Random thoughts: Gwen's embellished boots

As I have mentioned before on my blog, I'm really grateful that I sew. I love having this kinda useful hobby (better than a gambling hobby perhaps? ;-), I can replicate a lot of things that I like or my kids like at a fraction of the cost. My creative outlet relaxes me and is very therapeutic for me. My hubby is happy when I sew which means I'm not buggy him or complaining about things (sewing is vital for marital bliss! LOL!).

As for copycat fashions, I saw on an entertainment blog about these boots that Gwen Stefani wore recently. Apparently lots of fashion blog readers were salivating for them:

Source

They are really not my style but I thought it wouldn't be difficult to replicate those embellishments on a pair of plain black ankle boots. I don't know how much these actual boots cost but I think any seasons crafter can do a DIY version of this. You need some chevron ribbons, some knitted band and then some zipper tapes, sew them together and add some lose yarn at the back. Then slide the whole 'cuff' on top of any plain black stiletto ankle boots and you have the look of these probably very expensive designer boots!

A Short Break from the Handmade Christmas Presents Challenge - Skirt Refashion

I had been so immersed in making Christmas presents for other people that I felt like I needed to create something for myself (yes deep down I'm a selfish seamstress too! ;-). I looked into my to-be-refashioned stash and found this thrifted green suede midi skirt that I bought earlier in the year. It was too tight on me - I wasn't able to zip up the top 2 inches of the zipper. I was going to make a purse with this skirt. However, I like the a-line shape of the skirt and I read that midi suede skirts are on trend this Fall/Winter. So I decided to do a quick and easy refashion with it!

First, with my trusty seam ripper, I took off the too-tight waistband:

Then I cut off about 2 inches from the top of the skirt and bound the top edge with some remnant black knit from my stash:

Now I can comfortably zip up the skirt. Voila! A quick and easy refashion!

And this is how it looks on me:

I look like a Christmas tree with the red sweater and the green skirt! LOL!

I'm very pleased with this quick and easy refashion. The skirt now fits and the knit binding at the waist makes the skirt really comfortable to wear. The suede skirt is very warm and blocks the bitter cold wind we have here in the winter. And most important of all, I made something for myself after concentrating on making stuff of other people! Yay!

My first Maxi Dress - McCall's 6612

I will admit it: I am clumsy. I am a hazard to myself. So when the maxi dress fashion trend started a few years ago, I didn't partake it. I was afraid I was going to trip over the long hem while chasing after 2 young kids.

Since the June theme for MAGAM (Make A Garment A Month) challenge was 'stash busting', I had been going through my enormous fabric stash and found many interesting but forgotten fabrics. One of them is this nice stretchy polyester knit that has black and white small oval print on it. When I picked it out of the storage, it instantly said 'maxi dress' to me. I thought I would make a maxi dress for myself for this summer with the condition that I only wear it while hubby is out with me helping to 'catch' the 2 kids.

I rummaged through my pattern stash and found McCall's 6612. I like the slight A-line look of View D. It was obviously going to be a very easy and quick dress to make. I used size 14 on the top and narrow it to size 12 at the hips. I omitted the cowl neck because it would be too hot for the summer. I also made my usual short waist adjustment. I added a centre back seam to allow for my sway back adjustment but it wasn't necessary since the weight of the fabric was pulling the dress down so it didn't bunch up at the back. I also shortened the hem by 6cm because of my short stature. The neckline was finished with a clear elastic sewn to the seam allowance and then folded to the wrong side (I learned that from watching 'Sewing with Nancy'). The only thing that bothers me a bit is that the armhole gapes a little when my arms rest a certain way (you can see that gaping in the photo below at my right arm). I will need to figure out if that has anything to do with my barrel chest or my sloping shoulders.

