Miss Anna Sees Spots

Bonjour, mes amis! This was quite a week, filled with many a stressful thing, but also a couple of completed dresses.

Now that I have a room dedicated to sewing (it is, technically, also an office, but that's about 1/10th of the space), it's much easier to use sewing as a stress reliever. Before moving to Waco, I sewed at my dining room table, which meant an exhausting process of pulling supplies and fabric out of closets and prompt clean up. Nothing saps one's creative energy like the thought of cleaning! Now, however, my projects are always waiting for me. It's made my sewing time more productive, but more enjoyable as well.

This week, my big project was an initial version of By Hand London's Anna Dress. Unlike most other bloggers out there, this was not a love-at-first sight pattern for me. I think BHL's designs are downright foxy, but they've all seemed targeted to a lither, leggier silhouette than mine. Anna seemed to be in the same vein. Sure, it was fit-and-flare, but it also clung to the hips in a disquieting manner.

But then I saw Alana's fabulous jersey version. And Lauren's adorable seersucker.

Plus, Emmie's floral confection, Kathryn's Liberty lovely, and Roisin's star-spangled stunner.

Basically, Anna looked awesome on everyone and I needed to make it. Stat.

Skeptical as I was about the styling, however, I decided to make a wearable muslin first. This black and grey polka dot poplin from Lisette has been sitting in my stash for years now. It was an impulse purchase, when JoAnn was doing one of their crazy sales, and not my favorite fabric ever. The polka dots are cute and all, but it washed up to a rather papery texture and is a bit on the juvenile side for my taste. But, silver lining! It made a perfect wearable muslin Anna.

Sizing wise, I graded rather than performing an FBA. Using Swedish tracing paper, I  traced up to a 16 at the bust, down to a 12 at the waist, then up to a 14 at the hips. This matches my past experiences with UK ready-to-wear sizing. Invariably, something will fit in the bust, but be baggy around my waist. I do love that by sewing my own clothes, such things can be fixed as I go, rather than altered later.

In the end, I like the dress quite a lot. It's the sort of thing I'll have to wear shapewear with, or else face the bellybutton issue happening in some of these pictures. I couldn't find my Spanx before the sun set on this shoot—if you wear them during a Texas summer, you're a card-carrying masochist, anyway—but they were probably needed.

The shape is lovely, however, skimming out from the waist in a ladylike flare. There's something vaguely 1930's about this pattern, which speaks to my Nancy Drew loving self. Can't you just envision it made up in a floral rayon? All I'd need is a sprightly hat and a garden party to attend, for a complete look.

On the inside, which I neglected to take pictures of, all of my seams are overlocked and were constructed in precisely the manner instructed. These days, I tend to construct things to my own preferences, only reading the given instructions if something seems particularly convoluted. With a new pattern company though, it's nice to get a feel for the designer's intentions and style, by following along with them. I absolutely loved the cheeky tone to the instructions that the BHL girls took—offering insightful suggestions and funny asides along the way.

The instructions were easy to follow, although not always in the expected order. For example, they have you hem the armholes before the sideseams, which worked so perfectly that I may do that from now on. The only quibble I had was with the order of sewing the facings in. I tend to prefer the neater finish that comes with doing them last, after any zipper installation, rather than having them among the first steps. But with a bit of hand sewing, they came out well, so who cares? Next time, I'll just do them my way. 

Oh look! What's that? An actual zipper. Crazy, right? I'm all too tempted to omit zippers normally, but the Anna dress really needs to fit close at the waist, in order to look correct. I still didn't get it as close as I wanted, but the zipper helped quite a bit to fit the dress well. The installation is not totally perfect at the top, but this is a wearable muslin, after all. Rule #1 of Mary's muslins: Don't unpick a zipper more than once. 

So, that's it! An Anna on a Mary! I have some slinkier fabrics that will look wonderful made up in this pattern, including a floral rayon or two. This is not the last we'll see of Anna, despite my initial reservations.

Plus, it looks damn cute with a cardigan...

Miss Hazel Is Feeling Plummy

Hello, my lovelies! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Thanks again for all the comments on my last post. When composing that post, I was pretty sure there would only be cricket noises in response, since it had been so long. So, thank you again for the warm welcome back and for generally being the most lovely people on the internet. 

