Berlin's Whimsy

Gathering Apron from Sew Liberated

Often (umm, too often), I come upon a sewing pattern that just fits my aesthetic so much that I must buy it.

That's how it was with The Gathering Apron by Sew Liberated. One part utilitarian, another part feminine, with just the right amount of rustic charm. So pretty, it could (almost) be worn as a garment!

I love the designs that Meg produces at Sew Liberated. However, sewing instructions without many diagrams are more of a struggle for me--- I'm definitely a visual learner. I appreciate that Sew Liberated provides video tutorials for their patterns (you receive the password with the pattern)--- I had to fall back on the video in one part of the sewing process. 

Those crossing straps & bowtie are adorable.

 

I'm not sure if I like the front or the back more!

 

I love the way it turned out and I plan on making another in a different fabric--- possibly linen next time! It looks cute on my daughter, too.

 

My Space.

Even when I don't have the time to tackle my projects that sit idly by while I race through my current life, it's fun to grab a few images here and there of the things that inspire me to maintain my creative side. I'm fortunate to have a dedicated sewing space (even if it's the size of a closet--- but hey, I'm not complaining!) and even stepping into that little creative spot makes me happy.

I've never studied Feng Shui or taken to becoming very adept at decorating. However, I do know that I like my little corners of interest, inspiration, and memories. I'll focus my attention on those spots rather than the spaces that accumulate the clutter of a mom and two teens.

My house could be much more organized; for example, if I didn't spontaneously strip half my kitchen table of its placemats to cut out a sewing pattern, or if I warmed up a prepackaged meal for dinner--- so much easier to keep things neat and tidy that way. But for me, I gave up that notion long ago. It's not who I am. Instead, I have a sewing room with projects half finished; library books overflowing their designated spot; and a spice drawer that is woefully in need of resorting.

As I grow older, I recognize and accept who I am. Yep, my desk could use some organizing. And my yard could really use some TLC. But, we all posses attributes that make us who we are, good and bad. Sometiems, it takes getting older to recognize and embrace them. If you're fortunate enough to have people in your life that do the same, then you are truly lucky.

So, I'm not slob, but I'm not a neat freak, either. But, above all, I'm creative. It's not even a choice for me. It flows through me.

Sewing Plans.

Each week, I have sewing plans. I can’t list all of the patterns I want to eventually make (well, there’s the Darling Ranges Dress, the Banksia Top, the Esme Top, Cake Pattern's Tiramisu, Colette Chantilly, and Sewaholic's Cambrie). And then there's also the Washi Dress.Someday, I'll finish them all!

With working full-time and all the other stuff I have going on in my life, I find that sewing projects must be tackled in increments. Small increments. However, I enjoy the rhythm. Plus, it's very fun to go to work in a handmade skirt or dress--- it's like taking a bit of my creative life to work with me.

When I start a new project, I have a routine that I follow. I trace my patterns first and then move onto a muslin or a "practive" piece with cheap fabric. I'm getting better about sticking to this routine. As much as my limited sewing time tempts me to just want to dive into a project, my small fabric budget forces me to be wise. Plus, I hate making curse-worthy projects that just don't fit!

 

So, with my time constraints, I've become quite adept at satiating any instant gratification urges with patterns I know work for me and are quick to complete.

The Ginger Skirt by Colette Patterns is one such project. Start to finish in less than a couple hours--- probably less. I have a few of these that I wear often.

Another is my own pattern for a gored skirt--- I call it the Bustle Skirt because of the simple technique of grouping the gathering towards the back of the skirt. I might post a pattern here someday... I wear these to work often.

I'm now in my beginning phase of making the Washi Dress: reading through helpful alterations & tips, tracing off the pattern, finding fabric. And I have high hopes of finishing a version of this dress this coming weekend.... Wish me luck!!

Oh, and isn't this a cute charm necklace?! I found it at a local thriftstore...

 

 

Related articles

Peter Pan Collar.

Peter Pan Collar.

