The Watergun Fight Dress (By Hand London Orsola Tester)

June 19, 2017 by Ashley ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I don’t know what to do with my hands. Again.

I’m deeming this the summer of the wrap dress. I love how comfortable they are to wear, and how easy they are to make. They’re super flattering, and can expand a bit if I go too hard with the snacks, which I absolutely will do. They can be fabric hogs, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. Orsola isn’t such a fabric hog, she comes in around 4 1/2 yards I think, including lining. Not too shabby!

I was super stoked when I got the email about this pattern! The back is just the perfect little bit of sexy. Originally, I’d planned to make this with a sari I’d ordered of Ebay. HOWEVER, that thing was straight up hot garbage. The fabric felt like that Halloween costume fabric, if you know what I mean, and upon washing, the fabric dye bled everywhere. Straight to the garbage with that! Bless Amazon and this lovely Cotton + Steel fabric! In two days, I had a gorgeous rayon, though I kinda wish I’d gone for the dark blue. The only trouble was that I’d stupidly ordered three yards. There was NO fabric for the lining! Last minute shopper that I am, I had zero time to make it to the only store in my city to carry this fabric. Soooo I ended up at Joann, and boy was that a mistake. Somehow, they had no solid black rayon challis, weird, right? I ended up with a polyester crepe, much to my disappointment. Oh well, moving on…

Orsola sews up fairly easily, though you should be prepared for quite a few darts! I’ve never minded darts, but if you do, prepare yourself, because it has about 18. Orsola also features a fully lined bodice, and a skirt facing. I’ve never sewn a skirt facing before, and I was skeptical. I loathe facings, they’re floppy and annoying and should be avoided at all costs. That said, I actually like this one. It adds a bit of weight to the hem, and it seems to help it lay prettily. I opted for the tulip skirt version, which is really not much of a change for the straight skirt. I also failed to understitch the bodice lining, which was DUMB. DUMB DUMB DUMB. Bad self.

I had some picture taking woes with this one, but luckily my friend Michelle and her lovely wife stepped up and shot them for me, some of the photos feature their absolutely adorable daughter, Tiger Lily, so don’t be confused by the child. She was so fun! Afterward, we had a bit of a watergun fight, my eyeliner was a bit worse for the wear lol! Photo dump below, I hope you enjoy Orsola, I’m looking forward to making many more. Happy sewing 🙂

The Return from Hiatus (By Hand London Poppy Dress)

June 6, 2017June 6, 2017 by Ashley ♥ 2 Comments

Holy hiatus, it’s been awhile since I’ve shared anything with you guys. I’m so sorry! Between looking for a house and actually moving, things got a little crazy there for a bit. In my defense, I’d actually had this done for a bit, but (obviously) wanted to wait for the pattern release to talk about it. The pattern is The Poppy Dress and Top from By Hand London, and I’m super stoked to talk about it, let’s get into it.

Poppy is a knit pattern, very much of the “secret pajamas” type. I’ve dressed it up for work and dressed it down to walk the dogs, it really is very versatile in that way. I made both the t-shirt (with the short sleeve option) and the midi version, but there is also a maxi version I’m dying to try out. The pattern features really lovely box pleats on the sleeves, and fish eye darts for waist shaping. As a tester, I omitted the fish eye darts on my versions.

For both the dress and shirt, I used this super soft, very cozy Merino jersey in Marsala graciously provided by The Fabric Store. Easily the most expensive fabric I’ve ever sewn, I can honestly say it’s worth it. Though it is a very lightweight knit, it sews beautifully and I didn’t have the usual struggles with it getting sucked into my machine. It seems to hold it’s shape, as well, without bagging out or “growing” as the day goes on. So nice!

Ok so maybe my jeans were a little snug.

Poppy is fairly easy to sew, but in full honesty, I struggled with the neckline. I’ve never sewn a neckband in knit, and just could not get it to lay flat! Talking to other sewists, it really seems like this is just my in experience. The current version is much better than my first attempts, but still not great. This pattern also marked my first attempt at using the double needle on my machine. I know that seems odd, but I’ve truly been terrified of it! I completely convinced myself I was going to do irreparable damage to my machine, somehow. Folks, I am an idiot. Using a double needle is super easy and gives a nice little bit of stretch to the hem. WHY HAVE I BEEN FINISHING KNITS WITH A SINGLE NEEDLE!?! Dumb dumb dumb.

