Tag Archives: carol collection

Butterick 5522: Trina Turk Inspired Dress

29 Jan 4d1c51b0

I like that it was my frequent companion’s birthday dinner and I made a dress for ME! Yes, that’s right. Part of my gift to him is to look awesome. I think that is not only fair and equitable, but simply the law of man.

Butterick 5522 (above) is inspired by designer Trina Turk. I only know this because Cindy did an ah-Mazing job knocking it off before the pattern even came out.

I know there is the occasional chatter on not posting reviews on PatternReview.com any more because of the lack of comments. I’ve been remiss in not posting reviews lately too.  I still find the reviews incredibly helpful. Well, good reviews are incredibly helpful.  Reviewers generally noted the lack of shape in the dress. But,this is not something I found. As I noted in my earlier post, I made a dartless FBA. I suspect I either could have made a bigger adjustment (as told by some folds pointing to my bust) or actually put in darts. Also, I could benefit from teeny shoulder pads in this dress.

I didn’t find the dress tentlike at all. Perhaps because I’m sewing a size I wore a few years and pounds ago (!). But, more likely because I measured out the pattern  :) The color of this double knit is a blood red. This piece is another gem from the Carol Collection. The color is brighter in these photos because my beloved SLR is in the shop. So, I’m working with a point a shoot for the next few weeks.

I made a 3/4 inch swayback adjustment and omitted the zipper. I could easily have done 1.5 inches and had a nicer fit in the back. The poly doubleknit is super stable and I do a bit of wiggle to get the dress on.

I hemmed by two inches from the length. Interfaced the hems and edges and used a twin needle to top stitch the hem. I really kind of wanted something shorter. In retrospect, it’s not gonna really be work appropriate at this length.  But, I wasn’t thinking about work when I sewed it!

The sleeves are somewhat bell shaped and pieced together.  I didn’t find them to be crazy large. Maybe in a drapier fabric they would seem more elaborate. I think I would have like a larger bell. But, again, I’m a dramatic kind of girl.

Overall I am very happy with this dress. It works super well on my figure and gives a lot of fashion impact with minimal effort. What’s even better is I’ve seen some women in the RTW version of this. Heh.

Finally, here is a photo with the birthday boy. Don’t worry, we didn’t have dinner in a basement. This is the afterparty with his friends.

And, after my pontificating, I dare not neglect  my review on PR.

DC Tweed Ride 2011 Cape: Burda 8-2008-101

14 Nov IMGP1463

Guys. I was seriously just plowing through this cape to have something for the 10-mile DC Tweed Ride. It wasn’t until I finished the cape that I fell IN FREAKING LOVE with it!!! With over 900 people registered for the ride, I was definitely in a color that stood out.

I think my neck may seriously be getting shorter and shorter...

The BEST thing about this cape is that so many tweed riders were in darker fall colors. This turquoise blue just *popped*. I was nervous in general about how bright the blue is. It’s not a color I normally wear. My original fabric was a dark gray tweed, but I ran out of material and used this blue from the Carol Collection instead.

The Girls

 A good indicator of your outfit on these rides is how many people ask for photos or tell you they like your outfit. Liz is wearing my Burda jumper, 10-2009-119.

 Liz and I did *ok* during the Seersucker Social. But, we were on fire at Sunday’s ride. I borrowed the white feather fascinator from her. I’d love to be in a hat. But, my head is just too big for vintage and even modern hats are generally pushing it. 

The cape was finished on Friday. But, the buttons will NOT stay on. They are metal and shank. And, all four buttons on the opening edge have been resewn at least two times each. Three fell off on Saturday night. Two fell off before the ride on Sunday. Two fell off during the ride and now, on Monday morning, another fell off.  In fact, in the photo above Trena and I are with Claudia. She’s a DC dweller who reads our blogs. She saw the ride go by and happened upon us! Good for me, because she sewed one of my buttons back on!!

I *think* the rough metal shank is just cutting through the double strand of thread. I’m going to reattach with coat / button thread and see if that will help.

