WIP: Macaron Fabric

I wadded up all the muslin, altered pattern pieces, and my pride and threw it in the trash Tuesday night.

Starting over from scratch was cathartic. Muslin #3 was a successful failure. I'm on to Muslin #4 - a wearable muslin, which means in theory it won't be perfect, but I can still wear it without shame. (If I can teach Ryan how to pin excess fabric on my back for one more alteration, the Final Macaron should fit perfectly.) I'll share all about what made this thing so hard and my solutions when I post my Wearable Muslin.

This week in the sew along we're choosing fabric. I picked a beautiful 100% linen from Waechter's. The wrinkling thing and the it's-the-end-of-summer thing didn't deter me. The print is gorgeous and fits my taste perfectly.

The skirt and bodice will be the printed linen; the top of the bodice and the belt will be the solid. 

WIP: Macaron Muslins #1 & #2

This muslin may be the death of me.

Colette Patterns is a stellar company. Their designs are beautifully stylish and vintage. It's a known fact that the patterns are sized for average American women.

Because I've never posted a full-body shot of myself on this blog, you may not know how I'm built.

Here's an illustration.

I want to wear Colette's designs. Want to so badly. And I will. But it will take an insane amount of work.

As I'm making the muslin for the Macaron, I'm having to perform magic. Here's a picture of my first attempt.

What's that you say? The Frankenstein zig zags don't look like a purposeful design element?

That's 4.25 inches added to the length and about 12 inches taken from the bust. Keep in mind my measurements matched the envelope size exactly. It's the same problem I have in RTW, so it's not surprising. It's why I don't go to the mall for clothes.

The great news is I'm sold on the sweetheart bodice. Adorable. The other great news is I've seen completed Macarons floating around, and the Internets promise me it's possible to get the fit right for non-curvy girls.

I'm taking a break from it tonight (my second muslin didn't even warrant a picture) and hoping Muslin #3 tomorrow night will be successful. I'm just starting over from scratch. (You should be sad you missed Muslin #2. It was made with ugly free stash fabric. A tablecloth. Of tropical flowers.) This time I'll be using a beautiful SBA tutorial that's better than any I've seen.

Maybe I can chant "Abracadabra" and wave my seam ripper wand around in front of it. (The Muslin, not my chest. Trust me, it doesn't work with the latter.)

WIP: Macaron

After the utter (or should I say "udder," considering they resembled cow udders?) disaster that was The Big Girl Ruffle Shorts, I've decided to redeem myself with a dress.

For the first time since December 2006, not that I'm counting, this body is completely my own.  No embryos, no fetuses, no nursing babies or toddlers.

Things have finally shifted and shrunk and withered into place.

So, why not celebrate with a little Macaron? I've joined a sew-along to give me motivation.  (The lovely button is on your right.)

Technically I was supposed to have cut the muslin already and be working on fit this week. I was distracted by other super-important, non-sewing things.

(My dad had a "mild" heart attack Sunday. Two stents later, and he's doing great. No heart damage. He'll be running again in no time. I wouldn't put it out here into BlogLand, but he put it on Facebook, so it's public knowledge. He can add "heart attack survivor" to his list of accomplishments now. Right after "marrying an amazing woman" and "raising two awesome daughters." What a man.)

So far, here's what I've got.

The pattern is traced onto freezer paper and cut out. Ryan's going out of town this weekend, so I'll have nothing better to do than cut and sew for two nights.  I'm determined to catch up.

Here's the envelope to show you the sketch.

I'm a little concerned about the sweetheart neckline.  I've always pictured that style as something suited for women with . . . how do I say it? 

Breasts. 

I've got none. Won't it look funny to have a curved seam that will emphasize something that's obviously missing?

Stay tuned. The muslin may reveal the answer.

Completed: Burda #101 02/2011

When I brought back "thank you" gifts for everyone who helped with the kids while we were hiking, Amanda was neglected. She's got such a defined style, but it's hard for me to shop for her.

"You can pick a dress design. I'll make it for you," I told her.

She was thrilled.  

While she stayed with us last month to do a practicum at the hospital, we made plans for the dress. We hunted for the design and fabric together. She heard a lot of "what about this?" and I heard a lot of "umm, not quite."

When she put on the final version she said, "I like it." That's high praise coming from my fashionista sister.

"What am I supposed to do with my arms?"

"Wow, Amanda!  It looks like that dress was *made* for you!"
"Thanks.  It was."

Stats:
Pattern: Burda #101 02/2011 Dress with Gathered Rectangle Skirt and Cap Sleeves
Fabric & Notions: red linen blend from Waechters, red zipper
Notes:
The fit on the bodice is perfect.  This dress is so flattering on The Sister!  She looks hawt.  The only adjustment I'd make is to tighten up the neckline one more time.  (I adjusted it once with a slash-and-pivot method, but it needs it again.)  She says she'll accessorize with a narrow turquoise belt, turquoise shoes, and chunky turquoise necklace.

