Tag Archives: Sewaholic

Me Made May 2014, Part 2

Wednesday, May 14 — A “day off.” I spent the day running errands and doing house chores. I paired my workhorse McCall’s 6559 knit dress with new flip-flops and my trusty LOFT jean jacket. The necklace is from Kluster Shop.

Thursday, May 15 — Work all day. I wore my new Simplicity 1810 dress again, this time styling it with a RTW cropped lace cardigan that picks up the deepest red color in the silk fabric. The shoes look more fun in person — they are a nude color with some shine in the leather. I definitely liked this outfit.

Friday, May 16 — TGIF! I wore my new Lolita Olive blouse to get more photos for the blog tour. I paired it with my new white jeans (J Brand), and my pewter flats.

Saturday, May 17 — Mr. Homemaker and I spent all day working around the house, getting it ready to go on the market. I am wearing my striped Renfrew and some Athleta capris I picked up in Philly. Love these pants!

Sunday, May 18 — Off to church in an unblogged dress that is a miss-mash of a TNT princess seam bodice and the Sewaholic Hollyburn skirt. I paired it with a cropped white lace cardigan and some white strappy sandals. The necklace is from Kluster Shop. Like my newly made-over dining room?

Monday, May 19 — Back to the office for a busy day. I wore unblogged Simplicity 2365 that I made as a swimsuit coverup for our cruise back in February. I love the pintuck detail on this tunic but it is really blousy in the back and would benefit from some tailoring and a swayback adjustment in its next version. I made it from some J. Crew cotton voile from a recent Fabric Mart Fabrics sale. I paired it with my Citizens of Humanity skinny jeans, my gold flats, and a “vintage” turquoise necklace.

Tuesday, May 20 — Another normal day at the office. For dinner we went out to celebrate my stepson’s end of the school year. This is McCall’s 6654 knit skirt is great to wear but is a bit cumbersome in the office because long things get tangled up in my rolling stool. I paired it with a white lace-trimmed cami and black lace cropped cardigan (both from Nordstrom). My shoes are open-toe low heeled Cole Haans.

Wednesday, May 21 — A day off spend running errands again. This is one of my favorite me-mades of all time — McCall’s 6559. I paired it with my jean jacket and some flower-adorned flip-flops. The necklace is from Premier.

Thursday, May 22 — Back to work and a professional conference in the evening (where I was able to get some knitting done, too!). I wore my Belle Bow Blouse with my white skinny jeans and some pointy-toe flats.

Friday, May 23 — Normal office day and my stepson’s award day at school. Isn’t he a handsome young man? I wore my unblogged Kirsten Kimono Tee (see a blogged version here), and some red skinny jeans from David Kahn. Gold flats.

Saturday, May 24 — I whipped up this Nettie bodysuit before heading to Mobile for the trunk show and pattern fitting with Sandra Betzina. It was really easy to make and I love the idea of a bodysuit. My only complaints are the very narrow shoulders and the fact that the coverage in the back isn’t enough to cover my big booty. I will definitely be tweaking this pattern and making it again, though! I paired the top with my Citizens jeans and red patent flats.

Sunday, May 25 — I spent all day sewing with Sandra and other seamstresses. I dressed for comfort in this McCall’s 6559 and gold sparkle flip-flops. I also took a batch of Mimosa Punch to share with my classmates.

Monday, May 26 — Memorial Day started out with hospital rounds in the nursery followed by housework and a cookout at home. I paired my Sewaholic Lonsdale with some new yellow sandals.

Tuesday, May 27 — This was a normal day at the office. I paired my unblogged McCall’s 6898 with my white skinny jeans and some old pale pink kitten heels. While seeing patients at the office, I slipped on one of my heels and landed on my knee on the concrete floor, resulting in an ugly bruise. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time these shoes made me fall so I put them straight into the Goodwill pile when I got home.

Wednesday, May 28 — My first real day off in weeks it seemed. I spent all day working around the house, knitting, and sewing. I made this hot pink stretch lace slip with my trusty McCall’s 6559 pattern, cutting the length off about mid-thigh. I used a contrasting lavender knit for the neck and armscye bands. Sorry, no photos of me lounging in this one 🙂

Thursday, May 29 — Back to the office where I wore my first pair of me-made panties. As you can tell, I made them to match my slip from the day before. You may also notice I used leftover fabric from my Nettie bodysuit for the lining.

To make these, I traced a favorite pair of RTW panties then stitched them up and added a little lavender elastic at the waist. I finished the leg openings with a simple serged hem.

I also wore a blouse made from Vogue 1386, a Sandra Betzina pattern. This top was made by Sandra herself and gifted to me after our class over the holiday weekend. Thanks so much, Sandra, for a great class and this beautiful blouse! I paired the blouse with some slim jeans and animal skin slingbacks.

Friday, May 30 — Another Friday at the office. I wore my Vogue 8747 white blouse with some slim jeans and new camel T-strap sandals.

Saturday, May 31 — Woo hoo! The last day and I made it!! I wore my Kirsten Kimono Tee again with some jeans and my red patent flats. My sis took this photo at a small gathering at her house where she announced that I am having another niece! Yay for girls!!! 😉

So if you’re still there, why don’t we talk briefly about what I learned from Me Made May ’14? I learned that a few things I made last year don’t fit (that’s the motivation I’ve been needing for that pesky 5 pounds!). I’ve also learned that I’ve made a lot of things suitable for days away from the office but I haven’t made many work-appropriate items. This is something that I hope to address this summer. Finally, I learned that I am terrible about remembering to take daily photos as most of mine were taken at the end of the day when everything was looking a little wilted.

