Book Quickie

I've really let the books pile up on me! Just a quick list of what I've read over the past week, with a few notes.

Juvenile/Young Adult Books (* denotes Reading Olympics):

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry-Lemony Snicket fans would like it.
Clementine's Letter by Sara Pennypacker-Ramona Quimby for the new millenium.
*Friedrich by Hans Peter Richter-Grim, but good.
*The River Between Us by Richard Peck-Good Civil War book.
*The Wreckers by Iain Lawrence-Really confusing! Ugh!

Adult Titles:

Evans Above by Rhys Bowen-Mystery; seems like a series I'll enjoy. Thanks for recommending it, Dana!
Girl's Guide to Witchcraft by Mindy Klasky-By a librarian and about a librarian, but witchcraft is really the main event.
The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society by Beth Pattillo-Bland.

Nightie Night

Wow! Two months of Wardrobe Refashion is over already! That was quick! To commemorate the end of my first two months, I was going to do a classic: Make something out of a sheet. I pulled out my sheets to have a look.

Uh oh. This is going to be a problem. I don't want to cut into any of them! The one to the left spent some time as a duvet cover, and I might want to redo that at some point. The one to the right needs to be saved for something really special. It's Vera! It's brand new! And I have two of them! The one in the middle seems to be screaming out to be made into pajamas or a robe, but I want to be sure. If anyone has any ideas or pattern suggestions, please share!

Okay, so scrap the sheet idea for now. Instead, I guess because I had sheets and bedtime on my mind, I decided to make a nightgown. While digging through the pink piles of fabric looking for the sheets, I spotted some rather sappy-looking pink floral fabric that I didn't even remember having. Perfect!

As an aside, I end up with some strange fabric sometimes, because I get my mom's hand-me-downs. She sews doll clothes, so she buys fabric that will appeal to little girls.

I just barely managed to squeeze Butterick 6838 out of what I had. I made the sleeveless version in the shortest length, and cut the facings from a coordinating polka dot. I have to laugh at these patterns that give step-by-step instructions for trimming each view--as if only view B can have the little bow at the neck, or if you make view D you must put lace on the yoke and cuffs! I was a rebel and used no trim at all. I also skipped the interfacing. Who wants interfacing in a nightgown?



The sewing went smoothly (for a change), but the finished product is too big. That's my fault, because I knew I should make a medium, but the pattern was for L or XL, and I went ahead anyway. So if anyone would like a cheery pink nightie to fit a 38 to 40 inch bust, let me know, and it's yours! If more than one person wants it, I'll have Isabella pull a name from a hat.

I'm Better Now

Okay. I think I'm ready to talk about it. The cause of all my frustration was Simplicity 2936. I had passed this pattern by many times. The picture on the envelope (That fabric! Those sleeves!) was not attractive, and it looked like one of those necklines that's forever exposing your bra straps. After checking the pattern on Pattern Review, however, I saw a few reviews that made it look pretty nice. The neck wasn't anywhere as open, and no one chose those crazy sleeves!

The fabric I used was not from my stash. A trip to the fabric store with my mom and 50% off clearance fabric yielded a brown cotton stripe. I wasn't too crazy about the metallic thread running through it, but for what I paid? Good enough. The one thing I didn't consider was the texture of the fabric: crinkled. How the heck are you supposed to iron seams without ironing out the crinkles? In the past, I've just ironed the crinkles out completely before cutting. That's probably what I should have done this time, too, but I wanted the crinkles.

My next problem came while cutting. I got confused while cutting a sleeve and ended up cutting on the wrong line. I've never done that before, and I felt like a dope. Luckily, I had enough fabric to recut the sleeve after taping the pattern back together (and marking the correct line on the pattern so I wouldn't do it again).

Okay, now it gets good. As one of the reviewers mentions on Pattern Review, the directions about what to do with the front facing are not clear. The written directions say one thing, while the little picture diagram shows another. The reviewer went with the written directions, while I went with the picture.

