The Other Navy Outfit

Well hello there everyone, guess who's been working a lot. Nope it's not Froggie. In fact he suddenly disappeared yesterday when I needed to hand sew two sets of shoulder pads in two dresses.  I don't keep you around just for your looks Frog!  You'd better get to covering a 3rd pair of pads while I finally write a blog post.  On a related note working on 3 garments simultaneously can be fun....except for that part where you have to cover and sew in 3 sets of shoulder pads in two days.  *And no, shoulder pads are not optional in my sewing room. No Saggy Shoulders!

I'd planned on getting my last summer garment posted in September, but pesky things like feeding my family, cleaning their clothing and sleeping took my available free time.  Desmond might have licked a few classmates and brought some germs home as well. (Confession - he probably didn't lick anyone. I'm sure the germs were spread in an equally gross manner.) However Fall weather didn't show up in PA until yesterday, so I'm not feeling too bad about a semi late Summery make.

This summer I managed two navy outfits to complement the growing collection of navy hats. After finishing up the Hollywood shirtdress it was time to get working on some separates. It was pretty egregious that the only solid colored skirts in my closet were black. (The devil on my shoulder screams "But Black Goes With Everything! So does red and pitchforks. Just go with me on that last one." OK, Ok dude, chill out. You don't have to sell me on pitchforks. They're awesome.) But sewing plain skirts is boring so I decided to make it a matching set with a bolero.  Mostly because I had Hollywood 1326 in my stash already and wanted to sew it More Than Anything!

AHHHHHH! It's so cute! I even want the outfits in the color combos/patterns on the envelope.  Shouldn't a pink and black polka dot silk be something you can go anywhere and buy? Why is it not? Who am I kidding, the jade/pink floral is the one I really want. Stupid past Heather for sewing up the stashed jade green cotton into a Beignet. To be honest I did like that Beignet a lot but it will never be worn now. Oh well, you must sew for the body and style you enjoy now or your child will throw all your fabric in a dumpster after you kick the bucket.  This has been your stashbusting message for the year.

So yeah I bought some navy linen to make this happen. (Stashbusting, what?) And got to work musling this one up.  Turns out that cute pointy waistband is not a waistband. It is a seperate belt that buttons on the side. It also turns out that it's not so cute if your bust line is so low that the points are poking you in the underboob.  One does not need their own waistband harassing them so that had to go.

It was nice to sew a slightly different skirt style than the plain 4 gore style that has been my go to. It's just as easy to put together and paired well with the medium weight linen I'd closen.  The linen also sewed up great in the bolero.  The little fold back collar just makes me squeal with delight! It would have been an easy sew as well if I hadn't complicated it by adding a lining.  However I've never said after the fact, "Oh God, why did I put this luxurious silk lining in my garment? I wish I was starting at bare cover stitched seams instead!"

This large scale ikat print had been sitting in my stash since Desmond was an adorable toddler. I've been a little concerned that it's too bold for any garment. But you know what I'm not concerned about being bold?  A lining.  What's that? Oh you're saying, "Umm Heather, you appear to be wearing a top out of this fabric?"  Yes, Yes I am.  Well after you finish you lining and have 1.5 yards left and have recently watched all of Ms. Masel then a matching bold top seems like a fine idea.  Due to yardage constraints I turned to an old pattern friend, Simplicity 1155 of the darted neckline.  Past Heather had even traced the short sleeve pattern back in 2017.

Once again you can barely see the the decorative neckline darts. One day I'll feel like torturing myself by sewing it in a solid. Until then you'll just have to enjoy the glorious button back.

One final thing, the sleeves on this are kind of odd, but odd in a way that I enjoy. The first thing that popped in my head is that they are vaguely Romulan. A google search tells me that I'm incorrect, but I think we both understand the importance of a strong shoulder.

Pssss Taris, what kind of sleeve heads/pads/scaffolding you have in that thing? I need to know.

Pattern
Hollywood 1326 - Bolero and Skirt. (Pictured Above)
Simplicity 1155 - Button back blouse.

