Fall...

Sometimes a garment gets stuck in your craw and sets up shop until you make it. This particular dress did just that, chillin' in my noggin' for THREE YEARS until I finally got it out of my head and right (ish). 

Sallie Oh's romantic beauty was the original vision in my mind, and at first, I set out to make a full on copy of my girl's floaty, liberty flowered, burdastyle midi dress. I had two attempts at my imitation: one fail, one fail-ish. I knew after the first try (the fail in Liberty silk cotton, huzzah) that the gathered skirt panels didn't suit me. 

I'm getting deja vu here-- have I typed this exact paragraph before? It's a little foggy.

Speaking of foggy. September. Right? September happened. I was out of my head for most of it, honestly didn't even acknowledge a numbered date, so much as a Wednesday. Maybe that's for the best, considering what September was in the larger world. In my smaller bubble, it's been happily (although batshit crazily) nonstop sewing, filming, singing, and traveling. Since the end of July, really. Which is just how I like it--but I think Rob would appreciate having some apartment space back. Our living room (which basically means, our home) has been entirely usurped by boxes, supplies, and fabric for two straight months now, with no sign of stopping. AGAIN SO NOT COMPLAINING. But I feel for Rob. It's like a game of twister up in here.

This is obviously not our apartment. This is a SUPER posh hotel, where I was housed for a job which marked the start of the nonstop rollercoaster. I can't say what the gig was (yet), but I can say the lodging was CHOICE. When I got wind of the location, I packed a suitcase full of sweeping dresses and used every minute of downtime to swan about and take pictures. My fellow guests didn't mind one bit--in fact, the technicolor parade opened the door to many a wonderful conversation with strangers on this solo trip.

The third try at this pattern is still an "ish," as you can see I've got a few wrinkles across the back. I added my own l/s lines, and did my standard short waist adjustment of one and a quarter inches. Usually, this does the trick, but I need a little more length taken out of the back bodice. 

It certainly ain't stopping me from wearing it! This sweepy gal got her debut onstage, in a concert reading of "Showboat" at Bucks County Playhouse. I got to sing "Bill" and "Can't Help Lovin That Man" in 5 yards of silk chiffon. WHAT EXTRA BACK BODICE LENGTH. At events like this, actors usually wear their own fanciness, so OBVIOUSLY, I was gonna wear handmade. I was slam sewing right up until curtain. At half hour, when the fabulous ladies of the cast were applying the usual war paint, I was madly stitching allllll those buttons along the front edge. Note to self: next time, start the placket lower, or add another button above. 

Oh! Last changeup, I used a half circle skirt to finish the job. The CB seam of the skirt became the CF seam, making it possible to extend the buttons all the way down, and removing the need for a zip! 

I think this might be the most haphazard post I've ever written. I BLAME THE ROLLERCOASTER!! Come on back Monday for some yammerin about the slamdance that was the end of summer, or if you follow me on Instagram, you'll get the deets later today ;)

Happy weekend, y'all!

Sewing Is A Virtue.

Sewing my own clothing is making me more stubborn, and yet, more patient. Both pieces in this combo were intended as something completely different than their outcome, and both actually made it to completion because of these attributes.  

First up, the cropped jeans blazer, which was meant to be a peplumed affair: Simplicity 1919 (OOP). I was ever so patient with this jacket! So patient, my hands literally turned blue! (Oh yeah, the dye on this one is strong. Every time I touched this thing, I promised myself it would be a short session, then hours later, I'd walk away looking like something out of Yellow Submarine. CLEARLY EXHIBITING EXTREME PATIENCE. AND YES ALSO STUBBORNESS.)

I fitted, I pressed, I changed thread colors, I topstitched with care…

AND THEN, EVEN WHEN MY BLUE HANDS SAID WOMAN QUIT AT THE CROP I STUBBORNLY WENT AHEAD AND PATIENTLY MADE A LINED, CLIPPED, GRADED, TOPSTITCHED, CURVED FIVE PIECE PEPLUM WAIST WHICH I HAD TO EVEN MORE PATIENTLY RIP OUT WHEN I ENDED UP LOOKING LIKE I WAS AUDITIONING FOR SWEET VALLEY HIGH: THE CAREER GIRL YEARS.

Happy with my eventual decision. Mad at those lapel wrinkles, which don’t show IRL as much as in these photos. Or do they? Must check that.

As for the jumpsuit, well. WELL.

The jumpsuit is actually pants.

