Quick Casual Top

I wanted to try my hand at making a top. I went to Joanns and nine dollars and three days later I have... Simplicity 1938 view B. This top has a banded V neck, 3/4 length raglan sleeves, and a loose fit.
I wanted to practice with stretch so got a cheap black fabric (literally and figuratively). I think a better choice would have been something silkier or something rayon.
The pattern was fairly easy to execute. There seemed to be some missing information which is unusual. The neckband was a little fiddly so I do recommend hand basting each step of the neck band. However I think it went well - and this is the fastest garment I've ever put together!
I would recommend this top if you like loosely fitted garments with a modest shape... especially if you like prints which would look much better than this solid color. There's a lot of "silky" prints at Joanns, often on sale. You could pair this top with basic trousers, jeans, and slim skirts and it would be work/school appropriate for just about everyone.
I am thinking about remaking this top in a very lightweight cotton for summer. It would be a little more time consuming in a woven due to seam finishing but I think the pattern would need no modifications. Looking at the pictures, however, it may need to have shorter sleeves and something is going on with the back bunching and wrinkling.
Overall though, I'm happy :)

Simplicity 1938 B, front

Simplicity 1938 B, back

Choc Chip Muffins

Today I'm cooking up a second batch of chocolate chip muffins as they were such an epic hit. I don't need to tell you that muffins are great because they're portable. Choc Chip is pretty decadent but with a nice white coffee it will really hit the spot one cold morning! One further great thing about these is they freeze up and microwave really well.
I've taken Felicia's basic muffin recipe and made it choc chippier. This time I've used a blend of milk chocolate and mini bittersweet choc chips but you can use whatever you want, including chunks and jumbo chips.

Standard: 12 muffins / 15 minutes

Jumbo: 6 muffins / 19 minutes

Baking Temperature: 400°F

Ingredients

2 C AP flour

1 TB baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 C milk or cream

2/3 C packed brown, or white sugar

8 TB melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

10 oz chocolate chips

Instructions

1. In secondary bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. In large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, butter and vanilla.
3. Add dry ingredients to wet but do not overmix.
4. Fold in chips reserving an ounce or two for the tops
5. Pour into greased muffin tins (or lined with paper cups)
6. Sprinkle with a few extra chips.
7. Bake at 400°, 15 mins for regular size or 19 minutes for jumbo, until stick comes out clean.

Tips

• You can use white sugar and a dash of molasses together for brown sugar.
• Muffin by Felicia Bock.

Night Nurse

I recently rented and enjoyed the 1931 Barbara Stanwyck film "Night Nurse." It's a "pre-code" film, so is dirty and silly with prohibition-era drinking, implied lesbianism, gangsters and child murderers. Good times!

Barbara Stanwyck

There's the lovely heroine standing up to the bad guy. What has inspired me is the great lingerie looks from this movie. Just as an excuse to show undressed ladies, our heroine and her nurse companion are always changing into and out of their clothes.

bralette

This silky, lace embellished bralette is totally fab, right? If I were smaller busted I'd be making myself one of these right now. This is just a taste of the lingerie looks I will feature (more to come).
One important thing to note is that the fastener/ stretch fabric situation back then was vastly different.  Modern underwear was just beginning development. For starters, no zippers! And sparing use of elastic and stretch fabric. The bloomers in the movie are fastened with a button. Bra fastenings appear to be modern but the nurse uniform in the movie is fastened with buttons at the back.
Meanwhile, here are some patterns that I could totally see in a bedroom scene on the silver screen.

Butterick 5152

Vogue 7837

Kwik Sew has a variety of lingerie patterns

pattern repro

Winter Baby Outfit

I remember mentioning I was working on Butterick 5584. Here is what I made :)
I used a blue fleece that had ducks on it. The other layer is a blue cotton flannel with spots on it. The button-up hoodie and the pull-on pants are both reversible.
I would recommend this jacket pattern. It is easy to assemble and has a nice design with the large hood, pockets, and roomy fit.
I did not have enough fabric to even consider matching the duck patterns on the front but if you do use a large pattern that would be a good idea (definitely jacket, maybe not pants).

