Dear Burda Style back issues: stop mocking me!

"Someday you might sew me... I looked really awesome on your friends!"

Dear Burda Style 2010 back issues falling off my bookshelves and spilling into my pattern drawer,

STOP MOCKING ME. I know I don't sew as often as some of your other lady friends, but it's not that I'm afraid of tracing or anything. 

It's just that well, you showed up EVERY SINGLE MONTH that I subscribed to you and some months I can't even pull out my sewing machine, never mind dive into a sea of criss-crossing colored lines and extract a stylish colorblocked knit dress.

And sometimes I leaf through you and circle ideas for things I might make someday, but then I don't, and I think you're laughing at me.

By the time you sent me the maternity-themed-issue above, I was already in labor (for FIVE days I might add, not that that's your fault or anything). What's up with that?

To be honest I've only ever sewn one Burda Style magazine pattern and it was awesome, but the experience of altering it for maternity and deciphering the binding instructions left me a little exhausted.

Please stop pretending that somehow, someday I am going to stand on the beach with the wind in my hair and say "oh, you know... I just traced up this Burda Style pattern last night and threw it together on my serger without making any mistakes. No big."

I just can't take it anymore. I know you are awesome and economical and have cool trench coats and unusual blouse construction and smarter, better fit than the Big Four and if I was a lot cooler, I would find the time to hang out with you.

But I just don't think we belong together anymore.

So yeah. I'm selling you all on eBay starting at $1 each. I hope you can find a faster friend who will trace you like there's no tomorrow.

Sincerely,
Mikhaela

P.S. Please don't be offended that I'm keeping my Ottobres.

A (Toddler) Dress a Day + Yummy Discount Fabric

 

 An improvisational pleated toddler dress in wax print fabric, designed and sewn by my amazing mom Beryl

A little while back I mentioned my mom had gotten into the habit of sewing a baby dress (or other garment) every day. After sewing up a fantastic wardrobe for my not-yet-born niece, I'm happy to report that she has now moved on to making some awesome custom clothes for my toddler Z.

The coolest thing is that these are all no-pattern—just self-drafted or copied from ready-to-wear. My mom is way less obsessive and perfectionist than me, and it doesn't bother her at all to just draw out a pattern, sew it up, and tweak it to fit. (Me, I'm too busy smoothing out my fabric so it is PERFECTLY ON GRAIN).

I couldn't wait til they arrive in the mail and I can have Z model them... which is why I am showing you pictures of them now.

As for fabric, my mom was getting sick of the weak selection at her local Jo-Ann's, so she took a trip to the fantastic Sew Fisticated Discount Fabric shop in Dochester, Mass (see my review). She was rewarded with a huge pile of lovely fabrics at some very low prices (many $1-3 per yard), including some really gorgeous wax prints.

 

Aren't those yummy? Thanks Mom!

As for me, I've been working on a bunch of things behind the scenes I can't actually show you yet (I'm a woman of mystery, right?) but ... I promise they'll be worth the wait!

Sewing pattern fun at the Small Press Expo!

With my cartoonist husband Masheka Wood at the Small Press Expo last weekend, selling sewing patterns, comics and my new children's book, Susan's Mess. (Note: Wearing the Tiramisu knit dress was a good sales move!)

Ok, I'm not sure if FUN is exactly the right way to describe sitting behind a table at a comics convention worrying that no one there will actually be vaguely interested in either children's books or sewing patterns and randomly yelling out "Hi there! Do you sew?" or "Hi there, are you interested in children's comics?" with a perky smile.

Luckily it turned out that many comics and cartooning enthusiasts DO sew, including a number who sew costumes for cosplay, and some of them were interested in learning to sew everyday clothes. They loved that I was wearing a dress that matched the Tiramisu pattern envelope, too.

As I suspected, the Bonny sailor knit top was the hottest seller. Here's Rachel, an illustrator who loves sewing and hockey (hence her hockey-fabric dress, made from a Simplicity Project Runway pattern):

And there were a decent amount of small children about who were interested in my new children's book (more on that later when I have it properly and available for sale on Amazon!)

