Tag Archives: review

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.

Silver and Grey Rebecca Sewy

16 Jan IMGP1794

As hoped, (for once) I did in fact finish this bra before the Ravens win over the Houston Texans on Sunday. It’s so pretty in its non-beigeness that I kind of want to weep from happiness. I’ve been dogged about making these bras since I was financially invested from my Amsterdam trip. That, and my bras are expensive and boring. Soooo boring. Beige and industrial. Blech.

I don’t make matching bottoms yet.  I have an entire Pinterest board devoted to underpinnings.  If I am stingy with lace placement, I can get two sets of bras out of the lace I have from Amsterdam. I mix the lace with Summerset’s kits. It’s one way of making sure that I’m consistently working with similar materials. I’d rather use  the extra lace in a year or so and make a second set of bras. And, I’m not proficient with my bottoms yet. So, I’d rather wait until I have that skillset down.

I thought I would get a slew of sewing done this weekend.  I have three UFOs and desperately need some slips. My current frequent companion is on a ski trip in Colorado this weekend and I kept myself socially uncommitted. But, instead of just sewing,  I read. I ran errands. I got my dry cleaning done. I washed my car. I jogged in 30 degree temps. Twice! I stocked up on wine. I watched Merchant Ivory type films with lots of crying, tragic heroines and moody music (and the last two weeks of Downton Abbey, Project Runway All Stars and Brad, Brad World). I made two kinds of  frozen deserts (salted caramel ice cream and olive oil gelato). I took down my Christmas tree. I made two batches of Greek yogurt (yogurt maker for Christmas). I went to the Indian grocery store.  I cleaned my house. I’m talking the kind of cleaning that I freely admit my house hasn’t seen since we met. Hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor cleaning.

And, I sewed two $60 bras for a quarter of the price.

It was delightful. Seriously. Never taking my free time for granted again.

 

Learning From Your Mistakes

15 Jan IMGP1783

Folks. If you do not learn from your mistakes, you are doomed to repeat them. There was going to be much wailing and gnashing of teeth if my sixth attempt at sewing the Rebecca bra from Sewy didn’t work out for me.

I am thrilled to report that wearing sack cloth and sitting in ashes was not needed!  This bra fits. Did you hear that? Angels cried with me when I finished this bad boy up.

This lace is from my once in a lifetime trip to Kantje Boord in Amsterdam last year. Why oh why did I not purchase a lifetime supply of lace and findings!? Oh. Yes. The crappy exchange rate. I forgot.

I must tell you. The road to this bra was not paved in milk and honey.

I received a new copy of the  Rebecca pattern from Sewy a few short weeks after my posted plea for help. They do ship to the US and they’ve fixed the bug on thier website that wouldn’t let me complete the order. Woo hoo!

Anxious to sew a litlle somethin’ somethin’, I traced and cut out a 70F. I used a bra kit from Summerset and lace from Etsy.

It’s hard to try on a bra mid-sew (sans straps and closures). But, am I ever glad I did! The bra was again too small! Why or why! I hadn’t done any alterations.  The 70F should have fit. Well, at least fit better. Except, well, I traced the wrong size. I know this, because I went back and read my original blog post from Jun 2011:

As I suspected in my last bra post, I did in fact trace and sew the wrong size bra. I made a 70F when I should have started with a 70G.

Grrrr. Do you see that? That means I’d sewn the wrong bra size twice now. Twice! Why? Because I didn’t read the notes I wrote here on my very own blog.

That made  1 muslin, 1 slightly large bra, 1 huge bra, a teeny bra, and now this small bra. That’s FOUR bras I’d sewn and none are wearable (by me). I was *so close* the first time I sewed a bra. But, happily, I got the magic back!

The good news is, these are now a breeze to sew. I *love* how they look. I’ve got all the sewing tricks worked out. For me, that means shortened band, downward hike, some curvature out of the bust apex, a wing and a prayer.

So not to destroy the good bra making vibes, I plan to sew this silver / grey version today before the Ravens playoff game.

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!

Red Burberry Trench Coat: Burda Magazine 1-2008 #128

27 Oct IMGP1047

I’m heading to the ATL later today for a 36 hour trip for a friend’s wedding. I’m super excited because I get to wear the yellow vintage dress, the Chinese quipao and hopefully an Indian sari.

