Project #13 - brown twinset

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

For several years now I've been entertaining the idea of making my own twinsets instead of buying them. I even had the perfect pattern - Kwik Sew 2759. Last weekend I finally decided to try it out.

I finished it last night and wore it to the post office today. It's nice and comfortable, made of the same double knit I'd used for the brown dress.



Not a bad fit for pretty much straight out of the envelope. I used size S and the only pattern alteration I made was for square shoulders. It was very easy to sew following the instructions. I used the serger for the main seams and a simple zig-zag for the cardigan front/neckline binding and all hems. I have to say, the zig-zag finish is much prettier than I'd thought it would be.

Both pieces will need several alterations in order to become a TNT: erect back and shortening the distance from shoulder to bust. I also have some wrinkles indicating a need for a bust cup alteration but there is plenty of fabric to go around me so may have to start with size XS and then the FBA will take care of the circumference difference. Starting with a smaller size should also fix the shoulder length that looks just a tad too long in these pictures.

All in all, this is a great pattern with excellent instructions and I plan to perfect the fit so that it can join my lineup of TNT patterns.

Coats and Jackets

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

Today, I joined The Great Coat Sew-Along. Thank you, Marji. The idea behind it is to get people motivated and encouraged to learn and sew, and finish their coat (or two or three, as some of the more ambitious participants plan) in time to wear it this fall.

I have two fabrics I am considering for the coat project. One is a really pretty, fuzzy, black coating that is either all wool or a wool/cashmere blend. (I don't remember. It came from a friend of mine when we swapped fabrics after coming to terms with colors we could wear and those we couldn't.)
The other is a lighter weight dark gray wool herringbone. It would likely need Thinsulate or something similar to make it warm enough for these German winters.

For patterns, I'm considering Vogue 2988...


...and Vogue 8307, the short version.


I think I'd want a belt with both of those, even though the second one looks like it has enough waist shaping. I just really like the look of belted coats.

I am going to look for reviews of V2988. For V8307, I don't have to look far - Tany made it up earlier this year and posted extensively about it.

My DMIL, wonderful soul that she is, made a special trip to JoAnn's to pick up these patterns for me. Thank you, Darlene. While I'm waiting for them to arrive, I'll gather all the necessary materials and notions, as per Marji's sewing timeline.
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While I'm on the subject of patterns, I also picked out this one, Vogue 8480, to use with the raincoating fabrics I got from Michael's Fabrics. I have the red and the black. I really like the lines of this pattern and the only thing it needs is a hood. I may draft one or morph one from another pattern onto this one. And yes, I think this jacket too would benefit from a belt.

More on dyeing and stashing

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

Dyeing
For those of you who have been wanting to try it, I'll say "what are you waiting for?" It's fun, it's a good exercise (you have to stir frequently), and it gives your clothes a new lease on life.

Keely wanted to know if I'd dyed the clothes on the stove top or in the microwave. I used the stove top method because I wanted to be able to stir the garments in the dye bath. I wasn't sure whether the microwave method would result in even color and I didn't want to find out the hard way.

Lindsay T wanted to know whether the garments hold the color through washing. I haven't washed these enough yet, obviously, but when I used Rit dyes before I didn't have any problems with the color running or fading. Or rubbing off on my skin, which was my original worry before I tried it.

Fabric stash
Thank you very much for your kind comments about my stash organization. I find an organized sewing area inspiring. Messy is usually stressful to me.

Some of you seem to think that my stash is small. To me it sometimes seems huge. I think I could make a new garment every week and still have fabric left over after a year. That's a definition of a big stash in my book.

I love shopping my stash. It is such a nice feeling when I can come up with an idea, look in the fabric closet, pull out just the right piece, and sew it all up. I don't much care to go online, look for the fabric I have in mind, and then wait a week or two until it gets here. By then, the momentum is gone and I'm off thinking about something else (yes, I know, short attention span). Stash is a necessity for people like me who live far away from any well-stocked fabric store.

