FNSI - Progress on a Tira Bodice

I've been so excited to start sewing my Tiramisu dress by Cake Patterns, ever since I started prepping the pattern and cutting out my fabric a few weeks ago.  When I saw that last night was the Friday Night Sew In, I knew it was perfect timing.  Bought a bottle of wine, tidied up my sewing space, and got to it.

Slowly.  Because that's my style now. 

Took me all night, but I got the bodice put together, with pretty contrast topstitching and no puckering in the binding.  So proud!

Once everything was together, I hand-basted the sides and tried it on.  AND IT'S TOO SMALL.  *wails*

Sorry about the blurry photos, it was tough taking a picture while keeping the girls from escaping.

This is me, stretching that front wrap as far as it'll go to cover my bust.  And it's not very covered.  :(  I cut a 40B for the front.  I thought it seemed wrong to cut a B cup size considering I wear a 36D bra, but I figured it'd probably still work.  The fit of the front bodice isn't actually that bad, the shoulder's are comfortable and sit nicely, I just need more coverage for the girls (maybe a 40C? I think a 40D might be too much).  And a bit more width.  But that's not the front pieces fault.

Look at me, blending into the walls. Haha just kidding, the walls are much darker than my fish-belly-white skin (thanks Dad).

The biggest issue is that the back piece is too small, or at least not wide enough.  I cut a size 35 for the back, but now I'm wondering if I traced the wrong size.  See howfar the back waist piece sticks out?  That struck me as odd at the time and I even double checked the piece to make sure I'd traced off to the 35 size, but I figured I'd just go with it.  Should've been my first clue that something was wrong.  If the back bodice had lined up to the back waist piece properly, the seam would've sat closer to where it should've been. I'll be going up at least one more size for the back. 

Luckily I have another half metre or so of this fabric, so hopefully I can eek out the pieces I need!

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On another note, I've mentioned a few times in the past how photos make you look at your body from another perspective.  I'm not a thin woman, but those last two pictures just showed me that I'm not as big around the middle as I pictured in my head.  I hesitated before taking them for the purpose of posting in the first place but I figured eff it, it's fitting photos and nothing obscene is showing.  I was pleasantly surprised that they weren't as bad as I expected.  It's funny the fake image you get in your head about yourself.  I think that sewing has really forced me to confront that fake image, and accept the reality of it.  I can even go so far as saying that sewing has given me so much more self-confidence.

Anywho, I'm off to the shop, but then I'll be playing with my Tira some more tonight.  Hopefully I'll have a better fitting bodice for you guys tomorrow.  :D

A Whole Lot of (Nicely Organized) Blathering

Okay, so this post may be a little spastic with a lot of topic jumps, but just bear with me. I've had a lot of sewing stuff on the go and on my mind, and I'm just going to get it out here.


Bloody Wooly Winter Coat

On hold. It was 26C outside today. Do not need a winter coat.

It's sure looking pretty though!


FNSI Update:

I got a bit of sewing done last night for the Friday Night Sew-In. I'd cut out an altered version of my woven t-shirt TNT (Simplicity 2599) this past week when I was out at my Mom's place, and I got the body and the neckline facing put together, with french seams everywhere! I love this pattern because if you look past all the ruffles and frills and other crap they stick on the line drawings, it's basically just a plain shirt pattern, and it's easy as pie to alter. Plus it has different pieces for each cup size, so YAY no FBA!

For this version, I've lowered the original neckline by about 1 inch, and then added a v-notch on the centre front. I'd originally planned to have ties at the top of the v-notch, but now I'm not so sure. I don't have a picture of my progress so far, but there's a picture below of the v-notch facing I drafted last night. I'm darn proud that I managed to get that right, and the notch looks really good! (Don't worry, I plan to do a construction post on this later.) Sorry about the poor lighting and horrible contrast between my new ironing board cover and the floral print.


I have a few versions of this top on the go right now. I really should finish them off because I'm going to need them by the end of March. Which brings us to...


One Week, One Pattern

Oh yeah, I signed up. I thought it'd be fun to wear one pattern for a week, and I knew exactly which one I wanted to use. Simplicity 2599. Mostly because I have a few of them on the go, and I thought this might finally force me to finish them off. One of them I started last September, and the other last May. Eeep! It's actually really ridiculous, because one only needs a sleeve attached - all the hemming and everything is finished, and the other just needs the neckline completed and the bottom hemmed. So of course I start a new version of it instead.

My procrastination skills knows no bounds.

These tops are also part of a much larger plan...


Spring/Summer Wardrobe Planning

Okay, so I spent a bunch of time during FNSI last night futzing around with a wardrobe plan. My wardrobe is pretty feeble. I mix winter and summer clothes willy-nilly, and the whole things winds up pretty dark and drab. But on one of my fabric shopping trips this winter, I found bright shades of silk noil in the clearance area at Fabricland for $7/m, and I picked up enough in a bright yellow for a skirt, and enough in coral for a dress. This then prompted me to pick up a poly chiffon in shades of pale blue, pinks, yellows and cream for (what I hope will be) a frilly button-up shirt.

I'm embracing brighter colours. Well, sort of.

From top centre, moving clockwise: sheer black cotton/poly blend nearly finished as a version of Simplicity 2599; white rib knit, destined to be a tank top; poly chiffon that will hopefully be a frilly girly button-up; medium blue mystery knit (appears darker in the photo than IRL) destined to be a t-shirt; poly floral crap discussed above; black cotton/linen blend that will be a skirt; blue cotton twill that will also be a skirt; bright yellow silk noil that will ALSO be a skirt (why the heck am I putting the brightest colour in existance on my hips and ass, I have no idea); coral silk noil that will be a shirt dress; burn-out light weight knit that will be another version of this cardigan (shamelessly copied from Stacie); and a cotton/poly knit that will be a more fitted cardigan.
Plans subject to change without notice.

