Pinstripe trousers

Well, I still haven't taken pictures of the finished wool dress, but I just came upon the pictures of these pants that I made over the summer and never got around to posting. These are another pair of pants made from the ever popular Simplicity 3688. I've used the pattern before for a pair of suit pants (which have recently been passed on to a friend). I've worn these a couple of times. I really like them, and they are very comfortable, but I wish I had added about half or three-quarters of an inch to the crotch length so the waist would sit just a tad higher. I have an ever so slightly higher natural waist, and these don't quite hit me at the smallest point. 

I didn't photograph this, but they also have some bright purple hem tape finishing the inside of the legs. They are very comfortable and great for work. I can't remember what the exact fabric content is, but it's some polyester-rayon-lycra something or other I think. Anyway, because of that they don't need pressing. I'll have to touch up the creases now and again, but that's not much work. It's easy to reset them with the stripes as a guide.

As usual, I hand picked my zipper. I have a zipper foot, but I've just really come to love hand inserting zippers. They just look so much more polished and neat, and it's much easier to work on curves like this hip seam in particular.

Due to the fabric content there is a bit of puckering that happens at the point of the darts that I couldn't eliminate completely no matter what I did to them. They flatten out a bit when on the body, but either way they're not so noticeable as to be distracting. I have a tan fabric with dark brown pinstripes in my stash that is destined for another pair of these. I may go ahead and raise the waistline a teeny bit on those so that they sit where I'd prefer. However, those have gone on the back burner for a while, since I've got some much more time and labor intensive projects in the works right now, but more on those later. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving week!

1960s dress for fall

I haven't been feeling great and therefore haven't been very productive for the last several weeks, but I've finally gotten back into some sewing and am nearly finished with the 1960s dress I started ages ago. I have gotten a bit farther than is shown in the pictures, but it gives you an idea at least. I hope to have the dress finished by tomorrow so I can wear it for a brunch and movie date with my wonderful Mr. S. He's got the day off and we haven't gotten to go out in a month so we're going to make a day of it tomorrow. We are planning on going to see Lincoln and from what I've heard it should be a good film. It's hard to lose with Daniel Day-Lewis. Anyway, back to the dress. 

Just a reminder, this is the pattern I'm using. 

I'm making the full skirted version (as you can see), but will be using the three-quarter jacket sleeves instead of the short sleeves, to make it more winter appropriate. I have also dropped the back neckline into a shallow "v". I like the look of the high front neckline with a lower back neckline (in case you haven't noticed). The fabric came from a friend's mother's stash. She passed away and they gifted us with a lot of her fabric when they were cleaning out her house a few years ago. It was all very nice wool, much of it vintage pendleton. She also left notes on a lot of the fabric telling how much she paid, what year, etc. This particular yardage is a lovely, lightweight wool with a beautiful hand. It was 54 inches wide and I had about 3.5 yards of it. She bought it in 1994. It was originally priced at $40/yard, but she got it for 60% off (and I got it for free!). The colors are a bit different than much of what I have in my wardrobe, which is nice, but they work well enough that it will still coordinate with my sweaters and jackets. 

I have taken a lot more care with finishing on this dress than I tend to usually. Partially because I felt the fabric deserved it, but it also tends to be a bit ravely and I wanted to be sure that all of my seams were enclosed. I made french seams in the bodice and skirt, and bound the waist seam and the back skirt closure with self bias binding and was very careful in tacking down my facings and so forth.

I had just enough of this peachy-orange lace hem tape in my stash to finish the hem as well. Not only did it save me a little extra pressing, but I also like having it as a fun, hidden accent on my dressier garments.

The skirt wasn't attached yet here, but I now have that attached, the zipper, hooks, thread loops and snaps installed in the center back closure, and have finished the waist seam as well. All I have left to do is make and attach the sleeves and it's all set!

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

Cold weather projects in the offing

I still have a few projects from earlier this summer that I haven't taken pictures of yet in order to share with you all, but now that I have a tad more free time I've been working on a couple of things for the colder weather. It's officially fall here, and so many of my dresses are just completely summery I have a goal of trying to fill out my cold weather wardrobe a bit more in the next few weeks. I'm also doing a little stash busting in the process. Again, no pictures of the projects themselves yet, but I will try and get those taken care of soon. For now, I will leave you with a bit of a teaser, just the patterns and fabric descriptions. I have several small yardages of vintage wool, some of which is real Pendleton purchased in October of 1976 by the original fabric owner (according to the tags left on her yard goods).

