We are nearing the end of the month!  I feel a little bit like I cheated, since I was so sick that I probably spent an entire week in pajamas.  I don’t have a photo from day 22, but I was wearing my Simplicity wrap cardigan.

Day 23

Dress: Simplicity 2443, blogged here

Cardigan: Ann Taylor, thrifted

Shoes: Anne Klein

I love this emerald green cardigan – it’s one of my favorite colors, and one that seems hard to find (olive and yellow greens abound, but they look like death on me.)  The great thing about this dress is that you can wear anything with it.  And it’s so comfortable!  Definitely a winner.

Day 24

Dress: Butterick 5415, heavily modified

Shoes: Franco Sarto

Belt: Forever 21

This dress is actually a new finish, but I am not feeling it.  I’m going to write up a review for patternreview, but it won’t get its own entry here.  Let’s just say that the unaltered pattern is not very flattering.  I ended up taking this dress in a ton on the top and (oddly enough) letting it out in the hips, even though I had used a larger size for the hips.  It’s very strangely proportioned.  And the sleeves were humongous, about as unlike the pattern illustration as you can imagine.  In addition, I have come to realize that I hate high, wide necklines – my shoulders are proportionally a bit wide, and I don’t like how this emphasizes them.  It’s a bit matronly as well, due to the really high neck.  But ah well – it sewed up in only an hour and a half, and the fabric was dirt cheap, so it’s no real loss.  I am beginning to wonder about Butterick patterns and me, but I do have a few more to make – it could be that I have just made poor choices. I should have known I would not like this one, due to the lack of shaping, but I was determined.  Does anyone else do this?  Carry on with something even when you sort of know it’s not a style you like?

Day 25

Skirt: Colette patterns Beignet, blogged here

Top: INC, thrifted

Shoes: Sofft Parma

It was too early for my usual photo spot.  I’m still on my sickness schedule, and I got up today (on a Saturday!) at 7 am.  I love this skirt so much – I really need to make another!  I’m going out for lunch with my in-laws today, and we might be going to the Irish festival (I was supposed to be singing there, but I am not exactly 100% yet.)  It’s been near 100 degrees this week, and today it is finally cooler – I am so happy to wear sleeves!

I’m going to work on another dress this week (this time with a muslin, unlike my last project.  I can sometimes get away without on, but I find I am happier if I at least try out the bodice!)  I may also begin the muslin for my Chanel jacket – that’s going to be a long project, since I am still on a trim search (I have decided on self fringe, pleated black ribbon, and a chiffon ruffle… now I just have to find the ribbon and chiffon!) Does anyone have any advice for preshrinking a loosely woven wool tweed?  I will not launder the finished jacket of course, but I am loathe to take my fabric to the cleaners.  I usually do the dryer/damp towel method, but I hesitate here.  Maybe I should steam shrink?  I do have a steamer…

Pattern: Vogue 1194, a DKNY Design

Fabric: ITY knit (poly/lycra blend) 2 yards from fashionista fabrics

Leggings: Kohls

Shoes: Sofft

Everyone has a different reaction to being ill.  Some people like to watch daytime tv.  My husband goes to bed and sleeps for 3 days, at the end of which he is healed.   Personally?  I have a really hard time sleeping when I’m sick.  I can’t fall asleep when I can’t breathe, or when I’m coughing.  I do watch tv, but when I’m sick what I really want is to be distracted (but not with anything hard.)  I thought that working on some knit dresses would be good, because I don’t do muslins of knits, and the fit is usually forgiving.  It worked for yesterday’s dress, but this one?  Was a headache.

