M6438

Peace.

What? You feeling spoiled? I don’t post on the weekends. But that’s normally when I can do the work. Then when I get back to work, I post my thoughts. Who new I was going to have so many thoughts today?

We all know that you should never drive while drunk or even tipsy. You shouldn’t text while driving too. But did you know you shouldn’t sew while dieting?

Ok…. In the last build, I said I had been dieting. I lost 22lbs on the hCg diet. You can see it too. That was the promise of the diet. Weight loss you can see. Anywho…. The sewing urge got too strong to resist. I wanted to make something for me. M6438 fit the build.

Let me give you the back story on this…. I was watching some Pam Grier movie. And she was wearing a full circle beige skirt, a beige jacket, a green shirt with a pussy bow and some brown boots. Pam kicked ass in that outfit in that movie (I cannot remember which one, but I remember the outfit!). I want to kick ass too. I already own a beige corduroy jacket and the boots. I made the green blouse last year. All I need is the circle skirt. (Am I the only one that watches movies with a sketch pad?) That is where M6438 came in.

Now for the Bull….. I measured myself around the waist. That is the part that would determine size for me. Even though it broke my heart, I needed to add 10 inches to the waist for the garment to fit… ACORDING TO THE JACK LEGGED DIRECTIONS!!!!! And with tears in my eyes, I did. Size ain’t nothing but a number, right? Also, the dress needed to be cut on the bias. More Bull. I had 4 yards of 45” beige corduroy. This shouldn’t be a problem for 1 skirt right? AND I shortened the dress 10”. I’m not tall but I needed the skirt to still be appropriately long. Y’all know I have rules and regulations with regards to my dress.

I ran out of fabric. It was that bias cutting. That was a complete waste of fabric. The quilt pile is lousy with beige corduroy now. ***Deep Breath*** I get another yard and a ½ (y’all lucky I had a coupon!) and finish cutting my dress.

I have never had a garment come together so easily. I did not have to pull out “oh ye seam ripper” once. It went together in 30 minutes. I let is hang overnight before I hemmed it. I don’t really know why. But somewhere, sometime, someone told me to do that. I hemmed it in the morning. I wanted to wear my Pam Grier outfit to the Parliament. The easiest machine hem I ever did. Once all the way around. I never even ran out of bobbin thread. Even the button holes were ez-pz.

Guess what. The damn skirt is too big. By about 10 inches! Now I know I lost 22lbs. But I know I didn’t lose 22lb from my waist. I took before and after measurements. My waist went down about 5”. And I cut that skirt while dieting; not before. That joker should have fit. You know what that tells me? That the envelope lies. If the envelope lies then why even bother with it? I suppose they are in cohoots with the fabric industry forcing folks to do muslins or get wadders. I could have cut it as is at the biggest size and been fine…. Busters! Now I’m a have to take my dress completely apart, cut 8” off of it and re sew it. All that easiness I experienced will in vain.

My plan is to take the waistband off, then cut the middle seam 4”. That saves me from having to rip the front and back and remove the zipper. That’s where I added the extra in the 1st place. The waist band will have to be recut. Shortening it will throw off the dimensions. Good thing I have all that extra fabric.

Y’all know I have recently in the last few years come around to patterns. They aren’t free and they aren’t cheap. They need to not lie. If it says it fits a waist of a certain inch, them damnit it should fit that! I ain’t happy. I should have been able to wear this outfit this week. It literally falls off when I put it on. And that is the reason why there is no picture of said skirt on me.

All in all.... I don't hate the design of the skirt. Now that I know how it does me, I will make the needed adjustments. I actually want a loose skirt in jersey knit for a road trip I'm planning in the future.



Peace

Man Sewing

Peace.

I know I have been telling you guys that I have been sewing. But I have offered no proof of it! I have been on the hCg diet for the last month and some change so I haven’t been trying to sew for myself. I did a bunch of alterations for the God and made him a few goodies.

Every time I go near a thrift shop, I feel compelled to stop. Not for clothes (though sometimes). But for patterns. I like vintage patterns but I am unwilling to pay more than what I’d pay for a new pattern. Folks kill me with that isht. They inherit grandma’s old patterns for free and want to get rich or die trying to make a profit. I’m not saying give them away, but don’t gouge folks either. All the vintage patterns I own came from the thrift store for 10 cents a pieces (where did the cents icon go on keyboards?). When I teach people how to sew, I encourage them to buy thrift store patterns and sheets to get started. And I won’t teach another person who doesn’t have their own machine. You aren’t serious without one. But I digress….

