Dotted Swiss

My Make Nine has pretty much gone off the rails, but I still decided to make a summer "weekend" dress.

This is the Given a Chance Dress from Decades Every Day, done in burgundy dotted Swiss. Lots of bang for the quick-to-sew buck, especially if you skip the pockets like I did.

For me dress pockets are a one-way ticket to bad posture instead of a design feature that accommodates my adventurous gamine lifestyle. Plus I remember my mother admonishing me to take my hands out of my pockets.

Speaking of my mother,  I still have the dotted Swiss dress that she made for my First Communion back in 1975. Because our parish was "progressive" we didn't wear veils and the host was home-baked verging on hardtack. I did however get a bakery cake with lots of icing roses so there's that.

Jalie 3243

20 years ago (give or take), a friend of ours called and said "Are you sitting down? I  bought a bass."

Well readers, are you sitting down? I made casual summer bottoms that could also have dressier applications!!!!  I sewed them as drafted with no alterations except for cropping the hems by around 4." Should I go up another inch? I'm not sure. I kind of like the length as is. 

With newly-shortened Jalie 3880

This pair is in Brussels washer but I think they'd be lovely in silk noil, although that would require extra extra care with the salad dressing. I plan to make at least one more pair, and possibly a shorts version too.... 

I'm super happy with them, even if they do fall towards the man-repeller-y end of the sartorial spectrum. (Sometimes I'm flattered that my husband's solution to all of my fitting woes is tighter and shorter, sometimes I just can't even.)

Make Nine & Jalie 2806

When I organized my wardrobe into capsules I noticed that I could use some solid-colored tops for work. So I'm counting this as one of my Make Nine projects, even though it wasn't in my Official Grid.

Who's got two thumbs and a tripod coming in the mail?

This girl!

The fabric is a drapey lyocell jersey from Emma One Sock.

At this point I'm mostly making things as I notice the need. Here's a loosey-goosey revision of my sorta-plans*.

*I'm not making a "PicLab." But I am too cheap to pay to make the app's logo go away. :)

Fish-Eyed Eleonores

On my last pair of Eleonores I gathered the back waistband by stretching a shortened length of elastic along the piece as I sewed. The whole time (like 1.33 minutes, but still) I was petrified that I'd compromise the timing mechanism on my vintage machine (again). So for this pair I drew a 2" fish eye dart in the center of the back waistband and clipped the excess fabric.

Center waistband seam is actually a dart. 

Attaching it required easing with ALL THE PINS and a bamboo skewer to nudge the bulk into the seam allowance. In the end I still have a couple of puckers that I couldn't pin out. So when I discovered that I accidentally sewed the waistband elastic side out, I wasn't exactly keen to rip and re-sew. Thankfully I wear my shirts tucked out. (I would joke about not wanting to get into a car accident wearing these pants but my daughter just got her permit.)

Puckers!

This version is also slightly transformé en skinny, to quote the French version of the instructions. I narrowed the leg to be something between skinny and straight. This tutorial is super-clear, but it took me about 3 tries to finally get it right. Thankful for the tip about using your scraps to trace and modify your pattern.

Before and After: "skinny" leg on the right. 

The fabric is a burgundy version of the gray sateen that I used for my first pair. The gray pair has stretched incredibly after a few wearings, and I'm wondering whether this is a reflection of poor fabric quality or if stretch wovens just don't keep their shape over the long haul.

Have you found that stretch fabrics sag a lot? 

Indicum Sweater

This is my second Make Nine project:

The pattern is Hilary Callis Smith's Indicum. The body yarn is Knit Picks Capretta in cream and CC for the corrugated ribbing is Tanis Fiber Arts purple label in Fig.

This might be headed for Waddersville. The armscyes seem *really* high, and the corrugated ribbing rolls in spite of my aggressive blocking. It's the sort of thing that I'll be neurotic about because I spent my late 30s reading way too many blogs about how French women only wear things that are perfectly perfect.

And the yoke looks so yoke-y in the back. Because it's a yoke, duh. I suppose I'm used to seeing color or pattern in these situations:

Debbie Downer, party of one! Sorry, readers.

I'm not sure what will be next in the Make Nine queue...I'm reevaluating my choices after an epic-ish wardrobe purge (more on that next week) in the midst of an existential crisis about making and materialism (more on that next next week).

Eleonore Version 1.a

No hands!

More gray pants--now with a lot less crotch radiation (there's just no delicate way to say that, is there?) and moderately less gap-osis.

I made a 2" swayback adjustment using Dawn's method and there's *still* a little gap. I'm thinking this fabric isn't snappy enough to stand up to stretching and gathering.

