April Showers bring Me Made May

Whew!  Nothing like Me Made May to make remember that I still have a blog. Last year was really busy (hence the radio silence) but there was lots of sewing going on.  In fact that included a fashion show where I sent six looks down the runway that I created.  But enough about the past, let’s talk about sewing!

Allie J has started hosting a social sewing series and to kick everything off the theme for April was April Showers.  This was perfect timing as in my sewing queue I had a dress was the most obvious interpretation of the theme. 

This is Sew House Seven’s Mississippi Ave dress made out of raindrop print double gauze. I bought the PDF of this pattern way back in August 2015 as part of the Sew Independent’s Sewing Indie Month Bundle.  It reminded a lot of a favorite Anthropologie dress with the partial elastic waist but smooth front but I was neck deep in fashion show sewing so I had to resist the temptation.  Fast forward to April 2016 and it seemed like the perfect spring dress.  I found the double gauze at my local Pacific Fabrics and while I knew I wanted to make a dress out of it I finally decided that this was a pattern and fabric match made in heaven.

Having never sewn a Sew House Seven pattern before I did a quickie muslin of the bodice and kinda pulled it close to simulate how it would look with elastic and gathered shoulders.  The fit seemed pretty good and my bra wasn’t peeking out so I decided to move forward and cut the double gauze.  Tracing the pattern was quick since there’s not that many pieces and everything seemed to line up pretty well. I appreciated that the cutting layout was set up with directional prints in mind and with a few minor tweaks I was able to have enough remaining fabric left over to make something else. To be fair I chose not to cut out the shoulder ties or neck and armhole bias strips because I was a little worried about bulk.  Cutting my fabric didn’t take much time at all so I was able to start sewing right away. I sewed this dress up over a couple evenings.  I used my serger to finish my seams although it did start acting up a couple times so a few edges look less than perfect.  The waist on the dress is intended to be slightly above the natural waist. My waist measurement is pretty small so next time I might lower it an inch so it does sit on my natural waist.

I found some lovely Cotton + Steel lawn on another trip to Pacific Fabrics that perfectly matches the occasional turquoise raindrop in the print.  I used this on my neck and armhole bias facings.  Next time I will cut it a bit narrower and use it more as a binding.  On some of the curves it seemed a little excessively wide but nothing that a bunch of steam from my iron couldn’t force into submission.  I had some left over bias strip and cut that in half lengthwise for the shoulder ties.  The bias will discourage fraying and allow me to skip tying knots at the ends.  This will make it a bit less bulky under a close fitting cardigan.

Here in Seattle we’ve had a weirdly dry and warm April but that wasn’t the case yesterday when I wore it for the first time.  But even with the cool weather and my low tolerance to cold I was plenty warm during the day without needing to add tights.  I can see wearing this dress a lot – even during early fall. I also have fabric set aside to make another that will be even easier to layer up and keep wearing all year.

 

I’ve been waiting until the very eve of Me Made May to figure out this year’s challenge.  I spent a lot of time trying to decide how to make it a bit different from the past but also fit into my everyday life.  In the end I accepted that my usual pledge would be more of a challenge this year so it wasn’t necessary to come up with anything new.  This has everything to do with my newish puppy.  Daily trips to the dog park don’t really play nice with pretty dresses that you wish to keep clean.  There’s always the chance of getting jumped up on and considering the park has lake access odds are high that those paws are muddy.  So really I just want to avoid wearing a me-made top and the same jeans every day, even if that means multiple wardrobe changes throughout the day.  So here we go…

'I, Erin of fisforflamingo.blogspot.com & @fisforflamingo (Instagram) sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '16. I endeavor to wear at least one handmade item each day and hopefully fully me-made two days a week for the duration of May 2016.'

I’m really looking forward to checking out what everyone else is up to this month and picking up tons of inspiration!

Dos Plantains

My computer and camera seem to be having an on and off friendship lately and this was written when they definitely weren't speaking.  And we all know that a sewing blog + no pictures = no bueno.  The good news is that they've recently kissed and made up so yea photos!

