Shawl collar hack for the Rowan tee

I drafted a lil shawl collar for the Rowan tee, since I love the way it fits but wanted a fancy family event version. 

I'll post a pattern piece for you soon! 

In the meantime, here are the photos my model has allowed. 

I definitely bought that smile by chasing him with the camera. Whatever it takes, sweet boy. 💓

Party dresses part 1: black

Score 1 LBD for me. At long last!! 

I bought the fabric as a Memorial Day "turned in my grades!!" present, and the pattern (Vogue 1448) in the summer from a local I usually can't afford, Piedmont fabrics. (It's so nice in there, just spendy!)

It took truly 4 yards of wide (60"?) rayon jersey. I had scored the jersey for $1.99/yard-some crazy special from fashion fabrics club- so I win for what could have gotten super pricey super fast. 

I did the cutting and a lot of careful sewing during a 3-day thanksgiving vacation; so calming. 

I graded some craziness like 12 at the waist 14 at the bust 10 at the shoulders/hips...but could have just stuck with a 10 all around I think.

Here's an inch-ish I took out of the back at the side seam (an invisible zipper insertion I totally smashed, by the way, in a good way yayyyy).

 

And here is how I made it fit in front. I angled the front cross pieces about 2" farther than designed to remove drapiness and give myself a flattering snug neckline. 

I tried a couple of things- elastic in the seam, basting the crossover together, and pinning the shoulders to my bra- but this worked best. Took the photo to prove to myself that it's needed when I take out the dress next time and think I can skip that part;)

Then I wore it to a party! I fl39!|+]{*% love it!  I wonder though, what's your go-to party dress?

High Waisted Skinny Jeans = FASHION (baste + gather Birkin Flares)

High waisted




















hip hugging


cone mills denim (made in the USA!)

one muslin + one weekend


one weekend


They're the Best Ever.

The pattern is here at baste + gather: (yes that pattern is for Birkin Flares. It's all good) and this week everything there is 50% off. Check it out. there are some really cool jeans-making tricks and great pattern features included.

I've already worn them two days straight - one day soon I'll add rivets and belt loops. I may also pinch that little pooch out of the center back.

Then i'll make a black pair. the black pair i'm going to cinch a bit at the front pockets, because just like on my Gingers, the pocket facing/lining seam occasionally pops a bit. expecially on the left. is that my sewing or my body? weird.

Tell me if you're making them! We can have a sew-in :)

Life on the Edge: book review (for the sewing scientists)

It's a book bridging quantum physics and biology, and it's a fascinating connection of sciences. I have a background in ecology, so the concept of trippy connections and unexpected effects was easy for my to accept. But the microscopic, even invisible effects that can be explained by quantum principles (tunneling, for example, which was compltely new to me), were tremedously enlightening.

How do robins know to travel exactly 15 degrees south?

The authors have taken on a difficult task - a book about exceptionally complex topics written for the lay reader. Is there such an audience? The writing is pretty basic, so basic in fact, that I x-ed out entire pages so that if I went back to re-read, I wouldn't bother with them. But once I waded through the basic sections, there would be a really rich page or two of deep connection.

How does photosynthesis ACTUALLY work, for instance? The quantum explanation made me so delighted (I'd paste it here, even, except that I gave the book to a quantum mechanics-obsessed student who hasn't yet returned it). Of course there's not a mechancal explanation, or we'd all be dead (ok never born) from starvation. I like to see magic in the natural world- defined as phenomena that humans just couldnt' recreate with our clunky abilities - and quantum tunneling is that.

stomata. CRAY. 

I'm a self-identified science nerd, so I have a working understanding of a broad range of science phenomena. As a teacher, I am also required to constantly deepen my own understandings as students bring misconceptions and new ays of seeing -that is, I have to use deep critical abilities to know when questions are wacko vs genius. So I think I'm a pretty good pop science reader, is what I'm trying to say. I'm not, however, used to seeing myself as a physicist.

This book has given me tools for understanding quantum language and experiments, which makes me feel dangerously educated. I recommend it for anybody who's curious about this field - you can skip the easy part and geek out on the deep parts. OR if you're not so science-y already, read the whole thing and enjoy that someone has taken the time to meet you where you are. And then trip out.

Ted talk from the authors here.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for my review.

Charley Harper ts for my boy

Quickie- need to buy a whole yard of fabric to get a long sleeved t shirt for this tall child...here's how we made do with less, using stash and scraps and a lot of giggly design time. The yellow is another shirt underneath, not a ruffle ;).

Fabricworm had a sale - I used the chance to score some Wanderer fabric for myself and my mama, then these sweet knits for the boy, who needed long sleeves for fall. He picked these two designs out of the whole Charley Harper line. I love em!! 

Both shirts are Rowan tees from the titchy threads pattern. I accidentally left out a couple of pieces, getting brazen and thinking they were optional, so the hood, up top, is a little narrow. Oops. Lesson learned- use the hood stripe piece no matter what. 

