The Cloak of Indignation?

It's been nothing but kitty pandemonium around chez flyskim lately.  The boy cat had a mass on the back of his leg that the vet has had us monitoring for changes in size and appearance for the last year.  These are supposedly common enough that it wasn't worth putting the little man through the trauma of having it removed unless there was a reason for suspicion.  However, someone forgot to mention that even if the mass didn't change at all, it could still rupture.  And that's exactly what happened last week, so off we went to the vet.  The result? 

One consultation and minor surgical procedure later, we have a non-lumpy but pretty annoyed little Hyde with a shaved hind leg, two fewer teeth (a longstanding problem) and a nifty, new fashion accessory. 

Our boy in his e-collar

We keep trying to tell him that it's better than the cone, but we haven't been able to convince him that this is not the most horrid form of torture ever.  Not only can he not hide under the bed, but the girl cat has become all aggressive and territorial and he can't even indulge himself with a good groom.

He tries, but he just keeps grooming the collar.  He's managed to get to his front feet, which means he can wash his face, and one of his back legs.  Wouldn't you know that it's the leg with the stitches?  He hasn't pulled them out yet, so we're just keeping an eye on it. 

And as if the collar and the problems with mobility and grooming weren't enough, the monkeys who control the food keep taking pictures of his pain.  The one bright spot in this for our little boy is that he's been feasting on the canned food he loves but we won't usually give him.

So, we've been a little distracted around here, to say the least.  Don't even get me started with the girl cat.  We've tried separating them, spraying Feliway, feeding them the same food (Pip's waistline is not thanking us), praise and treats for not growling, but the girlie is just not backing down.  And we have to take Hyde back to the vet next week to get his stitches removed, so even if we can restore the status quo by the end of the week (the usual readjustment period), it's just going to start back up again.  We'd take her to the vet with us, but that's actually an even more traumatic ordeal that involves sneaking up on her with a very large towel and usually results in maiming.  Us, not her.  And the vet. 

I have, however, been able to work on a Talbot's inspiration dress.  I'm making Simplicity 2917 (view A in the shorter length as suggested on Pins and Needles) using a lightweight, stretch denim.  The fabric has a slight metallic weave to it, so it has a pretty sheen.  The fitting went well, and I started the sewing last night.  I'll report back on this later.

She seems so innocent when she's boning up on her sewing skills.

Until then, wish us luck in surviving the bad mood that is currently Pip.

A Forest Bird Never Wants a Cage

Pink finch and linnet bird?  Maybe not.

 I've recently finished Simplicity 2501, and while I'm really proud of my work on this blouse, it's been a learning experience.  Let me just warn you before we get too far that despite my best intentions, this is about a size too small and a good three inches too short.  However, there are a lot of things to love about this blouse, too.  I made View D with the short sleeves.  I originally wanted to do View D with the sleeves as shown on the envelope, but since I bought the fabric before I knew exactly what pattern I was going to make with it, I didn't have enough. 

I used this beautiful cotton voile that I purchased at Mill End Store last summer.  It kills me that I don't have this fabric to make something for myself anymore, because I was in love with this material.  It's so light and airy that it's perfect for summer.  I think I saw this fabric still available earlier this winter, so I think I might venture back to see if I can get some more.

Here's the blouse on me.

Huh.  From here, it doesn't look too bad, but trust me.  I barely got it buttoned at the waist.

Lesson #1:  Retake your measurements regularly, particularly if you suspect that you might have changed sizes.

I started with a size 12; however, I suspect that I should have gone up to the 14, so even though I did pattern fit this and do a slight full bust adjustment, it still didn't give me quite enough room for comfort, both physical and mental.

I think the bad fit might be a little clearer in this shot.  You can really see how short this turned out on me and the gaping of the buttons.  I'm not particularly long-waisted or tall, so the length (or lack of it) surprised me, especially since it doesn't look this short on the model on the pattern envelope.

Can you tell which button I neglected to do?

Further proof?  Here it is from the back.

So, full bust adjustment or not, the back is too small.  See all the pulling?  My pattern fitting did not look like this.  I took photos and everything because I suspected that the back might be too small.  Which brings us to . . .

Lesson #2:  Measure the pattern to verify that it will not only fit you but also have the appropriate design and wearing ease, particularly when your fabric has no stretch.

-and-

Lesson #3:  Don't go months without sewing wovens because stretch fabrics are easier to fit and faster to sew.

Here it is on the hanger.  Isn't it pretty?

That being said, I love this pattern so much that I'm headed to Joann's on Saturday so that I can get another copy to correct my fitting mistakes before this week's Simplicity pattern sale ends.  I guess this version will have to stand both as a muslin and as a practice piece.

