Fix for Blogger Comments

I posted this in a comment on my giveaway post, but I want to elevate this so others see it. I have never had problems posting comments on blogger, but many people have. Gwen posted this fix. Give it a try!

Gwen's Fix for Blogger Comments.

Thanks Gwen!

Jalie Jeans - My Second, and Last, Pair

Almost exactly one year ago I made my first pair of Jalie Jeans. Initially, I was pleased with the fit and authentic RTW look. When I completed my jeans, there were already 70 reviews for this pattern on Pattern Review, so I didn't bother to add one more. I just checked and there are now 93 reviews of this pattern, which was ranked as one of the "best patterns of 2009".

Popular indeed.

As I wore my jeans, I liked the look of them, but I quickly realized that they were less than satisfactory. When it comes to pants, my shape is akin to...

The phenomenon boils down to this equation:

     Lack of waist + Smaller hips = Pants that fall down

I am not ready for suspenders, and don't ever expect to be (not with my bust!), so I resort to using a belt. But, even with a snug-fitting belt, my pants have a tendency to fall down. This is crazy-making.

And then there was that time that I couldn't find my belt, and I was in a hurry to get to work, so I threaded some elastic through the belt loops and left the house "Jethro style", hoping that the ends of the elastic wouldn't work their way out from where I had tucked them into my jeans, and peek out from under my top. (I couldn't risk a wardrobe malfunction at work!)

Sigh

There was one other annoying issue I had with my first pair of jeans. I had hemmed them in the traditional way, with a narrow hem top-stitched in contrast gold thread. From the first wash after the jeans were completed (I had prewashed the denim fabric more than 3 times), the hem flipped to the outside. No amount of ironing would make those hems behave. This drives me nuts.

I posed the question on how to eliminate the "hem-flipping-to-the-outside" problem, both to Carolyn, Jeans Queen, and on Stitcher's Guild. The consensus seems to be that the only way to avoid this is to use a wider hem. So that's what I did.

(By the way, I covet Carolyn's jeans and cords, in particular her purple jeans, her rust cords, and her black cords. I thought she also had an olive green pair, but I couldn't find them on her blog.)

I thought I would give the Jalie Jeans pattern one more try. This time I would put elastic in the waistband. The result? It helps, but already I can see that I will be tugging these pants up endlessly, even though I made the elastic fairly tight.

Pffft.

You know, I wish people would stop deriding elastic waist pants. For some of us, they work better than a more fitted pant.

Materials:

• Pinwale stretch corduroy, in cream, from FabricMart. This is no longer on their site, but it was a Jones New York fabric and I think it was 97% cotton, 3% spandex. I have seen pinwale corduroy described as lightweight, but this stuff is very beefy. Much heavier than the denim I used for my first pair, though that does not impede the stretch. I ordered 2.5 yards, but FabricMart sent me 5, along with a note stating that there were some spots on the fabric, so they had given me another 2.5, and to let them know if the spots did not come out, or if I had any other issues. Customer service, indeed. (The spots did come out in the wash.) I machine washed/dried the fabric twice to eliminate shrinkage.
• 1" elastic for the waistband.
• In addition to regular sewing thread, Guterman white top-stitching thread.
• A Coats/Clark 9" jeans zipper in white w/ brass teeth from JoAnns. (I cut it to length.)
• A pewter "heart" button from Fabrix.
• Scrap of a beige-colored flesh-toned silk charmeuse to finish the cut edge of the front pocket. (These were faux pockets because I didn't want the pocket bag to show through the cream fabric.)
• Scrap of beige-colored linen to use as fly shield.

Alterations & Modifications

• Inserted 1" wide elastic in waistband.
• Used a wide hem.
• I didn't want the front pockets to "show through" the cream fabric, so I made "faux pockets." I used scraps of silk charmeuse in a beige-flesh-tone to cut shaped facings to finish the pocket opening.
• I used a scrap of beige-colored linen to cut out the fly shield.

This pic shows the faux front pockets (the back pockets are real), the pewter heart button, and the elastic in the waistband, which I ended a couple inches from the front so I could make the button and buttonhole.

The back of the faux front pockets. You can see the silk charmeuse (on the left) that I used to face the pocket opening.

