dirty little secrets

We've all got our own little secrets, right? Things we're not necessarily proud of? I'm not talking about that time I got caught cheating on a science test in 6th grade (though I'm still pretty ashamed of that) or the fact that despite the persistent arguing from my rational self I am still watching the t.v. show Smash. And enjoying it...

No, I'm talking about our sewing secrets. Things we do (or don't do) that we wouldn't necessarily holler from the rooftops about. Well I'm here today to share one of mine:

I, Sallie Oleta, use glue to hold things in place when I sew.

I can't be the only person that does this, right? Right...?!? I mean, it's kind of genius, if I do say so myself. One of my favorite places to use glue is on patch pockets. It makes everything so  much easier! Rather than pressing all your edges in 1/4 of an inch and praying to Lady McCall the Goddess of Home Sewing that everything stays put while you tentatively edgestitch it in place (a nerve wracking experience in itself) I just swipe a bit of fabric glue along those turned in edges to hold them down and then dab a bit more glue on the corners of the pocket to tack it in place on the body of the garment I'm sewing. It's sticky enough to stay where I put it, but not so permanent that I can't peel it up and reposition it if need be.

I used glue when I sewed my jeans, and my husbands shirt, and I'm using it now as I work on my silk habotai shirt. I often say that sewing with silk habotai is like sewing with butterfly wings. And I'm not trying to be poetic. Seriously, the stuff has no weight and it flutters and shimmies around if you even sniff at it. This can make cutting it and sewing with it a bit of a hair-raising experience - not to mention trying to sew precise seams. Pinning it is useless because the pins are too heavy for it. Therefore - I glue. Don't judge me!! 

Please note, if you decide, like me, that this idea is pretty damn genius (and not crazy and sacrilegious) you shouldn't just grab for your nearest squeezy bottle of Elmers and go to town. They make glue sticks that are specifically for this purpose. The glue doesn't gunk up your needle (if used within reason) and it washes out. So no harm, no foul if you get a bit overzealous. Glue away, fools, glue away.

On another note - I've been happily plugging away on my shirt this weekend, but the action got stalled when I got ready to sew on my interfaced pieces.  After a bit of consideration I decided to interface my collar, collar stand, button placket and cuffs with cotton batiste because I like the sort of soft drape it gave. However I noticed (after painstakingly hand basting all my pieces together, of course) that the batiste made my fashion fabric brighter than the non-interfaced pieces. A mistake I should have been able to predict and avoid, but I think I ignored my senses and plowed ahead because I wanted to use what I had at hand. Now I'm wondering if the brightness issue will bother me too much and if I should just suck it up and buy some silk organza and go the traditional route. Or something fusible...

On the other hand, after looking at these pictures I wonder if I'm just being crazy...?

Mister Muscles was no help. What do you guys think? Plow ahead with the batiste, or go some other route? And what dirty little sewing secrets do you have?

xx

lets make this official

okay. i've been meaning to do this for awhile but i've had trouble getting my butt in gear. i found it pretty helpful to make a plan when i started sewing for fall - even though, in the end, i didn't really stick to that plan too well (ahem.) but regardless of my fickleness and the fact that i grossly overestimated my sewing productivity (ahem!) i still think its helpful to make a plan, make it public, and try and stick by it as much as possible. having a plan helps me buy fabric and budget my time. and this time i majorly scaled back what i want to sew so i don't overwhelm myself and feel like a failure because i didn't reach my goals (who me?!).

so here you have it - my official "to sew" list for spring 2012:

i'm pretty proud to say that i've already made some good headway on this one. i decided to draft the pattern myself because i couldn't find one exactly like what i had in mind. fast forward 5 muslins and countless sleeve drafts later and i now have something i'm pretty happy with! i think i'm ready to cut into my leather (might even take that fun little task on tonight) and do some practice sewing on some leather scraps just to get a feel for it. i also wrote myself out some sewing instructions. does anyone else do this? i find it supremely helpful when i decide to "wing" a garment - writing it out makes my brain think through the construction and i'm able to catch mistakes before i make them! (most of the time).

