I win! I win!

Even though I dropped out!

And I'm not talking about the mini-wardrobe contest. A few weeks ago I mentioned here that I made the painful (but freeing) decision to retire from regular freelance weekly political cartooning. I'd been doing it for 8 years, but the newspaper market had gone sour, I was sick of the vicious hate mail, and my interests had changed.

Anyway, one of my few clients remaining at the end was Detroit's alternative weekly, the Metro Times. Well, I heard this morning that I came in second place for editorial cartooning in the Detroit Society of Professional Journalists' annual awards!

Last year I came in third and the judges said I was a "welcome breath of fresh air with great promise for the future." Sigh...

As you can imagine, while drawing for the Metro Times, I did a lot of cartoons about the economy, unemployment, and the auto industry, and I got some nice emails from laid-off auto workers about cartoons like this one. Here are two of the more popular ones:

Not a bad way to go out, right?

Out of the Running--for Real This Time!

Last night I thought I was going to have to drop out of the mini-wardrobe contest because I'm the slowest sewist in the space time continuum. I got home intending to sew non-stop from 7-11 (my official pregnant lady bedtime), and figured I could finish my reversible skirt and cardi jacket, no problem! But first I needed to put up my swollen feet, just for a few minutes... then I had to eat... cuddle with the cats...

Well, anyway, I managed to get halfway through the skirt, then realized I had mis-attached the yoke. I started to pull out the seam ripper, but practically collapsed on the sewing table in fatigue and realized that seam ripping while incapacitated is Not a Good Idea.

This morning I have a new excuse--remember how I was so pleased with myself for saving the trouble of an expensive sewing machine repair? How my Viking started sewing just fine again after I cleaned under the bobbin area with some spray air?

Well, the same problem is back--the stitches skip and the bobbin threads pull to the surface no matter what the tension setting and no matter how new the needle or basic the fabric. So the stitches don't stay--they just pull right out with one yank.

I am Not Happy. But whatever. I don't get home from childbirth class tonight til 11 and breastfeeding class tomorrow night til 10:30, so I probably would have had to drop out anyway. I just hate having to pay $50 for a car service to the repair shop way out in Queens.

I'm comforting myself by thinking about the vintage patterns I recently scored for a pittance via fuzzily photographed mystery boxes on eBay. Look at this beauty--I am SO going to sew this post-pregnant (short-sleeved version)! There's no date and I couldn't find in the Vintage Sewing Patterns Wiki but--has to be 1940s, right?

Shirring World Domination

Elastic shirring is hardly a show-stopper. It's considered a basic, easy, shortcut of a sewing technique--something you find in a "Quick to Make" skirt (like this one from Ottobre Woman's February issue) or a simple sundress. It doesn't command the respect of, say, perfectly bound buttonholes, smooth piping or welt pockets.

I don't care. After all my shirring trials and tribulations, I am proud to announce that straight, evenly gathered shirring HAS BEEN ACHIEVED.

In the end, I gave up entirely on the hand-wound elastic thread in the bobbin method. Instead, I went with my mom's favorite technique, and one recommended by one of my Burda envelope patterns--just holding the elastic thread straight on the wrong side of the fabric and zigzagging over it to create a tight casing. The gingham pictured above was the test yoke (too wide and loose), and the black cotton swiss dot lawn is the inside view of an actual piece of my final reversible skirt yoke, as you may recall:

One advantage of the zig-zag method is that you can more easily control how much gathering takes place--I just cut 15" pieces of elastic thread, so the yoke sections are each gathered to exactly 15" wide when resting (and will be slightly smaller once steamed). I got the lines parallel (3/8" apart) using a quilting guide bar (I had started to draw in guidelines with tailor's chalk but found it tedious and unnecessary). Once I baste the yoke pieces together, if it's still too loose, I can draw up the elastic threads (just as if I was gathering), or sew the yoke a bit smaller before attaching the skirt.

Oh, and another plus: no need to keep hand-rewinding the bobbin!

The downside? I sense it's quite a bit slower than the elastic-in-bobbin method--but at least it works. And a big part of the snail's pace is just me holding up the shirred yoke after each row to admire it.

