Finished: Butterick 5100 Top

Two years in the making for such a simple top... I think I began this top in October of 2008. I drafted the review on PR back in March of 2009 leaving only the hemming undone.  Well, I finally finished it a couple of nights ago... phew!

Pattern: Butterick 5100 with view A length and view D cowl (I'm not surprised it's out of print!)
Fabric: Ivory sweater knit from fabric.com back in 2008 for a total of $6.37
Notions: thread
Total Cost: $7.36 ($0.99 pattern + $6.37 fabric)



I don't know why this was just hung in my closet for so long when all I had to do was finish the sleeve hem and the bottom hem. This pattern is SUPER easy... but hemming is my least favorite part of sewing. I don't remember what the instructions were but I don't like the way I finished sleeves. The way that they are cut also makes it hang off my shoulders funny, but don't mind too much. Doesn't it looks like I have wings?



There's an Anthropologie across from work, and I stopped by the other day and bought the belt in the picture along with a headband.



These are the earrings that I wore... they're from the streets of SOHO when I was in New York. They're handmade and I love them!

Here's a sneak peak at something else I'm working on. Our wedding anniversary is this Friday, and we're celebrating on Monday so that gives me an extra few days to finish it. :D

FO: Padded Pouch

Over the past weekend, I worked on a padded pouch... which was just pieced together with leftover fabric from this bag.



Pattern: none... just went with the flow
Fabric: Amy Butler remnants for the exterior, white sueded fabric for the interiof
Notions: poly/cotton batting, ribbon

I wanted the pouch to be medium size with pretty much a square bottom, and ended up with a pouch much bigger than what I originally wanted but it'll do for now.



Can you see why I wanted a padded pouch right away? I told myself I couldn't use it until I had a "case" to protect it.

Now it has room to fit my point and shoot, Fuji Instax, and my new camera! I was in such a rush and had a difficult time sewing through all the layers that I didn't care if my stitches were wonky and all over the place.

I created 2 "handles: by stringing  a piece of ribbon through each side. I did this so I could carry on my shoulder if need be. For next time, I'd make it smaller, add an interior patch pocket and add interfacing. (I totally forgot the interfacing and then was too lazy to go back and add it... I really wanted to finish!)



Here are some of my first photos:


My dress:


The back view is not very flattering... I think the angle of the camera's weird... I promiss my hem isn't that uneven. :P  Have a beautiful day!!

WIP: Lady Grey Tailoring Part I

Tailoring Part I - The Front




I'm a little behind in the Lady Grey Sew-Along... especially since it's now over. :) Gertie is truly amazing and has done some wonderful posts for this sew-along!! I think for the first couple of weeks of October I just stared at her posts because they were so wonderful (and a little overwhelming). After all this staring and watching her post one tutorial after another, I finally decided to give it a go.

{Warning: this is a long picture filled post!}

Basting the side fronts:
Here's Gertie's first tailoring post. I did things slighty out of order from her posts, too.

Supplies: silk thread, needle, and beeswax

I did practice my basting stitches using unwaxed silk thread, waxed silk thread, and pressed waxed silk thread. The winter white wool is a little too light so, I'm underlining it with a bamboo/rayon muslin. This makes my side front piece three layers; wool, underlining, and hair canvas. I was afraid that the three layers would make it difficult, but it didn't at all.



The knotted thread is the plain silk thread. I did notice a huge difference between the unwaxed and waxed silk thread. However, I didn't notice a difference between the pressed and unpressed thread. So, I proceed without pressing. If you would to see a tutorial on pressing waxed there, Casey has a wonderful one here.

My progress... only a couple of lines done here...


Bound Buttonholes

Supplies: silk organza, interfacing
Notes: This was my first time trying this type of buttonhole. I did add interfacing to the "lips" to give it more structure & support. I didn't baste the lips, which made it slightly shift on one of the final ones, but other than that it's not too bad. It looks like they got better with each try.

