SWAP 2013 - Initial thoughts

Here's some stream-of-consciousness thoughts.

- I sew lots and lots of simple clothes. For this SWAP, I'd like to challenge myself and sew more complicated things - lined jackets, shirts with collars and buttons and sleeve plackets, lined pants - that kind of thing.
- I did my wardrobe transition (winter clothes brought up, summer clothes put away), and sheesh! I have lots and lots of summer dresses, and hardly any winter clothes. I'm pretty much wearing the same set of 4-5 RTW winter pants I've been wearing for the last 5 years. All of them are just about worn out - I desperately need to sew myself replacements.
- I hate cutting. But - largely - that's cause I have a terrible cutting set up. I cut on my dining table - placing two cutting mats side by side, and cutting with a rotary cutter. For pattern weights, I use rolls of pennies, which unfortunately, roll around, fall on the floor, break open, strewing pennies everywhere... I do own a proper full size cutting mat, but it's in my parents' basement. Now that I have room for it, I need to just bring it to my house and set it up.
- Burda. I need to use the patterns, or stop buying the magazines. Same goes for my new copies of Drape Drape & Shape Shape, my Pattern Magic books, and all the other assorted sewing books that I buy and don't use.

So - all of that stuff is influencing the wardrobe plan.

Basically, the rules this year are:

- to make two 4 or 5 piece collections, with a single other garment that can be worn with both capsules. 

Each collection is either 3 tops and two bottoms, or 2 tops, 1 bottom, and 1 dress, which all form a cohesive group.  The 11th garment should be a jacket or other piece that coordinates with both collections, both in style and color.

Which is simple enough.

Here's what I think I'd like to make.

- 4 bottoms - all of which are lined pants. I'm ok using the same pattern for all of them - but I really need pants!
- 2 sets of twinsets. (I'm not really sure if I that will count as 4 pieces - there's something in the discussion threads about whether a jacket is a top - and the ruling is that it is not - which suggests the same logic will apply to my cardigan portion of my twin-sets. However, I do need these for the wardrobe, and so will make them anyway - and have the inner shell count as a top.)
- I might make a cream collection - and if so, I'd like to make a white/cream winter lined dress. Just a basic woven sheath dress with sleeves.
- Raincoat. I need one. Also a fall/spring jacket, and a trench coat, etc. I need to start sewing more outer pieces - I'd get a lot of use out of them, and I'm not sure why I don't sew more of these (laziness about cutting is atleast part of the answer.)

That's not quite everything I need to make - but it's a start. The thinking process will undoubtedly evolve as time goes on.

Mu-mu time!

Sentiment is widely against this 'before' dress, dear Readers. My parents winced, my brother looked aghast - it's not a popular dress. I think it's rather perfect for the Pattern Review Refashion contest that I'm hoping to enter.

Interestingly, this dress is hand-made. I feel good about using it as an ingredient in my own hand-made dress.

Butterick 5206 - So nice, I made it thrice!

This is my third version of Butterick 5206.

Dear readers, I love this pattern. I really, really do. It sews up easy, it has sleeves, the neckline is flattering, it's easy to wear, I love everything about it.

Version 1 was a dark print. Version 2 was a black solid - which unfortunately has a big fabric fade right in the middle of the skirt. I'm planning on dyeing it though - it is super flattering, and I want it to work.

This light print is version 3. I've had this fabric in stash for atleast 3 years - I think it was a Fabricland buy. I didn't have enough fabric to make the sash (which is a serious fabric hog), so I left it out, and am wearing it with a store bought belt.

I made my usual modifications - I shortened the bodice by an inch, and the skirt by a bit to get it to hit right about at the knee.

Pattern instructions - a bit silly, really - they wanted me to bind the edge with knit bias binding. Umm - it's a knit. It really doesn't need to be cut on the bias. I used a strip cut from straight grain (the less stretchy side), folded the strip into half, and then sewed the raw edge of the strip to the wrong side of the fabric - then flipped it to the front, and top-stitched on the right side. This way is much better, really, if I say so myself.

