More Stash Busting Contest Makes

I promised/threatened to do another post of all my PR contest makes, so let me show you what else the frog powered sweatshop cranked out.  We had to close the sweatshop up a little early thanks to a freak storm that blew out our power for a few days.  Now that power is back on, we find ourselves only interested in laying in front of the air conditioning and surfing the internet. Oh internet, never leave again.

We still cranked out a lot of clothing during the middle of the month, including another Advance 9441 that will get it's own post. Mainly because I took so many pictures and can't whittle them down to one. So you have that pic heavy post to look forward to.  For now feast your eyes on a plethora of tops and a few bottoms that are no longer stashed fabrics.

1. Comino Cap
Finally decided I was keeping this yard of mermaid jersey for me. Sorry/Not sorry kids in my life. No changes to this baby, just hot pink mermaid goodness.

2. Maison Fleur 1301 Top View 2
This was supposed to be another version of View one, but the cotton sateen seemed a bit too thick for shoulder ties.  No worries, it's easy to convert the top to view 2 mid project.  All you need to do is cut off the ties on the back an put some buttonholes in the front ties.  A few self covered buttons were added to the front for a decorative element.

3. Nettie with cap sleeves and gathers.
Somehow I didn't make a short sleeve black Nettie last year. What! Well that oversight must be fixed immediately.  To spice the pattern up I added a few minor tweaks. First the normal Nettie short sleeve was swapped out with a cap sleeve that I'd drafted way, way back for the Fauxneta.  Second I gathered up the CF with a 1/4" x 1.5" piece of black elastic.  Easy, Peasy.

4. Edith and Self Drafted circle skirt
Yep, I really like the Edith pattern and keep adding them to my closet. More prints! More Colors!  And what could be better for summer than a sea themed vintage cotton version? Nothing! After that was finished, I decided to sew another self drafted circle skirt for a snazzy new outfit.

 

5. Several pairs of Barrie Briefs.
At long last a use for those Lillestoff remnants that are too big to throw away! I've been sewing the mid rise version because I'm turning onto an old lady who likes her underwear bigger and bigger.  They have excellent "check coverage" for those of us with plenty of junk in the trunk. I'll be sewing up a least a week's worth and while chackling with delight.

The stash busting contest was a fun challenge and did make me sew up more yardage than I normally do.  Nothing like a good dose of competition to get one cranking out all those things on the sewing list.  Still I'm looking forward to July, using new fabrics and not feeling guilty about picking up my knitting.

Speaking of Stash Layers

Last week's blog post was really supposed to be this one, but Professor Froggie's helpful teaching aid spun me off on a "scientific" tangent.  I think that was for the best.

Lately I've been pondering over my inability to sew the "orange layers" of fabric in my stash and what to do about it. My sewing records clearly show that with the exception of Butterick 5824,  I've been sewing exclusively from layers 1 and 2 this year. I'm not surprised by this since I'm a "non-planner/SQUIRREL!" type of sewer.  The new shiny thing is usually going to draw my focus and become the next project.

This is all well and good except there are some older pieces of fabric that I'd actually like to wear. How do I trick myself into sewing those things up with it becoming a chore? Here are the possibilities I'm currently mulling.

1. Have an older stash only month of sewing.
Pros - a clear time frame might help me focus on using this fabric.
Cons - Potentially sew-jo killing if I decide that sewing old fabric sucks.

2. Make a rule that after sewing 2 projects from new fabric, I must sew 1 from old fabric.
Pros - Mixing in some newer fabrics may keep the sew-jo flowing.
Cons - Keeping track of numbers of projects is quickly going to get on my nerves. I can see myself just abandoning the system after a bit.

3. Plan a wardrobe capsule that incorporates old and new fabric.
Pros - I do like thinking up outfits and mixing stash layers might make the process more exciting.
Cons - This might be "too much planning" for a non-planner.

These are the times that I wish my personality was one who liked to follow plans! Oh well, let's just blame my parents for that and my love of carbs. (I say that knowing my own offspring can blame me for the same things.)

 Right now the wardrobe capsule sounds the most fun. I've been thinking of adding more green to my wardrobe and the deep stash has several fabrics that would work for this. Don't hold your breath though about seeing blog updates about this. SQUIRREL! ;) What I really need is a monthly general sewing theme that exactly matches my taste and old stash. Not a tall order or anything. I'm sure some minions are working on it right now. *Snort* It just so happened that all the stars did align in April by providing me with the Stashbusting Sew-a-long theme of Vibrant Color. YES! Take your pastels and shove'em where the sun don't shine. Let's get out some fabric that sear your eyeballs.

