let's give them something to talk about

Hello there! My goodness it's almost the end of June.  I can't believe it's taken me so long to photograph this dress and write a blog post about it.  I had been saving it to do a Mood post, but kept pushing it back because I was having trouble getting it photographed. Between battling the weather (rain, rain, and more rain) and camera batteries I thought I'd never get this thing documented! But finally I decided I was going to get a photoshoot done, no matter what the weather, and I'd just have to pretend I'm cute with my umbrella as a prop and the rain was all part of my plan from the start. Spoiler alert: I didn't need the umbrella after all and managed to sneak these photos in during a couple dry moments between passing clouds.  But the insane greenery of the background is proof that, indeed, it's been a rainy June!

I've shown this dress a few times on my Instagram account. I made it quite awhile ago now, while I was taking my blogging break this past spring. And I've worn it quite a bit also, which is actually kind of nice because I can really give an honest review of how this dress and fabric works for me.

But the inspiration for this dress goes back even further -- to the beginning of the year.  It was such an unusually warm and pleasant winter here, even by Texas standards.  The sun always seemed to be shining and there were long stretches with low humidity and just the most pleasant spring weather you can imagine. Everything seemed to stay green and go on blooming. It was really almost magical. This also coincided with a stretch of time that I was without my trusty steed -- my bike, and so rather than biking the 2 miles to and from work each day, I went by foot.  I've never been a fast walker (or really, fast anything -- one of my husband's earliest nicknames for me was Tortuga Sal) and walking upwards of 4 miles a day brought out the daydreamer in me, big time. And of course I was daydreaming about sewing -- because, obviously.

Specifically, I was daydreaming about the kind of outfit I wished I was wearing to saunter down sidewalks in a crumbling southern city in the U.S.A., shaded by drooping live oaks and palm trees, heavy hibiscus bushes, oleanders, and fragrant jasmine and gardenia.  It doesn't take much for my brain to meander off to the romantic, the literary, and cinematic, and so I cast my leading lady for the movie in my head.  She was someone who owned few nice dresses, or shoes, or hats, but each item was her dress, or her shoes, or her hat.  The kind of objects that are as much a part of her identity and expression as her eyes, or nose, or hands.  She was effortlessly feminine, and sensual, and she took her time walking across the uneven pavement, relishing the heavy scent of the southern greenery.

I'd like to say she was me, but really, she was the version of me I aim to be on my most 'put together' days! So really, not me at all! Ha! But this is the magic of clothes, you guys.  I imagined this alternate reality "me" (as seen through a soft focus lens, of course) and I imagined her dress, and her shoes and her hat, and then I made her dress (and found her shoes on Etsy, and her hat from an online store) and when I put it all on, I felt like that character I had created in my mind. This is not to say that I'm using clothes to hide my authentic self, rather that my authentic self likes to play dress-up! It's a fun little game I like to play with myself -- "He he he... they all THINK they're talking to normal Sallie, but what they don't know is they are ACTUALLY talking to Future Sallie!" (Or Desert Sallie, or International Spy Sallie, or Witch Sallie, or...)

A much simpler way to say all this is that I like to have fun with my clothes, guys, and I think you should too. 

But you're not just here for the inner ramblings of a 30-something woman whose inner world is far more colorful than her reality! So let me tell you about this dress. This is Simplicity 1880 - an OOP pattern, but one that I'm sure many of you have in your stash, if, like me, you bought it way back in 2012 when Sunni did her sewalong of this pattern (so long ago that there aren't even images on her blog posts about it anymore! Yikes! Have I been sewing and blogging that long??) Perhaps, also like me, you haven't pulled it out or thought about it since! Well pull it out again guys, because it's a trooper of a pattern!

The first version of this dress I made was in a purple linen blend and featured the faux-wrap bodice (also, I used to have boobs... awww! Memories...) I loved that dress then, and I still love that dress. It's one I still reach for on the odd occasion. At the time I made that dress I remember being supremely disinterested in this version, the faux-shirtdress variation with notched collar and button-opening that ends at the waist. Funny how things change!