So despite all my nervousness, we had an amazing day at the convention, bringing in twice as many sales as I'd ever made in all my years of cartooning conventions, and actually more than covering the cost of the table and bus fare. And in the evening, I had the honor of presenting the Ignatz for Outstanding Series at the awards ceremony.

And it was great to hang with cartooning pals from way back like Matt Bors and Robert Kirby.

I even got a little time to finish sleeve one of my Delancey cardigan... the cartoonists around me found it very amusing ("That woman is knitting a sweater WHILE SHE IS WEARING IT!")

In DC area Sept. 14/15: Selling Cake & Comics at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD

Selling comics and soft stuffed doodles back in 2011, the last time we tabled at a cartooning convention as a family

Just a heads up if you're in the DC area: Masheka and I (and the little one) are going to be tabling at the 2013 Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland this coming weekend on September 14 and 15.

I'll probably be doing a lot of toddler chasing, but I also plan to have a children's comic book to sell... and I'll be wearing some Cake and selling a selection of Cake as well, including a few that are currently out of stock in the US and waiting to be reprinted. (Plus: if you come by my table and mention you're a regular Polka Dot Overload reader, I'll give you a 10% discount!).

Here's the official poster for the event. I have no idea if anyone else attending this thing will be of the sewing persuasion, but we'll see!

Please come by and say hello!

Finished (At Last): Vintage Pattern Illustration Giveaway

Cosmo on her bicycle in a 1960s dress made with a 1970s print and an orange ranunculus flower in her dreads

Eons and ages and eras upon a time ago (otherwise known as June 2012), I hosted a giveaway for a custom illustration of a reader on the vintage pattern envelope of her/his choice. I had originally promised 6-8 weeks for completion...

And then things got a little stressed around here and then much more stressed and me and the little one were sick for eight months and we had hospital trips and I had surgery and... then we got better and I realized I needed to dig up the giveaway art and finally get it done.

Luckily Cosmo, the giveaway winner (who blogs at Just Too Much and Los Angeles Cycle Chic), was very patient and still loved her final artwork, one year plus late as it was!

She had requested a drawing of herself in Simplicity 3471, an early 1960s pattern (which I see you can get on eBay for about $26):

Made up in this wild 70s-esque fabric:

With an orange ranunculus flower pinned in her hair.

I also chose to draw her on her bicycle, as I always love vintage pattern illustrations featuring props and I thought it would suit her style.

Better late than never.

P.S. Meg the Grand, your promised bonus TARDIS giveaway artwork is next even though you told me not to worry about it!

Finished: A Tulip for My Niece

Here's the little sweater I finished just in time for the baby shower for my niece-to-be, a lucky little girl who will be living on my brother's farm in Maine*, picking lots of blueberries, going camping and kayaking and wearing lots of soft snuggly woolen things.

The pattern: Tulips, a Colorful Cardigan for Baby, 9 month size. (Available as a PDF, or as part of a kit).

The yarn: Dream in Color Classy, bought as a kit with eight colors from Eat. Sleep. Knit.

Time taken: A bit over a month (but I was knitting and making lots of other things at the same time).

The exhaustive Ravelry details: Here.

This sweater was so fun and pretty to knit I almost felt guilty — going from stripe to stripe with the little seed stitch, fondling the pretty soft colors, making the little I-cord edge and ties. It was very well received by my brother and sister-in-law and all the baby shower guests. Here's a closeup:

My amazing mom of course made some really gorgeous decorations and tasty treats for the baby shower. My favorite were these allergy-free (for my daughter) chocolate cake pops, with no dairy, eggs, or nuts:

Little Z wore her Oliver + S wax-print dress, and I wore my Cake Patterns Tiramisu. Luckily neither fell victim to the chocolate frosting:

I can't wait to meet my niece!

*My brother is actually a civil rights lawyer, not a farmer, but he lives on a 40-acre farm in rural Maine in a house he and his wife designed themselves with a big garden and lots of ducks, chickens and cats. It's super awesome.

