Decisions, Decisions...

Lady Gray:

vs.

McCalls 5525:

Keeping in mind that the final version will be ivory French lace backed with champagne colored silk charmeuse and lined with Oyster Silk Habotai.

I have a definite opinion, but I'd love to hear yours.

Happy sewing!

While I was Buying Thread...

... to make my Marrakesh pants, I picked up a couple of Vogue and McCalls patterns at JoAnn. They were having a sale on them, so I figured I'd get a couple. First one, and this is out of my usual comfort zone, is this Donna Karan:

I really like the skirt. I think it could be a great wardrobe element this fall. I like the top, but I don't know how I could ever wear it. I think you need to be slight-busted and, um, perky. There isn't enough duct tape in the world. Yeah, I'll pass on that one.

Second, I got this Michael Kors.

Love this one. It's perfect for any of the rayon jerseys on Gorgeous Fabrics. I may need to do some altering of the pattern to make the V-neck a little less deep, but I'll muslin it up and see where it actually falls.

Then I got this Anne Klein:

I need a dressy LBD, and I think this will work well. It will look less MOB done up in a solid color. I'm thinking 4 ply silk crepe. I may even unleash my inner Kenneth King and do (just a tiny bit of) beading at the pleated side seam.

Last, I finally caved and bought these McCalls leggings:

 I'll definitely pass on the disco glitter and sequined versions, appealing though they may be to the Jamaica Plain girl in me. But in a plainer rayon jersey they will work well with some of the tunics I've amassed recently, as well as some short skirts I've made. Interestingly enough, when I looked for them in the pattern bins at my local JoAnn, they weren't there under that pattern number. Instead, they were under MP356.

I'm going to make the Jalie top next, but those will give me some projects for "pre-fall".

Happy sewing!

Pattern Review - McCalls 6074 1 Hour Dress

It's hot here, so I wanted to make a little dress to wear and stay cool. I wanted to make it before I left on vacation, but alas, life got in the way so I made it today instead.

Pattern Description: From McCalls Website, MISSES' DRESSES IN THREE LENGTHS: Pullover dresses A, B, C, D have front elastic casing detail, deep V-neck, flare skirt and stitch hems; dress A has purchased iron-on trim; dress B has contrast hem band; dress D has cap sleeve; dresses A, B lengths are 2" above mid-knee; dress C is evening length; dress D length is 2" above ankle.
I made View A, sans the crafty shit purchased iron-on trim.

Sizing: 6-22, I made a 12.

Fabric Used: Über Soft Italian Rayon Jersey in Soft Red.

Needle/Notions Used: Stretch 75/11, a couple of scraps of fusible interfacing, 1 inch petersham ribbon, 5/8 inch elastic, Metrosene thread.

Did it look like the photo or drawing when you got through? Yes.

How were the instructions? I didn't use them. I took a quick look at them and they seemed fine.

Construction Notes: I serged all the seams and ran the neck and armhole hems on my regular machine. I used a 3-thread serger stitch for the bottom hem:

I reinforced the back shoulder seams with fusible interfacing before I sewed them. I used a length of 1 inch cotton/rayon petersham ribbon (purchased from Susan Khalje) instead of the casing piece in the pattern. I think it works just as well and looks nicer. The petersham doesn't add any appreciable bulk.

It's worth noting that this pattern runs a little large, especially if you use a jersey with a lot of give like I did. I made a size 12, but I think I could even have gotten away with a size 10 with a FBA.

Any changes? The bust point on this pattern is pretty high, so I lowered it. I also lowered the placement of the elastic/casing by about an inch to sit nicely under my bust. I did a FBA.

Likes/Dislikes: Easy, fast to make and comfortable to wear. I do have one teeny little quibble. They call it a "One Hour Dress" on the pattern envelope. I'd say it's more like two or three hours, but it's still an easy sew.

Would you do it again? Would you recommend it? Yes and yes. A cute dress that is comfortable and easy. What's not to love? Here's a picture of the dress on Shelley

Parting Shot: Anniversary Dinner!