When I was imagining this dress I had this sort of mish-mash of 40's and 70's styles in my head, but any searching for vintage shirtdress patterns from either of those eras turned up looks that I was definitely not into.  In frustration I rummaged through my pattern stash and turned up this beauty -- with it's released pleats at the waist, gathering at the yoke, cap sleeve, flat collar, and swishy bias skirt it was exactly what I was looking for -- vaguely, but indefinably vintage inspired.  I especially love the skirt on this pattern - it's cut in 4 pieces and just utilizes the bias in the most flattering way. Both this dress and my purple dress have a way of skimming my tummy and hips, making me feel very womanly.  The dress has an invisible zip on the side, for ease of getting on and off, since those buttons only open to the waist.

The fabric is also a major player in my love for this dress. This is the American Beauty, Nightshadow Blue and Tinsel Digital Flowers Printed on a Viscose Woven  from Mood Fabrics online. I love that this floral print is pixelated, making it look like a needlepoint cushion, or cross-stitch sampler.  It's a nice nod to hand craft. It's also kind of grandma-ish, but in a really fun way, and I think it works really well with this pattern.

This viscose woven is very similar to a rayon challis - lightweight, breathable and drapey.  It also frays easily like rayon challis so any seam that wasn't concealed in the pattern construction was either bound with bias binding (the front facings) or run through the serger (sleeves, waist and skirt seams). 

I agonized a bit over the button choice for this dress. Originally I was planning on covered buttons in self-fabric, but the plethora of covered button kits I thought I had in my stash was a total fantasy.  I made a few attempts to go to the Houston fabric stores -- one of which has an extensive and really fantastic button selection -- to see if I could find something really special, however I kept getting the hours wrong, and after an hour drive I'd show up to find them closed (no no! Not still salty about that wasted gas at all *eye roll*). In the end I only scuttled up the highway a little bit to go to Joann's where I was just going to buy the covered button kits and call it a day, but I came across these dark fuschia and black beauties that were just such a perfect match I would have felt like an idiot not to use them!

I can report, with full confidence, that I love this dress. I actually reach for this exact look about once a week these days. It also happens to be the kind of dress that, when I'm wearing it, I get a lot of compliments (always a nice confidence boost) -- but not necessarily on the dress itself. More just... on me. And that's a thing I love - when clothes reveal the person who's wearing them, rather than hiding her. And that's the magic that I was talking about earlier.

I'm going to end this post by encouraging you to play a little game of fantasy with your clothes and see how it works out for you! Life is so full of the mundane, and I'm actually very grateful for this, but it's a nice balance when you can find small, personal joys in things like getting dressed.

Happy sewing, and dressing, my friends!

xx

P.S. If you want to see this fabric in action in absolute glorious fashion - go check out Oona's make over on the MSN! I love when this happens -- two sewists working with the same (or similar) fabric and even a similar idea (shirtdresses) and having the outcomes be so different and so uniquely them. This is one of the things I love most about this community!!

common welsh green

Probably my dorkiest title to date. If you're not well-versed in the Potter-universe, this title refers to the species of dragon that a certain Miss Fleur Delacour had to pass in the first task of the Triwizard Tournament (Goblet of Fire). And yes, that is just a random fact that I am able to pull out of my brain at a moment's notice.  I often wonder what other things have been squeezed out to make room for all the Potter trivia I possess in my noggin.  This is probably why I can't deal with fractions...

In case I've never mentioned it before -- Hi, my name is Sallie Barbee, and I am a complete Harry Potter fiend.  Please don't tell me you are a Potter fan if you've only watched the movies. Please don't tell me you are a Potter fan if you've only read the books once (pshaw!)  If you've read the books more times than you can count, regularly have Harry Potter movie marathons (even if your heart will always belong to the books) and feel that the best parts of your personality have been shaped by Albus Dumbledore ... THEN we can talk! Just kidding. All types of Potter fans are welcome here. (That's a lie. Movie-only fans, please exit stage right, thanks).