Conclusion

I can see I will still need to wear a snug belt with these pants. I think in future, if I need jeans, I will adapt the Linda pant from Style Arc. I have made 3 pair of Linda pants, and none of them fall down. :)

Oh, these pants are garment #4 in my Autumn 6-pack. I have 2 tops and a jacket left to make. (Yes, I know that is 7 pieces. :) )

More Pictures

I took these pics at 8:30am today (Saturday). It has been so dark and foggy the last couple of days. After I took these pics, I took this picture of my street.

I then turned and took this picture of the alley, where I take most of my pictures. Can you see the car coming down the alleyway? It's not that far away but, with the fog, you can barely see it even though they have their headlights on.

And speaking of weather, I hope everyone in the path of Hurricane Irene stays safe, and with electricity! I hope to see new projects that happened because folks are staying indoors. Even if said project is a baby or two. ;)

Blogiversary Giveaway!

I promised a Blogiversary Giveaway, and here it is!

This giveaway involves some personal sacrifice, but I think it will be appreciated. You might have noticed that I order 3 patterns per month from Style Arc. I do this because, after that first month when I ordered more, the shipping was *really* high. Chloe, of Style Arc, suggested that I tweak any future orders to stay at the $33 rate, which is usually 3 patterns. (Though it can be less if the pattern is very large.)

So, for my giveaway I am going to give away one of my three patterns for September. If you win this giveaway, you can select a pattern from the Style Arc website, with a value up to $15. Tell me the pattern number and size, and I will add it to my September order, in place of one of my three. I will then mail it to you.

Good, eh? In addition to this, I have a Style Arc pattern to give away. A friend ordered the Samantha Top in a size 8. According to their size chart, a size 8 is designed for a 34.3" bust. When her pattern arrived, she was surprised at how much negative ease this pattern features - the finished bust measurement is 29-3/4" – over 4" of negative ease. She kindly gave me the pattern to offer as a giveaway.

In addition to these, I am also giving away a $10 give certificate to Your Button Shop. I discovered this site because it is run by the owner of my favorite sewing forum, Stitcher's Guild. Julie has some lovely button and bead offerings.

So, to summarize, there are THREE items you can win:

• A Style Arc pattern valued up to (and including) $15.
• A Samantha Top pattern in a size 8 (29-3/4" finished bust).
• A $10 Gift Certificate to Your Button Shop.

Please leave a comment on this post indicating what you are interested in. If it's all three, that's fine.

Here's how it will work. In early September (wow, that is SOON), I will draw names for the three prizes. I will mail the Samantha top to that winner, and I will email the gift certificate to that winner. The lucky winner for the choosable pattern will let me know (within a few days of the win) their pattern choice and size. I will add it to my order. It takes a couple weeks to arrive. I will then mail it to the winner. So, feasibly, you will not receive your pattern until the end of September. If you need longer to decide, you can get into my October order, but you will then receive your pattern around the end of October. Capische?

Thanks SO much for all your supportive comments and well wishes on my blogiversary post. I am very grateful to all of you!

Second Blogiversary!

Today, August 25th, 2011 is my second blogiversary! WOOT! (Details of first blogiversary.)

Table of Contents

• Statistics
• Year in Summary
• What Have I Sewn?
• The Coming Year
• Celebratory Giveaway

Statistics

I have made it to year #2 of blogging and a simultaneous return to sewing. And I still love both. First up, some statistics, 'cause it's fun:

End of Year	Number of Posts	Number of Followers	Number of Subscribers (via Google Reader)
1	125	130	Was Google Reader in use?
2	107 (232 total)	341	482

Hmm.... fewer posts than last year. I suspect that was due to a dip in mojo (with some family/work distractions) in the late spring. Also, some of my garments this year have been more involved.

I am happy to see new followers – I truly appreciate all of you and you know I love your feedback!

Year in Summary

I scanned through my posts of the last year to see what I was up to. Good thing I can refer to that, because I don't think I'd remember much, otherwise.