Saintly pose.
Top is 100 Acts of Sewing Shirt No. 1, btw.

Just whatever, man! I'm still pleased with how these turned out and I plan to make more, possibly with darts in the back waistband. Maybe an invisible hem too, to dress them up a bit. And a skinny pair...

Ahem. So that's one 2018 make nine done! Fingers crossed that my 5" size 5 dpns arrive today so that I can finish my Indicum sweater.

In the meantime, must. Resist. Eleonore. Rabbit. Hole.

Jalie Eleonore

Yesterday I staggered off of the roller coaster known as Sewing Pants. And I don't think I'm going to throw up!

Here is my un-hemmed Jalie Eleonore muslin, the first of my 2018 Make Nine projects:

They're a size X, even though the much-touted "wisdom of the table" recommends a size V based on my full hip measurement. (I traced and sewed a size V waistband and it felt small to me.)

The "cat whiskers" radiating across the front are the result of swayback:

Gap-osis, with hip wrinkles that disappear
 when I yank them up.

I'm hoping they'll look like this after I perform Dawn's swayback adjustment. I also plan to take some fullness out of the back of the knees.

Because I can't walk around holding
the back of my pants all day. 

Now that I'm over the delusion of creating a wearable pants muslin, I don't think I'll top stitch version 2. Although it's probably worth practicing the faux-fly detail again.

I can't wait to get started!

Progress!

Grainline Tamarack
Pockets have been welted; binding has been applied; seams have been sewn and finished. Time to stop freaking out and install the zipper already.

Indicum Sweater
The first of my #2018makenine projects. Oh, the short rows. Nearly finished with the yoke, and feeling like some kind of color work genius what with the corrugated ribbing.


2018 SVE
"Seasonal" aisles everywhere are hawking red-foiled candy bars so it must be time for the Secret Valentine Exchange! One of Sanae's "Important Points" emphasizes using materials that you already have on hand, so my indigo-and-nature-loving recipient will get gifties made from these:

This is kind of a departure for me--I usually only have 2 projects going, max: one sewing; one knitting. 2018 is off to a wild and crazy start.

Car Kntting

Appliqued knitting bag (CF's Ebb pattern)

Three mornings a week I have a free hour between dropping off my daughter at her high school and going to work. I usually spend that time knitting and listening to podcasts. (Up First and The Daily, so that I can sit in the car and agree with myself.) 

While my Tamarack percolates (awaiting welt fabric and a 27" zipper) I've started the first of my make nine projects, the Indicum sweater. The neckline has a corrugated ribbing trim so I rifled through my drawer for my yarn guide. 

I'd never used it before, and I was pleasantly surprised! I knit continental and this little gadget actually keeps the strands separated. (Respect to all the knitters who carry yarn in both hands to do color work). "Picking" the yarn towards the bottom of the "vee" (close to the needles) helps with tension. For < $2 you really can't ask for more than that. 

Do you do color work?  What's your preferred method?

Make Nine 2018

My IG handle is @plain_jane_doe_45

After I finish my Tamarack.....

First Row:

Jalie Eleonore pants. I own the pattern and have high hopes based on the many positive reviews I've read. Fabric? Who knows. Unable to think past the muslin.

 

Indicum pullover. This is the only project for which I have materials, Knit Picks Capretta in cream. The three sweaters I own are all cardigans, so this will get a lot of wear. 

Grainline Lark tee. My go-to pattern has been Deer & Doe's Plantain, but the fabric really needs to have *just* the right drape. I'm thinking this design will work with the snappier knits that are more widely available.


Second Row: 

100 Acts of Sewing Pants No. 1. I made a pair of these in black eyelet last summer and they fit right out of the envelope. I'll make at least one more pair, this time in peppered cotton or brussels washer.

Blueprints for Sewing A-Frame Skirt. Leaning towards denim, inspired by the skirts in the new Eileen Fisher collection. I own one skirt and this will be a much-needed addition.

A Verb for Keeping Warm Prism dress. Maybe double gauze? I own one dress, of the cocktail-y variety, so an "everyday" dress will be another gap-filler.


Third Row:

A Verb for Keeping Warm Endless Summer Tunic or 100 Acts of Sewing Dress No. 3 . Looking for a casual "uniform" for our blistering summers.

A Verb for Keeping Warm Nell shirt. Yay, popovers! Boo, buttonholes! A fear I really ought to confront. Next year! Looking at Brussels washer.

TBD. Contenders, all knitting: Rondeur, Kitty's Chemise, Jasseron, Turtleneck Jacket.