I blame my recent trip to Universal Studio's Wizarding World of Harry Potter for my recently inflamed Potter madness (I say inflamed rather than rekindled, because, as a true fan, the flame never goes out).  Honestly, I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did. But as soon as I saw Hogwarts and turned the corner into Hogsmead I was overcome with emotion.  It really hit home what a huge influence those 7 books have had on my life.  They are what I (continue to) turn to when I feel stressed, or lonely.  They've got me through breakups and grad school and moving across the country. I listen to the audio books on repeat in my sewing room (I prefer Stephen Fry's reading over Jim Dale). I'm not ashamed to admit that in certain situations I've thought to myself "this is like that time that Hermione did this..." or "that's like when Ron said..." or pretty much anything Dumbledore said to Harry - ever.

Okay, I can see you guys slowly backing away from my blog, smiling and nodding... But don't go! I swear I'm not crazy! Or completely lame. I just really love Harry Potter.  So when I came home from my trip to Florida and began working on this dress, all I could see in its pretty chartreuse and white pattern was dragon scales.  And it will forever, in my mind at least, be my dragon dress. (See what I did there? See? Yeah, bet you didn't think I was ever gonna turn this back around to sewing, huh?)



This is the Sewaholic Lonsdale dress, view B, made up in Limeade/White Tribal Leaf Print Viscose Crepe Common Welsh Green Dragon Scale Print Viscose Crepe from Mood Fabrics, and it is this month's contribution to the Mood Sewing Network.  I've always loved the Lonsdale Dress. Honestly, I couldn't tell you what has taken me so long to make this pattern! Every time I see a version of it pop up online I inwardly sigh - I don't think I've seen a version of this dress that I didn't love.  I think I'm always a bit hesitant to make Sewaholic patterns because I don't typically identify with the pear-shaped body that the patterns are designed for.  The funny thing is, though, that while I mentally don't identify as pear-shaped, and I think physically one wouldn't call me pear shaped, my measurements would suggest otherwise! Just an example of how sometimes labeling our bodies as one thing or another can put us out of touch with the very real, uniquely proportioned body we live our lives in (me?! A pear?? But I always thought I was an apple!!!) Our bodies are not fruit, ladies, nor are they some other inanimate object (ruler anyone??).



I'm stopping myself before I go on a longer rant about that. You're welcome. So for my Lonsdale dress I made a straight size 4 (truth be told my hip measurement does actually put me in a size 2, but the dress skims the hips so I wasn't too worried about it).  It actually ended up a bit loose in the bodice, particularly through the bust, but the fit is so forgiving because of the knotted front and adjustable ties that it's easy to just hoist the dress into a place that feels comfortable and go with it! I decided to use a lapped zipper insertion for the first time in, oh, forever.  Sometimes it's nice to pull out underused techniques, if only to remind yourself that you can still do them.

Please excuse all the bruises on my upper back! I had no idea they were this bad till I saw the photos. Believe it or not, they are from loading barbells on my back...

The fabric was an utter delight to work with.  Viscose is quickly becoming a fiber I keep an eye out for.  Like rayon, it makes for a very breathable summer garment, and it seems to add a certain softness and drape to whatever fabric it's worked into.  This particular viscose crepe has a beautiful weight to it, while still maintaining a lovely fluid drape.  Perfect for a long, swishy skirt.  The crepe texture gives it an almost spongy hand and it has the softness of brushed cotton against the skin. Plus, it's opaque! Hooray for no linings! 

It was a bit of an odd purchase for me, because I would normally have steered clear of chartreuse-y greens, under the assumption that they would look heinous with my skin tone.  What possessed me to buy 4 yards of this, I'll never know! Perhaps it was some "Color Me Beautiful" era deity whispering in my ear, or maybe I was already subconsciously responding to it's dragon-scale charm? No matter, I'm so glad I gave chartreuse a go! Not only does it not do heinous things to my complexion - I actually think it's rather flattering! Especially with a punchy orange-red lip!

