Cardigan & sock progress + San Francisco yarn shopping

It may not look all that impressive, but somehow in the midst of illustration commissions and traveling and work and a toddler sleep strike, I've been making slow but steady progress on my two knitting projects--switching back and forth between them at random as needed when boredom begins to creep in.

The above is the first two bits of my Georgina cardigan, which should eventually look like the chartreuse view below:

What's actually impressive about this is that I had the patience to knit a stockinette swatch and a lace swatch and block and dry them before diving right in... I have always foolishly skipped this step, which is why the first sweater I knit for myself ended up donated to the Goodwill, and the second sulks in my "to-fix" drawer.

As for the Waving Lace socks, they're more than halfway there, and I'm desperately trying to fend off an attack of Second Sock Syndrome:

As I began to knit I was skeptical of my grad-dying efforts--I used "sock blanks" from Knit Picks and dipped them in a dye pot bit by bit, but the effect seemed more stripey than gradual...

But in real life, the sock top is definitely a very dark turquoise gradually fading to a very light turquoise at the toe--hard to see in photos, but just trust me!

And I wasn't able to fit in any fabric shopping whilst in San Francisco earlier this month, but I happened to be staying a short walk from the lovely Imagiknit yarn shop, which had a fantastic and huge selection of yarns (compared to say, a typical closet-sized New York City yarn shop) ... this is just a tiny glimpse of one room, with natural and locally dyed yarns on display, in true California style:

Most importantly for me, they also had a toy corner to distract my toddler from pulling said yarns off the shelf while I browsed.

Though little Z did help me pick out some nylon-blend darning wool to support my new sock-mending addiction:

In the end, I forced myself to buy yarn ONLY for my next project--a pair of Doctor-Who-inspired Tardis socks (because I am OBSESSED, though perhaps slightly less so than Meg the Grand), which should turn out something like this:

Source: ravelry.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

But all this time away from my sewing machine is beginning to make me itch. As soon as I finish my final sewing-related illustration gig, I am SO making another Jalie scarf top... or a Ginger skirt (the pattern finally arrived after being on back order for ages)... or those high-waisted jeans I've been craving...

What do you wish you could be sewing right now, but can't find the time?

P.S. Due to my hectic life lately I have totally lost control of all my sewing-related RSS feeds and it is bumming me out. I have over 1,000 unread posts, and my attempts to just target even my top top top favorite blogs for catchup have completely failed. I'm thinking it's time for a "Mark All As Read" amnesty here.

Sewing Through the Decades Illustration for We Sew Retro!

Our family is off on another little trip for a few days (to Boston for my grandmother's 90th birthday party and my husband's 39th birthday), but in the meantime, I did finish up one of the sewing illustration commissions I was working on!

It's a timeline cover photo for the We Sew Retro Facebook page. Here's a screenshot of the art in action:

I had so much fun working on this (even though it took me ages longer than I estimated), deciding what outfits to dress each of them in (SO hard to choose) and on their hair and makeup. (Can you tell that 1960s seamstress woman is pregnant? I originally was working on a more rainbow-bright color scheme (1970s seamster dude originally had a bright orange plaid jacket) but it looked like a box of crayons so I muted it down.

More details later! Hope you like it!

Adjustable Wedding Dress for a Mystery Bride (with a Mosquito Net Veil)!

The challenge:

• Design and sew a wedding dress...
• In less than three weeks.
• For a bride you've never met and can't measure or get measurements from. So: ADJUSTABLE.
• With little to less money (i.e. what you can scrounge up around the office). CHEAP CHEAP BEYOND CHEAP.
• In your spare time between working, parenting, and having a life and trying to finish a bunch of freelance illustration projects.
• Also: Make it funny to humanitarian aid workers.

I've mentioned before that I have an awesome job, working in marketing for the emergency medical relief organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). It's generally very serious humanitarian business, but once a year at the afterparty for our annual general assembly, some of us put on a little skit with sketches, music, dancing and costumes.

