Finished project: Lisette for Simplicity 1419, aka "Skull-tastic Chambray Dress"

The skulls made me do it. I mean, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you snatch up a 2-yard remnant of this tiny skull-printed chambray? 

Skulls. And stars and lightning bolts for some reason. Do not question this chambray, or it will zap you.

With the help of Simplicity 1419, I transformed it into a perfectly cromulent pickle-flavored angel food cake of a dress that combines the weird with the conventional.

Announcement: Lekala 4456, Cap Sleeve Blouse Sew-Along

Hello, friends! I'm working on something new: an illustrated sew-along for Lekala 4456. This pattern is a cap-sleeve blouse that features a lined yoke in front and back, as well as welts over faux pockets in front.

Finished project: Butterick 5880, aka "Slippery Boatneck Flower Explosion"

Hello! Here, have yourself a martini. We're going into retro cocktail dress mode!

Butterick 5880, originally released in 1951, reflects a style that's much earlier than Mad Men, but I would still classify it as a "Joan" dress. Just look at the wiggle silhouette, the luscious diagonal side darts, the cut-in sleeves!

Have you finished your martini? Come on, down the hatch.  Because here's a bombshell: my version does not include the draped flounce at the hips. I know. It's a main feature of the dress. But what respectable pear silhouette needs all that fabric pooling there? By eliminating the flounce, I allowed this dress to become a (sort-of) office-wear garment. Which I need. Because I work in an office five days a week. Rarely do I attend fancy flounce-appropriate cocktail parties.

Wanna see more pics? Read on. I'll make you another martini while the images load.

Finished Project: Lekala 4456, aka "The Russian Mechanic's Top"

"Здравствуйте"! Google Translate tells me that means "Hello" in Russian. (Da?) Today we venture to Moscow, where Russian pattern company Lekala is headquartered. I made model 4456, a cap-sleeved blouse with a curved yoke and welts over faux pockets.

Lekala offers print-at-home patterns that take full advantage of digital media. Instead of coming in pre-set sizes, Lekala's software customizes each pattern to your individual body! It uses 8 basic measurements, plus 11 tweaks to increase/decrease specific body parts, such as neck and arm lengths.

Because of this, I took a leap of faith and eschewed both muslin and the usual adjustments (FBA, hip width increase, etc.). Was that a mistake, or did Lekala's digital customization come through for me? Let's find out.

Finished Project: Simplicity 1779, aka "Pointy Peter Pan Collared, Flutter Sleeved, Blue Watercolor Floaty Object"

Biceps. I got 'em. Chunky ones. Great agrarian sheafs-of-wheat-hauling ones. (Disclaimer: I have never hauled a sheaf of wheat in my life, but ancestral vestiges linger)

Flutter sleeves? No thank you, ma'am.

So why did I make a top with flutter sleeves? Because I had a remnant, and there was exactly enough fabric to make a top with flutter sleeves. Not an inch more. And you know what? In this floaty, drapey polyester crepe de chine from the Hancock remnant bin, I think I can actually live with how they look on me.

Special technique: Making an FBA for McCall's 7053

Last time (Finished project: McCall's 7053, "An Homage To Two Eras -- Now With Salmon"), I promised to show you the Full Bust Adjustment (FBA) for this pattern. Here 'tis.

To recap: McCall's 7053, View B, is a loose-fitting blouse that includes a scarf-like drapey cowl neckline.

Photo Source: McCall's 7053

Will that gorgrous scarf detail cause complications when it comes to FBA? Yes and no. Yes, because it seems like the FBA would need to be incorporated into that cowl somehow. Can you even imagine the eighteen-dimensional thinking required to add the right amount of fabric, in the right places, for an FBA on that thing? Only a Guild Navigator could do it. Luckily, we don't need one, so before you start overdosing on Spice, listen up: the cowl is immaterial, as it turns out. We can make a perfectly adequate FBA without it.

Finished project: McCall's 7053, "An Homage To Two Eras -- Now With Salmon"

Oh, look! McCall's resurrected this loose-fitting retro blouse pattern from their archives.

And it's amazing how the line drawings are nearly timeless. In different fabrics, one or both of these blouses could fit into nearly any modern decade, no?

Finished Project: New Look 6184, "Silky Camo Sophisticate"

New Look 6184 has been a stalwart standby in Simplicity's stable for, oh, about eleventythousand years. Why? Because it's versatile and interesting, yet easy to make. If you are of average bust (I'll get into that later), I predict you'll get a lot of mileage out of this gal.

Troubleshooting an FBA gone horribly wrong

PICTURE IT:

It was another ordinary afternoon in what she called called her "studio" -- a tiny corner in a dingy shared room, overstuffed with fabric scraps and strands of thread littered across the stained carpet like spider's legs after a cat's been playing. Outside, a greasy drizzle dripped from the sky, mixing with the street grit of the city in a way that made puddles crunch when you dragged your two-bit shoes through them. 

She was smiling. Smiling like a dirty politician who knows where the missing ballot boxes went. Because today, she had decided something. Today was the day she was going to murder a neckline. [CUE STABBY MUSIC]

Yep. Killed me a neckline, I did. But I had a good reason: self defense. The thing was literally causing me to go crazy*.

Photo source: BAMF Style, Bogart in The Big Sleep, Birdseye Wool Suit. By the way, have you ever visited BAMF Style? Go, look! Now! It is a series of detailed reveries on the tailored suits and other garb of Bad Ass MoFo characters in film and TV, described exquisitely by a writer who clearly knows his man-clothes. How have I not stumbled across this site before? Not to self: add to blogroll tout suite! 

* (not literally)

Let's explore the crime scene, shall we?

Finished Project: Cynthia Rowley for Simplicity 2215, aka "Hayley Mills High On Creamsicles"

Confession: I've always had a thing for a look I'm calling Mid-Century Gamine Picnic-Wear.

Casual and comfortable, but also polished, these outfits usually involve some kind of rolled-up jeans, ballet flats or saddle shoes, and a crisp gingham slightly-cowboy-influenced "camp shirt."

Love the gingham. So wholesome. So not in sync with my dark, ironic soul.