Summer Essentials Sew Along Plan

I finally found a "Sew Along" to join. For those who do not know what a sew along is, it is a group of people that are all working on the same project or similar projects and posting their progress and results online.

This particular sew along, Summer Essentials 2011, is perfect since I am already basically doing this. The goal of this sew along is to complete 5 or more items of summer clothing by the beginning of August 2011. My plan may be somewhat ambition I do not know, especially since I plan to have mastered "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd on my harp by then, but what the hell.....

My plan is as follows:


1) "The New Look Blouse Project":

This blouse project is so very close to completion as evidenced by my postings about it. So I won't get that much into it since it can be read about here:

The New Look Blouse Project

2) "The Recession Recess Romper Project":

Same story as above, find it here. I plan to wear this on the Fourth of July....Which will be a celebration as it is one year since my gnarly car accident.

3) "The Who Wears Short Shorts Project":

These are going to be super fun to make since I really love the pattern. I lost out on it on e-bay but I ended up finding them on Etsy, which means it's destiny! I was so drawn to the artwork on the front cover that I had to have it. I plan on using the "Slash and Spread" method to make them a 26" waist, who even has a 24" waist? I will be making View B.

Got Nair?

The fabric I found in a "Sample Swatch" bin at the fabric store that is closing down....I have found so many treasures there. I'm sad that place is closing but because their prices are so good I have been able to buy fabrics I usually wouldn't be able to afford. Anyway this particular fabric is a Silk Charmeuse....I think and there is 1 1/8 of a yard which is perfect as the pattern calls for 1yd. I don't know if it is "Charmeuse" I only know that it is in fact real silk. I LOOOOOVE silk!


4) "The Voila! A Voile Blouse Project"

Like the woman before me I too plan on going with View #2. I thought the neckline was so unique that I must have it in my wardrobe....I also really just liked how the pattern envelope looked when I saw it. There I go judging a book by its cover once again.

I will be using this beautiful fabric, you can see how sheer it is with the print showing through the top layer. It too came from the "Sample Swatch" bin...there was quite a bit of it about 2 1/2 yds. I think it will be perfect! I might be able to make another pair of shorts in addition to the blouse and have a matchy matchy set. I will have to line it though since it is so sheer but the feel of it is awesome it is so smooth it feels like silk....which as has been previously mentioned I love.


5) "The Simply a Dress Project"

I found this carefree and fun little number at "Second Chance" in Omaha, Nebraska when I was there at the end of last month....I plan on making View #2, I am noticing a pattern here as I tend to always make View #2 or B. The added bonus is that the pattern comes with pieces and instructions for making a "Bow Belt", which is sort of shown on View #1 but you really have to look. So I will be making that as well.

No fabric for this yet, selection is still pending...stay tuned.


6) "The Parisienne Scene Tote Project":

I have been wanting to make a tote bag to lug my harp music around in, especially on Saturdays when I go up to Santa Barbara to meet with my instructor. None of the patterns I could find had what I needed in a sheet music tote bag.I ended up finding a pattern in the bargain discount bin for baby accessories, (bib, layette, diaper bag, etc.) the diaper bag is just right. The right size, with side pockets and a long shoulder strap! So I can just save the bib and layette for later....maybe someone I know will have a baby again.

I will be using some fabric my mom sent me that has Parisiennes all over it in various Parisian scenes....I am partial to fabrics that have ladies all over it for some reason. 

These six projects are for sure for sure going down. Time permitting I will also make another blouse from my favorite pattern McCall #7242 out of Silk Chiffon, basically exactly the same as "The New Look Blouse Project" but different fabric print. I also plan to make a dress from another pattern I got in Omaha but it is a little less summery and a little more late summer/early fall. It can be my transition piece because my Fall 2011 wardrobe is already coming together in my head!

Stay Tuned....

Cheers!

Amelia

"TRRRP" Status Report....Muy Beuno!

Not to bad....

Things are looking up in regard to this project. I sewed the bodice together as directed and the line skewing is not as bad as I thought and it actually looks pretty sharp...I can definitely live the results. 