Everything seemed to be going okay, until it came time to sew on the facing. The directions got a little skimpy right when I needed them the most. I tried on the top at this stage and it didn't seem to fit correctly at the back of the neck. I went back to the reviews to see if anyone else had this problem, but I couldn't really tell from the pictures. This led to my questioning my decision earlier, which led to ripping out stitches, which didn't seem to change anything, which led to restitching, which led to a messy seam, which led to ripping out again, which...you get the picture.

At this point I figured the top was going to be a mess anyway, so I just wanted to finish the stupid thing and donate it to the thrift shop. I slapped the hem in, raced through the buttonholes, and sewed on the buttons as fast as I could. What the heck, let me try it on. Well, it isn't as bad as I thought, but now it has a crappy hem and crooked buttonholes!

Oh, the sleeves. My intention was NOT to worry about matching the stripes on the sleeves. I'm actually sort of annoyed that one sleeve came out kind of matched up, because that makes the other one look bad. But, really, I never meant to have them match!

Presto Change-O

I think this skirt has been in my refashion pile longer than any other garment. I bought it because I loved the Indian-print fabric. The skirt itself though? Eh. It was a bad length, and it had a really bunchy elastic waist. You know the type that billows out? Yuck. It hung in my closet for a while, then I moved it to my Halloween costume bin (no joke) in case I ever wanted to dress up like a Hippie!

Anyway, after the shirt nightmare (see previous post) I felt a simple project was in order. The first step was to shorten it by taking five inches off the top. There was no way I was going to mess with the bottom, because I thought the bands were perfect as they were. Whoever made the original skirt had lousy taste in silhouettes, but did me a big favor with the stripes. The last green stripe was actually applied as a separate piece. I think it looks much nicer ending with a repeat of the green than it would have ending with the deep red.

Once I hacked off the five inches, I went to work on making the whole thing slimmer. I figured all I had to do was make sure I could get it over my hips, but I overestimated that measurement, so I ended up taking it in a second time.

So, finally, after probably ten years, it took me 45 minutes to change this into something I'll wear! What was I waiting for?

I Don't Wanna Talk About It

Right now, I can't even talk about it. It's too painful. But this is what I made today.

Bits and Pieces

I was working on a shirt this morning, went to iron a seam, and realized I hadn't plugged it in. So, while I waited for it to heat up, I took some pictures!

What do you have on your ironing board? I try not to let too much junk stack up, but this basket is a permanent fixture.

There's also a small pair of scissors next to the basket on the other side. Lint rollers, rulers, pins, a pressing cloth--everything I might need while ironing.

And now a reminder via MY MOM!

Clean out your sewing machine! Blow some air in there! Change the needle! Get all the goop from thread spools cleaned off the spindle! You'll be glad you did.

Speaking of thread...What on Earth can I do with all these empty spools? I feel a pang of guilt everytime I throw one away.

Bottom to Top

Last year, when I first started to make clothes, I tried McCall's 5313, a jumper pattern. I'd seen a pattern review on...well...Pattern Review, where the girl looked so very cute in the jumper she'd made. Alas, I misjudged the size, and it came out way too big in the chest. I've blocked out the most awful of the memories, but I did mess around with it for way too long and eventually achieved a better fit. However, I misjudged more than the size. The girl in the picture looked oh-so-cute, but I'm not a girl. Whenever I put it on, I felt like a giant, overgrown baby. Besides that, those two flowers on the bodice looked a little too much like boobies. I finally decided to chop it up and make something I'd actually wear.

It would have been easy enough to make it into a skirt, but, believe it or not, I wasn't feeling it. So I dragged out all my patterns and sorted through them to find one I could cut from the skirt of the dress. The winner turned out to be Simplicity 7223, view E, a sleeveless blouse. To make it fit on the fabric I had available, I cut the back on a seam instead of a fold. I also had to use a different fabric for part of the facing. I wish I'd had some sort of neat, tiny print that coordinated, but I didn't. I finally just used some khaki I had here for the part you don't see when it's on a hanger.