I was hell bent on finishing my trench for the weekend since my ‘fall’ coat is good for October in Baltimore, but a little heavy for Atlanta. Plus, I *must* squeeze in a visit to the Margaret Mitchell House and I’ll feel very fancy in a new trench.

I started this trench way back in March 2011. It moved at a glacial pace because I wanted to draft a zip out lining using the Burberry warmer on the right and I wanted perfect buttons.

I finally drafted and cut the lining and ordered buttons from England. Then, in May, I just gave up on it because I screwed up my cutting and it went from double breasted to single breasted.  The warmer is sadly just in a bag waiting to be used on another project. Sigh. Plus, it got *hot* here and I didn’t feel like working on a coat.

Now, it’s late-October, rainy and cool and I decided to finish it off. Plus, it’s a good coat for this weekend and Florida with my parents for Thanksgiving.

But, it’s all for a good cause because the trench is finished and I don’t hate it! Well, I don’t love it either.

There really isn’t anything *wrong* with it.  Well, except for it’s magical neck shortening abilities (more on that later). But, it is just NOT the double breasted, red, Burberry trench that I pictured. Color me disappointed. 

The sleeves are lined with lining from Jomar at like $1 per yard. I bound the edges for finish and there is no lining in the body (the fabric is reversible and waterproof).

I made a FBA by adding darts from the Vogue Guide to Sewing and added shoulder pads.

The collar is a little high for my taste and makes me look too much like a Nutcracker. Funny how I never thought I had a short neck before…. 

The hem is also hand stitched

I added  double bands at the cuffs and decided to remove the pocket flap that I originally had.

There is a fun kick pleat in the back

Overall the jacket is about one or two sizes too big and just isn’t flattering on me. That is again due to my edits to accomodate a warmer.

The belt provides all the shaping. A friend with a less defined waist tried the coat and it wasn’t the best look on her.

What am I trying to say? Well, I should have muslined. And, honestly, I don’t know why I didn’t use the Burda’s 9-2006-103 trench pattern. Like I said, I don’t hate this red trench. But, I do not love it like I do my military wool trench coat. I can’t wait for it to get cold so I can wear my wool trench!

I did get three unsolicited compliments yesterday when I wore it for the first time. The color is good. And at the end of the day, I do have a Burberry coat. Plus, it fills a serious hole in my wardrobe. It’s just not my favorite.

Happily, I can report that I have two other Burberry lengths. One will be a coat in the spring and the other will hopefully become a cape this season.

Have a great weekend!

Four Skirts in Four Days, Part IV!: Burda 6-2009-104 Wrap Skirt

16 Sep IMGP0753

I actually finished this skirt months ago and didn’t get a chance for photos or to blog. After writing this post ages after completing the garment, I realize I am *boring* when an article isn’t fresh on my mind! So, I apologize now for the rudimentary post. I’m just fuzzy on the finer points after all this time. What happened to my memory? I used to recall conversations verbatim. Now, I write notes to myself so I can remember what people said to me. While we’re talking about getting older. I’ve been obsessed about these laugh lines around my mouth lately. I was almost relieved when I saw some forgotten photos of me from 10+ years ago with the same lines. Turns out I didn’t care in my 20s. Only in my 30s did they stand out :)

Enough of that. Back to the skirt! The flash washed the color of the skirt out a bit so I’m posting it below with no flash.

 It’s a strawberry cream seersucker. I *think* I bought it at Metro Textiles last year. But, I honestly don’t remember! See, again with the memory thing! The cream buttons are from A Fabric Place here in Baltimore.

This Burda 6-2009-104 skirt sucked me in by two elements: double row of buttons and seersucker. I am so totally predictable. Make it a trench, vest, cape or seersucker and I’m all in.

The line drawing shows it looking fairly straight, but I found on me it was a little a-line. This could have been for the additional width I added at the thighs.

The buttons on the front are mostly decorative as this is a wrap skirt with a side zipper.

There’s a slit on the inside for walking.

Ummm, I’ve worn the skirt bunches. But, I dont’ love it on me. It’s slightly too small with no room to let out. I had to do a lot of futzing with fit. After completion, I actually took the waist in two more times before it was wearable.

Despite adding about 2 inches of width in the thigh, it’s still about 1/2 inch snug. I also made a full seat adjustment in two places to accommodate for my swayback and full seat and it’s not quite enough (or smooth based on this photo!).

