All About the Journey

As a wise man once wrote, "The point of the journey, is not to arrive".¹ Well, I keep trying to remember that because it feels like I've been on a number of sewing-related journeys lately but still haven't arrived at my destination. I have three projects going at once now, which is something I've been trying not to do. But, I'm just trying to enjoy the sewing process and stop focusing too much on the completed garment.

Since I don't have much in the way of finished projects to show, I thought I'd post a few teasers of the current WIPs.

¹ If you guessed this was a lyric from the song "Prime Mover" by Rush, you win a prize! Actually, if you guess Rush for any song lyric I quote, you'd stand a 50-50 chance of being right :)

Pattern Placement Fail

I've been plugging away on my Thakoon silk Saltspring. Construction has been going very slow, but it's been so rewarding. I've been enjoying the process so much (except for a few swearing episodes hear and there). The fabrics were easier to sew than I anticipated and pressed great.

Well, last night was the first time I've been able to try on the almost finished dress. I only have a hem left. And... Epic. Pattern. Placement. Failure. 

So, I love the front:

And the back?  Guess where this design falls? Use your imagination because there's no way I'm going to model this. :-)

You might say "this is unfortunate". Or, the phrase baboon ass might come to mind. Either or, they're both accurate.

Even with this unfortunate turn of events, I will say that I'm so happy with my pattern matching. Really, one must laugh and look at the positives when one is presented with the reality of a design flaw of this magnitude. I don't know how I could have overlooked this.

I've been back and forth trying to convince myself that everything is okay, and asking my family to weigh in. Despite them saying it looks fine, I know it doesn't. I'm trying to convince myself otherwise, but in my heart I know what must be done. I'm going to redo the back of the skirt. It's going to be a major pain in the ass (no pun intended), but I need to not feel self conscious in something that I've invested so much time and energy in. This is supposed to be an epically awesome dress, damn it! 

I'm not sure if I'll have to completely unpick the entire back, waist and zipper (probably) or find a shortcut and only partially unpick, but I know it will be worth it. I just need to wait for the fabric to come in, and will probably console myself with some quick, easy projects in the meantime.

Has anyone else encountered "inappropriate" pattern placement on a finished or partially finished garment and if so, what did you do?

I Need A Drink

Or seven.

That can only mean one thing - I started cutting out my Thakoon silk for my next Saltspring dress. Was I smart and got a stable, easy to handle silk?  Oh no. Did I mention that this is crepe de chine?

I absolutely love the fabric and nothing was going to keep me from buying it, but I did not think this thing through! I have no rotary cutter, no pattern weights, and I'm too damn lazy to trace out a full pattern piece to avoid cutting on a fold. It's just me, a relatively sharp pair of scissors and some brand new silk pins.  I was just lucky that the cats stayed away.

That's right, I like to live dangerously (or stupidly, you be the judge).

The slightly sheer nature of the fabric helped me out. I tried to align the pattern motifs to the gridlines on my cutting board. I was also good and only cut through single layers of fabric.  I would cut half of the pattern and then flip it and sometimes the fabric itself over to help align the pattern.  I don't think it turned out half bad.

But seriously, the only thing that kept me from hitting the bottle was the knowledge that there was a 100% certainty that I would mess this up under the influence. Even one sip, and there would be no hope. Sober, I had a 50-50 chance :)

Here's the front:

And the back:

My strategy was to to focus on choosing and centering design motifs and not worry about matching the pattern at the side seams. The pattern is so busy that I don't think it's going to stand out. I've also been looking at dresses online that use this fabric, and side seam pattern matching is not even attempted in a few styles.

Since I'm a sadist, I chose a nice slippery rayon as lining. Funny thing is that I'm really not all that worried about the actual sewing. I trust that my machine can handle it.  Cutting out the pattern pieces has always been my least favorite part, so it's no wonder that agonized over this bit.

Saltspring vs. McCalls M6744

I came across the Saltspring pattern from Sewaholic right after starting my McCalls M6744, and it was love at first sight! The pattern was similar to the McCalls pattern I had already fallen in love with, but so much more. I'd call it the fancier, big sister to 6744 (view A). I love top of Saltspring - the outer fabric is longer and sewn over a shorter lining, causing magical blousing without having to fuss with a belt. The skirt is also flared, instead of the more dirndl skirt style of 6744.

Both View A's are similar, but designed for different fabrics. McCalls calls for a stretch knit while Saltspring is for lightweight, wovens.

