Finished Project: Wonder Woman-inspired Soma Suit

After seeing the Wonder Woman swimsuit I made for my daughter, several of you championed the idea of matching mother-daughter suits. 

I took your advice, but not to the letter. I thought the Soma swimsuit by Papercut would be the perfect pattern for an inspired-by-but-not-totally-literal adult version of a Wonder Woman bathing suit. The bikini top features a triangle-shaped panel that when cut in gold spandex references Wonder Woman's golden eagle without looking too costumey:  

OK, maybe it's a little costumey

At least I restrained myself when it came time to choose fabric for the bikini bottoms. I do after all have a half-yard of blue and white starry spandex left over...

Anyway, I'm not going to share a lot of close-up shots of this suit on my person due to modesty's sake. But I will tell you more about what I did to this pattern to make it work a little better for me. (And there are plenty of close-up pics on my dress form if you scroll to the bottom).

What Did We Learn From Project Runway This Week? Season 13, Episode 1

We’ve endured two successive seasons of lesser-than Project Runway iterations (Under the Gunn and All-Stars, which undermines the very premise of the show — that the winner of Project Runway will go on to be the next big American designer by bringing back previous winners who have gone on to do....um, nothing special enough enough that they don’t still need more prize money to pay the rent?).

But now Project Runway — the real one — is finally back (albeit without our favorite simile-spewing arbiter of all things mother-of-the-bride, Michael Kors). 

So we sewers can spend the next 13 weeks dissecting fabric choice, drape, style and technique for both inspiration — and some schadenfreude. In the promo, Tim Gunn is shown calling this the “Season of the Vagina.” I can hardly wait to see what that even means. Let’s get started.

Finished Project: Vogue Sundress Hack Attack Take 2

If I kept all my failures to myself, what kind of (virtual) sewing bee buddy would I be?

Because we all have them (right, people? Right?). And if my M.O. is anything, it's keepin' it real. So check out this, my second sundress sewn (partly) from Vogue 8766 — a scroll-down nightmare.

Try it. The bodice looks great...lovely fit...nice spaghetti halter straps....cute daisy print...sweet button placket detail...and then (scrolling down), oh dear, that skirt:

My husband tells me it's adorable. I think he likes that it's, er, defining through the bodice. I do love the daisies. I choose the print because it had a Sassy magazine-circa-1992 sweetness to it.

But that gathered skirt...I thought I swore those darn things off a few years ago? On a lady like me, they just look dumpy. And, if this dress looks shorter at center front, that's because it is. I was trying for something...but it just looks like a mistake. Also, that white eyelet trim is a little twee. (However, if I were a Sassy magazine stylist, I would pair this with combat boots and a beekeeper's hat and maybe it would look cool.)

I once again used shirring to gather the back bodice. This time I used a single large rectangle for the back bodice and skirt. Last time,  I cut the bodice and skirt separately, and it turned out much better. I think the fabric choice this time around had a lot to do with it:

Also, I should iron more

I like this dress just enough that saving it somehow is important to me (After all, it's a lot of work shirring all those rows!). But how? Swap out the skirt entirely? Chop the hem straight and use some other kind of trimming to add length? What would you do?

Finished Project: Wonder Woman Swimsuit!

I would tell you how to make this Wonder Woman swimsuit I created for my six-year-old, but it's probably copyright infringement. Also, I'm feeling a little protective of this project; a lot of work went into drafting and sewing a wearable Wonder Woman swimsuit — and if the whole world had one....well, it just wouldn't seem as special:

Feeling pretty special

Finished Project: Vogue 8766 Hacked!

If I learned one thing from Me Made May, it's that I need more easy summer sundresses in my DIY wardrobe. And though it's my opinion that any dress that must be worn with a strapless bra does not actually qualify as "easy to wear," I do think my Vogue 8766 hack will gets lots of love from me this summer:  

I made quite a few changes: I smocked shirred the back bodice piece and created a button placket down the front; I added spaghetti straps and thread belt loops, plus side pockets. Here's Vogue's line drawing of 8766 to give you an idea of the original look. I used the strapless bodice variation with the circle skirt (bottom right):