top as skirt

September 18, 2012September 18, 201221 Comments

as part of a recent goal to sew more quick and satisfying garments for myself, i decided to make a skirt like this one, where you just chop a men’s shirt under the armpits, do some pleating, add a waistband and some elastic to the back, and boom. i think this took me about a half hour to make.

it started as a sale rack men’s shirt from old navy. it has a funny little southwestern print on it (southwestern is still kinda hot right now, right?).

i went with a flat front waistband and added interfacing for structure. then i just pleated the body of the front of the shirt until it fit. my goal was not to add too much bulk in front; just some subtle detail and shape. the back has elastic for comfiness.

the shirt tail hem just makes it look like i’m wearing a shirt on my bottom half, but i like it. i wish i’d taken the time to add pockets, but i was being too impatient and just wanted it done.

you better not be judging the white after labor day!! this darn thing was sewn and photographed in august, but i’m way behind on blogging finished projects and am trying to catch up a bit.

top as skirt.

PS – FILM PETIT IS COMING. i think the new school year threw everyone for a loop but now we’re back on track. right jess?! right cherie?! 🙂

PPS – HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANDEE!!!

washi two

August 20, 2012August 23, 201259 Comments

woohoo, washi two! i made this dress, oh, a week and a half or so ago. before the washi pattern was officially released, i’ll tell you that. Rae had sent us testers the changes she was making (.5″ longer bodice, 2.5″ longer skirt) but i couldn’t wait for the updated final pattern; i just went ahead and made the changes to the tester version.

i lengthened the bodice an extra .5″ to hit me right at my natural waist and added an extra line of shirring at the bottom to compensate for the longer bodice. i also realized i had sewed the darts slightly wrong on washi one, so i fixed that on this version. i liked it a whole lot before, and i love love LOVE it now.

when i spotted this fantastic dear stella print at bolt i thought it’d make a great washi dress (from their maasai mara line). i figured the charcoal color would go with everything and get tons of wear, which it has. that’s why it’s taken this long to blog – i’ve been wearing it almost too often! probably time to make washi three, eh?

so i also changed the neckline. i feel a little bad about it, frankly; the U cutout of the original washi is a major part of its charm and i know it took a good amount of work getting it just right in the patternmaking stage. but i do like a scooped out neckline; it just flatters me. also, part of me wanted a more generic neckline so i could wear it often and maybe not have people notice? i plan on making more washis and i plan to have every dress look a little bit different, so the U will make its return soon enough.

this washi also happens to look nice belted. the belt is my mom’s i think (i should probably give it back, sorry mom!).

dear stella washi dress

so i’ve actually seen quite a few gals mention in comments for Rae that they like the washi but can’t make it until they’re done nursing. i think with this modification, the washi can be nursing-friendly! O isn’t nursing anymore, but i can still imagine what it’d take…and i think this would work. my neckline is almost 1″ deeper than the pattern’s scoop neckline option, and wider on the bottom sides too (so a wider U out toward each armpit but not up toward the shoulders). i tapered the scoop as i went up so the shoulders are the same width as the original pattern; otherwise it might really alter the fit. i’d highly recommend working the shape out in the muslin phase and then using your muslin as a pattern. don’t go quite as deep/wide as you want it in the end, because the seam allowance will scoop out more and it’s very easy to go too deep very quickly. don’t want that (or maybe you do?). anyway, your choice.

once you’ve gotten your muslin how you want it, lay it over your front bodice and trace the new neckline on the fold so they match. repeat with the facing, just match up the shoulders and trace it so the necklines match. you can also round off the bottom U of the facing since you’re omitting the U cutout. finish as instructed. enjoy your (probably) nursing friendly washi!

washi dress scoop neckline

and look, you’ll likely need to do a FBA if you’re nursing too. just a guess…but that’s not my issue. hehe.

i believe this is the first time i’ve bought a higher quality fabric specifically for my own garment, which shows that my mindset is finally starting to change about sewing my own clothes. i’m not just using vintage sheets or cheap fabric anymore, because i know the pattern will work!

when i first started sewing for Em as a little gal, i was self-conscious about it, like i didn’t want people to know. now my skills have advanced to the point where i’m proud of the fact that i make my kids’ clothes, but i was still timid about that when sewing for myself. finally, FINALLY, i’m becoming proud of what i make myself as well. what a great feeling. i owe Rae a lot for that – this dress is simple enough to be a real confidence builder and it looks good in quilting cotton, which i currently feel most comfortable working with. THANK YOU, RAE!!

see that? sassy leg. i love this dress! yay for the washi!

