A Question of Edging...

Surprisingly, I've been more productive in regards to this project in the past few days than I expected. Using my ripped jeans, I drafted a basic wideleg jeans pattern (which I will test when I get home), cut out the pieces for the Black Satin 4 Square Dress, and tested some edging options for the same dress. True, the Black Satin 4 Square Dress was not hard to cut out (since it's literally only 4 squares), but progress is progress.

I now have another question to ask you all about options for the edging of the 4 square dress. I really loved the scallop edging on the Teal Satin Tank, and really want to use it again, but in reverse this time. I love that the little bites (I'm calling them bites) have a Gothic feel without making it look creepy. The fabric seems a little too thin for single layer stitching, though, so I'm probably going to have to get some embroidery stabilizer so they don't bunch up like this...

The question now is what color of thread I should use...Teal or Black (yes, it's black; my phone distorted the colors again)? Feedback would be lovely. [Reminder: the belt will be in the teal satin; that's why I chose to do a teal edging test]

Question...

I'm going to start writing the pattern for my Gold Hand Knitted Fluted Collar Cardigan, and I can't decide on what stitch to use for it. I used stocking stitch for the Red Hand Knitted Half Sleeve Sweater, but it seems too plain to use for a whole cardigan, especially since I won't be using any rib knitting anywhere.

From right to left, the stitches are: Rice, Bamboo, Seed, and Stocking (the needles/pen mark the stitch changes). The image is flipped on its side, so tilt your head to the right when you're looking at it. The colors are also completely wrong; the yarn is actually a bright, mustardy yellow. I have no idea why my phone came up with this color...

I quite like the Bamboo stitch, especially because I could combine it with Stocking stitch easily and spread it out, although I think the Rice stitch is cute too (although, maybe too bumpy?)

What do you think?

Since I Haven't Talked About It In A While...

I figured I'd give an update of the Red Jersey Dress.

It's still not quite done (the machine I have here at school with me is too tight, so the jersey stretches too much for the finishing to look right), but it's very close.

My first attempt, done in the teal cotton rib knit was quite honestly a disaster. I mean, seriously, just look at it (again, apologies for the terrible camera).

I made myself a hospital gown. This might be a good thing in the future, since I tend to have a knack for randomly landing myself in the hospital, but still, this was far from my intention.

I like the way the front and back Vs look, although the sleeves are dangerously close to falling off my shoulders, which I didn't like so much. Some of this probably had to do with the surprising weight of the fabric. Although I hate this horrible thing that I've made, I fully intend to try to make something wearable out of it. I'm thinking a bustier line t-shirt dress. I have some more knits at home to work with.

The dress was about 4 inches too big around the waist, so I fixed that on the pattern, and the waistline was about half an inch below mine (it's such a hard life; I have a high waist but a long torso. Tragic.), so I had to shorten it in the middle.

In the end, my pattern looked like this;

You can see the tape marks where I've lifted the waist, and on the top of the sleeve where I've added some to the top. The sleeve can be long, half length, or a cap sleeve; I didn't want to have to cut it out three times. I also cut a 1 1/2 inch (approximately) strip for the edging at the neck.

At the moment, the dress is sewn together and just needs to be hemmed and for the neckline edging to be put on. The pattern adjustments worked out great, and it looks much more like my sketch. The only problem is that, since it's a synthetic jersey, it does that annoying thing where it shows every bump underneath it. Since I don't need random passerby to know what type of underwear I'm wearing, I will be making a slip. I'll post pictures when it's finished (which probably won't be until I'm back at home next week).

This week is finals week for the first half of the summer semester (there are two parts, I'm only taking classes during the first part), so I probably won't be able to do much for my project. I might have time to finish up my Red Hand Knitted Half Sleeve Sweater, since all that's left are the sleeves and a tie belt. I'll also work on my Off White Hand Knitted Gown/Wedding Dress, as usual. I finally started on the third skein of yarn for it today! Yay!

Piece #2 Finished!

I know you've all been anxiously waiting to see how my annoying elastic turned out... Well, after four and a half hours of milimetering that stupid elastic through, I finally saw it at the other side of the shirt! Yay! If I remember correctly, this was at some point between 4:30 and 5:00 am, so I wasn't able to immediately finish it up.

