This stupid dress better fit, or I'm making it into a skirt. I have no desire to redo the bodice again, but I spent WAY too much time on it to just give it away if it doesn't work. Mental notes: If you do that pattern again, just add a seam to the center back and put the zipper in THERE instead of in the side; cut out size 14 shoulders, 16 bust, and 14 everything else (don't even get me started about how annoying that is); don't do the crookedly marked tucks on the cummerbund detail...
Meh. Maybe I just won't ever make it again. I'm not happy with it. It's cute, yeah, and I added sleeves to the bodice to make it wearable for me, but ugh. It's just taken way too long to finish--I had to keep putting it away out of frustration, and I'm no slouch when it comes to reading and interpreting a pattern.
Stupid pattern. It better fit.
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Sunday, April 4, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Funny thing...
Once I get going, I tend to stay going--laws of motion, anyone? Anyway, today I MADE MYSELF hide in the sewing room to finally finish the bright pink flannel-back satin pajama top I cut out oh, maybe October? It's done. It took me three hours of being strangely unable to focus, but I sewed the collar (I have a weakness for men's-style pajamas), the buttonholes, the buttons, and the hems and now it's in my drawer...just in time for slightly warmer weather. ha ha.
Then, since I already had the iron hot, I ironed a skirt and a blouse for my sister and a skirt for me. While I was ironing, I noticed the infamous brown butterfly dress I've beenavoiding working on for months (weird bodice alteration) and remembered that it was a moderately nice early Spring day, and decided to see how far I could get on it before I had to stop and wind down for the night (which, obviously, hasn't happened yet and which, even more obviously, I'll kick myself for in the morning). I got as far as the side seams, including the dreaded side zipper, before calling it a night. All that's left is sleeves and hems, and I may just do a turned-up hem instead of a nice blind hem. Doesn't really matter--I'm just happy to have a new dress ready to wear soon!
In other news, I'm not sure if I mentioned this or not. Remember how I applied for Penland's core fellowship? Well, I got a lovely letter just after Thanksgiving telling me that they appreciated my applying but didn't have a spot for me. 88 applicants tried for four fellowship positions, and I know I'm not as good a silversmith as many of the others who applied. That's ok. A couple of weeks before I got the letter, I actually had a very strong feeling I wouldn't get it, and I felt just fine about it. I just wonder what happened to the SASE that was supposed to return my little portfolio to me...I'll get around to emailing them one of these days. I'm actually thinking of heading out there for a few weeks this summer anyway, depending on how my work situation is.
Lots to think about. Let us hope it doesn't keep me awake or result in the weird/disturbing dreams I've been having lately...
Then, since I already had the iron hot, I ironed a skirt and a blouse for my sister and a skirt for me. While I was ironing, I noticed the infamous brown butterfly dress I've been
In other news, I'm not sure if I mentioned this or not. Remember how I applied for Penland's core fellowship? Well, I got a lovely letter just after Thanksgiving telling me that they appreciated my applying but didn't have a spot for me. 88 applicants tried for four fellowship positions, and I know I'm not as good a silversmith as many of the others who applied. That's ok. A couple of weeks before I got the letter, I actually had a very strong feeling I wouldn't get it, and I felt just fine about it. I just wonder what happened to the SASE that was supposed to return my little portfolio to me...I'll get around to emailing them one of these days. I'm actually thinking of heading out there for a few weeks this summer anyway, depending on how my work situation is.
Lots to think about. Let us hope it doesn't keep me awake or result in the weird/disturbing dreams I've been having lately...
Friday, February 26, 2010
Factorials in real life. Really.
I finished Charlotte's afghan just in time for my parents to cram it into a suitcase and take it with them when they visited a few weeks ago. She loves it, apparently, and one of these times I'll post pictures. It turned out to be really pretty and weaving in all the loose ends (lots of stripes on this one) was totally worth it. :)
Now I'm working on a small granny square project using a selection of Vanna's Choice yarns in lovely earth tones. My little squares are about 4" and have three rounds of different colors. My sister, who is very smart, challenged me to choose yarn colors as randomly as possible and use whatever I grabbed out of the bag I was keeping the skeins in. So far, it's worked. The colors are very complimentary to each other, and while there are some combinations I wouldn't have purposely chosen, they still look really great. It's been a fun challenge!
I was curious how many combinations were possible with seven colors of yarn and three rounds in each square, and I remembered there was a mathematical formula for figuring things like that out. I couldn't remember the exact formula, though, until I asked my Illustrious Father, who reminded me of factorials.
Factorials! Yes! I always liked factorials, and when Illustrious Father reminded me how they worked, we figured out that seven colors of yarn and three rounds in each square would be 7!/3! which is 7x6x5x4 = 840 possible combinations. This means that my odds of repeating any given combination are VERY slim, which is great. It'll be a lovely little random patchwork afghan and I can't wait to see what it looks like!
I actually think my chances of repeating are a little higher than they would be if I had assigned each yarn a number and rolled dice for each round, but it's still very unlikely that there will be a single repeat.
Yes. If math had been this fun in the classroom, I'd probably have paid more attention and done better...
