June review

or How Sarah Got Her Groove Back!

I have been pretty busy this month.  I have definitely got back into my sewing groove thankfully!  After realizing that I had made more things for my husband this year than myself  I knew it was time to step it up.  Especially if I want to achieve my New Years goal of sewing 50% of my stash. I am a long ways from it for being half way through 2011.  I do have quite a few ideas for garments I want to work on so I have business casual clothing for work in the fall.  I also have an exciting new project I am starting for a friend.  More to come on that later, but for now lets just say she is competing in the Miss. Ethnic World Pageant and asked me for help!!

This month I have made the following:

2 tops for myself
1 jacket for myself
1 shirt for Eric
1 Santa Sack for Vickie
1 secret project for Vickie
Continued working on the never ending quilt

Fabric used: 9 yds
Fabric bought: 15 yds

My Santa Sack swap partner Vickie has received hers so now I can show everyone what it looks like.  I am working on getting the tutorial typed up still but here is the finished sack.  The stockings are trimmed with gold sequins and sewn so that they are pockets.  They are a good for holding gift cards or Christmas cards.

I also finally got a picture of one of the McCall's 6120 tops I made for myself.  Please disregard the complete and utter disheveled look I have going on. It was incredibly hot that day, 95 I believe, and I could barely stand it.  Our house does not have central air and probably never will.  This top was made with a purple cotton/lycra knit.  I love this style.  It is uses the same base as the McCall's 5974 Perfect Knit dress which is so flattering.  On a side note, M6120 is currently on clearance on the McCall's website, so if you have been eying it make sure you get it!  It is very easy and a great wardrobe builder.  I also made this top using the brown with cream polka dot fabric I picked up a couple of weeks ago.  The shorts I am wearing in the picture I also made about 3 years ago and never blogged about.  They are from Simplicity 3690. 


By far my most favorite thing I have made this month is my Simplicity 2223 jacket.  I love love love it!  For as poorly as the directions are written I still managed to get a great looking addition to my wardrobe.  I believe I will definitely make one of the other versions as well.

Look what I got

 

 I arrived home from work this afternoon to find this lovely box sitting on my porch!  Don't be fooled by the Palmer bunny, it's not chocolate.  It is my mystery box from Fabric Mart!!!! Even Sebastian, my cat, was excited about the box.  I have to tell you the mystery box did not disappoint!

First the mystery bag with all the random notions. 
This bag include:

1-10" black zipper
1-7" white zipper
1-36" red invisible zipper
1-30" white with gold teeth separating zipper
1-30" black separating zipper
1-30" dark green separating zipper
1 spool of lilac purple serger thread
2 black clips (not sure what they are for though)
8.5 yds - 7/8" wide light blue elastic
5- thin white elastic tank top/bra straps (wish I would     have gotten 6)
6 yds - 7/8" wide red elastic
5 yds - 7/8" wide black grosgrain ribbon
7 yds - 7/8" wide light purple elastic
5.5yds - 1/2" wide white elastic
4 yds - 1.5" wide white elastic
5.25yds - 1/4" wide black elastic
9.25 yds - 1/4" wide white satin ribbon
8 yds - 1/8" wide light brown ribbon
3 - 2yd cuts of 2.5" wide black sheer wired ribbon
3.33 yds - 6.5" wide black lace

For $8.00 a bag I feel I made out like a bandit!

The lace is fantastic!  I have been looking at all sorts of laces over the last few months because I really want to make something with lace accents.  This lace has some teal and purple in it as well.  Unfortunately, you cannot really see it that well in this picture.  I know I will be using quite a bit of all the elastic as well between costumes and pj pants for Christmas.

The mystery fabric bundle wasn't too bad either!  I got a total of 5 cuts of fabric.  I did burn tests on all of them too.  Sadly the following pictures have some funky coloring to them.  The picture of all of them together is the truest colors. 