When it came time to do the hem, I decided to do something different. The fabric is much stiffer than I expected it to be, so I wanted to try to add a softer feel to the hemline than it was already showing. Luckily, my sewing machine has the perfect stitch for that: the scallop stitch.

It was pleasantly simple; I just pushed the buttons on the sewing machine and let it do its thing. All I had to do was make sure it sewed in a straight line, and it came out perfect! Once it was done, I just had to cut out around the stitches, and BAM! Perfect delicate hem. I would also like to comment on the fact that the scallops remind me of Notre Dame's architecture (another reason I chose them). I might use this stitch elsewhere except upside down so I get that nice pointy edge effect. (Not sure why the coloring is so different, it's in the exact same place I photographed it before...)

Anyways, I've kept you waiting long enough! Here's the finished product!

The top is tighter than I expected, and I thought it would be more flowy and drapey than it is, but the fabric is stiffer than I realized, too. Eventually I'd love to do some beadwork/embellishment to the top to make it less plain. Still a work in progress, but it's made!

Total Hours Logged: approximately 6 (would have been 2 if the elastic would have just WORKED WITH ME!)

Fabric: Teal Jewel Satin less than 1 yd

Notions: 1/8" Elastic

Cost (not including time): under $5

Music Schpeel!

Music is pretty important to me, and what I listen to tends to affect the kind of stuff I make/the quality of the stuff I make, so I definitely think that including what I'm listening to is an important part of the sewing process that needs to be documented.

Ever since I first learned of Adele and her song "Rolling In The Deep", I've completely fallen in love with the song, and it seems like the rest of the world has, too! Has anyone noticed all of the RITD covers out? I mean, seriously, 21 has only been out since November of 2010, and it already has so many covers out! I've pretty much loved almost every version that's come out, too! For your listening pleasure, here's a list of my favorites (I only took into account videos that were professionally recorded. I didn't feel like listening to home videos of kids singing this song), and two that I didn't like so much. Great sewing soundtrack for the day. Love the versatility of this song.

LIKES (if you don't want to click on the links individually, I made a RITD video playlist of my likes here)

• Adele - The one who started it all. <3
• John Legend - The original a cappella version of this song.
• Glee - I really like that the original group is doing a cappella things. The duet part is a nice addition, too.
• Alex Goot, Justin Robinett, and Michael Henry - By far my favorite. I love that they gave each song a new sound, and that they made an Adele medley that works so well!
• Mike Tompkins - Do I really even need to explain this one? All vocals. Enough said.
• Kina Grannis - Love the emotion she puts in her voice. Could do without all the talking at the end...
• David Choi - Softer version, but still with a strong voice. More solemn than the original, although he got the words wrong...Also could do without the post-song discussion.
• Travis Ratledge - A little weird to hear him singing in the higher key, but great voice!

DISLIKES (In case you want to listen to them and argue with me)

• Mike Posner - Vocals aren't strong enough for such an emotional song, also got the words wrong.
• Heather Traska - Gorgeous voice for ballads, RITD is too strong for her, kinda pitchy, plus annoying video editing.

Arguing With Elastic...

I decided to start sewing something for my fashion line! Yay! I decided to work on the Teal Satin Tank, because the pattern for it is pretty easy and quick.

What I wanted to do was change the elastic under the bust to a drawstring, but I only bought a yard of the fabric, and some of that is for the Black Satin 4 Square Dress belt. I didn't have enough fabric to make a drawstring and a belt, so I accepted that this one would have to be elastic in casing.

The sewing went really fast, except for the spaghetti straps (great post about different kinds of spaghetti straps and a general how to here), which took a while to turn right side out.

Once I was able to turn them, though, I was so happy with the way they looked (apart from the intense wrinkling, but that's nothing my lovely iron can't fix!) that it totally made the turning troubles worth it. I also discovered my sewing machine's overcast stitches, so I overcasted every edge which won't be hidden, and I discovered that that makes working with satin almost enjoyable! Much smaller amount of fibers on my bed.

Overall, I'm very happy with my construction on this garment so far (a lot of that probably has to do with the overcasting) . My seams are very straight and even, which is not something that I've found easy in the past...Yay! I'm getting better!