Up on the blog today is one of my more recent creations. Despite instantly loving both the Lily and Hazel patterns, when Colette released them last year, I hadn't yet attempted either one. Non-traditional bodice constructions kind of terrify me, given the vast discrepancy between my high bust and bust measurements. Sure, the whole of the internet said Hazel was easy to fit, but it had lines across the girls! And a pointy thing that had to line up! Add to that a slim-line skirt and it meant that Hazel was destined to languish.

What finally changed my mind were the two full-skirted versions that popped up in my feed, from Roisin and Tasia, which were adorable. Where the original Hazel is super cute, the poofy, froofy larger skirted one is a platonic Mary dress. I wanted that dress. I needed that dress! 

So, I made it. 

Okay, to be fair, first I made a muslin. There were those pointy bits to contend with, after all. When plotting how attack the "That's totally not going to fit these massive chest bunnies!" problem, there seemed to be two ways to go about it: grading from size to size or doing a FBA a la the brilliant Symon. I decided to grade, from a 14 to an 18 to a 14, and see how it went. If it failed, the FBA would be my backup.

It worked! I loved the muslin bodice. It took some nipping in here-and-there, but it was a fairly straightforward fitting job. So, I cut out some lovely, stretchy plum twill and blithely sewed along.

It was about the time I'd  decided to try on the new bodice that I remembered that word stretchy. All the lovely fitting changes I'd made to the muslin didn't translate quite as well to the real dress. I tried it on for Dr. Sam and he gently suggested it might be gaping all over and totally, freaking gigantic. 

So, I took it in.

And in.

And in. 

In the end, I omitted the zipper altogether to make up for the fabric. I took the back in by over four inches and the sides by two each. For the skirt, I added eight inches of width and gathered accordingly. The dirndl skirt really suits the bodice style and makes it a swishy delight of a day dress. 

The best part of this story is, of course, that once I washed and dried it a couple of times, the bodice shrunk. See that big horizontal line right below my bust? Totally not there two weeks ago! Apparently, pre-treating this fabric once wasn't enough, I should have washed it eight times instead.

Ah, well. I still love it a lot. It has pockets, it's super comfortable, and it totally fills any need I had to wear weird, pieced bodice shapes. Woohoo! It's not all darts and tucks for us, kittens!

Even more impressive, it survived a birthday trip to New Orleans. Over Labor Day (My birthday even fell on the holiday this year!), Sam and I trekked down to Louisiana with our very favorite people. We ate lovely food, went on a ghost tour, and—of course—drank Grape Voodoos from Lafitte's! 

It's not a birthday, unless your dress and your drink match!

As for Hazel, I've already whipped up a cute floral version to be blogged very soon and am plotting a few that work for fall. Now that I've realized how obvious just changing the darn skirt was, this pattern is quickly becoming a new favorite. I'm sure you've made it already, as I am quite the late comer here, but it's worth a try if you haven't.

Miss Laurel Returns to Earth

 Hello, kittens! It's nice to see you all. I hope the last year has kept you well. Not going to lie, I've been consistently stalking sewing blogs, even if I haven't been updating my own. Your new dog? Super cute. That dress you just made? Even cuter.

Personally, there have been a lot of changes in my life this year. We'll get to some of those big ones a little bit later, but they have meant less time to sew and even less time to photograph the things I've sewn. Things have settled down a bit recently, however, so it seemed time to break back into blogging. The first project up in my post queue is everyone's favorite sheath dress, Colette's Laurel pattern.

When I initially saw Laurel, I loved it. Not two seconds later, I decided it wasn't for me. There is no waist seam, it's super simple in shape, and it's all very gamine 1960s starlet. Y'all I have hips and boobs and myriad other parts that curve. Though I may wish it, I'm the very opposite of lithe. And yet...

I couldn't resist. Laurel seemed the perfect stash-busting pattern. It's super efficient for fabric use—less than two yards required for the sleeveless version—and works great with a border print. So, I made a muslin and ended up loving it. I didn't need a traditional FBA, instead just grading from my high bust size at the top to my actual bust size in the bodice, then nipping in the waist and hip lines. How easy to fit! 

 My first real version was this orange sherbet confection, which uses fabric that has been malingering in my stash for entirely too long. It's a very lightweight cotton voile, with a fabulous wide floral border running the length of the fabric. Laurel worked perfectly to take advantage of that fact, turning into the perfect, classy little sheath dress. It may not be the best pattern for my shape, but not everything in my wardrobe can be poofy skirted fit-and-flare styles. It's just too boring! This Laurel is a comfortable go-to summer cocktail dress, which is always nice to have on hand. 

