Vintage Pattern Pledge

There are some things that I get overly excited about when I discover them.  My elation will change to disbelief when I find out that someone else already knew about said awesome thing and failed to share the info with me (cuz the world can totally revolve around me sometimes, right?).  One of the times this happened to me was when I discovered vintage patterns (uh-oh, story time...).
 

I was at a garage sale a few years ago to acquire cheap sewing notions (zippers and trims and such) and came across a box of vintage children's patterns.  At the time, children's clothing was pretty much all I was sewing (cuz they have this lack-of-curves-therefore-easier-to-sew-for-thing) so I was pretty thrilled, especially since there were quite a few sizes I knew I could use for the nieces.  Those were my very first vintage patterns.

When I told my mom about them, her response was pretty much, "Vintage patterns? Oh yeah, I have all your grandma's old patterns- at least a couple boxes full."

Wait, WHAT?  You mean she kept me in the dark about the existence of easily accessible vintage patterns all these years?  Don't worry- no grudges were kept (especially if I hope to own those patterns myself some day- mwahahahaha!).  Next time I visited she pulled out the boxes and showed me a whole bunch of vintage patterns from the 60's and 70's, in an array of sizes, children's and adults, patterns my grandma actually used to sew clothes for my mom and my aunts.  My aunt told me a story of how she didn't even go clothes shopping for the first time until she was in Jr. High cuz my grandma made all their clothes.  How rad is my grandma?  

Anywho, looking at all those vintage patterns made me curious about what other kinds of vintage patterns are available or out there somewhere, maybe even from an earlier decade (cuz as my mom tells me, "Nicole, the 50's called, they want their style back.").  I started looking on Ebay at vintage patterns and even bid on some, finally winning a few, then a few more, and a few more on top of that.  I wouldn't say I have an obsession (yet), but I've definitely accumulated a decent pile in under two years.

Alas, as beautiful as they are, I've never opened one.  Not a single one- not even to see what the pattern pieces look like.  I know I didn't just buy them to collect dust, I actually want to use them.  There's even been a few vintage pattern challenges I've considered joining but didn't (call it fear if you like cuz it really was fear).  This year will be different (not regarding the fear- it's still there).  I'm making my public declaration- let it be known throughout all the land (or just a little bit of the internet) that I will participate in this years' Vintage Pattern Pledge.  Ahem-ahem-ahem, my official pledge:

I, Nicole of A Little Fabricated, will sew up at least 3 vintage patterns this year (one or more of them might be children's).

Phew!  The easy part is out of the way.  Now onto the doing part.  That only means different markings, tinier waists to enlarge, weird bust points to fix, fragile tissue patterns to attempt to not rip...  Yeah, I can do it (do I sound scared still?).

Has anyone else pledged to do something scary (to you) this year?  

New Look 6587 and 1000 Shirtdresses of Autumn

So, I totally admire people who take the time to construct and sew an awesome collared, button down shirt.  There's many examples to oooh and aaah over, like Lauren at Lladybird (I want this shirt), Andrea at Four Square Walls or Mary at Fancy Idle.  Speaking of Mary, she is finishing up her 1000 Shirtdresses of Autumn and I declare myself a last minute arrival.  Well, kind of, sort of, maybe...?

You see, I am truly in awe of people who sew collars onto clothes (seems like a lot of work) but I HATE to wear them.  It's like this: my former roommate tells this story of how, when she was little, her grandma let her eat as much cottage cheese as she wanted- no limit.  So she did, she ate cottage cheese until she threw up cottage cheese.  That's pretty much my story with collared, button down anything.  I threw it up.

Ok, so not TECHNICALLY.  I just feel like I could've. I had to wear them as part of my uniform for school, then as part of my outfit while traveling with a performing arts group, then to look professional at my first job that required me to fill out a W-4...  I pretty much threw them up then gave them all away 10 years ago (although I admit to having 3 in my closet for those times I have job interviews or meetings with my boss).  

Even with my total and utter dislike of wearing them, I still wanted to participate in Mary's challenge.  I might have cheated...  I bought a pattern off Ebay that I thought I could dig, collar and all, but the seller couldn't find the pattern and returned my money.  After that I finally found New Look 6587.  It has 3 views with a collar (but a fake button placket, let's be clear about my laziness) OR 2 views without a collar. Yes!  I figured if the pattern itself has lots of options for the (kinda) traditional shirtdress, it counts- regardless of which view I make, right?

Ignore my horrible, crooked top-stitching.  It was late and I didn't care.

I made view E, minus the lasce-on-edges-thing.  I went with a straight size 12 but adjusted the seams to get a little room to eat.  Then I put my buttonholes on the wrong side- it's SUPER awkward (maybe just weird) having to think about how to button my dress when I put it on instead of just using muscle memory.  Fun stuff, huh?