Fabrics used
Linen from Sawyer Brook for the main part of the bolero and skirt.  Stashed Silk crepe de chine for the bolero lining and blouse.

Pattern changes/alterations
1. Standard 1/2" forward shoulder adjustment to the shoulder and sleeve cap
2. Added 1/2" extra ease to the hip of skirt. - This style seemed a bit narrow in that location.

Confessions/Advice
I don't remember much of anything because this was finished about 3 months ago. That means I didn't do anything real stupid or stab myself.

Husband Comment
"Ooooo, I like that the lining is the same as the shirt. What is that paisley? Seems Eastery."

Bonus Son comment - "In case you don't know, that brooch is a pear."

My Final Thoughts
This is the button back blouse that launched a bevy of button back blouses in my sewing room so brace yourselves for that.  I'm also pro bolero now. Next summer I'll probably revert back to type and sew a black one cause Black Goes With Everything!  *Cue devilish cackle.*

*I've been in 40's clothing land so long that double shoulder pads is starting to look good.

It's an Easter Miracle

This could be an Easter miracle or more of a Dr. Frankenstein hooking up a corpse to lighting sort of situation.  Either way you slice it, the blog is ALIVE! ALIVE I TELL YOU!!!!! *cue manic laughter*

Sooooo how's everybody been?  Over here it's been snowing....every week. On the one hand I've gotten a few extra sewing days in. On the other I'm all, "I'm getting to old for this shit" every time my eye falls on the camera tripod. Unless you've got a winter coat to model who wants to go saddle up their team of huskies to go get some blog photos?  (Confession, if I did have a team of huskies I would 100% do a photo shoot with them. It would be a disaster, but probably hilarious.)

Anywooo, today it wasn't snowing or torrential raining and I thought, "Hey I've got myself all made up. Might as well take some blog photos." Looking around I saw that my son was distracted with his new Easter Shark* and my husband was happily eating his easter chocolate. I grabbed the tripod and ran out of the house before they could grab me and demand more food. FREEEDOM!   Well freedom to squint into the sun while dog walkers at the park wonder what the hell I'm doing. (BTW - One of them did tell me my outfit was fantastic.)

This wasn't what I'd planned to wear for Easter. There's a nice blue/white floral rayon number all ready to go for a festive Spring celebration....except it doesn't feel like Spring yet.  After sticking my head out the door I said, "NOPE, not suffering for fashion today....other than my shoe choice. Let's pull out the wool." And low, I clothed myself of in the fleece of a sheep and was happy. But how did I get here you might ask? Oh, oh, oh, I'll tell you.

At the beginning of the month I went on a pattern buying bender since it's only way to get myself excited about sewing up fabric that's as old as my son. Just give me something new and shiny!   As usual Etsy came through and hooked me up with a new Hollywood Pattern. Bam!

All winter I'd been staring at this glen plaid and thinking, "That would look nice in a suit jacket with some pleather. But what pattern would work?" Nothing really came to mind even though there are a healthy number of suit patterns in my stash.  But when I first clapped eyes on Hollywood 989 I knew it would be perfect.

The illustration doesn't show a version with contrast fabrics even though the construction makes it easy to add them. The collar is inserted in similar to a button down shirt collar, so you don't have to worry about piecing a facing on the inside.  The pocket flaps are only decorative, no worrying about sewing bias bound pockets in pleather.  I also decided to do the undersleeves in pleather so there wasn't a nasty plaid mismatch on the back sleeve seam.  There's some extra ease in the elbow area so it was impossible to match the two pieces across the seam.

One other interesting design element is that the jacket does not have a side seam in the normal place.  The front piece wraps around to where the back bodice dart might be positioned. A fish eye dart is used to shape the side seam instead. But you'll have to take my word for it because my plaid matching is obscuring all vertical seams.  Thank god for that CB seam because that make sway back adjustments even easier. (Looks like I need to take out a bit more for the sway back looking at these pics. Darn curvy backside.)

