Archive | April, 2010

Shoulder Pads!

29 Apr

Arggghh!! I had an entire post written and it disappeared. Grrrr. Short version: I added shoulder pads to Butterick 6410 and all is now right in the world. You were correct. I was just tired and hit a wall with this dress after having to re-sew the bodice.

Even better, I decided to go with a necklace I already own so I just need earrings and a cocktail ring.

My original post was far more entertaining than this. Sigh. Shoes are below. $21.95 on clearance from 6pm.com. I’ll post photos of me in the actual dress after I wear it on May 8th. Until then, I’ll make May the month I sew for other people. Mother’s and Father’s Day are coming up and I owe a girlfriend a duvet cover. Of course, I’m not *committing* to this. It’s just a nice thought before May actually begins.

I Am A Sucker

26 Apr

Yeah. That’s tie silk from Guss Woolens. I might have promised to make one for someone.  Why? Because I’m a *sucker*

For those who might be new to Miss Celie’s Pants. I made the fool mistake of making a veritable stack of seven-fold silk ties as a Christmas gift for my then boyfriend (the Cop)  in 2008. We broke up less than a month later. I am now ok with the demise of the relationship. But, I am still pretty f-ing mad about those damn ties.

I warned the Vegan about the Boyfriend Sweater Curse. I told him what happened the last time I made ties for someone. He says he doesn’t believe in curses. He’s in no rush. But, he’d like a tie. I will of course drag this out as long as humanly possible.

The thing is, he’s super sweet. I will spare you many of the saccharine details.  I will say that while I was working on my Butterick dress yesterday, he cleaned my kitchen. My Kitchen. I wanted to roll around and do dirty things on the floor like eat off it. I am just not thoughtful or useful like that. I can pretty much do two things for people. Either I cook for you or I sew for you.

So, yeah. It’s easier than a shirt. The fabric is beautiful. And, I my friends, am a sucker.

Wordy, wordy, wordy

25 Apr

I must be really used to Burda’s cryptic instructions because all the directions and diagrams in the Big 4 patterns confuse me! LOL. I actually found myself marking off each section as I went because there just seemed to be so much copy!

I worked like the dickens on my Butterick 6410 dress today. Naturally, I made a huge goof and sewed the back bodice in upside down. Which I only discovered after lining and getting ready to pin in the skirt. Doh!  After taking the entire bodice apart (thank goodness I didn’t serge!!) and re-sewing, I’m done for the day. Bleh. Here it is so far. And, am not loving it. The fabric is super drapey. I think I wish it had more structure similar to the muslin. Especially in the bodice. It’s just very… drapey.  Also, it seems kind of… dull. I have great shoes and some earrings that willl hopefully lift it. But, so far, am underwhelmed. I am happy to say though, that I just have to insert the zipper, hem and I’m all done.

And, lest we forget about another UFO of mine BWOF 2-2010-127. I need to get a zipper for it on Monday. But, it looks like it’ll be cool for another week, so maybe I’ll still get to wear it before summer.

A Rare Muslin

24 Apr

My mom asked me recently (with a bit of alarm in her voice) how often I muslin. Well, the truth is, I only muslin dressy dresses, non Burdas and pants. That’s because those are the things I have the least experience with.

This muslin, is two of three. It’s the now OOS Butterick 6410 from back in 1999 and it’s a formal. I definitely prefer vintage dresses for my formal gowns.

What did I discover? That, like most empire waist dresses, I should add length to the bust. Because it’s pulling the rest of the dress up to cover my bust and causing wrinkles that end at my hips.

It’s not too tight at the hip. Look at it from the side. See, it’s pulling the dress up at the front. Which I wouldn’t have noticed if I wasn’t wearing heels. The dress would have pooled on the ground.

Despite a swayback adjustment of two inches, this could honestly use  a touch more. But, truth be told, I think my back is shorter than my front in addition to the swayback.

I also think the neckline is too matronly. See the difference when I tuck it in half an inch on each side? I think this is as simple as gathering the front a bit more.

And, I tried to grade from a 14 to a 16 in the hip. This, though, confirms my thoughts.  See the extra fabric kind of jutting out? It’s not hips. It’s my thighs (er, saddlebags) where I have marked in orange. I have a fairly narrow hip curve. My last three garments have looked like this pre- fixing. I need to get better about this grading / adjustment.

So, I need this dress for May 8th. Now that I know what needs to  change, I hope to get the garment fabric cut out this weekend and purchase some skirt lining too.

How long did it take? About two hours from start to finish. Personally, well worth the extra time. BTW, the muslin is from IKEA. It’s 60 inches wide and less than $2 a yard. Sadly, it’s not dark brown like the one Joann has, so I apologize that you can see my drawers. Which (besides not having made myself camera ready) is why I cut off my face.