I am quite pleased with the result. It's very comfortable to wear. The print of the fabric helps camouflage my mommy tummy a bit. Even hubby said I looked good in it. Usually he would either say 'it's okay' or 'no good'. I do have to watch my steps so that I don't step on it. I certainly don't think I can run after the kids in this dress. I think it's one of those dresses that I can go to the beach or dress it up for a dinner date. Since it's knit, it won't wrinkle and it's travel friendly. Another quick and easy summer dress!

My review for this pattern can be found on PatternReview.com.

Copycat Strapless peplum gown for MAGAM done!

I have had so much fun making this dress. I love sewing with knits! This mystery cheapy bin knit that I bought years ago has a good 4 way stretch (about 20% each way) and it's slightly textured (more for sportswear I think). It is a great knit for something like leggings. However for a long tube gown, it's a bit heavy and I probably will have to keep pulling it up if the dress if not pinned to my strapless bra (thank goodness for safety pins! ;-).

I used Simplicity 8764 before so I didn't look at the instructions much. I had already tweaked the pattern to my body so everything seemed straight forward enough. I made the long tube dress first (with no peplum), and moved the centre back slit to the left side. I felt that a side seam would make it easier to walk around and it would be nice to show a little bit of the leg. I added a slip from under the bust to just above the side slit, with a nude slip that I thrifted at my local thrift store last year.

After I have sewn the plain tube dress to my satisfaction, I drafted the peplum. Most websites suggested drafting the peplum into a full circle. I thought it would be too frilly for me so I made it into 3 quarters of a circle. In hindsight, a full circle would have looked better I think. I sewed the peplum end to end, then sewed the top of the peplum to a ring of narrow elastic. This allows me to position this detachable peplum to wherever I felt best. And best of all, if peplums are out of fashion next year, I can just wear this tube dress without the peplum (I like flexibility and versatility in all my garment creations).

I have learned much from making this dress. I had been avoiding the peplum thinking that it would make me look more stumpy but I think I was wrong. This peplum covered my mommy tummy well enough and I didn't look too stumpy. I guess I will try to make more garments with detachable peplums from now on!

I am quite satisfied with this attempt of the strapless peplum gown. Now I feel more confident in making my friend's strapless peplum gown!

You can see my Review for this Pattern on PatternReview.com.

Pantone Autumn 2014 Colours

Summer has just arrived in the Northern Hemisphere but Pantone has already published their Fashion Colour Report for Fall 2014:

Source: Pantone.com

I like some of the stronger, jewel tone colours - Royal Blue, Aurora Red, Sangria, Bright Colbalt and Cypress - which usually work better for my colouring. The other colours don't work so well on me. I think I already have fabrics in Sangria, Bright Colbalt and Cypress in my stash. I don't think I want to think about sewing Autumn/Winter clothes just yet. It's hot and I don't want to be handling wool fabrics right now.

What do you think of the Pantone Fall Colours? Do the colour reports really influence your fabric choices when you are sewing?

Copycat Fashion: A Tribute to McQueen and Sherlock Dress

When I used to travel frequently by air for business, it was always difficult to pack business clothes when I had to visit clients' sites in the American South in the summer. The lined linen jackets always stuck to my skin and made me really uncomfortable. I would sweat profusely even on a walk from the air-conditioned car to the air-conditioned office. I didn't know this then but what I really needed was some professional looking short sleeve dresses that would eliminate the need for a separate jacket. And of course they have to pack well in my tiny carry-on suitcase.

.....which leads me to the creation of this garment. As with many, I'm a big fan of the BBC Sherlock series (a modern adaptation of the classic Sherlock Holmes stories). In season 2 episode 1, I was 'in love' when I saw Irene Adler in this dress:

 (source)

This is actually an Alexander McQueen dress with faux jacket flaps in the front. The back is completely smooth. I thought it looked vintage, professional and feminine all at the same time. I had been looking through my pattern stash to see if there were any patterns I could adapt this look to. I tried drafting the extra pieces based on a few woven sheath dress patterns but with no luck. I couldn't figure out how to incorporate the lining pieces into it. Eventually I decided it would be easier to try to copy this dress in knit. I searched my fabric stash and found a small piece (less than 1 metre) of grey polyester moderate stretch knit that I had for at least 6 years. There was just enough to do this dress. And the polyester knit is travel friendly too!