Pattern
Hollywood 989 - Jacket only.  Probably should grade up the skirt because a one with an inverted pleat would be a nice addition to the wardrobe.

Fabrics used
Plaid wool with a bit of a boucle texture/medium weight pleather. Both of these are long stashed Emmaonesock purchases.  The cobalt lining is also from the stash, originally from Gorgeous Fabrics.  In fact even the interfacing, shoulder pads and buttons are stash. A 100% stash project!

Pattern changes/alterations
1. Graded the pattern up to a 36" bust.
2. Standard for me forward shoulder adjustment of 1/2" to shoulder and sleeve cap
3. Decreased sleeve cap height 1/2".
4. 1/2" extra ease added to waist and hip for my pear shape.
5. 1/4" sway back adjustment.
6. Took 1/2" out of the center back seam at the waist.

Confessions/Advice
- No tricky construction issues on this one if you're an old hat at jackets.  See what I did there, old hat. *wink, wink*

- Desmond convinced me on using these buttons that were in the stash.  I was going to self cover some buttons with pleather instead.  After mocking one of those up I admitted that Desmond's pick looked better. More Sparkle!

Husband Comment
Him - "Oh it's got shiny parts. It's like a hybrid of a leather jacket and hounds tooth." 
Me - "It's plaid, not houndstooth."
Him - "Are you sure?"
Me - "YEESS. Who has a fashion design degree around here?"
Him - "Hmmmm, well the plaid is houndstoothy."
 
My Final Thoughts
This baby turned out just like it looked in my head.  I've also worn it all day and wore like a dream. So warm and comfy. This patterns is going in the "would make again" pile.

My sewing machine has been humming all winter so there are plenty of garments I could show you.  But will I?  Maybe Frankenstein's monster could ghost write for me. His grasp of English is probably better.  Until then enjoy your chocolate haul!

*Easter Shark patent pending. It's a real thing and not something I just made up for my shark obsessed 7 year old.  The Easter shark brings steaks, chocolate, and a stuffed shark for you to hug. He's awesome for all ages.

Bandwagon Sewing - Simplicity 1554

Hello everyone, hope you are enjoying the beginning of Fall. Or as I call it about these parts, "Just die already summer."  Oh course summer is aware it almost succeeded in breaking me this year and is sticking around trying to finish the job. Not gonna work summer, all my Halloween window clings are elevating my mood. I'm also on a sugar high from bite sized Halloween candies. (A 10 pound bag will last me till Halloween proper...right? God, when will I learn never to break the candy bag seal.)

The small upside of it being 85 and disgustingly humid is that I got photos of all the summer sewing you know nothing about. Let me quantify that, photos of all the summer garments.  Not all my summer sewing was seasonally appropriate. Two fully lined wool jackets and one unlined wool blouse/jacket were also completed during the season of too much sun.  One lesson I have learned is that Christmas garment sewing (for yourself) doesn't get done if you wait till the 4th quarter.  This year my closest has more red/green/black garments for my Christmas theme dressing needs. I can barely wait!

Let's put a pin in the merits of wool and roll the clock back to June to some of the last bit of stash busting that happened this summer. (Hazards of working at a fabric store.) May I present Simplicity 1554, my second favorite blouse pattern.

OK so usually I buy vintage patterns just because of the look of the fashion illustration or the design details.  I've rarely seen a completed garment on someone else and then went to look for a copy of the pattern. However this blouse kept popping up on Instagram on other vintage ladies accounts.  They'd mention the pattern number and I'd look it up every time. After about the 3rd of 4th time it was obvious I'd better just buy the damn thing already.

This one is labeled "Simple to make" which is mostly true. I'd guess that making bound buttonholes wasn't as big of a deal in the 40's if it was your only option.  The style is easy to fit due to the kimono sleeve and the waist area not being especially fitted. There are two tucks in the back waist mostly to reduce bulk in the hip area.

