guest post: house shoes tutorial

Hey, I made shoes! Kinda. Check it out... I have a guest post on Megan Ta Da today, sharing a tutorial on how to make some summer slippers. Megan's a sewing/art/travel/awesome blogger who's currently studying art in a stone village in the south of France for the summer. Boring, right? Because of the theme of her blog, I wanted to incorporate my own travel memories into my sewing, so I made some Japanese-inspired house shoes. Japan's the only foreign country off North America I've visited, actually. Seems like I need to cross the sea more, but why leave my home when I can putter around in these cute slippers all day?

See the post here to learn how to make your own!

Is your home a shoes-off zone?

picmonkey secrets

Do any of you out there use PicMonkey at all? When Picnik was absorbed by the Google behemoth, I decided to look elsewhere for free online photo editing sites so I wouldn't have to sign up for Google Plus. PicMonkey's not bad, for being free. Its features are more user-friendly than the Picasa on my computer, especially since it actually allows you to resize the photos.

But, it has a dark side. An intriguing and admittedly tempting side.

... the TOUCH UP section.

Uh, yeah. They've always had a "Weight Loss" option, which shrinks the image width-wise. But they just recently added a "Nip Tuck" option, which lets you warp the photo to make you look slimmer. Or, if you're not careful, look like a smug alien:

I thought I'd try to edit one of my photos for real, just to see. I'm only curious! Maybe. Here's the Before and After of an unused photo from the batch I took of my floral print dress. Besides rotating and cropping the photo, I also did some tune-ups on myself. Shine reduction, wrinkle remover, airbrush, spray tan, teeth whitening, mascara, nip tuck...

Ha! Well, maybe I can use PicMonkey to crop out the Target shopping basket that sneaked its way into my home (illegally), and maybe it can make my face look less ghostly. But it's obviously not the best option for transforming my body while trying to show off the clothes I made. The floral print got all blurry where I tried to nip tuck my waist/hips and and then "re-fill" my bust area. I bet a skilled graphic artist who's not using a laptop mouse pad could make me look reaaaal good, but the best I can do is to make my right arm look like plastic while not even making it look slimmer.

How do you all feel about this whole PicMonkey "touch up" option? Would you ever secretly nip-tuck your hips or airbrush those under-eye circles? Or is it sad that these options even exist when we're supposed to have unrelenting love for our bodies?

Alright. Brief topic change. Let me explain why I haven't been sewing or blogging lately:

I have transformed my living room into a free advertisement for all the major chain home improvement stores!

Moving up north in t-minus two days. Whimper, squeal, grin, groan.

floral petal dress

Did you think I forgot how to sew woven fabrics? Well, I did. Or at least I forgot that it's possible to hem a garment without inducing an anxiety attack.

Let's talk prints. In the past couple months on this blog, we've seen chevron prints. We've also seen plaids and stripes and dots, birdies and birdy feathers, blue checks and bigger blue checks. What's obviously missing are florals --the sure sign of summer/wedding season. I guess you could consider my Cambie fabric to be a floral, but I think of it as more of an... abstract weed.

I'm super picky about floral prints. It's a tricky design, as a certain combination of colors, design and scale can make it look either too sweet or too matronly. I've been trying to pin down what it is about certain floral prints that I find either agreeable or sickly, but it's a fairly unstable relationship we have. Generally speaking, the flowers need to be well-spaced, or oversized, or looks like they're drawn by a 5 year old. Like normally I'm more drawn to stuff like this:

source

source

source

and I'm obsessed with almost all Nani IRO fabric:

can't source the actual fabric, but photo is from here

So it's kinda weird that I went for this busy-ish small-scale floral. But, I LIKE it.

The fabric buying all happened within the span of two minutes max. I opened a promo e-mail from Denver Fabrics entitled "Huge Fabric Sale - Linen, Rayon and More," clicked through to the rayon challis section, saw this floral print at the top of the list for like $4.50/yd., tossed two yards in my virtual shopping cart, confirmed on PayPal, then made my morning coffee. I knew immediately what pattern I'd use: something for which I made a muslin so long ago that I've since lost it.

Hospital gown chic, you say? Luckily there's this thing called "Google" in which you type a pattern name and number -- in this case Vogue 8631 -- and up pops photographic evidence of bloggers posing in successful versions of the pattern. It actually makes a fine dress, despite what you may think of the waifs posing in weird muu-muus on the cover. Sizing is definitely an issue, though, so just be aware that you'll probably have to scale down. I made an 8 in the bodice and a 10 in the skirt (2 sizes smaller than the size I'm supposed to make and 1 size smaller than the size I normally make). 

If you're anything less than a Dolly Parton, you may have to adjust the bodice wrap accordingly. For me that meant taking wedges out of the shoulder seams so the top wouldn't droop as much. I also sewed deeper into the upper side seams to reduce the armhole gaps there. Even after tightening up the wrap, I would never ever wear this without a camisole underneath.

