2017 roundup: sparkle romper

Ooh, this was a fun one. Ever since I made my mini summer collection, I'd been wanting to make a summer romper based on the crop top pattern. I figured the tie back would lend well to getting in and out, and I really love the having shorts instead of a skirt for general ease of wear. I didn't know what fabric I wanted to make it in, and then I went to the fabric store near my house and saw this gorgeous cotton with gold metallic threads running through it, and I was sold.

one of my better attempts at capturing the metallic sparkle

My first muslin attempt included the double tie back that the crop top has, with shorts added to the bottom, plus a center back zipper to get into the shorts. While it's technically possible to put it on, both ties have to be fully undone and I can't cleanly tie the upper one by myself. (The crop top is easy enough to slip on over my head that I can leave the top tied and just tie the bottom once it's on - not possible with shorts attached.) Ok, two person job, definitely not ideal, but I could have Tim help me into it before I go out. Then I thought about the eternal romper/jumpsuit issue - bathroom breaks. Definitely not going to make something that requires a friend coming into the bathroom stall with me to help me get dressed when I'm out at a bar. So, single tie it is! And a side zip that goes up to the armpit, making it possible to get in and out without untying at all.

As a side note, it's been interesting to discover how many of my clothing design issues combine both technical and design tradeoffs like this. Just because something is possible to draft or sew doesn't make it feasible, and this very often leads to design compromises in order to get the fit or wearability to an acceptable place. I tend to get really frustrated whenever something like this comes up - I finally had an idea that I like and I don't want to compromise on the aesthetics! But more often than not, I actually like the later version better than the original, and it's not something I would have come up with if my hand hadn't been forced. So there you go - single tie, low back romper, and easy off and on to boot. I'm a fan.

Construction-wise, I bought some black sheer cotton to use as lining for the bodice and waistband and left the shorts unlined, since my outer fabric is opaque. The main fabric, a stable cotton, was easy to work with, and I'm happy with everything except the slightly pointy darts in the front, but that's not enough to keep me from wearing it.

I feel like the fabric makes it fairly dressy - I wore it with bare legs and platform clogs to an outdoor fashion show this summer, and I think it would look great with black tights for the holidays (as styled in the photos). I would want to make it in different fabric if I were going to wear it to a picnic in the park or a casual bar. This is another one of those no-bra outfits, which I have a tendency to design unintentionally, but the fabric is thick and dark enough that I don't feel like I need one, and there's no risk of anything shifting out the neckline or sides. I thought about adding pockets, but I didn't want to disrupt the clean lines of the shorts, and the side zipper prevented me from adding inseam pockets on both sides. So for now it's pocketless, but it's something I'll think about more for possible future versions.

I've only worn this once so far, to the aforementioned fashion show, but I'm hoping it gets some more wear this holiday season. Looking at these photos is making me antsy to make another that's more casual for day to day wear - it would be the perfect throw-on-and-go piece for next summer.

2017 roundup: some cozy flannels

Basically the moment we decided we were moving up to the Pacific Northwest, I knew I needed to make some cozy plaid flannel shirts for layering. There are a ton of indie button-up shirt patterns out there (most notably, imo, the very popular Grainline Archer shirt). I thought about using an existing pattern but decided I wanted full control over the fit and details - a tunic length that I could wear with leggings without it being a dress, an oversized fit but with enough shaping to keep it from being completely boxy. It was also a great opportunity to practice drafting a collar with band and sleeve plackets - things I'd drafted and sewn in muslin for class, but I hadn't practiced applying them to a real garment. The plackets make it easy to roll up the sleeves when I want to, and there are buttons on the cuffs to close them up when I wear the sleeves long.

sleeve placket + cuff details

center back collar, yoke, and pleat - I inverted the pleat to stick outward on my second and third versions, but I think it works ok both ways.

The shirt details (collar, sleeves, plackets) were all straightforward and by-the-book to draft. The biggest issue I had was with making the shirt a little more oversized - it turns out I've only ever drafted things that are well-fitted, so this was new to me! I compared to some of Tim's button-down shirts and made a few attempts until I got the right combination of dropping the shoulders and armholes in addition to bringing out the side seams. Eventually I got a body and sleeves that all worked well together and gave the look I wanted. I kept bust darts and a curve to the side seam through the waist, and I really like the gentle shaping that comes from those details.

