2.20.2014

for those with guts: lotsa innards!

 

back as promised with lacy guts, and just to keep things status quo, i am also once again only 10 % done with my look for next week's final round of project sewn!  YIIIIKES.  keepin' it real.  should i be so lucky, of course.  i'd like to say, quite honestly, the ladies i'm playing with are amazing, and it has been soooo inspiring to sew "against" them.  but really for the most part, i feel like i'm sewing with them.
  

alright no time for waxing poetic!  that 10% crazy currently on my dressform ain't gonna finish itself, especially as the midnight elves i ordered are out of stock.  damn walmart.

here, for your viewing pleasure, is le armhole, from the outside.  every bit of that curve was cut, pieced, and handsewn to make the armsyce, and the opposite side is an exact match.  once i decided on the jigsaw piece i wanted, i cut its mirror image out as well, so i'd be ready for the next side.


opposite side!  TOTALLY PIECED!  y'all, i'm kind of monumentally proud of that.  i'm also working on too little sleep and too little vodka, so take that patting on the back as you will.


speaking of piecing, i did take shots mid process to keep track of where those bits were going, because really, once sewn in, the seams vanished and i couldn't find where i'd started.  here's an example of a before/after, the only shot that turned out bright enough at 2 in the AM for public consumption.

2AM.  that's an hour made for many things, and when there's a ruggy to be had, stitching is not one of them.    

okay.  let's rest our eyes with the fiesta guts for a hot second.



i love the look of that hem! teeheeeeee!  the super wide, hot pink horsehair is nestled inside, stitched to the satin bias tape, which was then handsewn to the skirt, in the littlest stitches i could manage.  i once wore a 1950s style silk dress in a musical, and every time i twirled, my heel would catch in the hem and take me down, because of the GREAT BIG GALUMPHING BLINDSTITCHING.  had i known how to sew back then i mighta fixed it myself.  so. teeny hemstitching, please.


some peeps asked how i got the stripes/chevrons to match.  i cut each pattern piece out singly-- nothing on the fold, and used several colored pens to draw directly onto the tissue pattern, marking where the boldest of stripes started and stopped.  that helped me match up my mirror images.  when pinning pieces together, i made sure the pin was inserted exactly where two stripes met, and that those points were the same on each side--sort of the same principle as the way some (me included) like to sew a dart, pinning directly on the seam line rather than perpendicular.  

fortunately, in the midst of the stripes craze, i had the perfect neutral color already waiting in my stock of serger thread: turquoise. i have eight different shades of neutral, and none of them are black or white.  or grey, for that matter.  

grey matter. heheheheheheheeeeeh.

okay, obviously what's left of my wits is going fast, it's crazy eddie's up in here, here come the rest of the lacy guts yeahyeahyeah:


here's the shoulder seam, from the inside.  on the reverse (front) it is equidistant from where an actual shoulder seam should lie, so the entire shoulder is almost a little pad, and sits perfectly centered.



from the front: the back wraps around and is stitched to the "shoulder pad."

hey whaddaya say we go hunting for that sleeve seam again?


I STILL CAN'T FIND IT!!!

phew.  if you'd like to peep the whole outfit on, clickety here, and if you'd like to vote over at project sewn, clickety here!   see y'all on the flipside, and many happy clinks of my imaginary glass of 9am vodka for staying with me this far!! 

45 comments:

  1. LOL B-E-A-Utiful!
    I was cracking up throughout this whole post. Been lurking your blog for a while. I love your creativity!

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    1. OOO I'M GLAD, I WAS VERY SLEEPY WHEN I WROTE THIS whoah sorry caps lock on. no time to fix! must sew!!!MUST SEW!!!!!

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  2. That bolero is so perfectly pieced, as is the striped dress. I always love when the insides (guts) love both. Are beautiful inside, like yours are.

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  3. Wow, have you ever been busy, lady!! Good on ya, everything looks amazing - but what else is new there, am I right?? ;) Keep on keeping on, my dear...I sense a lovely Gimlet awaiting you in future...
    *lol*

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    1. fa reals, minion mine. MINIONS! that's what i need to finish!!!

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  4. This is just beyond gorgeous, I love everything about it, down to the teeny tiny hem stitches. I have drawn lines on the pattern pieces to match elements but hadn't even thought of colored pencils. Thanks so much for the tip. Good luck on your next entry. I am working away on my next Mood project, how many steps can this anorak jacket have?

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    1. oh an anorak...i'm guessing about three hundred and eighty six? am i in the ballpark?

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  5. I love the detail shots! It just makes me want this ensemble more, though. GIMME!

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    1. let's have a smackdoWn when next we meet! WEAR THAT YELLA DRESS!

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  6. You have beautiful guts... THAT SOUNDED WEIRD. But also, you know what I mean. Wowza. BEAUTIFUL. I can only get DULL overlocker (serger) threads here :-(

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    1. that is SAD. were serger cones not so damn bulky i'd send you a box.

