Brave

I wasn’t sure about taking photos in my homemade bathing suit, that I posted a photo of about a month ago. I knew I was over-due to post a pattern review and details, but I decided to be brave and post photos in the suit as well. You can’t really tell what something looks like, when it’s not on a body. I’m even going to show you the backside (yikes!) Ladies, we’ve got  to start loving the skin we’re in… amirite?

This was made using Kwik Sew 3875. Ya’ll, I think I’m hooked on making my own swimwear from now on. You can pick whatever fabrics you want, you use so little it’s super economical (this only required 3/4 yard), you get to make your dream suit, and it’s actually pretty easy. Who knew? I already have the fabric bought to make another bikini, and I’m totally going to make the Bombshell Suit. Hmmm…. I also want a bikini with a high-waisted bottom and halter-top. I’m getting excited. I’m sure you’ve noticed the river in the background of my blog photos recently. It’s out my back door, is this  real life? After work today, my husband and I hopped into our inner tubes and floated while drinking beers. This summer is gonna be my jam, and I need MOAR bathing suits! Squeeee.

Now that I got that out if the way, I can talk about this swimsuit. Since this is my first attempt there are definitely a few things I would like to do differently next time, but I’m pretty pleased with the final outcome. I found this fabric locally. The metallic blue wasn’t actually with the swimwear fabric. I think it’s intended for “dance” costumes (hopefully that doesn’t bring all of the google creeps to my blog… shudder). It has the right amount of stretch, but it’s already starting to lose it’s shine on high stress areas (mainly my booty). I also found this white fabric with a thin gold stripe (I wish I had bought more, because they’ve sold out of it and I really love it). I really liked the way they looked together. My grandpa was in the Navy, so I think it’s in my DNA to like nautical fashion.

Besides the swimwear fabric, making this suit required a few different supplies than I normally use. It is lined with a flesh colored spandex lining, it used 3/4 inch “cotton elastic”, and there are two pieces of boning along the sides of the bust for support. I wish I added bra cups. I might add a halter strap still.

I had to experiment, but I found using my walking foot to be invaluable in helping this sticky/grabby fabric feed through my sewing machine. I used two different types of stretch stitches. I used a triple straight stitch for all of the seams and any top-stitching. I also used a triple zig-zag stitch to attach the elastic to the suit. You should of course experiment on your machine, but I found those two stitches to have the most elasticity to them.

The pattern directions that came with the pattern were excellent, and I also found the swimsuit sew-a-long posts from Dixie DIY (I’m starting to sound like a weird fan girl over here) to be very helpful. I made a size small on the top and bottom, but I will make a medium bottom in the future. As is, this bikini does the dreaded muffin top bulge over (note how my hand is on my hip in these photos artfully hiding that part). I was pleasantly surprised by the low cut bottom, so many sewing patterns come out a bit matronly.

This suit has already been in hot springs, a hot tub, a  pool and the river and has held up fine with no wardrobe malfunctions. I have had concerns about the top not being supportive enough,  just the nature of bandeau tops. I can happily report that the top received it’s greatest test yet when the mister pushed me in when we were done taking picture. Everything stayed where it was supposed to! No nip slips… YAY!

I also wanted to show you the new sandals I got today. Saltwater’s, I think they’re cute even if they’re baby shoes. They’ll be perfect for my vacation I’m going on next week. Also, Bacon let me bury him in the sand last week. He’s too funny, I love that ugly mug so much! Also, I broke my serger (#sadface). Hopefully it can be fixed, I dropped it off at Modern Domestic. Sorry if this post is a bit manic, I’m over-caffeinated and under-fed at the moment. A dangerous combo

xx, Cynthia

 

Dixie DIY: Ballet Dress

Wow guys… two makes in one weekend. I think that’s a record for me. I’ve been so busy having fun every weekend that I really wanted to chill out and spend some QT with my sewing machine. I made this sweet little knit dress using the Dixie DIY Ballet Dress Pattern. I really love this dress. It’s comfortable, skims the body enough to show you’re a lady, and easy to make.

I was going to add a skirt to my Maria Denmark t-shirt pattern, but then felt lazy. Dixie already did the work for me, it’s only $4, and (this is really why I didn’t buy this pattern sooner) Etsy now allows *instant* PDF downloads. Also I wanted to help a sistah out.

I cut a size medium, but ended up taking the side seams quite a bit. Next time (and there will be a next time), I’m going to start with a size small and go from there. I didn’t make an changes to the pattern, other than shortening the sleeves. I really wanted to see how this was going to fit and wear before I started going crazy with the one billion hacks and variations I’ve got swimming in my brain.