My favorite part!

The shorts are what have kept my faith alive with this project.












Tonight I will be constructing the shoulder straps as well as the bodice facing. I went to Joann's last nigt and got some really cheap fabric for the facing. It is red with tiny white dots, I thought it would be a nice contrast that is complimentary since there are tiny white dots all over the main fabric they are just hard to see over the circles and diagonal lines. I was looking at going with just plain red but I felt it too boring and severe.

Stay Tuned....

Cheers!

Amelia

"The Recession Recess Romper Project" Status Report....No Bueno!

Ok, so I was having some serious project remorse with this thing on Saturday, I still sort of am. For some reason I am very attracted to fabrics that have diagonal motifs. This particular McCall pattern did not say that it is "Unsuitable" for diagonals so I thought all would be well....how wrong I was. It took me the better part of the weekend to get the pieces cut out....now I understand why I always hear allow extra yardage for matching. Seriously it took me almost 2 yards to cut out 8 pattern pieces! I kept telling myself the fabric was on sale, this is a good learning exercise, if you screw up there is more at the store and oh yeah, it was on sale.

I looked up the section on cutting out diagonals in the Vogue sewing book and it recommended plenty of extra yardage and cutting the pieces out single thickness. This may be why it took me all day Saturday and half the day Sunday to actually cut all the pieces out. There was a lot of second guessing and re-checking...it was total insanity. I was in such a state of distress by Sunday that I marked only the shorts pieces and constructed that part completely just to see if it would even be worth constructing the bodice.....Well I was pleasantly surprised! The shorts look great.

If I really look close and study the lines there are some areas where the lines don't quite match perfectly, like where there is darting, but when on the body it is not noticeable. Which is exactly what the Vogue book said anyway, that lines tend to look different draped on the body, there are so many lines going in all directions that a few misaligned lines blend right in......

However, the bodice is another story entirely, there are no pictures as of yet because there is no bodice constructed yet....after my great success with the shorts I dove right in to the bodice construction. I had already made the decision to use a contrasting fabric for the facing.....see how the facing flips over and shows at the front in the illustration at right? I knew that trying to get those diagonals lined up correctly would be a nightmare, plus I thought a solid block of color right there would be a nice break from all the crazy lines all over the rest of the romper. So I am going to do the facing in red and I am also going to make the straps out of something red, I am toying with the idea of some kind of ribbon. Anyway, my issue with the bodice is the darts.....They are so huge, a total of 4 1/2" across the bottom, that it completely skews the diagonals....sending them in all sorts of crazy directions....I spent all night troubleshooting this and finally reached the conclusion that I am either going to have to live with the wonky results or I am going to have to take drastic measures.

I can draft out the darts but I think this will have an adverse affect on the fit. I can use a completely different fabric for the top, say plain red and then face with the diagonal and have a two toned romper. I don't like either of these and the potential outcomes so tonight I am going to put it all together as is and see if I can live with the results....If I can't at least the fabric was on sale, the shorts will work out solo and I learned a valuable lesson....diagonals are an advanced application and I might not ever use a diagonal again, ever!   

"The Recession Recess Romper Project" McCall #6331 ca. 2011....Sneak Peak

I am super duper excited about this project!!! So here's the story...

 

"Recess"

I have had my eye on a certain "American Jane" for Moda Fabrics fabric for some time now. I am been longing for it and trying to figure out what I could use it with, I hadn't bought it I just knew that it was down at Fabric Town USA in Ventura. Farbic Town calls it "Recess" but online has been referring to it as "Tick Tack Toe". I think that "Recess" is the name of this particular series and "Tick Tack Toe" is the fabric name....but I've been referring to it as "Recess" for months and I can't think of a clever name for "Tick Tack Toe"....







Anyway, recently while reading Gertie's "Blog for Better Sewing".  
I saw this treasure, McCall #6331. This is actually a Teen pattern from the Summer 2011 collection, but I'm ok with that.

Gertie was illustrating the Romper, View A, specifically and at that moment I knew what I could use that fabric I have been lusting after for.