Dress For Emma

After facebooking about my adventures in sewing, a friend of mine offered her daughter as a guinea pig, muahaha. Here is the result.

This dress was made using a cotton fabric I got from the thrift store. It is a reddish color with small white dots. The trim is a ribbon with a modern floral motif.
The pattern (also from the thrift store) is for a dress and short jacket. The jacket has puff sleeves, is fully lined, and has one button at the neck. The dress has a square neck, straps, a dirndl skirt with patch pockets, and a bow at the back. This is Simplicity 8029 from, I think, the 1990s.
I give my execution of the jacket an A- and of the dress a B- ; minus big points for the skirt being attached to the bodice crooked- you can see the pockets are uneven in the fence photos (after the jump). How did I miss that :( I am also subtracting points for choosing a ribbon trim instead of the recommended flat lace trim. The ribbon was much harder to sew into the seams.
I added a bow to the outfit (in hair); I intend to post these bow instructions (from a different pattern) because hello, cute.
I like this dress for a girl child as it is machine washable, not too short to play in, and appropriate for many occasions. The styling is classic and the dress could be worn with leggings and a long sleever in the cooler months. I would make this dress again. The only adjustment I can think of is to cut four of the bow straps, for double sided straps when using similar fabric (this fabric is printed on one side and lame on the other). I took a bit off the length but the dirndl skirt is made of rectangular pattern pieces anyway. I had to guess at the strap length due to my model being 500 miles away. The straps would be easy to lengthen if it wasn't for the damn ribbon. (They could still be lengthened another inch if necessary.)
So in sum: love the jacket, so glad Emma and her mom like the outfit, and I look forward to making more silly things ;)
See more pics after the jump.

My Janet Weiss Dress

My Janet Weiss costume posts are my most popular blog posts. All five posts are listed below.

1. Janet Weiss Makeup & Hair
2. Janet Weiss Accessories
3. Janet Weiss Lingerie
4. Janet Weiss's Pink Dress
5. My Janet Weiss Dress (THIS POST)

Here is my homemade Janet Weiss Dress. I would not rate this an "A" but I think I did an alright job for a costume. I used a dress pattern I already had with the following modifications.
Changed the sleeve to be less puffy. This was a bad idea.
Added collar and cuffs.
Changed the skirt from straight to A-line.
Added a bib front with trim and buttons using the front bodice pattern piece cut down.
And of course made the belt using a metal thrift store buckle I painted white, and white cotton strap covered with the gingham fabric using the selvage method.
I also made the slip which I have not photographed yet. I already had the bag, shoes and cardigan.
For the hair I used hot rollers and x-ed bobby pins for the front.
All in all I spent about a month on this dress and I sure I hope I learned something about making dresses!

Janet Weiss's Pink Dress

My Janet Weiss costume posts are my most popular blog posts. All five posts are listed below.

1. Janet Weiss Makeup & Hair
2. Janet Weiss Accessories
3. Janet Weiss Lingerie
4. Janet Weiss's Pink Dress (THIS POST)
5. My Janet Weiss Dress