I need to add about one inch to the front bodice piece. It pulls up on account of my bosom. It almost feels like an empire waist dress. Marie had the same issue when she made the dress, so I’m going to assume this would be a needed adjustment for somebody with a full C-D cup bra size. Also the sleeves are pretty loosey goosey. When I make  a long sleeved  version I’m going to slim them down quite a bit.

I love the drape of the skirt. It flares out in the most flattering way and moves and swishes with you as you walk. This photo isn’t the greatest but it shows how it skims, but doesn’t cling to my figure problem area, known affectionately in my house as my pizza pouch. I eat the shit out of pizzzzzzzzzzaaaaaaa.

I changed the order of construction, because I like to work flat with knits as much as possible. I work in a production studio for a knitwear line so I can do this in my sleep. If you’re interested here is my usual order of construction:

(1) Sew shoulder seams, apply twill tape for stability. (2) Sew sleeves to shoulders. (3) Attach elastic to the top edge of the skirt pieces on the wrong side. Be careful to not stretch out the elastic. I used my walking foot. (4) Sew skirt pieces to both the bodice front and back (5) Sew the side seam in one long continuous seam, matching the underarms and waist. I like to start at the sleeve hems because I get to the match points sooner. (6) Apply the neck band (7) Hem, I used my twin needle for this.

xx, Cynthia

 

 

Silly Shorts

On a recent trip to Ikea the mister spotted this colorful denim (these are mos def his colors) and asked for some clamdiggers. I said no on the clamdiggers because with this fabric I thought it would look like something my grandma would wear. I did agree on shorts though obviously, and here they are.

These were made with Simplicity 1948. It’s one of the Suede Says (ughhhhh) patterns. Can we talk for a second about how fug most of the Suede designs are, especially the ones with a more “rocker” edge to them? Gross! These are no exception, The basic pattern is a jean, or you can add a bunch of unnecessary pockets and zippers if you feel like it.

I’d never made pants for Chris before and unfortunately these came out too big. I made these while he was out on a long motorcycle ride so I didn’t have him available to try them on while I was working. I wish they were sized by waist measurements like men’s pants are. The finished garment measurements on the envelope are for the hip measurement, which isn’t very helpful. Oh well, he’s wearing a belt in these photos.

I’m going to cut down center back  and take the excess out from there. I did 4 lines of topstitching on the waistband so I have no intention of unpicking all of that. Scissors it shall be. Sizing was the only issue I had with the pattern.

All of the pieces fit together well. I gave these an 11 inch inseam which I based off of other shorts he owns. I  took the time to cut the pockets and back yoke with the stripes matching, but switched them at the last second. I decided visually I liked being able to differentiate all of the design elements instead of having them fade together. The pattern instructions were quite good. I was even able to follow their instructions and diagrams for inserting the fly front zipper. Easy peasy mac and cheesy.

All seams are finished by my serger and then topstitched down. The insides are very neat and tidy if I do say so myself.

I also recently finished sewing up some curtains for my sister. Although I did make her do all of the measuring and pressing (i.e. the boring parts). I think I’m do for another few month of selfish sewing

xx, Cynthia

Laurel…. and Some Tacky Underpants

I’m finally blogging my Colette Laurel. I was able to squeek this one under the deadline for the Laurel sewing competition.

I entered this into the self designed fabric category. I had been wanting to hand stamp a dress with french bulldogs for over a year. I had seen the cute pony dress over on the blog A Beautiful Mess and really wanted to make a version for myself. When I saw the Colette competition, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try out this technique. I found a bulldog silhouette on the interwebs and used it to make a stamp with craft foam.

I cut a size 4 (which is my standard size in Colette). It came out HUGE. I ended up shaving this down to a size zero right under the bust to the hem. I’m still able to pull this over my head without a zipper even though I shaved so much off of the side seams. I omitted the sleeves and drafted a Peter Pan collar.

It didn’t came out as cute in real life as it did in my head. It’s a little *too* homemade looking. I don’t want to look like I’m wearing something made by Patricia on Project Runway… LOLZZZ. I think this is going to end up in the never worn part of the closet. I’m not ready to give up on this idea yet. I want to try screen printing some smaller scale bulldogs on a future version of Laurel.

In other news, I made my first pair of panties (ewww…. I know that’s a fairly universally hated word). This is the most ridic item of clothing I’ve ever made. These are made from an old T-shirt that was thrifted and destined to be underpants. I used Zoe’s free pants pattern. I finished the edges with fold over elastic and these are very comfortable hipster panties.

