One Down . . .

and one to go.

That was a bit of a stretch for me.  The directions for the pockets was weird, I've never done a proper lining before, and organza made me nervous. I didn't follow all the directions exactly:

•  I didn't properly turn the sleeve lining & the main lining and hand stitch them together. Instead, I basted them together and then serged the seam to clean it up. It's not as nice as if I'd done it properly, but at least it's done. My hand sewing is garbage anyway.

• I didn't do a "narrow hem" on the edges of the organza. Instead, I serged the edges and then turned them under twice. I knew that if I just pressed it and sewed it down, it would be terribly uneven. From a distance, it looks kind of like a ribbon edge. Up close, I've decided it looks like "faux lace."  I would love to have a rolled edge foot for my machine, because I think that would be the nicest finish of all.

•  I topstitched all around the outer edges. I wanted to make sure that lining stayed in place, I didn't want to slip stitch the opening where I'd turned it, and I think it gives it a nice finished edge. 

Detail on the pocket.

• I did NOT make the fabric loops on the back and the tie to go through them. I hate making teeny narrow bands of fabric that I have to turn right side out.  I used satin ribbon instead, and I like the contrast in color. Also, I only did six instead of ten. Seriously--ten. No way. I didn't even bother with the measuring tape to make sure they were evenly spaced.

I did hand sew the collar on, using invisible thread.  I think it adds a great flourish on top.

The pockets had me so confused at first (that flap!), and I'm still not crazy about the directions, but I do like the final look of them. Still, I've told Sarah not to put anything heavy in them.

I really like the fabric we got--it irons up well (I've ironed the hell out of this thing), and from a distance it looks like it could be leather or suede. Originally, I wanted to line it with some cool print, but the more traditional lining fabric turned out fine. It's not a very warm garment, but I think a more substantial lining fabric could have made it too heavy. 

"Faux lace!"

The buttons were hard to get properly spaced at first, until I hit on the idea to overlay the cut buttonholes and use a pencil to mark the right spot. Yes, I know I'm supposed to use the pattern piece as a guide. That piece was downstairs.  In other words, totally unavailable.

Making the muslin first was a very good idea, because I realized that using quarter inch seams would screw up certain areas, such as those pockets, and I was able to avoid that. I did take the seams down as far as I could along the back though, which made pressing them open challenging. Moral of the story: MEASURE BEFORE YOU BUY.

She's really happy with it, and I have to say I'm pleased with the result. That's a big deal for me--in the past, many of things I've made just don't satisfy me. I liked Lauren's Easter dress, too, so either my sewing is improving or my standards are relaxing.

Oh, and I told her that a character like this definitely needs an original name, so she came up with "Detective Belladonna J. Skipworth." Yep, she's a character, all right!

Sorry it's sideways--I keep forgetting the camera doesn't automatically fix video the way it does stills.

Month of Crazy Sewing, Part 1

This is the (very rough) muslin of Sarah's coat. No sleeves, and no lining, but it was more to figure out those wonky pockets and check for size anyway.

I had a bad moment where I realized that Sarah, tall as she is, doesn't necessarily fit into the smaller pattern size. I really should have measured her better and looked at the pattern before I bought it; it was a bad assumption. I adjusted by using quarter inch seams instead of 5/8ths. This made it big enough across the back, but meant that the shoulders had to be adjusted, and the pocket flap didn't work right. That's the whole point of making a muslin first, right?  To figure out how to do it right when you're working on the final fabric.  I might make the pieces all a bit wider to give me a little more wiggle room.  And I need to make sure I use the sharp scissors and cut the notches when I do the real thing, starting tomorrow.  I still don't understand how to do the lining at all.

However, she does love it and is excited at the prospect of the finished garment.

Total time so far, spent cutting out pattern pieces, muslin fabric, and sewing 15 seams: about 4 hours. 

Happy Halloween!

Chinese Girls

What a Witch!

Heh.
(happier now?)

Obligatory Halloween Picture

That's Daphne (although she usually said "Daph-a-ne," which sounded like "Stephanie," so it was a little confusing at times), and the biker chick. The daylight savings threw me for a minute ("Isn't it usually darker when we go out?"), but I liked being able to see them for the first hour or so.

CWoS: Results

Here they are! Lauren's picture from the back isn't very good, but it looks cute live. I decided to take a leap and try to make the crown part of the pattern as well. The giggles of glee from last night are not present tonight. The loops were easy, and looked great. The crown is a pain in the ass, and looks pretty crappy. That said, Lauren will still love it.

I need to PhotoShop some shoes into Sarah's picture, I think.

CWoS, D6: Friday

OK, almost there. I can't believe I still have to hem Lauren's sleeves, but that's it! I sewed down all the facings, put in all the hooks & eyes, ironed crisp pleats back into Sarah's skirt (glueing the trim down smoothed things out a little), bought Sarah a turtleneck (size 10/12 was the smallest they had, but it was only $5), and sewed the loops onto the back of Lauren's dress yesterday. Oh, and I have to run out and buy some monk's cording to lace it up.

The loops were the last thing I did, and I think I was a little loopy. I don't generally talk to myself quite that much, at least not out loud. "OK, where's the tape measure; this is four inches from the top; how many inches is the whole thing; where's that pin--dammit, now I'll probably find it with my foot in the morning; yeah, that's good, that works; don't you dare jam on me; three loops on a side or four; I have to make one more loop; stupid serger; doesn't have to be perfect, just has to be good; ohmygod, this is so cute; etc. Much of this was accompanied by wild giggles of glee that this was actually working, wow!

