Plum Medieval Dress: Finished!

I finished the medieval dress that I have been working on for more than a year in time for this year's Halloween! And it was gorgeous! I was so incredible happy and proud wearing this dress on Halloween!

The pattern is Simplicity 2573, view B.

Instead of the binding, I added seam allowances and sewed the bodice to the lining. I hand stitched the trim, grommets on the dress, and the hem on the dress. The underdress has french seams everywhere I could swing it. The lacings in the bodice are leather. The dress is a rayon/wool blend. The belt is silk charmeuse with a bracelet for a ring. The bodice is lined in china silk and the underdress is linen.

This is the first dress that I have ever sewn and I am so extremely proud of it! Anyway, more pictures:

One of the reasons that I picked this dress for my first ever complete dress was because I knew that the design would require little-to-no fitting. However, as you can see in the picture above, I probably should have done some kind of an adjustment to the back. There was apparently too much fabric in the back, although I am not entirely sure what one does to fix that sort of thing.

I wore the costume to work and got tons and tons of comments. One coworker asked if I would be willing to make one for his wife. I went full-on Selfish Seamstress and said "No way!" My favorite interaction of the day went something like this:
Girl: Whoa! I really like your dress. (pause) Oh, it's a costume.
Me: Yeah.
Girl: Where did you get that?
Me: I made it.
Girl: Oh. (pause) How long did it take you to make it?
Me: About 40 hours (some additional explanation about hand stitching that wouldn't be necessary...)
Girl: I would totally wear that dress.

I also got loads of compliments on the color. And on my headpiece (which I had made for my wedding).

There are a few other posts with more detail on my blog here and pattern review is here. Thanks for stopping by!

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Frivolous photo: My lovely boys went as minions for Halloween. I blogged about the hats I made earlier, but had to share this amazing picture from Halloween itself.

Halloween Minion Hats

Firstly, my 2 and 4 year old boys are very into Despicable Me right now. So when I saw an idea for DIY minion hats for Halloween costumes on the internet, I got a little excited. I'm quite pleased with what I ended up with!

I used McCall's 7012 as a pattern for a beanie-style hat, which I sewed up in yellow fleece.

This was my first time sewing with a knit, and I think it went pretty well. I used a long, narrow zigzag stitch, which only gave me problems with getting precise ends to the dart legs. The pattern called for a single layer folded up and stitched through to essentially hem the hat. The inspiration post called for two layers of fleece sewn together. I went with two layers and removed 1/2 inch from the inner layer to account for the turn of cloth.

For the eyes and goggle straps, I cut felt and attached with hot glue. For the goggle rims, I used canning jar lids. This was my first time ever using hot glue, and my fingers can tell you: it is hot.

As I was finishing the first hat, my elder boy said, "I have to go get my minion shirt!" He ran up to his room and came down with the only yellow shirt he has. So cute! Then he said that his brother didn't have a minion shirt and, "That's ok, we'll take turns." Long-sleeve yellow shirts are part of the plan, as are G logos for the overall fronts. For now, I'm just glad that I completed the sewing. The boys are really jazzed with them.

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Frivolous Photo: The boys and I participated in a run/walk associated with the local children's museum a few weeks ago. I walked/jogged a 5k and the boys walked/ran a 1/4 mile "toddler trot." It was a really great time.

2013 Halloween Costume Shouldabeen: Medieval Dress

This summer, I started furiously working on a medieval dress for this year's Halloween. This picture is from early October. I was just too far from the mark to push through and have it look the way I wanted (the trim around the neck is just pinned on in this pic). Maybe next year!

The dress is from Simplicity 2573, view B (on the right).

I decided to eliminate the binding on the bodice. There's a lining anyway, might as well just sew the front to the lining. Seems more period-appropriate to me, although I'm not going completely purist here. However, my first incarnation of the bodice didn't include any extra width/height for a seam allowance. Newbie sewer mistake there. After some pretty thorough research, I settled on using a compass (yes, that thing you last used for drawing circles in fifth grade) to add seam allowances. The pattern calls for the bodice to be interfaced with muslin. I used some rather stiff green cotton I had laying around

Then I cut out the pieces with my rotary cutter. Love that. I have got to get a bigger cutting mat/surface.

