Category Archives: sewing

Simplicity 1578, circa 1945: The Summery Polka-Dot Sundress

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Front view #1.

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Front view #2.

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Front view #3.

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Closeup view: lucite bracelet and faux bakelite black bracelet. (The bruise is probably from getting beaten up at jiu jitsu.)

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The Facts

Fabric: Navy and white polka-dot rayon, $5/yd 60″ wide
Pattern: Simplicity 1578
Year: 1945
Notions: Navy invisible zipper, $1
Time to complete: 16 hours, maybe more
First worn: Never been worn yet!
Wear again? Yes
Total price: $11

Pattern used:

It’s the middle of winter here and since every week has been 30 degrees and freezing. It’s refreshing to work on a summery rayon polka-dot sundress.

I’ve made this pattern once before unsuccessfully. This time around was different.

Construction details:

  • made a muslin (which accounted for the 16+ hours)
  • basted all the seams before sewing it up
  • inserted an invisible zipper in the back
  • used seam bindings for the armholes
  • serged the seams
  • used some leftover navy gabardine for the neckline facing
  • hand-tacked the facing at center front to prevent it from flipping up

Using a fabric with good drape and hand was crucial. The rayon is lightweight and has good drape. This pattern also reminds me why the 40s is my favorite sewing era. I have enough leftover fabric for a skirt, a blouse or shorts and the silhouette is vintage enough to be authentic yet doesn’t look costume-like or overwhelming.

I don’t know how many sleeveless sundresses I’ll be making but this silhouette is definitely a win.

(Cross-posted on Sew Weekly.)

Outfit: Simplicity 1554, styled

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Front view #1.

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Front view #2.

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Closeup of bracelets: lucite root beer colored bracelet with glitter, black faux bakelite.

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Closeup of brooch. I take all my pictures myself so sometimes there are erratic angles.

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Blouse: Simplicity 1554, homemade
Cardigan: H&M
Pants: Hand me down from my mom
Bracelets: Faux lucite and faux bakelite
Shoes: Penny loafers, Hush Puppies
Brooch: Brown thermoset flower brooch, ebay

I’ve been making more of an effort to wear my projects this year and the ones that get the most wear are the blouses. I’ve also wanted to document more of what I wear from a day to day basis to keep track of the projects that I do wear.

It might be the erratic, freezing cold days we’ve been having but lately I’ve been really drawn to casual wear from the 50s (straight cut plain slacks) combined with 40s elements (brooches, lucite bracelets). I walk to and from work so whatever I have to be wearing has to be practical. I’m also allergic to nickel and can’t wear most jewelry that isn’t real. We’re also not allowed to wear jewelry on the mat so I’m constantly taking off my jewelry before going to class (jiu jitsu), and I’d like something I wouldn’t have to worry about losing if I put it in my wallet: hence large lucite bracelets and brooches.

That reminds me: I need to sew more pants.

Make This Look: The Vocal Celebrity Skirt

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The Facts

Fabric: Blue microfiber, $7/yd. White cotton swiss dot, $4/yd.
Pattern: Gathered skirt, self-drafted
Year: 2012
Notions: Blue invisible zipper, $1. White lace trim, $12/yd.
Time to complete: 6 hours
First worn: Never been worn!
Wear again: Yes
Total price: $30

This skirt was inspired by the Vocal Celebrity Skirt from Modcloth. The skirt was self-drafted and is a simple rectangle gathered at the waist. I inserted an invisible zipper and sewed the lace on to the hem. I didn’t have any cream silk or silk charmeuse so I made a sash belt from cotton swiss dot in my stash.

All the materials from this project except for the lace came from my stash. I wouldn’t have otherwise thought of making this skirt, but it came together pretty well with what what was in my stash. A more accurate version would have a silk or charmeuse sash. Mine was cotton since that was what I had on hand. I didn’t compromise on the tall wide lace for the hem since I think that makes the look.

During construction. My favorite part of the skirt is the lace.

It was a cloudy day indoors when I took these photos so there are very few full outfit shots that aren’t blurry (will definitely have to repost when I find a better light source for these), but I accessorized with this confetti lucite hinge bracelet from the 50s. It has seashells embedded in with huge glitter confetti.

(crossposted to Sew Weekly)

Spring 2012 SWAP

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Spring 2012 SWAP:
4 bottoms – 1 pants, 3 skirts
4 tops – 3 blouses, 1 camisole
1 dress

I’ve been thinking about the Spring 2012 SWAP since last year, but it’s only now that I finalized the storyboard for it. I have a habit of making really boring projects that I wear all the time, and I’d like to make more interesting pieces that are fun to make and are still versatile and yet I can still wear it all the time.

I kept the SWAP colors to mainly blue and white with a splash of orange. It was inspired by this scarf. I kept to blue and white for simplicity and hopefully for versatility’s sake.

I always test how the SWAP colors work together by putting everything in a tall pile and seeing if it still looks harmonious.

Sewing Fail: 20s-Inspired Dress

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I love documenting my sewing fails as well as my successes since it reminds me that (just like in life) not everything you undertake will be executed to perfection or even turn out well in the long run.