You can see the skirt still sits a scootch higher at the center front. The center back seam isn’t really centered on me and the side seams are off because of all my adjustments (and my full forward thighs).

Overall, I’m meh. It’s a nice staple and certainly adds to the work wardrobe. But, it’s not top garment for 2011. I’ve gotten a lot of wear out of it, but I don’t know if I would make it again. I think I need to make a simple pencil skirt and make some decisions on the best skirt style for me.

Simplicity 3882, Not once. But, twice.

12 Sep IMGP0655

This is just the kind of dress I said I wasn’t going to sew this year! It’s a throw away dress needed in a pinch. It’s knit when I’ve been trying to sew more wovens. It’s casual and I’ve wanted to be more chic. It’s a bright and bold pritn and I’ve been trying to incorporate more solids. It’s a dress and I need more separates. I told myself I was going to sew more complicated garments instead of just trying to stock my closet. This dress took me less than two hours to sew and I have got to say, “I am so glad I can sew!!”

You see my friends, I have no “hang out clothes”. I solely focus on work garments.  Now, I have clothes I can meet you after work in. I can meet you for cocktails or dinner even. I can meet your parents. I can go to the museum or theater with you. I can go to church and attend a wedding. But, again, I have no ‘run around clothes’. I don’t have a thing that  can be worn to a football game at your house.

Yes, yes. There are jeans. But, I have some thick thighs and look 10 pounds heavier in jeans and try not to wear them all that often. Last month I had this dilema. I needed a “Farmer’s Market on a Sunday” outfit. What did I do? I Dropped $32 at H&M for the tunic above to wear with jeggings. The second time I wore that tunic was two weeks later on a Saturday morning coffee date. The third time I wore that tunic was later that week to a Thursday night free outdoor concert. Do you sense a theme here? I have no casual clothes.

Friday night came around and I needed something to wear on a Saturday night to watch football. I decided to go back to Simplicity 3882 made in 2007.


(Simplicity 3882 in 2007. Clearly, me at my thinnest. Ever.)

I remade the dress from the remnants of this Simplicity 3503 maxi dress. In this version, I cut the elastics all about 4 inches shorter than recommended and made a dartless 3/4 inch FBA.

So, I pulled it off! I had a new dress in short order and managed to eek the last of summer of out of my sewing.

Four Skirts in Four Days Part III: BWOF 9/2009 #121

22 Jul IMGP0160

You know, the last time I tried the skirt-a-day project was a few Memorial Day Weekends ago. That netted me three Patrones skirts I still wear (Chloe, Vero Moda, Roberto Musso). My goal is to have the 40+ skirts of Trena. Ok. Fine. I’ll settle for 10 wearable skirts for each season :)

Is it cheating that I decided to make two skirts from the same pattern during my mini-break? This #121 gather skirt from the September 2009 Burda World of Fashion magazine is just perfect for summer. I chose skirts for my break because they are good for biking to work. I can wear an athletic top with them and switch to a work blouse when I get in the office. Plus, it made me bite the bullet and start incoporating seperates into my wardrobe.

This fabric is from PR Weekend Los Angeles back in 2008 (the first version is from PR Weekend 2010 in Philly). Man. I realize I have problem fabric shopping. I never want to buy less than four yards. Then, I don’t want to just cut some of it for something like a skirt. And, I have no ability / memory to estimate the amount of fabric needed for any project. Just ask Robin. We went fabric shopping last week and I may have driven her bananas.

I am happy to report that I’ve sewn all but one of the fabrics from LA (the silk all the way to the right is uncut). Sad to say, I ruined the rainbow striped knit the first time I cut it. Booo! I *adored* that fabric. I mean, really. I’m still looking for something similar.

Can you imagine that people asked me if I actually embroidered and sewed on all the sequins? I couldn’t help but laugh. And, I was asked THREE TIMES! This skirt material is a super lightweight cotton with bronze embroidery and sequins on the border. It’s really more of a shirt / tunic weight. Which of course I didn’t consider until construction. To beef it up and make it opaque, I used the non embroidered top half as skirt lining.

The skirt is full without adding width. I shortened the skirt pattern by two inches and planned to hem the 4 cm length at the bottom. Then, I realized the skirt edge was on the selvedge. So, I’m leaving well enough alone and just hemmed the lining.