I kinda wish I’d sewn the fish eye darts, they’re what attracted me to the pattern in the first place. Maybe I’ll attempt to add them, but even without them, I seriously get comments on this every time I wear it. That’s high praise for a dress I’ve gotten drunk and slept in more than once! I hope you consider the Poppy, and I look forward to sharing more with you soon, maybe without a two month gap. Happy sewing 🙂

Lemon Dress Part II (Sewaholic Lonsdale)

April 10, 2017April 10, 2017 by Ashley ♥ 5 Comments

The sun was in my eyes for all of these, so weird faces are imminent.

Every year at the beginning of spring, I break out my summer dresses and wonder why I haven’t made more from each pattern. Such was the case when I wore my Octopus dress a few weeks ago. The pattern is Sewaholic Lonsdale and my oh my is it amazing. My previous version was in an AMAZING lawn from Cotton & Steel, I’m obsessed with it. The fabric is so soft and feels wonderful, the pattern is super flattering and comfortable. I forgo the strapless bra about half the time with this one, ladies you KNOW that’s an achievement.

Legit almost fell down right after this photo.

So obviously I knew I wanted more of these in my closet. This year I’m all about light, easy summer dresses, see Instagram for further evidence of this growing problem! The problem with wanting an army of lovely summer dresses is that you have to find lovely summer dress fabric. I’ve currently put a halt on my fabric buying, my stash is out of control, so I had to rely on what I have. Thanking my past self, I found this lovely lemon fabric deep in the hoard. It’s the last bit of yardage that remained at my local Joann’s, sadly it’s discontinued. Trust me when I say sadly, I legitamately mourned this fabric. It’s a lovely sateen, much lighter than other sateens. I sewed up a strapless dress in it last summer, and it’s still one of my favorite makes.

The pattern is fairly simple to construct, the instructions are clear and well written. There is a sew along that comes in handy during the trickier parts, like the upper front bodice sections. Tasia, wherever you are, you are brilliant. I always find her patterns so easy to follow and sew alongs so helpful! Anyway, I digress…

Tied the back too tight, loops look weird. Oops.

For this pattern, I cut a size 10. Though Sewaholic patterns are drafted for a pear shape and I’m an hourglass, this dress isn’t fitted through the hips so I didn’t fuss with alterations there. I do find the skirt to be much too long for me, so I did a very lazy alteration there. I cut the skirt length to the smallest size, and did a 1 1/2 inch hem. Also, this pattern is a serious fabric hog, calling for 4 1/2 yards. I didn’t have that, so I cut on a single layer to save fabric. I still came up a little short on fabric though, so the straps are a few inches shorter than drafted.

I am so stoked to have another Lonsdale in my closet! I hated to use up the last of my beloved lemon fabric, but I think it was worth it. What about you, are you in summer sewing mode yet?

Knit Mania Continues (Jennifer Lauren Handmade-Gable Dress)

March 15, 2017March 16, 2017 by Ashley ♥ 5 Comments

My new favorite thing is looking to the side for no reason

Do you remember a few years back, when Girl Charlee had a huge Black Friday sale? Well, I bought a ton of shit. Most of which I still have, because I don’t typically sew knits. Why I bought so many, I’ll never be able to rationalize. ANYWAY. One of those fabrics was this Red Glasgow print that you see above.

Many furry photobombs are included in this post.

More recently, the lovely Jen of Jennifer Lauren Handmade sent me the Gable Dress expansion pack. If this sounds familiar to you, it’s because I’ve made the Gable Top before, which you can see here and here. I must admit I was pretty stoked about it, I loved making the top and it is SO fast.

