Pattern test - culottes! Friend, or foe? And a bonus sewing machine review.

I've been desperately in love with everyone's Tania Culottes projects.  As I highly enjoy to ride my bike (but don't enjoy flashing passersby), I've been searching for a clothing solution other than a dress and leggings wacked off to be knee length as appropriate cycling wear.  Sadly, the Tania pattern is only available as a downloadble file, and I am a moron when it comes to piecing tiled patterns.  Instant gratification or bust, kids!  I'd done some preliminary research into mod'ing a circle skirt pattern, when I came across a new addition to the McCall line, M6965.

It's about time!

Culottes!  Oh joy, oh rapture!  And three different lengths!  I bought two copies of the pattern, since they were on sale for 99 cents, pulled out some drapey suiting I've had for years and years, shoved my current dress project to the side (again), and spent three hours on Saturday working away.

It's hard to tell, but there's silver thread in there.

Pattern layout, on the new (adjustable height) table

I cut a size 12, because that's what I normally made in bottoms.  Unbeknownst to me, even though my weight is similar to when I last made a non-dress project, they came out HUGE in the waist/hip.  Of course, I tried them on completely assembled and finished, because I was entirely confident about the sizing.  Nope.  Whatever, these are for cycling - so I threw 4 darts in the waistband (2 front, 2 back) and called it good.  Room in the hips will just make it easier to pedal, right?  Right.

Gratuitous crotch shot

They were incredibly easy to put together, although I managed to spectacularly flub the zipper insertion.  Cause I got skills.

FAIL action shot

For some unknown reason (no, not vodka), I didn't leave enough at the top of the waistband to clear the zipper after the facing was attached.  In non-Kelli speak, that meant the zipper was now too long to fold the facing over.  Dumb. So I had to trim more off of the top of the zip, then handsew stops into the zipper tape (because the metal stops were cut off).  And the whole zipper insertion is kind of wonky - I was really in a rush to get these made.

Close enough for government work, as they say

I think these will look better in a more fluid fabric, but even though they make me look a bit..um...wide, I still really like these.  The biggest problem with culottes is the optical illusion created by all that extra fabric at the hip/thigh region.  Your eye is drawn to the width of the fabric, which makes it look like that's the width of your thighs.  However, I don't really care.  They're comfy as all getout and you can project a movie on the back - bonus!  I'd like to make the shorter version for tennis as well.  I also think with a better fit and finish, they will be adorable for fall with tights.

Bam!  Baby got back. For days.

And now for something completely different:

I sewed these entirely on my new toy, a Janome 4030P (the P is for "pink" - this was a special model for breast cancer awareness).  Which I love.  LOVE.  I want to run away to the coast with it and buy it presents.  I pet it and sing it lullabies at night.  It reminds me - in all the best ways - of my workhorse Kenmore that I started sewing with umpteen years ago.

That machine would have sewn through aluminum siding if I wanted; I toted that sweet baby with me from college dorm rooms, apartments, and couch surfing, up until the metal housing that worked the needle up and down finally cracked after almost 15 years of abu...I mean heavy use.

Janome, I <3 you

Now, Janome made machines for Kenmore (which have gone the way of the dodo), which may account for the instant amorous deja vu.  I've sewn on Vikings for about 11 years now, and while they are superior machines to many, I've found that I long to return to the simpler functionality of a machine like the mid-range Janome. I don't quilt, so 300 decorative stitches go entirely unused, and while automatic EVERYTHING is an amazing feature, I have missed being able to make slight adjustments and really get to know my machine.  Vikings are also notorious divas, and will only produce the best stitch quality if you give it expensive thread and take it out on the town so it feels pretty.  I had these culottes two-thirds of the way sewn on the Janome before I noticed I had it threaded wrong.  Yup, I am so used to being able to wind a bobbin with the needles threaded (one Viking feature I will miss) that I had the thread wound on the wrong tension post.  And you know what?  Not. One. Missed. Stitch.  This machine purred along happily; I only noticed the threading because I stopped to actually pay attention to the threading path.  That's my kind of machine.

Threading guide.  Apparently, only a suggestion.

So this is the correct path.  I still had wound around the shiny metal tension knob you see at the top.  Did I mention my amazing skills?  Spongebob Cthulhu was mightily amused.

Plus, it's pink and I think it's adorable.  Now, if pink isn't your thing, it is offered as the DC4030, no pink faceplate.  Although I think it's discontinued.  But that's what the internet is for.



Sigh.....so cute

Look at those sexy, accessible inner workings.  Take that, Viking!

See that lever with "2, 1, 0"?  That's to adjust the pressure foot pressure.  Aw, yeah.  Momma like.  Momma also likes the ability to open that up and actually clean the inside.  No Viking I've used or could remotely afford has that.

So that's it for now.  I have my linen maxi dress halfway done - things at the Stitchery have been in a state of mild upheaval recently and I haven't been able to sit down and work.  Hopefully that will be remedied soon and I will have a lovely new dress post soon - I'm having machine withdrawals!

