Bye bye MMM'13 and Hello 2013 Style the Stash Sew A Long

It's been a week since Me Made May '13 ended, and I still have yet to come around to write a bit about it until today. 

My MMM'13 original pledge:

I, Far of Memoryseed blog (farsland.blogspot.com), sign up as participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavor to wear (and document that fact) at least one self made/refashioned garment everyday in May. Repeats are a possibility. It is also a time that I am going to truly 'investigate' my relationship with my Me-Made items. Time to take stock, and cull when necessary.

Things I planned on doing during the challenge:

1) self-imposed photo documentation of wearing my me-mades (with a weekly post, and maybe also a weekly post on the flickr group)

2) me-made wardrobe assessment

3) me-made wardrobe reorganization

4) sew something to commemorate Mother's Day

5) sew something to wear for my May birthday ;)

5) refashion something for Refashion Co-op and Recycled Fashion Finds ;)

 

Some post MM related thoughts:

• Relieved that I made it to the end this year (yay! phew!!!), but always, I know I definitely can do better next year! :) Can't wait!
• As expected, the part of wearing me mades wasn't really a problem since I just mainly grab them and pair them with thrifted pants/jeans (with little to no styling unfortunately). 
• So essentially styling and putting my outfit together (and also putting myself together) is something I will put more thought into moving forward, this is a life WIP for me.
• I also do need a happy, more presentable stay at home clothes, being that I stay at home most of the time!
• Photo documenting me in them was a huge problem still due to several reasons: photographer at work whole day, no suitable and bright enough areas in the tiny apartment to set up tripod (and without the Bean trying to dismantling them), and so on.
• May was pretty much spent on altering a few of my me mades, hubby's shirts and pants, and plenty of sewing related stuff. For me, was a quite productive time, and zero to none social time save for socializing with my own 2 boys, lol.
• Didn't get to fully utilize Flickr group and check out what other participants are wearing, save for the ones on my blog list. I will get to it eventually (as I love seeing what others make and sewn and how they wear them), as soon as i figure out how to do Flickr on my phone! My time on this PC is limited (but I am determined to get this post out today!) 
• Also a continuing WIP is to look with a critical eye at my wardrobe on what will stay and what will be put into the to be reworked pile (assess and reorganize). As mentioned, I have been altering some of my me mades to fit better, but I did not take out everything from closet and divide things out to do so.
• Made me a mother's day top- the silk chiffon dubbed pink parfum top, but did not make a birthday outfit (birthday was 2 days after mother's day, and mother's day top was a lot of work due to fabric). 
• For the refashion part: refashioned pants to be a hat and men's denim shirt to be my denim shirt with floral sleeves. p/s: I probably should sew in bra strap holder in all my clothes, one side always slip down my shoulder, always and ruined photos!

Right, and now the Bean is here demanding to watch train on computer!

Before I leave: here is the last day of MM photo:

Me wearing my red wool knit V1179, and the Bean wearing one of his mommy made play pants again. I made him a new play pants from my old neon green dress he wore the day before, but it seems that I don't have it downloaded to the computer. Ah well. 

First week recap: mmm-monday-day-1-2-3-4-5-recap
Second week recap: mmm-monday-day-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-recap
Third week recap:  mmm-mmmmm-day-20-to-27-recap
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 Ok, while I get the Bean distracted a lil while longer, here is what's currently on my working table (read: dining table):

My first stash busting project for the 2013 Style the Stash Sew-A-Long (a fun, relaxing, no rigid rules, 7 months long "challenge" led by Sarah Liz ) :

Fabric: silk+cotton voile from FabricMart a couple years ago (2 yds) - navy or black (lighting is bad or my eyes are bad?) background with green/teal/ivory/white flowers with tiny white dots and silver lurex threads

Pattern: McCall's M6702, View B like my Peony Pink Linen version but with some modification which I will explain in the next post when it's done.