The Gable Dress sews up just as quickly. It does feature an edited bodice, so you will want to buy the expansion pack, and not just add a skirt. It’s only $3.50, honestly it’s worth it. As per the usual, I kind of disregarded the instructions again. Having sewn the top before, and fresh of my first clear elastic gathering on the Moneta, I wasn’t too worried.

Despite the pattern being super easy, I really put this one off. That’s partly because life is hectic, but mostly because of this fabric. I was nervous about a plaid for something with a gathered skirt, knowing it wouldn’t line up. Such a bummer! Also my machine just really hated this fabric. No amount of fiddling with the stitches fixed that. Eventually, I just gave up and accepted it for what it was.

I must confess, I wish the bodice and sleeves were a bit more snug. I’m not saying that’s a fault with the pattern, just that I like tight fitting clothing. Other than that, I really don’t have any complaints. It’s a great, simple dress that is just perfect for work. Going completely against everything I am, I like the high neckline. Eventually, I will get my chest done and have to cover that up during the day. Between this and the Moneta, my work wardrobe is becoming more knit dress than pencil skirts. Photo dump below, happy sewing 🙂

Moneta Party Moneta (Colette Moneta, duh)

February 27, 2017February 27, 2017 by Ashley ♥ 6 Comments

For someone who’s not very good at using it, I am obsessed with Instagram. I am constantly stalking Doctor Who pages and envying the sewing skills of other sewcialists. During my cyber stalking, I’ve come across many a Moneta, each of them adorable, but I am not much of a knit sewist. Then Elle of Sew Positvitiy posted about the Moneta Party she helped start, and suddenly, I needed a Moneta.

I tried to cover my giant leg bruise, clearly that didn’t work

I have a very hard time finding knits locally. I basically have Joann’s, and their knit selection always leaves me wanting. There are a few small local boutique-type fabric stores, but quite a few are exclusively quilting, or the hours are just impossible for me. So to the interwebs I went. I ended up on the Craftsy site, where they were having a fantastic clearance sale. I picked out this fun bird print that I used for my Moneta, plus two other knits, all at a steal.

Colette offered a 20% discount, and I used a random black swim fabric from the stash for the bodice lining and collar. I probably have $30 invested in this dress, including the reusable pattern. Making things even better, I probably only have three hours of work in this dress. I pieced it together in little bursts of sewing activity, max of an hour, most 30 minutes or so. Doesn’t get much better than that!

Honesty time: I actually did take back photos, but I hate the way my arms look.

Moneta really is as easy as everyone says. My main frustrations were all fabric related. Cutting this slippery, drapey fabric on my glass kitchen table was no picnic. Also this fabric presses like shit, and by that I mean it pretty much doesn’t. When it came to stitching the bodice and lining together at the armholes, I ended up using wonder clips instead of relying on pressing. Just clipped it together, then flipped it, adjusted the clips, and stitched. I know that doesn’t make sense if you don’t have the pattern, but hopefully if you do, you can picture it.

If you’d stalked me on Instagram, you would have already seen this one

The only thing I didn’t really love about the pattern was attaching the collar. The neckline seams aren’t really all tucked inside, just hidden under the collar. I have no idea how I expected it to be done, really, so it’s not much of a gripe. I also loathe sewing with clear elastic, but you can’t deny the benefits of it, so I’ll keep that to myself. I realize I didn’t get any decent photos of the collar, my bad. I really REALLY need to take a photography class or something. Overall, though, this was a fun sew and a really comfortable, flattering garment. Big thanks to the lovely Triple Stitchers for the motivation, and for giving me a new hashtag to stalk! Happy sewing 🙂

The Purple Rain Dress (By Hand London Flora Dress)

February 15, 2017 by Ashley ♥ 10 Comments

The aesthetic of these photos is a lot more “goth-ish hipster in a basement” than I intended.

It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? My apologies for that, January is not my favorite month. Now that we’re through with apologies, the dress. The pattern is the Flora Dress from By Hand London. I’ve made it before, and you can see some pretty terrible photos of that dress here. We all know I have a love affair with this pattern company, and also cleavage, so it was only a matter of time before I made this again.

