Buttonholes....eesh

Yet another reason why I hardly ever make button-up blouses (or anything button-up for that matter), is because I hate making buttonholes. It is SO HARD and takes a lot of patience and nit-picky techniques to get a good row of straight, evenly placed, balanced buttonholes. And yesterday's buttonholes were no different....even though my blouse now has the best row of buttonholes I have ever made-- a silver lining. 

It all starts with placement and size of the buttonholes. I think all women agree with me that the gaping open blouse from a left-side view is the worse thing that happens when it comes to blouses. I hate it so much, that I decided to add twice as many buttons to make sure the girls are out of view and in place, which I think more blouses should consider in the production process. I also decided on 3/8" buttons, which means 1/2" buttonholes. Each pin represents the top of a new buttonhole in the picture below. 

After about doing six buttonholes, I realized that I was still making the buttonholes too small. This is another reason why I hate this process: the Bernina buttonhole foot isn't the clearest of feet. When you think you've measured out a 1/2" on the foot measure, it's really more like 3/8" when the hole is opened (which is precisely what I did). Thank goodness I was smart and didn't open the holes until I was completely sure I had it right, because making new buttonholes on holes that are already made and cut out is near impossible. So I picked out all the darn stitching and made all new buttonholes that were extremely straight and even, mind you. A pat on the back.

While opening the holes with my super-sharp embroidery scissors and thread picker, I cute myself, leaving traces of blood all over the blouse. I then proceeded to wash the blouse to get the blood out, and thank the heavens it is 100% cotton and that Spray and Wash works the best on cotton, or else I would have a ruined shirt with traces of my DNA all down the front. But by buttonholes really are very good! 

Oh, and I used the fray check on the stitching of the buttonholes after I opened them so that the threads don't come out over time. Good tip. 

I sew even when I have to make a blouse three times for it turn out well.

My title is right. I have now made my shirt three times so far, but I think I have finally hit the nail on the head, and I now also have a pattern that is perfect for all future blouses. The first blouse you saw, and it was a total fail. The second blouse I made was from my snake dress pattern, but I had a few issues with the chest:

Because I am not a B cup, easing the princess seams together on the chest was a bit difficult, and it came out looking like gathers-- not very flattering for a larger cup size, AND remember how I said last time you need to add 7" to a bodice pattern to make a shirt? Make that 9". So I scrapped the whole shirt and started again. I wonder why I didn't use muslin first??? *slaps head*

The easing on the next try went a lot better after I fixed the pattern. I had to make the cup size for the shirt smaller than usual-- that may be wrong, but it was the only way it was going to fit properly! Sometimes I just have to break the rules. And it does fit very well.

I used flat-felled seams for the seam finishes, which makes it look uber-professional and not home-made. It took a ton of time to do, but it was well worth it.  I am extremely proud of my hem, by the way. The last time I did a clean finish hem like this was when I made my husband a dress shirt in one of my sewing classes, and I accidentally hemmed it to the outside of the shirt instead of the inside-- I have learned a few things about paying attention and being focused since that class.

Tomorrow I'll have the neckline done (still debating on what I'm going to do for that-- to ruffle or not to ruffle?) and hopefully the sleeves.

Making a shirt pattern from a bodice pattern

I've decided to make my suit blouse with princess seams, so that if I need to alter it, it would be far easier than using a basic two dart pattern. I used my unfinished snake dress bodice to make the shirt, without the neckline yoke for the dress. To make a shirt out of a bodice pattern, you simply add 9" in length to the waistline seam of the bodice, making sure you add enough width to fit the abdomen.

Thoughts are like Wrinkles

Until about 11 last night I was working on my suit blouse, but to no avail. I hate it. I don't know what I was thinking using this pattern again and making this shirt. It's awful, and the sleeves I made are also too small. So it is back to the drawing board. 

I do love the fabric I bought for the shirt, however. It is an Italian cotton with a textured weave and it is gorgeous. I think what I am going to make is this shirt I found at Anthropologie with my cotton, no collar, button front, but shorter sleeves. Simple, and to my taste:

On to pattern making, but first, MADSTA: I added two more roses. Your comments were spot on! The detail roses are much more balanced and less "random"!

Ignore the shirt-- I didn't make it.

My skirt is done and I LOOOVVVEEE it. I love the lining, I love the flowers (I didn't add more), and I love the cut and length of the skirt. It is perfect for a complete suit, don't you think? The lining is the same stretch charmeuse  from Whitney's yellow skirt-- I bought about ten yards of it so I could use it more! And no, I am not wearing any makeup nor did I have a shower in the following photos.