The Almost-Fail Dress, aka Simplicity 1418

Happy Monday once again - today's bonus post is about a project that I'm still not quite sure about.  During my marathon sewing in July, for some unknown reason I decided to test out a brand new pattern (Wile E. Coyote's got nothing on MY genius), and grabbed another Project Runway special from Simplicity.  I'd made several Flora dresses already, and wanted a slightly differently sundress design to wear in Texas, and I thought that 1418 would fit the bill perfectly.  After all, it was JUST a simple princess seamed bodice with straps.  How hard could that possibly be?

Famous last words.

I'm no stranger to princess dresses. In my 20s and early 30s, I made dozens of them while participating in the SCA, dressing in 14th century, gothic gowns.  Even more, I drafted my own pattern using the T-shirt and duct tape method for the perfect fit.  Which should have been a HUGE clue...

Because I'd worked for years from a homemade pattern that was drafted to me and only me, I'd forgotten about how fiddly all those seams can be.  Even more so when you have a slight sway back and larger bust size.  Needless to say, the pattern was, at first blush, nothing short of DISASTER.  The back was huge, the bust was snug and the waist was baggy.  And the straps, ooohhh, the straps. 

Now, I did go rogue and ignore the instructions.  Because, well, I just did.  I also used bias tape for the facing and just top-stitched the straps in place after what seemed like an hour of pinning, checking placement and repinning (this is a technique I've seen in photos of vintage dresses, so nyah nyah). 

After wasting a day of vacation sewing, I was totally disgusted with the sloppy fit, and into the "fail" heap it went.

Fast forward a highly productive week, and I decided to give the dress a second look with a less stressed eye (and after a refreshing vodka and soda).  I really loved the fabric, and the plus of a princess seamed dress is that you have all those seams to make tiny alterations.  I took in the back and sides about 1/2", and the front seams a scant 1/4" from the underbust to the waist.  "There!", thought I.  "That should do it".  Will I ever learn that vodka-empowered boldness isn't the best course of action?  Probably not.

It's really snug.  I mean, really.  But, I kind of like it.  It's definitely not a dress for work, but I did take it on vacation it was fine.  Not a total fail, but not one for the win category either.

Argh!

However, I love the skirt pattern.  It's the same piece for the front and back (I kept looking for the missing skirt piece until I realized there wasn't one), with two deep pleats.  This means it's fairly fabric conservative but nicely flared.  **It is a side-zip dress pattern, so I cut it the back piece on the selvedge rather than the folder...presto!  back zip!

Rumpled back - I don't iron

I also set the zip in a bit too low, but I'm too lazy to put a hook and eye at the top. And the zipper is slightly too short, meaning it either goes on over my head or I do an interesting shimmy getting it pulled up.  Oh well.  On a side note, I forgot how much I love my orange Steve Madden shoes.  These need more wear.

All in all, I do like the pattern and see a lot of potential.  I'm a fan of the Project Runway line of patterns (I am deeply, madly enamoured of 2444) so I'm not ready to give up on this one yet. 

Well, I guess it's not THAT bad....

If I ever get so inclined, I think I'll let the side seams out a touch.  I don't have a lot to play with, because I pinked my seams so they'd be neatly finished (thank you, vodka).  Or maybe I'll just wear a cardigan.  After all, this is the Land of Layers.

The Anna Dress - Pattern Test

Happy Monday, all!

Back to the grind after a hectic weekend.  Saturday evening, we went to a 90's grunge tribute show at one of our favorite spots, The Manette Saloon. 

My attempt at the grunge look - plaid + stripes + red lips and loads of eyeliner

Even though it was stiflingly hot, it was a total blast and made me feel like a college kid again.  We missed the STP cover band because the show started on time (who does that?), and left before Pantera because I was beat.  But we did get to see the fantastic Alice in Chains tribute by the Seattle-based band Silvergun.  I kept closing my eyes (not overly smart in a pit, but whatevs) because they were so good I felt like I was listening to Layne Staley. 

Silvergun, aka Alice in Chains

Then the guys from Bad Habit Bremerton took the stage and blew the place away with their tribute to Nirvana (complete with thrift store sweater!).  And if that wasn't awesome enough, my friends Becca, Melissa, and I were pulled up on the stage to back-up dance for the last few songs of the set. It was so much fun, I was an exhausted, sweaty mess by the end and I was thrilled!



Nirvana back up dancers.  I wish I had pom-poms.

 

Sunday was spent doing Sunday chores, although we did go take advantage of our new memberships to the Athletic Club.  To anyone I've ever told that swimming laps isn't hard enough cardio, I am deeply, truly sorry.  Everything hurts.  Owie.  But it was fun, and it felt great to be active again.

I also swung by Pacific Fabrics and picked up a couple of really cool lengths of fabric - Little Red Riding Hood and an absolutely gorgeous map print accented in teal.  Oooooo.

I like the staff there; they're friendly and helpful and the store is chocked with designs I can't get from JoAnn's.  It's a bit more expensive than online shopping, but for instant grafication an support of a local business you can't go wrong.