 I’m wearing a knit Burda jumper, 9-2007-121. It had a classic look with my shoes.  I lined the cape with a stunning raspberry material, also of the Carol Collection. It gives an amazing double whammy of color. The blue wool is fully interfaced, which happily did not stop me from having beautiful, crisp edges.

 

It can be worn open, and not buttoned. That does make it easier to *do* things.

Capes are totally and completely impractical, but I have a serious thing for them and trench coats. I guess it’s kind of that military influence, no?  The cape is PERFECT for this kind of ride and (I’m told) looks great while biking.

 Our ride took us around downtown DC. I couldn’t resist a photo in front of the White House. We also biked past the National’s Stadium, the Capitol Building, and through Chinatown. I’m not sure there is anyone Chinese in DC’s Chinatown….

The night ended at Smith’s just outside of Capital Hill with a live band, gin drinks and fun!

I fell in love with this guy’s vest. Someone (a UK National) recently told me I’d fetished the whole Brit thing. True Dat.

 We were wiped out oat the end of the night. I just love this photo! Liz has a folding bike so we popped that in the back seat. That’s Trena next to the bike with two more bikes out back!

 These rides are so much fun! You get dressed up, you get to bike and see the city and the people are all just incredibly cool. I’m already planning next year’s outfit!

Sometimes Purple, Sometimes Cranberry Pleated Dress: Burda Magazine 10-2009 #119

14 Feb IMGP7438

I don’t know what happened to me. This dress has just needed hemming for the last four weeks. It sat on my dressform. It sat on my ironing board. It sat on the floor. It sat everywhere but my sewing machine. Perhaps it was the bow tie business. After making the ones for work, I had an order for three. Maybe it was the pants business. I decided I wanted some black ones and muslined not once, not twice but SEVEN times. Seven times for me to still have wrinkles in my seat and a big fat bottom half. But, more on that later. It was actually a blessed relief to return to this dress on Sunday.

This is my second go round with Burda 10-2009-119 . I first made it in January 2010. I wore it consistently but shrank it in a vigorous wash over the summer. Sadly, I’m not in love with this version as I was with the first.

I started this dress over the MLK weekend. The first stretch wool version was so snug around my chest it was tough to wear with a turtleneck. Well, this time I added a full inch for a FBA.

In addition, I sewed my non-stretch woven with an extra 1/2 inch at the seams. And because the sewing fairies have jokes, it came out huge. I went back in and took in the sides by everything I added and then some. But, there is just something off about the proportions. This dress could almost use a tuck in the waist so the skirt is level and the sides swing inward. Now, the sides are very curvy, wide and off grain. This makes them swing outward makes me look hippier  than I (think) I am. You can see what I mean here on the bottom right of the skirt.

Both the fabric and lining are from the Carol Collection. The Carol Collection has been a goldmine of solid bold colors for me. Again, I wouldn’t normally pick out this cranberry, but me likey.  Unlike last time, I managed to press my pleats through the front.

I’m also still on my combination facing / lining kick and did the same here.

I finished the dress with my machine’s blind hem.

I’m fine with the dress. Not disappointed enough to fix it. But, very curious about how it behaved so differently.  There are three more former dresses I would like to recreate this year.  This includes the notched collar dress, the Sherlock Holmes dress and the knit jumper.

The Parisienne Dress, Burda Magazine: 8-2009 #128

21 Jan IMGP7238


I was talking with my girlfriend Julia this week about what women are supposed to wear in the winter. She went shopping and everything and she meant everything was sleeveless.

This dress is great for winter as you can wear the long sleeves! After seeing Elaine’s and meli88a’s and knew I was going to have to make it up. I noticed on the French site for Burda the comments thought the model was a perfect Audrey Hepburn. I was thinking of this dress as very Jackie O. Funny, right?