YES it's a real wrap dress. There's a tie on the inside so the underwrap stays attached to the sideseam, and there's a shoddily sewn hook and eye that attaches the overwrap to the exterior side seam.

I have to be pretty careful of how I stand or walk against the wind. The underwrap provides okay coverage but I think I flashed a nice (or naughty) bit of thigh to the grocery store parking lot. I like the dress design in a drapey fabric, but the pleats behave strangely without structure. Gravity works against them so they sort of fall open. I decided to stitch them down a couple inches so they'd permanently lay neat and flat instead of flop open at the waistline.

That's my hand in a side pocket, not a hip growth, btw. I nixed the bias-tape-finished hem and used Stitchy Witch's method of baby hemming it like she did on her version of the dress. Can't believe I never thought before of serging the raw edge first to mark an even line for folding and pressing. Doy. If I could move through the rest of my sewing life without using a seam gauge, I would. 

Maybe this is why I don't wear florals that often. Pollen allergies:

...or Paranormal Activity? You decide.

What's your preferred kind of floral, or do you love them all? Steer clear of them all?

cardi-gangbuster

I have an obsession with drapey and slightly oversized cardigans. My collection of them is reasonable right now, but I have plans to totally take over my closet and my life with them. This was my first attempt at making one and it has only fueled the cardi fire. It's one of those pieces I want to plan all my outfits around so I can wear it non-stop.

It's a Vogue pattern, oddly. I say "oddly" because I almost never buy nor make Vogue patterns. They're either weird or, as we've discussed, make it impossible to tell what the garment looks like because the sample is made up in crazy busy fabric or the model is crouching away from the camera in pain.

Luckily this Very Easy Vogue 8819 just featured some dead-eyed illustrated women on the cover so I didn't have to interpret too much. It has sleeveless and full-length sleeve options, too, but I went with the half-sleeves so I could cross over seasons.

As you can see, the main design features are all these bias-cut pieces that intersect at various seams. As you can also see, it's an OCD print-matcher's basic nightmare. If you are obsessive about your stripes, perhaps you shouldn't attempt this pattern in a striped fabric. Maybe I cut slightly off but I sometimes found it impossible to match the stripes all the way down certain seams, so I just had to focus on making it symmetrical instead of perfectly continual. I ain't mad. It's easier to get away with jaggedness in thin and narrowly-spaced stripes than in thicker stripes.

The back center seam is the one where print-matching is entirely possible AND crucial, however. The pattern actually has you cut two pieces for the lower back that you're supposed to stitch together at the C.B., but I straightened out the flare and cut it on the fold to save myself even more stripe-matching agony. This just meant I had to sew a V to an inverted V, but for me it was worth the technique swap. 

I made a Medium, and you can tell it's a little big because the seams dip off my shoulders, and I'm often tempted to push the sleeves up. I like my cardigans to be a bit slouchy, though, especially when I wear them over short or more fitted dresses like this one. Makes the coverage feel more balanced or something.

Let's talk about the cardigan flare, though. I narrowed the A-line of the bottom back pieces by about five inches overall. I like 'em slouchy but I don't like 'em boxy. I also didn't want it to look like I had an Oreo-themed curtain draped over my booty:

So that's that. A cardigan, just in time for the drippiest 103-degree death heat of summer. I'm just that kind of seamster. I make short-sleeve floral tops in January and elbow-length cardigans in July. 

Oh and don't think I forgot about our little agreement from my last post. I never break a blog promise, so here you go. I went with this McCalls model because our dresses were the same color:

You guys, this pose was surprisingly difficult to master. I almost popped my hip out of socket. Your feet are pointed completely sideways, in line, but your torso and head have to face directly forward, and you have to be able to touch your knee while your body is upright and not slouched forward at all. Not to mention the Tyra eye smoulder. That's BUSINESS. Who knew pattern modeling would take such quad strength? 

Keep it up, McCalls. Those girls got talent.

So who shares my cardigan obsession, even in summer? Or maybe I should ask who isn't a fan of cardigans, so I can squint at you (Tyra-style) through my computer screen and say, "...f'real?"

lol patterns

I've come across some ridiculous sewing patterns and model styling lately so I wanna share the LOLings with you. These are all currently available patterns, by the way. Shall we jump right in? 

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KWIK SEW 0108: "CHARMING COTTAGE"

I find it ironic that this fabric-eating beast is a "Kwik" Sew pattern (the website unfortunately won't even tell you the yardage you need). I mean, you've already spent enough time on your daughter's gender socialization with the pink bedroom and ballet lessons. No need to sew her a HOUSE made of RUFFLES. This thing rests over a card table, with a storage box on top (that you also sew) to hold up the roof. OK let's think about this. What is this three-foot-tall child supposed to do crouched under a two-foot-tall card table? She can't even pretend to cook & vacuum in there! Please, ma, save yourself the trouble of appliqueing that felt mailbox. 

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KWIK SEW 3932: COLORBLOCK DRESS

Hey, I like a good colorblocked dress. This color palette reminds me of something, though.... 

