Bitten by the Yarn Bug

A friend recently told me it was bound to happen. But resistance was futile, so yes, a complete and utter indulgence into knitting with a side of crochet is responsible for the cobwebs growing over my sewing table and machine.

Not that my love for sewing has diminished. It has, however, taken a new direction. Lately I have been thinking about quilting. Just thinking at this point, with minor planning. I have two designs in mind for wall hangings for my home and have been playing around with color schemes. In addition to that, I have been DVRing and watching a few quilting shows for techniques. As for sewing garments, I have two new patterns I am itching to get fabrics for, but more on that in an upcoming post. In the meantime, it's back to work with the yarn on my knitting needles-- three pairs of socks, one sweater and one lace swatch.

Where the HECK am I???

I'm still here! I know I have not posted anything since forever mainly due to being super distracted with other things for several months. My sewing had to be put on the back burner but am pleased to say that I'm now free to return to it unfettered. Check back soon for updates :)

What I'm Working On and the "Swoosh" Skirt

Yes, it's been a minute since my last post. Not much done by way of sewing as I have not been feeling that great. Badly enough to not be able to go on the Mother's Day fabric spree my family gave me as a gift. Now that's really bad, isn't it? The past few days have been better, so I am keen on picking up the project I'd been working on since I finished my daughter's dress. It's another easy wrap dress made from Vogue Pattern #8379. This time I am making View B with sleeves. Although I am steadily losing inches, I still haven't reached my upper arm toning goals, but that's another blog!

I am using a black jersey fabric from Vogue Fabrics. I toyed with the idea of making the skirt longer but nixed that idea.



If all goes as planned I should be done with this dress today. All that's left to do is sew the skirt to the bodice, the sleeves and the hem.

In other news, I have had my eye on a couple flirty godet skirts. While I only earned how to draft a basic A-line skirt in my sewing class, there are instructions in my pattern-making book for drafting godets. If I decide on a commercial pattern, I'll look to McCall's 5274.


While perusing the web I came across this really nice slide show put together by New York Time's photographer Bill Cunningham, featuring his NYC street fashion photo montage of the "swoosh" skirt.



Check out the narrated slideshow of fabulous skirts here: On the Street--Swoosh!

Vogue #8380, View B

Vogue pattern 8380, View B. The fabric is a cotton stretch print that I got on sale from Vogue Fabrics. I completed this dress a while ago but am finally getting around to posting it. I made it for my daughter. It's still not warm enough here for her to wear it, unfortunately. Chicago weather sucks lemons! Since the bodice is low in the front, she'll have to wear this dress with a little tee. Once I get some more fabric I plan to sew this pattern again for her, in View A. I like View B and will sew this one up for myself.

ETA: Hooray! It's finally warming up :)

Sooooo Slow to Sew

It's been a while since I posted last. An update on what's been going on:

• I took the bodice and skirt apart on the plaid jumper from the last post. I just wasn't feeling it after much contemplation, so it is now an official UFO.
• I picked up crocheting again. I am still not done with that project but will be soon.
• I began sewing a dress for my youngest daughter, from Vogue 8380. I just need to add the zipper and finish the hem.

I only have a couple more sewing classes left. In the last class, I learned French seams. It looks like I'll have to sign up for another set of 9 classes in order to get to the topics I am interested in learning. It was kind of funny how the instructor kept getting on me about my foot. I have the habit of lifting my foot slightly above the pedal between stitching. He wants me to put my foot firmly on the floor instead. I'm finding that habit rather hard to break!

Jumper Dress Pt. 2

I spent most of the day working on the plaid jumper. I ended up sewing in some elastic along the hemline because my daughter fancies the bubble skirt. That ended up really ugly. No pictures of that crapola. So I cut the bottom of the skirt off and hemmed it. It's still not finished, I have a collar ruffle to add. Here is the dress so far.



I decided to go with asymmetrical pleats and gathers. Constructing those was, um, interesting. I'm sure what I did was all ass-backwards, but my daughter thinks it's cute and is willing to wear it. The bodice still isn't 100% right, even though I adjusted the muslin and pattern.




Attaching the bodice to the skirt was a trip and a half! I kept getting one or the other on the wrong side. I haven't finished the seams so ignore the funky line between the bodice and skirt. As for matching the plaid, I did okay with the front and back, but the side seams are off. They were fine while pinning, so not quite sure what happened there. As usual, I have a jacked up hemline, but it's slightly better than the others I have done so far. I was going for an updated modish sixties feel. I think it worked in that respect.

My daughter thinks that I should make the neckline a little lower on the front and almost to the skirt in the back. I'm thinking about it.

Well, done sewing for the day. I'll probably start and finish the collar ruffle tomorrow.

Jumper Dress Pt. 1

My sister-in-law gave me 3 yards of Burberry-inspired plaid lightweight stretch wool--thanks, sweetie! I decided to try my hand at working with my bodice sloper and started on a jumper. I made the bodice but had to adjust a little for fit. So far, so good. Next, the skirt. I decided to use draping techniques for ideas. Here are the ones I have come up with so far. Please excuse the way it looks on the mannequin, because it is not a dress form but probably could be for someone who is a size 2-4.



Idea #1: Two sets of pleats in the front, then pulled back slightly for fullness.



Idea #2: Side pleats gathered and draped across with a sash belt.




Idea #3: Crazy origami-inspired folds for an unusual twist on a rather conservative-looking fabric.

These probably look a little rough, but I think they convey the overall ideas. I'm still cranking out rough ideas and might just end up with a simple A-line skirt. We'll see. I'm totally new to the concept of draping, so advice and criticism is much appreciated!

I hope the books in the background aren't too distracting. Since it got so cold down in the Craft Dungeon where my sewing area was initially set up, I moved my machine upstairs to the library where it is nice and warm. I don't work well with frozen fingers. Once the chill is gone I'll move back down there. Hurry up, warm weather--and I mean everyday, not just once a week like it has been lately.