Me Made Made - week 1

 

Day 1: Dixie DIY Movies in the Park Shorts in camo (unblogged) with a Out Crowd (hardcore band) shirt
Day 2: Datura blouse (unblogged) with RTW shorts
Day 3: Simplicity 2444 dress (unblogged) with RTW hoodie from Target AND Tudor setting necklace from the etsy shop.

     

I guess I have a few finished objects to catch up on, huh? I'm trying to also get everything on Kollabora, whether it's blogged or not. It's like the Ravelry for sewing that I've been asking for for YEARS! I'm excited about it. 

In addition to Selfish Sewing Week '14 ...

It's Me Made May!

Me Made May is great because I am completely the kind of person who makes beautiful things and then they sit in a closet because I wear black band tee shirts and jeans or shorts every day. Plus, I make a lot of weird stuff. Especially with knitting, because I am a process knitter to the nth degree. Exhibits A, B, and C. And I like boring knits! Luckily, I discovered Martina Behm's patterns which are all right up my alley. I have a Viajante in progress.

Here's my pledge:

'I, Jess of http://tartanhearts.blogspot.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear something I have created each day for the duration of May 2014'

This will be a stretch for me, and I have a feeling that I may be stretching definitions from time-to-time. But I promise to do my best, for the sake of my self-made wardrobe!

Selfish Sewing Week 2014 + Kollabora

For me, every week is Selfish Sewing Week! I did something very out of the ordinary today and looked for patterns for some gift sewing. (My oldest cousin is expecting and baby projects are quick enough to consider doing.) Ninety-nine percent of the time, everything I make is for me but let's pretend that I need an excuse to sew things for me for a week.

I wrapped up my final Sew Dolly Clackett dress last Friday, at the very last minute and still have to write up a post for it and Sew Dolly Clackett dress #3. For once, I have no sewing WsIP! I mean, I guess my Datura counts because I haven't sewn the binding on the bottom yet because I ran out of black thread. I have worn it twice, sans binding, so I'm considering it a FO.

I have a few things on my radar:

- Thurlow shorts, in a grey twill from Jo-Ann. I'm hoping they will be a wearable muslin and not a wadder. Tissue-fitting FOR SURE. This one is in the mail. Fabric already washed and pressed, ready to pin and cut.

- Simplicity 1882 in this floral for IORG. I need to make it floor-length, and have been procrastinating about that for months. Simple, but I'm still putting it off.

- another Datura, with the remnants from the Tattooed Grandpa dress

- thinking today about doing a white dress for Highland performances, a la: https://www.tartantown.com/highland-dance-shop/product/5431-unique-patterns-lilt-dress or possibly using another pattern entirely. I have about ten different places I'd like to start with sewing for dance and none of them are actually needed on any kind of timeline.

I tend to make a lot of plans and then end up making something on the fly that was not planned whatsoever, so it will be interesting to see what actually happens!

FO: the Tattooed Grandpa dress for Sew Dolly Clackett

Pattern: Simplicity 2444 with a gathered skirt - $1.99 pattern on sale
Fabric: Sailor Jerry fabric purchased in 2007(ish). Dyed from white to grey with Pearl Grey Rit dye - $??
Mods: Obviously, gathered skirt. Used bias tape for binding neckline, armholes, and bottom of skirt. Wish I'd thought to put piping in the waist! Graded neckline down from 18 (main size) to 12.
Total cost: $1.99 + $4 zipper + $2 bias tape + $?? fabric =

This is seriously my favorite thing that I have ever made.

Ever.

I found this fabric at my LFS sometime around 2007- long enough ago that I don't have a clue how much I paid or why I had something like 2 1/3 yards. Maybe a little end of blot bit? Who knows. I do know that I went absolutely nuts when I found it because I love Sailor Jerry tattoo flash. (My first tattoo was a Sailor Jerry piece, though sadly not one of the ones on the dress.) This fabric sat in a drawer for 7 years before Sew Dolly Clackett came along and I knew this fabric was a perfect fit. My only problem was that it had a white background. I never wear white because A) I hate it and B) nothing stays white. I'm too messy! So I dyed it.

I highly recommend dyeing with Rit in your washer. It was super easy to do and I got great results! I used two packets of Pearl Grey, with one cup of salt, as per the directions. (I had to heat it on the stove beforehand to mix the powder so I'm sure with the liquid dye it would be even more of a snap.) The directions suggested  washing for at least a half-hour and I definitely did that. I think it went through at least 4 periods of the agitation cycle. The longer you leave it in and the more constant the agitation is, the more even the final color will be. Since I am not a tie-dye kind of girl, the washing machine was ideal and made it a lot easier than trying to do this by hand for an hour. Everything went very smoothly and I highly recommend trying this process if you have some fabric that you like but want to change.



This was my first 2444 finished dress, and I love it! I consider the first FO of any pattern a wearable muslin, because you really never know how you will like a fit until you wear it a few times and really get the feel of it standing, sitting, in the car, etc. I like 2444 a lot, although it could be improved on. I would like a scoopier and less boat-neck neckline. The facings for this just ... UGH! Did not work. I'm not sure if it was weirdness because I did a little grading of the neckline (Used 18 width but cut down to a 12 to make it scoopier.) The binding was perfect, regardless. I wish that I had thought to put piping in at the waist, because that really would have completed the whole thing.