I've finished sewing on the elastic casing, and am currently trying to push the elastic through it. This, for some reason, is significantly more difficult than I expected. I think it has to do with the fabric being stiffer than I'm used to. So far, I've made it about two inches past the side seam.

It took me approximately two hours to get this far. I've been ready to give up for about an hour and 45 minutes. In fact, I have given up several times. Then I've dejectedly come back and continued slowly inching (more like milimetering) the elastic through the casing. It's unbelievably frustrating. The elastic is being very contrary.

I would consider just taking out the lower stitch line of the casing and restitch it lower, but it's just so straight! I couldn't bear to rip it out...Plus, satin is a generally angry fabric, and it doesn't like people, so if I were to take out the stitches, the holes would show for the rest of ever. So, I sit here and slowly work the elastic through. I'll post when I've finished the thing...at which point I'll probably be a hundred years old....

Four Important Lessons...

Well, have I got a story for you! It all starts with the fact that I haven't slept since noon yesterday. I meant to go to sleep last night, but I'd lay down and I couldn't stop thinking about all of the things I could do instead of sleep, so I just kept doing things and then suddenly the sun was rising...

Anyways, on my first attempt at sleep, I decided to read a book to make my eyes more tired and therefore more likely to close. I picked up We The Living by Ayn Rand (one of my all time favorite authors), and read a chapter or two. The story is set in Soviet Russia, so all the people there wear gloves if they have them. This thought lead me to think about how women always used to wear gloves because it was proper and elegant. I've always wanted a cute little pair of gloves to wear around.

So I got to thinking...maybe I could make myself a pair of gloves! So, I quickly turned on my computer and began a search for glove patterns. I didn't have to look far; I found this site and began to draft a pattern of my own hands on some brown paper I got at Walmart for making clothing patterns. This little project has been going on since about 6:30 in the morning (when I began sewing), with breaks for my classwork. During the process, I've learned a few important things...

1) Measure for the placement of the thumb hole; don't just eyeball it... my first glove was done by hand, as it was 6:30 am and the site suggested that I do it by hand (I don't think they were using cotton rib knit fabric). I used some more of my cotton rib knit because, again, I didn't want to use any of my line fabric. You can see where I've drawn the proper placement for the thumb hole.

2) Make sure the length of the fingers on your pattern actually match the length of your fingers... honestly, I have no idea how I messed this part up... It seemed pretty easy... Even a 4 year old can trace around their fingers... This first glove looked pretty ridiculous, I'm not gonna lie....

3) Turn your thumb section right side out before you sew it on to the rest of the glove... it's the same basic principle as a

sleeve, except much smaller... you wouldn't believe how many sleeves I've done this to, too... It seems to be a recurring problem for me...

At this point, I ripped apart the glove to remake my pattern so that it fit better. My next move was to recut the pieces and try on the sewing machine. I wasn't very happy with my hand stitching on these... I think it's because the fabric is rather thick.

4) Last, but definitely not least, when making a pair of gloves, DO NOT MAKE TWO RIGHT GLOVES! Yeah, I did that...I think my problem was that I did one and then the other. It might be a better idea to work back and forth on the gloves so I make sure they're opposite...

I didn't really feel like sewing another glove today, so I've decided to leave this project for another day.

On the plus side, I'm pretty satisfied with the fit. I'll probably want to thin out the fingers toward the top, but the thumb fit is perfect!

In other news, I finished ripping apart that pair of pants, so I'll be able to draft a pattern that already fits me perfectly! I'm going to do a wideleg version and a bootcut version. Also, I'm 10 rows away from finishing the body portion of the Red Hand Knitted Half Sleeve Sweater. Once I finish it, all I need to do is the neckline, the sleeves, and a belt to tie around the waist. I'm really excited!

CRAP!!!

Well, I'm rather upset. I picked up my Off White Hand Knitted Gown/Wedding Dress today to work a few more rows and I discovered that I dropped a stitch.

Back around row 20.

I'm currently at approximately row 50.

There is no way I'm going to try to work that stitch back to the top.

So my plan is to cut a small strip of the yarn and tie it off to a stitch at the increase section (I think I dropped it as I increased). It should work, but still...I'm rather annoyed about it.

