August Wrap-Up and...The 'Elephant' In the Room

This was a good month!! It started out very quiet and mojo-less. I knocked out my FM project the first weekend of the month knowing the next 2 weekends would be occupied. I was so excited to sew the border print sateen and then the almost finished skirt sat for 2 weeks. New look 6481 renewed my mojo and got me back on track! :-p

This month I sewed:

• New Look 6481 jacket in black suiting - 1.5 yards
• Butterick 5760 x 2 in olive sateen and border print floral sateen - 2 yards total
• New Look 6123 dress in polka-dot chambray - 2.25 yards
• McCall's 7382 dress in maroon jersey knit - 2.5 yards
• Burda 2/2013 #125 bomber jacket in printed ponte - 1.25 yards (Fabric Mart project)

M7382 - IDK about that one. It is currently hanging before hemming (one side has already grown about an inch). I think I dislike the CF seam. Perhaps in a print it would be okay but in a solid it just looks odd. Otherwise it's a flattering style. So this may be called a muslin and I may revisit this when I have a better fabric for it.

NL6123 is a favorite of mine. I really like the fit of that pattern. And it's POLKA-DOT!  I'm wearing it today and it makes me happy!! Review to come.

Favorite: The one dress is iffy but otherwise all are very solid additions to my wardrobe. IDK if I can choose a favorite. Both jackets, the NL dress, both skirts...I really like them all.

FAIL: I failed to stay on task but what else is new?! HA! 

Accomplishments: Hmmm, I did nothing noteworthy this month, but that's okay. I have a vision in my head for my fall wardrobe which means not everything will be 'the greatest item since sliced bread' but so far, it's all coming together.

I'd cut out M7382 Saturday night and made some adjustments and then zipped it up through the serger the other day (that part is fast; not looking forward to hemming but think it'll be better hemmed vs. left raw). Once I realized it needs to hang a good while, I was ready to move on to something else. I laid out the fabric I scooped up at SR Harris for v.2 of NL6481 and at that moment (it was weird, seriously), I looked over and saw a UFO peeking out from a bin and of course, I decided it must be finished right.now.

Sigh. LOL

I had picked up this cotton/lurex faille back in December 2013, of course, via a FM sale. I wanted to make a blazer but the fabric is a bit rigid and I was still very new to sewing, so I wasn't sure it would work. Into the stash box it went.

About a year ago, I decided to make a fall jacket and pulled it out. I got the pieces all cut out (had just enough fabric!), sewed up the lining first, went on to assemble the shell and there it stalled.

Butterick 6141

Photobombed by boys and cats.

It fits better now too!

Fronts and backs are sewn, sewn together at the shoulder, but that's it. I realized this morning that one of my pockets was sewn on wrong (I sewed it pocket right side to fabric wrong side). I wonder if this made me toss it in a box?? Looking at my posts around that time, I went on to sew a couple of tees for myself and t-shirt dresses for my daughter, all from M6964. That was probably the reason -- "shiny".

I need to sew the side seams, the front bands, set sleeves in both jacket and lining, sew the collar (which is a simple style - I'm sewing view C) and bag the lining.

September plans is to keep working the fall plan. I hope to get a couple things done over the long Labor Day weekend but I again have 2 non-sewing weekends this month.

I WANT to sew the Jalie cardigan, Ottobre sweater and Burda dress. But those are definitely for cooler weather (even though it was 57 degrees when I left home today).

I SHOULD sew the Kwik Sew jacket and Vogue pants (suit). I'm using this navy/white mini-check suiting. I'm kind of excited about these two as well!!

So what's up with that 'elephant'...

I was talking with a friend after she laughed at my fall sewing plans. Hey, I told her I don't really believe I'll get ALL of those things sewn... :-p She mentioned that I must have a huge wardrobe.

I DO have a lot of clothes. I always have. I will probably never subscribe to the minimalist wardrobe concept. Even before I learned to sew I had a lot of clothes. I LOVE CLOTHES! Not so much fashion but clothes. I like putting looks together, I like having fun with my wardrobe. This is especially true since I'm no longer in a lab environment and without clothing restrictions. 

I live in the tundra - which gets upgraded to "The Frozen Tundra" in winter (or is that downgraded??). So I essentially have 2 wardrobes. I separate fall/winter from spring/summer. Cold weather will begin around October/November and will persist through April and sometimes all the way until the end of May. So you get really sick of dark colors, heavy fabrics, etc. and I take great joy in shuttling those into storage bins around the so-called start of spring! :) 

And because fall is my favorite season, around this time I am just itching to wear jackets and boots and layers. Even though I don't look forward to the cold that is coming. So I've already put away a few things but it'll be a few more weeks before I do a full swap. 

It also helps that I've always had a ton of storage space. 

Now, with respect to sewing, I've been sewing since January 2013. So not a long time. I've progressed a lot but as far as my wardrobe goes...Most of the stuff I made in the beginning is no longer around. 