Overall, May was a great month for me — very productive and satisfying — and I am looking forward to my upcoming sewing and knitting projects. I hope y’all have a great week and we’ll chat again soon!

Tags: in house patterns, McCall's, me made may, sandra betzina, Sewaholic, simplicity, vogue

Comments 13 Comments
Categories Completed Sewing Projects

Sewaholic Gabriola Skirt in Silk Cotton Voile

15 Apr

Howdy, friends! I hope you have had a good Tax Day (ha!). I have another finished sewing project for you today — the newly released Sewaholic Gabriola skirt.

Let me start off by saying how much I love my finished skirt. It is flowy and feminine and manages to be elegant and casual at the same time. The first chance I had to wear it was this past weekend when we took a mini vacation to New Orleans. I wore the skirt while strolling through the French Quarter and then eating the best brunch ever at Restaurant R’evolution — beer battered crab beignets, ’nuff said. Then we headed to the Audubon Zoo and I swished about in my fine skirt among all the animals. I am pretty sure I overheard some of the zebras singing its praises.

I love the seam lines of this skirt — I wish Tasia had released this pattern a few months earlier as it is very similar to the self-drafted one I made in August for the Grand Summer Ball (that skirt has since been sacrificed to make other projects). Of course, I like her version better.

My fabric is the delightful “Georgia” silk-cotton voile from Sawyer Brook Fabrics. It has a smooth hand and a great drape for a project like this. It is a bit sheer so I lined it with white Ambiance Bemberg, also from Sawyer Brook. Because both my shell and lining fabrics were only 43″ wide, I had to have 5 yards of each, meaning this was not the most economical project ever. But I know I will wear this skirt a lot this spring and summer. In fact, I am thinking about wearing it as part of my Easter outfit this Sunday.

Now let’s talk construction — this was not the easiest make ever. Because many of the seams are cut on the bias, you have to be very careful to stabilize those edges before handling the pieces too much. I wish for the sake of beginning seamstresses that the pattern instructions called for this. I used extremely fine fusible woven stay tape from Emma Seabrooke on all my bias seams.

I also wish she had outlined other possible seam finishes for various fabrics. I used French seams for the shell and stitched and serged seams for the lining. The French seam caused a small hiccup at the point in the front but it was pretty easy to make work.

I substituted the curved waistband from the Megan Nielsen Tania culotte pattern as several reviewers noted that the included straight waistband tended to gape. I also replaced the prescribed regular centered zip with an invisible one and I attached the lining to the zip by machine.

For hemming, a very sweet local seamstress (who does alterations in her home), marked by hem for me and I stitched it up using 1/4″ Steam-A-Seam for a clean and even finish. I used the rolled hem on my serger to hem the lining about 1″ shorter than the shell.

Overall, I love my new skirt but beginning seamstresses should proceed with caution before cutting this pattern out.

Thanks for reading along and have a happy Easter!

Tags: cotton, Sewaholic, silk, skirt, travel

Comments 12 Comments
Categories Completed Sewing Projects

2013 in Review

1 Jan

Now that 2013 is officially over, I thought I would take a minute to reflect on what the past year has held. The year started out with lots of excitement when I traveled across the country by myself to attend a 3 day sewing workshop with Gretchen Hirsch and Heather Ross. While there I made quite a few friends, in particular Lauren, who started her own blog not long after the sewing weekend. She and I worked on the same pattern so we were able to give fitting assistance to one another. I also got to visit the brick and mortar Hart’s Fabric, which has become one of my favorite places for fabric shopping.

My next trip took me to Washington DC for work-related business but I managed to squeeze in a little time to shop at G Street Fabrics.

I participated in Me Made May for the first time and surpassed my expectations by not repeating any items for over 2/3 of the month.

I attended a local sewing workshop with Sandra Betzina and made her pattern Vogue 1291. I also got to enjoy a lovely dinner party at a friend’s home with Sandra.

I participated in the Spring Sewing Swap hosted by Kestrel. I was paired up with Shelly of Shelly’s DIY Style and got some great goodies all the way from Australia.

I reviewed a pattern for one of my favorite indie designers — In House Patterns — and ended up with a gorgeous, breezy Blossom top. I currently have my next pattern to review cut out. Will be making a muslin soon.

I participated in a garment sewing competition on the Hart’s Fabric website and thanks to all my wonderful readers, I won a $50 Hart’s gift certificate!

In August I made an evening ensemble to wear to our hospital’s charity gala. I ventured into couture sewing with a lace bustier with spiral steel boning and self-drafted a silk charmeuse skirt.

The last major sewing of the year involved creating dresses for my nieces to wear in my sister’s wedding — sewing for little girls is so much easier!

I did squeeze in a quick sewing project right before Christmas — 10 infinity scarfs from my stash fabric to give as gifts to all the girls in my family. I used this tutorial but didn’t snag any pictures of my finished products before giving them away. Maybe one of the recipients will send me a picture so I can post it…

Top 5 Recipes

Decadent Hot Cocoa Mix

Caesar Salad

Bourbon and Rosemary Roasted Chicken

Cuba Libre, Reinvented

Goat Cheese Spinach Dip (most searched post of 2013)

Top 5 Sewing Projects

Knit Maxi — McCall’s 6559

Bustier Top Simplicity 1664

Lace Bustier — Vogue 8849

Date Night Dress — New Look 6457

Belle Bow Blouse — In House Patterns

Top 5 Things I Learned

New binding for knit necklines

Underlining to create neat seam finish on vertical seams

Using spiral steel boning

Handpicking zippers

How to draft a skirt pattern

5 Goals for 2014

Post my backlog of completed sewing projects

Learn how to match patterns on fabric when creating a garment

Make some good basics for my wardrobe (knit tops, specifically)

Sew a jacket

Fess up that I have learned to knit in the last few weeks!!!

