Author Archives: lorene

Many years ago, my friends and I dressed up as the Misfits for an 80’s Party. Not the punk band, but the amazing cartoon band from Jem and the Holograms. I was Roxy and making her costume was really hard! Unlike Pizzazz and Stormer, Roxy’s outfit is very specific fabrics. She has a fuzzy/eyelash purple top and metallic spray painted pants. This was impossible to find at the time.

A few years later I was in Joann’s around Halloween and found the perfect fabric for Roxy’s pants. So I bought a few yards. That fabric has sat in my stash for years and I figured with the new terrible Jem movie that just came out, this costume is as relevant as its every going to be! So I started off using the Cigarette Pants pattern from Gertie Sews Vintage Casual, then I used some other pants patterns that fit to adjust the crotch curve.
The resulting pants were ok, but the legs were to wide and I couldn’t really bend my knees. Also, the fabric I had is flannel backed and the metallic printing on the front was flaking off everywhere but especially in the crotch area. Eek!

So I put them to the side and started focusing on my top. I found this purple eyelash fabric on fabric.com. It’s metallic which isn’t really accurate but it was the best and cheapest thing I could find.

I used the shirt pattern 403 from Burda Plus A/W 2012. Leaving off one sleeve of course! This actually fits pretty well so I may make it out of a normal fabric too!

Next up was the belt, so I was off to Joann’s. It was during lunchtime a few days before Halloween, so of course it was insanely busy. Let me give you a tip – whenever you are buying fabric go to the cutting counter and check what number is in the dispenser and what number they care cutting. If it’s over 10, definitely take a number. That gives you about 15-20 minutes to shop.

Anyway, while wandering around looking for the faux leather I came across the performance fabrics section. There I spotted a pretty good looking fabric for my pants! I wasn’t intending to buy more fabric, but when I spotted this spandex I knew it would take me less time to whip up a pair of leggings than to try to fix my flaking pants. So I grabbed it. It was thankfully not on sale so I was able to use a coupon to get it down to $8.50/yd. I used the Cake Patterns Espresso leggings to make the final pants. This is a TNT legging pattern for me so I knew I could make them really quickly.

Finally I got over by the home decor and spotted the vinyl and they had a yellowy green that would work perfectly for my belt. It was $20/yd but also not on sale and I only needed 1/4 yard so it was $2.50! While looking for something to fasten my belt, I came across an unknown brand that had magnetic snaps and studs that were around $3. Since they only required cutting a slit into the vinyl, I picked up a set of magnetic snaps and some rounded studs to finish my belt.

Practicing my snarl with my friend Mary

The finishing touches on my costume were the wig and makeup. I got this white wig from Amazon for $15 and it’s quite nice. I had to cut it a bit to get the style right, then I teased and sprayed it into submission. For makeup, I picked up a $3 Revolution Orange lipstick at Ulta. Everything else I had. My lipstick is MAC Vegas Volt.

Cashmerette Appleton Dress

posted by lorene

on 10.25.2015

I was on the fence about purchasing the brand new Appleton dress pattern from the new pattern designer but not new blogger. Cashmerette. I’m not really one for wearing a lot of wrap dresses, but that’s partially because of gaping issues. However, this pattern is supposed to solve the gaping and Jenny and I have similar body shapes being top heavy and slim hipped, so if it works for her it might work for me. Also, no FBA? Hell yes!

I decided to order the print pattern and missed out on the first print run, but mine still came very quickly. I traced off my size and the E/H front piece. I searched through my stash and found this cotton jersey I had purchased at Joann last year. I thought it was 100% cotton, but the noxious smells it let of when I ironed it on the cotton setting leads me to believe it’s actually a cotton/poly blend. I was definitely short of the fabric requirements, but since I was going for the 3/4 length sleeve I figured I had some room to fudge. I pretty easily fit this on my fabric.

Sewing this up was a breeze. The only thing in the directions that slightly confused me was whether or not I needed to reinforce belt holes on both sides. I did it on both, which was wrong but not an issue. The other thing I could have done a better job on was aligning my neckline bands to the bodice fabric. They are just slightly off and that’s Because I wasn’t totally sure how they should meet up. On the next version I will know better and so they will be perfectly aligned.

Have I mentioned to you that I love my coverstitch machine? It’s definitely a non-essential machine, but it makes hemming knits so fast and easy! This machine easily contributed an extra 25% to the joy I have of sewing knits. I chose not to do any of the extra stitching to tack down the seam allowances around the neckline.

