black raspberry chocolate chip

Normally I would reach for black accessories to pair with a fuschia-esque garment like this. Well, uh, I've actually never owned anything fuschia before, so how would I know? But it felt slightly "off" to go for chocolate brown accessories here since the dress is such a bold jewel tone, until I realized that they do it in desserts all the time. And if a dessert can get away with a certain color combo, so can I, right? I'm just that sweet.

Wow, I just spent an unreasonable amount of time on Pinterest looking at chocolate raspberry desserts that match my outfit. The things I do for my blog readers. (The recipe for the raspberry cream-filled chocolate candies, pictured above, is here.)

I kinda wish I had a different type of garment to share right now, because my last project post was also a scoop-neck knit dress with a fitted bodice and A-flare skirt. Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. My blogoversary post revealed the unfortunate fate of most of my me-makes, so I'm learning to stick with what works. And making clothes that are essentially fancy pajamas? It works.

Can you guess what pattern I mostly used for the bodice? Is it even worth mentioning or does the mere sight of the word cause your eyes to roll by now? The skirt is a pleated rectangle. I'm kinda afraid the front center pleat makes it look like I'm wearing culotte shorts instead of a skirt. I guess I just have to do a lot of curtsying (more than usual, I mean) so people understand I'm a lady wearing a dress.

This fabric's from Jomar and it's awesome. It's a stable knit with a soft texture that's kinda like waffles, but it's not a waffle knit, if that makes any sense. Hmm.. black raspberry chocolate chip waffles. Get on it, food bloggers! 

I tried to show my shoes in some of these shots but I didn't do a very good job. One of my readers wondered about the shoes I typically wear on a daily basis, since I never actually show my feet in my photos. My hard-to-fit feet + frugal approach to shoe-shopping is a bad combination, so I don't have a very interesting collection and tend to wear the same things every day: these brown Clarks knock-offs and my tall caramel-colored boots from Aerosoles. I also have black flats from Payless that have gaping holes in the soles but I still wear them because I'm insane. Don't take shoe style advice from me, is what I'm saying.

What kind of shoes would you wear with a dress like this? 

I'm craving a fruity dessert now, and I happen to have raspberries in the freezer that go absurdly well with my new dress. Til next time...

another renfrew mod

Think you've sewn (or seen) enough versions of the Sewaholic Renfrew already? Think again! Think the Renfrew pattern is too casual for your glam dress-stuffed wardrobe? Think AGAIN! That's what this blog is all about, after all: thought-provoking and intellectually stimulating content.

rofl.

Well, I hope you didn't think I made this dress from the Renfrew because I did not. Urban Outfitters made it so I could wear it to lure you in. Louisville didn't get an Urban O. until after I left, so it's nice living in a city where their stuff is already heavily circulated in consignment shops. I'm still not ready to commit to a fully self-stitched wardrobe, so I supplement with secondhand items. One day, though, I'll be head-to-toe in Andrea originals... maybe... ehhh.

So what is handmade here? Duh, the boring cardigan. I laughed when I finished it because it's pretty sloppily made and just reminds me of a $14.99 Merona brand cardigan you'd give your mom for Christmas or something. But I still like its practicality and length and have worn it a couple times already. Hopefully this kind of styling helps its cause.

This red ponte knit is the same I used for my stupid Cynthia Rowley dress from a couple posts ago. I bought like 5 yards of it for real cheap from Jomar, the crazy fabric outlet (is it an outlet? What is it?) in south Philly. Their inventory is heavy on the stretchy fabrics right now. What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than digging through tabletop mountains of knit yardage of questionable quality? That was not sarcasm.

Making the cardigan version of the Renfrew was quite simple. I shortened it by 2" first because I like my cardigans to fit at the curve of my back (or be really long) so I don't look like a balloon when I wear them with skirts. The front is normally cut on the fold, so I just added a placket to the front pattern piece at the fold line. Cut two front pieces instead of one. This placket extension had enough width to be folded over and still be able to overlap the placket on the other side (1 1/4" total with the intention of making a 5/8" final placket).

On each end of the neck band and bottom band, I extended it by the width of the finished button placket (5/8"). Instead of connecting the bands end-to-end in a circle like on the original Renfrew, I stitched their edges so it'd form a neat square at the top and bottom of the placket. I can explain this in more detail if you'd like.

Too-big buttons, ha. I need to go button shopping so I'm better prepared for my on-a-whim projects:

I did not think about the necessary ease for a cardigan, so this fits like a t-shirt but open at the front. If I make another Renfrew cardigan, I'll size it up so I can wear it over other clothes more comfortably.

It's hard to stop at one when you're working with this pattern, so I made another in a sweater knit, also from Jomar:

I'm not as crazy about this one because the only thing I can wear it with right now is this granny skirt. Literal granny skirt. It was my grandma's -- I chopped off the hem at some point during my college years. I used to wear these warm brown tones all the time because they go well with my complexion, but I've ventured away to cooler colors. I'm kinda thinking of moving back that way this autumn. In fact, I'm currently working on something else now in this same brown.

So, friends, neighbors, far-away sewsters, how do you feel about a Renfrew cardigan or sweater? Dare to try? I know Tasia's revisiting the pattern over on her blog, so it's as good a time as any to bring back out that little green envelope! 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, y'all hear.

knit tee: help wanted

Now that I've worked with the Renfrew pattern and inevitably want to make 5,000 more of them and physically can't stop myself, I'm trying to think of ways to incorporate basic knit tees into my wardrobe in a not-so-basic way. I can't do it on my own, though, so I'm lucky that the Internet was invented primarily to help me learn how to dress myself. Thanks, Internet. AP style capitalizes your name for a reason.