Dulce Neck Cozy — free pattern on Ravelry

Tags: in house patterns, McCall's, me made may, sandra betzina, Sewaholic, simplicity, travel, vogue

Comments 14 Comments
Categories Completed Sewing Projects, Fabric Shopping!!!, Recipes

Red Wool Crepe Sewaholic Hollyburn | Red October

30 Oct

Have you heard about the color-themed sewing going on among the Sewcialists? For October the color is red and I am squeaking in just under the deadline with my contribution.

You may recognize this pattern as I have made it before — the Sewaholic Hollyburn skirt. It is so quick and easy to sew and doesn’t really require any fitting changes if you pick the right waistband size. For me that was an 8 in the shortest length.

Skirt: Made by me!
Top: Nordstrom — with the cutest red heels all over it!
Necklace: Tessyla on Etsy
Shoes: Cole Haan

For my fabric, I used a vibrant red wool crepe I have been stashing for a while. I had it steam pressed by the dry cleaners before sewing.

Pretty close to perfect invisible zip.

To make this project a little more challenging, I used this technique to underline the skirt with silk organza and finish the vertical seams all at the same time. I also omitted the pockets as I wanted a more streamlined look.

For the hem, I applied the red and white dot bias tape I picked up in Bath, England, last year then handstitched it to the silk organza underlining.

I am very pleased with this skirt. The underlining technique is a great one to have in your arsenal and I know I will get lots of use out of this wardrobe basic this fall/winter! Thanks for reading 🙂

Tags: easy, quick, Sewaholic, skirt, wool

Comments 9 Comments
Categories Completed Sewing Projects

Me Made May ’13 — Part 3

1 Jun

Well folks, the month has finally drawn to a close and I have successfully completed my first Me Made May challenge. I must say it was a great confidence builder to be able to wear self-stitched or altered items each day for 31 days straight. I even managed to make it more than 2/3 of the month without repeating an item! As you have seen from my photos, I have several new items that have yet to be given official blog posts, but I will do my best to get those documented in the upcoming weeks. So without further ado, here are the last 12 days of my month’s wardrobe:

Me Made: Simplicity 2599 ruffle blouse
RTW: Nordstrom pencil skirt, Tessyla necklace, Cole Haan shoes

May 20 (Monday) — Today was a full day in the office. Nothing exciting to report.

Me Made: Refashioned David Kahn white jean capris
RTW: CAbi seahorse camisole and lacy jacket, turquoise necklace, nude patent flats

May 21 (Tuesday) — Another day at the office. I hosted a CAbi party at my house the next night so my friend who sells the clothing brought her entire collection to my house a few days early so I could “test” things out. I borrowed the cute seahorse cami and lacy jacket to wear to work this day with some refashioned white jean capris. The capris are at least 5 years old and had a very flared hemline until I slimmed them down. That was my first time to ever work with denim. As long as no one looks up close at the seams and hems, I will be in good shape 🙂

Me Made: In-House Patterns Belle Bow Blouse
RTW: Cookie Johnson straight leg white jeans, Kluster white coral necklace, Franco Sarto nude bow pumps (worn only for photo — being returned because they are too small)

May 22 (Wednesday) — My day off and my first repeated item. I spent the morning dropping my car off to get serviced then met a new sewing buddy for some fitting help with a jacket project (Thanks, Nancy! You are incredible!!!) Nancy was so sweet and sent me away with an armload of awesome sewing goodies — patterns, fabric, notions — I feel so spoiled!

This was also the night of the CAbi party that I hosted for my friend Catherine. For the party I made peach margaritas, fresh guacamole, and strawberry cupcakes with strawberry swiss buttercream; I picked up a party platter of fajita fixings from a local Mexican restaurant to round out the menu. Yum! We had a great time having a girls’ night in. Photographed here with Jennifer, one of my best friends since first grade.

Me Made: Simplicity 2648 as a peplum top
RTW: LOFT denim jacket, vintage (college-era) black maxi skirt, turquoise necklace, Cole Haan purse, Cole Haan black peep toe low heel pumps

May 23 (Thursday) — A full day at the office at usual but in the evening my 5-year-old niece graduated from her pre-K school. I cannot believe she will be a kindergartener next year! The black skirt you see me wearing here is at least 12 years old. I bought it when I was in college and have hung on to it since, knowing that it would come back in style again. Unfortunately the elastic in the waistband has dried out so I will have to replace it before I can wear it again or I will risk wardrobe malfunction. I am posing here with the niece of honor and my mom.

Me Made: Unblogged Jalie 2921 scarf neck tee with ties wrapped to back (so glad I figured this out!)
RTW: Cookie Johnson white straight leg jeans, Etsy necklace, nude Nine West low heel pumps

May 24 (Friday) — TGIF and I’m not on call! Plus this is the weekend I get to spend sewing nonstop at the Sandra Betzina workshop at All About Sewing. In this photo I am working on McCall’s 6559 which you will see more of later in the week.

