Pink Paisley May 27, 2009

How cute is this fabric?

I wanted to use it for something and was going to make an apron for myself, but I’m sort of into making bags right now,

so I finally made a tote.

It’s the floppiest little bag I’ve made yet. The fabric is really thin, and the lining is a bit flimsy too.

But I think it’s great for the summer, and though you can’t tell from the picture above, it has an outside pocket and an inside pocket, so plenty of room to hold all my stuff!

I bet it would look adorable with this little white dress. (hint, honey…)

Befitting in Black May 21, 2009

As you may know from a previous post, I am a bridesmaid in my brother-in-law’s wedding.

I am to wear a black dress of my choice – the only stipulation, aside from the color – is that it hit somewhere around the knee. I posted a few dresses and everyone agreed that the bride’s choice was the best choice.

I totally agree, but the only store carrying it near me doesn’t have my size!  I am going to check them out anyway because they just might have another dress that would work.  I have already tried on about 20 different dresses. Can you believe that?! All I need is a cute, little, black dress, and I can’t find one! Well, that’s not entirely true. I found plenty of dresses, and plenty were cute. They just don’t fit me (or they cost hundreds and hundreds!). Thus is the hardship of the 5 ‘ nothing woman…

To combat this problem, I have decided to make a dress. Don’t worry, I am still looking for a real dress to wear in the wedding, but I am also making a dress so that I always have a nice, simple, black dress that fits me when I need one. Now, you might think this is quite the endeavor, and you would be right. It involves boning and panels, after all. However, my sewing instructor seems to think it’s possible and so I am going to design and custom fit a strapless, black cocktail dress.

It won’t be fancy, but at least it will fit.

Weekend Wrap-up May 12, 2009

I had every intention of going to the Domino tag sale on Saturday. I really did. But then I slept late, and then I realized I had to finish sewing my mom’s mother’s day gift (a bag), and then I realized the lines would be long AND that I’d have to carry that stuff around all day — so I didn’t go. And by the sounds of it, the lines were really long and things were pricey, at least, what little of the good stuff there was. Check out a recap from two of my favorite blogs, A Cup Of Jo and High-Heeled foot In the Door.

So while I didn’t hit that sale I did still do some shopping damage. My sister and I went to Anthropologie, where I got nothing because the adorable dresses were way out of my (unemployed) price range. My sister, however, found this really cute dress to bring with her on her upcoming Hawaiian vacay (jealous!).  But then we went to Banana Republic and I got some fun stuff including a giant, gold necklace and aviator sunglasses.

After our shopping we grabbed a quick bite then headed to a movie. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is exactly what you expect and maybe just a tiny bit worse from a Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner film.

At this point it was still early evening and we felt like we earned a drink, so we headed to the Belmont Lounge and sat out back for a glass of wine.  But… one turned into two, to to three, then our sister-in-law joined us, then we all decided to go to Brooklyn where MNH and my brother were, and everything from there is a bit of a blur. We ended up sleeping over, which was too funny.

Anyway, long story short, the next day was Mother’s Day and my brother hosted a brunch. I gave my mom a bag I made for her. It should have only taken me a few hours one day, but I made the exterior too big and didn’t realize that until I tried to put it all together, so put darts in to make it a bit smaller. It turned out pretty cute though there are still plenty of issues with it that I would have redone if I had a bit more time. I think she really liked it though!

Gear. May 4, 2009

When my husband and I went on our first date (theinfamous marathon date of something like 14 hours) we talked about a lot of things. While walking through Central Park we somehow got to talking about the things we used to do as younger people. I mentioned to him that I was a photography student (along with art history) and that I used to love walking around the city taking pictures. Somehow, that brought us to the topic of Gear. All the stuff you need for the hobbies we love so much.

I love gear. I think Gear is the best part of doing anything. So when I start something new, I pretty  much just jump right in and do things like…buy a sewing machine. One day I said “I’d like to learn how to sew” and the next day I went out and bought a machine. Then I went out and bought A LOT of patterns, a book, fabric, noptions (that’s what they call the Little Gear – the tools). It was a great day.

Well, I have made a few things and am definitely not good and very much still a beginner. But I just took my first official sewing lesson and went to my teacher’s studio and used her Gear. And she has this amazing machine that I really need. It’s called a Serger. And it would make everything better.

