BWOF 11-2009-112 II

The bodice is done! (But not pressed!) Sorry about the sunlight and shadow pics, but I have to snap when I can- if I wait until I get home from work tonight I won't be able to get a decent shot. And the colors are truer in these photos anyway.

You can see my striped main fabric and my satin lining (shiny side goes against the skin). You can also see my ruffles. I didn't follow Burda's instructions. They called for using a rolled hem finish on the ruffles, which would have been pretty, but... I couldn't find my serger instructions so I couldn't set up the machine for rolled hemming, and I didn't have the right color of thread either. I would have used a dark red/maroon to pick up the red stripes in the fabric.

I didn't want to wait to make a run to the fabric store for thread, so I cut the ruffles double width, folded them along the length and gathered the raw edges. It's a little bulkier, but the fabric is so light that it doesn't really matter. I'm happy with it so far.

I got the skirt seamed yesterday and the lining and outer skirt basted together at the waist. But the skirt is HUGE. The outer skirt is cut all in one piece (with only one side seam) 103 inches wide!!! That is a LOT of skirt. I've decided to take it apart and remove some of that width. I'm not sure how much yet, but I'm thinking at least 24 inches, maybe more. As it is right now, the skirt is just too heavy (the satin, even though it's lightweight, just weighs it down). I think once I remove some of it, it will be fine. Satin may have been a strange choice to line this with, but I plan to wear this during the cold winter months so I needed something with some substance to it. Also, it gets quite windy here, so a skirt with a little weight to it is a good thing.

Stay tuned for a skirt update next time.

BWOF 11-2009-112 I

I was feeling the need to start a totally new, fresh sewing project, and the November issue of Burda was at hand, so I decided to go ahead and start on dress #112.
You can't tell much from the magazine photo except that the wrap front gapes when you wallow in the grass. I'm not planning on doing much of that so I thought I'd go ahead and give the dress a try.

I chose a semi-sheer poly chiffon type fabric with thin stripes for my main fabric and a coordinating caramel colored satin for the lining. The colors are actually a little bit warmer than in the photo.

Originally, I thought all the ruffles were a bit much, but my fabric really looks kind of "blah" from a distance, so I decided to go ahead and use the ruffles (as in the tunic version) to liven the dress up. I'll have to let you know how that works out...

I made a muslin out of rayon challis. I cut a straight size 44 which seemed to work just fine. I did notice a couple of odd things about the pattern, though. First, the shoulders are cut very narrow. The shoulder seams are way up high on my shoulders and my shoulders actually stick out into the sleeves. After checking the photos and drawings in the magazine, I think it's suppossed to be that way. The "waist" seam was in a weird place, too- at least on me. It was too low to be "empire," but too high to comfortably wear a belt over it. So I added 1.5" of length to the bodice to bring it to a better place for me. I highly recommend a muslin if you are thinking about making this dress.

So far, I have the bodice assembled, the ruffles applied and one sleeve on. I'm not really following Burda's instructions- it's an easy dress to assemble and I decided to do things a little differently to save time and to ensure a nice finish on the inside. More about all that in the next post.

The Most Beautiful Place on Earth

Costa Rica is definitely one of, if not the most beautiful place on Earth. I was there on business, so I didn't really get to do much, but I got to see an eyeful, and I enjoyed every minute!

Here I am with some bananas. I'd never seen them still on the tree!
This is the hotel where we stayed. You can't see the mountain in the background (trust me, there's really a mountain back there!) because it's shrouded in clouds.

The flowers and plants are just amazing!

This tree is huge and it must have at least a dozen different plants growing all over it.

Here I am in front of the tree. Check out those big green and yellow ivy leaves- they're huge!

For some reason, this is all Blogger will let me upload right now. I'll try to add more later. It was a fantastic trip, and if you ever get the opportunity to go, I wholeheartedly recommend it!

I think I'm going to go work on a sewing project for a little while. More on that later, too.

Checking In

This is just a quick blog post to check in and let y'all know I'm not dead. I've been working in Costa Rica for the last two weeks and I simply haven't had any sewing or sewing related stuff to blog about.

Costa Rica is an absolutely beautiful place. Even though it was a business trip, I had a great time, met some wonderful people, and had some incredible food. I'll share some pictures in the next post!

When I got home late last night, the November issue of BWOF was waiting for me. A couple things jumped out at me.

I'm liking this breezy dress, 112B.

I even love the fabric they chose for the model. It looks easy and comfortable, and it goes up to a size 44, so with the full skirt, I shouldn't have to grade it up. I like the tunic version, too. I'm not sure about all the ruffles, though. I think either the neck ruffles or the shoulder ruffles, but not both. I'm not quite sure about the raised hem in the front, either. But it would be easy to just cut it straight.

I'm kinda liking these pants, too. They are #126 from the Take One Make Four section. I love the seaming and the insets in the front. I like cargo pockets, too, even though they aren't always a good look for me.

Now that I'm back from my trip I need to get busy making some things for the cold weather ahead. Hopefully I'll have a project to share soon!

Road Test Results and a UFO

I test drove the new knit dress yesterday and I am pleased to report that it passed. I actually got a few complements on it! Although I have to wonder if that wasn't so much because of the dress itself, or because I work in a super casual environment and a dress- any dress- is going to stand out. In any case, the dress is a success and I'm pleased with it's performance. The fabric, with it's minimal lengthwise stretch, was a good choice.

