223. "Resort" Dress, aka Hazel Hack Dress

How is it that I'm drowning in work and still make time to sew?  That's never happened before.  Maybe my sewing mojo was blocked and all the work just hid that fact.  Anyway, the recent swimsuit success seems to have really buoyed me, so here we are with another project, again with vacation in mind.

222. Simplicity 2059 Lisette: "Resort" top

A little joke with myself, this top being "resort wear".  I'm actually taking some time off and away this summer, and when I consider what I should wear, I see practical appeal in designers' "resort" lines.  We're going north, to where the water is warm but the air is cool, and I think I will get to wear some long sleeved shirts!  What?!

You have no idea how exciting it is to me to wear long sleeves in summer.  When we went to Scandinavia 6 years ago, I was in heaven wearing long sleeves, knee socks, jeans, etc. in June.  It's kind of a big deal!

212. Knock-off City: Cherry Print Knock-off Dress

On the left is my latest summer dress, and on the right is the knock-off point:

But really, nothing is truly original, right?

211. Easter + Earth Day Shirt from the remnant bin!

Happy Easter!  Happy Earth Day!  And Happy Birthday to my boy, whose birthday overshadows everything within a 1-week vicinity:

There's something about a sewing challenge that I especially love.  When I have enough fabric, when the pattern is a perfect fit out of the envelope, when the stars all shine down on a project, I kind of get bored.  Sometimes I'm so bored I don't even start!  Ridiculous.  A few months back, I purchased a yard remnant of Alexander Henry cotton from the remnant bin at The Common Thread, because it was really cute, and a few days later I found a half yard of gray cotton with white polka dots from the remnant bin at Hancock.  Even though they were both quilting cottons, I knew they were destined to become one in the form of a shirt -- nee, a statement shirt -- somehow, from those two meager remnants.

It's basically Simplicity 4179, with a modified front placket, longer length, and no back darts.  It's an Easter shirt because of the crazy hen/ rooster print, and an Earth Day shirt because it was made from the leftovers of two bolts of fabric (and vintage buttons from a recent estate sale button bag purchase -- score!).  It's yet another article of clothing that kind of makes ME look like an 8-year-old, but hey.  In another 10 years I will look insane wearing it, so for now, no sweat.  ;)

BTW any ideas on why the top of the placket rolls forward?  Is my interfacing for the collar too stiff?  Is the interfacing on the front placket too floppy?  Have a super week!

210. One (major) pattern piece

Hi, Blogland Buddies!  It has been a while!  I've missed you!  :)

Since my last post, which was just before Christmas, I've worked extensively for two very cool new clients and other very cool current clients, seen the Austin school district undergo a massive budget crisis which resulted in the threat of my son's fantastic public school being closed, lost myself in the ensuing drama, pulled myself back out with the help of good friends, and finally gotten back to sewing and life in general.

After a 2-month hiatus from sewing, I jumped back in by skinnifying 2 pairs of jeans for family members and mending a pair of Louis' shorts.  Easy stuff, projects to dip my toes back in the water.  Then came Book Character Day at school.  Louis wanted to be Curious George (again) so I made a (bigger than last year) monkey suit.  I took a McCall's boys shirt pattern and pant pattern and traced around them both, matching at the waist and (as best I could) aligning along the grainlines.  I've always appreciated those Simplicity Jiffy patterns from the 60's and 70's, with one main pattern piece, so I blended the front and back so that there was no side seam.  Et voila!  A one-piece pattern for a monkey suit:

208. Thanks + friends + a new refashion

Another set of related updates...  Happy Belated Thanksgiving to all who celebrated last weekend!  I am thankful for a great family.  I am thankful for fall foods, which are my favorite from any season.  I am thankful for the enduring handsome that is Kenneth Branagh, and it is clear many of you are, too (and if I can get my hands on those Swedish Wallander DVD's a couple of you mentioned, I will, but Netflix doesn't have them).  I am thankful for my friends, both in real life and in Blogland.  Super-thankful for this lady, Kyle...:

... who, in late September, took a half day off work to drive to Philadelphia to pick me up from the airport, take me to Jomar, experience vegan cupcakes from Virago Baking Company in Lansdale, and ultimately drop me off at my hotel in yet another town when the car rental company wouldn't rent me a car without my drivers license (which I'd lost at an airport and not replaced yet).  Can we say "national drivers license database, please"?!  Whatever - I first met Kyle in person less than two years ago and I think she's super-nifty.  So, so glad we are both friends in Blogland and friends IRL.  She blogged about our Septmber meeting in Philly here.