Whether I've perfected my technique in time for Friday's mini-wardrobe contest deadline is another matter. But still. I came, I saw, and I SHIRRED.

P.S. As before, I continue to pledge not to let this get to my head. I may heart 1940s style, but there will be no Mommy & Me elastic-shirred playsuits with attached panties, not even polka-dot ones.

Out of the Running?

So it's official--as I feared last night, my lovely Husqvarna Viking Platinum 730 is Not Sewing Right.

In fact, she's having the same issues that my mother's Viking had a few weeks ago before it went in for a tuneup: the stitches are skipping and the bobbin threads are pulling to the top no matter WHAT tension setting I use, on both straight and zigzag stitches. I tried every possible stitch length and tension setting on a nice piece of plain muslin but no dice. And the slightest tug on the top thread pulls the stitches right out.

I'll take her in for repair this weekend, but since the mini-wardrobe contest deadline is next Wednesday, my original wardrobe contest plan is Not Possible. I can probably do the cardi/jacket almost entirely by serger (if I can figure out a clever way to finish the edges and hem?), but I can forget the shirred full reversible skirt and Parfait dress, since they both require extensive gathering.

I'm bummed out, but as my Bobie says "What can you do?" Right--what CAN I do? I have several backup options. First, as a refresher, here's the original storyboard:

Plan B:

1. Skirt adjustment: Replace the shirred yoke at the top of the reversible skirt with a yoked waist made of ribbing--I have some nice black (and purple) lycra rib knit in the stash just for such purposes. This is how most maternity skirts are made, anyway. And I could do it easily on my serger, then handsew the hem. Sort of like this RTW example, but knee-length and with a much deeper yoke:

   

2. Cardi adaptation:Maybe I just need a creative way to finish the edges of the cardi jacket without a sewing machine--I suppose this means I need the collar after all. As for the hem and sleeves... well, I do love a rolled hem.

   But... what about the darts? I can sew them by hand, but I don't trust the strength of my handsewing on knits...

   Another possibility: this Kwik Sew pattern from my stash--with a self-fabric belt, View A could maybe do the trick (though I have to look at the construction to see if I can do it sans conventional machine):

   
3. Dress dilemma: This is the hardest one. I have many lovely knit dress patterns in my stash, and some gorgeous dress-weight purple rayon lycra knit... but none of my knit dress patterns would work as a jumper, and all the wrap-style ones would compete with a wrap-style cardigan.

   So I could either replace the purple dress with a purple knit top (I'd still have plenty of combinations, thanks to the reversible skirt) or make a non-jumper-style dress that could just work on its own or with the cardi-jacket. Like maybe this dress that I've been meaning to sew, and which fits the color palette perfectly:

   

   I could do the front gathering on my serger with clear elastic.

And then there's...

Plan C: Relax and Forget the Contest Altogether. I am hugely pregnant after all. My ankles and legs are painfully swollen (and I can't even get my wedding ring over my puffy fingers these days), I'm taking intensive childbirth classes, and there's plenty of quality napping to be had. (And since I am incapaable of pure relaxation, I also have a lot of fun ideas for blog posts, and I'm working on a cool sewing-related tutorial.)

So yeah... we'll see. No sewing for me tonight, but I'll make the skirt tomorrow and then see if I want to go further.

Mini-Wardrobe Progress & Setbacks: Cardi/Jacket Muslin!

With a little over a week to go for the mini-wardrobe contest, I have one finished polka dot top and... a muslin of the double knit chartreuse cardigan jacket (yes, I know I said I was going to switch to lime... but I'm a chartreuse girl at heart). To refresh your memory, here was my sketch of the jacket:

The pattern is McCall's 5529, a belted unlined raglan-sleeved cardigan/jacket with peplum (oh how I love a peplum!), designed for wovens or stable knits. I believe it's out of print in the envelope edition, but I bought it as a download from SewingPatterns.com and tediously taped it all together:

And here are the flats:

I started with view B, with the more gathered/ruffled peplum and self-fabric belt. I went with a size 14 and did my usual major FBA. Since I haven't had a waist in some time, I shortened the bodice by about 4 inches to make use of my "empire waist" (aka underbust).

