She ain't no drag....

I can make shoes?

Mama's got a brand new bag shoes. Made by me. Not perfect. The leather was perfect for the upper sole not so much for the straps. I kind knew that when I bought them but this was the only hide I had on hand at the time.

Where it all started

 I have 5 divine black italian lambskin hides that I got at less than wholesale. $2.80 SQFT for 1.5oz. But I'm holding onto them for a leather jacket. Just trying to snag a few more hides from that supplier. So I used the green "unlabeled but probably lamb" leather I got from Mood the other week. I remember when I bought it I intended to sew the straps but this project was really about getting used to the construction issues of shoes.

I got sole!

So these are just simple crossed strap sandals with two crossing straps at the foot and two straps with a buckle that wrap around the ankle. I used a pattern from "I can make shoes" but next time I think I would make my own sole pattern and work out the placement of the straps at the pattern making stage. Trying them on and marking them like the tutorial says is not easy. Also the soles ended up being different sizes.

Please forgive my blue toe it was cold last night

The green upper/inner sole is a piece of mounting board wrapped in the leather with some white EVA foam on the heel. I just used the white craft foam at Michael's which is what the pattern recommended. It's still EVA foam. Texon board was recommended but thats a very industry specific thing so I couldn't find it so I had to substitute. The buckles were from Michael Levines. The sole I purchased though Etsy and its a 1/4" crepe stick on soling. Right thickness for sandals but probably not for anything else. Essentially flip flop soles.

They kinda look a little more orthopedic granny than sexy summer sandals

I apologize that I don't have the sexiest feet in the world and you can tell I don't wear sandals much ever so I probably won't wear these but this was an exercise in construction technique. I think if I had gotten the pattern part sorted out before starting then this would have been perhaps an hour long process.  Half of that being the cutting out. Cut out a bunch of these at once and you could probably reduce the per shoe time.

So I have successfully proven I can make shoes and I intend to make a lot more.

Shopping in the Garment District

Well not a real fabric crawl since I only went to Michael Levine and Michael Levine's Loft. The loft is intresting if you haven't been there before. Everything is only $2.50 (my usual by the pound place is $3.50/lb) An average t shirt fabric is about 5-6oz a yard so at $3.50lb that would make it 93c. Its a smaller store much smaller than SAS Fabrics in Hawthorne my favorite by the lb place but its does have some nice stuff. What's nice is they have a back wall which is color coded of mostly jersey fabric. I've kinda OD'ed on stretch fabric so I passed and toddled across the street. My husband held my hand because I have a habit of distractedly stepping in front of cars. Its a NZ thing.

I went in with a determined list and found everything I was looking for.

My list? Buckles for my sandals. Check.

I needed more oaktag/manilla card stock which was $14 for a 48" wide roll and 10 yards long. It last's a while especially if your no longer a design student. Check.

Andre had taken my needlepoint wheel to work and lost it so I got a replacement for it. $9 which considering I paid $30 for my first one at the student bookstore is a pretty good deal though I could have gotten it cheaper.

And I needed some more interfacing. What kind? All kinds. Well more to the point I collect interfacings and having been away from the industry/hobby my supplies were empty. I pretty much just had 20 yards of So Sheer from Joann's. Not sure what I'll ever do with all that.

What did I get? 2 yards each of 3 kinds. For Andre's peacoat I got some black unwoven interfacing with rows of white chain stitching along the grainline about 3/16" apart. I got some featherweight black unwoven and some off white tricot (the definition is broad on this one) with a wonderful drape. Add that to the black insert weft interfacing I got from mood.com and the silk weight woven I got at Momen+ in Torrance I'm not doing to badly.

It did get me thinking though about what is available for the average sewer outside of the garment districts on the 2 coasts. *FYI I would like to point out that more manufacturing occurs in Los Angeles that NYC now* I have been wondering if I should open a little Etsy store with some of the harder to find notions.

