I Never Thought I'd Be In This Kinda Situation

 I feel so honored right now. Do you know Annette Tirette? She is awesome, makes wonderful clothes, makes her own GIFS, and on April 1 she posted a post in which she named ME as a giveaway winner. 

I need to pause the story here to explain that I love the online sewing community; even though I sew very sporadically and off-and-on, I read sewing blogs pretty much every day. I don't care at all that most of you guys are older and wiser than I (I don't mean any offense in this at all; I'm just saying that I'm in a different stage of life than most of the bloggers I follow) because you make the most amazing things evah.Not only that, but you seem like awesome individuals too. And another thing I love about the sewing community is how much you love giveaways! I've entered so many, even though I'm hesitant to comment on all those official blogs--me? Little old me communicating with you sewing deities?? Intimidating!

So entering blog giveaways; I've done that before. But WINNING one?? No way!! When I emailed Anneke, I even mentioned how I wanted to make sure that this happenstance wasn't an Arpil Fool's joke. Do they have April Fools Day in Belgium? Idk.

But it wasn't a fluke! I won something! And seriously, it made my whole week. I was so damn excited!! I knew that shipping from Belgium to Iowa would take a while, but when I returned to school to start Mayterm, that wonderful little package slip was in my mailbox :) Behold:

 

 3 meters :) I couldn't really see the red stripes in the blog post, and it kind of reminds me of my high school plaid uniform skirt, which is made up of these colors. This scared me for a second, but  the difference is that this fabric actually makes the color combo look nice, so I'm not worried.

When I saw that I won, I immediately thought of making it into a Colette Hazel, but now I'm feeling the totally irrational need to make it into a romper. I've haven't worn a romper since I stopped wearing diapers, so I think it'd be pretty dumb of me to test the trend out on super special Annette Tirette fabric. What to do, what to do...

Oh, and not only did Anneke send me the fabric, but also a handwritten not with a Flight of the Conchords sketch (reinforcing my suspicion that this lady is amazing) and some BELGIUM CHOCOLATE. Best. Day. EVER.

Circle Skirt Dress

 

      A few weeks ago I found this awesome floofy circle skirt at the thrift store across the street from campus. I go there way more than I should because they have a bin of sewing notions for 50 cents ;)
It's a really long skirt; it hits me almost at my ankles. This doesn't look very flattering on me but I loved the print so I got it anyway, paid $4.25 yo!
     Then I had the idea to wear it as a dress. It was really tight though, turns out my waist and upper chest collarbone area aren't the same size. So I ripped the waistband off and turned it into a belt. I put elastic on the skirt's waistband to make sure it stays up. So now I have a pretty strapless dress and I could theoretically wear it as a skirt still!

 Student Senate hosted a formal, so I actually had someplace to wear the dress! I made boyfriend take cheesy homecoming-style picture with me :D

                                                                          Titanic!

I really meant to get some pictures of it on the hanger, but I never did, and now I'm at home on break and the dress is still at school. And I wrote this post at least two weeks ago, so I'm calling it good and posting.

My Dad Made Me a Box!

Don't you love getting new things to aid you in your hobbling? I sure do!

And for once I got something to HOLD my sewing gear instead of adding to the pile!

AND it was a Christmas present!

And my dad MADE it!

 One night in mid-December, I was holding my sewing box when the bottom fell out of it. 

It looked like something from out of a carton--the bottom just fell, followed closely by my sewing tools.

But it's cool because now I have this lovely to keep all my thread neatly stored in!

(The rest of my tools are still chilling in a Maurices shoebox)

My dad's awesome, y'all. He even put my initial on the front!

And varnished it all glossy!

And it kind of reeks of varnish but I'm okay with that :D 

Because now I have a wooden briefcase-y box for all my thread needs!

When Sewing and Zelda Collide

Three cheers for me for finishing a Christmas present finally!

Let's just overlook the fact that I still have about 4 more to make, because I warned everyone

that they might end up being Easter presents

 Numero Uno is a jacket AI made for my boyfriend. I finished it at the beginning of last week.

Can you tell it's supposed to look like Link's outfit? I'm not into Zelda but boyfriend very much is.

No pattern for this one! I just traced one of boyfriend's jackets that I have custody of.

The hood ended up tiny though so I recut one making it just about as big as my fabric scrap would allow because what use is a defunct hood for an adventurer like Link??

what if you get caught in a rainstorm 

or have to conceal your identity

or have a bad hair day?

I made a stencil from wax paper and fabric painted the TriForce logo onto the back and it 

DOESN'T EVEN LOOK TOO BAD

 Sadly I don't have any good pictures of the hoodie on its owner, but I took plenty before I gifted it ;D

Don't the sleeves look really badly proportioned and thick? I was so scared it wouldn't fit.

