It Doesn't Look Too Bad From This Angle

But don't let that fool you.  I have the skirt pinned within an inch of its life.  The picture below is my attempt at Simplicity 2579, and it didn't work at all.  I managed the full bust adjustment fine, but the real problem with this dress for me is the skirt.  First, the skirt puffs out at the sides where it attaches to the midriff piece.  Then there's the puffery at the gathers in both the center front and back.  I wish I had taken a picture of the side view because I looked like I was carrying twins; one in front and one in back.  I suppose that this is really my fault because a review of the recommended fabrics shows that this pattern is meant for something drapey and not my crisp little cotton lawn with its pretty green and blue morning glories.

Please note the bird decoupage.  That is an original flyskim piece from 5th grade.

Luckily, I has some fabric left over and the skirt is made out of several large pieces, so there is enough of this lovely fabric to try something else.  Enter Butterick 5485, view C.

Because this is a faux wrap, I have barely enough fabric, but I do.  In fact, the only reason this works at all is because the bodice pieces are cut on the bias.  I picked apart the unfortunate dress above and have altered the Butterick pattern, although I want to make a muslin of this before I cut into the fashion fabric.  I really don't have any room for error.  I plan to wear this to the wedding of two of Mr. flyskim's dodgeball teammates (that's right, dodge ball) the weekend after I return home.  Their reception is in an upscale school gym (I feel like I'm going to homecoming), so a game might break out.  I will be hiding in the girl's room if that happens.

Sad little pile of fabric and lining.

I'll be working on this the minute I return home in hopes of having the dress ready for the following weekend.  I think that this dress will be really flattering, and I love this fabric very much.  I'm very excited and have the perfect cardigan to wear with it.

To Be Successful at Sea, We Must Keep Things Simple

Disclaimer:  I'm blogging away from home, and I had to anticipate the pictures that I would need ahead of time.  Upon review of the available photos for the next three projects, I find that they are utter crap and don't show the projects well at all.  Unfortunately, I don't have the option of rephotographing because I don't have the garments with me, and even if I did, I don't have any way to download them to my dad's computer.  Please bear with me.

Vogue 1020

My version of the top from the wardrobe pattern Vogue 1020 is a perfect illustration of how a fabric choice can dictate the feel of a garment.  I first noticed this pattern when The Slapdash Sewist made the dress from the wardrobe.  I also checked out the reviews on Pattern Review, and the other versions of this shirt/dress are stylish and sleek and a little bit sexy.  I originally intended to use a modern paisley in wines and deep reds, but because I purchased this fabric a while ago with no specific pattern in mind and because I hadn't realized how much fabric this pattern, took, I had to rethink.

In my stash, I had this nautical-themed cotton jersey (it's really a very white background; the picture looks a little yellow).  

I heard that nautical was in for the summer, so trust me to interpret that as literally as possible.

With a little creative wrangling, there was enough fabric to make the shirt.  (The pattern pieces, really?  Cut in single layer and bent at this really weird angle to accommodate the side gathers).  While I do like the end product, the shirt is really casual and part of me wonders whether the print isn't a little too juvenile.  And sometimes I look at it and think maybe I should have used this for a nightgown instead.  Oh well.  Far too late to turn around and undo it.

Jeez, from this picture, you can't even tell that the side is gathered.  Or recognize the skirt below.  I have to work on taking pictures so that you can actually see the clothes.

I like this pattern, and while I probably won't make the dress, I will give the top another go in a more formal fabric.  The pattern itself is simple enough -- front, back and two sleeves.  No facings.  This was also my first serger project, so I'm glad that it was mostly successful.  The instructions were clear, and I mostly followed them.  The only change I made was to sew the sleeves in flat and then sew the side and sleeve seams in one go (the pattern instructs you to set the sleeves in). 

I don't have a coverstitch machine, so I took a chance that there was enough room in the hips to hem the bottom with a double line of straight stitching, and I got lucky because that seems to have worked out.  I've worn this several times in the past month, and nothing's popped yet.  I finished the sleeves and the neckline with the double line of straight stitching, too.