When I started, I was convinced this would be easy as pie, because I wouldn't have sleeves to set in. Little did I know I'd be fiddling around with bias tape to finish off the armholes. Ugh, that's really a tedious job, pinning it in place!

The irony in all this is that I decided to refashion the jumper because it was something I never wore, and I turned it into a sleeveless top, which is something else I never wear. That field was filled with birds when I went outside, and I scared them all away with my ghost white arms!

Book Bits

Just in case anyone thought I stopped reading...

Whirligig, by Paul Fleischman: A Reading Olympics selection for 2009. I was a little unsure when I started this book, because like many books aimed at young adults, it seemed a little dated. As it opens, Brent is a high school student whose biggest problem is if a girl will notice him at a party. He soon has a much bigger problem, when he accidentally kills another teenager. The one thing the girl's mother asks of him is that he plant a whirligig bearing the girl's likeness in each of the four corners of the United States. The journey gives him time to reflect about his life and the life he took. I suspect a young adult might find it a little preachy, but I really enjoyed it and thought it was well crafted.

The Way Life Should Be by Christina Baker Kline. I found this book while looking for a different book of the same name and decided to give it a try. It combines two elements which have been popular recently: an online relationship and a woman working in/opening a restaurant. It's light. It's fluff. But I liked it overall.

Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams. Another 2009 Reading Olympics selection. Peter Abrahams started as a writer of adult suspense novels, and this is the first in his Echo Falls series for children. Basically someone gets killed in a small town and this spunky soccer-playing, local-theater-acting, Sherlock-Holmes-reading girl sets out to solve the mystery. Really liked it (and I'm thrilled to find out there are two others available in the series!).

Mail from Norway

Last week on Made by Petchy, I saw this post about her Pay It Forward pledge. Hmm, someone was going to get two snazzy coasters in the mail. Would it be me?

Yep! It was me! It was me! Take a look at this slick envelope and packaging:

Wow, Solveig, I feel so amateur! Anyway, I love my coasters. The ones I had on my desk and next to the bed were so old and gross--I was going to take a picture, but I'll spare you all. Now I have a funky, cheerful pair to replace them! Thank you!

I got out my made in Norway mug for the occasion.

If you haven't already, you should all check out Solveig's blog. She has great tutorials and finds the best stuff at rummage sales. Plus her little boy is adorable!

Girls' Day Out

Today I met my mom for lunch and shopping. Get the image of Nordstom and a chic cafe out of your minds: We went to Arby's and hit the thrift shop!

For under $20 I got, from left, an embroidered denim skirt, a shoe-print skirt, a black, pique coat, a purple puff-sleeved tee, and a green canvas jacket. The coat was the big ticket item at $5.49. The skirt is maybe a little "two-years-ago" but I like it anyway. The green jacket is exactly what I was looking for a couple of months ago--where the heck was it then?

The black coat needs to have its buttons replaced. Unfortunately, it's missing three, and, besides the one I found in the pocket, there are no spares. This will replace my old black coat which has been looking more and more tired. The purple tee just needs a minor alteration: It has that faux-layered thing going on, so I'm going to cut off the thermal arms emerging from beneath the short sleeves.

Which brings me to the denim skirt. This is a homemade wrap skirt with hand embroidery. Once I saw that embroidery, I didn't even look at the price (it was $3.99) or try it on. As it turns out, it almost fits, but I'm going to want to change it up a little anyway, just to give it better proportions.

I can't decide which I like best. What about you?

Plan C

I don't usually look at the handbag section at the thrift shop, because it's just too depressing. However, walking past it the other day, something caught my eye.




Look hard, past the polyester macrame cord and the grime. Do you see the potential? $3, made in Italy, I'm a sucker for anything European.


