Wardrobe contest... which pattern?

Joann's was having their $3.99 sale on vogue patterns, and I forgot about the wardrobe patterns I have in my stash.... so help me decide which to make. I can make either 1 dress and top and bottom, two tops one or two bottoms one top.

Another Dye experiment... Dharma Trading Oxblood red

I had a few yards of mustard colored moire and silk two tone taffeta in my stash that were not a good color for me. This morning I decided today would be the day they would change color.  I prewashed the fabric, mixed the salt & dye in the washing machine and away I went.  After 30 minutes I realized that the fabric was not taking the dye.  Hmmm it was sold to me as silk, so I scrambled around looking for things to dye, without the benefit of a prewash.  There were a pile of vintage hankies,  silk chiffon in tangerine a another cut of a crinkle silk chiffon in "wheat".

Well here's what we have...
Original silk chiffon and Moire

Moire After...disappointing.....

Here are two cuts of silk chiffon, one with a pebble crepe hand, and the other with a crinkle finish.

I really like how the crinkle chiffon looks.

 Vintage hankies....originally white.

Now to find a pattern for the silk chiffon....

Next!! Issey Miyake V1186 Pants Finished

I bought this Issey Miyake pattern for the jacket. 

I like the unusual lines of this jacket, and I had hopes that it would be slimming.

I'm sure this happens to you, I stared so long at it, I started noticing the pants. So that's where I started.
 
 

Now I knew from the start they wouldn't be the most slimming but had hopes because the waist and hip yoke is fitted.  Even if they weren't slimming, they were sure to be comfortable.  I didn't make a muslin for them as they are so wide, I couldn't imagine not being able to make my adjustments on the actual pant without problems.

The pattern calls for Lightweight fabrics (crepe, gabardine & satin) and I used a medium weight wool flannel.
So a slightly heavier weight than what was called for.


The pants are lined, and have some interesting details.  The zipper front has an extended buttoned facing and the pants close like a man's pair of pants so you zip up from the right.  The yoke and zipper facing is finished with a bias strip, so these pants look very upscale.  The pattern came together very easily.

And here we are finished!!

I can't decide what these look like....a Dalek......

or a Samurai (Hakama pants)

One thing is for sure, I may never make these pants again, but these are a lot of fun to wear.  They are very comfortable and feel very luxurious.  They are also a length that is perfect for wearing flats, so I'm sure to get a lot of wear from them this winter.

These are a fun pair of pants, to make and wear, can't wait for the temperatures to start dropping in South Florida!

OOP YSL pants - finished

I love these pants, I think I need to make a whole wardrobe of these.  I still have the buttonhole to do but don't have the right button for these pants, a little like the chicken and the egg, I'm waiting for the button to make the right size buttonhole.  A trip to Joann's tomorrow and then I'll be done.... oh and they aren't quite pressed as my iron has retired.  I was looking for a pant pattern that would look good with flats.  I'm barefoot in the photo's so they're slightly long in the pics. 

Peek at the inside waistband which was set by hand.

Pattern envelope!

I tried one more time to look for buttons in my stash and started opening up those little "extra" buttons you get with suits.  Lo and behold, I found the perfect button for these pants.  Left over from an Ellen Tracy suit.

OOP YSL pants Vogue 2410 part two - couture techniques

Have you ever played hide and seek with your lining fabric.  I could have sworn I had black, but could not find it, so I'm using a cotton lawn fabric for the pocket lining and hong kong finish on the seams.  A little color in a drab pant.

There are a few interesting details in this pattern, the pocket and the waistband have caught my attention.
Originally the pant had a welt back flap pocket, and topstitching on the waistband and side seam, my pant will have neither.  The front pockets are formed on the front pant piece, what?  Well usually what I've seen in patterns is that the pocket/lining piece is joined then if there is topstitching, the little sewn pocket is then topstitched down to the front piece, or left loose.

The pocket on these pants is formed first by creating the finished pocket opening.

 Then basting the lining piece to the pant front.

 When you turn it over you have a lovely finished edge.

