Darts!Darts!Darts!

Uugggghhhh!  Darts are not my friend…at all. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but still. Putting in a few darts wasn’t supposed to be so challenging, right?

I’ll be the first to admit that I am technically challenged when it comes to sewing terms and describing exactly what I’m doing. I’m more of an organic person when it comes to sewing. I like the feel and weight of fabric in all its many textures. I enjoy the art of manipulating a square piece of cloth over a dress form until my imagination is sparked. I especially enjoy taking a flat discarded piece of material and reinvigorating it. Up-cycling is cool! Basically, I just do what I do and learn as I go.

My challenge in interpreting my sketch was in figuring out how to use darts to add shape to the garment. I wanted the contour to begin right beneath the bust area and extend to just above the hips. What the sketch shows  as 2 discreet darts in the front of the skirt portion of the dress, has turned into 6 very long contour darts around the entire piece. I suppose I could have figured out a way to limit the number of darts by cutting the fabric a little differently, however, flat pattern making is not a strength of mine. Instead I opted to use one continueous piece of fabric for the skirt portion. I just molded the fabric as I went along taking special care to keep the grainlines straight. (Not a lot of fun, but it’s working)  Here are some pics.

Draping Baby Steps

I’ve spent a little time over the last few days playing around with the fabrics for my contest dress. Since draping is not a precise drafting method (at least not for me), I wanted to make sure that I placed the fabric properly before cutting.  I haven’t started sewing, yet, but after pinning, I have a general idea of what the dress might look like.  I also began working on the darting of the bodice. I’ll begin pinning more precisely in the days to come. Here’s a look:

 

 

My Pattern Contest

Well, I took the plunge! After a 6 month hiatus, I finally have a little extra time to sew. I’m so excited! I entered the My Pattern contest to practice the draping method. I like draping because of the instant gratification factor. I can design as I go, and since I’m a visual person – as well as impatient- draping allows me to go from sketch to 3D design almost instantly. So anyway, here’s my sketch:

I’m using a beautiful vintage cotton floral for the bodice and a linen blend for the skirt. I’ve started a work in progress on www.sewing.pattern.com , but I’ll also be blogging my progress as I go.

-Calandra

M.I.A.

Whew!  Busy, Busy, Busy. I really need a distraction.

                                          TIME TO SEW SOMETHING!!!

6 Garments and a scarf!

I recently completed 6 garments and a scarf for the PR Endless Combinations Contest, and I’m very pleased with the outcome. I enter these wonderful contests because I need the practice and the motivation of a deadline.  This contest was great in that regard. The idea of the contest was to start with one garment and build upon that one to get as many combinations as possible. We had 2 months to complete everything which was great because it gave me time to plan out what I wanted to do and then have the flexibility to “take my time” and complete the project. As with all of the other contests, I pushed it right to the end of the deadline, but I got it done.

My favorite piece this time was a fitted tunic with sheared sleeves. I thrifted this beautiful tablecloth recently and thought I’d make a light jacket or something, but obviously the tablecloth had other plans in mind (smile).  I’ve been learning how to draft patterns recently, so I thought I’d try using the draping method for the jacket. Well, it all started off well enough until I got to the sleeves. Although I started with just two pattern pieces (front and back), I ended up cutting the sleeves off grain (I still haven’t figured that one out, yet), so they wouldn’t hang straight. They were all twisty and funny looking. I didn’t have any more fabric, so I figured I’d try to work with my “mistake”.  Anyway, I ended up just exaggerating the twists by adding double shirring  to the top and bottom of each sleeve. Thank God for inspiration!

For other pictures from the contest, take a look here.

I WON!!!

My jacket won first prize!!!

Let me tell you a little something about Pattern Review. I have never been surrounded by such a warm and generous community.  I joined Pattern Review this year because I wanted to learn how to sew but didn’t have the time or the funds to take outside classes. When I signed up, I thought I would just have access to a few sewing articles at best. I had no idea that I would be joining a family. That’s why I am especially honored to have won a prize in one of PR’s sewing contests. At a time in my life when I really needed a boost of confidence (not just in sewing but life in general) , the PR community was right there.  I wish I could express my gratitude in words, but somehow it doesn’t seem like enough.

