But, continuing apace - here are today's updates:
About the Suit: Here's the thing. I've pinned the buttons on the suit (much closer together than I had originally, to buy me the wiggle room I removed from the side seams erroneously). I can't bring myself to sew them on yet. Why? Well, the truth is, I'm fairly critical of my work and, if I end up not liking this thing, I'm apt to throw myself off a bridge - which wouldn't be good for the likelihood of future posts about truly important things. I don't know if I'll do it tomorrow evening or the next. I need a bit more space. A bit of time to see the suit for what it is and not the series of life lessons I associate it with. Believe it or not, I haven't even tried both pieces on together yet. What kind of nut spends 2 months agonizing over a suit and then doesn't bother to try it on?!
About Other Sewing: But no fear. I've somehow managed to determine how I'm going to spend the entire summer sewing - even as I can't bear to think about tomorrow. I've broken it down as follows:
The Next Suit: I'm always amazed to discover (upon waking from a dream, like, 5 months after completing a project) that I solve a (huge-to-me) problem related to that very project like magic. You see, I'm not a patient person. I am a compulsive person - and those two qualities lead me to work so quickly that I rarely see the benefit of said epiphanic problem-solving because I act (rightly or wrongly) in the moment.
I don't want to do this with my next suit. I want to be able to enjoy the process at a reasonable pace, having resolved some challenges I'm still not clear about (2-pages-worth). And - ridiculously - I want to redraft the front piece so that it isn't double-breasted. Yeah, you read that right. How I'm going to manage to make the next suit relaxing when I'm re-drafting whole freakin' parts of it is beyond me. Especially in light of the fact that I've never done such a thing and I have no sense whatsoever of the challenge that potentially awaits me. All the more reason, I suppose, to take some time to let my brain do the work in its own way. Happily, I want a new suit for the fall, so I can really take my time and work on it amidst some other exciting projects.
The Bra I'm Going To Make (Again): You know how I like to say: Ninth time's a charm! Lord, here's hoping or I might have to go throw myself off that bridge again. I've managed to learn many things about bras and breasts and my breasts and my bras over the last 2 years and I think it's time to apply those lessons. I've also culled numerous RTW wires and bought Norma Loehr's new book, Demystifying Bra Fit and Construction. (Note: It's very new. I've read it through once and I do think it's a good addition to the bra-making catalogue but I sense that Ms. Loehr is a woman who makes bras primarily for the D and under set. The book gives me that vibe. I also disagree with a couple of its premises, but I'm willing to suspend my disbelief until I've had more experience.)
I've also found an Etsy vendor who does some terrific kits that include cup fabric with no stretch (in addition to fun, stretchy overlay fabric), such as this one:
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| Photo from here |
The Summer Dress Palette: It occurs to me that, 4 days a week, from May till September, I wear a dress to work. Many of my own handmade dresses have been worn out in this process, I'm happy to say. So I don't see why, given that I managed to buy 17 yards of different knit fabrics a couple of months ago?!?!?, that I shouldn't do 5 dresses in 5 weeks. I ordered a bunch of new patterns from Vogue during the recent 3.99 sale. I'm sure they'll arrive by next month, what with this company's terrific reputation for mailing patterns within 2 weeks of receiving one's order. (Yes, that was sarcasm.) Lots more to come on this, so please stay tuned. (Note: I need a couple of weeks away from sewing to actually deal with my life so this won't begin till mid-May, realistically.)
The Package I've Been Waiting On for Freakin' Ever: And speaking of hideous shipping, I'd love to tell you about the Ewa Michalak lingerie set I bought on March 28, but it still hasn't arrived. Nor has the company had the decency to respond to any of my tracking-request emails over the last week. Gotta say, I knew, going in, that the customer service reputation of this company utterly sucks, and at this point I'm pretty sure it's well-deserved. This bra is going to have to rock my world in order to inspire me to bother with "boobs on a plate" queen, Ms. Michalak, ever again. I've read in numerous places that her son, Dominik, is the weak link. He's the customer service face, from what I can tell. I can corroborate that it's been radio-silence from him (after an email which advised me that I'd have to wait a certain period of time before they'd look into the whereabouts of my order). Anyway, I'm having the full experience, and you'll be sure to hear all about it when the time is right.
Updated: Dominik has sent me three messages today to apologize for taking so long to reply to my emails and to reclaim the original order and send out a new one. While I'm very happy to hear from him, and I do appreciate and accept the mea culpa, I do wish things hadn't conspired to put me into the mindset I was in when I wrote the paragraph above, yesterday. We'll see how long the next order takes. I think it would be particularly good client service to courier the new package to me, not that I'll suggest it.
Phew. Are you still here??
Today's questions: Do you think I'm insane for not having tried on my suit yet? Do you think I'm insane for trying to make another bra? Do you think I'm insane for having ordered that nutsy-patterned bra kit? Do you think I'm insane for having tried Ewa Michalak, despite the many dicey reviews? Let's talk!
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Insane but lovable AND entertaining! ;-)
ReplyDeleteAs long as I'm entertaining! :-)
DeleteNot insane at all! I'm living vicariously through you. :)
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see your knit dresses this summer and the suit.. I need to make some simple knit dresses as well...After a purge, I only have blacks left!!