Burdastyle’s 119 Jersey Track Pants pattern was the candidate, and my vote proved very ill advised when I threw them on for the initial fitting. Although I love Burdastyle drafting, I wonder if the jersey patterns don't take negative ease into account as much as they should? My size came up too wide, the waist gathers were thick and frumpy, the thin waistband was out of proportion, the length in both the crotch and leg were of supermodel stature. In short, they were a hot mess, and not the chic little pair of pants I imagined. But I was far too stubborn to abandon this dreamy Rayon Jersey (from Mood) to the loungewear shelf. So, I quite patiently made a laundry list of mods...

· hacked off 4″ from the hemline, gathering the new length into cuffs

· took away 1″ from waistline


· increased the crotch curve by 3/8ths


· removed gathers from waistline


· added 6 evenly spaced inverted box pleats to front and back waist


· stitched each pleat closed about 3″ down from the waist line


· cut 16′ of jersey on the crossgrain, folded to equal an 8″ band when attached.

WHAT?! I ACTUALLY REMEMBERED WHAT I DID?! Yeah. Been keeping a notebook filled with details of my sewing process now, the better to explain myself later. (Though I could practice a little more patience in penmanship. Such chickenscratch.)

The ridiculous 8 inches of foldover band length were meant to add adjustable proportion at the waist: wear it pulled up high-waisted, wear it scrunched down low on the hip. But, lo and behold, when I pulled them on and tried the band at “high” height, I found that those inches were also just enough to serve double duty as a top! Did I just make a jumpsuit? I maniacally breathed to my mirrored reflection. HEY YOU IN THE MIRROR. Are you kidding me?!

Well, the answer is: I ALMOST did. I DECIDED TO BE PATIENT HERE! AGAIN! You see, although the top did stay up on its own in my stomp-around-the-house-test, I’ve got two pieces of doublestick tape aiding and abetting in the frontal boob tube area for the photos (the better to avoid flashing the streets of New York). Before going permanent on this unanticipated path, I wanted to see all angles of this jammy in pictures, and not just in a mirror. We all know mirrors lie. Believe in Cher.

Now that we’ve got pictorial evidence, I’ve decided to make things permanent. I’ve got rayon leftovers at the ready for options…maybe wide gathered straps? Or leave it strapless with an elastic casing? I'd love to find a way to make it secure enough for a jumpsuit, but still have the option for pants. Hmmmm. Suggestions welcome!

these virtuous separates were made using my fabric allowance as part of the mood sewing network. and i highly suggest grabbing some of that jersey!

Painted silk bustier dress

Somebody call Guinness (or better yet, pour me one) because I'M ALL WORDED OUT. I don't even have a catchy title in me.

I mean, I've been making this dress since last July. First it was my birthday dress, then anniversary dress, now it's a candidate for New Year's Eve...

(I say "candidate" because I haz made a secret pajamas maxi dress. YOU GUYS ARE SO TOTALLY BANG ON RIGHT ABOUT THIS SECRET PAJAMAS THING. It is currently the front runner.)

Don't be sad, dress. You will be worn.

Honestly, I'm glad it took me this long-- firstly, because a big beautiful box of Ruggy's Grandmother's hats were waiting for me on our holiday trip. Secondly, on Christmas Day, it was a balmy 65 degrees, and when I decided to gussy up on the spur of the moment, Ruggy took one look at me, took the tripod out of my hands, and happily tromped around the yard with me. 

We ended up out by the shed for a shoot. SO GLAMOROUS! This Italian silk is actually crying at its lot in life. Seriously, dress, I promise you'll be worn in a real life situation, not involving wet gravel or peacock poop. (Yes, that bird is still hanging around.)

Shall I talk about the actual dress for a minute? Yes, let's do. It's the Burdastyle bustier dress, included in the no-longer-available Craftsy bombshell course. This time I refitted the bodice and did most of the steps on my own, referencing the course to be sure I was on the right track. Although it's nice to have all the info you need in one series of videos, if you're itching to make a dress like this, you can certainly get by piecing together info from the world web webby web. And Susan Khalje's courses on Craftsy & on her site are, no surprise, brilliant.

Having very little speech left about this dress, I have no way to smoothly segue into the painted aspect. Ahem. Using jacquard paints, fabric markers, and healthy helping of cocktails, I painted onto this digitally printed silk, when the white flowers proved too prominent for the shape of the dress. You can play where's waldo if you like-- they're all pink hued! 

(answer: one in the right upper bust cup, and two on the skirt (right waistline, and almost smack bang center.)

THAT'S IT! I HAVE NO END!

What Was I (Drink)thinking #3

No one, including me, should be seen in this TRAIN WRECK OF A COAT.

I have therefore altered these photos to protect the innocent, although I am, most assuredly, also the guilty party. Hey, what can I tell you, I'm a Jekyll 'N Hyde sort of gal. I'm every woman, it's all in me.