The pattern gives you a variety of neckline options but they all share the same shirred detail at the shoulder.  This particular design element will join the category of button buttonholes in that it's fiddly AF to make, but you're happy to have done it afterwards.  The pattern comes with a stay piece for the gathered area. You have to hem the stay piece, run 5 parallel lines of gathering on  the shoulder of the blouse, tie off the gathers, then hand stitch the stay piece on the wrong side of the blouse to reinforce everything.  The thought, "why am I doing this?" ran through my head more than once.

However current me is pretty pleased about this picture. Gathers and a dragonfly brooch? Sweeet.

The rest of the construction is straight forward if you've had prior shirt making experience.  The collar on version 1 has no stand, so you just sandwich it in the facings and call it done.  All the hems are rolled, which you can do by hand or machine.

Pattern 
Simplicity 1554 -View 1.

Fabrics used
Polka dot stretch cotton from Gertie's etsy store.  That glorious summer in 2013 when she sold yardage from NY and I bought soooo much fabric and wish I'd bought even more.  This may be the last piece from that stash building hull.

Pattern changes/alterations
1. Graded up the pattern to a 36" bust.
2. Put in standard 1/2" forward shoulder adjustment.

Confessions/Advice
Those of you who follow me on Instagram may remember that I completed all the bound buttonholes on the front only to discover they were not evenly spaced.  I had to cut a new front and start from scratch. Why do these things always happen with bound buttonholes? Pretty sure someone cursed me for stealing their bite sized candy bar.

Husband Comment
"More polka dots for my sours!"  (He is "sweets", I am "sours" and as they say, the shoe fits.)

My Final Thoughts
This blouse was my most worn make of the summer.  While it didn't knock McCall's 4265 out of the top blouse spot, I keep wishing a black windowpane plaid version would spontaneously appear in my closet.  The kimono sleeves and loose fit made it great for all but the hottest weather. Most of the time I paired it with this black circle skirt, but it also looks nice with an A-line skirt of pants.  Overall I'd highly recommend getting your hands on a copy of Simplicity 1554 if you're looking for a good wardrobe builder.

I've got two more summer dresses to show you....hopefully before December. Maybe frog can hide all my electronic devices until the blogging is caught up. Bad bloggers don't get match 3 games or 10 pound bag of Halloween candy.

When Ebay closes a door, Etsy opens a window - Hollywood 1411

I'm sure you'll all agree with me that spending a quarter of your feel time searching the internet for new sewing patterns is perfectly normal. Just something we seamstress's do to relax and is in no way tied to us being pattern addicts. Thrill of the hunt? Nonsense!  I just need to use up all that fabric I have in the bedroom. Anyway, now that we've got that out of the way let me tell you my tale of the pattern that almost got away.

One day I was checking my ebay saved search results for Hollywood patterns. (A perfectly normal thing to do and not something an addict might set up to get their daily hit of vintage.)  I was delighted to see a new to me design in Hollywood 1411.

Did some pattern drafter of long ago design this exactly for me?  They combined all of my favorite things, shirt dresses, scalloped necklines, and pockets. Oh My!  This pattern had to BE MINE! So I bid on that puppy and happily planned what fabrics and buttons to use.

Then something happened....I just don't remember what.  Near the end of auction I should have been monitoring the bids like an addict a serious seamstress making sure to close the deal.  Guess I had to parent or maybe sleep? Curse you real life for interfering with my sewing acquisitions! Anyway someone else won the pattern with a modest bid and I was weeping into my pillow kind of bummed.

A month later I was still simmering with suppressed anger sad about loosing out on this pattern and decided to do a pattern number search for it on both Ebay and Etsy.  Because I'm not in anyway an addict, I just had the fabric ready to go!   Sadly, but not unexpectedly the searches did not return any results for my lost lovely.  With a heavy sigh I thought, "Well might as well browse Etsy while I'm here. I'll just put in a general Hollywood patterns search."  And yes my friends while I just browsing pages on Etsy this pattern appeared like a mirage in the desert. I blinked in disbelief for about 10 seconds and then pounced on that pattern like a lion upon a gazelle.  Sure that sounds like the phrasing of a pattern addict but.....I'm fine, totally fine.  I may have huffed the pattern when it arrived in my mailbox but that's not out of the ordinary behavior for anyone. Right.. Right?  OK I might have a problem but I can stop when ever I want. (Pay no attention to the open ebay tabs currently on my computer.)