For this version, I opted to use this stretch velvet I found at Joann. Velvet seems very on trend lately (have I ever been on trend?), and I’ve recently started a love affair with stretch wovens. Since making my Christmas party dress in stretch satin, I feel like I’ve entered a whole new world. No zippers!! Satin and velvet are both difficult fabrics (MORE ON THAT SHIT LATER), so I jumped on the chance to avoid trying to install a zipper.

The Flora dress has a lined bodice, and I really debated on what to use. I didn’t want to use the velvet because boob sweat is a thing, but I still needed something with stretch. In the end, I opted for the previously mentioned stretch black satin. Folks, that was a fucking stupid choice. Imagine, if you will, sewing shifty velvet to slippery satin. I shouted. I drank wine. All to no avail. In the end, I had to concede that my sewing skills were just not really up to the task, and accepted some garment flaws. I REALLY wanted to finish this garment, you guys, so I refused to be defeated. Now, you may be thinking to yourself “But Ashley, it’s not finished! You haven’t even hemmed it!” You’d be right. I was a good sewist and let it hang over night, with every intention to hem it the next day after work. But…I just wasn’t up to it. You see, velvet needs to be hemmed by hand, and we all know hand sewing isn’t my favorite. I will mostly likely even out and hem Flora this weekend, I swear.

For construction, I just did everything from memory, I didn’t look at the instructions at all. I assembled the bodice and lining, except for the side seams, and then attached them along the neckline and armholes. I then pulled the fabric through and stitched the side seams in one long seam. Easy peasy. I cut a US 10, which is my usual size in BHL. Normally I shorten the straps, but here I didn’t, I think they’re ok. When it came to basting the front bodice pieces together, I totally ignored the pattern markings. I slipped the bodice on, and just went with what I was comfortable with. Kind of just overlapped them and pinned it in place.

I somehow took no side view photos of this, my bad.

For the skirt, I sewed the pleats and attached the pieces as normal, except for the zipper situation. When it came time to attach the skirt to the bodice, I broke my walking foot 😭 I’ve gotta stop buying cheap shitty ones off Amazon. As a consequence, the side seams and pleats don’t really line up. WHATEVER MAN. I also struggled with finishing the waist seam, because velvet+lining+darts+pleats=mega bulky seams. I tried to trim the bulk as well as I could and hand turned the wheel through the rough bits.

In addition to no side views, I also set my tripod WAY too low. Well done, self.

Speaking of bulk, I think all those folded and wrapped layers make the waist area look bulkier than it should. If I was a smart girl, I would have slashed the darts open and trimmed the bulk then. I did not do that, because derp. I’m super self conscious about my waist size anyway, so this added bulk was really bumming me out. To combat that, I put a corset on underneath my dress. Not only did it help my waistline, it also made my boobs look extra fantastic. Overall, I don’t hate the results. It’s not the best made garment, but for something to get my out of my sewing funk, it’s not so bad. It’s good to have my sewjo back!! Happy sewing 🙂

Sequin Party Dress (By Hand London Charlie Dress)

December 22, 2016December 22, 2016 by Ashley ♥ 6 Comments

Will I ever learn to smile? Probably not.

Sometimes, I wonder what life is like for people who don’t do every single thing at the absolute last minute. For about three weeks, I knew I wanted to make a sequin and satin dress for my work Christmas party. Naturally, I started it two days before the party, even though I have no experience sewing sequins. Super smart, right? It’s truly a miracle that this dress is even mostly finished.

I wanted to use a fairly simple pattern for this, I really wanted the fabrics to be the focus. The lovely ladies at By Hand London were kind enough to gift me with their Charlie dress pattern, and it just seemed perfect. I opted to make variation 2, with the 3/4 circle skirt. I also left the bodice band off, I can never get those to lay right on me. Since I was using satin, I decided to line the bodice for some structure. I shortened the straps a bit (which I normally do), and hacked about three inches of the skirt length. Easy peasy!