I really like the outcome – it’s comfortable and flattering, and while the neckline appears low it doesn’t actually show any cleavage at all (I’m wearing a vintage style bra, which shows in the middle on at least half my wardrobe, and it’s in no danger here.)  But I had to make significant alterations to get the fit and look I wanted.  There weren’t any finished measurements on the tissue, which should have been a bad sign, but I sewed it up anyway, figuring that the size 8 would be good enough (I often wear an 8 in Vogue patterns, and that’s the size recommended for me based on bust measurement.)  Well… it came out really big.  I ended up taking it in by 2 full inches in both the body of the dress and the sleeves.  The pattern calls for elastic to be inserted in the top and bottom of both the front twisted band and the back band.  I was doubtful the whole time, but I followed the pattern.  As it turned out, the elastic was a bad idea – it was visible from the outside, and didn’t really hold anything in.  I removed it from the back band, but kept it in the front, adjusting the width of the front band until it actually held in (I did not have to tack it down as the pattern calls for – I did at first, but it looked bad, and it works better if it’s the correct size that it holds itself in place.

I initially included the pockets, but they were causing an unflattering sort of saddle bag effect on the sides, so I took them out.  I cut 4 inches off the hem with my serger (it came out below the knees on me.)  I unthreaded the serger, marked my hem, and then used it to get an even trim.  I did not sew a hem – this fabric looks nicer unhemmed to me.  The net effect of removing the elastic, the pockets, and all the weight of that hem were to raise the empire seam to where  it’s supposed to be – the weight of the fabric was pulling it down, and this isn’t a heavy fabric.  The back band is not even with the twisted front band exactly, but I think that’s as it’s supposed to be – my pieces all lined up.  So it’s only truly empire waisted in the front.  The other alteration was to replace the interfacing on the front self facing with clear elastic, which works well enough I suppose.

I like this print – you can’t see that it’s made up of tiny exclamation points unless you get up close.  I like it with leggings, which was my intention when I shortened the dress.  I was a late one to embrace the return of leggings – after all, I did wear them the first time.  But I’ve grown accustomed to them now.  I wear them with short dresses and long tunics.  I’m not sure I recommend this pattern exactly – it’s not that it’s bad, it’s just that I question some of its constructions methods, and I think it runs big.  I’m getting pretty good at adjusting things to fit, but it’s better if I don’t have to!

Pattern: Simplicity 2417, view A

Fabric: Rayon jersey from Fashion fabrics club, gray with black dots, 2 yards

Shoes: Kensie Girl

Belt: Calvin Klein

Since I was running a fever for the 3rd day in a row and rapidly losing my voice,  I decided it was time to throw on some clothes and go to the doctor (well, the immediate care center, because why should I get sick on a weekday?)  Apparently I have the flu, for the first time in probably fifteen years.  Well… I may have had the flu other times, but for most of my 20s I didn’t have any health insurance, and so avoided going to the doctor at all costs.  At any rate, at least now I know why I feel so awful, and it really doesn’t seem to be the worst case of flu ever.  At least I get time off work, although I will have to make it up later.

I finished this cardigan on Friday – literally sewed the whole thing then.  I wanted some basic long cardigans to wear over sleeveless dresses, and I thought this pattern looked promising.  Since I had such good luck with Simplicity’s cozy wrap I was hoping this one would be as nice, and I was not disappointed!  I sewed a straight size 6, which seems to be my size in Simplicity.  Things I like about this cardigan: the nice high, tight armholes, which look very RTW to me, and the front bands, which give it a little more interest than just a plain cardigan.

I didn’t make many alterations to the pattern.  I did my usual job removing the ease from the sleevecaps (only 1/2″, but still unnecessary.)  I did not hem the sleeves, because I liked the length.  I sewed the sleeves in flat, and then closed up the side seams and sleeve seams in one sweep with the serger (I often do this – I hate setting in sleeves in the round, and I don’t notice much difference on most garments.)  I only sewed one line of stitching for the hem, because my twin needle wasn’t working well with this knit.

I absolutely recommend the pattern – this was incredibly easy to sew, and the results are very ready to wear.  I’m thinking of using my leftover jersey to create a little flower embellishment – removeable, of course, because I’m not handwashing a cardigan!  I’ve decided that while I’m having forced sick time I had might as well sew up some more knits – they’re easy to wear, and lately I’m finding myself reaching for them.  I did make a muslin of the jacket I mentioned yesterday, but the sleeve style was really weird – something in between raglan and dropped.  It is not flattering, so that pattern is out… I much find something else for my lovely wool.