I seem to be on a knits kick right now – with the exception of my most recent make, it’s been all knits all the time.  This time I’ve made Deer & Doe’s Plantain which is another free pattern.  Considering I seem to be a bit obsessed with this pattern line, there was no way I could skip this one.  Deer & Doe’s first PDF pattern, it includes options for short, ¾ or long sleeves plus super cute elbow patches.  Lucky you, this is a twofer post so you get to see how it looks in different fabrics.

I made my first version was way back from April or May and used a super drapey rayon jersey.  Not gonna lie, this was a pain to cut as the pattern is printed slightly off grain.  I debated which was more important, staying on grain or keeping the pattern lined up and figured it was a draw.  So I did a little bit of both and hoped for the best.  I.e. minimum twisting. I’m really glad my plan from the beginning was for short sleeves to avoid any awkward arm twisting.  Not 100% satisfied with my neck binding, but not enough to have another go at it.

The good news is that so far I haven’t noticed any twisting!  Even after going through the laundry several times!  At some point I do want to make another and not have to compromise on the grain situation.  If nothing else it’ll be more enjoyable to cut and make.

 

Version #2 is my more recent sporty version.  This time I went with a navy and white striped cotton/poly blend.  I know, poly… but I loved the stripe and chose to overlook its synthetic sins.  FYI, most of the poly seems s to be located in the white stripes.  I used more of my hoarded saved interlock scraps for the elbow patches on the ¾ length sleeves. 

 

A quick word on those elbow patches, the pattern is genius and shows the perfect placement.  Don’t be thrown off on the off-center pattern placement and pretend you know better.  As drafted they will fall smack dab over your elbows, although depending on arm length they may need to be adjusted up or down a bit.  I used a straight stitch to attach them and then ended up going back with a narrow zigzag right along the edge.

Initially I cut my band on the crossgrain but this jersey doesn’t have much stretch and it didn’t look that great.  Plus it didn’t look like I used a consistent stitching line.  So I ripped out the serging and debated if I could get a better result with a second try.  After deciding that was doubtful based on the fabric’s lack of stretch I remembered by previously mentioned interlock scraps that I used for the elbow patches would work perfectly.  After all, what is interlock other than baby ribbing?  So I recut the binding out of the interlock and attached it.  So if you ever have need ribbing and can’t find it in the right color, check out the interlocks.  As a bonus they tend to be softer than a lot of the interlocks I’ve come across.

Check out that smooth curve!

The result is sooooooo much better!  Even before any pressing it behaved and stayed nice and flat.  To keep up some consistency I trimmed some length off the sleeves and cut some bands out of the interlock.  I used the same measurement as the pattern piece but should’ve reduced the band length a bit.

 

I top stitched both neck and sleeves using navy thread with a wide stitch length and added this to my pile of shirts that needed the double needle treatment.  Which meant I got on a roll using white thread on two other shirts and forgot to switch to navy when hemming this one.  *sigh*

All in all I like both versions despite them coming out differently. This has a fair amount to do with the pattern as fleece is given as an option to use although it’s suggested you size up. While I don’t see myself succumbing to the siren song of the fleece half of most chain fabric stores I can totally see this in a cozy sweater knit come winter.  If you’re new to knits or want to see what all the hype about Deer & Doe is about, the Plantain is a great introduction.  Plus I’m a fan of plantains and am now craving some plantain tostones.

P.S. Those are navy Grainline Maritime shorts I'm wearing with the stripes and will be covered in the next post!

Striped Kirsten Kimono Tee

Totally late to the Maria Denmark party is still better than never, right?  This is the Kirsten Kimono Tee, Maria Denmark’s first pattern and it’s a freebie to boot!  Easy to make and easy to wear it makes a great wardrobe staple.



Sometimes being a lazy seamstress pays off.  I had downloaded this pattern seemingly forever ago, printed & taped it together.  But I never traced it.  Fast forward to a version 7(!) being released that made me much happier.  (Downloaded not as quite forever ago!)  Now there are 8 sizes and they’re laid out with each size being a different color.  Oh yeah, I printed it out on legal sized paper as I worried last time little bits were cut off when using letter sized.  This time around I immediately traced and added seam allowances.