Janet is wearing a pink dress with a peter-pan collar and cuffs in matching pink/white gingham, a bib front with white trim and non-functional buttons, long sleeves, and an A-line silhouette, with gingham belt.
The shade of pink is somewhere from baby pink to carnation pink. Use cotton or any basic smooth woven fabric. The gingham is of a medium size not currently readily available.
The white trim is hard to see but I used a type of venise lace. Jumbo rick-rack will also look pretty close.
The white buttons are round in shape but with an embossed flower pattern. You can get flower buttons but mostly in smaller sizes. There are six buttons on the bodice and one must assume one button on each cuff.
The belt has a round slider buckle that is not shiny. Find a round buckle used or make a fabric covered buckle. Take the prong out of a regular prong buckle to convert it to a slider. Match your belting size to your buckle. Use cotton belting and wrap as normal if you can't finding plastic belting. Belt instructions are in the Reader's Digest sewing book. The belt has a snap to hold down the tail.
The dress shape is fitted, with sport (non-puffed) sleeves, and an A-line skirt that falls from the natural waist. The length is at or just above the knee and has a deep hem. (The collage caption saying it is well above the knee is wrong - I am an idiot, her arms are raised and it is riding up.) The zip back goes from the neck to below the waist as normal.
The bib front falls from the shoulder to the waistline sloping toward center at the waist, with the trim sandwiched between the bib and the bodice. Attach the trim and bib before bust darts are sewn.
The peter pan collar is quite wide, you can see it goes a fair way to the shoulder. It is a two piece collar as the dress zips up the back. The collar pieces neither meet at the front nor the back. It is rounded in the front in the Peter Pan or "Claudine" style but squared at the back.
The cuff can be made using a rectangular cuff with a simple edge-trimmed slit (or make a men's style cuff if you want). Instructions for the slit and cuff are available in the sewing book.
A straight skirt pattern can be modified to an A-line shape with relatively little effort.
I have illustrated the pattern to give you an idea of it's design. I have also made a collage of screen grabs.

Materials needed for this project

• Plain-weave in Pink - yardage enough for a dress
• Pink/White Gingham - yardage enough for a belt with tail
• Eight white buttons of about 1/2"
• White venise lace trim - about 1.5 yards or two times your shoulder to waist measurement
• White dress zipper
• Belting
• White circular belt buckle
• One large snap
• Lightweight interfacing

Pattern pieces for Pink fabric

• Bodice front cut on the fold
• Bib overlay cut on the fold
• Bodice back
• Sleeve
• Skirt front cut on fold
• Skirt back
• Short piece of bias strip for cuff opening
• Front neck facing (with interfacing)
• Back neck facing (with interfacing)

Pattern Pieces for Gingham Fabric

• Collar (with interfacing)
• Cuff rectangles (with interfacing)
• Belt

I hope dress makers will see from this list that it's pretty straightforward in terms of parts and subsequently construction. Best of luck to all you little sluts.

illustration

Janet Weiss Lingerie

My Janet Weiss costume posts are my most popular blog posts. All five posts are listed below.

1. Janet Weiss Makeup & Hair
2. Janet Weiss Accessories
3. Janet Weiss Lingerie (THIS POST)
4. Janet Weiss's Pink Dress
5. My Janet Weiss Dress

Janet is wearing a traditional 3 piece set of lingerie: a bra, a panty, and a slip. Click pic for bigger.


BRA
I have seen a lot of people perform Janet a lot of times. 99% of Janets will not have the petite frame and exact breast size of Susan Sarandon. Bras have changed a lot over the decades (now, stretch fabric is king). I do not recommend trying to find an exact match of Janet's bra. If you find it, it won't fit. Like shoes, wearing an ill fitting bra on stage is just a bad idea all around. Janet is wearing an ill fitting bra (the band size is too large so the band rides up at the back).
Janet's underwire bra is in a cotton-like fabric that has no shine. It has a flat trim on the cups but the cups are solid and not lacy. The back panel edges have elastic zig-zagged on. The top edge of the back piece curves up to meet the straps. The bra clasps at the center back. The straps are shiny with a straight edge that is dotted. There is a three-dimensional rosette between the cups.
If you are a woman and A to D you might have some luck finding such a bra at places like Kmart, Target, and Walmart. Demi or pushup styling are appropriate. A smooth-cup tshirt bra can be modified by adding the cup trim (common at sewing store).
For everyone with larger breasts start with bras that are white and fit properly. Minimizer and full coverage bras will not look right as cleavage is essential. Such women may prefer higher quality bras because I sure do in which case just make sure it's white and has cleavage.
For men, get an old white bra at the thrift store that fits around the chest and is non lacy. Take out the underwire if you like.