I had no illusions of making a wearable muslin this time, so I used some hateful, stiff, wrinkle-prone and cheap-feeling red cotton lycra knit with a similar stretch to my doubleknit fashion fabric and wrote all over it with permanent marker. I didn't have enough for all the pieces, so I arbitrarily cut the sleeves off at the elbow (which I WON'T do in the final!) and left off the collar for now.

I'd never made a jacket per se before, but I have made a raglan-sleeved hoodie, and the construction for this was just as quick and easy--made from a knit, it's really a glorified girly sweatshirt.

Below is the result, before belting. I tried it on with the polka dot top and a shirred skirt similar to the one I plan to sew for the contest. (Apologies for the awful low-quality flash photos, but I had my camera set wrong and by the time I realized I was just too tired for a redo.)

Initial thoughts:

• My FBA didn't quite do the trick. It is a jacket, after all, meant to be worn over other things. I think I need maybe another inch or two total width for it to meet more easily in front. Also, the horizontal bust dart is too low (it should point to the apex).
• Gathered peplum + gathered skirt = gather overload. It's just too much fullness all over. So for the final, I think I'll switch to the smoother circular view C peplum.
• The back fit seems just fine.
• What is UP with these SLEEVES? I love raglan tops, but... the sleeves themselves seem too loose/baggy... and the the armhole is too deep which means it feels super-tight and pulls in a nasty way when I lift my arms. Is this just the nature of raglans and I've never noticed before? Do I need an underarm gusset? How deep can a raglan armhole be? I guess I need to dig through my reference books...
• Speaking of sleeves, it's pretty hot out lately--I wonder if I should make them short, instead of full-length? Then again, long sleeves are good in chilly air-conditioned offices...
• The back length is good, but the "waist" seam in front is too low, nowhere near my "empire" waist.

Of course, this thing is meant to be belted. So I grabbed a random belt to test the effect, and then tried it with the front pinned up for a proper empire look:

Much better, right? It's almost a cute peplumed bolero. Maybe I don't even need the collar--I could just bind the edges, maybe with some cute foldover elastic.

I'm going to think about it for a day or two, and in the meantime try to finish my skirt and muslin the Parfait dress...

IF my sewing machine cooperates... That's the setback I mentioned. My normally hardy Viking Platinum 730 seemed to be having some major issues with tension and skipped stitches last night. I'm hoping it was just that crummy red cotton lycra fabric, so I'll test it tonight on a plain woven... but if she has to go into the shop, I'll probably have to give up on the contest unless I can make substitute garments with a serger/hand-sewing combo. Maybe this could explain my shirring struggles?

Finished: My Polka Dot Preggo Jalie Tops!

So I FINALLY finished one of my PatternReview Spring Mini-Wardrobe Contest pieces, the black & white polka dot top. I even wore it to work today!

Pattern Review: Extensive maternity modification of the popular, infamous (and now out-of-print) Jalie 2005 "Choice of T-shirts" pattern. The poor thing is barely recognizable under all my changes!

Inspiration: I needed 4 pieces for the mini-wardrobe contest that could combine to create at least four outfits. I decided to do 1 top, 1 (reversible) skirt, 1 dress/jumper and 1 top/cardi/jacket.

For the top I wanted to sew something that would be fun and interesting on its own--but quiet enough to pair with the patterned skirt, and fitted enough to go under the jumper/dress. The latter was the real challenge--I have a lot of top and blouse patterns with plunging necklines and fussy detailing (gathering/ruching/bows/whatnot), but in order to pair with the Parfait dress, I had to go with a relatively high round neckline and a smooth silhouette.

So I selected the simplest top pattern in my stash: a fitted, non-maternity, short-sleeved crew-neck T-shirt. Then I went to town with my rulers, tape, scissors and curves to make it into the scoop-necked, cap-sleeved, full-busted maternity T of my dreams!

As for the print... you might have noticed... but I like polka dots.