Backing up, Saturday afternoon was spent on my newest pattern acquistion, the long-awaited and coveted Anna dress from By Hand London.

I had anxiously waited for this pattern after discovering the joy that was the Flora dress (but I'll get to that review later).  By Hand London is an independant pattern company that offers some of the coolest, unique patterns I've come across.  And I have a LOT of patterns.  After seeing some of the gorgeous creations gracing the internet, I was obsessed with obtaining it for my own.  Not really thrilled with the idea of international shipping, I found it for sale through patternreview.com - score!  Alas, the pattern was sold out on their site, and everywhere else.  EVERYWHERE. I was a bit dejected, but placed my order and reserved a spot on the wait list - pouting all the while.

Then the Great Vacation Project took over, and thoughts of Anna took a backseat to cranking out a ridiculous number of dresses in 1/2 a month.  A project I completed successfully, but it did occupy ever spare moment of time until we left.

After I returned from vacation, I decided to check my online shopping cart at Pattern Review, and not only was the dress back in stock, but it had already shipped and was scheduled to arrive the next day.  I was overjoyed.

The pattern arrived, like the other two By Hand patterns I own, beautifully presented in a sturdy folder with a little story of the design name on the back.  I checked the measurements against the Flora, decided on my normal UK 10, and - of course - cut the pattern because I'm too lazy to trace.  One day...maybe.

I had lovely chocolate brown damask I bought from the clearance section of my local Joann Fabrics, and decided to use that for the mock-up. My theory is this - if I'm going to toile a pattern, it should be wearable. I believe the fabric was clearanced and then another 50% off, so the investment was less than muslin or a sheet.  Fabric also depreciates in value to me; if I've had it for a while, it is somehow less of an investment than brand new fabric (cost of the purchase never figures in).  And this yet another example of why I failed Economics in college.

I decided that I only wanted to test the bodice and save the skirt for later, as I didn't have enough fabric to use the skirt pieces properly.  I laid out the pattern pieces and jumped in.

After the fabric was cut, and the darts and pleats were marked, I put the pieces aside for the evening, ready to come back to it on Saturday.  Then I saw that my fabric pen had vanished, leaving me a trail of pins, but no stitching lines. 



Um,where are my markings?
 

Balls. So I pulled the pattern out again, and remarked everything with chalk.



$*%!

Yes, I cut the darts out of my pattern.  It makes my life easier (I do reinforce them with tape so don't go too crazy, internet).

The bodice went together without a hitch.  I ignored the paper instructions, because By Hand London offers a killer online sew-along.  I read over the steps for the slash neck top, didn't see any major issues, and went on my way. 



Bodice pleats pinned - this is before the lines were re-drawn in chalk

Darts and pleats sewn and pressed - already looks amazing

The neckline is finished with bias tape because my hate for facings knows no bounds. Burn in hell, facings. 



Nifty Wonder Clips and a pic I forgot to rotate

Of course, as I was so hot to whip this baby out, I forgot that facings take up a 5/8 seam allowance. Since I didn't remove the excess fabric, the neckline is a bit higher than I want (and than the pattern is drafted for). Well, moving right along...

After the bodice was finished, I took the remaining fabric and decided to gather it into a skirt.  I used two pieces that were the width of the fabric, splitting one piece in half for the skirt back.  After sewing them together, I started what SHOULD have been the simple process of gathering.  Yeah.

For some reason, my thread kept snapping as I gathered.  I don't know if it was the weight of all the fabric or a defect in the thread, but after it happened twice I was a bit pissed off.  So I decided to gather it in three seperate sections, using matching the side seams with the bodice.  That worked, but the tremendous amount of fabric created issues beyond gathering.



FINALLY gathered and pinned

Annoyingly, even after carefully pinning, the waist seam skewed on me after the zipper was inserted.  Oh well.  It's a minimal difference, this was a mock-up, and the print is busy enough that I don't care enough to rip it all out.

The seams are all pinked (my new favorite method of finishing), the neckline is finished with bias tape, and the hem is serged, then turned up once and machine stitched in place.  This is because I have no patience and my hand sewing is atrocious.

Now, I admittedly ran into several issues with this project, but they were all entirely operator error.  This pattern is marked as a beginner, and I firmly agree with that rating so don't be scared off.  It's a simple 2 piece bodice with kimono sleeves, back darts, and front pleats rather than front darts (SO cool) - but even though the pattern is simple and all the techniques used are basic, you get a very sophisticated look.  And the sew-along tutorial is fabulous, even for a hands-on learner like myself.

The next time I make this, I will be making my standard adjustment to the center back seam and removing some width.  The front is perfect, but I do have a bit of excess in the back (normal issue).



Anna <3

I was initially concerned that, because I had waited so long for the pattern that the finished product would in no way measure up to the dresses I had daydreamed of making.  Boy, was I wrong.  I love this pattern.  Love.  My biggest issue is whether to make another slash-neck version immediately, or try the v-neck style next.  And that's a pretty good problem to have, sewing-wise.

Until next time, cheers!