Archive | July, 2007

Operator Error: Buttonholer

30 Jul

Thank you for all the helpful advice for my buttonholes. Driving back from my work event tonight, I figured out what I was doing wrong. I didn’t drop the feed dogs. Doh. Yep. Rookie mistake. My faithful buttonholer worked just fine once I did that. Sorry for the big pile of surly earlier.

Now, when will I stop trying to use buttons that don’t ‘match’ my outfits? Because I don’t think I look that great in black I thought I would dress the blouse up with some pale pink buttons. Yeah. Not so much. I don’t have any black or dark grey ones here and no time in the forseeable future to get to the fabric store. I also just finished off my black thread. It was all the failed buttonholes!

So far, I have two complaints about this blouse. The original photo has the sleeves at 3/4 length. On me, they are about an inch from my wrist. I think the sleeves need a vent which is not mentioned in the instructions. I’ve already serged and attached the cuff so I’m not about to rip that out now.

Also, there is no mention of interfacing the front facing. I did, but it’s not in the directions.

Well, I guess that’s it for the blouse for a few more weeks. I hope I’m not bored with it by the time I get back.

Gah. Buttonholes.

29 Jul

Below, I show my project on the floor. Yes, I hate that as much as you and I know it’s hard to tell what it looks like. But, let’s all remember what happened to my dressform….

Like a tummy tuck gone awry

Well, I’m nearly done with the Patrones blouse. But, I can’t make a stupid buttonhole to save my life. After making seven in one spot and ripping each and every one out, I’m taking a break. I imagine it’s something with the tension. Plus, the fabric has some stretch and keeps moving all over the place making uneven buttonholes. Maybe I’ll just use snaps instead. Stupid buttonholer.


At any rate, I think I’m going to use the pale pink buttons, but I do love the way the big red ones (a gift from NiceGirl) look. I dunno. Again, at this point I’d use a hot glue gun to close this shirt.

Gah. I have to be at work in a little bit. I’ll fool around with this later. Makes me wanna throw my machine out the window. Luckily, it’s about 30 pounds so I can’t. But, I will show you the labels I’ve been using the past few years.

I forget to put these on clothes more often than I remember to add them. But, I remembered during the collar construction. They are from R. Draper & Co Apparel Labels in Australia. They ship to the US at reasonable rates.

Packing and Panicking

27 Jul

This time last year I was in Israel. My BFF Julia had the pleasure of watching the war between Israel and Hizbollah on television while I was there. She was so worried about me that my nickname at her office is still “Miss Israel” (FYI, camel ride so not as cool as it sounds).

Needless to say when I called her from the drugstore yesterday while picking up my anti-malarial pills a week late — she wasn’t very happy. Recognizing my inability organize myself, she emailed me a list of things I needed and felt I could easily forget. She remembers me wandering the streets of Prague two years ago looking for a chemist after trying beef carpaccio for the first time. You can see the ‘mom’ in her alllll over the list.

Number 1 on her list was my Retin A. Second were snacks.

If you don’t have a Julia in your life, you can also get the notepad below which I picked up at Target last year.

Don’t be fooled into thinking I’ve packed or started packing. I am predicting a midnight run to Walmart come next Thursday.

Oh. I get it.

25 Jul

First, a moment of silence. Last month I ordered Power Sewing and Fast Fit by Sandra Betzina. They didn’t show so I started an email exchange with the online bookseller. They were supposedly delivered to my home on the 30th of June. Ummmm, don’t have it. Either lost in the mail or some snot-nosed kid was sorely disappointed when he nicked the $30 worth of sewing books off my porch.


My $10 worth of pattern drafting books arrived safely today and I’ve had an A-hah! moment. Tany suggested some pattern drafting books and I found these. And now, Mrs. Stylebook is finally making some sense to me. Maybe now I can stop harrassing Madhatter and GeekSewing about Mrs. Stylebook.

The drawings below are from “Patternless Fashion” by Diehl Lewis and May Loh. This book was $2.68 plus shipping from Amazon Marketplace. They essentially use the Chinese method to develop patterns with just your body measurements.

These are the same principals used in Mrs. Stylebook. Could not be more excited. Apparently, I just needed it in English.

Should be good reading for Ghana. I leave in one week!

Up Next: Patrones #252, Sportmax Blouse

23 Jul

I’m trying out my first Patrones. It’s this Sportmax blouse from the Spring January 2007 (#252) edition. At least I think Enero means Spring. I asked Tany a bunch of questions and NiceGirl worked up the translation for me.

Last night I traced and cut out the pattern. The only thing I didn’t like is that I fall in the ‘in between’ size. Patrones is a Spanish magazine in which patterns come in 40, 44, and 48. I’m a 42 (at least I think I am based on what Tany cuts). So I had to draw in between the size. That wasn’t too bad, but I detested drawing in between darts. I can’t even draw stick figures!