It seems wrong that Joann's sells crappy So Sheer for $3.50 yard for 20" of crap and I pay $1.50 for 60"of wonderful. Oh they had colored interfacing too which I had never really seen in pink and yellow. Twas interesting.

Lekala 4162 All said and done

This is what it looks like on a 35" bus mannequin. BTW thats 15" less than the pattern

One of the biggest problem plus sized sewer face along with the small number of patterns available in our size is that even when a garment fits us well it's still going to make us look fat. Sure it might make you look a size smaller but if your a size 22 well that means your still going to look like a size 20. I tried very hard to stand still while my husbands took the photos but alas I could not.

In real life it doesn't pull at the waist as much

While many things went right with this project there were a few flaws. Even though I fully underlined the front with hair canvas it was too light weight. That was what I was intending to have a softly tailored look I think it was the wrong fabric to try it with. If your going to the effort of padstitching and staying the roll line and taping the lapels then it would be nice to also get the wrinkle resistance that a heavier hair canvas would have offered.

To be honest this is how it'll look most of the time since I tend to stand like this a lot

I would have also been more agressive in my narrow shoulder adjustment as most of the collapsing of the shoulder line is because of that. I took the chest shield out also. One because it really wasn't big enough and two because of the narrow shoulder it wasn't adding to the silhouette. Next time instead of having a facing that went all the way around I would convert the facing bottom to a hem and bag out the corner the way Kathleen on FI shows. The facing did however make it easier to put the lining in but with this pattern you did actually have to draft your own and with the facing I wasn't sure how to handle the jump hem so only put a tiny one in.

Yip the pocket illustrated how I feel about this project.

I did quite a few things right though. The pattern was nearly perfect straight out of the gate for my figure. The welt pockets were nearly perfect and the project was wearable but it didn't turn out as sublime as I had hoped and mainly thats due to my visualizing myself as a size 6 and then seeing the garment on my actual body.

Lekala 4162 Finished Sneak Peek

Forgive the poor blowout color quality.

Ok so I finished my pink blazer in the wee hours of the morning and didn't have time to snap much more than this crummy shot. I'll have a bigger post later talking about all the things I think I did wrong. Perfectionist I know but I think also you can learn from mistakes.

I did however lose weight since I started it 3 weeks ago. 2" off my bust so it's a little less fitted than planed. Oh well what a problem to have.

UPDATE: Mood listens. Umm no they don't.

Updated Update #2
Honestly I feel Mood is very PR focused and not very customer service focused. I posted a non favorable post about about my Mood experience and despite my blog having a readership of zero I get an instantaneous comment which suggests that someone at Mood is trolling the web just looking for mentions of themselves. I've noticed this on other blogs to in particular Frabulous Couture when she discussed the reasons why she was leaving the Mood Sewing Network.

 Honestly I don't really care for much of what the MSN bloggers make. At first they had bloggers with real skills now what I see is poorly constructed and really not a great advertisement for their fabric.

Now I understand that their NYC is highly regarded but the LA location is staffed by assholes. I'm not sure why it's been this way since they first opened in 2005 I think. I was shopping there within the first month or so. People have suggested that it might be because they are "fashion students". Um no I studied fashion both at FIDM and CC and it was rare that you encountered someone with attitude. At least not one I couldn't break down with my kiwi accent. So I don't know what the problem is.

I'm not sure why I'm still upset. I think it's been building for awhile. I've never been treated well there and usually me and fabric stores go together like bread and butter. I was sewing back when it was dorky and uncool. Aka pre Project Runway. You DO get good service if you are a PRunwayesque poser. Let me tell you if you are buying your fabric for your "line" or your vision you don't actually have a line. Truly. You need to be going to whatever they call the old California Mart now (California Market Center?) and going to the textile show and finding real vendors. Many are happy to bend their minimums. At the very least go to the trend forecasting talk. Totally worth it.

