gallery: colorful knit socks

Time for socks!

There weren't any socks in the laundry basket for months and months

{except for semi-damp Army socks, that is}

and now they are everywhere.

I used to knit & made a pair of socks that I still love to wear.

I was working on them on a flight to visit my parents {pre-kids, obviously}

and the really old lady sitting next to me said, "You must have the patience of Job."

All these gorgeous socks make me want to pick it up again!

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pattern review: simplicity 2594

My sewing mojo is back with a vengeance, and this little pattern is just what did it.

Fast, simple, and really satisfying.

Difficulty: intermediate; some familiarity with attaching a yoke is useful

Time: one evening, start to finish, including pre-washing and cutting fabric

Fabric: cotton sateen from Liesl Gibson's Lisette collection, purchased at Jo Ann

Special techniques: cutting pieces on the bias, pleats, gathering, yoke

Version: A, without the belt

Other notes: This pattern reminds me the Oliver + S Ice Cream Dress, only for grownups (and with a cowl neck, obvi). There are also pleats on one shoulder, which I (((love.))) The cotton sateen doesn't drape quite as nicely as I thought it would; it still looks ok, but I like to wear it with a cardigan or light coat to help smoosh down the cowl a little. Next time I plan to use something drapier. The dolman sleeves are very cute, but they are very roomy in the underarm and I will wear a little shirt beneath it in the warmer months. The pattern instructions for attaching the back yoke are a little confusing and it took a bit of head-scratching to figure out, even though I had done it before on the ice cream dress. I do like the fact that this top completely covers the booty-crack zone {mine is always escaping}.

gallery: tulle

If I owe you an email or a phone call or a visit or a carrier pigeon or anything like that, you should blame it on the tulle.

Our Battalion (Army) Ball is coming up in a few weeks, and it is crunch time as far as dresses go. I was going into this ridiculous longing/despair/anger cycle about not being able to find something that is at once modest, affordable, and fabulous 

(and I am so not in the mood to sew a ball gown). 

And then it hit me. Tulle. 

Wonderfully, Etsy is crawling with fabulous vintage tulle dresses, though modest and affordable dresses still elude me.
Some of my fave candidates for modestification:

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That last one is, like, my dream dress. It has sleeves, for pete's sake. 

But the price tag makes me go ha-gullllp. (More of my favorites right here.)

So, question for you: if you were to go with a minty-colored sleeveless vintage tulle dress, but needed sleeves, how would you make it modest? 

(Not a black shrug.)

Also, our visit with Grandma + Grandpa was totally rad. 

I got a great video of my mom crashing into the  TV cabinet while dancing ballet, but I think she might kill me if I posted it here.

friday finds: vintage girl scout dress + clip art freebies

How cool is this?! I found this vintage Girl Scout dress on sale for $20 at this fabulous little local shop. It fits perfectly, except that I need to do something to make it just a smidge longer (ideas? please??). As far as I can tell, it's from the 1930s(!) and is industrially made with several hand-stitched alterations. I am in love with the inverted box pleats at the sides and (of course!) the merit badges.

I wore this dress the other day when the girls and I went to get the car's oil changed. The Mobil on our little main street is a happenin' place -- it's where the old guys hang out (no really -- this is the awesomeness of living in a village with no stop lights -- they insist on filling your gas for you, remember your name, and notice when there's a chip in your windshield they didn't see last time).

Anyway. An old guy hanging out at the Mobil asked me if I was in Cub Scouts. I told him no, I just like the dress. I think he thought I was crazy.

And lo! I did a little scanny-scanning, et voila! The badge file is in PNG format, and the fabric is a really huge JPG for backgrounds + the like.

Have fun with these!

{download girl scout badges}

{download girl scout dress fabric}

pretty blouse faq

Okey dokey! I've had a few questions about the Pretty Blouse pattern, so I hope you'll find this helpful (I'll add to this as new issues arise):

• Printing the pattern to scale. If you print directly from the current link on SMS, you will find that the 1-inch test box on page 3 prints at 1.25 inches. No bueno. I am working with SMS to provide a link that will download the pattern at the correct scale, no monkeying around required. If you're the impatient type (ahem), you'll need to monkey around with scaling options before you print the whole shebang. 
• The correct layout for the sleeve pattern pieces. On the pattern piece layout guide (page 2), it looks like there are only 2 sleeve pattern pieces. There are actually 3. I just forgot to change it.
• Fitting the pattern pieces together. You may have to fudge it a little. I tried to be very exact, but it is my first pattern, so it's been a (big) learning experience. 

