I Bought Yarn...

...back on Feb 9 LOL.

I got orders from previous clients for more Christmas stockings. So, I needed more yarn! Five balls of Loops & Threads "Impeccable" in green, red and cream, 127.5gr each. I wish my fabric spending was as frugal as my yarn spending this year. However, I think I am doing pretty good at using up fabric that I buy, as well as a few projects to use up stash.

Yarn In:  200gr+637.5gr=837.5gr
Yarn Out: 633 gr
Balance:  204.5gr IN
Costs: $11.23+22.55=$33.78/141 days = $0.24/day

Frugal Roxie

Megan's program for this year's competitions was "Roxie" from Chicago. We kept an eye out for a new dress, but we couldn't find anything. In the meantime, we decided to alter her current dress. We went to the fabric store to find some trim to make the skirt more swishy and longer. I liked a sequined fringe trim, but Megan didn't. We found this fabric with columns of sequins. I didn't think it was blingy enough, but Megan liked it. We also picked up some sequined elastic trim.

The columns of sequins are sewn down with a continuous strand of clear thread.

So. As you cut the length of the fabric, you've cut that clear thread. So, all those columns need to be secured. A dab of glue. 

 Then I sliced up between the columns, sometimes singles, sometimes doubles and a few triples. I sliced up to various lenghts. Then I glued it to the sequined trim and then hand stitched that to the skirt/dress seam. We created a headpiece with a feathered headband from the dollar store, with the sequined trim over it. We really got lucky with that headband!

 When Megan took to the ice for her first competition, I went up to the top of the stands to try to get a good view to film. I heard some women say "I love her headpiece. You can just tell this is going to be a sassy piece". Yes!!

Megan had three competitions and a couple tests with this costume, but on this last test day, feathers were coming out of the headpiece (which sat on her temple, a little closer to her ear). I didn't have any glue, thread, or double stick tape!

 I never managed to get a picture of her in the dress all season! I  would have liked the skirt to be a bit fuller over her original dress, but I still thinks it all works fine. I would have liked it a bit longer, but you don't want it to get in the way!

Swim Suit

Last year when I bought the coverall pattern for my husband, I decided to pick up a swim suit pattern or two (I'm sure I bought three patterns...what was the third one? The only other Kwik sew pattern I seem to have is for a bra. I thought I bought that a long time ago. Maybe I only bought two patterns). One of the first three bathing suits I made for myself is nearly dead (it's just for our hot tub now), and although I made some bikinis and a one piece for our last cruise (Oct 2017), I decided it was time for a new suit. I've seen some awesome fabric online that I wanted to get so I need to muslin a new pattern. Looking at that link, I'd say both these suits are dead. I've been wearing the floral one lately; I think the other one died a while ago. I'm not sure it was actually swim suit material.

This pattern is Kwik Sew 4182. Since buying this pattern, I have really dived (LOL) into independent designers but I went with this one because I had it and our printer is dead. Today, on my Facebook "Memories", I complained 7 years ago that there weren't very many swim suit patterns on etsy for young girls. Well, this has all changed with the explosion of independent designers! As long as you have a printer, you never need to buy a "Big 4" pattern again.

I opted for the tankini, View A, with regular straps. Maybe if I get the fit right, I could wear a halter neck, but it always pulls on my neck. Swim suit fabric is stretchy, so the weight of my bosom pulls the strap down. I felt the legs on View A were lower cut than on View B, but they use the same pieces. I'm pretty sure they are lower than my original suits. I do prefer a higher cut.

I couldn't figure out why the bottoms looked so huge. I know I've put on weight in my bust and belly, but not my butt! Then I realized I cut them on a fold, instead of just doubled. So they are essentially 5/8"+5/8" too big. Phew. 

I shortened the bodice a smidge, but I didn't take too much off because I wanted to make sure it was long enough to cover my belly. I didn't do a proper FBA, but graded out at the top edge to an XL and I think I made a new size, XXL, for the bust. I had originally thought about turning the lining into a shelf bra, with some elastic, but I realized that I had no idea where to do that on the lining piece!! In the end, I think it's fine without it. 

I had such a hard time getting the front piece sewn to the lining at the bust, where the elastic shirring is. I could manage to get it lined up, but the very top end wasn't getting gathered and it was a hot mess. Ripping it out a few times made a little hole in the lining. 

Argh. I sewed this so many times. Finally just left it.

I know that without the top elastic and straps, it's near impossible to get an accurate fit. I could see that the top edge was too long. Elastic will bring it in, but you don't want it gathered. 

It also felt a bit snug across my middle. 

 Adding the elastic and the straps did help a lot. However, I think because the rouching didn't go high enough, the top edge is a bit high and has funny wrinkles instead of gathers. I could probably gather it better with some hand stitching. I did open up the elastic and made it quite a bit tighter across the front top which helped with that floppy dip at the center. I don't think I have a finished picture.