The insides are all finished nicely.  The fabric is a rayon that wants to be lots of loose threads.  Seam finishing was a must and time consuming but I like how neat and enclosed all the seams are (but in my laziness you not only get blown-out, unedited pictures, you also get no inside pictures).

I wasn't sure what I was going to think of this dress when it was finished.  I kept trying it on after each new addition and felt like I had a Harry Potter robe on (I haven't even seen Harry Potter and I still felt that way).  I kept thinking I should shorten the length or what the heck am I doing sewing 12 buttonholes and buttons?  Wanna guess what my final reaction is?

I love it!

I love the slight 40's flare it has and how it twirls and hits my natural waist perfectly.  All the reviews I had read said this pattern had a short waist and many lengthened it.  I know my waist is short or high or whatever so after carefully measuring and looking at numbers, I decided to keep it like the pattern.  I'm glad I did.  And even tho I was unsure about the length (5" longer than most of my dresses), I like that too.

Somehow the neckline is too loose, but I didn't make ant size adjustments there.  I have no idea, it just seemed floppy and big and loose when I sewed the bias tape on.  Anyone know how to adjust necklines that are too big?  I like the fit every where else, but I'm at a loss as to how to fix the neck.

How about you?  Make (or do) anything lately that you were sure you wouldn't like only to really like the outcome after all?

My Halloween Horror Story

Hello all!  Happy Halloween to you, especially if you have your costume ready to go (bonus points if you're already wearing it).

I have a tale to tell you.  My favorite 6 and 4 year olds are coming to stay with me this weekend (and their mom).  They're my nieces and I'm especially excited that they'll be here instead of me driving there.  These particular nieces are particularly spoiled, especially by me.  I make their costumes for halloween each year.  And I let them choose what they want, so they tell me all year long what they want to be.  

I enjoy it, but we all know I have this laziness thing that I also enjoy.  So putting these two things together- costumes with a deadline and laziness- never turns out well (only for me tho!).  I thought I would share with you my awesome phone pics of their costumes from the last couple years as I proceed to procrastinate longer on finishing those costumes.  Oh, didn't I tell you?  It's Halloween and my nieces will be here in under 7 hours and their costumes are not finished.  In fact (might be TMI here) I just started them last night.  Yeah, I've had 3 hours of sleep.  Here's to hoping my current Halloween Horror doesn't end up full of blood and gore and stained/ruined costumes!  But on with the cuteness...

This cutie is my older niece who was sooooo into "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" two years ago that she wanted to be a pirate.  I painted the fabric for those pants myself cause I couldn't find anything I liked for pirate pants.  She was truly adorable (and still is).

This cherub is my younger niece who was soooo into princesses...  Wait, she never outgrew that, she's still soooo into princesses.  Anyway, with her older sis being a pirate, she had to keep up but also beat the game.  She wanted to be a princess pirate.  You guys, I had (have) no idea what the heck a princess pirate is!  I totally just made a costume full of pink but hopefully a little edgy-ish (for a toddler) and piratey.  

This is last year.  They were both super heros, but little niece had to up the ante again because she was not only a super hero, she was also a princess (again).  Ladies (and gentlemen?) I present to you The Flash and She-Ra!  

They're definitely off to save the world here, pretty sure that's why we're all still alive.  I mean, who could live without this kind of cuteness in their life?

THIS year, they've actually chosen completely unrelated costumes, which kind of makes me sad.  At first they wanted to be Elsa and Olaf from "Frozen" but let's be real- who wants to sew an Olaf costume?  I tried to be as non-encouraging as possible while encouraging the older niece to choose whoever she wanted to be (I rock this auntie stuff, right?).  Then they wanted to be Princess Peach and Mario from the Nintendo game Mario Bros.  I was all for that- how awesome are my nieces?  But alas, their final unrelated choices are Elsa for the younger and Captain America for the older.  Not complaining or anything but Elsa...

Yeah, every other little girl out there is going to be Elsa too.  Haha!  At least my niece's Elsa will be different than every other Elsa.  I mean, who doesn't take creative liberties when sewing children's costumes?  Or is that just my laziness speaking...?

What do you guys have planned for Halloween?  Any fun costumes?  And are they handmade or store-bought?

Running and Dreaming

A few years ago I started running.  I hated it.  I knew it was good for me and I did it, but I hated it.  I started training for a half marathon when I moved to SoCal.  Then I hurt my ankle (like REALLY bad).  That half marathon was no longer happening (yes, I was totally relieved) but I told myself I would start running again after my ankle healed.  Yeah...  I kept telling myself that for the next year and a half.

