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

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

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

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

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

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

I thought I’d share some eye candy in the form of vintage patterns recently acquired for only 50 cents each. If you’re in the Portland area and remotely interested in *anything* crafty head to Scrap! You’ll love it, I promise.

My absolute favorite pattern, is also coincidentally, the oldest one of the bunch. It’s the top right pattern, a swim suit pattern from 1940. It’s amazing to think I might make something over 70 years after it was first made. My great-grandmother and I could theoretically share a hand-made wardrobe. We’re all connected to each other aren’t we?  I also love the shirtwaist Hollywood Patterns dress. It also won’t require any grading as it’s my size. Bonus!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. I’ll be holed up in my bedroom making Christmas presents.

xx, Cynthia

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.