Butterick 5679...

Hello!  I had no obligations today (for once) so I decided to make an easy top from some knit my BFF gave me before she left Japan.

For this I used Butterick 5679:

I made B.

Here's the fabric:

Cute, sparkly, but also see-through!  It didn't look like that when it was all folded.

Here's the finished product:

As you can see from the photo, I'm quite happy with how it turned out.  For some reason the cowl neck ended up being smaller than the actual neck and even with stretching I couldn't get it to fit.  I ended up just taking in the back seem an inch or so.  After that it fit just fine.

That's all for today!  I feel so accomplished that I can sit and watch TV for the rest of the day.  ;)

Simplicity 2054...

Well, Halloween is over and I can get back to sewing for fun and fashion.  First on my list is to use up some of the fabric my BFF left me when she left Japan.  Two kinds of lovely knits (of course my favorite kind of fabric).

Today, I tried to take a nap but couldn't fall asleep, so the obvious course of action would be to get out of bed and make a dress.  Duh.

I decided to make Simplicity 2054:

I made dress A but upon learning that the neckline wasn't high enough, I decided to attach a cowl neck (different from the one in the pattern) directly to the neckline.  I'm happy with how it turned out.

Here is a close up of the fabric:

It's hard to tell in the first pic but it's a black and glittery gold.  Lovely!

That's all for now!

Happy Halloween!

Well it's the most wonderful time of the year!  No more secrets kids.  This year's costume (unfortunately I only had time for one) is...

If you guessed...

Belle from Beauty and the Beast you are correct.  If you said Alice (in Wonderland), Maria (von Trapp), or Mary Poppins please watch your films more carefully next time.  Just had to get that beef off my shoulder.

Anyway, for this costume I used Simplicity 2539:

I made two slight adjustments.  I made the arm facing bigger and I made a lining for the neck facing.  It sat much smoother than the regular facing.

For the top I used Butterick 5711:

I made version C or the light purple one.  I made it without buttons and secured the neck with a snap.  I did this for two reasons.  One is to hide my tattoo and the other is because no buttons are visible on Belle's shirt.  Now before you get all up in my face, I know her shirt is a V neck but this is the pattern that I had, and yeah I had to hide my tattoo.  Also, you can't really see the bow in the above picture but I had it.

Next year's costume is already swirling around in my head.  I hope you had/have a great Halloween!  Until next year...

Halloween Hint...

Here is the first half of my costume in the cutting stage:

Today, I cut the blue pattern out, but couldn't do more because I am a bit achy.   I'll try to get sewing on it this weekend, depending on how much my homework tries to kill me.

I know that's not much to go on but that's all you get!

Another try...

The second is always better than the first with sewing isn't it?  You can see the first attempts here and here.

Here's another Simplicity 1427:

I am super happy with the way this one turned out.  It even inspired me to fix the underskirt on the white one.  Even after shortening it before it was still too long and hung out rather ugly like from the tulle.  Now everything is all fixed.  Black is the last version of this skirt I'll make.  Stay tuned!

Now ask me if I feel like a ballerina.

Another look...

You know I stay up late and think about things.  Last night I was thinking about how I could fix the disaster that was Simplicity 1427 (see here).

I decided that would be my goal today, and as soon as I took care of the dog and her business this morning, I went to the craft store by my house.  I bought bias tape and elastic.  My first order of business was to take out not one but two hems (one was folded and sewn into the other).  I told you it was a disaster.  It took forever.  Once out, I had to cut the inner skirt to match the tulle.  It took a couple of adjustments to get right.  In the end I think I cut about 4 inches off the inner skirt.  I am aware that bias tape is a total cheater way to hem things but satin is ridiculous and I think the different fabric texture adds a bit of character to the skirt.

The second thing I had to fix was the yoke/casing disaster.  The first thing I did was take out the the stitching where I had sewn the underskirt to the yoke.  After that I sewed the underskirt to the tulle skirt because it was attached at the yoke.  Then, I took the yoke out completely and am still trying to figure out why it's needed in the first place.  I read and reread directions and looked at the pictures and still couldn't figure it out.  So I attached the casing directly to the skirt and underskirt. 

After that everything looked so much nicer.  I can even show the top of the skirt now where I wouldn't dream of doing that before.