Yes yes okay, there's a lot of black and charcoal in there, but I'm trying to also work with what I have in my stash, and my stash is either ridiculously busy and bright or dark and boring. Plus the darker colours will help tone down or tie together some of the brighter colours (or so I'm hoping).

I'm pretty excited about this wardrobe plan. Yes, there's a lot in there, but most of this ties in well with what I already have in my closet, so it's not like I'll need all the pieces immediately. They'll fit in well as they're made.

Although I really do want to get those skirts made up pretty quickly, as my wardrobe is lacking in solid coloured skirts (especially blindingly-bright yellow skirts). And thanks to Steph's recent post on how to care for (and how not to care for) silk fabric, I'm not as terrified of my silk noil.

Want to know what actually inspired this wardrobe plan? A flier from Smart Set (a retail clothing store that deals mostly with casual and business casual wear). What they did was showed 10 basic pieces to have in your wardrobe that mixes and matches well, and then used those 10 basic pieces to show a different look for all 29 days in February. What I appreciated about it wasn't that they were saying "buy all of these exact pieces for a perfect wardrobe", but "these are basic pieces that you may even have in your wardrobe already (although of course we have some great pieces you'll love)".

The pieces include:

1. The perfect blazer
2. A chiffon shirt
3. Faux leather jacket (I'm substituting either a denim jacket or possibly a trench)
4. A sheer striped top (I'm...going with a plain, non-sheer knit top instead)
5. A printed blouse
6. Wide leg pants
7. Shawl cardigan
   
8. A shirt dress
9. Flaired denim jeans
10. Pencil skirt

Of course, I'm not going by the book (or in this case, flyer), but it certainly inspired me. I suspect I'm going to live in skirts this summer, so I want more than one of them, and I'll need more than one cardigan since my office temp fluctuates from brr fricken brr to omg too hot over the day. I also want to make a denim jacket at some point as I have some lovely denim in my stash that I'd like to use up. Nothing cut in stone, but a nice guide to go with.

Okay, I'm done blathering. For now. Oh wait, no I'm not...


Hemming Stuff for Others:

I promised my Mom's friend ages and ages ago that I'd make some curtains for her. She finally got fed up and bought some, then asked if I'd hem them for her. Feeling guilty, I said I would. That was months ago. Last week? GOT THEM DONE.

No pictures because by the time I was finished I hated the 100% polyester faux silk CRAP that I couldn't even stand to look at it anymore. Plus it's just a basic hem and a couple ties made from the left over pieces. But my GOSH I've learned a good lesson on why you should always cut on grain. These weren't, and you could tell. When I finished hemming them and held them up to make sure the hem was actually straight (I measured it at least 3 times per panel to be sure), the whole curtain hung crooked.

Let that be a lesson for us all. CUTTING ON GRAIN IS IMPORTANT, YO.

FNSI, and a Big Thank You!

I keep trying to sign up for this, and then having no energy to do it when Friday evening rolls around. But I just got home after being away for a week, and I have a bunch of projects on the go. I think tonight I'm going to pop on a movie and get to it! More on that tomorrow when I do my FNSI update post.

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Thank you all for your support and kind words on my last post. I sort of maybe teared up a bit, reading the comments. You are all very awesome. My Mom's surgery went well. Actually, really well. She doesn't even feel like she had surgery! So well in fact, she's headed back to work on Monday. Radiation starts in about 2 months, though, so we'll see how she feels during that.

Heather over at FussWorks made some beautiful crocheted heart pins to wear for my Mom, and I admit, I immediately started to bawl I was so touched, and also bookmarked the pattern for future use! Check out her post and tell her how awesome she is, because she is. You're a good friend, Heather. Thank you. <3

Cold Weather and Winter Coats (FNSI Report)

We've finally got hit with typical Canadian prairie winter weather the last week or so, with temps hovering around -30 C and colder (with the wind chill, and you always count the wind chill here). Unfortunately, between last winter and this winter I've somehow lost my winter coat, and have been getting by with a fall jacket and zippered hoodie (and lots of layers underneath). No, don't yell at me, I'm pretty acclimatized to the cold. It's only been the last few days of around -35C in the mornings that the cold has really bothered me.

I should go out to buy a winter coat, but I'm being stubborn. During the PR 10th Anniversary Celebration last November, I bought fabric to make a winter coat using Simplicity 2508 (similar to the version below), and paid a pretty penny for the lot. I refuse to go spend more on a winter coat when I've already dished out nearly $100 for this one (some assembly required).

But of course I've been working on everything BUT a winter coat.

I'm determined to make this up this week. During the Friday Night Sew-In last night, I forced myself to cut out and alter the actual pattern paper. Maybe not the most exciting sewing that was done during FNSI, but it forced me over a hurdle I've been avoiding for a while.

I'll keep you all updated on my progress on this coat. Knowing my luck and procrastination skills, it'll be spring before my coat is done.

Friday Night Sew-In aka Virtual Sewing Party!

So I've just heard of this Friday Night Sew-In (FNSI) hosted by Handmade by Heidi, when Debbie from Stitches and Seams mentioned it in her latest post. It's sort of a virtual get together, where you sign up and then lock yourself into your sewing room and sew like a fiend, then share your creations with the group through your blog and their Flickr group.

Which okay, is not much of a change from what I've been doing of late (yay unemployment), but I think will be fun anyways. So I'm signing up, and you should too! Click on the picture above for more information and the sign up form.

Maybe I'll get my jacket finished tonight!