As soon as I got it home, I pulled out that ugly cord and cut out the dirty lining, giving it a quick measure before throwing it away. I then washed my hands with hot water for about five minutes! I shined up the hardware as much as I could, and finally got down to the fun part: picking a fabric to line it with. I decided to use the fabric from an old summer skirt.




I cut the lining based on the measurements of the old lining, sewed it up with simple boxed corners, and whip stitched it to the canvas band around the top of the bag.

At this point I thought it needed some trim along the top, just to finish it off and hide my stitching. I pulled out all my white trims and decided on a small daisy trim, which I just hot glued around the top of the bag. Next I added some white cord as handles...and hated it. It looked too improvised and flimy and it was already getting dirty.

Okay, Plan B. Can I buy a different cord? I looked online a little, but I didn't get too far. I figured I'd need some sort of home dec trim, and my hopes of finding something in the right color, material, and thickness seemed slim. So, Plan C?

Answering Laine

Laine commented:

Love the outfit, it looks so summery and comfy!
I noticed your note about a zipper tutorial, and thought I'd share this one that I bookmarked from here: http://flickr.com/photos/greenkitchen/collections/.
I'm a little scared of zippers as well, and this made it look pretty easy. Any tips you have to add would be awesome!
BTW, did you find the Built by Wendy top fit true to the measurements listed? I'm between sizes and am wondering if I should go up or down. Up seems safer, but its already a loose top, I don't want it to be a big sack on me....

First of all, thanks so much for the sweet words! The positive comments I get make all the seam ripping worth it in the end!

Second, thank you thank you thank you for posting the link to that tutorial! I don't even need to do my own tutorial now, because I do it almost exactly the same way. She included all the little things about getting around the zipper pull, basting the seam first, using two pins to mark where the zipper ends, etc. that I would have put in mine. The only thing I do differently is use two little strips of iron-on adhesive in place of the glue stick. I love that bird fabric she used, though, so your suggestion may end up costing me! [p.s. There's an extended version of the tutorial at Sew, Mama, Sew.]

Now as for the Built By Wendy pattern...it is hard to say. I went with my true size (going by the bust measurement, I'm about three inches over the waist measurement), and mine doesn't fit like that at all. However, I should point out that I cut the back on a fold without adjusting for the seam allowance, so that could be what makes the difference. The only place my first try had issues was with the sleeves, which seemed a tiny bit too tight. Instead of going up a size, I just cut them a little wider and made the underarm seam a little narrower. However, I see pictures of people wearing that shirt and it looks very ill fitting around the chest and shoulders, as in it's pulling and just looks frightfully uncomfortable. So, honestly? I'd probably go up a size. If anyone disagrees, please weigh in!

Angst

Thank you to everyone who weighed in on the brown/white/pants/skirt question from the last post. All the votes seemed to swing towards something with legs: pants, shorts, or capris. I agree that a pair of white capris would have been awesome...on someone else. Capris don't agree with my calves, so I very rarely wear them. Longer shorts, also a neat idea, but then I couldn't wear the outfit to work. So that left me with pants.

I went through my patterns and came up with either Simplicity 3846, Simplicity 4695, or Butterick 4662. Whatever I decided, it had to be something with a side zipper, because this was going to be my first pair of pants, and I did not want a buggered up zipper staring at me from front and center!

Going with pants excluded the white fabric from the running--didn't have enough. So brown won by default. I decide to try Simplicity 3846, close myself into the spare room so Isabella can't be pesky, spread out the fabric, and...I can't do it. I couldn't bring myself to cut into the brown fabric. It's just too nice, and I have enough for a dress someday, so I decided to keep it in one piece for now.

So we're back to white, and it can't take more than two yards. Uh oh. A skirt? Hmm, well, the fabric was purchased with a skirt in mind, and it did have a white zipper pinned to it for the past four years. Okay, I figure as long as I stick to a more fitted skirt, maybe it'll be okay. I chose Simplicity 4748, which I only ever bought because I liked the purse! I figure the worst that can happen is I end up with a white skirt.