Thank you so much(!) for all your sweet e-mails, comments, and pins. I was so so so so nervous about sending this pattern out into the blogosphere, and despite the scaling issue, all the good vibes have made me braver to try doing another pattern in the future!

Also, let's have a HUGE SHOUT OUT to my amazing, patient, brave, wonderful pattern testers, Jessica, Kara, Leisel, and {i love you all, but especially} my rad sis in-law Bev, whose sewing ninja skillz are, like, epic. No really.

Woah, is it Thursday already? Geesh. Happy sewing, everyone!

new duds tee

Surely you know Candace, aka Ms. Sparkle Power? Well, a couple of weeks ago my luck was up + I won a giveaway she hosted from New Duds!

I picked the Shallow Tree shirt. The quality of this shirt is incredible -- both of the shirt itself (so soft! they use American Apparel tees) and of the screen printing, which machine-washed and dried perfectly. I've worn it twice in less than a week + I'm in love. Any of their shirts would make a super nice present for someone who likes a good tee. Thank you, Tessa and Torrey -- I'll be back!

pinterest, print edition

Thanks for the sweet comments + e-mails yesterday. I'm doing a lot better today, thanks to lots of rest + blessings over the weekend. Good thing, too, because my little chickies need their mama! They have been so sweet the past few days. Little kids are so amazing in their capacity to just roll with it. Most of the time.

So I like to keep a design idea notebook handy here at home. Here's a few recent pages that I keep going back to for inspiration (sometimes it helps me visualize what a pattern might look like when I actually draw it on paper).

If you're interested in pattern design, try Built by Wendy Dresses. It is my go-to book for a starting point when I'm drafting any kind of pattern, dress or no. I think it is a totally worthwhile purchase!

Speaking of which, the Pretty Blouse pattern will be available on the Sew, Mama, Sew blog on June 16th! I'm super excited/nervous. I still have a little list of kinks to work out, though, and they need to be done in 2 days! Eek! Better get to it...

Smoochies!

design inspiration: asymmetry

I have been seeing so much asymmetry in clothing design lately. I love it, especially in dresses. I really want to make a midi/maxi skirt that's short in front and long in back, maybe with some lace in the front? Or maybe this first top?

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What do you think? Cute? Obnoxious? Worth a try?

pretty blouse, coming along

The mumu has found its match. So excited! I decided to make the pattern for this blouse in 3 sizes (S/M, L, and XL), but since it's the first pattern I've ever made and there are bound to be some screw-ups, it's definitely going to be free. I'm really worried that something is going to be horribly wrong with it (like maybe I'm shaped like Quasimodo and so it won't fit anyone else right?), but hopefully it will all be ok. (You can see the first Pretty Blouse right here.) Hoping to have it finished by the end of the week!

What's on your work table this week?

today i'm excited about

:: It's a warm, sunny day & right now I have baguettes baking to eat with dinner tonight). They smell so good.



:: Gold strike! Embroidered mumus have been on my perpetual hunt-for list ever since Rachel at Smile & Wave fixed one up last summer. (What's on your perpetual hunt-for list, by the way?)



:: Also found this fun little book, published in the 1960s by a guy who wanted to preserve his grandfather's country wisdom and know-how. Chapter titles include "Sugaring," "Doing with Stone," and "Indians."

:: Heather's Joyful Life Library! Advertising with a beautiful purpose; I hope we start seeing more projects like this on the blogosphere.



:: MM scrap pack giveaway on the Vintage Sheet Blog! Jen's been hosting a whole month of giveaways in celebration of her one-year blogaversary. Congratulations, Jen!



:: Babies taking pretend naps in the laundry. The 3 of us had dinner at Denny's last night (the man was in the field) and had the. best. time. Kids eat free Tues/Thurs, so it cost less than McDonald's usually does. And with a lot less chaos.



