Fall Fashion Combos in Red and More

After running across this yesterday on Pinterest I was inspired. I especially like the vest in the first photo.
I'm jealous that she has her own photo booth set up to document all her outfits. The only new purchase in her project was the red jeans. The rest of the pieces came out of her existing collection. With a few accessories she could make double this amount of looks easily.  So as the saying goes, shop your own closets first. With school coming up, now is the time to fix lost buttons, replace a broken zipper, or dye white pieces to mask stains and such. Get all your ducks in a row before school starts and you'll be able to dress for weeks as you adjust to your new homework load. And then you can spend your money on textbooks and art supplies, not on more clothing. Have pity on your budget.

Source: richandheathersmith.com via Theodora on Pinterest

Vintage Pattern and Bad Memories

When I was in 5th of 6th grade (11 or 12 years old) I went to the local drugstore and bought a sewing pattern I just adored.  It was like one of those 50's dresses with the nipped in waist and a full skirt. I wasn't quite skilled enough to handle sewing it by myself and my aunt was going to sew a dress for me.  Well, she took one look at my dream pattern, decided I was too chubby, and coerced me into settling for another pattern.  I think I picked the fabric (kelly green with some sort of flowers) and she made the dress.  I loathed it.  It was stiff and tent-like. Imagine my surprise when I saw a pattern pop up on my facebook stream that jogged my memory.  It was a vintage pattern from 1969.  I would have been 11 when it came out and I remembered the pattern.  I didn't think I was capable of sewing dresses at that time.  Then I remembered!  That was the dress my aunt made for me. The dreaded tent dress. I think I wore it once and it haunted my closet for years.

Nowadays most fashion experts tell you that even chubby girls need a waist with a belt or something to define it. My aunt used to call me chubby checkers which was very hurtful. To get stuck with that stigma as a child definitely changed the person I was. I am still self-conscious.

Update: As fate would have it my daughter just bought a vintage dress in the style I wanted my aunt to make for me when I was a kid.  So you can see exactly the type of dress I was talking about if you couldn't picture it before.  Her's has a side zipper.

Leather Pouch Alpha

My current project is this leather pouch that I'm sewing by hand. Leather is one of those things that you never throw out because you can use every little scrap.  Even tiny scraps can be used to make earrings. Since this is the first in a series of pouches I named it Alpha. The coiled brown piece will be the gusset and the strap. And now I better get busy sewing because it has to be done by Sunday.

My Favorite Color Palettes

Some of my favorite palettes from http://www.colorhunter.com. 
This is really fun. You pick a word or two to look up, like peacock or clown or coffee, and they skim photos off of Flickr, and you get a color palette.  I had to sign up for free so I could save my favorites, and sadly there doesn't seem to be a way to upload my own photos and save it to favorites. Caution: It's addicting.  

Blue Gone Mauve

I was looking for a great mauve color palette to show my boyfriend and couldn't find any, so I got bored and started playing with the app. I put in a photo of my eyeball, which is blue, and I'll be darned if it didn't come up with a mauve color palette. It's not like I have mauve eyeballs.

Here is the website I used. Color

I Heart Kilts

I used to think kilts were overrated. I didn't see what all the big deal was, that is, until I had a boyfriend that wears kilts. Now I prefer men in kilts, and I love Utilikilts. My boyfriend outgrew his, but I was just on the Utilikilt site and they have a very cool one in a brick red color and some other new colors, so hmmm. Tempting. I live in S. CA where a kilt can be worn year round, and I'm sure if he had 3 or 4 of them he'd wear them all the time. He likes to wear them while doing archery. He just seems to enjoy life so much more when he's wearing one.

Turning a Peasant Blouse Into a Dress

Saturday I ran into a woman that was wearing the Folkwear pattern Afghan Nomad Dress. I bought that pattern years ago and never got around to making it. So last night I'm trying to find one on line for less than $18.00 or so.

This morning I get up and log on and realize the pattern for a peasant blouse sitting on my desk that I just bought from Yardsellr is very much like that Afghan dress silhouette. (McCall's M808). I can lengthen it either by adding tiers, or just draw it longer into a maxi version.

I Need to Design a Messenger Bag

For years chiropractors have told me to stop wearing a heavy handbag on my right shoulder.  I have scoliosis, and the extra weight isn't doing a thing for my back or my posture. Now that I have this weird pinched nerve in my back under my left shoulder blade I've tried to figure out what kind of purse I can use that won't make the problem worse.  Carrying something in my hand like a clutch is out because I can't stand to have one hand full when I'm trying to shop or eat or do things.  And the chance of me setting it on a counter or something so I can free up my hands a moment will most likely lead to me leaving it on a bus or a bench somewhere.