Anyway, the first project I've managed to get finished is a wool swing coat from a heavy blue and green plaid that mom gave me a couple of years ago. 

Obviously it's the plaid on the right. Incidentally I've also recently made a pencil skirt from the purplish wool in the front, but that's something I haven't managed to photograph yet. The jacket pattern I used was Simplicity 4027. 

It turned out really well and it's very differently stylistically from any of my other jackets, which is nice. 

The next project I'm working on is a dress from some of the lighter weight wool that was in the stash my mom and I received from an acquaintance who's mother passed away. This one is a bit newer. The note said she bought it in 1994 I think, but it is 100% wool and the colors are perfect for a fall dress. No pictures of it yet, unfortunately, but soon I promise. The pattern I'm using is a vintage original from the early sixties that I found at an antique shop for a dollar or two. 

Image from Vintage Patterns Wiki

I cut the back neckline into a slightly lower V-back instead of the full boatneck. I also wanted longer sleeves, since it is for winter, so I'm using the jacket sleeves instead of the shorter dress sleeves. I just used the sleeve cap for the short sleeve and extended the sides along the seam lines of the longer sleeve piece. I have to dig through my buckle stash to see if I can find one that works with the fabric I'm using, but I should have something. I have just enough of a few other pieces to make myself a few more pencil skirts for wearing to work, and would like to get those done in the next couple of weeks, but we will see how that goes. I have a bit more free time now, but not that much. 

Bread Baking

Alright, so this is going to be short and sweet, but I thought I'd share since, while it is not sewing, it is still a creative outlet of sorts. I just baked my very first loaf of bread. I am happy to say, I can now call myself a successful bread baker. Nothing fancy, just a white sandwich loaf, but this is only the beginning. I can feel it now.......

(Not an amazing photo, but the bread is delicious and that's the really important thing.)

In an effort to not only maintain a healthy lifestyle and good eating habits (along with minimizing the carbon footprint) I have been trying to make sure that most if not all of what we eat is homemade, locally sourced, preservative and creepy chemical free, and helps support our small local economy. I try to buy all of our produce, meat and dairy (as much as possible) from local farmers, I make my own yogurt from local, organic milk, and now I will be making our own bread as well. Everyone is always very impressed when I tell them I make yogurt, but it's really one of the easiest things in the world to do, and requires only a minimum of effort. This wasn't that much harder. Now Mr. S can eat his sandwiches on fresh bread made with only four, very easily pronounced ingredients. 

The crust turned out beautifully! Nice and crispy, like a good french loaf, with a soft, moist crumb (middle of the bread). Nice and fluffy as well. It's really delicious and it's going to be very nice being able to make loaves in a size that we can actually go through before it goes bad, so it will also be less wasteful, not to mention significantly cheaper. Now I just have to try and restrain myself so it's not all gone by the time Mr. S gets off work tonight. 

Fellow Blogger Feature: Blue Collar Bad Girl

I just wanted to share this one with you all! Tamsen is another local blogger (who also happens to be my sweet baby brother's girlfriend), and while I love the clothes she designs for herself, I must admit that my favorite of her creative outlets is definitely her baking. This girl can bake like nobody's business! Seriously. And she makes valves; because being well rounded is very important. Without further ado, here are a couple of my favorite projects of hers....

This caped mini-dress is a newer project, and is absolutely adorable. She always looks cute, but this dress is definitely up there pretty high on the cute outfit list. I am no longer young enough to get away with a mini this micro, but she can still pull it off.

This pleated skirt is one of her own designs, as is the studded collar.

She ombre dyes her own jeans....

And I cannot begin to describe the goodness that is the vegan choco-nut peanut butter bliss bite. These things were seriously to die for. Chocolate, peanut butter, caramel and coconut. In miniature.

One of my favorite designs of hers, however, is this incredibly comfortable hooded tunic-dress. She very generously shared her pattern with me, and I could wear mine every day. It's one of those projects that I still haven't managed to take pictures of, but I think I'm going to make myself another one in the near future here, so I will make sure I take pictures of that one.

I really could go on and on about her baking, but suffice it to say, after several varieties of carrot cake, homemade chocolate truffles, Oreo cheesecake, pumpkin muffins with some incredible frosting (just enough to add sweetness without overpowering) and as many other goodies we could manage to get to the house before they were all eaten by my little brother, she has never made anything that was not "lick your fingers and pray there was more" good, and she frequently shares her recipes with us her dear readers. You, too, can have choco-nut peanut butter bliss bites in your life.

Photo credits go to my brother, Drury Graham.