To see what me and the other stashaholics are up to, or even to join us, visit the 2013 Style the Stash Sew-A-Long blog here.

V1179 - Silk Jersey

Finally, after making 3 versions of V1179 (one is as the pattern picture- kinda a wearable muslin, one I added my tapered sleeves and a deeper cowl, and one i cut into a top rather than a dress and with slimmer sleeves) I made this pattern in THE fabric I've put aside for it one fine day... 

 

Construction:

For this version of V1179, I made it sleeveless like the pattern shows. 

I just hemmed about 1.5 inches though instead of the 4 inches indicated by the instruction. 

Another change in the construction is the way I sew in the cowl collar. The instruction tells you to stitch the notched side of collar first then turn the other side in and then stitch on the right side. I didn't like the look of this on my first version that I decided to hand sew this down on the inside after stitching the notched side of collar onto the dress. This way it looks neater on the outside. I did this on all my previous versions, and is especially important for me on this silk jersey version.

Fabric:

Green block (as described) silk jersey purchased on FabricMart long time ago. Upon inspecting the selvage print when pinning the patterns, it is designed by Cynthia Steffe, and printed by Angel textile? Something like that. The colors are lime green, chartreuse and black.

(p/s: FabricMart is having their Mother's Day sale. 20% off entire website until Monday May 14th.)
 

 One thing I notice when putting this on is that:

1) Silk jersey feels so luxurious to wear

2) It clings on to your body - very unforgiving

So, if you have a woman's body and have to squeeze into your Spanx before putting your silk jersey dresses on, will it still feel buttery soft to wear? Or a slip? What do you think?

V1179: take 3

This is my 3rd top for the SATT-2012 challenge. I've made this pattern (Vogue 1179) twice before, and I think this is one of my favorite patterns so far. Maybe because I like the neckline and shape and it gave me the least trouble when adjusting pattern (because indeed the shape is roomy, hence forgiving...) Easy means you wanna make more, and the more you make the faster it comes together no? :)

For this version I just added long sleeves (like 2nd version), and shortened the length to upper part of the hip on me.

The fabric I got from FabricMart and I love it. It's still for sale on their website for cheap on clearance!

The features that I love about this pattern: cowl neck and pleated front:

The pattern instruction tells you to stitch in the ditch (the cowl neck), but I usually handstitch it down on the inside so that messiness will not show on the outside...
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This week is my wedding anniversary week. I will need to sew me a dress to celebrate, so I will have to take a pause on the challenge which ends on the 15th! But I reached my target of 3, so I'm happy with that, but I have a lotttt of tops I have in my mind that I want to make...

I haven't decided what to do yet... I know I am not going to use the brocade-y eggplant fabric I first earmarked for the anniversary dress - I think it is not season appropriate... So, do I make another V1179 dress in a silk jersey print fabric I've been holding on to, knowing that it will be faster to put together? Or do I make a summery cotton dress which means hassling with pattern adjustment and I might not finish in time for the day but probably get done by the weekend when we will go out for our family anniversary dinner (or not)?

We'll see...

Starting at the top challenge 2012 - Top #3

Faux wrap knit top, version #1

I got the "trendy knit rose florette" fabric on sale from Fabric Mart some time last year and finally found a pattern that I wanted to try out: McCall's M6513, View D (In picture of pattern sleeve is the light blue top but with long sleeves).

The pattern being by Palmer/Pletsch includes tutorials on fitting, which I of course have a problem with... Even with pictorial instructions I still managed to end up with a bigger top which doesn't fit well :) I cut a size 16 for shoulders and then to 22 towards my hips (AND ON TOP OF THAT ADDED AN INCH THROUGH THE MIDDLE TOO!!!). I don't have a size 22 hips, but I was imagining that this will better fit my mommy tummy... (I always seem to approach fit more like an experiment... and then forget about the ingredients afterwards...)