Quoted: When Clothing Was As Precious as Metal and Stones

Detail of a silk dress from the 1830s, from the American Textile History Museum in Lowell

"In the West, apparel has been expensive to produce and has therefore been a high-priced and valuable commodity for centuries. Once fashioned, garments had long and varied lives. A dress or jacket might be born as special occasion wear, then become a garment for indoor sociability, and eventually be worn (and worn out) while doing domestic chores... In some households, garments were turned into quilting squares... A piece of clothing might end its useful life as a rag, and literally turn to dust.

... From the seventeenth century through the mid-nineteenth century, apparel was a primary medium of exchange, second only to metals and precious stones."
--Economist Juliet Schor, in Plenitude: The New Economics of True Wealth.

I came across this quote today in a book I was reading, and thought it tied in perfectly with our lively discussion and poll yesterday about the price—and value—of sewing today.

In contrast to the history of apparel, we have today's sad reality:

Bales of used clothing waiting to be turned into rags

"This history puts the nearly free gently worn garments of the early twenty-first century into sharp relief. The United States has been piling up mountains of clothing that have virtually no value... The production system drives businesses to use natural resources at hyperspeed, and the consumer system makes the resulting products redundant almost as fast. It's a recipe for disaster."

Plenitude (aka True Wealth) is not specifically about the fashion industry (for that, I'd recommend Overdressed), but Schor uses fast fashion and its devastating effects on workers and the environment as a case study for what has gone so wrong in our "business as usual" economy.

As a solution she presents her philosophy of plenitude, downshifting and sustainable living, which is in a large part about creating instead of consuming:

"The second principal of plenitude... is to diversify from the business-as-usual market and "self-provision", or make, grow or do things for oneself... Plenitude aspires to transform self-provisioning from a marginal craft movement into something economically significant."

I haven't finished the book yet, but I've always loved Schor's ideas—she was briefly my college women's studies advisor (before I switched majors to social anthropology and visual arts) and taught one of the most fun, engaging and thought-provoking classes I've ever taken, "Shop Til You Drop: Gender and Class in Consumer Culture."

I think I'll be grabbing those old wornout clothes and sheets I was going to take to be recycled and tearing them to use instead of paper towels!

So what do you think — now that clothing has been so devalued in our society, is there anything we can do to recover that value and respect for our garments? Is apparel doomed to lie on the dollar-a-pound pile of history? Will it ever again be precious as stones?

Does Sewing Save You Money—Or Bust Your Budget? (With Poll)

Is sewing a frugal tool for looking fashionable on a budget... or just a hungry hobby demanding to be fed with pricey fabric and gadgets?

I know sewing could actually save me money. It's a basic tenet of most frugal philosophies that making is better than consuming. In theory. I could make quality clothes (and home items) for my family for way less than retail, scrounge for fabric at flea markets and swaps, repair and upcycle and alter and just generally defy the ready-to-wear retail lifestyle.

But in practice... whenever I am actually immersed in thinking about sewing and knitting, in reading all my favorite blogs and paging through Pinterest and Ravelry and picking up copies of Threads or Interweave Knits ... I start to feel like I NEED more sewing and knitting STUFF. Maybe a new presser foot for piping or bias binding. A bright floral knit in just THAT shade that I don't have in my already bulging stash drawers.

Another knitting needle set. A different weight of yarn.

A different kind of measuring tape. Striped elastic—the really soft kind!

Or maybe a bra-making kit—I could save so much MONEY by making my own bras! I just have to buy some specialty elastics... and lace... and...

Etc.

I'm trying to change that, and I'm starting by listing the ways sewing HAS and HASN'T saved me money in the past. But first, I'd like to hear your experience. Please take the poll below and let me know: does sewing save YOU money?

And now...