Now, the fabric. For the main fabric I used this stretch satin, and I am SO glad I did. Why? Because it had just enough stretch that I didn’t have to put the side zip in!! Really, really wasn’t looking forward to sewing a zipper into that sequined skirt. Very stoked. For the sequined fabric and the straps, I’m afraid I have no fabric links for you. Both were gifted to me by my dear friend Danielle, and I have no idea when or where she got them. Sorry!! I can tell you I’m wearing this petticoat here, and it’s fantastic. Just the right amount of body.

For the most part, I followed the pattern instructions. Charlie is a very straight forward pattern, I can’t imagine how to muck it up. For the straps, I assembled them as directed, and then tacked the rose trim down every two roses. I have no idea if this is the correct way, folks. I also realize I have no decent pictures of them, my bad! To attach them to the bodice, I just sandwiched them between lining and bodice, right sides together, stitched and pressed. For the skirt overlay, I basted the sequin fabric to the satin, wrong side to right side. Then I just sewed them as one. Hopefully at least some of that made sense? That’s really all I have to say on it, it’s truly very simple. I have a few more photos below, happy sewing!

The Dog Hair Coat (Sewaholic Minoru)

December 12, 2016December 12, 2016 by Ashley ♥ 6 Comments

I try to make a coat every year, but this year, I was really stumped as to which one to make. Originally, I’d planned to make the Quart coat from Pauline Alice, but I procrastinated buying wool until it was far too late. One of my least favorite thing about living in Cincinnati is the severe lack of fabric shops. We have Joann’s, quite a few quilting stores, and a few small fabric stores that sell apparel fabric (looking at you, Fiberge), but ZERO big, quality fabric stores. As far as I know, there’s not a single place to buy wool coating in the area! I mean what the fuck, Cincinnati.

So with fabric needs in mind, I settled on the Sewaholic Minoru. My dear friend Amy of That’s Sew Amy made one awhile back, and it’s awesome. I love that it’s really a good daily wear coat, unlike my houndstooth coat. It also doesn’t hurt that Tasia posted a killer step by step sewalong. While my coat is far from perfect, it’s the most professional looking garment I’ve ever made, and that’s 100% thanks to the sewalong.

I accidentally bought a double zip and felt like you needed to see it. — I accidentally bought a double zip and felt like you needed to see it in action.

I knew I wanted my Minoru to be more of a coat than a jacket, so to make it warmer, I interlined it with snuggle flannel from my stash. I hate snuggle flannel, but it’s warm, so hiding it in inside my coat seemed perfect. I followed Tasia’s recommendation and basted it to my lining fabric. Snuggle flannel is printed on one side and white on the back, so I basted them wrong side to wrong side, as I was afraid the flannel print would show through. If you’d like to see progress shots of that kind of thing, I tend to post it on Instagram. For my main fabric, I used a black twill, with no stretch. All of these fabrics came from Joann, and I can’t find a single one on their website. Sorry! I can tell you the lining is part of their “silky prints” collection, and I swear I’ve seen it there recently.

I made very few changes to the pattern, other than the interlining. I opted to do pearl snaps instead of velcro on the inner pockets, because that’s what I had on hand. Like many others, I also added side seam pockets, because a coat without outer pockets is just silly. I also sized down quite a bit. According to the size chart, I should have cut a size 12, but I went with an 8 instead. I tried on Amy’s jacket in a size 4, it’s zipped but was a bit too snug, so I took a gamble and cut a straight 8. Everyone knows I love close fitting garments. You guys…I didn’t have to add ANY length to the arms. That is unheard of! I think the fit is really good, though I wish I’d shortened the waist a bit. The waist elastic is just a little too low. As mentioned above, I also added a double zip. Totally unintentional, that’s just what I accidentally bought so of course I used it.

Overall, I’m really stoked on this coat. That said…the twill attracts dog hair like nothing else. While it doesn’t wrinkle nearly as badly as I expected, it does look wrinkled in these photos. I’d worn it a few times since finishing it, and it could really do with a good pressing. Whatever, it’s a great coat, I’m even wearing it right now. I’m running out of things to say, but I still have more photos for you guys, so prepare for a boat load of photos below. I do realize Tonks is much much prettier than me or my coat, so feel free to be distracted by her! Happy sewing 🙂

Collar tucked into the hood pocket here, looking super bitchy again.