I also found the PERFECT fabric for my Saltspring. Or more accurately, I found the perfect pattern for the beautiful Thakoon silk paisley print that I have been lusting over for months online at Mood! There are not enough exclamation marks in the world to describe how much I loved and wanted this fabric. This new sewing pattern combined with me needing a serious dose of retail therapy after my move from hell sealed the deal.

The color is a bit off and I didn't take time to straighten out the pattern, but you still get the idea of how awesome this is!

But, there was no way I was going to use up my $50 silk on an untried pattern.  I recently purchased a very large rayon dress from my local thrift store that will serve as the basis for my wearable muslin. I was in a "must have a Hawaiian print fabric" phase, and I got lucky!

 

My first time sewing 100% Rayon.  It's so soft! I'm in love.

I'll have to make some modifications because I won't have enough fabric to make the flared skirt, but my main concern is testing out the fit of the top. Let's see how this goes! 

Home Stretch - Lonsdale Progress

Almost finished!

I'm so happy with the progress on my Lonsdale.  I just have a few tasks remaining: cut out and sew a skirt lining because the eyelet and underlining is still too sheer for comfort, sew the zipper and hem everything.  Depending on how much sewing time I can fit in today, it should be ready in another day or two.

I recycled and pieced together all I could from muslin that I had lying around for the lining and underling. I still did not have enough for a skirt lining and had to make a trek to Joann Fabric. I know, poor me had to go to the fabric store.

I'm so glad I did! There was a 50% off sale! (I know, when do they not have a sale?) I was so appalled by the evil conditions that the fabric was being kept in that I had to liberate some from Joann's. (And by evil conditions, I mean it wasn't home with me yet.)

LOOK! EYELET!!!!

I usually try to stay away from all white because I'm afraid it will get dirty, but I just couldn't say no to this! I've been staring longingly at the Hazel's that have been popping up in the blog world and think this would be perfect for one.  Check out the amazingly blue eyelet Hazel made by Gail at Today's Agenda, or the white embroidered Hazel on the Colette blog.  When the time comes, I'll be underlining this with the light green fabric pictured above.

Also, I this beautiful Swiss Dot needed a good home.

I'm sure I've seen this fabric on at least one blogger's site already. (I'm sorry I can't remember where, but I remember it being beautiful!)  I don't know what's to become of it yet, but I think I might be starting a Lonsdale phase. Or maybe another Cambie? Or, can I squeeze a Chantilly from this?  So many choices, which is such a good problem to have :)

Just Takin' My Time, Sewing my Lonsdale

Quality sewing time has been kind of hard to find lately. Between being super busy at work, house hunt and most important, trying to spend time outside enjoying summer, I haven't made much progress on my Lonsdale.

I'm still plugging away on it, trying to do a little bit every night or two.  There's not much to report, but tonight I finally finished the bodice:

I underlined the yellow eyelet with white mystery fabric. (Is it cotton batiste? Is it some poly blend? Who knows, but I sure do love my mystery fabrics.) Only problem I found was that it was still too sheer.  I was originally going to use that for the lining, but instead chose to piece together the lining from left over muslin I had lying around.

It's become a game.  How far can I get before I break down and go to the fabric store? I think it might happen soon. The skirt might be too sheer for comfort without another layer.

Also, how amazing would a dress this color look with say a robin's egg blue belt?  I must find or make one to go with this!

Beating the System

What's this?

Why, it's just the start of my Lonsdale using my 1 3/8 yards of yellow eyelet.

#Winning  #PatternHacks  #BeatingTheSystem

Work In Progress - Beignet

Here's a little sneak preview of my current work in progress, Colette's Beignet skirt:

This was supposed to be a project to use up the remaining denim from my Thurlows. I don't know if it's just me, but I usually end up buying more fabric and supplies just to finish up what are supposed to be stash-busting projects. No complaints, just find it funny. For this one, I had to run out to purchase red lining (because this absolutely had to have red lining), and the perfect red buttons.

Macy was kind enough to lend her fabulous tail to this picture.

I'm having fun just taking my time and enjoying all of the red topstitching on the denim. The only thing left is to sew on belt loops.

One more thing,

I'm not sure how well this will show up on your screen, but this is a shot of my blue stained fingers. I pre-washed the denim, but am still ending up with serious case of blue hands every every time I work on the skirt! Hopefully, this little added bonus feature of the fabric wears off after a few more washes.