As for the buttons, what if you put a safety pin right at the button locations after putting it on and check the fit and the button location before doing the buttons.... Or so babbles a person who has never made a jacket... Is putting safety pin on a formal wool jacket a big no-no??
That's a great idea! I use regular pins which then fall out as I try to do the buttons up. Gonna do this!
DeleteI totally wish *MY* nickname was Queen Boobs On A Plate.
ReplyDeleteIn other news: try on your suit already! Sewing is only 50% math, measuring and flat pattern adjustments. If you don't put it on and wear it for a while how are you going to know what really needs to be changed and what is actually awesome about it?
Hilarious! I am going to put on the suit. But I cannot do it till I sew on those buttons. I guess I know what I'm up to this evening.
Deletei totally get you about not trying it on yet! sometimes i've worked so hard on something, i just can't bear the thought of it not living up to my expectations. but, usually everything is worse up in my head than in reality, so just rip off that bandaid and give it a try!
ReplyDeleteYou're right, of course. I start spinning my wheels which is why, after a few days (when my critical nature wears off) I wonder what it is that I didn't like.
DeleteWhy, why are you tempting me to buy another bra pattern. Huh? Why? Now, I've got to bookmark that bra pattern for later and she sells kits! Now you've done it. You are NOT nuts to order the color kit. How many colorful bras are out there in your size and it's your bra kit you can order what ever the heck you want! I see bra sewing in my future again.
ReplyDeleteYou've got to try on your suit. Just Do it.
Carla: You should totally have that pattern - like, right now! It's very affordable in the scheme of things and you deserve it with all of the work you've put into your bra-making. BTW, there are (as it happens) many colourful bras out there in my size. Ask me how I know :-)
Deleteabout your suits -
ReplyDelete1. In general, instead of fitting a new jacket pattern each time you make a suit, you can take the back and sleeve patterns of one of your previous jackets (fitted or spring suit) OR you can measure your best RTW jacket and compare the numbers on that jacket to the numbers of your pattern of choice. This way you can make the pattern changes before you make a muslin. The only thing that changes between jackets is the lapel on the front piece and the collar anyway... (In other words, since you make a lot of jackets, i encourage you to make a "basic jacket sloper" )
2. Drafting a front piece: you can copy a front piece from another jacket, or even take the front piece of the fitted suit (amazing btw). Since the shoulder and side seams are probably identical in both the fitted jacket and the burda jacket (given you have only one body and all...) they should match with minimal adjustments.
You're totally right Roni! That's a very good idea, to compare the front of a RTW jacket I like the fit of. The question will be whether it has princess seams. Nonetheless, I do need a sloper. The thing is I'm trying to develop a sloper as I develop my tailoring skills. I do one part "fitting" and one part "construction". I'm hoping after I've made a few more jackets, I'll have the makings of a sloper as, you're right, the shoulders aren't going to change.
DeleteIf both jackets don't have the same form or princess seams (shoulders vs armscye) you can merge the front pieces of both jackets (using marked grain lines, hemline or shoulder seams if possible) , so you keep the princess seam of the original front piece from the Burda and only trace the center front line of your RTW.
DeleteOooh, good idea - when I start looking at the jackets against one another I'm sure this will be more clear to me than it is right now, but I do see how I can put in a princess seam, even if all I'm doing is keeping the general proportions from the RTW jacket front.
DeleteI don't think you are crazy--I was just looking at supplies on bramakerssupply a couple of days ago. I was staring long and hard at those uni-wires, but unfortunately, they don't come in my size. :-( I've been debating on contacting them and asking a few questions, but haven't done it yet. And I seriously can't believe that you're still waiting for a response from Ewa, have you tried going through their facebook page? Supposedly that bypasses Dominik...
ReplyDeleteDon't pass judgement on the jacket until you've tried it on. But make sure you go into it with an open mind, if you go in thinking you're going to hate it, you will.
I wouldn't recommend Bra-Makers for wires. In fact, I have a pretty conflicted sense of the place - I think it could be MUCH better than it is, much less officious and somewhat less expensive.
DeleteBTW, go back to the post (which I've updated). Dominik sent me 3 apology emails today and has reclaimed the parcel and sent a new one. How one reclaims a parcel is beyond me, but at least I've got some feedback.
I think that bra kit is amazing and I think that is what will push me over the edge into making bras. I need that kind of fabric in my undie life.
ReplyDeleteIndeed! You know, there are so many great bra brands and styles for your size. You really don't need to make anything if you want fabulous. Of course, you love making things, so have at it!
DeleteSewing bras is like hives, you just get this itch now and again even if you know it's not going to be good and you really didn't ask for it. I love the kit, it would be a hella fun bra.
ReplyDeleteHa! That is so true!
DeleteI keep ordering from Ewa Michalak despite Dreadful Dominik and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad service, but it's just because her bras work so much better for me than anyone else's. As soon as I find another company that suits me as well, EM is out, unless they improve the service. It's a real shame, because the bras really are wonderful.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried Avocado or Comexim? They're both Polish and they might work too...
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