Well my pattern hoarding tendencies paid off in this case because this dress is everything I'd hoped it would be. How could a shirt dress with scallop details and pockets not be?

Pattern
Hollywood 1411

Fabrics used
Dress weight floral cotton from Emmaonesock.com. (Think we have this in stock still)

Pattern changes/alterations
1. Graded up the pattern from a size 34 bust.  I was able to do the cheater way of adding more ease to the side seams on most of the pattern pieces.  The front skirt was graded in the proper manner because of the scalloped pocket openings.

2. Standard .5" forward shoulder adjustment.

3. Standard dropping of bust dart about 1.5".  The waist tucks were also shortened an 1".

4. Had a little extra fabric floating around in the shoulder area so I pinched it out by making a .25" fold in the shoulder.

Confessions/Advice
Advice - I've noticed that a few of my 40's patterns like to do this thing where the belt has either a curved or pointed edge that sticks out.  Annoyed by this I finally sewed a little snap to the back side to keep the belt in place.

Confessions - Usually I'm pretty good about remembering to put interfacing on cut on facings. For some reason it slipped my mind until finishing up most of the sewing.  I decided to to skip the interfacing all together but it did make sewing buttonholes a complete nightmare.
Otherwise I had one of those really enjoyable sewing experiences that kind of ruin you for other projects.  All I can think of is making the bodice with the set in sleeves for Fall. If I had any suitable fabric for it in that stash I'd be sewing that right now.


Husband Comment
"Oooo that neckline is really nice!" - This one met with approval from both male parties in the house

My Final Thoughts
100% sure I'll be sewing this pattern again and not just the alternate view. The neckline depth is perfect, keeping you cool while not flashing too much cleavage. There's plenty of room for a full range of movement with the kimono sleeves and the A-line skirt. This one is already in the section of the closest that gets worn every week. I could definitely do with another!

P.S. - I may enjoy accessorizing but something the weather does not cooperate.  Curse you hat snatching wind!

Guess what I made 3 months ago? - Simplicity 1155 and Decades of Style Empire Waist Trousers

What's that I see on the horizon? Is it a new blog post? It couldn't possibly be! We all know I've disappeared into the fabric shelves of EOS and/or my winter hibernation cave.  It's true, I've been spending most of my time in those places and battling the tidal wave of germs that elementary kids so helpfully bring home to share.  But today I'm temporarily germ free and thought it was time to finally show you the last two FO's of 2016.

Wayyyy back in October of last year I blogged about some "Unofficial Halloween" sewing plans. You may remember that only because of the kick ass skull fabric that was dug out from the bottom of the stash. Fueled by the desire to show off my sewing skills to impressionable children, I stayed up a few late nights to finish in time.  My "candy giving out" costume was exactly what is pictured here.  It managed to simultaneously scare children under the age of 5 and illicit exclamations of, "That is so cool!" from middle school aged girls.

One of the design features of this blouse is the high neckline with visible darts on the front. Mmmmmm delicious darts. Of course if you need to lower the neckline then all those delicious darts are gonna become a problem.  I thought, "Well I know that 40's necklines can be super high but I'll muslin this as is and hope for the best."  Yeaaaaahhhh, that muslin was like being slowly strangled by a lethargic snake.  Not exactly what I'm looking for in handmade clothing.  After letting my brain mull over the problem over night, I decided to try lowering the neckline and lengthening the darts the same amount.  Viola, problem solved.

