M6503 - A Modern Pattern with Vintage Flair (the process in pictures)

So yeah, I really like this pattern... It fits well, it is flattering, it is comfortable to wear, and it is so easy to sew.  

For this version I used Liberty Tana Lawn in a small scale floral print. Typically I like a larger and more graphic pattern, but in this case I made an exception because this fabric is so lovely.  Unsurprisingly, it sews up like a dream and is perfectly suited to this pattern.

So here is that delightfully easy process in pictures...

Step 1: Interfacing - for this pattern you need to interface the midriff sections, collar, and front band.

Then you skip to step 14 and gather along the lower edge of the bodice before moving to step 18.

Steps 18 - 22:

These steps have you attach the interface front band to the bodice front, sew on band facing, flip to the correct side, press, and tack down.  To add some extra detail and finish, I decided to top stitch the front band.

Pastels 23 - 24:  back darts and attach the front and back bodice.

 

Step 29 - 30: Then I added the collar, and again I top-stitched to finish.  To clarify, the top-stitching is largely because I am too lazy to do any hand stitching.

 

Then we skip to step 36 - 39 and add and finish the sleeves.

 

 

 

Step 40 - 45: Then I attached the midriff band... At this point I did not follow the directions as written, but rather sewed on both the band and facing with one seam.  

 

 

Step 50 - 52:  Next I completed the pleats on the skirt, sewed up the non-zipper side of the skirt, and attached the skirt to the midriff band.

 

 

Now we break for a cat... (cue elevator music)

As an aside, I also top-stitched the midriff band.

Step 50 - 59: Zipper and Finishing - I finished the dress by sewing in a 12 - 14" invisible zipper and completing the side seam.  I then sewed in three buttonholes, attached the buttons, and hemmed the dress.

Given the light weight of the fabric I did add a small strip of fusible interfacing along the edge where I ultimately installed the zipper.  This both adds stability and heft which makes the zipper easier to sew in, and it adds some strength to the part of the dress that will likely get the most wear and strain.

Initially I planned on using small red shank buttons, but once the dress was complete it seemed too childish and cartoony.  So I busted out the button box and instead went with a burnished gold plain button.

 

 

 

 

The final step? Wear your new dress, look adorable, and be photo bombed by your feline assistant!

 

And yes, I posed with my bike. It lives in my living room so I may as we'll adopt it as an accessory... Also I am really looking forward to riding in this dress!

Because I liked M6503 so much...

I am making another one!

Writing yesterday's post reminded me how much I liked (and wore) the last version of this pattern I sewed up.  But as bright citrus tones don't make very good wardrobe staples, I decided to make another lightweight floral in red, white and blue.  I am using a fabric I picked up at Liberty when I was in London in June.

Since I have mad this before I knew I could cut directly from the pattern and was able to piece out and cut the entire dress today.

This time I am using View D and using some red buttons to add an extra pop of color. 

Let's see how much progress I can make over the weekend!

M6503...In Canary Yellow

Remember this from yesterday?

Well after that post, I was inspired to buckle down and actually finish this dress meaning that today I had a new outfit...

Now first and foremost I need to warn you that wearing this color takes a shocking degree of undeserved self-confidence as it WILL get you noticed! Comments I heard today:

"Bright!"

"You remind me of Mary Tyler Moore!"

"What a cheerful color!"

"I love it, so summery!"

And

"Yellow!!!!!"

Notice the exclamation marks... Good, bad or passive aggressive, this is a dress that inspires some strong emotions.

Now I am fortunate in my ability to wear yellow without looking as I have been struck with an unfortunate ailment of the liver, bit I nonetheless warn that it is not a shade for the faint of heat.  Therefore, despite this being one of the most comfortable garments I own (seriously why don't I own more shirt dresses?) I highly doubt it will become a wardrobe staple. This of course is solely a comment on my fabric choices and not the pattern itself.

I have actually made up this pattern before to great success:

Full disclosure, I wore the black and white silk version until the fabric started disinograted on me.  That was view D, whereas I made the yellow using view B.  I plan to recreate D with some Liberty lawn I picked up in London this summer.

Now the collar definitely worked better in the stiffer sateen, but overall the fit of the bodice is better in the softer fabric as the stiffer fabric created some odd shapes in the bust area rather than draping nicely. To be fair though, the yellow moves far better than it photographs.

As I mentioned, the bodice is taken from M6503, version B.  I cut the 20 to assure that I would have sufficient volume so that the wrapped front wouldn't gap.  In retrospect, I should have gone with an 18 and done an FBA as the bodice is slightly larger than I would like. But again? Super comfortable.  Who knew it would be so pleasant to wear clothes with ease?

The only chage I made to the bodice was finishing the collar with pipping.

Please excuse the wonky top stitching.  You can't really see it in person so I decided it was good enough.

For the skirt a did a circle skirt with my standard method of lengthening by adding an additional strip of fabric with piping detail.  I also added some self drafted pockets which were also top stitched (poorly).

Overall, I am quite pleased with results despite the imperfect fit and less than flawless finishes.

A Very Lazy Summer...