Photos:

The polka dot (wearable) muslin ranging free in the wilds of Brooklyn, paired with a $2 thrift store skirt. (And yes, I am almost always this pale!):

Front view detail:

Back view (shown here with my BurdaStyle "Melissa" maternity skirt modification):

Read my entire excruciatingly detailed review, with explanations & photos of how I did the modifications after the jump!

Polka Dot Perfection!

Polka Dot B&W Maternity Top in Progress (Jalie 2005), originally uploaded by M1khaela.

Don't you just love it when you make a ridiculous number of major pattern design and fit alterations AND THEY ALL WORK OUT?

I still need to finish the neck, arm and hem but... it all worked! I did everything I said I would in my post about the muslin... and somehow I got just enough room in the bust and belly for it to be comfortable, but still form-fitting. The length is great now. And the armhole is no longer pinching. Oh, I love it!

When I post pictures of the final and all the alterations, you'll see how little the pattern pieces still resemble the Jalie 2005 original, but it was a great starting point.

And with that... I'm off to my neighborhood farmer's market before it closes to enjoy the sunshine!

Polka Dot Muslin!

With only 11 days to go in the PatternReview mini-wardrobe contest, I finally have one finished... muslin!

But it's a good one! This is my maternity modification of the infamous Jalie 2005 "Choice of T-shirts" pattern:

I started with a size V (intended for a 35" bust) based on my high bust measurement and flat pattern measurements (I compared to some favorite Ts I still wear) and the fact that I tend to like my knit tops close-fitting. From my flat pattern measurements, it seemed like this would result in a final 36" bust measurement.

Since I have a 41" full bust, I did a 1.5" FBA (adding 3" total across the front). I also scooped out the neckline (crewnecks do NOT work on me) and shortened the short sleeve considerably for an almost-cap-sleeve effect. And I did a maternity tummy adjustment, adding a few inches of length and width across the belly. (Don't worry, I'll post step-by-step photos of how I did all these alterations when I show pictures of the actual finished final object!)

I used less than a yard of the rayon/poly/lycra orange-and-teal polka dot jersey I got recently from Fabric.com. It has 40% one-way stretch, which is close to the 50% stretch of my ITY jersey B&W polka dot fashion fabric.

Here are the back and side views:

So what's the verdict? Mostly I'm happy, but I'm glad I made a muslin first.

• The shoulders fit! This is fabulous, since I have narrow shoulders and many reviewers have complained that the larger sizes of this pattern have silly-wide shoulders.
• Hurrah for my new scooped neckline! Just the right width and depth--it won't show my bra, but leaves plenty of room for a necklace.
• I do like negative ease, but the polka dots are actually distorted across the bust, so I think I'll add another half inch (1" total) to my FBA.
• The belly adjustment wasn't quite enough, either--it's a bit too short for my liking (especially since I want to twin-needle hem the final version!) and it's pulling a bit across the tummy.
• I'm digging the new shorter sleeve length--I was going to make the final in a 3/4 sleeve, but this might be more fun. And it'll be even a little shorter when hemmed.
• What is up with this tiny little armhole?! I'll have to enlarge it a bit.
• As for the back... well, all my RTW shirts and dresses crumple/wrinkle like that, too--I believe this is what as known as sway back. I'm not going to add a center back seam in order to fix it, as I just don't think it matters enough in a knit top I'll only be wearing for less than 3 months (I'm due June 18).

Despite its few flaws, this muslin is totally wearable--I think I'll finish the neck, sleeves and bottom with a narrow rolled hem wooly nylon finish on my serger...

But not until AFTER I finish the final version for the wardrobe contest.

Unfinished Object Overload

If this has never happened to you, you're either inhumanly perfect or lying.

I am currently down with a major case of UFO Overload. I pride myself on completing every project I start--unless it's a total wadder--but in the past few weeks my sewing ambitions have so far outpaced my snail's-pace finishing methods that I'm in real danger of drowning in mid-stream muslins, partially-traced patterns, half-sewn hems and seductive-but-totally-unsewn sketches.

