I have finally finished my Iris shorts!  Sheesh, it only took me about a month.  I did the bulk of the sewing in two sewing sessions, but these managed to sit on my table for several weeks just waiting for the final hem.  I had to set them aside for awhile because I was suddenly busy with knitting projects.  There are three important lessons I learned while sewing these shorts:

1.  This is not a race, so take your time.  I tend to be impatient and rush through projects, and all it usually leads to is disappointment.  I took my time with the sewing and even ripped out the zipper several times when it wasn't turning out right.

2.  Pressing and ironing are very different actions, and are not interchangeable.  Learning the difference between the two solved the mystery of why my quilt blocks are skewed and never match up properly.  (And, in case you are wondering, pressing involves putting the iron down on the fabric and lifting it straight up, while ironing involves a back-and-forth motion.)  When sewing, you should only press and never iron because it can distort the fabric and seams.  I learned this from reading the multitude of sewing books that I have been collecting over the past couple of months.  When I decide I want to do something right, I tend to go overboard and buy a lot of reference books.

3.  If you want something to fit, take the time to make a practice muslin, or at the very least measure yourself and your pattern pieces.  I will admit, I didn't make a muslin, but I did measure myself and the pattern pieces carefully.  I determined the best size for me and luckily didn't have to make alterations.  After finishing the shorts, I can now see that I need to curve the center front seem a bit more to get rid of some slight drag lines.  Also, since I have proportionally wide hips, perhaps eliminating the pockets would be a good idea.  I prefer to be slightly modest, especially when it comes to showing off my legs, so I think next time I will also make the shorts a bit longer.

The pattern itself was awesome!  Very clear written instructions and illustrations.  I especially liked the sidebars with tips and links to helpfull tutorials on the Colette website.  Usually when I follow a big-box sewing pattern I find directions that I think are absolutely useless and over-complicated, and I wonder who on earth is coming up with the instructions.   I think Iris is the first pattern where I didn't yell at the instructions and have to When I purchased the Iris pattern, I also bought Crepe (a very pretty retro style dress) and the Colette sewing book.  The book is excellent; along with great sewing and fitting advice, it comes with some very pretty patterns.  I already have some rayon challis that is white with yellow roses for my Crepe dress.  I can't wait to get started!

As you can see, my sewing machine and I have been busy lately.  If you follow my blog, you will have seen that I sew occasionally, but never consistently enough for me to be very good at it.  This latest burst of sewing started with an apron.

Last month I found out that my pint-sized friend was turning 3 in mid-June.  Her parents got her a play kitchen and asked for presents that would go along with it.  I thought a vintage style apron would be cute, and took off to Joann to get a pattern.  I already had a cute fabric that was white with little red apples.  For a pattern I chose Simplicity 3949, and used view B which had heart shaped pockets and bib.  It was all ok until I had to sandwich rick rack between the pocket and bib layers.  I grumbled a bit but it turned out decent enough.  The apron looks funny on my dress form, because I think I'm about 3 times the size of my little friend.  

After I was finished, I wanted to make something else for my friend.  I decided she would need a market bag to go along with her kitchen.  I had this ridiculous blue and white checked fabric that my cousin gave me years ago.  I had no idea what I would ever use it for, but held onto it 'just in case'.  Turns out it was good for a bag!  I made up the pattern myself, just two rectangles with boxed corners and straps.  

After finishing the birthday presents I still felt the urge to sew, so I found in my boxes of fabric a blouse I had cut out the year before and never got around to sewing.  I can't remember why I never bothered to finish it, the pattern was quite simple and easy.  A few pleats at the neckline, narrow hems at the sleeve opening and a neck facing.  It only took a couple hours before I was finished.  The pattern is from Simplicty 2188; one of those wardrobe mix patterns that also includes a skirt, capris, and a vest.  

