Dresses vs Trousers: Sewing Meet Up Dress Code?

So, after a week of vacation with Phin, I'm back home. Two and a half weeks in Europe means the jet lag is lingering, and I'm still reflecting on the epic meet up in London. 

One thing that stood out to me at the NYLon meet up was that about 64 of the 71 attendees wore dresses or skirt ensembles. There was an army of beautiful Anna's, which I suppose was a propos, and other By Hand London, Colette and Sewaholic patterns were represented, too. However, this left those of us wearing trousers or jumpsuits in the distinct minority.

NYLon - my gorgeous flatmates (photo by Kitty Wong and poached from Rachel)

I'd be tempted to attribute this to the meet up taking place on the first truly nice spring day in London. It was the perfect day to finally don a pretty frock after a long winter. However, I've been to too many meet ups to chalk this up simply to nice weather. It's definitely a trend - wearing self-sewn dresses to meet ups. And I'm eager for your thoughts.

Why is it we choose dresses for meetups?  Is it that a pretty dress is a sewists' calling card - the garment that we are most proud of? Is it that most of us don't have enough occasions to wear those pretty dresses that we sew and this is an opportunity to pull out our frosting?

Or does it have to do with our fear of sewing trousers? When you look around the blogosphere, it does seem like we sew more dresses than trousers. As a community, I think we build trouser sewing up into something challenging and scary. Even experienced sewists sometimes approach pants with apprehension. So, is it that we are not sewing as many trousers? Or that we are not as happy with the final results of our trouser sewing? I have to say, I was truly impressed with with jumpsuits worn by Clare of Sew Dixie Lou  and Nicole Needles - both took some real skill and looked incredibly chic.

Lastly, how do you decide what to wear to a sewing meet up? I confess that there was a pre-NYLon fashion show at the flat where we all oohed and aahed and decided what to wear. We also discussed that there is some (self-imposed?) pressure when it comes to dressing for a meet up. I generally end up wearing something I've sewn recently, am proud of and feel great in. In the end, I was totally happy with my "very Clio" outfit, as DevviePuu put it. I'm definitely more proud of the blue trousers I wore than of just about any dress I've sewn - a ton of work went into them, they challenged my style, and I really worked on my welt pocket skills for the project. So, for me, the choice was about wearing something that I felt reflected me and my sewing skills - a garment that I would be happy to talk about to others.

Anyway, what are your thoughts? Why do you think we favor dresses over trousers? Do you feel meet-up outfit pressure? How do you decided what to wear to meet other sewists?

NYLon 2014 - Quicky Wrap Up

So, I said goodbye to London, and Phin has joined me for a few days in Paris and Amsterdam.  But here are three reasons why sewing meetups - and NYLon 2014 in particular - are awesome.

1 - Because sewing friends - even those you just met for the first time in person - are the most generous people...

This is two metres of hot pink and orange mesh that Carmencita B brought me from France. I had  commented how awesome it was when she posted it on FB a few weeks ago.

2 - Because sewing friends get what makes you tick...
 

Jen of Workroom Social, one of my weekend flatmates, made me a name tag for the NYLon meetup that was totally my style and could not have gone with my outfit better!

3 - Because sewing friends challenge you to challenge yourself...

After 2 years of subtle lobbying, Devra has somehow gotten me thinking that I may sew a tweedy sort of jacket lined in Liberty tana, and Rachel is providing me with a pattern. I would not go as far as saying I will be sewing a French couture jacket any time soon, but, well, I am coming home with a few metres of this Liberty large scale peacock print.

A few others have done round ups with photos (Did You Make That? and The Overflowing Stash) and Twitter and Instagram (search for #NYLon2014) abound with NYLon 2014 awesomeness, so I'll simply say: how could a 70+ person meetup be anything other than epic? And with weekend flatmates like Devviepuu, Jennifer, Vicki and Rachel, how could it not have been one amazing weekend-long pajama party?

I can't wait until next time...Now, off in search of a croissant!

NYLon 2014: PJ's, Sewing Bee and Name Tag

Folks, excitement is running high at NYLon headquarters where Rachel, Puu, Jennifer, Vicki and I are watching The Great British Sewing Bee in pj's.

Before we put on pj's

One of my last little projects before leaving home is a handmade name tag for the meet up. I have to confess that I felt a lot of pressure about this project because 1) I was making a name tag for Rachel Pinheiro who is the queen of craftiness and 2) I don't think of myself as being particularly crafty. Stop laughing. It's true. I don't generally join ornament swaps or other crafty endeavors, because I'm just not confident in that department. And cute is outside my comfort zone.

So, I tried to make a "name tag" that reflected my own style and the city I call home.  And what is more NY-ish than our all black dress code?