Fabric

I started this dress over the long MLK weekend with two yards of a beautiful teal wool from the Carol Collection. This isn’t a color I normally wear. But, I actually get most of my fashion advice from you guys. You always tell me to wear more jewel tones and better shoes :) So, here I am in a jewel tone I wouldn’t normally pick and in a new pair of Mary Janes! I’m so susceptible to peer pressure :)

Luckily, the dress isn’t too poochy around the stomach. I don’t know how I feel about the tulip shape on me per se. But, I do like the gathers.

Lining

This pattern was a first for me. Burda includes facings that are meant to be sewn to the lining. Well, first let me say Burda’s lining instructions are just for the bodice — not even the sleeves. I lined the dress throughout using their facing and I LOVE how it looks! This is the way Ready to Wear dresses look (I think they do. It’s been so long since I’ve bought a lined dress from the store). The lining is from my $1 a yard buy at Jomar in Philly. Trena says it’s noisy. And, it is noisy like taffeta. You can definitely hear me coming! I bought 10 yards of it and I’m down to the last one.

I also bagged the lining on the sleeves — so to speak. I was so thrilled to finally accomplish this in my coat that I wanted to try it again. It’s nice not to have two layers shifting about.

Alterations

  • 1/2 inch FBA. I really need to get better at these when they aren’t princess seams.
  • 1 inch swayback adjustment
  • I traced the 40 and graded to the 44 at the thigh and gave myself a 1 inch seam allowance
  • Added 7 cm to the width of the sleeve. I don’t think I have large arms, but it’s a given that I’ve got to bump up with Burda.
  • Took almost 2 inches of length out from Center Front. The skirt was totally drooping on me — making the pleats incredibly unattractive.

Notions

Zipper. Which despite a 100 zippers, I didn’t have a teal. I bought this one from Sew True.  While zippers are invisible, I find that I can still see bits of them, especially at waist seams. So, I prefer them to match as closely as possible

Belt

This one is purchased from ASOS. I find the ribbon darling, but didn’t have any on hand and haven’t made it to the store. Plus, I need more cinching than I think the ribbon can allow.

I’m tempted to take another inch or so off the dress and peg it a hair more. I’ll see how I like it by the end of the day. My goal in 2011 is to SHOW MY KNEES! There are so many ways to accessorize this dress! You can rock the pearls for a Jackie O look. Brooch is perfect for business. Big earrings make it fun.  Plain belt keeps it classic. Chunky belt to modernize. Nice, basic dress. Perfect for work!

My JacketCoat: Burda Magazine 10-2010-107

13 Dec 9903d764

While sitting at my desk wearing my Jacket/Coat, the scheduler says, “Oh, you still have your coat on. I guess your not planning on staying.” Hillarious. Yeah, it kind of looks like a coat. But, I’m wearing it as a jacket!! The fabric is really not that thick, but it is fulled so it appears to be thicker than it is. Later, she told me the contrast shawl collar looked like a scarf to her. Ha!

The pattern calls for wool velour. I’m not quite sure what that is. And, I honestly didn’t check the fabric suggestion before deciding to use this plum wool. I purchased it with Carolyn and Metro Textiles back in November 2007 at my first PR Weekend. Holy cow. I’d never spent so much money in my life on fabric. Hmm, happy to report that I’ve sewn all of those knits. And, now — just one of those wovens.  Oy.

My roots are awful. I swear I'm coloring them this week.

The pattern calls for a split collar. I’m not sure the design feature is noticeable enough to pursue it in future. I made mine in a contrast wool from the Carol Collection as I was short on material.

The entire coat is interfaced with a light knit fusible interfacing. The pattern called for the pockets, fronts, underams and upper sleeves to be interfaced.

Ha! I look like a flasher.

I did line the jacket. It’s not pretty (up close) but it’s done.  I don’t often make jackets nevermind line them. Mostly because of this hot mess. Maybe that’s why it’s taken me two years to try another.

The shoulders were too long on me by one inch. I reduced them 1/2 inch. That’s about the only alteration I’ve made (and could have taken more out of the right).

I made a two inch swayback adjustment.

From the side, it’s clear you are all right and I need to add length back to the bottom.