I used my go-to moderate stretch knit pattern Butterick 6771 (again) as a base and then drafted the faux jacket front flap, the facings, modified the dress front neckline and shortened the sleeves. It was actually pretty quick to sew. It only took me a couple of nights to get it done. And here is my Tribute to McQueen and Irene Adler dress:

 

(I guess I should have ironed the dress front more.....oh well....)

 

I am happy with how this has turned out. When I was thinking and planning for it in my head, I was totally prepared for this to be an unwearable 'proof of concept'. The fact that I was able to use stash pattern, stash fabric and stash buttons for this was great for me. I think I can wear this not only for the office, but perhaps for a school function, or even a wedding, depending on how I'm going to accessorize this. Another travel friendly versatile dress and I'm busting my fabric/notions stash again! Yay!

Little White Dress - Finally finished!

After 3 failed attempts for the Little White Dress contest, I finally made one that I considered good enough for the contest. Here it is:

It's based on Butterick 6076 from 1999. I had made 2 dresses out of this pattern before (see this post).

I had put additional restrictions on my entry to this contest: only use stash pattern and stash fabrics. I barely had enough of this almost white linen mix fabric for this little dress. Since white linen is quite translucent, I used some remnant white broadcloth for the lining and the foundation (I barely had enough of these as well). I did my usual short waist adjustment and shortened the hem. I lost a little weight so my chest area is not squished anymore.

Here is how I imagine the dress going from the office to a dinner date:

At the Office, I would wear a belt with professional looking shoes and a navy blazer:

For the dinner date, I would take off the blazer, add some jet black self-made necklace and ring and a little black purse:

The versatility of this dress doesn't stop here! With a bouquet, self-made pearl necklace and bracelet and some bling bling shoes, this simple dress can become a simple wedding dress:

I'm pretty happy with this Little White Dress after all the fails and tears. I can finally breathe a sigh of relief! Now I need to go and tackle that pile of mending/repairs that has been growing.....

In search for The Most Versatile Little Black Dress (LBD)

Like most women I'm always on the lookout for the most versatile Little Black Dress (LBD) - but of course I'm looking for THAT sewing pattern that can give me the most versatile LBD. I have accumulated a large quantity of sewing patterns in the last 15 years of learning to sew. I think this is the year that I make that versatile LBD. I have made/refasioned black dresses but they just didn't seem to be as versatile as I want them to be. For example:

1. The Safety Pin Dress. This is a nice cotton knit long sleeves dress that I pinned the safety pins to. It's actually pretty versatile. I can just take out the safety pins and wear it for the office (a bit short but with a jacket and opague tights it should look okay), to the bank, to school events, or even a funeral. With the safety pins I can wear it to a cocktail party, birthday dinner, company evening functions, etc. The only drawback is that it is long sleeves so it's good for all seasons except the summer.

2. The Black Sweater Dress. This is a great versatile dress except it's only for winter. It's super warm so not good for the other 3 seasons.

3. Stretch Velvet Halter Long Dress. Nice but not versatile. Obviously only for special occasions in the colder seasons.

4. Refashioned cotton mix stretch knit Tabot Dress. I really like wearing this dress in the summer. It's a good weight stretchy ribbed knit that doesn't require me to wear a slip and retains its shape. It's great for running after 2 kids. The only drawback is the ribbed knit material and the white trim on the neckline and armholes make it not polished enough for the office or funerals.