Construction was less than two hours. I was so thrilled with the ease and overall cuteness of this project. It’s interesting to see the difference between the two skirts based solely on material.

One last skirt from my mini-break to go!

Some of you have asked about my shoes lately. I am honest when I say it’s because of blog comments that I’ve been trying to buy better shoes. You guys are pretty quick to point out when my shoes don’t go with my outfits. I HATE shoe shopping. Well, I actually hate shopping. I’d rather chew glass.

The red pair of Borns are from the beginning of the season. I don’t know that they are still available. And, I overpaid for them so I’m loathe to post their price here.

The shoes in this post are from Aerosoles. I have the Gingeroot pair in grey and also in a pinkish leather. They are currently $30 on sale.

The strappy pair from the plaid silk jersey dress last week are South Role are also Aerosoles and are on sale for $30. I have them in green and tan. I would suggest going up half a size in these.

I like Aerosoles because I know my size, they are comfortable, they come in wide options, I can usually find a coupon for free shipping and there is a store near my office so they are easy / free return if I don’t like them. Hope that helps!

Fun, Fun, Fun!

19 Jul IMGP0111

Trena came up to Baltimore Friday night to be my date for an Artscape party. Artscape is the largest outdoor arts festival on the east coast and is hosted right here in Baltimore.

That night, I was invited to a rooftop party to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Artscape. There was a live Fantasia concert on the ground. There were SO MANY PEOPLE. They were expecting 350,000 people over the weekend.

Cocktails and food were on the roof and fireworks at a reasonable hour (I just can’t stay up late).

It was a GREAT time.


Here’s a photo of us with some of my work friends.

More importantly, Trena and I were both in the same Burda 06-2010 #123 dresses of our own making in totally differnt prints.

She went with an elegant silk jersey, and I made up this yellow and gray polyester from Philadelphia’s Jomar.

According to her, the fan fabric is just $3 a yard. So, the dress was under $10 and I have a bunch leftover.

As Trena mentions, the swayback in this is pretty significant. I took out two inches and could have taken out another 1.0 to 1.5.

This was my test run of the plaid sack dress. This first version is two inches shorter. Which is fine just as long as I don’t try to blouson it like I did the silk version.


That’s me looking for the rest of the skirt

I think this length is also a little ‘stumpier’ on me vs the plaid dress. But, the right length for a summer cocktail party with fancy people.

Overall, it was a good night. I had fun with my bestie and got to show off my town.

Pattern Review: Burda 6/2010 #123: Silk Jersey Sack Dress

14 Jul IMGP9975

Remember my obsession with this BCBG huge red, white and blue plaid print?

Well, I found a gorgeous plaid silk jersey in two colorways at A Fabric Place / Michael’s Fabric.  I knew as soon as I saw it I was powerless to resist.

Even on sale, I could only spring for two yards of each cut. This was my first time sewing with silk jersey. My serger didn’t like it. My sewing machine didn’t really like it. I wish I could sew a stretch stitch using a straight stitch foot and plate. That, would be ideal.

The pattern is Burda Magazine 6-2010-123. It’s such a wonderfully fast sew! I made it in two nights after work. So, let’s say four hours (at most). I am pretty proud of the plaid matching done on this dress. I am usually dead nervous about using plaids. I *adore* plaids. Seriously. Love everything about them. But, the matching = hives. I have several plaids for blouses that I’ve avoided making up because I start sweating at the thought of matching.

I chose this dress because it had few seams and would not be a fabric hog.

I did add one to center back to make my usual swayback adjustment.

The pattern calls for bias strips to finish the neckline. I could not be bothered. I just turned under and used my twin needles

Based on a previous version I made (Haven’t posted yet. Wearing to a party tomrrow night) I added two inches in length to make this office appropriate.

All the shaping from this dress comes from the belt. The dress is essentially a sack.

I ADORE this dress. It’s fun, sexy, and perfect for summer. But, I must warn you. I do not have the same firmness I once did and have to wear a slip with this dress. If not, it looks like squirrels are doing battle behind me when I walk.

The only problem with the plaid (and this is just apparent in photos) is that your eye has something to to ‘level’ on. So, with the blousooning, the dress can look a wee off kilter.

Overall, I’m happy. I did have several people at work say I should have worn this version for the Friday night party. But, I didn’t want to get my new silk jersey dress all yucky quite yet.

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