Fake It Til It's Warm Parfait

So, after proving that I'm impatient, a bit of a follower and sometimes just plain lazy, I am now going to prove that I'm flighty and indecisive. Just days after declaring how "edgy" I'm getting, I present you with a frilly, girly number. Evidence that this strange girl just can't make up her mind.

Ever since I made my first Colette Parfait I have been obsessed with the pattern. I've had my non sewing friends beg me to make them a version and I get compliments every time I wear it. I had always planned on making a heavier winter weight version but could never find a fabric that inspired me. Then spring started creeping up on me and the idea of making a cold weather dress seemed silly.

When I spotted this lightweight, printed denim I instantly fell in love and knew immediately I wanted it to be a Parfait. And it's the best of both worlds, perfect for layering when it's cold but light enough to wear alone in warmer weather.

Romy getting in on the action.

I solved some of the fit issues that I had in the last one by cutting the waist/skirt portion one size smaller. I also adjusted the strap placement.

 

   Last time I made it I sewed the buttons on the tabs but this time I decided to make it right and installed all the suggested buttons correctly. I'm glad I did because it seems to help with the fit. The second, smaller button behind the strap helps take some strain off the main button and keeps everything in place. Wow, those Colette Patterns people really know what they're doing, huh? Speaking of buttons, these particular ones took me a while to decide upon. I love them though, especially the little blue roses on the pockets!

   Do not be fooled by these pictures. It was not warm enough for me to be baring all. Only about 52 degrees F. But I'm all about faking it till you make it and in this case I'll just keep pretending it's warm enough to bare my pale ass legs in a dress and strappy wedges until it actually is. And when it is finally warm enough...I'll still be just as pale, but a little more freckled.

The Details:

Pattern: Colette Parfait 

Size Cut: Size 8

Fabric Used: Printed lightweight denim from Hancock Fabrics

Alterations Made: I messed with the strap placement but other than that, nothing major

 

The Verdict: You have not seen the last of this incredibly gorgeous, flattering pattern!

#sewingdares

  I'm sure you've heard of #sewingdares. All the cool kids are doing it. I hesitated joining in on the fun, afraid of being pushed out of my comfort zone. Then I thought, eh, why not? I sent my request tweet and within an hour, I had my very own dare.

 When Gillian dared me to make a knit top, I accepted having no idea how I was going to accomplish such a task. With no serger, and never having worked with knits, I was definitely being pushed out of my comfort zone. I hopped on the internet, did a bunch of research and purchased a bundle of goodies.

 I did start by making a knit top. A very boring black knit top that I struggled to put together with my sewing machine. I did it but I was so underwhelmed with the outcome, I couldn't bring myself to blog about it. I'm weird like that. When I taught myself how to knit, I refused to make a washcloth...or a scarf. I jumped on in and made a rib knit baby hat. I like to jump right into it, I get bored too easily. I'm all like, this is an okay top...hey look a squirrel!! 

 Still, I had sewn with knits! New possibilities were opening up in front of me!

 Now, this is where it gets good. The sewing community is a great one with many wondeful ladies...and every now and then someone brings up how wonderful the men behind these ladies are. Well, folks, my hubby can officially join the ranks of all the other awesome, supportive significant others. Seeing my enthusiasm for my dare, my husband came home one day with a big giant box that had in it my heart's desire....a serger! Ahhhhhh!! After properly thanking him I got to work on something that was a little more interesting than a plain 'ol shirt.

  That something was the Mission Maxi by Jamie Christina. I wouldn't say that the fact that the designer and I share the same name, spelled the same way, persuaded me to buy this pattern...but ya know, us Jamies (spelled with an IE) have to stick together!

 

 

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!! Oh serger, how I <3 you! Word of warning, people. There will be many more knit wardrobe items in my future....

The pattern was a cinch to put together and the instructions were thorough. I did have a little trouble with the neckline binding...I got confused with the directions. Once I figured it all out, though, it made so much sense and the armholes were easy to do. Thankfully the binding around the neck doesn't look bad. I chose not the hem the bottom, it just seemed pointless since this fabric doesn't even curl.

 

 

 The fit overall is pretty good. It is becoming very clear to me that I can not keep neglecting to perform a swayback adjustment. The fabric pooling above my rear is very apparent in this dress. Also, pattern matching was an overall success! I'm always so proud of myself when I can pull it off.

  I styled this dress as I've seen other people doing it, with some sort of jacket and a pair of boots with tights. Why had I not thougth of this before? Duh. I love when I can make a dress work for all seasons.