A fanny pack would work, only it doesn't hold much and points out my already huge waist. So I'm going to try making and using a messenger bag and see if that helps any. For right now I'm going to adjust the shoulder strap on my store bought denim purse to see if I can wear it as a chest strap like a messenger bag. The other option is some sort of backpack but getting it on and off my sore arm might be as bad as carrying my purse the old way.  We'll see. I'll keep you posted.

Summer Sewing Tutorials

Go forth and make something. If you start now it will be ready in time for summer. http://www.everythingetsy.com/2011/06/101-sewing-tutorials-for-summer/

Three Layers

I have two DIY projects going on right now. I'm crocheting a multicolored sweater inspired by a retro crochet pattern book from the 80's.

And I'm also knitting a multicolored vest. Once I worked at Macy's and their dress code said always wear 3 or more layers to look more professional, like pants, skirt and jacket or skirt, blouse and vest. That stuck with me all these years and I thought I'd go back to doing that, especially in the colder months.

Yesterday I also bought new blank t-shirts. I'll decorate them in a way that means something to me and use them as part of my wardrobe. I'm thinking of using Solvie (dissolveable fabric) and use it to do some machine embroidery on some of the shirts. Here is a tutorial on Threadbanger.

Red Sweater

I just bought a scarlet red cable sweater to go with my autumn wardrobe theme of pink, red, and gray. Since winter is already knocking at the door, I decided to wrap up the autumn thing and move on to my winter designs.

This Brings Back Memories

I was visiting my daughter and ran across some old photos of gypsy skirts I had made for them. My daughter scanned the photos for me so I could share them with you. They are all grown up now.

Cutting out B5100

I got the dress cut out from B5100. As I was studying the envelope and cutting out the c shaped back neck facing I thought, 'wait a minute'. In one of the photos the V is on the front and the other photo shows the V neck on the back.  So the only way to do that is to wear the dress backwards.  I don't mind doing that, but shouldn't they have noted it somewhere in the description?  Or if they did I can't find it.

The pattern does mention you can use a purchased belt or a self fabric belt. Since I had to add width to the side seams I also made sure to make the belt longer.  The reason I went ahead and cut out the belt is it will come in handy in tying all the colors together in my 3 color wardrobe system.  It can also be worn in my hair as a headscarf.

My boyfriend took the table I have been cutting out patterns on with him to the SCA event.  So I used a lower table and my back and shoulders and neck are killing me now.  To add the cherry on top, my cat tried to jet out the door as I was cleaning up and I lunged for him and now I have a cramp in my right shoulder.  Gads.  I don't remember sewing being this painful when I was younger.

My neighbor came over to see what I was making.  I said, "Oh I'm sewing a dress."  She shook her head and said, "I tried that once.  It didn't turn out well.  Good luck." Haha. I guess I'm just too stubborn to give up.  I was going to sew today too, but it took forever to do all the alterations and I'm too stiff and sore to sit at the sewing machine. Tomorrow is another day.  I did want to finish before my boyfriend gets hom on Monday though.

Sewing a Dress Today

This morning I'm ready to work on Butterick B5100, view C.  I have a feeling I'm going to have to make it a little bigger or maybe a lot bigger. It's a sheath dress and I don't want it to be too tight. And I need to layer things over and under it. Remember, more than likely you cannot sew any pattern straight out of the envelope and have it fit you.  You will always need to make some changes in arm length or where the darts point or how short the waist is or something.  I read in an alterations book only 6% of women can fit into a pattern made straight out of the envelope. So take the extra time to measure yourself and compare it to the pattern specs.

First Outfit From Things I Already Own

I gathered some of the pink, red and gray items I already own and came up with this outfit.  The only down side is though this skirt is new, it's too tight for me to wear for long, the belt is two belts hooked together and I need to find a better way to do that and I'm not a big fan of bandanas on my neck.  It looks fine but I feel like I'm being choked after a while.

And without a bra it's a bit too revealing.  With a bra I feel suffocated. Dilemmas. But at least I got off of top dead center. I may let the skirt out.  The long sleeved t-shirt has a Halloween design on the front, so I either have to keep covering it up, or just wear it in October. But it's progress. The longest I could wear this outfit is 2 hours tops.

Fabric Decisions

I'm plugging away at the wardrobe project. I got my four new fabrics into the washer to pre-wash them. Three of them can go in the dryer but I don't want to risk drying the organza.  I'll have to hang it. I wanted to make a frou-frou shrug like I saw at the Pasadena Bead Show once. Just in case I ever do get invited to an opera or a ballet. A girl can dream you know.