I got 1.75yds of this dark gray almost navy fabric.  It is synthetic of some variety.  It is satin-y on the wrong side and matte on the right side.  I think.  After looking at this again I could be completely wrong.  I think either way I go will be good.  It must have been near leather because there is a strong leather smell to it.  It is most definitely not leather though.

 This is a 1.75 yd cut of pink and white cotton gingham.  The checks are pretty small so they don't show up really well in the picture. 

 I got 3 yds of the bright lime green linen.  If I am not mistaken this is the same linen (picture on right) I added to my Fabric Mart wishlist.  It is Jones NY linen!  I am super excited about this piece.  When I first put it in my wishlist I wanted to use it for a jacket and 3 yds will be work wonderfully for that.

 Despite the bright orange of this picture this it is actually a dark burnt orange.  This is the oddest fabric of the bunch. It is 2 yds and some sort of synthetic fiber.  The right side of the fabric looks and feels like a felted wool while the wrong side has a smooth twill look.  It is very thick too.  I don't think that I will use this for any sort of fashionable garment.  I am certain it will be a costume of some variety.

This last one may actually be my favorite of the bunch.  It is 2 yds of  black and white floral print.  It is a heavy weight woven stretch cotton.  I think this may become a jacket of some variety as well.

Now, I really want to order another mystery bundle.  This could become a problem.  I think I may need Eric to block access to the Fabric Mart website from me.

Simplicity 2223

 

Pattern Description:
Misses jacket in two lengths with trim variations.
Pattern Sizing:
6-24, I made a 14.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes.
Were the instructions easy to follow?
No! Just like the other reviews say, the instructions jump around. Now, no one else has reviewed the view I made though. But the instructions had me start with the top of the jacket then sew the pockets on to the bottom section, then go back and sew the tabs on the top of the jacket and finish the center fronts and neck of the top only. Then I went back to sewing the bottom front pieces to the bottom back and attaching it to the top. I was not a fan. I chose to ignore the finishing of the center front seams until everything was sewn together and I did a narrow hem all around instead of seam binding on top and a narrow hem on bottom. My way worked just fine. The instructions for doing the tabs on the sleeves also didn't make any sense to me. As a result my sleeves do not have the cuffs. I read the instructions at least 4 times for this part going step by step through sewing on those tabs and it did not work the way the pictures and instructions are laid out.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I hate the instructions. Other than that the pattern is great! I love the design.
Fabric Used:
1.5 yds Olive green cotton twill
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I do not have the cuffs on my sleeves. After reading the other reviews I decided to add 2" in length to the top pieces. I am glad I did otherwise it would have put that seam on my bust. I do think that I could probably have gotten away with only adding 1" though.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I do want to make some of the other views. I really like the over design of the jacket.
Conclusion:
I wore this to work today and received a lot of compliments. I even had one co-worker ask if it was DKNY!!! They were quite surprised when I told them I made it.  Overall this jacket cost me $5.50, which was for the gold buttons.  The fabric was given to me by a friend and has been in my stash for about a year now.

I hope to have some pictures of the McCall's tops I made tomorrow.

Fashion Friday

To get back in the habit of posting regularly I am going to revive a weekly feature called Fashion Friday.  For this I will be featuring some fantastic outfit or designer look I have stumbled upon throughout my week.  I will also post ideas on how to go about getting the vibe and essence of that look by sewing it yourself.  Now this is not to say that I will be sewing these garments anytime soon, but hopefully I can inspire someone else who maybe in a sewing rut like I have.  I should have started this months ago when my own sewing rut started.  I mean come on, I have sewn more garments for my husband this year than myself!  Anyways...

Just in time for summer a cool relaxed casual look.  Cameron Diaz is wearing an Equipment romper with an Elizabeth & James blazer.  I am not a person who can pull off a romper but to get this look here is what I would do.  The new McCall's 6403 shorts with the cuff.

I would use the sleeveless version of McCall's 6122 without the sash.  I tend to get warm pretty easily so I would choose the sleeveless version since the blazer would be worn over top of it.