Since it is hot and humid where I live, I've been wanting more skirts.  I like to keep my sewing projects relatively easy, so I bought several patterns that had elastic waistbands instead of zippers.  For my first skirt I chose Simplicity 1662, view C.  I'm not a fan of the bulky elastic and casing waistbands, so I cheated and made it up myself.  In fact I don't think I even looked at the directions for this pattern and did it all on my own.  I used my newly acquired narrow hem foot to finish the bottom hem.  That didn't work out very well for me though, because after one washing I found that the hem didn't roll in all the way and the fabric started to fray.  Looks like a redo is in order.  You can't really tell from the photo, but the back is a few inches longer than the front.  That little detail is really what attTo finish the waist I used the narrow hem foot to finish the edge, then sewed 3/8" near the edge using the 3 step zig zag stitch while stretching the elastic to the width of the skirt fabric.  Much more comfortable than adding layers of fabric, and since I typically don't tuck in my shirts nobody would notice.  And yeah, it's linen.  Looks great when it has been freshly ironed and then you wear it for five minutes and it's all wrinkly.  Right now, it is very wrinkly.  I'll remedy that after I fix the hem.  

My last sewing project is Simplicity 1616 view E.  Now when I bought this pattern I was somewhat skeptical.  This skirt is made with woven fabric and has an elastic waistband. But in the photo is looks fitted, and with a yoke cut on the bias.  I know that woven fabrics will stretch on the bias, but enough that it could pass over my hips?  I wasn't sure how well that would work out.  But I decided to try it anyway.  Now, I am really lousy at making nice and even gathers.  I'm even worse at sewing down those gathers with another layer of fabric.  Instead of doing the regular basting stitch gathers I used a technique I learned a long time ago when I took sewing classes with my mom.  I used a cording foot and fed through a thin and smooth cotton yarn and sewed it on with a wide zig zag stitch.  Pulling on the cotton yarn is much easier than pulling on the basting threads, and there is no chance of it breaking.  But distributing the gathers evenly is my problem, and I didn't particularly care for the pattern's instructions for determining the correct width.  I especially don't like it when the directions say 'stretch yoke to fit' when they just told you to baste the yoke layers together.  I found it rather difficult to stretch the yoke so I ended up cutting the basting threads.  After sewing and then ripping off the waistband twice, it finally turned out ok on the third try.  Like I said, gathers are really not my specialty, and definitely something I need to practice more.  Or just buy a gathering foot.  Either way, shockingly the skirt *does* stretch enough to go over my hips so I was pleased that all my work wasn't a waste of time.  The elastic 'floats' inside the yoke (which didn't thrill me) so I tacked it down with a bit of zig zag stitch on the sides.  I have a feeling that if I didn't do that it wouldn't take long for the elastic to roll around and drive me crazy.

I have lots of sewing patterns, but like the knitting patterns I own, they all have elements that I like but are never quite exactly what I'm looking for.  It seems like whenever I want something specific I can never find it.  For example, I want to make myself a pair of shorts.  All I am asking for is a flat front and a side zipper.  But apparently that is hard to find.  I found some with front openings, or pleats, or other things I didn't want.  So what did I finally decide on?  I splurged a bit.  I usually buy my patterns from the big 4: Simplicity, McCall, Butterick and Vogue.  But today I stepped out and decided I will try a couple patterns from Colette, in particular the Iris shorts.  They are just what I was looking for.  Nice flat front and pockets that won't make my wide hips look any wider.  I've read good things about Colette sewing patterns, so I decided to try it out.  Of course I didn't want to just get one pattern, because I'm weird like that and I think if I'm going to pay for shipping then I should get at least two things.  I'm a sucker for vintage style dresses and I absolutely fell in love with the Crepe dress.  Beautiful full skirt and a sweetheart neckline.  Best part?  No zipper.  Wraps in the back, which I think is really interesting.  I already have fabric waiting to be made into this dress.

My adventures in sewing began long ago.  While growing up my mom made a lot of my clothes.  She usually let me pick out the fabric and most of the time it came out of the quilting section and involved lots of flowers.  Even as a teenager in my 'wear all black stage' she made some of my clothes even though they looked a bit strange to her.  My skirts were never more than a couple inches above the knee, and my tops never showed a ridiculous amount of cleavage, so she would just say "You're wearing THAT to school??" then let me on my way.  Around that time I wanted to learn how to sew, and after watching her for so many years I was able to figure out the easy stuff and asked her for help on the hard stuff.  