I just started back to work teaching today, so it's back to the grind around here, but I should still be getting a few projects posted here and there as I get things finished up and photographed. Hope you all are having a wonderful start to the week!

-Evie

Spotted Summer Ensemble

This post includes a few different projects, all of which started with the same piece of fabric as inspiration. Some of you may remember this dress that I made last summer.

The pattern was one of the Butterick re-issues, and the fabric was a birthday present from my mom a few years ago. It was a vintage cotton, almost lawn in weight, with flocked dots in red. When she gave it to me she said "I know there are at least four yards". Great! Just enough for a dress. When I went to cut this dress out, though, as I unfolded my yardage to wash it, it just kept unfolding further and further. You were right, Mom. There were at least four. In fact, there were FOUR-TEEN yards of this stuff. It was great because as vintage yard goods, it was only about 36 inches wide, but still. Fourteen yards is quite a hefty amount. I had so much left I decided to make another dress out of it, but using the reverse side of the fabric this time for a slightly different look this go around.

The pattern that I used was Vogue 1137.

I was immediately in love with this pattern. After measuring all of the pieces and comparing the body measurements and finished garment measurements I cut out a size 12 at bust and hip, and a size 10 at the waist. This is a pretty standard ratio for me on modern patterns, especially from the any of the Big Four companies. I also shortened the hem a few inches, another common adjustment I make in order to accommodate my 5'4'' and a more modern hem length. I made a few other adjustments as well, to suit my own taste. I eliminated the front darts in the skirt, pinning them out before I cut my fabric. I did this first of all, because I like a flatter fit in the front, but also to keep from interrupting the grid of red dots as much as possible. I also changed the neckline, raising it to a boat neck in front and a much deeper V in back. The entire dress is lined in white muslin, because this fabric is so thin. The pieces all fit together beautifully, even after my alterations, and the fit is perfect. While I liked the original style of the pattern to begin with, it makes a wonderful base for adaptation.

Once I had the dress nearly finished, I pondered what kind of embellishment I wanted to do. I knew I was going to make a coordinating belt from some stash red cotton, and my first idea was to run thin red piping around the neckline. My mom suggested instead making button tabs on the shoulders, which turned out to be the idea I went with, also adding some at the side vents in the skirt.

 I finished the belt with a vintage shell buckle I found on Etsy a long time ago, which matches the mother of pearl buttons on the tabs. The belt carriers are thread loops.

I'm pretty sure this is my new favorite dress. It's so summery and comfortable, but can still be very dressy if I need it to be. I love the way it fits as well. It's an extremely flattering dress, and I will be using the pattern in future without doubt. I would love to do a dress and coat ensemble like the envelope, but that will have to wait, as I don't have any coat fabric in my stash and am not permitting myself to buy any quantities of fabric until I've finished several more projects.

Continuing my stash busting efforts, even after making this dress I had enough fabric left to do something with, so I decided to make a playsuit. The pattern I used is an original that I found at a local antique store a couple of years ago. I haven't been able to pin down a specific year, but it appears to be from around 1940, give or take a couple of years.

And here is the playsuit....

Again, I apologize for all the wrinkles. I took these pictures in the middle of moving into the new house, and didn't have my ironing board yet, nor the time to iron everything anyway. The bow is a detachable pin, which I have also worn pinned at the center back of the V-neck on the previous dress, and their are thread loop belt carriers on the playsuit as well so I can also wear the belt with this if I don't want to wear the overskirt.

My bound buttonholes on the skirt didn't turn out perfectly straight, but there was no correcting it once I realized it. Oh, well. The bow distracts from that slightly so it's not too bad. I usually end up wearing the playsuit without the skirt anyway, so it doesn't bother me too much. The skirt is lined with the very last bits of the red and white cotton. The playsuit is also fully lined due to the sheerness of the fabric, and I ended up putting a much longer zipper in the side so that it opened all the way to the top in order to make it easier to get in and out of. It's very comfortable and is one of my new favorite summer garments. I'd like to make another one in a more practical color for running around when it's 95º out.

Homage to Griffe, and a query

The inspiration for this dress came from a Jacques Griffe design that I have adored for ages. Everything about this photo of actress Suzy Parker I find lovely. The fullness of the skirt, with all those tiny pleats (they almost look like cartridge pleats to me) paired with the simple, clean, satin jacket and dainty black shoes is to die for. The colors in the photo are, while not vibrant, rich and warm, and the expression on her face, and the movement in her pose are just lovely.