And this year, part of our skit involves a wedding—and somehow, I found myself volunteering to make the dress. Even though we're not quite sure who will be playing the bride, so I somehow have to design it to fit ANYONE. (I'm also supposed to come up with some kind of over-the-top bridesmaid outfit for myself, which I'm still puzzling over).

Funnily enough, I just checked out a copy of Susan Khalje's Bridal Couture from the library (via inter-library loan, after a LONG wait--it was NOT easy to come by):

Source: susankhalje.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

I actually used to own a copy back in the days before it went out-of-print... but after I realized I didn't actually have the chops to make my own wedding dress, I up and sold it. Which I am so kicking myself for now, since it seems to go for like, $300 used (even though you can buy as a CD book now).

But somehow I doubt I'll be using any of those fancy techniques. Instead I'm planning to make a T-shirt wedding dress out of some extra MSF T-shirts from around the office. I actually have a pattern for one, the Tying the Knot dress from Megan Nicolay's Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt...

Source: trythisathome.net via Mikhaela on Pinterest

...But I think I'll go even simpler here. The bodice will just be a tube with tons of elastic shirring and a gather to make the sweetheart neckline, and the skirt will be a separate tube of T-shirts, with a flounce in back and a red ribbon sash (and maybe an elastic?) to gather the waist. I won't bother with hemming. EASY, right?

The accessories are obvious: a "mosquito net" veil, elegant yellowish surgical gloves, a stethoscope "necklace." Haven't figured out the bouquet yet--I might just make it out of paper flowers, or maybe surgical masks?

Let's hope so, because I want to get on those Jalie jeans... and I have the Cambie dress coming in the mail... I am such a bad pattern-buying-past-capacity-for-pattern-sewing girl.

I used to be really into T-shirt refashioning, though it doesn't appeal so much these days--I'd take oversized old punk rock and thrift store Ts and turn them into darted, fitted tops... here I am in 2004 with one such:

I even once hosted a T-shirt refashioning party using the Nicolay book and it was a lot of fun, though my T-shirt transformation didn't turn out wearable (tip: use super-soft thin old T-shirts, not thick unyielding scratchy thick T-shirts).

So: do you fancy T-shirt refashioning? Have you ever made a T-shirt dress? Conversely, are you so super-fancy you actually made your own lovely wedding dress (NOT from T-shirts)?

P.S. Bonus photos: Masheka rode in the 42-mile TD 5 Boro Bike Tour on May 6, raising $1,370 for MSF in the process. Here's little Ms. Z hugging her daddy halfway through the ride:

And here's a photo of us from last year heading out to an AIDS rally with the MSF office. We were protesting in support of scaling up access to AIDS medications for people living with HIV worldwide. I made Z a matching onesie with an iron-on T-shirt transfer.

On my sewing table and in the mail

Oops, did I say "sewing table"? I meant "drawing table"--or more precisely, computer desk, since I draw directly into my Mac. I'm back from a fabulous trip to San Francisco but there will be no sewing until I finish a few exciting sewing-related illustration projects.

A little sneak peek of one is above--part of what's shown is final inks, part is a sketch, and none of it has been colored yet. (My toddler's sleep has been all wacky due to travel--hoping she'll start going to bed before 11 p.m. again soon!)

You may already have seen PART of the other--I'm doing a little illustration for one of my favorite bloggers, Stephanie aka The Consulting Dressmaker of 3 Hours Past the Edge of the World fame... so here's my flat line art for her lovely Downton Abbey-inspired Sisters of Edwardia blouse:

Source: craftsy.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

While on vacation, I deliberately ignored my Google Reader, so I am only just now catching up on all YOUR sewing awesomeness (Me Made May isn't happening for me, but I'm loving it vicariously). But I did follow the continuing comments on my frustrated post about natural-waisted jeans, "In Defense of Mom Jeans", and I totally recommend taking a read--a lot of you feel really strongly about high vs. low waists, and the discussion is still going!