For the blazer I would use McCall's 6087, which is funny because looking at the pattern envelope and the way they styled it I hate it!  But if you use version B (yellow jacket) and put shoulder pads that are not as thick I think it could work really well for this Cameron look.  You could even put tabs on the sleeves of the long sleeved version to help keep them scrunched up to add your own personal flair to it.  Definitely pick a lightweight fabric for the jacket.

There you have it, Cameron's look!  All you need to do now is get the red belt, nude sandals and multi-strain necklace.

Giving in

I caved and gave in to temptation this evening.  I keep reading about bloggers' who have bought the mystery bundle from Fabric Mart.  I have wanted to do that for sometime now but just could not bring myself to do it.  Well, after reading Sharon's post about her fabric burn test of the silk fabric she got from one of these mystery boxes I just could not take it any longer!  I HAD to have one.  It was a very dyer situation my friends.  I didn't see it listed on the site anymore, maybe I am just missing where they moved it to, but thankfully it was in my wishlist still.  I so am glad I got the fabric bundle that I am still kinda on a shopping high.    

Not only did I get the magical mystery fabric bundle but I also got the mystery box that is filled with thread, trims, buttons and all sorts of fun tidbits.  I cannot wait for these to arrive!  I will make sure to take plenty of pictures and post about all my new goodies.  I have not been doing so good with the not buying fabric thing.  I am never very good at that.  My goal to use 50% of my stash just keeps getting bigger and bigger while I am doing much less sewing this year.  Maybe these bundles will inspire me to sew more.

On a side note, I have finished the McCall's 6120 top and am a good way through the Simplicity 2223 jacket.  Sorry no pics just yet of the top.  I will have to way for Eric to get back from his work trip this weekend.  By then I should have the jacket finished so I can get pics of both and put up the reviews.  I hope to have the Simplicity 3850 shorts done by Monday.

New McCall's are out today

 As most sewers know the new early fall McCall's patterns were released today.  Surprisingly there were only a couple of patterns for myself that I liked.  McCall's patterns will be on sale for $.99 each at Jo-Ann's for their 4th of July sale plus you get a 10% off your total purchase coupon.  I am going to be picking these up and a few others that have been on my want list. 

The first is 6403.  I love the shorts on this patterns!  I think they would be great for early fall paired with some coordinating tights and boots.  I also like the straight leg pants.

 I also love the cardigan jackets in 6408.  They look so comfy and warm.  My office tends to be cold year round and I hate wearing a fleece jacket over everything.  It doesn't look professional and it doesn't go with everything I wear.  One of my goals right now is to make myself some more jacket type cover ups so I have a selection to choose from.  This pattern will help me achieve that.

Now I do not have any children nor do I know anyone with little girls that this would work for but I think it is absolutely adorable.  This one is 6391.  I especially think that little girl with the glasses is adorable.  If I had little girls right now I would make this in a heartbeat for them.  I am contemplating picking this pattern up anyways.  I think both the shorts and skirts seem like they could be pieces I make for future children.

I am on the fence about 6397.  While I love the mixing of fabrics and the shape, I am just not sure I love the exposed zipper.  I know that they are all sorts of trendy right now.  In fact so trendy that this afternoon I read a post by Lindsay T about how to make one.  I am just not sure if this trend is for me.  I think that means it's time to do some sneaky shopping to figure it out.


What are your favorites or must-haves?

Shopping A.D.D.

 I went in for this...

 

Just a few tidbits.  Black buttons to sew on Eric's shirt, gold dome buttons to sew on the Simplicity jacket I just cut and jingle bells for my nephew.  It should have cost me no more than $10.00 right?

Well what I came out with in addition to those tidbits was this...

 

 1.25 yards of plaid suiting fabric

.806 yard remnant navy w/ white pinstripe cotton/poly satin

.861 yard remnant brown & cream polka dot poly/spandex knit

.75 yard remnant orange & cream paisley cotton print

.917 yard remnant black & white poly baby silk floral.

