a painterly dress

I keep waffling between LOVING this dress and thinking it looks like a 90s thrift store special. Something about the mix of pink and purple in the color palette seems dated, maybe, and sometimes I think I see butterflies in the print that aren't actually there. Butterflies on clothing reminds me of my childhood. But I mostly love the dress. It helps that it's relatively well-made, by my standards, and it fits quite nicely, by my standards. And I do like the abstract floral print. I made it specifically to wear to a wedding so I enjoyed having an excuse to sew a fit-and-flare dress that has more than three seams, is fully lined, and not made of cheap jersey like my usual handmades.

I started with one pattern -- Simplicity 1418 -- but went completely off script as I tend to do. I bought a few of those Simplicity Project Runway patterns on sale at JoAnn recently and then decided they were kinda "meh" once I got home. It used to be I was so bored by the Big 2 offerings that indie patterns seemed shiny and bright, but now I'm bored by indie patterns --at least for dresses-- so it felt exciting to flip through the commercial pattern books and see a bunch of new-to-me stuff that I could gobble up for $1.99 each. But, it turns out they're all basically the same sort of silhouettes anyway with a few questionable details tacked on, like the fake lace-up binding on the back of this dress:

I first made a muslin of View B with the wide cap sleeve things like the yellow dress on the envelope. It looks cute on the model. It did not look cute on me. Getting those sleeves to fit would be tricky. They actually have an elastic casing attached underneath to help the sleeves stay put on your shoulders, but they still kept slipping down into 80s territory and were all gapey in the back so I knew I would have to play too much with the sleeve pattern to make it work. Plus, strapless bra requirement? Ew.

So I decided to make View A.... kinda. Here's what I actually kept about the pattern:

• Princess seam lines on the front
• Back pieces with darts and high back inset, though I seamed in the inset instead of attaching it behind the back pieces
• Side zipper placement

Here's what I changed:

• Changed the neckline from a v-neck to a scoop neck and cut the front piece on the fold instead of as two pieces.
• Eliminated facings and edge bindings.
• Added full lining, which narrowed all the edges since I was turning under seam allowances instead of binding them.
• Used the half-circle skirt from Simplicity 1651 instead of this pattern's pleated skirt. I assumed that since they were the same pattern line and same size, the skirt would match to this pattern's bodice, and it did perfectly.
• Added pockets to hold my phone and keys while I'm dancing at the wedding reception, of course.

So, I basically made it more boring! I very nearly bound all the edges in black bias tape as the pattern calls for. It didn't "feel" right, though, so I consulted the smart gals of Instagram because it's impossible to make decisions on my own in this approval-obsessed age of social media. The vote for clean finish vs. black bias tape was 36-to-18, so I had to go with majority. I do think it was probably smarter for this kind of occasion -- black edging would have made the dress more casual and bias tape can look hokey and be difficult to apply neatly. Without it, though, some of the design effect of the back bodice is taken away because the binding is supposed to outline the inset piece. Ohwell.

FABRIC: The fabric is a linen print from Jo-Ann, so probably a third of you own it as well. It's a bit scratchy on its own which is why I chose to line it. The bodice lining is made of some off-white cotton I found in my stash, and the skirt lining is cream-colored Bemberg rayon.

FIT: I was kinda surprised to see that these envelopes are split at size 12 instead of size 14 like other Simplicity patterns I own (so you have to buy either 4-12 or 12-20). Maybe it has to do with the amount of design variations included in the pattern, so they can only print so many sizes. Fortunately it doesn't affect me too much because I only make a size 10 if it's a knit pattern, so I just bought the upper envelope. Choosing size for this dress was a bit of a gamble; they do list the finished garment bust size on the back of the envelope, but I had to consult the actual pattern pieces to find the finished waist size. I fall between a size 12 and 14 for bust and waist, but cut the size 12 to cut down on some of the built-in ease. I got nervous that adding a lining would bulk up the dress, so I sewed the side seams at 3/8" instead of 5/8" and it worked out fine.

I made a muslin and tweaked issues like puffy princess seams, sticky-uppy shoulders (technical fitting term), a gaping armhole and a waist seam that dipped too low in the back. I actually altered the pattern pieces (!!) so the issues would already be taken care of on the final fabric. Yeah, I don't normally do that...? This is one of those patterns that has the option of sleeves vs. sleeveless without any change to the shape of the armhole, which seems like bad drafting IMO. Luckily the front princess seams end right where the gape at the front armhole is, so it's easy to adjust there. I also folded out a small (3/8") wedge out of the back armhole pattern piece before cutting into my final fabric.

