just call me crazy culottes

Hey guys! Well, I know I said I wasn't going to apologize anymore for being a bad blogger, but here I am, feeling like a bad blogger and like an apology is in order.  For everyone interested in that Minoru tutorial I swear it's coming! I didn't mean to go AWOL on you this past month, but work got busy and so forth and so on... you know the jig. But I haven't forgotten about you!

In the meantime, here's a crazy new outfit to distract you from my bad blogger ways! Look! Pattern mixing!! *runs in the opposite direction*

This outfit is my contribution to this month's Mood Sewing Network.  The top uses this Ralph Lauren Dazzling Blue/White Striped Viscose Jersey, and the bottoms are this Famous Designer Navy Geometric Cotton Woven.  Fun fact: the mysterious 'famous designer' is none other than Anna Sui, according to the print on the selvedge of this fabric which read "Anna Sui 2012".  I did my best to search Anna Sui's 2012 collections to see if I could spot the fabric anywhere, but no joy.  Perhaps it was used for a garment that went straight to stores? Your guess is as good as mine. But anyway! I've got Ralph Lauren and Anna Sui all in one outfit! Not too shabby for a nondescript Tuesday/Workday!

I actually picked up both of these fabrics with zero idea of what to do with them.  I just thought the blue and white striped jersey seemed like a handy fabric to have on hand, and the print and texture of the cotton looked interesting, and I try to make it my policy, when funds allow, to grab fabrics that look interesting regardless of their practicality.  Generally speaking, however, I'm more of a "buy your fabric with your project in mind" kind of gal.  So this was kind of an anomaly that I went for two fabrics with no intended use in one order. Although it may also have been serendipity, because after my fabrics arrived (and after the standard time allotted for "oohing" and "ahhing" and petting and draping around my torso in front of a mirror that goes into every new fabric acquisition) I carefully folded each yardage and set them on top of my grotesquely disorganized fabric pile, one on top of the other. And it was like lightening struck my brain! Seeing the two of them like that, right next to one another, made me realize that they were meant to be worn together as an outfit.  More specifically, as this outfit, the image of which almost simultaneously came to me at that moment as well. Now if that doesn't sound like divine intervention from the Sewing gods than I don't know what does!

I knew I had to make these two garments, if only to get the outfit out of my head and into reality! The shirt was first.  I used Grainline’s Hemlock Tee – a free, one-size, 3/4 length sleeve, slouchy top pattern.  This came together in no time at all. The Hemlock Tee is a great pattern for a casual top.  I didn't really follow the instructions on the Grainline blog, but just put it together the way I normally do knit tops. To match the stripes I just put a pin in every blue stripe.  It makes for a lot of pins to remove while I’m sewing, but it also ensures that everything is lined up perfectly.

The blue and white viscose jersey was super easy to work with.  I sewed this all together on my serger, using my twin needle for the hem and cuffs.  This jersey has a super smooth, almost silky hand with a slight sheen. It’s surprisingly weighty for viscose, falling in deep fluid folds, making it perfect for an oversized tee like this one (although I can also think of a myriad of other uses for it that would be just as lovely).

Culottes seem to be very trendy at the moment, and I’m clearly guilty of being bit by the bug! For these I used Style Arc’s Erin Woven Culotte pattern.  I love the deep pleats on the front and the way the pockets mirror the pleats.  I also love the jewel bright tones of this cotton woven and how they give these culottes a very bohemian feel.  This fabric has a very loose weave and a slubby, almost jute-like look, though with a much softer hand and drape.  It’s a bit more substantial than what the pattern called for, but I like the body it gives these culottes, while still keeping them airy for our sticky southern spring.

As with all Style Arc patterns, the instructions for these are minimal, and I actually took issue with a few of the steps.  For instance, they instruct you to baste the pockets in place along the top of the pants before doing the pleats, which as far as I could tell would result in your pockets getting folded up in the pleats.  Not only would this be bulky, it would also render those pockets pretty much useless! So just a heads up if you intend to make this pattern.  I honestly didn't fuss with the instructions too much since I've made a fair number of trousers in my sewing days and I'm pretty comfortable with the order of construction, and confident enough to come up with my own methods if I think the instructions don't make sense. However if you're new to sewing pants, these might not be the best ones to start with!  Or, go ahead and make them, just don't fold your pocket up into your pleats!!