Everyone loves the Pink Wig.

Happy sewing!

Pattern Review - McCall 6069 Beach Coverup (Dress)

I feel like I've just come up for air after being under water for too long. As of today, I am half-way through my radiation treatments. I'll wait to sing alleluia until I'm completely done, but it's coming! Once I'm finished with all my treatments, DH and I are going on a much needed vacation. I've had absolutely no sewing mojo, as I told my friends over at "Recovering Members of Sewing Forums" on Facebook. But yesterday it started raising its head after I realized that I need a couple of things for vacation.

First up, I made another pair of the Larry Bird shorts. I'll post about those shortly. They're at home and I'm not. The second thing I made was a swimsuit cover up. I have two swimsuit cover ups at home. One came from Bonaire about 12 years ago and it has holes in it from being worn frequently. The second one came from Cane Bay Divers in St. Croix. It's become my favorite nightgown. So I need something new. As I contemplated the patterns for swimsuit coverups out there, I felt duly unimpressed. Then I went to Everything But Water, a specialty swimsuit store, where I saw all sorts of really cool coverups for lots and lots of money. "Hah!" said I, "I can make something that will be equally chic and won't cost me an arm and a leg." More for umbrella drinks, right? After seeing Erica B's review of this pattern, I had a lightbulb moment. This can work beautifully for a beach coverup. It's easy, it's chic, you just toss it on and go. All you need is the right fabric. So read on....

Pattern Description: From McCalls' website, "Pullover, above mid-knee, semi-fitted straight dresses A, B, C have elastic waist casing, stitched hem and bodice variations; dress A is sleeveless; dress B has three-quarter sleeves; dress C is sleeveless with self sash; dresses A, B, C have optional back strap; optional purchased belt."

I made View A, the sleeveless version

Sizing: 6-20. I made a 12, tapering out to a 14 at the waist.

Fabric Used: Gleam Me Up, Scotty mesh from Gorgeous Fabrics (of course).

Needle/Notions Used: 70/10 needle on my industrial, 75/11 on my industrial serger. Polyester cone thread. Clear elastic from Fashion Sewing Supply.

Did it look like the photo or drawing when you got through? Yes

How were the instructions? I didn't use them, and I only gave them a cursory glance. They look pretty good. This is a very simple design and it's pretty easy to figure out how to put it together.

Construction Notes: I made a FBA on the bodice front. Here you can see a picture of what I did:

Here's some explanation. If you think about the issue of fitting cloth over the bust, it's an issue of projectile (and I don't mean 50's bullet bras). Generally speaking, you need to add room around the torso at the fullest part of the bust, and also length from the shoulder seam to the waist, to accomodate the three-dimensional projection of the bust. But when dealing with a knit that's very stretchy on the cross grain, combined with 4 inches of bust ease to begin with in this pattern, you can get away with just adding length. Here, I added one inch of length directly under the bust apex, to keep the waistline from pulling up. I used a French curve to taper from the side seam to the added length. Then I kept that length at the center front. The result is that the dress' waistline falls at mine.


I also decided to forego hemming the dress, since it's really meant for kicking around between the beach, pool and bar. This mesh doesn't ravel at all, so it will hold up just fine, and I like the airier look of an unfinished hem. I may shorten it by about 6 inches so it looks more beachy and less day-dress.

Likes/Dislikes:It's cute; it's fun and it's perfect for throwing over a suit. No dislikes!

Would you do it again? Would you recommend it? Yes to both. I may make this in a rayon jersey for a dress that can go from beach to town to dinner.

Conclusion: Love it! Here are pictures of the front and back on my dress form. Sorry for the lousy picture quality. I took them on my cell phone.

Front:

and Back:

Happy sewing!