Their remnants are on sale for 50% off the remnant price.  I figured the remnants I can make a couple of shirts out of the black & white floral and the brown & cream polka dot.  I may use the pinstripe for a vest back for Eric.  The orange & cream paisley I am undecided on.  Right now I do not have enough to make a top even though that's what I want.  I was also thinking about using it for the pockets and facings on the Simplicity shorts I just got cut out.  I think that could be fun.  The plaid I am going to use for a new skirt for fall.  Just not sure which one yet. 

Better late than never

I am a terrible FNSI participant!  I posted on Friday night to remind everyone to sign up and participate.  Now I did do both of those things.  However, I never posted my results!  **Hangs head in shame.**

Well, I guess better late than never.  So, on Friday I finished my Santa Sack.  Sorry no pics just yet of the completed bag, but here is a sneak peek!  I must say I really like it and think that I may make a few more for my Etsy shop.


I also worked on Eric's new dress shirt.  I didn't quite finish it though.  Today, I have to do the buttonholes and sew on the buttons.  Please don't mind all the wrinkles,  I have yet to press it.   I do also want to let everyone know that the Pro-Woven interfacing is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!  Granted it did not fuse very well but I attribute that to the fact that when I washed the fabric prior to ordering the interfacing I used fabric softener and the interfacing instructions said to not do that.  Unfortunately, all my fabrics for his dress shirts have been prewashed with fabric softener. :(  It doesn't look bad, it just took a bit more elbow grease to get them to fuse than I would have preferred.

This shirt should look really nice on him though.  It is his first purple shirt, but it will certainly not be the last one.  We went out to J.C. Penney's to get him a tie and he saw another purple shirt that he really liked.  It was a bright purple with a lot pink in it!  Now, I am on a search to find a shirting fabric in a similar color.

It is pretty gloomy here today, so I plan on spending the day in my pj's cutting out and prepping all the pieces I need this week after I finish the dress shirt.  I may even try to get the purple knit top for myself done tonight.  It should go pretty quick if I serge it all together.

Sorry about the poor color of the picture.  I just could not get a good pic that showed the true colors earlier.  I am going to blame it on the rain and clouds.  Under the McCall's pattern is an eggplant purple knit and under the Simplicity patterns is an olive green cotton twill.  Oddly enough, when I was pulling patterns and fabrics for the week I wasn't trying to match them or anything but the purple and green combination look fantastic together.  I won't be wearing the green jacket and shorts together but either piece with the purple top should look pretty darn good!  Hopefully I will have some results to post tomorrow for these pieces.  Back to my crafting cave!

But before I do how about one last parting shot or my sewing buddy, Amadeus!  He makes sewing a challenge because he nuzzles his head against my hands while sewing!  But he is so stinkin' adorable!

It's Friday Night!!

So, tonight is the monthly Friday Night Sew In.  It is being hosted by Craft Vegas Mom this month!  If you haven't signed up yet there is still time to join in the fun.  Just follow the link and off we go!

I have a few projects I want to work on tonight.  First being my super secret Santa sack.  I unfortunately, will not be posting any pictures of it until after my swap partner, Vicki, receives it.  I will also be posting a how-to for my design once she receives it.  Stay tuned for that in July.  It should take me about an hour to finish up what I have left to sew on that sack tonight though.

The next project is to finish Eric's new dress shirt.  I started it on Monday and haven't touched it since.  He's going out of town for work next week and I want to have it finished so he can take it with him.  It is a dark purple cotton sateen.  It should look really nice on him.  I am using the same pattern as before, Simplicity 7030.  I forgot to cut the sleeves with the additional 1/2" for a better fit so I am just going to change my seam allowances for the cuffs to make up for it.

I also have a few other things I want to get cut out for next week.  Since Eric will be out of town I will be free to spend all my nights with my trusty sewing machine.  I want to make myself a jacket from Simplicity 2223 view C,  shorts from OOP Simplicity 3850, and a shirt from McCall's 6120.

I better get going if I want to accomplish all this tonight.  Keep the caffeine coming!

