Me Made Meh?

I'm not participating in Me Made May though I do respect the concept (and will probably steal some style ideas from your blogs throughout the month! Muahaha!).

I have enough me-mades to get me through a month. But I reckon it would be hubris for me to assume my taste is at a level that seeing what I wear every day is in some way inspiring. After all, check out my latest pants-in-progress...they might just be the most hideous pants you have ever seen:



Barf-colored, tie-dye-print stretch denim? What was I thinking? I am too far gone now to turn back, however. So finish these I will. And, I hope, at some point these pants will cross the threshold from awful into awesome. It could happen yet. (Couldn't it?):

I was inspired by Project Runway winner Michelle, who frequently makes use of the above color palette, and has a knack for making the putrid look pretty. Michelle is my middle name (truly, it is!), so hopefully I can pull this off without making everyone sick.

I am again using the pattern I drafted using Kenneth King's Craftsy.com "Jeanius" class, which I cannot recommend enough.

Anyway, back to Me Made May: even my successes are nothing much to write home about. Last week I sewed another version of Grainline's Tiny Pocket Tank, this time with a short button placket. It turned out beautifully and I have worn it three times already. But would anybody be impressed by this simple tank?

The other big reason I can't do Me Made May: the only person who could conceivably take pics of me everyday is four years old. And she chops my head off. Every. Time.

Are you doing Me Made May? Why? And do you enjoy reading others' daily outfit posts?

Project Runway — What Did We Learn This Week, Season 11 Finale!

Y’know, I’m kind of relieved Project Runway is over for this season. I’m not sure how many more Lea Michelle L’Oreal commercials I can handle. (Also, I feel unfairly targeted by those ads for Riders by Lee Jeans. Sure, I could benefit from a tummy control panel, but I don’t want to be reminded of it while I’m enjoying my stories!).

Going into this week's big finale episode, I had a lot of questions: Would Michelle jettison her silly compass that everyone hates? Can Patricia get it together and send a cohesive collection down the runway? Would Stanley actually crack a smile if he won?

And would anyone be upstaged by Mondo's Shriner hat?

Lesson 1: Procrastination leads to puckered hems.

Years ago in university, I came up with my own favorite maxim: If you leave it until the last minute, it only takes a minute. I often treat my own work this way, telling myself I work best when the pressure is on. That means I often wake up early to write articles the very day they are due. (As a parent I’ve become even more accepting of procrastination. For example, you can start potty training your kid at age 2 and be done with it by the time she’s 3, many exhausting months later, or you can start when she’s 3 and be done in a day).

But when it comes to sewing, I never leave things until the last minute. After all, you might try on the skirt you just hemmed and discover that it's uneven or that the technique you used was the wrong one for that particular type of fabric. 

I don't think Stanley's procrastination did him in, but it certainly didn't help. Throughout the finale we heard countless times how much work he still had left, and indeed the day of the runway show he had sewers setting in sleeves backstage! The dude had more than four months to sew his 12 looks, and somehow he still needed a team of stitchers to get him runway-ready in less than two hours. Tim Gunn was seriously distressed.

I need to set in your sleeves? You're kidding right?! 

Nope. He wasn't kidding! 

I don't actually think his show suffered all that much for his harried, last-minute hemming and such. Nearly all of the clothes looked reasonably well-finished and expensive. But they definitely didn't hold up to the high standard set by Michelle. See the dress below, which was barely assembled just an hour before the runway show:

The shoulder seams are off, the hem is uneven, and it could stand to be better pressed. But it still wasn't the worst look in my estimation:

Lesson 2: When in doubt, DIY!

Continuing my anti-Stanley tirade, I thought it should be noted that he paid (in his words) "two little Russian ladies" to do $800 worth of beading and embroidery for him: 

Patricia, meanwhile, pounded out hundreds of sequins from mica (the mineral is traditionally used by her people to make pottery), and created numerous textiles for her collection.

And though Stanley's pieces were arguably more sophisticated than Patricia's, the judges appreciated her handiwork. They felt that just because Stanley had the budget to farm out the most painstaking details, he shouldn't have. Patricia's love for her craft shows, even if some of her garments looked like something you would see in the hippie store at the mall (Amanda's words, but I agree!).

Lesson 3: Sometimes the fabric shouldn't come first.