I'm quite smitten with Peter Pan collars these days---- I'm not sure that it was fashionable in the 70s, but I do remember wearing clothes with this style of collar.

The project above is based on Colette's free downloadable Sorbetto Pattern. The added Peter Pan collar is outlined in Sew News 3-for-All article in the April/May 2012 edition. In fact, there are a few different collar options described in the article--- they all look fun!

More on Peter Pan Collars---

I have never worn a detachable collar, but I'm intrigued by these:

Detachable Peter Pan Collar Tutorial

Detachable Beaded Collar Tutorial

 

 

Beautiful Summer.

Though beautiful, my summer has been oh so busy and hectic. Hence this short post with all the essentials.

 
I made the Mariposa Dress from Handmade Beginnings last summer. It was too short and it hung in my closet for a year, waiting for a ruffle on the bottom to lengthen it. I learned that I must always lengthen my skirts and dresses. Always! I wore it out to a local brewery for a Friday night beer last weekend. What a fun summer evening that was!

 
And the next day, this fruit pizza went to a potluck. It's from the blog, Oh She Glows. Rather than spreading it with the Avocado Lime Whip, though, I used a Vanilla Nut Cream. I didn't want the avocado to turn brown while sitting on the potluck table. It was wonderfully good and beautiful like the summer. 

I am participating in Heather's 30-Day Vegan Workshop right now and loving it!

 
It's the perfect peaceful end to a hectic summer.

 

Sew Serendipity Spring Skirt

 
Ah, so much to share. I have many photos sitting on my computer without the words (yet) to bring them to life here. I just haven't the time. I might share some of these activities without words. Just the images to speak for themselves.

This isn't one of them, though. The images don't do the skirt much justice (I apologize for the wrinkles!). Between my son and I, we couldn't get a good action shot of the skirt. And then there's my aversion to self photographs.

 
This little skirt is from the sewing book, 'Sew Serendipity' by Kate Whitt. Within the book, she has variations on this basic skirt (as well as many other must-try projects). I'm expecting more projects to come from this basic skirt pattern; in fact, I have some lightweight stretch denim on the way for another one. The pattern produces a very "finished" skirt with a nice silhouette. I haven't installed a zipper for quite awhile and after installing one, I'm always surprised at my initial hesitation--- they're quite easy and nifty! Here's a good tutorial, if you're interested.

One sewing project down and many to go. I have quite a list of upcoming sewing projects. Take a look!

~Kate Whitt's Diane Kimono Dress to be made out of a cotton batik.

~Colette's new blouse pattern, Violet.

~Lisa at Polka Dot Studio's Spring Wrap Skirt.

 

A Plain Wool Skirt. For now.

Just when when we thought spring was upon us (silly us, what with the 60-degree sunny weather and all--- what were we thinking?!), we're experiencing a return of winter. In a big way. Currently, it's 14-degrees outside.

 
Just right for wearing my new wool skirt (with wool tights, of course). I made it using the skirt pattern in Alabama Stitch Book. I feel kind of guilty for my version. You see, the original pattern was designed to be stitched together by hand and then hand embroidered. A one of a kind skirt. My version is the plain-jane-finished-in-an-hour version----stitched by both sewing machine and serger. Because of the wool fabric's lack of stretchiness (as compared to the pattern's recommended cotton jersey), I added an additional gore to the pattern, for a total of five. 

 
Frankly, I intended to embroider the skirt, too, but what with all the cold weather, I've been too busy wearing it.  Perhaps I should take my needle and thread along with me to class and stitch away while listening to the day's lecture? Sounds like fun!

Until then, my plain wool skirt will keep me warm.

*** I found it funny that the skirt is a little wrinkly in the photo yet there's the iron right there next to it. I guess I can't make that often used excuse of not even owning an iron!

Tova Top from Wikstenmade.