No other major issues to report on Simplicity 1155.  The sewing is very straight forward if you've made any sort of blouse in the past.  I do like both the button back and the full sleeves.  (You can tell I've drunk the 40's cool aid because I would have laughed about these sleeves a few years ago.)

Now on to the trousers.  Those of you familiar with this pattern might be saying, "I'm pretty sure they're not supposed to have a waistband." You are correct eagle eyed readers.   I got a little excited about sewing this outfit and didn't think about how a nice soft rayon probably isn't the best fabric for empire waist pants. (I was thinking about how rayon would make nice swingy pant legs instead.) Also once muslining the pattern I realized that my low bust point wasn't making this look like it did in my head. Any sort of waist definition disappeared and that bothered me.  So what to do to solve both of these problems? Cut some of the Empire waist off of the top of the pants and turn it into a wide waistband.  I did take pictures of this process so if you'd like a quickie "How to" blog post just say so in the comments. Otherwise I sewed this pattern as drafted and like it a whole bunch.

(Not the best pic of the back, but this was literally the only on in focus out of 35 pics)

Patterns
Simplicity 1155 and Decades of Style Empire Waist Trousers.

Fabrics used
Blouse - Stashed Crepe de Chine from EOS.  Thanks to Facebook time hop I can tell you this was bought in 2010 about a month and a half after Desmond was born. (Just making myself feel better about not sewing it right away.)

Pants - Stretch Rayon from Marcy Tilton. Fabric was a new purchase in October, but has sold out since then.

Pattern changes/alterations
Blouse
1. Lowered the neckline .5" and lengthen the neckline darts the same amount.
2. Standard 1/2" forward shoulder adjustment to shoulder and sleeve.
3. Added 1/2" more length to the sleeve.
4. Redrew the placement of the buttonholes on the back.

Pants
1. Extended the back crotch length about .75" (Used the Wearing History Smooth Sailing Trousers as a guide since those fit me well.)
2.  Took in 1.5" inches in at the side seams at the waistline. This alteration was mostly because of my fabric choose of a stretch woven. I had to give that area some negative ease to get it to stay in position.

Confessions/Advice
1.  I found the bias width of 1.25" a bit slim for my fumble fingers when finishing the neckline.  I increased it to 2".

2. The directions say to close the sleeve cuffs with thread loops and buttons.  I found this out really late in the process and was not in the mood to hand sew some thread loops.  Instead I checked to see if the cuffs would fit over my hands with a buttonhole added.  They were wide enough thanks to my hand and wrists being the daintiest part of my body. I did end up doing a standard button and button hole finish to the cuffs. Now 3 months later I'll admit that doing the thread loops would have been better. The cuffs are just a little bit too tight when the blouse needs to move with me.

Husband Comment
Pretty sure he said, "I like your sleeves" because Napoleon Dynami quotes are a staple of our household. Though I think this outfit is on the husband scale of "I'll keep my mouth shut because she'll put on a less weird outfit soon."

My Final Thoughts
It might have taken me three months to show off this outfit but I'm pretty pleased with it. In the end it turned out just like I'd imagined.

Going forward I'm hoping to blog a little more regularly. There's still plenty I want to sew and share with like minded people.   So here's hoping for a little more sewing and blogging time in the new year.

Striking Out this Summer

Blog posting has been reaaaaaly sporadic this summer, I'm sure you've noticed. Part of it was the normal aversion to standing next to an iron while it's 95 degrees outside.  Mmmm heat exhaustion. However most of it was loss of sewing mojo due to STRESS!!!

I've been a stay at home mom or mom to be for 7 years now.  My husband was on board with this plan with the caveat that I would need to return to work when our child started going to school full time. Mostly because being a one income family was something we could not sustain indefinitely.  So I went into the the summer knowing that I'd have to start hunting for jobs. Ugh. Let me tell you the dread of starting a job hunt and the depression of being the middle of one are equally draining to your creativity. It almost makes me long for the days of learning a trade... or bartering. Can you pay your mortgage in cookies? What if I threw in a chocolate cake?

