Local Fabric Swap

If you are in Utah, head on down to Provo for a fabric swap on March 30th.  I will be out of town and am really bummed to miss out on meeting some local sewists.  Have fun and let me know if you make it!

The Bowie Leotard

I love my daughter. Ever since she saw The Labyrinth she's been a David Bowie fanatic. She begs to listen to "Changes", "Young Americans", "Fame", and "Golden Years". Oh, and did I mention she's 5? Here is a video of her zoning out to David live.

She is currently in tumbling once a week and has been wearing the same leotard for six months now. So the other day we were at the fabric store looking for something for me and I spotted the lycra spandex fabric and asked her to pick out one she liked. She went for the most sparkly thing she could find - she might love David Bowie and Star Wars but she still loves everything girly and princess-y.

A few days later I was surfing the web scouring the 50+ sewing blogs I stalk when lo and behold I see that Tempest of Fanbloomingtastic.com is holding a Bowie sewalong during the month of March. What a coincidence! What a thing of beauty! I knew just the thing to contribute and since I told my daughter about this sewalong she's been chomping at the bit to see what I come up with.

Well my weary readers (you didn't know where I was going with this did you?) I present to you The Bowie Leotard - a combination of the album cover for Aladdin Sane and those crazy leotards Ziggy Stardust wore:

The pattern is Kwik Sew 154. I scored it from my husband's grandma - she sewed all of her children's clothes until they were in college. She gave me about 100 patterns that I'm trying to get through before my kids grow out of them. I cut a size six and had to take some of the extra length out of the shoulders. The back scoops a little too low so next time I will accommodate for that. Other than that it took me about 25 minutes to cut out and sew. The bead embroidery took me an hour.

I hope that this lives up to all of the other fine assembles that will be sewn this month as tribute to a fine musician. I know that my daughter loves her leotard. I can't wait for her to explain it to her teachers and teammates in her next class.  She struck these poses for the camera long before she ever saw the pictures of David Bowie/Ziggy Stardust above.  She's a natural.

Thanks to Tempest for hosting the sewalong AND commenting on my blog! There are so many fantastic and inspiring sewists out there and I am truly grateful that my attempt at a sewing blog has been graced with such talent!

March 2013 Bowie Sew-Along

Need I say More?

Update: If the host of the sewalong that you posted about comments on your lame sewing blog then you best get your act together! Please click on the pic below for more information on the Bowie sewalong that Tempest from Fanbloomingtastic is hosting. I have something planned to contribute - post coming soon!

The "Surinam" Skirt

Fabric:  1.25 yards of lightweight border print from Surinam, South America and lining

Pattern:  McCalls 3341, View D, Size 14

Year:  2007

Notions:  7" invisible zipper, thread

Time to complete:  4 hours 

First worn:  To work today!

Total price:  $0.99 for the pattern, fabric was a gift

Wear again?  Yes!


My husband was is Surinam, South America three years ago for my MIL's 60th birthday.  I couldn't go because I was eight months pregnant at the time.  When he came home he presented me with about four yards of a red/brown border print as a peace offering for leaving me and my daughter in the very pregnant state I was.  He's been hounding me since then to make something with the fabric.  Until now, I haven't been confident enough in my sewing abilities not to f@#$ it up.  This pattern was really easy and I didn't even make a muslin since my changes to Butterick B5466 were very minimal.  Although, in hindsight I need to remember to make adjustments for my long torso!

I even learned my lesson and inserted a lining right off the bat.  Except that the skirt still bunches/catches with tights.  I think it is because the lining I bought is cheap/manmade.  I am such a cheap ass sometimes with regards to fabric and I need to learn that sometimes its worth spending the money for a quality garment.  I think it will be better in the summer when I can wear it without tights.

The "Sew Easy" Skirt

Fabric:  About 1.5 yards of a stretch gabardine from Joanns.

Pattern:  Butterick B5466, View E, Size 14

Year:  2010

Notions:  7" zipper, hook and eye closure, thread

Time to complete:  Maybe 4 hours over many days 

First worn:  To work a couple of weeks ago 

Total price:  $0.99 for the pattern, fabric was maybe $5

Wear again?  Yes after inserting a lining

I bought like 3 yards of this magenta, stretch gabardine fabric from Joanns last year - it has a bit of stretch in it and I thought it would be a nice candidate for a fall/winter skirt.  I don't know when I picked up this pattern but it must have been during one of the $0.99 sales since that is the only way I buy patterns.  I chose view E in a size 14 to sew and KNEW that I should put in a lining but I didn't listen to reason/intution and forged on.  The photo below shows a lot of puckering in the fabric on the back that doesn't really show when worn.  Also the zipper is a bit low but with a hook and eye this is kinda fixed.