Men's Steampunk

 I have an actual plan for Eric's steampunk costume.  It is definitely going to be sky pirate.  Which is why I have that in the running for mine.  Years ago he asked if I could make him a vest for the ren faire like the one Balthier wears in Final Fantasy XII.  I said sure, but being the period costume snob that I am I knew it wasn't right for the renaissance.  Then the Old West Festival came along complete with a steampunk weekend.  Above is the concept drawings of Balthier.  It was the only pic I could find that showed the back of the vest, which in my opinion is the coolest part.  Below is a still from the game.  I think it shows better detail of the front.

 Eric's vest is not going to be exactly like this but for the most part the cut will be the same.  I am not sure what he wants to do just yet about colors and fabric choices.

In keeping with the sky pirate theme any sci-fi fan or Joss Whedon fan will instantly think of Captain Malcom Reynolds from the short lived series Firefly.  We are going to do his pants from the picture below and the gun holster.  I don't think I will be making the holster but I am going to scour Etsy and Artfire looking for one.

On a side note, if you have no idea what show Firefly is, you should definitely check it out and immediately watch the movie Serenity afterwords!

My Steampunk

I have had a serious lack of sewing in relation to the The Great Costuming Project.  The festival season is fast approaching and I need to get a move on it!  As soon as I finish a few smaller projects I have going I am going to start shopping my stash for my next costuming adventure, which according to the title of this post is Steampunk.  I have a lot of ideas for what I want for this costume so I am going to start narrowing them down.

One of the first and my current favorite is Courtney's corset from SYTYCD.  This is one of my favorite songs and my most favorite routine from the entire show.  The corset is freaking H-O-T!  I think I would even rock the one ripped fishnet stocking too!

I also really like the look of a black and white stripped corset like this one.

Either way I decide on the top, I think I want a short skirt with bustle and long train, similar to the one above.  I would make the skirt longer than this one since I am not that skinny.

Then there's this outfit.  I love everything about it.  I love the brown and champagne colors with brushed gold hardware.  This kinda outfit makes me think I could be a sky pirate with gun and all.  That makes me also want a set of goggles.

 I am in love with both versions of this Simplicity pattern. Unfortunately, as Steampunk is still pretty new in the Big 4 pattern world I think most first timer costumers will be making this and I do not like to look like anyone else!

What do you guys think?  What are your favorite things about Steampunk?

Tomorrow I will try to post some of the ideas I have for Eric's Steampunk costume.  Stay tuned!

It's been awhile

I have not been blogging the last few weeks and it is not because I don't have anything to share.  In fact there are quite a few projects I am working on right now but I can't share them.  Awhile back I mentioned that I am participating in a Santa Sack Swap through Cheryll at Gone Stitchin'.  For this swap I have to make/buy 2 gifts a month starting in July for my swap partner and in return she does the same for me so that by Christmas we will each have a nice pile of presents.  For July in addition to the 2 gifts I also need to make a Santa Sack to put all the gifts in.  Above is just an example of a Santa Sack for those who have never heard of them.  I love the idea of them and will be making plenty more in the future.

Well, I have been hard at work on designing what type of sack I was going to make.  Yesterday, I was about a quarter of the way done with it and decided it was turning out so much better than I anticipated that I was going to turn it into a different gift for her.  Needless to say I am now starting all over on designing a sack and I have to have it and the gifts mailed out by July 1st.  Eeks,,,that date is going to sneak up on me faster than I would like.

I have a new dress shirt for Eric that has been cut out and ready to be stitched up.  I received the interfacing for it about a week and a half ago.  The last dress shirt I made him I used some left over featherweight interfacing.  After washing the shirt, the interfacing did not hold up well.  I put a message out on PR for help with where to get the best interfacing to get that crisp RTW look.  And boy did it work.  I bought a yard of Pro-woven Super Crisp Fusible Shirt Interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply.  So far it is light years away from what I used before.  I will let you know more about it once I get the shirt completed and washed a time or two.