I really like the asymmetrical gathers.  They are a nice detail to a relatively simple design and are very forgiving on those days when you might not feel your cutest.  The pattern tells you to gather each side to the correct length prior to sewing them together, and that's what I did.  I didn't have any difficulty getting everything to line up.  I dodged some kind of bullet here because I made Butterick 5497 a few weeks later and used the same method to gather the shoulder seams, but when I serged them together, the gathering all came out (I want to get more detailed shots of my mistakes and fixes, so that review is pending).  I'm sure this has something to do with my being a serger novice, but I wanted to mention this in case it was actually something wrong with the theory and not the execution.

So, cute little top that got me off on the right foot with my serger.  It's red, white and blue, so I wore it with jeans on July 4th.  Because the fabric was preshrunk, I can wash and dry this without worries of it not fitting later.  All in all, I'll chalk this one up in the "win" column.

Simplicity 2411

The jury's still out on Simplicity 2411.  I made view D but without the pocket details.  I used a stretch denim that was probably better suited to something more structured, and that's probably the cause of half of my problems with this skirt.  The other half?  Poor pattern choice and poor execution ( I should know better than to make anything with a yoke waist).

You'll have to trust me that this is the same skirt that I'm wearing in the above photo.

I'm going to have to give this skirt another try with a drapier fabric and reassess, so I'm not sure what I think of this pattern.  While I like the skirt as it turned out, it isn't really what I had in mind, the fit is off and it's too short.  I didn't bother to do any fitting on this pattern, just cut the size closest to my measurements and went for it.  Serves me right.  The waist is just small enough that it rides up too much which brings up the hem.  Given that the length of the of the view I made was right about where I wanted the hem, I did a narrow hem, but with a stiff fabric and a fuller skirt, I think it really needed the weight of a deeper hem to make the skirt hang correctly. 

The bottom of the yoke hits me at just the right part of the body that it gives me a nice little pot belly, so super flattering (yes, that's sarcasm).  Not that I'm going to tuck anything in with this skirt, but I would have liked the option, so something else to work on (either by fitting the skirt properly or dropping a few pounds; don't ask what's happened to my exercise schedule since my life got complicated back in April).

The directions were very straightforward.  I noticed that while there are separate pattern pieces given for the front and back, they are identical which saved me a little when I inserted the zipper into the wrong side of the skirt.  I just turned it around and called the front the back and the back the front.  The only real change I made was to insert a lining so that I won't have to wear a slip when I have tights on.  I used the regular pattern pieces for this and hemmed the lining fabric an inch shorter than the fashion fabric.  This worked out well, but I can't help but wonder if the slick lining fabric is one of the reasons that the skirt rides up so much (and not making the correct size; or gaining weight; we can all dream). 

I think the idea of the style is cute on, particularly the way I'm planning on wearing this.  However, I need to address the above issues before this is a go-to piece in my wardrobe.  I may make another version in a black or navy doubleknit.  I don't think I'll lengthen the pattern, but I will try a faced hem.  This was my original plan here, but I lost my leftover fabric in the nightmare that is my stash closet, so I had to make due.

I'll definitely be trying both of these again in the near future, and I'll let you know how it goes.

I Turn Over A New Leaf Every Day

I know that turning over a new leaf doesn't actually refer to plant leaves, but the beautiful print of this fabric looks just like a leafy summer day to me.  And every new pencil skirt pattern that I try is just another opportunity to get it right, so the title just seemed appropriate.

This cotton stretch sateen is from Fabric.com, and I knew the minute I saw it that it wanted to be a pencil skirt. 

I was very excited when Butterick 5466 was released.  I know the pattern seems pretty basic, but it has some design features that really work for me.  First, instead of single darts at the waistline, this pattern has double darts in both the front and back.  I have been interested in trying a pencil skirt with double darts because I was hoping this would be easier to fit to both my hips/thighs (largish) and waist (proportionately small), and I've had problems with skirts where the front is one solid piece in the past.  However, the double waist dart is a detail that's more common in vintage patterns, so this came at just the right time for me.   