The serger is used for finishing seams, so that there are no fraying edges. It’s also called a Lock Over, because that’s the stitch it makes. It is so much easier than finishing seams on a regular machine, and it trims the fabric as you sew the stitch, so it looks professionally finished! The project we are working on is a skirt, custom fit to my size. The thing is going to look super amazing because of this Serger. Oh, and because we are using a dress form, so we can pin the skirt to dress form which is about my size, and play with the folds, pleats and darts to decide what would look the best. It is so much more fun to sew this way! It’s taking everything to a whole new level. At this point, I’m practically pro, when I’m in her studio, that is.

Sew, I mean, so, I need to invest in some more Gear. A Serger and a Dress form, please, in my size.

Not sew bad! April 13, 2009

A few weeks ago I posted about a sewing project that was giving me some trouble. I brought my tote bag home to my mom (in several parts) and she helped me figure out how to put all the parts together to make a complete tote bag.

I finally did that and my mangled mess went from this:

To this:

Once I finished my tote I put it over my shoulder only to find out that it was just a bit too small to be worn comfortably that way, though it will make a very cute handbag.  Feeling creative, I decided that since I still had plenty of fabric left, I would alter the pattern myself and make some adjustments. I made the body of the bag bigger by 2″ all the way around, and I extended the length of the straps significantly. I also managed to figure out an easy way to handle the interfacing situation within the straps. And just to mix it up a bit, I used the lining (which is really pretty) as the exterior, and the exterior as the lining. AND, the best part is, I finished my small tote, altered the pattern of the new tote and made the entire thing all in one day! I am sew totally getting the hang of this! (Sorry, I like corny jokes.)

Check out my new bag:

I still have a bit of both of these fabrics left, so I might make either a clutch or a small wallet.  And now that spring is here (Yeah!) I’m going to make a dress and a spring bag. I am loving this sewing stuff and having handmade goods! I feel so Martha-esque, minus the prison term.

Tote Bag Fiasco. March 16, 2009

My sewing saga continues….

Having now finished two projects that came out in varying degrees of OK, I am attempting to sew a tote bag. I found really beautiful fabric to use for the outside and the lining, thinking that I might make a matching wallet out of the lining. They are winter fabrics, which is good, because at the rat I am going I won’t be done with this project until around Thanksgiving. I know it’s hard to see in this picture, but the light fabric is a really soft off white/khaki, and the dark fabric is also really soft, but has a bumpy texture. It’s dark brown with off white and light browns threaded throughout. Both are beautiful, and were not cheap, which is why I am taking such painstakingly careful steps with the tote bag.

This time I was determined to follow the pattern and instructions exactly – but that of course did not work out for me. This pattern called for using fusible interfacing, and though it took me some time to locate what I thought was the right one, I finally did, and was very time efficient by cutting the fabric and the interfacing at the same time. This way they were not only exactly the same size, but the cutting (a process that frightens me) took a lot less time. Next I ironed the fabric, then ironed the interfacing to the fabric, and it came out great! Here is a shot of the body of the tote with interfacing.

 Then I made a pocket. The problem, or one of the problems I should say, is that I thnk I am using fabric that is too thick for this pattern. The pocket sides were tricky to do the way the pattern called for because after folding and sewing and then folding again, they became very thick. The same thing happened with the handles. Those have interfacing in them, but when I went to sew them onto the tote my machine couldn’t handle it, so I had to flip open each end and cut about half an inch of interfacing off the handles. Eventually, I also had to remove ALL the interfacing from the body of the tote, again, because my machine couldn’t handle all that, especially once the re was the tote itself, the lining, the handles and the pocket. There was just no way. So, my tote that was supposed to be really firm and stand on it’s own is now going to be soft and floppy. It is a little disappointing, because I tried really hard with the interfacing, but the needle came making a clicking sound when I tried to sew it, and it was the same sound it made before I broke my first needle, so I called it quits. Below you can see the pocket I made and a strap with the interfacing still on it.

Anyhoo, I sewed corners of the bag and the lining – they make the bottom of the bag have a little room and structure – and I think I did that rather well. And actually, the handles did come out fine as well.

put it all together with pins just like the instructions said to do, with the lining sort of outside the bag. The trick is, the lining has a hole in the seam, so that when you put it all together you pull the lining so the right side of the bag is outside. I don’t get it at all, but I tried. And failed. I ended up sewing it so that the outside of the bag WAS the lining, and the pocket was inaccessibly placed in between the lining and the bag, and the straps were inside the bag. Useless. 

