Vespabelle Sews

A T-shirt at Last

2010-08-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

I have finally finished a t-shirt! woo woo!

It's based on this Butterick from 1978:

I like the raglan look in the front. The shoulder comes over from the back. I always struggle with getting the shoulder seam in the right place (I have very square shoulders that are forward which seems unusual. I used to think I was broad shouldered, but I think that's not actually true, I'm just very square rather than sloped.

I also like that there's a center back seam for better shaping. I still need to make some tweaks to the back for my rounded back. I have to say that I kicked butt on the stripe matching on the back and sides!

The fabric is a cotton/lycra knit that I bought at The Fabric Fairy at least 18 months ago (maybe longer.)

I had to rip out the shoulder seam and re-do it after a few hours because it was driving me nuts and I'm glad I did. The neckline was just too drape-y beforehand. It's still a little saggy but not so much that it irritates me.

Next up: planning for Halloween!!! (I noticed I did not blog last years's costume for my daughter which won 2nd place in the Pattern Review contest!) shocking! and also an outfit or two to wear to my cousin-in-law's wedding in New York.

I've got your fit, right here in my pants!

2010-03-08T21:33:00.000-08:00

I had my first pants fitting class tonight. I got the tissue fitted. I added a lot of tissue to the pattern including in the length which seems odd. I don't think I have particularly long legs. I guess the Butterick Connie Crawford patterns run "short."

I have a pretty significantly tipped waist, so I still need to do some figuring at the waistband.

When I bought the pattern for my fitting class, I also bought a pattern for a knit pant. I hope I can use what i learn in the pant fitting class to make a nice pair of lounging around pants.

I'm not sure if I'll buy fabric or use stash. I definitely need new black pants. I have some black wool in my stash, but that might require lining (an also potentially dry cleaning!) I have some purple twill, but I think purple pants are pretty impractical! (ooh, alliterative!) I guess I should do some digging to see what I have before I buy anything.

At an estate sale this weekend I bought a few patterns including some pretty groovy early 1960s knee length shorts. I think if i actually get the fit right (aka, big enough in the inner thigh) that I could actually wear shorts! I don't know because I hate the crotch creep.

Off to sleep and dreams of fitting pants!

quilt top for Sacha

2010-02-07T11:58:00.001-08:00

quilt top
Originally uploaded by Becky says Woot!

Just in time! My cousin had her baby on Thursday and I had the top and most of the bottom done by then. I still need to finish this up. I'm not sure how to quilt it though. Maybe just straight lines since i haven't done any quilting in a long long time

wow, time flies and quilting.

2010-01-20T13:15:00.000-08:00

So, I have been a very bad blogger, sucked into facebook and other social media.

One friend and two relatives are pregnant so I've decided to make baby quilts! There are so many cool quilt patterns floating around the internet and in books.

I bought fabric, but before I could start on the quilt, I forced myself to work on some UFOs. A burda wrap blouse and a refashion of a fleece jacket into a vest for Greta. I still have a skirt that needs to be done (waistband and hemming and maybe a lining) but I'll do that after quilt #1 is done.

I'm working on the Daisy Mae quilt from Valori Well's book first. Not sure who it'll go to. It's not super "baby" which I think is better anyway. The quilt will be 42" x 60" which is longer than most baby quilts. I decided to use that dimension because the baby quilt that Greta uses the most is that size. (it's an eye spy type quilt with a US map panel on the back.)

I've got all my fabric squares and strips cut out. So, soon, I begin to sew!

wedding skirt is done~

2008-12-21T16:26:00.000-08:00

I finished the skirt to wear to the wedding. But our camera is not working so no pics. I think it's a tad too long, but maybe I can fix that next year.

I still need to hem my blouse and add a hook/eye.

the snowpocalypse have caused any plans of remaking the blouse in a different fabric to disappear.

other sewing projects to do before we leave for SFO on Tuesday: small embroidered label, a purse for a small girl, and two sock monkies. (um, yeah, might not get those sock monkies done.)

duh!

2008-12-14T22:24:00.000-08:00

I cut out the lining for my skirt to wear to BIL's wedding. I thought to my self: oh, I didn't mark the darts, so I pulled out the pattern pieces and found out I'd cut out the pieces for view A rather than view C!

Luckily, I bought enough lining to cut out two skirt's worth. I labeled the wrong lining for a future skirt and re-cut out the proper pieces.

I also cut out the facings from the wrong set. But now that i think about it, I will probably do a regular waistband because faced waistbands seem to shift around and slide up. I still need to get some grosgrain ribbon or twill tape to reinforce the waistband.