While on paper pattern I felt that this might be okay, upon basting the fabrics together realized that it was too big, so I sew a 1.5" seam. And it is still fitting poorly IMO. It was a bit big on the shoulder for my liking, and then loose under the armpits and on my back (like butterfly). Oh, and of course I knew this beforehand but somehow still manage to miss it: pattern placement on print fabrics... As you can see, a huge rose florette is highlighting my worse area: tummy! Uggh! In this picture it is not that terrible, but it is cringe-worthy in other pics.

It wasn't loose around the bust area simply because the front pieces crossed each other giving a nice snug look in the area.

I am not sure what material this fabric is, maybe rayon polyester, or rayon jersey? It is very very soft and very comfortable to wear. However I think this is a 4 way stretch type fabric, so eventhough I added stabilizers (as recommended) on the shoulders and at the side gathers, I feel that this top will expand even more over time. And that since the front part are 2 pieces of fabric crossed and sewn together on the sides (faux wrap) and the sewn to a 1 piece back fabric, the front is heavier and so it pulls the top to the front (because this fabric is so soft and maybe less stable?). The pattern does recommend stabler knits.

This top is not a home run for me because of the too loose fit and the type of stretch of the fabric I used (but I still love the fabric, sooo silky soft, but it is already pilling after wearing it out to the mall with a handbag across my body...) I am not about to ditch the pattern - the neckline and the look I love. I think rather than move on to the other stuff, I will make more of this top to get the best fit for me. I've already made adjustments on the pattern, and planning to make it with a cherry wine colored ponte knit fabric I have (pic below, on the left, from Fabric Mart).

If and only if I get a satisfying fit, I will make another version using the leopard print ITY jersey pictured above (bought from Gorgeous Fabrics)...

2012 Sewing Plan

Lately my brain has been going on an overdrive. Extra overdrive! I found myself thinking of future projects while working on something else more and more. This (among others) really drag on my working time because I would go to my fabric stash closet and rummage through my pattern drawer, or go on Pinterest rather than concentrate on the task at hand. Free time for me with an active 18-m-o toddler is scarce, and my inability to "tunnel-vision" myself onto current project means that something that should have been done in a few days/a week gets stretched to 2 weeks (the usual timeline for me :( )

I know I can't stop myself from thinking and dreaming up all these things. But it's important for me to have some sort of focus... so here's my 2012 sewing plan that was made earlier in February (just found my scribbled note so I better record this on my blog so that it won't get lost again):

1) Date dress (very late Valentine's dress) - (status is done in February 2012)

2) April wedding anniversary outfit - either a circle skirt or a dress (not sure which pattern yet) using my Marc Jacobs silk brocade fabric on sale from FabricMart. I'm having the hubby help me if I am going to make a circle skirt...

3) May birthday dress - An ankle length version of the pattern below, using the Kelly green bamboo knit bought from FabricMart. The midriff band I'll use my leftover black ponte knit from FabricMart too.

4) My red outfit for brother's wedding in Malaysia (July) - out of a deep red crepe-finish silk chiffon fabric I bought from Gorgeous Fabrics

5) Ponte pants - I have more of the black ponte knit and also a wine colored one

6) Workout tops - will have to figure out the pattern, probably will refashion older clothes for this

7) Circle skirt (if not making it for wedding anniversary)

8) Pencil skirt

9) Cardigan/wrap

10) Jacket/coat

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So the above were what I jotted down early in February and now it's mid March. They are the "MUST DO LIST of 2012". I have all the other things I wanna make before finalizing what I am going to make for my anniversary out of that pretty fabric. And I'm pretty sure there will be a lot more other things that are not on the must do list being made... but the must dos must be done!

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Yesterday while walking around downtown with the Bean, I walked into the same store that I went to a sewing class back in November and walked out with 6 yards of cotton fabrics... One is by Anthology and the other is from Amy Butler's Lark Collection. And today while on the net looking for red silk charmeuse (for lining the red silk chiffon mentioned above: project #4) I also succumbed to other lovely fabrics....

