6 Month Sew-iversay!?! THE DRESSES

Hear ye!  Hear ye!

Its my six month sew-iversay! 

Is that thing? I don't care! Champagne and cake all around! 

Basic Tank Dress V1 // Dixie DIY Ballet Dress V3

Tiramisu V1 //  Stretch and Sew 305 V1

Above, you can see the stuff that has already been blogged (like software, the V's refer to the version number). Below, you can see the other stuff. I'd say these photos pretty well illustrate the fact that I have grown a little... uninspired trying to back blog all the garments that I've made. I feel like I'm trying to play catch-up and it makes it hard to focus on the new stuff. Plus, some things just don't deserve a whole blog post, though I do want to keep a record of most everything I've made just so I can keep track of the evolution of my sewing through time. So, here is a major photo dump of things unblogged thus far: THE DRESSES. 

 

Dixie DIY Ballet Dress V1 (muslin; now wearable for festivals!) // Dixie DIY Ballet Dress V2 (muslin; now wearable with shorter sleeves!)

Self Drafted Everyday Dress V1 // Tiramisu V2

 

Basic Tank Dress V2

I had a major photo session this weekend (lots of wine and some quality time with the self timer on my camera) and I think I've got everything photographed that  I've made up until the six month point. Today, the dresses. Tomorrow, the rest of it. I did full photo sets for all of the garments so some (if not all) will get their own blog posts at some point. Let me know if you would like to hear the details on anything specifically, otherwise I suppose I'll just choose at random. I'd also like to make sort of a "projects" page that would have a thumbnail photo of each garment and a link to that garments full write up. This would be mostly for my reference, but might be useful for others as well. Anyone have any clue how to do that in blogger?

And for the SIX month grand tally:

29 finished objects for ME

3 finished objects for OTHERS  

I'm only counting the wearable stuff here, there have been a few wadders. And trust me, the wearable stuff gets worn most days.  I'm quite pleased with that fact, since I started sewing so that I could create the garments that I've always looked for in stores but have never been able to find. For example, jersey knit dresses with sleeves? Now I have seven (seven? wow!)!

 

Also, don't forget to drink your champagne! Bottoms up, ladies. 

 

Gray Patterned Tiramisu

Dress: Made by me, Tiramisu Dress by Cake Patterns

Sweater: Anthropologie

Leggings: Sock Dreams

Boots: Vintage

Here is another dress I finished before I decided to jump on the sewing blogger wagon. I can't remember the order in which some of these projects were finished, but I think I made it back in December, sometime before Christmas. And you better believe that I have been wearing the ever-loving crap out of it ever since. When I first saw the Tiramisu Dress pattern posted about somewhere on the sewing blogosphere, that was the moment I knew that I would inevitably be sucked into the black hole of sewing. It turns out that that premonition was correct!

Oh, and before you ask. Yes, I do know that these photos were taken from an incredibly unflattering angle. I was just too lazy to find my tripod on the day I was taking the photos so I used a stool, and then once I did find the tripod, I was too lazy to retake the photos. So please add like at least a 10% more flattering filter to your eyes when viewing these photos. Thanks!

Although I do love this dress, I had some issues with the fit during construction and still have some issues with the fit now. Even though I am fairly certain that I measured myself and the pattern correctly, when I first put it together, the bodice was ABSOLUTELY ENORMOUS. I wish I had taken a photo a the time, but I was too distraught to think of it! I think part of the problem is how short-waisted I am, but I'm not sure that accounts for the whole situation that was happening! I took about 2 inches out of the shoulder seam on both the front and back and removed about another 2 inches from the bottom of the front bodice. I then had to redraft the neckline to make it wide enough to look even remotely like it was intended. I then took two inches in on each side bodice/midriff side seam. The skirt, however, fit perfectly right off the pattern and I think the suggested length is super flattering. The last adjustment I made was shortening the midriff by about half, which I knew was probably an adjustment I would have to make from the get-go. I am so short-waisted that long midriff pieces look ridiculous on me. Since I'm such a newbie, I was kind of making up these adjustments on the fly and just trying to, in the famous words of Tim Gunn, "make it work!". I'm sure there is a much better way to go about doing these modifications.

In the end, I think I shortened the bodice a bit toooooo much. I bought some cheap jersey to make the first attempt at this dress, and it has ZERO recovery. Whoops! By the time I was done making all those bodice modifications, the material was so stretched out that I think I OVER adjusted. After a few washings, the material has recovered and the seam under the bust sits a bit high. Whoops!

