Easiest Skirt Ever

This skirt has one pattern piece - you can't get any easier than that. The skirt front and back are identical and the waist band is cut on. Two seams and you're done.

I'm wearing it with another version of The Easiest Tee Yet, top #108 from the September, 2011 issue of Burdstyle. It also has only a front and a back, though they're cut from two slightly different pattern pieces. By the way, this tee is my project for the April Stashbusting Challenge theme - Vibrant Color. Honest, it was cut out in April, even though I didn't actually sew those four seams until May 2.

From the front, belted and shirt tucked in

The skirt is the Knit Pencil Skirt from Gertie Sews Vintage Casual, made up in a dark brown ponte. A yard was plenty for me, making this a pretty economical garment.

Back view

I really like the way the pattern has you put in the elastic at the waist. You make your loop of elastic and then sew it to the top of the skirt on the inside, then flip the top edge down and stitch in the ditch at the side seams to keep things in place. The elastic is covered, but you don't have any seam showing on the outside. I've made a pants pattern by Loes Hines that does the same thing. It gives a pretty smooth line for an elastic waist.

This is the 4th garment I've made from Gertie Sews Vintage Casual; 2 dresses (here and here), this skirt and a tee which is yet to be blogged. For me, that's a pretty good track record for a sewing book.

Un-belted view

I've gone from someone with no pencil skirts to someone with two pencil skirts in just a few months. They're easier to wear than I would have imagined. This knit one is really comfortable and versatile. I took it along on a recent weekend getaway and it worked well in the evening with heels and a silky top and also during the day with sandals and a loose tee.

So, two more hunks of knit carved out of the stash closet. Go, me!

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.

First FO for the New Year

This was almost my last FO for 2014, but there were errands to run for New Year's Eve. And then my photographer was laid low by a nasty flu, poor Man.

Front view

We've been having a cold snap here on the Central Coast, so this is not seasonal sewing. I've planned a flannel Archer and a red cowl-neck Renfrew, but this dress somehow jumped the line.

Cover shot. There are a couple more patterns in here I'm itching to try

The pattern is from Gretchen Hirsch's book, "Gertie Sews Vintage Casual."

Side view

I've been wanting to add an every-day wrap dress to my closet as part of my plan to work dresses into my daily wardrobe. Gertie describes the pattern as a wrap dress with retro features - a shawl-like collar, a slightly full skirt and gathers at the front shoulder. Also included are in-seam pockets.

Back view

I made the pattern up just like Gertie said, except I did pleats rather than gathers at the front shoulder and waist. As a brick, I'm always trying to reduce fluff around my middle.

I'm in between Gertie's size 4 (34" bust) and size 6 (36" bust). I decided to do a straight size 4, figuring the wrapping would give me some leeway and better the bust be a bit on the snug side to avoid any potential gaping. The wrap doesn't gape at all, and I bet it wouldn't have even if I'd gone up a size. I really like how the neckline sits. I'll feel totally comfortable wearing this dress to work.

Side view with pocket

Sophie-Lee, who blogs over at Two Random Words, made this dress up in a floral lawn.  It really flows nicely in a light, drapey fabric.

I used a fairly substantial cotton - maybe a bit too substantial, but I fell in love with the colors. The pleats at the waist and the weight of the fabric make the skirt stand out a bit, which I think I kind of like.

I like my skirts to hit below the knee. This skirt ended up just right, but I took the smallest hem I could get away with. If you give this one a try and you are taller than 5'2", you might want to add a bit of length when cutting out.

I'm going to be taking part in the 2015 Stashbusting Sewalong, hosted by EmSewCrazy, so I diligently pawed through the stash to see if I had a piece of woven fabric that I could use for this project. Turns out my woven stash is all in lengths of 2 yards or less (darn my penny-pinching fabric buying ways). So I admit that for this project I headed to Harts and burned through my holiday gift certificate from my son (thank you Evan!).

Now, when it comes to knit stash, it's a different story. Knits, I'm drowning in.

Another front view, with fish

My pattern review is over at PatternReview.com here.

Gertie's Shirtwaist Dress

The Boy and his girlfriend were in town for a visit last weekend. I had a great time playing tourist with them. We went to the aquarium in Monterey on Friday and drove up to the Wine Country for the day on Saturday. Gorgeous weather both days.

Awww. Aren't they adorable?

I figured I'd ask The Boy to help take a few pictures while we were in such scenic locations. I actually finished this dress in the pre-blog days. I made it at a sewing retreat at Asilomar that was hosted by Heather Ross. If you ever have a chance to attend one of her retreats, do it! I had a fabulous time sewing for two days with a really fun and creative group of women. And one of the co-teachers was Gertie herself! What a kick to have the designer advise me on fitting one of her creations! I actually got to try on the shirtwaist dress that's photographed in her book, which saved me from having to make a muslin. My version is a little more Angela Lansbury that Paris in Spring, but I like it.