So I picked up M4223. I’m thinking it might be OOP, because it’s from 1974. So technically it’s either vintage or retro. The pattern is nearly 40 years old! All the pieces were present. and I LOVE that it was already cut in the size I wanted! XL! Now, the God is not a wide dude; actually he is very skinny if you saw him sans clothes. But he is a tall and long. He is 6’5” and has freakishly long arms and legs and wide shoulders. He is VERY lucky I sew. I have wanted to make clothes for him but (a) he doesn’t really need any, (b) he puts the flag on EVERYTHING I ever make for him (reminds me of Laverne and Shirley and that “L”) and (c) he and I don’t have the same esthetic. Everything he wants, earns the fisheye from me and vice versa. But he liked M4223.

I had just enough navy blue stretch corduroy in my stash to make it. I’m also concerned about where that fabric came from in the 1st place. I cannibalized a zipper from an old pair of pants I use as a muslin for his long legs. (The man is skinny! But don’t tell him that. He thinks he’s sexy). I went on and made him the top to satisfy the sick sewing craving. When he looked at the finished garment, he was so excited he made plans for future projects. He said that he was afraid of me sewing for him because he thought the finished items would look homemade. I asked him if my clothes looked homemade. He said some of them. (WTF?) Turns out, it’s not the start to finish garments but the re-fashions. I can live with that. I don’t do many re-fashions anymore. I converted a lot of pants to skirts when I stopped wearing pants.

Not the best image. But I was snapping pictures on my cell at 5:30 am before leaving the house for work. Cut me some slack please. And that is a small flag.

After the blue M4223 was made. My HoneyDo surprised me with 6 yards of camouflage fleece to make an entire outfit. Camouflage fleece? Really? I made another M4223 and then made NL 6634 pants. I put elastic at the bottom because he wanted sweatpants and deleted the cargo pocket. I suppose I removed the pocket because I have an aversion to cargo pants. You would too if you owned my hips. But now I’m thinking I maybe should have left them. These pants aren’t for me; he wouldn’t look hippy with cargo pockets. I did add regular pockets to the pants. I suppose cargo pants would have been more him. Oh well it’s done now and he is happy as a pig in poop. Of course he added 3 flags to the camo outfit. SMH. I am a little annoyed because he used all the big flags. I wanted one for a denim jacket I have. I was waiting to borrow my friend’s bedazzler. The elder God who sold me the flags is now back in Now Why. Oh well…

The pants are on the left of the screen and the top is on the right. Those are the bigger flags.


Peace

You ain't NUDE!!!!!

Peace Y’all,

It’s time build on one of my pet peeves. It’s a trend that is mad popular right now. NUDE. I suppose this is a PSA making knowledge Born to folks who don’t quite get it. I made a comment on another person's blog that she wasn't NUDE in complexion and received more hate than I was prepared for. Well this is my blog. I do as I please. So follow me on this and examine if this applies to you.

When I was child, my mother used to buy NUDE pantyhose in the egg. I often wondered why she bought pantyhose in that color because it wasn’t a color match to her legs. It was too light. In my youth I made the assumption that that was all that was offered to the grown ladies, since I was only given the option of white pantyhose. I assumed that I would grow up and be forced to wear those light stockings that all the women I ever saw in church wear.

Another thing older folks can bear witness too is Band-Aids. Band-Aids come NUDE as well. And where as you may not see Band-Aids on some people; you will see Band-Aids on me and other folks. The individual that came up with clear Band-Aids needs to win a Nobel prize for the peaceful inclusion of folks into the Band-Aid ciphers.

So now that the NUDE trend is back, I really need to explain how that works for people of color….. Don’t call shoes NUDE if they don’t match you skin color. If they don’t match, then they are just beige. And don’t think that you can get away with matching these beige shoes with any outfit. You can’t if you aren’t beige. Why is this not self explanatory?

You want to wear NUDE footwear or hosiery? Then find one that is a skin color match to you. Me, personally, I’m ‘French Coffee.” When I would wear those hose to church, my mother would come and touch my legs to make sure I had hose on. (I am so glad those days are gone!!!!) She couldn’t understand why I would chose to have my legs be the color they are. Folks wouldn’t be sure if I had pantyhose one and talk behind my back. If that was all they had to talk about, then I was in good shape. Mommie would even suggest I bleach said pantyhose so that I wouldn’t waste my money. I retaliated by wearing the loudest pantyhose I could find. Striped, leopard, fluorescent colors….. That way everyone and my mother would know I had pantyhose on. After a season of that, I never had that conversation with any of the old church ladies again.