For those of us who sew, the question is often "what comes first: the fabric or the design?" I find that sometimes I'm inspired by a print or textile I just really want to use, and sometimes I begin with a pattern, trend, or overall look that I'm trying to create (and then search for the right fabric to achieve that end). And, in my experience, the most successful projects are not those that come from choosing a fabric first — and then trying to find some good way to use it.  In those cases, I sometimes end up using the fabric in a less-than-ideal way.

To that end, I think Patricia's allegiance to the fabric first is her downfall, and the reason why guest judge Michael Kors said her collection looked like "an art teacher on an acid trip." 

Each of those prints she created is lovely. But it's what she did with them that looks like a dog's breakfast. (That said, I would love to see a collection in which Patricia contributes the textiles and another designer creates garments from them. I bet it would be amazing).

Lesson 4: Quilting and sweaters? Sounds frumpy. Except, of course, in the hands of Michelle — who totally deserved to win! Witness her cool printed sweaters and quilted pants and jackets. I love the colors she used, the layering, the pleating in the skirts, the studs on the burgundy dress and yellow top, and the consistent use of the shoulder patch detail. I'm super inspired by Michelle's tendency to mix textiles: 

My faves

Not my faves, but still a lot to like.

(My apologies for the fact I distorted some of the pics above when laying them out; I'm trying to finish this post so I can go with my family to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden for the day. It's Cherry Blossom time in NYC and miraculously my seasonal allergies are under control this year, so I can actually enjoy it!).

What did you think of the designers' respective collections? Will you be watching next week’s Project Runway Reunion Special? From the previews, it looks NASTY! 

His and Hers Plaid Separates!

My apologies for the cellphone photos, but I'm trying to make it easier on myself to post regularly. Plus I wanted to share this prototype version of the Tiny Pocket Tank, which I modified to add a full-length button placket. I love the cut of this simple tank, but I thought it needed some visual interest:

If you've been reading my blog for some time, than that print may look familiar. It's a remnant from a short-sleeve Western style men's shirt I made my lucky husband Ryan. He's such a sweet man. He even agreed to let me take a pic of us together in our His-and-Hers shirts:

Wow. We look equally tired. 

Of course once I sewed a couple tank tops, the temperature dropped precipitously in NYC, so those of you who live in the Big Apple can blame me for the Spring backtracking.

Adding a button placket to the Tiny Pocket Tank is pretty damn easy. You just re-trace the front pattern piece, and then use your ruler to draw two lines parallel to center front, each one inch apart. Then you fold it on the lines and use a tracing wheel to true the top curve. When you're sewing, fold and then fold over again on the lines and topstitch. Voila: insta-placket ready for buttons.

I have since added some ease to the hip (as always; I have to do the pear-shape-girl alterations), and have drafted a 4 & 1/2-inch placket for another version of this tank, which I'm sewing from the navy deer-and-dot print cotton I picked up at Mood last weekend. It's very sheer, and behaves like silk, so I'm thinking it may be a blend. It will definitely require some layering, as I'm not one for letting my bra show through. (Well, maybe for that lucky man pictured above — but not amongst the general population. I am a Lady!).

Have any of you done other variations to this simple pattern by Grainline? I'm thinking of making one with a yoke and color-blocking. What else can you think of?

Blog Milestone!

Before yesterday, the closest I ever came to fame was starring in my highschool's musical in Grade 10. The musical was "Leader of the Pack," which is about the life of Ellie Greenwich, a famed songwriter from the '60s. I played Ellie Greenwich, which was a humbling experience (not humbling in the modern-day "I'm so humbled to be nominated for an Oscar" way, but the old-school, true meaning of the word: I lost a little more of my dignity every time I opened my mouth). 

I did sign a couple autographs during that week of shows. I hope they were all requested in earnest.

Anyway,  yesterday I was actually recognized by a reader at Mood in NYC's Garment District — which was also somewhat humbling because I was buying this hideous/amazing stretch cotton which I intend to turn into pants:

The yellowish tones in this actually read chartreuse in real life

 An Australian, Liz was in New York City just for a short time, but she seemed well-versed in the Garment District having been here many times before. She said she intended to go to the Museum of Natural History, but just had to do some swatching on the way (I'm super jealous of her fabrics; Liz clearly has great taste, so I think she was being ultra-gracious when she said she liked the puke-print I was purchasing).