Once summer rolls around, I'll definitely made the short sleeve version! Probably, many times!

Now, for a spot of UFO finishing. An easy one - all I have to do is hem! 

SWAP 2013 - the rules are here!

Yes! I've been impatiently lurking the Stitcher's Guild SWAP boards for about a month and a half, and the rules are finally out!

As much as sewing a SWAP wardrobe gets tiring, the clothes I make there really do get used. I've worn my hoodie heaps of times,  my purple flowered dress became one of my most-used summer dresses, especially to work, and my pants! It's been cold here, and I've been reaching for these lined pants every other day, practically.

Which makes me pretty excited about another SWAP. Wardrobe holes - lined pants, lined sleeved dresses, fun little tops - all of these can be filled by the SWAP.

Thanks Kay! (And more shopping...)

Kay kindly alerted me to the fact that Craftsy had some classes I'd be interested in if I wanted to solve the pants fitting thing.

And also, classes are on sale! Most of their classes seem to be $15.

A few clicks later, here's what I bought! Pants, pants, and a quilting class, just to mix it up.

Which means I know what project I'll be working on next.

Sewing books!

When I first starting sewing, I think I gave myself a monthly sewing allowance of $100 - an amount I've rarely spent (mostly because $100 is a lot of money - especially when you buy cheap fabric and buy your patterns on sale.)

However, I'm well on my way to hit it this month - I just placed an Amazon order that was sewing-book heavy. (I'm bummed to note that I evidently forgot to place the Collette sewing book in my cart - aargh. I meant to order it.)

What did I get? Both the Drape Drape books (1 and 2), Pattern Magic 3, and Shape Shape (inspired entirely by Carolyn's many beautiful projects from this book.)

The package should be delivered Monday, yay!

Now to go actually make something, to make up for all these indulgent purchases!

(Dress update: My dress is done! I love the pattern so much, I actually cut out another version while I had it out. Which I hope to sew tonight/tomorrow night. Photos will follow - maybe even today, if the rain lets up.)

Blue pants - Simplicity 3850

Pants are my biggest wardrobe hole, and while it's easy to avoid wearing pants in the summer, as the weather gets cooler, I find myself wishing I sewed more of them. And therefore, when I was looking for something to sew, I dug deep in the pattern stash to find Simplicity 3850.

The fabric is a pale blue stretch denim-ish cotton. It was a gift from a friend. For the longest time, I've been uncertain of what I'd actually do with this fabric - it isn't really the type of thing I'd pick out for myself, but I decided that a wearable muslin of Simplicity 3850 was a perfectly good use for it.

I cut a size 12, but was still nervous that the pants might be too tight. (Weight gain is a bitch.) So, I sewed  my side and inner leg seams as 1/4 inch seams, vs. the 5/8" the pattern is drafted for. The pants are therefore a tad too loose, but that might be the stretch as well.

The instructions are ok, I did follow them for the fly front, since I couldn't be fussed to find the simpler, Sandra Betzina set.

After all that, what do I think?

Pros: I used some fabric, I made pants, these fit ok in the front.
Cons: The fit on the back isn't great, and I need to keep hitching them up, it is too loose at the waist and hip. Also, about an inch too short.

Still, it got me back to sewing and blogging, and that's pretty awesome. And I would make these pants again, with the proper seam allowances and with a no-stretch fabric.

Incidentally, readers, if you know things about pant fitting - I will be everlastingly grateful if you leave me comments telling me what I'm doing wrong - the back fit is not ideal, and looking at the front pictures, there's some wrinkling there too! 

Up next, a mock-wrap dress with 3/4 sleeves - already cut out, and a free evening tomorrow to sew them up, hopefully. Yes!

What seems to be my monthly catch-up post

Well, hello again, everyone.