Ways I have sewn on the CHEAP and SAVED money with sewing

• By getting my machines used/secondhand. My serger was a gift left to me by my late grandmother, and I bought my Husqvarna Viking sewing machine used (for 50% of retail) with additional money she left me. (If I hadn't lucked into an inherited machine, I could have bought a vintage used machine.)
• By swapping patterns and fabric with friends.
• By sewing from the stash and choosing projects that work with my existing fabric and existing yarn.
• By refashioning old clothes into new ones.
• By mending my family's existing clothes — fixing tears, replacing lost buttons, hemming, replacing worn linings, even darning socks.
• By altering the fit and style of old clothes to make them feel new again.
• By making awesome Halloween costumes and then selling them on eBay right before Halloween the next year.
• By making curtains and other soft household items.

Ways I have BUSTED the BUDGET and WASTED money with sewing

• By buying way too many ill-fitting items at the thrift store with "potential" and planning to upcycle/refashion them... but never getting around to it.
• By choosing sewing projects that require new fabric and can't be made from the stash.
• By acquiring way too many "inexpensive" little gadgets and notions that really add up... special presser feet, special needles, special sewing lamps, special elastic, what a special headache.
• By buying way more materials than my actual rate of sewing/knitting warrants—as much as 5 or 10 times as much as I could actually sew or knit in a given month.
• By buying new when I could have bought used with a little more effort and creativity.
• By subscribing to too many sewing magazines and buying too many sewing books and Craftsy classes (some of them unread/unwatched).

Going forward, I'm going to thing hard about all the above and work from a fixed sewing/knitting budget each month with the help of the YNAB budgeting software I mentioned previously (that sewing/knitting budget is currently $0, but I have a BIG stash, so that's hardly a hardship!).

So, take the poll and do tell in the comments: are you a frugal sewing god(dess) or a fancy sewing or knitting supplies fanatic? (And no shame, please... if you have the budget and the time to spend on a creative hobby you love, where's the guilt in that?)

Follow me on Instagram (or how I cut my cell phone bill AND got a smart phone)

Because I know you want to see blurry photos of me knitting baby sweaters on a bus.

For a long time I was a smartphone holdout simply because it just seemed anti-frugal. I already resented paying $95/month to Verizon for two flip phones on the cheapest plan available, and I wasn't about to let that dollar figure budge upwards.

But as part of my recent intense budgeting obsession I discovered we could switch to a no-contract provider, save $1,000+ over the next two years AND have smartphones. So my husband and I bought three-year-old refurbished Android phones on eBay and activated them with Ting (my $25 coupon referral code is here if you want it).

And now I can take pictures. Wherever. Whenever. And sort of pretend they are like Polaroids and put them on Instagram. Here are a few from the last few days...

A family history quilt my amazing mom sewed in 1974, focused on her grandparents from Pickwick, Tennessee. Note the sewing machine—of course:

A few of the baby shoes my mom has sewn for my niece-to-be:

My mom showing Z how she makes the slippers:

And non-sewing, but still making: baking allergy-free chocolate chip oatmeal cookies (no dairy, no eggs, no nuts):

So yes. Follow me on Instagram (and on my Facebook page, if you like).

P.S. Also: am I the last sewing blogger to get a smartphone? Are any of you other thrifty types still rocking flip phones or candy bars? As much as I love the camera and other capabilities, it still doesn't seem like a proper PHONE to me... but I'm sure I'll get use to it.

Tutorial: Super Quick No-Elastic Knit Half Circle Skirt!

This skirt was so quick and easy it barely deserved a blog post, but then I thought I'd try my hand at making a Pinterest-friendly tutorial illustration for it. It truly took me just 15 minutes to sew — it has just five seams, after all.

I wasn't going to hem it at all, but it initially turned out 4 inches too long and a bit dowdy.

So I decided to hem it with a twin needle ... and my walking foot really chomped on the hem. Then when I was trimming off the excess I managed to stab three additional holes in the hem and had to hand-sew them shut. So no hem closeups this time!

And yes, I know I'm a black-&-white-&-polka-dot broken record. But I have a lot of this black & white ITY jersey in my stash, and I had already drafted the half-circle skirt for this dress that I wear constantly, using Patty the Snug Bug's handy calculator.

