Self-drafted Pleated Skirt - Done!

Well it came out a little bit long - which I didn't notice until I saw the pictures. And it's a little loose at the waist (somehow). And I got a run in my tights right before taking these pics. But otherwise I'm pretty happy with the results.

You can see the bend of the knee and how much longer the skirt is!

Here is the zip and vintage glass button. And loose-fitting waist.

Here is my bad posture and a good shot of the shape of the skirt.

Ta da! My first skirt :)

Skirt nearing completion

Spent a lot of time hand sewing today. Slip stitching the inside of the waistband to be exact, then finishing the zipper, and the button loop. Had time to hem but am just over it! Here is a sneak peek.

Print-tastic Skirt

Yesterday I designed the skirt pattern in 1/4 scale and then drafted it onto contractor's paper. I used "Pattern Drafting for Dressmaking" (which I have an e-copy of) and actually chose the first project, "side inverted pleat with dart shaping."

Today I have cut out the three pattern pieces and am trying to construct it. I've never made anything pleated before. When I'm at a loss I cast about for references. There's a little bit in "Complete Guide to Sewing," this picture tutorial, this pdf "Darts, Ease, Gathers, Pleats, Shirring, Tucks" that addresses the problem. What I am unsure about executing the is dart releasing the pleat...

University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service - your PDFs are rad. I haven't found any lists of PDFs and just bump into y'all with google but when I find one, it's golden.

Anyway I should get back to that construction just thought I'd stop by and check in.

Print-tastic

For my birthday my spouse took me to see the ballet in San Francisco. We made it in to a weekend trip so Saturday we went shopping. I got this black and white print fabric in a heavy, smooth polyester at Silk Road in Oakland. I knew when I saw it that it ought to be a skirt - fabric store lady suggested a jacket which is a great idea but not something my wardrobe needs as badly. Here is an example of the skirt shape I'm thinking about. The question now is, do I have time to draft and construct it to be ready by my birthday (on Monday!)?

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!