The Sew Weekly

The "Not Quite Hawaii" Playsuit

The Facts
Fabric: Vintage cotton Hawaiian print from Alameda Antique Fair - $18 for three yards
Pattern: Simplicity 2444 c. 1948
Notions: Vintage buttons - $.0005
Year: c. 1948
Time to complete: About 4 hours
First worn: May 2010
Wear again? Yes.

Total Cost: ~$18 *

*price of pattern is calculated in first playsuit.

Before our New England trip came together, we had been planning to do some sort of tropical vacation. This playsuit was one of the first items I made -- the intention being that it would be perfect for some sort of island getaway. It turns out that the playsuit served me well in Marblehead, Massachusetts rather than the Caribbean.

The pattern is the same one used for the "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries Playsuit." This time it was much easier to construct since I had already conquered the yoked collar and sleeves. The only issue was the button placement - I didn't plan for enough room between the waistband button and the buttons directly above and below. So, there is no button at the waistband; I'm still planning to add snaps to it, however. In the meantime, I've taken a shortcut and wear a belt over the flaw.

Here's a shot of me wearing the playsuit after dinner in Marblehead. I have the same expression my grandmother often makes in photographs -- kind of a pained smiled. In my case, the sun was in my eyes. Because of this resemblance, I couldn't resist adding the border and changing the photo to black and white.  

Or, if you prefer, here is a color version of the playsuit.

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Back from Vacation

While I intended to post while I was on vacation, my vacation got in the way of that plan. The past three weeks were spent on the East Coast -- two weeks housesitting for friends in Manhattan and a week exploring coastal New England.

I'm proud to say that while I failed miserably in documenting my Me-Made-May participation, I did indeed only wear clothes I made during the entire vacation (the exception being two knit cardigans I wore when it was cold). Looking through the 1,200 photos we took on our trip (mostly of our daughter), I managed to find a few shots of some of the outfits I was wearing.

It was certainly a challenge to participate in Me-Made-May while on vacation. Here's some factors that made things tougher:

• The weather changed a lot. In the two weeks I was in New York City, the weather ranged from humid & hot, cold & wet to sunny & perfect.
• While I had access to a sewing machine, I didn't have any of my patterns. I hadn't planned on sewing during the trip but ended up needing to mend a few things. That, of course, turned into sewing another pair of pants and a dress.
• I have to hand wash a lot of the stuff I make so I couldn't just throw things into the washer when they were dirty.
• When you're busy doing things, you forget to take photos!

If you have ever been on an extended vacation with anyone, you know the feeling once you've arrived home. "I love you. I had a great time. Now go away." That's how I feel about my travel clothes right now. 

Leading up to the trip, I ended up making about ten new clothing items in the span of two weeks. That pace kind of exhausted me. As a result, I plan on slowing the pace down a bit and focusing on quality over quantity -- I'm looking at you wonky zippers! 

At any rate, I'm glad to be back!

Me-Made-May: May 7, 8

Being busy packing and sewing, I haven't had a chance to post my Me-Made-May pictures until now. Here I am in the same pants (to be fair to me, I didn't go out of the house for more than a couple hours this entire weekend so I'm allowed to repeat. I'm wearing a sports bra in the first photo so that's why I have a massive uni-breast (I was just running errands!). The shirt is a knit top as seen in this post.  Saturday's outfit was the exact same one from Thursday. 

Unfortunately the photo I took on Mother's Day wasn't saved to my phone so I don't have record of it. For accounting purposes, I was wearing this dress with the new Re-Mix Vintage shoes Ben got me for Mother's Day!

Visiting New York

I'm going to be traveling to New York and, although I been there many times, have never spent time looking for sewing resources. Does anyone have any recommendations for stores that sell vintage supplies? Fabrics, notions, patterns? Are there any stores I just have to visit? Any other sort of vintage resources? I'm definitely hitting the Met's Costume Institute but would love additional suggestions.

Also, would any readers out there be interested in doing a meet-up of sorts?

Vacation Wardrobe Planning

I'm going on a three-week trip fairly soon and have busily been sewing my travel wardrobe. The challenge of packing light and packing right becomes a hundred times more complicated now that I have vowed not to buy clothes that I haven't made. That means there can't be a quick run to Old Navy to get some shorts and certainly no clothing shopping while I'm traveling. There are a lot of gaps in my wardrobe -- particularly separates. I need clothing that I can mix and match and stuff that I won't get sick of wearing on day 11. 

