Christmas Party Dress- BWOF

Just some photos of the final dress and thoughts...

This is without a shaper and honestly, I didn't like the shaper.  The fabric had a tendency to cling to it and make it all wrinkly.  I will try a tricot slip next time.

Hubby was in a hurry since he likes to get places early so this is all I got- 2 out-of-focus pictures.  Hopefully I can take more this afternoon since it's sunny outside.  FYI, the shaper kept me really warm but it was like I was trying on a little girl's pair of pants or a.k.a., packing sausage.

Working Through the Stash

I've been finishing items from the UFO and stash piles this week.  The first shirt for my husband, actually the muslin, has been cut out and is ready to assemble.  I'll show the progress as it occurs.  The little red dress is done and photos will be coming as of Tues. evening when the party is here.

The Hot Patterns Boudoir PJs have almost become a wadder.  The pant legs are large enough for me to stand in one leg alone.  I don't want to destroy them but will probably be cutting the legs down by about half so I lose the Samurai appearance- that's not attractive.  Again, more pictures to follow. (promises, promises)  I am hopeful the top for this pattern is more attractive.  A muslining I will go...

Projects to finish up December:
1. Muslin and hopefully 1 shirt for my husband
2. Hot Patterns Boudoir PJ top
3. Finish the Amy Butler bags
4. Complete the re-hemming of my RTW pants that always seem to come apart

Stay tuned for photos.

BWOF Dress 5/09-103B Done

(Photo from Burda Fashion.com)

It's a hot little dress!  Sooner Red baby.

 This is the bodice over exposed to show detail.  I doubled the front bodice fabric to give it some beefiness so it would hold up better.  Also, no FBA was necessary but  small swayback, broad back and round back adjustments were made.  I used clear elastic cut 3.5 cm shorter than the cross-over portion of the bodice to make it hug better.

The cuffs were the most ambiguous part of the instructions with basically- turn the cuff.  Hmm, the pattern didn't allow for turning the cuff so it would look like the picture.  So, I improvised.  I sewed the sleeve right sides together from the armscye to the first turn and then flipped it inside out and sewed from the first turn until the end with the wrong sides together.  Then, I turned the cuff and slip stitched it into place. Viola!

The hem is fused with Fusi-Knit interfacing.  I then hand stitched the hem to the interfacing for a completely invisible hem as you can/can't see above.

(photo: Burdafashion.com)

As you can tell from the Burda photo, it is a fitted dress.  I don't feel comfortable showing off my stuff like that so I let the side seams out in the skirt by 1/4" in each and now it fits nicely.  Also, since I'm not 5'6 I had to shorten the dress by 1.5" so it hit slightly above the knee.  Not too vampy for my hubby's Christmas party.

Now, if I could only figure out how to make nice Italian shoes I'd be set in life...

More pictures of me wearing it will be posted later.

BWOF update and other stuff

I have made my muslin for the dress, fashion fabric single layer and then it was ripped out.  The single layer was too lightweight for the top and continued to roll outward at the neckline.  I decided to take the fashion fabric and self-line the front bodice.

I will post pictures when I get them taken.

The neckline has a deep-v and to prevent gaposis, I used clear elastic applied with my serger and then flipped the lining to the inside.  From there I topstitched it down.  The instructions call for interfacing the hem and topstitching it in place.  I am considering other options for finishing this area.

The skirt portion is fitted, as I knew it would be but, I don't flaunt well.  So, I added 1/4" to both side seams to make the skirt hang more.

Adjustments made: slight round back, broad back, sway back. (lots of back adjustments so this tells me I must be getting old;)  Petite upper bodice and shorten the skirt by 1.5".  The sleeves are going to be the same length.

Tonight I finish it- hopefully.  More pictures as I progress.

Other stuff:
I am so happy, many people have found me from my other blog to have dental care completed through me.  I can't tell you how happy this makes me to know that people would make the trek out to see me for their care.  I am so thankful for all the fantastic people in my life!

