Countdown to summer (and summer sewing)

I've got 1 hour and 7 minutes before public school ends and summer vacation begins, which will greatly impact my sewing and posting powers over the next 70 days (for more on my other summer project, see here).

Still, I'm looking forward to resuming my Project Runway recap posts next month. Lifetime finally announced the season premiere date — July 24. You can already see some of the Season 13 designers' work at Lifetime's Project Runway page, where they have those "home visit" videos already up. Who will get "Runway Redemption"? (Remember they asked viewers to vote on what former contestant to bring back?). That will be revealed on July 24. Let's just hope it's not Ken. I would be really disappointed in Project Runway if they allow someone who threatened violence against a woman on camera to return. What a terrible precedent that would set.

Moving on, I finished my troubled LBJ dress just in time to wear it to "All the Way" Tuesday night. My husband loved the show — and was crazy about the dress. I didn't manage photos other than this pre-show selfie (my husband showed up 5 minutes before curtain and afterward we had to quickly run off so we could get back to the Bronx to relieve the babysitter). You can just barely see one strap:

I made about 10 alterations to this dress (including a major back neckline excavation), and in the end the fit was pretty great. We'll shoot some photos of it soon.

I'm also taking my swimsuit sewing to the next level with a Wonder Woman bathing suit for my daughter. It's a birthday surprise, so shhhhh, don't tell her:

I drafted it myself, and if it weren't trademark-infringement, I would attempt to put it into Illustrator so I can share it here (who am I kidding; that would take me 40 hours and time is not on my side now that it's summer!). Machine appliqueing on the golden eagle was a bit of a pain in the zig-zag. But that is love for you. I think I'll make a little starry circle skirt to wear over top of the suit on the way to and from the sprinklers.

I bought the materials for this suit at Spandex House on a Garment District trip with Lisette from What Would Nancy Drew Wear? (We also checked out the lingerie exhibit at FIT, which I highly recommend). We talked lady-swimsuit-making and it has been on my brain ever since. I've only found two patterns I would wear. Jalie's Tankini pattern:

And Papercut Patterns' new Soma Suit, which has a couple variations. For myself, I like the one piece:

I do, after all, have nearly a yard apiece of solid gold, red, and blue-and-white stars spandex leftover (a kid suit doesn't take much yardage and the minimum you can buy at Spandex House is a yard).

What are your summer sewing plans? Does sewing take the backburner when the sun is shining?

Weekend sewing: LBJ Dress

It's not often that a man's disparate interests intersect in the way that the Broadway play "All The Way" brings together my husband's fascination with Lyndon Johnson and his love of theater.

So I bought tickets for the final week of the show (whose star Bryan Cranston just won the Tony Award for Best Actor). Set in 1963-64, All The Way starts with JFK's assassination and ends with the passing of the Civil Rights Act. It's not, as you may have guessed, a musical. The tickets are my husband's birthday gift and a major splurge; it's rare we get to go out like this together.

So I thought it appropos to make a dress for this very special occasion using a pattern I snatched from the swap table at Workroom Social's recent Manhattan meetup:

How very '60s, right? I choose View E for the neckline (it is a date, after all) and the 3/4 sleeves. I'm intrigued by the long dart that curves from the bust apex all the way to the hip:

I'm using this black and white printed cotton blend I bought last month at Mood:

The pattern's previous owner had already shortened it for me — and she apparently cut the same version too. Thank you, whoever you are!

Worried about how it would fit through the hips (and not sure how to take it in or let it out thanks to that weird long dart), I tested the pattern in a not-very-stretchy jersey I bought from Girl Charlee for just $3. I will be adjusting the pattern to bring it in at the waist — and then drop the armhole (and adjust the sleeve). Hopefully I can cut into my fabric before the weekend is through.

Moving on, earlier this week I also sewed three zipper clutch bags for my daughter's teachers, using the Bow Clutch Tutorial from Elm Street Life.