I also cut out two muslins for my top. I may actually wear a tucked in shirt. I'm going to ask Dave which one he likes better (hopefully he will be able to see beyond the weird pattern of my muslin fabric (it was the only chiffon-y, silky thing in my stash.

abandon ship!

2008-12-11T22:45:00.000-08:00

For the upcoming wedding, I started making a vintage dress pattern. I tissue fit and then realized the fabric I wanted to use was too stiff. bah. I think I'll use the pattern for a summer wedding since it'll be better in a very flowy fabric.

So, I thought, Hey, I've got McCall 5466 in the stash, I'll make that since it'll be better with the heavier weight wool lycra blend I want to use.

UGH. This pattern is ALL WRONG for my body type! So, back into the envelope it goes. I may try to remake it some time with some major modifications, but for now, I don't have the patience!

So, I am making a skirt. I'm using a "tried 'n' true" New Look basic A-line skirt. But I'm adding a ruffle to the back from a skirt in the Otona No Couture Skirts book. You can see the cover at the Japan Couture Addicts site. It's book 65 on their list. (no one else has made it though. boo!)

I recklessly cut into my fashion fabric ($2.99/yd Pendelton wool.lycra!) and pinned the pieces together. Fit is GO! So I cut out the ruffles from the Japanese book (enlarging by FOUR sizes from their largest which is a 38" hip [size 13]) and pinned htose to the back. AND IT LOOKS good.

and I am so sad because my camera is toast and I can't take a picture of it!

No all I have to do is: finish the skirt, sew two nightgowns, embroider and sew a lunchbag, applique a onesie and figure out which blouse to make AND make the blouse! all in one week.

I'm thinking of making a Burda WOF for the top in a stretch satin. But that may be courting disaster.

tailoring

2008-12-02T21:47:00.000-08:00

I've been inspired by all the great coats people have been making lately. I checked out three tailoring books from the library. And I bought some purple wool from the Pendleton outlet ($4.50/yd!) it's a pretty plum color. I hope it looks good on me.

Now, all I have to do it pick out the pattern I want to use. I'm drawn to doing something simple, but I also saw this cool coat at Foundation on Alberta St. I don't like how it gapes at the bottom, but the neck treatment is cool. (I like funnel necks even though every style guide says they are bad for people with big boobs.)

Tonight, I almost finished my lace skirt. Now I just have to figure out how to hem, and what to wear with it! I was planning on wearing it to see A Christmas Carol on Thursday (in 2 days!) so I"m not sure if I'll be able to make a top to go with it.

good stuff

2008-11-08T22:03:00.000-08:00

I bought 3 yards of stretch wool gabardine, 4 yards of pinstriped black wool (with two green stripes), 7 or 8 yards (I forget) of plain wool gabardine and 3 yards brown wool which was not labled stretch but sure feels stretchy for $47!!! at the Pendleton outlet! woo!

Also, our friend Karen called and she had tickets to the Doc Martens warehouse sale and I bought a Greta a pair of boots and three pairs of mary janes (including 1 a size too big to grow into) I got a pair of mary janes, a pair of red wedgie sandals and a pair of cornflower-ish blue wedge heels. Dave bought a pair of brown shoes too. Total cost $180 for 8 pairs of really nice shoes! woo!

now I have to rethink what to wear to Mike and Sara's wedding because I have these cool cornflower blue heels that I could wear.

Not Enough Fabric Woes

2008-05-18T22:07:00.000-07:00

I finished my muslin and am happy with the fit of McCall 5314. It has a circle skirt and thus requires nearly 6 yards of fabric.

The fabric I wanted to use is six yards, but in two cuts, so I couldn't get it all out of that. Then while talking about clothing in hot climates like North Africa and India, I realized that I could use my sari fabric for this since Saris are usually at least 6 yards long.

I had to squeeze and do some piecing but I got the pattern pieces cut out tonight! whew!

The sari is a faux-bandhani ((printed design, not truly tie-dyed). I have a real badhani scarf that my husband bought in India back in 1995, but sadly, it totally rotted and had to be thrown out.

I made good use of the border print, with it running down the edge of the wrap skirt.

pattern review silk contest

2008-04-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

I'm almost done with my blouse for the One Fabric: Silk contest on pattern review. My hope is to get at least one vote! But, the ones already posted are pretty great. Tough competition!

I'm doing a lot of hand sewing (bottom and sleeve hems.) The silk pulls a lot when sewing. ugh. Charmeuse is so evil, foxfire doesn't recognize it!

picks when I'm finished.