Alright, so who is better in blogland for classy knit tee inspiration than Kendi Everyday? Kendi's a wildly popular fashion/style/outfit blogger (as in, >14,500 Blogger followers alone, excusez-moi) who owns her own clothing boutique in Texas. Our styles don't always sync --she can get away with wearing pleated pants and hot pink heels, after all-- but I enjoy stalking her blog anyway due to her sarcasm, love for colors & prints, good photography, etc. Here are some recent examples of how she dresses up casual knit tops, all of which I'm a fan:

What have we learned here? I need colorful flowy skirts and chunky jewelry and a cherry red blazer, that's all. Annndd maybe a husband who's a professional photographer, blog sponsors that send me free loot, and a gym membership. On it!

I went on to make a short-sleeved Renfrew with the hopes of wearing it in a effortlessly chic way, just like Kendi does. Yet, all I've done is glare at the finished product with narrowed eyes for a couple weeks now. I'm worried about the colors, print choice and banded style. Very worried. I mean, I like the birds - I have another RTW bird shirt in poly chiffon, but "bird t-shirt" isn't what first comes to mind when I think of chic fashion. I don't know what I was thinking, but dressing up this top is quite difficult, at least with my current wardrobe.

(not my dawg)

It's high time I solicit the advice and opinions of my dear readers. After all, I think of you as a support network for all my creative endeavors, so I can't be left alone to ponder whether I'm one of those people with, ahem, questionable taste. 

SO, please, I need you to answer a very important question with as much honesty as you can muster...

DOES MY NEW RENFREW LOOK LIKE A LITTLE BOY'S PAJAMA TOP?

OH GOD contrast cuffs

renfrew tank dress

Tasia claims her Sewaholic Renfrew pattern can be made 9 different ways. Well, I have good news for y'allllll: it's actually 12 ways if you make them sleeveless! And 24 total ways if you lengthen them all into dresses! Please check my math.

I won this pattern in Kirsty's giveaway a couple weeks ago. (Yeeaaa winning!) As I was walking up to my apartment after work last Friday, I spotted the little yellow envelope with that distinct Sewaholic font sticking out of my mailbox, and I practically sprinted up the porch steps to tear into it. I've had my fabric ready since, like, the day after I got Kirsty's e-mail so I was eager to whip this one up.

I have to admit I was not thrilled by this pattern when it was first released. I don't wear casual knit tees that often --usually only when I exercise sleep-- so I thought I'd skip out on paying the high price for a pattern that wasn't really my style. Peer pressure got to me, though, so after I witnessed every other blogger fainting and fawning in massive groovy love heaps all over the Renfrew, I thought I should at least try it out and see what I could do to manipulate it in my typical way.

Which means, o' course, make it a dress. Don't you know me at all by now?

And I quite like it! It was so quick and easy, just like you all said, especially without sleeves. I started and finished it on Derby day, which seemed fast considering a large chunk of that day was actually spent at a cookout betting on horses and eating junk food. With a major mint julep hangover from Oaks night before.

Can we talk fabric for a not-so-quick sec? I bought this striped cotton jersey from Girl Charlee, an online shop I found by Googling "knit print fabric." Have you shopped there? They have a pretty good selection of knits, much of which is not just for kiddos. You know what I mean by kiddo knits -- little smiling monkeys or lavender hearts or stuff like this (from a different shop):

uh. 

? Yeah, so this place certainly has fabric you could make baby leggings out of, but I enjoyed eyeing some of their more classy florals, stripes, geometric prints and ikats. (OK, I do realize a 6-year-old would happily wear this fabric I bought for myself, but let's not get into it). This particular jersey was only $5.25 a yard, and it was actually printed on-grain. Hold the phone, hold it! Oh yeah, and I ordered the fabric on a Friday, they shipped it that afternoon and the box was on my door stoop that following Monday. WILD.

Sorry for the crazed review about an online store, but as someone who enjoys sewing with knits but can never find any I like, I thought I'd share the tidbit with any Renfrew fans out there.

I made a size 4 for the top part then fanned it out to a more generous A-line starting at the waist. I prefer my dresses to be at-or-below knee length when it's too hot to wear tights, for modesty reasons but also because I hate when my legs stick to chairs or leather car seats in 90-degree heat. This dress is about 40 inches from shoulder raw edge to hem raw edge. Ehh, yeah, that sure was a lot of stripes to match at the side seams.

This self-hug shoulder kiss is truly the best pose I have for showing you the side seam. I promise the seam hangs straight & vertical IRL. I think.

To bind the armholes for my sleeveless version, I used the same pattern piece as the neckline but shortened it to the circumference of the armhole. They were attached in the same way as the neck band. I should have shortened them a tiny bit more so they would fit more snugly and reduce some of the gaping.

To hem the bottom, I stuck a long strip of 1/4" Steam-a-Seam to the raw edge, folded the hem under, ironed it to make the permanent bond, then secured it with a zig zag stitch. Can't recommend S-a-S enough, especially if you're looking to make a Renfrew without that bottom band. It helps stabilize the knit fabric so it doesn't stretch out and wonkify under the sewing machine's presser foot. I was afraid the fused part would take away the stretch of the fabric, but I found that's not the case. Seems like it could work well for unbound armholes and necklines, too.

I'm pumped that I won this pattern and was able to make a casual dress that I know I'll wear often once the Louisville humidity sets in. THANKS SO MUCH KIRSTY! Generous seamsters make the world go 'round / make my summer wardrobe more rad.

How many Renfrew tops have you made yourself? Dare to try a dress?