 





Now let’s talk fabric!  I had originally ordered this to make my mom a nightgown for Christmas.  Only it didn’t fit right so I debated adding side panels before realizing I had enough to recut.  Which was great as I realized that it would drive me batty trying to match the stripes across the solid inset.  Yeah, I think about those kinds of things.  Good thing stripes don’t have a top or bottom as I was able to flip the old nightgown upside down and squeeze out this tee.  So yea for not wasting fabric!  To give it some interest I cut the neckband so the stripes went in the opposite direction.

 

Since it’s just two pieces and a neckband the construction goes super quick and was mostly done on my serger.  I used clear elastic on the shoulder seams just in case and out of habit, although it isn’t mentioned in the directions.  I did baste the side seams together using my walking foot to be extra sure all my stripes lined up.  Then it was just a couple more trips through the serger and the double needle treatment and bam!  I had a brand new shirt.



I guess I really want you to check out my stripes

This was actually a test version as I have some parrot burnout jersey this would be perfect in.  A kimono top can be the ideal pattern for fabric with a design you don’t want to break up with things like extra seams.  I’ve worn this tee several times since making it and really like the fit.  Next time around I won’t change a thing. Although at some point I might attempt a long sleeved version.   To sum things up, if you haven’t tried the goodness that is a Maria Denmark pattern, this is a great introduction.  Now to try out the other patterns of hers I have waiting...



Me Made May Week 2 & 3

Over half way done and I’m still going strong!  In this group I have my first repeat although it easily could be more.  One of the downsides of Me Made May is tracking what you wore each day when you have some new favorites freshly completed.  I know I’m not the only one who after finishing something feels the need to wear it all the time and figures if different people see you wear it than its ok to wear it a couple days in a row.  However taking daily photos makes this glaringly obvious and probably a bit boring for viewers who aren’t me.  I’m attempting to exercise some restraint until June when I won’t have the evidence staring back at me.  It does help that I’m on a huge sewing kick (I even gleefully had a couple marathon tracing sessions which I normally avoid like the plague) with days getting both longer and warmer so I’ve had a number of new options.  I’ve always preferred my warm weather wardrobe and find so much more inspiration to sew all of the things.  Things would be a bit harder if we were all doing Me Made March like Zo originally did.

Day 5

Sewaholic Renfrew

This is my all-time favorite Renfrew.  It’s my favorite color (turquoise) and the rayon knit is super comfy.  Too bad the teeny, tiny 1/8” stripes photograph so terribly.

Day 6

Deer & Doe Plantain

In my quest for all things Deer & Doe I could hardly overlook Plantain, a free t-shirt pattern.  I bought this fabric specifically for the pattern and almost wish I hadn’t.  It’s printed slightly off grain so who knows what will happen after I wash it.  Regardless there will be more Plantains in my future.  Plus I wore this will sewing yet another D&D pattern: Chardon.

Day 7

Sewaholic Renfrew & Crescent

A Sewaholic twofer today!  Warm weather in Seattle means I got to bring out a favorite skirt from last summer.  In my mind few fabrics say summer quite like seersucker.  While I wore it with a Renfrew it might look better with a Nettie to better show off the pieced yoke.  And yet another project is added to the list…

Day 8

Deer & Doe Sureau

It was cold and rainy today and seemed very fall like so this plaid flannel 90’s throwback felt appropriate.  During my wardrobe rotation this was in my “needs to be cleaned before being put away for the season & yet not too dirty to wear” pile.  I can’t be the only one who has one of those, right?

Day 9

Built by Wendy: Rock the Boatneck

This was my first make from Built by Wendy’s book Sew U: Home Stretch and I’m not super in love with it.  There’s plenty of things I’d change for next time but am really fond of the navy & cream striped cotton knit.  One day I may finally get around to tweaking it a bit more (I seriously took the side seams in a ton!) but for now it works when I’m cleaning & moving stuff around.  Plus it worked for the Friday theme of blue.

