Sewing Groupon Alert!

I think most of you who visit my blog are probably too advanced for a beginner class, but I thought I'd alert you anyway! Groupon is offering a deal on a Two-Hour Beginner-Basics Sewing Class Including Materials for One or Two at The Sewing Studio (Up to 57% Off). Maybe there is a new or budding sewista or sewister in your life that would like this for Christmas?

Click here for the deets!  

Oh, and I have no affiliation with either Groupon or The Sewing Studio. 

Back to the Craft Lounge... Without Actually Setting Foot in the Craft Lounge

Last night was a rare weeknight when I didn't have a run or yoga planned, no baking projects and no social commitments or other things that needed doing. And I'd already finished my homework for tomorrow's sock knitting class. So, I decided to get back into the Craft Lounge for some sewing.

The only problem was that the only project that needed sewing is my dreaded Donna Karan skirt, clearly a potential UFO at this point. In fact, I was feeling an aversion to actually being alone in the Craft Lounge with the skirt staring me down from the corner where it is heaped in a pile in such an unfinished state.

So, I decided to jump to my next two planned projects for myself, both from BurdaStyle and neither requiring a trip into the Lounge, since I prefer to do pattern tracing on the dining room table. (Clever of me, no?  Although, I don't know what it says about me or the skirt that I would rather trace Burda patterns than look at my skirt.)

 

 

After evaluating the two patterns, I decided to start with the Karl Lagerfeld skirt (BurdaStyle 10-2010-136) rather than the dress from the cover of BurdaStyle 9-2010. This decision was based on the number of pieces I'd have to trace (3 vs. 11) and the amount of altering the patterns would need (the dress is a petite and I am a tall, according to Burda). 

My immediate observation is that Karl Lagerfeld really takes the "mini" part of miniskirt seriously. The entire skirt piece measures only a scant 13" in length. At 5'9" (or 69"), this is not quite enough fabric to cover my bum. Forget about sitting or bending or even coming out of the fitting room with the other 56" of my body not covered by skirt. So, I added 6" to the length (so much for avoiding petite to tall modifications!). This will still be pretty short for me.

I've got two wools in my stash and I'm trying to decide which to use - light blue or black. The black would make it look exactly like the Burda version (+6"), which would be versatile and cool and I could probably get away with wearing to work with tights. But blue is a nice color on me and would add more color to the bottom half of my wardrobe. Hmmm, decisions, decisions!

The left fabric is much more baby blue in person.

And that's where things stand for now. More later!

Monday Again: Back to the Grind

Okey dokey.  I am back from a quick business trip to Chicago and, aside from a lingering cough, feeling mostly better. While nursing my cold and traveling, I didn't get any sewing done. The Donna Karan single seam skirt is still sitting unaltered in the Craft Lounge. To be honest, I just didn't have the emotional strength over the weekend to work on a skirt that, as I left it, was so very unflattering to my thighs and butt. And my hips, too. And legs. And.... you get the point. 

However, I was productive on the knitting front. It helped that I could knit while under a quilt sipping tea. I finished off Phin's scarf and hat. Here they are together. Cute, no?

Merino Wool Hat and Scarf Set

Phineas is pretty pleased with them, I think, and says he is looking forward to the next snow so he can use them. He's a truly warm blooded creature and only ever wears hats and scarves during extreme weather.

In addition, last week I started my sock knitting class right before leaving for Chicago. Really, I'm more convinced than ever that this hobby is not going to save me any pennies. Because I just love socks and my knitting teacher thought I was ready for a challenge, I picked out this fuzzy cashmere blend for my socks.  It is sooooooo soft and lovely. But ultimately, these are going to be $50 socks. Ridiculous.

$50 worth of yarn = two socks. Sheesh!

Then again, they are cashmere. So, I've decided that the only way to justify a $50 pair of cashmere socks (that's $25 dollars each sock, people!!!) is to call them a gift to myself for all the running that I'm doing to prepare for the Vegas half marathon, which is just 3 weeks away.  A cosy pair of socks to snuggle on the couch with is exactly what my beat up feet need after a training run.

OK, one last picture of Phin, since he was mugging for the camera. Back to sewing tomorrow...

Monday: Extra Monday-ish Edition

Today feels more like a Monday than usual Mondays. I don't know what happened this weekend to put me in this mood. Things started out optimistically enough. Sure, I felt a mild sore throat coming on, but I wasn't going to let it stop me from all the things I wanted to get done.

On Saturday morning, I cut and basted together my Donna Karan single seam skirt. Later, I ripped apart my Donna Karan single seam skirt and contemplated mailing the cut fabric to a friend on whom it might not be so horribly unflattering. Then I remembered that she doesn't really sew.

So, I set my sewing aside and tried to run 12 miles, before my burgeoning cold worsened (at this point it was a sore throat and a sniffle). I only made it 9 miles and was wiped out for the rest of the day. My sore throat worsened into a cough.

I proceeded to sleep for 11 hours and then flipped thru Burda Magazine for 2 more hours. I threatened to go for another planned run. My threats were in vain; I napped instead. Then I baked 4 loaves of pumpkin bread (no disasters there, thankfully), although I can't really taste anything at the moment, so you never know. I also knit a few more rows of Phineas' scarf, which is almost done. The hat is finished. Naturally, I neglected to photograph anything that I did all weekend long.

And then I couldn't sleep last night since I had slept so much during the day. And now Phin is sick, too. So, the long and short of this post is that I am mopey and whiny and I'm going to go crawl into my cave and sleep some more. I'll be back when I am fit for less whiny conversation. 