One of the bloggers I follow mentioned before that stashing up on fabrics has a correlation with the insufficient time for sewing. Hmm, if I remember correctly she said that the less time she has for sewing, the more fabric she buys - something like that. For me it seems like I can't catch up fast enough.. From choosing which pattern from my stash to make or to adjust the pattern to what I think will fit me, then making muslin (most of the time) or pattern fitting, then cutting fabric, then pin and baste then sewing then adjust, etc etc.. each step is so slowwww... But I guess most of the time I'm happy with the end result.. But I seem to procure fabric even faster than sewing them up. But I do have every intention to sew them all up into lovely clothes for me and I do dedicate most of my time to this... And also, sometimes I think more time for practice is definitely needed before I cut into certain fabric that I hoard...

Of UFOs and upcoming projects

Yesterday I decided to finish off my very first attempt at sewing, a very old UFO* as old as my son. The back story is that I cut out my old dress (can't seem to find any picture, but it's a navy colored empire waisted long maxi dress with a faux wrap top - how's that for a description?) to make into a tunic top from a pattern (the only pattern I had at the time). The fabric of this dress is slinky, silky-ish polyester I think. I stop at cutting out the fabric pieces and then put it away for a whole year. Took it out August/September of last year when I became a SAHM, and turned it into a loose Sorbetto top, but never finish it. Didn't want to turn and stitch the armhole and hem (coz by this time the fabric has frayed like crazy), didn't have enough fabric to make self fabric binding, and didn't have anything in stash that matches or complements it too!

But 3 thrift store trips ago I found a white fabric (difficult to know the types of thrifted fabric unless it's noted on the tag, printed on selvage or I take time to do the tests that I do not know how to do, or that I do not have the tools/time to do ---> lazy...). Initially I envisioned something else for the fabric, but when I took out this UFO, they just go together so well!



Okay, technically this Sorbetto is not yet done. I've done the hem part and the length now is more of a tunic than a top which I prefer anyways, but have not yet stitched down the binding on the neckline and armhole. I probably will handstitch it as usual.

One reason why I'm not done with this is because of this boo boo:


My pinking shears accidentally got caught out with the front part of the top when I was trimming the seams where I attached the white to the bottom of the tunic. See the "small" hole on the purple fern in the picture above? As the Bean would say, OH NO!!!

So, last night was spent making these in the hope to cover up the mishap:

That's my very first attempt of making a fabric rosette (this morning I glued on safety pin on the back, so that I won't ruin it in the washer like I tend to do without fail...). I used the same white fabric, and hand sew Czech beads from my stash to the middle parts. Tutorial to make extravaganza fabric rosettes can be found on this site.

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Talking about UFOs, a most recent project that is being put on the back burner is a refashion of my favorite Massimo Dutti wool & angora tan coat that I shrunk in the washer fall of last year. I think the shrinking of that coat really made me so upset that I am trying my best to watch my laundering... I've never sent anything to the drycleaners here, so I am not sure of the cost, frankly I am being very conscientious of pricing and cost now that I'm here in the US/with a baby. I did it every month back in Malaysia because we wear a lot of silk/lace etc traditional outfit for events/work and so on.

Here is where it's at:

The coat shrunk from a European size 16 (US size 14) to a child sized one! So it was quite brutal for me to rip up the seams, as there was a lot of puckering (to the many many interfacing) and the wool and angora hide a lot of the stitches too.

My plan is to make a clutch, incorporating the collar and so on to the design. The black fabric with gold, white and bright red flowers is a thrifted fabric that I am using as the lining.

I will only go back to this project once I'm done with at least one of the following upcoming projects:

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1) Sporty dress with exposed zipper - I've wanted to make this dress for a while now, but only got the right fabric for it last Friday. It's a Sangria-colored (like darker hot pink) Sophia ponte knit that I bought from Vogue Fabrics. I haven't decided on the type of zippers yet, I bought several types from Joann's but the only gold colored ones are for Jeans and they are stiff... :(

Pattern for this dress is McCall's M6395, and I want to make the long sleeved red version (on the pattern).