Me Made: Simplicity 1664 top (will blog soon!) and McCall’s 6654 skirt
RTW: Silpada necklace and Cole Haan tan peep toe heels

May 25 (Saturday) — The Sandra Betzina trunk show took place this day. She went through the samples of all her patterns and discussed different techniques for altering and modifying each pattern. Although most of Sandra’s patterns don’t appeal to me right off the cover (I don’t think I am in her age demographic), changing fabric and/or features can definitely make them more attractive (see my project from last year’s workshop here). After the trunk show, we each sat down with Sandra and our chosen pattern (Vogue 1291 for me) to select our size and make any fitting adjustments to our flat pattern. We then all went home to cut out our fabric.

Except a few of us didn’t go straight home — my sewing bestie, Dianne (far left), invited Sandra, me and Joni (far right) over for dinner at her beautiful new home, spouses included. I was asked to bring a cocktail, so I made a double batch of the Strawberry Riesling Slushies that Annie recently featured on her blog (if you couldn’t tell from the empty glasses and pitcher, the drink was a hit — not too sweet but very refreshing!). Mr. Homemaker and I had a wonderful time — our dinner companions were lively and entertaining and our hostess prepared an excellent meal for us to feast on. Thanks again, Dianne!

Me Made: Trina Turk knit tank altered to open up an extra buttonhole
RTW: Citizens skinny jeans, red Franco Sarto patent flats

May 26 (Sunday) — Our first full day of sewing with Sandra and my first day to wear something that involved only a minimum of sewing skill on my part. None of my attire is me-made but this top only had two functioning buttonholes when I bought it. On a less busty person I don’t think that would have been an issue but for me that made the shirt gape like crazy and revealed more than I liked. So I got out my handy seam ripper and tore this shirt a new one — a new buttonhole that is 🙂

Me Made: Golden Renfrew
RTW: Cookie Johnson white straight leg jeans, Kluster red coral necklace, nude patent flats

May 27 (Monday/Memorial Day) — This was our second full day of sewing. I finished almost all of the construction of my shirt on Sunday so I just had to hem it and stitch down the neck band when I got to the store on Monday morning. After that I made a few more flat pattern alterations to my knit maxi dress (McCall’s 6559) based on a knee-length muslin and cut out my fashion fabric. Before we finished up for the day I had my shoulder seams sewn, the neckline finished with my new favorite method, and my side seams sewn. All I had left was to bind the arm holes and hem it.

This photograph is a group shot of some of the ladies at the workshop. We all had a great time and got tons of sewing accomplished! Sandra is a great teacher and I always learn lots from her and the other students who all have more experience than me. I am already looking forward to when she returns to our area next year.

Me Made: Vogue 1291 butterfly sleeve top
RTW (not shown): Elie Tahari pencil skirt, Cole Haan coral wedges

May 28 (Tuesday) — Back to the real world. Here’s my version of Sandra’s pattern, Vogue 1291. Although this photo was taken during the workshop when I tried on my completed top (notice the mismatched necklace), I actually wore it to work the next day with a cobalt blue pencil skirt and my coral Cole Haan peep toe wedges but I just couldn’t get a flattering photo that I could bring myself to post for all the world to (potentially) see. Sorry 😦

Me Made: Sewaholic Cambie as a peplum blouse
RTW: Cookie Johnson denim capris, Tessyla necklace, Cole Haan wedges

May 29 (Wednesday) — My day off but this was a pretty busy one with running errands. I started out with stopping by the hospital to check on my grandfather after he had surgery (he did great), then I had a dentist appointment, dermatologist appointment, grabbed a quick lunch, packed up some of my sewing stuff, headed to a friend’s house for a sewing playdate for a few hours working on tracing off and making flat pattern adjustments to the Colette Chantilly pattern, ran to the grocery store, then came home and cooked dinner for my husband. I actually scored a “This is one of the best things you’ve ever cooked” from Mr. Homemaker so the recipe will be making an appearance here in the future. Be on the lookout.

Me Made: Simplicity 2599 ruffle blouse, Sewaholic Hollyburn skirt
RTW: Tessyla necklace, old belt, Via Spiga blue suede pumps

May 30 (Thursday) — Back to the office. Two me-made pieces this day. I added a belt over the Hollyburn skirt and I really like the look.

Me Made: McCall’s 6559 maxi dress in a drapey knit from Elliott Berman (from my NYC trip)
RTW: Old belt

May 31 (Friday) — Yay! I made it!! This is my most recently finished project — I started it during the Sandra Betzina workshop and finished it up the Thursday evening after so I could wear it before the month ran out. I will dedicate an entire post to this pattern, but can I just tell you that I LOVE it! It is so easy and once you figure out your fitting tweaks and the sizing, it is such a flattering and comfy dress. I am going to make up more versions in both the long and short varieties.

And can I just apologize for the awful photo? After 30 days of remembering to take daily outfit photos, I hopped into bed last night and remembered I hadn’t taken my photo for the day. Well, I wasn’t going to mess up on the last day of the challenge so I jumped out of bed, threw my dress and belt back on and tossed my iPhone to my husband and made him snap some photos of me in my bare face and bare feet. While I was at work, I paired the dress with my denim jacket and some white leather d’Orsay pumps. After work, I nixed the jacket and changed into some white flip-flops for a casual business dinner. I also paired the dress with a multistranded Silpada necklace (seen on May 25).