They have there next one at the end of February. It's easier to get a pass now but if your dying to get in and can't well usually there is a way.

Why are they posers? Because if your really planning a line that's going into production Mood is not going to have enough yardage for you to produce more than a few sizes each and its all either current seasons or sample yardage or overage from other designers. You need fabric for next season not what Marc Jacobs WAS doing. It's great for enthusiasts but not if your really trying to make a real (and profitable) go at it.

So is there anyone I haven't offended yet?


UPDATE to an update. Meg's email just bounced back. Got a canned answer back to my FB post about how leather varies. Um yes I know but you do have choices. Label each roll of hides. OR don't have a price list that doesn't actually reflect the prices your charging. I really DO want to know if driving over to Mood for some of my upcoming leather projects is worth it or not.

They need to be careful though. I worked at Joann Fabrics about 10 years ago and I remember the store being inspected by the department of weights and measures because the fabrics were never rung up correctly.

Look Ma no prices.

I think it's only fair for when a company responds to my run on rants that it should be acknowledged. When I grew up my parents owned a convenience store in New Zealand. A "dairy" for those of you familiar with kiwiana. People would complain about everything. Mainly about how grumpy and mean my dad was. I'm not sure what they expected me to say in response. "Oh yeah my dad's an ******" Something like that I suppose.

Anyways Meg at Mood has reached to indicate that Mood is listening to my unsubstantiated rants concerns. I've emailed her back and I'll update this post with the results.

Shopping at Mood. Again. Wrong Price. Again

I have to admit I've pretty much switched to shopping at Mood online even though we have a location here in LA. Two reasons. Price. One fabric was $35/yard in store and $14 online. Now to have a price discrepancy that large within your own retail outlets is unacceptable. The second. Location. It's in West LA and I'm a South Bay/Beach Cities girl. I miss Florence Fabrics in Torrance. The building still has the original facade and the chandelier. If I had my little way I'd just rent that location and reopen under the same name. Anyways downtown is closer than Mood.

Well today I did make the trip to their new location on La Brea and Wilshire which for me is even further away but they have a new 20,000 location with parking in the back. Looks like an old furniture store. I was looking for knit ponte or double knit to make a knit blazer but they didn't have anything so that makes me think all of the stock hasn't arrived since the fabrics fill up only 1/3 of the building.

Now for once you could actually see they had a decent leather selection so I thought to pick up some up for my new adventure shoe making. Now they had a price list taped to the racks which was pretty simple to understand. Regular leather $5sq foot Metallic $8 and so forth. So I picked up a nice lime green hide of what I assumed was lambskin from the size. There was no label so I only used my experience to figure that out.

We went back and forth trying to figure out that we needed a cutting slip and that the sq footage was printed on the back of the hide. But not all of them. There weren't any pricing tags so I assumed the list applied which sounded about right compared to the retail pricing from Hide House. Well actually the prices were still much higher but I figured retail location and all.

So I trotted my leather up the register thinking I didn't need a slip because the first girl said I didn't but the manager very helpfully took me back to get a cutting slip. Well the clerk rung it up as $9 a foot which surprised me and I asked him why and he said the price was based on his assessment of the quality of the leather. I was polite and said no thanks I can get it at Hide House for waay less. I pay $3.50 wholesale pricing but their retail price for the same hide would be $45 not the $70 they were going to charge me.

But my husband was with me and was like lets go look for the tag which wasn't there and then we showed the clerk the price list and he honored the price. The nice man at the front rang me up and I used my 20% coupon which was the only reason I was there and insistant on picking up SOMETHING. So with the discount I paid $30 for the small hide or $4 a foot.

It IS lovely but I wish shopping was less rife with price misunderstanding it makes me feel stupid. Mood if your listening hello? I sent a message via facebook. It's easier to make purchasing decisions when the pricing is clear to both the customer and the clerk. It always makes me feel like a cheapo when I misunderstand the pricing but I have a lot of options as to where to get my fabric and leather from and I'm really good at remember all the price points. I DID not like the fact that the clerk was going to charge whatever. Not cool.