2) Kimono-esque style top from purple stretch poly charmeuse bought from FabricMart (provided that I have enough yardage will follow pattern M6204, or else will have to wing it). Beading/embellishment will be optional.


3) Making a 3-quater sleeved version of the Date Dress from pattern M6518 from this thrifted cotton fabric:


This fabric I think was my very first thrifted fabric that's not cut out fabric for quilts. I have 3 yards of it. For the dress, I will leave out the ruffles from the pattern and this version will incorporate the tweaks I want to make for the pattern. I might need to make another muslin for this purpose... hmmm...

4) Top - long sleeved/3 quarter sleeved version) out of this floral knit also from FabricMart using pattern M6513



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Anyways, time to hand stitch the tunic and officially close it's chapter as a UFO.

*UFO = unfinished object

Cozy yummy yellow sweater dress

I've sat on this Marc Jacob's yellow wool knit fabric for a while, trying to find the best pattern for it. With winter looking like it's coming to an end sooner and not as harsh as the previous years, I know I had to get cracking fast. I bought the pattern Butterick 5523 after I saw a couple of bloggers trying it or a lookalike pattern, and once the pattern arrived set on making it.

I made adjustments to the pattern and some sort of muslin last week, and over this last weekend with hubby looking after the Bean worked many hours on the dress. Had to take the seam ripper to it a few times, and let me tell u, wool knit and a matching colored thread made the job of ripping the seams sooooo difficult! I finally attached the back tab and buttons last nite, and I can say that it's ready, and phew!

The fabric itself is thick but not heavy, and my dress is kinda a lil loose on me (on the upper part), but I'm ok with that. The fabric i used as muslin was a tshirt type but with much less stretch, so i guess that was why the fit was not the same muslin to actual fabric? Or that I should transfer pattern pieces better! I hope that my dress will not stretch with time tho... Don't wool shrink instead of stretch?

So here is the dress:

(should iron the back pleat before taking this picture!)

The back looks like a coat no?

Gratifying sewing - V1179 part deux

After patchwork sewing for days on end I was super ready to sew clothes for me! Didn't want to mess with having to make muslin, I settled on V1179, a pattern I made before. It did took me the 3rd day to finish it though. Didn't do anything on the second day coz being hogged by the little Bean and was too tired. Sure glad to be able to work on it a lot yesterday.

I use my stash of black ponte de roma knit (still have probably 5-6 yards left! no problem,i have a lot of patterns to try and a girl needs lots of black outfits.. at least this one does since she (moi) is building her own handmade wardrobe from scratch...). I added a long tapered sleeves, and made sure that the inside is as neat as the outside as possible. A lot of topstitching. .

I also made the cowl collar thicker, i like the snood look. Also, i stitched down the pleat at the chest a little, i think I read that this was what Carolyn of Diary of a Sewing Fanatic did too? My first version i just basted and let em out as per pattern instruction/picture on packet, and i liked the look, decided to try stitching for this one, and liked it too.

Haven't worn it yet, so here's photo of it on hanger:

This V1179 is definitely a pattern that I can make more and more of! However, for the sake of learning, i will attempt other shapes... :) Another dress or 2 i think. After all it's the holiday season,hehehe...

Vogue 1261 - view B

I'm a slow worker. It took me 5 hours to cut the fabric for this project. Then abandoned this project for 2 days. And then spent the whole afternoon and night of Saturday sewing this. Why it took me this long? Because I decided to work while watching all the episodes and seasons of Say Yes to the Dress that are available on Netflix, and the latest Project Runway on their website (we don't have cable). And got distracted big time. That's why.

But it's all done. And I wore it the next afternoon on Sunday - impromptu picnic with my family at the park.

About the tunic:

Pattern: Vogue 1261 - I made View B (the white tunic with cowl collar).