This shoulder-baring style, and throw-on elegance feels so right to me for the sweltering late summer days.  The truth is, nothing is going to make you feel cool in this kind of weather, so the least you can do is throw on a bit of color, show some skin, and make the best of it! And this dress has that magic quality of making me feel feminine and flirty and put-together, even if I feel like I'm more ass-crack-sweat than girl at the moment...

And on that happy mental image, I think we'll call this blog post done and dusted! I hope you're all having a glorious August! And to keep with the Potter love of this post, I'll leave you with a few of Albus Dumbledore's choice words:

"Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

xx

post-vacation grays

Phew! Is it just me, or has July really flown by in a steamy wave of hot, sticky, summer days? Seriously you guys... It's already August?! Honestly, I can’t complain, I spent a whole week of this past month vacationing with my family in Disney World – Mom, Dad, sister, two brothers, a sister-in-law, a brother-in-law, and six nieces and nephews all under the age of 8!!! It was the absolute best kind of chaos imaginable. Of course, me being me, I decided I had nothing to wear for said vacation and that I needed a whole new summer wardrobe a smooth 5 days out from my flight. And I had to make my dream capsule wardrobe because... duh! Completely rational. 

This is where I'd normally insert a little anecdote about how I drove myself crazy up until 4am the night before my flight, manically serging seams, and accidentally snipping holes in the crotches of shorts or something, but, actually, the whole thing went pretty smoothly. I finished all my sewing a day or two ahead of me leaving. I know. Totally undramatic ending to that tale. Either I'm getting better at this whole sewing thing, or I just hit a pretty good patch of dumb luck, because that scenario should have been a recipe for disaster!

I did have a few requirements for my last-minute mini vacation wardrobe, which I think helped make things go a bit smoother  – it had to be comfortable, it had to be cool (temperature-wise, though I wouldn’t turn my nose up at attitude-wise either) I had to be able to get on rides in it, and (most importantly) no shmancy new patterns! It either had to be an uncomplicated pattern, or a TNT pattern. Basically something that I could go on autopilot and whiz through without a lot of fussing with instructions or figuring out complicated seams, etc. This meant that I wasn’t making the most exciting of clothes, but, man, have they ever been getting a lot of wear!

I already shared this outfit on the Mood Sewing Network blog, but I'm hoping to share a few more of my vacation makes in the coming weeks. First up was another Grainline Studio Penny Raglan.  If you’ve seen me in the last three weeks, I’ve probably been wearing one of these tees! I am the proud owner of four already, and I just plan on adding more! They are truly my perfect casual top, plus they are dead easy to bang out factory style, so busting out 3 in one go was just about as time consuming as making one. The version pictured here is made in some lovely, drapey Heathered Gray Stretch Viscose Jersey. This fabric makes such a lovely casual top. It’s more opaque than tissue-weight jersey, but still has the same weightless, fluid feel.  It was the perfect pairing for the Penny Raglan.

I had been wanting a loose, casual woven pant to wear on those days when I not-so-secretly resent having to put on clothes (which is, like, everyday).  I’ve seen so many cute styles on blogs and social media, but for some reason I just couldn’t quite commit to a pattern or fabric.  Then one day, I don’t know what happened, but it was like something finally clunked into place inside my brain and I realized I already had the pattern and fabric sitting at home.  With a few minor adjustments to the shape of the leg, the True Bias Hudson Pants made the perfect casual pant I was looking for.  The true icing on the cake was this Rag & Bone Off-White/Black Striped Cotton Woven from Mood online. This is essentially a double gauze fabric, and if you’ve never worked with double gauze what are you waiting for?! It’s so stupidly soft. If I look a bit rumpled in these photos it’s because I’ve worn and washed these pants several times since making them, they are just that good.