Driving Miss Daisy

I made the necklace too.

In addition to sewing I also love to knit and spin yarn. This cardigan is something I finished recently. I made the necklace also. While I based it on a pattern by Kim Hargreaves called Daisy the pattern only went up to size 42" and I was  a 50" bust. I rewrote the pattern to fit me but kept all the parts of the pattern which I found so attractive in the original. It was knit in Knit Picks Cotton on size 2.5 needles. Well enough knit talk then here are the pics.

I backed the button band with grosgrain ribbon for stability.

Tiny contrast pockets.

Wow

I'm the featured member of the day on Patternreview. Not sure if it's an honor or it happens to everyone. Though to be fair I've been member since 2005 and never been featured. It came with a coupon so that blends my two favorite things. Coupons and sewing.

Slowly coming unravelled

I didn't mention this in my previous post but you could probably tell that the pink herringbone was a big old ravely mess and I miss I had anticipated that because I think I would have skipped the hand tailoring and just fused the whole front. As it was all the handling made the seam allowances all fuzzy and they didn't hold the catch stitching nicely. The project is still turning out fine but all this fraying has me worried a little

Lekala 4162 Fitted Blazer

OMG look how much progress I've achieved overnight. Ok j/k I actually started this jacket on Jan 1st and this was my progress as of Jan 11th. So far I have sewn the front side seams, back side seams and center back seam. I have interfaced all the hems with weft fusible interfacing (Which IS available at Joann's)

 

I've applied a lightweight hair canvas to both the front and side front catch stitching it to the seam allowances. I pad stitched the lapels and taped the edges using 3/8" twill tape. I also catch stitched twill tape to the inside of the roll line (Don't put it on the roll line itself otherwise you won't get a nice turn back) The tape was slightly shorter that the roll line itself and was eased in.

 I created a back stay out of a high thread count muslin and basted it to the seam allowances. I pinked the edges so it wouldn't create a hard visible line on the outside.

Before I applied the canvas to the front I mad double welt pockets with pocket bags made out a fun quilting cotton with "Blah Blah Blah" printed on it as my secret little inside joke.

I applied a heavier hair canvas to the under-collar and pad stitched in a circular pattern. Since these photos were taken I have sewn the shoulder seams and side seams and attached the under-collar to the jacket. The facings had already been sewn together and the upper collar was attached as well.

I also set the sleeves backwards 3x. I'm so talented in that area.

New Year New Project. Lekala 4162

I've had this pink/red herringbone sitting in my stash for years now. I originally bought it from Emma One Sock to make a skirt out of. I only had 2 yards of 54" wide which when your a size 22 limits your choices. So I chose a slightly shrunken blazer from Lekala 4162. I got a shocking pink china silk lining from Mood online and for the pocket lining I used a fun quilting cotton print.

For those of you not familiar with Lekala patterns they are a Russian based company that sells made to measure patterns using CAD technology. They have an American site and a translated Russian site. I use the Russian site because the patterns are cheaper 50c for no seam allowances or $1 with seam allowances (3/8") vs $2.50 for the US site. You can either put in your basic measurements or you can create a data string which takes into account things like shoulder width, whether you breast sags etc.

The muslin was nearly perfect. The only adjustments for fit were narrow shoulder adjustment and a bicep adjustment. I did slash and spread the collars to add more of a curve shape and cut the under collar in two pieces on the bias. Turn of cloth allowance had already been added to the pattern and the sleeves have no ease you don't need to gather the cap at all. I could have probably cut the pattern as is and still have gotten an amazing fit. I plan to adjust my string to account for the changes I have to make.

I'm going do use a light hair canvas on the entire front and pad stitch the collar and lapels. I'm going to bag the lining and do double welt pockets instead of single welt pockets.