A sewing tip:

When cutting out your waistband facings for skirts, cut the waist edge and bottom edge of the facing 1/8" more, so that when you favor the edges of the waistline seam, the facing won't run wider than the waistband, making it easier to finish the edges and secure the lining to the skirt. This will also stop waistbands and yokes bubbling from a facing that is too wide.

Details, part deux

I decided to nix the wave pattern that i was planning on yesterday, and opted for roses. I was sure it would turn out much better than the waves, and much easier to hem with the hem facing that I like to use on my skirts. The hemming was tricky where the roses lay on the bottom of the skirt, but it was still doable. I do think I need more roses, because when I wear it, you can hardly see the rose detail from the front. So more roses it is! I hope I can finish this skirt tomorrow. I still need to line it. 

I finished the edges of my roses by serging an overlock stitch before top stitching the roses on the skirt. This stitch I've been using recently on this organza fabric- it makes it look really professional and more "done" than just leaving the edges raw.

PS: I had to do the zipper twice-- I was stitching too close to the zipper teeth on the first try. 

Details

Started work on my suit skirt today, and I'm using the pencil skirt pattern I have made before, which is perfect, but I've decided to take it a step further by adding a ruffle detail at the hem. What I have so far is only the beginning, and I'm thinking of doing a wave pattern on the entire circumference of the hem. Me like, but I hope my patience can last for this entire ruffle!

 

The whole nine yards (what does that saying even mean? Steve thinks it means a nine-yard suit, so that's why I'm using it)

I decided over the weekend that I am going to do what I haven't done before (checking things off that list), and I am going to make my version of a three piece suit. When I toured the Anne Klein offices in NYC three years ago with my sewing class, we talked a lot about the importance of a well made suit for women, and how suits are somewhat going down hill now that America has decided that pajamas are ok to wear to work. I generally don't like suits on women at all, unless it is a skirt suit with a mis-matched jacket and a frilly white blouse underneath... which is exactly what I am going to make. Certainly not pajamas. 

I planned it all out on Saturday. I went to Yellow Bird for NEW (!!!) fabric since I have nothing (Insert Steve's eye-rolls here) that works. 

I bought a cotton/lycra in a black-navy-gray sort of color that I adore, which is perfect for a skirt since it is stretchy. I also bought an Italian shirting that has a texture to it to create interest in the shirt (since frills aren't enough for me, apparently). The fabric I did have that I've been dying to use is my leopard jacquard, which will be used as the jacket. Don't the colors go SO WELL together!!!???

The skirt is going to be kind of like this. 

The blouse is going to be kind of like this.

And the jacket is kind of like this.

the photos of my family.

Here they are. I have to say that Bridgette puts Steve and Me to serious shame with her cuteness. Steve and I are tempted to just print out pictures of her and put her all over our apartment. She makes my heart explode with pride! She is my baby and I am her MAMA!

This group photo is my true favorite.

Blah.

I am feeling very uninspired today. Can't think of one thing to sew. I've browsed all of the NYTimes Runway slide shows, but nothing is hitting me. I've even looked through Kate Spade (my go-to for inspiration), but to no avail. I feel like I don't have the right fabric for anything that looks remotely good. I need a trip to Yellow Bird. Or to Mood.

Where's your jet-pack, Zuckerberg?

I couldn't resist. Yesterday, after finishing Whitney's denim skirt, I made an Identical one for myself. It took me about 3 hours (only because I had JUST finished one and knew exactly what I needed to do = no trial and error). I love it love it love it. It is perfect summer and it is just a PERFECT SKIRT!

Here is a great tip when sewing bulky fabrics, like denim or wool: When sewing a perpendicular seam on top of two already existing seams, like at the side seam hem or waistband hem, clip into the seam allowances before you sew at the 5/8" mark, so that when you press the seams out, you wont have huge bulging seams that are impossible to iron and make flat. I learned this trick in my tailoring class for jacket hems, but I think it can be used in all sorts of sewing situations. And, of course, always trim and grade seam allowances that sit on top of each other. It may take a little time, but it is well worth it!

PS: my zipper for this skirt went off without a hitch. My technique is truly flawless (the invisible zipper foot also helps)!

PSS: Here is a sneak-peak to my family photos. Bridgette's are my favorite. 