Here's a pic:

It still doesn't fit in the mirror but I am so happy with this now.  Now that I've solved the mystery of this pattern, I can't wait to make more!  I'm lining up pink and black tulle skirts.  I'm also apologizing in advance to everyone on the subway.

Simplicity 1427...

I'm pretty ballsy.  I'll attempt something that I've never done before with a fabric I've never worked with before.  Why not?  What could go wrong?

That's where Simplicity 1427 comes in.  Lately I've been obsessed with tulle skirts and I can't buy one here because buying bottoms in Japan forget about it.  Of course, I can buy basics here but anything cute apparently only comes in a size small (which means XS in America).  Boo.

Anyway, here's this pattern:

I decided to go for the longer version though I shortened it a little (because I'm short enough and don't want to get buried in tulle).  That was the easy part.  The hard part was hemming a satin fabric inner skirt.  It looks awful but maybe it's not noticeable, and I don't really feel like fixing it right now.  The yoke part was ridiculous, and I sewed on the underskirt wrong and had to take it out and redo it.  (Hooray for a day off!)  After looking at pictures of the skirt I'm also sure that the casing is wrong.  This is also not noticeable, and I also don't want to fix this.  (In case you're wondering these are reasons I don't sew things for other people.  I can abide and hide my mistakes but I don't want others finding them.)  I think that's all that's wrong with the skirt.  The directions were kind of confusing, so it's amazing that a skirt came out of all this.

Regardless, I think it turned out pretty good, and it's totally wearable:

Sorry guys, I couldn't fit this skirt in the mirror for a picture.  What do you think?  I don't totally suck at sewing.

Simplicity 1609...

Here's another from the "I bought this fabric when it was too cold to think about sleeveless anything" series. 

I was so excited when I got Simplicity 1609:

I am nuts about this style of 60s dresses.  I generally use 60s patterns but modern sizing makes a world of difference.

I made A, the green one with my own spin on green.

I was a bit worried at first (thinking it might not fit), but it fits amazingly and I love it!  (Note: In this photo it's not hemmed, so it will be a little shorter when it's finished.)

Here's a close up of the fabric and the buttons I used which are vintage rhinestone buttons:

Totally love this dress! 

McCall's 5887...

I can't tell you when I cut this out, but I know it was a long time ago.  The pattern is now out of print if that tells you anything.  I don't know why I do that, cut stuff out and then ignore it.  I think I mainly do that with brocade.

The vest was made of a lovely brocade:

It doesn't photograph well as it's somewhere between these two pictures (brown and yellow).  Neither photo does it justice.

I used McCall's 5887:

 I made A:

Because I had two gorgeous vintage glass buttons, I only did two buttons instead of three.  This is my nod to Steampunk which I absolutely adore.  I think the vest turned out pretty good.  What do you think?

McCall's 6560...

Sometimes I buy patterns and I forget that I have them until I buy some super cheap Nippori fabric and need a pattern to make it with.  (It doesn't help that half my patterns are in Japan and the other half in America.)  That was the case with McCall's 6560.  I just bought this pattern forever ago and the fabric equally forever ago.  I'm sure it was approaching winter when I bought the fabric, so I was like forget it.  I'll make it in the summer.

Well it's summer.  So here it is.

Pattern McCall's 6560:

This is the fabric just a light cotton with big polka dots:

It's super wrinkly!  Boo.

Here's the dress (B) minus finished hem:

The bust is a little strange fitting but I managed to wiggle into it, and I totally need someone to help me fix the back once it's on.  The facing and everything was all out of control.  Also, this pattern likes you to start with button holes, so I started the project crying.  Seriously, why are button holes so freakin' hard?!?!?

Anyway, I like it.  What do you think?

McCall's 6612...

Hello!

So this poor pattern had been sitting on my ironing board all cut since way before Christmas.  Today I thought I better finally make it.

McCall's 6612...

(You all know how I love knits.)

The hardest part was lining up the stripes on my fabric.  I also made the sleeves a little shorter.  Not so sure why they are so wide.

Anyway...

I had hoped this would be a nice candy cane dress for Christmas, but I just didn't get it done in time.  Oh well, there's always next year.  Unfortunately, it's still too cold to wear this.  Hopefully, it will warm up soon!

Happy sewing!