 Since making this first one, I've whipped up two others in more autumnal fabrics, which will look great with boots and layers of cardigans, once we finally see the end of summer. I really loved the ease of making this pattern. Even with the full linings I put in every dress, they've taken me less than two hours from the first stitch to the hem. No zipper is needed, since they're so roomy, and they're a cinch to assemble. Colette's instructions were, as ever, straight forward and helpful. If you're just starting out in garment sewing, this would be a fantastic pattern to start with—quick, easy, and super cute.

My final review: A+, an all-around adorable pattern. Would we expect anything less from Colette?

The only last thing I have to document is the reason for my prolonged absence. Mary, where on earth have you been for the last year?

 Well, lots of great things have been going on. I finally finished one of the two degrees in my dual  doctorate program, leaving only my final dissertation project to finish this year. I've moved from Austin, into a lovely little bungalow in a small city 90 miles north.

Why the move? Well...

Are you so excited? No? Well, I am excited to tell you! 

All of this moving about and city changing has occurred, because a little over a year ago I started dating a wonderful man. His name is Sam—Dr. Sam, if we're being official—and he's lovely as you can see below. Not only is he appropriately bearded, but he's incredibly smart, funny, and generally the most delightful person I've ever known. 

 Sam, looking skeptical as I document a rite of passage: his first In-N-Out burger.

For Valentine's Day, he bought me all the seasons of Buffy. 

He is an absolute wizard in the kitchen, somehow even making Brussels sprouts delicious. (Note: the key is apparently bacon. Of course!)

He is a professor, a Trekkie, and quite attached to his gigantic German Shepherd. 

He is also the person I'm going to marry this December.

Obligatory ring picture, because it's not an engagement post, without something sparkly.

That's right! I'm getting married. 

It's okay, if you can't believe it. We've been engaged for over six months now and I'm still a little bit in disbelief. I legitimately never thought I'd get married. So much of my life has been focused on career and friends and interests, that I never left much room for what I thought relationships meant. It turns out, you can have all of those things, you just have to find someone who wants to share them. Sam is awesome. We are awesome. I'm beyond thrilled about continuing my life's adventures with him as a partner.

That's a lot of mush, readers, I know. This last year has been a whirlwind, both emotionally and professionally, but I am still alive and still sewing. And, after so many delays, still blogging. Thanks for sticking around, friends! 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

No Crumpet Left Behind: A Seamstress Abroad

Hello, loves! Something's different, as I'm sure you've noticed. There's a new lilt to my voice and - good heavens! - is that the smell of freshly baked scones? Sadly, it's not. It's just the freshly toasted, from-a-bag-but-still-fabulous Waitrose crumpet I just ate. Still, a crumpet can only mean one thing. (Because, trust me, I've tried to get them in the States and it does not go well.)

I am in Great Britain.

Britain! The land of afternoon tea and men who wear sweaters! The land of cabs with enough room for five people and Benedict Cumberbatch! The land of Doctor Who and Matthew Crawley! The land of - prepare to swoon! - Liberty of London!

For the next two weeks, I will be splitting time between London and Edinburgh. I will also, if all goes as planned, be updating y'all with pictures of pretty new dresses, which I will be wearing in front of various exciting places. (I'd like to say that will be Big Ben and assorted palaces, but this is my umpteenth time in the UK and I have yet to do most Official Must-Visit things. The pictures will probably include scones, however!) After a few months of complications (some of which were wonderful for me, career-wise, while others included being wretchedly ill for the entire month of April), my trusty machine and I were back in business during May. There are no fewer than five versions of Simplicity 1873 now in my wardrobe, kittens. I also now own a dress with bees on it! Bees!

Anyway. Hello, darlings. It's good to see you. I can't wait to show you new things and catch up on everyone's projects that I missed these last weeks. Would you like a crumpet?

Miss Ava, Apple of My Eye - Simplicity 2343

Happy National Puppy Day, readers! Oh, you were not aware of this lovely holiday? Honestly, I wasn't either, until this morning. Nonetheless, for your viewing pleasure, Remy, my photo-bombing puppy:

 Remy, the Bichon Who Loves to Sneak Into Photos!