Things I like - things I can do well- things I want to improve! (Sewing)

I'm good at fly zippers

Killer at French and flat felled seams

I'm real good at t shirts

My elastic finishing is on point.

I prefer single welt pockets over double

I like slant pockets over in-seam

I want to get better at fitting

I guess I better make a dress or top sloper?

I want to get better at any other kind of zippers. Invisible for instance. 

I want to get better at choosing the right fabric for the job

I'm sure the list could go on, but that's a good start for tonight!

What are you good at? What are you working on?

FO: cookie blouson jacket by waffle patterns

Construction was a nightmare.

I chose the wrong ribbing; wish it were heftier (especially on the collar) and had stronger elastic recovery/ waist cinching. 

The lining rules. The tag is my personal favorite triumph. Those labels, in fact, were the priciest part of the project at $4.50. Everything else was free or pennies through swaps and salvage. Nice, right? 

Right. I love it and I feel fabulous and fashionable. So that rules.

Here's the pattern. I bought it in the sew indie bundle over the summer after stalking the pattern for a year or so. 

Summery Summary

Yay. sorry for the dumb title :) I sewed a lot this summer - and I like the way Ms Peach summed up her makes, so I'm going to copy her, mirror pics and all!

a common view, for me - i wore my southport ALL the time. 

Delphi not-maxi dress
Again, changed out the straps - this time with ribbon because I was SOO lazy. I keep thinking I'll put some fabric on there, but nah. The dress is a little big, and maybe a little long, but won't ever be the cutest thing ever so i let it be what it is: easy to wear, preppy, cute, bra-revealing.

Linen Maritime Shorts
BEST EVER. I narrowed the leg by about 1" (at each side seam). I finished every darned edge with bias tape so they're just luscious inside, and used a button rather than the fastener suggested. They go with everything, look completely awesome, and have metallic thread details. I'd make a pair in every color of neutral-metallic linen ever. wink!
(I bought the brown here: http://www.fabricoutletsf.com/, more available online here).

left - narrower leg. right - wider. 

Swims
remade a soma top with an FBA - FAIL. The ripply seams were so horrible I just tore it apart and started over...after a tryout run at the river.

For my next try, I downloaded Simplicity 1374 from their site. I hadn't done that before, and while it means I paid a lot more, I didn't have to drive to the strip mall 2 towns over to get it at Jo-Ans...so in the end I call it a savings. The download is a little clunky - you have to install their file manager to make sure you don't steal/share whatever, but once I printed it it all went together fine. 

The pattern is great. I sewed up a size 10/12 mash, grading out to around 14 + FBA for the bust, and it's supportive, attractive, and wayyyy comfortable. I wore the view B top with last year's Bombshell bottoms, and it was a total win in styling and comfort.

I made another one to match the shorty's (I bought that fabric for myself, after all!) - but for my last vacation of the summer, we went to the Mendocino Coast. This is what that coast looks like:

i didn't make ANYTHING in this photo. Those are rarer and rarer moments...

Here's what it looks like, anyway ;)

Jasper edit: maybe a size down? I took in the princess seams, shrunk the waist band, and that makes a lot of difference. Note to self: make a size 6 or smaller next time, and yes, a zipper up the front would be super...that was always my plan, after all...

pre-edits- i still feel dumpy in this, but now i think it's the color. 

Baseball Skirt 

It's for sale now! Here it is - another SOOOO easy to wear, so breezy and chill. Not much else to say there.

i used that ribbon a lot in my lazy moments!

photo by 6 year old! thanks, kid. 

Tate Top

I made this last fall the second it came out and i loved it a lot...except it was always pulling around the bust. So i tried to do an FBA. (Is that the theme of my summer? perhaps..) and it just went huge. Anyway, another few rounds of edits and I ended up with the above, which is comfy and versatile and fits my chest well enough. 

version the first...handed off to a friend, now. 

version 2 - dramatic difference? lol. 

The winner: Alexandria pants! 

If I had the right fabric I'd make these a thousand times. I LOVE THEM. 

flat bottom girls unite

coolest pockets

so happy!

For the fall (holy god this is a long post)

Sara Leggings in ponte. with golden ankle zippers cause WHY NOT MAN. 

waistband zip, finished. 

Speaking of flat bottom girls - These are designed to be finished with a waistband facing, and that's all. Because the difference between my hips and waist is pretty minimal, I need something stronger to hold them up.

I used this trick on a knit version I wear for pjs, and it's super comfy, so I adopted it here. THE TRICK: Use 2-inch elastic instead of the facing. take your waist and remove ~20%. Stitch the elastic to the right side of the pants, just within the 3/8" seam allowance. Then stitch next to the zipper to secure it down, and they're like cozy lounge pants that look outstanding, professional, legging trousers.

waistband zip inside. It would be neater to get the zip ends underneath. next time!
Triple stitch along the sides - just for the look. 

ankly zips too. 

I'll add action shots of the whole leggings....one day. 

Holy! Is that enough?! I have a much smaller list of ambition for fall. I can't wait to see what you're making and wearing !

xoxo

R