I made a muslin and adjusted the front darts longer by 1.5 inches to mitigate the bagginess in the front.  I didn't know if I was doing the right thing but it seemed to work so I guess I'll be doing more of that in the future until someone tells me otherwise.  I recall having a serger malfunction at some point, but my mind has forgotten all about that horror and I won't be repeating the story here.  I hand stitched the hem and am very proud of the way it looks!

I love the skirt - just love it.  Except.  One.  Thing.  It needs a lining.  So before I wear it again, I'll need to insert a lining.  Should be easy enough - I just have to get over that hump of going back to a "finished" project.

Patterns to a good home

Anyone want these:

Serendipity Studio, Butterick 5439, and Mcalls M5608 patterns have not been cut.

Simplicity 9911 has been cut at a size L

Simplicity 2767 has been cut at a size 3.

Oliver + s pattern has been cut at a size 3.

Revenge of the Serger!

Stay tuned for a post about a skirt I made!  OMG - I actually made something.  You/I only had to wait a year.

The "Don't Get Too Excited" Dress

Fabric:  About 2 yards of drapey, cotton from a yard sale my mother-in-law picked up for me.
Pattern:  Simplicity 1987 Year:  2012?

Notions:  1/4" elastic, hook and eye closure, thread

Time to complete:  Should have been 4 hours, instead it took 8

First worn:  Last week to work with belt, cardigan, and boots

Total price:  $0.99 for the pattern, fabric was free, and I had the elastic and closure.

Wear again?  Yes

Yes, this pattern says "one easy project" and really it is telling the truth.  But in Toni's sewing world, nothing is that easy.  Especially when I thought that I was on a roll - I got too excited.  I had cut out the pattern in record time, I was sewing along thinking that I could wear the dress the next day, I was doing so great.  That is until I tried to serge the bodice before attaching the skirt.  You all know how sergers work, right?  See, they have this little knife.  The knife cuts.  The knife cuts through fabric.  The knife cuts nice little triangles out of fabric.  RIGHT OUT OF SIMPLICITY 1987! 

Yes, my friends.  I had a serger casualty.  I swore and then I retired for the night.  I got up the next morning thinking that everything was going to be OK.  I had some extra fabric, I'll just unpick the back panel that got munched and sew it right back in.  Good as new.  Well, it so happened that after I unpicked that back panel that I figured out that I did not have enough fabric (more swearing).  So, I was stuck.  As luck had it, the day before I saw a little tutorial from The Slapdash Sewist on how to repair holes in fabric.  I repaired that gaping gash of a hole and here you have it.

The fabric is kind of '80s but isn't that fashion nowadays?  I'd like to make this dress again but a little longer and with a little more drapey fabric.  It has side seam pockets which are kind of fun to have.  These pictures are of me the night I finished the dress.  I wore it the next week to work with a black cardigan, a brown braided belt, and my new Tony Lama cowboy boots (that I love).  All in all a pretty easy project.  Just wish it was a little easier (I have only myself to blame!). 

The last picture is the dress on Ms. Antoinette.  Terence gave this to me for my birthday.  I need to spruce her up a bit, but isn't she lovely?

Already Pretty - How to Balance a Long Torso

I emailed Sally McGraw of Already Pretty a while ago about my long-torso, short-legged body type and she posted my dilema and her recommendations on her style blog.  Go check it out!

Spring 2012 Palette

If I had a spring palette - or should I say if I had the luxury of sewing or buying a new wardrobe each season (who does this?) - my Spring 2012 color palette might look something like this:

According to Pantone, the hot Spring 2012 colors looks like this:

I'm close.

I'm so torn because by the time I get back into the sewing groove, spring will be over and I'll be behind everyone else.  I guess that means I have to move on to Summer.  So I think my summer wardrobe sewing challenge will include:

• 1 pair of shorts
• 2 summer tops
• 1 summer dress
• 1 skirt
• 1 lightweight blazer type jacket

I think that is pushing it a little but I need a goal.  Now the questions is how am I going to do this at the same time as the The Sew Weekly challenges?  I'll have to fudge and combine efforts I guess.  The next step is looking for some patterns and fabric.  I'll look through the stash and let you know what I come up with.