Day 10

Sewaholic Renfrew & Colette Chantilly

Two makes to show today.  My school was having an open house in the evening so most of the day was spent rearranging rooms and setting everything up.  I just barely had time to go home, bake brownies & change into my Chantilly before heading back to school.  While setting up, everyone was trying to figure out what to wear and thinking it should probably be something we made.  A lot of people defaulted to black but I figured this was a great chance to rock some polka dots.  Plus I have shoes the perfectly match those dots!

Day 11

Kitschy Coo Lady Skater

Yet another to be blogged make!  Needless to say this pattern makes a perfect casual yet 100% pulled together dress that is easy to wear.  It worked out great for Mother’s Day when there were no set plans; I knew I was ready for anything wearing this.

 Day 12

Simplicity Leanne Marshall 1877

I made this dress last year in the early fall and only managed to wear it once before it got too cold.  So I was excited to wear it again after thinking about it all winter long.  It’s mostly orange ditzy floral printed linen and my favorite part just might be the origami like flounces on the shoulders.  I’m so glad I didn’t decide to toss them.

Day 13

Sewaholic Alma & Thurlow

Another all Sewaholic day.  This was a favorite combo last summer and was thrilled to finally wear it again.  The shorts went together pretty quickly and only took a little taking in to fit properly.  I think a few more pairs are needed this summer with front running ideas being grey chambray and polka dotted challis.  This is probably my perfect shorts pattern and four Almas may not be enough.

Day 14

Simplicity Cynthia Rowley OOP #?

This is actually the very first thing I used my serger on.  I wore it once, decided it might be a bit sheer in direct sunlight and it didn’t fit the best and has been taking up closet space ever since.  I wish the sleeves were a bit shorter and that I had a better belt to wear with it.  I like the contrast of the brown leather but it’s a little too big and there’s no way to make it smaller.  This may become a “just at home” dress.

 Day 15

Deer & Doe Chardon

This is my first try at the Chardon skirt and once again am pleased with the results of a Deer & Doe pattern.  Once again I can’t help but think a Nettie would be perfect for a skirt like this to really show off the waist.  I picked this shirt mainly based on footwear and don’t think it’s the best pairing but also not too bad either.  I seem to be lacking in tops to wear with skirts that hit at or just above the waist.  Everything I have just seems too bunchy after tucking in but when not seems to cover up the skirt design features.  I plan on making another version with the back bow and would hate to cover up that added cuteness.

Day 16

Deer & Doe Sureau

This Friday’s theme was: Too Pretty to Wear Pants, and it was the perfect time to debut my latest dress.  After a few minor alterations I think I have my perfect dress and yet another Deer & Doe win.  Something must be in the sewing air as I was making this the same time Oona was making her voile flyaway pants since we both brazenly chose not line them.  And I smile every time I think about it.

 Day 17

Project Runway

Some days you just have to ignore the sewing & other assorted crafting and clean.  And I’m talking real cleaning, not checking for stray threads or lint in your serger, but actual here’s my scrub brush & that is a toilet.  They type of thing I never enjoy the process of but always feel better about the results.  And this always seems like a good time to wear those makes that you just don’t wear for whatever reason.  With this dress I tried a new silhouette but don’t think it’s the most flattering for me.  I like photo #2 where I pulled it in at the waist creating some waist definition so much better but will likely keep this as a cleaning dress rather than go back and try and alter it.

 Day 18

Deer & Doe Plantain

My 1^st repeat & I fully admit I had to quick check out my previous photo to make sure I styled it differently.  This time I went more casual with straight leg jeans and Converse.  Wearing it again simply reminded me that I need to whip out a couple more versions.

I hope everyone is enjoying Me Made May and not feeling too stressed about keeping to their pledges!

Me Made May ’14 Week One

Ok, so this was a super short week – just a few days – but I’m off to a good start.  It didn’t hurt that for the first two days we had some gorgeous, warm weather in Seattle.  I was very excited to break out my warm weather clothes and gleefully banish the cold to the dark recesses of my closet.  Sadly it didn’t last and I had to hold off on finishing the wardrobe rotation plan to avoid freezing.  I only hope the sun will come back soon!

 Day One

Megan Nielsen Tania Culottes

These are a recent make and I have a more in depth post coming up – I just need the rain to stop in order to get more pictures.  These are made out of rayon challis and turned out to be super comfortable on a warm day.  I can’t wait to make more!

