Into 2017 (Yeah, I'm Late)

2016 was a weird year for me, emotionally and personally. But it was a good year creatively.

Blog stats:
- 8 blog posts this past year.
- 4 were project posts.
- With 4 unblogged but finished projects swimming around the house. (From left to right: hacked Sew Liberated Gathering Apron as a dress, Lane Top in palm leaf shirting, stretch lace Scout, Simplicity 8022 PJ bottoms in cotton flannel with little orange foxes)

Collage format courtesy of Fotor.com

Eight finished projects over five from 2015, not bad!

Now to thoughts about this year.

1. I'm not setting any do-or-die-trying sewing goals for this year. However I plan to sporadically follow themes for Stashbusting 2017, The Monthly Stitch, Sew Alongs and Sewing Contests, to finally enter something in Indie Pattern Month, and to finish more items (like 57 yards worth. See #3)!
2. Refrain (more) from fabric purchasing.
3. Per Stashbusting 2017 I measured the stash. 571 yards not including UFOs. It's frightful, seeing just how much I have, but so helpful because I've reacquinted with so many pretty and inspiring fabrics. I don't know that I can sew through 10% of the stash (57 yards for the year!), but I'll sure make the attempt!
4. Have fun!

On the sewing queue:

1. Black and pink floral rayon Simply Shift (Finished! Planning to blog soon)
2. Flannel blues and turquoise modified Lane Top  (UFO)
3. Watery black dots on white cotton Anna Dress (have an image, need to jump into the tracing, cutting out, fitting, sewing, etc.)
4. ?

Frocktober! (Back in the Groove)

So it's been three months since I last posted, though I have finished one or two items and have at least one non-project thing to note. We'll get to those later.

So the skinny is that just I finished a new dress! I've been having a hankering for some new garments for a while, so yay!

Photographed after a busy Sunday

Oops, thread

Actual dress color

This is Grosgrain's Simply Shift Dress and I started it last winter, January or so.

Back in November 2014 I was religiously checking Burdastyle every day when Kathleen introduced this pattern. I was seduced by the many pretty and practical iterations and the promise that you could make it out of just one yard of fabric!

So last winter I dug through the stash and found all fabrics that were around and equaled a yard in length. I compared and considered and decided on the green microsuede, a winter fabric if I ever saw one, and one that I would not cry over if this dress did not turn out.

The pattern tops off at size 12, one size smaller than my hip measurement. With a bit too much optimism I cut out the largest size in broadcloth, intended for the lining, as a test run. My suspicions were confirmed when this attempt came out too small. To allow movement I unpicked the back seam a few inches for a vent.

When I got to the microsuede I jacked out the hip measurement an inch or so, as far as the 58" fabric would allow. I decided to nix the zipper and then the dress pieces lay forgotten for a nine month gap...

... and then I waffled on sleeves (because without the seams it had the option to be a slightly cap/ kimono sleeve effect). So I measured my head and sewed a 1.5" seam allowance, trimmed the extra and pow! I could pull it over my head without a closure!

After a few days contemplation I nixed the sleeves, discovered that the naps of the front and back were running in opposite directions, realized that I'd forgotten to take into account that I'd cut the pieces on the fold (thus creating a little fold in the front and back of the neckline), unevenly topstitched the neckline and armholes, and messily hemmed and thus finished the dress at 2am. I wore it to church the next day and here we are today!

So yeah, this is not the best made dress, but it's a new make and a wearable muslin!

Later, while looking through these photos I realized that without the jacket it needs some waist definition, so here's a few more photos. 

Yeah, the he inquisitive dog crashed the photo shoot. He's very cute, though. I forgive him.


Pattern: Grosgrain's Simply Shift Dress
Fabric: green microsuede and blue broadcloth from Joann's
Notions: none!
Alterations: made the neckline larger, graded out for the hips, and nixed the sleeves and zipper

The sewing queue:
1. White Belladonne (mostly completed. Halted due to accidentally snipping a hole in the waistband)
2. Blue plaid(ish) flannel Lane Top
3. ?
4. ?
SaveSaveSaveSave

Busy Summer!