Interlude

I'm still working on my Thurlows, I promise! Here's proof:

Just ignore the fact that I sewed these pieces to the wrong side of the fabric. Oops. Right now, there's been a lot of swearing at muslins and staring at pictures of my butt and other people's butts to try to work out my fitting issues. I'm currently working on a wearable muslin and yes, I broke down and purchased fabric for it. I just didn't trust cutting out my good fabric without making a full test first. For better or worse, it should be complete and ready to share in the next day or two. In the meantime, there are a few non-trouser things to report.

Britex Fabrics, my favorite fabric store in San Francisco, mentioned me on their blog! You can check out the post here.  It's so exciting! I've never felt so much like a celebrity before in my life, and I'm so thankful to them for the shout out!  Now, how to I convince my job that they need to send me to San Francisco soon so that I can make a fabric run? Until then, I'm left to longingly peruse their website.  Don't you think this fabric would make an amazing pair of Thurlows? I've been looking at it for weeks now. (Full disclosure: I have no willpower and purchased some. It was on sale.)

Source http://www.britexfabrics.com/slubby-bittersweet-chocolate-stretch-cotton.html#

I also got a bit bored between my muslins and cut out fabric for three pairs of Rosy Ladyshorts.  I'll try to sew a pair or two if I need a break from my Thurlow marathon.

On the Thurlow front, I didn't think it possible but I'm actually enjoying sewing all of the "fiddly bits" of the pattern. It means I have to take the sewing process slow, which is a good thing. I'm trying to make a conscious effort to focus on enjoying the sewing process and not on the end product. As the great philosopher Neil Peart once wrote, "The point of the journey is not to arrive".

A Brief Pause

Life can be very inconsiderate at times. It has the amazingly bad manners to interfere with my sewing and blogging time.  How rude!  As such, I don't have too much to report.

I do have a bit of a teaser for a project that I'm working on:

Doctor Who and glitter. You can't ask for much more than that.  I hope to be able to sneak in an hour or two of quality sewing time and will post finished pics as soon as I can.

In other news, I received these wonderful patterns in the mail courtesy of the recent sale at Butterick:

So excited to have Gertie's amazing pattern (Butterick B5882) in my grubby little hands!  I love the sample dress and as much as I'd like to replicate it, there's no way I trust myself in white silk.  I'd be devastated after the first wearing because inevitably I'd spill something on it, or sit in a dirty spot, or mess it up in one of a hundred other ways. I'm sure the right fabric will speak to me when the time comes.

The Vogue skirt looks like a nice basic piece with a few interesting details. I should get a lot of use out of this pattern.

The two bag patterns - well, I couldn't bring myself to purchase just one pattern for around $2 and have to spend $8 more on shipping.  It seemed crazy unless I added in a few other patterns to make the purchase worthwhile.  I have a lot of scraps of leather, vinyl and other utility fabric that would be perfect. I'd love to try out making a bag or two.

Well, back to trying to carve out sewing time!

Progress on Eyelet Cambie

I love that point in the sewing process when you see the garment start to come together and actually look like something. That's what happened to me early Sunday afternoon while working on my Cambie.

Prior to that, it was just a bunch of pattern pieces:

(Since Ms Flooz won't move, she might as well help model my fabric.)
 
But Sunday afternoon, a skirt emerged! I could start to see the finish product.

I also have this amazing ability to pick out the most unsuitable fabric combinations for shells and underlinings.  I did this over a year ago when I sewed the Lonsdale dress pattern from Sewaholic. My fabric choices were this wonderful gauzy fabric for the shell, and crazy stretch fabric for underlining.  In the end it worked out beautifully, but it involved many hours and much swearing to get to that point.

My eyelet, while beautiful, was tough to keep on grain.  It didn't help that I decided to go with the satin mystery fabric as the underlining.  I struggled to keep both fabrics lined up enough to baste together.  I think I've managed so far, but it definitely slowed down the project.  If I had been patient and waited until some nice cotton in the perfect color came along, I probably would be finished already.  Oh well, onward and upward...

I was also having a bit of difficulty with my skirt gathers.  I guess I'm just not used to making and wearing something this gathered at the waist.  It almost felt too gathered and I worried I did something wrong.  Contributing to this is the fact that the skirt is getting heavy with both fabrics. I'll admit that I had a few panic moments where I thought that this dress going to be a puffy mess and that I had wasted good fabric.

