What's this world coming to??

Thieves Steal Italian Designer's Entire Collection two weeks before his show at Milan Fashion Week.  Roccobarocco said that he will reschedule if his collection is not recovered by his show time.

Wow.  Just wow.

Arley Berryhill

I've decided to start making another cloth doll.  This isn't something I do very often but every once in a while, I like to do something different.  Of course, this is added to the myriad of other projects I have started yet always find something else fun to do.  Don't we all?

I'm using a pattern by Arley Berryhill called Madame and its a little funky.  She's supposed to be leaning back, which is awkward. She won't stand until I get a base for her to stand on.  I'm in the beginning stages right now so she is far from complete.  I'm styling her as the Pumpkin Queen since I'm seeing all the Halloween decorations in the stores.

I'm using a beautiful orange brocade for her dress and I'm in the process of beading the gown.  It is a long process and may well take me a year to complete!  But, I discovered adhesive rhinestones and have been making good use of them and I've scoured the Internet and discovered a few other things I can use to speed up the process since I like more instant gratification to my projects. I'm also going to add some lace.  I'm a little concerned about covering the lovely brocade but I've noticed that it has been a lot of fraying at the seams.  I've had to use fray check liberally to keep the body together.

My original idea was to make her dress similar to candy corn - orange, then yellow, then white on the top.  But, as I progress, she is changing into something different. The rhinestones look really beautiful.  She will still be the Pumpkin Queen but with a few alterations!

Has anyone else made cloth dolls?

 

Dresses, dresses.....

I have to admit it.  I'm not a big fan of wearing dresses.  I love to look at them and I love to sew them but I just don't like to wear them.  I'm far more comfortable wearing pants and shorts.  I know, I know!  It limits me so much on what I can wear and what I can sew but, that's just how I am, *shrug*. 

I thus decided to expand my horizons and try to sew more dresses, even if I didn't buy any (who wants to *buy* dresses when you can sew them, right??). So, when I came across DKNY Vogue 1236 I thought I'd come across a dress that I would actually wear. Here are the results:

I really like the way it turned out and it is a very simple pattern. It took me all of one afternoon to sew and I absolutely love the pleating in the front. It has the added bonus of having pockets which are an absolute must for me, making this dress a perfect choice.  But, I haven't worn it yet.  I even recently brought it with me on vacation as a swimsuit cover-up.  Alas, I never got the chance to put it on because it rained and we didn't swim.  Now with the weather cooling down (even here in Phoenix) and the fall colors beginning, I fear this dress might have to wait.  Unless....... unless I buy some black boots and tights and wear it with a sweater.  Might be a cute winter outfit.

In other news, I have joined the men's boxer sew-a-long at Male Pattern Boldness.  I did Peter's jeans sew-a-long and it was really fun.  I'm looking forward to this.  Heheheh, so is my husband!

Sewing tip

I love when other seamstresses offer new, clever sewing tricks.  I was one of the first people to purchase PatternReview 1000 Clever Sewing Shortcuts and tore through it in wonderment at all the fantastic ideas.

Well, I was talking to a co-worker this morning and she noticed that the little hanger tapes on my top were hanging out.  We talked about how we usually just pulled them out.  So, I did just that - I pulled them out. 

My co-worker (also an avid seamstress) told me that she uses these plastic stretchy hanger tapes for sewing gathers. She said that they stay stretchy and they  keep the gathers in place.

I thought this was so clever and wondering why I hadn't thought of this! 

What clever sewing tips do you have?

Nothing of note...

...happened this past weekend.  Saturday we had a refrigerated delivered to replace the new one we bought 3 years ago that died.  We had the extended warranty so it didn't cost us anything.  We were even able to upgrade. It was a good thing but ate up a great deal of time around the house.

Sunday, I worked on my top.  I had much trouble with the neck yoke.  It is supposed to be gathered but I soon found myself become exasperated with the darn thing and put it down.  I decided to peruse Pattern Review to see what others had said and sure enough, I wasn't the only person who felt the yoke was too time consuming.

I liked the top though, so I read through all the reviews, looking to see if someone had some insight or shortcut I could use to make my life simpler.  One lady skipped the gathering entirely and just attached the yoke lining as it was.  The top looked great.  In fact, it looked better than the gathered yoke, to my eyes.

Hence, I have decided to ignore the gathering and just attach my yoke lining (cut in the same fabric) as the neckline.  I haven't had time to finish it yet but I will post as soon as I can.

Pictures to be coming.....

Summer Blouse

My next project will be a Simplicity 2892.  It will work well for the Summer Essentials Sew A Long.   I will be making the top pictured on the model.



Here is the fabric I have chosen - a nice cotton lawn:

The picture was taken early in the morning with my cell phone.  Sorry the light isn't that great.  It should turn out to be a lovely top for summer - nice and cool.



Kwik Sew 3315

You can see by the photos in my previous post that the jeans are great!  I'm quite happy with the way they turned out.  I have joined the Summer Essentials Sew-a-long so go to Flicker to see what everyone's sewing. 

Here is my review of my first submittal:
Pattern Description: Jeans

Pattern Sizing: S-M-L-XL

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

Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Very Easy.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I liked everything about it. However, I had to make them twice because the pattern ran large and the first pair I made were huge!

Fabric Used:

Italian denim.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

On my first pair, I lengthened the rise 1 " but found that was too much. The second pair, I made no alterations.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

I plan on making this pattern a staple in my collection.

Conclusion:

I plan on making this again in different fabrics. They fit well and were very easy to make.