OK fine, these fabrics don't sear your eyeballs, just make them tingle a bit. Oooo minty! Both these fabrics were from Layer four labeled "Aborted plans and remnants" by our favorite sewing frog.  The top is Liberty London Lawn and was supposed to be a Scout tee. The skirt is some stretch sateen that was left over from making a Beignet. They must have been conspiring because one day they fell out of the stash cave together and I realized the colors coordinated. Yes I will make wardrobe decisions based on gravity!  That and frogs on pieces of fabric. "Sew me, rib-bit!"

Since they were both small pieces of fabric I went with my low yardage favorites, Edith and Betsy. You've seen these patterns on the blog several times so I won't bore you with repeating details, just click here if you want them. So now the 4 layer is two pieces of fabric thinner and I have a new outfit with matching shoes. If only sewing the rest of the deep stash could be so easy.

How about you guys? Do you have any tricks that get you sewing the deep stash. Tell me all about them over some cake. :)

Sewing on and off the List

Every year I try to start off strong with my stash busting plans. Usually I'm in the mood for it and it's good to get the numbers down before my inevitable fall off the wagon in June. Warm weather makes me buy novelty prints, lots of them.

I admitted in the last post that my sewing plan for January was to sew all the things that were planned in December. When I say "planned" I really mean things that were floating around in my head. Things that I might have bought fabric for during Black Friday sales. Yeah, this girl is a horrible stash buster at the end of the year too.

The December but now January sewing list.
1. Red circle skirt
2. Black circle skirt
3. Another red pencil skirt
4. Plaid shirt dress
5. Plaid top of some kind

While I was hopped up turkey it seemed completely possible to sew all this stuff plus a Christmas dress. Yep, there needs to be an oversight committee for my sewing plans. "Excuse me Mrs. Beckley. Are you planning on never sleeping during the month of December?  Or maybe you are exploiting a small gang of furry frogs as sewing slaves?"  Exploit?! They have all the baked goods they can eat!

Annnyway, back to those sewing plans.  Ugh plans. I hate real plans in writing because they suck all the joy from my sewing.  No one tells me what to do with my hobby, not even me! So after looking at the sewing list, I went off and cut out a fruit print Edith blouse.  Suck it list!

That was all well and good except the fruity cotton was a small vintage cut of fabric. There wasn't enough yardage for me to squeeze out self bias binding for the armholes. What to do, what to do?  Oh wait, I have black cotton poplin for that circle skirt. That would work great.....except I'll need to cut the skirt out first. Crap, guess I have to sew from that stupid list. (Cue sad horn)

I went the easy route and purchased New Look 6056 after seeing Margo sew it up.  Sure I could have messed around with maths and drafted myself one. Honestly I didn't have the head space for that after Christmas + germs. Take my 5 bucks and give me some mindless tracing.

I mindlessly traced the size 18, the one which corresponded to my waist circumference.  Surely I didn't need to worry about extra ease in a simple circle skirt. Who wears a circle skirt on their hips? Guess what, New Look thinks you should because I found 4" of ease needed to be removed. Lord have mercy.

I was a bit put out about having to rip apart what was supposed to be a quick project.  Then Froggie pointed out that I could have taken...oh 5 minutes....to measure the waist area on the pattern before starting.  Fair point.  I shall don the ribbons of Shame along with the ribbons of Laziness.

The one good thing about having to rip apart a garment, is that you might as well make some other changes. I decided to widen the waistband so it would look "nicer" if shirts are tucked in. Instead of cutting one waistband piece, I cut two and used one as a facing. The waistband still closes with skirt hooks on the side. This works fine but it's not my favorite finish.  If I remake this pattern I'd attach the zipper to the waistband as well.

Here's the full deets on the pattern...

Pattern
New Look 6056 (Now OOP, but still pretty easy to find)

Fabrics used
Kaufman Organic Cotton poplin from Fabric.com.  I bought this version because of it's wider width.

Pattern changes/alterations
1. Removed about 4" of ease from the side seams.
2. Cut the waistband out twice and sewed the upper edge at 3/8" seam allowance. This gives me a 1 3/4" wide waistband.
3. Did not use either suggested length from the pattern. Instead I cut the skirt to be a finished length of 28".

Confessions/Advice
- Don't be like me, measure the waist circumference before you begin!

- The skirt was cut cross grain to get the pattern to fit at the longer length. In this light weight fabric that worked fine.

- The waistband facing and the hem were all done on the machine.

- I'm wearing my Christmas petticoat under the skirt in these photos. The pattern looks equally well without it.

Husband Comment
He didn't have anything to say about the skirt, but this comment about the Edith blouse was too good not to share. "I like fruit on a black background. It's like your shirt is a dangerous jungle at night."