CONSTRUCTION: The original pattern has facings, but the facings are supposed to be basted to the garment edges WRONG sides together, then all layers of the raw edges are bound with double-folded bias tape. Huh? What's the point of the facings if they're not there to help finish the edges? I don't know if it's just to provide stability to the neckline or what, but if I were to make this garment without a lining and with the binding, I would probably just eliminate the facings all together. Am I right or wrong on that?

I used a 14" invisible zipper in the left side seam. Sewing an invisible zipper around an in-seam pocket is always an adventure, and since I added my own pockets to the pattern, the instructions weren't included for that. The only tutorial I can find linked to online is from 2008 on the Pins & Needles blog that no longer exists. Luckily I own Simplicity 2215, which uses this method.

The half-circle skirt is cut so that the side seams are on the straight of grain and cross grain, with the center front and center back hanging on the bias. Helps with zipper application, maybe. I had limited bemberg rayon for the skirt lining, so I had to cut the lining with its side seams on the bias and the CF and CB along the grains. I'm not willing to figure out the geometry of why that saves fabric but, it does. I... don't recommend this, if you can help it. I guess you have to even out the hems separately no matter what, but it made it seem like more of a headache because after hanging, the main skirt was drooping too low in the front and back, while the lining was drooping too low on the sides. Zzz hemming. Once I got it even enough, I did a blindstitch hem on my machine, which I only attempt on textured or printed fabrics.

I feel like I'm providing an unnecessary amount of detail about making this pattern, so I'll shut my trap now. Have any you had success with a Project Runway pattern lately? The Project Runway collaboration with Simplicity makes me laugh because Nina Garcia would probably kick me off stage if I sent this dress down the runway for real. Too twee and fashion-backward for Marie Claire, perhaps. BUT ILIKEITALOT.

chardon (m. thistle)

PATTERN THROWBACK. To ye olden days of 2013, when it seemed like we were in the midst of an indie pattern boom but were in fact only on the cusp.

Last week I was feeling nostalgic for simpler times, so I bypassed my PDF pattern collection and turned to my paper pattern stash. Remember thems? They arrive in your mailbox like a pretty little present amongst the health insurance invoices and jury duty summons. Then you unfold a large sheet of paper and all the pattern pieces are just laying there looking up at you, and you actually hold the physical instruction pages and flip them left to right like you're some kinda scholar. The last paper pattern I bought was Deer & Doe's Jupe Chardon, or Chardon Skirt, or Thistle Skirt, or however this French-to-English sewing pattern language thing works. It seemed like a fun basic garment to sew so I cracked her open.

Yuck photos.

Chardon is a simple unlined A-line skirt with in-seam pockets and stitched box pleats for shaping at the waist. I liked the no-waistband look and forgiving fit. You can add belt loops or a tie or a contrasting band but I skipped that noise this time. The skirt is finished with a waist facing and a regular zipper in the center back. 

It's a quick sew as long as you choose your waist size properly. I dunno what was wrong with me but I had the completely WRONG waist measurement in my head when I picked the size to cut, so the skirt was basically two sizes too small when I went to try it on after stitching down all those pleats. Luckily with this style, you can adjust all the pleats to size the waist up or down. Just make sure you do your math correctly when altering each pleat so you don't over- or under-compensate. And remember to cut a new facing to fit your fattened skirt. Yeah, this skirt took me far longer than it should have because I have a pea brain.

I made this in a gray striped home decor linen because I apparently enjoy dressing up like a sofa. It was easy fabric to work with and it holds the shape of the pleats nicely. It is pretty poofy, so I tapered the skirt slightly from its original A shape so I wouldn't be mistaken by Philly tourists as the Liberty Bell. Wow, stellar joke, right? If you want to see TRUE POOF, check out what swallowed me whole at work yesterday.

I serged all seams before pressing them open. The bottom of the waist facing is also serged. I'd recommend understitching the facing and tacking it down at the side seams as well so it stays put.