I decided to just cut the pattern size 16 after adding 3 inches to the length. When I cut the fabric, I added 2 inches to the abdomen area to by sliding and pivoting... I didn't make any muslin this time...

Fabric: Black ponte knit from FabricMart.com. (Still have at least 8 yards left)

Notions: 2mm twin needle & 2 1/2 yds of black ribbons (i used 5/8" rayon ribbons that was meant for seam/hem finishing from my stash that I got from thrift store). The ribbons to be used for the back seam for decorative purposes like so:------------------------------------>

The black ponte knit I used made the tunic feel nice and warm as it is a little heavier than cotton jersey and such. The tunic does look like the pattern picture even though in black it's difficult to capture the details in photo.

detail on the shoulder-sleeves seam

However, I think I needed a smaller size for my shoulder (and I will alter that part in my future version if I make any), but the chest and so on fits me well. I even like how the sleeves fits me, just not the shoulder. I still need to learn more about fitting obviously. I will also take out the 3 inches that I added to the length. Current length made me look shorter. I didn't mind the 2 extra inches that I added to the abdomen area. But next version I will can leave this out.

Ribbon detailing on the back seam

The cowl collar turned into mini hood! (who knew) Next time I will make this collar deeper, so that I can have the hood covering my whole head. Good for windy days...

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Until the next project!

Completed - DKNY Vogue 1179

me in silly hat

Hello! Here it is, my very first from-scratch knit dress all done, worn (trip to do our groceries and Goodwill - I lead such exciting life, yawn) and laundered.

I actually completed the dress very very early Tuesday morning (which is why the hemming is atrocious, but I can live with that for my very first knit attempt).

The pattern V1179 is very easy to follow, very beginner friendly (and just 3 pattern pieces) and I can see myself making more of this (I do have 10 yds of black ponte knit I bought from FabricMart.com recently!) in near future.

I first saw this dress on the Sewing Fanatic blog and thought that it looked great on the author, and subsequently saw a few other equally lovely versions around the blog world. So, when I stumbled across the recent BMV sale (i wasn't a member or anything, so I probably found this out from one of the blogs i read, or saw the ad somewhere) I had to have it (and 11 other patterns :( ) For someone who has only started, i have a huge stash of patterns (i haven't count them though, but believe me, it's a lot, like at least close to 50). Most of them I got for a quarter each at my favorite local thrift store (this is my favorite thing about US: thrift stores! we don't have them back in Malaysia).

Anyways, I think I follow the instructions okay, although I made some judgement call on the order of things. And I also added some stay tape on the neckline. I don't think the pattern ask you to, but i read that some others thought that it needed it and my heavy knit fabric sure does.

The fabric i used for this dress was from my stash. The color is very light yellow with bluish gray swirls, kinda look like lollipop i suppose, but it's not. I can't remember what type of knit it is (probably poly with lycra?) but it has a heavy drape. I did not fancy it as fabric when it arrived (bought this from Fabric.com a year ago along with lots of very very nice quilting cottons) and my thought was to use this as a muslin (since i never sewn knits before) but I like it okay as a finished garment. :D

Eventhough it is now fall and midwest winter is harsh, I can see me wearing it year round. I am all for layering anyways (unfortunately I still manage to feel a bit cold in the summer too!), and winter just means more layers for me.

So there. It took me days to finally put this up - the taking pictures part is my problem. But I did say i want to have a space to "document" my projects. I want to have a blog for a lot of reasons but i don't want people I know in real life to see it. That's silly i guess, what with Facebook and all the other social networking thing we got. But if I can, I'm keeping them separate.

Anyways, thing is, I have a bunch of projects going on in my head at a time, so once I'm done with one thing, I go straight into another. Right now I'm working on what I can consider as my winter staple: sweater dresses. I realise that when I was working, I practically live in the 2 sweater dresses that i had (but since I wore my down jacket even indoors at my desk in my office it didn't matter if i wear them everyweek), I know that this year I definitely have to make some. But that will be for another post.

Till then!