So after looking at these black dresses in my closet, it makes me wonder: is there really an LBD out there that is so versatile that one can wear it:

• In all seasons
• For all occasions - the office, funerals, special occasions, lounging, running after kids, etc.
• Can be machine washed and tumble-dried (okay I can relax on the tumble dry criteria)
• Requires no ironing
• Can retains it shape for years
• Doesn't go out of style
• Is made of a material that can look polished and casual at the same time

So what do you think? Do you think the ultimate versatile LBD really exists out there? Do you have a versatile LBD that you would like to share?

Jumping on the checkered clothing bandwagon - McCall 5273 pants

I have had this grey/black checkered cotton knit since 2009. I bought it at a liquidation sale at a local fabric store and hadn't really used it. It's slightly stretchy with a firm hand. It's a bit heavy to use for spring and summer. So this Fall I decided to use it for a pair of slim pants.

I have noticed how popular checkered fabrics seem to be this Fall/Winter. Many high end designers and high street labels have produced checkered pants, dresses, tops and jackets this season. I guess I'm jumping on the checkered bandwagon too, while busting my fabric stash from 2009! Yoohoo!!

I used my altered McCall's 5273 close fitting pull-on pants pattern. I knew that they would not be leggings-like. I just wanted them to be slim knit pants that I can wear under tunics. And here is the result:

The pants don't look that great as is but under a tunic they seem okay (excuse the wrinkles on the tunic - I had been wearing it all day):

I'm happy with them. They are slim fitting which means they will fit into winter boots easily and I can also wear them with flats. I guess I'm on the checkered trend now!

Refashion: Grey XL Men tee to side tie ladies' tee

I was given this grey XL men's tee by a family member and I was actually using it for sleeping. It seems to be of good quality and the material is not thin and it wasn't stretched out of shape. I thought I could do something with it to increase my options for Me-Made May 2013.

(Source: Hanes.com)

I remember seeing a tutorial by mytwobutterflies regarding a men's tshirt refashion (see this post) so I thought I would try it too. But first I cut off the existing ribbed neckline and made it into a boatneck. I sewed a piece of clear elastic on the wrong side to prevent the neckline from stretching out further. I then cut the sleeves off, cut off some of the sides to make the shirt narrower and made cap sleeves. Then I cut off some of the bottom length and made the side ties as per the tutorial. The last thing to do was to turn the raw edges under and then topstitched. Voila! A very quick and easy tshirt transformation! Thanks for the idea Jennifer (of mytwobutteriflies)!

Encore Pattern Review: McCall's 5273 pants

Since making the red skinny pants (see this post) and tweaking the pattern to my liking, I thought I would make another pair of skinny pants with the same pattern in another stash fabric. This time I chose a baby blue stretch cotton that I bought quite a few years ago. I don't remember if I bought it for myself or for the kids. Anyway, I had enough yardage so I just cut and sewed the pants quickly. The fabric doesn't have as much stretch as the red stretch cotton so the fit is a bit loser on me. I added back pockets again and added a zig-zag design to the pockets to jazz it up a bit.

For these pants, I decided to make the Reitman style waistband (no closure pull on waistband). I refashioned another pair of me-made pants a few years back with this style of waist band and was happy with it (See this post) so I thought I'd try it again with these pants. I used the waistband pattern piece as a guide to draft a front and a back waistband. I used a 3/4 inch elastic and zig-zagged it into the seam allowance. I know others had tried to replicate the Reitman style waistband with 1/4 inch clear elastics but I really feel that I need the thick heavy waistband to hold back my tummy rolls so that the waistband doesn't roll over.

I'm pretty happy with these pants and I think I can probably get away with wearing these pastel coloured pants in the spring and summer days (with an untucked top). I'm also happy that I have tweaked this pattern enough that I can sewed these pants up easily and quickly.

Me Made May - May 1 to May 6

I've not blogged for a little while. Each Spring and Fall, the kids and adults in our household always have these lingering colds going on - not sick enough to be totally out of commission, but sick enough to be tired and cranky all day every day. I have done some sewing and refashioning but I haven't taken pictures yet. They will be coming soon.