Pattern Review - McCalls 6035 Blouse

Pattern Description: From the website - Shirts A, B, C, D have princess seams and button closure; dress A has collar band and short sleeves with cuffs; dresses B, C, D have collar, collar band and below elbow length sleeves; dress B has sleeves with cuffs; dress C has sleeves with turn back cuffs with tabs; dress D has sleeves with drawstrings; separate pattern pieces provided for A/B, C, D cup sizes
No seriously - I copied this from the website, where they call the variations "dress". Someone was asleep at the copy editing desk....

Anyway, I made View B, the version with turned back cuffs.

Sizing: 6-22. The nice thing about this pattern is that it has different pattern pieces for B, C and D cups. I made a 14C

Fabric Used: Striped cotton shirting that I have had in my stash for years. This is a beautiful soft fabric with a very fine weave.

Needle/Notions Used: Universal 60/8, thread, Pro-Weft fusible interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply, 1/2 inch pearl finish buttons.

Did it look like the photo or drawing when you got through? Yes

How were the instructions? Mostly good. They do have one squidbrained section. They have you sew the sleeve with the seam allowances on the wrong side until you get to the cuff. Then they have you clip to the stitching line, and sew the rest of the way with the SAs toward the right side of the garment. You then turn the cuffs up so the SAs are hidden. Instead, I sewed them like you would sew a regular pant cuff.

Construction Notes: I interfaced the CF facings (you can see them here in my blog post about No Bubble Interfacing). I also found that, whether it was my sewing machine needing tension adjustment, the sharpness of the curves for the C cup version, the tight weave of the fabric, or a combination of the above, it was impossible to get the front princess seams to sew without some puckering at the bust. It's less noticeable on me than it is on Shelley, since I fill the top out better than she does. I may change the princess lines from armhole to shoulder and try it again. I ripped out the princess seams twice, hand-basted, pressed the bejeezus out of it (lightly), but still got puckers. Like I say, it may have to do with a combination of factors, and you may not have the same problem.

Any changes? Nope

Likes/Dislikes: Like the lines, like the cuffs, like the fact that they do the FBA for me. Another nice thing about the different cup sizes is that larger cup sizes have lower bust points, so I didn't have to make that adjustment either. Thank you McCalls!

Would you do it again? Would you recommend it? I will do it again. As I say, I'll probably try changing the princess seam and see how that works. I do recommend it. I think it's a good pattern and a real wardrobe staple. I'm wearing it today with jeans, heels and my long red wig!

Conclusion: A real winner. Here it is on Shelley:

 I definitely recommend this one.
Happy sewing!

This Week's Color is.....

Long red!

Larry says I look like I should have a couple of stakes in my hand and go vampire huntin'. Now the debate is which to wear Thursday - blonde or long red?

On a totally different subject, last night was opening night for the high school's production of "Titanic, the Musical" (yeah, it's a real laugh fest). DS the Elder plays Fleet, the lookout who spots the iceberg. He has a solo, and if I may be a proud mama for a moment, he nailed it! His intonation was dead on and his acting was great. DS the younger plays a first class child passenger. He didn't leave a dry eye in the house in the scene where he has to get in the lifeboat and leave his "dad" behind. Here are links to the pictures of each of them, taken by Photoherald.com

DS the Elder in the crow's nest


DS the Younger leaving his "dad"

The shirt is all done but the buttons. Yeah - I know - it's been a week, but I've been flat out running kids to rehearsals and stuff. Today. Today...

Happy sewing!

Well, What to Work on Now?

March in Boston is such a cruel month. The first whiff of spring arrives. You start to feel lighter and happier, then - bam! Winter sneaks up behind you and smacks you in the head with a 2X4 just to keep you from getting complacent.  And there you have the forecast for the Boston area this week. Maybe I'll take the dog for a long walk tonight before the weather changes.

That leaves me in a quandary about what to sew next. I'm still finishing the Chanel jacket. That's all down to the hand stitching and trim now. I'm working on it in the evenings, but there isn't much to show or blog about until it's ready to be trimmed.

