How Tropical Storm Lee Thwarted My Plaid Ambitions

Self Stitched September Day 1!!! Blue plaid flannel Anda dress. One of my first successful projects. Vintage belt. As you can see from the background, I'm at work here.


And now for the story of why this is the only Self Stitched September photo I have so far:(

Tropical Storm Lee. Actually, it was Tropical Storm 13 when it started this trouble. As you probably noted in my last blog post - I had some great ambitions for Mad for Plaid week - a plaid pencil skirt AND a plaid Sorbetto. The former to be fitted on Friday evening. The latter to be whipped up on Saturday morning. All so I could take said items to Martha's Vineyard with me (I'm here for the week) to show my mom.

But then it started raining. And I got nervous. And my mom got nervous. And my coworkers said "get out of here while you still can! There won't be flights on Sunday!"

So I listened, and I flew out of New Orleans on Friday afternoon - no plaid in hand :(

Already, I'm modifying my Self-Stitched September promise. I did bring self stitched attire, but in my haste to pack, I did not bring anything weather appropriate. See, it's raining on Martha's Vineyard too. Except not as hard, and much colder. To be honest, I've been wearing one outfit all week, made up of all the warmest pieces I quickly tossed in my suitcase on my way out the door.

Yikes.

So here is what I can offer you:

Photos of the completed (but not perfectly fitted) pencil skirt:


2. This photo of Gayhead on Martha's Vineyard. It's gorgeous, even in the cold rain.


I return to Louisiana on Sunday evening... to reassess SSS'11 and get back on track! I think the best solution is to disregard vacation week. Sigh.

Plaid Ambitions: A Pencil Skirt is More Complicated Than It Appears

I was about to write a blog post about my Self-Stitched-September 2011 inventory, when I realized how pitiful my self-made-stash really is. So rather than dilly-dally counting what I've got, I jumped into making a few more wearables.

I was so satisfied with the quick and successful nature of my first Sorbetto that I assumed the same could happen with a simple pencil skirt pattern. I mean, I'm a one-night garment wizard, am I not?

The answer is "not." But I get ahead of myself.

Convinced I could make a quick skirt, I picked up this faux vintage pattern at Hancock's:

Fabric Selection
The Sew Weekly's weekly challenge has historically been an anxiety producer for me. I'm like "one week! I have to make a decision AND fabric shop AND sew something? Too much!" But this week is different. This week, the theme is Mad for Plaid. And I love plaid. Especially for fall. And I'm making a skirt for fall. Purrrrfect.

So I grabbed a poly-rayon blend suiting and cut out the pieces. Voila.

Pattern: Simplicity 2154
Now, Simplicity is a silly name for a pattern company. It creates a constant search for irony as I sew. At every step of a Simplicity pattern I think "How Ironic, this pattern isn't simple!" OR "How Not-Ironic, this pattern is so simple!" Here is the count on 2154 so far.

Not-Ironic
Only 4 pattern pieces! And two are the same.

Ironic
Last time I used a Simplicity pattern I cut a size 14 based on my measurements and it was enormous (I needed an 8). This time I cut a 12 and it was too small. ARG.

Not-Ironic
No lining, only 1 piece of interfacing, darts are the most complicated step.

Ironic
The waist band doesn't look like the picture when you attach it according to the notches. The front is too long and the back is too short. Double ARG.

Needless to say - I'm a little worried about this project. It was so tight on the hips after I did the side seams that it reminded me of shopping in the junior's department. I let the sides seams out a bit only to have the waist be huge. Yikes. Looks like Lizzy has some fittin' to do. Here you can see the unpressed progress I've made.



Side note: I knocked my dress form funny when I was moving it last. Now it slouches. Or I guess it is just leaning forward, but it looks like it slouches. Oy. A dress form with bad posture. Not good.

Bottom Line: I'm hoping this skirt comes out okay. It's fine if it is ultimately a muslin for a future masterpiece, but I'd like it to at least be wearable for SSS'11.

In other news: I also grabbed some plaid shirting for my next Sorbetto! I'm stoked about this one...


More plaid to come this week! (Duh.)

White Pleated Skirt Found!

Last month I posted that I was searching for a white pleated skirt. Lo and behold, strolling through Baltimore, I came upon an enormous antique store that claimed to have vintage clothes "downstairs." We only have a couple vintage stores in Baton Rouge, so naturally, I wanted to avail myself of this opportunity to see a different stock.

I descended an enormous staircase to find the white pleated skirt I had been dreaming about staring me in the face! It wasn't on the racks with the other clothes, and I worried for a moment that it might be on hold for someone. Not wanting to chance it, I snatched it up and made my way to the cash only register, $16 in hand.

I didn't even try it on - I just figured the $16 was worth it no matter what happened to the skirt. But as if by some miracle, it fits perfectly - waist and length! I pranced around in it for my friends, demonstrating this divine gift, until dear Kelly pointed out that it's completely see through. Oh well. I'll have to stitch a slip into the waistband. Yay! What clothing item are you hankering for these days?

Wanted: White Pleated Maxi Skirt

I learned a lesson today almost as harsh to learn the hard way as "backup your computer":

Bookmark styles you find on the internet

because it's a wide wide worldly web out there, and you may never see them again. Last week I saw at least three examples of real people wearing sophisticated-yet-funky white pleated maxi skirts and I WAS IN LOVE. Now all I can find are ads for said skirts - failing to capture the spirit of the look I want.


So here I am, trudging through the cavernous interwebs, looking for style. If you see a white pleated maxi skirt, modeled by a human, preferably with a chunky belt, I implore you - send the link my way! Until then, I soldier on.

Photo credit: Jane Norman skirt at Polyvore.com