I pulled together a scrap of black leather left over from my leather jacket, a metal zipper, some grosgrain and lace hook and eye tape.  My sm has an alphabet stitch, which I put to use along with some metallic thread. Rather than making a traditional name tag, I decided to make a cuff bracelet...

 I sliced up the zipper and made it into trim.

I used lace hook tape as a closure and I backed the whole thing with grosgrain ribbon.

And here it is on Rachel, herself.

London people, we are so looking forward to seeing you tomorrow (get your beauty sleep!) and everyone else, we wish you were here!

Now, back to the Sewing Bee...   

Finished: Too Cool For School Pants!

It was so nice to be back in my native habitat (aka the Craft Lounge) this weekend so that I could actually sew something before heading off for 2 1/2 weeks of travel (work + #NYLon2014 + vacay with Phin). I finished my Alexander McQueen jacket, worked on a mini project for NYLon and sewed pants. Whew!

Back when I decided to give some Indie patterns a try, I bought a few Ralph Pink patterns including the Hareem Pants from his Catwalk/Trend line.

Sarouel (aka dropped crotch or harem) pants are one of those styles that I've always reflexively thought of as being "not for me" but have secretly loved/envied from afar on others - they convey such a cool confidence. But since I've embraced a "why not for me?" attitude in the last several years with my sewing, it was only a matter of time before I gave them a shot myself.

I went into this project thinking that sarouels would be a great alternative to the yoga pants that I often wear in the evenings post-run/gym while curled up on the couch with Phin. But I was wrong. These pants cannot be wasted on the couch.

"Why are you torturing me!?!?" pose.

Um...this was not one of our easier photo shoots.  But this was one of the easiest things I've ever sewn; I should sew a dozen more.

In the past when I've tried quick and easy patterns, the results have ranged from disappointing to disastrous, mostly because of the fit. Many "easy" patterns are flowy, unfitted shapes which don't really work on my figure. But the loose hip and thigh fit with a fitted waist and ankles seems to work on me.

The style is definitely not for everyone. The crotch on these pants is down at my knees, and that is with the waistband folded over so they are sitting higher than on the line drawing. I think this was drafted for someone rather tall (and I'm 5'9"). To me, this is an awesome feature since I didn't have to add any length whatsoever to these - a first for pants!

Anyway, in just an afternoon I went from taping these pattern pieces together to standing in front of the mirror thinking about how to accessorize this outfit. It helped that I constructed them entirely with my serger. Even though the pattern has just 3 pieces, the instructions are very thorough and well illustrated (see here).
 

Thinking these would end up being "cuddlewear," I used modal from my stash. Modal is my favorite fabric for pj's. The pattern calls for ribbing for the cuffs and waistband. However, I had none on hand and matching two different black fabrics is an awful task. So, I decided to use modal for all.  This required making the waistband and cuff pieces wider than drafted since modal is not as stretchy as ribbing.  But that is the only alteration I made to the pattern.

Anyway, these are a keeper - super comfy, fun for casual afternoons out and easy to wear. I feel very hip in this outfit. I may have to make a second pair out of a dressier fabric - a stretch silk version would be tres chic for evenings out.

Anyway, I'm super pleased with this pattern and feeling like Ralph Pink may be the indie pattern line for me. These will definitely be packed for the #NYLon2014 meetup as a possible outfit, although, I think with a different belt. Seriously, what do you wear to meet lots of other sewists!?!

Annoying Sweater: The Photo Shoot

Folks, I think it's official: I just don't love this sweater.

Sleepy suburban intersection - Main St and Greenvillage Rd

 
Don't get me wrong. It's ok. I just don't think it's the most flattering style on me.  I generally avoid sewing styles that are boxy or unfitted. Somehow, I didn't realize that's what I was knitting. Or rather, I thought that the boxiness mixed with the cute cropped length would balance my top and bottom without obscuring my waist.

But I think that the shape of the top, combined with the short sleeves that end at mid-bust height, just broaden me across the bust/shoulders/arms. 

And it makes my bust seem, um, larger than in real life, I think, but not in a way that I like.

Yeah, this museum is right in the 'burb I live in.

Now, it may grow on me over time. I don't know.  These photos don't look awful (some of the not-used ones did look awful) and some look cute. But I'm still only so-so about it.

Anyway, I'm home for the next 10 days (hooray!) and there was actually some sewing this weekend (double hooray!) So, I hope to wrap up my McQueen jacket and maybe even sew something seasonally appropriate before I head to London for work and then the NYLON meet up! Stay tuned!