A Palette Cleanser (Jennifer Lauren Handmade Gable Top)

December 5, 2016 by Ashley ♥ 3 Comments

After a difficult project, I always find myself craving an easy project. My denim jacket took forever, so I definitely wanted an easy success! I decided on the the Gable Top from Jennifer Lauren Handmade, as I’ve made it before, I know it to be quick and easy pattern.

I opted to use a discontinued cameo print thermal knit from Girl Charlee. I bought the fabric last year during their huge holiday sale, and have been unsure about what to do with it ever since. The fabric doesn’t have the stretch I need for the pattern, so I sized up from a 12 to a 14. That’s the only alteration I made! I honestly don’t have much to say about this make, I believe I said almost everything in my last post.

I made the long sleeve version this time, because duh, thermal. The instructions tell you to do the sleeve a bit differently, but I treated it just like the short sleeved version. Next time, I’ll add about 2″ to the sleeves, they are way too short for my long arms!! I think I would also taper them in a bit at the end, just for personal preference. I like a fitted sleeve. Other than that, the fit seems actually pretty good for me. I’m standing weird in the back view photo below, I don’t think it typically gathers as much in the back. I really, REALLY hate back view photos, you guys. I keep trying to stand different ways to look less weird and nothing works. Blargh. Photo dump below, happy sewing 🙂

The Jacket that Didn’t Want to Be (Butterick 6390)

November 23, 2016November 23, 2016 by Ashley ♥ 6 Comments

I have always wanted a jean jacket, one that actually fit my spaghetti arms. This pattern, Butterick 6390 was the perfect candidate for me, cropped and feminine, but with all the details I love so much. Gertie’s version have her signature vintage flair, but I opted for something a little more traditional.

The main fabric is a denim from Joann’s, unfortunately I’m not sure which one! I do know it has 2% stretch, though. Originally, I’d purchased the yardage to make a test pair of Ginger jeans, but you know…new patterns are fun. Plus jeans are scary as shit! For the lining, I opted to use this mammoth flannel from Robert Kaufman. The patterns calls for a lighter weight, silkier fabrics, but I wanted this to be warm and cozy!

I woke up early to take these and it shows. So cranky.

I’m going to be honest, this fucking jacket fought me every step of the way. In the beginning, my machine struggled with top stitching thread. I used a good quality Gutermann, thankfully I adjusted the tension (to 7) and got past that. Then, as per the usual, I struggled with the sleeve opening and cuff. I’ve never done a cuffed sleeve without a placket, my brain just couldn’t comprehend it. I had to walk away. Fast forward to attaching the waistband…my walking foot broke. You should know that I sew everything with the walking foot, I can’t remember the last time I used the “j” foot. Believe me when I tell you, I was distraught. I cried, I cursed, I threw things. I finished the waistband kind of shittily with unevenly fed layers. OH WELL MAN.

You just have to persevere, right? Now, I must admit, my machine made a mockery of the buttonholes, and I didn’t even care. They exist, they serve their purpose, that’s about all I’m asking for right now. I wanted to wear this thing to Thanksgiving, show off my sweet patches. Which are the Browncoats symbol from Firefly, the Doctor Who logo circa 9, and the Deathly Hallows symbol from Harry Potter, btw. I have a Torchwood patch somewhere, but I couldn’t find it. Bummer, I know.

Despite all this bitching and all the issues, I’m happy with end result. All the seams are flat felled seams, which always makes me happy. The pattern calls for top stitching on both sides of the seams, but I only did the one. I also used a coordinating thread color, because I was afraid my top stitching would be shit. I almost wish I hadn’t, though, because my stitching is actually pretty good! Other than dual top stitching, I also changed up the pattern by using jean buttons instead of regular buttons. I like hammering things, plus I like the look they give the jacket. I need to add them to the pockets, but I ran out. Beyond that, the only change I made was to size up to a straight 16. Based on measurements, I should have sewn a 12, but I wanted room to wear a hoodie or sweater underneath. I hope I didn’t scare you off, it really is a pattern worth sewing! Happy sewing 🙂