This no-elastic waistband treatment is pretty common in ready-to-wear skirts—it's kind of like a yoga pants waistband. The key is giving it just the right amount of negative ease, or it will sag and bag around your midriff.

If you do give it a try, please leave a comment, I'd love to see your version!

P.S. If you don't want to draft the skirt yourself, just use a purchased half-circle skirt pattern like the Cake Patterns Tiramisu instead of the self-drafted skirt! Even EASIER.

Non-Toxic Beauty Routine Makeover #1: Safer Lipstick? (EDITED)

Urgent update folks: A super-smart commenter noted that the Colorganics brand I had researched a few years ago and had thought to be lead-free was in fact on the FDA's 2012 expanded survey list of products that did contain some lead. SO! I am after all going to need to do my research again, and go lipstick-free for a time. I will also contact the company about this.

The other brand I mentioned, Zuzu Luxe, states they test their products and are committed to selling lipsticks without lead contamination but I see some of their products on that survey list as well. So STAY TUNED.

Before: Turns out my L'Oreal lipstick was full of lead; After: Colorganics Hemp Organic lipsticks (shown here in Ruby) are made from hemp and beeswax and are allergen-free—but what about lead?

I'm giving my beauty routine a serious green makeover.

I've been going through all the personal care products my family uses one by one — from baby shampoo and eczema lotion to sun block to makeup and nail polish — and replacing them with non-toxic, allergy-free, organic and/or more sustainable alternatives.

These things can be challenging to find, so I'd thought I'd share my research — and some of my new favorite non-toxic beauty products and sources! Today's featured find: safe lipstick.

How this all started: A few years ago when I was pregnant — and extra-worried about what I was putting in or on my body — I watched this eye-opening short animated video, "The Story of Cosmetics: The Ugly Truth of Toxins In, Toxics Out".

So I took a close look at all the products in my medicine cabinet (with some help from the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Database)... and immediately tossed most of them out. For a while I didn't have ANY makeup to wear (not good for a vintage-inspired look!), and I was washing my hair with organic baby shampoo.

Why the freak-out? Beauty and personal care products don't HAVE to be poisonous. But many mainstream makeup and bath products are loaded with toxic chemicals, carcinogens and nasty irritants ... and even serious toxins NOT listed on their ingredient labels, like lead.

A warning: Don't trust "natural" labeling. Words like "natural" and "eco" are pretty much meaningless and unregulated, and many brands practice "greenwashing"–marketing their products as safe or sustainable when they are anything but. (And if you are dealing with serious allergens—like we are in my house—many crunchy and natural companies fill their products with nut and sesame oils.)

Luckily there are a growing number of small cosmetics and personal care brands and companies that DO make safety and sustainability a priority. And some of those products are even allergen-free. So without further ado...

Found: Safer, Allergen-Free Lipstick?

Hemp Organics lipstick by Colorganics in Coral: made with hemp, beeswax, and other organic, allergen-free and GMO-free ingredients.

The problem: FDA testing has found many lipsticks are packed with deadly contaminants and carcinogens like lead and cadmium. These aren't ingredients listed on the label, but companies are not required to test their products for contamination — and most don't bother to. And take note — one of the top 20 offenders was a lip shimmer sold by "natural" favorite Burt's Bees.

My before lipsticks: I mostly used long-wearing lipsticks from Revlon and L'Oreal. Both brands featured heavily in the top 20 lead-containing lipsticks, so I just went lipstick-free until I found something safer.

The hunt: I prefer to test out lipstick shades in person, so I started with the Whole Foods Whole Body store near my office. But all the natural and organic lipsticks they stocked contained things my daughter was allergic too — like sesame or walnuts — and I wasn't about to stop covering her little cheeks in kisses just to look pretty.

I finally found what I was looking for at the beauty counter at Perelandra, a fantastic natural foods store in Brooklyn.

My after lipstick: Hemp Organics lipstick by Colorganics.

