duck bucket sewing

Good. All is right with the world.

Our router went bonkers this week, so: belated MPB Day recap! This year, I went with my friend and former coworker Lisa. She wore her first make, a fabulous black-and-white floral dress made from (I think) a Simplicity pattern. She accidentally made it using scrubs fabric, which is kind of funny because we worked in a hospital. (I told her she should wear it down in the OR.) I work my Alabama Chanin skirt. (People recognized it!) We stayed at the Carlton Arms, my favorite almost-hostel. Front-desk kitty was disinclined to check us in. On Saturday, we decided to head over early for flea-marketing. We had breakfast at a Whole Foods "city picnic" on the way (free samples, score), then joined Peter & co. for the Chelsea flea. Lisa considered, but did not get, this Helmut Lang vest. I considered, but did not get, this wacky coat. I still have a minor case of not-buyer's remorse. When in doubt, always buy the wacky coat. Then...

Speaking of sewfails: This is a couple of years old, but here's what happens when you use a Burda pattern, not realizing that Burda doesn't provide seam allowances: The world's smallest messenger bag. Whoops.

After a lot of coaxing from friends and family, I finally broke down and bought an 11" Macbook Air. (Goodbye, ancient Dell laptop. I won't miss you and all of your various screens of death.) I love it, but it needs a case. Or, rather, I'd feel better if it had a case -- something small and padded that just fits the laptop. I really wanted something soft that didn't look like it came from Staples. I had visions of Alabama Chanin fabric and quilt batting and a picture of Antwerp's train station on the front. (Did I mention that Antwerp's train station is gorgeous? I miss it. Wonder if they're hiring.) (And yes, I need a new camera.) I scanned the Antwerp picture and printed it out on a fabric inkjet sheet. Then I stitched it to a piece of scrap AC jersey, and then made the case using ye olde potholder method: 1) lay cover right side up, 2) lay lining right side down, 3) layer batting on both, 4) stitch around, leaving an opening on the bottom, 5...

I'm SO SO SO excited about the new Vogue patterns, but I keep squeeing over cute work clothes and then remembering that I'm funemplo-- er, "transitioned." But still! These are on my shortlist: V1419 : Super-awesome Ralph Rucci space-age coatdress. Those sleeves! That collar! Those lines! I've never made a RR or advanced pattern ever, but I'd give this a shot. I can't decide on the color, though. For maximum space-ageosity, maybe a winter white. V1404 : Hard to see the lines with that fabric, but I love the quilted hem and pockets and it looks like it'd work on a short person like me. Now, if I can just find a job to wear it to. (Or not!) V1410 : Lynn Mizono. I'm intrigued by this -- especially the 3 lengths -- but not sure it would work on my body type. Either way, I'd like to try it because I love modular clothes. (More modular patterns, Vogue!)  V9037 : I overlooked this the first time, until I read Communing With ...

Once upon a time, I had a really long commute. 3-4 hours a day on the train, longer in the wintertime. Luckily, I also had a copy of Alabama Studio Sewing + Design: A Guide to Hand-Sewing an Alabama Chanin Wardrobe  and a used Bloomers stencil and fabric scraps from one of AC's online garage sales. I started the Short Fitted Skirt in January and finished it in late April. From the side: I decided to go with reverse appliqué and keep the knots on the inside. I used AC's organic medium-weight cotton jersey in red for the top layer (it's darker than it looks in the pic), AC's organic medium-weight cotton jersey in black for the bottom, Tulip fabric spray paint in Asphalt for the design, black craft thread to outline the shapes, and black fold-over elastic for the waistline.  This is a size small, believe it or not, which was still way too big -- I had to take in each side by a half-inch or so before sewing on the FOE. (Partly because the fabric was ...

I'm here! I'm here. It's been an action-packed few months. The big news, I guess, is that I got laid off in May as part of a department restructuring. (Which is fine! More time to sew, right?) I have finished projects, but that and some other life stuff got in the way of posting. Before I post projects, though...right after I got laid off, we spent a couple of weeks in Wales and Scotland. (I know, I know, but I really needed a couple of weeks to clear my head, and we'd booked and prepaid everything before I found out. So.) I didn't buy much, but here's the haul: Left: Linen with bird print from  Wheeler Fabrics  in Machynlleth, Wales; right: Merchant & Mills Sewing Book Crepe de chine from Liberty. Just enough to make a shell/camisole, maybe. Wheeler Fabrics is really fantastic -- still regretting not buying a couple meters of organic sweatshirt fabric. I might use the linen to try and eke out a dress, although it's a little late in t...

One of my New Year's resolutions (and yes, it's already the end of February, I know, I know) was to try to make practical and interesting office clothes. By "interesting," I mean clothes that don't make me want to stab my eyes out with a rusty fork. Because if I have to wear one more pair of polyester black pants and black cardigan... Anyway. I saw this on the cover of Drape Drape 2: I wish the Drape Drape models would wear pants occasionally. and went HOLY PRACTICAL THING, BATMAN. A vest/scarf combo (it's cold here) with deep pockets, to throw over office dresses? HELL YES. (I somehow keep buying office dresses that don't have any pockets. Which is a problem, when you have to clip a keycard somewhere because you're running up and down stairs delivering stuff to clients. I'm just saying.) Here's my version.   I suppose it's hard to see in this photo, but it's over a Standard Black Pocketless Office Dress and my favor...

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 ...