 

The Details:

Pattern: Mission Maxi by Jamie Christina

Fabric: Chevron knit from Hancock Fabrics

Size Cut: 12

Alterations to Pattern: None!

It was midely warm and sunny today. Not warm enough to be wearing this dress without the jacket but warm enough so I wasn't terribly uncomfortable. My kids came out to play while I was snapping pictures and my youngest, Romy, was a bit fussy and clingy so she joined in on the fun a couple of times. She's two and more stubborn than any of her sibling were before her. I choose my battles and in this case, I let her dress herself. Also, I did not cut her hair into a mullet.....she did. Never leave scissors where your 2 year old can reach them.

Verdict: Super comfy, kid friendly dress, that I will be making again. And hey, I conquered my #sewingdare!!

My Moss Mini

(sorry, my creative blog titles button is broken....)

 Lately I've felt my style shifting slightly. I mean, I still love long, wavy hair, girly, frilly dresses and all things vintage. I just find myself reaching for my band tshirts, jeans and boots and ya know... chopping my hair off. I want things with a little more edge. Maybe it's all the concerts I've been attending (I have 4 in the span of 3 weeks coming up!)....maybe it's an early midlife crisis.

 Whatever it may be, the Grainline Moss Mini has been calling to me. I took these pictures after wearing the skirt all day. Forgive the wrinkles.

 I sewed it up in a sz 10 in red cotton twill. Can I just say, I freaking love sewing with a nice sturdy cotton. There is something so satisfying about it.

 I had no major issues with construction other than the fact that the waistband was too short. Being a spaz, I assumed this was user error but HELLO, this appears not to be my fault. According to other blog reviews this is pattern error. So there! Not that I mind, mistakes happen and this particular one was easy enough to fix, I just pieced an extra 2 inches or so to the end of it. Still, good info for the next time around.

 And there will be a next time. Because the fit is shit and I so desperately want to get this right. There is so much potential!

 Here are the main issues; it's ok in the hips but gapes in the back waist. The waistband appears to just too straight for my shape. I have diagonal pull lines above my rear, below the yoke coming from my hips. And then there's the weird pouch of fabric under the waistband that I have in every.single.skirt. I'm really not sure what it is or how to get rid of it. I have theories...one is my swayback which may in fact be a tilted pelvis and the other is that I have full front thighs. Or maybe a bit of both? Whatever it is I need to figure out a fix because it's driving me insane.

  This pictures shows not only the fit issues but my figure flaws in all their glory. It was so hard for me to post. Here's the proof I've had 4 kids! HA! Ok, I'll admit that it really isn't this bad. This skirt paired with the shirt are majorly exaggerating my somewhat stretched out abs. Which is why I need to get the fit juuuust right.

 It's not all bad though. Look at the flat felled seams! And, HEY, that's my first ever fly zipper! You can see my enthusiasm, right?? Not to shabby, huh? I mean, not perfect but the fact that I didn't throw the skirt in the corner and run off crying while trying to install it must be a good thing.

 

So, there you have it. I will be making this pattern again. Any suggestions on the fit issues?

 

PS: I'm on bloglovin'; Follow me here, or by hitting one of the buttons in the sidebar.

 

 

And another sateen dress....

 

 Sometimes I just can't decide what to do with fabric. I buy it because I like it and then I can't commit to what I should make with it.

 SO, I have this grey sateen sitting in my stash (you may have noticed...or maybe you haven't, in which case I'm about to point it out... I have a slight obsession with sateen. ) for probably about 4 months and I have thought about making it into 6 or 7 different projects before I made a decision.

 

Ok...."decision" really isn't the right word here....what I did was similar to closing my eyes and picking out of a hat. I mean, I didn't close my eyes (and I didn't shove the patterns in a hat) but I did pull out all the contenders, put them in a pile, mixed it up and then just kind point at one. And Simplicity 2215 was the one my finger landed on.

 

  Before I could second guess my, um, decision, I pulled out all the pieces for view A , layed them out and cut. I cut quickly with no real plan. But as I cut, I started thinking of a plan, and my stash of notions. I had some black piping- not a lot- but enough to define the front. And buttons...oooo, BUTTONS. I totally copied Shannon and ran out to buy these after she posted hers on Instagram months ago. Sometimes it feels so good to be a follower.

