Completed: Sister's Mod Tunic Wearable Muslin

First, some blogging business.

I'm trying to find a system for replying to comments consistently. I love interacting with readers, but Blogger's platform isn't ideal for responding. I can either email (if the commenter has enabled her email address in her profile) or respond directly in the comments (which the commenter wouldn't know unless she returned to this physical page). Some of my friends have started using Disqus, and that's an option. Moving to Wordpress, which has a better interface all around, does not appeal to me right now.

Any suggestions?

Also, our 7-year-old laptop is on its last leg, which makes blogging painful. It takes fooooorrrrreeeeeevvvvvaaaaahhhhh. Add to that pretty consistent problems with our ISP and Blogger headaches, and you've got one big UGH. My What To Do With Our Tax Refund list keeps growing, but forking over the bucks for a new computer is pretty far up top. We are leaning toward an iMac desktop (cheaper + faster), possibly a refurbish.

Any advice?

Now to the sewing! As promised, I made my sister a mod top. (Here's my first version, details on the pattern hack, and the designer top I "knocked off.")

It's black, like she requested. This is the wearable muslin. (I've sewn this top seven times now, if you're counting.) She was here last weekend, so I got a good fitting. I'll make more adjustments, if necessary, and sew up a final version in a nicer fabric.

Here are some shots of the inside. Y'all know it's serious when I change my serger thread. 

Also, black would never work for me. Too many cats.

Pattern: Started with the Mouse House Creations Norah Dress and Tunic, but now it's been so heavily adapted I'm not sure there's any part of the original pattern still there.

Size: custom.

Modifications: 

• Re-drafted shoulder/arm holes again. In addition to the changes I made last time, I narrowed the shoulders quite a bit. (The Sister has much narrower shoulders than me.)
• Graded up the bust a size from the first time. (This version fits a 34" bust.) Added bust darts, which meant truing up side seams and hemline.

A side note: I found all kinds of information online and in my books about adding side bust darts and truing up side seams. I found nothing about how to adjust the hemline once a side dart is adjusted/added from scratch. I ended up buying a French curve ruler - which I needed anyway now that I'm (reluctantly) designing my own stuff. 

In an effort to illustrate what I'm talking about, I used Microsoft Paint. No joke. It's all I've got. Feel free to laugh.

Original front and back pieces. They are supposed to be identical, but it's hard to do that in MS Paint.

Best I can figure, in order to maintain the same length at the center front and back seams, and in order to make sure the side seams are even, the hem curve has to be more dramatic. I didn't change anything on the front pieces. I had to adjust the hemline on the back piece to make up for the 2" lost when the darts folded so the side seams still matched.

If anyone know any resources or the proper way to do this, PLEASE leave me a comment. My solution just doesn't seem right. However, it hangs beautifully. So maybe it is right?

Fit: I'll find out this weekend.

Fabric: Kona cotton. Joann.

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My next project is another commissioned dress for The Niece. For every post you see here, there are half a dozen muslins going on behind the scenes.

Also, I've got a winter hat pattern/tutorial photographed. Judging by computer/Internet speed, it may be published in time for summer. Ha.

Removed Post & PR&P Sneak Peek

Thank you SO MUCH for your sweet words about my homesickness. I'm grateful for technology and for close relationships.

I removed the post of my self-drafted swimsuit. My intention was to show an imperfect (perfect and healthy) body and possibly inspire someone else who's had trouble finding a ready-to-wear swimsuit that fits to try sewing her own.

Based on kind comments, I'm not alone in dreading swimsuit shopping! However, my fear upon reflection is that, long-term, the intention of my post may miss the mark. Thanks for your understanding.

I'm so excited about the project I'll be sharing soon! It's for the oldest BOY, and it's also practice for Project Run and Play, which starts next week! Woooohoooo!

Completed: Washi Wearable Muslin

I finished my first Washi! I'm calling this one a wearable muslin because there are still a few tweaks left to make. It was part of my Spring/Summer 2013 plan. Some of the projects will be carried over into the Fall, but not this one!

First, let me state the obvious.

I've got to fix the bust darts. I assure assure assure you, they don't look this bad in real life. Blame it on the humidity (which is what I'm blaming everything on these days), but these pictures make it look obscene. 

Really. They're not that bad. BUT, they need work. Namely I'll stop sewing 1.5" from the apex like my IG friend Jenn suggested.

Remember: worse in pictures.

Ugh.

This fabric came was leftover from my Macaron, sewn a year ago this month. When I finished this Washi, I held it up for Ryan's approval. "You've already made one," he said. I didn't bother trying to convince him that it's totally different because. Well, it's kind of not.