Finished: One Annoying Sweater (Preview)

Work travel craziness continues here at casa Clio. Sewing is at an all time low, but I seem to be knitting up a storm. Travel has that effect on my creative output.

I finally finished the sweater that I began knitting during my epic fail weekend back in December. I've come to call it my "annoying sweater" because it's taken so long and, well, there were multiple annoying things about it.

Amime

This is Kirsten Johnstone's Amime sweater, a "Wonderfully light, open weave knitted texture – perfect for popping over a tee, dress or blouse. Knit this generously sized top down with unique wide neck with raglan sleeves for minimal finishing." The pattern is easy enough, so I really wasn't expecting trouble. But trouble there was. Here is my list of petty grievances - not with the pattern but mostly with the yarn...

First, one of the two called-for yarns is Habu Textiles' Kibiso Silk. It feels like barbed wire when you knit it. I can't imagine how it would feel on. I promptly decided not to continue with this yarn.

Next, I replaced the offending yarn with a Shibui 60% silk/40% mohair blend yarn. I thought it would look nice, yet somehow I missed the apparently well circulated memo on mohair: it is near impossible to frog or unknit. I learned this the hard way. 

Another lesson I learned the hard way is that the other called-for yarn - Habu Textiles' silk with stainless steel core - has no stretch or give whatsoever. I knew this, but did not quite appreciate the implications. Even though my neckline rows were on gauge and had plenty of mechanical stretch, the cast on row was so inflexible that it wouldn't stretch to fit over my head. Thankfully, I learned this only 10-14 rows in. Awful frogging ensued.

Additionally, this sweater was knit on circular needles and I failed - again - to recognize the impact of the non-stretchy yarn. It knit just fine, but after snaking around the cable of the circular needle, it was impossible to get back onto the needle part to knit the next row. I solved this by knitting the stitches with the correct size needle, but using a smaller needle to knit the stitches off of. Thank goodness I own an interchangeable circular needle set. 

Penultimately, because of my cast on problems, I used the stretchiest bind off in my repertoire. It was still too inflexible. So, I had to unpick the bind off, get the stitches back onto the needle and bind off again, deliberately keeping things very loose. This is an awful job.

Finally, now I think my bind off is too loose. 

Here's a better picture of what the stitches look like.

Aside from my knitting issues, I'm not sure I really blocked this sweater well and it's totally my fault. I set it to soak and walked away for 20 minutes which turned into several hours. I only remembered the soaking sweater at past-my-bedtime and hastily pinned it to my blocking mat. We'll have to see once I decide to wear it.

Have you ever had a project that was incredibly annoying and yet somehow you got thru it?  Did you end up liking it in the end or was it forever a black sheep?

Finished: Sew Sexy Sew Along Lace Dress!

What a gorgeous weekend in the northeast!  Even Phin didn't mind a bit of time outdoors to photograph my Sew Sexy Lace Dress. He suffers more in the Pollen Vortex than the Polar Vortex.

  

I'm very aware that I only know three poses and all of them involve my hand on my hip.

So, because this is a special photo shoot we tried some new things. Um, er... I tried to be a little more super model sexy. But all I ended up with was "duck face"...

"Duck face"

Anyway, on to the dress! So, this is my submission for the Sew Sexy Sew Along 2014. One of the things I wanted to do was take a non-sexy pattern that isn't revealing, and make it into something I think is sexy.

Front: Pidgeon toed "sexy model" pose.

I frankenpatterned together V8670, a Very Easy Vogue raglan tee pattern (made here and here) for the top half and the slip pattern from V1314, a Tracy Reese dress that I made last spring for the bottom.  This made fitting very easy.

 

I sewed this up primarily from a Vince Camuto stretch lace (Paron), lined with stretch lining from  Emma One Sock, and accented with illusion mesh.  I'm really happy with the first two. Both sewed up beautifully and easily. The stretch lining, as promised, did not fray or run, is completely opaque but very light, and it isn't clingy.

 

I'm a bit less happy with the illusion mesh. It tends to bunch and gather in a way that the mesh I used for my BCBG knock off top didn't. It looks less smooth and is not as soft on the skin. However, it did sew up pretty easily.  

On a hanger you can see my constuction techniques.  After basting, all the seams were serged. I then top stitched the serged seam allowances to the inside or down with a twin needle, which is also how I finished the hems.  I used my serger to do a rolled hem on the sleeves.

So, did I succeed? Phin seemed to think yes, and I definitely feel sexy in this dress. So, according to my own definition of sexy, yes! 

And just because I feel great in this dress, here are a few more shots, just for fun...

Hands not on hips

 

Whether you are participating in the sew along or not, I hope there is some sewing in your future that makes you feel beautiful and confident in your own skin.