For the lining I used this "I Like You" fabric by comedian and crafter Amy Sedaris (I bought it at Hart's Fabrics here):

I made special sew-in tags for Lucy's teachers to remember her by using the DIY tag tutorial I posted last month:

My daughter helped with sewing the bags. She stitched the bows for all three on a Singer Featherweight on loan to me from Peter of Male Pattern Boldness. At one point she said, "Mom! I'm like a Pilgrim!" (because she was sewing on a vintage machine). Not quite the right era but I will take the enthusiasm. (Hopefully they teach History in Grade 1?).

So what's on your sewing table for the weekend?

Bomber Pattern-in-Progress

I'm not saying you have to be a math wizard to be a good patternmaker, but it definitely helps to have the kind of mind that can solve visual problems. Exhibit A: here's what my patternmaking textbook (The Art and Science of Patternmaking and Grading by Professor Harry Greenberg & Professor Leonard Trattner ) indicates needs to be done to create a proper raglan sleeve pattern:

Fun, right?

Doing so creates the necessary ease under the arm, so you can do things like scratch your nose and wave to your friends. Now here's what that looked like in real life on my living room floor the other night:

Of course, then I taped it all down to a large piece of paper and used my curves and rulers to draw all around the now-cut-up sleeve pattern. Then I double-checked and fiddled until all the seams were the right lengths.

The end result? Pretty perfect really!

Now the back view:

I wanted to check welt placement (and let's face it, who couldn't use a little practice making welt pockets?), so I cut and sewed just one:

There you have it, kids: Math=a good fit! Now I just need to choose my lining fabric and I'm all set to sew a bomber jacket from my own pattern.  Anyone have a fave welt pocket tutorial they want to share? Throw it down in the comments below.

What I'm Working On: Keeping Sewing Ducks In A Row

Readers: How many balls do you keep in the air, and are you any good at juggling?

By balls, I mean sewing projects, and by juggling I mean actually finishing any of the projects in question. Or do you let them fall eventually once your sewing table is finally buried under a mound of fabric scraps, unmarked pattern pieces and empty iced coffee glasses?

Those reference points are a little too specific, no? This clearly hits close to home. I'm actually not that bad at juggling (literally!), but as far as finishing three projects when I'm working on them concurrently....we'll see about that.

1) A Tooth Fairy Pillow, which is a present for my daughter's friend. It's was Lucy's idea (her friend is turning 5, and Lucy reasoned she'll soon be loosing teeth, so she should have a special pillow in which she can stuff her little incisors). The little pocket on the tooth fairy's dress functions as a place to hide teeth — and then money. It's nearly finished, but I am out of stuffing...and am now looking around my apartment for appropriately springy materials. I would have to travel far for a bag of polyfill....any suggestions, anyone?

2) Kenneth King's "Jeanius" class from Craftsy.com. I have marked the trousers I am copying (a perfectly fitting cropped tuxedo pant). Moving on to the next step (pinning the pants to a piece of silk organza for tracing purposes) requires properly cleaning off my drafting table as this picture makes clear:

3) And because two is never enough of anything, I'm also about to draft a patch pocket and flap so I can make a chambray version of Pattern's Runway's Pussy Bow Blouse (minus the bow, but with two pockets on the front). I just want to make something I can wear sooner rather than later (I don't even have fabric in mind yet for the above pants pattern):

So what's your number? Do you take on your projects single-file (no budging!), or do you keep a number on the backburner for when you need a break from one that's giving you grief?

Sewing For Stress Relief?

I'm relying on the Pussy Bow Blouse to help me cope with some stress this week. Because, I find, obsessing over fit issues and fussy fabric that just wants to go off-grain helps me stave off the panicky feelings creeping in as I get ever closer to Friday.

Here's the fabric: a cream silk chiffon printed with purplish-brown birds

I also keep trying to tell myself that no matter how bad Friday is, it will be a cakewalk compared to getting punched in the face by a crackhead in front of your preschool-aged daughter.

Because Friday I am finally having the minor plastic surgery needed to fix the small deformity left behind by getting punched by in the face by a crackhead in front of my preschool-aged daughter.