I ended up being able to squeeze this out of less than 2 yards (because of the gathered/dirndl skirt) and ended up with enough to make a(nother) Datura blouse out of the leftovers. More on Datura in a subsequent post. I haven't actually started that one yet.

"Hey, you're wearing a green dress. What, are you Irish? I bet you're Irish." FO: Dolly Cricket dress!

Nothing to disclose.



I finally did some fancy pictures for my Cambie dress. I decided to enter it into Sew Dolly Clackett, so I took a page out of Dolly Clackett herself's book and took pictures in front of my front door. Glad all my little plants are blooming! 





This was why I added extra fabric to the skirt: to be able to wear it to dance in on St. Patrick's Day. Holding the skirt is part of all of my favorite dances. This is me on the local news dancing in the dress: http://www.news10.net/videos/life/2014/03/17/6549351/



I'm a sucker for a dress with pockets.

I'm not a sucker for a dress that puts the "ass" in "massive", and this does. I didn't add that much to the skirt, so I have to assume that I'm not the only one with this problem. Especially because the waistband hits below my natural waist, it really makes the lower half of the dress look BIG. The fabric design doesn't help. If I remade this, and I very well might, I would definitely take fabric out of the skirt or do view A. This has actually reverse-inspired me to make some pencil skirts and tighter fitting things because this is so big. The fit could have been better, but I always consider the first item done from a pattern to be a muslin. You never know how you will feel about fit until you put in a zipper and wash it a few times and wear it all day long. I know that for future Cambies, tighter is better in the bodice. I will probably wear a belt with it, too, but haven't tried that yet.

I do love this dress and plan to wear it to a lot of the Celtic events that I attend, when I'm not wearing dance costumes and the like. I LOVE that I can wear a "regular" bra with it, and I've been meaning to put some ribbon strap-holders in the shoulders. It's very comfortable to wear and despite being pretty out there (i.e. covered in shamrocks and clover) no one has said anything weird or otherwise about it.

Pattern: Sewaholic Cambie
Fabric: Heather Ross Briar Rose Cricket Clover in Yellow Clover (quilting cotton)
Alterations/Mods: added fabric to skirt
Dress stats: fully lined, vintage metal zipper
Cost: fabric $15, pattern $24 ($18+shipping), zipper - stash = $39
Started 2/27/14, finished 3/02/14

Verdict: Dress B+, Pattern A

Second sewing FO: Cambie!

nothing to disclose




YAY!

Pattern: Sewaholic Cambie
Fabric: Heather Ross Briar Rose Cricket Clover in Yellow Clover (quilting cotton)
mods: added fabric to skirt

I feel in LOVE with this fabric the instant I saw it. I work in an Irish pub; I have a shamrock tattoo; I needed this fabric like air. I had a hard time choosing what color I wanted, since there were 3. The others had a more chartreuse green, and had I been able to see them in person I probably would have picked one of them. But going only off pictures on the internet, I knew this would be a safe bet. (And thank you to Anna for getting it to me!)

I used a vintage zipper that belonged to a family friend whose sewing stash I inherited. It is a metal zipper painted white, that has quite a lot of wear but looks really neat. It quite clearly had been used in a previous garment and removed. I did an exposed zip although I don't have any pictures of it.

I'm pretty happy with the fit of the dress. It could be better, but I was erring on the side of being not too tight because the muslin seemed tight. It doesn't bother me enough to take it in, but if I make another one, I will make the bodice tighter below the bust. The sleeves/straps are GREAT! I love not having to worry about wearing a specific bra for a dress or even a strapless one. I could probably even wear a sports bra for when I dance on St. Patrick's Day.

Verdict" A+ would make again

this week in TartanHeartsLand

I did a few pretty cool things this week.

1. I went to Costco by myself, like a real grown-up.

2. I got to make several heart-shaped jewelry pieces, which I LOVE! The Saltire (bottom, it's the Scottish flag) will be coming soon to my shop. It came out so well. It'd be a great key chain.

3. I've not done any sewing, but I've been doing some sewing prep and figuring out what my next project will be. I have the pattern and fabric to do a Simplicity 1882, but it will be another floor-length Rainbow dress. BUT! I'm thinking I need an every day dress that will see more than the inside of a lodge. I am leaning heavily towards a Sewaholic Cambie and I have a couple of fabric ideas. I really love sweetheart necklines and sleeveless dresses, so I hope it's the match made in heaven that I think it will be. 

Here's Moe helping me lay some fabric out. (It's leftovers from one of my dance costumes from 10+ years ago. I have a little over two yards, I think. I didn't get a chance to actually measure because Moe was too funny.)  

Several people on instagram suggested that he needs a hand-sewn dog bed. NO. No he does not. He prefers the couch, anyway. 

4. I'm going to Stitches West tomorrow! I've gone the last two years and it's a blast! I'll be at the LSG meetup Saturday night, which is never a let-down. I'm amazed Bennigan's lets us come back. 