• I participated in Self-Stitched-September 2010 (wrap up here). That was a great learning experience. I then participated in Me-Made-March 2011 (wrap up here). I had to push myself to complete it. Finally, I participated in Me-Made-June 2011 (no wrap up). I petered out on the photographs and on challenging myself, though I did wear me-made every day. Until I have a motivating reason to do this again, I'll be taking a break from the me-mades. But to do it at least once is very educational and I highly recommend it.
• I am participating in the Year of 12 Jackets and Coats (blog posts here), which ends in December. I am a bit behind schedule, with only six of the twelve completed and here we are at the end of August, but there is still time. I have several in progress, so just finishing those would get me back on track. Adding jackets to my wardrobe has filled a real need and I may do this again next year.
• I am participating in the Autumn 6-pack on Stitcher's Guild. In the past I have not been successful at Sewing With a Plan, but it seems to be working out better this time, so maybe I have learned a thing or two. ;)
• I figured out my "new way" to do an FBA so that it doesn't create too much volume at my hips. This has had a huge impact on the fit of my clothing. I have no dedicated post on this, but I've described the technique in several blog entries.
• I took a fabulous fabric acquisition trip back east where I met several wonderful bloggers. In fact, this was my year of meeting bloggers both local and distant. I met Peggy, Carolyn, Noile, Rose, Georgene, Robin, Beth, Jean, JillyBe, Joan, and Ann Smith. (I apologize if I've missed anyone!) What a rewarding experience it has been to meet all of you! I hope to meet even more internet folks in the coming year.
• Besides fabric (which we won't talk about), I also acquired a few great tools this year:
  
  • My Janome 725 felting machine.
  • My Reliable Digital Velocity v100 iron, which.I.LOVE.
  • A hand made pressing ham which was smaller than I expected, but has become a beloved tool.
  • Just last month I got an iPhone. I wouldn't mention it, except that I have been playing with some of the fashion/sewing apps that are available. Nothing to rave about at this point, except I do like to play Boggle. ;)
• I found a new pattern company which I have been loving: Style Arc. Last year was my year of Au Bonheur des Petites Mains, but this has been the year of Style Arc. (Though I also made some Au Bonheur patterns this year.) This is aside from Vogue and Burda, of course. I also made my first KnipMode garment this year (which wasn't particularly successful).
• My local ASG group leader asked me to give a talk on Sewing, Blogging, and the Internet. I gave the talk last Friday and it was a lot of fun. I doubt I created any new bloggers, but I know I inspired several folks to start using Pinterest!

What Have I Sewn?

Good question.

Well, I don't actually keep count and I don't really want to start, just as I don't want to count how many yards are in my stash. ;)

I have continued to play with techniques. Most particularly, felting:

I have made some great patterns this year. Some of my favorites (besides the aforementioned felted pieces):

The Coming Year

I have a few goals for the coming year ('cause you know I set my goals now, rather than in January when I'm too busy sewing to stop and take stock):

• Complete the Year of 12 Jackets and Coats.
• Make even more jackets and coats.
• Complete the Autumn 6-pack, which I have well underway, with 3 of the 6 garments finished. (I actually plan to do more than 6.)
• Push myself further creatively. I feel that I haven't done enough this year, except for the felting. And I do want to do more felting.
• Continue to have fun, which means I often just follow my muse and do what I feel like. I don't like to over plan because it then starts to feel stressful. I keep very loose lists of ideas and plans. Like most sewists, I have more ideas than I could ever make.

Celebratory Giveaway

I have planned a giveaway to celebrate my second blogiversary. Look for another post with details very soon. :)

Vogue 9162 - A Dress Bathrobe

More pics

Let's talk for a moment about bathrobes.

It seems that the bathrobes of the world fall into two styles. Style #1 (by far the most common design) is the infamous wrap robe. It's ubiquitous.

Style #1

It's a great style if you are a women with a waist (and modest boobage), or have a fairly straight up-and-down figure, such as that of a trim man, or a child.

But what if it doesn't suit your shape? What if you don't have a nicely defined waist, or you have a large bust, or both, and it requires constant fiddling to stay closed, resulting in a completely unsatisfying garment? And what if it looks awful on you, making you feel like a complete schlumpadinka (ie. frump) for the short duration that you endure it?