Second, the pattern has options for this skirt both with and without a waistband which is great for me because I don't like how waistbands look on me.  It's not like you're ever going to see one on me because I don't tuck in my shirts often, and when I do, I've most likely stuck a belt over it.  In both those cases, a waistband just feels wrong.

Third, there's no slit in the back, and the skirt doesn't need one.  The last slit I made turned out horribly with too much everything everywhere and bad stitching, so I've been avoiding them.  I know I'll have to master this skill eventually, but luckily for me, this skirt didn't require it.

Enlarge the picture at your own risk. I warn you. I have scary old lady neck, but the skirt looks fantastic.

The pattern itself is not complicated.  It's only three pattern pieces and the waist facing, and despite the double waist darts, there's nothing unexpected in how it's put together.  I just gave the instructions the barest glance. 

Because of my hip/thigh-to-waist ratio, I cut out one size larger than my actual hip/thigh measurement and altered down at the side seams.  This allowed me to adjust the seam lines to match the exact curve of my hip (I have a little high-hip fluff).  I was originally going to peg the bottom, but in the end, I decided to do a straight side hem.

The only thing I'm going to change the next time I make this pattern (and make no mistake, there will be a next time), is to lengthen the skirt.  I liked the length of the skirt unhemmed, so I finished the bottom edge on my serger and did a narrow, single-fold hem.  Not the most professional, but it's neat, and I got the length that I wanted.  And because the skirt is narrow and the fabric is lightweight and stretchy, the hem didn't really need the extra fabric to weight it to make it hang properly (please do not shatter this illusion because I love this skirt).  With a heavier and drapier fabric, a narrow hem might not work so well.  I may also go back and add hem tape to better protect the raw edge, but I'd had a rough week and wanted to wear this to work, so I fudged a little. 

I used an invisible zipper, and I need to practice this more because sewing that back seam after the zipper is installed is always a tricky proposition for me.  There's a little pull in the back seam just under the zipper that I'll need to fix.  I had also considered putting in a lining, but when I tried the skirt on after I installed the zipper, I changed my mind and decided to keep it as light as possible for wear in hotter weather. 

The fabric was a great choice as the stretch content made the skirt easy to walk in without the back slit and helped minimize the wrinkling.  All in all, I'm pleased.  This might just be my first tried-and-true pattern.  And the best part is that the pattern uses so little fabric that I still have enough left to make another skirt at some point in the future.

In the Home Stretch

So, after a late start and a longer-than-expected surgery, my dad is cancer free.  His doctor says that his response to the chemotherapy and radiation couldn't have gone better, and he came through the surgery with flying colors.  Because we got this news just before 8 p.m. and my dad was still intubated in the recovery room, my grandmother and I were told to go home and to come visit in the morning.  I've had gin and dinner since then and am looking forward to a good night's sleep.  Finally.  See you in the morning.

There is a Skeleton in Every Closet

And here's the one that's currently in my mine tucked behind my wedding dress.

In celebration of my recent promotion (and as an anticipatory reward to myself for not killing my dad while I'm down in California taking care of him for the next three weeks following his lung resection), I spent money.  I was not supposed to buy a new handbag.  I was most definitely not supposed to spend what I spent on it, either.  But it's pretty, and I can afford it, and buying plane ticket after plane ticket and traveling so much for not very fun reasons for the past three months has taken its toll.  I broke, and now I have a beautiful, new bag.

Now, because of all of my recent family-related expenses, I have been on a spending hiatus.  And I'm still supposed to be on one because the boy cat needs minor surgery, and that's happening next month.  So the pretty bag has to live in the back of my closet until September so that when I do pull it out, not only has my bank account fully recovered, but I can honestly say to Mr. flyskim, "What?  This old thing?  I've had that for months.  You just must not have noticed it."

Actually, I'm not really going to say that.  But I don't want any evidence around that I broke my shopping fast until after things have calmed down here.  I'll be updating from the dad's house over the next few weeks as I perform my daughterly duties of housekeeper, cook, bottle washer and chauffeur.  I've completed a number of new items and am excited to share them.  I'm also going to take the opportunity away from my sewing machine to catch up on some knitting.  Wish me luck.