The fun part about Stitches is that I am now spinning. I'm not looking for yarn at all, but spinning fiber instead. 

back on the sewing wagon.

Which is literally the title of a post I did in 2010: http://tartanhearts.blogspot.com/2010/03/back-on-sewing-wagon.html

Sewing isn't my favorite thing. It doesn't come naturally to me the way that knitting and other fiber-related crafts to. I have to really think about it and take my time. And the worst part is that mistakes are so much harder to fix. Especially when it comes to cutting.

But when you combine being 5'10" and generally not petite, fitting ridiculous dress codes (Highland dance, DOS, IORG, etc.) and it almost becomes a necessity. Plus it seems like I want to sew every year at this time. Winter blahs? Who knows.

Point is, I made a dress.

(I still have not taken nice pictures of this dress, so selfies will have to suffice!)

I even did it properly and did a test-run muslin.



This was the dress pre-alterations:



I ended up taking it in about 3-4" in the waist. I could have easily done a size or even two sizes smaller but I really wasn't sure how much ease I would want in a finished garment that was fully-lined.





Finished specs:

Pattern: McCall's 3129 (Patternreview)

Fabric: This rainbow polka dot stuff from Hobby Lobby. (I had a gift card. I was not impressed with them at all so I do not feel bad about not shopping there.) It is perfect for IORG, which is what it was intended for.

Alterations: Took in the waist about 4". Added full lining (which was so easy and I am so glad I did). Should have lengthened it (and the pattern was great about how to lengthen/shorten), because it's about ankle length instead of top-of-my-foot/floor length. Nothing major.

Notes: The zipper installation instructions sucked, and I am very glad that the internet and many of the wonderful tutorials out there exist. I have installed zippers before but needed a refresher. I forgot that I don't care about using invisible zippers, and won't waste my time with that in the future. I have never done a lapped zipper, which I am looking into presently.

Verdict: I would sew it again, but I probably won't because there are too many other gorgeous patterns out there begging to be sewn. Sewaholic Cambie is on my list to be done next. Or Simplicity 1882.

Fountain Pen Day!

(I do know I'm 4 days late. Shhhhh!)

My rotation for Fountain Pen Day 2013 (left to right):
Platinum Preppy fine/03,
 Noodler's Nib Creaper flex in Carniolan Honey,
 Lamy Safari Apple Green 2012 LE fine,
 FPR Dilli flex pen,
 Noodler's Ahab flex in Hudson Bay Fathom's Blue,
 Platinum Preppy 05/medium purple,
 Serwex 162 fine,
 Noodler's Clear Nib Creaper.

I'm probably cheating here because I hadn't cracked the purple Preppy cartridge yet, but I plan to soon, so I left it in. I have a rainbow going and I now need some red/pink and maybe a little black  to complete it.

It's not really fair to tell you what inks are here because you can't see them but they are:
Blue Platinum cartridge
Private Reserve 'Avacado'
Noodler's 'Heart of Darkness'
Noodler's 'Black Swan in Australian Roses'
Diamine Oxblood
Purple Platinum cartridge
De Atramentis 'Plum'
Noodler's Antietam

*All products here were purchased by me for my own use and review. 

when things don't always work out as they should. (plus an ink review?)

I had this brilliant idea to do fountain pen ink reviews.

I have gotten super into fountain pens and ink is kind of like nail polish in that ten people using the same ink (or polish) will have ten different experiences and opinions. I end up reading tons of reviews that often cover the same or similar products, albeit inks, pens or paper.

So, since I've bought a ton of samples lately (and a ton of pens) I decided to start writing out some reviews. Everything was going smoothly so far.

Then I scanned them.



Firstly, my scanner refuses to can the entire page. Not sure why. Obviously, I don't use it very often. There isn't even anything about this in the manual! (Next time I'm going to try scanning it still on the pad and see if having three dimensions helps. Also considering drawing borders.)

Secondly, this color is not even close to the actual color.

Then I googled: https://www.google.com/search?q=noodler's+black+swan+in+australian+roses&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=5iNwUtTzNuGBiwKr04DgCA&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=643

It seems to show up this way in everyone's photos and scans, so I don't feel as bad.

In reality, it is a much more red purple. Almost a burgundy. It isn't as red as Black Swan in English Roses, but is still more red than it shows above. It's a nice color. It's not my favorite, as I've yet to find a purple that has really wowed me.

The pen, the Fountain Pen Revolution Dilli flex pen is fantastic! I adore it and it is currently my favorite. It's highly versatile and can write from a very fine line to a fat, flex-y puddle. The pen and ink combination here was ideal, because BSAR shades so well. I anticipate picking up at least one more.

I'm a bit discouraged and re-thinking this ink review thing. I'm going to try scanning a few more and see what happens. Please, any feedback is welcome.

*All products here were purchased by me for my own use and review. 


ETA: I decided to not include swabs because I think swabs can be kind of misleading about how a color writes. How it looks in a big ol' blobs is not really relevant for me because I am only writing and not doing art. Plus, everyone posts as swab so I really don't need to. Right?