Which brings me to what's coming in the mail. After multiple fabric shopping fails, I finally caved and bought the infamous Jalie 2908 stretch jeans pattern, which do have a higher-waisted (if not totally natural-waisted) option, plus I can make jeans for the little Z girl:

Source: jalie.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

I don't know if I'll go for a boot-cut, though--think I'll do them straight, or even skinny. We shall see!

I also finally bought the Colette Ginger skirt... I was buying the Jalies from Pattern Review anyway, and I have just the denim for it.

Source: colettepatterns.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

I'm somewhat embarrassed to realize that I own quite an expensive and large collection of Colette Patterns, including the handbook and Macaron, Ceylon, Crepe, Sencha, Parfait and now Ginger... but NONE of them have ever made it past the muslin stage (though admittedly, I muslined/altered several of them while pregnant, then realized they would look better with like, a waist.) Let's see if I can change that up.

Oh, and here's what my knitting looked like the day before I left for San Francisco--a half-finished grad-dyed-by-me Waving Lace sock, and two carefully washed and blocked swatches formy chartreuse Georgina cardigan:

I don't have pictures yet, but the sock is now almost-done (though it of course needs a twin sister, argh!) and I've cast on and gotten a good ways (er, a few inches) on the lacy center of the cardigan.

So: what's your most expensive pattern you've never actually sewn?

San Francisco bound!

Masheka and I on our last trip to San Francisco, in 2007

Great news, everyone! We're taking an actual family vacation (before the little one turns two and can't fly for free) for a week to one of our favorite cities, San Francisco, where we'll be staying with friends, relaxing, hanging out... and NOT scrambling to sell comic books in a crowded convention hall like the last time.

I was sad to discover that the famed Alameda Antiques Fair I keep hearing so much about on the Sew Weekly (cheap vintage fabric! sigh!) won't be open while we're there, but we're hoping to check out the Treasure Island Flea and the Gaultier exhibit at the de Young.

I'm debating whether I even want to mess with fabric shopping, since I finally have my stash down to a point where it fits in all my drawers... though I'm sorely tempted by some of the discount fabric sources that Debi and Clio have blogged about from their trips there, like Fabrix and Scrap.

And then there's vintage shopping... please stop me now.

So no sewing for a bit, but I hope to make some knitting progress on my chartreuse Georgina cardigan (swatched, but not started) and my blue Waving Lace socks (just turned the first heel)...

In other news, I finished a soft blue washable wool "foolproof" baby hat for a pregnant friend, but can't decide if matching mittens are a good idea:

And I started watching Downton Abbey and am officially addicted... even with all of you talking about it, I just didn't give it a shot until I started doing a few 19-teens-fashion-related sewing illustration projects (which you'll see very soon!) More on that later.

So, if you've visited San Francisco--what are your favorite haunts? Any favorite places to take small children?

A Brooklyn Sewing Meetup & Swap!

Really, is there anything MORE fun than sitting around relaxing on a Sunday evening with a bunch of talented seamstresses, eating delicious food, talking sewing (and even knitting) plans and projects and sipping bubbly drinks? How about swapping FREE fabric and FREE patterns?

Seriously, I had such a fabulous weekend. I took my daughter to see the cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, a cartoonist friend who had just been announced as a finalist for the Pulitzer came to visit my husband and me ... AND I went to an awesome Brooklyn sewing meetup and pattern/fabric swap.

Now, I've been attending the monthly Brooklyn BurdaStyle Sewing Club meetups on and off since 2010 (see "Meet the Brooklyn BSC!"), and they are always a blast. BUT to add even more fun this time, we had several new attendees ... and they may be familiar faces to some of you!

From left to right:

• Dina holding the beautiful eyelet lace wrap dress she made for her bridal shower (sorry, I forget the pattern number, but she tried it on for us and it fits her perfectly... I do know she got her eyelet fabric at Mood).
• Lee (of Sew Weekly Contributor fame) wearing her gorgeous handwoven Indian cotton circle skirt.
• My daughter Z, having a blast in her Kit Cat Cute corduroy overalls, and admiring...
• Wanett, aka Nettie, aka Sown Brooklyn (also of Sew Weekly fame), wearing her "Quick & Dirty Cowl" (her free tutorial here), and holding up her fabulous "Luck of the Concrete Jungle" dress.
• Me, with bedraggled caught-in-rainstorm hair, wearing my Jalie scarf collar top and triumphant wide-legged (and highish waisted) trousers, and my recently darned handknit socks--and holding Z's Tomten jacket.
• Our wonderful hostess Valerie wearing her lovely new voile print blouse.
• Liz and her super-awesome plaid Simplicity 2176 sundress.

