Yesterday I worked in the silk screen studio but managed to forget to take any pictures so I will have to show you my latest silk screen project another today.

Today my daughter is being a goober and is pouting in her room. So I decided to get started on my new sewing project. I am a making Vogue 8728 with the black fabric that I printed the big flowers on to.

Here is the pattern - it is a vintage re-print from the 1940's, which is my current favorite clothing era.

Many other sewers have made this pattern and talked about it:
- Whoopie Cookie
- No time to sew, did a great red version
- kebenco's projects, did a more practical version
- Erika Made It - shows a lovely solid coral version
And over at A Dress a Day she have made several versions.
I could go on and on so many people have made it. But it is really pretty and very flattering on all these ladies as well as many others. Seems well worth giving it a shot.

 This is how I imaging myself looking in this dress

I love the hair, the hat, the bracelets, the lipstick....basically the whole thing is awesome and whoever styled this photo is brilliant. It is probably why this pattern is so stinkin popular.

Ok I know I do not actually look like this woman, she is thin and blond and has long hair. But hey I can dream can't I?

I have completed a few small steps today. I took the pattern out of the envelope. Then I cut the pattern pieces apart and ironed them.

I never cut on the pattern size lines until it is pinned to fabric. Just makes it easier to cut and it makes me put thought into it. I am actually considering not actually cutting on the size lines but thinking about tracing the pattern. Crazy talk, I know! I am always a cutter. But I over paid for this pattern b/c I really wanted it and I am afraid to cut it. Which is funny b/c when it comes to sewing I am hardly ever afraid.

I am planning to make a muslin.  I wish I had time to shop for fabric and make a gingham muslin. Then it would be wearable. Colette Patterns blog is where I saw the tip about a gingham muslin and I really think it is pretty smart. It is a cheaper fabric typically but it can sew up nicely and if you use it for a pattern you have lines to follow in the check pattern.

My next step is to figure out what size to cut. In the waist I need a pattern 22 but in the top I need like a 16, crazy difference I know. So I am going to have to do some math and such. Also I am going to have to take the shoulders way in even on a 16 as usual.

You would think I would give up on commercial patterns and just start drafting my own. Well we all need goals, I will get my rear in gear on that eventually.

Have you made the 8728? Got any tips or suggestions?

Have a great day! Peace out - C

Big Flowers, silk screen project

I cannot tell you how excited and relieved I am to be feeling well enough to be back in the studio. I hate to tell you that I am still not 100% and 3 weeks of being sick has been a pain in the rear!

These pictures and project are what I worked on during my Tuesday 3/20 studio time. After I got started on it I realized it is a little Marimekko-esque, but only sort of.

First I have to show you how much cooler and more interesting some of my classmates are than me.

The print studio is doing this cool project for the spring show where you put your practice newsprint sheets in a folder and other people can pick them up and print on them.

The flowers are mine and the cool occupy Wall Street stuff is from a classmate. He is this cool British dude who hardly speaks. But he printed this and handed it to me. Now I feel like I contributed, rather than spending my time just printing flowers.

To create the flowers I simply cut them out of black construction paper and taped them to my film. Together they look like this:

 But if you want to use two different colors you have to create two different screens. The you print the first color and let it dry and then you have to get it all lined up right and you print the second color.  Here are the seperations.

I printed this on paper but did not manage to get any good pics of it. Will have to show you those later. But I also printed it on bags.

This was my first attempt at using fabric in. Needs some fine tuning and practice. But still turned out pretty cool.
M has decided she needs one of these and she is going to use it to collect Easter eggs at the egg hunt on Easter Sunday. 

I also printed on a cool tank top. It is just a cheap top that I bought at H&M.

I put a big piece of paper in it, printed one side, let it dry. And then I flipped it over and printed the second side and left it to dry for a couple of days.

All of these fabric items still need to be run through the dryer to set the ink. It is acrylic so there is a small chance it could wash out without doing that but I doubt it.

The last thing I printed was 3 yards of black fabric. It has a small flocked flower woven into it and is somewhat sheer. I am planning to make a dress with the fabric, now that I have created it. This is what inspired this whole giant flowers plan in the first place I realize.

I got there as soon as the studio opened in hopes of accomplishing this. And it took some major work and ingenuity. As you know space it at a premium in NYC and that includes in the Parson's silk screen studio.

My main goal for today is to get to the library and pick up some books I have on hold and some books for the kiddo. However kid's club is still on "spring break" (for 2 weeks, blah!) and I have no time to myself outside of studio time. And the kid is being a pill about walking over to the library. She is actually in her room taking a nap to avoid the walk. However today is laundry day and the highlight of laundry day is you get to watch tv between loads. So I told her NO TV unless we get to the library! Maybe it will work?

Hope you are having a good start to your week.

Peace Out - C 

Maxi dress for a mini girl!

Today I finally managed to finish the dress for M that matches the dress I made myself. I think since I have volunteered to help with the Bowery Babes Easter Egg Hunt in Washington Square Park on Easter Sunday we will make these our Easter dresses. However M was excited to wear it today and we decided to take it out for a test run.