UNDERPANTS
Janet's panties are a white brief style that sits below the waist ("hipster"). The leg is a low brief "conservative" leg. The panties have side seams and there is lace detailing on the front (in V shapes) that end at the side seams.
The most important thing for Janet's underwear is that you can wear it without your bits being visible or falling out. Larger women may prefer a full brief or a french bikini. Consider getting the matching panty to your bra, or get a plain opaque panty you can modify with the same lace as your slip. For stage work definitely wear a second pair of underpants underneath (or underneath pantyhose). This goes for women and men. The under pair should be light colored and have a smaller "footprint" than your Janet panties. On stage men should wear a dance belt but a fitted thong or bikini brief in a smooth fabric might be fine. Mens thongs are commonly available, get one that is seamless in the front. Women usually wear a smooth flesh colored thong under pantyhose for stage work.
Janet does not reveal her private landscaping. Make an effort to do the same.

SLIP
Janet is wearing a white half slip. The fabric may be a cotton voile as it has no sheen, and it wrinkles. It is a couple of inches shorter than her dress hem length and falls from the natural waist. The slip has an elastic waist. There is a slit of about 6 inches that is located 1/4 away across the front panel. The lower edge and slit of the slip is finished in a scalloped lace that appears to match her underpants.
You can make a slip yourself using your seat measurement, two rectangles of fabric with extra allowance for the elastic casing at top, normal seam allowances on the sides, and a narrow hem. Half slip tutorials are commonly available.
The slit adds some difficulty but I intend to make a slit using some instructions I have from continuously bound cuff slits and I'll let you know how it goes.
You could by a modern slip from Target etc but they are a nasty shiny nylon, and have a rounded vent.

That's it for today! Stay tuned for details on Janet Weiss' pink dress.

Janet Weiss Accessories

My Janet Weiss costume posts are my most popular blog posts. All five posts are listed below.

1. Janet Weiss Makeup & Hair
2. Janet Weiss Accessories  (THIS POST)
3. Janet Weiss Lingerie
4. Janet Weiss's Pink Dress
5. My Janet Weiss Dress

Some more Janet Weiss analysis, this time we're looking at accessories. Click the pick for bigger.

CARDIGAN
Well I only had to check the entire internet but I found a reasonably accurate Janet cardigan here
It is white (snow white, not off white), crew neck as in buttons all the way to the neck and has no collar, and long sleeved (raglan). It is a fitted shape and hip (low hip) length. Feel free to compromise on any of this other than the long sleeve if your dress is also long sleeved. For instance a long sleeved no collar zip up sweater might look quite accurate.
You might have better luck finding a new white cardigan that meets these requirements if you look in the warmer months as white cardigans tend to look great with summer dresses. Go places where dorky people shop.
Cardigan patterns are also pretty common if you can find a suitable cotton knit. Her buttons are pearly white (semi-transparent).

PURSE
Janet carries a white purse on a chain. For the wedding she wears it shoulder length then later it is shorter like a handbag. Perhaps it is the type that you can rethread the chain through a loop on one side and attach it back to the beginning to make a strap one half it's original length. See pic for evidence.
This handbag is a simple envelope clutch rendered in a patent leather or vinyl. Shiny white vinyl is commonly available at fabric stores and there are patterns available (modify to make flap reach the bottom and for chain loops and good luck working with vinyl... use an awl).
Handbag chain is best bought at bead stores but many fabric/craft stores now have jewelry items. The chain is silver colored. Purse closure seems to be a magnet (ie, not a buckle). White handbags have been out of style for quite some time but besides the thrift store you might have luck at places like Ross. Put your hershey bar in your bag.

SHOE
Janet's shoe is a white mary jane with about a 2" heel. The key thing here is that again it is snow white and fits well. Any heel height is acceptable but for stage performances I would recommend a character shoe - it will look really close and you will be able to perform in it.