Lazy Gift

19 Apr

I had dinner last night with the Vegan and his daughter. Her birthday is today so I wanted to whip up something to give. Her dad told me her top colors are yellow, turquoise and purple. So, yesterday I popped into A Fabric Place / Michael’s and picked out a pretty teal wool jersey for $10 a yard.

Circle scarf.

I made several of these around Christmas as gifts. This time, I just did one seam. The dimensions I copied from the American Apparel website. 70 inches in diameter. 50 inches wide.  She’s tall. Taller than me, so I should have made it a little longer. But, for a ‘Nice to meet you. Happy Birthday!’ gift, it was fine.

Can you imagine they charge $30 for their  cotton ones? This fabric was absolutely lush. I’m using the leftover to make myself a traditional scarf.

Woo Hoo!

16 Apr

(sorry for all the funky spacing and centering. WordPress is acting a fool today) 

First, thank you for all the birthday wishes and compliments on the Creamsicle dress. It occurred to me that the name of the dress might throw off some non-US readers (and my mother).  An orange Creamsicle is a popsicle with ice cream in the middle with frozen fruit juice on the outside. I don’t even like them. But, with the orange and white stripes it totally reminded me of one.  Many of you commented about how happy I looked. This year beat out my 18th birthday for best birthday ever. 

  

  Second, you did it! Trudy made the cut. Here’s a little note from her: 

To everyone on Miss Celie’s Pants:   

Thank you so much for voting for me – someone who you don’t even know – to help me make a dream come true. I emailed Renee in a panic because I didn’t think I was going to make the top 48 in the contest that she actually told me about. She immediately reached out to you and you pulled through in a huge way! My numbers jumped and I was back in the race. I really cannot thank you enough. Your kindness is immeasurable.   

 Everyone should know this about Renee. If she’s your friend, she is going to go the distance for you. And when she finds out about you, your hopes, your dreams, and what makes you happy, she’ll find ways to help you along the path to happiness.   

I am sure that through this blog she’s been that to many of you as well. You should also know that she is untidy and loses things a lot. Those little annoyances aside, I love her to life.

Thanks again!

Trudy   

She’s right. I lose things all the time and I’m constantly running late. Honestly, I cannot thank you enough.  And, a few years ago I was making the hat above for someone and she kept it! LOL. Its suits her better anyway!  I’ve known her the last seven years and this really is something she’s wanted to do forever. Kind of like my dream of being a catalog copywriter. I don’t know why J.Crew and Anthropologie haven’t called me yet.

Third, the last of the Bunka textbooks are out! This one is ‘Coats and Capes’.  My counterpart in Japan sent the last edition over with a mutual colleague. Again, what’s great about them is they not only have drafting technique, but they also go into very detailed information on how to construct. By far better than the drafting book I used in school last year.  (click on any to enlarge)

And finally, I couldn’t resist this manicure photo. I put this polish on last night and was *immediately* struck by how much it looked like the Chinese brocade I recently received. It’s got irregular shaped red glitter in a semi sheer black base. It’s called ‘Ruby Red Slippers’ from Lippmann Collection (oh. Right. I also bought myself overpriced nail polish for my birthday). 

 

My Friend Trudy

15 Apr

I’m hoping this will make up for all the promised sewn gifts that I’ve never got around to making…..

So, my friend Trudy has gorgeous, thick, healthy, beautiful hair. She looks like she should be on the box of a perm. Actually, it’s been her dream to be on a perm box. And, now she has a chance.  Johnson and Johnson is holding a model search. She’s slipped from 30th to 52nd place and has to be in the top 48 to make the cut! Today is the last day to vote and she said to me “I think I’ll cry if I don’t make the cut”.  They threw out 600 of her votes because they couldn’t verify the email addresses.  Soooo, here I am to try and help her.

 

Her original email below:

Dear Family and Friends,
    
    My years-long dream is to be on the cover of a perm box. And now, I have an
opportunity to make my dream come true.  Please help me. You can vote once a day until
Tax Day (April 15th).  If you have already started voting, thank you so much and please keep voting.
     
    You register to vote here:     https://www.thegreatmodelsearch.com/profile.asp?CustomerID=11052    Your email address and password need to be accurate. You only need to fill in the blanks with an asterisk (*). After you register, click on the vote link next to my picture and make sure you get the message that you have successfully voted.
    
    Please forward this to everyone you know. Thank you so much!
     
        Sincerely,
    
    Trudy

So, what do you say? Today’s the *last * day!

Pattern Review: Burda Magazine 3-2010-107 (the Creamsicle Dress)

14 Apr 100_1400

I wore the Creamsicle dress from the March 2010 Burda tonight for my birthday dinner. I’m happy to report that it didn’t fall all night. But, that is was so cold I wore a sweater most of the time! The dress is made from an unlined stretch, cream and orange striped denim. I should have underlined the bodice because as you can see, it’s collapsing above the boning and below my bust.