Christmas Dress

I have decided to make a dress for my husband's company's Christmas party.  The one I have chosen is a BWOF 5-2009-103. (photos from Burdafashion.com)

It looks very fitted on the model and I assume she must have a shaper on to make it look so smooth.  The pleating in the front is like the technical drawing but less like the model.  I considered not having a center back seam but knew I'd have to take a swayback adjustment and upper back curve adjustment.  My major concern was the front and whether it was too low cut and not enough coverage requiring major adjustments.

I have started on the muslin and so far, it appears to fit straight off the pattern for a 36.

The dress is going to be a true red jersey knit of a heavier weight.  I'll post more photos as I get started- the dress needs to be done by next week.  I'd really like to get a pair of sexy shoes but since I'm on a limited budget this year, it probably won't happen.  But look at my choices:

This is my number 1 choice- glittery without being over the top and sexy as can be!

A practical pair but just as sexy.  (do you see the theme?)

 Practical yet...

Fundraiser Project

(Photo courtesy of www.simplicity.com)

 I am making the bag on the lower right: the one featured in red. (But now is waiting on webbing for the handles) It was recommended to use a heavy-weight fabric but I had this great Japanese fabric from my stash so I decided I didn't need a really heavy-weight bag.  After all, it's really for water and tea and not big wine bottles.

Then, I read a Facebook comment from my friend that states she is helping host an auction for a friend who has cancer and insurance isn't covering the cost of the experimental treatment (of course).  More on the insurance topic below...  So, she has asked that we help with the fundraising.  Well, as I'm making this bag and btw, it's going together very quickly, I thought I'd make a smaller one for the auction.

It is a Simplicity pattern #2806.  This one holds 6 bottles.  I'll probably make in about 1/2 the size for 4 bottles and the accoutrements necessary for a little wine and cheese party.  I really don't want to buy 4 bottles of wine for this so I might ask for some assistance with that part.  Maybe I'll use 2 real bottles and 2 empty bottles for example only.  Yeah, that's tacky... won't do that.

Finally, I got to use some new stitches from the Juki.  This one turned out nice but different than the image on the screen.  The other one was nice too but the 3rd, not so much.  I won't show you that one- yuck!

I'm sure it's my error but it didn't turn out right at all.  I'm going to see if I needed to use the differential feed or what.  Not like I'll ever have 6 wine bottles to buy at one time but this is good for my Honest Tea and Metro Mint water purchases at Whole Foods.  That's one way I spoil myself.  (Don't ask my husband because he'll say that's not the only thing;))

Any other ideas?

(Disclaimer: I am on my soap-box and if you don't want to hear a strong opinion which may differ from your own,  don't read below)

Ok, how do we women feel about the mammogram recommendation?  Yes, I agree, most of the time nothing is found but really?  If a woman dies due to advanced breast cancer the insurance company comes out ahead.  How?  Think of how much it costs to diagnose, treat and reconstruct a woman after breast cancer.  A LOT!  Millions of dollars will be saved each year by less mandated testing, less treatment (biopsies, lumpectomies, mastectomies) and saved hospital costs.  How much is a life worth?  So, I ask if a woman gets the testing and it is found negative for so many years and she absorbs the cost; and at lets say 15 yrs down the road she gets a positive mammogram, can she be reimbursed by her insurance company for saving them the money?  My friend was diagnosed with aggressive Stage III breast cancer in her early 30s- rare, yes but it could have killed her.  Without the mammogram, her children would be without a mother today.  It could not be detected by a self-exam or physician exam.  How many women need to die for this to be a priority.  Hey, Viagra is paid for and birth control isn't.  Yes, ED is a medical condition but prevention should be the focus.  Preventing diabetes, obesity, heart disease, emphysema, pregnancy are all cost savings for insurance companies.  Why is it we as a society don't pull together to fight the insurance companies?  Are we afraid of losing coverage?  Most likely.  It's sad to think we have lost our options.  Individuals and small businesses must take on the brunt of the cost and leave the money making, multi-billion dollar insurance companies to dictate who lives or dies based on their ability to pay.  (I have officially hopped off my soap-box)

Quick Organization Tip for Feet

Organizing sewing machine feet.  I used a tackle box with adjustable partitions.  Each partition contains a special foot and it is subdivided into the type of machine.  No longer do I have to try to find the right foot and remember what the rarely used feet are for.  Just a quick organization tip.