True story: I actually bought a few yards of this fabric months ago, and then just last month, while perusing the Mood Fabrics site again, I saw it, forgot that I had already bought the same fabric, and bought some more. And I don’t regret it. You can really never have enough of such a great fabric.  To add visual interest to these pants I cut the pocket bands on the bias, and the waistband, and back pocket on the cross-grain to break up the vertical stripe.  The back pocket I actually added on whim, as it’s not an actual feature of the Hudson Pants, but I wanted something to break up the back view.

I usually have a strict “no pants” rule between the months of June through September, but these pants are so light and airy that they’ve been getting a lot of wear during these steamy days.

Hopefully if I can get my picture-taking and blogging act together I will have more of my quick vacation-wardrobe makes to share with you guys. I won't bore you with every iteration of the Penny Raglan that I make (you can tune into my Instagram for that) but I'll try to throw together another post on the more interesting stuff. No promises, though, it is the end of summer, and the beach is calling my name...

What have you guys been sewing to keep cool? Is anyone thinking about Fall *shudders* ? I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I've been daydreaming about some knitting projects - a sure sign that my brain is coming to the end of summer, even if the hot weather will be sticking around for a few more months!

xx

hot fun

Hello friends!!! First of all, I want to thank everyone for your kind words on my post about Lucille leaving us. I'm sorry I didn't respond to each of you individually, but please know that your thoughts and condolences were deeply deeply appreciated. It is such a comfort to know that so many of you can relate to the very real feelings of grief that we go through when a beloved pet passes.  I know it might seem silly, but writing that post helped me immensely to mourn my sweet girl and move ahead with her memory in my heart.

And as promised, I have been able to get back to what I love and what makes me happy - making and sharing my creative pursuits with you all! And first up is the Sophie Swimsuit from Closet Case Files! I've already shared this suit over on the Mood Sewing Network, but I'm excited to write about it here because I have lots of thoughts on it! So grab yourself a cup of tea (hot or iced) and get ready for a long post!

I had actually volunteered to be a pattern tester for the Sophie Swimsuit, so the version I'm sharing is from the beta files.  However, I ended up backing out of the testing process after my dog died because I just wasn't feeling up to it. Heather mentioned she made some changes based on the testers feedback but I feel like the version I made is close enough to the finished pattern that it is safe to share.  I made View B - the high waisted bikini, and before you all ask, yes this version is supposed to have straps, and mine did, but I will explain the saga that led me to photographing it strapless a little later. 

I'm just gonna come right out and say that I love this suit.  Especially the top.  Can I get a little TMI here for a second? Of course I can... it's my blog... I do what I want! As I'm sure I've mentioned before, I've been committed to working out regularly for the past two years or so now, and while it's been an overwhelmingly positive change in both my life and my body, one thing that I haven't quite been able to get a grasp on is my boobs. My boobs have majorly shrunk in the past few years and I'm totally flummoxed as to what size bra to wear.  I know I could go to a little lingerie boutique and have myself measured, but the truth is boutique bras are just not in my budget.  And yes, I could make my own bras, but my experience has been that the trial and error of getting a good fit with a bra pattern is a bigger waste of time and money than just buying a slightly ill-fitting bra off the rack.  So I've been buying my bras from Target, in the smallest size they have - a 34B.  I know I'm not a 34B but the fit isn't that bad, so I get away with it.  

Enter the Sophie pattern... this is essentially a bra you can go swimming in, guys.  It is so supportive. And the sizing - while not the traditional A, B, C, D cup that you get with bras - is essentially the same. There are 5 separate cup sizes for every size.  I can't even imagine the nightmare it was to draft this, but I'm so glad Heather went the extra mile because it really pays off. You get the band size by measuring your underbust, so around your ribcage with all the air exhaled, then you take a comfortable measurement of your full bust (around the widest part of your back and over the fullest part of your breasts, usually the nipple) while wearing your best fitting bra. Subtract the difference between the two and you get your cup size.  So for me, my underbust measurement was 28" and my full bust measurement is 33".  That is a 5 inch difference which put me at a size 2 with a size 5 cup.