Also, I seem to have misplaced my nice fabric cutting scissors. I splurged about a year ago on a nice pair (which are always kept away from anything that isn't fabric), and now I can't find them. I've had to use my nice yet mostly paper cutting pair for the past few days. I hope my good pair are at home...I don't really want to have to buy new ones yet...

In other news, due to the annoying nature of satiny fabrics and their tendencies to fray, my dorm and bed are covered in tiny satiny fibers (there's a significant lack of counter space in my dorm, so I put my ironing board on my bed and ironed there, also I did all of my hand sewing while sitting on my bed. I use it a lot).

Ooh! and on a more fun note, I have two followers! Hi Judy (my mom)! Hi Carrie (my sister-in-law)!

(Fixed it!)

My Creation Is Completed!!!

I feel the need to begin this post with an apology as to the poor quality of these photos...I don't have a very good camera...

Anyways, my friend's dress is done (and it looks fantastic if I do say so myself)! I'd say it probably took me somewhere around 10-12 hours to complete, but a lot of that was due to the fabric having been folded for over a year (the creases were almost impossible to iron out!), and me having to do a lot of things by hand. I don't have any white thread that's the proper weight for crepe back satin, so I had to use a yellow goldish thread for all the machine parts. Everything done by hand is done with a white thread that's heavier than the satin. Impossible to tell in hand sewing, but it really messed up the machine.

Fabric: white crepe back satin
white lining
red ribbon


Notions: 20 10 inch zipper (she wasn't sure what length of zipper to buy so she bought a long one. Not a problem; shortening zippers is easy)

Close up of the front. I used that sneaky little backstitch trick that I found on the zipper instruction site to sew on the ribbon at the waist. It's very nice; you can hardly tell where the stitches are.

My friend is a size zero, and my dress form (which I have yet to name!) only goes to about a size 3, so the back doesn't close at the moment. I was really worried for a while that it wouldn't fit at all, but she is quite thin, so I don't think I'll have any issues with it.

I know I shouldn't brag, but just look at that zipper! I'm impressed with myself! (ignore the fact that it doesn't close)

I can't wait until she sees it! I hope she loves it!

Well, Guess Not...

I got a message from my friend today. The transmission in her fiancee's car went bad, so they won't be able to drive here and get married (she really wants me to be there--otherwise they wouldn't have a witness--so they planned on driving here and getting married at the courthouse near the college). They're thinking about postponing it until the fall so they can come up while I'm here next semester. Bummer.

Despite the ceremony not happening tomorrow, I'm still working on her dress. I've sewn it all together and am currently sewing the zipper (wonderful hand sewn zipper instructions here). I've realized that I need to spend more time working on my hand stitches. The backstitches came out beautifully, but it looks more like I killed a cat than a catstitch (herringbone). I'm not quite halfway done yet, so maybe they'll get better. More pictures soon!

Listening to music I recently pulled off of http://www.onegirlandheripod.com/. I think I've found my musical soulmate.

Back Again...

Well, it's past 4:00 in the morning, so needless to say I haven't been able to sew for over 5 hours. I have been working though; so don't worry. Although I'm still not sure if I'll have time tomorrow to make my Red Jersey A-line Dress, I just spent the last 4 hours working on the pattern for it (okay, okay, I was mostly distracted on the Internet, but I worked on the pattern, too!). I have to make it anyways, so it only made sense to work on it while I was focused.

Honestly, I had forgotten just how much I love working with patterns and altering them to what I see in my head. I'm not sure what it is, but there's something about the measuring, tracing, and calculating that really makes me happy. That's definitely one of the reasons I love graphic design so much. Page layouts, image compositions--they're all mathematical, and it feels really good to know for a fact that you're doing it right (in math, there's only one right answer).

It's just great to know that I'm definitely in the right field.

So, I took a basic shirt pattern (that I had previously altered the sleeve for so that it perfectly fits me) and first made it into a deep V-neck on the front and back. I questioned the V back, but when I had the pattern with just a flat back and a V front, it didn't feel young enough. My line is meant for someone just exiting college, so a low V back just felt right. I'm using the same pattern for most of the V-neck shirts (with adjustments, obviously), and I haven't decided if I want the V back on them or not. I'll see how this one turns out. After adding the Vs and extending the bottom an extra 20 inches or so in an A-line, I altered the pattern so that it has raglan sleeves instead of set-in sleeves. Again, the raglan sleeves feel younger, plus when I designed this dress (and several of the shirts) I was envisioning raglan sleeves.