I was worried Wanett and Lee might think I was a stalker when I commented on their blogs out of the blue asking them to come to the meetup... but they both braved a horrendous downpour to share their fabulous sewing projects and plans--and some tasty baked goods!

At our meetup we:

• Went around the table taking turns sharing our latest sewing and knitting projects and plans... sharing triumphs and fails alike and trading advice.
• Talked super-nerdy sewing talk about serging and hem finishes and bodice alterations and waistband interfacing.
• Watched Z run around in circles squealing in joy (she had so much fun she didn't even eat the dinner I brought her).
• Ate yummy food.
• Sipped sweet tea and prosecco.
• Swapped patterns and fabric.

I was really glad of the swap, as I had some really nice fabrics sitting in the stash that deserved a better home--a good-quality gray wool pinstripe suiting that is too neutral in color for me, a purple stretch crepe that was just one too many purple fabrics for me, some lovely rayons and cottons (including one that didn't work for my Mad Men dress dickey but was so awesome it deserved some love). I also gave away quite a few of my 1960s a-line and drop-waist dress patterns, since that's just not my silhouette.

As tempting as the array of free fabric and patterns (including some Vogue designer patterns and some vintage patterns) were, I forced myself to take only one piece of fabric and two patterns--all for Z, not me:

All in all an awesome night--thanks ladies! And now I'm super-motivated to get going on my next spring sewing project!

Anyway, if you're interested, drop me a line. Our club is very welcoming--we even have a member who comes in from Manhattan. And you DON'T have to only sew BurdaStyle patterns, of course--many of us do, but all sewing at all levels is welcome!

So, the question of the day: how often do YOU get to hang out with other sewing-obsessed people in real life (if at all)?

P.S. Here's my daughter admiring some cherry blossom petals at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens:

Oh, and speaking of my daughter... when I went to go wake her up this morning, I found her standing in her crib smiling, wearing a red polka dot sunhat and purple polka dot shorts (OVER her pajamas) and saying "Polka dot! Polka dot!" I'm so sorry I didn't get a picture!

In Defense of: "Mom" Jeans, "Granny" Panties + "High" Waists

High Waisted Denim Love by m1khaela featuring highwaisted jeans

"But you don't want to wear MOM jeans, do you?"

Said my mom, to me, after a frustrating hour-long jeans try-on-a-thon at our local Old Navy. I had just rejected yet another pair of "classic-rise" jeans that weren't even making a serious attempt at approaching my belly button (or covering the stretch marks), and I was about to cry.

My sole pair of halfway-decently-fitting jeans are falling down and falling apart, and I had searched high and low for a pair--just ONE pair--of jeans that might replace them, even if that meant trying out the skinny jeans trend.

Well, maybe I do want "Mom jeans" (minus the stonewashing and pleating, anyway). Because I'm sick of jeans labeled "high" or "mid-rise" resting five inches below my natural waist. What conspiracy decided that "modern" jeans should sit barely above the hips, requiring tunic-length shirts to awkwardly hide exposed bellies, and belted tops to emphasize a natural waist that could just as easily be emphasized by a well, waistband?

I am perfectly fine with my post-baby belly--stretch-marks and squish and all--because I couldn't begrudge anything having to do with the birth of my amazing wonderful little girl. But that doesn't mean I covet the muffin-top look, and I would much rather the emphasis be on my waist than my belly, thank you very much.