Sewing without instructions is always interesting. Back in my classes, I took notes on some things like sleeve placket construction. But there is nothing telling me where to begin or the overall ordering, so it ends up taking a lot of focus and thought to make sure I don't miss a step. But I really enjoy this process, reminding myself that I can figure basically anything out if I'm left to my own devices, and eventually putting on the finishing touches and knowing I did the whole thing without someone else telling me how.

This is one of those designs that I don't think is very ground breaking (how many button-up shirts like this exist in either ready-to-wear stores or sewing patterns??). It's not something I'm really considering selling either ready made or in pattern form for various reasons. But it's been such a delight to make and wear for myself.

This shirt has gotten a ton of wear. I made it in June and it warmed up before long, but since fall weather has set in it's been a staple, one of those things I reach for constantly and have to convince myself to skip sometimes just to mix up my outfits. I worry the cheap fabric I used won't hold up super well through many more washes, but I'm going to keep wearing it to death in the meantime.

perfectly covers that leggings bum

And, I just finished sewing up two more - one in black and white buffalo plaid and another in a deep red herringbone - after working on those in parallel off and on this month. See below for an earlier in progress shot of the delightful Robert Kaufman flannels. I just need to buy and attach some buttons and sew their buttonholes - 22 across both shirts, eep. I'm excited to expand my cozy flannel collection by 3x and stay cozy all winter.

2017 roundup: some rejected paper bag shorts

This was the first thing I drafted after we moved to Portland this spring. Before that I'd drafted a few garments, but they were usually for classes, or I would squeeze a super simple knit dress into a weekend. After the move, I wanted to give myself some fun projects before fully diving into starting my business (because let's be real, I had so much to figure out about what I wanted that to look like, and still do honestly!). I wanted to give myself a challenge, as I often do, so I started with a photo I saw on pinterest of some trendy paper bag shorts (a style that wasn't covered at all in my pattern making curriculum) and decided to figure out how to draft and construct something similar.

my inspiration image - I tried to track down the original source but it's pinterest all the way down

Let's skip to the verdict: I'm pleased with how well I figured out the drafting and construction on a project so different from anything I'd made before, and it was a great opportunity to draft and sew my first zipper fly! That said, these shorts are not my style and I never actually wore them. What looked cute and intentionally oversized in the Pinterest photo is just baggy and unflattering on me, and I tried and failed to find a top in my closet that looked okay with them. I can't be too upset - they were a learning experience, both technically and in learning more about what clothing I just don't want to wear.

Drafting and Construction

I used my pants sloper from patternmaking class, cut it off several inches below the crotch, and then slash-and-spread from the waist down to the hem in order to leave room for those top ruffles and a wider leg opening. I decided to insert elastic across the entire back waist, and two shorter pieces in the front. There are waistband facings on the inside, holding the elastic in place against the wrong side of the shorts, as well as a narrower waistband topstitched down on the outside to hide the spots where the elastic is attached to the shorts and to create the front ties . All three layers are topstitched down around the entire waist. This was tricky! My elastic is fairly stiff, so trying to stretch it fully and sew through three layers of fabric right alongside it, without catching the elastic itself, was an ordeal.

I sewed a muslin that seemed to fit well, then went out and bought the closest thing I could find to rust-colored fabric - a kind of berry red cotton. I always think red shorts are a good idea and I always regret that choice later. I sewed the shorts up, tried them on, and ---- nope. The fabric was too stiff to give that nice slouchy look, the color was wrong, and there was just too much fabric everywhere, making it look almost clownish. (I failed to get photos of this pair on and just don't really care enough to do it now, sorry not sorry!)

I didn't want to give up, so I regrouped and got some more subdued and drapier fabric, took out some width in the shorts and added a fly to make sure I could still get them on, and sewed up another pair. This time was better, and I really wanted to like them. But they just weren't my style. They look too diaper-like in some light, and I'm not sure if that's the drafting (probably) or just my body with this style, but either way, I realized I wasn't going to wear these no matter how much I perfected them.

And as much as I hate these awful bathroom selfies, I think they really show the diaper-like drape of these shorts pretty well:

 

As for these shorts, I'm holding onto them for now - a reminder of something I figured out on my own, iterated and improved upon, but also a reminder that it's ok to make something and realize it's just not for me, that this is all a learning process, one that should get easier over time.

bernina!