:: Baguettes making happy crackling noises as they cool. Surely we won't need all four for dinner...

new skirt for me

I've always had a little seller's remorse that one of my first skirts ever sold. I think I was secretly hoping that no one would buy it, but I guess it's a good thing that someone liked it, right?! Anyway, I had some very good luck lately (as usual, in the form of Evelyn) and scored another yellow butterfly sheet. I was using it making a new skirt for the shop, and was nearly done with it when I noticed a few tiny holes in the striped fabric. I'd be lying if I told you it upset me, because it made me do a little happy dance that I get to keep it. Maybe I shouldn't always wait for the rejects?

Another happy dance and a big thank-you to Sew, Mama, Sew for featuring my Bold Statement top on their blog yesterday!

{resources}
filmstrip textures :: blowback photography
scallop punch :: the pugly pixel
font :: impact label via dafont
flower bling :: kitschy digitals

frankie + jensie

Erin approached me a few weeks ago about making some skirts for her two girls, Frankie and Jensie. After hashing out a few basic preferences and details, Erin completely handed me the reins and told me to go for it (sah-weet!).



I pulled all the fabrics from my collection that Erin specifically requested, then started looking for coordinating fabrics. It's kind of a challenge when you're working with vintage linens, as the options are limited and there isn't always a perfect mate for every fabric. My favorite is this funky olive double-layered skirt. The print I used for the blue underskirt threw me for a loop when I held it up next to the olive print, and I spent hours saying to myself, "I think this works...does it work? It works, right??" I love it, though, and I'm planning to make one in my size, too!



Once I'd made the fabric pairing choices, I assigned a skirt style to each pairing (or threesome). Sometimes the number of fabrics in a group dictates the skirt style; other times it's decided by the amount of fabric I have available. Right now I'm using three skirt designs: two-tiered, three-tiered, and double-layered (with the underskirt).



If you're feeling inspired, come on in to the shop to design your own custom skirt -- for girls, and now for women, too!

I hope you love 'em, Frankie and Jensie, you cute girls!

navy + dots

I guess it's not just me.

{via Modcloth}

{via Modcloth}

{via Ruche}

Louise had the brilliant idea of adding lace to the bottom of my too-short dress (see below), so maybe we'll see what we can whip up over the weekend.

Also on my mind today --

Ms. Horner's unfailingly perfect color instinct --



Further adventures in sourdough (look how happy my starter is!) -- and the suspicion that some pain au chocolat might be in my near future --



And this happy reminder --



Stay snug this weekend!

on shady street

I found a new-to-me thrift store yesterday -- one of those holes-in-the-wall that's been around forever (located, appropriately, on Shady Street) and hasn't raised their prices like some of the bigger chains. They were having a sale -- everything you can fit in a brown paper bag for $2. The girls were with me and we had all our snow gear on, so I didn't try anything on. The top two skirts fit really well (they're tea length skirts that look really cute belted at the waist!), but the other two are too short. Which makes me sad, because that blue dress would look really sweet with some red heels and a white belt. Now to figure out what to do with it!

buffalo plaid dress refashion

Well, goodness! I might have to ask R to stick a pin in my head tonight -- thanks for all the sweet comments and great suggestions! I decided to take the path of least resistance: I chopped out the middle of the dress and used the existing hemline to make a minidress, moving the gathered waistline up to the natural waist.



I almost shortened the sleeves to 3/4 length, but it's still really cold here (in case you missed the memo), so I kept them long for now. They might get whacked once it gets warmer. I did take them in by several inches so that they are now maybe a hair too small, but eh, it still fits.



I didn't plan this, but I love how it looks peeking out from underneath my pea coat (I've worn that sucker every winter for the past 13 years -- it's a winner). I wore it out on errands today with a chunky knit cream-colored scarf and black boots. I originally wanted to wear it with a wide black belt, but they didn't have my size at Wal-Mart (tangent: I am reading The World is Flat, which helps a little in justifying such practices as shopping at Wal-Mart, but I am not sure how I feel about that, but that is neither here nor there) and besides, the skinny belt I got is reversible. Like you can twist the buckle around and suddenly it's a tan belt. Awesomeness.



This last picture is for my dad, who, when I was talking about this dress with my mom on the phone, hollered in the background (with reference to the previous post), "Why isn't she smiling??"

Plaid is rad, yo!