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  7. Thanks for the inside scoop. I've never used horsehair before and I imagine it makes for a crisp and flirty hem...two of my keywords. Must try!

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    1. oh sue, you need horsehair, you need it in every color, lemme know if you can't find it!

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    2. Yep! Me grasshopper, you Master! I need horsehair and I need it now!

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  8. I'M IN LOVE! I've been following your blog for quite a while now and I love everything you make! You have a skillset I can only dream about (OMFG how I hate my handstitching....it's all over the place) and you make creative choices I don't always have the guts for... Keep doing this magical thing, you are an inspiration!

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    1. thank you anja! my skillset (as it is...great today WHO KNOWS TOMORROW) is ever changing and only gets better with more hammering. the amount of fabric i've learned on is a little shocking...but sometimes it's worth it :)

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  9. You are amazing... you always turn out gorgeous ensembles and make it look so easy, and then you post one of these babies and my brain goes "POOF!!" LOL

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  10. If you're short on vodka Oona and like the taste of toffee, i'm happy to send you over a toffee-flavoured bottle of vodka...absolutely vile, I hate toffee but eh, it's all down to personal taste. Doubt it arrives on time to help you finish your next project sewn on time though but that could help for your final one?

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    1. eeeeeeeeeeeep david....i'm scared...let's share some whiskey instead, non? neat?

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  11. I can't find the seam either. Thank little booger must be with the Walmart elves!

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  12. What kind of thread did you use to piece the lace (transparent or just matching all-purpose?) and how did you sew it (machine zig-zag stitch or by hand?) I've pieced lace twice (it was hell.) and I'm curious how you did yours!

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    1. some uber cool perfectly matched thread that i had lying in my stash, included in a lace kit-- i think it's called a dorset wheel? it was like silky single ply embroidery thread. i'll dig it out tomorrow....

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  13. You are so witty, clever, artistic, fun and talented! I wish we could be girlfriends. In any case, thank you for your wonderful blog.

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  14. All I can say is WOWZERS! And: Crazyamazingawesomeness! And: I so wish there was a Hancocks in my area (apparently the wilds of Connecticut are only conducive to the meh-ness that is JoAnn's); I visit the one in my hometown whenever I go back to Virginia.

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  15. Such beautiful stitching, beautiful guts! Your stripe matching is genius! I do so love that colorful Mexican wonderfulness!

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  16. So much prettiness! I pink puffy heart your chevron dress :)

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  17. I've got to ditto Steph above - all I can think is WOWZER! I've loved all of your outfits thus far but this may be my favourite! Especially with all these guts and glory! I still can't get those legwarmers from week one out of my head though - I so need those for the school-run!

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  18. that is some amazing work there! totally inspired lace piecing. so beautiful!

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  19. Amazing as always especially the lacy bit, you make me want to sew when I grow up.....sad part is I don't know when that will happen, so I will feed my SEWL here....I mean soul.... while I wait for growth. Your talent leaves me speechless. Well done!

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  20. You are a Sewing Magiciana! And your work is absolute Magick and a piece of art in the true sense! I take a bow now! I am left speechless...

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  21. Your invisible lace seams are stunning, just like the whole outfit not to speak from your matching stripes

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  22. Fabulous work - I'm so glad you are doing so well in the competition! When I read this post I could feel the manic-panic building up - hilarious!!!

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  23. The lace is spectacular - I can't imagine how fiddly it must have been piecing it all together. I think I can just see the stitches in some of the photos: is the thread very slightly bluer than the overall tone of the lace?

    The dress is gorgeous too, but I keep coming back to the lace. Fantabulous.

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  24. This is just as beautiful inside as out! Love it!!!!!!!

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  25. This is mad, MAD I tell you!
    Inspired, intricate, outrageous, and brilliantly executed! FanTASTIC!
    AND, you used the word "galumphing" so 50 points to your house team!

    Well done, Oona.
    David
    (of David'n'Debi)

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    1. david! ruggy raises a glass. i hope to see "galumphing" in your winey notes soon.

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  26. beautiful, Oona! moi, in love :) thanks for positive emotions!

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  27. Oh my goodness, that lace bolero is just... wow. Mad skillz. I wanna sew you like when I grow up as a seamstress.

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  28. K Oona. I'm a beginner-ish sewist and I took a sewing class a year ago and sewed the fashion fabric up of a sleeveless dress including the zip. I am just now trying to finish the dress so that it is fully lined and I've totally forgotten what to do next. I sewed up my lining and now I have a question on how to finish the armholes and neckline. I think I'll do what you did above with the armholes and attach bias binding and then handstitch to the lining. I don't remember if I was going to face the neckline or similarly bias finish the neckline (neckline comes to a point in the chest making a bias finish harder?)? What do you suggest? Thanks in advance for your help and congratulation on Project Sewn!

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i thankya truly for taking the time to comment, i love a good conversation-- and hope you know my thanks are always implied, if not always written!