Project #12 - black cotton skirt

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

Pictures, finally. I've been promising them for a while, I know. So here they are.


I made this skirt using the same cotton twill that I'd used for the long pants and the capris. The pattern is printed out from PMB and I adjusted it to my liking, which resulted in some oddly shaped pieces. I like how it's pegged at the hem as opposed to straight down from the hips.

I debated the virtues of a slit in the back versus a vent. In the end, I decided to go with a slit. Now, I have to say that I'm used to sewing wool. Wool with all its drapiness and beauty. This cotton is completely different and I think the slit would benefit from some weights. I determined this by temporarily attaching a quarter on each side at the hem. It hung very nicely, straight down. I took them off though because they'll be impractical for the wash-and-dry nature of this skirt. Just something to remember next time I work with cotton.

Notice my hair in these pictures - it's 3" long. I know most women think that 3" qualifies as short hair but I kept my hair at about 1/2"-1" length for years and I'm telling you, 3" is long. I don't know what to do with it. It's not long enough to look long and not short enough to look like it's short on purpose. I'm going to have to get some hats.

Color options

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

Yesterday I cooked my clothes. Literally.
It was quite an interesting experience, actually.

This is the result:













It all started a few weeks ago with the seasonal closet clean-out when I realized I had some clothes I liked in a color I didn't like. Namely, off-white. Or creamy white. Or winter white. Call it what you want, it's a color that makes me look ill when I wear it and I know it (so who knows what I was thinking buying those tops?).

First I took the lovely twinset and some Dylon fabric dye in Poppy Red. The instructions were easy to follow, it went fast, and... let's just say that the Dylon people and I have different ideas when it comes to the color of poppies. I think bright red. They think bright orange.

I love bright orange.
I can't wear bright orange. Or any other orange unless I'm looking for sympathy of the "you don't look well" kind.













Rit dye to the rescue. Did you know they have a color mixing chart? (For Cherry Red mix Scarlet and Fuchsia.)

I didn't bother removing the orange color from the twinset so it ended up a pretty bright red. The shirt and the sweater are darker and in regular light the fuchsia influence is definitely visible.

I love them all.
It feels like I just got new clothes. And in a way, I did.

Got fabric?

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

No skirt pictures today - we didn't have time. This morning we drove to Mannheim for some serious IKEA shopping. We needed a slipcover for the winter white couch that developed a coffee stain courtesy of my husband. And we wanted a matching footstool. But I digress.

I got a few extra shelves for my stash closet and 16 of those white boxes you can see in the picture below (top shelf). I had to pull out all of my fabrics and move the pegs that hold the shelves so that I could fit in the new ones. This resulted in a major stash reorganization. Black, gray, and red fabrics on one side, all other colors on the other.


Wow! I didn't realize I had that much black and gray fabric. Good to know though. I'll need to remember that next time I am tempted by some lovely charcoal wool/silk from my favorite supplier.

I have two plastic drawer bins that I'm going to move into the white boxes as I use up the fabric and free up space in the stash closet. I'd really like to have no more plastic drawers by the end of this calendar year. Wish me luck! (And time to sew!)

Thanks

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

Thank you everyone for your kind compliments on my recent creations. They really warm my heart. And they really help keep the mojo around.
Also, thank you to all of you who have written with words of courage and/or commiseration after my latest fiasco. It's good to know these things happen to other people, too.

Marji, I am sorely tempted by the Sapporo iron. I'm trying to figure out how to handle the water reservoir. (We're not allowed to use screws in military housing, only nails.) Hmmm... I wonder if the sprinklers in the ceiling are sturdy enough to hold it up.

Now an update on the skirt: I cut out new back yokes and got back to sewing. It is almost finished; I only have some hand-sewing left to do. I am hoping to have pictures to post tomorrow.