The navy top I'm wearing is a new Archer Shirt, another homage to 2013. Though let's be real; I'm still addicted to this pattern. I modified it by making it sleeveless, curving the front placket into a V-shape at the neck so it lays flat, and omitting the collar but leaving the stand. You can see another version of this variation on my Instagram here. I may blog about that one day because I wear it like twice a week and the fabric was a gift from Internet pen pal and fellow Grainline addict, Ash M. Higgs. 

I like my new outfit but this photoshoot just made me realize the dire situation of my bangs. In half my photos, my bangs are either in my eyes all Grudge girl style, or I'm in the middle of swinging them out of my eyes, which does not at all look sexy beach bombshell like I imagine in my head:

So, are any of you still trying to catch up with 2013's (or earlier) patterns or are you always ready for the next great thing?

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P.S. Reminder! I'm leading a three-week workshop on Sewing Knits at Butcher's Sew Shop in south Philly on Monday nights starting June 30th. If you wanna join up, you can use coupon code 4SQUAREWALLS at checkout to get 20% off the registration fee ! ! ! ! There are a few spots left, so sign up here. Scroll down to Special Workshops.

red ava jacket

Hi, little cuties. This is my third post since last Thursday, which surprises no one more than me. But I gotta show you this red-as-red-gets jacket. It's red enough that I could probably wear this as part of a Sarah Palin costume for Halloween, but that topical humor ship has long since sailed. Still glad I took off my glasses for these photos anyway.

This is the Ava Jacket, a new release by Bluegingerdoll Patterns, my first garment made from this independent company. FULL-UP DISCLOSURE: I was a pattern tester for the Ava jacket. I did not get paid, though I did receive a rough draft of the pattern for free. I then pored over the instructions and worked hard to determine whether the pattern came together well and if everything was clearly laid out. I made a muslin first, based directly on the original pattern and instructions, then made this red-red version based on the FINAL edited instructions she sent us, while implementing some design modifications of my own.

I'm blogging about it by choice, because 1) I have a new handmade garment to show you guys, and this blog is primarily about show-and-tell, 2) I want to help spread the word of the pattern release on behalf of a hard-working and relatively new designer I admire, and 3) I want to provide a helpful review of a new pattern on my blog so when others are deciding whether or not to buy it, I can be a reliable resource. I just want to be transparent about the pattern testing process, in case there are any doubts about my motives! (See here for more discussion.) This should be one of my last pattern test/blog tour garments for awhile, so if it annoys you at all (and I understand why it would), just know that the interbloggy promotion should be calming down for awhile.

The Ava Jacket is a fully-lined kimono-sleeved swing jacket. It features a full lining, a wide shawl collar, loose 3/4-length sleeves and turned-backed cuffs. The cuffs and collar can be made in the same or contrasting fabric.

Images via Bluegingerdoll.com

Bluegingerdoll is known for her vintage-inspired aesthetic, which I admit isn't really my normal style. So for this wearable version, I omitted the lining, significantly reduced the width of the shawl collar, and narrowed the sleeves and cuffs (probably too much). I made it in a lightweight, drapey, poly crepey fabric so the flared back would drape gently and swish around. I was hoping for a more blazer-esque modern look with these changes.

Some things to note about this pattern. 

FIT: The jacket is easy to fit because it's built with generous ease and has kimono sleeves. I made a size 8 based on my bust and waist measurements, which seemed to work out fine. It was my fault that I narrowed these sleeves a bit too much which makes it hard to roll up the cuffs. I do find that as I'm wearing it, the shoulder seams slip backwards, so I'm often chucking the jacket forward to realign it.

CONSTRUCTION: There aren't many pieces to put together as far as jackets go, but there is a lotttttt of hand-stitching. The collar shell is hand-stitched to the facing, the cuffs are catch-stitched to the inside of the jacket, the hem is catch-stitched, and then the entire lining is hand-stitched to the jacket shell. Lordy lord lord. Believe me, I tried to get around some of it because that's not normally my thang. It may be yours, though! I machine-edgestitched the collar shell down for a clean finish, like you would normally do on a collar stand or waistband facing, for instance. You can kinda see that at the top of the photo of the jacket innards here:

I also left off the lining entirely, which was actually difficult to figure out how to do properly, since a lot of raw edges that you catch-stitched down, like on the cuffs and hem, are supposed to be covered up by a lining. I French-seamed everything and used lace tape to cover the raw edge of the hems, which I then turned up and blindstitched down by hand. I only had lace seam binding/hem tape, and it's white, and it looks terrible, so I almost plan to replace it with something red once I go notion shopping. With the dip of the swingy hem, the white hem tape is often flashed to the outside world. Ick.

