Miz Sazzypantz

   The name of this pattern kind of makes me laugh....Miz Mozelle. Miz. Three snaps in a "Z" formation. I feel sassy when I say the name of the pattern. Or should I say... sazzy? I imagine conversations I could have with people.

 Random Fantasy Stranger, "Oh hey, girlfriend. Great dress! I know you made that, yeah?"

 Fantasy Me, looking fabulous, "Heeeey, Random Fantasty Stranger who knows all about my sewing prowess, yes, I did make this! Isn't it the bomb? I used the Miz Mozelle pattern. That's right. So sazzy, all "s"s have been replaced with "z"s. Phat."

  Oh, I crack myself up. Mind you, I'm not making fun of the name. I love it. Anyhoo, as you have gathered, this is Miz Mozelle, another pattern from Jamie Christina. This pattern has been on my radar since I first picked up needle and thread. I fell in love with this picture.

  I think this represents my style, or the way I want my style to come across. Down to the pale skin, red hair and tattoo. Retro with a bit of punk?

  I held out buying the pattern because the keyhole neckline kind of scared me off, but I finally bit the bullet and purchased it after my Mission Maxi was such a success.

 I used this knit jersey I purchased at Girl Charlee. It is extrememly lightweight but probably the softest thing ever. My daughter wrapped herself in it and it took some coaxing (ie: cookies) to get her out of it. The only downsides of working with it was that it rolled like a bitch. Because that's what bitches do, right? Roll? Ha.

 I sewed the body of the dress using my serger and the collar construction was done with my brand new BFF. Which handled the lightweight jersey like a dream, FYI.

 I cut a size 8, because I didn't want there to be too much ease. Next time I go back up to a size 10.

        

  And oh, I need to remember to get pics of my side seams next time I sew a pattern because even though you can't tell from the pictures, there are parts where the pattern is matched so perfectly, you can't even see a seam in the side. Cue the Macarena, cabbage patch, running man, raising the roof and all those other old school dances that make me offically old for remembering. Uncool, too.

  Oh, and about that keyhole? I was right to be afraid of it. The keyhole is shit. Seriously, I effed that up so badly. It's stretched out and gross. But whatever. I'm still a beginner with knits and it was a learning experience for sure. Plus, it's not unwearable. Is it? Oh damn, don't answer that.

The Details

Pattern: Miz Mozelle by Jamie Christina

Fabric: Knit Jersey purchased from Girl Charlee

Size Cut: 8

Alterations Made: None

My children are often joining me for these photo shoots. I have to entertain them somehow...

....and it works :)

 The Verdict: Despite the botched keyhole, I love this dress. I feel like I'm walking around wrapped up in the  most comfy sheets every. I also plan on making this again. I'm going to try it out in a woven and also adapting it into a maxi dress.

Me Made May and other news...

 'I, Jamie of Such a Strange Girl, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavour to wear me-made-garments at least 3 times a week and every time I leave the house for the duration of May 2013'

  When I very first started sewing, me-made-May was a goal from the beginning. The thought of having enough clothes to wear for an entire month was exciting and daunting! Over the past year I feel like I have sewn enough articles of clothing to participate, even if not to the fullest extent. As you can see I geared my pledge to my predicament as a Stay at Home Mom. I'm home most days, I probably get out of the house about 3 times a week. I haven't sewn much "lounge wear" yet and I don't see the point in wearing a pretty dress or skirt to scrub the floors. I have a couple of tops that can be worn around the house, which I will try to get full use of, but I want to challenge myself to always wear me-made clothing when I am out in public., which I don't already do. I'm very excited about this. I plan to post weekly wrap ups showcasing what I put together.

 In other news, while putting together my Mad Men challenge dress, it became apparent that my sewing machine was not functioning to it's full ability. And it's full ability isn't much, considering I was sewing on a $125 Brother that I purchased at WalMart years ago. It probably needs a tune up but I wondered if it was even worth it. I don't want to knock it too much, though. It's served me well, very user friendly and functional. I would recommend it for any beginning seamstress. Still it was time for something more. I did a bunch of research and had my heart set on a Bernina. I found a dealer in my area, an adorable little shop in the nearby town of Culpeper, Va by the name of 145 Art & Design Studio.