My trusty seam ripper (definitely the tool that sees the most action) helped me out of that jam, and I tried again. And failed again. Seam ripper. Currently, this is what my bag looks like as it is waiting to have its seams fully ripped. 

I am going to go home and have my mom help me this weekend. This whole “pull the bag out of the hole of the lining and get the straps and pocket in the right place” idea is killing me. Totes.

A break from the break March 2, 2009

What  a busy weekend I had! It was fun and totally exhausting.

I like to think that the weekend actually starts on Thursday, which I spent skiing in VT with my dad. The snow was gorgeous and the mountain was empty – I am all for ski Thursdays and hoping we do it again this week! Expecially after this amazing snowstorm we are having right now.

MNH had friends visiting this weekend, so we met up with  them on Friday night for some fancy cocktails at Elsa in the East Village. We always have a lot of fun with them, and we were joined by another of MNH’s friends who lives in the city but whom we rarely see. And we got to meet his new(ish) girlfriend, so it was a good night.

 

I spent Saturday afternoon sewing, which is one of the things I promised myself I would learn how to do in this time off, and I really enjoy doing it, but I find that lately I have been pretty busy an haven’t really had much time to spend on it. It’s not the kind of thing that you can just pick up and quickly do for 30 minutes, at least, I can’t do that yet. So Saturday I prepped and began a new project. I am making a tote bag. Unfortunately, I don’t think I will actually use the bag because I think it is one of those really small ones that only has short handles – the kind you have to carry because it doesn’t fit over your shoulder. I don’t really dig those, but I am determined to finally follow one pattern through to completion, and after that maybe I will mess around with some changes. Later on MNH and I met up with my brother and his wife to see some Creole music at B.B.Kings. The venue is definitely a bit touristy – what with being smack in the center of Times Square and all – but the show was super fun. We had great seats for people watching (and oh boy, were there soe characters there) and we danced a lot, so I was happy! If you ever have the chance to see Buckwheat Zydecko, I suggest you do it. He has got to be about 75 years old but he jams out on the accordian while another guy plays the steel bib! 

 

My cousin was in town from DC (you can visit her here), so on Sunday we had a big group brunch (me, my sister, my 2 cousins and my aunt) at Sarabeth’s in the Chelsea Market. We sat there for a long time chatting. At one depressing point we realized that of the 5 of us, three are not currently working, but that realization was too gloomy so we quickly moved on. Catching up was good and now I have a few dates lined up for the week. Movie with my cousin, museum with my aunt. I am really excited to see the Martin Kippenberger exhibit at MoMA. Anyhoo, yesterday evening I went to a rehearsal for Underworld Productions, the opera company on whose board I sit, for Cosi Fan Tutte. They rehearse in this tiny little room that barely fits the piano and all 15 – 20 of us, which I actually like because you are right in the middle of the music and the singing. It was fabulous, but especially fabulous because the famed tenor, Marcello Giordano, was there. He sits on the advisory council of the organization and is in town performing in Madame Butterfly at the Met. He is incredibly kind and generous, and listened to the young singers attentively, providing comments afterwards. I could only imagine how much that would mean to an emerging performer – I was nervous just being there! After that very lofty experience I went back home to an evening of chicken parm and Weeds. MNH and I are quickly making our way through the entire show. Mary Kate Olsen is on it right now. She really is a strange looking little bird, isn’t she?  

I am exhausted now after such a busy weekend, and looking forward to chilling out today, working on some projects, and maybe my tote bag. How was your weekend?

Is there any way to save this skirt? February 9, 2009

This should have been easy. That is, if you follow instructions and patters. I don’t. I don’t know why.  I chose to make a skirt from a beginner’s book of patterns. It was just supposed to be an elastic waist band skirt as long or short as you want. No fancy anything. So I started out thinking it would be easiest if I made it short because there would be less fabric to custom fit to my size. I cut the fabric and followed the instructions through the fitting process. Again, thinking I was going to do a short skirt, I didn’t fit it all the way down. I just stopped midway, because I was going to hem the bottom anyway.

But then I noticed that the extra fabric from where I stopped fitting the skirt down to the hem sort of made pleats on the sides, knee down to hem.  So, I decided I would make it with pleats on purpose. Please note, this is the second item I have sewn – I have no idea how to make pleats, and the pattern certainly did not call for pleats.

