Fall for Cotton (and a bit of rayon too)

I had big plans for the Fall for Cotton sew along but I only got one project done and it was the most simple! I do have two more started so maybe October will be a better month for cotton.

Tada! Gray corduroy skirt circa 1940!

The blouse is also me-made and making it's blog debut today.

Fabric: cotton corduroy (skirt) and red rayon (blouse)
Pattern: DuBarry 5909
Year: c. 1940
Notions: Buttons, gray zip
First worn: September '13
Wear again: Yes! I've worn the blouse loads already and the grey skirt is a great early 40s shape and a perfect basic.

The blouse fabric was a lucky LA garment district find that just screams 1940s! Eeep! I do have a small amount of yardage left that I'm hoarding for a contrast/color block project down the road. The print is too perfect not to keep.

I was also in quite a 40s mood and decide the night before that I just had to see if I could eek out a set of Victory Rolls from my short hair and growing out bangs.

Success! I'm planning a youtube tutorial for this sometime in October since I used a different technique. It worked great!

This project really made me eager to get back into some 40s styles! They really are so practical and use much less fabric. I love my 50s but sometimes they are just too much fuss.

Photos courtesy of Will Thorpe Intelligent Design

Sew Bossy

A while back, Paige of Lux Per Diem asked if I would join up with her for a Sew Bossy challenge! And I said yes! Sew Bossy is the brain child of Oona of Oonaballoona and Heather Lou from Closet Case Files. In short, you get to plan a sewing project for another seamstress, sending them the pattern, fabric and notions that they have to sew up.

Paige sent me McCall's 6696, a darling shirtwaist dress pattern. (To see what I sent her, go here.)

And here's my version:

I just adore shirtwaist dresses! So classic! This pattern came with separate pieces for A, B, C, and D cup sizes and I decided to give it a whirl without an FBA. And it came out great!

I have to admit that I was a bit nervous before I started. It's been so long since I've sewn with a Big 4 pattern that I really had to pay attention and think through sizing again.

It turned out quite nicely though. I just adore that this dress has pockets! I also love wearing this dress with a belt to help break up the print a bit.

Today I went for a retro casual look rather than full on vintage. This dress is great for walking on either side of that line.

Thanks, Paige, for being Sew Bossy!

A Nice Anise

My Anise jacket is finished! And I've been wearing it loads!

Fabric: burgundy wool ($5/yd), black fleece backed satin for lining ($5/yd)Pattern: Colette Pattern's AniseYear: contemporaryNotions: buttons ($12)First worn: October 2012Wear again? Yes, yes yes and yes! I've worn this jacket loads since I made it. I'm so happy with how this came out. It's warmer than I expected and so cute! It fits really well and the only thing I'd change about it would be to lengthen the sleeves about 1/2". 

I put in a lot of work on this project and just relaxed and had fun with it rather than being stressed about meeting the sew along dead line. I finished less than a week behind the last sew along post so I count myself on time!

I paired it with a grey me made dress (to be blogged soon!) and my black Mary Janes.

I was able to get a few quick snapshots at church. The weather has been gray and damp lately so I didn't have a chance to get super nice pictures.

But this cute kitty posed with me so I know you'll forgive the less than stellar quality of the photos.

Anise Muslin 1

You may have spied a new button in my side bar:

I'm participating in the Colette Pattern's Anise Sew-Along. For my first muslin I cut a size 6, did a 1/2" FBA and took 1/2 off each side seam at the waist for a bit more shaping.

Muslin #1 over a sweater. So far I know that the shoulders are too wide. I'm going to try a real narrow should adjustment instead of just lopping some off! It's a bit tight in the chest so I'm going to do a slightly larger FBA even though I don't usually do such a large FBA.

The side-looking pretty good except for some back wrinkles.

More back wrinkles. Not sure what to do about those. Swayback adjustment???

Dressing Downton: Corsets

Interested in sewing a corset for your Dressing Downton projects? Check out Bridges on the Body's 1911 Corset Sew Along. I wasn't planning on sewing a corset but I may just have to now!

Dressing Downton Sew-Along

Hello blog! It feels like I have been gone so long! School has gotten to that part of the semester where it's craziness. I was going to keep this project under wraps until after finals were over, but I think I need some more excitement to get me through it. So, without further ado, I present Dressing Downton.

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Dressing Downton

If you've been following my blog for even a little bit, you probably have some inkling of my Downton Abbey obsession. (If not, do see here, here, and here.) With gorgeous costumes, a fabulous plot and a fabulous old English house that serves as a backdrop, what's not to love? I don't think I'd even heard of of Edwardian anything before this show but now I'm head over heals.

I've been wanting start sewing Edwardian garments for a while now and have been spending entirely too much time trolling the net for pictures of the costumes from Downton Abbey. Surprisingly, there are some beauties that I've not been able to find at all! Out of these two desires, the idea for Dressing Downton was born.

Dressing Downton has two goals. The first is to sew up all of those beautiful costumes! Secondly, I want to create a library of all of the outfits from the show so there's a resource for all of us who want to replicate them. And I'm inviting all of you to join in!

Here's how you can participate.

1) Grab one of these snazy buttons to put on your blog.

<a border="0" href="http://star-spangledheart.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6036/6336376624_cd5918f190_m.jpg" /></a>

<a border="0" href="http://star-spangledheart.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6230/6335619857_bf5c33b3c8_m.jpg" /></a>

<a border="0" href="http://star-spangledheart.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6092/6335619593_16ed7d0c35_m.jpg" /></a>

2) Sew your own Downton Abbey inspired projects. Feel free to be as historically accurate or not as you'd like. I'm going to focus on replicating pieces from the show but adapting them to work in everyday life. I've come up with three basic categories for sewing projects.