Iphone shot of 145 Art & Design as they packed up my machine

 The staff was so very sweet and helpful. I was greeted warmly right when I walked into the shop and treated with kindness during my entire visit. They walked me through all the different features of the various models and even let me test out the machines. They offer many different classes and clubs. I recommend checking them out if you happen to be in the area. About 45 minutes after I walked in, I walked out with a brand new Bernina 350PE. 

I am in love. I have yet to sew a full garment on her, just some hemming and understitching here and there, but I can already tell I have upped my game.

 While talking to 145 Art & Design's staff I discovered that just a couple of store fronts down is a newly opened store, Exquisite Fabrics, formally located in Georgetown. How have I missed this? A real fabric store!? I didn't have time...or money...to check it out but I am assured it is phenomenal. I can not wait to go back and shop.

 I'm moving next month and our new place has enough space for me to have a whole sewing room to myself. What am I going to do when I'm not sewing at the dining room table? I anticipate being much more productive. 

Just call me Mrs. Draper

So, here she is! My finished Mad Men Challenge dress. If you read my post, or follow me on Instagram (everfive), it's probably obvious to you which dress I decided to replicate, but in case you missed it, here was my inspiration. I hear most people say that now that the show is moving into the late sixties, they don't enjoy the fashions as much. I am so different, I LOVE the styles! The makeup, hair, clothes... I die.

I know that I may be in the minority, but I don't hate Megan. She's not perfect, but is anyone on that show? I was hoping she'd be good for Don...and maybe she still will be. As for Don, I can't help it. He's an asshole and obviously a horrible husband but I adore him. I mean, that man has issues but he came by them honestly. And he's so dreamy. Oh, and if you saw the episode last week, then you know what I mean when I say, "Go TRUDY!!"

Now, onto the dress. Once I picked which dress I was going to replicate, I immediately started looking for a pattern for a decent shift dress. I studied these pictures like my life depended on it. I needed a shift with back shaping that would not flare out at the bottom. When Colette Patterns released Laurel, I knew I found what I needed.

 For the fabric, it was obvious I needed something with some weight to it. I went to the fabric store to compare fabrics and decided on this cream gabardine. I also purchased olive green gabardine and coral linen, since it was the closest I could find in the color I needed. I ended up trading out the green gabardine for some scraps I had left over from this skirt since the color was a better match. It's a stretch cotton sateen, but I sewed it wrong side out (to eliminate sheen).

  Once I had all that in my greedy little hands, I started experimenting. I traced off a smaller size than I normally wear because I knew I needed less ease than the original pattern was designed for. I sewed together quite a few muslins trying to test my colorblocking. There was a lot of cursing, I won't lie.

 The bust darts were proving a problem and I made a decision to convert them to french darts. In the back, I had to chop through the top of the back darts for the bottom stripe of coral. I just closed up the dart in the stripe and redrew the dart starting a little lower and ending a little lower. This worked out really well. The whole dress is lined in a coral satin that I'm going to admit I purchased mainly for the color. I had planned on inserting a back zip, but the thought of fiddling with all those stripes to match scared me off. The dress slips over my head just fine, so I took the easy way out and eliminated it.

I went with a more military style button. I could have chosen the round gold ones that Megan's original dress has but I really hate gold and I was hoping the military ones would make it less dated. They weren't the best buttons to pick because of the shank, but I still like the look.

So, I'm pretty proud of this. This was my first time attempting colorblocking and I feel I was pretty successful. It's not perfect. I won't point out specifically what bothers me, except to say my french darts aren't perfectly executed and pressed.

The Details

Pattern: Colette Laurel

Size Cut: between a Sz 6 and Sz 8

Fabric Used: Cream Poly Gabardine, Olive green cotton sateen, Coral Linen

Alterations: I sliced up the top to colorblock it, I also converted the bust darts to french darts. Eliminated the zip and sleeves, fully lined dress.

 This project has absorbed most of my creative thoughts for the past two months. I had so much fun making this dress, I almost don't know what to do with myself now that it's all finished!  Actually, I know exactly what I'll be doing with myself...Me Made May :)