And if I was to get some shoes that match me, they would be BROWN!!!!

Doesn't work!!! This ain't a trend for her.

White women wearing NUDE shoes... It works because it was designed for white women.



Peace

Good Morning People!

I said that a lot cheerier than I feel. I was up late fooling with the house and food for tomorrow because even though I live with a grown man, that is women's work! But I am writing this from my non at home work so you gotta love the logic. Anywho.......

2 week ago was my Born Day. Yay!!!!! And what I asked for was a self healing mat, a rotary blade, a blade sharpener and one of those acrylic things to hold them down. Yes, I'm sleep deprived. The God was kind enough to buy them for me.

Let me tell you something. This addition has energized my sewing. I love sewing. Not so much cutting the fabric out. I have moved from cutting on the floor to cutting on a table to now cutting with my new apparatus. It is making all the difference in the world. The efficacy of cutting the old way would take so long, the scissors depended on how sharp the were. I would just be like, it's not worth it. But now.... I have sewn more in 2 weeks than I did all summer. I can cut a Vogue pattern in 30 minutes while watching TV. I adore my new team of toys.

Yay! Bootzey!!!!! Yay!!!!!



Peace

PS.. My cat saw me whip out the camera and insisted that he be in the picture.

B5569: A Topper!

Peace!

I have been sewing! I just haven’t been taking pictures of it. And I have been sewing a lot for my God. He deserves some attention. Not that he's busted; but he sees me laboring in the sweatshop and usually nothing comes out of it for him. I made him a couple of tops and some pants. I will get to those later. When they get photographed I’ll build on them. For some reason he must put our flag on everything!

Well I just learned something new today. I guess all the blogs I follow is finally paying off! I made a topper! A topper is a woman’s short lightweight coat. And that is what B5569 is. I saw a woman walking in my building this past spring wearing a ¾ denim jacket. I was instant love and followed her so I could determine the root of my fascination. It was the color, the length and the fact that it had clean crisp lines. I decided that I would make one for myself. I got B5569 on sale and found the perfect fabric with just a bit of stretch for $4/yard. I adore the coat/jacket. And it was so easy to put together. It actually came together in 2 evenings.

The only problem I had was deciding on the length. Cutter’s remorse. I was certain I wanted a mid length coat. That's what the inspiration was. So the middle view made complete sense. But after I cut it I decided I wanted the longer version. The whole time I was sewing it up, I was trying to figure out how I was going to attach the extra length at the bottom. I had enough left over denim. But once it was done I was happy with it.


Pattern: B5569

Description: Misses petite jacket/coat

Size: I cut a 24W for my boobs. Turns out I didn’t need it this big. I figure I might wear a sweater under it or something.

Did it look like the pattern envelope when you were done sewing it? Yep, though I didn't find it all that petite. Maybe I'm just short.

Fabric: Dark blue denim

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? The arm didn’t go on as easily as I would have liked and pocket placement was very confusing. I figured it out, but I could have been done with it in 1 sitting.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made? None

Would you sew it again? Maybe. I can’t see a reason to need 2 coats like this and the only difference between the views is the length

Would you recommend it to others?
I would. It’s a really cute coat

Peace!!!!

No pictures in this post.....

Peace,

Just wanted to give you a heads up....

I have plenty of mojo these days. I've needed to redirect it. I have begun a diet that promises me I will lose goo-gobs of weight. In the 1st week I lost 11lbs. Not bad. But I don't want to make clothes that will need to be altered. Because I prefer creation over alteration any day. So where does that leave me? Sewing crafts and for others...

I made my honeydo a nice pullover in a corduroys stretch fabric. He picked the fabric out himself. Go figure. I haven't showed it to you because he wants to put some Universal flags on it before he He said he was going to a bunch of fabric stores to get some camouflage. Well alright then! yesterday he asked me if I wanted to go to Hancocks before we went to the rally. I looked him clear in his eyes and said, "Sweetie... I ALWAYS want to go to fabric/craft stores!" Also I picked up some vintage men's patterns. I'm gonna experiment with them for him. Older patterns have more options for men than current ones.