Summer bathing beauties and their alter-egos

The ancient Greeks said it best... "Know thyself."  Sadly, that self knowledge presents a stark contradiction to the self I often wish I were.  I would like to consider myself industrious and clever and driven but the reality is that I am inefficient and slothful.  Many an evening in the past few months I have thought to myself "Self, you should sew something and write a blog about it!"

"Or as an alternative," my inner slug pipes up, " you could drink this box of wine and binge watch the first three seasons of Scandal..."

Now I won't say that the slug always wins, but much of my fall inspiration is suspiciously Olivia Pope-ish.

But before I can get to that, I should first share the few items I have managed to create since I last wrote:

Continuing on the caftan theme, I decided to make a poolside cover up. I purchased this purple J. Crew chiffon from Fabric Mart. It is particularly well suited for this purpose as it is a vibrant royal purple on one side and a deep blue on the other.  This was perfect as there was no "wrong" side so I could finish my edges with a narrow hem folded over onto the "outside" of the garment to create the look of contrast binding.

I also used a slightly different design in order to achieve a fjord flowing and draped shape.  Rather than cutting a neck into one large square, I cut my fabric Dow the middle length-wise into two long scarf -like pieces.  I then finished one long edge on each "scarf." I pinned these right (purple) sides together and sewed a center front and back seam and pressed. I then rounded all the corners and finished the outside edge of the entire larger square.  Finally, I determined where I wanted my side seams and stitched from about 10 inches below the shoulder to about 20 inches from the hem assuring that my side seams were far enough apart to accommodate my widest measurement with ease.

My other big project was a full, flirty summer dress in a large print white and blue floral.

This was also mostly a self drafted pattern.  The bodice was once part of an old Butterick as I recall but it has gone thru so many versions and refittings that at this point it doesn't really resemble he source.  It is simply my go to well fitted top with bust and waist darts and an easily alter able neckline.  My favorite part of this pattern is how well the armholes fit, being both close to the body and without any unfortunate gappage.

The skirt is a simple circle skirt with some scooped pockets that I drafted. But as I often find, a circle skirt cut on the fold on your standard 60" width fabric is about 4 inches to short on my long legged self.  My solution is to cut a long curved strip (matching the curve of the hem) and added it to the hem along with some navy piping. This adds a fun design detail and lengthens the skirt to a more appropriate length! I also used the piping to finish the neckline and pockets.

The fabric is a stretch cotton sateen (pretty much my favorite fabric to sew as it is easy to work with and fit). Because of the large scale of the pattern I had to be somewhat cognizant of the flower placing on the bodice, but otherwise I didn't even try to worry about matching the pattern.  The dress has a side zipper, fully lined bodice and is quickly becoming a go to wardrobe staple. (With a navy cardigan from Banana Republic and nude pumps! So cute!)

Finally, for the last few weeks I have been working on a canary yellow shirt dress.  This is what it looks like now.

What was that I was saying about lazy? 

The Pattern-Free Caftan... Effortless Chic!

The obsession started a few months ago... First Christina Hendricks went on Jimmy Fallon to discuss her "Caftans and Casseroles" birthday party.  Then New York Magazine's The Cut ran a feature on getting your body "caftan ready" which sounds far more fun than working on a bikini bod.  Later I tried on some designer selections at Nordstrom while jeans shopping and realized that spending big money on what is essentially two squares of fabric is a bit silly.

So instead, I decided to make my own caftan top ( a dress is likely forthcoming) which would not only be a quick and easy project but also provide a use for the silk panel prints that I have picked up over the years.  I sketched a tentative "pattern design" that looked something like this:

So yeah, basically a caftan is a big square with a hole cut out for the head and some simple side seams.  Now some fancy folk might add some shirring to define the waist or also stich horizontal seams to better define the arms, but I don't have time for that nonsense!

For a bit of added interest (and to hide the break between panels) I added some forest green silk charmeuse at the shoulder. However, this truly is just a big rectangle with a hole in the middle.

  I made bias tape with the remaining green silk.

And used my silk bias tape to finish the neckline and hem.

I then sewed the side seams. And this is even simpler than normal side seams as you sew the wrong sides together.

Now if you want a loose and easy fit and feel you can stop here and call it a day.

 

However, for those of us who want or need a bit more waist definition, you can sew large buttonholes just outside the side seam and use a narrow belt or sash to emphasize your curves!

Voila! Casual summer glam!

The Completed Chicago Quilt... Only two months later!

Despite my failure to post about it in a relatively timely fashion, I did in fact finish the Chicago quilt in time to gift it to my cousin at her baby shower the first weekend in June. That said, now seemed like a good time to show off the finished product as her son was born this past weekend as per the photos, mother and baby both seem to be doing well!

So here is the finished product, conveniently posed in front of color coordinated balloons.

When I last posted, I had finished piecing the front and back and was trying to figure out the whole "quilting" thing.  I ultimately decided to quilt around the shore and skyline to outline the image and try free form quilting for the lake and sky. Given this plan, I started at the straight shoreline to assure that the colored blocks on the back would line up with the image on the front. I also didn't have a lot of space so I had to roll up most of the quilt as I worked (as seen above) and quilt small sections.