Another Day, Another Hem.

I sewed the hem today for Whitney's skirt. The hem on a denim skirt or jacket or jeans is very important. It has to be wide enough and heavy enough to keep the edges from turning up, especially after several washes. I think we've all seen this happen on little girls' denim skirts that are of a lesser quality. The best hem I could come up with was the same hem facing technique I used on Whitney's yellow skirt. It is just a go-to hem. 

I am very tempted to keep this skirt for myself! I'll just have to make a second one!

Two-fer

I sewed up Whitney's skirt today, and I tried it on (just curious), and it is SO FLATTERING. I think I'll be making a pencil denim skirt for myself here!

After doing a little research, I've decided to just put in an invisible zipper for this skirt. It seems that for a pencil skirt without a CF opening (like jeans), invisible is really the only way to go. This better work...

About Yesterday....

Steve rarely ever reads my blog, and whenever he does, he always finds something wrong with it. Like, I spelled a word wrong, the pictures don't look very good, or I used the wrong word. This time, it was the latter. 

Remember yesterday's post? Called "Onward, Sewers"? Steve ran into the living room as I was watching the Bachelor last night, yelling in a semi mocking tone: "Ellen! You used the word SEWERS instead of just seamstresses! It doesn't mean both things!" He meant "sewer" as in a gross, nasty sewer that is meant to be left in Batman comics and Les Miserables.

I suddenly got a very confused look on my face.... did "sewer" really not mean someone who sewed? "I never thought of that...".

During a commercial, I looked it up in my handy dandy iphone dictionary, and "sewer" both means "a person who sews", like me, and "the infrastructure that conveys sewage".

SO, rest well my followers. The college education I claim to have still stands strong, even with my husband reading over my shoulder, trying to get me to not make a fool of myself on this blog as I have done so many times before.

But just to be sure, did anyone else think I meant what Steve thought I meant?

Onward, Sewers.

Today I am making a second skirt for Whitney, the same style as her yellow one, but this time made out of comfy, casual stretch denim. I love making things that I already have a pattern for that I know fits perfectly!

I bought the fabric last summer in the LA fashion district. I bought about 30 yards of it for $60... a total steal. It has a great dark color and oodles of stretch. Yay that I'm finally using it! And yay that I don't have to buy new fabric! I have to do some research on what kind of zipper to use with denim-- I think that the fabric would be too bulky for a dinky invisible zipper. More on that tomorrow.... (pray that I don't have zipper drama!)

Everything You Ever Needed to Know

This is my new favorite blog: enchanted serenity of period films

It tells you everything and everyone about new period films that are coming up on BBC, A&E, in theaters, and every other publishing practice. I love it. It also has a lot of interviews from costume designers like Jenny Beaven (she won an Oscar for the costumes in Sense and Sensibility, and I also wrote a research paper about her in college :D) and others. Please take a gander if you are movie buff, or period movie buff, like myself. 

By they way, I just read Tess of the d'Ubervilles in two days and I highly recommend it. Also buy the latest movie on iTunes for 6 and 99 cents. I watched it twice through. 

Funny story: when we went to get our photos taken, the photographer asked me if I studied the Regency or Victorian era in school, and Steve chimed in with: "'Study' meaning she watches a lot of Jane Austen movies". pfft. 

She captured my Vision.

Steve, Bridgette, and I got our family photos taken yesterday, and as far as I could tell by her digital camera image window, the woman who took them got it exactly right. EXACTLY. 

I wanted our family photos to be neo-Victorian (when I told the rest of my family this, all they could do was laugh and say, "Well, of course"). Neo-Victorian meaning like these photos below, but modern:

This is obviously a picture from a Romantic Period movie, but still in the 19th century. All you costume girls at BYU who read my blog will be happy I made the distinction :)

The Mates of State album cover is what originally inspired me. They are also one of favorite bands. They can do no wrong.

So the Family and I got all dolled up last night for our big photo shoot. These photos would be the first family photos we've taken since our engagement photos back in 2008. It was definitely time. Bridgette got some great shots! I am SO EXCITED to show all of you the photos we get when they are done next week! But for a sneak peak, check out my fab-o neo-Victorian hairstyle that my friend Clarissa did! I didn't want to take my hair out afterward. I'm tempted to ask her to do my hair everyday.

Sorry my blog has been so non-sewing lately. I have so many jobs right now for Poor Man's Wife, and once I am done with those I'll get back to sewing regularly!