march is my birthday month! woohoo! this year i'll actually be attending the wedding of some dear, beautiful people my birthday weekend so i wanted something that i could wear to the wedding, and also something a little special as a present to myself! we have a few weddings coming up, so i'm hoping this dress will be my "go-to" spring/summer special occasion dress. it'll be nice to give my bombshell dress a break, which was my fall/winter special occasion "go-to". i bought this rachel comey for vogue pattern back in the fall and i was waiting to make it until i found the perfect fabric. i always envisioned it in a floral print, but none really tickled my fancy - that is until i came across this silk print on tessuti and had to wipe the drool off my keyboard! it'll be a bit loud, but i think the dress can handle it. one of my goals this spring is to incorporate more prints so... here we go!

p.s. did ya'll see this lady's version of this dress? she said she had a hard time with it, but hot damn! girl looks good...

another rachel comey pattern! i wasn't lying when i said i practically bought them all! these patterns have been languishing in my drawer for too long (a whole 6 months!?!? told you i'm not much of a hoarder...) and they're far too pretty to just look at. i think for this pattern, and the dress pattern above, a muslin will be key. they seem like the sort of garments that could turn ugly real fast if they don't fit you just so. i plan to make this one out of another pretty tessuti silk print. the print is abstract and washy and the colors are just soo summery! it'll be a pretty sheer top, but that doesn't really bother me (give me a nude bra and i'm good to go - modesty was never my forte!)

and thats it!! is that too stingy of a sewing list?? lets just say these are my priorities. i've also been knocking a couple other ideas around in the back of my mind as well...

we'll call these the icing on the cake! i've wanted a white silk blouse for... about ever! haha! i've waffled back and forth between "buy it/make it" so many times i've lost count. so here it is - it officially made a "to make" list! a think a bright punchy pink chiffon midi skirt would be the most wonderful garment to sail into summer with! plus, i plan on making a simple gathered drindl skirt which will be my project for when i've burnt myself out on all this pattern drafting. and the pale pink jeans? what can i say... i've got an itch to jump on the colored-jeans-trend-bandwagon! unfortunately i seem to be obnoxiously picky about the color and can't seem to find a fabric that satisfies me so i'm thinking maybe i have to dye some white denim? blech. that doesn't sound fun. lets just say this one is a bit low on the priorities!!

well, my lovelies, there you have it! written in stone! in playdough stone. in extremely malleable stone... i feel like i can handle this list. although to be honest, i plan on doing the bulk of this sewing this month...gah! march 8th?!?! better get to it!

xx

on slowness

it is no secret that i am a rather slow paced person. early on when we were dating, my husband would call me ( in all lovingness, i'm sure) "tortuga sal". i talk slow, i eat slow, and i walk slow (though i prefer to think of it as sauntering or sashaying). i'd rather walk than run, sit rather than walk, and lay down rather than sit. some people call this "lazy" - i just call this "taking my time".

but what i've never understood is why this is such a bad thing? whats the big deal with speed? in sewing, there are certain moments that require us to slow down - to take our time and focus on the details. these are the moments that i relish. i love hand sewing. its an incredible treat for me to sit down with some music or (i'll be honest) a trashy tv show, a needle and thread and just focus on making even stitches.

slowness seems to be a bit of a "thing" nowadays. there's the "slow food movement" and i've even heard the term "slow fashion" being thrown around. i came to sewing through my love of fashion - or as i think of it - my passion for shmashion - a passion for well made, beautiful fitting, detail oriented clothes that well exceeds my wallet - but not my ability. i've never considered that making my own clothes could be a political act - a turn away from fast consumerism. because for me - slow is just how i go.

i get a bit of extra time off this week for the thanksgiving holiday here in the states. you can bet i will be filling it as much as possible doing the above - lovingly working my hand stitches as i tailor the jacket i'm working on - at a snails pace.

if you celebrate thanksgiving - i wish you a lovely holiday.

and guys - slow down.

xx