OH I forgot to mention the one thing about Lekala patterns is they usually don't have lining patterns and this is because most Russian ladies know how to cut one without a separate pattern. Once you learnt how its super easy.

Anise: Complete and worn in

I finished my Anise sometime before christmas and wore it to Vegas where I very sorely needed it. It's been chilly in LA these days which is actually nice after years of summer all the time. I'm happy it coincided with my finishing my coat I would have been SOL without it. It's really hard to find a nice anything when your size 22.

This is the first real garment I've sewn in years. I've made the odd knit top or scrub set but nothing that really required fitting or skill. Why? I was burn out. Crispy. I had been teaching knitting at a local yarn store 3x a week so knitting slowly replaced sewing for me. Then I took up spinning and weaving. But really the factor that was holding me back was the idea that I was "fat" and fat people don't look good in anything but knits and tents.

I'm hoping to prove this wrong one garment at a time. Admittedly I'm photographing them on a size 13 dress form because thats what I have. They look great on too but I haven't gotten the nerve to take live shots yet.

Ok lets get down to the garment itself this is the Anise by Collette Patterns. The pattern only goes up to size 18 which is a 46" chest. I'm a 50"so I graded up 2 sizes and then made a full bust adjustment, narrow shoulder adjustment, added a little to the back so the side seam wouldn't get pulled back and tapered the sleeves. Oh and I cut the under collar in 2 pieces on the bias and drafted my own lining and adjusted the facing to allow for the bagged hem. I tried this method this time instead of the one Kathleen from FI taught me.

It's not bad, Maybe not as sleek but I think if you were finding your pieces weren't lining up right then the workaround method would get you out of that hole without having to hand stitch anything. I guess I should just do side by side samples and let you make the decision. They do look differently since the workaround I used has the lining flush with the hem where it meets the facing.

I did both the bound buttons and the welt pockets according to the pattern instructions and I regret doing so. It eats up a lot of time and is very fussy. The one tip I did like was when creating the facing windows it suggested using fusible interfacing instead of silk organza which creates a nice finish. I fused the entire front and back using a fusible weft interfacing (which by the way you CAN get a Joann's lest the sewing snobs convince you otherwise) I used bias cut hair canvas on the sleeve hems and the jacket hem. I fused a chest shield as well.

Now about those darn sleeves. I knew they were trouble before I cut them out but I was trying to make it easier on myself since I had already made so many changes. They were too straight and too wide for a tailored jacket. Too much sleeve ease. So I taper the sides after the fact. And the sleeve ease? Well lets say I reverted to an old dirty habit from my home ec days. I just pinned the sleeve so it fitted in the armscye and then trimmed the rest off the top. I spent 2 days of the week it took me to make this jacket fighting with the sleeves.

Do I recommend this pattern? Well since I graded it up and changed so many things I really shouldn't get to have a say. For a newbie sewer I think it's good the illustrations are excellent and their are supplementary instructions on their blog. Just look at a few other peoples finished garments first. I'm notice a lot of them have issues with the shoulder/sleeve area.

The BIGGEST disappointment was my fabric choice. I compromised for color and I shouldn't have. It shows every little press mark and is spongy and stretchy. But the color is perfect.

Quaver Twist Puzzle

So over on Fashion Incubator the other day Kathleen posted a Q twist dress puzzle and then its eventual solution which comprised of cutting circles out of a large piece of fabric (2 yards of a 60" knit). Normally I look at these puzzles/challenges and think oh thats nice and just wait for others to post their solution.

This time I took advantage of the fact that I had finally moved my dressform from where it was smooshed behind the couch and that I just been to the by the pound fabric place and come back with 10lbs of knits.

The diagram looks like this

And the fabric once cut looks like this

Then you drape it on your form and see what happens. Warning. Things get very project runway sad pretty quickly.

This was where I started before I decided to chop into the fabric. Unfortunately once you start chopping you get stuck so far as choices.

And the final result.