So now the question is, "What to work on next?" I'm thinking about either a dress or a shirt. I was inspired by Erica B's White Shirt. I have this McCalls 6035 pattern that I think would look really cute:

I like the tab sleeves for spring. I have some cute striped shirting that has been aging in my stash for a while. I think I'll use that. It's orange and white - orange seems to be my color for transition/spring this year. Well, that gives me a hobby. I think I'll start on the muslin after dinner.

Happy sewing!

Another J Stern Tee

No need to do a review of this. I used the exact same technique to make it as I did with the version I made for My Niece's Christmas Present last year. I used the sister of the fabric I used for hers. Where hers was brown and white, mine is black and white with little glitter sparkles. Glitter sparkles, as you may know, are a pain in the butt to work with. Glitter, glitter everywhere! Here's a tip I wrote for taming glitter, but because it was snowing and cold out all day today I couldn't actually use my own tip. I'll just bring the vacuum cleaner up tonight and try to pick up as much as I can.

Bad Erica, No Biscuit!
Thanks to Erica B's post today, I went traipsing off to my local JoAnn in search of a bunch of McCalls early spring patterns. They tried their best to hide them, but I found the ones I wanted. They aren't in the catalog yet, but here are the ones I picked to click. First up are two cute dresses for spring. The first one is a ruffled wrap dress that will work up really nicely in one of the Cottons at Gorgeous Fabrics. I'm thinking Seersucker. Or maybe Eyelet!

This one will be great in a cotton for spring:

I just LOVE this one. I'm going to make it as soon as I'm able.

As Erica pointed out, this is a classic blouse. You can never have too many classic blouses.

DH has been an absolute saint, helping me through everything and going to appointments with me, so I owe him at least a nice shirt.

This jacket has many of the hallmarks of a Chanel-style topper. Leave off the crafty crap and use a classic trim or combination of trims for a look that will work equally well over a dress or on top of jeans.

While I was there, I also picked up this adorable little wrist pincushion

How incredibly cute is that? I grow heirloom tomatoes in the summer, and my favorites are always the yellow ones. I couldn't resist!

Happy sewing!

Pattern Review - McCalls 5971 Dress

This was going to be my Thanksgiving dress.

Pattern Description: From McCalls' Website - Fitted, low neckline dresses A, B with lined bodice, midriff and sleeves, have princess seams, sleeve variations, pleated skirt, front and darted skirt back with slit, back zipper closing and above mid-knee length; pattern pieces included for A/B, C, D cup sizes.

Sizing: 4-18. I made a 14, but I shoulda made a 12.

Fabric Used: Super gorgeous Loro Piana wool plaid/tweed. How fabulous is this fabric? So fabulous. It's so soft; it works beautifully for just about anything you want to make from it. But unfortunately, it's not immune to stupid mistakes. For the lining, I used Lightweight Bemberg Lining in Sedona Sunset.

Needle/Notions Used: Universal 70/12 needle. Pro Tailor Fusible Interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply.

Did it look like the photo or drawing when you got through? Yes, after some alterations.

How were the instructions? Lousy. I didn't care for McCalls instuctions, so I did them my own way.

Construction Notes: This pattern is drafted for the cap sleeve version. The long sleeve version is clearly an afterthought. Check out the posts I did here, and here to see the changes I made to the pattern. The fit also ran VERY large. You should think about going down a size on this pattern.

Likes/Dislikes: I like the lines. I like the different cup size drafting. I wish McCalls would get their act together when it comes to fit. Vanity sizing in patterns? There is no need folks.

Would you do it again? Would you recommend it? I won't do it again. It's a lovely pattern, but it requires a lot of work to get it to the right size. But it shows off the plaid beautifully and I do like it for that.

Conclusion: It's a winner, but honestly? It was only two steps away from being a wadder. Here's the picture of it on Shelley.

Happy sewing!

Lingerie Lust

I haven't had any desire to sew lingerie before. I've made bathrobes for various family members. But I'm not into making my own bras, panties, negligees, teddies, camisoles, garter belts, or anything like that. I think that's about to change! Hotpatterns just released some a new collection called Boudoir of Bliss (cheeky devils, Trudy and Jeremy!) Bliss is right. There are three patterns in this collection that I'm positively drooling over. First Up, the Trousseau Nightgown and Robe.

