Tale of Two Skirts

It's a very rare experience for me to make a pattern twice - I made the same shirt from the Built By Wendy Sew U book twice, but that's about it. I'm changing my perspective on this though as I get more into pattern drafting and perfecting fit on commercial patterns. If I'm going through all that effort, it seems silly not to use the pattern again. And so, I give you two takes on McCall's 5591, both done, strangely enough, in fabric that reminds me of old wallpaper patterns.

In many ways, the turquoise skirt on the left is my highly-wearable muslin. Having matched the pattern envelope measurements exactly, I cut out the pieces exactly to the pattern size suggested, with the exception that I added about 2 inches to the main body length.

After putting it together I found the waist to have way way way too much ease in the waist, so I took it apart, then took the waist band in a few inches. (Of course, the time between taking it apart and putting it back together was about a month - I was a bit bummed). After which the waist band fit great.  I love the skirt - especially the secretly rabbitty fabric (sew below) - though I did think it hung a bit squarely from the hips down.

I love the skirt - especially the secretly rabbitty fabric and the look of the pocket facings- though I did think it hung a bit squarely from the hips down (see the top photo).

So on version 2.0 I did some skimming on the waistband pieces and did some slash & spreading on the skirt - adding a total of about 6 inches to the lower hem circumference- for a more flared look. Also, being short on contrasting fabric, I did a single layer on bottom hem, as opposed to the folded hem on the original (though I think the folded hem looks/hangs better)

In the end, I prefer the fit of the yellow skirt, but love them both.

What about you? Do you have favorite version? Are you a once-only pattern sewer or do you find patterns you love and make them over and over?

At Least Its Not Carpal Tunnel

I feel like I haven't blogged in forever, but it looks like it's only been a week. I think it's because I generally feel behind the ball because of this:

For about three to four weeks now, I've been suffering from limited mobility and mild pain in my right wrist. I've had it checked out by a doctor and it seems to be work-related, but thank goodness it is mild muscle strain and not carpal tunnel. That said, it's basically kept me from too much typing as well as severely limiting my knitting, embroidery, and sewing abilities. I can do all them, but not for long without making my wrist tired. Not being able to knit has been especially hard.

So in lieu of actual crafting, I organized my fabric stash by size (and yes, that is all of it, aside from some gallon bags of scraps).

I also put together this little box bag this weekend, to hold my toiletries for my relatively new foray into twice-weekly lap swimming (the tutorial was from drago[knit]fly - though I'm going to admit, I wish it was a bit clearer). This was maybe pushing it a bit to do all the sewing in one day.

For someone who rarely doesn't have some project in her hands, its been difficult to have to slow down like this. Still, I'm lucky that I had my wrist checked out early and we're modifying my work station (an ergonomic keyboard is on the way), but in the meantime I'm struggling to be patient and let myself heal and not make things worse.

In any case, if things are a little quieter around here than usual, the wrist is why.

Roadtrip: American Textile History Museum

On Sunday my knitting group took a field trip out to the American Textile History Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts. Tucked in the back of a former mill along with the Lowell Sun Newspaper and some loft condos, this jewelbox of a museum winds through  textile production, fashion, history, and innovation.

Some exhibits made more sense than others (I guess bicycle frames are a textile...), but it was a fun afternoon and I learned  how baseballs are tested and how linen goes from plant to fabric (Winnowing! Retting! Scutching! Heckling!).

The loom room.

Measuring warps.

A circular knitting machine.

Bloomers and bustles.

We went to the museum specifically to catch the last day of a special exhibit "Aprons: Fifties Functional Fashion." We all wore aprons in honor of the event (and got a surprise $2 off admission!)

The exhibit consitsted of about 50 or so aprons and I was glad to see the majority of pieces in the exhibit were homesewn, and some were quite dashing,

kitschy,

nostalgic,

or busty!

Little Things

Some things I've been making lately:

Maple Walnut Granola:

• 3 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (or nut of your choice)
• 1 cup dried cranberries (or dried fruit of your choosing)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 Tbl warm water
• 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 250°F.

In a large bowl, mix together syrup, sugar, oil, water and salt until throughly combined. Add in oats and nuts and and mix until coated.  Pour oat mixture unto a  lightly oiled rimmed baking sheet or pan.

Bake from 1½ to 2 hours or until oats are dry and brown. Remove from oven and cool. Stir in fruit and place in a sealed container.

The 24-Hour Pillow

When I was little, my dad had a book called How to Be Your Daughter's Daddy, and the only parts of it that I remember was a section that had a bunch of little "date" type activities for dads and daughters to do together - things like roast mini-marshmellows on toothpicks over candle flames and the stipulation that every girl needs at least three pillows on her bed.

Well, if you don't count Mr. Cleaver's pillows, I have been languishing with only two pillows for years now. Well no more, says I! I had a pillow form sitting around for about a year and this weekend I gathered all the materials together and made this throw pillow.