Yep, I'm late with my Me-Made May posts but I just wanted to quickly note the plethora of sewing  activities for the Summer.

June is Indie Pattern Month on The Monthly Stitch! 30 days of four themed sewing contests:

• June 1st- 7th: New-to-Me 
• June 8th- 14th: One Pattern, Two Ways
• June 15th- 21st: Hack It!
• June 22nd- 30th: RTW Copycat

And there is another Indie Pattern Month week contest in July!


Also starting in June is the Outfit Along hosted by Lauren of Lladybird and Andi of Untangling Knots. This contest/ sew along/ knit along runs from June 1st through July 31st and features the Sewaholic Hollyburn skirt and Andi's Zinone top.


Currently there are discounts attached to both sets of events:

• Indie Pattern Month May Discounts (some of these have already expired, but there will be another round in June)
• "To celebrate the Zinone's launch, Andi is offering 20% off up until the official OAL start of June 1. Use the code OAL2016 to get you that discount!"(quoted from Lladybird)

And The Monthly Stitch has a pattern swap sign up running until May 20th.


Whew! Summary over!

Blossoms on the Bike Path

Yay! Another Monthly Stitch challenge met!

This here is the Shwin Lane Top in "specialty cotton" per Joann's. I had two separate yards (remnants) that were officially 44" wide with the floral design being closer to 40" across. But I obviously had enough for this shirt! 

As per The Monthly Stitch sub-theme, Flower Power, I have two floral fabrics, the 3D floral for the front, back and back yoke, and sleeves, and another white fabric for the inside yoke (so I wouldn't be pressing two bumpy layers at once) and as bias binding for the neckline and hem.

This is actually my second Lane iteration. The first will hopefully be blogged soon. I present this one first so that I could get my Monthly Stitch contribution in before the month's end.

The construction instructions are pretty simple, though there is one step that I could not make heads or tails of just by reading. Both times I made this top I had to play around with the pieces in order to figure out what the instructions were trying to convey.

On another note I need to make this top without bias tape hems because I think that the specialty cotton has more drape than the quilting cotton, which makes the hem flair out more than preferred.

Aand today's photography session is brought to you by the Rookie Photographer! She can't figure out what makes some photos blurry and/ or washed out and she was constantly looking for interlopers because she chose the public bike path for the location. Thankfully the location is on a bridge that offers some privacy, and it was 40 degrees out, so most of the population was indoors. In fact there was one interruption, which caused the Rookie Photographer to ditch the last few shots of the 10 shot burst to try to hide what she was doing. (Chronicled below, which very nicely shows more fabric detail).

Fabric: Specialty floral cotton, (presumably) quilting cotton
Notions: self-made bias tape from quilting cotton
Adjustments:  XS graded to medium in the hips, elastic in lieu of button and button tabs, bias tape for hem and neckline, no pocket


The sewing queue:
1. Simplicity 2154 Pencil skirt (partially sewn)
2. White Belladone  (partially sewn)
3. Blue-green bottom weight Lisette (Butterick) 1419 (cut out)
4. A green microsuede Simply Shift Dress (on the brain)


Oh, and my Me-Made May pledge:

"I, Laura of Creating Distractions, pledge to wear at least three handmade garments a week and to finish making at least two more during the month of May."

Belladone Skirt No. 2

Fabric: Tobacco Twill (possibly the same used for Andrea's pencil skirt) and a black and white cotton batik for the pocket lining that I failed to photograph
Notions: 8" invisible zipper, craft fuse(?) interfacing
Pattern: Deer and Doe Belladone (dress)
Adjustments: Chopped off the top :P


Bad photography abounds. (I suppose I could blame the fact that I haven't done any project photos since September or so, but that's kind of a cop out as I could have prolonged the photo shoot but felt self-conscious).


This project was started late last year (November of so) and then it languished out in the open for months. (It was folded in a stack of papers that would fall over every so often).