Reflecting on the month, I feel like I have grown in my sewing skills, especially in fitting. I finished several new items during the month — 7 total — and overall they each fit really well and I don’t have any major construction complaints. I do need to bite the bullet and start working on fitting myself for pants and shorts. All in good time, I guess.

Well, guys, thanks for following along. I have several pattern reviews to bring you as well as some recipes for desserts, drinks, and main dishes. Stay tuned!

Tags: blouse, dress, fabric, knit, McCall's, me made may, peplum, sandra betzina, Sewaholic, shirt, simplicity, skirt, top, vogue

Comments 16 Comments
Categories Completed Sewing Projects

Me Made May ’13 — Part 2

20 May

Well, the month of May is almost 2/3 of the way done and I’m proud to report that I am holding strong on my Me Made pledge. I have even managed not to repeat any items so far! I will likely have to repeat something this week, though, as I am running out of items and I can’t sew fast enough to keep up (but don’t think I haven’t been trying!). So without further ado, here’s May 10-19:

Me Made: Sandra Betzina Vogue 1045 blouse
RTW: Citizens of Humanity Jeans, Cole Haan purse, New York and Co. necklace, red patent flats

May 10 (Friday) — We joined some friends and attended our local annual Rotary Steak Cookoff. While the location was moved this year because of threatening weather, the grills were still going strong and we enjoyed tasting lots of different steaks. In this photo, I am posing with my friend Catherine in front of one of the team’s displays. It was too funny not to have a photo-op!

Me Made: Renfrew #1
RTW: Kluster necklace, Citizens jeans, coral Cole Haan wedges

May 11 (Saturday) — Since this was the first weekend my husband and I have had to ourselves in a while, we drove to Pensacola, Florida (just across the state line) and had lunch at a cute little burger joint downtown called the Tin Cow. They also had delicious milkshakes and I can’t pass up a milkshake. After our lunch, we went to Joe Patti’s to pick up fresh sea scallops for Mothers’ Day dinner, to Four Winds market for steaks, and then met up with Matt’s dad and sister for dinner at a local Italian restaurant.

Me Made: Simplicity 1808 shorts
RTW: New shoes T-shirt from Nordstrom

May 12 (Sunday/Mothers’ Day) — For the majority of the day, Mr. Homemaker and I piddled around the house doing chores and preparing food for dinner guests. That evening my parents, sister, nieces, future brother-in-law, and friends Leslie and Danny came over for surf and turf. Matt grilled the steaks and I prepared the scallops from Ad Hoc at Home that I have posted before as well as a Caesar salad and baked potatoes. My sister brought bread, dessert, and sweet tea. It was great to spend time with my family and friends.

Me Made: Unblogged Simplicity 2648
RTW: LOFT jacket, Nordstrom belt, Cole Haan wedges, The Limited necklace

May 13 (Monday) — Back to work this day and wearing a pre-blog Simplicity 2648 in a ponteroma knit. This dress is a little big now but it’s okay when covered with a belt and jacket.

Me Made: Vogue 8032 top
RTW: Old white belt, Nordstrom pencil skirt, Nine West pumps

May 14 (Tuesday) — Sorry for the blurry nighttime iPhone photo. This day was just business as usual with a full day in the office.

Me Made: Unblogged Margarita Tank Top
RTW: Citizens jeans, black flats, Kenneth Cole necklace, Ray Ban sunglasses

May 15 (Wednesday) — My day off was spent sewing a new top (see May 17), getting a hair cut, and seeing a house with my realtor. This tank top was refashioned from one of my husband’s old T-shirts using the A La Mode Margarita Tank Top pattern. I haven’t blogged this top but I think it is a nice little pattern for a tank. Next time I make it, though, I will lengthen it a bit and lower the arm holes a tad as they are a bit constricting.

Me Made: Unblogged Jalie 2921
RTW: Kenneth Cole ponte pants; red patent flats; Kenneth Cole necklace

May 16 (Thursday) — Back to the office this day but nothing exciting to report. This Jalie 2921 is unblogged and largely unworn because I don’t like the ties. But when I pulled it out to wear it, I decided to try wrapping the ties around and knotting them in the back and I loved the effect it gave the top so I think this will be getting a lot more wear now.

Me Made: Unblogged, brand new Simplicity 1664 top
RTW: LOFT capris, Kluster necklace, Donald Pliner red patent slides

May 17 (Friday) — TGIF and the weather was beautiful so my stepson and I put the top down on the convertible and drove to the local Marriott Grand Hotel to take pictures of my brand new Simplicity 1664 top. Can I just tell you, I LOVE THIS TOP! It fits true to the pattern sizing (must be because it is a “Threads” pattern and not standard Big 4). I didn’t do a full bust adjustment, just graded one size up in the bust area. It sewed up really easily and was completed in 2 evenings’ time. I will give it a dedicated blog post soon.

I offered Kris $5 if he could catch a mullet jumping in the background of one of my photos. Well, I owe him $5 now — can you see the fish?

My handsome stepson/photographer, Kristofer

The grounds at the Hotel are beautiful. Mr. Homemaker and I try to find a reason to have a weekend staycation there at least once or twice a year.

Me Made: McCall’s 6654 skirt
RTW: Nordstrom chambray shirt, Silpada necklace, Frye shoes, old belt

May 18 (Saturday) — I have been on call this weekend so that keeps me close to home and pretty free of major plans. On the up side, though, it allows lots of time for sewing and other crafty pursuits! I whipped up this skirt to wear in the span of about an hour and that included time spent waffling about which size to cut and measuring the pattern pieces. You can read more about my experience in my last post.