Because of the loose weave, this fabric frayed like it was it’s job.  To combat this I serged all the raw edges as soon as I could, basically right after cutting, and I used fusible interfacing to reinforce the areas that I thought might lose some of it’s shape with wear – like the center back seat seam and the pocket openings.  I also bound the seam allowances at the waist and hems.  This was mostly for looks, since these culottes are unlined, but also to ensure I don’t start to unravel after a few wears.

While the fraying may have been a bit of a headache, this cotton took heat and steam like a champ.  I just love how crisp those pleats are! And the stitches literally sank into the weave.  Honestly. Like, I was crossing my fingers I didn’t make any mistakes, because I don’t think I could have found my stitches to unpick if I tried!

I'm glad I got this outfit out of my head and into my closet, if only because it's getting kind of crowded in there - my head, that is.  Although, come to think of it, my closet is a bit crowded these days too! But truly, that is one of my favorite things about sewing.  Before I knew how to sew I still had all these ideas for outfits floating around in my brain, and my only option for getting rid of them was to search the stores to find the closest approximation.  This wasn't particularly good for my wallet or my closet, as it usually ended with me impulse buying something completely different, and nowhere near closer to scratching that sartorial itch.

Although, if I'm being totally and 100% honest with you guys, I'm not completely convinced on the success of this outfit in reality.  I think my shoes and that kooky necklace that my Grandma gave me are really holding it together here.  But separately, I think these are really great pieces.  I've actually been wearing the top multiple days a week since I finished it earlier this month.  And I'm excited to try the culottes with a more structured or sleek silhouette up top - like a crop top or one of my Nettie bodysuits. Aren't separates the best?!

And speaking of handmade outfits - isn't Me Made May coming up??

xx

*Disclaimer: As part of the Mood Sewing Network I receive a monthly allowance to spend on fabric which I sew up into anything I want, then blog about first on the Mood blog, then on my own.  The fabric for this post was bought using my Mood allowance. 

the seuss is loose

Welcome to winter in Galveston! Seriously, the weather in these parts has been so topsy turvy I can't even keep up. One day I'm wearing a sleeveless dress and dreamily meandering the streets on my bike on the way into work, the next day I'm bundled up in my handknitted woolies and bumping up the heat! But one thing is definitely for sure, this time of year always gets me thinking about planting things, growing things, digging my fingers into cool dirt, watching anxiously as seedlings start popping their little heads up... I guess in some parts of the continent it's still a bit early for that sort of thing, but round here we're just on that cusp before everything decides to burst into color again (color besides green, of course). 

Anyways! How's your winter going?? Hopefully if you're in the cooler climates you've managed to stay warm. As much as I love our relatively mild winters here, I do sometimes get a bit nostalgic when I see pictures of people all bundled up in their wooly layers and snow boots.  Or when I see people like Sonja making freaking fabulous faux fur coats!!! Seriously, I'm considering braving heat stroke and the proverbial sweating-of-bullets just so I can call such stunning, muppet-y outerwear mine...

Where was I...? Oh that's right, I have something new(ish) to show you. I say 'newish' because this was my January make for the Mood Sewing Network and chances are you may have already caught a glimpse of it, but I like to make sure my MSN makes make an appearance on my home turf as well. 

So for this go around I’ve got a fun new skirt to show you.  I’ve realized a bit of a pattern with my fabric purchases in the last year – if I don’t have a specific project in mind that I’m buying for I tend to just zero in on the wackiest fabric I can find at that moment.  This Marc Jacobs floral print, poly double-cloth-what-have-you was one of those purchases for me.  (It is now, of course, sadly sold out – but check out all these amazing Marc Jacobs fabrics from Mood’s online selection.  Marc Jacobs is seriously one of my favorite fabric designers, he just comes out with such fun stuff, like this vintage inspired floral silk, or this cuh-razy wool knit.) I know this fabric probably doesn’t look all that wacky at first glance, but trust me, its weirdness abounds…

First of all, you have the print. We start with a nice, sedate, oyster colored backdrop, all cool so far, right? Right. Then there’s a medium scaled floral print – also nothing amiss. But hold up! Now we take a major detour into Dr. Seuss-land because those flowers have stripes all over them. And all of a sudden a nice, normal, floral print turns a little trippy and weird. (And gives me inspiration for the title of this post - in case you were wondering. You probably weren't.)