And what a sexy woman! HEY BABY! Check out those quilting lines! What curves you have, Mizz Jekyll!

YOUR TRIM IS EXQUISITE!

OH MAMA! THE CARPET MATCHES THE DRAPES!

But wait.... there's more....

MEET HYDE.

Listen, I can't with. I can't with MYSELF. I CAN'T WITH EVERY INSANE SIDE OF MYSELF.

What Was I Thinking:

Well, Ruggy and I had been binge watching Marco Polo last January, and actual historical events not taken fully into consideration, I wanted to be Kublai Khan. Go on, watch it, you will too. The costumes! The textures! THE FLOOR PILLOWS! It was the winter that Ruggy dubbed my style "Genghis Chic." I didn't get to throwing the button loops on this reversible monstrosity (A 2008 Burdastyle magazine pattern, the pattern itself should not be blamed) till very late in the seasonal game, so I put it aside. Threw it on a few weeks ago to run out for cocktails, and couldn't stop laughing. It did not come out drinking with me.

What Was I Drinking:

Gin, chilled, straight. Broker's, I believe. This is my drink of choice whenever Ruggy forces me to watch a new show that I am certain I will loathe. When I am that certain, I am usually proven wrong, as was the case with Marco Polo. FOR REAL WHEN DOES THE NEXT SEASON START. I did admit defeat, and I did make Ruggy pause episodes repeatedly, while I eye fondled costumes and hollered Mongolian style.

What I Learned:

Even when it doesn't work out, faux fur is fun. Hacking up trim is fun. Quilting curved lines is fun. And Photoshopping censor bars is MAJOR fun.

page turner

The moment we climb into bed, I suddenly find ALL OF MY ENERGY and talk nonstop. Last night the subject was books. I used to collect them, reading favorites two or three times over, displaying little carefully chosen piles of them around the house. Ruggy called them my trophies.

I yammered at my sleepy eyed man: I USED TO LOVE BOOKS!!! I'd get so excited to get into bed and read, then I'd get so excited to wake up and find out what was happening next, then before I'd know it the book was done and I'd get SO EXCITED TO START ANOTHER!!!

And now I get so excited to get to my desk and sew, and I get so excited to see what happens next, and when it's done I get SO EXCITED TO START ANOTHER. 

Bonus: unlike a poorly chosen title, when you're making the rules, every garment is a page turner, a choose your own adventure story. At the moment, this silk burdastyle bustier dress is capturing my attention. I underlined the fabric with muslin instead of organza! How will that change the drape? Will those convex and concave curves fit?! SHOULD I HAVE NEON ORCHID OR SAFETY CONE ORANGE NEAR MY FACE? DID I GET THE PIVOT POINT RIGHT?!!! I WILL NOT KNOW UNTIL I TURN THE PAGE!!!

(The Center Bodice and Bust Cup did meet up at The Pivot Point. I'm so glad those two found love.)

It's all consuming, I barely crack a book open anymore. Ruggy deemed my sewing-for-reading substitution A Most Excellent Realization. I mean, it's great to be so passionate about something that you honestly can't wait to see what happens next, right? But I miss reading, I really do. I even tried to get back into it on a six hour bus ride, bringing along one of my all time favorites, The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. (Heads up, I plain old linked to it, and then was like um, duh, it's one of your top three reads, that's Amazon linkworthy.) Still, even at number two on my hitlist, couldn't get further than twenty pages. There was a floral cotton dress waiting for more hand embroidery in my bus bag of tricks, it was staring at me, and it won. I thought I would get bored, but no, it was like watching a story unfold.

And then there are those times, those nerve wracking times when you're pretty sure things are going swimmingly for all the characters in your garment, but you feel something might be lurking around the corner, and you won't be totally sure till you turn the page...

UPPER RIGHT BODICE CUP!!! BEHIND YOU!!! AN UNHOLY APPARITION!! LOOK OOOOOOOUUUUUUUTTTTT!!!

The plot thickens. I spent a full day carefully choosing the print placement on this, I could've read like twenty chapters in that time, I even cut Upper Right Bodice Cup out twice, and my brain still didn't see that angular ghost of a giant white flower coming. Yes, I have more fabric, but I refuse to do a rewrite! IT WILL BE SO MUCH MORE FUN TO DEVISE A PLAN. I'm thinking a combo of fabric paint & markers. And a very hot iron. 

I love a good cliffhanger.

lines, lines, everywhere lines

Winter has set up shop. It likes our company too much, it's our own fault for being such good hosts. 

Come, Winter, let me part my fringe curtains for you!