While in college I found myself sewing on an almost daily basis for homework assignments, so my sewing skills quite improved.   For awhile I stopped sewing for myself, mostly because of long work hours that sapped all my time and energy.  Once I changed occupations and found myself with more spare time I started sewing again.  I am at the age where I'm too old to shop at Forever 21 and too young for the missy department of Macys.  The hemlines on dresses seem to be getting ridiculously short so I turned to making my own, mostly retro style dresses with full skirts.  

At the end of this month I get to go with my husband to a military ball.  I spent a lot of time looking for a formal dress and failed dismally.  After working the fashion industry, I know how much it REALLY costs to make clothes and I'm sad to say that the markup on formal dresses is outlandish.  I didn't want to spend more than $200, and every dress I looked at was made of cheap fabric and horrible workmanship.  I finally gave up and decided it was time to dust off the sewing machine.  

My sewing skills are nowhere near as good as my mom's, but as long as the pattern wasn't too complicated I figured I could handle it.  After searching and searching through all the major pattern catalogs I decided on New Look 6401, View A.  I love gowns that lace up the back, and with only a few princess seams and gathers on the bodice it didn't look too difficult for me to make.  For fabric, I had a hard time deciding what I wanted.  I wandered around Joann for a long time.  Satin wrinkles like crazy and isn't always flattering.  Taffeta would be too stiff for this kind of design.  I wanted something drapey that wasn't so slippery it would make me pull my hair out.  Then I passed by a section of brocade and stopped in my tracks.  Among the Asian inspired patterns was a beautiful floral pattern of silver with yellow and grey flowers.  That was it for me!! 

I wanted to do this right and not rush through it, so I knew I needed to make a practice dress.  Doing so would enable me to a) be sure I could actually sew this pattern and b) have a good fit.  Getting a custom fit is one of the great things about sewing your own clothes.  Picking out a size to start with can be a bit daunting if you are not the 'average' of your size.  One of the most important things when sewing (and knitting!) your own clothes is to know your body shape and any relevant sizing issues.  Hardly anyone fits the standard size.  For myself, I am one size smaller on top than on bottom, very small across the back and have very sloping shoulders.  When choosing your size for a sewing pattern, start off by looking at the bust, waist and hip measurements on the pattern envelope, but also check the *finished* measurements printed on the pattern pieces.  The amount of ease added into a pattern will vary, so don't be afraid to take the time and measure yourself.  After checking the measurements I decided on a size 12.  

I already knew I wanted to alter the bodice to cover up more of the chest area.  With a pencil I traced the bodice piece onto a scrap of interfacing.  Then I pinned it onto my dress form (which is pretty darn close to being my size), being careful to take the seam allowances into account.  Then I re-drew the neckline into a surplice, therefore making the fronts cross over and raising the lowest point of the neckline.  I outlined my new pattern piece in felt tip pen, being sure to transfer all the original notches and marked points and adding in my own notch at center front.

I was ready to sew my practice dress.  I didn't add in the lining or zipper or even finish all the edges.  I just wanted to get an idea on the fit.  In about 3 hours I cut and sewed my funny looking practice dress made of scrap fabric.  The neckline gaped open a bit but the rest fit fine.  I fixed the neckline issue by taking off half an inch of length at the shoulders (thank you sloping shoulders!) and dropping the lowest point of the armhole by half an inch.  Now the neckline fits smoothly across the bust.  Here is me looking rather silly in my practice dress.  I made it short because I figured there wouldn't be any fit issues with the lower part of the skirt.  And oh yeah, I did a great job of sewing the right side of the bodice to the wrong side of the skirt.  I almost ripped it out, but then figured if I needed to take in the waist or hips the seams were right there ready to pin.  Oh well.

I knew brocade unravels like crazy, so I got out my serger and overlocked all the edges after cutting out the dress pieces.  I carefully marked all the notches with tailors chalk since they would be cut off.  It was a relatively easy sewing experience, the only problem being me interpreting the directions incorrectly and sewing the wrong pieces together, and sewing an invisible zipper for the first time.  For $70 I have myself a custom made dress that fits perfectly and doesn't make me feel like an old lady stuffed into a cheesy prom dress.  Still needs a good pressing, but here it is.