After I sewed up the sleeves and side of the dress I tried it on over my yoga pants…and I was like “Whoa! This dress was looks awesome!” I did absolutely no changes to this pattern…I even hemmed exactly at 1.5″ and it was perfect. I will definitely be sewing this up in a nicer fabric (wool jersey?) than my crappy Joann poly blend.

The only problem I have with this pattern is that the hem of left side of the dress (the under wrapped side) tends to hang down. I can pull it up higher on my chest to pull the hem up, but I might taper the hemline on that edge up a bit so it’s not an issue.

I wonder what pattern Cashmerette will release next?

Diamond Anniversary Shirts

posted by lorene

on 10.06.2015

My sister, Vanessa, and her husband, Jeremy, celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary last month. A couple of weeks before that I was in Joann’s looking for some linen when I spotted this diamond print linen blend fabric. Do you know what the symbol of the 10th anniversary is… diamonds! So I picked up a few yards. The bolt was slightly short of what the pattern needed for 2 shirts, but I knew I could make it work!

I used McCall’s 6932 which is a Palmer/Pletsch unisex camp shirt pattern. I actually bought it for myself to make a 49er jacket, but I’ve made 3 shirts out of it and none were 49ers and none were for me! I got my mom to ask them for their chest measurements so I could figure out what sizes to make. Thanks Mom!

My sister is petite so I made the smallest size and took 3 inches out of the body and 2 inches out of the sleeve length and used the side vents. I made Jeremy’s shirt with no alterations.

These shirts went together very quick and easy. I was very particular about keeping the pieces separate for each shirt. That is until I swapped out the yoke linings. Eek! I didn’t notice this until after I sewed one in completely and trimmed the collar seam. I didn’t have enough fabric to cut new pieces, so I just had to make them work.

Making a camp shirt is definitely a bit different construction than a more classic shirt like Grainline Archer. There is no collar stand and it overall has a very relaxed look that definitely works with the linen fabric I used. However it still has a back pleat and lined yoke so that everything inside looks nice.

One of the interesting things about making this shirt was that I didn’t do any basting to gather in the sleeves. I used a ton of pins and eased it in. There were a couple of spots that I had to rip out and resew but overall it was neat not having to do gathers!

I didn’t get these shirts done until the day of their anniversary but I stuck them in the mail and they got them a couple of days later. I didn’t mention I was making anything so they were totally surprised! They are off to a cruise to the Bahamas with my parents next week so I know they will get to be dorky and dress alike on the ship! Good news that they fit perfectly.:)

Style Arc Barb Gets Pocketed

posted by lorene

on 07.29.2015

I’ve been trying to update my work wardrobe. I work in a casual environment but because of my level I try to dress a little nicer than just jeans…sometimes. What I’ve realized though is that I need comfy. Jeans are not always comfy so if I can find some slacks that look good and feel good to wear then I’ll be golden.

Last year Style Arc and Threads did a “limited time” promo for a free Style Arc Pants pattern – the Barb. They describe it as: Barb’s Stretch Pant is a new version of our famous Linda pant. Features a slimmer leg but not too slim, perfect for the office. Which actually sounded perfect!

So about that limited time business? Well you can still go get the pattern for free here: http://www.stylearc.com/threads-promo/

SIZING

I cut a size 20 which was closest to my waist measurement. Because these pants are made of a stretch fabric and have an elastic waist they are very forgiving. However, Style Arc does use 3/8″ seam allowances so you don’t have quite as much room for seam allowance adjustments if needed.

ADJUSTMENTS

I did a few flat pattern adjustments on these. The first was to add 3″ to the rise. With the wider elastic I wanted them to be up on my natural waist. I used 1.5″ elastic instead of 2″ elastic so I essentially only changed the rise 2.5″. I changed the crotch curve to match the pants I made in my Palmer/Pletsch pants fitting class.

The biggest adjustment was adding pockets. Especially for work, pants must have pockets! I need a place to keep my phone and clip my ID badge. I liked the pockets on the previous mentioned Palmer/Pletsch Class pants so I used those pattern pieces for these pants. I had to redraw the pants from to create the slash pocket. Then I reused the pocket bag, but I had drafted a pocket stay mean for a zip fly. Since these pants are pull ons, I had to redraw the pocket stay to be cut on the fold and match up with the pants front pieces.

Drafting pocket stays is one of the best things I learned in my pants fitting class. If you’ve ever tried NYDJ jeans or pants, they do this to provide their “slimming technology”. Basically it’s built in Spanx! For these pants I had to figure out what kind of fabric to use. The main fabric is a stretch woven, but it would be too bulk to use for the stay. I needed something that would stretch and be thin. I ended up digging through my scraps and finding a piece of black cotton jersey that worked perfectly. It’s a bonus that I don’t have to finish the edges! That makes it be even less visible.