We're going to a potluck at church, followed by a Trunk-or-Treat, where the kids (not just from our church--we're throwing it open to the community, but only church members are giving out candy) walk around the parking lot to get their treats. I don't know how well it will work, since we're supposed to have really crappy weather. I do know that there's no way the girls are wearing their costumes during dinner. I can't stand the thought of getting ketchup or something on them within the first five minutes. Oh, who am I kidding? They'll be too busy playing to eat anything, as usual.

Look for pictures tomorrow!

CWoS, D5: Thursday

Yesterday wasn't all that productive, sewing-wise. I got Sarah's skirt done except for the hook & eye, but too late realized that the back doesn't match up. One side is almost half an inch higher than the other. It bugs me just enough to fiddle with it today. I still have to sew down the facings in the top and put in the hooks & eyes, but I'm going to wait until after we get her turtle neck.

I'm incredibly relieved that the ladies at the sewing store had a great solution to my eyelet issue. They agreed that eyelets are a pain and I would do well to avoid them. So what other options do I have? A zipper, buttons, velcro, blah, blah, blah. Then someone said "loops" and it was like a car screeching to a halt. How would I do that? Serendipitously, they had a dress someone had made in the store with fabric loops in the back that then laced up. Now all I have to do is "make it work." I also still have to figure out the crown issue.

So there is definitely plenty to do today, but I feel confident that it will get done in time for the party tomorrow evening.

CWoS,D4: Wednesday

Lauren's dress is almost done. All I have to do is cut about four inches off the bottoms of the sleeves and hem them, and figure out the eyelets in the back. What, I didn't mention the eyelets in the back? Oh yes. Eyelets. Not a zipper. Not buttons. Eyelets. This baby laces up. Did I mention I have no idea how to do eyelets? I'm going to take her dress to work with me today, and on my big break between classes, I'm going back to the nice store where they helped me yesterday and see if I can grovel for some help.

No more progress on Sarah's outfit, but there isn't a whole lot more to do. I want to finish Lauren's comepletly before I change the bobbin thread. Yes, I only have one bobbin. I don't know what happened to the others.

Unfortunately for the CWoS, I work quite a bit today, so I won't be able to get much done. Tomorrow is free, though. Oh, and I also need to get a white turtle neck for Sarah to wear under the top, and a tiara/crown for Lauren, since making the crown that came with the pattern doesn't look too promising right now.

CWoS, D3 Tuesday

No words for this. My sewing machine is broken. The needle won't move up or down at all. I'm going to have to take it into the shop in the morning. I don't have time for this, don't have money for this.

Update:
I took it into the shop, they cleared the fabric jam, and put new needles in my Serger, and rethreaded it. When I asked how much I owed them, the lady smiled and said, "You owe us customers." I am so taking a class there!

So, yesterday's progress: I didn't work on Lauren's at all, just Sarah's. (Come to think of it, I really need to be more sympathetic to Jeff when he gets frustrated at home improvement projects that don't go as planned and take longer than expected.) The cheerleader pattern directions aren't written very well, but I'm muddling through it. The top is done except that I have to lower the neck considerably, and stitch down the facings. I was working on the skirt last night when I had my jam, but that shouldn't take long to finish. I'm also fudging in that I'm not planning on doing zippers, but maybe just hooks & eyes to close things.

CWoS,D2: Monday

I got the sides and back of Lauren's dress put together, and the facings are in. They still need to be topstitched down, though. The length is perfect right now, so there won't be much of a hem. Oh, how I miss my (mom's) Serger! I broke the needle last summer while making these and haven't gotten it replaced yet. I'm told it isn't that difficult to replace, but the thought of rethreading the machine isn't appealing.




I tried it on her this morning, and from the front I didn't think it was as bad/big as I was worried about. Then I turned her around and grabbed a handful of fabric. Really, I could take two inches in on each side, and it would still be plenty big enough.


So I'll spend some time today taking it in (there's only so much I can do, though), and adding the sleeves. I'll do the hem and the trim later. Then I'll get Sarah's started.

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween! We had a good time - the rain held off, except for a drop or two, and it wasn't too cold. I can't believe how nice it's been the past three years on Halloween--we've really lucked out.

We went to our neighbor's house first, and since the three girls play together often, we all went around the neighborhood together. We only stayed out for about an hour, but they still got plenty of candy, of course.

The most memorable part of the night was when we went to a house with a person sitting outside. The person was dressed up as a witch or scarecrow or something, and sitting very still. Sarah & Sammy hung back--they could tell something was up. Lauren didn't even seem to notice and walked right past him/her. When the person moved, she kind of did a double take ("Wow, that's a real person!") but then asked for candy right away. It never even occurred to her to be scared. We went to another house that was intentionally scary, that the two big girls wouldn't go near--that person was walking around, and wearing a very scary mask, but again, nothing was going to keep Lauren from the candy.

Sarah Incredible

I am so glad I didn't try making this. The boot covers, the gloves, the mask, the logo--it would all have driven me totally batty. The whole thing is a little baggy, but it should be fine with long underwear underneath, and if it looks like it'll be really cold, I'll make a fleece cape to go over it. By the way, this is her "force field pose."

Lauren keeps going back and forth between Pirate Captain Dora and "a princess." I'm going to get a few pictures together, and have her choose, and that will be the end of it.