207. Zero Waste

My infrequent blogging creates a backlog of things I want to share with you, and then comes the task of grouping some of those things together into one post in an attempt to catch up.  Zero waste seems like a good place to start.

I really, really dig the concept of zero waste!  The idea that nothing is wasted while making something new is super-cool.  Soy jersey is probably the softest and most luxurious fabric I've ever laid hands on, and it happens to make full use of the soy plant.  (Technically I wouldn't say closed loop and zero waste are the same, but they both apply to soy fabric production.)  Zero waste can apply to clothing design, too.  This gentleman has certainly made waves in his pursuit of zero-waste fashion by designing zero-waste garments, and this lady is refashioning straight from the fast fashion sale racks.

Appreciating zero waste means I have a few bags and piles of fabric scraps and remnants.  My sewing room looks like a pit at the moment for lots of reasons (too much travel, not enough sewing, too many friends/ family members cleaning out their closets and forwarding perfectly usable castoffs, my deep love of a good challenge, I keep lots of scraps because I like zero waste), so I watched the entire first season of Hoarders and concluded that I'm messy, but not a hoarder.

I sewed a few bags, to get rid of some of the larger scraps and remnants.  There is always a need for bags in my house, between the shopping and sewing meetups and hauling food to PTA meetings and my sister and niece, who are always ready to claim a new tote as soon as it rolls off the back of the presser foot!  I'm happy to report that I had no emotional issues using the fabric and giving the bags away.  The bag on the left was made with parts of khakis left over from the Austin Museum of Art khaki dress, the bag in the middle used a printed home dec remnant and the bottom of a bedskirt that my nephew didn't want, and the bag on the right was just scrap cotton print and scrap denim:

Then I turned to the pile of knit scraps.  My 7-year-old needs long sleeved t-shirts.  Correction:  he needed them for the two weeks of fall-like weather we had last month, and since has lived in short sleeved tees and shorts in the lingering heat.  But I bet he will need those long sleeved t-shirts at least by Christmas.  So I snagged a stack of brand new t-shirts my dad gave me last summer -- some promotional t-shirts and some plain ol' men's cotton tees -- and using a pattern made from a traced tee in my son's drawer, cranked out a couple of new long sleeved shirts.

The first (all black tee) was a quick cut-up and small-izing of a men's long sleeved tee, keeping the ribbing at the neckline and wrists.  The second tee was a little more challenging, because I used a black promo tee with a logo so prominent that I couldn't cut an entire new shirt front from the existing shirt front.  So I grabbed some red knit from my scrap pile, leftover from a previous t-shirt project, and used it for the top of the new tee.  And because the original tee had short sleeves, I used the red and some other black knit scraps to cobble together long sleeves.  I didn't think I'd like the shirt while I was putting it together, but I kind of do now.

Totally unrelated to hoarding and the sad state of my sewing room, but related to my 15+ year crush on Kenneth Branagh and my love of all things Scandinavian, is the PBS series Wallander.  All three of the new episodes have aired on PBS but they are available to watch online till mid-November.  See them!  Love them!  They are excellent and the bullies meet their right fates.  ;)

205. A whole lot of refashioning going on

Geez, I haven't shared a sewing post with you in a month.  Totally not reflective of what I've been up to.  Let's start with a simple tank-style woven top and altered jeans.  The tank is a refashioned men's shirt (short sleeve button down and SOFTASALLGETOUT) and the jeans were a standard pair of bootlegged Banana Republic jeans I have not worn because the bootlegs never really worked for me.

203. Austin Museum of Art Fashion Show

Or, How Lucky I Am.

I know, every day, how lucky I am.  Not everyone gets to do something they love for a living and do stuff they love for fun.  I know that.

These are two dresses I made for a fashion show this past Sunday, one from two pairs of men's black denim jeans, and one from two pairs of men's khaki pants:

runway photos courtesy of Sterling Images

202. In Mociun (knockoff #2) to Seattle

Or, my amazing and super-cool summer trip to Seattle, during which I wore my Mociun knockoff #2.  Why 2?  Read on to find out!