Hawt.

I finished the dress just before she left to go home.  Not every girl can live with her sister as an adult. It's an experience I'm grateful to have had, and I'm grateful she's got something to wear to remind her of the time. (It's a lot better than the crick in her neck from sleeping on the couch.)

(You can see the progress of this project here and here.)

WIP: Burda #101 02/2011

Here's the second muslin.  We're making progress!

The bodice front fits perfectly.  (The linen we're using has some stretch, but this muslin doesn't.)  We decided to nix the pleats and stick with gathers.  But now that I'm a pleating fool, there will be a pleated skirt in my own future.

One more tweak on the back bodice.

Hopefully the next post will involve a hot 20-something in a red linen dress!

WIP: Burda #101 02/2011

(Totally random fact: THE CO-AUTHOR of Sewing for Boys, the book that houses the pattern for my Short Sleeve Raglans?  She found my project picture through Flikr, came here to the blog, and left a suggestion in the comments for eliminating the gathers in my next shirt.  THAT'S why the online sewing community is awesome.)

An amazing thing happened Sunday when we dropped the boys off to spend time with their Indiana family.  Eliza suddenly became the most high-maintenance 14-month-old baby in history.

Fortunately she still naps for a couple of hours a day, so I was able to be productive and box up/give away all things maternity and baby.  That's right -- we're a household free of tiny baby stuff.

It's okay.  Really, it is.

There is one good thing about being UNpregnant and UNnursing: handmade, unmodified dresses.

Before I get to the Macaron, I'm in the process of making a dress for Amanda.  It was inspired by this number she found on the Internet.

source
(her new lovely blog home is here: http://twoellie.com/)

We hunted everywhere for a pattern, and finally landed on Burda #101 02/2011.  I've never used a Burda pattern, but like most European magazine patterns, it doesn't include seam allowance.  There aren't any illustrations with the instructions either.  I'm extremely dependent on visuals, so Amanda may end up with a dress with no armholes.  Or three boobs.

So far here's what I've got.  This is the muslin, and I cannot for the life of me figure out why there were horizontal wrinkles across the torso.  In theory that would mean I need to take out length, but the girl's long waisted, so I'm lost.  Otherwise the fit seemed decent.

The original pattern called for a gathered skirt, so I was up last night figuring out how to turn it into knife pleats.  Thanks to Miranda's tutorial on box pleats to get me started, by 2am I'd mastered them.  Now I've got to figure out if we bought enough fabric.  (Finding striped linen proved impossible, so we settled for bright red linen from Waechter's.)

I'm making one more muslin today during nap time.  Then tonight we'll make more adjustments if needed and then sew up the final version.

Completed: Bloomers and Appliqued Shirt

Last year Ryan went through his old dress shirts, and there was one that we both loved that was worn out.  I stashed it away in the closet figuring it'd make a nice shirt for one of the boys.

When it popped up again, I knew just the project for it.  Something for the girl instead.

I used Dana's diaper cover tutorial and pattern in size 6-12 months and then traced a bird onto a plain onesie.

Now Ryan's favorite dress shirt gets to live a little longer.  I've still got a big stack of other retired button-downs, so this may be a project that's repeated this summer and next.

Completed: Short Sleeve Raglans

I managed to get a couple of shirts finished Wednesday night.  (The muslin I made that night for a dress I'm working on was a big fail, but it didn't take too much time, so I wasn't discouraged.)

Right before I snapped this, Daniel said to Lee, "Lee, I love you.  You're my best friend."  Melt. My. Heart.

Stats:

Pattern: short sleeve raglan tee from Sewing for Boys by Shelly Figueroa and Karen LePage

Fabric: lightweight knit from Spiritex's warehouse sale last spring

I've got so much love for this pattern.  Next time I'll take their advice in the book and use a stabilizer on the neckband stitches before I topstitch the neck.  There's a way to eliminate the gathers at the neck.  I'll figure it out.  They're supposed to be fitted, but I went up a size.  Lee's fits perfectly (size 6/7), but Daniel's is a little tight in the neck (size 2/3).  The reversed-matching look for the boys is adorable, so I'll repeat this project again.  Maybe with long sleeves for the winter.

Not Completed: Ruffled Shorts

It was time to sew something for myself.  I decided to whip up a pair of shorts, both because I need them, and because the Shorts on the Line sewalong is still underway.

I've seen versions of this pattern hack from Homemade by Jill floating all around Crafty Blogland.  They are adorable.  I thought, "Why not try an adult version?"

Here's why.

Oh. My. Sewing. Lands.  Is it an apron? Is it a pillow sham?  (I didn't even bother sewing up the left side, so those are pins you see.)  The pattern on the fabric is fruit bowls.  Not kidding.

