of pyjamas. (Or pajamas? I'm sticking with the British English spelling on this one.)

Thank you everyone for the wonderful comments on the dress. (Especially to Sarah, who sent a billion comments over my way) I confess, I still haven't worn it, although that has a lot to do with the fact that its winter, and freezing.

Anyway, the project that's currently under way (though very slowly) is Simplicity 3838. I'm making the view with short sleeves. (I'd originally wanted to do the long sleeved one, but my fabric was a $2 remnant - why is this story familiar? - and I didn't have enough for the long sleeves.)

The tragic part is - I've got started on it, attached the bodice to the waistband, the bottom skirt to the waistband, etc, and I tried it on, and I think the uniform consensus was - pregnant & maternity-like. Aaarrrgh. I'm very tired of the failure rate of my projects, not so much in fitting and construction (though I have those too) but in deciding, looking at a pattern envelope, what will look good on my body.

I'm going to persevere through, however, it might look better with the zipper in, perhaps.

Or, I could just go to the gym, and get rid of the gut, but hey.

I think my sewing resolutions should be to sew clothes I will actually use.

Bah. Overall, I'm not a happy camper.

Happy Holidays!

I was my own little sweatshop the last few weeks, making a ton of Christmas presents. Including these 8 pyjamas, for my family. (We are creating our own Von Trapp moment.)



Although not visible in this picture, the plaid lines actually match up. I'm very impressed with myself.

Another one...

Major Pattern Surgery Part 4 - and a plea for help!


The dress - it is done! I shortened the sleeves, re-did the inverted pleats, and added facings.

Here are pics...

Front - one look



Front - another look


Back


Plea for help:

Dear Internet Readers - if there ever was a time to de-lurk, it is now! I implore you, tell me what you think. (And forward it on to all your friends, and make them tell me too...) For the record, my parents like it (they aren't an impartial audience though), and my brother, aka the photographer, thinks there's something wrong with it, but can't figure out what it is.

Please, please, please, comment...


1. Can I wear this dress out in public without looking like a reject from the 80's?

2. If I can, where would I wear this dress?

3. Is there anything I should change about this dress?

Be anonymous if you would prefer... I really need opinions.