Fresh out of the shower. It might appear to be securely cinched, but I assure you, the slightest movement and all is revealed. Not the sort of "oh la la" I am going for.

Style #2 is the "housecoat" sort of robe. The type of robe that Marie Barrone (Everybody Loves Raymond), or maybe your grandmother, wears. Generally they are fairly shapeless, zipped to the neck, and pretty much shroud the body with little-to-no fit. Functional, yes, though some might say that wearing one is tantamount to declaring that you have "given up." As practical as this style of robe may be, I don't think you can say that it makes you feel pretty, or sexy, while wearing it.

Style #2

So, what if you want something else? Something that is cute, covers you, makes you feel pretty/sexy/glamorous, but doesn't rely on unfeasible dynamics in order to stay closed? Unless I have missed something, the world of RTW has overlooked this need. They are myopic in their definition of the bathrobe. Thus, we have a "bathrobe gap."

A sorry state of affairs, indeed.

I've been thinking about what type of garment would satisfy my robing needs. After much thought, I decided that I wanted a princess seamed robe with a flare at the hem. To achieve this goal, I decided that a princess seamed dress pattern could be adapted with minimal fuss.

The search began.

After combing through current pattern offerings, out of print patterns, independent offeringss, you name it, I came up with Vogue 9162.

Vogue 9162

This particular pattern is out of print, but I found it on ebay. It had the features I wanted, including an attractive yet simple neckline, and it was available in my size. Vogue pretty much always has a dress similar to this in its catalog, but the design details vary. There were a couple versions I liked even more, but they weren't available in my size.

I collected a few fabrics that would work for a robe. I wanted a cozy robe, so no silks this time. I am not a fan of polyester fleece, in general. There are exceptions, of course, such as authentic Polar fleece, but many of the copycat synthetic fleeces feel awful and "plastic-y" to me and I hate to touch them. I also dislike Minky fabrics which, while soft, are not absorbent and make me hot.

FabricMart had a poly Berber Fleece in stock that looked promising - I liked the design of the print and the colors. I ordered some, hoping to use it for a jacket, but when it arrived, it definitely felt like robe fabric to me. The fabric content is poly/lycra content, but it has a better hand than some fleece fabrics and I decided that it was tolerable. I had to order a couple more yards, as this pattern burns up yardage. (As of this writing, they have 34 yards left.)

Materials:

• Poly Berber fleece (poly/lycra blend) from FabricMart
• Black 1mm elastic (for button loops)
• 5 "used" carved wooden buttons from my grandmother's button box. My grandmother didn't sew, but she cut buttons off of clothing and saved them. Most of her buttons are sad and not really usable. In this case, she rescued 5 carved wooden buttons. It appears that the original garment was well used - several buttons still had tired, original thread attached and they almost look singed around the edges, which I assume was intentional. I'd hate to think that Gramma was cutting buttons off of burned clothing. :)

Alteration and Construction Notes:

• I made a size 18, view B - the longer version.
• I did a fairly large Princess Seam FBA. It went awry, however, and I had to do some darting to fix it. Luckily for me, it doesn't show in this fabric. If I make this again, I'll have to fix the FBA.
• Narrowed the shoulder seam by 1".
• Used the fabric selvedge as trim for the front opening and the sleeve hems.



• Narrowed the front facings.
• Drafted a back neck facing.
• Added in-seam pockets.
• Eliminated the collar (as much as I liked it, I decided to forego it in favor of the self trim.
• Used 5 large (1-1/4") buttons with elastic button loops. I had planned to use 3 large buttons, but found these in the button box and decided to keep them all together.



• Shortened the sleeves about 1-1/2".
  

Conclusion

I like it! This is warm, snuggly, and I don't fall out of it when I sit down or bend over to pick something up. And I feel a bit like a Russian princess when wearing it. ;)

More Pictures

Oops, a couple motifs are on the bust. No worries, when I wear this without a bra, which is how I will almost always be wearing it, it's not quite so bad. ;)

I've covered all the bases. In both of these pics, I am not wearing a bra. I hope you agree that the new robe is more flattering. :)

Twirling

StyleArc - Terry Tie Cardi

More pics

To be honest, I bought this pattern against my better judgement. It was in my first order from Style Arc, so I've felt guilty as it languished. I just loved the design, but I was not sure that the style would work on me. And yet, now that it's finished, I think it does. At least I hope so. :)

This cardigan has shoulder tucks and ties to close the front. As designed, the ties are sewn into vertical darts. I changed this detail a bit.