JEWELRY
Janet's gold name necklace is available in a screen accurate rendering. Get your own name or get Janet, damnit. Walmart has a 14K gold version for $70. You can find goldtone versions, like on Etsy for $16.
Janet is also wearing little gold hoop earrings. I heartily recommend hinged sleepers but any kind of plain hoop one inch or smaller will work fine. If you don't have pierced ears don't bother with earrings.
Janet is of course wearing her new engagement ring. It has a round "diamond" and a thin gold band with two lines etched each side. Get something tacky.

Note About Pantyhose
As you see in the shoe picture and throughout the movie, Janet is sometimes wearing pantyhose. When she is shown close up in her underwear (with Rocky in the tank), she is clearly not wearing pantyhose. For those of you who were never old fashioned ladies, underpants are worn under the pantyhose or omitted (that would be less old fashioned). I do recommend that women wear pantyhose to perform on stage (unless you're in trousers) across the board. This provides some modesty and will make your leg color more uniform and can help with thigh rubbing (if the pantyhose fit correctly). This is all a story for another day but my point is I do not consider pantyhose part of Janet's outfit to emulate as she may or may not be seen wearing them and based on her underwear situation, would not actually be wearing them. Susan Sarandon wore pantyhose because the shoot location Oxley Castle was cold as hell.
Choose high quality pantyhose, either heavy-duty hose such as Oroblu or those designed specifically for dancers.

Janet Weiss Makeup & Hair

My Janet Weiss costume posts are my most popular blog posts. All five posts are listed below.

1. Janet Weiss Makeup & Hair  (THIS POST)
2. Janet Weiss Accessories
3. Janet Weiss Lingerie
4. Janet Weiss's Pink Dress
5. My Janet Weiss Dress

Hi! Halloween's coming up so I imagine lots of other people are working on their costumes and halloween look... because I am! Here is a pic of our heroine, Janet Weiss. Click the pic for bigger.

HAIR: Janet curls her hair in hot rollers. If you are wearing your own hair like I will be, do a natural part down the middle and curl it whatever way gives you the best curl (as seen bottom left), all the way around your head. This could be hot rollers, a curling iron, or in my case rag curls. Don't brush your hair, but style it with fingers. Use gel or mousse before rolling hair and set with hairspray when you're done. If you have those silly O-shaped barrettes pin your hair back as seen here. I don't so will probably just use bobby pins. You want your hair off your face. If you have short girlie hair definitely try to find some white barrettes and make it look more soccer mom and less pixie cutie-pie. If you have short man hair, consider a wig.

MAKEUP: FACE & LIP
Janet is sporting a natural-ish look with heavy emphasis on her eyes along with a rosy blush and lip. Wear your normal foundation or powder (i.e. to match your skin). She is wearing a rosy powder blush/rouge and lipstick -- that elusive your-lips-but-better shade of pink. If you have dark skin chose a MLBB shade even if it's brownish, reddish, or whatever, and ditto for the blush. You want to look natural. For lips, I'm pretty sure Janet wears lipstick as it's a creme finish. Not a glassy gloss look and not matte. Revlon, Maybelline, Cover Girl, NYX, and Mac have good lipstick formulas.

MAKEUP: EYE
For the eyeshadow Janet appears to be wearing a rosy taupe shadow over the whole lid. You can wear a basic neutral eye. Keep it in the brown family and make it a look you could talk your dorkiest aunt into wearing (this is not sexay eyeshadow). Really slather on the brown pencil eyeliner top and bottom. I've tried to recreate this with dark brown and now I think Janet is wearing a lighter brown.
Janet is also wearing a ton of brown mascara.

NAILS
Janet wears a longish fingernail with a natural, oval tip. Buff your nails for shine or use a clear nail polish. Personally I'd wear a silly girlie light shimmer pink just because it'd seem right for Janet. Note the ring is worn on the fourth digit of her left hand (but I'm covering accessories in a different post ;).

I know it's not the most perfect screen accurate whatever ever, but I'm trying to make it look Janetey. Some recent high school graduate who makes her own dresses, thinks weddings are swell, and has never seen a man in his underpants before.

Check The Anal Retentive Rocky Horror Costume List for more info.

Janet Weiss