How do I love this? Let me count the ways. I'm particularly gaga over the gown. I love the lines, I love the drape, and I just got in the most perfect 70-denier microfiber jersey to make it with. I'll have that up on Gorgeous Fabrics tomorrow, and I'll place an order then, too. I'm not generally a big robe gal, but I think this will make a lovely exception. And I can wear it when I don't feel like schlubbing around (not like I ever really schlub around) in my plaid fleece robe.

The second pattern that caught my eye is the Buckingham Beauty Nightgown and Nightshirt. On nights and weekends when I am not in the mood to be a sexy thang, this is the kind of sleep shirt I love. I go for the shorter version. This will look great in a cotton shirting like this Striped Cotton Shirting in Blue and White.

The third one I want want want is the Bel-Air Lounging Pajamas. I just love the idea of making it with Silk Charmeuse in True Red, using the face for the bulk of the garment, and the matte reverse for the trim. I'll probably make a camisole to wear underneath the robe. I like camis with my jammies. The rest of the collection looks great too. But these are the three that I'm going to buy.

I'm almost done with my dress. I got slowed up earlier this week when I got some news that knocked the wind out of my sails. But today I sat down and put it all together except the CB seam. I'm debating between a lapped zipper application or an invisible zip. I think I'll go for the latter. I hope to have it finished by Sunday night.

Tomorrow is the monthly meeting for the New England Chapter of ASDP, of which I'm program chair. If you're in the Boston/Worcester area, it's going to be a great meeting and it's open to the public! The speaker is Jennifer Stern of J Stern Designs. She's giving a talk on making jeans, with lots of samples, examples and demonstrations. The details are as follows:
Date: Saturday November 14, 2009
Time: 1:00 PM
Cost: Free for ASDP members, $20 for the general public. It's going to be worth it!
Address/Directions: 12 Woodward Avenue, Berlin, MA
From Route 495:Take the RT-62 W exit, EXIT 26, toward BERLIN/CLINTON. Turn LEFT onto MA-62/COOLIDGE ST. Continue to follow MA-62.  2.0 miWoodward Ave. is on the right and Town Hall is on the hill to the left at #12 Woodward Ave.

That's all for now. I'm tired. It looks like it'll be a good weekend to finish my dress. I'll post pictures and lots of information as soon as it's done.

Happy sewing!

Slow Going, Steady Progress

I've been working on my McCalls dress, but it's been some slow going for a couple of reasons. First, I'm not crazy about their construction methods, so I'm using my own, which take a little longer. The way the pattern is designed, the bodice and midriff are lined, but the skirt isn't. I thought about whether to line the skirt, but I decided instead to underline it, so I can do a completely invisible hem. Here are the skirt pieces laid on my home cutting table after I had basted the underlining to it.




I don't really like the way they have you attach the sleeves. They tell you to stitch the bodice and bodice lining together, then stitch the lining of the sleeve to the sleeve at the hem, turn the lining to the inside and attach the sleeve/lining to the armhole of the bodice/lining. I decided to make them separately, setting the sleeves in  the lining, then setting the sleeves in the garment bodice. I'll attach them at the sleeve hems and necklines, but I'll do them in different order. I'll show it in a pictorial when I write the review. Oh, and to prove that I do practice what I preach, I set the sleeves just like I showed in my post on Setting a Sleeve Into an Armhole. Here you can see sleeve pinned and hand basted into the armscye.