This definitely gave me pause because it is so much smaller than my normal size in CCF patterns - I usually wear between a 6 or an 8, but I decided to trust the sizing and I'm so glad I did.  This is the best fitting swimsuit, bra whatever I have worn in recent memory! It's even more flattering with the straps as they help give that extra oomph, but even without it, this top wasn't budging.  I'm really hoping Heather does some tutorials on turning this into a bra because I need this in my life! Now you might be thinking that with my chest size support isn't really an issue, but guys, it is. Now obviously I do not have the experience that my larger chested sisters have, but what I do have is a rack that used to be pretty spectacular, but is now kinda deflated and saggy. Yes. TMI. Get over it. I need all the help I can get to hoist those girls up!

By now you're probably wondering what the heck happened to my swimsuit bottoms... Is this some lame action flick where the leading lady's clothes get artfully ripped throughout the movie to reveal more skin? No, no it's not.  I drafted an alternate pair of bottoms for my Sophie swimsuit, and while I completely understand that these are probably not to most women's liking I decided to share them nonetheless.  Surely I can't be the only lady out there who has a weird nostalgia for those high-cut legged bikini bottoms from the late 70's and 80's? You know, the kind that make you look like you have legs for days, and conjure images of a healthily athletic Christie Brinkley cavorting on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition? Or a fierce Grace Jones? No? Only me? The rest of you are just remembering the perma-wedgie that said swim bottoms induce? Ok fine then... *takes teeny weeny swim bottoms and goes and plays at her own sand castle...*

Honestly, I think both bottoms will have their place in my swim wardrobe.  The high waisted, fuller coverage bottoms will be awesome for pool parties, and family time, and the teeny bikini bottoms will be great for my alone time on the beach.

As far as construction goes this swimsuit is really no different than making a bra and panties.  My one major tip is to label your two bottom cup pieces because they look super similar and it is easy to get them confused. Ask me how I know... After making two left cups (somehow... I'm still scratching my head about that one...) I cottoned on to this and cut a second pair marking the outer cup with an "O" and the inner cup with an "I" and also drawing arrows to signify which way was up.  I did this on both my foam pieces and my fabric pieces and construction went much smoother. 

With the shaped, three piece foam cups, the underwire channeling and all the elastic, this is most definitely the most complicated suit I've ever made, but it's totally worth it.  Honestly, none of it is that hard, it's just a touch finnicky at times.  If you're at all nervous about making this suit I highly suggest getting Heather's swimsuit workshop.  I'm actually thinking of picking it up just so I can feel like I'm sewing with Heather by my side...

Sewing swimwear does require some special materials, so let's talk about those for a bit.  My awesome, graphic, broken glass print fabric is from, where else, Mood Fabrics.  It is 95% polyester and 5% spandex, making it great for swimwear and activewear.  I liked it so much I chose to use it all over, but the Sophie swimsuit definitely lends itself to color and print blocking.  My swimwear lining, underwires, underwire channeling, swimwear elastic, and G-hooks are all from Bra-makers Supply (the foam for the cups was in my stash, but I think originally it was from Bra-makers Supply too... or SewSassy...?).  Overall I'm really happy with the quality of all these things (especially the swim lining... it's niiiiiiice) EXCEPT for the plastic G-hooks. Oy vey...

Let me tell you a little story of plastic hardware, a handmade bikini, a sewing blogger, and the hot, hot Texas heat... After finishing my Sophie bikini two weekends ago I decided to take it for a test drive to the beach, like you do.  No sooner had I set myself up in my beach chair, book in hand, the Gulf of Mexico stretching in front of me as far as the eye can see (and a thunderstorm brewing behind me, but let's forget about that part right now) when I bent over to get my water bottle and felt the back of my suit come undone.  I reached around and realized that my plastic G-hook closure had actually snapped off at the joint.  My straps on the suit criss-crossed in the back so the suit stayed on pretty well, and I actually sat back in my chair and read for awhile until the brewing thunderstorm, and my busted swimsuit top resigned me to call it a day.  Back at home I replaced the G-hook with one of the other several I had ordered, and decided to be more careful putting the suit on and taking it off, thinking that I may have bent the plastic in my behind-the-back struggling...