So I ran down to Fabric Town and wouldn't you know that the fabric is 20% off and that sealed the deal completely...it is obviously meant to be if the fabric is on sale, I am making a point to not buy any fabric unless it is on sale. Really I am not buying anything unless it is on sale....saving for a harp you know.


I have red and blue thread and  red binding that I bought at a vintage store in Omaha already. I only needed to buy a red zipper, since I didn't have one in the right color pallet at all.


The design ideas behind this are very basic. Red is more of a highlight color on this fabric so I am going to use that color for all of my accents....thread, zipper, bias tape.

I am debating whether to use an underlining but this fabric is not sheer at all and I think it will be more work than is necessary. However, I really like how underlinings look. The only thing is that I would like to use voile but I don't think I will be able to find it in a cream or off white color, I haven't seen any. I will not be able to use white because that will bother me as it won't match the cream used in the Recess fabric. 


So the project will now be referred to as "The Recession Recess Romper Project" or TRRRP for short.

"The New Look Blouse Project"...Facings

I am almost finished with this project at this point, but I thought I would at least show you pictures I took a few days ago when I was still in the midst of construction.


I had never made a blouse before this one so I was really confused about the facing situation, especially in regard to the back facing. I just followed the instructions the best I could, considering how vague they are, and I think they turned out pretty well.
 

I am always very hesitant to sew, especially to seam around

a curve, I am still working on perfecting my skills. I was really worried that the Chiffon layer would get bunched up and look ridiculous and that I would have to tear out the seams but it ended up looking just fine as you can see in the picture at right.

The back facing really freaked me out but ended up being the easiest part of the whole thing. I forgot to take a picture of the back turned right side out...oops!






I am working on the finishing aspects, seam binding, hemming and arm hole finishing. I am having a hell of a time hemming this, I should have stitched the lining and top together along the bottom as I did at every other edge but I did not, so now it is totally frayed along the bottom and there is no distinct straight line so it has made hemming a nightmare. This afternoon will be the third attempt at making an flat lying straight, even hem! Wish me luck, hopefully this will be like my dress zipper which took me three tries. I really want the hem to look good or it will really bother me and ruin how good the entire blouse looks.

Cheers!

Amelia

The look of my Blog

I am having a hard time deciding how to make this blog look....I promise I have stopped experimenting, for today. It has changed at least twice in the past couple weeks. The current look is just something until I get it to where I really want it to be.....I have so many ideas but I need to collect certain images first. Anyway, that's enough editing for today!

Harps....

I haven't posted in awhile, I keep forgetting my camera at home which has my sewing project progress pictures on it. By the time I post them I will be done!

As most of you know I am saving to buy my own harp. I have determine that I need a 34 or 36 string harp, preferably 36, with levers on at least F & C but a full set would be great and I would really like to have a solid wood sound board. I have been searching for a used harp but there just isn't anything out there that has what I need and is in my current price range and because they are used they will not be hanging around forever so anything that is out there, unless I could buy it right now, is sort of pointless.

I have wanted a Dusty Strings since the beginning but, they are pricey....very pricey, even the used ones are well out of my price range at this point. So I played a couple different types a few weeks back and really enjoyed a particular Tripplett that is at the Harp store in Santa Barbara. It had a really great sound and is relatively affordable. I mentioned to someone that I was considering buying that one, which I would be able to do relatively soon because it's half the price of the Dusty Strings but this person asked me if I thought I would be settling and I answered no because I would be really happy with that harp, however it wouldn't be my dream harp. So I have this dilemma continue to save, not really knowing how long it will take me to raise the money and continue to rent which costs me $600.00 a year or just buy the Tripplett.

I have been giving this a lot of thought and I have decided to just not do anything right now, I don't want to buy a harp to just buy a harp but I also don't want to sink another $600.00 into a rental and it will probably take me the rest of the year to save the money needed to buy my "dream" harp, while I put money away every month it is never as much as I wanted....

I wish I didn't have any bills....don't we all.

Anyway that was just my little venting session for the day!

I'll post more soon.

Cheers!

Amelia