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).

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

Taking care of DIY

There comes a moment in every DIYer's life when she/he must make a decision: how to wash your me-made garments?

Every load is a risk

Because even if you take pains to pre-wash and shrink your fabric, there's still plenty that could go wrong in the spin cycle:

• Seams could unravel
• Fusible interfacing could unfuse itself and create ripples on collars and cuffs
• Painstakingly pounded-on snaps could pop off (or buttons can go MIA)
• Jersey could pill
• The lining could shrink while the rest remains the same

And though all of these issues could come up with ready-to-wear, when you made it yourself you know the true cost in time and effort — which makes suffering any of these laundry room indignities that much more painful.

Handwashing or spotcleaning can preclude some of these issues, and avoiding the dryer is enough for others. Of course, that means you can't always rely on your dryer to get the wrinkles out:

Knowing your fabrics and how to wash them can help avoid some of the pitfalls of washing DIY. I try to avoid machine-washing anything that is lightweight or combines fabrics — and never put anything that might melt into the dryer, like this Scout tee with a pleather pocket:

Luckily, it matches the shower curtain

However, even that level of care has not been enough to avoid pilling:

Handwashing stretch fabrics does not always produce nice results:

Drooooop

 Particularly with stretch fabrics that don't have good recovery (bounce back), a good wash and dry can actually make your me-made Tee look better again. And I find that after a few wears even pants I've made from pricier fabrics need a wash to restore their shape.

I know what you're thinking: dryclean, dummy. But most drycleaners still use carcinogenic solvents, which are bad for public health and the environment. Also, I need my money for fabric, so I'm not spending it on cleaning.

How do you care for your DIY garments? Spotcleaning until it's absolutely necessary? Or throw it all in the washer and say a little prayer?

Free Pattern: Little Swimmer Bathing Cap

What are the pool rules where you live? Do you (or your kids) have to wear a swimcap in the water? My daughter recently started swimming lessons at a nearby private pool (located in an apartment building in the Northwest Bronx) and everyone who enters the water must be wearing a swimcap.

It's kind of a pain though it makes sense; do you want to swim around with your neighbors' stray hairs? (Or see the pool shuttered when they have to clean the filter — again?).

But the spandex cap we bought her was too big, and the rubbery ones pulled at her hair. So what does a lady with some extra spandex and little pattern paper do? I drafted my own. And because it is so simple, I am sharing it here for free.  After the jump:

Finished Project: Stripey Concert Tee

I bought a bunch of jersey from Girl Charlee and fully intended to get in on the sewing blog zeitgiest and make some Netties.

But then we had one hot day in NYC and I remembered: I hate tight things in New York in the summer, when a bodysuit is likely to be soaked in sweat at the crotch within a few minutes of waiting on a stifling subway platform. Gross.

Maybe if we lived in San Francisco I'd be making Netties right now, but live in New York we do. So, instead I used Dixie DIY's Concert Tee pattern to make a floaty tee that's just right for sticky, stinky NYC summer days:

I love the dropped shoulders and the cropped-in-the-front, long-in-the-back hemline. The flare is perfect and the top hangs so nicely, especially in this vintage blue cotton-blend jersey.

I lowered the neckline about 1.5 inches because the original higher scoop made me look (there's no way to put this delicately) like my boobs hung low. There was just something about the combination of the swingy tent-like hem and the high scoop — I looked like a mom trying to wear her daughter's Forever 21 top. Luckily, lowering a neckline is about the easiest alteration you can do. Ten seconds with a French curve and a piece of chalk and all was right with this top.

My concert tee kept catching little gusts of wind on our photo shoot in the park (luckily I had a tank on underneath):

And let's just say it: this top hides your butt without being all tunic-y:

I really hate wearing shorts, but when I do this summer it will probably be with this top.

What's your go-to summer outfit when it's trapped-in-an-unairconditioned-subway-car hot?

Weekend Sewing: What's on my table

What's on my sewing table this Friday? (In addition to a big mess):

Bathing suits!

It's pool (and sprinkler) season, after all. So I'm testing the waters of swimsuit sewing, which it turns out, is actually no harder than any other stretch sewing project. I'm using this free pattern from Prudent Baby, which I found on Pinterest:

But, as you can see, I made the pattern (a size 5) much bigger for my solidly built almost-six-year-old:

I slashed the pattern and spread it an inch at the waist and vertically too. I then used my French curve to redraft the leg hole, side seam and neckline. 

The tutorial at Prudent Baby is very easy to follow. I love the little ruffle:

Also: I love any chance to use a twin needle: 

The other thing I am really excited about is these matching swim caps I'm making to go with each suit:

My daughter takes swimming lessons now and pool rules stipulate a swim cap must be worn in the water at all times. It's hard to find small kid-size swim caps though, so the one she has (an adult size) slips off her head every time.

I drafted the pattern for the cap and used remnants of swimsuit fabric. She's going to look like a classic bathing beauty with her matching set.

So what's on your sewing table this weekend? Ever made a bathing suit? What's your fave swimsuit pattern?

Pattern Review: Jolly Roger Raglan Tee

A few months ago I started teaching sewing at this great space in Upper Manhattan, Bread and Yoga (they also have yoga, obviously, as well as art and cooking). In addition to beginner adult classes and weekend workshops, I also teach tween classes (age 9-13). And since most of the young girls in my class ultimately want to sew clothes, I started searching the web for easy tween patterns. It's not easy to find patterns for that age group that look like something they would actually want to wear.


And then I found the Jolly Roger Raglan Tee pattern by Patterns for Pirates, a small indie patternmaker who specializes in boys clothing. She has just four patterns available for download at her Etsy shop. Having drafted a raglan T pattern before, I didn't mind paying the $7.50 for the downloadable PDF of this multi-sized T-shirt in several variations, including long sleeved with a cuff, 3/4-length sleeve and short. Plus it comes in sizes 3m,6m,9m,12m,18m,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10,12,14 — which gives you options. But I've never heard of Patterns for Pirates — nor could I find any sewn examples on sewing blogs. Would it be any good? 

I made one in size 7 for my daughter, using some cotton knit from Chic on 39th Street in NYC's Garment District:

And then I tested it out in the largest size — 14 (I wondered whether both sizes would fit well; pattern grading between such disparate sizes ain't easy). It fit me pretty much perfectly:

There's a bit of rippling at the top where the stripes meet the sleeve and neckline. I chalk that up to my own error in using fabrics with different amounts of stretch. (I also possibly didn't measure my neckband properly). No matter: I've worn it at least several times anyway since then.

This was such an easy make: I sewed it all on my serger. My fabric was quite stretchy so the fit was great all around — even though this top was designed to fit a 14-year-old boy. The striped fabric is rayon from Metro Textile. The grey sleeves and neckband are upcycled from a maternity nightgown:

The pattern also includes options for elbow patches and that little triangle thing at the center front (is there a word for that?). There are three different hem choices too: banded hem, traditional hem and curved. I do love options. (My big quibble with some indies is that often there are no options — you have to draft them yourself).

The pattern instructions include full color photos and detailed instructions, making the Jolly Roger a good option for someone who hasn't sewn a T-shirt before. If you have sewn a raglan T before, you probably won't even need them. All the pattern pieces are clearly marked and fit together perfectly.

Making a bunch of little Ts in the smallest sizes would be a great way to use up scraps of your most treasured stretch fabrics. I've yet to try out the littlest sizes to see how they fit, but I'm guessing after my two samples they will be just fine. It's a great basic top — and I think easy enough for a tween to sew (they don't yet know to be afraid of stretch fabrics, which is wonderful!).