PS – there are soooo many beautiful versions showing up in the flickr pool already – holy cow!

washi testing!

August 8, 2012August 9, 201251 Comments

i’m not a very selfish seamstress. frankly, it’s because i’m intimidated. i don’t like how much yardage adult lady patterns require, the patterns seem too complicated, and you just never know how the fit will work. i seem to have just as many failures at sewing clothes for myself as i do successes. i actually own a good number of adult patterns that i’ve never even opened. they just freak me out!

but not the washi dress. i LOVE the washi dress. i loved it when Rae posted about it the first time, and the second time, and every time thereafter. i knew i wanted to get my hands on the pattern as soon as possible. lucky for me, a well-timed email to Rae (where i just happened to offer my services as a pattern tester once again) turned into me sending her a couple very personal measurements and it just so happened i filled the size gap she needed. i got to be a washi tester!

it lived up to the hype. if you have always wanted to sew yourself a dress and you’ve been scared, this is definitely the pattern to try. Rae’s patterns are always clear and logical to follow, and she just keeps getting better! she has enlisted her sister to help with the technical pattern design parts and the washi pattern is so professional with great little diagrams instead of photos. Rae was definitely up to the challenge of making an adult lady pattern in a wide range of sizes, which i consider just incredible. she includes a fit guide that makes a lot of sense, when usually pattern alterations would scare me off. i made a medium, and the fit is pretty much perfect.

you can make the washi as a dress or a tunic, with sleeves (shown) or without, and once you have the fit down, it seems so easy to tweak a bit for different looks! and hey, it even has pockets!

i really enjoyed the process of sewing the pattern, too. you know how some have “that one step” that you dread or hate, maybe it’s the zipper, or 20 buttons, or a ton of bias binding? the washi has a little of many different techniques, so you never get bored or tired of what you’re doing. it’s a really fun sew! the ONLY thing i was worried about was the shirring. i have a basic brother machine and those are notorious for not shirring easily; i’d tried a few times and it had never worked.

but i figured it out – and to do it, you’ve gotta break a rule (see my evil smile?).

okay first, go buy gutermann brand elastic thread like Rae suggests. they sell it at joann’s, and when i went they had it on sale. the stuff just FEELS higher quality than other brands, and it seems to makes a huge difference. second, you need to wind it onto the bobbin with some tension – this is the rule you break, because everyone tells you to wind it without pulling. if i did that, it wouldn’t work – it just left me a mess of elastic underneath. but if i wound it with a little tightness, it seemed to work every time. don’t stretch it to the point of almost breaking, just pull a bit and wind it tighter than you should, like you’re rewinding a yo-yo. thirdly, if you have a drop in bobbin with the auto feed, don’t let the bobbin thread cut and retreat back into the “gully.” leave it so you can still see some tail out the side. if i cut the bobbin thread like normal, it snapped back in and wouldn’t catch when i started sewing.

finally, PRACTICE. i found i didn’t need to change my tension and i just increased my stitch length to 3.0. it worked! use scraps and try different things. what worked for me might not work for you, but i really didn’t want to mess with tightening bobbin cases and then loosening them the perfect amount again, so i was happy to figure this out without that.

and by the way – a dress with shirring in the back? SUPER comfy to wear. i’ve worn it to work, on a date night, playing with the kids, etc. i wished the bodice was just a tad longer and the skirt too, but Rae heard that from many testers and the final pattern will remedy both of those concerns.

this wraps up my washi post! keep your eye on Made by Rae for the official pattern release (any day now! i’ll update this post when it happens) and while you’re waiting, go check out Emily’s THREE washis, Cherie’s blue eyelet version, and Holly’s classy gray washi too! there’s also a washi flickr pool.