Floral Jumper

2008-02-22T09:41:00.001-08:00

I made this floral jumper for my daughter out of a piece of floral pique from my stash. I finally realized that this print is not something I'd ever wear. I also didn't have enough to make myself anything!

The bodice is based on the top of a jumper. I didn't have a lot of fabric, so the skirt is not very full. (I think that's the style these days!)

Advent calendar!

2007-11-29T17:10:00.001-08:00

I finished this advent calendar a few days ago. I've been working on it in semi-secret for a few weeks now.

The background is cream cotton (plain and a small calico print.) The tree is various soft green fabrics (a velveteen, some babycord, flannel) I had in the stash of scraps, I quilted the background and the trees using my sewing machine.

The pockets are random red fabrics that I embellished with the days of the month. Some are embroidered, others are beaded. There are some with sequins.

The ornaments are made of felt. I tried to make them Christmasy but not snowy (because I've always disliked the idea that Christmas = snow because I grew up in and currently live where it does not snow at Christmas.) There are no snowmen! boo!

I am missing two ornaments in this pic. There's a tree in my sewing room and something else is missing but I don't know what! Maybe I'll make a little dog or cat to go with the mouse/rat.

check out my flickr for more pics (very high res versions so you can see the ornaments.)

Don't sew so much

2007-11-13T18:20:00.001-08:00

Don't sew so much
Originally uploaded by vespabelle

My daughter wrote me this note last night after two frustrating attempts at making her some pants. I finally figured it out late last night! And I made her some knit pants (the wovens were not happening!) that she actually likes!

She likes them! yay!

They're a cheapo grey heathered muslin so we might dye them or just use them as PJ pants.

Don't sew so much

2007-11-13T18:11:00.001-08:00

Don't sew so much
Originally uploaded by vespabelle

Sewing has caused a rift between my daughter and I! Of course, she got over it and is now happy about the pants I finally made for her after three frustrating attempts yesterday. (the attempts that caused my cranky, hungry child to write me this love letter.)

Flickr

2007-11-13T18:01:00.001-08:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Goth Bride

2007-10-31T18:54:00.001-07:00

P1080684
Originally uploaded by vespabelle

I made Greta a "Goth Bride" outfit for Christmas this year. Basically it's a long white dress! I used a vintage pattern and made it floor length and added a godet because the skirt wasn't too puffy and I thought it needed some walking room.
The sleeves and skirt of the dress are made from an eyelet I used this summer to make a shirt (that I still haven't put buttons on!) The eyelet fabric had scalloped selvedges so I used that as the bottom: NO HEMMING! ha ha The bodice is a terrible white satin (fray fray fray!)

I used some old white shirts to make some leggings and a top to wear underneath. Greta ended up leaving the house wrapped in a piece of red fleece. Hopefully she'll be warm enough!

I made the veil using some swiss dot from my stash (sadly, not enough of this to do much of anything, so it was sacrificed for the cause!)

what's going on

2007-10-19T12:45:00.000-07:00

I'm not seeing my flickr pics. hmm, must investigate.

1943 dress

2007-10-02T09:44:00.001-07:00

croppedP1080274
Originally uploaded by vespabelle

Here's the 1943 dress I made to wear to Chris's wedding this weekend. (still need to make a hotel reservation!)

I found the PERFECT hat at an estate sale on Saturday. $14 (which is more than I usually pay, but I figured it was okay since I also bought an armload of patterns for $.25 each. I also bought some Vogue knitting mags which have sold pretty well on ebay which also helps justify the price of the hat.

I need a haircut though. The hat does not work with hair this long.

My review is up on patternreview.com.

I entered it into the vintage sewing contest but there's no way I'm coming close to winning. There are some really gorgeous couture dresses!

vintage sewing contest

2007-09-25T20:13:00.001-07:00

vintage sewing contest
Originally uploaded by vespabelle

I finished the first item in the Vintage Sewing contest at Pattern Review.

This is a late 1950s/early 1960s (it's hard to date since this style didn't change much) dress by Simplicity. It's a pretty basic style. I really like the way this pattern went together. I didn't have the instructions, so I used the ones for another similar (Butterick) pattern.

Greta is 7, yet she fits just fine into a size 4. I lengthened the hem by 2 inches. I like the higher waist on this (so different than her usual pants around her hips look.)

Tissue Fitting Simplicity 4949

2007-09-09T12:01:00.001-07:00

Tissue Fitting Simplicity 4949
Originally uploaded by vespabelle

I did a tissue fitting of my vintage pattern. (I tissue fit it on me, but that's a photo I do not want posted on the internet!)