Knowing I couldn’t start another fun project until I had finished this one, I sat down at the machine determined to finish the skirt. I attached the elastic band, incorrectly. They make is sound sew (sorry) easy on BurdaStyle, I figured it would be no problem. I kept sewing the actual band to the skirt when I was supposed to sew the band inside the fold, without directly stitching it onto the skirt. That way, before you close the waist you can pull the elastic band to make it tighter, thus fitting you better. But if you sew the band onto the skirt like I did, you can’t pull it tighter, because you’d be pulling the skirt, too. Luckily, I cut the elastic band just a touch too small, so it still fits me, but I did pucker the fabric of the skirt through all of this.

Next, I sewed the hem tape on to the hem after folding up the fabric, and realized that the extra fabric would make the pleats harder to create, but what was done was done and I wasn’t redoing it. So, I taped the hem, then ironed the pleats which I think are most like kick pleats, to both sides of the skirt. But they didn’t take, and I spent quite a long time ironing and ironing to get the shape of the pleats to take in the fabric. By the way, the two pleats are totally  different sizes. Once I got the pleats ironed in as much as I thought I could, I put the skirt on, and Voila!  A skirt is born.

If you look closely (ok, fine, you don’t have to look all that closely) you can see all the mistakes I made - bunched up thread, uneven lines, etc. It definitely has a home-made look about it. It’s a shame it isn’t nicer because I really love the pattern. But I will wear it, probably with a white t-shirt and wedges, like the ones in this picture.  

Were I really dedicated, I would figure out exactly what I am supposed to do with the back slit, redo the elastic waist a la this video on MonkeySee, rip several seams and re-sew to fix the thread-bunching issue, and learn how to properly do pleats. However, I have limited patience with this, and need to move on…  I think the fabric would make a really cute summer dress, but I would have to follow a pattern because this did not work out so well. If anyone has a summer dress pattern that is super simple with no pleats and little custom fitting, please share!

Up next – a tote bag!

If you don’t sew, you won’t care about this. Seriously, you won’t. February 4, 2009

As you may or may not know, I am experimenting with what it means to be a modern day housewife. This means all things “home” — cooking, cleaning, sewing, decorating. The sewing part of this suits me just fine, because for a while I have wanted to learn how to sew anyway, and now I have the time. However, it is not easy, and since I don’t like to do things I am not good at, I hadn’t sewn a stitch in about 2 weeks until yesterday.

A few weeks ago I finished the apron I was working on for my sister. It was supposed to have piping all the way around, two pockets, and no lining. I lined it, skipped the piping because the little bit of it that I did was super hard, and kept it to one pocket (the other one came out much smaller than this one). Oh, and I don’t remember how the neck was supposed to attach, but I just added this awkward little tab and called it a day. While it wasn’t intentional, the lining gives the apron a poufy look, which I really like. I think that part is pretty cute.  My sister picked out the fabric, and I think it suits this apron rather well – very ’50’s housewifey. Hope you like it, M!

 

With the apron finally done, I started a new project that I will share soon. It’s a skirt, and it has a whole new set of problems……

Turns out, I am not naturally good at this… January 15, 2009

I finally, finally finished my first sewing project! I made an apron for my sister, and while definitely not perfect, it is done!! I have to say, I expected to be a natural at this – it 3 of my 4 grandparents were in the industry, and my mom can sew, and I really just thought I’d have a knack. Turns out, I don’t, but I think I can learn.

I had a lot of trouble with this project, partly because it was my very first attempt at sewing and so I don’t know how to read patterns yet or work a machine, but also because I decided I didn’t want to do what the pattern wanted me to do, so I changed it. Yeah, I know, not too smart but I did it anyway. And believe me, those mistakes show, but I think I learned from them.

• My biggest problem was applying the double folded bias tape — omg, what a killer. There has to be an easier way to do it! If you have any suggestions, believe me, I am all ears. 
• I also had issues with the thread bundling up under the fabric. I guess that’s the bobbin thread, but why did it keep doing that?  
• I don’t know how to do a finished hem.  
• When the fabric was folded, or when I used the bias tape, it seemed like it was too thick for the machine, though I was told it shouldn’t be. I did the trick with adjusting the foot, but it was still difficult. 
• Oh, yeah, and I snapped a needle. Does that happen to everyone?

One little change I made worked out well. I decided to line the body of the apron to give extra protection while cooking, and the effect is so cute! It made the whole apron billowy, like a balloon skirt – my sister is going to look adorable! Anyway, it is done, so now I am just going to iron it and take a few pics that I will share with you on another post, and then send it off to my sis, who is currently working on knitting me a scarf. Next up…a skirt!