And as a vintage lover, I reject the idea that a low-waisted jean is inherently superior (though it certainly works awesomely for many, of course). Seriously, when and how DID this happen? If you look at any pants or skirt sewing patterns from the WHENEVER up to the 1980s, they pretty much rest on the so-called "natural" waist:

1930s:

Source: evadress.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

1940s:

Source: etsy.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

1950s:

Source: etsy.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

1960s:

Source: etsy.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

1970s:

Source: etsy.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Oh wait!

Source: etsy.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Yeah, there you have it--the hip-hugger jean (and that pattern envelope girl is even striking a pose worthy of Tant-Isis, queen of the low-rise jean!). Perhaps we can blame the 1970s? The natural waisted jean had a brief revival in the 1980s:

Source: etsy.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

And then somehow, somewhen--in the 90s?--someone permanently decided that it was more modern to ignore the laws of logic and gravity and figure flattery and decree that natural waists were not only outdated, but UGLY, PASSE, and FRUMPY, retraining the eyes of millions over time until we could not but be horrified and terrified by so-called "Mom jeans." This (admittedly hilarious, thank you Tina Fey) Saturday Night Live video didn't help:

So where does this leave me? Frustrated and jeansless, pretty much. (And that Craftsy Jean-ius class wouldn't work for me, as I have no jeans I'd even want to copy). I even went to American Apparel, but their high-waisted jeans did NOT work for me, and seemed quite a bit more 80s than 40s or 50s:

American Apparel jeans

And speaking of natural waists--what's a girl supposed to wear with her high-waisted jeans, pencil skirts and so on? It's almost IMPOSSIBLE to find cute, reasonably priced high-waisted underthings... in fact, most of these are actually retro swimwear bottoms from Modcloth:

Not Your Granny's High-Waisted Panties by m1khaela featuring a retro high waisted bikini

So, readers, some questions for you:

• How do you feel about natural-waisted women's trousers and panties? Do you think they can be sexy, or do they automatically scream "FRUMP-VILLE" or "80s" to you?
• Do you have any favorite sources for high-er waisted jeans and panties--or do you prefer to make them yourself?
• Have you ever been accused of wearing "Mom jeans"?
• If you DO prefer low-waisted jeans--tell me why?

Done! Scarf-Collar Floral Knit Top (Jalie 2921)

My Jalie scarf-collar floral top: quick, easy and satisfying. Now officially my favorite top I own! Wore it to work Friday and received two unsolicited compliments (by which I mean, they were given without me blurting out "I-made-this-top-what-do-you-think?!" first).

Inspiration: After three of my four secret sewing doubles (Katie, Elizabeth AND Kristin) made fabulous versions of this top, I knew I had no choice in the matter.

Sketch:

The pattern: Jalie 2921, the ever-popular scarf collar top.

Pattern Description: Close-fitting (negative ease, baby!) v-neck knit top with various sleeve length and scarf collar options. Front is 2-piece.

Pattern Sizing: Includes wide range of sizes, from toddler girls to plus-size adult woman. I made the S (34" bust) overall, but as per Katie's tips traced the size V (37") for the bust and front sleeve armhole (to adjust for my 37" bust).

Even with the full bust adjustment, there's still about 3-4" negative ease across the bust--just enough to make it fitted, but not enough to distort the side seams when I wear it (unlike all my RTW tops!). The waist (which I tapered back to the smaller size) has a few inches of positive ease--I'm not sure if that's good (hides squishy post-baby belly?) or bad (too boxy, if something so fitted can be called boxy).

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Sure.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Not really, because the illustrations aren't very clear. I relied on bloggers who had been kind enough to show the process.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? Love the close form-hugging fit, love the v-neck, love the tie neck. And it's a great basis for a TNT pattern!

Fabric: Poly (ITY?) geometric floral jersey from Metro Textiles in NYC, with a fun 1960s vibe to the print. It's one of the many not-quite-right fabrics I bought for the dickey of my Mad Men dress. $6 for 1.5 yards, I believe, and I still have enough left for a sleeveless top. It's really awesome and soft and substantial and has a great drape and cling to it. Sadly, like most of its polyester sisters it does NOT press, so the hemming was a bit difficult.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: Did a cheater width FBA (see above link in sizing), and added half an inch to the length, too.