I’m making this up in black. Not that I look good in black, but it was in the stash and this is an experimnent of sorts. For those curious about Patrones, I’m posting the line drawing and the directions below.

I’ll let you know how it goes….

Done!

22 Jul


759 pages in less than 24 hours. I should, uh, take a shower now. And eat. Maybe brush my teeth too. And uh, start answering my phone. . . .

Pattern Review: McCalls 5465

21 Jul

After this post folks, I’m entering radio silence. I got my copy of the new Harry Potter a little before lunch and will be engrossed until done.

This trapeeze dress is sooooo easy. I’d say from start to finish, maybe 3 hours? I’ve got it with a belt and without and like how both look. I have to say though, it’s really just a big tent. It’s cute, I think, because it’s trendy. Not because it’s particularly flattering. I’m never quite *this* trendy, so I’m going to enjoy it for all it’s worth.

I do have the feeling this is a dress my future children will someday laugh about. The cotton is very sheer so I underlined everything but the sleeves with the last of my cotton batiste.

I lengthened View A to View B then shortened it by three inches. So, it’s longer than the tunic but shorter than their version of the dress.

The sleeves are ginormous

I recommend you have it skim the knee and even take an inch or so off the sleeves. I think they look best above the elbow.

More detailed review at PatternReview.com

Alright kids. I’m off. Talk to you when I’m done with the book.

September is good enough

21 Jul

I stayed up past midnight last night to go and get the new Harry Potter. My bookstore is also a local college’s bookstore (Johns Hopkins University) and it was a mob scene. They were only selling to the pre-orders. When I walked in at 12:15 they were at number 325! Several drunk boys suggested we all go to the bar. I, went back to bed.

So, at 6:30 this morning I was at the Giant hoping they would have the new book (they did two years ago). No such luck. Sigh. I should have pre-ordered.

***

At the beach I caught up on US Weekly and spied this article from April 16, 2007



I know, I know, enough already with this dress….

Lot’s of great styling ideas from the US Weekly. I did call Trena while at the fabric store yesterday and she talked me out of the $3 leather covered buttons. I still bought two different kinds, I’m not sure which I’ll use yet. Much cheaper at $1.50 and $0.50.


There’s no way this is getting done before I leave in two weeks, so it will be a September project.

Okay. Back to McCalls 5465 which is currently looking like a tent on me.

A Fabric Story

20 Jul

I popped into A Fabric Place on my way home today looking for some buttons. I *really* did not intend to buy fabric. Truly. The last time I bought there it was the shirting I used for this McCalls.


Well, they had the same fabric in a different colorway (red, my favourite) at 25 percent off. Sweet! Just $6.50 a yard!


Oh! I thought. That would be great as McCalls 5465 pattern and would be fantastic for Ghana. Quick and easy.


I get to the register. The owner tells me I can have the last four yards for the remnant price — 50 percent off. FANTASTIC!! I get rung up and my bill is $56. Wha??? I choke and audibly gasp. I whisper, “I paid $10 a yard last time.” He pulls the bolt and says, “This is Italian cotton and it’s $23 a yard. But, I guess I can give it to you for $10.” So, $40.

So, what should I have done? Asked for the 25 percent? Asked for the 50 percent? Or take my fabric at cost and go home?

Review: BWOF 6-2007-123

20 Jul

Despite the fact that I (like a fool) have signed up to bike ride with my boss tomorrow morning at 6:30 a.m. and didn’t come home tonight until 9:00 p.m. from work, I still finished hemming BWOF 6-2007-123.

Here are my thoughts on the skirt. It’s simple. It would be awesome colorblocked. If you are going to work with a plaid like I did, take more care than I and try and match where you can. In the one part it matches up, it looks pretty freaking cool. I think the non matching is acceptable. But, not my most detailed work.

The original length of this skirt is horrid. It hit me mid calf. Say it with me: Tree Trunks. I took it up about three inches from the bottom. Trena tried to talk me into lopping it off from the top and remake the darts to keep the flare of the skirt hem, but that seemed like a lot of work. I *still* think it could be another 3 – 5 inches shorter.

I do think this skirt could benefit from a contour waistband. I think it’s a little tough to fit. I ended up taking in the dart, side seam and back panel seam to fit my waist and bum better. Oh, and I accidentally did all of this on the front of the skirt, which is why the back is now the front. Enh. Operator Error.


That being said, I think it’s a rather bootylicious, casual summer skirt and will get plenty of wear. Total cost: $8. Yip. Pee.

PatternReview.com review.

Please think of me tomorrow morning when I am getting up at 5:30 to bike ride with the boss. It seemed like a good idea…..

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