Who wore it better?

Posted: July 16, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Dresses, New Look, wedding | Tags: , | 20 Comments

That’s right people, the days of little Paris Hilton purse size chihuahuas is over. The new hot celebrity pet is the chicken! Case in point Tori Spelling’s white silkie bantum Coco (she must have a good stylist!) and my own fuzzy chicken Jamal. Now that I have jumped on the exotic pet bandwagon, the question stands… wore it better?? er carried it better.

While you all ponder that deep question, I will show off my newest dress from New Look 6802. This pattern has been around for a while but I thought it would be perfectly suited for this paint splatter material. This material is from Joann’s, and I have seen probably 5 people make up dresses with it in the last couple years (Joann’s clearly changes their stock frequently… not!) but I have always drooled over it so when I saw the bolt show up at Joann’s I immediately snatched it up! I thought that the twist front would break up the paint splatter pattern nicely, and it looks a lot like the new Burda twist front dress but less expensive 🙂

This was an easy dress to throw together, obviously the most challenging part was the twist front but that was a piece of cake with the easy instructions. It was fun to make the gathers and try something different. The dress itself is super comfy, you just pull it on and go. The neckline is low but I am not shy about showing off some cleave so I didn’t take it up too much! I wore this o our friend’s outdoor wedding last night, it was easy to move around and dance in and had extra give for the delicious BBQ they served! hee hee

Until later my friends, gotta go make Jamal some vintage outfits!

I heart Colette Ginger

Posted: July 9, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Colette Patterns, denim, Skirts, Uncategorized | Tags: | 21 Comments

My copy of the Colette Ginger skirt FINALLY arrived last week and I immediately got out my scissors and started cutting! Super excited! I wanted to make the second version with the country-esque waist line in a dark denim. I love denim skirts but my favorite one is so worn that a hole has started growing in the rear. Not a good look, time to upgrade! I really wanted this one to be a cowgirl skirt, which really motivates me to find some awesome cowgirl boots to wear with it. That will be another endeavor…

Funny enough yesterday I read fellow blogger Kim’s post about adjusting an existing pattern to mimic the waistband effect of the ginger skirt. Her’s turned out super cute, AND it had pockets! The ginger skirt doesn’t include pockets but I really felt that these were needed especially in a jean skirt. I have seen this tutorial that other bloggers (like Lauren’s awesome version) have used to make scalloped pockets and I just loved the look of it so much that I followed the directions step by step and shamefully copied her design. Whatever, copying is the sincerest form of flattery!

To start I needed to draft my pockets. I didn’t have any tracing paper or fancy transfer paper so I went into the cupboards to see what I could make do with. What did I find? Parchment paper! Honestly this is probably the first time it has seen the sunlight outside our cabinet in a looong time, cuz this sista don’t bake!

I traced the outer edge of my front skirt pattern piece and drew in my seam allowance.

Next, I drew the scallops for the pockets. I tried to measure these out proportionately with the tutorial since hers were so symmetrical.

Then I drew in my pocket depth. I made my pockets pretty deep, you know- for all my money honey 😉

Next I used another piece of parchement paper and copied the outline of the pocket but extended the upper corner to make a big rectangle, this is the hip piece.

Then using anther sheet of paper I traced the pocket piece to make the facings.

And that’s it, just two extra pattern pieces to cut out. I followed the rest of the tutorial which was very clear and easy to follow. The only other change I made to the skirt was narrowing the hemline about 2 inches because I have a short waist. I also used a jeans zipper instead of an invisible one, I think the metal looks cool exposed.

 

I LOOOVE this skirt, I am already anticipating another one. The ginger skirt population in my closet could soon get very out of hand!

 

 

 

 

Colette Iris shorts for one HOT July

Posted: July 5, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: buttons, Colette Patterns, linen | 17 Comments

Happy 4th of July Yall! Man it is hot, I drove by the big time/thermometer that flashes outside our neighborhood the other day and I kid you not it read 106 degrees! That just ain’t right. Our chicken’s eggs will fry on the way out their butts! They have been broadcasting extreme heat warnings on the local stations and while I appreciate their concern I have say no sh#@ sherlock, just walk outside! Weather of these temperatures require lots of AC and smaller clothing, in which I will now present my take on the new Colette Iris shorts.

I made these in gray linene that I found at good old Joann’s, hence why they are wrinkly as a rhino’s tookus. I actually ironed them right before putting them on, but I guess that’s the name of the game. They ended up slightly baggy however I am pretty happy with them. I am not really a short coochie cutter tight shorts kind of girl, I prefer them a bit more modest and comfortable these days.

I read the reviews that people have written on these so far and many people said how quickly they came together. I didn’t  really find that to be the case with these, however I did spread them out over a few nights so my total sewing time may be skewed in my mind. The directs were easy to follow as most colette patterns have been for me so far. I am getting a lot better with invisible zipper even though I don’t have an invisible zipper foot. (I did go order one on Amazon this week though for like $12, why not?) I love the pockets and I really like the button detail, I think they would’ve been rather plain without them, however mine are in a blah gray where a bright color would pop fine without buttons. I just really wanted to go with a neutral so that I could wear them a lot.

Everything was smooth sailing until the facings came into play. I decided to forgo the interfacing and just do a self line because I didn’t want them to be all stiff. They are shorts afterall! For some reason my facing was a hair too short and I couldn’t quite get it to reach all the way to the zipper so I had to stretch it a bit- the top corner ended up getting funky. It also threw off my side seam and they don’t quite line up. I guess its not a big deal because I don’t generally tuck shirts into my shorts, the mess ups will stay hidden 😉

Instead of hand tacking the facing down (I HATE hand tacking) I just top stitched right over the seam. My thread blended in really well so you can’t even see it, and once again my shirt covers it anyhow. The leg holes were reeeeally big and I ended up taking them in about an inch at the crotch area before I hemmed them. Overall I am pretty happy with these, I wore them out to the bar with my friends and nobody asked if I made them, which to me is always a good sign that they look well made!

Maddie assisted in the construction of these, but only because I had the AC cranked up. Ain’t she sweet?