Materials:

• Organic bamboo double-knit in slate blue. 98% bamboo, 2% lycra. As of this writing, they have 46 yards remaining. One side is a small rib and the other is smooth. It is a double fabric - you can actually separate the two fabrics. It is very soft and I machine washed and dried it. It came from the dryer a little worse for wear. I think that this fabric might pill over time, so it might last longer if it's not machine dried. The following pic shows the ribbed side, but I used the smooth side for the cardi, which seemed a bit less distressed. I would almost describe this fabric as a fine sweatering.
  
• Black tricot knit interfacing to reinforce the back neck and the two buttonholes.

Alterations and modifications:

• I started with the size 16. As usual for a size 16 Style Arc pattern, I added a 3" y-shaped FBA. However, this time I did a "normal" FBA, where the fullness extended to the front hem. I did this because I suspected I might need the fullness for the tied front, as my waist is much larger than a size 16 indicates. I think this was the correct decision. I rotated the dart fullness to the shoulder, where it translated into additional tucks.
• I didn't mark the location of the ties when I cut out the cardigan. I knew that if I used the ties, I wouldn't place them where the pattern indicated. Once I had the garment on the body, I decided I liked the fullness gathered at navel height. But I didn't want to use the ties. I liked how it looked when I secured the fullness with a safety pin. When I was talking to Chloe (about something else), I mentioned that I had to figure out another way to secure the draping, and she suggested inserting the tie between two buttonholes. I loved this elegant but simple solution. I put the garment on and marked where I wanted the buttonholes. I reinforced the area with fusible tricot.
• I widened the upper sleeve 1" (1/2" on each side) and tapered that to nothing.
• For the tie, I wanted a thin tie. I cut over 3 yards of fabric from the selvedge. It was approx 1-1/4" to 1-1/2" wide (I didn't measure it.) I sewed 1/4" from the fold for the entire length. I didn't trim the 3/8" raw edges so when I turned the tube inside out, the tube was slightly "stuffed." I trimmed the ends to clean them up and tied them into a knot.
• I didn't hem this, but I might need to if the fabric starts separating on me. To be honest, I used this fabric because I didn't mind if the project was a wadder. Now I want to make it up in some favorite fabrics.

Conclusion

I love this top! It is more flattering than I expected. The gathers at the waist detract from the bust and also detract from the belly. I love the shoulder tucks. I plan to make this again, maybe even several more. :)

Pictures

StyleArc - Sailor Sue Palazzo Pant

I don't think I've ever taken pics in my back yard before.

Another great pants pattern from Style Arc!

The Sailor Sue pant is, at first glance, similar to the Linda pant.

What are the differences?

The Linda pant is designed for stretch wovens. The Sailor Sue is designed for knits, such as a "cotton jersey with spandex, or any knit with spandex that is soft and drapey." I used a ponte for mine. Both pants have a straight leg. (The drawing for the Sailor Sue pant suggests that it might be a bit flared, but it is not.) The Sailor Sue pant has a wider leg than the Linda, but both are straight. For my size 10s, the Linda pant has a hem circumference of 18.5 inches and the Sailor Sue has a hem circumference of 22.5 inches. The Linda pant has a shaped waistband, and the Sailor Sue has the elastic sewn directly to the pant.

Both sew up in no time and I love both! (It takes less time to sew either pant that it does to drive to the mall and shop for pants.)

I used a cranberry ponte from FabricMart. I bought this fabric several months ago its no longer on the website, so I'm not sure of the exact fiber content, but I hope it's not the ponte that pills badly. :)

I made the pants exactly out of the envelope with a couple minor changes. First, I sewed on a waistband. I prefer a waistband. :) I cut off two inches from the hem, so they are a bit long for me. That's it!

I also sewed up another Linda pant but have no pics of it. I have a stash of stretch wovens, so I may be making several more pair. ;)