Sew Selfish Sunday: Sew Sweet

It is absolute NO SECRET how in love I am with my new bralette pattern.
I posted the progress with one of them last Sunday, and I was SO EXCITED to finish it and throw it up here as well, but alas, I am a big ol’ dummy and accidentally snipped a seam too close. Let’s just say it is no longer wearable, but I do have plenty of the fabric leftover, so there will be another.

Though of course, I did make another.
I was walking through the fabric shop the other day on my way out from getting some more black thread, and I saw it.
Floral Knit Stretch in all it’s glory. RIGHT NEXT TO SOME BEAUTIFUL MIDNIGHT BLACK STRETCH VELVET. Mmmmm.

So of course I HAD to. Two yards of the sweet, soft velvet, and a yard of the floral.

The lighting in my house is absolutely awful, so I don’t take many progress photos whilst sewing at 1am.
Deal with it, I do.

Here is my new favorite Angel. Soft, stretchy, and perfectly comfortable.
I made some slight adjustments to the original pattern, by adding some inches to the underbust and back, so that it will hit closer to my waist. It’s not quite there, I could probably stand to add another inch and a half to it.
I’ve finally gotten to the point where I know exactly how much tension to have on the elastic while stitching.

Not only is the lighting not very good in my house, well, ever, but I use my phone to take my pictures. This was the best way to get a decent shot without a dress form or mannequin.

Last week I mentioned my first version of this was in a luscious hunter green velvet, and that I wouldn’t post it until I was more confident in my later versions. Well, here I am, confident as hell, willing to post the tester.

This was obviously the first time I had ever sewn with FOE, hence the slight ruffle look of the bottom. Instead of curving in, it definitely bells out. I have to admit, though, it’s pretty cute like that on.

Looking at this picture I think two things.
1) I REALLY need a body form.
2) R.I.P. the zipper in that skirt.

I fell in love with this skirt at Forever 21, the same day I got my sewing mojo back. That, though, is a story for another post.

Sew Selfish Sundays: a WIP

I think it’s about time for me to introduce a segment into my blog. I sure am a fan of consistency!

So here we go, the inaugural post to Amity Island’s Sew Selfish Sundays!

Let’s be real. I pretty much try to sew only for myself these days. Saying no to people does sometimes become hard, though, usually because once your friends find out you are a sewing machine wizard (sort of), suddenly they all want a BILLION things sewn for them, pretty much on the house. Sometimes, I don’t mind. Really. I am actually sort of itching to sew my roommates daughter a dress out of some leftover Star Wars comic fabric I have left in my enormous stash. But, that’s another post in itself.

A few days ago, I posted about my pretty largely ambitious sewing goals for the year. So far, I have found the perfect bralette and undies patterns, and ordered a dress pattern as well. I can confidently cross those off the list of patterns to source. I mentioned Ohhh Lulu as being a previous source, and again, she did not disappoint.

This is her Longline Bralette. It’s pretty much perfect. I’ve made one already, as a mock up. I found some beautiful hunter green velvet on sale at Joann’s, so I thought it would be the perfect “wearable muslin if it doesn’t suck” fabric. I was right. It’s so great. It definitely isn’t perfect, but being that it was my first time sewing with fold over elastic (FOE), I did pretty well.

I also picked out her High Waist Panties as well. Can’t wait to lounge around in these beauties.

SO! On to my current WIP.
As I mentioned before, I already made one. After I perfect them, I will post it so I can laugh at myself. For now, I will just wear it around, feeling like the Vintage Velvet Princess I know I should be.

Once again, I found this fabric on super sale at Joann’s, because I refuse to buy the good stuff until I’m ready. It’s a super soft cotton knit with the cutest tiny flowers all over.

So teeny tiny, I love them.

I was very impressed with myself on how the bust turned out at their meeting point. So perfect and precise. I really love the cream satin FOE I picked up yesterday from the Sewing Studio.

I think my breasts are a little larger than the pattern is intended for, so I may need to size up to get better coverage. I may also want to elongate the bottom band down to my waist, for a more tank-topy vibe. After I finally sew up the bottoms, I will make that decision.

I am having so much fun binding these edges with elastic. I once used bias tape on the outside of a potholder I made my dad for Christmas a few years ago, and I hated it. Maybe I will give it another shot.

I just checked the tracking for my dress patterns arrival date, and I think it will be here tomorrow! I AM SO EXCITED.

NO MORE HOLIDAYS!

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the holidays. LOVELVEOVEOVELVEOVLVOLOVE them. The food, the return of friends from out of town, the drinks, the family (sometimes!), and did I mention the FOOD?!

Cookies for days. So. Many. Cookies.

Though I feel now that if I even so much as look at another cookie, I might explode.
Maybe.
Okay, I may or may not have had one while typing this post. Two.
It’s not my fault, they are homemade heaven in a Christmas tin, thanks to my lovely Kali over at ShrtStacks! Keeping me fat and happy well into 2015

Now that the holidays are over and the new year has rolled in, I feel like I need to re-motivate myself. Back to sewing, reading, cooking, and of course, blogging. I can’t just keep up with my life through various daily Timehops for the rest of my years, can I?! I think not.

I would also like to point out to future Me, that I have type ‘my’ for ‘me’ and ‘me’ for ‘my’ each time during this post.

OK, back to goals. 2015 goals……………………I hope.

Some time last year, I was inspired to make my own lingerie. The feel of the satin, the silk, the lace; It’s wonderful. Almost like a dream. No matter how 2007 Kelly Osbourne

I feel like I look, (Let’s be honest, we all have those days), I can come home, put these luxurious suckers on, and feel like Dita Von Teese.

I picked up a couple of patterns from Ohh Lulu, as well as one from Mrs. Depew, and I’ve only cut out the patterns.

I’m not sure what happened to me last September, but I just lost my motivation. I think it may have happened when I started “tailoring” at a local boutique here. I put that in quotations because I had maybe 2 clients, and the rest was just sitting around, being a boring shop girl in a store with lovely items, but no traffic.

Point is, I’m getting back at it. I’ve made a few dresses, a bunch of skirts, and failed to finish a top.
I’m going to pull a Drake and start at the “bottom”, and work my way up….or out, I guess. This week I will be choosing my exact adventure. I will be picking out the following patterns:

• Undies
• Bralette
• Bra
• Slip
• Skirt
• Top
• Pants
• Dress (or maybe two. I really would like a vintage wrap style dress.)
• Cropped Cardigan
• Coat

That’s about one a month. I think that is a reasonable amount. This creative venture does not include my knitting, crocheting, or food creating goals. It’s pretty safe to say that this year will be a creative one. I am also trying to get out of the house more, maybe ride a bike and rejoin ballet. GOALS!