In the picture at the top, the lining has been inserted. I borrowed from a technique the Slapdash Sewist discusses to attach lining via machine on a sleeveless bodice. Mine had one less opening, so I sewed the bodice to the dress at the waistline by hand. Hand sewing always intimidates me, but this was surprisingly easy and satisfying! It's certainly not perfect, but it's not going to be seen and I'm very satisfied with it. I realized after I stitched down the waistline that I should have underlined the bodice. The instructions didn't call for it, and I am unused to thinking beyond the instructions.

I struggled a little with all of the cloth in the bottom corners. I had 3 layers in the bodice and one layer from the skirt, all trying to get to a hard corner while still leaving me room to hand-stitch the lining closed. I ended up with a bit of a bump. The lining sticks out a little here and in a few other spots. This was my first ever lining, though, so I'm chalking it up to a learning experience.

The fabrics are just devine! The outer fabric is a wool/rayon blend that drapes beautifully! The lining is china silk. I've been using a walking foot when sewing seams as both fabrics are a little on the slippery side. So far, I think it's working really well.

I'll have more about those grommet holes in a future post. Still to go: finishing those grommets, hemming the skirt, attaching this beautiful trim, oh yeah, and creating the entire under dress. See why it didn't get done by Halloween?

Pirate Costume: Complete!

The pirate costume is done! I don't have along-the-way pictures on this one, because I was so focused on making as much progress as possible in those few moments where I had free time and wasn't exhausted.

Simplicity 2561: Toddler Pirate Costume

Pattern Description: Pirate costumes for toddler girls and boys. Includes hat, coat, skirts, pants, and shirt/vest combo. I made The pants from the right (B) and the shirt/vest from the left (D).

Pattern Sizing: Toddler sizes. I made size "2".

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Absolutely!

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes and no. When I got out of my head and looked at the pictures a lot, it flowed very easily. However, this was my first time making any kind of a collar and the directions really confused me. It took me a long time (and a wasted set of collar and interfacing pieces) to figure out that "facing" in the instructions didn't necessarily mean the pattern pieces that were labelled as facing. Still, this was probably a beginner mistake. Everything else was simple!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I was amazed by how perfectly and effortlessly everything fit as it was coming together. Marks lined up without any stress. It came together so well! Part of this could be my beginner-level skills, but I was amazed by how well it all came together. I've worked with other patterns (maybe my error on the precision of my work) that didn't come together well at all.

That being said, there were a few places I thought the directions lacked. The bottom of the vest is unhemmed. The directions call for using a seam glue stuff to seal the bottom edge, but it doesn't tell you to do that until the very end of the project. If your fabric frays at all, you'll have a right mess by then. Since my vest fabric was a poly faux suede, I burned it instead.

I also struggled with the vertical slash that makes up the v-neck. There is nothing on the pattern that suggests you might want to keep track of the vertical line at that point, but when you are making that slash, the directions expect you to line it up to that vertical (now invisible) line. Also, when you are working on that portion of the top (sewing the line that becomes the fold for the V), you are expected to work to the markings on the facing piece. However, you are working on the back of the interfacing at that point. Since I marked with thread, I took the threads out before I interfaced. Again, maybe that was a rookie mistake, but trying to mark the back of the interfacing on the facing piece when it was already sewn in (and assuming I got the vertical alignment right) was tricky and probably not very precise. I'm not exactly sure how to improve on that. Maybe mark the back of the interfacing from the get-go? I don't think keeping the threads in while the interfacing was applied would have been a good idea. I'm reasonably sure they wouldn't have come out cleanly. Pencil marking the fashion fabric wouldn't have helped either, since it almost certainly wouldn't have shown through the interfacing.