Me Made: Unblogged Vogue 8887 halter top
RTW: Nanette Lepore skirt, Kluster necklace, Steinmart shoes

May 19 (Sunday) — This is also a new, unblogged top — Vogue 8887. I sewed this halter up in a silk I got on sale from Sawyer Brook. This pattern gave me fits and I am not 100% happy with the final product. At least in this photo you can’t see all the things that drive me crazy. I will try to get this one blogged soon, too. My husband snapped this photo in the middle of our picturesque downtown. Our city swaps out the flowers on all the street corners regularly but the May planting is always one of my favorites with the star-gazer lilies. We even have flowers on top of our trash cans 🙂

Well, that’s all for now. We’ll see how many more days I can hold out before I have to repeat something! Thanks for reading 🙂

Tags: ad hoc, blouse, halter top, jalie, me made may, quick, sandra betzina, scallops, Sewaholic, shirt, silk, simplicity, skirt, top, travel, vogue

Comments 6 Comments
Categories Completed Sewing Projects

Me Made May ’13, Part 1

10 May

mmay13

Well folks, I’m about 1/3 of the way through Me Made May and I have to say I’ve been doing pretty well. I haven’t repeated anything yet and I have even worn two me-mades that I have yet to blog (but I promise I will give you more details soon!). So without further ado, here’s my Me Made May days 1-9.

P.S. You can follow my Flickr MMM set if you want to see daily updates.

Me Made: Cambie Peplum Top
RTW: Citizens of Humanity jeans, Cole Haan wedges and clutch, and Kluster necklace

May 1 (Wednesday) — Sorry for this lousy photo that I took with the timer on my camera after dark. I wore this on my day off while doing volunteer work and running errands.

Me Made: Yet-to-be-blogged Simplicity 1796 View D
RTW: Tessyla necklace, old white belt, Cole Haan pink patent pumps and wristlet

I also wore this dress on May 1, for date night with my husband. I will blog more about this pattern soon, but I have to say before my mother calls me that it came out waaaaaaay shorter than I anticipated. I was hoping to end up with a cute, easy knit dress for the summer but unfortunately it will be reserved for occasions where showing a bit of leg is more acceptable. I’m sure my mother will ask if those occasions really exist 😉

Me Made: Sewaholic Lonsdale
RTW: Boden cropped cardigan, camel flats

May 2 (Thursday) — On this day I had to travel to Destin, Florida, for a board meeting. Since I was staying at the Grand Sandestin Complex, I decided a sundress was in order but because conference rooms are cold, I topped it with one of my favorite cardigans. The night culminated with an impromptu gathering in my condo for pina coladas!

Me Made: Sewaholic Hollyburn skirt
RTW: Elie Tahari ponte blazer (love!), silk shell, Kluster necklace, and Via Spiga blue suede pumps

May 3 (Friday) — I didn’t get to stay at the beach long because the very next morning I had to get up early to drive back to the Pensacola airport to fly to cold and rainy St. Louis for another work conference. I know most people opt for comfort when traveling but I also like to look put together so my Hollyburn, ponte blazer, and low-heeled pumps fit the bill. This photo was taken in the mall in St. Louis after I got my Nordstrom fix 🙂

Me Made: Vogue 8603 skirt
RTW: Boden cardigan, Limited shell, Stuart Weitzman pumps, Tessyla necklace

May 4 (Saturday) — I was still in St. Louis (obviously) on this day, attending the conference. This is my favorite Me Made May photo so far. I have just learned to use the filters on the Flickr app on my iPhone so I had a lot of fun sprucing this shot up. Thanks to my excellent employee, Lesleigh, for taking the shot for me!

Me Made: In-House Patterns Belle Bow Blouse
RTW: Citizens of Humanity jeans, Via Spiga blue suede pumps, Kluster necklace

May 5 (Sunday) — What do you do when you are stuck in the Atlanta airport for 2 hours? You take silly pictures for your Me Made May Flickr set! I finally got home that night around midnight and boy was I glad to see my husband and my own bed!

Me Made: Knit Peplum Top
RTW: Ann Taylor denim jacket, Womyn ankle pants, camel flats, Kluster necklace

May 6 (Monday) — Back to the office and my regular routine after a delicious but short night in my own bed. My husband and I joined a friend from residency for dinner after work.

Me Made: Sewaholic Renfrew Cowl Neck Top
RTW: White pants, Cole Haan wedges, Kluster necklace

May 7 (Tuesday) — Typical day at the office. Looking forward to my day off the next day 🙂

Me Made: Yet-to-be-blogged Megan Nielsen Kelly Skirt
RTW: CAbi top, Reef flip-flops, Silpada necklace, Ray Ban sunglasses

May 8 (Wednesday) — Whew! My first real day off to relax in over 2 weeks! I enjoyed it by hanging around the house, doing a few cleaning chores, but mostly SEWING! When my husband got home from work, we went out to dinner at one of our favorite Italian places and had a nice, quiet dinner together. We stopped at one of our local public piers to take this photo on the way to the restaurant.