And I am nervous. Very nervous. Surgery always carries the risk of infection, and this one also has a chance of not improving my chin at all (or maybe my surgeon just said that to lower my expectations?).  I am also conflicted about undergoing a cosmetic procedure. I talked myself out of it at least 100 times in the past year (including 10 times today), convincing myself for a moment each time that the small deformity on my chin is somehow something to be proud of (I took a punch!) — or that I was vain for wanting to erase it (love thyself as thou art!). A couple of people have told me it's badass (I took a punch, after all!), and my husband claims to not even notice it.

But then I look in the mirror, and my gaze is immediately drawn to my chin, where my scar is so thick it casts a shadow beneath it (actually, my surgeon informed me, it's not even a true scar: the guy punched me in the mouth so hard, my teeth cut clean through my chin under my bottom lip. As it healed, there was not enough tissue structure to keep the top half of my chin from slumping slightly over the bottom half, hence the shadow). No amount of makeup can make it look better — unless I were to apply it with a spackle knife, perhaps.

I'm also conflicted because I have a daughter. She's only four, so we're not at the point yet where I have to work with her against our culture's unreasonable standards of beauty to maintain a healthy self-esteem. She's young enough that she's still enamored with her own reflection, and the only body modification she would ever imagine wanting is wings. At this point it seems best to lead by example: I don't put down my own figure or face in front of her. We talk about exercising for strength and eating well for our health. I would never even muse about making improvements to my self with surgery.

It took me months just to call the surgeon recommended to me by a friend of a friend. And then while I sat in the waiting room for the consultation, I considered leaving. Even now, as I write this, I am contemplating not going through with it. Is it really worth all the trouble? I could still cancel. My husband doesn't even notice it.

Searching for photos to illustrate this post, I'm anxious again. It's so small; in some photos, you can barely tell. If I posted a close-up pic, you would probably tell me, "It's no big deal" (which is not what I want to hear right now, by the way, so I decided against posting any pics). So what is my problem? Maybe I need therapy instead. Or regular massages. I can't afford those, however, so I'll keep working on this blouse. 

Accommodating my wide hips: A slash-and-spread alteration to the Pussy Bow Blouse pattern

Looking in the mirror, I feel entirely justified. You really have to see it in 3D to appreciate it; the scar sticks out so far. And I feel like there's more to it than just the scar. My face looks different since the attack. I look like I'm holding all my anxiety in my jaw, where I was punched. I don't know if getting the scar fixed will help release the physical memory of violence that has me subconsciously steeling my jaw at all times, even in a smile. I'm hoping if I spend less time looking at it, I will be less worried about something so terrible happening again, and maybe I can relax.

Anyway, I liked my face just fine as it was. I never asked for this. I didn't deserve to get punched in the face (nobody does). Why should I have to live with it, no matter how small? 

My blood pressure spikes every time I think about it. They better give me some good downers or I may just jump off the chair. I've considered asking friends for spare anxiety meds. I hope I can make it through the week without freaking out completely. Yesterday I sewed a collar to cope. Today I'll work on the sleeves if I get anxious:

At the rate I am going, I should have this blouse sewn by the big day. (But I think I'll save modeling it until after the bandage comes off!).

Has sewing ever helped you get through a stressful time? Or do you end up mangling a project out of distraction?

Making a Mess of Mood With My Fave Sewing Bloggers!

You know how on Project Runway they give the designers a half-hour to choose their fabrics at Mood in NYC's Garment District? 

Well yesterday it took four sewing bloggers four times that long to pick out a single print. (But, I believe, we had 10 times as much fun doing it). Witness:

In the end the consensus was on two prints, to be used together. I'm not revealing here what they were — this was not my challenge after all. Oonabaloona dared Gingermakes (both Mood Sewing Network bloggers, so they have the luxury of shopping monthly at this incredible, three-floor fabric store. Jealous much? Yeah, me too) to let her choose the fabric for her next project. If you know Oona's work, then you know she's a print-mixing Sewasaurus Rex. Put her in charge of your next project and you could just end up in this (please don't adjust your computer monitors):

We made quite a mess, and in the end I don't think Gingermakes was too apprehensive about the challenge. I can't wait to see what she does.