With the test version, I struggled with the instructions for sewing the bottom of the front lapels; it gets confusing with all those corners of the collar shell, facing and eventually the lining. Abby did a good job working on that part and including more guidance for the final version. Still, it's a bit hard for me to wrap my head around how it's really supposed to come together. I made it work and it looks fine, but I'm not entirely sure I did it as instructed so I would like to see this demonstrated more in-depth with photos of a real garment versus the illustrations.

I like my red Ava jacket because it's unlike anything else I own. I'm a pear-shape so I often avoid jackets and tops with flared hems, but I think I like the silhouette of this one. It's a nice summer-weight garment to throw on for extra coverage or to add a knock-out punch of color to an outfit. I have a dreamy idea of an Ava in a silky floral, to keep up with the kimono jacket trend going on (right? Wut r fashun?).

The Ava was released along with the curve-hugging Betsy pencil skirt, which you'll find on many other testers' blogs. It's incredibly flattering on everyone I've seen so far and the little details -- like the button tabs on Version A -- are cute, so I'm actually tempted to splurge for the pattern even though I rarely wear pencil skirts these days! Abby of BGD carefully picked testers with different body types and with varying degrees of blog popularity, which I'm sure we can all appreciate. Check them out:

29th May – Tanya at MrsHughes (Betsy skirt)

1st June – Liz at Sewn by Elizabeth 

2nd June – T at uandmii (Betsy skirt)

3rd June – Mary at Young, Broke & Fabulous

4th June – Mary at Idle Fancy

5th June – Andrea at foursquarewalls

6th June– Tanya at MrsHughes (Ava jacket)

7th June - Melissa at Scavenger hunt 

8th June - T at uandmii (Ava jacket)

Have you sewn a Bluegingerdoll pattern yet? What do you think of the new ones?

craftsy + butcher's + a plaid dress

There is a finished object sighting in this post, but I gotta yap about some other things before we get to that. First, a sincere thanks to all those who commented on my last post about my recent career change. Your support means everything, and I appreciate your willingness to discuss your own career goals and express your desires and/or hesitations about following a similar path. A lot of you said that you aren't "good enough" at sewing to even consider earning money from it. Believe me, you're better than you think, and you're probably better than me. It's amazing what you can do when you set the bar higher for yourself.

Craftsy Blog: Okay, time for some self-promotion. I've joined the ranks of sewing superstars Marie, Rochelle, Alida, Maris and others and am now a regular contributor to the Craftsy blog. I will be posting for the sewing category of their blog about twice a month. My first post is about knit fabrics (surprise), and tips for hemming them. Apparently I'm really into hemming stuff lately. Check it out and let me know if you have a technique to add.

Knits Workshop: omg. A friend of a friend of a friend (alright, we're all friends now) just opened a beautiful sewing studio in Queen Village of south Philly. It's called Butcher's Sew Shop, named in honor of the family-owned butcher shop that occupied the space for almost 80 years. Starting mid-June, they will be hosting intensive sewing classes, like flat patternmaking, draping, and various levels of garment construction from beginner to advanced. There are also shorter workshops and BYO stitch nights, and lil' ole me will be teaching a workshop called Sewing Knits (surprise). There will be three installments of the course on Monday evenings from 6-9pm starting June 30th. If you live in or near Philadelphia and would like to learn how to make the Deer & Doe Plantain T-Shirt, come hang out with us! To sign up, visit here and scroll down to the Special Workshops section to find "Sewing Knits". 

Alright, onward.

To round out this theme in threes, here's a dress made from a knit (surprise). Coincidence? Maybeh. I finished it surprisingly quickly so I am glad to throw it in this post with the rest of these knitty announcements.

I was afraid that sewing a dress in this colorway of plaid would be too autumnal or Christmasy or something else that would make people on the street be like "SHE CRAZY." Turns out, people on the street don't notice things like the colorway of my plaid, if you can believe it. They may think I'm a Catholic school girl, however, which is slightly more of a problem.