**UPDATE: WASHI IS HERE!! WASHI IS HERE!! GO BUY IT FROM RAE, YOU WON’T REGRET IT!!**

PS – the fabric for this dress is denyse schmidt for joann fabrics. i like that it looks a bit like a vintage feedsack.

PPS – I’m already most of the way through washi #2! i NEVER sew the same pattern so quickly, but i’m really excited about it so i had to!

semi-handmade maxi skirt

June 20, 2012April 28, 201428 Comments

i always want to sew myself more clothing, and i always agonize over it. it needs to be “just right.” i think i’ll get the fit wrong, pick the wrong fabric, whatever, and then i just overthink myself into inaction. but inspired by ladies that just go for it and make/refashion themselves awesome clothes like it ain’t no thang (i’m talking kate, melissa, and liz specifically), i went ahead and did it! behold, the semi-handmade maxi skirt.

so this was barely any work. i bought an XL maxi dress off the old navy clearance rack for $17, which i figured was cheaper than buying enough yardage to sew it from scratch. as a dress it’s not a style that would flatter me, but i liked the bright color block skirt and the lightweight flowy fabric (100% polyester, baby!).

i chopped it off about 3″ below the chest seam, serged the top, folded it down, and stitched a casing. i added elastic (about 5″ less than my measurement after some trial and error). added a little ribbon tag in the back, and it was ready to wear!

now instead of changing into pajamas after a long day at work, i change into my comfy and bright maxi skirt. it’s even pretty enough to wear out of the house on a date (we saw moonrise kingdom last weekend – SO great)! the lightweight material is nice and cool, and it’s super friendly to the typical mama lifestyle of bending down, picking kids up, and sitting on the floor with them. only downside is Em likes to try to hide under it constantly, which is a little annoying.

quick and easy confidence-building maxi skirt for summertime. done.

ps – thanks so much for your response to my first confession sunday post! wow! i felt a bit vulnerable hitting publish on that one, so i really appreciated that so many played along and commented. looking forward to more random sunday discussions! 🙂

sheet as top

April 3, 2012April 13, 201237 Comments

drunk off the success of my first wiksten tank, i decided to remix it! honestly, i’d been waiting for a great-fitting base pattern that i could work with to create something new, so this was a really fun challenge.

i drafted elbow length sleeves (holy cow, full grown women sleeves look GINORMOUS when you’re not used to sewing anything larger than a 3T!) and gathered them at the top for a little puff. then i created the bow collar by cutting a really really long, 5″ wide strip. i folded it in half and sewed around all edges, leaving enough open in the center to fit around the raw neckline of the tank. i turned the tube right side out, finished just the chest area of the neckline with bias, sewed the open part of the collar on around the rest, then topstitched it in place.

so this is kind of funny – my grandma always used to wear bow collared shirts to family Christmas parties. that’s my point of reference for these things, and until i saw THIS beauty by sophie, i was never really interested in wearing one myself. once i saw hers, though, i wanted to try making one. as i cut it out, i had no idea whether it would actually work or not, and it made me so anxious while i was sewing! was i wasting my time with a flop, or would it turn out? i think it turned out! 🙂

after i tried it on, i decided i wanted it a bit more fitted, so i pinched some fabric at my mid back, then just sewed it down on the inside. i’m going full blown romance with this shirt – puff sleeves, big bow, floral, and a sort of peplum back!

i shortened the front by a couple inches and i wish i’d done that in the back too, for the sole reason that it peeks out from under my jacket when i wear it to work. and i have worn it to work! it feels so subversive when i do, because it’s actually a vintage bed sheet! OH YES! this sucker was $4 at goodwill, and i’ve already made a toddler dress, skirt, and a sash for myself out of it. pret-ty good. and i would be remiss if i didn’t show you our mother and daughter matching vintage sheet garments in the same shot, so behold: