11.26.2014

wool weather

Mood Fabric Wool Sweater Knit Saiph Dress 

Howdy Y'all! Well, it's finally sweater weather here in East Texas. Sorta. Off and on at least! Which means that it's time for me to do what I do every year around this time: freak out about my utter lack of cold weather clothing and start eyeing the blankets on the back of the couch maniacally, wondering if I can quickly drape and belt them into some passable semblance of clothing! Every year I feel completely taken off guard when the mercury decides to dip below 60 degrees (that's about 15C to all my non 'Merican friends).  I think having 9 months out of the year with triple digit temps does something to your brain...

That's why this month my Mood Sewing Network makes are all about quick, but warm, wooly dresses. I needed something warm, and I needed something warm now.  (Before the weather decides to return to balmy temperatures in a few days time!)

Mood Fabric Wool Sweater Knit Saiph Dress

My first dress was made using this thick and fuzzy Designer Wool Sweater Knit from Mood Fabrics online, which is, of course, no longer available. Those wool knits go fast dudes - my advice is if you see one you like, pounce on it, like a tiger, regardless of the seasonal appropriateness of it.  For example, I spotted this fabric back in early August - when just blinking put one in danger of overheating - and I think I must have been daydreaming about cooler weather because I had to have this fabric then. At that moment. I think Nick was a bit concerned when the box came and I proudly pulled out my yardage and started crooning over it's springy, scratchy, wooly goodness. Of course, maybe it wasn't the fact that I was buying wool sweater knits in the middle of August that caused his brow to furrow, but rather the fabric itself. It's a little bit like an 80's Cosby sweater thrown in a blender... I mean, what is with those colors?! And why am I kinda obsessed with them?

Mood Fabric Wool Sweater Knit Saiph Dress

Despite my love for this fabric, I had a bit of a hard time deciding what to do with it. It's quite thick, and scratchy, which means that whatever I made had to be roomy enough to wear something underneath, but not so big that I end up looking like the Michelin Man rolled in mud. I settled on variation 2 of the Saiph Tunic from Papercut Patterns because I had made one last year out of a medium weight black wool knit that I loved, but that sadly died a tragic death in the dryer (*sobs* R.I.P.) and I felt that this pattern worked well with heavier weight fabrics with a stiffer drape.

Mood Fabric Wool Sweater Knit Saiph Dress

Because this fabric was pretty lofty, I ended up changing a couple of things about the Saiph Tunic in order to keep bulk to a minimum.  First I left off the neck facing and instead just simply turned the neckline in 5/8" and topstitched it with a double needle. This made for a slightly wider neckline, but I'm okay with that.  I also left off the front in-seam pockets, which I'll admit was partly because of the bulk issue (4 layers of this fabric is a lot) and partly out of laziness.  Although I'm regretting not trying to find a thinner substitute fabric that would have worked, because I keep trying to dip my hands into non-existant pockets! I also omitted the back neck button closure because I remembered from my last version that the dress was plenty big enough to slip on and off over my head.

Mood Fabric Wool Sweater Knit Saiph Dress

Despite the thickness of this wool sweater knit, I had no problem zipping through it with my serger, which I used for all the major seams.  The cuffs and hem were stitched in place using my double needle on my regular machine.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this dress, but after wearing it around the house and for pictures, I have to admit I'm fairly smitten! I love that the boxy shape is tempered by the short hem, and the horizontal seam at the drop waist does wonderful things visually to the crazy print.

Mood Fabrics Wool Knit Nettie Dress

But, you know, sometimes you just don't want to feel bulky all winter long! In which case, let me introduce you to my second wool knit dress for this month! This was made using a smooth, mid-weight wool jersey, with a nice amount of crosswise stretch, in a bitter chocolate color (I'm also not seeing this exact knit online anymore, but this gorgeous deep maroon jersey is catching my eye!)

Mood Fabrics Wool Knit Nettie Dress

Unlike the first sweater knit, this wool jersey was soft enough to wear against bare skin, so I thought a body-hugging silhouette might be really flattering. It's also thick enough and completely opaque so I don't have to worry about every little lump and bump showing through.  For this dress I used Closet Case Files Nettie Bodysuit & Dress pattern.  This pattern has so many great options for variations.  For this version I decided to make it a dress (obviously) and went with the high neckline for both the front and the back, and the long sleeve.  I was hoping the modest neckline might add a counterbalance to the curve-hugging silhouette.

Mood Fabrics Wool Knit Nettie Dress

This dress came together in no time at all. Of course it's a very simple design, but still, I think I wound up sewing the majority of this one morning before work! And I love the results. This dress is just so easy to throw on and yet still look like you tried. It's also warm, which was my main motive, and I think the bitter chocolate color is a nice, unexpected alternative to the usual black. I'm already eyeing more appropriate wool jersey to make more of these, because I could basically live in them all winter long.

Mood Fabrics Wool Knit Nettie DressMood Fabrics Wool Knit Nettie Dress

The only downside is that it attracts fuzzies and hair like it's its job! So please excuse all the lint in these closeup shots.  As far as construction goes, I just zoomed all the major seams through my serger.  The neckline was finished with self fabric binding, and the sleeves and cuffs were once again hemmed using my twin needle.  Easy peasy!

Mood Fabrics Wool Knit Nettie Dress

And that's it! Two quick and simple wool dresses to keep me warm... for as many weeks as winter decides to last! Best of all, both of these dresses go really well with these mulberry colored tights I pulled out of the depths of my sock drawer the other day, and immediately proclaimed them the perfect colored tights for Winter 2014/2015! Okay, okay... maybe they are just the only tights I still own that haven't been shredded to bits. Yet.

What are you sewing to keep warm or cool, depending on your hemisphere?

I hope all my friends here in the States have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving week, and for all my international buddies, Happy Sewing, as always!

xx

11.11.2014

my gingers

Ginger Jeans

I need to be honest with you, friends, I could probably have filled this post with just pictures of my butt because, seriously, every single photo I took today of my rearview was just killing it!! And while that probably sounds like I have an insanely inflated sense of self when it comes to my booty, I assure you, I don't! IT'S JUST THESE JEANS!! 

Ginger Jeans

So for posterior  I mean, posterity, I've included some front shots too, but I just want you to know it wasn't easy!!! *Sigh* the things I do for you guys...

But anyway, Heeeyyyy! What's new with y'all? Did you have a good Halloween? Is your November getting off to a swinging good start? I got myself into a bit of a blogging rut after posting my last Mood Sewing Network make - I just couldn't muster the mojo to re-write the post over here on my home turf, so if you haven't seen it, let me just direct you on over to the MSN site.  Once I accepted the fact that that post was just not going to get re-posted I felt like I unclogged the drains and could finally move on to sharing some of these other makes that have been sitting around waiting to be blogged about! 

And first on that list are these white Ginger Jeans - the newest pattern from Closet Case Files!

Ginger Jeans

You know, I really love seeing women that I've come to know, and call my friends through the sewing  and blogging community expand, and grow, and take on new ventures, and find success through their passion and hard work.  And no one embodies this more for me than my pal, Heather Lou.  I'm just so proud of her and her burgeoning pattern business! And it's with good reason too - because each new pattern she releases knocks it out of the park.  And I'm not just saying that because I love her (even though I do) but I really believe that each of her patterns possess a little bit of magic that makes me feel like a million bucks every time I put them on.  Case in point: these Ginger Jeans have since been dubbed my 'sexy jeans'.  They may not be perfect, but that rear view is worth the title alone, in my opinion!!

Ginger Jeans

Okay, okay, I know you guys didn't come here to listen to me wax poetic about my tush and my love for Heather, so let me tell you a bit about the actual pants you see before you.  First of all, Heather asked me to test this pattern, and I said 'yes' because I love making jeans, and I love wearing jeans, and I love learning about jeans, and because - duh - she's my girl! (Okay, I'm done, I swear... well maybe not...) So the jeans in this post are my test version.

Ginger Jeans

I used a moderately stretchy, mid-weight denim that I picked up with my Mood allowance.  Funny thing about these jeans - this is actually the wrong side of the denim! The right side of the denim was described on the Mood site as being a 'burnished gold', and of course, me being me, I thought "oooh gold jeans!!!" and clicked 'buy' without a second thought. Then the denim arrived and, much to my dismay, they weren't so much 'gold' in real life as they were a sad, slightly greenish, khaki color. Boo.  (To be fair, had I gotten past the 'gold' descriptor and gone on to read the rest of the color description I might not have been so disappointed) I was all resigned to just make them up as a muslin that never saw the light of day, when I had the sudden brainwave to use the wrong side of the fabric, which is this pretty normal looking white color you see before you. Total save!

Ginger Jeans

I'm no novice to jeans making - in fact these Ginger's will make my sixth pair of handmade jeans.  And I really have to say, it's one of the things I love to make the most.  I just get so much satisfaction out of all the topstitching and details, and I really enjoy knowing that I'm making something that will get a lot of love and wear.  For my test version of the Ginger Jeans pattern I made View B - the high-waisted and skinny leg variation.  I chose this style for two reasons: 1) I love a good high rise for their vintage-y sexy look and 2) My hacked-to-pieces Built By Wendy pattern that I've been using to make my own jeans pretty closely resembles View A and I was looking for something a little different.  I cut a size 6 for these, which is a size smaller than what I've cut in Heather's patterns in the past.  My measurements were a bit all over the place - a 6 in the waist and a 10 in the hips.  I gambled by cutting the 6 and sewing the hips and legs at a 3/8" SA instead of the instructed 5/8".  The resulting fit is very close, but they're still comfy (stretch denim is a beautiful thing)!

Ginger Jeans

I really love the fit of these! I'm sorry, I have to say it again, but I don't know what sort of voodoo magic Heather puts into her patterns because each one makes my bum look ace! I really only ever have this experience with her patterns, so... obviously it's witchcraft.  To be fair, I do have a bit of a camel toe issue with the front rise (I tried to pose in such a way as to minimize it's appearance in these photos - also, isn't 'camel toe' an awful name?) but it's not enough to make me stop wearing them in public. Also, it should be noted that Heather has made a few fit adjustments to the pattern after we testers gave her our feedback. I believe one of the things she changed was to take a little scoop out of the crotch curve on the high-waisted version to solve any potential camel toe issues. Of course, we're all such unique little snowflakes, no one is going to fit any one pattern exactly the same.  I'm sure I'll still have to make little tweaks here and there when I make my next pair of Gingers from the finalized pattern, but... that's sewing!

Ginger JeansGinger Jeans

Some of the little details I added to my jeans were this gold topstitching thread and copper buttons and rivets, all bought from Taylor Tailor.  And maybe my favorite little detail is the hot pink thread I used to sew the buttonhole.  This was something I did on my husband's jeans and I just loved how personalized it made them feel.  See?! There's just so many little ways you can customize your jeans when you make them yourself - it's like a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' sewing experience! 

I also have to say that these are some of the most thorough instructions I've ever come across.  Sewing jeans can be a bit of a process which is probably why so many people are intimidated by them.  Heather really breaks the whole thing down for you with the instructions, I even learned a few new tricks to add to my jeans sewing arsenal! And, of course, she's doing an exhaustive series of posts as part of her sew-along covering just about everything you could ever want to know about making your own jeans. Truly, it's a like a gold mine of jeans sewing information! I've long been an advocate of making your own jeans - it's just so damn empowering - and I love that now there's all the information you could possibly want all in one place.

Ginger Jeans

Let's finish off with one last look at that boot-ay because... I mean... hot damn!

I'm sure I probably sound like a Closet Case Files fan girl in this post, and, well, I am! But I also hope you guys know I wouldn't just rave about something for no good reason - I'm just really pleased with the way my jeans turned out! 

But I guess the real question is whether or not the Ginger Jeans pattern will replace my Tried and True Built By Wendy jeans pattern? You know... they just may! I most definitely need more of these high-waisted beauties in my closet, and if the low rise version gives equally good ass - then who am I to complain! I will say that I was able to get my dirty little mitts on one of the Ginger Jeans denim kits before they sold out, and... yeah. There's gonna be more Gingers in my future.

What about you guys? Anyone else looking to make this handmade jeans thing happen?

xx