07.21.08
Posted in sewing at 1:49 pm by wendy
This is my maybe my favorite thing made so far:
I was in one of our two local local quilting stores (two! yet we have no yarn store) and saw that they had two different comics-themed fabrics: one very busy print with the “POW! Aaargh! To be continued…” and one with panels on it and I thought of Lionel and Heidi and making a Comic-Con outfit for Sophie.
Originally, I thought I’d make some super-girly type pinafore dress with satin ribbon accents just for a little bit of irony with the generally violent action in the fabric and use the only woman in the panels as a centered pocket for the dress. Because I love pockets.
This:
was the proto-type for the comic dress, cutting out a full circle for the skirt and with the girly satin ribbon accents…but I didn’t leave enough room for the panel to be a pocket, and well, I started thinking I’d like something else and did some different sketches.
I would have liked the straps I made to have ended up wider, so I’ll just have to cut wider strips if/when I make this again, since I made my own double fold bias tape.
I made template pieces and wrote down some of the process, so if I get around to putting together a tutorial, I’ll update this entry and post a link to it.
I ended up using a plain black cotton as well because in my mind the busy fabric as a whole dress looked too busy and would have overwhelmed the pocket panel, which is my favorite part. Unfortunately, I decided that for sure kind of last minute and bought the black from WalMart, and it was so thin in comparison to the heavily printed comic fabric that I knew I’d have to line everything, which made the whole dress a bit heavier and less drapey. But worked out in my favor, since instead of lining it as a separate inner dress style o’ fing since I wasn’t completely sure how to do that, I just sewed the lining fabric and the panels right sides together and turned them right side out, which while it made for bulky seams it meant less finishing of edges. Whee.
Anyway, so that was fun, and I really enjoyed making it.
I do eventually need to get over my fear of patterns. To that end, I went on a shopping spree–
(listed in no particular order)
Simplicity 3774 (inspired by Rachael and to be made in this fabric from Reprodepot, which must have sold out as it isn’t listed on the site anymore)
McCalls 2213 (various fabrics already stashed)
Amy Butler:
- Anna Mini Dress
- Lotus Mini Dress
Oliver + S:
- Swingset Tunic & Skirt
- Tea Party Sundress + Bloomer
- Bubble Dress
Plus in the queue are oodles of stuff from the books I already have, that I’ve put in a sewing queue photoset on flickr so I can access it while I’m out and see how much fabric/ which notions are required.
I’ve started with the Anna Mini Dress from Amy Butler as everyone says the directions are very thorough (and they are right, the directions do seem pretty clear, well illustrated and explained, at least at this point) and I like the simplicity of the shape.
I have thus far been a little confused by the sizing issue though. On the pattern packet, it defines the sizes, and I picked the xs size since the measurements of bust 32.5-waist 26-hips 36 most closely matched my 34-25-35, but when I cut out and sewed together the panel pieces, it didn’t look right.
I asked a few people and the general consensus is that the yoke would change it a bit and that yes, her patterns seem to be cut a bit big. I measured the dress at the narrowest point and found it to be 17 wide, i.e. 34 inch waistline, which is a heck of a lot of ease.
Are all patterns like this, or is every maker different with how much ease they put in?
It makes me miss the knitting pattern standard directions of “size x to fit bust measurement z, finished measurements of garment are y” so you can decide yourself if that’s the right amount of ease, or depending on the material, calculate negative ease if need be.
Anyway, so I mocked up the dress in muslin, just to be sure I wasn’t fussing over nothing:
and I definitely want to take it in a bit.
Nick and I will be attempting to make a dress form later so I can experiment with fitting, and Heidi has suggested almond shaped darts to tame that poofy small of the back area or just making the “damn belt” –certainly using the belt would continue the gathered material theme that is at the yoke top between the breasts, a detail I quite like because it makes them look all lovely and pillowy, and would fit with the 70s feel of the design and fabric choice (I just love that fabric, and since the end result will look so much like a 60s/70s air stewardess, I’ll be using some little airplane buttons from my Mom’s stash as the closure) not to mention make it more versatile, comfort and shape-wise, what with adding yet another sedentary hobby to my list of butt-width expanding habits.
But still, I’m gonna be stubborn and try to make the waist shaping more pronounced. So if you never see this project mentioned again, you’ll know it didn’t work out.
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07.08.08
Posted in natural dyeing, sewing, spinning at 11:25 pm by wendy
I was talking to my Grammy on the phone and realised I haven’t posted the apron kit I finished, or the disaster of a reversible wrap skirt.
I’m very happy with the apron, although of course it’s not perfect. I had some trouble easing in the ruffle, I think because my seam allowances are always so inconsistent. I don’t think there was originally supposed to be any easing in needed.
(click the pic to view more in the set)
The pockets came in handy when I wore it during the dyeing workshops at BSG for keeping my tissues in for my constantly dribbling schnozzle.
For one reason or another, I’m fascinated with aprons lately. They’re not too intimidating to make, and I like the pretty vintage lines. And, since I’m still learning and trying to be better and more consistent in my sewing, they’re a good exercise. I’ll be doing some more, from this book A is for Apron.
But this:
was supposed to be a reversible wrap skirt. But it’s awful. I love the fabrics, but together, the bubble fabric is just too thick and the skirt has no drape. So, I’m going to plan out some pockets for it and give it to a friend up here as an apron. Ze circle of sewing and apronage, she continues.
I haven’t sewn anything since that devastating blow to my fragile sewer’s self-esteem.
No, it’s just been hot, and I disassembled the sewing portion of the room to take the table to BSG and haven’t reset everything up. I’ll do it tonight, maybe plan out a couple projects.