Carolyn is right. It’s so warm and cozy. Yet professional looking I don’t care if it looks like a coat or not :)

Pattern Review: Burda Magazine 2-2010-127

11 May 21313b72

Considering I started this Burda 2-2010-127 dress well over two months ago, it feels like a joke that I’m *just* finishing it this morning! Yeah. So, here’s the thing. I traced it during the big snowstorm. Then, things got busy and I would work on it every so often. Then, the sleeves were too small and the collar lopsided. After I recut the sleeves and re-sewed the collar, it started warming up and I figured I wasn’t going to wear long-sleeved blue-grey wool dress in summer. I mean, it was 90 degrees last week! Well, today — barely 50 and it was 30 something overnight. So, this morning I got up and figured I could insert a zipper, hem the skirt and sleeves all before leaving for work and wear my wool shirtdress one time before the season was over.

I LOVE THIS DRESS!! But (yeah. There is always a “but”). I didn’t line it because I was lazy and wanted to finish up faster. That means it wrinkles much easier than something lined would. And, when I recut the seams, I caught some moth damage on both sleeves. I didn’t realize it until way too late. And, it’s on both sleeves. I’ll back it with some interfacing tonight and make this a dry clean only dress.

The dress has a side zipper, which I’m starting to love. I can’t tell you how often I get to work and someone tells me my dress isn’t zipped up.

Of course, there is my NOTCHED COLLAR. My FIRST. I’m shouting, because I’m tooting my own horn so loudly over a NOTCHED COLLAR that I can’t hear myself think.

I did my usual swayback adjustment. Which was perfect for this since it already had a CB seam. I also was lucky enough to use fabric from the Carol Collection. So, this dress was pretty much FREE!!

Here it is without the belt. I do think it needs the belt for shape (unless you are very slim / straight on the bottom. Which, we all know I’m not). I don’t have a skinny belt.

The pattern calls for elastene fabric. I did cut a 40 — which I think is pretty much my new mid-30s size. IT fits. It’s snug across my rear. But, well, everything is. Seriously, this summer I need to learn a better adjustment for my thighs. Again, I shaved the hip curve down. But, still need more depth at the thighs.

Whew. Two finished projects in one week! What is the world coming to? Now, seriously. I have to sew for some other people. At least that  boring duvet cover for a friend.

The Pink Kimono

23 Jun

Can you believe I was STILL waiting for my June 2009 BWOF when Trena sent me a photo of her muslin of 6-2009-110??  Seriously. Sometimes I think the women at the post office are thumbing through that and my US Weekly before they deliver it to my house.

For this project, I used a light pink suiting from the Carol Collection. It’s darker than it appears in the photo, but is overexposed in today’s SUNSHINE. YES!! My friends, there is no rain today and we finally have SUNSHINE in Baltimore!  But, I digress. To break up all the pink, I made the bands in navy blue. This way, it would coordinate with the navy plaid silk tie fabric I was making the #151 obi from.

The dress is unlined so I serged the inside seams. Because the fabric is see through — and opaque with two layers, I left out the pockets. Also, on me, the pockets didn’t seem to hit at the right spot. I had no interest in lining this dress. None.

I should also mention that I struggled with the facing. It was several inches too small. So, I cut it out a second time and added several inches.

There are four snaps at the top. These came to me courtesy of Ann of Gorgeous Fabrics. I made a plea on PatternReview on where to find HUGE snaps and she answered!  I also needed two more snaps lower on the dress or you could see my vajajay when I walked and sat. For those, I used used light plastic pink ones from NYC. The plastic ones are about a quarter each, hard to open and close and feel like they might break. Ann’s are strong yet lightweight and retail for $3 a pop.

I did start to cover the snaps, but realized it was a big hassle and it didn’t bother me for them to not be covered with lining fabric.

In the photo below, you can see what I mean when I say the obi is too big. The dark solid navy are the side pieces, and clearly start in the middle of my back. I’m not motivated enough to alter it — yet. But, when I make another, I could easily take three to six inches out of the obi. I, um, also forgot to leave a slit for the belt to slip through in the back.