Oh, the angst involved in choosing a size when you haven't made a pattern before. I study the measurements. I take mine again. I study them some more. I finally decide on a size and cross my fingers. When I get to the point where I can try it on, I am so relieved--it JUST fits. Whew.

I continue. I put in the zipper (no tutorial this time, Roxanne, sorry!), make the facings, trim them up with bias tape (no wild contrasts this time, or it'll show through), put in the hem, and decide to try it on again.

It's too big. How on earth did we get from "juuuuuust fits" to hanging like a sack? Grrr. Okay, I can handle this. After picking out all sorts of seams, taking it in, and sewing it back together, I'm happy again. I finish up the slit with some pretty lace, and it's done!

So, what do you think? It isn't from the pages of Vogue or anything, but as a cool summer outfit to wear to work at the library?

Light and Airy

Whew! The 100 degree weather has finally passed us by, and I've never been so happy to hear "high eighties" in my life! I took a few days off from sewing, mainly because I couldn't face the thought of standing over the ironing board. Today I tackled another piece of fabric from my stash--a wonderfully lightweight brown and white print. And guess what! I made a shirt for a change!

I used the ever-popular Simplicity 3835, the Built by Wendy top. I had wanted to use it last week when I was refashioning that skirt, so it had been on my mind, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to use it. Last summer, I made a muslin of this top, and I had some notes written on the pattern about the sleeves. I was not thrilled with the fit of the sleeves and thought they were too tight, so I took steps to fix that this time around. Originally, my plan was to go up a size, but I was worried that would make the body too billowy, so I just cut the sleeves a little wider and made the seams a little narrower. It worked great!

This top is really fun to sew, just because it goes together so quickly. If you have enough fabric, I would recommend cutting the back (as well as the front) on a fold, just to eliminate another seam. My notes from when I sewed it the first time said, "the worst part is the narrow hems," but I've learned I don't have to be all that precise with them, especially when using a printed fabric. I mean, really, who is going to notice if you every hem isn't exactly even? Especially with all that gathering.

This fabric's right side was barely discernible from the wrong side, so I marked each wrong side with a piece of tape. My mom is always telling me to put a pin in my fabric to mark the right side, but I always end up poking myself, so I like the tape better. Just be careful, if you use tape, not to IRON over it!

So now I'm thinking I really want something new to wear with this shirt. I have either a piece of brown linen or a piece of white that has sort of a pique thing going on.

Although I think a pair of shorts would be perfect for this, I'd like to be able to wear it to work, so I need to stick with either pants or a skirt. I've gone through my patterns, and nothing is jumping out at me. So, what do you think? Brown or white? Pants or skirt? And any pattern suggestions?

I Want To Read the Book that Won

Fire Bell in the Night was published after becoming a finalist in the First Chapters writing contest at Gather.com. Given that information (An online contest? And only a finalist?), I didn't have high hopes. I felt like reading another book about the South, though, so I gave it a try.

It's set in the 1850s and centers on a reporter from New York who has traveled to Charleston to cover the trial of a man accused of violating the Fugitive Slave Act. You can visit the official website for more details. So is it any good? Surprisingly, yes. Aside from using one or two stunningly clumsy coincidences to move the plot forward, Edwards is a solid writer. The book is engaging and informative, with interesting characters and realistic details. I am no history buff, and historical novels sometimes turn me off, but this one is very readable.

Wash Day

I haven't written a clothesline-related post in over a week, so I thought I better get on the ball!

Hanging out the wash really is one of my favorite things to do. I'm not militant about it--you won't find me out there knocking ice off my towels before I can fold them--but I try to do it whenever I can. I like the idea that I'm saving resources, I like the physical act of pinning the clothes neatly on the line, and I like the connection it gives me with my mom. My mom has a set of clotheslines to be envied, with sturdy posts and tons of space. One thing she never had, though, was a clothespin bag. She would just toss her pins into the basket along with the clothes. I would sit near the basket and play with clothespins in the grass while she worked. Of course, I tried my hand at it myself a time or two, on my own little clothesline.