Test buttonhole: the ugly


First buttonhole: a little crooked


Second buttonhole: just right



Tailoring the Front
Gertie's post I
Gertie's post II

Catchstitching





More basting and the roll line:
Supplies: linen tape



Padstitching:
I know it's difficult to see, but here are my padstitches. I had a hard time trying to figure out how to sew perpendicular to the line and still get a diagonal stitch... I guess I couldn't figure it out in my head until actually just did it.



I didn't pin the lapel down as I rolled and padstitched, which made the hair canvas shift a lot. I'm not sure how this will affect the lapel in the finished product but I don't feel like unpicking and redoing it especially when I have another one to do. :P


Overall, I'm super excited about all the new techniques I've learned and learning. I've done most of my handstitching on my daily commute to work on the bus and have grown quite fond of handstitching in general. I'm not sure when I'll be done with my coat but up next is the back side seams, pockets, and sleeves.

Shopping: Fashion Design Books

We're down to our last few NYC craft stores! Here we have Fashion Design Books right on the FIT campus, but it's not the FIT bookstore.



There are lots of sewing related textbooks and tools available... it looks like a good place to be for a fashion design student. :D Here's a couple of items I picked up that I absolutely love.  I didn't see them here in Texas before NYC, but I saw that my local Joann carries it, too, once I got back of course... they were just in the quilting section.




These are now my go-to marking tools. There were some bad reviews for the chalk set due to markings being permanent. I haven't had an issue, but I would recommend that you test on the fabric first.

FO: Vogue 8489 Dress

Progess is slow on the sewing front. I did start experimenting with handstitching on the Lady Grey, but more on that later. Today, I have a finished dress to show you!

Pattern: Vogue 8489 knit dress in view E

Fabric: Stylized Floral Jersey from Gorgeous Fabrics bought in 2008 @ $10/yd and black jersey from 2008

Other: black fusible tricot interfacing for the neck and midriff bands @ $3/yd

Mods: no zipper
Total Cost: approx. $27.00

I bought this fabric, which looks like there are still a couple of yards left, with the intention of using this pattern over two years ago. It's now finally complete.

Cennetta from The Mahogany Stylist also used this fabric to make this dress. You can see what this dress would look like without the contrasting neck and midriff bands.

Overall, it's a easy knit dress. The fusible tricot had enough stretch in it that I didn't need the zipper in the back. It's very comfortable and very slimming. I did slipstitch the facings by hand, which was nice and relaxing to do with wine and friends. The only thing that I don't like about this is dress is that it's VERY LOW cut but that can be fixed with a camisole.

WIP: Lady Grey Muslin

The Muslin Stage



Fabric: White cotton twill from fabric.com back in 2008 @ $3.50/yd (I think I used about 2.5 yds)


Notes: This is my first official time I've made a muslin (I made one other muslin a few months ago but it's not even done), and I'm enjoying the process very much. I don't know if I'd make a muslin for every garment I make since it's rather involved, but I'll definitely consider it for my more expensive fabric and complicated patterns.


Steps: Aside from the pattern tracing and cutting, I followed Gertie's muslin steps. Here's a simple breakdown.... this is more for my reference in the future.

1. Extend seam allowance to 1".
2. Thread trace seam lines.
3. Baste pieces together.
4. Press seam and hem allowances.

It looks kind of weird just hanging here... it looks much better on, but you can see the 1" seam allowances and the thread traced seam lines.

The Result:



I didn't hem or pin the hem allowance all the way so you can see bits of hanging out... oops!

Conclusion: I'm satisfied with the result and it doesn't look like I need to make any changes as far as I can see. Do you notice any draglines or adjustments I may need? Please let me know if you do! The lighting does make it difficult to see any draglines, too... The only thing I need to work on is setting in sleeves... I've never been good at this, and I want to perfect it for this project... do you think that will be too difficult?

Free Sewing Patterns

Leko is offering free sewing patterns through the end of September. I can't remember where I originally saw this, but I had to share.  The only downsides are that the sizes available for free are only Burda sizes 42-44 and there are not very many English instructions. I definitely found some that I liked so I downloaded them onto my computer. I recommend checking them out. :)

Shopping: Purl Soho

I was very excited to see Purl Soho... I've seen all the wonderful stuff on their website and their blog. It's a beauty!



