Finished Project: Another Pair of Jeans

My first pair of jeans went so well that I decided to make myself a second pair. I was at JoAnn’s a few weeks ago and found this nice black stretch denim and bought it on a whim, since I had gift cards from Christmas. I used the same pattern as the last pair (Ginger by Closet Case Patterns) but this time I narrowed the lower leg a little bit, lengthened the hem by about an inch, and took in the waist band several sizes. This fabric was stretchier than the last, which I think made for a better pair of pants.

I love the fit on these. They came out exactly as I had envisioned.

As usual I lined the pockets with a fun printed fabric – this time, an orange and blue octopus print fabric.

I’m pretty pleased that I now have a well-fitted pattern that I can pretty much cut and sew without any modifications. My next pair of jeans, however, will be a commission from a friend, so that’ll be another adventure!

More wedding dress photos, by Alex Taylor

My cousin’s gorgeous wedding was photographed by their talented photographer friend, Alex Taylor. She took hundreds of beautiful shots, and has given me the OK to post some showing the dress on my  blog! First of course I want to show this shot of the happy couple:

These shots show off the lace gores in the train, which were a detail the bride wasn’t sure about at first but ultimately opted for, and I think they ended up being a really good touch.

These next couple of photos were such a creative idea – to hang the dress in the window, shoing off the lace details and construction. You can see the golden-pink color of the silk Caitlyn chose for her dress, and the design of the lace appliques, much more clearly here.

I was also assigned Caitlyn’s manicure, for which she chose gold, and her MOH Leah (left) was in charge of makeup. Hair was a non-issue, obviously – her hair was so short she just popped in a pretty headband made for her by her MOH and looked perfect. In this shot you can see the back detail. The dress had a center back zipper,  which was mostly hidden in the lace. The top of the lace is actually tacked with a stitch to keep the zipper even more hidden, at the expense of being able to easily put on the dress autonomously – I helped her get into the dress before it was time for makeup.

 

Congratulations again 🙂 They really are a fantastic couple!

 

Finished Project: Custom Dress #1

A lot of people who comission me to do custom work for them have difficulty finding well-fitting clothes off the rack for one reason or another. My friend Lindsey, for example, is over 6 feet tall, which makes finding dresses that are long enough quite a challenge. A while back she asked me to  make her some dresses that fit based on two dresses she bought at Forever21 that were so short on her they were practically just shirts. I got to work drafting and designing and came up with some nicely fitting dresses that look fantastic on her. The first one is a mustard-yellow dress with a white Peter Pan collar, and it fits so well.

To draft this dress, I mashed up a few patterns I had and made heavy modifications to them. I lengthened the bodice and skirt significantly and drafted a Peter Pan collar. I added pockets, which are almost always lacking in ready-to-wear women’s clothing and are a really convenient feature to have.

Doesn’t she look adorable?

The second dress of the two she comissioned also fit perfectly – I just need to add buttons as an accent to it, so I’ll be posting about that one as soon as the buttons are finished.

Finished Project: Hedgehog PJ Pants

These were originally supposed to be a Christmas gift but I was too excited about them to wait until Christmas to give them to the recipient (my boyfriend Seth). Too adorable to wait! Just look at how happy he is to have some cozy PJs:

The fabric is a flannel printed with little hedgehogs. I found it at JoAnn’s.

I used the Closet Case Files Carolyn pajama pattern, which is actually a women’s pattern and did affect the fit a little. I didn’t really think about the difference in cut between men’s and women’s pants, especially in the crotch…oops! Seth tells me they are quite comfy anyway, though. They even have pockets which is fun.

The manicure is also my handiwork, by the way 🙂

My biggest finished project yet: My Cousin’s Wedding Dress

When I found out my cousin Caitlyn and her partner Katie were engaged, I eagerly offered up my skills to create a custom wedding gown for Caitlyn. I was so pleased when she took me up on my offer. I knew I could do it, since I had made a number of formal dresses before, which are very similar to wedding dresses, but of course I was still sort of nervous about it. It’s definitely the biggest project I’ve ever taken on.

To start, I went dress shopping with Caitlyn and Katie to see what kinds of styles Caitlyn liked. We spent an afternoon in Boston trying on tons of dresses in department stores, and I took notes and photos of the ones Caitlyn liked. When I got home, I began making some sketches based on the details Caitlyn liked. I sent her my sketches and she chose the one she liked best, and let me know what changes she wanted to make before I began to draft the pattern.