201. The World Needs Another Mociun Tie-Front Dress Knockoff!

I am telling you!  I had once upon a time thought about buying the actual Mociun dress (on sale).  But I changed my mind last winter and decided to buy The Boots That Changed My Life instead, which I have not yet shared with you but oh, their time in the blog spotlight is coming.


For now, back to the Mociun dress.  I liked the tie front and the deep v but with the rest of the neckline and decolletage generally concealed, and the version I'd considered buying had a band at the bottom, creating a real tulip effect.  I succumbed to the peer pressure after Cindy revealed her version during Week of Dresses and Meg posted hers the same week.  Turns out a gracefullady was kind enough to share some detailed notes of how she knocked off this dress (how she managed to eke it out of 2 yards of vintage 36" wide fabric, I'll never know) -- and the instructions were spot-on for me.  Behold, Another Mociun Knockoff:

199. McCall's 6069: The HOT 2.5 Hour Dress/ Cindy's Dress Week

The name of the dress is a reference to an enthusiastic comment I made on Kyle's version of M6069 a couple months ago.  I immediately proclaimed it HOT! HOT! HOT! and bought the pattern at the next 99-cent sale at the fabric store.  I don't think my dress is quite so HOT but it is great in HOT weather and very comfortable, as any tube of stretchy knit fabric with an elasticized waist would be.  The front shot doesn't show the draping in the most flattering light, but overall I think it's a nice dress and I have been wearing it a lot.

It is my official submission to Cindy's dress week sew-along!  I do think I sewed this during the right week, but haven't posted till now. 

197. McCall's 4892: Trickster Dress in Plaid Linen

Tricked me once? Shame on you. Tricked me twice?......

... Well then, shame on me.  This time, I'm referring to McCall's 5892.  (And the first time, it was Vogue 1046.)  It reads like a mystery in three parts, or maybe more like an episode of Blue's Clues.  Not the full-on cartoon newer ones, but the original ones, with Steve, where Blue doesn't talk.

194. Happy Mother's Day! Pantone 2010 Dress

Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas!  It can be a tough job but we asked for it and do it with style.  Hats off, sisters.

BTW, my name is Antoinette.  You may have forgotten me, as it's been about six weeks since I last posted.  Yeah, sorry about that.  Springtime is extra-nuts around here, between spring break, family birthdays (and parties), Easter, seasonally heavy workload, and volunteer stuff at the elementary school.  The school yearbook is due at the printer this Friday, which will leave me with more spare time.  I've got a busy couple of weeks after that with work, and then school's.... out.. for.. summer!!!

192. Colette Patterns: Macaron Dress

What's up, ladies???  I hope you're getting a nice change of season where you are.  We are on spring break!  Excitement and happiness and sunshine and lots of sugary sweets abound.  My brain is squarely in spring and summer dress mode, and the weather has been so accommodating that I couldn't resist taking the plunge with the Colette Patterns' Macaron, which seemed the most "like me" stylistically of all the Colette offerings.

190. Wednesday Workshop: Simple Sweatshirt Recon

It has been a busy and a bizzy February!  I just got back from a short trip to New Orleans, and I had not seen the city since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  I didn't visit the Lower Ninth Ward or go on a self-guided photo tour of other areas that had been ravaged by Katrina, because I was working a lot and, in between, nursing a cold in the comfort of my hotel room.  Still, it was good to see spirits so very high.  The French Quarter was bustling and all outward signs say ongoing recovery.  Esp. with the recent Saints Superbowl win.  WHO DAT?!

I have thought a lot about sewing but don't have much new clothing to show for it (but lots of crafting!  I'm just not used to blogging those crafty projects...).

Well, I have one new garment to share.  After the sad news of Alexander McQueen's untimely death two weeks ago, I felt a little down and knew the best way out was to start one of the many sewing projects in my mental queue.  Behold: the simple sweatshirt reconstruction.

187. Celebrate The Boy

Well, well, well. I am really expanding my horizons this month! If this encompassed all the sewing blogs out there to some degree (knowing there's overlap and bits of this and bits of that)...

