Playing Photo Catch Up ...

Sorry for the problems with the photos, it took me a bit to figure out how to post using Picasa! Here is the final post ...

I have been promising for a while now that I would get around to posting photos. Today is the day ... I have the long awaited Dragon shots, shots of the Raglan Princess T's and the Flower Girl dresses.

The initial dragon shots are out of date in that there has been some shape shifting due to going to the gym, so the fit is slightly different now. as such, I have re-taken shots of both pair to show the new fit. I may also cut off the khaki pair at the knee seam to make them into shorts.



The HP Chilled Out Sweats that needed a bit of tweaking are also shown below. Turns out what needed tweaking was my body! After one week at the gym and one week at home working out, things are "sitting" better but there is still room for improvement. This is why all the pant shots are new ones. The earlier ones just aren't real anymore! Amazing what some exercise can do in a short time! This feedback is much better than what I am seeing on the scales!


The Raglan T's got a work out this past weekend at the Area Centennial Beaveree. IT rained most of Saturday afternoon and was really muggy. I was quite comfy in those powerdry T's. And a couple of people actually asked where I bought the Beaver T's as the fabric were in Beaver colours (brown and blue). Very comfy indeed! The next ones will need to have a slightly larger neck opening, though. If I make this pattern in a woven, I will have to add more ease as they fit perfect for a knit. Not too tight and not constricting, but still fitted. LOVE IT! This T started out as this vintage Tunic pattern ...


and resulted in this new T:


Last, the Flower Girl dress. The first shot is the "muslin", where I used a donated stash cotton. I omitted the facing and used a foldover trim for the neckline instead. I also considerably shortened the skirt length, and only lined the sleeves in the muslin. The final version has the requested pink ribbons and unlined sleeves. The fabric is a bit heavier than I would have liked for a summer dress, but it works. There is some stretch to the fabric, so that is a benefit for the little girl who will be wearing it.



I am ready to go on towards Bollywood! I saw another version today. It was done in a silk, but not dupioni. Again, the wearer was not particularly buxom, but the dress seemed to emphasize the upper body and not have as much shape to it as I would like. This version had the added tulle underskirt, however, so that might emphasize the fullness even more. I am going to really need to take this slow as I want this to be fabulously fierce! To tease you all, here are the fabrics that Darrell picked out:


I'll post more later ... I am Bollywood bound for an hour or so before I get supper ready!

Flower Girl Update

Well, the "muslin" is done but for hemming. The sleeves were a bit of a pain ... Lining a tulip sleeve and then gathering the overlapped cap made for a lot of fabric! So, I think I will not line the final dress. This is for a July wedding, so I think lining would be too much for this little girl. The final fabric is a heavier weight cotton so the lining is not really needed anyway. I will have to draft a facing for the neckline but that is not very hard.

A personal pat on the back wrt to the pattern grading ... the pattern in the proper size arrived yesterday in the mail. When I compared my re-draft to the actual size 4, I was very happy to see that except for minute differences in the armscye curve, I managed to get it right! Very nice to know that my technique worked!

The Pilot's shirt is all cut out. The shirting that MB sent is beautiful to work with except for that border print! Very subtle, but made for a challenge wrt layout! I finally decided to use that border for the front placket and the cuffs. I would have liked to have had it at the CB, but that would have required a seam and that is not on! I also cut the yoke, collar and stand on the bias. The Pilot needs that extra curve in those areas, I think. I took the time to match the stripes on the yoke and the pocket. I want this one to be wearable for him. He needs a few good shirts and if this one will fit then I can work on one for him for the grad dinner after the Dress is done. There is no hope of getting the Dress muslin done for tomorrow as I have a Scout meeting tonight and I have lots of coins to roll from all those almonds the kids sold! So, after Hamster Boy comes home I have to run out to the dollar store to get wrappers.

Confessions of a Confused Sewer ...

I finished the final alterations to the Dragon version #2 the other night. Even though I took in that back leg seam, they still bag out on me. I am NOT HAPPY! They look not too bad until I take the digi camera shot of the back. Then I can see all the wrinkles. Ick. It wasn't until I read the latest Threads issue that I had a lightbulb moment. This pattern needs drapey fabric. For me, that meant something lightweight. The article by Linda Lee on choosing pant fabrics for drape showed that I was really wrong about drape. I think that I actually need something heavier in weight but not hand to carry off the extra ease in these pants. I think the fabrics I have been using are too crisp despite their lightweight. So, seeing as I don't have anything in the stash that will suit this pattern, it has to go on an extended hiatus. Dragon hibernation if you will ...

On the other hand, I do have lots to keep me busy. The Flower Girl muslin is 50% done. I should have it to hem stage by supper. That way I can arrange a fitting for it later in the week. Tomorrow will be the Pilot's shirt second muslin. This one will be sewn up in some lovely shirting given to me by Mary Beth over at The Stitchery (sending lots of virtual hugs, MB!). I need to have that done quickly as we have a fitting on Wednesday with Darrell. Also, I want to have a muslin of the bodice of the Bollywood Dress done for he same day. That way I can get Darrell's help if I need it without a second trip downtown. I pick up the fabric Wednesday as it has arrived. He promised to have the lining and silk thread to match when I get there. I love that man!

My other clients have given the thumbs up on the field test of the rip stop nylon for the salon capes, so I can go ahead and start with those once the Flower Girl is fitted and approved. Those capes can be whipped up in a day, I think. I just have to wait for the fabric to arrive ...

Daily Dragon Update #4

Well, I managed to redo the crotch curve tonight. I was not a fan of how it was lying, so I took out the Silhouette pant sloper and compared. It was identical up to about 2 inches from the inseam. The HP curve was higher than the proven Silhouette one, so I lopped it off IAW proven pants. I then clipped the crotch curve, took in the inseam and the s.s. to the full 5/8" s.a. as they were too baggy. A big improvement, but there is still too much fullness at the back seam where the side and back panels meet. This is as far as I am going. When I pinch out the fullness, the pants are beautiful, so I think this fabric is still not right. I think it really needs something fluid.

I did some playing on the Flower girl dress pattern today. I really wanted to try my hands at grading a pattern, so I traced off the bodice pieces with all sizes (6-8) and markings. I then connected corner points, notches and dots and extended the lines inward. I then measured the lines for the existing sizes to see if there was a set distance. Where there was, I continued the distance inwards, using my curve when I needed to blend lines, specifically in the neckline and sleeve areas. The skirt was easier as the only difference was in the hem length, so that was a simple change. Tomorrow, I do the tulip sleeves. That requires fresh eyes. By tomorrow afternoon, I will be able to start a muslin to check the fit. I think I will do the first one with 3/8" s.a. to allow for growing room and "just in case".

I apologize for the lack of photos of late, but I have been sewing after the kids are in bed as I have been spending my days in the garden. This late night sewing is taking its toll, but the weather is so nice, I had to get the garden done. I only have to help Monkey Girl with her first flower garden and then I am done for a couple of weeks, anyway. That is when the new bulbs arrive! There is one more patch in the front bed, but that needs to have the backfill of gravel passed off as soil to be removed and put under the front step to shore it up. That needs the Pilot. He wants to do lots of "puttering" next week while he is home, so I see major work in his future ... I am even "renting" him out to a neighbour who wants to replace their fence. But please don't hold your breath, in case life gets in my way!