 The other thing that has slowed me a bit is the plaid. I've been taking my time and matching my plaid lines up, through careful cutting, sewing, ripping out and resewing, and steam shrinking. The bodice shell and the bodice lining are both complete. I haven't attached them to eachother. I'll do that tomorrow, I hope. The rest of the construction from here out should go pretty quickly so I hope to have this all finished this week. Here's the bodice (it's hanging open in the back)

Parting Shots: Hoover and His Boys
It was a gorgeous day here (and the Pats beat Miami - Go Pats!!!). DH and both DS's did yardwork. Hoover's favorite thing in the world is to be outside with his sheep people. DH finished chopping a big pile of wood - left over from when the trees were taken down last year. So here's Hoover with DH and the big pile of wood.

Poor DS the elder almost never gets face time on my blog it seems. But here he is in the front yard with Hoover:

And here is Hoover getting his belly scritched - that is one happy dog....

Happy sewing!

McCalls 5971 - Making Adjustments

In my post on Wednesday, I noted that the armhole for McCalls 5791 is drafted for the cap sleeve version. I'm making the 3/4 length sleeve, and the armhole was so low to make movement of my arm near impossible. So using a very unscientific method ("how many finger widths higher should it be?") I decided to raise the armhole by 1/2 inch (about 1 finger width) at the side seam. Since this is a princess seam garment, I added 1/2 inch in length to both the side front and side back pieces, tapering to nothing at the notches. In this picture, you can see the resulting muslin pattern. When I was done, I measured the resulting armscye seams to compare against the original. I wasn't sure if I needed to adjust the sleeve. Here are the differences between the original measurements and the raised armhole measurements

Original SF Armscye: 4 1/16 inches
Raised SF Armscye: 3 7/8 inches

Original SB Armscye: 4 11/16 inches
Raised SB Armscye: 4 5/16 inches

Clearly, they are measurable, but I think I can get away with shrinking them them out of the Loro Piana wool. The biceps measurement on the original sleeve is just right for me. If I take out any width on the sleeve to bring it down to match the raised armhole measurements, I'm afraid it will make the sleeve too tight.

An interesting side note to this is that raising the armhole alleviated much of the pulling of the neckline at the shoulders. I'll still put lingerie guards in, but they aren't as necessary as they would be if I didn't raise the side seams. Once I did the fitting, I took the muslin apart and pressed the pieces. I'll use that as the bodice muslin for the garment. This will make it a lot easier to match my plaids.

More tomorrow, and have a happy and safe Halloween!

PS - as you may have noticed, I did a little housekeeping  on the blog. The column on the right was getting a bit unweildy, so I updated it. I moved all the blogs in my blogroll to the new format, which shows blogs as they are updated. You can click on show all to see all the ones in the list. I had to do it by hand, so there's a chance I missed a couple. If you feel like you should be on the blogroll and I left you off, or if you just want me to add you on, send an email to me and I'll be happy to get you up there.

Getting Back on that Horse

After boo-hooing for a while over the stoopid frickin' self-induced hole in my pants, I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and started on the muslin for my McCalls dress. I'm going to make it using the same plaid Loro Piana fabric as the stoopid frickin'  doomed pants, so I will wear it and get great enjoyment from it, despite my previous efforts. And thank you to all who gave me suggestions for what to do with it. The best was to burn it, but I hate the smell of burning wool, so I'll pass. Lah dee dah, life is grand and I'm all that and a big bag of stoopid frickin' chips!

No, seriously, thanks to all of you for your support and tea and sympathy. I decided that the best way to get over my mistake was to get right into the muslin for this dress. I made just the bodice muslin since the flat pattern measurements on the skirt seem right on for me. And I found a couple of interesting things about this pattern so far.

The pattern is specifically drafted with different pieces for B, C and D cups. Normally on a princess line bodice that's drafted for a B-cup, when I do a FBA, I need to lower the bust point as well as add to the pattern pieces. On this pattern, I don't need to; it's already factored into the draft, which was  a nice surprise. Second thing to note is that the neckline on this baby is wide, both in the front and in the back. For most wearers, I recommend putting lingerie stays in so you don't end up slipping it off your shoulders. You can buy them from Banasch's or you can easily make your own.

