Drive By

I know I still have 2 Giveways remaining to announce, but life kind of blew up this week. Nothing bad, just busy, busy. I'll catch up on everything when I get back. I'm off tomorrow for a long weekend at mom's and to see the Marine and my sister/BIL.

I did finish the USMC purse for hire and it's going in the mail on the way to the airport. Here's the finished product (name blurred to protect the innocent still at boot camp!!):

See you Tuesday or shortly thereafter. Semper Fi!

SS5593 AKA The Palate Cleanser

After my cutting fiasco that will eventually be my Hot Patterns dress, I still needed a new dress for my trip. It's not like I don't already have a bunch of new clothes, right? ;-) Um. Yeah.

So, before I started the USMC purse, I snuck in another See & Sew 5593. I wear the crossover version I made earlier all the time and have wanted another. Now I have two I will wear all the time because I LOVE this one too.

And I will love the first one even more because I took it in at the CB seam so it doesn't hang so tent-like from my shoulders as it's been doing as I continue to loose lbs. Now it looks like I have a waist from the back view. I made this same alteration to the new dress, as well as sewing the sideseams with 1-1/4" seam allowances instead of 5/8". I'm not sure what pattern size this equates to now — probably 16-ish? I need to do something with the first make, the orange stripey one, because it's really too big and I'm not willing to give it up.

I think I need to buy another copy of this pattern the next time I'm at Joann's and before it's OOP since I cut it and will probably want it smaller as I get smaller. If I forget, which I'm likely to do, I'll just keep taking in the sideseams forever.

Here's me in the new dress, with wet hair. Seems like all my pics lately have me with wet hair. Hmmm.

Click to Enlarge

And the back view, with New! Improved! CB seam shaping, which is hard to see with me holding my hands on my hips so just trust me. ;-)

Click to Enlarge (but keep in mind my butt is large enough thank you)

Now, back to pursemaking …


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The WINNER from the July 16, 2011 Giveaway (KS 3764) is:

Congratulations Janine! Please contact me at djc at cedesign dot com with your mailing info no later than Wednesday, July 26, 2011 (after all Winners have been announced, in case of duplicates). If I don't hear from you by then, I will draw another number/name.

The WINNER from the July 17, 2011 Giveaway (Stretch & Sew Swimsuit Patterns) is:

Congratulations KID,MD! Your comment cracked me up! Please contact me at djc at cedesign dot com with your mailing info no later than Wednesday, July 26, 2011 (after all Winners have been announced, in case of duplicates). If I don't hear from you by then, I will draw another number/name.

JillyP, I'm still waiting to hear from you from yesterday's Winner announcement …

Fine print: For all the Giveaways last week and this week, each entrant can only win once and in the case of duplicates, I'll contact you for your choice and then draw again randomly on what's left. Clear? And if you do enter, please check back over the next two weeks to see who won because if I don't hear from you within a few days after announcing winners, I'll draw/decide again. Again, anyone anywhere can enter this or any Giveaway which is still open.

HotPatterns 1120: An Expensive Muslin

I'm SO MAD at myself I almost can't type this! I have searched high and low and I can't find one half of the skirt back, which I know I cut out. So I've come to the only logical conclusion I can come up with and it's that I cut one of the pocket lining pieces from that skirt piece. I've never done this before, so I guess it was my turn. Arghhhhh! So much for taking the dress on my trip.

I immediately checked Gorgeous Fabrics to see if Ann had any of this fabric left, which she did. And then I spent an hour debating whether I was willing to put another $20 into this dress (fabric + shipping). Part of the reason for my internal debate is that buying more fabric will bring the dress total to over $60, but mostly I debated because there are fitting issues that could've been sussed out in an ACTUAL muslin, but I was too lazy to make one. Did you hear read that, Diane??

I finally caved and decided to buy the additional fabric. Ann is generously holding it for me until after I get back from my trip so I can buy more to justify the shipping. What? That's a good excuse, isn't it?

While the dress is in limbo, I'll go over some of the potential problems I encountered. Every one of these could have been caught if I had made the muslin Trudy so strongly suggested in the YouTube video for this pattern. In other words, it's not the pattern's fault, it's mine.

First, as Linda warned in the comments yesterday, the vee neckline is *very* low. Think Burda plunge. Because I can't sew the skirt on yet, I'm not sure if this is going to be bra-baring low on me. If it is, you will either see a fabric flower at the cleavage or I'll add something (neckband, modesty panel, binding, trim, something).