Ok - my life is showing very slow signs of getting back to normal. With the advent of Fall, the lawn-mowing and gardening bits slow down somewhat, and spare evenings suddenly start making their appearance.

I had one such spare evening last night - I actually had a 2 hour block to sew. Yes!

I'm working on a pair of Built By Wendy pants in a stretch denim-like fabric that is - rather unfortunately - sky blue. Still, coloured pants are "in", no? It's more a muslin.

I've been working on these pants, off and on, for about a month now. (Sigh.) Last night, the pants were complete to the point where I could try it on - and lo-and-behold - they fit. The fit isn't great - but it works. (Pale blue shows every single wrinkle though.)

They are actually a bit loose - I've been putting on weight, and so I made a size 12, and reduced the seam allowances to 1/4 inch on the side seams, all to guarantee that the pants will fit. The stretch on the fabric helps too, of course. They feel a bit loose at the waist now, but I'm going to hold off from fiddling with it for a bit. 

My next free bit of time is Sunday - and I'm hoping to find another 2 hour bit of time to finish the pants then.

I also pulled out a pattern for the next project. I'm going to make a knit wrap dress. I usually tend to fail at wrap dress making - the neckline is always too low/gapes/needs a cami underneath. However, long-sleeved knit dresses are useful in winter, plus, honestly, my weight is so all over the place that I'm very leery of making something woven and have it not fit in a month.

I do think the weight gain is a bit part of what's keeping me from sewing. The pants I made back in February are a bit too tight, and it's seriously frustrating to pour hours of sewing into something, and then not have it fit. It's all my fault, of course - hello, sedentary lifestyle, laziness, ice-cream, take-out and beer - but still, frustrating.

My camera batteries are still dead - I think this set has lived out its life, and I need to go buy new rechargeable batteries. But hopefully, on Sunday, there will actually be a picture of a pant.

It isn't much...

but given that I've barely touched my sewing machine in the last three months, attaching the binding on this quilt feels like victory.

Apologies for the crappy camera phone pictures. The good news is that I've found my camera and my tripod. Camera batteries are charging, there's hope yet for proper blog content.

Could it be...

- Sewing machine back? Yup.
- Free evening today? Yup again.
- Household chores to do? Probably, but I'm good at ignoring them.

Could sewing happen tonight? Keeping fingers crossed!

Hello there!

I decided that if I wait until (a) I have spare time, (b) my camera is charged, (c) I have something to show, it'd probably be another 2 months before I'd post.

So, here's a picture-less post.

Dear readers, my life is always a little busy (all self-imposed), but in the last few months, extra-busy-crazy! Here's why:

- I bought a house. Umm yeah. After 18 years of renting, I finally took the plunge and bought a wee little house. For those that know, Toronto real estate prices are absolutely insane - and this feels like a very big deal. I moved in at the end of July/start of August, and the house is still standing. (This is my measure.)

- The house comes with a back yard and a pocket-sized front yard. The front yard has a lawn. I now need to mow a lawn? And garden? Dear readers, I am becoming my parents.

- It felt like I was on vacation most of June. (This isn't true, I was away for two weeks, but there's all kinds of catch-up stuff after you go on vacation - busy!)

- It felt like I was packing all of July, in anticipation of the move. Aargh. I didn't declutter at all, so now I have a basement stuffed to the gills with unpacked boxes. (Including some fabric, groan!)

- In between that, there were cottage weekends, weddings of friends, camping trips, one very big house-warming party...

- Oh, and I have a friend staying at my place for the next three months.

Busy.
 
Let's talk instead about sewing, shall we?

- I sort-of finished a dress. I wore it out, but decided I needed to do something clever about the midriff ruching, since it puddles unattractively right now - not quite what I was going for. But it's almost done!

- I have a sewing room! Other people might call this a guest room. (It's really the size of a generous closet.) But I have it! Even though I haven't been in it at all, I'm delighted about this.