Now I'm working on a small granny square project using a selection of Vanna's Choice yarns in lovely earth tones. My little squares are about 4" and have three rounds of different colors. My sister, who is very smart, challenged me to choose yarn colors as randomly as possible and use whatever I grabbed out of the bag I was keeping the skeins in. So far, it's worked. The colors are very complimentary to each other, and while there are some combinations I wouldn't have purposely chosen, they still look really great. It's been a fun challenge!
I was curious how many combinations were possible with seven colors of yarn and three rounds in each square, and I remembered there was a mathematical formula for figuring things like that out. I couldn't remember the exact formula, though, until I asked my Illustrious Father, who reminded me of factorials.
Factorials! Yes! I always liked factorials, and when Illustrious Father reminded me how they worked, we figured out that seven colors of yarn and three rounds in each square would be 7!/3! which is 7x6x5x4 = 840 possible combinations. This means that my odds of repeating any given combination are VERY slim, which is great. It'll be a lovely little random patchwork afghan and I can't wait to see what it looks like!
I actually think my chances of repeating are a little higher than they would be if I had assigned each yarn a number and rolled dice for each round, but it's still very unlikely that there will be a single repeat.
Yes. If math had been this fun in the classroom, I'd probably have paid more attention and done better...
Friday, February 5, 2010
Sequins II
Remember this post? I mean, how could you not, considering I have posted ONE THING since then...
Well, I found a dress on eBay from a great Chinese seller. They really were so considerate; they reassured me that my dress would get to me on time, and they even included a little Christmas card with a bear-in-a-Santa-hat ornament. The tracking was right on, the price was EXTREMELY good (good enough to make me feel a little guilty about potential exploitation), and the dress is pretty well-made. I should have gotten a size smaller, though, but it was too late to do a return so I made do. Because of reasons that are obvious to most of my readers, I keep my shoulders and chest covered up, even in evening wear. This dress was VERY low-cut and had spaghetti straps, so I had to figure out a clever way of either altering it to have shoulders and sleeves or finding something pretty to wear over it. I decided on the Occam's Razor approach and bought a couple of sequin appliques from another eBay seller, thinking I'd be able to fill in the neckline with something like that.
Well, the appliques were stitched onto a lovely mesh fabric, but it wasn't stable enough to work for what I needed and there was no really effective way to attach them to the thin straps of the dress. I rooted through my stash ("I KNOW I have red satin in here SOMEWHERE!" I said over and over to myself as I rooted) and found some red satin and a hot-fix rhinestone applique leftover from a couple of earlier projects. I folded a rectangle of satin and applied the rhinestones and then hand-stitched it into the low V of the neckline. Because the dress was still too big, and I didn't have time to alter it, I wore a red cap-sleeved camisole from Down East Basics (their sizing seems arbitrary and annoying, and their skirts and dresses are still rarely long enough on me, but since I only wear the camis under things, it was ok) and found a black ruffled bolero with a bit of a 1930s feel from yet another eBay seller. Because the train was a little cumbersome, I sewed a ribbon loop into the center back seam and carried the thing around on my wrist all night. It worked really well and kept people from stepping on me.
At some point, I'll actually alter the dress so it fits better, but I wore it to two parties (the Final Gasping Death Rattle Party of Doom and a New Year's Eve party) and got a lot of compliments on it. I'm pleased with the results, and here is a rather blurry picture taken toward the end of the New Year's Eve party to show you:
Well, I found a dress on eBay from a great Chinese seller. They really were so considerate; they reassured me that my dress would get to me on time, and they even included a little Christmas card with a bear-in-a-Santa-hat ornament. The tracking was right on, the price was EXTREMELY good (good enough to make me feel a little guilty about potential exploitation), and the dress is pretty well-made. I should have gotten a size smaller, though, but it was too late to do a return so I made do. Because of reasons that are obvious to most of my readers, I keep my shoulders and chest covered up, even in evening wear. This dress was VERY low-cut and had spaghetti straps, so I had to figure out a clever way of either altering it to have shoulders and sleeves or finding something pretty to wear over it. I decided on the Occam's Razor approach and bought a couple of sequin appliques from another eBay seller, thinking I'd be able to fill in the neckline with something like that.
Well, the appliques were stitched onto a lovely mesh fabric, but it wasn't stable enough to work for what I needed and there was no really effective way to attach them to the thin straps of the dress. I rooted through my stash ("I KNOW I have red satin in here SOMEWHERE!" I said over and over to myself as I rooted) and found some red satin and a hot-fix rhinestone applique leftover from a couple of earlier projects. I folded a rectangle of satin and applied the rhinestones and then hand-stitched it into the low V of the neckline. Because the dress was still too big, and I didn't have time to alter it, I wore a red cap-sleeved camisole from Down East Basics (their sizing seems arbitrary and annoying, and their skirts and dresses are still rarely long enough on me, but since I only wear the camis under things, it was ok) and found a black ruffled bolero with a bit of a 1930s feel from yet another eBay seller. Because the train was a little cumbersome, I sewed a ribbon loop into the center back seam and carried the thing around on my wrist all night. It worked really well and kept people from stepping on me.