'Course November is in the thick of the holiday season, coupled with procedures on the hand digits led to minimal sewing until late January when I really needed a new pair of pajama bottoms (waiting to be photographed and blogged).

Then comes The Monthly Stitch theme: UFO Showdown. Perfect motivation!

Not much to say about the construction, other than the interfacing was a test in hand strength. That stuff is thick but super strong. I'm still debating whether to keep using it for waistbands.

As you might be able to tell from this small range of photos, I had trouble getting decent shots. I've been trying to find better backgrounds than the bedraggled and weedy backyard (with its assurances of greater privacy) and tried the front of one of my church's buildings. I waited till after services and the concurrent classes and took advantage of this nice outdoor seating area, complete with metal lawn chairs and a brick wall.

Getting the exact color of the skirt was tricky, as was getting any shots that didn't chop off my head, wash me out, or were just taken from too far away. Couldn't win on that score, it was was always two out of three.

But it was kind of fun. I've got a few ideas of things to try for the next photo shoot and I finished another garment!

(This last photo makes me happy. Reminds me of old hobbies.) 

Tallyho!

On the sewing queue:
1. Blue Belladonne
2. Pencil skirt?
3. ?

Blue Porcelain Belladone Date Dress

This dress has been on my brain for a while.

Ever since I saw the fabric I was mesmerized by the blue and the white and the loveliness. 

I was also mesmerized by figuring out what pattern to use.

Early on my mind caught on the Belladone. This would partially be because I have not actually successfully 

made many dresses via a pattern, but I also really loved the silhouette. 

Due to concerns about the darts I swapped out the skirt for a derivative of 

The Selfish Seamstress' Coffee Date Dress skirt. And as I wanted maximum fullness of the skirt, 
as much as the fabric allowed, I used the waist curves at the top of the pattern pieces 

and with the help of my trusty yardstick and pins cut out a slightly wider skirt.

Before the skirt there was an annoying period of trying to figure out how to match the side and back seams of the bodice before cutting into the fabric. An evening or two was/ were spent engrossed in this challenge until I realized that there was a dart in the side which would skew any pattern matching so I threw up my hands,  matched only the back seam, and whipped out the scissors. 

Do do do. Along goes the bodice: shoulder seams; stay stitching along the neckline; stay stitching along the armholes to hold the back pieces together; visible stitching* of the back pieces when I decided to shift the zipper to the side seam; waistband; bias tape for the neckline, armholes, and cut out. 

The bias tape took quite a bit of more time due to contemplating whether it'd be visible or act as a facing. 

*Didn't want to try to match the pattern by turning the right sides together and stitching

Attach skirt, side seams, detour into pockets. I actually made pockets and was all ready to add them when doubts about pocket contents weighing down the skirt arose. The mind was made up when, as a test, I actually dropped my phone into the pocket which dropped both on the floor with a small thunk.

Lining: half circle skirt attached at the waistband.

Inner waistband to cover up the interfacing. 

Other alterations include 1" vertically removed from the bodice, 14" zipper instead of

whatever the instructions call for, ignoring the vertical bodice darts, lowered the armscyes by 1",

and stitching down the back pieces so that the cut out doesn't shift.

Next time I might add back that inch removed from the bodice, just to see what it looks like. 

I started with a little over two yards of a quilting fabric (yeah...) and in the space of less 

than a week** turned out this lovely frock.

Wee, now I'm going to rejuvenate by... not stitching?

(Blogging might take a hit from the sheer frustration of photo taking)

**Thank you The Monthly Stitch!
(EDIT: Of which I was too late to submit for the Indie Pattern Month Dress category)

Thanks also to:

Stashbusting 2015

and the Dress Up Party!

Basic Facts:

Pattern: Belladone bodice, Coffee Date Dress skirt

Fabric: quilting cotton (named Porcelain Blue) for fashion fabric,
 blue poly-cotton(?) pillow case for waistband and bias tape,
sparkle quilting cotton for lining 

Notions: 14" white invisible zipper

Stashbusting Piece Count: 3- 5 of 6 

(EDIT: the first publication of this post was a rush job regarding photos)