I added some room to the top using the slash and spread method but I think I added to much. I took off a bunch when I made my muslin (which I will not post since it's quite ugly fabric)

I really need to learn not to add so much when doing a FBA. I've got big boobs, but I also like less ease than many patterns call for! I added a bit to the sides, but took that out too since it seemed to flair out on the sides too much.

Theres's a recommendation in a sewing text I have that has a technique for chaning the shape of the skirt so that the crossgrain isn't straight across your hips, which causes that outward flair. I don't know if I dare do it on my fashion fabric or not? I may make a small 1/2 adjustment.

Pattern for Vintage Sewing Contest

2007-09-09T11:57:00.001-07:00

Pattern for Vintage Sewing Contest
Originally uploaded by vespabelle

I've decided to enter the vintage sewing contest at Pattern Review. This is one of the dresses I've decided to make.

I'm also going to make a basic dress for Greta using a vintage pattern I have. I have to figure out how to make a crinoline so she gets that super poofy vintage look! I think I'll just wing the slip/crinolinefor her

My plans also include making a purse and a slip (my fabric is a sheer rayon) and I might attempt to make a hat using instructions from the book It's Fun to Make A Hat (love that title!)

Cutting out for my SWAP

2007-05-11T11:48:00.000-07:00

Two days ago, I cut out the eyelet for my princess seamed top. And Last night I layed out my printed eyelet for my dress. (I have enough fabric! yay!) I want to sew them at the same time since they're both cream.

However, I can not find the thread I bought recently! I big spool of cream and a regular spool of olive green. I'm sure they're floating around somewhere in my house!

adding to my Threads collection

2007-05-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

I scored 10 late 80s-early 90s issues of Threads at an estate sale last weekend. The knitting and weaving (and basketry!) articles don't do much for me, but the sewing tips (despite the now-dated fashions and makeup!) are still great.

2007-05-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

This is my first project in my SWAP:

Vogue 9614

The fabric is a cream floral eyelet.

Sewing With A Plan

2007-05-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

I've entered the SWAP contest at patternreview.com

Here's my storyboard for the SWAP (aka Sewing with a Plan) at Pattern Review.

After working on the storyboard. I made several changes. (I'll try to update my storyboard as well.)

1) The green dress will be something different (a vintage patttern from my stash) This vintage green gingham is too cool to use on a newish dress.)

2) The green knit will become a cowl neck sleeveless top

3) The cream eyelet will be made into a princess seamed top.

4) I'm not going to make the olive green wrap top. I need to figure out something else for that one!

The pants, jacket, skirt out of denim remain the same. I think I'll still make the floral eyelet dress (although, I wonder, will I really wear it? I don't know how I feel about a light colored dress.)

Defunct Airlines skirt

2007-04-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

P1070414
Originally uploaded by vespabelle.

I found this funky fabric at SCRAP. I didn't have enough to make the whole skirt out of it, so I used it for the front and back panels only.

Maybe having a white seat area on a skirt is a bad idea?

Most of the airlines on this fabric (copyright 1973) are defunct such as Eastern, Western, Pan Am, and Ozarks.

There are a few more pics on my flickr.

delicious cords

2007-01-21T17:57:00.000-08:00

P1070081
Originally uploaded by vespabelle.

Some cute cordoroy fabric I bought a few months ago. Plus some calicos and a cute rayon print.

I love baby-wale cord!

party banner

2007-01-21T17:49:00.000-08:00

I've seen several versions of similar banners on different blogs lately, so I thought I'd post mine.

I was inspired by a banner that a local kids store was selling. I liked the banner, but not the price: $45!

This one cost me close to nothing since it's mostly made from scraps and bias tape from an estate sale. So, my total cost was less than $5 (and I think I'm being conservative.

I first made a template of a triangle.

Then I folded my fabric and placed the short side of the triangle on the folded edge.

I cut out the triangle using pinking shears.

I cut out letters from felt and sewed them on one side of the triangle pennants.

Then I sewed the triangles over the bias tape. (I think twill tape or ribbon would work a bit better.)

Nothing comes between me and my Calvins!

2007-01-21T12:25:00.000-08:00

Here's Greta looking crabby in her new Calvin Klein jeans! I finished these a few days ago.

The pattern is a bit different than most kids patterns in terms of size. There's 4 inches difference between the waist and the hips (for this size 5, the it was a 19" waist and 23" hips!) Frankly, I don't know any kindergarteners who have waists that much smaller than their hips.

At first, I made the waist too small (too tight elastic) and had to let out the elastic on the back yolk. (You can't see it in the picture here because my model was being uncooperative.)

The changes I made:
Lengthened the legs a bit
Added a little tab on the back.
Used a rivit/button instead of a sewn on button.