BUT!  I FINALLY started running again a couple months ago.  And guess what?  I'm LOVING it!  Even while running.  Amazing right?  I ran a 5k at the beginning of October and I'm signed up for a 10k at the end of November.  I'm only up to running 4  miles (which realistically translates to almost 3.5 miles) but I'm following a training plan and am well on track to being able to run 6.2 miles before my 10k (hopefully).

I keep thinking that I should combine my new love of running and my love of sewing.  There are patterns for running clothes so why not?  I admit that part of me is fearful of working with the fabric running clothes use.  But conquering that fear might be as awesome as a running high, right?  

So, some patterns I've been looking at:

Fehr Trade Duathlon Shorts

These seem like the most practical of all the patterns I've found.  And what an awesome way to add my own spin with cool fabrics for the stripe down the side.  I'm discovering I like a certain weight of fabric while running and a certain fit, but somehow I can never find both preferences in a ready-made garment.

Papercut Patterns Pneuma Tank

I've been wanting this pattern ever since I saw Ginger Make's version.  I wanted it even more when I saw that Fabletics has a top very similar to it.  One of my friends (she's actually training and running with me) bought a running shirt at Target that also has a similar concept.

Greenstyle Women's Yoga Pants

I wouldn't run in yoga pants (even though that's what I started running in) but I need to start doing some cross-training (cuz I've got the weakest core (read flabby stomach)) and yoga pants would come in handy for say yoga or pilates.

Jalie Sport's Top (#2563)

On my list of to-do-someday is undergarments.  Sports bra seem so much less terrifying than underwire bras.  Also, the running tights/shorts are an added bonus to me.

Fehr Trade VNA Top

The design lines on this top are so cool!  To be honest, I prefer looser tops while running (cuz that breezey-ness they provide is a nice distraction when your lungs and legs are screaming at you), but maybe during the winter (HA! SoCal doesn't have winters) this top would be nice.

Your bonus photo for making it to the end- this is after our 5k (if you couldn't tell, it was a color run).  Our upcoming 10k isn't a fun event run like this, but it is right by the beach (I totally love the beach!).

What patterns are you dreaming of right now?  Any plans towards making those dreams reality?

So This is Love

I made a shirt.  I'm pretty proud of the finished product too.  I really wanted a loose tunic to wear over yoga pants (for the days I don't want to shave and therefore I can't wear a skirt).  We just had a heat wave and hopefully it's the only one of the year.  But living here the last two summers I've noticed there's one heat wave that's two weeks long and it's always in August.

This heat wave was in July, and lasted maybe 10 days with a few rainy/muggy days thrown in.  Because this is different than what I've assumed is the norm, I'm preparing for the worst- another heat wave.  It's impossible to wear jeans in a heat wave, they get so heavy and hot.  Skirts are nice, but ya know, I hate shaving more than once a week (underarms are the exception!).  

The only problem with wearing yoga pants is I only have one shirt that is long or tunic length and cool enough for summer.  I have no problem showing my rear end most days (I have the best one in our family ;-) true story) but I prefer to wear looser, longer shirts with yoga pants unless I'm exercising.  

Since I had an obvious lack of shirts I deemed long enough, it just seemed appropriate to make one.  So I did!  Hehe.  I used Megan Nielsen's Crescent Blouse pattern with the curved hum tunic option.  I made it over three nights, maybe working on it a couple hours each night.  It was an easy sew, but there's a lot of ironing involved.  Because of the thin/flowy fabrics recommended for this pattern, there are no raw edges, which means either you're binding with bias tape or making french seams.  

The curved hem option wraps the back part around the front, making a cute little detail.  Ignore my facial expression here, I'm still getting used to using the timer on my camera.  That combined with the window to my right makes for some interesting photos.  

The above picture probably is the most accurate depiction of the actual color of my shirt.  It's a bright, springy green- it almost looks neon in the sunlight.  I got the fabric from Wal-Mart yeeeeears ago intending to use it as a lining for one of my nieces easter dresses.  I ended up making something different that didn't require a lining so it's been sitting in my stash for all those years.  I think it's a blend of some kind.  I say this because I used a higher heat setting instead of using the synthetic setting on my iron.  I was determined to get good creases.  I kept adjusting the heat higher and higher, testing a scrap of fabric and watching for melting.  It never happened, so while there maybe some polyester in this fabric, I'm convinced it must be a small amount.

I like the way it turned out, but there's definitely some things I would change next time I make this.  The pattern says the seam attaching the bottom pieces should be at your natural waist.  As you can see above, the seam is about an inch and a half to two inches below my waist.  I think I would raise that, but I would need to adjust the tunic pieces then because I wouldn't want to loose length.  In fact, I would like it longer!  Changing the neckline to be slightly lower is another thing I'm thinking about for next time.