I haven’t finished this dress yet but I can already tell it’s a fail.

I’ve been working on this project here and there this week. I took Colette Jasmine (which worked well for me previously as a blouse) and grafted a skirt on to it, thinking it would be a good drop-waist silhouette dress. The cutting took the longest (more than an hour), and everything was pieced together in half-hour intervals throughout the week.

The sketch started out like this:

A good premise but terrible in either execution or how it actually fits me.

Pros:

  • I like red and it makes my hair look even more black
  • this was some $2/yd fabric I found over the weekend so it’s not a huge loss

Cons:

  • the 20s silhouette is not friendly (or flattering!) to me
  • it looks like a deranged figure-skating outfit
  • chiffon (or crape?) is really hard to work with, especially on the bias
  • the skirt keeps riding up
  • I haven’t worn anything this short since I was five

I’ll probably still go to the 20s event, but break the rules by wearing something modern (read: circa 40s or 50s).

The Fashion Week Skirt

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The Facts

Fabric: Faux leather
Pattern: self-drafted
Year: 2011
Notions: black invisible zipper
Time to complete: 3 hours
First worn: New York Fashion Week, last Fall
Wear again: Yes
Total price: around $10

This skirt was inspired by two accessories: these leather studded platform boots and these two leather cuffs, worn stacked together. I picked up the chunky leather cuff with silver studs at a now closed-down accessory place on St. Mark’s Place. The other bracelet wraps twice around the wrist and has gold studs, and was a gift from one of my best friends last Christmas.

Way before I got into vintage, I’ve been very much inspired by the music I listen to: glam rock and classic rock and roll. The whole look consists of leather, loads of black eyeliner, tights, unset hair, tattoos, and tons of attitude.

I drafted the pattern myself based on my bodice block. This is my first time working with faux leather, and it went along smoother than I thought it would. I did make the fatal beginner mistake of pressing down my seams with a hot iron, which absolutely melted the fabric so I had to re-cut one of the pieces again. I pressed the pieces down with a cold iron the next time around and it worked out well.

This skirt is very comfortable and it survived my second day of Fashion Week last year. Since then I’ve worn it several times (including to work). It’s a nod to the East Village, riding the L train late at night, listening to Bowie on your headphones while cutting fabric at 2 am, seeing your first runway show at Fashion Week, and evokes the energy that surrounds the city I live in.

(cross-posted to Sew Weekly.)

Colette Patterns Clover, Muslin #3

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I tried making Clover a few months ago and my first try at it was a complete fail. I’ve since read Pants for Real People and the next draft was a little better. I used a stretchy cotton that will mimic my final fabric, and fitted the pants as best as I could. Muslin #2 (not shown here) was baggy and even more unflattering, but this muslin turned out better.

Alterations:
- cut a size 4 (instead of a size 6), but it was still way too big (?)
- shortened the leg by one inch
- added one inch to the crotch length
- sewed all seams 1″ (after 5/8″ was still too baggy and unflattering)
- added the waistband to the muslin for even more accuracy

I think this is as good as it gets and will be making this version out of the fashion fabric. I’m not sure if the blue stretch twill I’ll be using will be as stretchy as the muslin, so I’ll be basting 1″ inch seams first, then testing it, then finalizing it if that works out.

2012 New Years Resolutions

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Debbie Reynolds, ringing in 1953.

2011 has been a crazy year for me, and hopefully 2012 will be better.

Sewing-related resolutions:

Make better pants. In the winter I wear pants a lot, and that means pants of all sorts. Here are some of my favorite pants I’d like to make or perfect: Wearing History high-waisted 30s (and could pass for 40s) style trousers, 1950s high-waisted cigarette pants, Colette Patterns Clover. In the warmer weather, it’s shorts, culottes and capri pants.

Learn how to drape. I received a draping book (possibly an FIT textbook?) for Christmas, and I fully intend to use it.

Draft more patterns. I really like being able to “copy” (or be heavily inspired by) other dresses and patterns that I’ve seen. It’s very freeing from using a pattern and trying to figure out what the pattern designer intended. Conversely, if something goes wrong and the fit is off, you have no one to blame but yourself.

Conquer your fear of sewing with knits. I still have no idea how to sew with knits, and I’m still intimidated by it.

Find your “sewing voice”. As a self-taught web designer/dev, I was always drawn to hand-drawn, slightly imperfect, lots of grunge, overlays, and the darker side of design. As someone who sews, I still have no idea what my “sewing voice” is. I know what my personal style is and what projects I tend to wear and what patterns I tend to gravitate towards, but if I were to design my own dress, blouse, pants, or even a collection I’d have no idea what it would look like. Perhaps this will come with time (and lots of sketching.)

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Personal life resolutions:

Test and perfect your rolls. I’ve been studying jiu jitsu for a few years now, and it’s taught me so much both on and off the mat. I finally (no idea how) learned my rear roll, and my front roll. The only thing left is to go up on the next belt test.

Just roll with it. I’ve seemingly inherited my mom’s tendency to be worried about everything, including things I can’t control. This year I’m going to learn to be happier with the status quo (not to be confused with being complacent), not take anything for granted, and learn to live in the present.