Endless Combinations Wardrobe Contest at PR

In order to get myself sewing again, I have decided to join PatternReview's Endless Combinations Wardrobe Contest. I'd like to have some more clothes to teach in and I really, really like to get back to sewing.

Here is my proposal:


UPDATE 12/31
Both skirt and dress have been completed. Both were Christmas successes.

UPDATE 11/13
I traced off the BWOF patterns (Shirt 122 & Dress 111). I think I traced off the dress 2 sizes too big, but I will be making a muslin, so we'll see if I will need to trace it again.

UPDATE 11/21
Last night I adjusted the BWOF shirt pattern.

UPDATE 12/6
made muslin of the skirt (NL 6163). I used the pants sloper that I recently drafted in a class at G Street Fabrics. My pants sloper calls for two small darts in the front and no darts in the back (just a slightly shaped center back seam). That pattern has two small darts in the back and a flat front. I determined that I would probably get a pretty good fit if I just switched the front and back pieces. I then used my sloper again to determine that I needed to cut at size 16 front and a size 10 back. It worked like a charm! ::pictures to come::

UPDATE 12/8
I've completed the NL6163 skirt. I used a 100% cashmere wool and lined it with silk charmeuse that I had left over in my stash from a previous project. they both went together beautifully. ::pictures coming soon::

UPDATE 12/8
I made a muslin of the red dress (BWOF 11-2008-111). he muslin fit ridiculously well. I added 1/2" to the upper side seam for a FBA. I raised the arm hole slightly. I also shorted the front bodice by about 3/8". I also realized that I can move the zipper to the side seam, making this much easier to get in and out of.

I adjusted the pattern and cut out the wool crepe. Mid-way through the cutting process, I realized that I wanted to underline this fabric with some lining fabric rather than figure out how to draft a lining pattern. After I had the wool cut, I cut the pattern out of a silk bled that has been in my stash for ages and ages.

It went together like a dream. Now it's just waiting for me to get an invisible zipper, finish the arm holes, add facings, and finish the seams. That sounds like a lot, but I should be able to finished all that in another night of sewing.

McCall's 5480 Winter swing coat

This was my second attempt at making a swing coat for this winter. It feels odd to be making a winter coat when it is 95 degrees outside, but I know that I will soon have to return to a hectic schedule and I don't want to bank on finishing an unfinished sewing project come November.

This pattern got great reviews on PatternReview.com and so I was hopeful.

Due to the shape of the raglan sleeves, I did not attempt to adjust them for my shoulder slope. Due to the fact that this is a tent, I didn't bother raising the waist or making a full bust adjustment.

I am tickled pink with how it turned out. I used a wool/cashmere blend I got last year at JoAnn's on an early spring winter fabrics super blowout, sunback lining, and a 3/4 yard double-sided silk satin from Thai Silks in Los Altos, CA. I picked up the remnant at least 2 years ago, but it might have been even longer.

I pattern does not call for contract cuffs, collar, and buttons, but I thought it would be a nice way to subtly spice up the blackiety-blackness. That pattern went together very smoothly and accommodated the fabric and lining which were slightly heavier than the recommended weight with ease. Even the collar went on right the first time, which might be a sewing first for me.

I also created fabric covered buttons for the first time and I was amazed at how well the little Dritz mold worked. It was $2.19 well spent!

And now... the pictures. I took my dressform outside because black clothes just do not photograph well inside.





trim details:




The lining...

McCall's 5274 Godet skirt

So my latest project was this godet skirt by McCall's. I was intersted in doing a godet skirt because I originally wanted to play with pinning the godets in interesting arrangements to mimic a skirt I had seen on the street. Sadly, I didn't take a picture, so after fiddling with the godets for a day I had to admit defeat and just make the skirt as shown.

I used some blue handkerchief linen from my stash and the skirt went together without any problems. The only slight snag was the the waistband was not well drafted for the curve of my lower back. It either gapped in the back or sat unattractively low, giving me a Homer Simpson look:



My next sewing class is really going to be a skirt and pants sloper class, but until then...

I decided that I could fix the problem by just adding a drawstring in the waistband to pick up the 1.5" of slack and keep the waistband fairly smooth. A stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. :)

I made the drawstring by attaching two pieces of 1/4" ribbon to about 8" of 1/4" elastic and tying cute, small buttons to the ends so I wouldn't lose the drawstring in the casing (hopefully):



I then used a slightly smaller button as the guide for my machine buttonhole guide and added a buttonhole to ease edge of the waistband on the outside only:



I then sewed the waistband closed while making sure that I did not catch the drawstring in th stitching. Yes I know, I should have sewed this by hand, but it was getting late and I wanted to finish the project. Given my shape, it's unlikely that I will ever be highlighting the waistband on this skirt, so it should remain hidden most of the time.



"I love it when a plan come together."
This totally fixed my waistband gaps without distorting or adding much bulk to the waistband:





And here's the final shots with the seams finished and the skirt hemmed:

other projects

I've been on hold on the regalia project until I could get back to my second class to get some advice on the final pattern adjustments. But I've also been out of school, so I've had plenty of time on my hands. Here are the other projects that I've been working on in the mean time:

A modified version of the Hot Patterns Wong-Singh-Jones mandarin Wrap Top. I left off the wrap overlay because between my being a "short round" and the thickness of the velvet, it was not going to be attractive. I am very pleased with this, although the nature of the fabric demanded a /lot/ of hand sewing. Even though this is the least complicated project, I spent the most time tweaking the pattern and sewing it. I had to make some pretty major changes to the should slope and width on the kimono sleeves, which was a bit tricky.








I also made this top from McCall's Pattern 5586. I made it out of some silk charmeuse that I had in my stash. Actually, all the projects were about working through some of the stash. I am also ver pleased with this pattern. It wears very easily and I can see myself putting it on for dinners on hot, steamy summer nights.








I used McCall's 5618 to make the dress that I will wear underneath my robes on graduation. This dress is GREAT! It hangs well and looks super flirty, but the skirt lining is designed really well so that there is no danger of exposing oneself. I highly recommend this pattern to anyone with a proportionally large bust. The only caveat is that you will either need to be able to wear a strapless bra or you must own a Y-back bra and pull the straps together slightly at the high bust line to keep the bra straps out of sight (or make some design changes to the neckline).








I've also completed my muslin for Hot Patterns Deco Vibe Cocoon Coat, but I don't have any pictures of the muslin right now. I am taking it to class tomorrow for a little advice about how to increase the sleeve width to accommodate the heavy wool coating and Sunback lining I'm using. I'm hoping that this can be this winter's coat ( or at least one of them).