I lamented the almost yard of leftover fabric after the Macaron. It's one of my only complaints about Colette's patterns that I've sewn. There's been a lot of fabric left over on a couple of my projects. Like enough for a whole other garment.

I opted to omit the cap sleeves because a) I'm not a fan of cap sleeves, b) I AM a fan of my new tattoo which peeks out below, and c) we've moved to a place that is humid enough to swim mid-air. No more sleeves for me, friends.

I really like the empire waist on this dress. And the shirring in the back. (You can see that better in some close-ups below.) The pockets are pretty amazing, too. WHY do all my dresses not have pockets?

They will now.

I also like the length. It hits right above the knee.

This pattern went together so easily. I'm not wild about the dart method -- you cut out the dart before sewing it, which makes it hard to alter -- but other than that it was super easy to fit and sew.

I added a contrasting fabric, which means I had to hack off the pattern below the back shirring line, add seam allowance to compensate for the hack, and line up the seams at the side. It was painless.

I also added a contrasting hem band to break up some of the busyness of the fabric.

You can see I top-stitched all the way around the neckline and armholes to make things stay put.

The shirring wasn't difficult, but I need more practice.

I opted to line the bodice, so the shots below are of the inside. Rae offers a lovely video tutorial series on that process. I'd MUCH prefer lining to facings.

Stats:
Pattern: Washi -- Made by Rae
Fabric: Linen/Cotton Blend (Dena Designs for the patterned linen)
Size: XS with no alterations to sizing
Modifications: Omitted cap sleeves. Used contrasting fabric for skirt, which required seaming skirt back to back bodice. Lined bodice. Added contrasting skirt hem.
Next Time: I'm sewing it up next in an Anna Maria Horner voile, but I've got less than needed so the skirt will be narrower.

I'm making alterations to reduce the tiny gaping in the neckline. Also, I'll modify the darts a tad.

Kids Clothes Week

It's time for the Kids Clothes Week Challenge again! It's grown so much there's an entire blog dedicated to it now. The idea is to spend an entire week - one hour (at least) each day - working on sewing-related tasks for childrens' clothes.

Last Fall during KCWC I bit off more than I could chew and tried to complete a project each day. By the end of the week I was burned out, and while Eliza wore some of those outfits over and over, I was bored with the results. This week I decided to plan, try for the hour a day, and see what happened.

I'm at my parents' house in Memphis (!!!), so I had to be flexible, but I'm pleased with the results. We're packing up tonight -- no more sewing until I get back to the mountains.

This little t-shirt took me an hour start to finish. I started with a basic t-shirt block, lengthened the shoulder back, shortened the shoulder front, and widened the shoulder front to allow for gathers. The fabric came from a hand-me-down woman's t-shirt. It's lightweight and soft. The 3t size will fit her all summer.

The other projects were also experiments. I drafted my own pinafore pattern and made matching ruffled bloomers. (The polka-dotted bloomers are from the Ruby Ruffle Dress.) The fabric all came from my stash -- except the green flowered fabric. That was from Grandma Jean's stash. It's lined with the never-ending polka dot Tilda fabric that I adore.

The orange one is shirt length with knit bloomers. The fabric is Amy Butler on the outside and lightweight knit on the inside.

The only thing missing from both are the fabric-covered buttons and buttonholes. I'll finish those up next week and get pictures of Eliza modeling them.

The projects in the Elsie Marley Flikr pool are pretty awesome. I'm linking my humble contribution up, too!

WIP: Colette Laurel Muslin #3

Tonight's the night. I'm cutting into my precious Liberty for the Colette Laurel. After three muslins, I'm confident the fit is as good as it gets.

I started with a size 0. Then I remembered I'm not an XS in tops. (You'll see why in a second.) After slashing and trimming and overlapping and re-drafting, I had a 2 a.m. epiphany: over-altering. It was an avalanche of alterations -- one caused another and another and another and before I knew it, I had a size 2 on the table.

I've never claimed to be the sharpest pair of Ginghers in the sewing basket.

So, the size 2 fits great. Here are the alterations I've made so far:

• lengthened torso
• brought in back seam at neckline to reduce gaping (I've got a broad back, which is clear in the pictures below.)
• lowered and lengthened bust darts

Alterations for the final version:

• enlarge armscye

There's one thing I think can be attributed to the fabric used for this muslin: the neck binding still isn't lying perfectly flat (the fabrics have different weights).

The horizontal wrinkles on the back -- no clue. It's not tight there. I'll live with it and press the stew out of it.

Try not to be jealous of my cranberry velour pants. They're HAWT.

The accompanying Clovers have been finished for over a week. They're just waiting for their Laurel. 

The two will meet tomorrow. I hope they hit it off.