The third change that I'll need to make is to the sleeves. If you look at the line drawing, you'll see that the pattern has both a 3/4 length sleeve and a cap sleeve. It's clearly drafted for the cap sleeve. The 3/4 sleeve (which is what I plan to use) was obviously an afterthought. I say that because McCalls uses the same armhole for both versions. The cap sleeve version has a lined opening below the bottom of the sleeve, so you can freely move your arm. Unfortunately, they drafted the sleeve to fit that hole. So the armhole is low and restricts movement. Also, the sleeve is tapered so it is fine at the bicep (for me anyway), but very narrow at the opening. So I have to raise the armhole so I can move my sleeve, and I will add between 3/8" and 1/2" at the sleeve end so it doesn't cut off circulation in my lower arm when I bend my elbow. I should add here that I don't have very big forearms. This is one of the very few times I have ever run into this problem.

I'll do one more muslin to test the changes, then I'll cut into my fabric. More to come!

Happy sewing!

My Mojo's a No-Show

I've been trying to work up excitement over making my chiffon skirt, and I'm coming up blank. I have it mostly cut out, and I started hand-basting the seams together, then I just wanted to run screaming from the room. Not for any reasons of frustration, just because I don't feel like working on it right now. Sigh... Ennui has set in. Yesterday was Columbus Day in the US (Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends, too!), and the kids were home from school. I worked most of the day, but I took lunch hour to buy DS the youngest a new mattress. Then after I got back to the office, I figured I'd take some time to work on basting the skirt and... nada. I went back to the computer and entered new fabrics. I think part of it is that I have a hankering to make something from wool. It's getting cold here and it's supposed to get steadily colder as the week goes on. And they are talking about a Nor'easter starting on Friday with snow possible up in NH and some of the higher elevations. Makes me long for something toasty rather than floaty.

So here's what I'm thinking. I'll leave the chiffon skirt on the worktable and come back to it soon. But I think I'm going to make this McCalls Pattern
in this fabric
It's a Loro Piana wool plaid that I bought from a high-end men's store that went out of business. I've had it in my stash for a while now. Although now that I am thinking more about it I may decide to make a pair of pants. I have enough fabric (4 yards plus, at 65 inches wide) to make both.

What I like about the dress pattern is that it has bodice pieces for B/C/D cups. I'll still make a muslin, but that option makes life a bit easier. Oh, here's a helpful hint for you if you are thinking of working with wool. My friend Pam posted this tip on her blog about pre-shrinking wools. (Scroll down the page to the post titled "How To Pre-Shrink Wool...Fast and Easy at Home!") I tried it yesterday and it worked beautifully! Definitely pre-shrink her way when you are going to work with woolens. It turns out great and saves money.

It's pouring here today, so this will be a good project. My mojo and I will attempt to make a muslin and let you know how it goes.

Happy sewing!

Pattern Review - McCalls 5847 Shirt Dress

Pattern Description: From McCalls' website - "MISSES' SHIRTDRESSES IN THREE LENGTHS AND SASH: Shirtdresses A, B, C, D have princess seams, collar, topstitching, sleeve and length variations; shirtdresses A, D have patch pockets and flaps; shirtdresses A, C have self fabric sash; shirtdress C has buttoned sleeve tab and rolled up sleeves; shirtdress D has three-quarter length sleeves with self-cuff, side slits and purchased belt; shirtdress A is mid-knee length; shirtdresses B, C are 3" below mid-knee; shirtdress D is 7" above ankle."

I made View B, the short sleeved version.

Sizing: 6-22. I made a 14

Fabric Used: A really fun metallic embroidered floral that has been aging in my stash for about 4 years. Here's an up-close shot of the fabric so you can see the embroidery

Needle/Notions Used: 70/10 (Universal equivalent). Pro Weft fusible interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply. Poly core thread, 7 Buttons, 1 snap.

Did it look like the photo or drawing when you got through? Yes

How were the instructions? Excellent! This is a Palmer/Pletsch pattern. In the instructions, they include copious notes on how to adjust the pattern to fit you. It's really invaluable. I didn't really use the instructions, since I know how to do all the fitting I need anyway, but I read through them and was thoroughly impressed.