 

 

 As I made it I felt pretty good, like maybe this was going to turn out pretty damn awesome. It couldn't just BE awesome, though. Because hello, my name is Jamie, and I make stupid mistakes. Like no thinking through using the fashion fabric as the bodice lining (too stiff!) and sewing the wrong side of the bodice on top. Seriously, this pattern is like cursed for me. Remember how badly I messed up the last time I made the skirt??

Oh well. The end product is comfy and pretty cute anyway. Although,  I do have some issues with the fit.

 I cut my normal sz 12 but the waist is a little large (and this is true of my skirt, also) but the bodice is a bit tight. Looking at the model on the packaging I actually think the waist is supposed to be kind of baggy but obviously I've got too much going on in the boobs to make the silhouette work. I ended up sewing only .5" SA on the side and it still pulls. Admittedly, it looks kind of funky but it could be my bra (I'm wearing the same push up style that I wore in my last post, I'll just keep blaming it).

Looking at these pics while editing them, I've decided the waist is weird. I'm thinking I'm going to bind the SA in bias tape and then hand stitch it to the bodice lining.

So, not a completely successful make but then again, not a total failure either. I think the style is cute and it'll be perfect for running around with my kids.

 I'd like to thank everyone who reached out to me about my Father-in-law's passing. It really means so much to me.

A Moment of Silence

4 weeks ago my husband's father started feeling ill.

3 weeks ago he was admitted into the hospital with pneumonia.

2 weeks ago we were told he was in the advanced stages of liver disease and that even if he did pull through the illness, he only had months to live.

12 days ago we were told he had hemorrhaged into his brain and was mostly brain dead.

11 days ago, in the early morning hours, we received a phone call that confirmed our worst fears... he had gone into cardiac arrest and died.

In loving memory of Pap
November 2, 1948- February 19, 2013

 It took 4 weeks for a strong, 64 year old man, husband, father of 3, grandfather of 10, to slip away from us. As hard as it was to see this person that has been a part of my life for the past 16 years leave us, it was even harder to see him leave my mother in law, my husband...and my children. Their pain has been all consuming. My father in law's death was too sudden and unexpected. We never actually believed he wouldn't walk out of that hospital, even as the neurologist sat across from us and told us he had little brain function. It was like a scene from a medical drama. Surreal and crushing. Tears, denial, and anger all in one room.

   I've never met a person like him. He was always busy, always working. He was proud of what he could create with his two hands and he was good at it. He loved his grandchildren with all his heart but he loved his wife even more. He gave her everything. He was my mother in law's best friend. Her life. They would have been married 37 years this month. At his memorial this past Wednesday we struggled to deal with the fact that he was gone. My 4 year old asked me when God was going to be done fixing Pap and was concerned with Pap's transportation from Heaven back to Earth ("He can't jump, it's too high!"). My girls cried that they missed him. My oldest has found some small comfort in his spirituality, proving to be much more mature than the adults around him ("I'm not sad for Pap, he's with Jesus. I'm sad for us because we can't see him anymore.") He will be greatly missed and we may not ever adjust to life without him.

 

*****************

 And now I'm going to write a post about my dress, because this is a sewing blog. It seems weird to transition from what I just wrote to smiling pictures of me wearing a pretty dress, but after all the saddness it was nice to pretend for a little that everything was ok.

 The dress code for Pap's funeral was casual. He was a simple man. I needed something to keep me busy in the days after his passing and so I decided that my girls and I needed black dresses.

 I concentrated on finishing the girls' dresses first (a post on those coming soon) and so when I was finished with theirs, I had one day and 4 yards of black cotton sateen to make mine. I poured through my patterns trying to find something that was fairly simple with a minimal amount of pattern pieces. My daughters' asked that I have a bow on my dress to match theirs.

I finally decided on Simplicity 2444.

 

 

I cut a straight sz 12- my normal size for Simplicity patterns. The dress came together quickly and easily. The only modifications I made were to cut the ties on the straight grain instead of the suggest bias- to save yardage. I also inserted a regular zipper instead of a lapped.

Despite the tragic circumstances surrounded the creation of this dress, when I got dressed up to photograph it today, I decided that I love it. This pattern is a dream. The pleats, the bow tie, the bodice darts (which are hard to see on this black dress but trust me, are amazing!).

I wore a different bra when fitting this dress but when I took pictures today I forgot and wore my usual one. The difference is significant, making my bust appear much fuller and pulling at the neck. When I'm wearing my other undergarments there is no pulling.

 

I have a couple of FOs photographed and ready to go, so I'll talk soon! <3