Nettie of Sown Brooklyn was also on hand to offer her honest critique of Oona's sometimes-very-out-there choices. It could have easily ended up too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen, but civility reigned:

Peter of Male Pattern Boldness popped by to direct me to the lovely blue cotton flannel he used to make Michael a shirt a while back (I've been wanting to buy some ever since — for a shirt for Ryan). He ran away at some point because he prefers doing his fabric shopping in dives. But lucky for us, he made some time later for Color Me Beautiful consultations over lunch:

Meanwhile at home, my daughter was apparently playing "going fabric shopping and then sewing a dress to wear to a wedding" with her dad. Here's the garment she made, sent to me via BlackBerry (very avant garde, non?):

It was a wonderful day, and I came home with a bag full of goodies: the blue plaid cotton flannel and pearly snaps for Ryan's shirt; a bird-print cream and grayish-purple silk chiffon for a top for me (I already bought Pattern Runway's Pussy Bow Blouse pattern to use with it), and all the cheap poly satin, tulle and trimming I need to make my daughter a Cinderella dress.

(I should note when I showed it to her, she sighed deeply and said, "Well, I guess it's OK if you make me a Cinderella dress." WTF, my dear daughter? Apparently she's into the arrow-slinging Merida — from the Disney movie "Brave" — now. When will I ever learn?)

Hope you're all having an amazing weekend too!

Woe is Me: UFO Coming In For A Landing

In sewing, as in life, there's nothing I hate more than backtracking. (I'd rather get off the bus one stop early to avoid overshooting a destination, and if you ask me to repeat myself, I think hard about whether what I said was in fact worth saying twice before complying).

And unpicking stitches is enough to make me abandon a project all together.

With that, I have to say: Really, Burda? REALLY?

Botched Burda 141 Top For Girls

Alright, the blame should really be on me. 

And the thought of unpicking an entire project is not enough to elicit a little sympathy this rainy Wednesday, take a look at my kitchen. I have less counter space now than I did at age 20 when I lived in a camper trailer:

Please note: no dishwasher

Pity party over. Check out the LBD I've been sewing from McCall's 6319. No mistakes, no backtracking (too bad I had to use a flash for the pics though; it's dark in NYC today!)

I used the black ponte knit that Gingermakes so generously gave to me. I love it. Sometimes something easy to sew is just as easy to wear. I'm still deciding on a hemline. I keep trying it on with different shoes, which each demand a different length. With heels: longer. Flats: short, obviously, am I right?

love the zip!

How about you people? Screwed anything up lately? Feeling down in the dumps thanks to mid-winter weather and incomplete pattern instructions?

Sneak Peeks Aplenty

Sometimes it's the little things. (Actually, for me I find it's ALWAYS the littles things). Little things like beautiful vintage buttons (bought from Button Odyssey's Etsy store for just $3.99):

My four-year-old had serious button-envy after the package arrived yesterday. There were seven in the set and I only needed three for this Lauren Moffat knockoff I'm making, so I generously gave her one. She's been carrying it around ever since. She even asked me if I could make her wedding ring with it, so she also obviously appreciates the little things in life. (Also: I think a ring made from one of these buttons WOULD be awesome. My kid clearly inherited the re-make, re-use, re-do gene).

I'm also working on a cool Christmas project that has kindled my love of tiny things. Especially tiny things with unexpected details.

And below you'll see a sneak peek at another BIG project I am SO excited about. Yes, that's my embroidery. I don't have a hoop and next-to-no skills, so it's pretty shoddy. But as my husband always says, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. (OK, I think Voltaire said that first, but Ryan repeats it often enough, I'm giving him credit for reminding me not to fixate on mistakes to the point that I cannot accomplish a goal.) And anyway, this is just a minor part in the larger whole — which will be revealed eventually.



Other little things that have me happy today:

• The perfect cup of coffee
• Two hours of silence while my kid is at preschool
• Sunshine (oh wait, that's a big thing?)

What little thing is bringing you joy today?

DIY Knockoffs: Cool to Copy?