After making the dress on Saturday, I was itching for something to do on Sunday, but I really didn't want to trace a new pattern, or worry about a muslin, so I pulled this out:

Yes, it's a knitting project. Now I don't really consider myself "a knitter." I don't really make anything but scarves, which are just long rectangles. I love yarn, I love knitted things, I even love the sound and the feel of my bamboo knitting needles as I make scarves. I just can't seem to get past the scarf stage. I'd love to make a sweater- I even have a sleeve almost finished- but I just can't seem to wrap my head around anything more complicated than a scarf. I get lost in a pattern. I can't seem to keep up with the increases, the decreases, and the pattern repetitions. And then there's the dreaded gauge. I actually found a sweater pattern that looked easy enough for me to attempt, but I could not for the life of me get the correct gauge. If I got the right stitch count, the rows were off, and vice versa. I gave up.

Scarves are great because the gauge doesn't matter. I can just cast on and knit- literally. I almost always knit, hardly ever purl, so most of my scarves are garter stitch. And since most of the time I use novelty yarns, it doesn't matter anyway.

This project is a simple garter stitch scarf in Yarn Bee Truffles, which I picked up awhile back at Hobby Lobby. I made a scarf out of this yarn (blue and green colorway) last year and I adore wearing it. So I thought I'd try another color. This one is called Out West and it's a combination of red, teal green, tan, and chocolate brown. I'm not sure I'm liking it yet. Since the photo was taken Sunday, I've knit up almost the whole ball, and I have approximately 18" of scarf. This is a ladder yarn with shiny satin bits and fluffy matte bits. When it's knit up it makes a really cool textural fabric. I'll cut enough fringe for both ends (this yarn fringes nicely, too) and then join the second ball and knit until the end. Then I'll finish it off with the fringe and wear it. With the weather cooling off the way it is, it'll be scarf weather soon.

I hope to have this finished by the end of the week (famous last words.) I'll have to remember to take a picture and share.

Another New Look 6802

So I wanted to make NL6802 again in a less stretchy fabric to see what would happen.

And here's the result. I'm liking it. I used a novelty knit from Hancock's that I've had hibernating in my stash for probably two years. It has a really nice multicolored horizontal stripe, a little bit of shimmer, and a pointelle pattern knit into it. It has just enough horizontal stretch to make it suitable for this dress, and almost no lengthwise stretch. I think it's going to work great, because the first version of this dress had a lot of lengthwise stretch, and it tends to grow throughout the day.

The only problem is that this fabric is a tiny bit sheer, so I have to remember to wear a slip.

I pretty much made this version exactly the same as the last one, except I shortened the sleeves, and I had to cut the overlay on the crossgrain to take advantage of the stripes (and the stretch!) I love how the stripes seem to flow over the upper arm straight into the overlay. A happy accident, I assure you.

The princess likes it, too. And since I had a good 2+ yards left of this fabric, (what was I thinking buying so much?) I think I might look for a suitable pattern to make her a "matching" dress.

Now, back to the sewing room!

Filler Blog Post (Or Shannon's Picks from the October BWOF)

Wow. It's been a week and a half since my last post. I have absolutely no sewing news to share. I haven't touched my machine in probably two weeks.

So I thought I'd at least check in and share my picks from the most recent BWOF issue. I have to admit upfront that this issue just isn't thrilling me like the last two. That said, there are still a couple of cute things in here, and I wonder if I won't come back to this one later and find some gems that I'm just not seeing right this minute.

I think my favorite thing in the issue is this jacket, #130 from the Take 1, Make 4 section. I love the vague military styling (the stand-up collar, the epaulettes, the pockets with button flaps, and the tabs at the cuffs), and I have some cotton velvet in my stash, which is the recommended fabric. Mine is periwinkle, though. I think that could be kind of cool.
The only thing that bothers me about the jacket is that it's cut very straight and boxy. There appears to be no shaping at the sides or the center back. That means that I would have to make a muslin and then probably some significant adjustments to make this flattering for my curvy figure. While I'm sure the finished jacket would be worth it, I just don't have the energy right now. Sigh...

Next up is this very simple knit dress, #117 from the Little Black Dress section. The magazine calls it Dancing Queen, and styled like it is on the model with the big floppy hat, it does have a very 70's vibe. The drawing is pretty blah, but I see some real potential here. I'm seeing it in a beautiful knit print, worn with a pretty cami underneath. (You know, to keep things modest. That neckline looks like it's pretty low!)


I like this one a lot, too. This is dress #119, shown in black chiffon and in grey flannel in the photos. I love both the dresses, but I really don't want a sleeveless dress right now with the weather getting cooler. I'm going to file this one away, though... Maybe later.

And last we have dress #113, also from the Little Black Dress section. I L-O-V-E this dress. From the double cap sleeves to the neckline, from the empire sash to the flattering (and easy to alter) princess seams, this dress is hot. Too bad I don't have anywhere or any reason to make it.

There are a couple of other things that I like, but these are the ones that stand out to me right now. Like I said, I may come back to this issue later and be captivated by something entirely different.

It's Friday night. I'm exhasuted from this week and ready to collapse into bed right now, but I hope to get another knit dress cut out this weekend. Maybe I'll have some sewing to share before too long. Cross you fingers for me!