What techniques did you use, learn, or want to use next time: This is probably to be expected, but there was nothing at all in the instructions about finishing the seams. I completely forgot about the need to do this until I was about halfway through construction of the shirt. I managed to go back and finish all of the seams, mostly with an overcast stitch, although on the sleeves I did a pseudo french seam by turning in the seam allowances (is that the right word?) and stitching them together.

I did a horrible job matching up the pants' stripes. For some reason, when I was cutting out the pants pieces, I decided that matching didn't matter since the pants were one piece per leg. Really, what it came down to, is what I have researched for matching patterns didn't apply in this circumstance. I still could have matched the fronts/backs and the seam on the legs better. Something to try to do better next time!

Something that went well: I used tailor's tacks to mark the various circles and marks on the patterns. I was really pleased with that method and think it was definitely a part of how well the pieces fit and came together. In the past, I have always used pencil marks, which I feel are less precise.

Fabric Used: Several, actually. The white shirt bits are a cotton gauze. This fabric was a gorgeous for the huge puffy sleeves. However, the marking and cutting out phases were difficult. The fabric had a lot of give, and tended to move under pins instead of being pierced by them. I figured it out as I went, and definitely thought it was worth the trouble. I was concerned that it would be too flowy and/or soft for the collar, but standard JoAnn's Pellon lightweight interfacing did the trick!

The black vest part is polyester faux suede from JoAnn's. I can be a bit of a fabric snob and tend to shy away from polyester, but this fabric was a dream to work with. It iron well, it cut well, it sewed well. I will definitely use it again when I want a suede look, especially for costume pieces.

The pants are a heavy cotton stripe I found from FashionFabricsClub. Definitely a bottom-weight fabric. Very easy to work with.

The sash is silk dupioni from my local Denver Fabrics. I didn't wash the silk before I worked with it, and loved working with the stiff dupioni. Also, my thread all but disappeared into the fabric. I cheated a little and top-stitched closed the opening for turning the sash.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: None. This was my first time making a shirt, and I wanted to follow the directions precisely.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I probably won't sew it again, just because how much need does one have for more than one toddler pirate costume? But I would highly recommend it. I can't speak to the coat or hat, but the parts I made were easy and look fantastic! My one gripe would be that the shirt is very open in the back, which is fine for a costume, but if you live anywhere that it gets cold at all in the fall, your toddler will probably need an undershirt, which will almost certainly show through the v in the front.

Conclusion: Love this pattern! Most especially, I love the confidence that it has instilled in me to try more complicated projects! I am very, very pleased!

Pirate Costume: Fabrics!

I hit up a sale at Joann's last weekend to gather supplies for the pirate costume. My wonderful husband was happy to assist. We settled on a faux black suede for the vest portion of the shirt and a cotton crepe for the sleeves and collar.

We wanted a pretty wide red stripe for the pants, but couldn't find anything suitable at Joann's. I did some searching around this morning and found this awesome cotton fabric at DenverFabrics!

No more excuses, time to get started!

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Update: I got all of the pattern pieces cut out today! I had the scissors and pattern hanging around the kitchen table and cut on things between other things, while my son, G, was eating, playing, etc. I'm super excited about this because cutting out the pattern pieces tends to be my least favorite part of the whole sewing experience. Next weekend (a long one) I can get on with working with fabrics!

One Year Later...

So, my son was born on August 20th, and here I sit a year later, finally starting to think about sewing and blogging again. What a year it has been!

I have accomplished a little bit of sewing in the last year. I finally finished up the curtains and crib skirt around Christmas time, although I don't seem to have any pictures at the moment. I'll have to take some. I also made my son a blank slate of a Christmas stocking for him to embellish in future years (another McCall's 5549).

I also made myself two pairs of pajama pants, both using Simplicity 2317, which I love. The second pair was in a green plaid. It was my first experiment with plaid, and it didn't get close to lining up, but it was a good learning experience.