Thanks Pattern Review and Deepika for the honor!!!

-Calandra (rebija)

Finished the jacket, but missed the contest!!!

Well, I’m a little bumbed. I worked really hard on my latest project for the PR contest, but apparently I didn’t make it by the October 31st midnight deadline. My clock said “11:58pm, but I guess my clocks are a little bit slow. You’d think I would have learned a lesson from the last PR contest considering I barely got that entry in on time, but all is not lost. (Apparently, they did receive my entry in time. I guess the system got bogged down with everyone trying to put in last minute entries. Yay!!!) I still got to create something that I think I’ll finally wear out of the house (wink!) Its still hard to believe that I made my first jacket. I’m so excited and motivated to do more!!!

Here are some more pics!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s a picture of the coat that I recycled:

 

It really did take forever to rip the seems out of this big coat, but it was worth it, and I still have enough material to make something else!

-Calandra

 

Fini !!!

I finally finished my entry for the Pattern Review Children/Babies Contest!!! I almost didn’t make the deadline. Cut off for entries was at 12 midnight and barely got my review up by 11:54pm. Boy! Talk about cutting it close. I didn’t procrastinate or anything. I tried to work on it a little bit everyday or at least research the new skills that the pattern was constantly throwing my way. (The pattern says, “Quick and Easy” – Hah!!!!) There were just sooooo many new skills for me to learn that it took me forever to complete.

Now, all poopy complaining aside (I mean, afterall, I did make the deadline). This really was an excellent pattern to learn on – one of the reasons why I love vintage patterns. The shape of the design was a simple A-line, but it had 2 front pleats which I’d never done before. The arm holes required bias tape which I’d made before, but it required slip-stitching which I had not. I also got to do button holes, but I couldn’t figure out how to use my button hole attachement on my machine (for some reason I couldn’t get my 3/4″ button inside of the slot). So, I had to improvise by placing the machine on a button hole setting and length, but then used a regular attachment and just eye-balling the stitch placement. Not fun at all, but the button holes came out nicely. I also learned how to ease in fulness at the hemline by using a gathering stitch. There were other techniques that I was able to practice, but the ones I just listed were all new to me.

Finally: The little hat. The dress looked kind of plain by itself, so at the last minute (around 9pm last night) I decided to try to make a hat. I figured that if I messed up the hat, at least I’d have the dress for the entry. I’m so glad that it turned out like I wanted. I also added ribbon and contrasting fabrics to change things up a bit.

The only downside is that I only have this pattern in size 3. I’d like to make it in a size 6, but don’t know how to. In the meantime, I have a size 3 dress and hat that need to go to a good home. Or, maybe I’ll just keep it to remind me that I can do anything I put my mind to as long as I don’t give up!

Fabric Sources: Bodice/Side panels- 100% cotton from Fabric.com.  Floral fabric for hat and front panel came from a vintage sheet.  

See more pics here

-Calandra

Going Back in Time…

I just entered the Sewing for Kids/Babies contest on Pattern Review. I’ve decided to choose a pattern from my newly acquired vintage pattern stash (I’m soooo in love!!!!), but there are so many cute styles that I’ve had a difficult time selecting just one.  I have a month to finish the project, so maybe I’ll try a couple of them just for kicks!!!

-Calandra

Just checking in!

Since I’ve been reading way more blogs than I’ve been posting , I thought it would be a good idea to “check in” to say, “Hello”.  We just started school here in my household, so we’ve been working diligently to get back into the groove of schedules and unfortunately, it seems that I’ve been more reluctant to shake off the summer lazies than my kids. I’m embarrassed to say that they’ve had to remind me more than a few times that we have work to do!!! I truly love homeschooling for our family, but I tell ya, the bed can look pretty enticing when you’ve been up all night with a teething 10 month old.

On a more creative note, I just completed my last hot weather short set for my girls. I don’t know fabric designers by name yet (nor recognize their patterns), but I do love how the little tops turned out. I self drafted the tops and used Butterick 4118 (again) for the shorts. I was able to shorten the crotch area of the shorts and add length to the legs. They fit so much better. I even added scarves to the little ensemble!!!

Okay, Fall. I think I’m ready!!!

-Calandra