duck bucket sewing

I've been experimenting with making plain t-shirts lately, preparing for the day when my beloved Esprit t-shirts finally kick the bucket. (Why did you have to close all your US stores, Esprit, why, why, whyyyyyy...?)  I made a size medium short-sleeved shirt from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design , using black rib knit from Jo-Ann. (Used my machine. Sorry, Natalie.) Love this fabric, although I get '90s Banana Republic flashbacks when I use it. My super-fancy sewing blog pose. Guess I need to work on that. It's got a bit more ease than this long-sleeved version, also size medium, using Alabama Chanin medium-weight cotton jersey fabric from one of their garage sales: Although I do love the bell sleeves:   And my husband says, "Woo, I like that," every time I wear the Alabama Chanin version.  Let me just put in a plug here for the Alabama Chanin fabric, though -- it sews like a dream, and it's really soft, especially the lightweight cotton...

Catch-up post! (And I made some ACTUAL GARMENTS and they turned out OK, so I'll post about those later. Very exciting. But first, gifts!) I made Cation Designs' awesome all-purpose plushie pattern in Very Serious Bunny and Stoic Doggie as Christmas presents for my niece and nephew. Serious! Stoic! Bun bun and doggie tail. I absolutely love this pattern. It's ingeniously drafted: One body pattern + various switchable ears, paws, and expressions = 7 different animals. It took an afternoon to make each, mostly because I couldn't get the hang of the ladder stitch -- lame, I know. After several tries, I wound up just topstitching the opening closed with matching thread. To the review: Pattern Description:   Cation Designs' free All-Purpose Plushie Pattern , downloadable as a PDF. Pattern Sizing:   One size with switchable parts Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? They looked more ...

Finally. Future Beauty: Avant-Garde Japanese Fashion opened at our lovely Peabody Essex Museum in Salem on Saturday. And it was amazing -- seeing Issey Miyake, Comme des Garcons, and Yohji Yamamoto garments close up, well, I can't even tell you. (Sadly, no photos were allowed, so I can't show you either.) They also had: Reels of old runway shows A try-on rack (my favorite was an upside-down Comme des Garcons jacket sort of like this one; it had dolman sleeves and two collars, and the second collar formed sort of a peplum shape in the back) Pattern Magic muslins (!), which you were allowed to touch and fuss with to look at the construction (you know, if you were so inclined...ahem) Yeah, so. Worth seeing if you're up this way (and even if you're not, it's worth a trip). I'm definitely planning more visits before it closes in January.

I've been experimentally making t-shirts using the patterns from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design -- just plain versions (by machine; sorry, Natalie). And they're working! And they take no time! I can knock one out in an hour or two, not counting binding. Still not sure about the binding, actually -- the book calls for raw edges to show, but I'd like a neater finish so I can wear them to work. I'm using Alabama Chanin fabric purchased from their last garage sale. It's a dream to work with, but I think I like the lightweight jersey better than the medium-weight. It's much softer.  Next, I want to try frankenpatterning a long-sleeved dress (sleeveless dresses are lovely, don't get me wrong, but New England is COLD, people), with either a scoop or v-neck. Whee. Pictures to come, maybe. In other news (and I don't know if anyone actually reads this, but just in case) -- I have a couple of recent issues of Burda that aren't really up my alley. Any...

I had a fantastic time at MPB Day . It was so much fun (and so great to meet other sewists and geek out on fabric the entire day -- whee!) Recap, with pictures: I got in late Friday night and stayed in my favorite cheapie hotel, the Carlton Arms . (I would've stayed at the Gershwin, but it's under new management and I think they're going more upscale, bah.) It's old, and creaky, and every room is painted by a different artist. A couple of scenes from my walls: Also, they have cats. The cat last time was old and grumpy and slept in the lobby a lot. The cat this time was a four-month-old EMERGENCYKITTEN who decided it needed to explore my room the second I opened the door. EXPLORE BED EXPLORE LENS CAP ALL MUST BE EXPLORED The next morning, some of us met up early at the Chelsea flea market. Peter has a nice group photo of us, which I hope he doesn't mind if I borrow. Vicki, Linda, me, Peter, Suzanne At one point, I saw an Issey M...

One: I'm going to Male Pattern Boldness Day . So excited. We lived in NY for five years, but I didn't get into sewing until just before we left, in 2007, so I never did the whole Garment District thing. I have lists of stuff I need organized by project. Hopefully I'll be able to find everything. (Like 72" or 108" wool jersey. Help me, NY, you're my only hope.) On Sunday, I'm going to some old haunts: Prospect Park Zoo to visit the prairie dogs, Salvor Kiosk, the Young Artists' Market, my favorite rice pudding place. If they're still around, that is. It's a mini-summer vacation. Squee. Two: I really wanted to wear a handmade something, but my last two projects -- the top and skirt from v1247 -- didn't work out so well. The top is too big and bunchy at the seams (my fault for using French seams with a knit), and the skirt is almost OK, except I had trouble aligning the pockets, so they're not totally straight. I don't reall...

I'm trying to make the infamous ("that means more famous" = Follow That Bird) top from v1247 out of bright-red bamboo (?) jersey. It's my first knit. It's driving me bonkers. It wasn't hard to cut out, and my Bernina is stitching it just fine...but it's impossible to pin, and the chalk marks disappear if I so much as look at it. I guess I finally see the appeal of tailor's tacks.