Construction notes: All seams done on serger, and the hem and sleeve hems topstitched on my conventional sewing machine with a twin ballpoint needle.

I usually stabilize knit shoulder seams with an inch-wide strip of self-fabric cut along the vertical (i.e. with much less stretch), but I tried to do something new and use clear 1/4" elastic. It was a disaster--the shoulders bunched up and gathered awfully--and I had to unpick miles of serger seams and go back to my tried and true method.

Successes:

• My first truly successful non-maternity knit top EVER.
• One down on my spring separates plan!
• It is super awesome and I love it.
• I have a TNT top pattern!!!!

Room for improvement?:

• In my excitement I completely forgot about pattern matching and pattern placement, mistakenly treating this as a small-scale floral...when it actually is a medium-scale floral with quite a big repeat. This especially sucks because it has a center front seam. And I really shouldn't have put the lightest area right over the belly.
• I don't know about all the positive ease at the waist--I might make the next version with zero ease.
• Hello major swayback issues! (though I'll probably often tuck this in).
• I sewed the little hole that the scarf is supposed to be pulled through shut... and when I tie it the inside of the V of the neck flips/droops forward a bit.
• Undecided on how I feel about the sleeve length--maybe cap sleeves would be better on me.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Oh yes and yes and yes and super yes. This only took me three evening stints to do (one to alter and cut the pattern, one for the serging, one for the topstitching) and I bet it will go faster next time.

Wear to: Work, home, weekend, date with husband, playground with daughter... Everywhere!

Conclusion: I'm so glad I decided to take a break from my misery-inducing alteration-intensive Mad Men dress and make a quick fun spring knit!

Full outfit details:

• Top: me-made, tie-neck knit blue & green floral top (Jalie 2921), in ITY knit from Metro Textiles in NYC
• Corduroy skirt with flounce: Anthropologie (gift from Mom when I went back to work after baby)
• Tights: Spanx brand reversible tights (my favorite--they're super sturdy and one side is black, the other is dark brown)
• Chartreuse heels: Gentle Souls, from forever ago
• My daughter is wearing a dress and leggings from Old Navy. But where are her shoes?!

How's your seasonal sewing going?

I Sewed a Snuggie! AND a Body Bag.

Inspiration: The Snuggie, the Forever Lazy, and the modern body bag.

Pattern Description: Large polar-fleece monstrosity has powers to eat you alive, make you cry, snuggle you tenderly.

Pattern Sizing: Fuzzy fleece sadness has no sizing, envelops all people equally.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? The very question offends, as this miracle of engineering was the product of months of exquisitely intellectual design.

Were the instructions easy to follow? You mean the ones I made up in my head? Cut hole in middle of giant piece of fleece, insert over head, finish edges, add centered zipper, stand back in horror.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? Like: fuzzy and warm. Dislike: saps will to leave couch.

Fabric Used: 4 yards black stretchy polar fleece from Fulton Fabrics in Brooklyn, $4/yard. Zipper was $2-something.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: Left bottom edges unfinished.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? In all seriousness, this thing took a surprisingly long time to construct, as the seams were so long and my toddler kept trying to pull it off the sewing machine by the ends.

Conclusion: I'm a costume designing STAR. Time to sit here by my cell phone, waiting for Hollywood to call...

Video background details:

"Just Give Up." Because Snuggies and Forever Lazys are for Liars.

Written and Directed by Stephanie Bencin (pictured above with Z, who was totally fascinated by all this.)
Starring The Prom.
Siobahn Thompson
John Milhiser (shown in first photo)
Sasheer Zamata (shown in above photos--her love of vintage and thrift styles recently featured in Time Out New York)
Stephen Soroka
Justin Brown
Amber Nelson

Costume Designed by Mikhaela Reid

P.S. In case you're jealous, but don't have my amazing advanced skills of "designing" large terrifying fleece rectangles with centered zippers and neckholes...

Source: simplicity.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

Seriously, where do you think I can get some of that crossword puzzle fleece?