Finished! One-Seam Skirt, or How to Complictate Even the Simplest Project

When I bought this fabric (on the left), it was with thoughts of a one-seam skirt. Afterall, what could be more simple and fun for this wonky knit? And, quite frankly, a horizontally striped skirt is exactly the kind of fashion risk that gets me giddy these days. And did I mention how I love Halloween and Tim Burton?

Anyway, since I really like the fabric, I decided not to wing it. I was a bit worried that a one seam skirt with no shaping might not really work on my body. Anything that needs to fit over my hips is generally going to be huge at the waist, so a simple column won't cut it for me. That's when I came across this article on CraftStylish.  A one-seam skirt with darts! Hooray!

So, armed with a plan, I flitted off to the Craft Lounge. Somewhere along the way I decided that if I was going to the effort of adding darts, I may as well add a zipper, too. I've been meaning to try an exposed zipper on something, and this seemed like a fun opportunity. (My ulterior motive was also to avoid trying to match up this wonky striped fabric at the one seam. Ha!)

At that point, it occurred to me that I really will find a way to complicate just about any sewing project. Sigh. It seems that simple is just not in my repertoire. Anyway, here's how it went...

My cut fabric, still attached to the pattern

Basically you draft a flat pattern that is a rectangle where the width is your hip width and the length is your desired skirt length, plus allowance for finishing the hem and waist.  Then you add darts equal to the difference between your hip and waist. There is a slight negative ease to this pattern, but you could always add seam allowance in if you wanted.

The darts that are cut out are where there would be side seams in a regular skirt pattern. And there are 4 more darts (not sure you can see them) which become front and back darts. The only fitting change I made from pattern to sewn skirt is that I tapered to the hem just a little bit so the skirt would have a slightly more pencil skirt fit than a straight skirt.

As I mentioned, I decided to add an exposed zipper instead of sewing the single seam down the back. This is a RiRi zipper that unzips from both top and bottom. I love the bold color contrast. I also like that I can unzip it from the top to get into the skirt and also from the bottom a few inches if I want a slit for walking. I'm really tickled with this feature. And it was easy - I basted the back seam (wrong sides together), basted on the zipper, trimmed the seam allowance so it wouldn't stick out from behind the zipper and then topstitched near the edge of the zipper tape, removing all the basting stitches.   

It only took about an hour to sew up (including trying on and pressing darts) once I had the the pattern drafted and the fabric cut. And I think it is super cute and fun. I omitted adding elastic at the waist, since I put in the zipper, but I think I'll go back and add it in so the waist is a little more snug after wearing. 

Anyway, what do you think? Have I made horizontal stripes work?

Since I had so much fun tackling - and complicting! - this one seam skirt, I've decided to go back for more. This weekend's project will be the skirt part of V1259 by Donna Karan. It's also a single seam skirt, essentially, although with it's own set of complications.

Update: OMG! Phin just pointed out that the zipper for this project ($15 at Pacific Trimmings) actually cost more than the fabric ($12/yd at Mood)! How crazy is that!?!?!?

Halloween Wrap Up!

My power came back on yesterday afternoon after 48 hours of darkness, and today NJ Transit trains are back up and running. So, it's back to business as usual.

Luckily, I had finished sewing my nephew's Halloween costume before the lights went out. He had asked me to make him a Goku costume. Unbeknownst to me, when Goku gears up for a fight his hair turns blond and he becomes Goku Super Saiyan.

Goku Super Saiyan

Here is my version of the costume. Basically, I used KS2276 to make the bottoms and top. I skipped the sleeves and I made a V neck instead of a crew neck. The blue shirt is store bought.

And here is my nephew, Orpheus, as Goku Super Saiyan. (Sorry this is a poor quality cell phone photo. It's what I was sent. Sigh.) 

Anyway, last night Orpheus called to tell me that he "ruled" his third grade class. His mom explained that apparently some kids got in trouble because they were too busy swarming around him asking about his costume to listen to the teacher and get in line. So, I guess that means it was a success. And, as an aunt, it's part of my job to aid and abet my nephew in being too cool for school. LOL

Honestly, this was such an easy project, mostly done on my serger, and my nephew was so very happy with it that I think I'm going to have a difficult time saying no to Halloween costume requests in the future. But for now, it's back to sewing for me! 

Happy Halloween! and a PSA: Zombie Apocalypse Preparedness

Have you ever felt like you're living the opening moments of a grade B horror movie?

By Saturday evening, when my plans had been cancelled, the power was out, there was no train service in and out of my area, and tree branches were crashing down right and left outside my front door in a freak October snow storm, I found myself peeking out the window looking for the inevitable hoard of hungry zombies about to beset my normally pleasant town.

I'm please to report that Phin and I get a B+ for Zombie Apocalypse preparedness. We had plenty of food and water, full tanks of gas, candles, flashlights, a radio and lots of extra batteries. We closed all the blinds and drapes to keep heat in and only opened the fridge once. We have wood for the fireplace if it gets really cold. I had even taken out all of our winter clothes and blankets earlier that day.

So, why no A?  Well, we lent our hand crank radio to Phin's brother when he lost power a few months back and our hand crank flashlight to Phin's dad. Altruism is rarely rewarded in zombie cinema, and at some point our batteries will run out. 

Yesterday, we ventured out to drop off my nephew's Halloween costume (thankfully finished before we lost  power!), and took the opportunity to recharge our phones in the car. Power and trains are still out, but there's no sign of zombies, so maybe I got the movie wrong and am living some other horror movie in which the plucky and prepared heroes are beset by some other monsters. But I'm not convinced. The trick-or-treaters may draw them out. So, this Halloween, I hope you will take the advice of the CDC and be prepared.

The Centers for Disease Control

Oh, and when in doubt, remember Rule #4: the double tap. 

Happy Halloween!  I hope to have pictures of my nephew in costume and some pics of my new single-seam skirt as soon as the power is back on!