Next, the front facing looks like it might want to roll outward. I'm pretty sure once the skirt is attached, that will weigh things down and it will be fine — especially since it was improved with me just pinning the front skirt piece on. I gotta say I'm not a fan of facings, though, especially in knits, which this fabric is. When I make this dress again, I'm going to have to rethink the facings.

Overall, it's simply too big at the neckline. I cut a straight 18 with no adjustments. I should have gone way, way, WAY smaller in the neckline. Again, a muslin would've alerted me to this. I will fix it on this dress by just taking a deeper seam at the CB neck …

… this much deeper:

I need to remember this about Hot Patterns necklines and me because I've run into this before.

Lastly, it's going to be too short for my preference. The pattern states "knee length" and it is. I had already added one inch but I don't think that will be enough. I think I'm going to use the leftover border from the print to add a band around the bottom.

This is the skirt front just loosely pinned in place.

I need to work on the USMC purse this weekend, but I really want a new dress! I might just see if I can sneak in a quick TNT as a palate cleanser.

* * * * *

The WINNER from the July 15, 2011 Giveaway (Amy Butler's Style Stitches) is:

Congratulations JillyP! Please contact me at djc at cedesign dot com with your mailing info no later than Wednesday, July 26, 2011 (after all Winners have been announced, in case of duplicates). If I don't hear from you by then, I will draw another number/name.

Fourkid, I'm still waiting to hear from you from yesterday's Winner announcement …

Fine print: For all the Giveaways last week and this week, each entrant can only win once and in the case of duplicates, I'll contact you for your choice and then draw again randomly on what's left. Clear? And if you do enter, please check back over the next two weeks to see who won because if I don't hear from you within a few days after announcing winners, I'll draw/decide again. Again, anyone anywhere can enter this or any Giveaway which is still open.

HotPatterns 1120: Starting to Sew

I've cut out and started sewing the Classix Nouveau Primavera Dress. That's the facing in the pic above.

As you can see by this pic below, taken just minutes ago, I haven't gone very far. I kind of wussed out in the sewing room yesterday and instead did some reading. But I am planning on sewing more now and later tonight, and hopefully I'll be taking this dress with me next week to my mom's.

The fabric is a recent buy from Gorgeous Fabrics, and there are still 6 yards left. Hurry! ;-) Of course I'll smack myself for giving that link if I screw up my dress and need more fabric.

That's about all I have for today. Two days of workout video have made me a very slow moving … hmmm, … what? Snail? Sloth? Tortoise? Komodo dragon? I think I need help on that description from Patty the Snug Bug because apparently even my brain is slow today. ;-)

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The WINNER from the July 14, 2011 Giveaway (Out With the Old) is:

Congratulations fourkid! Please contact me at djc at cedesign dot com with your mailing info no later than Wednesday, July 26, 2011 (after all Winners have been announced, in case of duplicates). If I don't hear from you by then, I will draw another number/name.

Fine print: For all the Giveaways last week and this week, each entrant can only win once and in the case of duplicates, I'll contact you for your choice and then draw again randomly on what's left. Clear? And if you do enter, please check back over the next two weeks to see who won because if I don't hear from you within a few days after announcing winners, I'll draw/decide again. Again, anyone anywhere can enter this or any Giveaway which is still open.

Wednesday Ramblings

I got this DVD from the library yesterday and did the two beginning sessions this morning. And it about KILLED me. But the burn is good, right? ;-)

So, this DVD is aimed at new mothers. Yeah, well. I'm definitely not a new mother, nor do I ever plan to be again, but I do have the abs in need of dire rescue so I figured what the heck. It's actually perfect for me. It's toning exercises on a mat with a resistance band, a ball or pillow, and later a 3 lb. weight, without the bounce-around aerobic stuff that I suck at and just plain hate. Plus, the "host" Tracey Mallett is Australian and I do love those Aussie accents! I will definitely do "just 8 more" every time I hear her ask. But seriously, I think I can actually follow this DVD regularly. The time went fast, and I even watched it once before I did the routines so the total time I spent this morning was really double. I did have to fight off the dogs trying to lick my face all over with me down on the floor at their level, which could be a problem when I'm flinging weights around. Silly dogs. I'm sure we all looked quite a sight. No, there will be no photos of this.