Me Made: Consignment shop silk skirt altered to raise hemline ~8″
RTW: CAbi top, chambray shirt, Cole Haan peep toe pumps, Tessyla necklace

May 9 (Thursday) — This is the first item that is not made by me but has been altered by me. I purchased this 100% silk skirt from a local consignment shop last year sometime because I loved the fabric and shape. What I didn’t love, though, was the mid-calf hemline. I marked my desired hem length using a yard stick then marked another line 4″ below. I then serged the skirt off at the longer length. I turned up the serging and pressed then turned up the shorter marking line and pressed this as the new hem. I then hand stitched the hem in place. For the lining I followed a similar procedure except I just stitched a narrow machine hem. I am guessing from the tag (Rickie Freeman Teri Jon Nites), that this skirt is from the 80s or 90s, but with the updated hemline, I think it has a definite Kate Spade vibe. I have always worn it with a basic black top but this go around I was comparing it to various other things in my closet and got the idea to pair it with my chambray shirt. What do you think about the outfit?

Well, that’s it for May 1-9. What’s your favorite outfit so far? Favorite photograph? I’ll be back soon with more good stuff to show and tell!

Tags: knit, me made may, megan nielsen, peplum, Sewaholic, silk, simplicity, travel, vogue

Comments 17 Comments
Categories Completed Sewing Projects

Sewaholic Lonsdale

31 Mar

I’m still here! Don’t worry I haven’t fallen off the planet!! I have been traveling, sewing, and mostly working since we spoke last. I have a cute sundress to show you today. We are definitely getting into sundress-wearing weather here in the Deep South and the Sewaholic Lonsdale is the perfect pairing. I stalked this pattern for a while before I actually convinced myself to buy it, but once I got it, I sewed it up almost immediately. I love the cute knot at the front and the way the straps loop through the back and then tie. I also like the breezy half (?) circle skirt. Although I don’t think this halter style is the most flattering on my body, that’s not going to stop me from wearing my new cute dress or making this pattern up again 🙂

For this version, I used a new rayon challis I picked up at Hart’s Fabric when I was in California last month. I know I still have to show you all my fabrics and I promise I haven’t forgotten. The fabric was easy to work with and it is wonderful to wear. It does wrinkle a bit as you can see in the photos but it is not that bad.

If you are not familiar with this pattern, the bodice is self-lined but the skirt is unlined. I strayed from the pattern and decided to line the skirt as well. I used a yellow batiste. Because I sewed the batiste to the rayon all the way down the center back seam when inserting the zipper, I could not separate the two layers for hemming without doing some unpicking. Since that is one of my least favorite tasks, I left it as it was and just hemmed the two layers together and the skirt lining became more of an underlining. The downside is that my flowy rayon is now a bit more structured but the plus side is that I had a hidden layer to anchor my handstitched blind hem to. This minor blooper is not going to prevent me from wearing this dress at all and I have already enjoyed wearing it on vacation, to church, and all day to our local arts and crafts fair (where the photos were taken).

I love the consistent sizing of Sewaholic patterns. I sewed my usual size 8 and did my usual 1″ full bust adjustment. This FBA was a bit different since I didn’t want a waist or bust dart in the final dress. I rotated the bust dart up to the knot gathers and the waist dart fullness was rotated to the center front seam. You can see details of how this is done on the Sewaholic website’s tutorial.

The only other alteration I made was to hem the skirt just above knee-length as I feel this is more flattering on me.

If you are looking for an easy-to-sew and very wearable summer dress pattern, you should definitely consider the Lonsdale. I am thinking about making the maxi version for the next go-around. What do you think?

Tags: dress, FBA, halter top, rayon, Sewaholic, underlining

Comments 15 Comments
Categories Completed Sewing Projects, Fabric Shopping!!!

Sewaholic Hollyburn Skirt

27 Jan

Don’t forget to enter my One Year Blogiversary Giveaway! The giveaway will end Thursday, January 31 at midnight CST. Click here to leave a comment on the giveaway post and be entered to win a free Craftsy class of your choice!!!

This Hollyburn skirt is my most recently finished sewing project and I have to tell you what a joy it was to stitch up. I was in the middle of muslining the shirtwaist dress from Gertie’s New Book for Better Sewing because I’m going to a workshop in California with Gertie (!!!) next weekend. I needed something quick and easy with no fitting issues to cleanse my sewing palate and this skirt was just the thing. Simply make sure you pick the right waist measurement, confirm with the finished garment measurement and start cutting and sewing. I chose a poly blend suiting from my stash (from Joann’s) and used a silky royal blue cotton sateen for the pocket and waistband lining (from the NYC trip). The interesting thing about the fabric from Joann’s is that I have a pair of pants from The Limited in the exact same fabric!

I was originally going to participate in the Hollyburn Sewalong being hosted by Rachel at My Messings but once I got started on this pattern I couldn’t wait to finish it up. I have come to the conclusion that Tasia of Sewaholic Patterns is a very gifted pattern designer/drafter. I have now made 3 of her patterns (Renfrew x 2, Cambie, and this skirt),and they are all very well-drafted and the instructions, while succinct, are very well-written.

This skirt is a simple half circle with slash pockets, center back zipper, and three length variations. I chose to make the shortest version as I recently read that my ideal skirt length is a little above my knee — never knew I had short shins! I made a size 8 but I did cut the length at the size 16 line. I sewed a 5/8″ hem.

While this pattern is suitable for beginning sewers, I decided to make a few small modifications to fancy it up a bit. I split the pocket piece into two to create a separate pocket lining piece. I also sewed the skirt/pocket lining seam at 1/2″ so that the apparel fabric would roll to the inside a little bit and the blue wouldn’t be visible from the outside of the garment.