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MCCALLS 6597: GIRLS JACKET VEST AND SKIRT

No one will suspect for a second that these are handmade clothes. "So, you used how many different quilting cotton prints here?"

Let's not even talk about the gnomes.

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MCCALLS 3880: WRAP...? 

This is a great multi-purpose item. Use it as a tablecloth in your foyer, or as a body temperature-regulating cape after you cross the finish line of your first half-marathon! 

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BUTTERICK 5747: "RETRO" DRESS AND BELT

The line drawing looks pretty cute, actually.

But then you see the collar dimensions in real life. In cornflower yellow.

So is this retro, or...

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KWIK SEW 3431: PET... STUFF

I love how these three items have nothing to do with one another, but are all equally impractical. A yorki in a COLLARED DENIM JACKET, with the whole nine yards of flat-felled seams and tabs. And can we please get a YouTube video of Maru rolling around uncontrollably in that cylindrical pet bed? 

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MCCALLS 6240 DRESS

I think I could see where a waterproof prom dress would come in handy.

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SIMPLICITY 2358: MESSENGER BAGS

A messenger bag for the manly men in our lives. Cool hat, brah. 

I tried finding real Fed Ex fabric online just in case some of you wanted to use this pattern to live out that delivery-man fantasy of yours, but I couldn't source it, sorry.

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SIMPLICITY 2208 FLEECE JACKETS

Good, I needed a way to recycle my old wine corks. 

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And here are just some fun model poses while we're at it: 

McCalls 6608 Skirt 

McCalls 6612 Dress 

Vogue 1304 Dress 

McCalls 6606 Tops

Vogue 8817 Dress 

McCalls 6614 Jackets 

Beyond thrilled to be in love, these two. 

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Have you found any gems of your own lately, or am I the only one chuckling away at JoAnn's pattern book table?

Oh, and another important question: which of those poses should I try next time I model a handmade garment on my blog?

racerback & forth

Not-so-new jersey. It was high time to use these two lengths of rayon jersey I've had for awhile. Granted, "awhile" for me means like three months. "Why stash 'em when you can make ho-hum clothes out of 'em?" is my motto, after all.

I don't think the hem is crooked IRL, but I won't guarantee it either way.

You may recognize this feather print fabric from Dixie's and Suzanne's past creations. I feel like I link to those gals a lot. Blog crushes, you know how it goes.

Heyo, 4th grade throwback. I used to wear my shirts tucked in like this (only in the front), because my best friend in elementary school, who was way cooler than I was, did it. Say aye if you wanna be like me now. 

...fair enough.

Swayback or big bum or are those interchangeable? Who cares. I'm truly not crazy about my pattern choice here (McCalls 6359) because I don't even like the racerback style on me. I should have used my feather print on something more elegant. Erg. I actually tried to sell this pattern in our Memorial Day yard sale, but no one bought it. So instead I made it for myself... twice... and I'm somewhat grumpy about it. It's one of those patterns that produces clothes that no one will suspect you made. Non-sewers are so bored by these clothes that when they hear they're handmade, they're fascinated.

The pattern lists both wovens and lightweight knits as recommended fabrics. Leave off the bust darts if you use a stretchy knit. Also, make a test garment or take into account the stretch of your fabric. When making my usual size on my black polka dot version, it was enormous. I took in each side at least 47 feet and it still looks a little loose under my armpits, but I decided to keep it a slouchy-ish style. For the feather dress version I was feeling annoyed so I just dramatically cut the smallest size in the envelope, a 6 (whaaat). It's obviously more snug but I'll dare to get away with it. Here it is hanging dead on a hanger, pretending to be a swimsuit cover-up the Old Navy clearance rack:

For the feather dress, I added an elastic casing at the waist and an underlining to make it opaque.

Wanna see some edges? Of course you do. You live on the edge for these edges.

The pattern calls for store-bought bias tape to be applied as a facing to the armhole and necklines. I tried that but polyester bias tape was too heavy and not stretchy enough for this thin rayon jersey, so it made everything gape and stick out. I decided to make narrow edge binding from self-fabric instead. To do so and not lose my sanity, I used Portia's method of cutting strips of jersey by first applying masking tape/painter's tape. It stabilizes the fabric so it doesn't slink around as you cut, and it's already a perfect inch wide so there's not much measuring involved. Just cut along the edges of the tape and remove it. I tried here for consistent pattern placement but I think I just wasted fabric:

I didn't want to create bias tape-like creases, but instead just fold them in half before attaching. Since rayon jersey's so unstable, I used my handy dandy DIY fabric starch to stiffen up the strips after I folded them in half. The starch actually works kind of like an adhesive, too, so I didn't even have to baste the raw edges together after folding, starching and pressing:

I measured and applied the binding to the neckline and armholes in a method that was a combination of this Threads video and a narrow version of the Sewaholic Renfrew pattern. Nice!

You know what else is nice?

Sockbuns.

So what's your honest opinion on the racerback style? Too sports-bra-like? 

And what's your honest opinion on the sockbun style? Too ballerina-bun-like?