Sorry for the crap photo! I had to play the contrast levels so you could see the black on black.

FABRIC & FINISHES

The fabric is a Sew Classic Bengaline suiting from Joann. It’s normally $10/yd but I’m sure I used a 40 or 50% off coupon. The content is 81% polyester, 15% rayon and 4% spandex. It’s not the fancy bengaline Style Arc recommends (and sells), but I am very happy with it for the price I paid. It’s a perfect weight for these pants.

I used 1.5″ Knit Elastic for my waistband and finished all my seams on the serger.

STYLE

These are so versatile! I can go casual with a t-shirt or tank and my chucks. For work I wear them with a blouse or sweater and my ballet flats. I have yet to wear these out but they would look great with a slinky top and some wedges.

WHAT I LOVE

The price (FREE!)
Quick & easy to sew
Slim legs

WHAT I DON’T LOVE

Style Arc patterns are single sized, so if you print the wrong size you have to start all over again

WOULD I MAKE IT AGAIN?

I totally love these pants! The high waist and pocket stay are very slimming and the leg width really is perfect. I like my pants to be slim fitting without being skin tight. These whip up so quickly that I need to make some more!

Seamwork Nantucket Shorts

posted by lorene

on 07.22.2015

It’s been crazy hot in Portland lately, so I a pair of comfy shorts is right up my alIley. My friends over at Colette Patterns, also in Portland, must have been feeling the same thing because they released the Nantucket Shorts pattern in the July Issue of Seamwork Mag. This has just 3 pattern pieces and sews up quick.

These are very loose and comfy. Perfect for a summer day, but they are also super baggy on me. Not sure I will ever wear them out of the house, but I do love changing into them when I get home from work!

I didn’t do any intentional pattern matching, but it worked out pretty well!

SIZING

Like most Colette/Seamwork patterns this is available in sizes 0-26. My waist measurement was between sizes so I went with my hip measurement, which led me to cut a size 20 instead of an 18. I wish I had cut the 18 because maybe these wouldn’t be so tent-like. However my reason for choosing the 20 over the 18 was the finished width of the 18 was my actual hip size and I thought these needed more ease.

In general, though, you should go with your hip measurement since the waist is cinched in by the drawstring making it very forgiving.

ADJUSTMENTS

I made 2 adjustments to these shorts. The first was to add 1″ to the rise. I am high waisted and pretty much every pair of shorts/pants I make needs to have a higher rise so this is standard for me. The second adjustment was the add 3/4″ to the length of the shorts. I like shorts that hit more at mid-thigh than upper thigh. I compared the inseam to another pair of shorts I recently made, and realized I would prefer these to be a bit longer.

FABRIC & FINISHES

Then pattern calls for lightweight wovens like chambray and I love me some chambray. Especially the Kaufman Chambray line! It’s lovely! Since I already have a Hollyburn skirt made of the Chambray dots fabric, I decided on the Kaufman Chambray Dobbies Grid in Denim. This pattern only needs 1 yard of fabric so the cost was just $9!

The pattern calls for 1/4″ cotton cord for the drawstring but I just used the fabric selvedge. These chambray prints always have really neat striped selvedges! Luckily it’s the same on both sides so I carefully cut each one off. I stitched them together – giving me a 2yd drawstring. Then I folded the fabric under twice and stitched for a neat looking drawstring. I even love the fuzzy edge on it!

After I competed the shorts I realized I didn’t really like the way the drawstring ruffled the waistband. It added bulk in an area that I really didn’t need it! So I opened up my waistband seam and threaded a piece of elastic through just the back of the waistband. This allows the fabric to gather into softer folds, which I think looks better. If made these again I might just omit the drawstring and put all elastic or do a true elastic/drawstring combo and just have the drawstrings come out at the front.

STYLE

These are definitely casual/cool shorts. I wear them with a ribbed tank of a fitted t-shirt to balance out the bagginess. Mostly I wear them around the house, but these would be great for the beach and with flip flops.

WHAT I LOVE:

Comfy shorts
Quick and easy to make
Only uses 1 yard of fabric

WHAT I DON’T LOVE:

Too baggy
Tightening drawstring creates bulky folds

WOULD I MAKE IT AGAIN?

I could see making a few pairs of lounging around or as sleep shorts. I will probably size down next time i make them or see if I can figure out how to make the legs a little slimmer.