Clearly this cannot be my fault. The real blame obviously lies with:

• My mother's sewing machine. It just had to develop tension issues while I was visiting her. Coincidence? Hmmm...
• Pattern Review. Who told this evil website to host a spring mini-wardrobe contest at the same time I was starting my intensive childbirth classes and tying up the loose ends of my political cartooning career? Or to host online classes on facings and underlinings that I could not possibly resist signing up for, despite their overlapping schedules?
• Cartoonist Baby. Without a doubt her distracting kicks to the ribs are the reason I sewed that armhole facing on inside out and those baby pants together upside down...
• Cartoonist Husband. Sure Masheka has been doing all the dishes and laundry and vaccuuming and litter-box changing since I've been pregnant (not to mention massaging sore pregnant-lady legs and bringing me water and cooking and grocery shopping and itty bitty things like that)... blah de blah blah. Does that give him the right to make me go to bed at 11 p.m. just because my midwife said I need more sleep?!

So who are these UFOs stalking my dreams and laying siege to my sewing peace of mind? For the purposes of this exercise, I shall only count projects that have been cut, traced, muslined, or otherwise progressed beyond the pattern-buying, fabric-acquisition or wistful daydreaming stage. From oldest to most recent... (and I realize that since I only started sewing again this January, my definition of "old" pales in comparison to many of yours).

The freezer-paper-stencil whale onesie

• The dream: Create fabulous one-of-a-kind silkscreen-like Ts cheaply and quickly!
• The reality: I can't mix stencil paint to save my life.
• What's done: This was the first garment I ever made on my serger when I got it out of storage two months ago, and it was so plain and boring I decided it needed embellishment. The onesie is (badly) serged, the snaps are attached, the stencil is cut, I have the paints and brushes...
• What's not: The actual stenciling.
• What's stopping me: Fabric paint failure. I've done several tests with the Jacquard opaque metallic fabric paints and a variety of brushes but I always seem to thin the paint too much (resulting in bleeding under the stencil edges) or too little (resulting in cracked paint when the jersey is stretched).
• Urgency/guilt factor: Low. Cartoonist Baby will not go naked due to my negligence. And it IS wearable in its unembellished poorly-serged state.
• Status: On hold.
• Hope for eventual completion? Low.

The Pinup Girls Turquoise Lace Bra

• The dream: Large-busted gals can save big money by and avoid over-priced bra specialty stores by learning to make their own supportive, custom-fit bras and swimwear. As I've gone up several cup and one band size in my pregnancy (from 32E to 34G), I have had to buy more and more ridiculously overpriced bras--I'm talking $127 for a piece of fabric with some wires in it.
• The reality: Bra-making is hard and the supplies are expensive and hard to source.
• What's done: I ordered the pattern, fabric and notions from Bra-makers Supply in Canada. I ordered Lee-Ann Burgess's self-published Making Beautiful Bras and Making Beautiful Swimwear book and DVD set from Australia and read/watched them repeatedly. I bought all kinds of fancy laces from Daytona in NYC. I bought a presser foot that sews precise 1/4" seams. I traced the 34G pattern and... cut out the left cup pieces.
• What's not: I haven't even tried to seam them together to test the fit.
• What's stopping me: Bad timing--while waiting for some of the supplies to arrive I began work on my orange silk floral maternity dress.
• Urgency/guilt factor: High. Those books and supplies were not cheap, and while I was procrastinating, my cup size went up AGAIN and I had to make another trip to the overpriced bra shop.
• Status: On very temporary hold.
• Hope for eventual completion? High. I will learn to make my own bras. I've calculated that, not counting pattern or books, each homemade bra would probably cost about $10-$15 in materials and probably much less if I can do some clever sourcing.

The "easy-to-sew" Simplicity 3765 baby dress trio (blogged here)

• The dream: While in Massachusetts visiting family, I'd whip up some baby outfits on my mother and mother-in-law's respective sewing machines in no time! My mother-in-law was impressed when I said they'd be done in a day. Oops.
• The reality: I got a bad cold and my mom's sewing machine had to be taken to the shop.
• What's done: All three dresses/outfits are cut and bundled, and the first two are mostly sewn.
• What's not: The skirts and fastenings.
• What's stopping me: I got to the part where the directions said to sew on the back closure button and make a thread chain and had to look up the latter in my Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing. Then I realized I should be working on my mini-wardrobe contest sewing instead.
• Urgency/guilt factor: Low. These things are so over-sized she won't be able to wear them for at least a year yet. Though I do want to show them to my mother-in-law.
• Status: On hold.
• Hope for eventual completion? High. I can't let a little thing like a thread chain stop me!