This was my first time using a pattern that had a cup size, but I had been warned that I might want to go up to a D cup instead of my usual C.  That was so right, because I still had to add a 1/2 inch FBA, and I really don't think that was because of making the wrong size.  In spite of this, I loved the cup sizes because I'm always convinced that I distort bodices with my usual 1-2 inch FBA.  My only issue?  A smaller FBA means that you make smaller adjustments to the rest of the pattern, and if you rely on the full FBA adjustments to make other parts of the pattern large enough (like I do), you could find yourself with a garment that just doesn't work the way you expected it to.  On the plus side, I do think that I've mastered the simple sleeve alteration because I did a 1 inch enlargement, and that turned out perfectly.

Lesson #4:  When you do something for the first time, make sure that you really understand what you're doing before you do something permanent like cut your fashion fabric.

I thought that the instructions were fairly clear.  Others who have made this pattern have mentioned that the instructions jump around, and they do, but with as many different variations in both the bodice and the sleeves, I'm not so sure that couldn't be avoided.

You can see here my coordinating waistband facing.

I didn't pay enough attention to the pattern instructions, so I ended up only cutting two of the front waistband.  If I'd gone through the pattern more thoroughly and paid attention to how many fabric pieces each pattern piece needed, I would have realized that the waistband was self-faced.  I improvised and used a white shirting for the waistband facing, both front and back.  In retrospect, I think that worked out better.  The fabric is a very sheer voile that I chose not to underline as I planned to wear this with a white silk camisole.  Having both the outer fabric and facing with a pattern on it might have just ended up looking muddy.

Lesson #5:  Read through all of the pattern instructions, no matter how boring it is.  Don't just wing it.

-and-

Lesson #6:  Don't dispose of your extra fabric until the project is finished just in case you forgot to cut something.

Because the fabric was so sheer, I decided to try French seams.  And aren't they beautiful?  They were so much easier than I thought they would be, and they do look lovely from inside and out. 

peplum a good three inches.  Other than that, there aren't any changes that I would make. 

So, I guess the only question that remains is what do I do with my gorgeous blouse?  I'm too proud of it for it to go in the donation pile, but I don't know anyone who it would fit both physically and style-wise  Maybe I can frame it and hang it as art in the sewing room.

The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side

Look, Ma!  No sleeve finish!  I'll explain that later.

So, pretty much like everyone else, I've done up my own version of McCall's 5974.  This is View C, and I actually finished it back in January but hadn't gotten pictures of the dress until recently.  I made it out of this great monochromatic rayon jersey from Fabric.com.  It reminds me of a shattered mirror, all craggy and jagged.  I thought it would suit this pattern because of the more structured waist detail, but I'm not so sure.  It may be too busy for this pattern.  The great waist shaping gets a little lost.  If I make this again, I will use a solid colored fabric.

This was a fairly easy pattern.  The instructions are straightforward, and easy to understand.  As others have noted, this pattern runs large, particularly when it calls for a stretch fabric.  I made a 14 and had to bring the side seams in, and I could have made it even smaller.  This really hasn't mattered because of the wrap around waist tie.  I did not interface the waistband so that I could omit the back zipper, and I sewed the sleeves in flat.  This has created a problem with the finishing of the sleeves as they're too narrow to sew on my machine now.  Chalk that one up to experience.  For now, that limits this dress to wearing with a cardigan, which is okay in the winter, but I wanted a long-sleeved dress so that I could wear it by itself when the weather gets warmer, so that will have to be fixed.  I also didn't finish the edges of the waist ties.  They are hidden, and the fabric doesn't ravel, so the only thing finishing them would do is take out some of the stretch.

This is a Palmer/Pletsch pattern, so it comes with the fitting alteration lines directly on the pattern.  The only fitting change I made was to lengthen the bodice front in the center by 1 inch, tapering to nothing at the sides.  I may have to add more length if I make this up again because the waistband seam is clearly visible above the top of the wrap.

The one problem I have with this dress on me is the back view (then again, I don't know anyone who really enjoys their back view).  When I gain weight, it goes straight to my back, and the ties cut into the soft parts of my back.  As a result, I get this unattractive bulge between the waistband and the bottom of my bra (I know. TMI).  One of the other reasons why I'm currently limited to layering this under a sweater.  This isn't a comment on the dress itself.  I've seen it look super-cute on a range of body types and sizes.  It's just something that I've noticed on me that I don't think that anyone's mentioned before.  If you're at all self-conscious about your back, this could be an issue for you.  It is for me.

For the most part, I really like this pattern, and this dress, but I'd like to make it out of a solid color with some small adjustments.  Better fitting in the body of the dress, longer bodice top.  Actually hemming the sleeves so that I'm not limited to wearing this under sweaters in public.  I think I might shorten the hem as well.  It looks like it's hitting me at an awkward place on my knee.  So, not my favorite, but not bad as a halfway point. 

 We'll see how the next version comes out, but that will have to wait because I'm working on fitting with a woven fabric.  This is not going well, but hopefully, I'll learn something.  Stay tuned!