The pattern is McCalls 6599, the same pattern I used for a striped knit dress in 2012. I loved that dress to the point of spilling coffee all down the front of the skirt. I miss it. Playing with the direction of stripes and plaids is always fun, so this princess seam bodice and flared skirt are good foundations for that sort of thing. I cut the side pieces on the bias, though the pattern doesn't call for it. It's a pattern meant for a woven fabric, so as with the striped dress, I sized down and cut the back on the fold. All seams are serged and hems are coverstitched.

The fabric feels like a double knit and has nice body, which makes it a breeze to sew except at major seam intersections. I bought it from Jomar, a Philly discount fabric store where almost everything is $3.99/yd or less. I went on a major shopping spree there this weekend... I know, after confessing to you all how broke I am. But I set a limit of $100 and got 14 pieces of fabric, or a total of 25 yards, which I hope will keep me busy for awhile. I've already sewn three garments! See? I do still obsessively sew for myself when I have inspiration.

Anyone else sewing plaids for summer?

spring robin

This is one of those garments that you love to wear despite knowing it is not necessarily that flattering nor well-made. Ha, I act like that's a common thing for other people, too. I dunno, dude, I'm just on a baggy top kick and I don't know what else I want to wear these days. There's something pleasant and comforting about dressing like a frump. Let's call it effortfully effortless, because a lot of effort goes into knitting a baggy sweater you can take a nap in.

This little mama is knitted from the Robin pattern by Josée Paquin. It's a striped raglan-sleeve sweater with a dipped hem, knitted in one piece from the top down. It's purposely slouchy, with VERY LOW armholes for a batwing look. Wait a sec... batwings. I think I understand why she called this the Robin pattern.

Another example of someone wearing something all the time despite it being unflattering.

I wanted a sweater that I can wear in the transition months between cold and hot weather and vice versa, so I chose to make this pattern using a cotton/modal blend yarn: Shine Sport from Knit Picks. I have leggings that are cotton/modal and are heavenly to wear, and this yarn is just as delightful. I spent a lot of time just squishing it against my face. I went with the cream and black colorways to keep it classic. I used about 9.5 balls of the cream and 2 balls of black. I eventually realized I couldn't make it all the way through this sweater with so little black, so I shortened the arms to 3/4 length which is fine by me anyway.

I bought size 3 circular needles specifically to do this project, but my gauge was too loose. Instead of buying MORE needles, I just knitted the smallest size in the pattern and hoped for the best. It ended up being the size I was expecting, sooo I dodged that bullet. The insane thing about knitting garments is that you have no idea if it's going to fit until you've already invested many hours over many days, weeks, or months. At least with top-down garments you can try on as you go, but it's not like I would know how to make mid-knit fitting adjustment calculations anyway. 

It's a cropped-head kinda day, folks.

Short rows are used to shape the neckline as well as the high-low hem. The pattern has you do yarn-over short rows, which I found I prefer over wrap-and-turn short rows because it's easier to find them when you pass over them again. I don't know if these things have technical names! For help with the YO short rows, I used this resource.

I don't know what happened with my tension while knitting... or maybe it happened while weaving in all the ends (which I always half-ass) or blocking (I dried it in the dryer!)... but my stripes are a bit wonky. You can tell in some of the photos where they look jagged. Some of the white stitches above and below the stripes were looser than others, causing the black to dip or raise in random places. In one or two places, a black stitch just disappeared. Ran for its wee little life.

I'm still a rookie, okay?! I'm not that upset. I should just probably stop switching between English and continental style knitting so often, but I get hand cramps if I don't keep it varied. 

All in all, this was a fun and relatively simple knit. I love the colors I used and find it cozy as hell to wear. As a seamstress, I appreciate that the stripes automatically match across the body to the sleeves. It's the little things.

I doubt I'd make it again (do people knit sweater patterns more than once?), but if I did I would raise the armholes by a lot and streamline the fit if possible. 

Ravelry notes here.

I guess I've accomplished two of my six handmade "goals" this spring: I made a bag and now a spring-appropriate sweater. I still plan to tackle the others, except maybe the shorts, but I keep being lured in other directions. I'm less confident about Me-Made-May this year. I've been wearing fewer me-mades recently because I no longer work in an office (uh, hallelujah), so all the business-casual dresses and skirts I've made over the past 2+ years are starting to collect dust. More baggy tops to make, I guess. Who's with me there?