I also got a Pilates DVD from the library and I'll "preview" that one tonight. It's rated for Level 4, which I didn't notice until it was home and if the beginner stage from the above DVD killed me, this one may just close the casket and throw the dirt on top. 

I'm still waiting for the South Beach Workout DVD I ordered from Amazon. It's supposed to be short but effective spurts of interval training that I can do on my eliptical bike. Hopefully I'll like that one so it can be my cardio. I hate cardio.

I also dug out my old scale and it seems to be working. Maybe I was just wishing it was broken? I needed a starting place to figure out BMI, etc., so it was time to face the number. At least I didn't have to buy a new scale to do it. The number is still way more than I want it to be eventually, but it's actually less than I was expecting for now so I'm not depressed about it. No, there will be no photos of that either. ;-)

I'm going to start on this pattern this afternoon. It arrived on Monday and should fit nicely into my informal "Summer of Dresses" plan. There are still others I want to revisit - Vogue 1250 and See & Sew 5593 to name two, but a new pattern to try out is TOO intoxicating so that's what I'm going to work on first.

No matter what stage I'm in with dressmaking by this weekend, I'll have to clear off the sewing table and start (and hopefully finish) another one of these bags:

Another mom of another Tyler in Marine boot camp found my blog and has commissioned me to make it for her. Her son is due to graduate from boot camp on August 22 and she wants to take it to Parris Island then. Ooo RAH!

And MY mother has twisted my arm (ahem) to come back to Virginia the weekend of July 29 to teach her how to use the serger she bought probably 2 years ago now. She lives about an hour from my sister, where my Tyler will be that weekend working with my brother-in-law to put a new transmission into the car he just bought. We knew it needed a transmission when he bought it (no 3rd gear!), so this has always been the plan. And while they have the old transmission out, they will be replacing the clutch too — just because they can. (Insert manly grunting noises here.) So, I think Tyler may be close to SICK of seeing me after this, although I will never give up any opportunity to see him so my mom didn't have to twist my arm too tight. Which she knew and used to her advantage. Like all moms do. She's buying me a plane ticket so at least I don't have to do that drive twice in one month. Two-hour non-stop flight vs. 14 hours on the road? No brainer. See you next weekend mom!

* * * * *

Responses to some comments/questions:

Diane: "No problem with you "singling me out" lol I appreciate your comments although I'm not convinced that you are a lazy seamstress - - - - I almost never even do a muslin. Therefore, you are not as lazy as me!"

Trust me, I am. Making a muslin is so I don't have to make something twice just to get it to fit. Muslins are fast and ugly. Making two whole garments takes a lot more time. And I don't even muslin every new pattern anymore.

KellysSewing: "Is your son still stationed in NC? Mine is headed to Camp Lejuene in a couple weeks for 2 years. Opposite side of the US for me!"

Tyler is at MCAS Cherry Point NC, which is about an hour from LeJeune (CP is south, I think, but I could be wrong). There's not a whole lot for a single guy to do around either town, but LeJeune is a HUGE base, so I'm sure he can stay busy. I hope you can work out seeing your son as often as possible. I know how hard it is when they're gone.

Cheryl: "I wanted to comment on your prospective ab workout. Don't train any muscle group more than one day in a row; the muscles need the time to recover. Surely it's got to be good news that 20 minutes every day is too much. :-)"

Fantastic news! See above comments re KILLING me. ;-)

Mel: "Terrific tutorial! I have a question though, does the panel add weight (and heat) to the front of the top? I have tops that just have a small modesty panel in the front of the neckline and not attached to the rest of the seams. Just curious as I live in the same "hot house" state that you do."

and

flynn37: "I love the prints you buy, but one question - I assume they are polyester? You don't sweat like crazy in the Florida humidity? I just moved to Florida and am afraid to buy anything not cotton..."

I've been in Florida for 22 years so I'm used to the heat and humidity. But today's polyesters are actually pretty comfortable to wear and do breathe. They also wick away the moisture and let it evaporate, which is something cotton doesn't do. I always feel damp wearing cotton, but usually cool wearing a good polyester. And I'm a slave to those great prints. ;-)

I suppose the extra panel on the cowl top from yesterday does add weight, but I'm not really noticing it. I wore one of them all day yesterday running errands and I wasn't any more uncomfortable in the heat/humidity of a Florida July day than usual.