Finally Finished- BWOF 8/200-119 Jacket

(BWOF photo from website)

This jacket has taught me a lot about my skills or lack thereof.  I've decided to walk away from it and figure out how to press it nicely.  The fabric shows all pressing issues- yuck!

My jacket as I wore it today- notice the dog doesn't care...

Almost ready for the military in this pic.

This shows the covered snaps nicely.

Still needs pressing.

It looks a little pink in the photo- poor lighting.

Here are a few pictures of the snaps and how to cover them.

First, cut the fabric about twice the size of the snap.  I applied Fray-Check to the center where it was to be cut out for the snap portion.

I then added a rough running stitch around the perimeter.  As you can see, the center is cut out for the snap portion- keep it small.

I used snaps that were about 1" in diameter.  Nice size and easy to work with.

This is the snap pushed through the hole and slightly gathered.

This is the fully gathered and covered snap.

This is the underside, you can see it's gathered tightly with an excess of fabric.  Try to keep it to a minimum so the snap attaches flat to the garment.

Here are the snaps placed on the jacket.  It's a nice touch but they aren't very strong with the fabric attached.

As you can see, the pressing is an issue- look at the middle snap- it's caved in where it should be smooth.  I'm not sure how to remedy this but I'm going to sleep it on it.

I love the sleeves- they are 2 parts and have a cute cuff.

My review can be found at Patternreview.com - http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/readreview.pl?readreview=1&reviewnum=42990

Preparing to Dye

PICT2095
Originally uploaded by a2thstudent

Good thing I know how to spell, the title could be disasterous.  (I don't exaggerate EVER!)  I've decided to take my mauve (it looks really pink up there but it's mauve) wool and dye it a deep blue.  This I'm going to swatch test since I don't want some odd version of purple.  A dark blueish-purple would be ok- I guess.  I'm using Dylon shade "Ocean Blue".   http://www.dylon.co.uk/colours.html

It's a great piece of fabric but it's stuck in the 80s.  I hope this works.  Although, I just realized the blue isn't that deep of a blue so I might end up with some sort of violet.  This could be disgusting...

I'll post photos of the progress.

Organization feels so fine...

I went through my complete stash and organized it to the max.  I also posted some fabrics that I've been holding onto in the event I find something cute to make them into.  Unfortunately, I found that my tastes have changed.  (They are on PR if you're interested)

Using the stash management method on PR, I cut small swatches of all the fabrics, measured, estimated their content if I didn't know what it was and filed them neatly in a notebook.  Then I folded and sorted into plastic tubs based on fabric type- i.e.- knits, silks, coating, lining, etc.  Now I'm all ready to go through my patterns and do the same.

I haven't figured out how to sort the patterns so that I remember what I've got.  I guess I could make a copy of the detail page with yardages but I'd like to find a better way.  If only I could scan.  Do you think taking a picture of it and downloading it into a photo album, like my BWOFs, would work?  I'll take suggestions.

Also, since learning to fit my body type, I threw away all those UFOs that I knew weren't going to meet with my satisfaction.  Well, I donated the fabric.  After getting over feeling guilty, it was like Christmas when I found fabric I didn't know I had and it was still in style- yippee.

It's now time to prioritize my sewing.  Lance needs some shirts, I have 3 projects to finish, 2 pants that need re-hemmed and a coat to make.  Guess that's prioritizing...

I'm also knitting up a storm.  Due to a short trip to San Antonio, I think I might finish some of those projects on airplanes and in airports.  I'll post pictures of the projects as they progress.  BTW, I can't believe it's November.