Before I cut into my lovely red jersey, I wanted to make a test dress. This is my first self-made pattern in a while, so I'm a little wary. Luckily, I still have 6 yards of a cotton rib knit which I decided to scrap from the line. It was fabric I'd purchased before designing anything, so I was mainly just trying to fit it in where it didn't fit. Ever since scrapping it, I've been wondering what I'll ever do with it (I was thinking several pairs of workout pants/shorts). Good thing I needed it for this test dress. Actually, I think it's more of a good thing that I forgot to take it out of the box of fabric, or else I wouldn't have anything other than my line fabric.

Anyways, I've cut out the pattern (only 3 pieces!) in the rib knit and now must wait until tomorrow to sew it together. I wish these dorm walls weren't approximately the thickness of cardboard...

I'll post a picture when I can!

Started Sewing...

Except that it's not a garment for my fashion line...a really close friend of mine is getting married on Monday, and I promised that I would make her dress. Anyone who has ever sewn something is probably wondering why I've just now started on a dress that is needed in less than two days...well, mostly it's because I'm a terrible procrastinator. It's also because she's having a courthouse ceremony (she doesn't like attention), so the dress is a very simple one.

For the top of the pattern I used Simplicity 3501 (because she wanted a sweetheart neckline) and improvised a plain A-line skirt. She specified that she wanted the straps to begin relatively thin at the front, then get wider at the shoulder, then get thinner at the back. This wasn't too hard; I just used some of the strap pattern and edited the widths at the appropriate places. She also asked that I incorporate a red ribbon to go around her waist and tie in the back. This will be hand stitched to the seam under the bustline.

So far today I was able to complete the bodice portion, and tomorrow will sew the skirts, ribbon, zipper, and hemline. I was also considering using the remainder of the fabric she bought to make a tie/bow tie for her fiancee. I'm not sure if he'll be dressed up at all, though, so I can't decide if it would be a good idea...plus, I might not have time...also, if I have time, I would like to complete my Red Jersey A-line Dress so that I have something to wear.

I'll be sure to take photos of the finished product and post them on here (even though it doesn't pertain to my fashion line...

Inspiration...

Well, I figured I'd talk about where I got the inspiration for this project. It came from my general love of Gothic architecture and specifically of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. A lot of the structural elements (V-necks, arch necks, and the modified princess cut) were inspired by the exterior of the building.

The color palette of the line comes mainly from the photo below of the inside of the church.

First Post...

Well, I'm a little late starting this blog, since I've already finished one piece, but I don't mind too much.

The first piece I've finished is the Blue Hand Knitted Fluted Collar Sweater. It probably took me a week to finish (I'm also taking a class online and working on my practicum project for school (I'm designing the logo for a new student run record label being brought to campus by the music business club), so I don't have a lot of time to work on everything), and I'm really proud of it. The sleeves end at the crease in the elbow, which is exactly where I want them, and the collar lays perfectly. Underneath it will go the Silver Satin Tank, which I plan to make next.

I've also started on the Off White Hand Knitted Gown/Wedding Dress, which will probably take me the next 9 months to finish (I did the math, and it will take me a total of 482 hours just to finish the skirt if I work at a perfectly consistent pace (yeah right!). And that doesn't even include the top!). It's coming along pretty well, and I think it'll look really great. I'm trying to get one round done every night so that I don't have to do a lot of knitting later...

I'm also working on the Red Hand Knitted Half Sleeve Sweater, which I'm making from a pattern that I designed myself! I'm very excited about this one, because it's the first knitting pattern I've ever made, and I can't wait to see how it turns out. =]

Today, however, I did not work on either of those things. About a week ago, I ripped a pair of jeans, so today I started to rip the seams apart so I can use them to make my pants patterns. =] I didn't get too far, though; jeans are made really well! Tomorrow will most likely be spent reading, writing a paper, and visiting some important people in reference to my project. Sadly, I probably won't be able to get much work done for my line. I'll make sure to post more when I get around to it!