Kira: "Can the gift card be used by someone in the UK?"

Yes, as far as I know, since Fabric.com does ship internationally.

Kris O: "I love the fabric on your newly-made top. Did you mention the source and I just missed it?"

They are both ITY knits and recent purchases from Fabric.com.

Belinda: "Have you always loved bright colors or is this something you grew into?"

I've always loved bright prints. Which is strange considering how shy I can be in real life, until I get to know someone. Maybe it's my way of telling the world, "Hey, talk to me because I'm too shy to start the conversation." ;-) But I've also been working on that, making it a point to say hi to strangers and smile. So far, so good.

I've also had a couple questions about my dressform. It's a Dritz My Double, and I reviewed it here. In the review are also a couple of links to online discussions and tips about dressforms in general and how to pad them out to fit you (which mine doesn't anymore, but I don't really ever use it to fit me anyway).

* * * * *

And the WINNER from the July 13, 2011 Giveaway (Custom Couture) is …

I chose lazysubculturalgirl because I just couldn't bear the thought of her feeling so guilty for so long about all those Old Navy things, especially since she so dutifully spent her husband's gift card on them. ;-)

Congratulations lazysubculturalgirl! I hope we see some "refashioning" posts from you soon. Please contact me at djc at cedesign dot com with your mailing info no later than Wednesday, July 26, 2011 (after all Winners have been announced, in case of duplicates). If I don't hear from you by then, I will draw another number/name.

Fine print: For all the Giveaways last week and this week, each entrant can only win once and in the case of duplicates, I'll contact you for your choice and then draw again randomly on what's left. Clear? And if you do enter, please check back over the next two weeks to see who won because if I don't hear from you within a few days after announcing winners, I'll draw/decide again. Again, anyone anywhere can enter this or any Giveaway which is still open.

* * * * *

Parting Shot:

This just arrived in my inbox as I was typing. "Putting panels back on" is all I know. I'm assuming the panels that hold in bombs or something, since that's what he works on.

Tutorial: Turning a Raglan Into a Cowl With Contrast Panel (and Giveaway)

I did finish my tops yesterday and then my book last night, so it will be off to the library this morning.

Here is the finished remake of the original Walmart top. The only changes I made were to change the black contrast panel to white and hem it about 3" shorter. I'm very happy with this change, especially since it netted me a raglan pattern for "free."

Inside view

Here's the new top I made from the pattern I traced off the parts of the Walmart top while I had it ripped apart deconstructed. Yes, I'm wearing THOSE orange sandals again ;-) and sporting a wet head.

To make this top, you need a knit raglan pattern with a scoop neckline. I actually didn't have a TNT that fit this bill or else I probably wouldn't have been so inclined to rip apart the Walmart tee. As I've been learning just now, finding a pattern for a plain raglan top is easier said than done (unless you win yesterday's Giveaway), but I did find one in the Kwik Sew line, here. This is obviously a hole in the Big 3/4's catalogs. I wonder why.

Anyway …

Once you have a pattern, you need to trace an additional front piece onto tissue or pattern paper. Don't cut the tracing until you've made the changes because you're going to be extending beyond the original pattern lines.

To make the cowl overlay, you need to extend the center front about 1-1/2" inches at the neckline (on half a pattern, for a total of 3"),  tapering to nothing at the hem. If you want more cowl, extend more than 1-1/2". Next you will draw the cowl facing. The facing is shown below from the dotted green line upward and is shaped so that when folded down, it fits exactly onto the neckline of the new pattern piece. The differences between the original front and the new cowl are outlined in green. Hopefully, a picture is worth a thousand words here. However, not shown here and important is that the cowl front should match the back at the sideseams, but the contrast panel is about 3-4" shorter at the hem edge than the front and back pieces. It must be shorter so that its bottom edge doesn't show when the top is worn and so that both fronts can be hemmed independently. Since the contrast is your original pattern, just fold up the bottom edge before cutting fabric.

So, now that you have your pattern (right?), it's time to start construction. Note that my seam allowances are 1/4" everywhere except the neckline edge (3/8") and the hems (1"). It's easier to turn and stitch a smaller seam allowance. I used a serger and coverstitch machine for construction. If you don't have one or both machines, you can use a slight zigzag stitch for seams and a twin needle for topstitching (or more zigzagging).