At some point, I'll actually alter the dress so it fits better, but I wore it to two parties (the Final Gasping Death Rattle Party of Doom and a New Year's Eve party) and got a lot of compliments on it. I'm pleased with the results, and here is a rather blurry picture taken toward the end of the New Year's Eve party to show you:
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Dear fellow seamstresses:
The reason your dress made with a vintage pattern doesn't fit right is probably one of two things:
1. You neglected to add shoulder pads or do the necessary alterations to eliminate the need for them.
2. You are not wearing the proper foundation garments that women in the 50s would have worn under such dresses.
Keeping those things in mind, you should probably make a muslin (using the wonderful techniques described in Susan Khalje's Bridal Couture, which is a book everyone should own) and expect to do some altering. Also, sizing is different in vintage patterns. You may be a 10 in stores, a 14 in modern patterns, and an 18 in vintage. Deal with it and always always go by your measurements instead of what size you THINK you are. I promise it's better this way, even if you end up taking something in. It's always easier to take in than to let out. :)
1. You neglected to add shoulder pads or do the necessary alterations to eliminate the need for them.
2. You are not wearing the proper foundation garments that women in the 50s would have worn under such dresses.
Keeping those things in mind, you should probably make a muslin (using the wonderful techniques described in Susan Khalje's Bridal Couture, which is a book everyone should own) and expect to do some altering. Also, sizing is different in vintage patterns. You may be a 10 in stores, a 14 in modern patterns, and an 18 in vintage. Deal with it and always always go by your measurements instead of what size you THINK you are. I promise it's better this way, even if you end up taking something in. It's always easier to take in than to let out. :)
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Inspiration!
Grosgrain is doing a guest giveaway, and I have to say that I really like this jewelry aesthetic. I only hope that whatever I end up doing will be as charming and creative as The Brass Hussy.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Sequins!
I have a party to go to in December, not four weeks away. Because it is, as I like to call it, the Final Gasping Death Rattle Party of Doom for this particular group, I feel the need to wear something FABULOUS. My association with this group began, really, with a photograph of me in a red velvet strapless dress. Now. Lest we get all annoyed at me, keep in mind that it's the only time I've ever worn it and a friend was practicing her photography and wanted to take a picture of me in it. Besides, it doesn't even fit me anymore...sadly. And even if it did, I would feel terribly inappropriate wearing it to this party, ESPECIALLY after having made such a point of keep myself covered at every party.
So. Yes. I want to wear something red and fabulous and sparkly to this party. I want to look awesome in pictures. I want to not look like a drag queen. I want to get my hair done and wear pretty makeup and rhinestone earrings and silver (or blue!) heels. I might even want to impress a date, should the opportunity arise.
I have a couple of patterns that will work for what I want (McCall's 3944 view B, OOP Simplicity 9213 view B with sleeves, or McCall's 2681 view A with a shiny top) but I'm having the WORST time finding fabric! If I find something that is perfect, it's also $200 a yard or comes from Thailand and will take three weeks just to ship. I don't want to use the glitter-dot sequins at the fabric stores even though I will as a last resort. I've been trawling eBay and Amazon to find something workable that won't break me and I've had a small amount of luck but not much. The most I'm willing to pay at this point is $20 a yard, and I LONG to live near Mood so this wasn't so much of a struggle! I can't even find the special order book at JoAnn--I think they've hidden it or discontinued everything but the Casa matchy-matchy fabrics. blar.
Perhaps on my lunch break I'll have some luck. And, if all else fails, I'll just use the cheesy American Knit glitter-dot stuff and hope it doesn't look too cheap. I'd really like to have an evening gown that isn't costumy for those (very few) Occasions I can see myself attending in the future.
Ideas? Throw 'em at me!
So. Yes. I want to wear something red and fabulous and sparkly to this party. I want to look awesome in pictures. I want to not look like a drag queen. I want to get my hair done and wear pretty makeup and rhinestone earrings and silver (or blue!) heels. I might even want to impress a date, should the opportunity arise.
I have a couple of patterns that will work for what I want (McCall's 3944 view B, OOP Simplicity 9213 view B with sleeves, or McCall's 2681 view A with a shiny top) but I'm having the WORST time finding fabric! If I find something that is perfect, it's also $200 a yard or comes from Thailand and will take three weeks just to ship. I don't want to use the glitter-dot sequins at the fabric stores even though I will as a last resort. I've been trawling eBay and Amazon to find something workable that won't break me and I've had a small amount of luck but not much. The most I'm willing to pay at this point is $20 a yard, and I LONG to live near Mood so this wasn't so much of a struggle! I can't even find the special order book at JoAnn--I think they've hidden it or discontinued everything but the Casa matchy-matchy fabrics. blar.
Perhaps on my lunch break I'll have some luck. And, if all else fails, I'll just use the cheesy American Knit glitter-dot stuff and hope it doesn't look too cheap. I'd really like to have an evening gown that isn't costumy for those (very few) Occasions I can see myself attending in the future.
Ideas? Throw 'em at me!
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