• At $15-$17 a tube, it's a bit pricier than toxic lipsticks, so I own just two shades for now: Coral for everyday wear, and a deep Ruby red for evening and dress-up.
• I've been wearing this stuff for over two years and I love it!
• I call it my hippie lipstick, because it's made from hemp seed, beeswax, sunflower oil, natural pigments and not much else. It's organic, gluten-free, GMO-free and free of tree nut, peanut and sesame oils too.
• Read more about Colorganics and their philosophy on their website.

Here I am in the Ruby:

If you're not avoiding nuts or sesame like I am, your safe lipstick options are much wider. Another good option (for the non-sesame allergic) is Zuzu Luxe lipsticks (sold at Whole Foods Whole Body, Amazon or the company's own website). They even have some gluten-free options. I like this bright red shade, Starlet:

Edited to add: Gabriel Cosmetics (the makers of Zuzu) says they test for lead contamination—yet they appear on that expanded survey list as well. On their website FAQ, they indicate:

Q. Are your products lead free?
A. Yes. We have tight quality control policies and can assure that each product is tested during and after manufacturing for pH values, viscosity, microorganisms or any other contaminants.

I hope this post was helpful, rather than scary—everyone has to decide what level of risk they are comfortable with of course, and there's no way to make your life totally toxin free... but I think personal care products are a great place to start, since we slather so many of them directly on our skin each day, and well... lipstick gets in your mouth, too!

Recommended further reading, viewing, and action-taking

• Watch: The Story of Stuff: The Story of Cosmetics.
• Learn More & Take Action: The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. This situation is NOT OK—we shouldn't have to do extensive research in obscure stores to find the few products that won't poison us. We need transparent, clear labeling and we need to regulate toxic ingredients and remove them from personal care products altogether.
• Check Your Products: Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database. But note that the database can only tell you about voluntarily LISTED ingredients, not unlisted contaminants like lead. So you might want to err on the side of companies specifically committed to producing safe, non-toxic products.
• Green Beauty Blogs: No More Dirty Looks, Daily Green Natural Beauty Blog.

So, do you have a favorite non-toxic lipstick? Are you as frustrated as I am by how hard these things are to hunt down... and as angry that companies are selling us poisonous beauty products?

And what's with all the new "luxury organic" lipsticks that actually contain awful ingredients when you look into them more closely? BLECH.

Happy safe lipstick hunting! (Next time: safe nail polish.)

**Disclosure: Actions you take from the hyperlinks within this blog post may yield commissions for polkadotoverload.com (and quite likely spent on yarn or fabric to be blogged here!).

A (Baby) Dress a Day + New Habits

So while I have been dithering over four unfinished objects in various stages of slow progress, I thought I'd share what my amazing mom has been sewing in the last... well, week. (Not jealous, not jealous, not jealous. Phew!)

Long-time readers may recall the time she sat down and sewed 67 cloth diapers while I was pregnant with her first grandchild. Those will be going to my soon-to-be niece along with some new wardrobe pieces.

Here's what my mom has to say about her new daily baby sewing habit:

I'm trying to stick to my fabric stash that I've been collecting since Z. A lot of the fabrics were from when I was making diapers for her.

Second, I'm using free patterns I found from this site: Sew Things for Babies.

Third, the fact that I'm using stashed fabric and free patterns which are piled up on my sewing table allows a little freedom as I go. I've also been limiting myself to one outfit a day.. so I enjoy it as I make it and don't get burnt out doing it.

.

This little baby is going to be living on my brother's farm up in Maine, hence the need for some snuggly swaddle wraps!

I think my favorites are the kimono-style dress above, and of course the polka dot dress. I think it might be leftovers from this little dress I made for Z...