Guess what! I got a new sewing machine! OMGGGG.

My previous machine (which I'm holding onto in case of emergency, or in case friends want to come over and sew with me, pleaseeeeee) was a Baby Lock Grace, purchased in 2011 after I quit my first tech job and took a few months off to mentally recover. I pulled it out about once a year to mend or sew something small and otherwise never touched it—until 2015 when I started learning to sew clothing. It's a perfectly okay machine, and it's held up like a champ through the last two years of nonstop sewing. I'd say durability and ease of use are its strong points; precise or tricky sewing, not so much. I knew I wanted to upgrade eventually now that I'm spending approximately all of my time at my machine.

bye, Baby Lock!

A couple of months ago I asked my instagram friends about what made a higher end machine worth it to them, and I got lots of great answers that convinced me upgrading would be worth it... at some point. Bernina seemed to be the clear winning brand in terms of popularity and quality across the board (with prices to go with it - oof), but I had a few responders swear by other machines that I'm sure are also great! My friend Liz let me borrow her mechanical Bernina for a few weeks (thank you Liz!), and it was a great experience. The stitch quality was amazing compared to my Baby Lock, but I missed some of the features of my computerized machine (auto button holes! auto needle down!), so I knew I wanted to invest in a computerized machine rather than a mechanical one. But I kept putting the purchase off, partially because I hate making choices like this, and also because we're still recovering from moving/settling in expenses and I didn't want to spend money until I had to.

Then a couple of weeks ago I sewed a pair of jean shorts, and the topstitching went super poorly - my machine just had trouble with the layers of denim and topstitching thread, and I had to rip out and redo my stitching so many times to get it looking good. It was an ordeal. About a week later I started sewing a self-drafted top that combines chiffon with pleather, and I realized that I just couldn't make it into something I was proud of using the machine I had on hand. So Tim suggested we go to my local Bernina dealer, and I picked one out that day (basically an "impulse buy" that I'd been thinking about and planning for for many, many months).

I honestly resisted this purchase for awhile, not just because of money, but because I was worried about using my machine as an excuse for not sewing as well as I could. There's that saying about how good photography is about the photographer, not the camera, and I think that also applies to sewing to an extenet. I didn't want to buy a fancy machine and let it make up for my shortcomings. I'm honestly really happy with the balance I struck here. For the two and a half years since I really started sewing, I've been constantly improving. The mini collection I sewed earlier this summer was honestly the first time I remember sewing anything and not feeling like I could have done a better job by the end. Which isn't to say I'm done learning, but that I at least have a couple of creations that I'm more or less happy with now :) But the jorts and the chiffon top stood out to me. I would stop, seam rip, and redo the parts that didn't go well, but I was becoming more aware that the things that went wrong were less about my sewing skill and more about my machine's limitations. Instead of just improving my skills when I redid the tricky parts, I was figuring out how to make things work despite my machine's limitations. This was a turning point for me - what could I produce if I didn't have that limiting factor?

I ended up getting the Bernina 530, which is around mid range as Berninas go. I also got a few extra feet that should help me out a ton with trickier fabrics (walking foot, omg!). I considered a nicer one in the 500-series, but it was significantly more money for things like a touchscreen and auto thread snipping, and it just wasn't worth the extra expense. I plan to use this machine for many, many years, and to make garments that I sell, so I definitely thought about whether it made sense to invest in an even nicer machine than this one. But I really think a fancier model would have made my life ever so slightly easier without really improving my output much, and I'm okay with this trade off.

I've been sewing with my Bernina for a week now, and yes it is just as fantastic as you might expect! I broke it in with the aforemorementioned chiffon top and then with a lacy, self-drafted bra, and the new machine made all of the fiddly parts go so much easier. Everything is smoother, the walking foot (something I had never purchased for my old machine) is AMAZING on trickier fabrics, and I finished the chiffon/pleather shirt and am super happy with it! The shirt honestly came together way better than I ever imagined it would. I actually have two fiddly silk projects and one in a very drapey rayon in the pipeline, and they are going to be a joy to sew compared to my old machine. Sewing is so much more fun now!