I found this fabric at a Ben Franklin's ages ago on their flat folds table, and I think I paid about $3 or $4 a yard for it. While I'm not 100% sure of the fabric content, since that is hardly one of Ben Franklin's top priorities, it definitely has a lot of rayon in it, if it's not all rayon. The weight and drape of it are wonderful though, and I knew from the get go that I wanted to make something with a big full skirt like this one. I bought all they had, which ended up being about 6 yards I think. It's been sitting in my stack for about two years and I finally got around to sewing it up. The colors reminded me of this photo and I decided to use Butterick 4512 again, making the bodice from a solid black to mimic the black jacket in Giffe's design. 

Ever since I used this pattern for my white a and blue polka dot dress last summer I've wanted to use it again, because I like the way the top fits, and the overall shape was so nice. I only used the bodice for this version though, adding my own, extra-voluminous skirt. Other than the skirt alteration, the only thing I had to change about the pattern was the same neck adjustment I made the first time around. The sides of the halter neck were much too loose on me, and so I tightened them up a few inches total to bring the neck up higher and to eliminate the gaping around the top of the bust in front. The fabric for the bodice I found on a clearance table at JoAnn's (although the clearance price wasn't all that cheap). I only needed a yard, so it wasn't bad though, especially since the skirt fabric was so much cheaper. There is a little bit of pulling that happens at the darts on Tabitha since we are not exactly the same proportions, but it lays more smoothly on me.

The skirt is a 1.75 circle skirt. I didn't have enough to get two full circles out of it, but one and three-quarters circles is still a pretty voluminous skirt, especially with a crinoline under it. I love the black one underneath the skirt in the Giffe original, but I don't have one and have tulle to make an ivory one next, so the black will have to wait. While the shape I get with my current crinoline is great, I don't really care for it. It is too heavy and tends to not lay evenly all around, so I'm going to make myself a new one.

I decided to monogram the collar, since I don't have anything monogrammed and have been toying with the idea on several other garments for a while. I opted for a very subtle black on black "E" on the left collar point. While not perfect, it came out pretty well for an only slightly planned first attempt.

My original plan was to pleat the skirt in tiny knife pleats, but I ended up not being able to get the necessary width at the top to do that many little pleats and still have the length and fullness that I wanted at the hem, so I ended up just gathering it onto the bodice and am overall satisfied with the result. Getting the hem even on such a massive skirt was a complete bear, and there are still a couple of places that need to be adjusted; that is, if I ever get to a point where I care enough to make the minor adjustments to a skirt that moves around so much no one will likely notice the imperfections anyway.

After looking back at my finished project, I think that one of the things that I enjoyed most about this dress is that it reminds me of a project that I did in high school. During a visiting artist session with Lee Mingwei at Oxbow we did a project that reflected on the subject/issue of copying in the art world. Mingwei addressed the issue we have in the Western world with the idea of copying another art work; something that is generally perceived as low, uncreative, unoriginal, or even stealing. Through his work with us he wanted to emphasize the importance of copying others (especially older artists) in the education of artists for centuries, not only in the Western hemisphere, but particularly in Asian artistic traditions. In both areas of the world, copying the old masters was how a student learned to handle their medium and their subject, studying the work and technique of their predecessors directly and actively. This process seems to have lost value in the the modern Western tradition in particular. He provided us with a list of 21 modern artists, and we were each asked to choose one artist and one piece to copy. The term copy here, he used rather loosely, telling us we could copy directly, copy form, copy palette, copy subject, whatever it was about the piece we found interesting or compelling. I chose Pat Steir, an artist whose work was as far from my comfort zone as I could get. The painting that I chose is entitled Green One.

Image Source

I can't currently find the disk that has my portfolio photos on it, and I don't have a copy of them anywhere else, but I'll try and find a picture of my version soon. I would just take another photograph, but it's about 3.5'x6' and it's off the stretcher bars, so it would be a little tough to do. Anyway, the point of the project was to use the copying process to help further our skills and develop our own artistic visions through a slightly more focused path. I think this same concept applies to a lot of the things that I and many of you other sewers create, but in my opinion at least, there is a different attitude toward the concept of "copying" in the sewing world than there is in the art world. Whether this has something to do with the (in today's world) more mainstream and visible nature of fashion and fashion design as compared with the very closed art world, or because of the wearable, functional aspects of clothing as an art form. I do think the comparison is an interesting one, though. What are your opinions on the subject of copying (I again am using the term rather loosely)? Do you see it as a helpful, productive step in one's development as an artist/creator or as something that should be avoided in pursuit of the truly innovative and unique? Are the two things mutually exclusive?