Anyway we've got that stress and the normal stress about how your kid is doing in school. Desmond just made the cut off for entering kindergarten last year and I think being the youngest kid in the class is sometimes hard.  I also worry about him socializing with other kids because he's a lot like me and I was HORRIBLE at that. (I sat alone during recess for the entire 5 years of elementary school. My mother was very relieved when I went to middle school where there was no more recess.) I keep wishing there was another kooky kid who's crazy about dinosaurs so they could be best friends. They might successfully make a dinosaur hybrid that would eat us all, but it's a risk I'm willing to take.

So yeah, adulting is hard when you're not eating chocolate bars at 10 in the morning. Fortunately I did have a chocolate bar today so we can talk about the other source of my lost sewing mojo...... a string of muslins that didn't make the cut.

As someone who's been sewing for a long time I know that not every pattern is gonna be a winner on my body. But it still sucks when you have back to back projects that don't pan out.  I started to wonder if I really was any good at sewing.  Has this whole blog just been a lie?! Maybe the frog does sew all the garments after all.  On to a parade of badly lit muslins, I know you can barely contain your excitement.

First up the top half of Simplicity 3885.

OK, this doesn't look too bad from the photos.  What you can't see is that it's super tight around the neck. So tight that I couldn't button it closed like the causal lady in the sunglasses. This one is in my bust size so my own grading isn't at fault....that problem will come later.  I also found some of the construction on this pattern to be annoying which colored my impressions. The neckline issue could be fixed but frankly I liked McCall's 4265 a whole lot more and it didn't seem worth it. Bye Bye blouse, into the bin of failure you go.

Second victim, suit jacket from Hollywood 769.

This was the first size 34 bust that I graded up and my math was WRONG! This baby is about 1 size too small in everything but the length.  I've pinned that scant 1/2" overlap to give myself that pregnant look all the girls are going for these days. Sexy.  The style gets a thumbs up, but have I felt like regrading 9 pattern pieces for the second time? Nope!  This one goes in the bin of shame until the pattern grading frenzy seizes me.

Last questionable muslin of the summer, Advance 4227.

This time I was able to do basic math correctly and properly grade up the pattern.  The skirt portion gets a thumbs up, but the bodice was drafted for someone much much much bustier.

Honestly I could smuggle a pair of cantaloupes in my bra and still have extra ease. Since I'm not into shoplifting this bodice needs some serious adjustment.  Adjustment that I do not have the head space for at this time. Into the bin it goes until next summer or some perfect fabric talks me into giving it another go.

So that was my summer with the exception of one successful project that I've yet to take photos of. Hopefully I can get off my butt and do that soon before blogging summer projects seems ludicrous. Until then I hope your sewing projects are being a lot more agreeable than mine. :)

Vintage Pledge July - My Hollywood Love Affair

Hello All,  I've just gotten back from spending a week camping.  Camping you say, what sort of jaunty tilt hat do you wear to go hiking? The answer is that you have the option of one that looks like a tiny Daniel Boone hat or a miniature pith helmet.  All jokes aside the boy had a great time and that's what's important.  I'm still happy to be back in the A/C with my internet connection. Hooray for progress!

In other news, I was flattered to be asked to be one of the bloggers featured during the VP July extravaganza. Froggie assures me that no one was bribed with cookies to make this offer. He made sure to put all the cookies in his stomach instead of the mail box.  It's a good thing he sews pretty hems or else he might find himself in the mail box.  Jokes on me though, he's just mail himself to Grandpa at the beach who will let him hang out with the toy monkeys. (I'm not making this part up. The toy monkeys are real!)

Anyway, head on over to Kestrel Makes to see all the details on Hollywood 1412. Oh Hollywood patterns, you complete me.

Another trip to the lemon aid stand

Hey all, hope you're enjoying your Me Made May so far.  This year I'm only doing it on instagram because frankly the weather has been completely shitty here and will be for the foreseeable future. We've have so much rain forecasted I'm starting to think that converting the deck to a boat might be the smart choice. I'll make sure all the sewing frogs get a place even if it breaks the "only 2" guidelines.