Here we go …

First, press under the neckline and bottom hem on the contrast panel. (I use glass head pins on knits that have a mind of their own so I can keep them in place while I position a press cloth and hot iron over top.)

This photo isn't really a step - just showing what your contrast panel should look like now. I'm guessing yours won't be orange, though.

Next, sew the back raglan sleeve seams to the back of the top. Back only — the front will come in a separate step later. After the back sleeve seams are sewn, turn under the neckline edge and press. Depending on your fabric's recovery, you may want to serge or ZZ some clear elastic to this edge before turning under and stitching. My fabric has good recovery so no clear elastic this time, although I did hold the pressed-under edge in place with some bits of Steam-a-Seam 2.

After pressing the neckline edge under, topstitch it in place. I used my coverstitch machine. You can use yours if you have one or a twin needle or a zigzag stitch.

Next, press under the cowl facing on the front.In the photo below, the cowl facing is at the bottom — just easier for me to press while it's in this position.

Lay the front on your table, wrong side up, with the cowl facing still folded to the wrong side. Lay the contrast panel on top of the cowl front, also wrong side up. Pin (or baste) one front sleeve seam, as shown below by the blue "pin" lines. Repeat for the other front sleeve seam, making sure the cowl facing remains folded, to be caught in the front sleeve seam.

When pinning, the cowl edge (with the facing still folded down) should stick out just a hair above the top of the contrast panel, as in the photo below.

Here are both front sleeve seams pinned together. The two fronts won't lay flat now. That's OK.

Next, flip both pieces over so that the cowl front is right side up, as below. You could've pinned/basted with both fronts right side up, but I found it easier to lay the cowl front flat while pinning and then flip.

Next, put the back section (with the sleeves already semi-attached) on top, right side to right side. Pin/baste the sleeve fronts to the cowl/contrast "sandwich" at the sleeve seams, as shown below.

Sew the front sleeve seams so that all three edges plus the cowl facing are caught, as indicated by the blue lines below.

If you're constructing with a serger as I was, keep a long tail at the neck edge and using a blunt large-eyed needle (or your favorite tool), run the tail back through some of the stitching and then trim it, as shown below.

At this point, the sleeves are attached to the fronts and back, but the underarm and sideseams are not yet sewn. So, while your top is still mostly flat, press under the sleeve hems and the front/back hems so you don't have to press in the round. It's just easier. Don't stitch them yet.

Next, with right sides together (the pic below shows wrong sides together, so ignore that part!), stitch the underarm and sideseams in one pass (well, two passes), as shown by the blue lines below.

Stitch the pre-pressed sleeve and bottom hems in place. Do not catch the contrast panel in the bottom hem.

And, voila! Done!

Neckline close-up:

Front inside:

And again, me wearing the new top:

And now for the LAST Giveaway this week  …

… (drum roll)

… a $35 Fabric.com Gift Card!

To enter, leave a comment on this post and I will use the Random Number thingie to pick a winner.

Carolyn commented yesterday, "So you're downsizing right? That's the reason for all the giveaways?"


Nope. If I was actively downsizing, it would take a year of Giveaways. ;-) But what I am doing is "Paying It Forward." I'm sure you all have noticed that I have advertising in the sidebars of this blog. It doesn't generate a lot of cash and it takes a long time to accumulate to where I'm actually paid. But, I did just get a payment and since it's because of you, my readers, I wanted to return the favor. Hence, the Giveaways, and Thank You! for reading and following me and my ramblings. :-)

* * * * *

And the WINNER from the July 12, 2011 Giveaway (Simplicity Fabric Guide) is …

Congratulations meredithp! Please contact me at djc at cedesign dot com with your mailing info no later than Wednesday, July 26, 2011 (after all Winners have been announced, in case of duplicates). If I don't hear from you by then, I will draw another number/name.

Fine print: For all the Giveaways last week and this week, each entrant can only win once and in the case of duplicates, I'll contact you for your choice and then draw again randomly on what's left. Clear? And if you do enter, please check back over the next two weeks to see who won because if I don't hear from you within a few days after announcing winners, I'll draw/decide again. I will close comments on this Giveaway on Monday, July 25 2011 and announce the winner on Tuesday, July 26, 2011. Again, anyone anywhere can enter this or any Giveaway this week.