When I tried the bottoms on without the top elastic, I could tell they were too short for me. I like bottoms that go up to my natural waist, which is quite high, at my belly button. Otherwise, they just fall off, no matter what I try. So I cut a wide piece for a band. I wanted elastic in it. But how to add the elastic at the top fold and keep it straight while sewing it all together...I didn't think I could stitch it down straight, didn't know if I wanted the stitching to show, thought I could stitch it on the wrong side.  Lined it up several times, yet somehow when I sewed the band to the bottoms the stitching ended up on the right side...I just picked it out. The elastic doesn't stay quite at the top of the fold. I think next time, if I had to do this, I'd cut an outside and an inside to the band and put the elastic in the seam allowance at the top. But that would mean a bit more bulk. It probably doesn't need the elastic, but it makes me feel better.

I don't have a finished picture. The bottoms are a bit loose, even though I already unpicked the bum elastic once and re-sewed it. I made a XL front and a L back for the bottoms. I first used a piece of elastic halfway between the lengths given for L and XL. I have a tiny tush. The rouching on the top tends to sag.

In the end, I don't think this will work for the fabric I want to buy. The gathers mean much of the pattern is smooshed up. I think for the new fabric I will need a smooth front suit. Yikes. I do have one but I don't wear it much. Patterns For Pirates just came out with Minute Maillot and I love the high legs on that one, so perhaps if I lower the back, raise the leg holes, add the contrast bust band, and with the optical illusion of the print, it should look better than that blue blob :)

Slow Sewing

I am sort of, on house arrest. My truck needed repairs and once I was done the supply teaching jobs I had committed to, Rob said I couldn't drive it anymore. Then it was almost fixed, and a brake line blew. So it's totally not driveable, even in an emergency. This is the end of week two. At the start of this school year, it was hard to break the old schedule--I left for my lunchtime job at about 10:50, got home at 12:15.  I've broken that routine now and these two weeks of knowing I can't even run to the store has meant my days are totally unbroken! Last week, I spent most mornings after the girls left, having a nap. By Friday though, I must have been caught up on my sleep because I couldn't nap.

I decided to do some sewing, since I could devote my "whole day". Of course, that never happens! I decided to go with the flow, and not rush these projects. First up was a muslin for New Look 6457. Measurements. I know I slacked off all winter. It was a busy, stressful winter. I decided to bite the bullet and do some measurements. Yikes. Some of it had to be monthly bloat! This pattern only goes up to size 16 and that wasn't enough. It used to be, along with a FBA.

I traced out View E bodice. Reviewed how to do a princess seam FBA. Got cutting and spreading. And it was really messing up the armhole. I really questioned it. So I slashed the pieces vertically and added a little bit to each piece (back too). Then I did the FBA. That went much better. I cut out the pieces, and added about 6" to the bottom, thinking I could turn this into a shirt if it works. I questioned though if I needed to widen at the bottom. I mean, I knew I needed more width for the hips....but it just wasn't computing. I quickly basted together the bodice pieces and tried it on.

I don't seem to have a picture. The shoulders were angled out way too much. That usually means you need a smaller size, with a FBA. Or you just have narrow sloping shoulders. Since I already did the FBA, and I knew I needed some extra width, I decided I needed to change the angle of the shoulder "strap"

I pinned out the extra in the neckline so the straps angled where they needed to be. How to get that onto the paper pattern without adding width somewhere (think of those angle drawings in geometry. When you open the triangle on one side, the lines get closer together past the point where they meet). 

You can see on the piece on the right, the slashes I made to the neckline. I did it over two or three slashes so by the time the dart reached the princess seam, it was just a wrinkle. I also needed to take a bit in under the bust. I also had to unpick the seams at the bottom...about six inches. It wouldn't lay flat LOL.

I think I still need to add a smidge to the inside of the strap--once the lining is sewn in, it'll be 5/8" narrower and I think my bra will show. I also feel I need a smidge more under the arm.

 Man, feeling so bloated and huge!

 I think this was the first round, before I opened the lower seams. I left the upper back open because it calls for a zipper. It was really hard to get it over my bust the first time! My bust was about 42" and the waist of this is probably about 37". Not much stretch in a woven! It's been awhile since I've done a top in a woven!

 I realized after doing the paper alterations, I realized I only needed to re-cut the front centre piece. I cut it to the length it was supposed to be. Easier to get on!

I've set it aside to work on other things. I wanted to make a dress for an event on May 10, and then wear it again late in June for Megan's grade 8 grad. I really want to trim myself down again though! And since this is a fitted, lined bodice, it won't be quick to alter if I do slim down.  As well, the dress requires piping and I need to find some co-ordinating fabric to make the piping and who knows when I can get out to the fabric store without a chauffeur! I'll find something else for the May 10 event, and then get back to this one in June.