I was so concerned I made boyfriend try it on with his eyes closed when it was half constructed

Thankfully it fit

He asked if it was a poncho

In other news I don'[t know where my camera is; I probably left it at home, 5 hours southbound.

So pics here are from my dumb phone (opposite of a smartphone)

I'm determined to borrow a camera from either my school's Art or Comm Arts department

I think I pay this place enough to be able to borrow a camera

Evergreen Skirt

I used Nette's Scallop Button Up Skirt Pattern. Learned that I am very
inconsistent when I try to sew scallops; some look slightly curved, and a lot just look pointy :P
  I'm really happy with how the piping looks! And how huge the pockets are!

  The process threw me off--hem first?! what?! but it was nice at the end when I realized I didn't have to hem it cause it was already doneeee :D

                                                            

 I didn't have enough solid green for the whole thing, so I used quilting cotton for the hem facing and the inside part of the pocket.

 Also, I didn't want to topstitch, so I used a catchstitch to secure the waistband down, the button facings, and the hem facings. It was a lot of hand sewing, but I made it through half of Season 2 of New Girl that night, so that made it bearable. Sidenote: I didn't know Season 2 was on Netflix!! It was such a nice surprise!

Coach Tour Dress in Knockoff

 

 

 

 

This is basically what it comes down to

      Hey world: I made a knockoff Modcloth dress! Eeeeee, I'm so proud of myself! My dream wardrobe is pretty much comprised of Modcloth apparel, and now I have a dress that looks like theirs but I made it! And I saved money! And I madeeeee it! And it actually looks like the dress I was modeling it after!!!!

     I realized a  while ago that a ton of dresses I love from Modcloth  are pretty basic shapes; they just have lots of cute details that make them look so amazing. I looked up the details on their Coach Tour Dress and it didn't seem too complex. I found the blue double knit on fashionfabricsclub.com and was initially nervous since I'd never sewn with double knit before. The description said it was good for cheer uniforms and choir robes and I was like ehhhhhh maybe not, but I decided to risk it and it worked great. Easy to sew and I don't need a zipper!

And the buttons! I love the little Celtcic knot heart buttons! That's what I love about making my own version of the dress-- I had a basic shape to work off of but got to change it up however I wanted.

I used Simplicity 2145 as a base, but made lots of changes. I made a waistband and the little button tabs, and changed the pleats to gathers in the center. I left off the underbust gathers from the original dress-- I hate boob gathers!!I think they look awkward :P

     I used the bodice for the cowl neck view, because I figured the triangular collar kind of equated to shawl collar. Turns out it's not really; the fit was all loose up top. While trying it on I noticed it actually looked better backwards, so I cut out a 2nd back piece, a little wider, and used it for the front. Whatever works!

the buttons seriously might be my favorite part

  I completely winged it on the collar; I just cut a tube of fabric with the circumference of the neck hole and sewed it on, the put the dress on and dress on where I wanted to cut it. I'm completely surprised it worked out as smoothly as it did; I thought I was going to have to spend a ton of time figuring out how to shape it, but I managed to get it the right shape on the first try!
  
I've never really been into cowl necks, but the dress looked so cute, I figured I'd try this shawl cowl neck-ey thing and see. I think I can pull it off-- I feel sort of like a Boyscout wearing a neckerchief though.

check out that asymmetry ;)

finished all those raw edges with lace. BY HAND AWYEAH!

 All in all, I'm just really happy that I was able to see something I liked and replicate it. It makes me feel so proud and skilled, like, I was able to do that, on my own. Wowza :D

The Taffy that Almost Wasn't

     So I started this Taffy last year, around September or Octoberish I think. I tried to make bias tape out of the main fabric, and since I was new to making bias tape and the fabric is so light and drapey, it worked out pretty terribly. Then I finished the neckline and one of the sleeves with the bias tape, and that ended up a mess. So I got frustrates and threw the blouse back in with all my fabric.

     Then two nights before I went home for Christmas break I felt the need to sew, but knew it wouldn't be a smart idea to start a whole new project, because I'd have to pack up all the little pieces and take it home.

     So over a year after I started it, I ripped all the crappily applied bias tape, reapplied it, finished the other sleeve, and hemmed the sucker.

      I wasn't sure how I felt about the sleeves at first, but I think I like how huge and fluttery they are now. I really like the fabric too-- I got it at the thrift store across the street from campus, so I'm sure it was less than $5. It's so silky smooth with a stripey design.


 I used the Taffy blouse pattern from the Colette Sewing Handbook. It's been forever since I started the project so I'm not completely sure, but I think the only change I made to the pattern was to take out the darts. I also left off the back ties. It's a pretty loose but still flattering fit. No closures necessary!

 This is the first pattern I used French seams on. They're so neat and finished looking!

The sleeves look so pretty!!!