A handful of links

1. Here’s an article about John that appeared in their local newspaper yesterday.
2. If you’ve ever wondered why I serve whole milk, you might like to read this article (which also includes a link to her butter article, if you’re really curious).
3. In my quest for making yarn pom poms, I came across this blog which has plenty of other nifty things that I’d like to make in my free time.
4. And finally, if you share my love of old fashioned style, check out Sense & Sensibility’s Dollar Downloads page. Better still, check it out now and find out how to get one free.

November sewing

• Sleevesaver bib for a baby shower gift.
• Covered composition notebook, gift for a dear friend.
• Blouse for me, Ottobre 5/2007 #1 with the sleeves from #2 (which are a rather fun design!). This is my third, final, and favorite 3/4 sleeve blouse sewn this fall. The only fit-related change I will make next time is to move the front waist darts about 1/2″ towards the center front. I have actually used this pattern before; I added back the 2″ in length I removed for that blouse. Fabric and buttons were both from stash; the buttons were probably a SewBaby assortment and the quilting cotton was left from my eBay endeavors in 2006. . .sorry, she was too cute to keep to myself!

And my new blouse. . .

• Another Sense and Sensibility Regency Dress for Twirly Girl, this time purple finewale corduroy. I am pleased to report that I still remember how to dye fabrics! The snowflake print was a PRR coop purchase and the solid probably was too. We took some of the fullness out of the sleeve cap; I wish I had done it differently but the girl is happy so I’m not about to rip out sleeves. I’d have to set them again! I took these pictures when she tried it on for me to mark the hem, which was stitched last night while I watched cheesy ’70s tv shows on Netflix. And look! I had the perfect buttons, picked up on clearance some January years ago.  . .

Sewing plans for December include another gift or two, but also I hope to sew a new winter dress for myself too.

Wanted: time turner

I’m sure I’ve mentioned my fondness for the Betsy-Tacy series before, and here I go again. I enjoy reading the stories, of course, but it has always been Lois Lenski’s illustrations that make me long to live the stories too. I like the Edwardian styles from the early books; I adore the soft feminine styles of the later books. They draw me in because they are almost-but-not-quite suitable for modern wear, and sometimes they can be made wearable, as in the two dresses I have made so far from Sense & Sensibility‘s 1912 Kimono Dress.

However. The dress that I would most love to sew (and wear!) is Sense & Sensibility‘s 1910s Tea Gown. Yes, here is where the time turner is needed. No, I wouldn’t want to live in the 1910s, except perhaps for a day–I would miss silly things like my contact lenses or my Bosch mixer. But I do so wish that this pattern had been available to me when I was young enough to have occasions for something as elegant as a tea gown: it could be a simple dress for graduation day, a timeless dress for a special dance, even an elegant wedding gown. I have no regrets, of course, that I am already happily married. And perhaps some future day will bring me an invitation to a ball or tea worthy of such a gown. Until that time, I’ll have to be content imagining Miss Mix sewing just such a gown for Betsy to wear. . .

July sewing

• I finished my 1912 Kimono Dress–and I love it even more than my first one! With hindsight, kimono sleeves were probably not the best choice for semi sheer fabric, since they ended up being lined along with the rest of the dress. However, the sleeves are still cooler since I shortened them (the pattern has 3/4 sleeves). I also had to cut very carefully to make the dress as long as I wanted and ended up adding a seam to the center back of the bodice (and was not able to avoid fabric flaws on the skirt). The fashion fabric is a lightweight embroidered cotton; I believe fabric.com called the color latte or mocha. . .which is kind of funny because I used tea to dye my cotton lining to match, thus making this the “coffee, tea, or me” dress! The embroidery is in a vertical stripe pattern, but I cut the front inset and the belt with horizontal stripes for visual interest. The pattern is very easy to assemble and the bodice seams are all neatly concealed; my only issue was with the sparse directions for the front inset. I’ve worn the dress several times this month but kept forgetting to take pictures. So if you look at my dead grass, you will understand why I am squinting instead of smiling today–that Wyoming sun is hot! Which makes it the perfect day for a cool and comfortable dress.
• Self drafted eight gore linen skirt for me, which I already shared.
• Started on the quilt for our bed–I think I’ve sewn 50 out of 125 partial blocks. Or something like that–the end result should have 25 blocks, and each block has 5 sections. You do the math.
• Two pairs of shorts for Baby Boy, both from Ottobre 3/2008 #7, size 92. He always seemed to be out of shorts so I went stash diving and pulled up a couple remnants. One pair is twill printed with kangaroos playing soccer; the other is striped denim. I think both came from Wazoodle years ago, but I’m not sure! I was able to sew them assembly line style and used the same red topstitching thread on both pairs. I did leave the back pockets off the twill shorts since he only uses the front pockets–and they would be lost in the print anyhow. I cut both front and back denim pockets on the diagonal for added interest.