I also bought this ultra-lightweight navy cotton printed with dots and deer:

I've been making and adjusting a few versions of Grainline's Tiny Pocket Tank, which I thought would be a good way to eat up some remnants and expand on my dismal summer wardrobe. I hemmed and hawed over buying it: I like the cut of it (the scoop neck, darts and hemline are all perfect), but it's so simple — I know I could draft it myself, probably in an hour. But at $6.50, I figured if I saved myself that hour of work, it would be worth it. (Surely my time is worth that?).

I think I may draft a button placket and use this deer and dot print cotton to make yet another version. I did only buy a yard (it was pricey! $20/yard). My daughter informed me it's see-through (with a really judgey look on her little face!). I'll have to learn how to layer.

And now I can hear her waking up....so that's it for today, friends. What has been your closest brush with fame?

Leopard Pants Re-do: Curved Waistband Edition

The jury (me) has made its decision: curved waistbands are a necessity when you've got a booty (and you aren't wearing a waistband at your actual waist). Witness my new-and-improved leopard(ish) print pants, made using a pattern I drafted from Kenneth King's amazing Craftsy.com "Jeanius" class.  The curved waistband pattern is actually from a pair of jeans I drafted a couple years ago in my advanced patternmaking class at FIT. Rather than draft a new one, I thought I would see whether this old waistband pattern would work. And miracle of miracles, it was a perfect match! (How happy am I that my body has not apparently changed much in the years since I first drafted the pattern? Except...the waistband pattern was actually drafted for non-stretch fabric, and these pants have stretch....so maybe I have grown? Let's not dwell on that, shall we.) The pants!  

While the pants don't appear much different than the original iteration, they feel much better. I wore them out for a full day of walking last weekend on the High Line with friends visiting from Winnipeg, and I didn't have to pull them up constantly like I did with the straight waistband. See how flat it lays across my lower back?

This waistband pattern is actually in four pieces, with side seams AND a center back seam. That way you can achieve a steeper curve without running across grainlines in such a way that you end with the bias stretching around your hip curve. That was my patternmaking teacher's preferred method. It's definitely my preferred method now too. Look at how curved my new waistband was compared to the previous one:

Contoured waistband (all four pieces sewn together)

Straight waistband, curved using heat and steam

Kenneth King, meanwhile, recommends a straight waistband, curved using steam and heat from your iron. I imagine this works quite well if you are a man, or a woman with less curve in your hips, lower back and butt. In his estimation, the straight waistband is superior because it doesn't cut across the bias, which could result in stretching and distortion. I think my patternmaking teacher's four-piece pattern makes more sense when you're dealing with a curvier body because you can achieve a different shape on the front and the back; after all, your curves may not be the same on both!

I used a woven, non-stretch facing this time, and fused both the top (self) and bottom (facing) pieces with a lightweight woven fusible. I also zigzag-stitched in a length of grosgrain, using steam to curve it, for extra stability. I didn't have petersham (which is like grosgrain, but wider), which is what David Coffin recommends using for stability in his trousers book. (I could not make sense of his instructions, by the way!). But I figured the grosgrain would at least hold the upper curve in place. Here's what it looked like on the inside before I sewed it to my pants:

David Coffin also advises to only fuse within the seam lines to avoid adding bulk. As you can see above, I did that too. Here's the outside of the waistband. You can see the zigzag stitching across the top curve:

After I could tell I was going to be satisfied with this waistband, I added belt loops, the final touch:

I'm super happy now with these pants, and my pattern (thank you, Kenneth King!). I plan on making another pair right quick. 

Oh, and did you notice I also made an adjustment to my chambray "I should have listened to Phyllis" blouse, which was sewn from Pattern Runway's Pussy Bow Blouse pattern:

Those are some DEEP darts, baby.

Recall the original, which was boxy as a big box (and kind cardboard-colored too, now that I think of it)!:

I made "fish eye" darts at a depth of 1.5 inches at my waist (much more than what wise Phyllis recommended!), extending all the way up to my shoulder and down nearly to the bottom of the blouse. The fit is much more flattering now. I look like a lady again:

I'm off now, to Mood, to find some fabric for a second pair of pants! Should I go printed again, or solid? What's on trend? (I guess Pinterest could tell me, but I am avoiding for my self esteem's sake).