Anyway, here are my outfits for the first 6 days of 'So, Zo...'s Me Made May. I did pledge to wear at least 2 items of me-made or me-altered clothing/accessories each day. Well, I think I did it!

May 1:

Top: Me-Altered Men's XL argyle cotton sweater (see this post)
Bottom: store bought leggings





















May 2:

Top 1: Me-altered thrift shop cotton cardigan (I just changed the buttons)
Top 2: Thrifted cotton t-shirt
Bottom: Me-Made red skinny jeans (see this post)















May 3:

Dress: Me-altered Large ribbed knit dress that was down to my calves. I shortened the hem and took in the shoulder seams and the side seams to fit me better.

















May 4:

Top: Me-Made cotton tunic. This is a regular favourite of mine for the past few summers. It's lightweight and blocks out some sun even when I forgot to put on sunscreen. The black/white print goes with everything (see this post).
Pants: Me-Made stretch cotton woven shorts based on Vogue 8041.













May 5:

 Top: Me-Made cotton voile peasant top (see this post). Also a summer favourite for the past few years.
Botton: Me-Made Red skinny jeans (what? The red jeans are making a repeat appearance already? Must have been on top of the laundry pile!)















May 6:

Dress: Me-altered cotton dress (see this post)
Botton: store bought leggings


















You might have noticed that some of the days I have only worn 1 piece of me-made/me-altered clothing in the pictures. But wait! I was wearing this me-altered hat out all week (see this post):

Preparing for a Self-Stitched Sept 2012 challenge!

Last September I entered 'So, Zo...'s Self-stitched Sept 2011 challenge. It was the first time in a long time that I had really thought about what I was going to wear each day. Usually I just go to the stack of folded clean clothes in the corner of the bedroom and grab the things on top. It was actually fun to plan and coordinate each outfit for the week. I haven't really looked to see if another blogger is having a Self-stitched Sept 2012 challenge so I'm going to just do it myself for fun. If you would like to join me, please drop me a line!

This Fall is probably going to be a season of sweater dresses. I refashioned 5 sweater dresses when I was pregnant with my 2nd child. I tried them on last night and some require some adjustment. I would like to refashion 2 more so that I would have a different one for each day of the week. I also need to make some more leggings to wear with these sweater dresses. I need to search through my fabric stash to see what stretchy fabrics I have. I am trying to not buy new materials and just use whatever is in my fabric/refashion stash to make new clothes. So I'm going to be busy with making leggings and sweater dresses for the next few weeks.

Again, if you would like to join me for a Self-stitched Sept 2012 challenge please let me know!

Trendy handbag for $5

I thrifted this patent faux croc bag for $5 a few months ago. There was nothing wrong with it. It wasn't even dirty.Lately I've seen lots of these patent croc bags in magazines. It seems like it's all the rage for this Fall/Winter 2011 season. I'm happy I am on trend for only a fiver!

Are they for real? Torn sweater for $255!!!

I just saw this 'Designer sweater' with 'artfully placed holes' on an upscale store site for $255. Are they for real? I don't even think the thrift stores will put something like this out on their racks. Wow! I guess I really don't know anything about 'fashion' these days!

A little luxury for me

Okay! Call me crazy! I'm almost 6 months pregnant and I bought a pair of patent mary jane heels today. Why did I do that? When am I going to have a chance to wear them?

I didn't plan this really. I haven't bought shoes for myself for more than 2 years. I was actually looking for educational toys for my son when I walked by these shoes. They called out to me. They looked really cute and I'm a sucker for mary jane heels. I tried them on. I liked the look of them even though they are a bit high for me to walk in (I haven't worn heels for a few years). They were on sale. I bought them. Yes I'm weak.



Now I'll have to make a dress to go with these shoes! And of course I'll have to find an occasion to wear them too.