On the patio at Stirling Vinyards, with the Napa Valley behind me

I'm trying to train myself to wear dresses more often. I tend to think of dresses as appropriate for fancy functions, to be worn with stockings and high heels. Must be the influence of my jeans-and-workshirt youth. Really, dresses can be very comfortable to wear, and can look just fine with bare legs and flats. Heck, look at those farm women who fed the chickens and plowed the back 40 while wearing a dress. Plus, dresses are fun to sew and they make a change from my usual trousers and tee shirt. 

View from the side

This dress has a nice full skirt so it's easy to walk in. I kind of like it with a belt, but the waist is defined with some pleats at the side front and with shirring in the back so it feels wearable either with or without.

Pleats on the side in front to give me a waist

This was my first (and so far only) experience with shirring. It was pretty fun and easy to do, but my Babylock did not enjoy the elastic thread in the bobbin. My fellow workshop ladies recommended keeping an eye out for an older, mechanical machine that wouldn't be so picky about bobbin tension. They highly recommended I find myself a Featherweight, and, wouldn't you know, The Man hunted one down for me within the month.

Shirring in the back

I used a cotton fabric I got from one of my very favorite fabric stores that, sadly, is no more. It was called Findings and it was just off the main drag in Carmel. The woman who ran it (also named Nancy) was sweet as pie. She had a small but very nice collection of fabrics and a great selection of buttons, ribbons and lace. I have a couple of other lengths of fabric in stash that I got at her going out of business sale. I'll make them up with a bit of a tear in my eye.

Baby grapes, destined to be an expensive Cabernet some day.

My review is here on PatternReview.com

Gertie's Portrait Blouse

I got a yard of rayon challis when I was last at Britex. This was the occasion when I bought several lengths of fabric having a general idea what I wanted to do with it but without checking the actual yardage requirements in advance. Bad idea. I really liked the colors in the rayon and thought it would make a nice blouse. When I bought the fabric I was thinking "sleeveless," but I've been trying to limit my sun exposure lately. Turns out that when you park Irish skin in a California beach town for 30 years, Bad Things can happen. So far nothing a squirt of liquid nitrogen can't fix, but it pays to be careful.

After looking through my ever-growing pattern collection, I thought the best fit for the fabric was the Portrait Blouse from Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing. I thought I could squeeze it out of 1 yard of my narrow rayon and those cute little cap sleeves would shield my shoulders from the sun.

 

source

I've made this blouse once before, also from a small piece of rayon, in a Size 6. In that size the fit on me is loose enough that I feel like I really need to wear the top tucked in. Otherwise I have no waist and it looks like my bust is riding on my bellybutton. The good news is that the loose fit means I can wriggle in and out without needing a zipper. I like to avoid zips in blouses when I can because they often end up being a bit uncomfortable under a waistband or belt.

First rendition, Size 6

 This time I tried a Size 4, partly because that meant I wasn't overlapping my seam allowances into the selvage. Yes, my cutting layout was that tight. This version definitely needed a zip, but on the plus side, I think the fit is enough closer that I feel like I can wear it loose.

Most recent rendition, Size 4

I only got one picture of it on me that I thought was post-able. Not because of any lack of skill on the part of my favorite photographer but because in all the other shots either the blouse looked way too wrinkly or I looked way too wrinkly.

So here is my question: for my first version I bound the neck with bias tape.

Bias bound neckline

 On the second version, I hunkered down and used the facings. Even interfaced them.

Neckline with facings

I have to say I try to avoid using facings when I can because they seem to want to flip up and cause me problems. I try to be good about using interfacing and stay stitching, but the problems never seem to go away entirely. Especially because I try to avoid ironing even more that I try to avoid facings.

Don't get me wrong! I have learned from reading the excellent information available on all of your blogs that your iron is your best friend while sewing.  I am diligent about pressing seams and darts, even hems. I've even begun pressing my fabric before cutting out my pattern (wimped out on that one for years.) But once that garment is finished, it will probably never see the iron again in my house. It's sink or swim for my wardrobe. I take each item out of the dryer, give it one of those flick-of-the-wrist shakes and hang it up. Any little wrinkles that don't hang out are there for the duration.

This is what the faced neckline looked like directly after my usual shake-and-hang treatment:

Oh the horror... Maybe rayon isn't the best fabric for a lazy laundress like me

Pretty gnarly, huh? Unless I give it an intensive spit-powered finger pressing, I will be needing to iron this puppy after each wash. Which means it won't get worn that often. However, once it is ironed it looks pretty crisp and nice.

The bias-tape neckline comes out of the dryer looking fairly sweet, but not what I'd call crisp. And the fabric is already beginning to fray a bit where I trimmed the edges of the bias tape seams. Maybe I trimmed them too aggressively?

Do you prefer bias tape or facings for your necklines? And if you use both methods, how do you decide which one will work best for a particular garment?

My full review is on PatternReview.com here.