I do like to knit occasionally, but it's just so slow compared to sewing and I easily get bored of it. Plus my hands get hot easily and knitting makes them sweaty.... eww! :) Well... Purl Soho has lots of yummy yarn!





There are also designer quilting cottons in the back.



They have a whole bunch of crafty kits and books, too, and their decor is so cute!





It's a cute little place that has lots of crafty stuff in it. Their blog has tons of inspiration and tutorials as well. If you're in the Soho area, I definitely recommend visiting them.  If you're not in the area, then I recommend that you visit their online store and blog. :) Happy Crafting!

Lady Grey Sew-A-Long

Along with many others, I'm participating in the Lady Grey Sew-Along that's hosted by Gertie. I'm not very good at sticking to a SWAP (see I trailed off or has just been left hanging my Summer Sewing Essentials, 2009 Fall Wardrobe, and 2009 Summer SWAP)... I apparently have some committment issues, but I'm going to do everything I can to stick with this one.  ^_^



Pattern: Lady Grey by Colette Patterns
Fabric: winter white 100% wool from Joann @ $12.50/yd, silky watercolor flowers from Joann @ $7.00/yd




These pictures are Sarai's (she is the owner of Colette Patterns) pictures from here.

I just fell in love with pattern when it was released... isn't just beautiful?! I was determined to find the right winter white wool for it, too. When I was at Metro Textiles, Kashi pulled a lot of winter white wools for me but they ended up being either too yellow, too thin, or too thick. I know I know... I was being super picky, but I knew if I wasn't happy with the fabric I wouldn't use it or worse I wouldn't like the finished garment after all that work. Believe me, I had been looking for the "perfect" fabric for quite some time now.

I thought it was a hopeless cause and maybe should use something I already had in my stash... but lo and behold the fabric I was looking for was at my local Joann!



Now with my fabric choices set, I'm pretty excited about the sew-along. Plans for the weekend are pre-treating my fabric, finding something in my stash to use as muslin, and tracing the pattern. I'm also creating a Fall 2010 SWAP around my Lady Grey coat... but you know how those SWAPs go... nevertheless I love planning! Have a great weekend!

Shopping: M&J Trimming

Chugging along to my next store is M&J Trimming. It's a BIG store with lots of stuff! This store to was overwhelming but so much fun... they have all kinds of stuff and their walls were filled to the top!



I didn't buy anything from here just because I didn't know what I'd buy and how I would use it. You definitely need to know what you're looking for or at least have some kind of idea. I haven't used trim before so I didn't even know where to begin.







Everything was neatly organized. I wish I lived there just so I can pick up trim when I finally had a project for it... at least they have an online store, too. :)

Shopping: Metro Textiles

Continuing on my review of stores in NYC, my next stop was Metro Textiles. As I mentioned before, this was my first time in New York. I had a difficult time looking for this place... I luckily had my phone to sort of help me out... which led me to the general vicinity of store. Unlike Mood, it did not have a sign in the window. I had to guess which building it was and look at the directory to find Metro Textiles. Then you take the elevator to the appropriate floor (I can't remember which one it is... you have to look at the directory) and then around the corner... POUF... there it is! :)

Kashi, the owner, is very inviting and helpful. He coerced me into buying more fabric and than I wanted to buy... hehe... but I love every piece! He even said he would ship it for me so that I didn't have to worry about my luggage. :) It's a small space, but the store is filled to the brim with fabric. Like his website says there all sorts of different types with a great selection.

Unfortunately, I was too busy purchasing fabric that I forgot to take a picture with Kashi and his store. Instead, here's a glimpse of my fabric purchases...



There some wools, rayon knits, cottons, and silks... for a whopping total of 26 yards! Eek!

I totally recommend stopping by. He also has a mailing list that you can join, where he sends you swatches. I'm glad I was able to stop by!