I’ve now found a sure way to keep myself out of the sewing room: start a quilting project. I like cutting out all the pieces (thank you Mr. Rotary Cutter Inventor!) and I like making the sandwich, quilting (or tying), and binding it. Piecing bores me to tears. All those short straight identical seams. . .no gathers, no darts, no zippers. Yawn. Nonetheless, I like the idea of making the quilt myself that goes on the bed that I share with my beloved, so onward I sew! I did more or less accomplish my goals for the month: finish kimono dress, perhaps make a skirt, and start on our quilt. I wish I had gotten more accomplished on the quilt, but most of my sewing time this month was combined with supervising kid sewing. I also wish I could finish the quilt in August (it’s on my list of “summer projects”) but that’s not likely at this point! Instead I’ll aim for having the quilt top assembled before we start school in September. I also cut out a pair of knit not-nursing tops for myself (Ottobre 2/2007, of course) that will sew up quickly once I find time to spend in the sewing room.

June sewing

• Mother-daughter Romantic dresses.
• Swimsuit for me using the new Fresh Modesty ebook. I’ll write a review later once I actually wear it and have a picture.
• Mending for Drama Boy–patched the seat of an otherwise good pair of jeans so they can at least be worn for mowing, and also repaired his favorite pair of pajama pants.
• Full slip for me from pink silk jersey (well aged stash). I didn’t have a pattern so I combined the tank top from Ottobre 2/2007 with the half slip from Kwik Sew’s Beautiful Lingerie book. Very easy sewing–shoulder and side seams, neck and armholes finished with decorative elastic, and blind hem stitch to create a scalloped hem. It’s deliciously comfortable under a dress, although is too warm now that it’s suddenly turned hot this week.
• Remade a rather old half slip of mine (too small, lace half gone, and elastic completely shot) into a “new” half slip for Twirly Girl. I offered fresh lace for the hem, but she chose a scalloped hem like my new slip.
• And I’ve nearly finished another 1912 Kimono Dress. This time I shortened the sleeves and used the neckline with inset. I did use two layers for the skirt this time–because my fashion fabric is semi-sheer. I thought about making the overskirt shorter, as shown on the pattern, but decided against it. I still need to make a belt before Larry marks the hem for me.

I did it! I actually accomplished all of my sewing goals for June!!! And then some. Now, once I finish the kimono dress, I really need to stop sewing dresses for myself for awhile! Except that quilt shop sale yielded the perfect fabric for a vintage 1940s pattern I won on eBay. . .drat. I also have yardage for a couple summer skirts, and. . .oh, you get the idea! Except for perhaps *one* skirt, I really don’t need any more summer clothes this year. So for July, my goal is to mostly put aside garment sewing and either start Christmas gifts or that new quilt for our bed. County fair is at the end of the month, though, so I will also be busy helping Boy Genius and Twirly Girl with their projects.

All done!

When Twirly Girl showed up at the breakfast table wearing her new Romantic Dress this morning, I decided to quickly hem mine so I could wear it today. I had second thoughts when I remembered we have a 4-H meeting, but I like my dress so onward I stitched. I had just enough thread; if I had really thought about how much gathering and basting would be involved, I would have bought two spools. Thankfully, I managed to sew both dresses with the single spool I bought. Barely.

After lunch, Larry took pictures for us.

Please excuse our decidedly modern footwear! Twirly Girl is wearing the same pantaloons that I made for her Easter dress; she also put on her pinafore when she thought she might get messy. I am contemplating making a petticoat to wear under my dress sometimes, just because.