See the strip down the side?  You think that's a nice design touch?  Yeah, me neither.  I added those because the shorts were two inches too small.  I couldn't even get them up over my hips.

The strip didn't solve the problem.  Once I finally got them on and looked in the mirror, well, let's just say it looked like the fruit bowls puked ruffles and it splattered all over my hips.

The good news is I always learn from my failures.  The other good news is it didn't cost a dime.  Just a little chunk of pride.

I've got three projects cut and waiting to be put together, so hopefully I'll redeem myself this week.

Completed: Comfy Banded Shorts #3

For these shorts, I started with an X-Large cotton shirt from Dollar Store.  The waistband was made with coordinating knit from my stash.

Here's the result.  The plaids don't match up, but they didn't match on the shirt.  (Matching plaid takes more material, and with cheap shirts from the Dollar Store you can bet they use as little fabric as possible.)

They fit even better than the last pair.  I used my own shorts pattern again.

those mis-matched plaids are killing me!

Lee wore them all afternoon.  They were filthy at the end of the day, which made me very happy.

Completed: Denim Shorts with Comfort Waistband

Shorts for Lee have been on my to-do list for a while, and I finally got around to a pair.  I started with some old Hollister jeans that were mine.  Apparently I didn't know that Hollister = teenage brand = low rise enough to see crack

So, I cut them, keeping the outside leg seams for simplicity's sake.

Then I used an existing pair of shorts to figure out a pattern.  I added a waistband made from a fleece pullover I've had since 10th grade.  (You know how I know it's that old?  Angela and I bought matching ones from American Eagle before anyone shopped at American Eagle.  I remember wearing my XL gray pullover to work at O'Charley's.)

I sewed up the crotch and legs, threaded some elastic through the waistband, serged it all together, hemmed them up, and called it shorts.

Lee liked them, and the fit was close to perfect.  These were my test pair.  I've got plans for more with some tweaks like a faux fly, adjusted elastic placement (to the center of the waistband), pockets, and a faux drawstring.  If I'm feeling frisky, it may turn into my very first  tutorial.

The Jury's Out

I dropped off three bonnets, five bloomers, and one pair of booties today for the local arts and crafts guild to evaluate.  If the jury accepts, they'll be sold in the shop down the street.

One thing I learned from this experience: I cannot be a work-at-home mom.  I admire women who can do it, but I can't.  Plain and simple.  

Having said that, maybe if they're accepted, I can complete a few items every now and then.

(The fabric for the bloomers is quilting cotton originally intended for a quilt for Amanda's dorm room.  Four years ago.  I've got yards and yards, so you'll be seeing it again.)

Booties

Oh, how I wish I'd managed to sew these booties up when Eliza was younger!  They were made with the ithinksew Jaden baby sneaker pattern.  I bought several of the ithinksew patterns at the end of last year.  These were the first I've tried, and I'm super pleased with this pattern and its instructions.  They were clear, well photographed in each step, and logical.

I made these for Eliza.  She promptly thanked me by yanking them off.

Stats:
Fabric: nabbed from Grandma Jean's stash, teal cotton lining from my own stash
Notions: velcro, flannel interfacing from stash
Pattern: ithinksew Jaden baby sneaker
Total time: 2.5 hours
Total cost: $2 for pattern

I made these for the jury at the crafting guild:

Stats:
Fabric: quilting cotton from my stash -- I can't remember the designer to save my life, orange lining from my stash
Notions: velcro, flannel interfacing from stash
Pattern: ithinksew Jaden baby sneaker
Total time: 2.5 hours
Total cost: $2 for pattern

Another successful result from an independent designer's PDF pattern!

Bonnets x3

Last week while the boys were at art camp and Eliza was napping in the mornings, I got lots of sewing done.  These three bonnets are made from the Peekaboo Bonnet pattern, which I highly recommend.  It's easy to follow, and the PDF versions of patterns are quickly becoming my preference.

The Stats:

Pattern: Made by Rae Peekaboo Bonnet

Fabric & notions: feed sacks and cotton plaid from a free swap (for the first and third bonnets), cotton from a fabric swap and a thrifted sheet (for the second bonnet), bias tape, piping

Total Time: roughly six hours total

Total Cost: $5

I'm planning to submit these, along with five pairs of bloomers and two pairs of booties (that I'll share soon) to the local Arts and Crafts guild to be sold at their shop down the street.  A jury will evaluate the items to decide if they're a good fit for the shop.  My goal is to submit them this week.  We'll see if I get the booties finished.

(If they're accepted and I make more, they'll all have black, white, or cream bias tape and piping.  The majority of my time was spent trying to match piping, bias tape, and thread.)

If they're accepted, I'll buy the selling license for this bonnet.  Eventually I'd like to add some simple A-line dresses and things.

I'm not really sure what to expect, but I'm excited to try something new.