Here's my sign

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

I don't feel like the brightest bulb on the string today. This afternoon, as I was working on the black twill skirt, the right back yoke just would not line up with the main right back piece. I had too much ease in the yoke. So I ripped it out and went for a stroll around the base with DH. Fresh air and sunshine do wonders for the soul, right?

I get back to the studio, chalk the seam lines so I can measure them - sure enough, the yoke is 3/8" longer. WTF? All I did was take the adjusted PMB skirt pattern, drew a yoke, cut apart, and added seam allowances. How could it possibly be longer? Hmm.. okay, whatever, I'll just whack off the extra 3/8" at CB and call it good. Pin, sew, looks pretty good. But just for the kicks, I pull out the pattern and put the back yoke pattern piece on top of the corresponding fabric piece. Ha! Corresponding my foot! The curve is all wrong! The pieces don't line up at all!

At this point, I'm thinking, "I must be off my rocker." Then I recall this foggy memory of fusing the interfacing to the back yokes and seeing the same misalignment. I'd chalked it up to the squirmy nature of the interfacing and just recut the pieces to fit the yoke. And then I had this bright idea: I put the front yoke pattern piece on top of the back yoke fabric piece... and guess what... they lined up perfectly! Good !@#$%^& grief! I had been trying to sew a front yoke to the back main piece - no wonder the seam lines didn't match!

So, back to the cutting table to cut out new back yoke pieces. As I was moving the pressing board off the table, the corner of it caught the ailing iron (the shot of steam button stopped working a few weeks ago) and sent it flying, tip-down, to the floor. Slow motion. Thud! Well, any hopes I might have had about saving the lovely Rowenta and maybe even repairing its steam button evaporated the moment I picked it up - all of the water was gushing (gushing!!!) out of its heel.


What a day!

Catching up and reading

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

It's been a busy week. I haven't had much time to do anything sewing-related, not even read blogs. I logged into Bloglines this afternoon to find 88 new posts. Eighty-eight!!! I finally finished reading them all.

I've been tagged by Shannon and Karen to open the nearest book and post the 6th, 7th, and 8th sentence from page 123. Well, here goes:
Zaim seemed to be unconscious. Blood plumed from the side of his head, and Bourne guessed that he, too, had struck a rock. With one arm around the limp form, Bourne kicked out hard for the surface, banging the top of his head sooner than he had anticipated against the ice sheet.

That was from The Bourne Betrayal by Eric Van Lustbader. I haven't read it yet, just brought it home from the library where it caught my eye because I'd enjoyed reading the Bourne trilogy a few years ago. It's sitting on my computer desk waiting for me to pick it up and curl up with it for one of those long reading sessions that last into the wee hours of the night because the book is a such a page turner. (And after such sessions, I'm usually afraid to turn off the lights and go to bed because there's a bad guy hiding in every shadow. Yes, I have a very vivid imagination.)

On the sewing front, I have cut out a black cotton twill skirt, fused the interfacing, and serged the seam allowances. Now I'm just waiting for a nice chunk of Saturday sewing time.

Project #11 - black cotton pants

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

I finished these pants on Thursday. They are from the same black cotton twill as the capris (or more correctly, pedal pushers, according to Easy Guide to Sewing Pants by Lynn MacIntyre) and the same TNT pattern. I hemmed them about 1/2" too long to account for any residual shrinkage.



I love them. Just as comfortable as all my other pants (could it be because they're all from the same pattern?), they look somewhat less dressy than wool crepe and are appropriate for most occasions in my current life.

I didn't put any pockets on these pants. I'm not a fan of pockets except on coats so I leave them off. I think it results in a more streamlined silhouette. In fact, the only pants from this pattern that have pockets are the jeans and even those have only back pockets. (I wanted to make them look like jeans but feel like regular pants, and the back pockets were a nod to the authentic jeans styling.)

I'm getting ready to cut out a skirt in the same cotton twill, and after that I'd like to start making some tops.