Okay, enough puppies (I know, can you ever have enough?), onto the skirt. During the prolonged torture of my eyelet dress, I broke one of my sewing rules and worked on another project. After all those pleats and darts, a simple pencil skirt seemed just the thing. Simplicity 2343 is one of my favorite skirt patterns, a narrow-waisted pencil skirt complete with faced pockets and a back vent. I've made it once before, in an aquamarine brocade, but never blogged a review of it. It's a skirt I wear all the time on my rotations, as it dresses up well, so another one was obviously needed in my wardrobe.

For the fabric, I knew just what to reach for. Earlier this month, I helped my little sister make her first skirt with some polished cotton swiped from my mother's vintage fabric stash. It's a cheery apple print on a black background, with a perfect mix of bright red & mint green. One of my favorite color pairings! Even better, there was just over a yard-and-a-half left. That's pencil skirt kismet, friends.

Construction was a piece of cake. Don't you love that? It certainly helped me get a little sewing mojo back. This pattern is out of print, but if you can track it down, it's a wonderful piece. There are four small pleats along the waistband of the skirt, then two darts in the back for shaping. Amazing. I'd almost forgotten how easy skirts are to make. What lifts this to go-to status, however, are the pockets. Instead of in-seam side pockets, there are two front faced pockets. They don't add any bulk to the skirt, but still provide a convenient place to put my cell phone.

 Pockets! My fidgety hands rejoice!

I did make one change to the pattern, for the sake of wearability. My brocade pencil skirt bunches and wrinkles throughout the day, which is a bit annoying. To alleviate that, I added a full lining to this version, in a bright red cotton lawn. Thanks to the lovely Alana, from Lazy Stitching, I knew just how to do it. I added two inches of width to the skirt pieces, then gathered them into the waistband, which made the finish both lovely and comfortable. Brilliant!

Color pop!

The skirt is finished with a 7-inch invisible zipper in the back, then narrowly hemmed to hit right at mid-knee. In all, it took me about two hours, from cut-out to hemming. Pencil skirts are such quick, easy projects. I love it! Why aren't there more of these in my wardrobe? Last week, when I wore it with a white ruffled blouse and my beloved green cardigan, the compliments rolled in. One of the best parts of being a home sewist has to be when people ask where you bought something. "I made it myself!" is one of the greatest sentences in the English language, don't you think?

 

The oh-so-exciting details...

Things I Loved: 

• The fabric! I was thrilled that there was enough of this left over from my sister's skirt. I'm such a sucker for a retro fruit print! Plus, any fabric that combines red and green without channeling Kris Kringle is always a win. 
• The shape! Pencil skirts really are so flattering. It sits below my natural waist, but still manages to emphasize that hourglass shape. 
• The lining! Pops of color are always a good addition. Even if no one else knows it's there, it makes me happy.

Things I Changed:

• Added a full lining, thanks to Alana's wonderful tip.

Things I Would Change, If I Made It Again:

• Widen the waistband. I do love how it fits now, but think it would be a nice change to have another version with a wider, higher waistband. 

Tricky Steps & Suggestions:

• There is an invisible zipper, which can be tricky, if you're not used to them. Honestly, adding a full lining makes it easier to install - you don't have to worry so much about how the inside looks, when you can cover it with the lining. I love a clean finish!

Notions & Fabric: 

• 1.5 yards Vintage Polished Cotton - Free!
• 7-inch black invisible zipper
  

Construction Time:

• Two blissful, stress-free hours.

Has anyone else lost their sewing mojo lately? This skirt went a long way towards getting mine back, but I'm still not all the way there yet. How do you handle loss of creative motivation? With writing, I talk it out with my best friend, but that doesn't quite work with sewing.

Miss Juliet Welcomes Spring: Simplicity 1873

Happy spring, darlings! Just in time for the new season, I've finally finished Simplicity 1873. No worries, I did not drop off the sewing/blogging world. An unexpected trip and some unexpected sewing foibles just have me running a bit behind. You know how, sometimes, a project will try its best to kill you? Well, I don't know what I did to Cynthia Rowley, but she sent this pattern to do me in. If something could go wrong while sewing this up, it did. But - ha! - it's finished. It can torture me no more. You'll have to try harder to get this sewist to give up, Rowley.