My Final Thoughts
Sewing a black circle skirt is a terrifically boring project. I coped by putting an audio book in my ears and machine finishing nearly everything on the garment. At least the cotton poplin was most cooperative with my time saving efforts.  That stuff don't get uppity notions about moving around after you pin it.
OK, I belly ached about a lot of things in this post, but do I like the finished garment?  Yes, it's great to have a black circle skirt in the closet. Too bad it couldn't magically appear in there without my involvement. What am I paying my slave frog work force for anyway?

On that note I'll leave you with the obligatory circle skirt swish photo. Yeahhhh petticoat swishing is awesome.

P.S. If you're new to the blog and want more details on Edith then here's the original review.

Fredrick invites Edith and Betsy on a lunch date

Hmmm sounds like an alternate reality "Archie" comic involving lobsters. But why lobsters Heather? Well because anthropomorphic lobsters are adorable and this outfit wouldn't have come about without one. I'm speaking of Fredrick my Luxulite brooch of course.

"Hello beautiful ladies. Yes, my body is red like I have been cooked and yet I still cling to life. Let us talk no more of this complicated set of circumstances."

I was smitten with Fredrick's googly eyes and possible tragic back story. How can I fix you and make you smile again gentle lobster? Regular outings to the grocery store to look at the lobster tank? Nautical themed shoes? I'm sure Dolly Clackett has some to spare.  A warm butter bath? Name it and it will be yours. Fredrick thought a moment and said, "The frog has informed me that you have lobster fabric in your stash. I would like to frolic on it and relive my carefree youth." Why dear Fred, I can do one better than that, I can make a lobster shirt. *Queue 80's sewing montage ending with me in front of a fence shouting TA DA!*

Wooo look at that, I "almost" make a googly eyed lobster shirt look classy.  The secret is the toe point.

It came to my attention that my wardrobe was lacking any sort of button down shirt in my current size. What? How could this have happened? Am I not the the self crowned "Queen of Archers"? This state of affairs had to rectified and fast least my button hole attachment decide to runway from home.

A couple patterns were considered, but I found myself in a retro mood and pulled out Maria Denmark's Edith pattern. The more fitted body seemed a better match to go with the stretch denim Betsy skirt I'd just finished. What's better than lobsters and denim? Pie and chiffon?  Cake and Corduroy? Wait let's not go down that road. It's making me hungry.

LOBSTERS, MAINE!

Some of you might remember that I made Edith last year around this time. Having to retrace the pattern was a bummer, but at least most of the fitting work could be transferred to the B 40 size.

Like last year I needed to....
1. Drop the bust dart an inch".
2. Shorten the tip of the front fish eye dart 3".
3. Take 1/2" off the top of the shoulder seams which was graded out to nothing at the collar. Then I dropped the bottom of the armholes 1".
4. Made standard 1/2" forward shoulder adjustment.
5. Curved the hem line up at the side seams for personal preferences.
6. Widened the facing about 5/8" after rereading my previous review about it being a bit narrow.

*I did not need to add ease to the hips on this size.  The top was short enough that it does not reach my wider 40" circumference area.

Once again I bias bound the armhole edges instead of turning and hemming.  As much as I hate sewing bias bindings, they do look nice once they are finished.

Some lobsters were traumatized by the sewing of this blouse.

Last year I wore Edith with Clover capris, but decided it looks equally well tucked into a Betsy pencil skirt. And I might not have sewn any Clover capris. Yes I am avoiding pants at all costs for as long as possible.

Someone tell past Heather to tuck in her shirt.

This Betsy is a combo of view's A and C.  Instead of tracing the regular vent on view A, I moved the paper over to view C and traced the pleated vent. Easy Peasy. Now a girl can have a pleated vent and a waistband. Natch. Don't know why it took me a couple of months to sew another denim pencil skirt. They go with about half of my wardrobe and I find them very comfortable in stretch denim.

Show us the money shot!

Fredrick was delighted with the blouse made in his honor.  I think a tiny tear of joy welled up in his googly eye.  Then he said, "Hey baby, let's go paint the town red like my skin." We hit all the hot spots, the grocery store, JoAnn's and of course Target.  People started at us with delight...or confusion/horror. I like to think that they were just jealous of our love and our sweet dance moves to Rock Lobster out in the parking lot. My Fred Schneider impression is tight.


P.S. You know Gillian, our favorite sewicalist of rainbow knits. She's moved her blog to wordpress and wanted to get the word out since no one using blogloving would know. So go refollow Gillian cause she knows how to wrap up a blog post unlike some people. *cough, me, cough*