... then my little blog started out in the Fashion/ Apparel, included Refashion in 2008, and then touched on some DIY in 2009. Why not round out the picture by dipping my toe into crafting?

Dana over at MADE was one of the cool bloggers I hung out with at Wardrobe Refashion two years ago, and she is, without a doubt, a blogging phenomenon! Dana is a great designer and photographer and has provided inspiration for countless creative folks around the world. She had this great idea to host a month of making things for boys, who we all know kind of get shortchanged when it comes to sewing, as compared to girls. And she invited me along for the ride. My project and tutorial are going live February 27, so I shall keep you posted.

As much as it feels like my participation in Celebrate the Boy is a craft thing, it seems that Celebrate the Boy will feature projects that fall all over that chart above. Meaning some DIY, some craft, some refashion, and some apparel -- like Dana's first post of the month! These envelope neck tees with contrast ribbing and serging are to die for! Go check them out, and I hope to see you following along this month!

186. Uniforms

Greetings from Philadelphia! (Not as snazzy as “Aloha from Hawaii!” but close. Right? Wink wink.)

I’ve been thinking lots about uniforms. You’ve probably seen The Uniform Project. During my short visit home, a nurse came to conduct an interview and take some key measurements and other usual stuff for a new life insurance policy. I couldn’t help but notice that her scrubs were fitted and much more flattering than typical boxy green scrubs:

On closer inspection, the label on the front read “Grey’s Anatomy”! Is there no end to cross-promotional merchandising?

The nurse and I had a nice conversation about how much she loves the top, that even more than the fit and the deep purple color, she loves the softness of the fabric (probably a cotton-poly blend twill from what I could tell). And she promptly gave me her contact info in case I wanted to make scrubs for her. Can you imagine? A custom sewing/ design job making scrubs!

Part of me is very intrigued by this and I might do it. She’s not in a hurry to get them, but she clearly values a flattering work uniform very much. Don’t we all? I have two primary uniforms:

1. My work-at-home-pick-up-Louis-after-school uniform.

This winter it has been a t-shirt under a knit dress, leggings, knee socks, and shoes on errand days or heeled boots on fancier days. In winter it’s usually a dress and sandals or flip-flops.

2. My work-at-work uniform.

I haven’t mentioned this in a long time: All my work-at-work clothes are ill-fitting, as in pants that are too big around the waist and hips so the crotch hangs too low, and jackets whose sleeves are too long and shoulders are too wide and shoulder pads are too poufy. I bought them all, from very reputable stores. But even a well-made suit looks junky when it doesn’t fit.
I do have some business-casual-meet-clients-face-to-face clothes, too, but I don’t do that enough to have real uniforms. Just two pairs of decent-fitting grey slacks and a variety of tops/ sweaters. Nothing noteworthy. And sometimes, on casual days, I will wear jeans in winter or

shorts in summer. But again, not often and nothing noteworthy.

Soooo, another day I’ll tell you more about my first uniform. I’m going to focus on the second uniform for now, to start replacing those clothes that just don’t fit and could stand to look a lot better. (Well, as soon as I get home from the current work trip.) Next up, I will finally make my first Chanel-style jacket, from this Stretch & Sew pattern that thoughtful Wendy sent me last summer:

I think I will go with View B, with the trim, streamlined sleeve caps, and long sleeves. Though I haven’t read through the instructions, the description of View B says it is unlined. Clearly this is not a jacket that follows the couture construction techniques of a genuine Chanel jacket. But

it will get me started.

I feel like I’ve got to give some more thought to the fabric. My sewing buddy IRL Leslie says there is a place here in Philly called Jomar that is a great destination for wholesale fashion fabric… maybe I will make it there before I head home and find the exact fabric I need for this unlined first pass at a Chanel lookalike jacket. Any fabric suggestions?

185. Aloha! Simplicity 2927: Aloha Dress

Aloha, my blogging buddies! I'm on my first visit to Hawaii, and it is picture-perfect every single minute of every single day. No exaggeration. Like this random shot from our hotel room balcony:

May I also thank at this time each of you who encouraged me to enjoy the trip and not feel guilt that my family is not with me. It has been a lovely time so far. I'm sure it would have been lovely if my family were here, but in a very different way. For instance, it is about 1:30 p.m. local time and I have not left the hotel today. I haven't even really left the room except to get coffee downstairs, and have spent the day editing photos, uploading them to various places, catching up on your beautiful blogs, and just doing exactly what I want to do when I want to do it. Such a foreign concept with a little one.