- Oh, the last Fabricland to be subway accessible (York Mills Center) shut down at the end of July. This was not good, I was rather unhappy about this. But on the bonus side, they were selling their pattern cabinets at a pretty deep discount, and I bought one! Yay! Instant pattern storage solution for $50. (Side story - the pattern cabinet is 75% full. I could run a store out of my house. How many patterns do I have! Aargh.)

- Due to all the moving busyness, my sewing machine is off to be serviced. I have an old one I'm using as a spare, but I prefer mine. Hopefully, my sewing machine will be back this weekend.

Hello, blog!

So I realized it had been close to a month since my last post. Hello, blog! 

I wish I had something sewing related to share, but no sewing has been happening. Instead and better, I'm on vacation. A week in Porto, Portugal - just lovely! 

Sewing will happen when I return though - there's a half-finished dress on my dining table. 

Vogue 1179 - Probably the easiest dress in the world!

Ok, how awesome is this dress! I opened the pattern envelope and pulled the uncut pattern out at 7.30pm yesterday - by 11.00pm, I was completely done sewing this dress. And I'm a distracted sewist - in between, I watched bits of TV, played with Biscuit, checked email, blah, blah.

3 pattern pieces. Very little fitting required. Nice and roomy, but yet not 'when are you due?'. I love this dress.

- I bought the fabric on my recent trip to New York Easter weekend. I was originally thinking a wrap dress, but that would have been more complicated fitting, and I wasn't in the mood for that. It is some kind of synthetic knit - $4 a yard, I think. (I think I bought it at Chic Fabrics, on W38? 39?)

- I didn't pay attention to fabric placement on the back, otherwise, I'd have centered the print. Meh.

- Yes, I realize this is not on my May sewing list. Bad Reethi.

I made PJs!

Ok, the excitement of the title is probably unwarranted.

But, after the intensity of the jacket, I needed a bit of a palette cleansing project, if you will. Uncomplicated sewing was in order.

Of course, I could have just pulled out anything and started sewing, but since I had a list, I pulled it out, and looked, and the PJs got made.

The fabric is one of the oldest in my stash, it dates back to the days I lived in Michigan. I didn't really even sew garments then, and I'm pretty sure I didn't have a project in mind when I bought it. However, it really is *perfect* for PJs, no?

The pattern is the same as before, New Look 6523. 2 pattern pieces, easy-peasy. 2 hours of work and I was done.

While I'm pretty happy with the PJs, I'm not sure about the palette-cleansing bit. I had the entire weekend to sew, dear Readers, and I regret to say that I didn't sew at all. Instead, I cooked, read a book, and did nothing. I seldom give myself permission to do nothing, and it felt weird. Long weekend's now over, and I feel a teensy-bit irresponsible, which is totally ridiculous, of course. Enough, I say!

Sewing pattern review - Simplicity 2443 Jacket

I'm too much of a beer snob to drink Blue - it's a friend's cooler. 

While I've had Simplicity 2443 in my pattern collection for a while, the Best Of pattern contest really made me pull it out and get to work on it.

Here's some stream-of-consciousness-thoughts:

- I cut a size 10 shoulders, sleeves, and graded to a 12 at the waist.

- For a change, since this is a project that's above my typical skill level, I read the instructions, and followed along. The instructions were in general, quite good. If I make this jacket again, I'd only deviate from the instructions for the pockets - I'd cut a template out of cardboard, and steam my fabric around the template, to get even pockets. (Mine are reasonably wonky. It's all part of the charm.)

Close up of front

Close up of front

- And the plackets. The instructions there were really, really indecipherable. After trying the Simplicity method and failing horribly (hello, seam ripper!) I used this method described by Gigi instead. My fabric was a bit thick for this, and had I not been in a hurry, I'd have tried a third way, but it works, and the jacket's done, and that's what's important.

Placket close up

Placket close up

- Inside seam finishes - I kept it simple, and just serged exposed seams. Works fine!