I've been attempting to whip up two pairs of pajama pants for my husband using Butterick 5572 (finally a pajama pants pattern with pockets!). After several false starts I now need to start over completely because the baby got ahold of and shredded the pattern pieces before I managed to cut any of the fabric.

I have a new goal of making my son a Halloween costume before Halloween. I'm using Simplicity 2561, the pants from view B, right, and the top from view D, bottom left. I've never tried a shirt before, so there are definitely some challenges here. I feel like Halloween costumes are a good time to make mistakes, though.

Also on my radar is a quilt for my son, who will be ready for a bed and blankets before we know it, and a baby quilt for the next son or daughter, due April 2.

This may all be a bit overly ambitious, especially for a pregnant woman with a burgeoning toddler. However, summer is winding down, meaning more time indoors, my son is close to weaning, and I like to have goals. I may not get all these things done in the time frame I would like, but I like to have something to work towards.

Steampunk Halloween Costume Completed!

I'm back at home now after a whirlwind trip to London, and fighting off a nasty head cold. My time got really crammed trying to finish my costume and all of the other preparations for the trip, so I have a lot of catching up to do here.

To complete the petticoat, I had to gather 9 1/2 yards of fabric, and then stitch that to a little more than 4 yards. Then that 4 yards had to be gathered and attached to the round yoke, which was probably the most difficult part of the entire project.  I was really intimidated by the gathering, but it was quite easy.  My only real issue was when I didn't stop my two rows of gathering stitches at the same spot.  That made gathering consistently quite difficult.

The hemming of the overskirt was also easier than I expected.  It took a long time, but I was pleased with the result.  I basted the entire skirt at the hemline that my husband was nice enough to pin for me.  I then stitched a longish stay-stitch about a quarter inch from the edge of the fabric.  I then pined up the bottom edge, pulling up the bobbin thread as I went to pull in the extra fabric (thanks to Vogue Sewing yet again!).  I then pressed that up into another fold and stitched.  Somewhere in there I removed the basting thread.

I then stitched the lace trim onto the face of the overskirt with two rows of stitches, and attempted to put the whole thing together.

This is where I really did myself in.  I was attempting to insert the zipper so that the netting layer would be treated like a lining.  I wanted the fabric to be finished to the zipper on the inside and out.  I basted, stitched, and stitched again all of the stitches to insert the zipper and put the two layers together, except one.  When the time came to turn the fabric right-side out, the two skirts sat next to each other not one over the top.  So, I tore out all of the stitches and started over with the zipper just hanging out inside the skirts.

Then, on the top of all of the layers, with the fabric right-side out, I stitched a top stitch to hold the zipper in place.  All went well until I got to the very top of the zipper, where the head was, as my sewing machine needle got pushed aside.

It wasn't the most polished zipper insertion known to man, but no one would see it anyway, and the petticoat was complete!  Straight-away I tried it on with the bits of the costume that I had ready.

You can see a little bit of the ribbon-trimmed net layer peeking out.  I realized part-way through the under skirt layer that I had an extra 5/8" on that layer because the pattern expected a 5/8" hem, which I did not do.  I attempted to compensate, but only compensated by adding an extra 1/4" to the seam allowance between the two net layers for a total of 4/8" reduction.  I didn't imagine that my sewing would be anywhere precise enough for 1/8" to matter, but I don't think you'd be seeing that hint of ribbon at the bottom if I had pulled out that extra 1/8" somewhere.

The completed costume (along with my equally steampunk-y date):

Allow me to share some of the details on the rest of the costume.  The corset is Fredrick's of Hollywood's Hollywood Dream Corset, appearing in Halloween costumes everywhere and which I happened to have lying around.  I added a braided trim to the seam/boning lines with hot glue to punk it up a bit.  The choker and wristlets I made with some ornate trim and gathered lace leftover from the petticoat trim.  I also attached a brassy button to disguise the closure of one snap.