According to a friend who works in the fashion industry, nobody designs anymore. Nearly everything out there is a knock-off. Or a knock-off of a knock-off. Just ask Forever 21, which is forever in litigation with the designers whose work the company copies and then sells en masse for a million times cheaper. From the New York Times online:

It's not illegal, and some argue it's even good for the industry (listen to Kal Raustiala, co-author of The Knockoff Economy: How Imitation Sparks Innovation on NPR). Pattern companies are likewise on the copycat bandwagon.

For example, remember this dress?

Pippa Middleton

Butterick 5710

 So should I feel bad for ripping off a design and drafting a pattern for my personal use? I don't. But I would if I were to sell it. Call me old-fashioned.

The garment in question is a black silk tunic by Lauren Moffat. I love this detail on the back:

The front view is pretty simple:

So I drafted a flat pattern, using the original as my guide:

Unintentional photobomb by Ryan

It's looking a little tortured here, which is both the result of inadequate ironing and probably not quite the right fabric (this is the silk crepe de chine I had leftover from sewing Simplicity 1872, which I recently gave away):

I carefully ripped out all the top stitching. I decided it just didn't work. Or maybe I am just terrible at it. Either way. It had to go. The back looks even more tortured in this photo, but mostly because the sleeves were still pinned at that point. The fit on me is actually really good, though it looks like it's pulling in numerous places here:

For a simple looking top, it was hard to figure out how to construct this thing. It's like facings upon facings...and then sleeves? It turns out ripping something off can be extremely difficult. Figuring out what to sew first was like a puzzle. 

It's nearly done, after a week of sewing in short fits and starts (My time to sew over the past 7 days was minimal  thanks to Hurricane Sandy, which knocked out power to both my kid's preschool and my husband's office for five days  — and shut down the subway system and just about everything else. So that meant we three were all home for days upon days. Even the playgrounds and parks were all closed due to danger of falling branches. You might think that would mean lots of sewing time. You might, if you've never spent any time around a stir-crazy four-year-old.)

It's just waiting now for the buttons, which I bought on Etsy:

Have you ever knocked something off? Did you feel guilty? Are you knocking off my knock-off at this very moment? If so, how did you set in the sleeve?

Work in Progress: Vogue 1212

You're a prudent bunch, dear readers. When I posted about hating the state of my current project — Vogue 1212, a coat pattern, nearly all of you advised me to set it aside and sew something else.

I guess I rebelled. Not because I decided this would be a knockout coat. Only because I went to the Garment District and decided I just couldn't splurge on jacket fabric right now. Everything I liked was so expensive. Plus I had my kid with me. It's too hard fabric shopping with a four-year-old.

So I bought grey zippers and a couple shoulder pads, and soldiered on (thinking if it turned out terribly, I would rip out the zips and use them elsewhere. No loss). If anything, I would learn a little something about coat construction.

I do love how the zippered pockets turned out:

And the bias binding looks cooler  now that it's all coming together. (The coat is still unlined, and the collar unfinished).

There's something vaguely Star Trekky about the back, I do believe:

But did you notice how my zipper needs to be reinstalled? I have never once sewn in a zipper without having to rip it out and try again (and sometimes, more than twice). I post this so you feel better about your sewing tribulations:

So there you have it. Necessity forced me to carry on with this coat. And I think I'll be happy that I did. I don't reckon I will ever sew with this type of fabric again. The weave was so lose. Everything gets off grain so easily. What a pain in the neck.

Unfortunately I already dropped the ball on keeping track of my time. I've worked on it a little bit each day this week, so let's estimate....40 hours. No, only kidding. I'd say I've invested about six hours and 20 minutes (the 20 minutes were spent staring at this squint-eyed, trying to figure out whether it was indeed going to look good when done).

I still have much to do: fix the zip so the front lines up properly. Sew the collar, sew the lining and sew it to the coat. Stare at it some more. Try it on with everything in my closet and ascertain whether I do like it....

I have a couple yards left of this fabric. If you think you can handle it, I will happily hand it over! Let me  know in the comments below. The first sucker (or more experienced sewer) who wants it can have it!