On spinning:
July 5th was the start of the Tour de France, and I figured I’d do the Tour de Fleece this year again. There’s actually two different groups–I love Katherine’s philosophy of it, but I also joined the newer organiser’s Ravelry group because it was there and easy to do.
Other than that, the only official joining of all this is in my head, since my goals are loose and vague and don’t necessarily conform to the rules well. Essentially, my goal is to finish up the projects I’ve already started, to put a serious dent in my stash, and to try to do something different and improve on skills outside my usual comfort range. So, really, I’m just going to use the group thought of the Tour as an impetus to be a little more spinning-focused this month, and a little more goal oriented and end product-minded than usual.
I had three goals last year and only completed one, and I’ve already failed out this year by not doing any spinning on Sunday.
But I’ve got a darn good reason.
Nick and I had the World’s Worst Day of Fishing–seriously, we got up at 5 am and went to Trout Lake, which was gorgeous, where I used my early birthday present (a great whippy rod and new reel setup from Nick) to not catch any d@mn fish, but a lot of weeds. And occasionally reeds. I was a danger to myself and others (as long as they were not fish).
Nick was equally skunked, with only two nibbles between us and again, no fish.
This was our first time at Trout Lake, and we didn’t realise that at this time of the year, it is really only set up for boat fishing. There’s a relatively weed-free area by the boat ramp, but that’s about it.
It was still relatively early and cool, so we went to breakfast and then fished at Greenhorn. There I managed to really spaaz in my casting, catching lots of branches and logs and reeds and more lakebottom. I had no idea how lazy I had become with the Zebco reels, which are pushbutton, one handed dealies, but needlessly complicated inside and snag like the dickens and can be fiddly to fix.
We left, went home and napped.
Because that is how we deal with disappointment in this house.
We snuggle up in a tangle of blankets and dogs, each with an iPod earbud in and fall asleep listening to some Terry Pratchett book we’ve heard a bazillion times before.
We woke up, we puttered.
We thought about going to see Wall-E at the Broadway Twin, but I didn’t want those stupid fish to think they’d won so we went to Greenhorn again. And fished and fished (and actually, can you call it fishing if there are apparently no freakin’ fish involved?) and snagged more reeds and Nick lost his second lure of the day and I lost my first, and then, since I’d just spent the last twenty minutes carefully retrieving that lure from the reeds and untangling all the line I’d fed out to it…I flopped onto the bank crosslegged like a little kid about to tantrum cry in utter frustration and said, “f#ck it, I’m done.”
So we went to the grocery and video store, got Death at a Funeral, Beast with a Billion Backs and The Golden Compass, a six pack of beer and a frozen pizza and slunk home. We drowned our sorrows with pizza and beer and zany comedy and dealt with the next morning’s headache as the logical aftermath of the World’s Worst Day of Fishing (Hopefully Ever).
So obviously, there was no room for spinning in there.
Anyway, though, I turned the silk top I dyed during the Nancy Finn workshop:
into a bobbin full of singles while waiting in the mechanic’s office while the wagon had its 100,000 mile service:
And then, put into a center pull ball, I navajo plied it into a teeny little skein: 2 oz., 124 yards, approx. 14 wpi. I knew I wanted to spin it with texture, so I hadn’t been too careful about consistency when spinning the single, because originally I thought I might do a coil yarn, spinning the silk single over a some fine thread.
But then, when I finally finished spinning up the dark BFL Nick bought me from Copper Moose way back when I first started spinning,
I ended up with a spare ball of singles and no other balls to finish plying it up with as a 3 ply yarn. So I navajo plied it.
But first, I used some leftover singles from another project.
My texture and consistency was all over the place, but I loved the way it looked, all the unexpected coils. (I wasn’t pinching back the twist, just doing it one handed. Oops, that’s what working from memory using a technique you only know the theory of and not the practice will get you–and not logically transferring process elements…) Then I did it on the BFL.
I liked the texture so much I figured I’d do it with the silk. But I fired up youtube and watched this video in the interim and pinched back the twist and…blech.
Boring.
It just looks like bad spinning, badly plied.
Which I guess it is, really, but I had envisioned a much more interesting effect and shouldn’t have changed the game plan. Kind of ironic I suppose, that an impulsive change in process created a yarn I dislike for its mundane predictability revealing its poor textural planning in an uninteresting way.
And of course, this ordinary 3 ply thing was the effect to be expected by controlling the twist: the elimination of coils, so why the heck did I do it?
I guess I just got caught up in practicing this new-to-me technique and forgot about what I had wanted and envisioned as the end product. I don’t know what I’ll do with the yarn now.
Another disappointing aspect is that the color seems to have fled from it. Such strong fantastic colors in the single, even though plied to preserve the blocks of color, have become nearly pastel.
Perhaps a combination of some color lost during the wash to finish the yarn and the 3 ply breaking up the way the light reflects from the yarn? I had thought it was the opposite however, where the smoother the yarn, the lighter it appears because of the greater surface reflection…ah, I dunno.
Speaking of disappointments in color, I did a lightfastness test on the natural dye samples (well, pieces, at any rate) and turmeric is definitely not lightfast.
Unfotunately, I’d already wound out, mordanted, and plunked a whole bunch of yarn into the turmeric dye pot:
If you click on the really yellow one, it has notes as to all the samples’ fiber contents.
It’s a bummer, but oh well. Some will be overdyed in the indigo vat, including that skein of dark BFL. I’ll either figure out a usage for these yarns that will take the light sensitivity into account, and/or just deal with the future fading. Fortunately, yellow is not that hard to get in the world of natural dyeing, even such a strong lovely orange yellow. I’ll have to plant the weld seeds I got, and of course, I have some osage dust. Different, perhaps, but better in the lightfast category.
On the knitting front…meh. Knitting is boring.
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