Summer Of 2013 Is A Go

*crawls out from under a uni-shaped rock* O hi guys, long time no see!

I, Katrina, make an absolutely binding agreement with the internet to make lots of things this summer. I've already made a dress so far, though it came out a hideous burlap sack and so I feel no need to post pictures of it.

My to-do list is rather short, since I'm still working in two labs at school as well as taking a summer course (and this is supposed to be summer vacation how exactly?).

In no particular order:
1. Stashbusting with Vogue 8772

A while ago I was hunting around for the perfect basic shirt pattern. This one seemed to have a bit of everything; a decent silhouette, a shirt collar, a bow collar, nice cuffs, good length, etc etc. I want to try my hand at sewing sheer fabric with the bow collar perhaps, as well as just making myself a couple of good, standard dress shirts for school. We'll see how far I get. 

2. Colette Chantilly

 

I am a Colette newbie. Though I have been frequenting their website for over a year now, I have yet to make one of their patterns, but after ogling Mika and Tasia's versions of the Chantilly I new I needed one really, really badly. I have never sewed a full lining into a dress before, but man am I getting sick of facings. I am so ready.

Happy Victoria Day everybody!

Hallowe'en

I wanted to make myself a full costume this year. That quickly turned into a simple orange-and-black dress, which got further downgraded to a skirt (I didn't have much time on my hands this month). I'm happy I got to make something, in the end.

Dog! You're ruining my shot dog!
The pattern is Chie's Scallop-waist Skirt, which you can find on Grosgrain's blog. I want another one, maybe in light wool or something. It's really flattering, and only took about three hours, including plenty of time messing around with seam binding.
I'm excited for tonight. Decorating pumpkins, seeing all of the costumes, stealing handing out candy... then over to a friend's house to watch all of the Hallowe'en episodes of Community. If I get lucky, maybe Ollie will wear his cat-ears costume for long enough to get a photo.

Happy Hallowe'en Everybody!

Tough Love

Holy mallard duck, has it really been two weeks? School, why you get in the way of my blogging? I have got to get my priorities straight.

On sewing progress:
I am about 75% of the way through my sister's dress, though I've hit a bit of a roadblock. Namely, the neckline is being weird, and it's really bulky fabric so I'm a bit stumped. I think I might cut the whole thing a bit lower and just bias bind it with knit fabric. We'll see how this turns out.

Simultaneously, I have been wrestling with my own dress, turned skirt, turned top. I cut the whole thing too big, scrapped the bodice, then scrapped the skirt and I'm playing with the leftover fabric. I refuse to let this become a UFO.

Lastly, undeterred by this clusterf**k of epic proportions, I am getting excited about Halloween. I acknowledge that I probably don't have time to make a full costume (my magic mermaid fairy princess suit will have to wait another year, *sniff*). So, I've decided upon the Wiksten Tova dress in some sort of halloween-y quilter's cotton. I wish I had the photoshop skills to make this look prettier, but here's the gist:

This for the main dress:

And this for the yoke:

Not So Much

So I made a skirt. It was a quick skirt, but I did have to wait until I had the right thread, so it took about a week or so from concept to completeion. It's Simplicity 2512, the Cynthia Rowley skirt. Yeah, you know which one.

 In short, it's a little disappointing.
 
I used taffeta, and my advice is, for this, don't. It killed the shape. It doesn't.... drape. At all. It doesn't even want to subject itself to gravity.

I feel kinda puffy when I wear it. Like a pregnant extra from Lawrence of Arabia.

See what I mean? It's very sad too, because I put a lot of care into the waistband. I really do like that waistband. I bought topstitching thread and everything. Sigh.

Anyone want a skirt?

[listening to Reptilia By Punch Brothers]

Tutorial: DIY Baroque Print

My Inspiration:

  Dolce & Gabbana FW '12

I'm loving this trend. As you may have guessed, I am a big fan of prints. And prints on prints. And more prints... Anyway, this print seems perfect for me - fancy without being too busy, graceful but not too demure, and could be interpreted in pretty much any colour, just how I like it.

 (Disclaimer: this tutorial may seem pretty lengthy, but most of that is me rambling. The project itself doesn't really take that long)

I am without a modicum of shame...

Hey guys, you should check out my entry in the current contest over at Your Style Rocks.

I don't usually do this kind of thing, but I really love the concept of this website. If you haven't heard of it, Your Style Rocks holds a design contest every couple of months, for anyone and everyone to enter. The winner is chosen by the public; it's free to join up, and once you have, you can vote on your favourite design. The winning design gets turned into something truely magical, something we sewists dream about at night - a free pattern! It's totally free! How awesome is that?! I have already added their Eva dress to my to-do list, and I'm pretty excited about it.

So, without a proper way to end this post, I bid you all farewell until next time.

[listening to Music When The Lights Go Out by The Libertines]

The Thread Runs In The Family

Excuse the cheesy title. I've been harbouring this beauty in my closet ever since my grandparents came over with a giant box of Mum's old clothing for my sister and I to sift through. She made this, when she was my age. Without a pattern. I can only hope to become so talented.

There's my Blue Steel face. Oh, we got plenty of pictures, but most of them turned out too silly to post...

Shoulder detail. This must've taken forever. Mum told me she was inspired by renaissance-era clothing when she was a teenager; ergo, ruffles abound. This is definitely a unique piece though, and I'm trying to find ways to wear it that don't make me look like I've lost my ruff and scepter.

Thanks for the dress, Mum. Looks like I'm carrying on the sewing legacy.

[listening to Up The Bracket by The Libertines]