Construction Notes: I sewed all seams on my industrial sewing machine, and finished all the seams with the serger.

Any changes? I made my usual FBA. Because of that, I ended up using 7 buttons instead of the 8 they recommend. Other than that, there was really nothing that I did differently.

Likes/Dislikes: I like the look and ease of this style. One caveat is that it has more ease through the waist and hips than I was expecting from the drawings. It needs a belt or it tends to look matronly, bordering on housefrau. Fortunately, Nordstroms near me is having a huge sale right now so I'll see if I can get a belt to wear with it. I also really liked the instructions

Would you do it again? Would you recommend it? Will I do it again? Not sure. There are other patterns that I would rather sew up first. But I do recommend it heartily.

Conclusion: A well-drafted pattern with great instructions. Here's the finished product.



Parting Shot: Eddie Izzard's Death Star Canteen a la Lego
This is one of the funniest routines I've ever heard him do! Be warned, the language is not work friendly, but it is absolutely hysterical!
Death Star Canteen

Happy sewing!

Work in Progress and Monday Miscellany

I got a bunch done on the dress today but I forgot to bring my camera so, alas, no pictures. I do want to say, I'm impressed with this pattern. It's a Palmer Pletsch pattern that has all the fitting information you could need to make it work for you. They use their fitting guidelines from Fit for Real People. I don't have that book, but everyone who does seems to love it. And as I say, I'm impressed by the thoroughness of the fitting instructions. So far, I give this one a big thumbs up. I wish I had gotten it further along, because I'd like to take it to ...

New York with my students tomorrow!

Yes, I'm mother ducking a bunch of my students and a couple of my ASDP colleagues around the garment district tomorrow for some fun and fabric. We're going to meet up with Carolyn and Lindsay T. I can't wait to see them both again! I wish we could spend an overnight, but schedules didn't permit this time.

Back to my dress, I have a confession to make. A friend of mine pointed me to a lively, some might say heated, discussion about sewing over pins. See me raising my hand? Guilty. I don't necessarily recommend it, but when people look all aghast at me, I just shrug. I have been sewing since I was 12. I've sewn over countless pins countless times and I have never once damaged my machine, nor have I put my eye out. I have bent pins and broken needles, which isn't a good thing. But I see more damage caused by folks who neglect to change needles between projects. That one gets me going!

Speaking of going, Gorgeous Fabrics warehouse is going to be closed on Friday, July 3 for the holiday weekend. We'll be processing orders, but any orders that come in over the long weekend will ship on Monday or Tuesday.

FB Peeps, check out the Gorgeous Fabrics Facebook page starting Wednesday. And until I get back from NYC, happy sewing!

The Fabric, the Haul

Here's the fabric I'm using for my McCall's shirtdress:
It is a lightweight cotton with metallic embroidery all over its face. It's pushing the envelope for this pattern just a little, because it's lighter weight than I think is generally recommended, but I really like it and I think it will work up well.

On a sadder note, one of my students sent me a note that Charrette, a local art-supply dealer, is going out of business. Today is their last day, and everything was 60% off their lowest price. I have always recommended their tracing paper to my students, so they will be sorely missed. I stocked up on a couple of things, including cream and yellow tracing paper (they had sold out of the white trace). I also got a french curve, a flexi-curve and a compass. It will be great for making circular ruffles.
I guess I'll have to buy my tracing paper online. Here's a hint for you. Forget the tracing paper they sell at fabric stores. It's way overpriced! You can buy 36 inch wide, 50 yard rolls at most art supply stores (including Blick Art Supply, nayy) for much, much less. And the rolls come in all different sizes.

Parting Shot: Sunflowers
I took advantage of the weather to transplant my poor sunflowers. I had three of them in a pot. They were doing okay, but they were starting to get rootbound. So I planted them next to the garden. They are usually covered with little bees gathering pollen.
Happy sewing!