The hat I purchased on e-bay from a woman in the UK who makes them, and had it shipped directly to my brother-in-law.

The jewelry I purchased on etsy.  Vintage copper flowers turned into earrings and a vintage vacuum tube with copper necklace.

The shoes were an indulgence, costing as much as the rest of the pieces put together, but I couldn't pass up their steamy awesomeness.  They have a spats-esque style, with ruffle details and gorgeous suede.  I might actually wear them with normal clothes.

And I have to show off the back of the corset, because I love it so much.

It was a lot of work to put it all together, but I was extremely pleased with the end result.  The only thing I would have changed would be to add more details.  But I think it came across steamy enough.  Our costumes were a big hit at the party, especially my husband's.

Update: Steampunk Costume

A quick update on the steampunk costume for Halloween: I've been sewing every night until the point of exhaustion trying to get ready for leaving next week. I have the overskirt of the petticoat hemmed (which was my one of my biggest fears), and the underskirt almost completely put together. I have another half of a seam to pin and then stitch and then put the two together.

All the accessories are in save one, which should be here any day now.

I'll have pictures and more details come the weekend...

Steampunk Costume: Petticoat

I spent most of the day today working with yards and yards of cream petticoat net. There were nine pieces in all, three for the upper tier and six for the lower. As the pieces were perfect rectangles, I cut them out with my rotary cutting tools. Great time saver!

Next, I sewed the pieces together using lapped seams so that there wouldn't be tons of scratchy netting poking me underneath my skirt.

Finally, I hemmed the bottom-most layer, all 9 1/2 yards, with ribbon.

I prepped the under-layer yoke earlier in the week, so all I have left to do is hem the upper layer, attach the lace trim, and stitch it all up!

I only have a little over a week to go and I am definitely feeling the pressure!

Costume Take Two: Steampunk

In my search for awesome fairy wings, I stumbled across this amazing steampunk fairy costume on Etsy.  I had heard of steampunk, but only in the literary sense.  Alla Wikipedia, I soon found myself in a rabbit hole of steampunk fashion fascination.  I had to have something steamy for Halloween!

I didn't have time to make a complete costume, so I started in my own closet and came up with a corset and interesting leather skirt.  For embellishment, I decided that a petticoat was in order, among other, smaller accouterments.

I had picked up Simplicity 5006 when I was thinking fairy costume, and figured I could make it work for a victorian-esque petticoat.  Since my leather skirt isn't terribly full, I decided to go with view B (rightmost).  The pattern called for taffeta for the top layer.  I figured it was as good a time as any to try working with such slippery fabric and dove right in with a gorgeous copper taffeta (polyester, unfortunately) and a cream colored net for the under layer.

The first challenge was shortening the pattern.  My skirt is only 33" long, and the pattern creates a 39" long petticoat.  After much careful measuring, I took 6" off of the bottom of each of the upper skirt's pattern pieces.  I attempted to match the curve by cutting a short piece off of the bottom, then lining that up to the 6" marks for the final cut.

My next struggle was laying out the fabric.  After one false start, I used a rotary-cutting ruler to ensure that my center fold was straight and got both pieces for the upper skirt layed out and cut.

My Vogue Sewing book recommended a straight stitch of 12-15 stitches per inch, and to hold the fabric taut while stitching.  I think this worked pretty well, with very little waffling that I see so often on homemade clothes with shiny fabrics like this.  Next, I used an overstitch foot that came with my machine and a zigzag stitch to enclose the raw edges.  The first seam went smashingly (except for breaking one needle thanks to the my sewing machine's manual's very confusing instructions).  However, the side seams ended up terribly scalloped no matter what I tired.  I think this may be due to the fabric being on a bias at this point.  I might try a straight stitch first next time.

Now, the skirt is hanging to let the bias drop (thanks to Sommerset that I knew that one before reading it in Vogue Sewing!), and I'm working on cutting out the pieces for the underskirt.  Two weeks and counting!