MMM14 Recapping

Yesterday was an amazing day.  I got to sew for most of the morning, then my wife and I went to a soccer game where I got to snuggle an adorable baby named Theo, followed by dinner and beers with friends and our pup Figaro.

The one thing that is hard for me about Me Made May is casual wear.  I have lots of cute skirts and dresses to go to work in but nothing really great to sit in the grass and snuggle babies in. I was digging around my collections of makes and my hand landed on a t-shirt I made during one of my seasons at the opera. It's a light weight knit that I found mad cheap at Ben Franklin crafts when they still existed in my area of STL.  The pattern for my t-shirt was self drafted and it was a really great fit.

This was taken when we were out for dinner and beers.  That is the best behaved puppy in public.  We think all of our babies are awesome, but Figaro is really good in social situations.  It was a really lovely afternoon and evening.

Another day of Me Made May.

I love the pieces in my outfit today.  That said, now that I have seen a picture I don't necessarily love them together but what can you do.

My top is the Portrait Blouse pattern from Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing.  The patterns from Gertie's book are some of my absolute favorites and this is my second version of this one.  One of the things I love most about them is that even being a curvy lady I have had to make very few adjustments to the patterns.  I made this blouse in a cotton voile and it is just so light and comfortable to wear.  The only modification I made to this version was that I added two inches to the hem so that I wasn't displaying my navel. I'm not on team crop top, especially for myself.

My skirt is made from a khaki twill with a navy twill contrast for the pockets. It washed up well and is soft and comfortable but holds it's structure nicely.  With this shirt on you can't really see it but it is fairly high waisted.  The only thing I may do differently in the future is to remove some of the fullness and flare from my center front panel, I like my skirts a little less full.

Also can we have a moment for my awesome wife who surprised me with a dress form trellis for our garden?  That woman knows me and clearly loves me a lot.  Thanks for being behind the camera on this magic shot babe.

Let's take a moment for the horror that is seam ripping.

I would like to briefly address the absolute agony that is seam ripping.  First and foremost this is coming from a place of very raw agony as I have done my fair share of seam ripping today.  The project I was slaving over is this fabulous top, well I have hopes that it will be fabulous anyhow, and needless to say it has not been going according to Hoyle. It is my foray into knits for this months Monthly Stitch theme. I will be sharing it upon completion, because that is not the point of this post.

I was trying to put in a t-shirt neck edge with self fabric and it just kept coming out wonky and uneven. I swear I was nearing a temper tantrum state and it was feeling incredibly volatile in the studio.  I took this collar out three times.  Those of you who have seam ripped before know that once you have ripped that seam you are left with tiny awful threads that can be tough to get out.  However if you leave them they poke out of your seam and make you look a hot mess.  It is so infuriating.

I do however have a solution to this problem.  Its a trick that a friend and I stumbled upon whilst seam ripping 1600 feet of cording (it was a process extremely lacking in fun, though I did have good company).  It all started with an eraser...

Look I know it sounds crazy, but an eraser is a huge problem solver with seam ripping.  Once you've torn it your take your eraser and run it over the area with the little tiny specks of thread.  It pretty much rocks at taking them away.  I will add one disclaimer, I would suggest using a white eraser.  I had a pink one and it left pink on the fabric.  Also if you're worried about that, you could always make sure to erase from the back side.

One of my favorite new little sewing hacks.  I hope you enjoy it.!

Me Made May, for the very first time

I'm extremely pumped to be doing Me Made May for the first time. Im going to try to wear one me made item per day.  It shouldn't be too tough, plus I do have sewcial plans for May, so im sure some brand new items will be joining the lineup.

My first item is a dress I made two years ago when I was working in St. Louis. Its drafted from my own bodice sloper. The fabric is from DS Quilts fabric, I just love her retro inspired prints.  I did a simple straight skirt and the all star of the dress, the offset Peter Pan collar. Its just so fun and easy to wear. Hope you enjoy.

Call me ambitious, I made a schedule for May.

Hne l am pleased to say that I have created a new schedule for my May blogging. l have an ambitious plan that involves posting twice per week. This feels crazy and exciting. I think that I can do this but please bear with me as I endeavor to become an allstar. 