Until the Date Night Dress, I have only ever done invisible zippers. This skirt was my first time doing a centered zipper. I probably ripped and basted this thing a half-dozen times before I was satisfied. I finally got it close and steamed the life out of it to make it look decent. I have to say I am quite satisfied with it now. I departed from the directions as written a bit and sewed the back seam up to the notches and backstitched. Then, I basted the rest of the seam closed to make pressing the seam allowances back easier. I took the basting out after pressing and before pinning the zipper but I think if I had left the basting in while pinning, I wouldn’t have had to rip the zipper out so many times. Any more experienced zipper-installers have a say about this?

You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes — Elvis Presley

Here’s how I wore it to work. Same old Talbots cardigan (I love this thing!), and my Via Spiga pointy-toe, low-heel pumps. You can’t really see it in the photos but they are blue suede that matches the lining fabric.

I also modified the waistband piece to be able to line it with my blue fabric. I split the waistband piece in half lengthwise, then added a 5/8″ seam allowance. I then cut one piece each from fashion and lining fabric. I interfaced the fashion fabric only with a lightweight woven interfacing from Emma One Sock. I sewed the pieces together along one long edge, trimmed and edgestitched, then treated the pieces as one per the instructions for the remainder of the construction process.

I finished all my raw edges with my serger. I guess I could’ve changed to black thread but I kind of like the white contrast since the fabric has little white flecks in it.

To finish the waistband, I stitched in the ditch all the way around and this worked out perfectly.

For my hem, I bound it in double fold bias tape. This served two purposes. First it provided a clean finish. Second it added a little structure to the hem so it has a bit of flare. I normally handstitch or machine blind hem all my hems but I decided to just machine straight stitch this one since the stitches blend into the fabric so well. It was so much easier that way! 🙂

Top: Ann Taylor
Cardigan: Talbots
Skirt: Made by Me!
Shoes: Via Spiga
Necklace: Tessyla from Etsy

Tags: finishing techniques, hollyburn, pockets, Sewaholic, skirt, zipper

Comments 19 Comments
Categories Completed Sewing Projects

Sewaholic Cambie — As a Blouse

11 Aug

Me at Nanette Lepore showroom, standing in front of the upcoming season. Of course I’m blocking the whole section of NL clothes that match the shirt I’m wearing.

This is my second attempt at Sewaholic Cambie.

My first attempt is the complete dress pattern with the gathered skirt and it is lacking only the lining to be finished. The problem? I’m not loving the fabric now that it’s all sewn up. The fit is perfect and it is my first time to do a real full bust adjustment on a flat pattern but I just can’t see myself ever wearing the dress so it is sitting in the UFO pile. But that didn’t stop me from moving forward with my great-fitting post-FBA bodice pattern and turning out a second version. I decided I wanted a cute peplum blouse when I found this green Swiss dot fabric at Hancock and I am so pleased with the results. I lined it in a soft, light aqua cotton that I picked up for a steal at a local fabric salvage store. The pattern is well drafted and goes together smoothly. I only have a few issues/suggestions/comments, so I will list those here:

1. The sweetheart neckline doesn’t hug the body very well. I understitched the lining to the seam allowance and this helped a little but on my next version (currently in the works), I am going to ease in a slightly shorter piece of twill tape to the seam allowance to get the neckline to hug my body better.

2. Along the same lines, the instructions tell you to trim the seam allowances of the neckline before you insert the sleeves. This makes it a little trickier to know exactly how far to pull the sleeves through before sewing. Next time I will just wait to trim everything after I have pulled the sleeves through and sewn them in place.

Please pardon the I-just-pulled-it-out-of-the-dirty-laundry-to-take-photos wrinkles 🙂

3. For my FBA, I used the Palmer/Plescht method and created a new dart in the side seam. I chose my starting size based on some crazy theory that I came up with — basically I calculate what my bust measurement would be if I was a B-cup based on my band measurement. So if my under bust measurement is 28.5″ and US bra sizing adds 4″ for the band size then a B cup is 2″ above the band size, my theoretical bust measurement would be 34.5″ which corresponds exactly to the pattern size 8. I do these crazy measurements because my high bust measurement never seems to correspond well for me and the fit is always off if I go by that method. Maybe most people don’t have that problem and you can ignore my psycho idea but it works for me 🙂

So I started with a pattern size 8 and made the slashes up and across according to the Fit for Real People book. Since the pattern doesn’t have a side seam dart, I created one for better shaping. According to my DD cup size (I can’t believe I just said that!), I needed to add 1″ between the vertical lines of the slash I made, opening up the waistline dart wider. I trued up the length of the bottom of the bodice piece, made sure my bust point was still accurate, drew in my dart legs (kept the waist dart curved with my French curve ruler), and I was done. I have to say, this is the best fitting bodice I have ever sewn! Yay!!!

4. Since I modified the dress in to a blouse and swapped out the two pattern skirt options for a peplum, I had to draft this myself. No worries, though, because drafting a small full-circle peplum is pretty simple. Just google “drafting a full circle skirt” and you will find plenty of great tutorials on how to do it.

5. I moved the zipper from the center back to the left side seam.

Tasia gives great instructions on her blog about how to sew the lining to the invisible zipper. I will be using this technique from now on. It is so professional and clean and I didn’t even need to sew in a hook at the top of the zip!

All in all, this is a stellar pattern and you should start working on your Cambie dress (or blouse) ASAP. Stay tuned because I have another version coming up that is a good deal fancier than the one you see here… 🙂

Tags: cambie, cotton, peplum, Sewaholic