I really love this floral print, and since I wasn’t aiming for historical accuracy I think it works very nicely with the sweet old fashioned charm of the Romantic Dress. I’m pleased with my revised sleeve pattern, although when I stand still as in the pictures they do look a bit wing-ish from the front. It’s hard not to feel feminine in a long full skirt, and it has not gotten in the way of any of my household chores today. In short–I will definitely use this pattern again!

Almost done!

Today I finished hemming Twirly Girl’s dress! I did end up using a narrow facing, cutting four curved strips to match the curve of the skirt pattern and about 2″ wide (based on the size of my scraps ). I seamed those into a loop and finished the upper edge on the serger. I then stitched this to the bottom of the skirt, clipped the curves, understitched, and then topstitched in place. Voila! No puckers, just a lovely smooth hem.

Larry marked my hem too, but by the time I had tucked children and exercised on the Wii, I decided the sewing could wait. Did I mention I had issues with the front neckline not laying right? Yes, I made the lining first to check the fit, but I wrongly assumed that the issue would be fixed by sewing the lining to the actual bodice, setting the sleeves, etc. I ended up taking two darts, each about 3″ long, from the neckline angled towards the armscye. . .I will probably stitch in the ditch to make them lay flat. It isn’t the best or even a very good fix, but it was all I could think of without deconstructing my dress, especially since I have no more than a small scrap of flowered fabric left. Before I make another Romantic Dress, I will have to find a fitting buddy to help me with the bodice. I think I will try adjusting for narrow shoulders first and see where that gets me.

Home stretch

Over the weekend, I attached my skirt to the waistband. The pattern calls for finishing off the inside by cutting a second waistband from the lining fabric, pressing under 5/8″ on all sides, and stitching it in place by hand. So I did that Saturday evening while watching A Room with a View. The next time I make this dress for modern wear, I will probably sandwich the bodice between the waistband and its lining so that the upper waistband lining is secured by machine, leaving only the ends and bottom to stitch by hand.

Twirly Girl decided that the cream shirt buttons in the hand were worth more than pink buttons in Casper, so we used five 3/8″ buttons on her dress and six 1/2″ buttons on mine, plus a skirt hook in my waistband. I just finished sewing those on; the hems are all that remains!

Except I need to fix my front neckline–drat, I was trying to forget about that. It lays best if I pinch out a couple darts angled toward the lower armhole. I’m not sure how I’ll sew that so it looks like I meant to do it!

Slow & steady

For various reasons, I didn’t spend much in the sewing room today. But I did make progress: I cut out my skirt and sewed the side seams as well as the back placket. The next step will be to gather the skirt to the bodice, something that I enjoy doing even though it is time consuming. When possible, I try to leave a project in a state where I look forward to picking it up again, rather than dreading the next step.

Twirl factor

It’s been a long day–long week, really–with a large funeral taking up much of it. When we finally got home from the luncheon and changed clothes, I was inclined to fall over and take a nap. But unless I’m pregnant or sick, a nap isn’t worth it when I lay awake at bedtime, so I took a deep breath and headed to the sewing room.

I haven’t decided how long to cut my skirt panels yet, so I worked only on Twirly Girl’s today. The skirt of the Girls’ Romantic Dress is four gores gathered to the bodice, and it turned out just as twirly as I expected. She was quite pleased during a quick try-on before I hand stitched the bodice lining in place at the waist seam. I’ll blame forgetting to take a modeled picture on my tiredness, but she did agree to help me get a quick shot before bedtime.

While I was gathering the skirt, Twirly Girl looked through my button tin again in case she found something I had missed. She did find buttons that I will probably use on my dress, but I didn’t have enough of anything that she liked. Her dress only needs buttons and a hem to be finished. I haven’t decided yet how I’ll hem hers except that I will likely stitch it by machine rather than hand. Because the hem line is curved the pattern recommends making a facing, but whether or not I have enough fabric left to make a facing depends on how long I make my skirt. Decisions, decisions!! I hope to work on my skirt on Friday, but Saturday is usually too busy with other household duties.