Just to re-cap, my BFF Emily and I are here for a week, during which time we are attending a wedding and some related social events for a work friend. One of our first activities was whale-watching with our friend Joe. Grown-ups only, about 16 of us, with a great crew on a decent-size boat. I def. recommend this specific tour if you want to give it a shot! We went swimming with turtles and schools of fish, and got to see a whale family (pod?) doing their thing:

Are you amazed? I was stunned! I'd only seen this kind of thing on TV, never in person. Pretty spectacular! Unfortunately, after the first swim, I let my breakfast go into the big, blue Pacific about 12 times. I really do believe that is an accurate count. You may ask yourself how big my breakfast was that I could afford this. I assure you that my breakfast was meager, and yet there was still more to offer. Despite this, I might be talked into another whale-watching excursion on a future trip!

Although I have taken lots of photos since I've been here to document the trip, I seem to forget to photograph any of the interesting clothes I've shared with you. I wore the low-cut metallic denim dress to the family & friends BBQ on Friday night, and it was perfectly modest with a black tank underneath. I decided not to wear the floral rayon dress to the wedding -- the sandals I brought on this trip were too casual so I decided on a more dressy dress.

I did finish Simplicity 2927, my birthday present for Emily, which she wore to the wedding Sunday night:

I went the entire evening without taking a full-dress photo of Emily, and now I don't have it in me to ask her to put it on again just for a photo, so a hanger shot it is. I will post a review on PR.com sometime, but for now I will say I was super-happy that blending between sizes was pretty simple with this pattern because there are no adjustments to be made along the front princess seams. The neckband is simple denim, the piping is your garden variety Wright's piping, and the bodice is made from some lovely Kokka fabric. I am normally wouldn't consider using Japanese crafty fabric for apparel, but this fabric met all my criteria for color, motif pattern, opacity (no need for lining), weight, and everything else I could think of. It isn't the softest fabric in the world but I hope it will soften with a few more washings.

That's all for now. The beach is calling! If you'd like to see a few more photos, I am uploading the best of the best of Hawaii 2010 over at Flickr. Hope you are having a great week!

184. Simplicity 2584: How Low Can You Go?

I went to Hobby Lobby for Christmas goods a few weeks back, and found a bolt of clearance denim that felt so soft and lightweight. Medium blue is not my favorite shade, but it felt like 6 oz denim, which is rare in Austin. A summer denim dress! Finally! I rushed to the cutting table, and as the fabric unrolled from the bolt, I saw the blinding sheen of metallic thread and was paralyzed.

Sometimes you see fabric that is so hopeless that you have to get a few yards and challenge yourself to do something to redeem it. (PatternReview.com Ugly Fabric contest, anyone?) I don't know that I think metallic denim is ugly, per se -- just a very odd choice. Of all the denims you could produce, metallic denim?

Enter Simplicity 2584, a Cynthia Rowley pattern I picked up last summer. I thought it might be just the class a metallic denim would aspire to, so their fates were sealed.

Can I mention that this dress looks much better in person? Everyone who's seen it so far has compliments, and I promise the photos don't do it justice.

Cindy sewed her version of this dress last summer and piped the yoke. Even though the denim was lightweight, I didn't want to bulk that front yoke by lining as instructed, so I perused the fabric store and came up with this stone blue piping that matched so well. It was my first time using piping and I have to say that it was a pleasure. My newbie hands weren't able to get the sharpness of the yoke's points as I would have had I lined the yoke, but it doesn't lessen my love for this rags to riches story. LOL

And that yoke is LOW! Only J-Lo goes that low (as in, lower than the bra strap). I don't, so I will be sewing in a little lace modesty panel.

So far, the new year intent to slow down and be part of the process of sewing more has worked great. This pattern is not difficult at all, but requires careful attention to instructions and detail, and taking one's time does wonders. And now I have another dress for Hawaii next week! I'll be sure to take photos of me wearing the dress, maybe in some bright equatorial sunshine, and see if I can do a better job of showing you what I see.

My full review of Simplicity 2584 is here.