That said I am trying out a new series on Thursdays where I'll break down some basics of garment sewing.   I will then do follow ups with other ways to do this that are either fun, functional or add a dash of style. Im pretty excited for this, and if you can think of anything you're dying to know about, please let me know.  I want to bring that to you!

Here's the May schedule,  things to watch for:

May 5th- Two post bonus, Lucky Lucille's Sew For Victory and Project Sewn's Leading Ladies Challenge
May 8th- 1st mini post on under stitching
May 12th- Project Sewn week 2
May 15th- Using facings with under stitching and linings
May 19th- Project Sewn week 3
May 22nd- Under stitching with piping
May 26th- Project Sewn week 4
May 29th- Let's talk linings
May 31st- A recap for May

Alright you guys I've put it out there. Keep tuned in and we'll see what happens. Stay tuned and enjoy.
-Caroline

My excited face!

A Little Travel and Some Fabric Tourism

I am sorry for falling off the face of the earth and I am also sorry that a lot of my posts seem to start out this way.  I have been pretty busy with work and life but I wanted to fill you all in on my latest excursion.

Last weekend I took a drive up to Boston (a 10.5 hour drive) to see my mama and to go to a friend's wedding.  I only had three days up there total but I really wanted to see if I could participate in a little fabric shop excursion whilst in the area.  I had read on Colette Patterns blog about a little shop called Grey's Fabrics, and I knew that if I were in the area I had to take the opportunity for a visit.

I will tell you that I was so incredibly impressed with this shop! It was even better than I could've imagined.  In addition their shop is just so, cool!  I walked in there and thought to myself that a shop like this would inspire anyone to make their own clothes.
 

 

The next thing that so thoroughly impressed me was their amazing selection of indi pattern designs.  I discovered some pattern companies that I had never even heard of before.  Plus every Colette Pattern I could want.  I had to restrain myself so that I didn't break the bank.

I think that the person who orders their fabric deserves a round of applause.  They have cultivated an incredible array of fabric.  There is a congruity to what they have chosen which makes it incredibly easy to choose what to purchase.  Within minutes of going in I picked a fabric for a skirt and something for a blouse to match.

The fabric I purchased for my skirt was this amazing cotton sateen from designer Joel Dewberry for Free Spirit Quilting Fabric.  It was $15 a yard and has an amazing hand.  Then I bought this red cotton voile to make a blouse to go with it for $10 a yard.   I was really impressed that the prices were fair and and the quality impeccable.  

They also have a very fine selection of notions (also very fairly priced I might say), they were things that you don't find everywhere.  I purchased some thread wax and glass head pins, but the real winner was this seam allowance ruler.  Grey's has their own brand of rulers of which the seam allowance ruler was one.  They are great, a really helpful tool for adding a little SA, if you know what I mean.

This tool is fantastic!  This store is fantastic! If you have the opportunity to check them out in person you should make it a priority. If you are not going to find yourself in Boston anytime soon they also have an online store.

One more cool thing I saw, on their online store was this cigar box sewing kit. Doesn't hurt that it happens to be on sale, but it is a fantastic price.  It has everything you could need if you're getting started. Plus like everything else about Grey's it's just plain Cool!

What an amazing community we sewcialists are!

Last week I was shocked and pleasantly surprised to look at Bloglovin and see that I had won Lucky Lucille's giveaway celebrating Christine Haynes new book.  (Side note, that was a lot of links for one sentence).   Then today my winnings came in the mail.  I felt like a very lucky girl.

 I had to show you the complete evolution of my unwrapping because it every step was so sweetly put together.  Rochelle really puts thought and attention into everything that she does.  What a treat!

Alas I have digressed, I wanted to say how proud I am to be part of this community of sewers, sewcialists as I call them.  I love reading all of your trials and triumphs.  I am so excited to see Christine's latest achievement.  From little projects to large undertakings this community takes interests in its own people and I am very proud to number myself among your ranks.

I will be back with more on my Anise coat, I know I have been lax about my evolution.  I swear its coming.  Also I am gearing up to participate in Rochelle's Sew For Victory 2.0.  I am very excited for more vintage sewing and inspired patterns.

Hope your weekend is chock full of fabric and notions!
-Caroline