So. Anyway, more stuff for you soon, but speaking of habits... I've been a bit busy the last few weeks working on developing some new habits of my own and returning to some old ones. Mainly:

• Moving around. I have been ridiculously sedentary for the last, oh, four years. Sitting on the couch knitting is NOT exercise and was starting to feel kind of... yucky. So. I joined the NYC bike-sharing program and I've been commuting home from work. I was scared at first but I've found some good routes and now I'm addicted to it. I've also been doing more active play with my daughter on evenings and weekends. I feel... awesome. It's so weird!
• Trying new recipes. I used to make so many things from scratch - pasta, bread, soups, desserts, even homemade cheese. But after we discovered my daughter's food allergies, we got into a rut working with limited time and ingredients ... and we've been cooking the same few allergy-safe meals OVER and OVER and OVER.

  So my husband and I have both made it a priority to plan meals ahead of time, try new recipes and adapt them for our restricted no-dairy, no-eggs, no-nuts, no-mustard and no-sesame household. We even got a slow-cooker and have been experimenting with soups and stews (not always successfully, I'm afraid).

• Packing lunch. Every day. Eating deli sandwiches or soups for lunch isn't just expensive, it's kind of gross. I've packed my lunch in the evening (usually leftovers plus fresh fruit and veggies) every day for the last two weeks and I SO look forward to opening my PlanetBox every afternoon at lunchtime!
• Keeping to a very tight budget. I'd been living under the delusion that we had already sliced our expenses to the bone, but when we really took a hard look, it just wasn't true. Money has just been flying out the window in little dribs and drabs — a movie here, a takeout meal there, a fabric purchase here. So we're using YNAB ($6 off referral code here) to do a total budget makeover... but until we can have more wiggle room, I'll be sewing and knitting from the stash ONLY. Which is not exactly a hardship, considering the size of my stash...

Phew! More soon. Have a lovely weekend, all!

P.S. I've set up a Facebook page for Polka Dot Overload if you prefer to read your blogs that way... come over and Like me if you like!

Finished*: Candy Striped Tiramisu! (And why I am knit dress obsessed!)

Sweeter than candy: I finally made my striped Tiramisu knit dress!

Seriously, I have been planning to make a candy-striped Tiramisu with this fabric since last August, when I was still illustrating the first Cake Patterns envelope cover! And I'm so glad I finally sat down and did it, because this dress in this soft, stretchy knit is pure happiness.
The pattern: Cake Patterns Tiramisu Dress 0144.

Pattern Description: Knit knee-length dress with front mock wrap neckline, cut-on sleeves, customizable midriff and flattering half-circle skirt. Pattern Sizing: The pattern is sized for a 30-54 inch high bust, 25-50 inch waist and has bust proportion sizing A-D.

• My high bust is between 34" and 35", my full bust is 38.5" and my underbust is 30", so I initially chose to make a 35D (see muslin post here and wearable muslin top here). That turned out to be a bit large in the bust and back for me, especially since I was using a very stretchy knit and I prefer a really close fit with plenty of negative ease.
• For this dress version in my fancier fabric with plenty of horizontal AND vertical stretch, I went with a 30D wide bodice with a 1" FBA but cut just the 30A length (I based this length on measuring some well-fitting RTW surplice knit tops I had that hit me exactly at the underbust). And I used the size 30 back bodice.
• This worked GREAT but if I use a fabric with only horizontal stretch for the next one I will need to make it longer over the bust (maybe the 30C or 30D length).

Sweet sweet candy-colored peppermint back chevrons!




Fabric: This fabric is out of control awesome. It's a light-weight, yet substantial red and white cotton-spandex knit with good recovery that I bought on a sewing club outing to NY Elegant Fabrics for $15/yard.
At the time I felt guilty paying $45 for a hypothetical me-made dress, but this fabric is amazing. It is softer than soft, has stretch in both directions and is drapey (but not TOO clingy). Also: candy stripes. So... worth it!
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Most. Definitely. And I should know, I drew it myself...
Were the instructions easy to follow? Obviously I'm quite biased, but I followed them almost exactly and was quite pleased with the results!

Pattern thoughts: So. Knit dresses. Lately I have been wearing knit dresses three days out of five. Because they are the perfect garment — no mixing and matching, just throw it on, pick some shoes and a necklace (and maybe a cardi) and I am DONE and I even look FANCY when I am chasing my toddler around the farmer's market or playground.