Ooh! You guys!  I did my first baby hem.  The pattern says it's a rolled hem, and it's only 1/8 of an inch, but it still seems bigger than what I've always imagined a rolled hem to be.  But I'm so dang proud of myself for such a small hem on a curve.

I chose these metal buttons from my button collection.  I had three different buttons I was looking at, but these ones were pretty much perfect for the casual top I wanted this to be.  As you can see, I need to re-think where I start my top stitching to hide my (messy) backstitching better next time.  It's not too bad, but now I know under the button at the top of the strap would be better.

This is a much needed garment in my wardrobe.  Loose and cool and easy to wear.  And I love the shoulder cut-outs- you hardly feel the weight of the shirt the way they're placed and they're so cute!  I have to wear an undershirt because the material is so thin, but that's no biggy.  I actually wore this outfit to go run my errands.  It felt wonderful, letting the breeze in and feeling like I was wearing the least amount of clothing possible while still being decent.  Better yet, it doesn't even look like I'm wearing the least amount of clothes possible!  I seriously need to make another one, maybe the other tunic option this time...

Playing Dress Up

At the end of July an event happened around here that a lot of people went to.  My roommate was one of those people, her brother flew out here to be one of those people too.  Me?  I continued on with my life, blissfully ignoring this event and not seeing my roomie while it happened.  Anyone ever hear of Comic-Con?

While my roommate was trying to figure out her costume, she kept trying to find things that she could do with stuff she already had.  She was going to go as a female grey Gandolf, wearing a grey sweater dress, grey tights, grey boots and  buy a grey robe and hat.  I told her that was boring.  So she next thought to go as a character in a TV show she watches who only dresses in regular clothes- no one would even guess she had dressed up.  I finally stretched my imagination really far in an attempt to understand this nerdy event (I'm a geek, not a nerd, so sometimes it's hard to relate- hehe) and suggested she go as a character in this really nerdy TV show that all my nerdy friends watch (and the watching of this show is what makes me lovingly call them nerds)- Dr. Who.  

She went as River Song from Dr. Who.  River Song is apparently Dr. Who's wife but from what I understand, it doesn't seem like they always both know they're married and she tries to kill him multiple times and spends her days in jail but not her nights and was kidnapped as a baby and whatever...  That's the best explanation you'll get from me.  Apparently there's this outfit/dress that River Song wears in a series of episodes and so I thought it'd be easy to recreate it...  Until I started looking at details.  

It wasn't so hard to sew up, it was adjusting and readjusting the pattern over and over that was irritating.  It's a sleeveless shift dress with an exposed zipper and an uneven hem.  Right below the zipper the skirt is attached in a curved shape and made of multiple pieces then somehow gathered at the bottom with what looks like bungi-cord...?

I did my best-ish (as shown by my laziness in not taking out the zipper basting stitches).  We found a pattern that had a similar silhouette for the shift dress part and I went to town modifying it and hacking it up and taping paper onto it to make new shapes.

I only made one muslin and found that it was too tight in the hips when she tried it on.  I spent a few more hours modifying the pattern again and added just a smidge more than needed in the hips cuz I wasn't making another muslin.  I figured I'd just take it in a little if needed.  

Instead of doing a curved seam to attach the skirt, I did two angled lines meeting in the middle.  I was quite proud of my matching skills, even if my roomie didn't really notice or care.  It's the little details, right?

I had made a skirt similar to a handkerchief skirt to get the uneven hem, but the roomie wanted "pick-ups" (I call them bunchy things- hehe). Having already spent three days pattern adjusting, muslin-ing and making her dress, I wasn't going to do hand sewing too. I told her she was welcome to make them herself and I'd even provide the thread and needle.  

So she did.  She made her own "pick-ups" and didn't even complain about it.  She really is quite lovely to live with (she even does my dishes!)

I laughed when I saw how she made them tho.  No needle and thread required I suppose.  She was quite appreciative of her costume.  She also spilled super glue on it before she got out the door wearing it.  That has yet to come out- any tips for getting super glue out of fabric?

These are the nails she did for her costume.  She  is amazing at painting nails and I thought this was pretty cool.  There's an exploding Tardis in there (I guess that's a Dr. Who time travel thingy).  The nails are based off a Van Gogh episode of Dr. Who where Van Gogh actually paints an exploding Tardis- or so I've been told (haven't actually seen it).  Unlike last time I made a dress for someone else (the maternity bridesmaid dress) this was not nearly as painful to make or as time consuming.  It's interesting sewing for other adults and not just other adults' children.  Who knows if there will be more (adult) selfless sewing in my future?