I draped it on my dress form and pinned the sleeve/straps to their correct position.

Then, Magic:

I LOVE IT.  It has a wonderful vintage vibe.  It's beautiful.  No more worries.  I can't wait to finish.

Next steps - I need to insert the zipper and bodice lining. I think I'm going to omit the skirt lining. The fabric is opaque enough to leave it out and I am still a bit concerned about the extra weight and bulk.

Navy Eyelet Dress - Getting the Party Started!

Chantilly, I just can't quit you.  I was so set in my decision to go with the Cambie pattern for my eyelet.  Unfortunately, I made the mistake of hanging my the Chantilly bodice muslin on my dress form. I've been staring at it for a day now wondering if I made the right decision.

"Pst...You know you want me. I'm so pretty!  Just cut me out!"

No.  I made my decision.  If I don't stick with it, I run the risk of agonizing over the pattern for months. Cambie it is!

Don't worry Chantilly, I have an awesome consolation fabric in mind for you:

 

 

That's right, it's Dr. Who Toile from Spoonflower.com! I'm eying up the cotton voile mainly because it comes in a wider width than the cotton silk (54" width vs. 40" width). And since this fabric is expensive and the pattern does take up a decent amount of yardage, the wider option is more economical. 

This fabric will be perfect. The pattern is subtle enough for daily wear but nerdly enough for events like ComicCon. I'd call this a win win all around.  And, the purchase shall be my reward for finishing a few projects.

Now, on to Cambie!

I started cutting out the shell last night and I have to say that cutting this eyelet was a bitch! I was trying to be very careful to make sure it stayed on grain. This meant lining up the circles every few inches and pining them in place. I also had to decided if I wanted the circles aligned vertically or horizontally. It's subtle, but I know if I didn't keep this consistent it would drive me nuts. (Horizontal alignment won.)

As always, my dedicated helper was there to supervise.

" You might want to consider pattern weights instead of pins"

She is really annoyed in this picture that I have the nerve to try to move her! Check out those ears.

I need to cut underlining and lining next, but I anticipate that these will go much faster as long as I don't get any more feline help.

Pattern Dilemma

Have you ever have this problem?  You have some amazing fabric that you're saving for the perfect pattern. Then one day that perfect pattern finally comes along.  You debate long and hard over whether or not it really is perfect before finally deciding that it is in fact "the one" and you can't live without it.

Then, just before you're about to start cutting, you get cold feet and wonder if you've made the right decision.  Is it really "the one"?

This is the dilemma I'm having right now.  I want to start working on my blue eyelet dress.  I've decided that the perfect lining was flesh colored mystery fabric that I found at Joann's this weekend. It's probably 100% polyester or very close.  Not ideal, but I don't care because it fits my vision:

I've envisioned a flowing dress that would be perfect for warm weather.  I usually gravitate toward skin tight or A-line, but wanted something a bit fluffier with this. I wanted fun and girly......or did I?

Enter Colette's Chantilly pattern.  I decided that this would be perfect. It's was "the one" for this fabric.

I even made a muslin of the bodice last night. The fit is great, but now I'm completely second guessing my pattern choice.  I'm not sure if the style is me and I'm not sure if it does the fabric justice. Don't get me wrong, it's an absolutely beautiful pattern, but something is stopping me.

I want the fabric to be the star of this, not necessarily the design.  I'm worried that all of the gathers on Chantilly will take away from the eyelet pattern, and that's what I really want to highlight. 

I'm also second guessing the dress design on me.  I love how it looks on others, but not sure if it's completely right for me because it's not what I usually choose.

I'm thinking of making another Cambie instead. "But didn't you just make one?"  Why yes I did, but that was the A-line version. I think that if I make the full skirt version with this fabric, I'll be happier. I'll get a more fitted bodice, which will be the perfect canvas to display the eyelet pattern, achieving my main goal. And, I'll also get the fluffy skirt that I want, but won't feel like the bodice gathers, the skirt gathers and the fabric are all competing.

I do want to sew a Chantilly, because I do think it would be fun to wear.  Maybe I'll just use it as an excuse to purchase more fabric next week!

I'd love to hear what other people do in this situation.  What happens when you have what you think is the perfect pattern and then second guess yourself.  Do you just go ahead with the original pattern?  Run out to the store and purchase more pattern-appropriate fabric? Or, do you agonize over the decision so much that nothing gets made? (I'm trying not to be guilty of the last one.)