This break for me will give me an opportunity to tackle my fear of men's clothes. A male friend of mine asked me to replace a zipper in his dress pants. I was slapped with fear upside my head. But he encouraged me to try. Well, they were his pants... Did y'all realize in order to replace a zipper you have to remove an excessive amount of stitching? I was completely dumbfounded. I ended up with a strip of fabric that I didn't know where it came from. Thank white Jesus I have a man in the house. I had to study his pants to see what was needed. I was able to replace the zipper... and rather neatly might I add... By half machine sewing and half hand sewing. Hand sewing kept me from having to completely disassemble front of the pants. He was happy and I was relieved. So now I can add that on to my list of abilities!!!! Yay for me! I love to learn new skills.

Another project I have, is a sweater coat I want to crochet for my mother for Christmas/Solstice. I'm not a Christian but she is. And I won't accept gifts from her. But I want to make sure she has gifts from me because she is my mother and I love her when I'm not hating her. Also, she doesn't like "homemade" items. But at her age, she has EVERYTHING and doesn't need things. Gadgets confuse and embarrass her. She has been wearing the same bracelet for 10 years, because she can't figure how to take it off. I offer to remove it but she says she won't be able to get it back on when I'm not there. You cannot argue with the logic of the elderly. Clothes are best. I've made things for her before and she has begun to come around. As long as folks don't recognize that's it's homemade she is cool. And if it's unique, even better. I picked up an old crochet book with a patter fro the sweater. Her favorite color is orange (again, go figure...). So my ambition is to make this unique sweater in her favorite color and show her how to style it. All I need is for 1 stranger to admire it and it will be a keeper. My issue is it takes 12 skeins of yarn. DAMN! and that soft yarn ain't cheap. So I'm stalking a sale.

There is also a quilted table runner for my kitchen table that needs to get made. I have the block pieces all cut out and the fabric ready. So it's just a matter of sewing it up.

And there is my coat for the fall. The patter is out and cut. That's all I've done. I think I will work on that project while I'm dieting. My boobs never go anywhere and I'm not going to shrink. This is enough to keep me busy and the mojo pumping. If I get lazy, I'll want to eat. Gotta keep it pushing!!!!

Peace Y'all!!!!!

M6287

Peace Y'all,

It has been a minute has it not? I had a festival that I vended for. It took a lot of my sewing time. I broke even for the supplies I purchased but I don't feel compensated for my time and energy. A lesson well learned. And I still have product to vend at the next opportunity. I plan to blog on the items I sewed for the festival, but I have a LOT of catch up work to do for some 'clients'. (I take on clients, but not everyone. I don't particularly like sewing for others and am really, Really, REALLY discriminate who I take on.)


I got this pattern at a 99 cent sale at Hobby Lobby. The picture looked cool and funky. It was hot when I bought it so it is truly a summer garment. I’m not supper crazy about how it turned out. But every failure is a learning experience, right? It will probably end up in the donation pile.

First of all, this pattern was deceptively easy. I made the B view. It had 2 pattern pieces. That sounds really easy does it not? Once I got everything sewn as the directions said, it looked very unfinished. That may have been the look it was going for, but I didn’t care for it.

Now I did make a mistake. The fabric has these subtle stripes on it. Instead of paying attention to how the fabric should have been oriented, I oriented it how I want to. That resulted in a top that stretches up and down but not out. So it’s hard to get in and out of. I don’t really like that the way this garment is designed, you cannot wear a bra with it unless you are wearing a jacket.

This just isn’t the pattern for me. I’m going to give this pattern away. I teach a Home Ec course to girls in the local cipher of my Nation. I will use it for them and all the other flat chested newbies I teach. That last sentence was not meant to be offensive, but I can’t think of another way to put it.

Pattern: M6287b

Description: A tunic

Size: XLRG

Did it look like the pattern envelope when you were done sewing it?
Yes?

Fabric: stretch cotton

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes and no. See the next answer

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I followed the directions exactly as they were given… That resulted in a crazy unfinished look to the top. I had to make some bias tape to finish the collar and they never discussed how the sleeves were to be made. I eventually had to just freestyle it.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made?
I added a (homemade) bias tape finish to the collar, I closed off the end of the arm and hemmed it. I finished the open parts of the sleeves

Would you sew it again?
Maybe. A very slight maybe. I will always try anything twice; just to make sure. The pattern has only a few pieces, so it’s good for teaching others how to sew and I do a home ec class for girls in my Nation so it’s good for that, but for me, probably not.

Would you recommend it to others?
It’s an easy project for a newbie, but you have to have a more experienced person showing you the ropes



Peace