FO: Life Cycle dress disaster

The road to hell is paved with the best intentions. I think it also must be paved with assumptions and bad habits.

This fabric was used for one of my dance costumes that was made in 2001. I've had the 2+ yards of remnants hanging around for 13 years.

 

My last sewing sag started (and ended) with me making myself a new skirt for this outfit in 2010. I ended up getting a from-scratch-new outfit made in 2012.



Because it was already made into something, I assumed that it had been washed. It had NOT. I found this out after I washed it, before I wore it. Where did I wear it, you might ask? I wore it to mock-judge a dance competition. It was a really neat experience because it taught me a lot about the judging experience. (Mostly that I do actually want to take my judge's test, which is an ordeal.) Getting ready that morning, I put on my dress and went to zip it and was quite surprised that it took a bit of effort. Then I noticed that it was about 3" shorter than it had been. Uh oh! I also noticed that every single edge that hadn't been overcast or bias bound was starting to fray. Since I was in a hurry, I hadn't gone in and overcast the top skirt edge because usually two gathering threads are fine. Nope! It actually started to fray so badly that there were holes in the back waistline.



Pattern: Simplicity 2444
Fabric: cotton plaid that had been in my stash for a decade
Mods: Bias bound armholes and neckline instead of facings

This is one that I like a lot, but will probably not wear too often, because it's just too fragile. I could take the whole skirt off, overcast the edges, and put it back but it just seems like too much work. I might as well make a new dress at that point!

Nevada City Craft Fair afterpost

Sunday, June 8th I did my first real craft fair! It was the Nevada City Craft Fair at the Miners Foundry in Nevada City, CA.

I spent a good part of the day talking to a couple of ladies who sell silk scarves and who had done craft fairs for a long time but have still never made an etsy sale. I am from the complete opposite camp! I have so little in-person selling experience and so much to learn! It was a fairly slow day, mostly due to being over 100° out (and no AC!) so it gave us vendors a great chance to chat and compare notes. There was a lot of neat stuff there and if you are a Northern California person, I recommend checking out their next craft fair which will be sometime in December. I was so tired (it was a long weekend full of baby showers, graduation parties, and driving) that I didn't get photos of the rest of the vendors like I said I would. I was inspired by this post written by Melissa of Scavenger Hunt, but too tired/hot to actually do this myself. :(

I can never tell what the big seller of the day will be, and this day it was bracelets. Which makes sense, because they're good hot weather pieces.

Long story short: although it was a slow day, it was a successful one. I learned a lot about table displays, although I think I learn something different every time I bring my jewelry out. I got to use my fantastic necklace stands that I made after finding a similar thing on pinterest:

They cost about $25 to make (pipe is expensive) but are really durable and help keep things from tangling. I could use about ten, really! 

I am so thankful to be done with this and have nothing big scheduled for a month or so. It's strange to not have a huge to-do list. I am caught up on orders for the first time since the Woodland Games in April, or possibly before. It's a great feeling! I finally have time to add new things to the shop now. (And sew, of course!) 

FO: Movies in the Park shorts by Dixie DIY

So far, I've posted and made a lot of dresses. 

The problem with that is I normally wear dresses about once a month (outside Rainbow or dance).

So my other mission is to make things that go with what I do wear everyday: jeans and band shirts.

Enter this camo fabric from JoAnn's and the Movies in the Park shorts pattern.

This was a pattern that I found in the morning, ran to the fabric store in the afternoon, and was wearing the next day.

I'd never worked with bias tape before, and I hadn't done a buttonhole on a machine since Fashion Studio in high school. So this was a skill-builder for me. I learned that bias tape is fantastic and I love it! (This was what inspired me to put bias tape on the Tattoo dress!)  

There were a couple of weird things about the pattern: no notches to line up the waistband despite them being mentioned in the directions and no bottom line. I'm not sure whether or not that was so you could lengthen the shorts, but it was weird to have to break out my ruler and draw it on. I also have an ample bottom, and could definitely use more room for it in these shorts. I didn't know much about crotch seams when I made them. (I'm doing research, and my next pair of shorts will probably be Thurlow.) 

Despite being a little fiddly to get on and off (because you gotta unbutton), I love these shorts and wear them at least once a week. Usually with a band shirt.  