If I don't run out of energy I hope to get a dress cut out today as soon as the fabric is dry.  But after doing laundry all day I'm kinda pooped. If you want to read up on how the wardrobe project is going click on the link, scroll down, and look for 'shopping your own closets' in the subtitle.

Red Organza with Gold Embroidery

Dyeing the Shirts

You know that quiet little voice in your head that says 'uhoh' and then you rationalize it and ignore it?
When I ran out of fabric, my boyfriend went out and got another 2 yards.  I just had the yokes to cut out.  As I was cutting them I thought, "This fabric sure seems smoother." It was the same color (natural) but just felt a bit different. I chalked it up to not being pre-shrunk, and maybe a bit of sizing in there. So I cut it out and carried on. But he had grabbed the wrong bolt of fabric.  I recall they had about 5 off-white linens, and I guess they were not all the same.

When my boyfriend dyed it red, the smoother fabric took the dye differently. The yoke is definitely lighter that the rest.  But we lucked out. It looks like a more complicated two-toned shirt.  It wouldn't have looked so good if the back yoke was the old fabric and the front yoke was the new fabric. Now it looks like I meant to do that.

The other frustrating thing was I used white thread for both, but one spool must have been cotton and the other polyester, because the threads on the red shirt resisted the dye and stayed white. My boyfriend said it didn't matter to him.  The inner seamstress in me is crying though. You can't really tell in this photo though because of the shadows.  But he's already left to the event so I can't take another photo.

Dyeing the Shirt

The shirts are being dyed right now. Thankfully that wasn't my job. This is the burgundy one.  I haven't seen the other one yet and it's out in the dryer. He said it's moss green.

Fixing a Buttonhole That Is On the Wrong Side.

It's official. I'm done with both shirts. But after my last blog post I didn't go to bed. I sewed for another hour or more. Then I ended up staying up until 4 AM catching up on all the things I didn't get to  do because the sewing took so many more hours than planned.

On the second shirt I ever so carefully measured which side to put the buttonholes on and which side to put the buttons on.  Then I made the buttonholes. My boyfriend tries it on and comments on how perfect I got the buttonholes.  Then he said they were on the wrong side. *@&%

To do a fix on them, I used a wide zig-zag and closed up each button hole.  Then I cut off the buttons and sewed them over the sealed holes.  Then I sewed new buttonholes on the other end of the cuff.  I wouldn't have done that if the item was being sold to someone, but it's for my boyfriend and he has to dye it today and wear it tomorrow, so he's not picky.  He's thrilled to have them at all. Once the buttons are through the buttonholes, you can't see the old buttonholes at all,  As my calligraphy teacher says, "If it looks good from 10 feet away on a galloping horse, it's good enough."

Of course I could have ripped off both cuffs and replaced them and made fresh buttonholes, but at this point I just needed to be done.

I also shortened the sleeve on the first shirt so both sleeves are the same length now.  I had to cut off the old cuff and make a new one.

So out of 2 shirts, I ended up making 5 cuffs, and 7 buttonholes. I told my boyfriend I put in enough hours to have made 3 shirts, and he said probably four.

Sewing the Second Shirt.

As I said yesterday, I marked the pattern pieces on the back of each one so I wouldn't have any mix ups.  I was 90% done with the second shirt. All I had left was the underarm seams and the cuffs.   I went to sew the underarms together, and once again the fabric didn't measure up to the same length. Oh no, not again.  So I went under a bright light, and read the name on each piece.  I managed to have the sleeve where the back of the shirt should be, and the back of the shirt where the left sleeve should be.
An hour later I had the 2 pieces removed from the shirt so I could swap them. As I sat there thinking, I realized that the same thing must have happened to the first shirt. I must have the sleeve in the wrong spot, and if so the two sleeves wouldn't be the same length.  I took a tape measure and one sleeve measured 22" and the other 27". After sewing all day that is not news I needed.  But I think it would be quicker just to cut the extra length off, make a brand new cuff and sew it on.  That way I won't have the tedium of ripping out that first cuff. My boyfriend said not to worry about it, he'd wear it as it was.  But I feel funny about that. If I have time to fix it tomorrow I will.
I really didn't want to go to bed tonight without this 2nd shirt finished.  Now I feel like neither shirt is finished and I'm about ready for the funny farm. But I'm afraid to sew any more tonight. It's already 11:30 PM, and except for dinner, I've been sewing since 6:30 PM.