Okay, honestly, the issues were mostly my fault. Cynthia Rowley has designed another delightful pattern in 1873. As I've said previously, I'm not a huge fan of her ready-to-wear designs, but her sewing patterns work really well for me. (Witness the million iterations of Simplicity 2215.) This dress is no exception - the combination of that low scooped neckline and the full, pleated skirt makes me a bit weak in the knees. It's the epitome of my beloved fit-and-flare silhouettes. Right now, if I were forced to pick one dress from my closet to wear everyday for a year, this would be it. How's that for pattern love?

Confident in Ms. Rowley's design, I chose a fabric I've been hoarding for awhile - a lovely, soft cotton eyelet from Gorgeous Fabrics. This summer, a sudden desperation to recreate Maria's dance dress from West Side Story overwhelmed me. This fabric was bought with that dress in mind. Of course, autumn came and it proceeded to sit in my closet for six months. When Simplicity released its spring patterns, however, 1873 demanded this fabric. The gentle lines suit eyelet so much, don't you think? The pattern only calls for a bodice lining, but this is eyelet. Obviously, a full lining was called for, unless I wanted to give my classmates an eyeful. So, a nice white linen from Hancock Fabrics was called to duty.

 Eyelet!

Construction was, itself, a terror. I don't know what I was smoking when I cut out the fabric, but the skirt hem was a hot mess. Not a single piece of the five panel skirt (front panel, two side panels, and two back panels) was the same length. How does that even happen? I also, somehow, ended up with a wider bodice than skirt, which I suspect had something to do with my FBA. Luckily, the side seams are hidden between pleats anyway, so my waist finagling is invisible.

Worse, however, were the sleeves. I know what you're thinking. What sleeves, Mary? Well, originally, I had cut out these darling little self-drafted cap sleeves. They were lovely and so very Maria! They were also too small by a good inch. I had forgotten to add seam allowances. My arms, they could not move. As lovely as it is to walk around with one's arms pasted to one's side, I ripped them out. Naturally, I hadn't realized they were too small until I'd sewn the damn things in. Brilliant, Mary, just brilliant.

So, I then proceeded to stare at this dress for a week, debating the sleeves issue. Finally, I decided that I just couldn't face them again. Who cares what Maria's dress looked like? This was mine and it would be sleeveless!

Sleeves? Who needs 'em? I've got a pink belt instead!

The dress then sat for another two weeks, waiting for me to stop doing work, sewing a pencil skirt (which will make its debut later this week!), and having unexpected travels, so I could hem it. Which, considering that wonky cutting job I did, looks pretty spectacular. There was barely enough length to raise it to the perfect just-above-my-knees spot. Of course, as soon as I finished, I loved it. Why did it take me so long to finish this dress? It's lovely. So springy! So versatile! Why, with just some black peep-toe pumps and sunglasses, it's even so very retro! 

Here's lookin' at you, kittens. 

The Ever-Exciting Details...

Things I Love:

• The skirt! Is there anything so wonderful as a full, pleated skirt? Barring chocolate and puppies, of course, I can think of nothing. It just makes me want to swish!
• The eyelet! I am a bit of an eyelet hoarder, it must be said. I buy it, then hold it close, so I never mess it up. It's one of my favorite fabrics - so classic & feminine, which is my style crack.
• The scooped neckline! Perfect for necklaces and balancing out bodice proportions. Hooray!

Things I Changed:

• 2.5 inch Full Bust Adjustment, as ever. 
• Added a full lining, rather than just the prescribed bodice lining.

Things I Would Change, If I Made it Again:

• Nothing! The pattern is, itself, perfect. If I could change the sewist making this dress, I would. Sadly, no one else seems to be lining up to sew my clothes. I'll just have to fix my mistakes, next time around.

Tricky Steps & Suggestions:

• The trickiest part of this pattern is the skirt pleating. It's a bit counter-intuitive, as the box pleats cover some of your seams. Don't worry! That's supposed to happen. For best of luck, clearly mark all those finicky little pleat lines, put on some Kimbra, and rock out while meticulously pleating yards of material. It will be worth it!

Notions & Fabric:

• 22 inch invisible zipper
• White Eyelet Cotton - Gorgeous Fabrics: $10/yard
• White Linen - Hancock Fabrics: $8/yard, on sale
  

Construction Time:

• Three weeks, or twelve hours, depending on how you count.

And my absolute favorite way to wear Simplicity 1873? With a cardigan, of course! Today I wore it with a mint green sweater, black belt, and black shoes...the perfect outfit for the first days of spring.