All four pieces for my mini-wardrobe contest entry

• The dream: I can whip up an entire stylish maternity mini-wardrobe from four patterns I've never sewn before and which all require extensive maternity alterations in just one month while taking childbirth classes and two online PatternReview classes. And working fulltime and blogging and... NO PROBLEM.
• The reality: I don't have a single finished piece yet. Crap. And April 15 (or is it 14?!) is not far away.
• What's done: I've made some lovely sketches and color choices, acquired all the patterns and fabric (except one fabric that's on its way) and most of the notions, ironed a big pile of muslin and traced the patterns that needed tracing.
• What's not: Um... EVERYTHING? I need to alter the patterns, make muslins, and construct all four garments. Er...
• What's stopping me: It's been a hectic few weeks. And I was in desperate need of more skirts, and one of my fabrics was missing, and the circle skirt pattern wasn't working and I'm behind on my Sencha blouse for the facings class (see below).
• Urgency/guilt factor: High! It's not just the deadline—I'm running out of time to sew for maternity and I really need spring clothes.
• Status: Full steam ahead!
• Hope for eventual completion? I will not be defeated... or maybe I will.

Sencha Blouse Maternity Modification

• The dream: Just because I have a GIANT PREGNANT LADY BELLY doesn't mean I can't make a fabulous vintage-style button-backed blouse.
• The reality: It may be "loose-fitting" but I still have to add at least 5" to the bust and 12" to the belly.
• What's done: I did the aforementioned FBA and tummy adjustments to the pattern and made a muslin.
• What's not: More FBA and belly adjustment is needed to the muslin before I can even attempt to cut my slippery silk fashion fabric. And I need to redraft the neckline to a scoop.
• Urgency/guilt factor: The online facings class I'm making the blouse for (the exercise is to make a simple blouse, redraft the neckline and make a new facing pattern for said redrafted neckline) ends Sunday and I would like to finish in time to get feedback from the instructor.
• Status: What else would I do on a Friday night?
• Hope for eventual completion? I'm slightly concerned.

That makes ten pieces in various stages of completion (eleven if I count this muslined BurdaStyle magazine top, but I'm wearing the "muslin" right now). How many UFOs are haunting your sewing space?

Update: Just so I don't scare anyone away from the fabulous pursuit of bra-making, I actually HAVE made two cute well-fitting maternity bras that I love and adore and are way better than RTW, but they are non-underwire sleep/nursing bras, and no good for everyday daytime support. I won't show them on me here, but trust me that they fit perfectly and look great:

Mini-Wardrobe Progress--Double Knit Color Options!

I mentioned before that after initially purchasing gray double knit for my mini-wardrobe cardigan jacket, I began to have some serious doubts--gray, after all, just Isn't Very Mikhaela. But I wasn't sure about the color Fabric.com was calling "Chartreuse," so I ordered a variety of their double knit swatches and picked up a few from the Paron's 50% Off Annex as well. The Fabric.com swatches finally arrived today (much slower than their actual yardage fabric orders).

I'm happy to report that the chartreuse is indeed chartreuse and not mustard, though it's somewhat on the subdued side. I dropped the best colors into my digital sketches and here's what I came up with.

Chartreuse--my original idea, and still promising, if a bit subdued:

Purple. Too monochromatic, I think--I look like a pregnant grape.

Lime. This one intrigues me--green and purple are such a great combo. But THIS green?

Turquoise.

Fuschia--like chartreuse, I firmly believe fuschia goes with almost ANYTHING.

I don't have much time to mull it over, as a few of these colors are running low in stock (not the chartreuse, though). I'll give it a day and make an executive decision. Your thoughts? And remember--I like bright colors! By the way, Masheka strongly prefers lime or purple--he doesn't think this shade of chartreuse is eye-popping enough for me. He might be right.