WIP: Clover Wearable Muslin

Confession:  I entered a sewing contest. Last year, its inaugural year, I followed one of my favorite bloggers as she went through the rounds and eventually won the whole thing. At the time I thought, "Wouldn't it be awesome to sew like that?" This year I threw my hat in the ring. (Very, very early so I wouldn't chicken out.) The judges narrowed 100+ entries down to 10 sewists who will compete in three rounds of challenges.

The bad news is I didn't make the top 10. (Top 15, if you're the counting type.)

The good news is if I had made the Top 10 you may have missed these pants. (They didn't really fit any of themes, though I can't imagine why not.)

And let me tell you, my joy at imagining your reaction to these pants almost beats how excited I'd have been to win the whole contest.

Aren't they wild?

Here's how it happened. When the Clover pattern was released, I snatched it up right away. Then I got on fabric.com and searched for twill with a little stretch. Of course I started in the clearance section, and for some reason decided this fabric would fit into my wardrobe perfectly.

Last year I sewed up a few muslins and even made a denim Clover. A serger mishap (on the last seam!) relegated those to the trash bin, but I kept the newly adjusted pattern.

It was a breeze to sew these up with my adjusted pattern. A breeze, I tell you. A few seams, invisible zipper, and done!

The fit's okay. I lengthened the torso, narrowed the hips, and shaved some off the inner thighs.

There's still extra room under the rear, and the waist could stand to be nipped in another pinch. BUT, this fabric loses its stretch super-quick-like, so that may contribute to the sagging.

must take sister's advice and look up "ways to knot long belt" on pinterest

The only other issue is some weird zipper nipple action. Not sure what that's about.

Let's be honest. When fabric is this busy, it's easier to hide flaws.

I've had this outfit on all day, and it's so comfortable. I'm loving the pants in all their patterned glory. (I ditched the heels. I mean, I bake and clean and sew, but in heels? Maybe if I didn't have bunions.)

Okay. Enough gratuitous crotch shots.

But don't fret. There will be more soon. I'm done muslining my Thurlow. Now I'm off to finish my first real version!

WIP: Thurlow Trousers Muslin #2

I've been pattern testing something fierce around here lately. There's one project I can reveal as soon as I add some finishing touches today or tomorrow. One I can share next week. The other four are Megan Nielsen patterns, and it'll be a while before the collection is released.

While I love pattern testing, it's nice to work on a few projects just for fun.

The Thurlow. Originally I intended to do these with Lladybird's sew-along. I've got beautiful wool crepe and quality twill waiting for me to get the fit just right.

Here's my second muslin. The first was flat out the wrong size for me. This one is better, but I've got some work to do. So far I've narrowed the lower hip/thigh, brought in the back seam, and fiddled endlessly with the crotch. The next muslin will have a lengthened, deepened crotch. Hopefully that will get me a better fit. (Hello, creepers who ended up here from a Google search! Crotch = sewing term! Sorry to disappoint.)

I'll also change the placement for the welt pockets but probably keep the darts where they are.

The style is classic and comfortable, so the work will be worth it when I get the fit right. I'll keep you posted!

WIP: Project Run and Play Week 1

Next week is a doozy. Besides being the first full week of 2013, it's a week of my some of my favorite things.

Downton Abbey Season 3 premieres on PBS.

Project Runway All Stars has its finale.

and Project Run and Play Season 6 begins.

I may spontaneously combust.

This season I'm going to attempt to sew along for the entire Project Run and Play event. Here are the themes:

Week One:  The Pattern Remix Challenge:  This season we will be remixing The Cottage Home Mama's fantastic Party Dress.   
Week Two:  Stripes and Polka Dots 
Week Three:  Boys Week 
Week Four:  Love is in the Air:  This week will be a Valentine's Inspired challenge.   
Week Five:  The Men's Dress Shirt Challenge:  Take a men's button up shirt (doesn't necessarily need to be a dress shirt---like it can be a flannel shirt---just as long as it's a men's shirt and buttons all the way up) and make something wonderful out of it for a child. 
Week Six:  Your Signature Look

I've been lying in bed at night with my brain in overdrive. My ideas don't always translate into cute outfits, so I'm working really hard to plan better. I'm three weeks into intense training for Marathon #5, so advance planning is the only way this'll get done.

There are two goals I'm trying to meet (in addition to trying to actually get it done): 

• Only buying notions that are absolutely necessary (using all stash fabric, yarn, trim, etc.) 
• Cementing my "style"

Here's a sneak peek of Week 1's look.

Knitting a sweater. In less than two weeks. Somehow I'm sensing some last-minute, late-night scrambling is in my future.

Fortunately I'll have some good TV to keep me company!