She picked out a gorgeous lace from a fabric shop in Sommerville, and we ordered a silk charmeuse to use as the base dress. Then, I got to work with drafting an construction. Many hours and three fittings later, the dress was ready to go for the October 23 wedding date.

Caitlyn in her custom dress, looking gorgeous next to Katie in her spiffy suit.

This side view shows off the lace panels on the train.

I am extremely please with how this dress came out, and Caitlyn looked gorgeous on her wedding day. Plus, the weather was perfect – 70 and sunny.

A close up of the front lace details. Her maid of honor made the gorgeous headband.

The back view – just a little wrinkled from bustling the train.

The brides and I at the reception.

Plus, don’t they just look so happy in all the photos? A huge congratulations to the brides!  🙂

Finished Project: Black Fall Sweatshirt

My most recent project is a revisiting of one of my favorite patterns, the Thread Theory Finlayson sweatshirt. It’s such a great, comfy, unisex pattern. This is probably my fourth or fifth Finlayson. I found the fabric at JoAnn’s and bought it on a whim with plans to use it with this pattern and I’m pleased with how it turned out. I wore it camping and to a music festival this weekend in the Catskills and it kept me warm and cozy.

Unfortunately since it’s black it was a little tricky to photograph but I was able to photoshop some light into the photos to try to show some detail. It has a shawl collar, and the fabric has pink, red, and orange dots on it.

The best thing about this pattern is how quick it is to whip up. I made this in one afternoon. It takes almost no time at all, plus I can use my serger on it.

Heritage Museum and Gardens: Movie Fashion Exhibit

This past week, I visited Cape Cod, my family’s favorite vacation spot. We always stay in North Truro, right near Provincetown. This year, I discovered that a museum in Sandwich, which is about halfway from my apartment to Truro, had a period film fashion exhibit so of course I had to stop and see it. It was well worth my time! The  museum itself is amazing – it has several indoor exhibits as well as extensive gardens and interactive learning activities (these were mostly for children but still fun for adults).

The woman supervising the fashion exhibit was very excited to find that I was a sewist, and even went out of her way to show me some of the gorgeous antique lace the museum had in the back. After asking permission to take photos, I got these pictures of my favorite pieces in the collection.

 

Some of the pieces had incredible embroidery, which the costume designers researched carefully to make historically accurate for each film.

This one has a panel from a real 19th century dress in it:

Many of the dresses had gorgeous trains (which, the museum docent pointed out, disappeared after the automobile became ubiquitous and women had to get in and out of cars):

Lastly, I really liked the 1920s vibe of this one:

This exhibit is only here for another month or so, but the Heritage Museum was a very cool visit. I didn’t even get to see the whole thing – the gardens and museum are huge! I’d definitely consider stopping there again to spend a bit more time next time I’m in that area. I highly recommend checking it out!

Finished Project: Black and Gold Formal Dress

I almost named this post “Black and Yellow Formal Dress” but at this point all I can associate with a title like that is that Wiz Khalifa song. In fact, I sang that song to myself numerous times while making this dress.

This dress was made for a formal I attended about a week ago with some friends. It was a lot of fun, and I was quite happy with this dress. It’s made from a stretch satin for the bodice and underskirt; the overskirt is made from a gorgeous lace I found at a fabric outlet in Somerville that I found with my cousin while I was shopping with her for her wedding dress fabric (!).

The bit of stretch in the bodice fabric made it very comfortable. I was originally planning on using spaghetti straps, but then I thought of the idea to use a black bra strap as a halter. This ended up being quite comfy because it was both stretchy and adjustable.

I’m not entirely sure why the photos came out kind of low quality – I think we waited too long to take photos and it was getting just a bit dark for photos. No matter, though – I am absolutely in love with this dress. Maybe I’ll be able to wear it again sometime soon…anyone need a formal date?

I’ve really been digging sleeveless button-downs lately, and it’s finally warming up enough to wear them. I found this interesting fabric at JoAnn’s and had to pick it up. I wore it to a concert last night in New Haven and managed to get a nice shot of it to share!

Finished Project: Blue Dress

It was tempting to start this post with a joke about Devil in a Blue Dress but I resisted the corny temptation. This dress is made from an unidentified stretch blue fabric that I found in a friend’s fabric stash and she said I could have. I drafted my own pattern and of course as always I added pockets!

I’m getting really into sewing stretch knits because they are comfy and easy to sew. Gotta get more of these comfy dresses.