Most importantly, knit dresses ALWAYS fit. My weight fluctuated a lot when I was ill and on oral steroids for months, and has fluctuated even more since I stopped nursing four months ago, so my jeans and non-elastic woven dresses all hate me... but my knit dresses always love me and never complain. (Heck, I wore some of my non-maternity knit dresses 6 and 7 months into my pregnancy a few years ago! So there you go.)
However, the Tiramisu has one thing that almost NONE of my other surplice-style knit dresses have...

... a no-gape neckline! NO cardigan needed for bra-hiding modesty! Thanks striped neck binding!
Pattern alterations: I did leave off the pockets on this version, but only to make sure I had enough fabric left over to recut the bodice if necessary (which it wasn't).
Construction notes:

• I cut the fabric on a single layer to make sure the stripes were just so.
• I made this on a mix of sewing machine and serger as recommended in the pattern instructions.
• My walking (aka dual feed) foot helped a lot in keeping the jersey from rippling out of shape and in pattern matching at the seams.

Successes:

• Great fit! So flattering!
• Stripes! Stripes! Chevrons and stripes!
• Lovely binding that is NOT in any way stretched out of shape.

Recommended Reading:

• Tiramisu 30 Minutes a Day Sew-Along.

Wear for: Work or a date. I love it so much and the fabric is so nice I am a bit afraid to get it grubby at the playground. So I might make a second version in a less fancy knit for weekend wear.
Obligatory half-circle skirt twirly photo:

Outfit details:
Cake Patterns Tiramisu knit dress, me-made
Coral necklace from craft fair
Vintage-inspired blue and aqua leather watch
Comfy red leather Mary Janes

*So the asterisk in the post title is because this dress isn't actually hemmed yet. BUT one of the hemming options recommended is to leave it raw... either permanently or just for a few wears until it settles. So it is finished ENOUGH. For now. I do think I will do a twin-needle hem to even things out, as it seems a bit shorter in the front than the back (though that might be a bad posture thing).

Bits and Pieces from a Mini Sewcation

My daughter is off visiting her grandparents in Massachusetts for a few days, and I'm managing my severe toddler cuddles and kisses deprivation by taking a little sewcation for myself each night when I get home from work. It is kind of amazing how much sewing you can get done when you don't have to start at 11:30 p.m. and stop at midnight each night... and when you can actually leave out the ironing board, sewing table and cutting mats!

Above you see two separate items in progress: the bodice of my Tiramisu dress so far (finally! I made the muslin back in May!) and a self-drafted "Insta Skirt".

The Tira is the one I sketched for my Spring Sewing Plans, it's got a red and white bodice and skirt just like my envelope illustration:

I picked a smaller bodice size this time (30D with a 1" FBA, instead of a straight 35D) and she is fitting great so far! I should have the skirt attached tonight. (And I know she doesn't fit my crappy sewing form at all, so just trust me on this).

The "Insta Skirt" is the one-piece half-circle skirt and midriff I drafted for this McCall's knit dress I made a while back:

I've always wished I could wear the bottom bit as a separate skirt, and it took me only about 15 minutes to sew (just two sides seams and an elastic-free knit waistband—magic!). FIFTEEN MINUTES FOR A SKIRT, PEOPLE.

...But it's not REALLY an Insta Skirt, because my serger temporarily crapped out on me for three hours of swearing and rethreading and crying... and now that the skirt has hung for a day it has grown by four inches and needs a severe hemming. Having no clue how to evenly hem a half-circle skirt, I suspect there is some online tutorial hunting in my future.

Finally, I have my Hummingbird Blue top pieces sitting around since the sew-along, since I was too busy moderating to actually make anything!

I think this little sewcation may almost be as fun as splashing around on the beach, and I'm getting 100% less sunburned as a result! (But I am also counting the seconds til I get to cover little Z in kisses ... on Friday!).

So readers: When was the last time you really got to sew (and leave all your sewing mess all over the place) with no interruption?