Several years ago, my mom bought this whirligig at a yard sale. When we moved into our house, she gave it to me. I had it outside for a while, and it got a little beat up, so we took it to an old man in town who makes whirligigs and had him refurbish it. He replaced a few broken bits, and his wife repainted it using the original colors. I took my little washerwoman outside today to take this picture, but she now lives inside, in our dining room.

As Promised...

The original skirt came from a fifty cent bin in the back room clearance center of Goodwill. It was a homemade skirt with a 24 inch waistband and was evenly gathered all the way around. I remember buying it and thinking I could cut the waistband off and put in a casing for elastic, but that was back when I had just started to sew. After modifying a couple of skirts using that method, I realized the results were never all that great, so I held off. (The "Before" picture didn't come out very well, so I didn't include it. But I have one if anyone wants to see!)

Enter Wardrobe Refashion. Reading about Monica's shirt transformation started me thinking in terms of fabric harvesting. Suppose I take the skirt apart completely and start from scratch? Once I started, I realized the skirt had a really deep hem, so I ended up with more fabric than I expected.

I wanted to make a shirt. Really, I did. And if there was just a tiny bit more fabric I could have made the Built by Wendy (Simplicity 3835) shirt. But I didn't have quite enough, so I fell back on a skirt. Yep, another skirt.

I used Burda #8090. The two main pattern pieces used up almost all of the fabric, so I cut the facings from a coordinating solid. (LOVE this pattern, by the way. Someday I'll post pictures of the other skirts I've made from it.)

And here's the finished product, as modeled by me, this morning!

I would have liked to iron it before taking the picture, but...

Book Break

Funny these two books are ending up in a post together, because they're about as different as can be!



Pack Up the Moon is by an Irish writer, Anna McPartlin. It's about how a young woman's life changes after her fiance is killed in an accident. She has the requisite mixed bag of friends by her side, copes with getting back into dating, etc. I always feel bad when I dismiss a book like this--I mean, I have trouble just writing a review--but it was all so predictable. P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern had a similar premise, and I enjoyed it more.



Skeletons at the Feast. I always enjoy a book by Chris Bohjalian, and this was no exception. Somehow, though, I failed to prepare myself for how hardcore a book about German refugees during WWII could be. In this, it reminded me of The Kite Runner. It's just one thing after another, relentlessly. Of course, that captures what it would have been like, staying one step ahead of the Russian army. Very good book. Not my favorite Bohjalian (and my friend, who usually likes him, HATED it), but I would recommend it.

In the Works

I harvested this fabric from a skirt I fished out of the clearance bins at Goodwill. Fifty cents! Check back tomorrow to see what becomes of it!

Caught the Sewing Bug

This summer at the library, the theme for our summer reading program is "Catch the Reading Bug." The library is giving each of us a tee shirt, which we'll wear to promote the program. We haven't received the shirts yet, so this is a picture from the internet. (I'm going to want to do something about those sleeves!)

Well, being the skirt wearer I am, I started thinking about which of my skirts would go with this tee. Hmm. Khaki? Denim? Too predictable. So, despite my best intentions to refrain from buying fabric this summer, I ended up buying a little over a yard of a bug-and-flower print--all they had left.

I used my favorite skirt pattern: New Look 6843, view D. It doesn't take much fabric, and it's easy easy easy! One way to make it even easier is to ignore the directions for applying the waistband and do it my way! They tell you to apply the waistband with right sides together, fold it to the back and then hand sew the edge of the band inside. People are always insisting they enjoy hand sewing, but I'm all about making it easy.

I sew the waistband face up to the back of the garment...

...flip the band over the raw edge...

...iron it evenly...

...and then topstitch along the outside edge of the waistband.

I still end up handsewing the hem, but I think that's somewhere handsewing actually makes a difference. Besides, I really like having a pretty hem facing!

And here it is all done! How do you think it'll look with the tee shirt?