 The final step is turning 1/2" seam allowance on the bottom and long edge of the pocket and topstitching down.

My iron died last night, so I'll follow up with pics of the finished pocket in the next post!

Next project OOP YSL pants Vogue 2410 part one.

With 4 t shirts cut waiting for assembly, I decided to make pants!  It seems that everytime I have visitors my course changes.... that's what happens when you clean up and put things away to make the house presentable.  Once I went back to retrieve the t shirts, this pattern toppled down from my stash and I decided the pants would be cute!  It would be nice to have an alternative to jeans.

They remind me a little of wide legged sailor pants.  I made up a short muslin (since I'm running low), and made my adjustments.  As I was pinching up and trimming it seemed like much more was being altered but this just shows you, a little tweaking is all that's between you and a great fit.  The black line is the redrawn crotch seam.  I could take the thigh in, but wanted to maintain the wide leg, I just want it to look like the pattern and fit properly, but you can adjust so much you lose the silhouette.

Picking knits online

I've been looking for some nice sweater knits to make some basics for fall.  After seeing the gauzey linen knits (which I never found online) for summer, I was itching to make some for fall.  So I bought a variety of knits online from Denver fabrics, during their Labor day sale.  The one I'm working with is a sweater knit.

This is what it looked like online.

This is what it looked like once it was home. 

The open weave in the photograph gives you a clue that it's not tightly woven, but not that it is light weight.  The only way to really tell is by getting a swatch ahead of time, something I rarely do.

The next thing you should do once you receive the fabric is measure it, specifically you're looking for shortages.  After that, check for defects, I found one so I could place the pattern around it.  After having it assembled, I found a large slub of yarn that was about 4" long on the sleeve.

This is the pattern I've chosen for the fabric, the infamous cardi pattern from Simplicity,  # 2603.

I wanted something I could wear over jeans, something smart but casual.

It's way too long in the front (I cut the shorter version), I'll be trimming the length off in the front to the top of the thigh, (bottom of the dress form), and the knit is so delicate, it will snag on the first little thing that comes into contact with it.  So I've decided that this will be my new housecoat.  Now I just have to sew up a little bias cut gown to go under it.  This knit was also not the best for this style, it is too "lofty", so while it drapes nicely, it also stands away from the body too much, so any twisting and tying is out of the question.

OOps I forgot I already have some little bias gowns.

And here's another one....

I like the white satin gown, all I need now are some belt loops and a sash!

Repurposing a camisole

Last year I bought two camisoles hoping to round out my shapewear wardrobe, and when Marshalls put them on clearance I had to have them.  It turns out that they are the kind that give you a uniboob, and they ride up, and just sit in a wadded mess under the bust....so I did try to wear them but had to give up.  So today I was thinking about how difficult it is to find nice lingerie fabric and you know what comes next.


The offending camisole.

An old favorite pair of panties cut up to make a duplicate.

A bit of black foldover elastic and some white cotton jersey, and now I have a great pair of underwear!!

And maybe next time I can hold onto my excitement long enough to give it a proper steam without scorching the crotch with the iron :(

Spandex blend scraps

Have you finished that organic cotton t-shirt and found yourself with scraps that aren't big enough for another t-shirt but you love the fabric so much you hang onto the scraps forever?  Yeah me too!  I pulled out all of the cotton spandex I have to cut a few t-shirts only to find that I was short fabric.  So I made underwear out of the scraps.  Once you have the back and the crotch cut out, you can mix the knits with other spandex blends or knit lace.

Lavendar Organic Cotton Spandex

Cocoa Bamboo Spandex, Stretch Lace and fold over elastic

Vintage influence Spring 2011

I think I'm almost done checking out Style.com's Spring 2011 fashion shows.  I really liked the vintage influence in L'Wren Scott, Rochas & Vivienne Westwood.

L'Wren Scott

 Rochas... Initially I skipped over this one, but once you get over the fact she's practically naked, this dress is very cute, cut on the bias and very simple.

 Vivienne Westwood