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?

Mini hudsons

These are the Mini Hudsons from True Bias in a size 5. I extended them to 7 length to balance his little body and long legs. At this point, they didn't have ankle bands (yet). Elastic was 20", should be more like 16-17". He's so narrow! 

I bought drawstring elastic at the notions shop to use for these - it's not how they were designed and the elastic was a bit of a challenge to secure without making the drawstring "fixed". I worked it out. :)

He hated them when he saw them; I think because they're gray. Proud mama taught my boy to loove color! Well and also it's WAY too hot for french terry pants right now. 

highly danceable

maybe he'd be happier with a shirt ?

Look at those feet! This child. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Last years bikinis and this years improvements

These look decent enough on my dummy, but I have a lot more need to fight gravity than she does. On me both tops were huge fails. 

Soma bikini view 2: b cup at best, but I bet it's better for even smaller busts.

lil star button I sewed at the Kauai airport ❤️

I loove the super low back on this one. 

I tried it on to see what the deal was and handily, there's a horizontal seam right across the bust. I can do this! 

Here's how I FBA'd it- super fun to feel like an engineer with curving lines. 

A little added to the bottom of the upper cup...

A whole lot added to the top of the lower cup (probably a smudge too much, but I'll tone it down in the seam allowance)...

And I narrowed the center triangle so it can act more like a stabilizing bra bridge.

(I had to give dummy some boobs for this demo)

Kept the low back, added volume.

It's fabulous! Now to finish it. 

do I finish with this polka dot fabric, so it matches the bottoms I made last summer? Or start fresh with THIS FABRIC??

Seems like an easy choice , I guess 😏.

And Just so I don't make this mistake again, 

Here's the Soma bikini view A. The elastic throughout is supposed to be FOE- should have been a clue this is not a heavy lifter. 😮

Others have written about issues at the top of the triangles- I just did a lazy pleat to deal with the excess fabric.

I tripled the elastic down here hoping for stability- to no avail. 

Can't quite theorize how to FBA this guy, so I'm putting it aside. I harvested the notions though! 

Off to a week of daily swims starting tomorrow! Wish me sewing luck tonight.

Xox bex

inquiry: Best T shirt (major updates)

A few years ago I conscientiously stopped wearing /buying/making t shirts. I was dressing fancier, and needed to step it up.

Then my life and fashion said it was ok again, and I didn't have any!

I'm making ALL the t-shirts, choosing the best 1 (or 2 - one each fitted and drapey, MAYBE), and chucking the rest.


This survey will only be helpful for you if you're shaped like me -- but lots of women are, so I hope it's of use! I'm 5'6", 38" bust, 30" waist, 38" hips.

Shirt 1: Grainline Hemlock T - free pattern, one size. Pattern includes long sleeves, but just cut them to 3-4" and it's a drapey, oversized T shirt-- well, actually, you'll need to shorten the hem another 4" (or more if you're shorter).

fresh out of the laundry basket sorrrrryyy

I had this pocket around so I slapped it on there. Here's the rayon knit I used.

shhhh

Shirt 2: Lou Box Top - this pattern is built for knits OR wovens, so once you find the shape you like, you can use that pattern allllla time. it's worth the $12.

here it is in motion. size down at least once if you use Lou for knits.

nice curve @ back, right?

and here is how posture changes the way your body looks, courtesy of showgirls everywhere

not in action

Shown here with scoopneck and curved front/back hem options (there are 3 hem options and two necklines included).

Tissue knit - zero fabric stability. Excellent drape :)

I like this one A LOT. I brought up the rear hem another 3", as patterned it was just too long (for this fabric). For work or any bending-over situations, I'll use the crewneck, not scoopneck, option.

Shirt 3: Plantain - again, free pattern, worth the printing! Fabric is rayon lycra jersey. (this is a plan, not a shirt, apparently.)

Shirt 4: THE WINNER! Megan Nielsen's Briar. I don't love the crazy high low hem, but the neck and bust and sleeve shaping are the best. Here's one I made in lovely interlock with dots. I used a M, I think...

and here's how i fixed the hem on the next one:

Shirt 5: from Meg McElwee's craftsy class. Good top, but too sporty in styling. I could probably hack it to open the neck and shorten, then widen the sleeves, but who has time for that when there are all of these lovely versions ready?

Shirt 6: scoopneck tee from Skirt as Top

I made a 25" x2" band to use at the neck. For my reference 😅

Real life: the sleeves are a little too short and narrow- for this one I wanted to add a band (3"Xsleeve circumference) to finish the edge and add a little length. 

Findings: Briar is the winner. Just fix the hem and size down a bit.
Not testing: Tonic top from SBCC or blank canvas tee from Cake-- I just don't like their shapes.

family fun- winter wardrobe for a kindergartener

The boy needed long sleeved t shirts! In our amazing climate, i got to put off the middle layers of his wardrobe until the last week of November. There are (many) good things about this place!!

I bought the new Rowan Tee pattern. He's outgrown the Flashback Tee and the Sewing for Boys book (mostly), or I was ready for something new. Probably a little of both. Long sleeved shirts (often) need hoods!

I took him to the fabric store, because I've been so awesome on my knit stash that all I have left is miles of swimwear lycra (want some? JUST ASK). HOLLA!

