Little White Dress

Tags

competition, Pattern Review, TJ

So I’ve entered the Little White Dress contest at Pattern Review. The idea is to make a dress that is as versatile as a Little Black Dress, but in white for summer. January feels like an odd time to be making a summer dress, but it seems there are quite a few members on the Pattern Review website from the southern hemisphere, and it’s high summer there. So they are sewing for now, and we northern girls are sewing for later. Nice to get a jump on my warm-weather wardrobe anyway.

Well here it is. TA-DAAAA! I started off with a basic sloper that I had drafted a long time ago, but I quickly discovered that it was a TERRIBLE pattern! The darts were just all wrong. I spent a couple of days just re-drafting and re-muslining the bodice. Ptttth! I finally got it to the point where I can live with it, but I think a princess line suits my figure much better, and I will probably do that from now on. Once the darts were sorted out I lowered the back neckline and draped a collar. Not quite sure what to call this collar — it’s sort of a backwards low-neck collar with a stand in the front and collar points in the back. I think it looks kinda retro.

I’m a little embarrassed to include this pic because as you can see, the collar needs to be adjusted — but y’know what? It’s HARD to take a selfie from the back! Oh, and speaking of the pics — sorry for the lame bedroom background, but another thing about making a white dress in January: it isn’t going to photograph well in the snow, not to mention I’d look stupid with frostbitten blue skin.

I like the knife-pleated skirt too — but does it make it look like a tennis dress? Oh well.

The rules of the contest are that I have to submit three pictures to demonstrate the dress’s versatility — one showing it with no accessories, one showing it accessorized for evening, and one showing it accessorized for daytime. Here’s my evening look:

(Did I mention that I feel ridiculous posing for my own pictures?)

And here’s a day look:

(Still feeling ridiculous)

And here’s another day look:

TJ thinks this will be a fine dress for throwing tennis balls and sticks!

Snakeskin Print Jacket

Tags

jacket, runway inspiration, snakeskin

Oh yeah, starting a blog is already paying off. Just knowing I would be sharing this jacket with the world has created LOTS of incentive to do my absolute very best with it! And it was so worth it — I love it! Contrary to what I said in my last post, I decided to shorten it after all. It looked too serious the other way. I kept going back to the inspiration photos, and kept loving the sassy, sporty look of the shrunken blazer silhouette, so that’s pretty much where I ended up. But I still wanted to wear it with leggings, so I curved it down in the back to help cover up my you-know-what (at least partially).

The pattern is one I’ve developed myself over the years and used for a variety of experiments and projects — I had to draft facings and the lining for this jacket, and I must say I’m rather proud of myself! Look — I even piped the seam!

 

Bound buttonholes!

 

Welt pockets!

Well, okay, not really, Just the welts.The pockets are imaginary. There didn’t seem to be much point in actually putting them in, given how shallow they would have to be that close to the bottom of the jacket, and especially given how unlikely I would be to put anything in them anyway. But aren’t those welts a thing of beauty? Just brings tears to my eyes. Sigh.

 

So there you have it. My second project for 2014. Next up — a LWD. ‘Cause you know, who doesn’t need a white dress in the middle of January?

 

 

 

What I’m working on: Snakeskin!

Tags

jacket, runway inspiration, snakeskin

Snakeskin has been ALL OVER the runways for the past few years. Okay, actually it’s probably on its way out on the runways — but it’s still going strong on the streets. And I love it! I’ve decided I NEED a snakeskin jacket. NOW!

Like this:

Or this:

(swoon)

So here’s a sneak peek at my current project:

I’m pretty much satisfied with the muslin. I dithered over whether to do a collar, but finally decided to go with just the lapels. It suits me better — feels a little bit more laid-back. I also considered a shorter length like in the inspiration pics, but I’m thinking this is going to look pretty smashing with leggings, so I’m going longer.

Now there’s just one problem. I don’t seem to have any snakes around offering to donate their skins (which is probably just as well, actually). So I’ll just have to settle for  a snakeskin print. Surprise! JoAnn had this:

It was just waiting to come home with me! I’m so eager to finish this — stay tuned!

And she’s off!

Tags

refashion, stash-busting, upcycled

Here it is — my first project of 2014 and my first project posted to my brand-new-baby blog! This is a sweater jacket I started just before Christmas. I thought it was going to be a quickie and I would have it done in no time, but HAH! Really, I should have known better. Christmas has a way of swallowing everything in its path, y’know?

So anyway, I finished it a couple of days ago and it was definitely worth the wait. It’s made from a thrifted sweater and some herringbone fabric that has been in my stash FOR-EVVVV-UH. If I ever knew the fiber content I have long since forgotten it, but I’ve put it through the wash so I guess it doesn’t really matter. I used a pattern that I developed some years ago for the front and back panels and laid it over the sweater, then just kinda fitted it all together and cut away the center of the sweater. Working with the ribbed knit proved more fiddly than I had anticipated, so I ended up hand-stitching the lining in. I think I’m going to get a lot of use out of this jacket. I love it with jeans, but yesterday I dressed it up with a black skirt and tights, and it worked really well that way too.

Well Hello World!

Introducing . . . . me! I’ve decided to try blogging this year. I’ve been lurking for a while on quite a few sewing and style blogs, and have made up my mind to join in the fun. My goals:

• This blog should serve as a basket where I can collect all my various projects and keep track of what I’ve accomplished. It’s easy to forget past successes. Even if no one else ever reads this, it will help me to see my own progress.
• I want to challenge myself and hold myself accountable. How many times have you started a project, only to get distracted by something else and let it languish until you’ve completely lost interest? I am certainly guilty of that! Announcing to the world that I’m going to do something should help to keep me on track.
• I want to challenge myself in another way also. I need to learn to be more visible. It’s hard for me to share my thoughts and ideas and interests with people. I’m just sure they’ll find me either dull or weird (or both). I need to develop some self-assurance and be willing to put myself out there!
• I want to be part of a community. It just looks like so much fun!