- The fabric is from the stash, a gift from my aunt. It's kind of linen looking, but it is thicker, and more upholstery weight. It is perfect for an unlined jacket, thick enough to provide warmth.

- I'd neglected to take my fabric along when buying ribbon - so my ribbon was white, while my fabric was cream. Aargh. I'd a moment of sheer angst, and then, I remembered that I could tea-dye it. One cup of strong tea later, the ribbons match great.

- I really, really need top-stitching practice. The pockets? Not the best sewing in the world.

- I love the sleeve length, and the d-rings and cuffs add a trace of fancy without too much extra work.

- This is a pretty complicated project for me. The contest deadline kept me going (just in time, eeks!), but if it weren't for the contest, I'd have been tempted to stop lots of times. I'm glad I stuck to it though, this is a great jacket in a neutral basic, and I'll get lots of use out of it.

In conclusion: One off the list for May, woo hoo, and I just realized, this jacket is cream, and works for the 6-PAC as well. I love when that happens.

A quick, slightly bad photo of my new jacket

I'll update tomorrow with better photos, and a sewing description....

I love outsourcing!

Outsourcing my quilting, I mean.

Once again, I sent off a quilt top to be quilted, and lo-and-behold, like magic, it came back all done.

At the time, I was a little meh about the quilt top, but wow, it looks amazing! I'm pleased as punch.

I still need to bind it, of course, but binding a quilt is relatively easy. I foresee only a few months of procrastination.

Sewing plans for May

I'm one of those people that love to plan - lists are my favorite things! (Executing these plans - that's a different matter entirely.)

Anyhoo, there's a couple things I'd like to participate in the next few months, plus a vacation I'd like to sew for, etc. Plans seemed to be a good thing...

Here's the list:

1. PatternReview Contest - BestPatterns contest. I'm planning on sewing Simplicity 2443 - the very cool Cynthia Rowley jacket, in a cream/beige solid. (Fabric from stash, a gift from my aunt. Thanks, Chandrama!)

 

The deadline: May 15. (Umm, get going, Reethi.)

2. PatternReview Contest - One Yard Challenge. During PR Weekend in Montreal (way back in 2009, I believe, gulp!), I bought this gorgeous green fabric with bright pink flowers on it, expressly to make a simple skirt. The fabric was $17 a yard, and I therefore only bought a yard. I'm going to sew it on the cross-grain. I'm searching for the perfect pattern for this - I'd like a minimum of seams, so as to not break the pattern up.

 

The deadline: Also May 15. (I guess I know exactly what I'm doing this weekend.)

3. The 2012 Summer 6PAC Seasonal Collection Sew-Along is intriguing. I'm going to use whites and beiges as my two basic colours, I think. Related to this, I'll be sewing...

4. I've told myself the only way I can buy a June Burda Style magazine is to sew one thing from the May issue, and one from the April issue. For May, I want to sew pattern 127 - it's a jacket, in a white eyelet (possibly underlined to give it a bit of structure.)

5. And from the April issue, the cool sailor pants. (I can't be bothered to navigate the increasingly piss-poor Burda web pages. Burda's one of the few companies whose web presence seems to get worse over time, not better. Its rather staggering in it's complete lack of functionality.) The sailor pants - I'm thinking in a white linen-looking fabric.

6. If I magically find spare time after all of this, I'd like to sew a cream cardigan and a cream inner shell. My fabric is wool, which might be a bit warm for May, but (a) Toronto weather is unpredictable, (b) my store-bought cardigans are crying to be replaced and (c) I need to use the stash!.

4, 5 and 6 will work with the constraints of the 6PAC sew along. 


7. Also, if I magically find time, another pair of PJs. I've been living in the pair I made for the PJ Party, I love it to death, and making another one sounds lovely!

Ahem. Well, I'm certainly ambitious, right? 8 items, 20 days? Sweet, crazy Reethi.

SWAP 2012 - All Done!

Of course, I finished sewing by the end of April, but I made my mom take all my photos yesterday. She did a great job! I sent off my email with all my pictures, and now I'm done!