We were going for a urban super model look. I think that the Birkenstock's really finish off the look.

This is one of the walls of the playground outside our apartment. We went around 2:45 right before it was mobbed with big kids getting out of school.

I designed the dress myself and it took two tries to get it right. The first bodice I made the arm holes were way too tight. I should have known when I was having trouble getting them around the arm of the sewing machine that something was wrong.

I ripped off the bodice and started completely over. I re-cut the fabric about an inch bigger all around. Now she has the ability to move freely and I know where I went wrong in designing it.

M requested pockets and she always chooses patch pockets when I give her options. She says they are better for rocks and stuff than in seam pockets.

The original bodice was going to be lined, but when I re-did it I decided that it would be cuter and lighter weight to just finish the neck and arm holes with bias tape.

I used store bought bias tape which is unusual for me.  And it was much more narrow than how I make my own bias tape but it worked out in the end and I really like the way the narrower tape looks.

I don't have a good picture of the button holes but I do not love the way that my new temporary machine does them! Thank goodness this is not a permanent situation and I will be happy to see my Necchi when I get home.  But fortunately it is a dress and the button holes will be covered by the buttons most of the time.

Since it is so long I added a slit in the back. I have a maxi dress that does not have one and I can barely walk in that thing. I thought for sure she would need it.












On the the playground worthiness testing of the dress. 

Perfect for going head first down the slide. 

Excellent for making new friends on the tire swing.

Just fine for walking up the slide.

Nice for driving a fire truck.

Given that we were at the playground all afternoon it must have been pretty comfy and decently functional. She did have a little trouble figuring out how to get on the teeter totter, but she worked it out.

We had fun doing our super model photo shoot, and it is so nice that we have been having such good weather. We spent the morning with friends up at Union Square playground, another one of our favorites.

Hope you are getting to enjoy some Spring weather.

Peace out!
C 

I'm back again! New Machine & New projects!

Hi! I feel like I fell off the planet. And I sort of did for a little while.

Here is the short version:
- I got food poisoning
- I was in the hospital for 2 nights
- I felt better for about 1 day
- then I got a nasty cold and am just now starting to recover

OK enough complaining, let's move on. I was getting a little frustrated with myself that I was doing a lot of watching TV at night. You say "but you live in fun and glamorous NYC how could you be watching TV at night?" And I say, "Yes, but my life is still sort of the same. Hubby works a fair bit and I can only go out by myself so much. I still only have a few friends here." Any way so I decided to do what I do at home at night. SEW! Therefore I bought myself a cheapy new machine and am hoping to stop watching so much TV.

It was $75 on Target.com. It is a Brother and is not too fancy. I can tell you I am a little relieved that my exponentially more expensive machine at home is way better. I was going to be a little peeved if a $75 machine measured up to it. But this one will do for what I want to do while I am here and it will be nice to have a traveling machine.  It just does not feel as sturdy and it is super loud and the thread spool is not long enough for tall thread spools. I could go on and on but I will spare you.

The first project I have finished is fixing my little messenger bag. I bought this bag about 7 years ago at H&M in Edinburgh and it cost about $15.00. It has always been a great travel / day bag. It is light weight and big enough for a water bottle and snacks along with my wallet and other everyday stuff.

The problem is that I have used it so much that it is sort of starting to give up. The velcro on the flap was totally worn out and so I was worried all my stuff would flop out. Additionally a couple of the zipper pulls have busted off. That is solved with a safety pin, since they are on the inside pockets and no one will really know but me (well now you, but don't tell). I have looked and looked for a replacement bag but have just not found one I am happy with. So I replaced the velcro on the flap to get some more time out of the bag.

First I had to buy some hook and loop (aka Velcro) but I really just need the hook side? I got a tip from the blog Shop the Garment District that the FIT (Fashion Institute) bookstore is a great place to buy notions. On the one day last week that I felt okish I headed over there while the kiddo was at Kid's Club.

Second step was to take off the worn out side of the velcro. After I did this I decided that a washing could not hurt. It is canvas and had not been washed in a few years. It came out looking a little cleaner. But not a ton.

  

Next I sewed the hook or is it the loop side? onto the flap of the bag. Yes they only had white but I decided it did not really matter. It's on the inside and I really just need it to work. But I did sew it on with black thread so that you cannot see it on the outside. 

Now my bag is all fixed up and ready to go. Especially in NYC I like to have a rather nondescript bag that no one notices. And I can wear it cross body so I feel safer there too. But I may just have to start looking for fabric and copy the bag I will need a new one when this one give up for good. 

Hope you are enjoying the start of Spring! 

- C

Sorry but I am taking a little forced break

Hi guys - sorry I have not written in a while. I have spent the last 3 days in the hospital with food poisoning. So I missed my last sewing class on Wednesday night and I am not sure I will be feeling up to my silk screen class tonight and next week is spring break. So looks like I may be taking a forced break. Noe if only we were going somewhere warm and sunny, then I would be in a good mood.

Hope you guys are all well.

Peace Out - C