Instead of complaining about gloomy days let's go back into the past when it was sunny and the trees were blooming. A day where I finally photographed a project that took almost 2 months to finish. Was it a lined coat? Some sort of crazy chiffon confection? Or maybe a pair of pants with a thousand welt pockets?!  No my friends, it was only a kimono sleeved dress in some cotton sateen.

Now sometimes you buy a pattern knowing it's going to be a fiddly pain in the ass to sew.  In this case you gird your loins and plunge into the fray knowing that you might get out of this with only a dust rag. There might be a lot of swearing, but at least you knew what you were getting into.  Other times you buy a pattern thinking it's gonna be a fun simple sew and then suddenly you're hand sewing for hours. (I'm looking at you McCalls 6696.) This vintage Advance pattern must have been a soul sister of McCalls 6696 because it was also a hidden bomb of fiddly hand sewing.  Why do I like shirt dresses again? Oh right, they look nice on me.

Let's start out by talking about the bodice sewing directions given for the pattern. Here they are in abbreviated form.
1. Sew waist darts and bound buttonholes.
2. Join shoulder seams and side seams. Narrow hem sleeves and finished back neck with bias tape.
3. Turn under the front neckline edge a 1/2" and catch stitch it down.
4. Baste all neckline darts.
5. Turn under facing edges 1/2" and stitch down. Check that bodice neckline and facing match each other.
6. Now actually sew all the neckline darts.
7. Finally slip stitch the facing into the bodice neckline a 1/8" below the already finished edge.

I read these directions, had a good laugh and then thought, "Aint nobody got time for that sort of nonsense."

Here's what I did instead.
1. Drafted my own facings for the front and the back neck.
2. Made the bound buttonholes and sewed the waist darts as directed.
3. Sewed all the visible neckline darts which was tricker than I thought it would be.  I ripped out several for not being straight enough.
4. Sewed on my facings with the machine and edge stitched that area.
5. Finally I had to fold under and hand tack the front edge of the neck facing to the fold over button facing.

In addition to all the neckline insanity I also chose to make 7 bound buttonholes.  Think I'd rather rip out an overlock stitch with my teeth then make a bound buttonhole. However some part of me thinks if if I'm forced to sewing enough of them then I may magically start enjoying the process. NOPE!  And don't even get me started about sewing the bottom of the button placket which literally made no sense. In the end I just catch stitched the whole area and called it good.

By this point you've probably gleaned that sewing this dress was not the most fun I've ever had. Hand sewing is never going to be a "zen hobby" for me. But after the hair pulling/gnashing of teeth was over I put on the dress and magic happened.  Those lovely lemons practically glow on the black background! Oh dress, you might have driven me crazy but you were worth it.

Pattern
Advance 3740. (You know, just having a little chit chat with the girls while waiting for the kids at the bus stop.)

Fabrics used
Cotton sateen from the current Gertie line of fabrics at JoAnn's.

Pattern changes/alterations
1. "Graded" the shoulders and bust down 2".  Really all I did was fold out a wedge at the shoulder and into the bust area.

2. Standard 1/2" forward shoulder adjustment.
3. Removed 1/2" of bodice length.
4. Took in the shoulders 1/2".

Confessions/Advice
- I didn't need to take out 1/2 from the shoulders and the bodice length. Had to go back in and make the bodice a bit longer.

- I could have done a bit of a sway back adjustment on this pattern.  At least kimono sleeves tend to look blousy in that area regardless.


Husband Comment
"More lemon dresses for my sours."

My Final Thoughts
I can pretty much guarantee that this pattern won't be a resew, but I'm going to enjoy wearing the finished dress. Frog reminds me that past Heather said the same thing about McCalls 6696 and then made a second one. Hmmm, maybe I secretly love torturous hand sewing because it gives me an excuse to eat chocolate? Let's not think about it too much now, just pass the peanut butter cups.