I found shoes! These are AK Anne Klein from 6pm.com. My friends all told me to go ‘nude’ or ‘bone’. The dress I cut in a size 40. But ended up taking it in about two inches in the side seams at the bust and an inch along the hips. I’m having some trouble recently with my large thigh alterations. Everything is kind of ballooning. I think I need to maybe think of a big caboose alteration and not so much thighs.

My birthday present to myself was whole lotta shoes this week.

Guess who forgot that she was going to add to add a hook and eye? I really meant to. I usually just put the zip right up to the top. But, I consciously left a little to use a hook and eye. But, forgot until I saw photos. I did do a swayback, but there was a LOT of futzing with the fit of the dress in the front. Those draglines were in the front too before I was done. I think I cut off grain and that didn’t help.

There in boning on the inside. Contrary to Burda’s directions, I added steel cased boning to the side seams. I also just used ribbon for the waist stay rather than sewing one from fabric. I stabilised the upper bodice with the selvedge

We went to Charleston Restaurant. I’ve *always* wanted to eat there. Below are some photos of the food. You pick the number of courses you want and have the option of matched wines with each course. I went with four courses and matched wine because I’m hoggy. I should have done three :D ! The chef knows the Vegan so they prepared food just for him. I on the other hand tore up the beef tenderloin, rockfish, potato leek soup and buffalo tenderloin. It was honestly, the best meal I’ve ever had.

And, my manicure. It’s Lippmann Collection Happy Birthday. It’s a party in a bottle! Or, well, a party on my nails, lol. I had two girlfriends who were expecting their first child on my birthday. One delivered early and I’m waiting for the second still. That’s a pretty good gift too.

New Sleeves, Redo Collar

11 Apr

Nothing like having to pick our serged set-in sleeves. Boo! They were way way to slim. Of course, I measured #127 from the February Burda *after* sewing them in. They measure just under 13 inches. My biceps are just over 12 inches. So, I slashed and spread and added about 1.5 inches.

I’m also pretty sure I cut the new sleeves off-grain. But, I rather wavey and loose than tight and on-grain!

I’ve also got the collar inserted and I’ll be buying a zipper today from Joann Fabric.  Well, right now I’m about to re-sew in the collar. It’s off my 1/2 an inch. I’ll likely sew well into the night to get this puppy done to wear to work and my dinner date with Robin on Monday.

My Favorite (Local) Fabric Store

9 Apr

So, eons ago, Baltimore had an actual garment district. It covered several blocks in downtown Baltimore. In fact, the London Fog Company was started in Baltimore. The largest manufacturer of straw hats and umbrellas was once in Baltimore. We were *the* importer of Panama hats for a minute. Twelve years ago a button manufacturer actually burned down. Of course, all that has changed now. And there is just one fabric store left downtown in our old garment district.

Guss Woolens was started in 1919 and bought by the current owners in the mid 90s. I shop for fabric here because it’s locally owned and they have really really great men’s suitings and shirtings. Like more suitings than I’ve seen in place. Possibly ever. And yes, I’m counting G Street. And, well, if you go on a Saturday afternoon, there are a lot of seriously hot men who want your opinion on what to buy. Why so many hot men? Because we have two or three sports teams and those athletes are super tall or super big and muscular and often need custom tailoring. And who am I do deny the draping of fabric against their broad shoulders while delicately guiding their decisions on fabric?

The first floor is the cutting room where most of the in season suiting is. The shelves line both walls. And, the owner says at last inventory they had over 2,200 bolts of fabric. I’ve heard they even sell to Britex.

Four drawers like this have remnants of two to three yards between 12 and 20 dollars. Linens, wools, shirtings, silk twill, tie silk — you name it. They have it. Well, not like lace. But, you get the drift.

The second floor. Be still my heart. Stacks upon stacks upon stacks of two and three yard pieces for a pittance. Ok, not an actual pittance. But, easily for sale for 50 percent less than when they were on the bolt.

At any rate, this Patrones dress and the creamsicle Burda dress boast thier fabric. Three yard remnants are $20 or less. I had to literally put down the black duiponi silk. I tell you readers, only for you did I enter this store today. I almost broke the 2010 fabric fast. But, whew. I was strong.

I share this with you because I realize I’m a lucky son of a gun. When pressed, I have at least two options for fabric between Guss Woolens and A Fabric Place / Michael’s. When desperate, I have several Joann fabrics within 20 minutes of me and G Street within an hour. The good news for you is that Guss Woolens does do mail order. Who knew, right? The website is terrible. But, you can email them from there and let them know you’d like fabric samples. Just tell them what you’re interested in.


But, what I REALLY really love here, is the stove  (it’s a stove right? Coal? Wood?) on the second floor:

Gorgeous, right? It’s covered in dust. But, if you look real close, it says ‘Improved Baltimorean’.

If they ever go out of business that stove is going home with me.

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