My SWAP was really a rather meandering path - I had ambitious plans to make a raincoat, a suit jacket, and other such items. I did have to downgrade the ambition, but I kept consistent with my overall goal, to make wardrobe basics that would match well with many other items in my wardrobe, and wouldn't end up as orphans. I made 2 t-shirts and 2 blouses - I'd determined at the start of the year that I was quite short of tops. I also made 2 pants (another key wardrobe need), and 2 dresses. For the remainder 3 pieces, I made 1 button-down shirt, 1 jacket (my hoodie), and used a black cardigan (overshirt) as my  pre-made piece (it was made sometime last spring.)

In general, I find it pretty difficult to stick with a sewing plan, and this was no exception. But, I've done a wardrobe once before - almost 4 years ago, when I first started to sew, and there are pieces from that effort that still exist in my wardrobe. I know - painful though it is when I want to sew a summery dress - basics are what I need - pretty counts, but having something to wear is key. Especially in my life - I work for a large corporation - vintage inspired dresses aren't going to cut it at work.

And now the pictures! 

Me-Made-May '12 - the first week

A week of Me-Made-May, and I only took one sucky (by my admittedly low standard) picture. Go me!

Day 1 (Tuesday): Big work meeting, so I dressed "corporately". (I need to start making jackets, sheesh. Cardigans aren't really corporate enough for meeting the super higher-ups.) In the evening, I traded the pumps for black boots, added my hoodie for extra warmth, and headed to play trivia with friends. (A standing Tuesday night tradition.)

The dress is BWOF 09-2010-122. The cardigan is McCalls 5890.

Day 2 (Wednesday): Just a regular work day - I still need to be business-casual, but felt ok about adding colour. To work, I wore the blue shirt and the grey pants. In the evening, I was going to scope out a neighborhood I'm thinking of moving to, so I grabbed my hoodie and a scarf for warmth, and headed out. 

I"m wearing my Blue BWOF 09-2007-101 t-shirt, grey pants (copied from an RTW pair), my McCalls 4261 hoodie, and am carrying this scarf (it's hard to see in the picture though, but it's in my hand.) 

Day 3 (Thursday): Another work day, this time though, I think I was super-casual. (Bad Reethi.) I didn't really go out in the evening - my parents came over bringing birthday cake, I was already in my pjs, and so, I cut birthday cake in pjs. Which is pretty sweet, really. (Elastic is especially useful if you are eating massive amounts of cake.) 

I"m wearing: my black and white striped t-shirt (copied from RTW), and my red suede skirt - Simplicity 4036.

Day 4 (Friday): I woke up at 3.00am to catch a 6.30am flight to Florida - a really good friend was getting married in Tampa. On the plane, I was wearing my Day 7 outfit and my hoodie. Once I got there though, there was a pre-wedding dinner, and I changed into a Butterick 4443 dress for that.

Day 5 (Saturday): Ok, this is my low-effort photo. There were meals with friends, there was catching up to do, and in the middle of all that, a photo for Me-Made-May just didn't really seem that important. I took this photo of a Simplicity 3503 dress in my hotel room right before I was going to shower and change into this McCalls 4444 dress for the wedding.

Day 6 (Sunday): Brunches, beaches, breweries, and the new Avenger movie. This was a good day. I made up for yesterday's photo by actually asking a friend to take my photo - on the beach. I didn't really want to leave. I'm wearing the dress I made for this year's birthday - Vogue 8667.

Day 7 (Monday): Reality intruded - mini-vacation over, I flew back to Toronto. Anything I wear on a plane is always chosen for comfort - this outfit included. (I've still resisted wearing PJs in public - but if there's ever a public place I'd want to wear pjs - it'd be a plane.)

I'm wearing my BWOF 06-2011-114 pants and an old Simplicity 2938 flowered shirt.

And that was my first week of Me-Made-May '12. How was yours?