Day Two

Sewaholic Alma Blouse

This pink seersucker blouse was made last year in anticipating of Me Made May and was a favorite throughout spring and summer.  This Friday’s special theme was Cocktail Hour which just happened to correspond to my latest project.  Alas!  I didn’t have blue thread that was a close enough match so I stalled out at the cutting out stage.

 

Oh yeah, that leopard martini glass came with a bonus cocktail recipe on the bottom.  Here it is:

 Day Three

Deer & Doe Datura Blouse

My most recent Deer & Doe make and very versatile.  It took me from class to a one year old’s birthday party.  It’s perfect for layering under little sweaters.

Technically I wore this briefly on Day Two during my trip to the DMV to renew my driver’s license and get a new photo.  However I was in and out in less than 10 minutes so there goes that idea that the DMV is the 7^th Circle of hell – it is possible to have a pleasant experience there.  I try and avoid wearing light colors in ID photos since the time my light colored shirt faded into the background and it looked like I was topless.  Not a good look so I stick to bold colors now.

 Day Four

Sewaholic Alma Blouse

This blouse is also part of an upcoming blog post and the fabric was used in a couple more garments including my delayed Thurlows.  This time around I added 2” in length and made the notched neckline for the first time.  Pardon the frizzed hair – I got caught in a couple heavy rain showers today.

 I really didn’t anticipate any problems this early into the challenge so there’s not too much more to say.  It’s always interesting to look over daily photos to determine what type of garments you actually wear the most so I’m looking forward to the end of month summary.  Last year I realized I needed more separates so I’m hoping to see more of that this year.  That and the return of warm weather!

It’s a grape Datura!

After finding success with both Bleuet & Sureau I’ve continued to work my way through the Deer & Doe pattern catalog.  Most recently with Datura, a loose, sleeveless blouse with either a cutout or Peter Pan collar and back buttons.  I initially thought of making this earlier but a sleeveless blouse didn’t seem like the most practical winter make.  Now that the weather is heating up I want a whole gaggle of them!

For my first version I used grape colored rayon challis and included the Peter Pan collar.  Not wanting to deal with fussy, shifty fabric I used Sullivan’s stabilizing spray rather than regular spray starch.  Last time I used spray starch the nozzle malfunctioned and wouldn’t stop spraying – I ended up tying it up in a plastic bag & setting it outside where it continued to spray until there was nothing left.  I’ve read recommendations for Sullivan’s before & decided to give it a try.  I did use a pressing cloth while ironing the fabric after spraying it to avoid dirtying up my iron.

Datura is a relatively simple design with just a few pattern pieces so it doesn’t take long to cut out or sew up.  The yokes are lined resulting in a neat finish along the neck and armholes.  I chose to topstitch the yokes and avoid any potential hand sewing and French seamed the sides.  The hem is finished with bias binding so the insides look almost as nice as the outsides.  I used three little buttons on the back and made functioning buttonholes despite them being unnecessary to get into the blouse.  After a quick washing cycle & press to remove the added stiffness it was ready to go.



I love, love, love that it doesn’t button all the way up the back!  As a girl with long hair I hate having to untangle my hair from around a button, especially if it’s in back where I can’t see what I’m doing.

So far I’ve only worn the blouse with cardigans with the exception of these photos.  I like the sleeveless nature of it but am wondering how it might look with a cap or short sleeve.

Part of me is surprised at how much I’ve liked this blouse since it’s not my usual silhouette.  Overall I think I look best with some waist definition and this has none.  I feel it’s designed with slim pants in mind using the old rule of loose on top/tight on bottom or vice-versa.  It’s always nice to throw a bit of caution to the wind and try out a new style.  Also the looser fit means less time needed in the fitting stage making this an ideal candidate for some unselfish sewing if you so desire.

I know I really like a pattern when I immediately start planning out future versions and snapping up all the needed fabrics and notions.  So far I’ve got some floral fabric and a few solid pieces I’m debating between for the cut outs version.  I’m trying to restrain myself with only two more (for now) so my other patterns don’t get jealous!