Then there is the fabric itself.  The face of this fabric is a smooth, satin-like poly with a dull sheen, very soft to the touch.  This is fused to a heather gray poly knit on the backside, also smooth, but still… a knit.  Am I the only one that thinks this is weird? The fabric has no stretch and is a medium weight. I’m just so curious what this fabric was originally used for? Any ideas? One commenter on the MSN site remarked that it may have been used for a knit garment with the floral print satin used as a fun lining, which definitely would work, as this fabric could totally be reversible. It definitely made finishing my skirt really easy! I didn't worry about lining, but rather just serged all the raw edges. This step was actually almost just a formality because the raw edges didn't fray at all. 

Well, whatever the original use for this fabric was, I thought it would make an awesome pencil skirt, but I wanted a pattern with a little bit of a twist to match the fabric.  I eventually landed on the Zoe skirt from Style Arc.  I really liked the longer length and unusual style lines of this skirt – the angled side seam, and the long darts in the back most especially.  I added black faux leather piping (leftover from these pants) to the side seam to really highlight that line.

This was my first time making a Style Arc pattern.  I've always been a bit nervous about these patterns because the sizes aren't nested, so when you order the pattern you have to choose your size, and you only get that size. Doesn't leave a whole lot of wiggle room for fitting cock-ups (did I just type cock-ups??) In addition, the sewing directions are minimal. Like, the instructions for this skirt are not even 1/4 of a page. However the styles are always so intriguing, and just a little bit more fashion forward than what you normally see offered by the Big 4 pattern companies, and even many indie pattern designers, so I was just too tempted to not give it a go! 

Now, you'd think with all that trepidation I would have been careful to make a muslin, wouldn't you? Uh no.  I decided to throw caution to the wind and live dangerously! Jump on the back of that motorcycle and ride into the sunset... hair blowing in the breeze. Where will we stop? Who knows! Who cares! It's all about the ride, man, the riiidddeee.... Where was I? Oh yes. It probably would have been prudent for me to do a little basting test fit prior to stitching everything in place because I definitely am getting some fabric bubbling around my high hip area. This is a pretty standard issue with me and fitted skirts. I think it has something to do with the fact that I have a pretty narrow upper hip/pelvic area, but a full lower hip... I believe the conventional (and rather degrading) term for that would be saddlebags. It's an easy adjustment to make, and one that I'll make a note of if I make this pattern again. As is, I don't intend on this being an everyday type garment, so I'm not too fussed if the fit is not quite perfect.

I feel like no one is going to believe me when I say this – but I actually really agonized over print placement with this skirt.  Don't laugh! It's the truth! You see, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to attempt to print match those center front and back seams or not.  In the end I, obviously, decided not to, as I thought the visual jar of the mis-matched print along those seam lines actually fit the print better, and also helped to highlight those style lines without me putting the faux leather piping into all my seams, which I felt might be a bit much. Also... lazy.

All in all, this was a fun, quick, and painless make, and I think the results are equally fun. Will this skirt get a ton of wear? Probably not. But it will be great to pull out for the next gallery opening or fancy event I have lined up. And I love how well it pairs with my faux fur top. I actually bought this Marc Jacobs fabric at the same time that I snagged this Black and Blue Faux Fur that I used for this top thinking that they might make a cool outfit together. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that I actually saw my plan through! A rare thing, indeed!

And on a final end note - I wanted to thank you guys for all your kind, encouraging, and heartfelt comments on my last year in review post. It's such a pleasure to know that when I put something out into the world it's being received by the nicest group of people this thing we call the 'internet' has ever seen. You guys...

xx

Disclaimer: the fabric for this project was provided to me as part of my monthly fabric allowance from Mood Fabrics in exchange for my participation in the Mood Sewing Network. All other supplies, and obviously thoughts, are scrounged together using my own resources.