 

I’m currently working on making my first bathing suit. I hope it come out cute

XX, Cynthia

Aztec T-Shirt Mini Dress

This was a super quick and easy T-shirt dress made with a funky aztec/ ikat jersey found in the remnant pile at my local fabric store. Do you find that you want to make something easier after a more involved project? I used the *free* ( holla!) T-shirt mini dress pattern by the adorable Dixie as the basis of this make. This is so comfy it feels like pajamas, in fact *cough cough* I’ve already slept in this.

I wear the heck out of a hoodie dress I bought from American Apparel a couple of years ago and I was looking for a summertime alternative. With the addition of tights and my grandpa’s old Levi’s jacket, this dress can take me through three seasons.

I made the size small, and finished the hem and sleeves with bands. I feel they give me  a neater finish. You can hardly tell though, because this pattern is so busy. I drafted a kangaroo pouch based off of the pocket on my original hoodie.

 

Hahahaha… this last photo is what spring really looks like in Portland. #allergies

xx, Cynthia

SRSLY <3

SRSLY… I love this dress!!! This is my first version of Cambie by Sewaholic Patterns. I just know I’m going to make a metric shit ton more. This pattern is my dream dress. Tasia is a diva queen of thread and I’ve gotta give her major props for designing this sweet little number. I didn’t buy this when the pattern first came out because it’s a little spendy, but I found it for 50% off at Modern Domestic, and I pounced on it.

This dress swishes like magic when I walk. I can’t help but twirl and preen while wearing it. I’m a vain little thing in this dress. Gush, gush, gush

I made this using some stashed cotton sateen, it’s really thin and airy too (could it be a lawn/ voile and a sateen… is that a thing?) I dunno. I bought the cotton a little over a year ago and I love the graphic print on it.  It’s lined with rayon bemberg. Man that shit’s expensive… I need to find a cheaper source. I added almost $30 to the price of this dress just on the lining. Yeah, I’m not one you thrifty stitchers that can brag about your gorgeous ball gowns made out of thrifted sheets and love for only $3.99.

I made my  muslin in a size 6 and it looked good, but had zero ease. I cut this dress out in a size 8 and increased the seam allowance to get the fit where I wanted it. Tasia shows you lots of tips and tricks to make the insides as beautiful as the outside. I even took the time to hand sew the hem using a slip stitch., since I already loved this dress so much.

The only thing I don’t like is my zipper installation. I used a vintage metal invisible zipper, and the teeth were too large to use my invisible zipper foot. I had to use my regular zipper foot, and I wasn’t able to get as close to the teeth as I wanted to. A quick question for you: How do you keep the lining on a full skirt from getting caught in the zipper? I have to be careful to avoid chewing up the lining. Anybody else have this happen to them?

I think on my next version I’m going to drop the neckline down a little bit, but that’s not a criticism. I love this dress to pieces. I’ve demanded my mister take me out on a proper fancy date this weekend so I can wear this. I’m thinking dinner and Jurassic Park in 3D. A quick tangent: Did you know it’s the 20th anniversary of Jurassic Park? Yowzers, that makes me feel old.

xx, Cynthia

Come on Spring!!!

Hey ya’ll!!! Did you miss me? I had to take a little bloggy break because I wasn’t feeling it, but now I’m back in the saddle. I had a case of writers block, and then I felt gross in some outfit photos. So I took a little break to gain some perspective. I’ve kept up sewing these past 2-ish months and I might get around to posting what I’ve made (but I probably won’t). If you follow me on Instagram (cynbular) you can see what I’ve sewn.

Since I last checked in, I’ve moved into a bigger apartment by the river (these photos are taken on our private dock?!?!?!). I’m so bourgeois now. Unfortunately, our rent is higher and I have much less money (AKA none) in the budget for sewing related expenses. Confession: I “donated” plasma to buy some fabric a while back. Desperate times people! I guess that makes me a sewing addict. I also reached 200 followers, which is rad. Hi, everybody!

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let me get to the good shit. I’m desperate for Spring to start and I think that’s obvious by this not quite weather appropriate outfit. Brrr… it was chilly when I took these photos today.

The skirt is Simplicity 1690, one of the newer Leanne Marshall designs. I played with the directions of the stripes to have a little fun with the ruffle. This went together well and I’ve also made the blouse pattern for my mom. This pattern is fine by me. The only snafu I had was from not reading the directions. I ended up making this a little too tight so I fixed that by adding this little button and tab on the waistband to give me a little more room. I’m undecided on my fabric choice though. It’s a nice cotton sateen, that I was hoping would read as nautical. Looking at these photos it reads as more of a prison/ jailbird stripe.