I knew I had to make a Tova Top when I first spotted the pattern on Jenny Gordy's blog. It was a preorder pattern then and it wasn't shipped out until the end of October. Overall, I enjoy Jenny Gordy's style, Wikstenmade, and I've made one of her sewing patterns before.

 

Right before Thanksgiving, I finally found a little time to sew together the top. I love it! It's perfect for the holidays. I found the fabric at a local quilt/fabric store and it was perfectly suited for the pattern.

The pattern was easy to follow, and again, I appreciate the designer's attention to detail and her thorough instructions.

 

Ah, I wish I felt comfortable posing in front of the camera, but frankly I don't. I would love to get a dress form for the sole purpose of photographing my projects!

 

Happy Halloween 2010

 

Of course, Halloween is a popular holiday in our household. Requests for costumes start sometime in August. I made my own request this year: find a costume to utilize those capes I made last year! Thankfully, both my kids obliged.

 

My daughter chose to dress as Artemis, the Greek Goddess. She requested a simple dress to wear under her cape. I used the Burda 7509 tank top pattern to draft a full-length linen dress. To cinch up the neckline and sleeves a bit, I used the FOE technique. It worked perfectly! And she can wear the dress as a nightgown after Halloween.

 

My son is at that awkward age. He still loves Halloween, but because he's in high school now, he didn't have any school parties to attend and it's also questionable as to whether he "should" trick-or-treat. The desire is there--- don't get me wrong--- but some of his friends have deemed trick-or-treating off limits now. Nonetheless, my son is still very much a kid at heart, so he's hitting the sidewalks with my daughter and her friend again this year. He's dressing as King Arthur.

Happy Halloween!

A muslin.

My documentation of the creative goings on around here is woefully lacking. Perhaps it's because I have so many unfinished projects! I believe I might take the prize for the one with the most projects going on at one time---- and a bit of ADD thrown in for good measure. Anyhow, here's my first attempt at showing what I'm working on here behind the scenes...

 
Sewing----

I can follow a pattern and sew pieces together but one of the benefits of home sewing is making a garment that actually fits your individual shape. I've never really altered patterns much. I just made them according to the directions and hoped for the best.

It seemed time to improve my sewing skills a bit. In the hopes of learning a little something about altering patterns and making a well-tailored garment, I decided to take part in the Lady Grey sewalong that Gertie is hosting.

It begins with making a muslin. Hmmm, making a muslin. First impressions--- A LOT OF WORK! But worth it. In fact, how did I ever make a fitted pattern without one? Will I do it again? Well, it's definitely worth the time involved but I do hesitate at the thought of using up material that will likely end up in recycling. Waste not want not, and all that...

Anyhow, Gertie goes into the details over on her blog, but the quick and short version of the muslin process involves tracing both the pattern and the actual sewing lines onto muslin with tracing paper and a tracing wheel, cutting out the pieces, and then thread tracing the sewing lines again--- (so they show on the other side). The muslin pieces are cut out with a 1" or so seam allowance and sewn together following the pattern sewing lines....and then the fun begins. How does it fit?

Typically, I thought patterns fit me pretty well. I thought I had a pretty generic body shape. Well, that was until I really took a good long look at my muslin.  

 
 There were problems. Colette patterns are drafted for a C cup bust, which, ahem, I don't have. The lapels gaped. After studying the back, I realized that I not only had to take in the shoulders a bit but I also needed to do a "Sway Back" adjustment. Apparently, I have a sway back. I fussed around with the pattern and reduced the lapel gape and transferred all the alterations to the pattern pieces.

 
I think I have the fit problems fixed and I'm now ready to cut into the real fabric (a tropical weight wool with a little stretch for the shell and an Anna Maria Horner voile for the lining) and go for it... But first, I had to put away all of my sewing stuff to use my dining room table as it was intended. Ah, the longing for a sewing room continues... So does the Lady Grey project... And now that my sewing stuff is all put away, I'm focusing on cooking projects... I'll finish it, I promise!

You can follow along with the alterations and tips over in the Flickr pool of photos and discussions.