 

 

 

 

*nothing to disclose

Dropping a Bomb(shell)

I've lost it. 

I don't have a serger. 

I've never sewn knits. (besides mattress stitch)

I've never sewn slippery fabric. 

But I'm makin' myself a damn bathing suit. Hell, I've already got the lining fabric. (I'd have the outer fabric but I couldn't choose between green or grey.) 

So far, I've decided on view A. I like the more vintage-y look. 

What convinced me to make this baby is the fantastic sewalong that the pattern designer did. The instructions themselves are pretty thorough, but this really knocks it out of the park. Since I haven't started sewing yet, I can't say everything is covered but it certainly looks that way. 

I'm so excited about this that I even announced it on facebook, so I'm in deep. I'd been bathing suit shopping (casually) for about two months and had very little luck finding things that were A) cute B) flattering and/or C) under $100. Frustrating! I'm so happy to be enthusiastic about a bathing suit. I love swimming and have a vacation at a lake planned for mid-July, so this was a need. 

Me Made May week 5 - completion!

And it couldn't come soon enough.

I love my handmade wardrobe, but BOY! I am tired of it. To the point that I missed some pictures this week.

Day 26 - No photo. Worked around the house and wore my first Datura.

Day 27 - (unblogged) Cambie #2 again. I was more excited about it than I seem here. It is so comfortable!

Day 28 - again no photo but Ladybug Datura was worn. 

Day 29 - no photo - Movies in the Park shorts, worn to pick up some really cute fabric. More camo, inteded for the Grainline Studio Maritime shorts. Skeletons for a cute summer dress (they from the JoAnn's Halloween section. But seriously, how cute are they? They remind me of the dancing skeletons from the Merrie Melodies cartoon that was always shown on the Disney Halloween special.) The leopard print is for Simplicity 1884. Which I have mostly done, and I think is going to be a wadder. 

Day 30 - Movies in the Park shorts. 

Day 31 - Cambie #2 again! I really need to make another Rainbow-type dress because having two is not cutting it. I had plans to use the white fabric above to make a second dress for both Rainbow and Daughters of Scotia, that would be reversible. Well, I washed it and it did a weird bubbly thing. Since I'm not an iron-er, it has been relegated to the lining. Now I've got to get some fashion fabric for it. I'm thinking eyelet. How sweet would that be? I'm looking for eyelet that is plainer on one edge and most of the embroidery is on the other (if that makes sense). Anyway, here is Day 31's photo-, featuring a stuffed dove. 

I really enjoyed Me Made May, and will have a better time next year when I have a bigger me-made wardrobe! It's really shown me that I knit a lot and don't really produce wearable things, socks aside. (I do also have a huge carpet beetle problem and have had to get rid of a lot of things that have been eaten. They're impossible here. I have to keep EVERYTHING with wool in its own sealed plastic bag. They got inside a Rubbermaid plastic tote/box and ate a ton of my stash and FOs. They really love wool that isn't superwash. Patons Classic must be carpet beetle caviar. It's good that I live in CA and can wear lots of cotton knits, because that's what I'm going to have to do in the future.) 

The best part about Me Made May is that it showed me what I wear a lot and what I don't, and that really helps to consider going forward. For example, less novelty, more everyday. (I could wear a Datura every day but the shamrock Cambie and Addams Family-inspired dress? Yeah no.) There's no point in putting the hours into a project that's going to languish in the closet! 

Me Made May Week 4 round-up

I really started to run out of steam this week. My Me Made-wardrobe just isn't big enough! Obviously, I'm working to rectify this problem! I have worn every large garment that I've made, the only things I haven't worn are socks and shawls. Which, I have a million of both, but are too hot to wear in 90°+ weather. However ...

Day 18 - I wore wool socks to bed! I live with someone who likes it much colder than I do, so occasionally I wear ridiculous things or use an electric blanket during the summer. These are the first pair of socks I made from my own handspun yarn. This was Fat Cat Knits BFL that I won in their Rav group's super awesome birthday raffle. I never win things!

Day 19 - Datura. Again. I wear it all the time.