He picked out these:

$18/yard viscose, imported from France (AS IF. But ok we did get 1/4 yard...)

$? slinky slinky rayon knit

$5 I may have sold him on this super loose knit stuff but phew, it's practical
$5 blue remnant of super soft 100% stretch something that's wonderful
$6 green remnant he did not consider whyyyy did i buy it? or rather whyyyy did i sew it up for him and not use it for me? minor mistake.

The Rowan pattern is dope! It includes, and I used, cool features like chest pocket and sleeve stripes making the shirts look really high quality and giving us fun ways to play designer.

One change i made (shown in the space version below) is to widen the neck binding by 50%. You can see on the blue/triangles and green versions that the neck binding is Crazy Narrow. I like it a lil wider.

from left, hoodie with shoulder stripes and kangaroo pocket, just plain long sleeve with widened neck band, blue with sleeve stripes and chest pocket, green with kangaroo pocket and hem band. 

My mom asked if it's really cost-effective, and I told her (and I believe) it's maybe just more ethical. And the quality is way better than I could buy...so. Win, Win.

hood lining of SPACE

Now we need a go-to pants pattern. Ideas???
xox
R

Lessons from Me Made May

1st lesson: I need to exercise more!
Taking just a week of selfies showed me that it was time to get active. I've been teaching and on my feet for 6-8 hours a day, but not yoga or running as much as I should. That feedback was hard to take (as a sewist I measure myself constantly, but somehow...), but easy to act on. I've been working out 3-4 times a week and am feeling much fitter and hotter (http://instagram.com/p/ozMRzjvhcn/). ;)
reader- how can i post images here from instagram? ??

2nd lesson: I'm making what I like to wear.
My funds have been pretty tight for a couple of years since quitting PR and moving to education, so if I wanted to wear something I had to make it. Done! MMM made me focus on solid color tops to coordinate with my flashy bottoms, which means I have a new black tee and a new acid green tee to make eveything else infinitely more wearable.

3rd lesson: I reallly reallly really wanted a Saturday/Farmers market dress.
My darlingdonne was a hit and made me a sewing friend at the farmers market, but honestly it feels dumpy (even after i raised the hem 3-4" from those pics) and I stretched the v neckline on the right side so i don't love it as much as others do. Enter Linen! Laurel! AAAAYYYYY-men. I finished the neck and arms with piping because WHY NOT. I've been wearing these every weekend since and they are so easy to style and wear. I don't even wash them - just rinse and hang because linen fell from heaven in a divine state.

4th lesson: The stash is shrinking due to ruthless busting.
I'm making silk "muslins" at this point, to get rid of those "too fancy for today" fabrics that just sit there. It forces me to learn silk skills (thanks, Thread Cult!) and relieves the guilt of hoarding. Sewing is to reduce my impact, right?

5th lesson: I am SO FORTUNATE to be doing this here (in the SF Bay area). There's an awesome meetup group that makes me feel connected even if i barely ever make it (see first year teaching), the world's best sewing store next to the world's best grocery store about a mile from my house and they are both locally owned. There are lots of other scrappy and mystifying resources around, and of course, the people are ridiculously awesome. My meetup isn't octogenarian quilters (that would be fun sometimes but you know), it's Beth! and Meg! and a bunch of other people who will probably blow my mind when I finally meet them. Also Katrina, my latest art/craft crush, who I met at an art crawl last month and whose art got me focused on foxes. My finally-found spirit animal!

Please send fox fabric. 

So there we have it. What did you learn? What shall we sew this summer?

xooxoxxoo bex

FO: LACEY LAUREL

shades of grandma's upholstery....

and a velvet ribbon I've been lovingly hiding for >10 years

it's my pullover lacey laurel!

I lowered the dart! good job, lady. Then cut the front in a 6 ish, and the back in a 0. I meant to leave out the center seam but forgot.

action shots to come...i expect i'll be rocking this number a bunch in the big ME MADE month of MAY!

simple banded hem and collar because the velvet was hecka hard, and has zero give...I didn't want to stretch and mangle the neckline fighting with ribbon.

woooooooo.

xo

Kids clothing week: puppy jacket (?!?)

I used primp fabric from Girl Charlee, which is SOOOO SOFT with some disco spandex for contrast trim. There is no such thing (i think?) as sparkly ribbed trim, so i went all the way to discoland.

I made one for her sister last year, and improved a couple of things this time.

Firstly, if you use this pattern, SHORTEN THE CUFFS. they are like 10 inches long (for a kid's 5 inch hand? whuh?)!

the thumb hole is an awesome feature, but it gets awkward with the extra length on each side. I cut 2" from the top and bottom of the pattern piece, and pinched another inch from the center (see below). that's muuuuch. better.

another change I made was to eliminate the facing. who likes facings? for kids, too?? seriously. instead I just included a ribbon trim all the way along the seam where the hood meets the body of the jacket. Of course you could also use twill tape, if you happen to have enough in a complementary or contrasting color.

Include a lil hanging hook while you're at it!

Then, all of our "store bought" hoodies seem to have fabric tabs on their zippers, so i may add that too. What do you think??
 xobex