Fast forward to last weekend when I wanted to go to the beach, again, and shoot some blog photos while I was at it.  I put on my suit and, wouldn't you know it, one of the small G-hooks that attaches the strap to the suit front broke at the same joint.  I had extra so I quickly went into my sewing room and replaced it.  I had the car so I decided to drive out to a more secluded beach to take photos.  After lugging all my beach gear, and my camera and tripod, out to the spot in these photos I bent down to set everything down and pop! There goes the back G-hook I had already replaced! I was frustrated, but determined to get these photos, so I went back home, replaced the stupid plastic G-hook, examined the others for weak spots, then drove back out to the same beach, set all my stuff up, turned on my camera and.... no battery.  Nearly in tears, I drove back home, got the camera battery from the charger, grabbed another bikini top just in case, and drove back out to the beach.  Lugged all my shit to my spot, set up the camera and tripod and pop! One of the G-hooks on my other strap broke! So at that point I said fuck it, removed the straps from the bikini and shot the photos strapless! Thankfully the back hook lasted through the photo shoot and a quick dip in the water, but I've learned my lesson. No more plastic hardware! The only thing I can think is that these were just not equipped to deal with the amount of sweat, sunscreen and heat that I require from my swimwear.  I certainly wasn't putting them under undo stress!

Needless to say, I have an order for metal hooks already placed...

Well alright cats and kittens! I think that's enough cheeky pictures of my bum and my cheesecake posing and rambling on about boobs and swimsuits and teeny plastic pieces for one blog post.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to leave them for me in the comments! And I'll be back soon with a recent quick make!

xx

flower bomb

Well hello there everyone! I hope you've all had a great April! Around here we've been truly living up to the old saying "April showers bring May flowers". Well, at least the bit about the showers. The flowers we get all year round. In other words, it's been wet! I can't believe I'm saying this, but... I'm ready for summer. Yes, summer, and all it's triple-digit, 100% humidity, sweaty, stifling, sunburnt, nastiness. Bring. It. On. You northeners can keep your spring (and your bad tacos, but that's a rant for another day)! I'm ready for the heat! Maybe it's because winter was such a joke this year, and I have no patience for this in-between bullshit, but I'm really looking forward to the days when I can throw on a dress and sandals, put my hair up, and sweat. We're almost there. almost. We just need the sun to decide to make an appearance...

And on that note, let me introduce you to this backless beauty! This was my April make for the Mood Sewing Network, and, again, you've probably seen some sneaky peeks on my Instagram all month as I slowly chipped away at it.  I feel a bit weird calling this thing a "shirt" or even a "top" as its open-back, voluminous, apron-style design makes it feel as if I'm wearing nothing at all.  But it does cover the essentials, and after wearing it to work for a whole day I can attest to the fact that those essentials (somehow) stayed covered. Phew. I'll be honest, I wasn't sure if that would be the case. This also isn't the most bra-friendly design, so if the goods did come out, they would be alllll out! But thankfully (for both myself and my unsuspecting coworkers) we good.

Okay, so what is this, you ask? (What? You didn't come to hear the gripping tale of how I did or did not flash the entirety of Galveston Island?) This is Vogue Patterns #1507 made up in some Italian Printed Floral Cotton Batiste from Mood Fabrics online.  I was super super excited to see that Rachel Comey had released a few more patterns for Vogue this season.  Her designs always delight and excite me, and I feel like the resulting garments are truly one-of-a-kind pieces.  This top was my favorite out of the recent bunch (although I also love this dress) so it was the first one I wanted to sink my teeth into.  While I think the plain green version on the pattern envelope is great for seeing this top's interesting style lines and features, in my head I always imagined it in a bright, exuberant print.