• Straight from the Show- Your best attempt at replicating pieces from the show.
• Raid their Closet- Create a piece that you think could easily be found in the closet of a character from Downton Abbey but just didn't make it on camera.
  
• Get Inspired- Have a more modern style? Feel free to get inspired by a character, a textile or anything else from the show and make a more modern piece.

3) Provide pictures to help build the costume library. I have a whole stash of pictures on my computer already but I'll definitely be needing your help finding some and taking screen shots.

4) Join the flickr group even if you just want to be a spectator.

Here's a sneak peak of my upcoming projects.

These are some of the pieces that are on the top of my to sew list! Also check out my two Downton Abbey inspired color palettes here and here.

I plan on using Colette Pattern's Sorbetto as a basic blouse base but I also picked up these two Sense and Sensibility patterns which arrived in the mail today!

Feel free to email me with any questions! If you'd like to participate, let me know and I can add you to the blog list!

CSSA: Teal + Atoms

After one failed embellishment idea, a mini freak out and a lot of embroidery, I finally have a circle skirt to show you! (I actually haven't finished embroidering the back but I'm going out of town this weekend and I needed to take photos today while I had time.)

I decided on a boarder print embroidery in white. I was inspired by the atomic designs popular in the 50s. I'm also a chemist and that really pushed me towards doing an actual atomic symbol rather than the atomic style patterns you'd find on dishware.

Originally, I'd chosen a pink and green color palette inspired by some 50s style atomic print fabric I found at Jo-Ann's, but ended up going with white so this skirt could really go with everything. And I'm really glad I did because I love it!

This circle skirt is a bit longer than the last two I've made and I really love the length. It's going to be a really great fall and winter piece, but it's not too heavy that I can't wear it in the spring and even into early summer.

Today's color scheme was inspired by this lovely teal hat that I bought from the same store as the pink feather one. I wore this out to dinner and to Walmart. I was a bit nervous because it's been a long time since I've been out this vintage anywhere except church (where I have gobs of supportive people to tell me I look great). I realized that there are really a lot stranger (and worse) dressed people at Walmart.

Swing Dress Sew-along Finished!

Yay! I finished my swing dress! The pattern itself wasn't terribly difficult (once you get the shoulder bit down) but I had a lot of weird things happen. It's done now and I can breathe a sigh of relief. And enjoy my new dress!

It was pretty windy out today but it was so nice that I couldn't resist getting pictures done outside. (And I'm sure you're tired of seeing my messy living room and kitchen in the back ground.

Ah haha! Those dratted shoulders look so nice! I used a snap for closure (as my head wouldn't fit when sewn shut!)

I also added pockets!

This wasn't one of my favorite patterns. It didn't end up being super flattering to my figure. Some weird things popped up that didn't appear in the muslin. There is some awkwardness where the top meets the waist band. There is extra fabric that hangs awkwardly under the chest. (Anyone have thoughts on how to fix this??? I'm half tempted to take out the zipper and reattach the top and bottom to make it go away......) The waist band also hits me a bit oddly as I have a bit of tummy that pokes out underneath it. It is also a bit difficult to get the waist section over my chest. I think I need a longer zipper to help with that. My fabric is a bit sheerer than I thought and I'll definitely need a slip under it!

I did have great success in removing sleeve ease and using the shoulder pads. My shoulders are narrow and slope down a lot at the end, so the shoulder pads give me a normal shoulder silhouette. No linebacker shoulders here! The pocket's were also a great success! I did two inserted pockets! They are a bit low but I wanted to put them below the zipper.

So, next go around I'll have to do a better muslin fitting!

Swing Dress Sew-along Progress

I am a bit behind on the Swing Dress, but that's ok. Here's what I got finished this weekend:

The back of the dress is attached!

Pocket under construction!

Hmmm.... my poor dress looks a bit sad on the hanger. I got supplies to make a duct tape dress form, but have yet to get around to it. Must get on that.

I have one more panel to attach to the front of the skirt and then I can attach it to the dress. Overall, the project is going very well. Working with the fabric has made me realize that it's a lot thinner than I thought it was... I think I should have underlined it. Guess I can always get a slip.

The reason I am behind on the sew-along is because I worked furiously over the weekend on my secret project. Alas, I ran out of the color thread I was using. This project has a lot of decorative stitching. Nothing too complicated, but it does go through a lot of thread. I was hoping to have it finished for Monday night's dinner out with the in-laws. Oh, well.

Here's sneak peak #2.


I'm hoping to have another youtube video up by the end of the week. (But I also have a paper to write....) I've also been doing some of the administrative paperwork type stuff to get my etsy shop set up. Hopefully that will be up soon as well!

Swing Dress Sew-along and what else I've been up to

Here is my swing dress so far:

I just adore this fabric! I decided to go for a contrasting waistband and ties to mimic a sash.

Top stitching! I'm not usually too good at this, but I've been practicing.

Wednesday, I went over to my friend Amy's house and we dug into her crafting gooddies and got crafting. I made two headbands, two hair clips and one broach. She had a lovely collection of ribbons and vintage buttons.

I also got a new toy last week!

Yup, it's an iPhone. :) I love my technology.

I also picked up this stylish plaid case for it. I figure if it gets too dirty, I can always recover it with some other fabric.

And here's a sneak peak of a project I've been up too. I hope to get it finished soon!

Looks yummy, doesn't it?

I also did a bit of shopping and should have some goodies to show you as soon as they arrive in the mail. :D

Have you been sewing or crafting or thrifting lately?