What I did wrong:
The back pockets are not even. I think you can see it in the back view but it's not so noticible considering she's in constant motion!
I put put the buttonhole on the waistband too high. It worked out, but doesn't look so great.

I think they're pretty good looking jeans. I plan to make these again in some of the soft baby-wale cord I got at an estate sale in December.

Advent is here!

2006-12-01T09:36:00.000-08:00

For someone who doesn't believe in the divinity of Jesus, I sure dig Christmas!

One of my favorite modern Christmas traditions is clicking on Leslie Harpold's Advent Calendar. Each day there's a Christmas themed flash thingy or poem and a link to a Christmas memory. Greta especially enjoys the flash games.

Be sure to go to the main site and check out the prior year's calendars as well. They're a real treat.

edited to add: Six days after I posted this, Leslie Harpold died. So sad. She will be missed

Party Dress - It's Party Time

2006-11-16T10:04:00.000-08:00

Actually it's "gnash your teeth out!" time.

I've decided to wear a western party dress to the wedding I'm going to in India in December. I was going to wear this to the Scooter holiday dinner, but the dinner is the night before we leave, so we might skip it this year. I'm making this dress:

Isn't it gorgeous! It is not, a halter dress as the illustration seems to indicate.

That gathered midrif band is actually a tie that wraps around from the back, across the front, and ties in the back. Sounds complicated? Here's the back bodice pattern piece:

I had to hang it on the wall to be able to photograph it! Luckily, I shouldn't need to make an adjustment to the back because it's sleeveless.

More complications, I cut out a size 14. Because I cut out this size I need to do a full bust adjustment. The complication is that this bodice doesn't have darts!

Front pattern piece:

I flip open Fit For Real People to refresh my memory and lose my nerve. I decide to trace the pattern onto plain tissue and cut into that.

and cut I did! After doing a really rough tissue fitting (there are no side seams on this dress to pin together!) I did the standard full bust adjustment cutting and filling with tissue.

(sorry this is so dark. Click on this or any of the pictures to go to the full sized version)

But since this wraps around and has no side seams (!) I had to rotate the bust dart! So, I rotated the dart to the waist where it would be covered by the ties:

Oh, and to make this dress even more complicated, I'm going to make it in plaid taffeta (one of the fabrics that Butterick deems "unsuitable" for this pattern.) Hey, this taffeta was cheap, it's midnight blue and black with silver also. And it is darn hard to photograph well:

I'm going to make a muslin (out of a Christmas taffeta because that's the only scrap taffeta I have.) and I'll post that when I'm done.

Burda 9373 - Christmas Dress.

2006-11-13T20:00:00.000-08:00

A Christmas Dress

Pattern: Burda
Size: 116
Fabric: two different stretch corduroys

This pattern was a snap to put together. The instructions are very clear although I didn't follow them exactly. The insturctions call for a zig-zag top stitch on the skirt but I thought that would cause the corduroy to buckle so I used a plain straight stitch.

I like that the pattern reminded me which way is "up" on corduory.

I also like that the neckline uses a self-front facing and bias tape facing on the neck. I hate facings so it was nice to see this method in the instructions.

Greta picked out the fabric and buttons for this dress (I would not have chosen such pointy buttons!) She'll be taking it to Alaska to wear for Christmas with the grandparents.

My daughter said while I was making the dress that wanted a top that in her words "flares out at the bottom." She drew me a picture of what she wanted and luckily, it is quite simmilar to View B of this pattern. I think I'm going to get a lot of use out of this one.

I should be able to add some different details (like piping between the layers and doing two layers of flouce) and use some "wilder" fabric choices to give it that "Euro Boutique" look rather than the "Country Christmas" look the current version of the dress has.

making this blog pretty

2006-11-12T09:37:00.000-08:00

I'm attempting to make my blog prettier. Hmmm, not working so well! more work to be done!

Burda

2006-11-10T16:18:00.000-08:00

This is what I'm currently working on:

I'm working on a wearable muslin right now. It's a weird purple/white/pink/blue floral print. It was once someone's dress. I bought the fabric at an estate sale or a thrift store. It's a nice soft cotton that someone either gave up on or used and then attempted to reuse.

My final version I hope to make out of a very thin cotton with woven dots. I should scan the fabric since it's pretty nifty. (I bought it in olive green and black as well.)

Ready Set... blog!

2006-11-10T16:14:00.000-08:00

This is my new blog where I'll be posting about my sewing adventures.

I'm working on several projects right now. I'm going to have several projects going at one time so that I can alternate between projects when I get frustrated!