This cotton batiste was everything I could have hoped for this make: a large scale, painterly floral print, easy to handle during construction, and light and airy to wear.  The whole top is double layered, so despite the fact this fabric was somewhat sheer, I didn't worry about a lining.  I really love how the print of the underlayer actually peeks through the sheer areas of the top layer. I didn't bother with print matching, or even give much thought to print placement with this make (I may have been print placement-ed out from my last make!) I really love the resulting sporadic feel of the top.  

I took a few indoor shots on my dress form because the gusty winds during my photoshoot were doing this top (and my hair) no favors! Hopefully these help give you a better idea of the lovely intricacies of this design.  I have to say, it was truly a pleasure to work with a pattern where the actual pattern pieces were practically unrecognizable and how it was all going to come together seemed like a mystery.  Often times when I see a garment I have a pretty good visual idea of what the flat pattern pieces will look like, but this one was completely wacky! Definitely a good project for pulling me out of my sewing autopilot! 

That being said, the actual construction really wasn't all that difficult once you figured out what went where.  The trickiest part was that just about every major part of the garment - both the top and bottom layers of the bodice and the sleeves - called for a teeny, tiny 1/8" hem.  And those hems were verrrryyyy loooonnnnng and veerrryyyy cuuurrrrrvyyy. This probably would have been no big deal if I had a rolled hem foot for my machine, but I don't.  I also contemplated doing it all by hand, but I wanted to finish it before June so I followed the instructions.  First I sewed a line of stitching at 1/2" then I used that stitching line as a guide and folded the hem up once, trimmed close to the line of stitching, and folded again at 1/8", edgestitching that in place.  By the time I got to the sleeves I was pretty pro. Or at least there was much less cussing.

The back neckline is finished with a small bias facing and the back yoke edges are bound in bias binding. The instructions had you finish the armholes with bias binding as well but I had run out of red bias tape and actually thought that might be a bit bulky, so I used my serger instead. No regrets.

And here's a closeup of those cursed teeny hems. Honestly this was at least 70% of the sewing! Choosing a thread color for this project was a bit of a head scratcher, because no matter what I went with it was going to be in contrast with the print at some point.  I decided on off-white, however I'm sure an invisible hand-rolled hem would have been the more elegant option.  But I don't think the visible stitching detracts from the finished top at all.

I'm quite happy I chose such a well behaved fabric as cotton batiste for this top, because while it wasn't a difficult sew, a lot of the pattern pieces fall on the bias, and I could see that, coupled with the teeny hems being a real headache in a trickier fabric!

Fit wise I'm fairly pleased with how this turned out.  There was, frustratingly, no finished garment measurements printed anywhere on this pattern so I had no idea how much ease was built in.  I decided to play it safe and go down only one size since I find, in general, Big 4 patterns tend to go crazy on the ease, with the occasional exception of these Vogue designer patterns, which sometimes actually have spot on measurements. I figured if I went down one size I could counteract any built in ease, but that the top was also voluminous enough that if there wasn't a whole lot of ease built in it would probably still fit me anyway.

In retrospect I think anyone making this top could probably safely go down two sizes.  I find the shoulders to be quite wide, even on me and I have good, wide, linebacker shoulders.  From an engineering standpoint the shoulders are really the only thing holding this top on the body, so if you've got narrow shoulders you might find yourself with a garment that simply doesn't stay on.  I would also suggest reinforcing the front neckline with some staystitching or even some light interfacing or organza to help prevent it from stretching out during construction. The instructions don't call for this, but that's my two cents for anyone thinking of making this up in the future.

As I mentioned, I wore this top to work yesterday and felt like a total superstar! It felt so unique and special, and as I was getting ready at the gym in the morning (yes, I shower at the gym most days - glamorous, I know) women kept sending their friends in to see my outfit.  Not that I base the success of a make on how many compliments I get on it, but it's always really nice when other people like your work as much as you do.  

I'd really like to make a pair of black linen tap shorts to pair with this little topper for the ultimate breezy ensemble once the dog days of summer really hit. Nothing like pairing a little volume on the top with some long legs on the bottom! 

Obviously my wardrobe planning is all about summer.  What about you guys? Anyone else ready for a heat wave?

xx