The other thing to be aware of is that the armsyce is super low to accommodate the kimono style. It will also cause some natural blousing of the upper bodice (see above. that’s why my skirt looks crooked) over the belt.  Because of this the, belt rides low, and this hikes the skirt up higher than you might think. Even though I added the correct length to the dress, it’s still a wee bit shorter than I’m comfortable with for work.  So, you want to make it longer initially for safety.


 
When I tried it on yesterday, it felt a little like a robe. But, I think that’s the nature of a kimono-style garment in the west. I QUITE like it and feel very chic and extremely retro. It’s not as baggy as the #107 dress. I’m working on a new Japan related project in the office, so I should fit right in during the next few weeks!

Just Skirting Around

9 Jun

“Every now and then your wardrobe needs an injection of something, new, trendy and fun.  That was the thought when we spied the pencil skirts shown in the large graphic prints and florals in the June 2009 issue of Lucky Magazine.  These skirts provide a great way to update a classic…so with that photo spread and a little conversation…we were ready to create our own versions.  Following are our individual interpretations of an updated yet classic pencil skirt.”

Inspiration:  A feature in Lucky Magazine highlighting the pencil skirt done in large scale prints/graphic prints.
IMG_0695

The Challenge:  Create a pencil skirt that works on our own body and use a bold print.

Participants are Carolyn, Diary of a Sewing Fanatic;  Me, LindsayT, Lindsay T Sews (Again); and Marji Fiber Arts Afloat. (Marji proposed the challenge after reading Carolyn’s post of May 9 and asked a few fellow sewists she emails and talks to regularly if they wanted to participate.)

For me, the challenge is in just making a skirt. I never really made them and seemed to skip to far more complicated garments years ago. So I am generally uncomfortable with my skirt fitting and construction issues (discussed below) for skirts.

The skirt:

 

Pattern used: ‘vintage’ BWOF from June 2002, #104 (6-2002-104)



Fabric / Fabric source:
White waffle weave pique from the Carol Collection with graphic red and black flowers. It’s bold and graphic, but not necessarily a LARGE scale print.

Construction details:

I have loved this skirt since it first ran seven years ago. I’ve said before that I don’t make a lot of skirts. Mainly because I don’t have tops to go with them and the vicious cycle of no separates continues. I also don’t make a lot of skirts ‘cuz I think a lot of what I see is b-o-r-i-n-g. So, when I make a skirt, I do it for the details.

On this one, it was the side button placket. First, it provides visual interest and second, it prevents me from having to work with a slit which I still have not mastered.  It also appears that I need to learn the ‘my skirt hikes up in the back’ adjustment due to my swayback and my Jamaican caboose. A syndrome I see all over the streets of Baltimore.

I will be looking for some different buttons though. These blend in a bit too much. If I were making this same skirt again, I would have worked the buttonholes in a different  color than  white.

Because the skirt is white, I chose to underline with white cotton batiste and line it with a tan Bemberg Rayon — rendering it Princess Diana proof. And, I’ve finally got a handle on the blind hem function of my Kenmore!

Here’s the back (All my RTW tops look like this H&M one with pooling at my waist). My version has a CB seam so I could take a horizontal tuck for my swayback.

Skirts also sit higher on my front than on my back (another swayback issue) — which causes some not pretty pulling across the front.

** In the photo above, there are two less buttons. I took photos Monday morning,  wore the skirt to work and decided to add two more buttons after I got home. I wore the skirt to work on Monday and have compliments from the first three women I saw. A success I say! But, I really need to master some basic skills for skirts. I never like making them because of lining and fit. I want to be like my girl Trena with her 50+.


** Pay no attention to the junkyard grass in the background. I was going to mow this weekend, but cut my hand slicing that  baguette I just *had* to have on Sunday and I was too cheap to submit to the THIRTY DOLLAR extortion the kid across the street  wanted to mow my 20 sq ft of grass. That, and I hate yardwork.