The t-shirt is made using the Maria Denmark Birgitte basic tee pattern. This is the size small. This pattern is a great basic pattern to make yourself some cake with.

It was hard to get this color to photograph well. It’s a *super* bright neon yellow cotton jersey. I think I’m going to go back and finish the sleeves and hems with bands because I had a hard time getting the tension with my twin needle right, and it looks tunneled.

I also made the flower in my hair. Gosh, I love my hot glue gun. I just muslined the bodice for Cambie, and it looked awesome, so I think that will be next. I also muslined Retro Butterick 5209, hoping it could be my Sew for Victory dress. That was bad news. There was so much side boob I looked like Miley Cyrus. That was been knocked out of the sewing queue.

xx, Cynthia

Foxy: Simplicity 2154

I’ve been working on the blouse from vintage repro Simplicity 2154 for the past week. This little blouse has been on my must make list for quite a while. Since it is Jungle January, I decided to pull out the only piece of “animal print” in my stash. This counts right? It has animals on it

I generally stay away from quilting cotton, but I couldn’t resist this cute fox print when I saw it. It’s Japanese, which seems to be the homeland of all things cute!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This top is pretty basic and I was able to squeeze it out of only one yard of fabric. The only instructions I deviated from was that I didn’t interface the bow. I didn’t see the point after I cut it on the bias. These two photos are the only ones I was able to take without my sweater on because it was so COLD. See my inability to smile… haha I hate being cold.

The only new technique that went into making this top was I made a fabric covered button for the first time. Unfortunately, I don’t have a closeup photo of it. I centered one of the little fox faces over the center of the button.

I’m looking forward to trying this pattern out with a fabric with more drape. I’d like to see this hanging a little bit closer to my body in my next version.

xx, Cynthia

I’m a Sewaholic!

Happy new year! I hope everyone survived the holidays. I’m back with my first sewn item of 2013, the Thurlow trouser.

These pants feature a lot of “firsts” for me. My first Sewaholic pattern, pants, fly front zipper, and also welt pockets. I followed along with the Thurlow sewalong, which made these a breeze to construct. Thanks to Lauren I had success with my very first welt pocket ever attempted.

I cut a size 6, but then ended trimming off an inch from both side seams. I’ll start with a 4 next time I make these (and there will definitely be a next time). The curved waist band makes these *so* comfortable, the rise is just right, and they don’t show booty crack when I bend over…. HOLLA!!! Thank you Tasia! All of my RTW pants, if they fit my thighs are too big in the waist. These fit both areas, it’s a great day.

I made these using some of the bolt of stretch denim I got for super cheap at Scrap. The fabric was donated by Columbia Sportswear, and is very heavy duty. I was concerned that it would be too bulky, but I just took extra care in pressing and used my clapper to make all of my creases super crisp and flat. I lined these using a little bit of a Michael Miller sugar skull print I had in my stash. I love how colorful and fun the interior is.

I really like these pants, but I’m not sure if they’ll have much longevity. I had a couple oops. I didn’t muslin these since I have so much of the denim, so that’s bound to be the case. I accidentally serged a hole in the crotch trying to finish a seam. I darned it and put some fray check over the hole, but this denim is extremely prone to fraying. I also think I cut a little *too* close to the “windows” when I made my welts and I can see a tiny bit of fraying in the corners. Mistakes are just a part of the learning process though, my next pants are just going to be that much better

I haven’t decided if I’m going to write a year end round up post, with my sewing resolutions for the new year. My number one resolution is to take my time and work on fit. I did that with these pants and they feel so comfortable because of that.

xx, Cynthia

New Vintage Skirt

My latest skirt is made from Simplicity 8099, a “miniskirt” pattern from 1969. I use the term miniskirt loosely because this is the length it ended up after I removed 3″ from the pattern and made a 2″ hem. Not very mini, if you ask me. I made this using some navy fine wale corduroy I thrifted. I chose this pattern, because of the interesting pocket detail. It’s basically a patch pocket that is slip-stitched on and also doubles as a belt loop. The zipper is lapped (my new favorite method). 

I found this sweater at a thrift store and I’m pretty sure it’s part of an old marching band uniform. Pretty groovy.

If you’ve been reading for a while you’ll notice that my hair is much shorter. I got my hair cut in the “Halo” style invented by Vidal Sassoon in the 60′s. I loved my hair right after I got it cut, but unfortunately I can’t get my hair as sleek and straight as the stylist did. It sort of ends up looking like a fluffy mushroom top so it looks like I will be wearing headbands for the foreseeable future. Here’s a photo from my Instagram showing it right after it got chopped.

Sigh…. I’m missing my long hair. Oh well, hair grows.