WIP: KCWC Day One

There is an obscene number of items in progress on my sewing (dining) table.

Thanks to the Kids Clothes Week Challenge, I'm on a mission this week.

WIP: Project Run & Play Week 1

It's been slow-going on the sewing front around here. A little over a week ago I picked up my MASSIVE child (she's 17 pounds) and injured my back. It's most likely a pulled muscle, but for a week I was operating at 70%. The kids were still running strong at 100%, so I had to sacrifice some things like sewing and running. The good news is I'm back up to full steam. The bad news is I'm not running the half marathon for which I've been training. No biggie. The initial disappointment has passed, and Official Marathon Training, which is more important, begins this week.

The good news is once again I'm able to bend over the dining room table to cut! And sew!

Have you heard of Project Run and Play? It's a sewing contest for bloggers/designers of kids clothes. Similar to Project Runway, designers complete projects based on a theme. Then we Internets vote on our favorite, and each week one designer is eliminated. I've been following it since the inception, and let me tell you: the talent of the contestants is astounding. We're talking outfits made of hand-dyed, hand-painted, hand-sewn fabric with unique, trendy, gorgeous designs. And the details! Jaw dropping. Lots of big-name ladies in the Children's Clothing Blog World.

For those of us watching at home, there's a sew-along portion of the competition. There are prizes each week for one of the sew-along participants. (You should see the prize packages for the real-deal participants. Wow.)

All that to say, the newest season starts this week! They announced the themes a couple of weeks ago, and my mind immediately starting churning out ideas. I've decided to sew along with the first week's theme - The "It's Okay to be Biased" skirt re-mix, Week Four - Boy's Week (of course!), and Week Six - Signature Look.

Here's what I've got so far. It's cut and ready to piece together. I told Ryan the other night, "If this turns out, it's going to be so cool!" 

FOR THE LOVE, I cannot get this to rotate. It must be a setting on my camera. You see yards and yards (and yards) of handmade bias tape, fun floral fabric, and the shell for the bodice and bodice lining.

Here's how I made the 1/2 inch bias tape. The Scientific Seamstress has a printable bias tape maker. Genius. I mean, sure you can go buy a bias tape maker, but why do that when you can make your own? What's that you say? Because it's easier? You must be friends with my husband who said, "Yeah, I'd just run down to JC Penney's and buy me a dress instead of making it myself." 

The coolest part is doing something that's new and foreign to me -- imagining, sketching, designing, and executing a look. I've got until Friday to "make it work."

We'll see what happens.

P.S. Go check out the entries in the Flikr pool sewalong so far. I'm telling you -- it's amazing.

WIP: Macaron Wearable Muslin

**Update: Here's a link to my completed Macaron.**

I slipped away and made a quick stop into Waechter's this morning. Judith couldn't believe I've made FIVE muslins for this dress. After helping me get inspired for my next project (possibly another Colette dress), she introduced me to a Swedish independent designer who makes patterns for my body type. There's a trouser pattern I'll be purchasing soon.

The Macaron. This one was tough, but the final version is going to be Oh So Worth It.

Here's the wearable muslin of the Macaron.

Pockets!

The fabric is a cheap flannel that I picked up at a swap. It was free, and it'll be nice this winter. Rather than fussing with matching the plaids, I just cut the waists and yokes on the bias. (I remembered seeing Lee's version last winter, which is when the Macaron caught my eye.) The darts (mostly) line up, but it's hard to see the detail with this busy print.

Here are the adjustments I've made so far:

• Added piping to the top of the bodice pieces.
• Cut a size 0 for the yokes, tapered from a size 0 to a 4 on the boob part, and used a size 4 for the waist section. 
• Removed the bust dart completely. 
• Added over an inch to height of the waist.
• Added .5 inches to the waist width.
• Removed .5 inches from the back center piece height.
• Cut a size 4 skirt, but modified the width of the darts in the back because the seams didn't match up. (Still not sure what happened there.)

The bodice is in six pieces - three in the front and three in the back. So, every adjustment I made required corresponding adjustments to the other pieces to make the seams still match. That has been the biggest lesson for me in this project -- managing alterations and still having all the pieces match.

These are the changes I'll make in the final version (in addition to the ones already made):

• Shave a bit off the hips.
• Widen boob section. (I was still an inch off in making it match with the waist piece.)
• Widen shoulders a .5 inch on each side (and corresponding facings).
• Figure out why my back skirt is an inch narrower than the skirt front.

Next week in the sewalong we're putting together the final version.

In theory it should go together quickly now that I've done it so many times!

**You can track my Macaron progress here**

Cutting the Pattern

Muslins #1 & #2

Fabric

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.

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!