I am extremely pleased with my double needle work for the hem! BTW, this photo is a much better representation of the actual color of the dress. I-Phone camera beats the Nikon everytime! So much for expensive cameras (or maybe I should just learn how to use mine better)!

There's the backside of the hem made with the double needle. I love the double needle, but my machine doesn't I think I've broken at least one on each project. That shit is expensive!

As for the next Tiramisu, I think I will consult Steph's 30- Minutes a Day Tiramisu Sew-a-long that she is just wrapping up right now. I can't decide if I should transfer my alterations to the pattern I have already cut in the size that I used for this dress, or try to cut a significantly smaller bodice for the next go around. All in all, I love the crap out of this dress! Though I struggled a bit with the sizing (I probably should have waited for Steph to publish the sew-a-long, but I was too impatient), I think the design is absolutely perfect for my everyday life. V-neck, jersery, pockets, and a flattering full skirt? Check, check, and check. This dress is exactly what I have been looking for. In fact, I'm wearing it right now! I see many Tiramisus in my future!

 

 

Happy New Years! And other things...

Dress: Made by me

Leggings: Sock Dreams

Boots: Vintage

Sweater: Columbia Sportswear

So, I've been meaning to get back into blogging for oh, I don't know, forever?? Yes, probably forever. At least approximately forever. This is mainly due to the fact that I have recently gotten into sewing in a BIG WAY. Like, probably a kind of embarrassing way. I've been pouring over sewing blogs enviously for years now, but I was totally intimidated by all the things it seemed like I would need to know and all of the things that could go terribly, horribly wrong. I was envisioning myself sobbing into a pile of wadded up fabric in front of my sewing machine. It was all very dramatic (in my mind), trust me. 

However, a few factors (the lack of place to shop in the entire STATE of New Mexico, a need for a creative outlet, the total frustration of being unable to find the type of clothing that I want for a price that I can afford, the ethical and environmental issues associated with our clothing industry, a few very enviable patterns becoming available, I COULD GO ON AND ON...) culminated a couple of months ago and I attacked my sewing problem with reckless abandon. I've since cranked out a quite a bit of lovely clothing that I've worn repeatedly and quit a bit of embarrassing and unwearable shit. However, its all been fun and there hasn't been any crying, so I hope to continue with my new obsession in the New Year. 

Quite frankly, I'm sure that was already too many words for anyone to process after the holiday vacation, so I will just say that I hope to be blogging more about sewing here. The online sewing community seems to be an awesome, supportive, and informative place and I so hope that I can be a productive part of it. I've learned SO MUCH from reading blogs and tutorials, found amazing patterns, and most importantly learned a bit about how to alter patterns to better fit my body (which is the point of sewing, after all!). I'm still at the bottom of a major learning curve here, but I hope to share my projects so that I can look back for reference, perhaps (one day) be able to help out other, and maybe get some advice and feedback on my projects. Constructive criticism is certainly welcome by this beginner!

So, without further ado, here is my most recent project with the sewing details:

I drafted this pattern based very loosely on the One Shoulder Knit Dress free download from Dixie DIY. I spent a fair bit of time grading up the size and drafting the bodice, only to royally screw up the fabric cutting! Whoops. 

 

So, all my dreams of the little rows on leaves meeting up in the center front and center back were lost! I shed a single tear then made it work. Also, I learned my lesson about taking sewing projects to my parents house, cutting fabric after one too many glasses of wine, and trying to use my mother's (too fancy for me to understand) sewing machine which kept eating my fabric. Oh well. 

I ended up having to take  good bit out of the center front seam to make things look less crazy pants with the pattern, so the dress is a bit narrow across the front, pulling in at the armholes and setting the straps a little to close together (in my opinion). That said, I almost never wear dresses without cardigans because it is frigid in this state, so I'm in not too worried about it. I really love how it looks with a cardigan. 

I am quite please with the fact that the bodice is lined. But no, I don't have a fancy pants serger, there are my silly little zig zag seams. Finished with clear elastic at the waist and shoulder seams. 

So, despite some flaws, I'm counting the wins thusly: drafting a basic v-neck dress pattern perfect for jersey fabric  (I hope to correct the fit problems in the next version) and making a dress that I think will get a lot of wear. In fact, I wore it last night for the New Years party that I hosted!