My March MSN Mission: make some transitional pieces, in the hopes that a transition of seasons is still in the cards. First up, FRINGE! I attached the 24" silky lengths to some woven leather trim and added a buckle for a removable belt, in case I want to wear it over something other than this TNT from my BHL beauties, the Charlotte skirt, done up in metallic boucle.

I might make another belt in Green and Hay and call it my hula belt. They've got every color in the world at Mood's NY brick and mortar, and ten colors online. And bonus for us shorties, it’s already perfect knee length. GO TEAM VERTICALLY CHALLENGED.

All those swishing lines infected me. I sort of went haywire over lines, lines in the fringe, lines in the boucle, lines in the basketweave silk lin-ing, LINES TO THE LEFT OF ME, LINES TO THE RIGHT, and so the coat fell prey to my sickness: zigzag topstitched crafter's lace lines all over that jammy! The yellow lines you see running along the seams are chock full of plasticky goodness. (The yellow spot you see is my dinged up camera lens.)

But wait, lest you marvel too much over that topstitching...

WHAT THE HOLY HELL HAPPENED HERE.

Couldn't really tell you, don't really know. I bagged my first lining, which was utter magic, but didn't bag it to the facing... I handstitched the lining under the facing and then decided it was time to learn how to bag... yeah, no idea. It's a mystery. Sometimes I just go with my gut, and sometimes it leaves me with a hot mess at the bottom front edge of the garment.

WHICH MEANS LEATHER PATCHES. I could just call it an Intended Design Element but it's so much more fun to show you the true horror story underneath it.

This Burdastyle Round Coat pattern was another horror story. That pattern, albeit well drafted and super fun once you figure it out, is in dire need of some decoding. It has several languages on it, and several extra unnecessary pieces in it. Seek it out if you must, but it's not for the PDF uninitiated.

Once I solved its mysteries, I spent another EIGHT YEARS agonizing over how to place it on this wooly blanket of a print. Had to hack oodles of length off the bodice to get away with my yard and a quarter…was left with whispers of fabric and a somewhat satisfactory placement…

AND IN THE END I CUT THE DANG SLEEVES OFF THE THING ANYWAY.

Because, you know, Spring is coming eventually, right? We'll need some sleeveless stuff, right?

this ensemble was made using my monthly fabric "allowance" as part of the mood sewing network, in the hopes of roping in some warmer weather. 

boom boom boom

I'M SO 2000 AND 8. YOU SO 2000 AND LATE. I GOT THAT BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. 

THAT FUTURE BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.

Anyone? Anyone? Black Eyed Peas at Superbowl XLV 2011 simultaneously dating themselves with a past hit whilst trying to prove how modern they were 3 years later? Actually pretty impressive, if you think about it.

Also pretty impressive: the rawring beast created by Amanda of Bimble and Pimble, the thing taking over your IG feed, your internet, YOUR LIFE, #bpsewvember.  Today, the challenge is "early makes," so I thought it appropriate to take a closer look at two of my earliest makes-- the second and third dresses I ever made, blogged in March 2008. (Thing One was a mud brown fiery phoenix print that never got photographed. Or worn out. It felt like wearing polyurethane.) 

Both dresses were made from the Danielle pattern, a Burdastyle jam from waaaaay back, when we used to walk uphill to school both ways and the patterns were free. Both were made from quilting cotton, both caused my head to swell in the most terrific way, and both had invisible zippers of PHENOMENAL QUALITY

I GOT THAT BOOM BOOM BOOM!

THAT FUTURE BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

Even though I cringed like my thong was showing at a cotillion when I pulled these dresses out of a storage box, I'm still proud of them. They were going to be a What was I drinkThinking post, but I decided that wasn't right--after all, they're level appropriate when you're teaching yourself to sew through the internet circa 2008, n'est ce pas? 

I now possess them only in memory. The last cross country trek left them in a donations box. Hopefully they've regenerated themselves into napkins. My memories of how I felt when I made them, and wore them, are much better than having them in my closet.

And I had So. Much. Fun. Making them! Deciphering the patterns, talking in the Burdastyle forums with fellow newbies (guys what the hell is a facing?), uploading headless projects, giving advice I had no business giving...seriously. I learned to sew on Burdastyle. Did I learn well? Obviously the evidence proves otherwise. But I learned voraciously and with GREAT INSANITY. I dove into fabric and patterns and made something new to wear every evening. And eventually (at least, in my opinion) I got better. Some of y'all share that opinion, as in a bit of full circle, I was recently voted a Burdastyle top 50 blogger. Now that it's (apparently?) official, I haven't properly said thank you yet-- so thank you, very much, for that. And thanks, Burdastyle, for starting me off in the deep end before I knew how to swim. Maybe one day I'll master a couture stroke or two...

Are you swimming with us in #bpsewvember? How did you learn to sew?