Day 20 - no photo. Tuesdays are my cleaning/jewelry work day. I did cut out a new Cambie this day: 

Day 21 - Tattooed Grandpa dress + the best hairstyle ever. It's great for 2nd or 3rd day hair for curly hair!

Day 22 - Although I didn't wear it all day, I wore my first Cambie to look for fitting issues to correct in my second version. (I fixed my weird uneven sleeve issue and moved the sleeve/strap attachment point inward.) This dress is really, really comfortable despite being kind of crazy. I need a version that isn't so much. 

Day 23 - I wore the Ladybug Datura. Again I wear both Datura blouses at least once a week. I also did my final fittings for this Cambie and sewed it all up. Above, it's pictured without the lining. It fit really well, and I was worried that the lining would make it bulky or lumpy. 

Day 24 - White Datura again. I literally took one picture all day, and it was at my F-not-IL's 50th birthday party. I do love Crown Royal. 

Day 25 - NEW CAMBIE! As well as my EZ Camping Shawl, knit in 2011 and one of my unicorn necklaces. Cambie looks great with the lining, and it helped with the bit of horizontal line stuff that was going on. It is SUCH a comfortable, awesome pattern. Despite being a little more on the fancy side, (I am a girl who wear jeans and a band shirt 90% of the time) I want a million versions of it to wear all the time. I put really fun pockets in it that I need to photograph. 

 

I was beating myself up a bit about falling off the wagon this week, but it turns out it wasn't so bad. We're in the homestretch now! 

*items in this post were won by me at no cost, though this did not affect my posted review/opinion. 

Me Made May - week 3 update

Since this post is being written during week 4, let me say: it's getting hard! My "me made" wardrobe is fairly slim and I'm starting to run out of steam. Looking back, week 3 went pretty well.

Day 11 - Mother's Day and the Sacramento Antique Fair (with my mom, of course) wore my just-finished-the-night-before-and-not-even-washed-so-don't-look-too-close-there-may-be-chalk-marks second Datura blouse.

Day 12 - second Datura again! I only left the house briefly (Monday/Tuesday are my "days off") and I wore crappy yard work clothes most of the day. I slapped this puppy on to go to dinner with friends. 

Day 13 - Rainbow meeting night means clothing I wouldn't wear elsewhere. The dress is my first dress ever (how did I not realize that when I made it? I also never named it) and I knit the sweater a few years ago. I love yellow. Could you tell? 

Day 14 - Movies in the Park shorts and a tank top. It was 100° that day, and I work in a kitchen with no AC. 'nuff said. (also, clearly this was before work!) 

Day 15 - This is why I don't wear nice things- because they're covered up with a dingy apron and smeared in grease! Dresses are nice and cool during hot summers (almost literally) slaving over a hot stove. 

Day 16 - On Wednesdays We Wear Black Dress. Worn on a Friday. Still unblogged. 

Day 17 - I wore BOTH Datura tops. I wore the white one to work with shorts and then the red one to a show. I did not take a picture of either outfit because I had a very busy day that included going to a succulent and cactus show, but I did take a picture of the two tops together. Which one is your favorite? 

Me Made May - week 2 round-up

Week 2 meant I had officially run out of (sewn) things to wear only once. There are going to be repeats.

Day 4- Cambie. I didn't leave the house this day, so wearing this crazy-ass dress wasn't too much. I think there is a very finite set of situations that this dress is appropriate for.

Day 5- Stripe Study shawl with everything else RTW. This baby is handspun and handknit. I love it.

Day 6 - (unblogged) On Wednesdays We Wear Black dress. 

Day 7 - Pressure Point (band) hoodie and camo Movies in the Park shorts. 

Day 8- here's where it gets ugly. I just didn't have it in me to find something in the back of my closet to wear. I cheated, by wearing a necklace that I made. (hella cute RTW top from Target.)

Day 9 - Datura, which I ought to name the Friday Datura because I seem to wear it on Fridays. 

Day 10 - Tattooed Grandpa dress with a belt. Will never wear it again without one! 

It was a pretty good week! I have some serious blogging to catch up on with details of some of these projects but most of them are chronicled on Instagram. And like I said last week, I'm trying to get and keep my Kollabora projects up to date, whether blogged or not. It's not totally there yet, but close!