The free form quilting was HARD!  I had no idea it would be such a challenge, or so fun! I get it now guys, I really do.  It didn't turn out perfectly, but it is solid and shouldn't fall apart, which was my real concern.

This image of the back provides a good sample of the quilting.

Once the quilting was complete, I finished the edges with wide bias binding.  Finally, I ran it through the wash several times to make sure that none of the threads would come loose (and tied off the few that did) because... Baby.

Then all that was left to do was attend the party!

One advantage of blogging several months after the fact is that the frustration of the learning curve and the many hours of picking out and redoing badly done stitches have faded from memory. Because honestly, this was probably a more ambitious project than a first time quilter should have attempted. It turned out as I pictured, I am pleased with the results, but this was a humbling experience.  That said, I may need to repeat this exercise, perhaps with a different skyline... Golden Gate Bridge anyone?

Britex Workshop Space Launch Party and a LOT of inspiration!

As per usual, I have gone far too long between posts, despite having a TON of blog fodder in my life the last few months!  I finished the Chicago quilt, gave it to my cousin and this past week the intended recipient was born! I learned a few fun pattern free projects (who knew a caftan could be so flattering!) and have several so far unposted tutorials to share.  I made a floral linen dress to wear to a hippie garden party wedding in the UK. I had an amazing vacation traveling around England and Scotland where I did some fabric shopping (Liberty) and learned about tartan weaving. I also dealt with some family health emergencies, spent far too much time on planes and bought an iPad mini, which I think will be beneficial in this whole "blogging" thing.

Despite all this good material, I had been content in lazily composing posts in my head and never sharing until yesterday when I attended the Britex Fabrics workspace launch party!

To launch the new workspace on the 4th floor (conveniently near the remnants) Britex invited a number of amazing sewing bloggers to speak as well as setting up some great crafts.  I attended as part of the Bay Area Sewists meetup group. I had never attended one of their events before, but all the women involved seemed delightful and I definitely plan on participating in the future!

Now I did make a headband, and sadly learned that I am none too proficient with the fabric glue... I actually looks pretty cute on, but the inside is a disaster... You can't really tell from these pictures, but trust me on this, grosgrain ribbon is much prettier when it is a) applied evenly, and b) not covered in glue.

The highlight of the afternoon however were the speakers.

Obviously I was not the only person trying to get a picture of these amazing ladies!

First up was Shams of Communing with Fabric. She did a show and tell of some of her recent work with a focus on closures.  A standout for me was a garment she had made for the fabric mart contest that used hardware store key rings for the closure.  She also raved about the folks on the button floor at Britex (3rd floor) so I may have to utilize their services next time I make a jacket!  She and several of the women at the talk suggested bringing the finished or nearly finished item to the store to "audition" closures in person. I think this is a great idea (and something I had never done before) as the closure on the garment, as opposed to just being held up to the fabric, can be quite different.

The second speaker was Beth of Sunny Gal Studio. sadly, I missed a lot of her talk as I was busy wrestling with my glue covered headband.  That said, she mentioned using many Vogue patterns as well as using scraps for linings which is functional rather than attractive. As a fan of the vogue patterns who has several garments which look downright bizarre on the inside I may need to start following her work.

Offering something a bit different was Jacqui from Birds of a Thread. She spoke on crafting an ethical wardrobe and discussed manufacturers with transparent supply chains so that the consumer could understand who actually made their clothes (or fabric as the case may be).  She suggested thinking carefully about our purchases and considering if we really need what we are buying. Of course this was after I had just bought yards and yards of remnant lace to make dresses that I will have little occasion to wear!

The last speaker I saw before I had to leave was Seamstress Erin, who, I have to admit, I now have a bit of a girl crush on... She is also tall and had to sew to get clothes long enough! She was once a theater major and sews costumes! She was wearing a large scale dinosaur print maxi dress! She is making a beautiful wedding jacket from the same (depressingly unfinished) Claire Schaffer pattern I have been working on for near 3 years now!  Not to mention that she has a PhD in biochemistry and is going to spend the months after her wedding traveling around Southeast Asia... Seriously? So cool. As I said, major girl crush.

Also, her talk inspired me to get back to blogging, so you can thank (blame?) her for this and future posts.

Sadly I had to leave before I could see the remaining speakers. The final two were Nicole from Nicole at Home and Laura Mae from Lilacs & Lace.

I also am grateful for the opportunity to take some time to explore Britex. When I went in the past I found it a bit overwhelming but now I think I would be in a better spot to actually shop.

And speaking of shopping, I did make a few purchases while at the store.

First I bought this lovely nubby material to make a lightweight jacket. 

I also bought this gorgeous gold lace and gold silk charmeuse.  My plan is to make a 60's style simple shift to really show off the lace, although I may need to buy different fabric for the underlay as I don't know that I got quite enough of the silk.

Continuing in the theme of lace over a silk shift, I also bought this unusual grey lace made from piping and a darker grey silk to go underneath.

Again, my thought is a shift, although for this one I think I would like longs sleeves made of just the lace.

That said, given how many unfinished projects I have sitting around, I am not sure when I will be able to get to these.