I drafted out a quick envelope back pillowcase and spent the majority of yesterday morning watching MR. Cleaver play his first tennis game of the season and doing the embroidery, which I had bookmarked for this pillow since it showed up on Sew, Mama, Sew! I definitely got to practice my french knots. I love the way the pillow turned out and it really ties the bedding together.  And really, it makes me feel as if I've fulfilled my girly quota on pillows.

Purple People

Remember back in January when I said I was in a Purple Phase? It's still going strong apparently. Case in point:

Your honors, I rest my case.

Completion, Progress, and Learning

Completion:

As promised about a week ago - here's my finished a-line skirt. I had to do some adjusting to the waistband (because my waist is not rectanglular), but I love the finished product. It isn't a fabric I would normally pick out or wear, but somehow, here it works.

Progress:

Whenever I'm knitting a sweater, I'll periodically ask Mr. Cleaver "Does it looks like a sweater yet?" Answer right now? : Yes!

Learning:

I mentioned last week I was drafting a tee and trying my first knit-sewing experience. The sewing part was okay, but the tee fit terribly. It was about 2 inches too short (not even counting hemming), the neckline was off, and it was bunching at the arms in an altogether unattractive way.

Mistakes seem less daunting when you have Cadbury creme eggs.

I wandered around the house in a shirt full of pins for about a half an hour trying to figure out where I went wrong.  I'll admit that the instructions for this one aren't terribly detailed - I'd suggest measuring a lot of your store-bought shirts first for things like length - and I was dissapointed that there were no alteration suggestions in the book, then I realized what I needed - the full bust adjustment.  So I've totally redrafted the top for version 2.0 and purchased some more (probably inappropriately thick interlock) jersey and will hopefully cut it out later this week.

Meet Hildy or Pre-Lent Productivity

Last SaturdayI took the plunge and bought a new sewing machine:

That's her on the right. She's a Pfaff Select 3.0 and her name is Hildy (like Brunhilda, because of the German engineering). The day after the purchase I went over to my friend Maggie's house for a sewing party. I helped her work through her first commercial pattern and I worked together a wearable muslin of the a-line skirt I drafted at the beginning of the month.

To get the full effect, I need to get an outfit shot, so for now here's a sneak peak:

With the purchase of my machine (from the highly recommended Sew Portland) I also get a 2 hour intro to the machine class, which I haven't scheduled yet as well as a monthly "new owner" project class for one year.

My first new owner class was the Monday after I bought Hildy and I made this cute little Origami bag.

The sewing was pretty straightforward, but the construction is clever (hint: it involves two squares sewn together). And i'm now using it to hold my knitting notions.

I'm currently in the process of drafting my second piece from Cal Patch's book, the basic tee - which will require me to try sewing knit for the first time - gulp!! But I'm sure with Hildy at my side I can handle it :)

Vivian Row 117+147+88 & the MIL dress

A little over a month in and it's really starting to look like something now. Of course as quickly as they go, I'm not a big fan of knitting sleeves, I can't wait until everything is joined up and I'm working on the yoke - otherwise know as the home stretch. I'd said I'm trying to get it done before it's too warm to wear it, but really, this is Maine (despite our total lack of snow right now).

Unto sewing news.

This is the dress I finished back in January.  My mother-in-law requested and purchased the fabric  for it in the fall of 2008. After accidentally cutting out half the fabric upside down I purchased a close-match fabric and was too-afraid to cut it out for a while, but finally overcome with guilt and with the MIL’s birthday approaching, I finally cut out it again and then sewed the whole thing up in one (long) day.

The pattern is Simplicity 3673, though it's a bit unrecognizable as I merged two sizes between the bust and hips and added 6 inches to the hem, but otherwise made no adjustments.

Can’t say the corduroy is my favorite to sew (and may have been the cause of the issues with my Brother sewing machine), but the dress turned out well and is a pretty good fit – though if requested I may make some slight adjustments to the back darts.

Speaking of sewing machines, if all goes well I will be picking up a shiny new machine tomorrow!

Sewing Fever

As I mentioned before, one of my 2010 goals is to make more time for sewing. Part of the reason for my renewed enthusiasm is that my friend Maggie just started sewing and there is nothing more contagious than the enthusiasm of a new sewer.

Friday after work be drove out to Stanford and visited the newly-expanded fabric section of Marden's (a local surplus/salvage chain). Rows upon rows of fabric, most priced at $2.99 a yard. Let us just say that our cart was pretty fully by the time we hit the cutting table. I whedled my selection down to the five pieces above.  I already have plans for a few of the cuts (from left to right):

The green on the bottom I hope to make into the Ceylon pattern from Collette Patterns.

Some kind of dress, but I'm sure yet- any suggestions are welcome!

The next two pieces will likely be tops of some sort.

The yellow piece second from the top is going to be a flouncy skirt of some kind, with a dark navy contrast

The flowered piece on the top I'd like to make into a version of this top.

I also just finished drafting a simple A-line skirt from my new favorite craft book - Design It Yourself Clothes, I'm hoping to work my way through the book over the course of the year. Now I just need to solve that pesky sewing machine problem 9 but the research is on!)