I remember finishing a dress and being so proud and I wore it out to date night. Sometime last year I pulled that dress out to wear and had a good laugh at it! LOL! The hem was wonky as was the neck binding. The gathers were uneven and it had shine spots from pressing. :) So best believe, the wardrobe has been culled. Also, I don't discriminate. If it doesn't work...it doesn't work. And that goes for RTW and handmade items. 

• 2013: I have 2 items from 2013 still. And one is a pair of yoga pants, the other is a raglan sweatshirt.
• 2014: I have 22 items from 2014. Progress! 1 is pajama shorts and then there are 4 outerwear items and 2 special occasion dresses.
• 2015: I have a lot of stuff from 2015 still in my wardrobe. 

I sewed A TON in 2015, but it was a very stressful year for me and sewing was my salve. While I still sew a lot by most standards (it's the fast sewing!), I sew WAY less than I used to. I don't feel the need to hole up in the cave all the time. Feels good too :)

Fast Sewer + Desire for a large wardrobe + Lots of storage space + "new" job (It's been 14 months already!) + A definite style that is starting to emerge + Fabric inspiration + Pattern inspiration =  Lots of pieces being added, still. And that's okay by me. 

Not *too* Boring Basics: Butterick 5760

versions 5 and 6... :) Hey, that's what TNT's are for!!!

I'm at the point where I really need to retrace this pattern onto something nice and sturdy, it's starting to look a little beat up.

As per usual, I cut a 16 front and 18 back. I removed the excess fabric from the front skirt that is supposed to be gathered. The side seams are always basted before being sewn - different fabrics or if it's lined or unlined affects the fit. Both of these are unlined, they're both sateen with a slight stretch, so both have 5/8" side seams until just after the hip and it increases to 1-1 1/4". I haven't adjusted the pattern for the pegging - even though I often peg it - because you just never know. I do like the skirt in it's original width, it just depends on the fabric I'm using...and it doesn't take much to tweak side seams.

The one thing I DO need to change on the pattern is the hip curve. I don't need that much curvature and always remove it.

I finished the panel-print sateen skirt 2 weeks ago. Honestly...where does the time go!?!  I'm sure some of you have seen this Maggy London sateen 'in the wild'. I passed on it twice and then saw a dress made up on PR and the next time it went on sale I managed to snag a panel.

I *just* eeeked out my skirt with the single panel!!!

just scraps remain!

I tried to match at the side seams as best I could.

I ended up having to cut the facings from a different fabric. I rummaged through the scrap bin and used this lightweight suiting (I made a bias cut skirt from Burda mag with it last year). It is white/black on one side and black/white on the other.

I went with an invisible zipper and topstitched hem.

The color is really 'me'. I have a few tops in my wardrobe that I can pair this with. I love it with this coral tee (Target) and my new jacket.

My son was in the room while I was taking photos and he had me laughing the entire time. You can see how terrible my posture is on this back photo :/ Also, it is a "sensitive time" and I seriously look 4 months pregnant about 2 days a month. I always manage to want to photograph something fitted during this time! LOL!!! 

Because olive is one of my favorite colors, I have plans to add a few more items in this color to the wardrobe. This fabric is closer to a moss/ivy green but it's in the family, and that works for me! :)

When I made these olive pants I was surprised by how versatile the color is. That led me down a path of wanting all the olive things! :)

And they fit better now! :-p

For this skirt, I wasn't as smart as I was with the floral one. The fabric is narrower so I ordered 1 1/4 yard. On the floral skirt I cut front, waistband, then back.  This time I cut front, waistband, facings then...uh oh. I can't fit my back piece because of the vent. I moved things around, over and over and in the end I had to cut single layer and eliminate the vent. But it worked out! Whew!

I am all for serging the edge of facings but I had a bit of red bias tape to match my serger thread, Oh and on this one I went for a centered zip and again...topstitched hem

I forgot to serge the back seams before sewing the zipper. Arrrgh!

(this is closer to the true color than the photo above)

Yep! It's love! I think I will be pulling this out A LOT this fall, even though this sateen wrinkles if you think about maybe looking at it! :-p

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This month I jumped into the trends and sewed a bomber jacket for my Fabric Mart project! In a crazy printed ponte - and I love it!

It's a Burda pattern -- which Burda's consistency and fit make up for their awful instructions to me! I cut my normal 40 neckline / 42 for the rest but since I used ponte and the pattern was intended for satin, I left off the full bicep adjustment and because it is gathered at the hem, I didn't worry about a swayback adjustment. I made slightly narrower bands than the pattern called for and used a run-of-the-mill black zipper from Wawak. I have been staying away from poly/lycra pontes (give me some rayon!!) but for something like this, it's okay with me. I also lined it with a poly/lycra interlock and left out the interfacing. You can check it out over on the Fabric Mart blog!

The Fabricista Fashion Challenge will be starting up soon so I won't be posting for September. I really enjoy watching the progress! Also, the PR Sewing Bee will be starting in September! It's not my kind of comp so I won't be sewing, but I'll be watching - for sure.