Well, Hello Sailor!

13 May

Well, I didn’t want to wait another week or more until I get it back. And, I’m sure I’ve built this dress up so much it won’t live up to expectations, lol.  So, let’s just pull off the band aid? I know this is a simple garment and I wouldn’t think twice about having whipped it up from a straight pattern. But, I am so proud that I took this class and finally ‘get it’.   I’m really looking forward to making garments with more design elements and feeling confident enough to copy RTW.

So, without further ado, here’s the dress on a school dressform (I don’t have one). It’s a size 8 dressform but is lacking my curves. But, it was due and I just took pics at school. I probably should have used a 10. This was the first time I understood why someone makes a small bust adjustment! I also took advantage of the huge bay windows on campus so I could get enough light to get the camera to focus.

All outer fabric is from the Carol Collection (yay!).

Original Garment

Front w. belt

Front w.out belt

Back. There is a problem in my draft in that the bottom of the skirt swing out. Like slightly too much fullness. You can also kind of tell from here how curved my back is compared to the dressform.

Close up of belt and ruffle. Ruffle is 3 inches wide, graduating to 6 inches wide. So much starch there is a new hole in the ozone layer.

French dart at side seam. Excellent info from Els at The Sewing Divas

Lining. Poly silky from Joann’s. $4 a yard on the red tag table. I, love, love, love this lining. Summerset used it for an awesome vintage dress (check the link). We are both polka dot and red fiends.

The best zipper finish I’ve ever had

Silk organza underlining.  This, the twill tape and poly horsehair great recommendations from Ann.

Twill tape along ruffle insertion to keep the ruffle line straight.

Polyester horsehair braid along the hem to prevent wonkiness

I’m going to enter this in to the PatternReview.com ‘My Pattern’ contest. I know at the end of the day that this is a simple garment, but I am so proud of myself I’m bursting at the seams. You know I’ve been dying to do something with red, white and blue for a over a year now. Maybe I’ll build a summer wardrobe around these colors? When I took my project in, I talked to my instructor about my sloper fit issues. When I get back from Portland, I’m bringing in all my muslins and we’re going to work on a new draft! It’s gonna be a great summer!

I won’t be blogging while I’m gone, but I’ll be tweeting. My updates are protected, but you can find me as BaltoCidell on Twitter.

Don’t make this skirt

25 Nov

** Blogger and I are fighting today. First time I posted the photos were ginormous. Now, they are small on screen but will open up big. We regret the trouble.

Ugh. Alright. Here’s the thing. I tried making this skirt about seven years ago when it first came out. The pleat was wonky and I pitched the whole project.

Same issue in 2008. But, the wool was from the Carol Collection and I was not going to let it go to waste! I had to decrease the pleat in the skirt by half to get it to lay right and not splay open. I must have cut it off grain because the left side (your right) keeps bulging out and then charmingly dipping in. Or maybe decreasing the pleat screwed it up. I don’t know but I spent hours yesterday futzing with it before giving up and wearing it to work today AS IS.

Maybe next winter I’ll take out all the stitching on the sides, reinforce it with interfacing and put it back together. This skirt shouldn’t take more than two hours to make. I spent about five on it piddling around. I could REALLY like this skirt if that side wasn’t acting a fool.

Also, trust me, it only works on my body with a cropped sweater. Hence the American Eagle henley (I think I’m too old to shop in there now). Can you believe this shirt is an XL? Crikey.

The one thing I like, I did a great swayback adjustment using the BWOF method. Just slice through the tip of the dart and overlap how much you need. I have to say I like how perky my, er, assests are in this.

Thank you ALL for the help on the knitting. I started a simple scarf with just a lot of purling and some stripes. I decided my knitting should be limited to socks and scarves. Those are manageable projects, right? It’s slow going and I need to order circular needles. My wrist is killing me.

You guys rock! Thank you for the generous comments on the white tuxedo blouse. I am very pleased with it. It’s one separate I’m glad to add and I’m sure I’ll be making one of these on a regular basis.

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