To fill these gaps, I made a plan of what exactly I needed to sew. Here it is represented in a cute little infographic. The darker icons represent what pieces of clothing have already been completed (all this week!). 

 
This post is more to keep me honest and remind me what I want to sew than any big revelation or something. Since folks seem to like to know what I'm up to sewing-wise, there you go.

I'll update each icon as I make progress.

Me-Made-May: May 6

I'm franticly sewing for my upcoming vacation and managed to knock this shirt and pants out last night. I'll be documenting this outfit as a weekly creation soon, though I think I'm going to have to start doing a daily creation post. In the past seven days I've made two dresses, two pairs of pants, one shirt, one playsuit/bathing and two skirts. My goal is to have at least three more shirts and two dresses finished by Monday.

I'm participating in the Me-Made-May challenge. That means that, during the month of May, I will endeavor to only wear clothing that I crafted myself. 

See all days from the challenge.

And the winner is ...

Congratulations to Trisha! She was Facebook fan that I randomly selected to win Simplicity 1911. Trisha, please contact me with your mailing address so I can get your pattern to you!

Let's plan on having another giveaway when The Sew Weekly reaches the 250 fan mark.

The "I Will Never Wear a Batik Print" Batik Print Dress

The Facts
Fabric: Batik cotton from Alameda Antique Fair - $10 for ~4 yards
Pattern: McCall's 6224  - $1 from Alameda Antique Fair
Notions: Vintage zipper - $.005
Year: c. 1962
Time to complete: About 6 hours
First worn: April 2010
Wear again? Yes! Yes! Yes!

This past Sunday was the Alameda Point Antique Fair and although there was a good showing of vendors, I left with only one pattern, one pair of sunglasses and one piece of fabric. I actually passed on this fabric when I first saw it because it didn't seem truly vintage (the selvage width is 54" or 60") and I really don't like batik prints. Of course, once Krissy picked it up and showed interest in it, the fabric seemed a lot better -- I'm competitive like that.

The good thing was that there were two pieces, one turquoise and one red and we were able to get both of them for less than $20. Not long after we both started having a bit of buyers remorse about the fabric. It just wasn't our style - batik prints, for goodness sake -- and it seemed like the fabric that would be our stashes forever.

I told Krissy that it's this sort of fabric that surprises you. You think it's ugly at first, or at least a bit meh, and then once it's a dress you want to wear it every day.

My friends, this is that dress.

I absolutely love love love this dress. It's my first border print and I worked from one of the first patterns I purchased (McCall's 6224). The fabric is super lightweight but is substantial enough to feel like I'm covered and it's just a joy to wear. My only beef with the pattern is the basic 1950s/1960s silhouette issue of too much unnecessary gathering for non-petticoat usage. 

Because I didn't want to add the ruffle detail that's suggested in the pattern, I made a little flower out of one of the border print circles.

I'm on the search of more border prints and can easily see that being my dress trend for the summer.

Me-Made-May: May 4

Today's outfit is the creatively titled "Dress #1." It's the first dress that I made after deciding to start sewing my own clothes back in September. I never wrote up the details about this dress so I might as well share some more information on today's Me-Made post.

Despite its 1960s-like appearance, the dress pattern is actually Decades of Style #3007 -- the 1930s Button Dress. You can't see from the photo, but there's a really cute tie at the back of the neck as well as a tie along the waist and buttons on the bodice.

I don't remember why its so short compared to the pattern but I'll just assume that I did that deliberately. Sure. I'm happy to report in the eight months since I've made it, it's gone from a fairly tight wiggle dress to what you see here.

I'm participating in the Me-Made-May challenge. That means that, during the month of May, I will endeavor to only wear clothing that I crafted myself. 

See all days from the challenge.

Me-Made-May: May 3

May 2, 2010
Here I'm wearing my "Hello, Sailor" Trousers and the shirt from my "That's a lot of Brown" Combo. That's Pen and her much-loved ballet teacher in the background. 

I'm participating in the Me-Made-May challenge. That means that, during the month of May, I will endeavor to only wear clothing that I crafted myself. 

See all days from the challenge.