As for progress on the patterns themselves, my hopes for getting a few of them muslined this Monday (I had a day off) were dashed when I ran into the hard cold realities of maternity alteration sewing. I can't just start cutting patterns willy-nilly if I want to be able to use them later, so I spent Monday tracing the patterns and ironing like, 6 yards of muslin (why I washed it is beyond me--it's not like I'm going to wash the muslins, so all the tiny little wrinkles I had to get out were just pointless pain). I'm still working on my FBAs and belly adjustments before even getting to the muslin stage. I have only three sewing weekends left for this contest so I had better get cracking!

I'll be doing a detailed post on this (tentatively titled "Sewing at a Moving Target: Maternity Modification Strategies") sometime soonish.

My Plum Polka Dot Maternity Mini Wardrobe Storyboard!

(Click image to enlarge to much bigger and more readable full size).

As I mentioned before, I'm super excited about PatternReview.com's Spring Mini-Wardrobe contest.

Considering that the one-month contest has already begun and I have not a muslin to show for it... and that I start childbirth classes tomorrow... and that I am taking two of PR's online sewing classes starting this Friday (on facings and underlinings, both with Sarah Veblen)... and that I've never made any of the above patterns, never mind altered them for third-trimester maternity... I'm surprisingly hopeful I can pull this off. Yes, I'm reckless! Just RECKLESS!

There's just one problem. I started planning this last week and bought most of the fabrics online, but now that they have arrived, I find myself worrying the whole thing is just too darn monochromatic, even with punchy colored shoes and/or necklaces (or maybe a scarf?) And that's just not me. I have nothing against gray in moderation, but I seldom reach for it--all my favorite jackets and cardigans are pink, or orange, or green, or red, or plum, or chartreuse...

So I'm thinking this would be a BIG improvement:

(Click image to enlarge to much bigger and more readable full size).

...If I can find the right fabric. I went to Paron's and their Annex today and they had many lovely rayon blend double knits, but they were all various shades of pink, purple or orange. (FYI, wool or pure poly double knit would be way too hot & sticky for pregnant me in spring). And what I'm really craving is chartreuse. Fabric.com has some of the same fabric I got in gray from them already, but the digital swatch doesn't LOOK chartreuse to me--more like mustard:

So I ordered a bunch of swatches of their different double knits--the one above and also ones in turquoise and various shades of green from lime to emerald. And I'll keep poking around the Garment District. I just don't want to look like a boring pregnant plum & gray grape, it's just not me!

Oh, and a note about the patterns--I'm a little bummed that my top pattern is just a plain Jalie T-shirt (which I will redraft to a scoop neck), but I sketched a variety of more interesting tops (twist, surplice, etc) on my digital croquis and they all just competed too much with the lines of the Parfait dress. At least it's in polka dot!

Update: Forgot to mention--as you can see in the top image, I thought maybe I could punch up the plain gray jacket (if that's what I'm stuck with) with some trim, as in this RTW example:

PatternReview MiniWardrobe Contest Sneak Peak

Here are my sketches in progress for PatternReview's Spring Mini-Wardrobe Contest. The one-month contest starts Monday, so I'm trying to finalize my fabric/color choices--but first I needed to visualize how these non-maternity patterns would actually look altered to fit heavily pregnant me (and not those tiny envelope models). This is only my second PR contest entry and I'm beyond super-excited!

The challenge is to make four pieces that coordinate to create at least four outfits. For the individual garments, so far I've got:

1. Dress/Jumper: Colette Patterns Parfait
2. Unlined Peplum Jacket: either McCall's 5936 or McCall's 5529 (below). Either way, made in double-knit for comfort.
3. Reversible elastic-shirred-waist skirt: Burda 7910.
4. Either a fitted knit top or fitted knit dress tight enough to wear under the other dress or skirt as a top of sorts.

Here's the other jacket option I'm considering--it's an unlined cardi-wrap raglan with peplum. I don't love the total look nearly as much, but I'm worried the other jacket would be harder to make (I've never made a jacket EVER) and less versatile/practical for my third-trimester spring. Plus there's a weird gap between the skirt and the jacket--I suppose that would be filled by the top, though.