Lady Like?

The reason I don't show you photos of myself very often these days is because I spend most of my weekend with greasy hair, in the same pair of yoga pants.

So it's not going to do much for my fashionista street cred to show you these:







Seriously, would it kill me to wash my hair??

My vanity compels me to tell you - in case it's not entirely apparent - that one cannot look worse than in stringy, white muslin cotton, sweat pants and unwashed hair. But at least I've got lipstick on!

Hideousness notwithstanding, I'm going to post these on the Lady Grey Sew Along Flickr site later today to see what kind of muslin-improvement feedback I get.

But I'm interested in your feedback too. I know something is weird with the back waist. Any idea of how to improve it, sewist friends?

Also, I feel the shawl collar is too much - too wide - so I'm probably going to hack away at it. Thoughts about how much to cut? One more thing, I've tightened the waist to suit my current (thin) shirt but there's quite a bit of give. I will make sure to position the button such that a sweater can be worn underneath. This is Canada, after all...

Reader question update: Andrea says: I was more than a little overwhelmed after reading Gertie's muslin post. All that work for just the muslin? I'm starting to get cold feet. How many hours have you put into it so far?

My answer (started in the comments) is convoluted (but optimistic!): Try not to think about the investment or it will freak you out when actually, doing it is not hard. The muslin actually goes together quite quickly after the cutting and thread tracing. In total I've prob spent $150 bucks and 20 hours so far (includes buying fabric and notions, reading pattern and reference books, cutting, thread tracing etc. - the whole shebang). Not negligible - but that's over the last 3 weeks. Today was veritably easy as far as muslin fitting goes. The pattern instructions are very clear and the princess seams give a lot of fit latitude. Join the Flickr group. It will keep you involved because you'll see what everyone else is doing and you'll get feedback.

I've cut some corners:

• Made the size 8 (instead of 6 with a full bust adjustment). (Smart to go up a size because Colette patterns owner, Sarai, so much as tells you that she doesn't add a lot of ease into her patterns. And it's a coat so you need some give.)
• Sarai says she cuts for a C cup, but you have to consider that a C cup on a medium to broad frame is going to go a long way on a person with a 32 inch under bust. Especially since the pattern has princess seams.
• I did NOT trace the pattern (for shame!). It was going to be too painful. My rationale: I'm never going to make this for anyone else. Under any circumstances. And I cut the 8 even though my measurements are between the 6 and the 8. Cutting took over an hour. Tracing would have taken 3, at least.
• I didn't add 1 inch seams (per Gertie's suggestion). I went with the 5/8 SA, again, because I cut up a size. Adding the extra 3/8 inch gets labour intensive for reasons that aren't interesting.
• I haven't really felt the value of the thread tracing (which lets you see the seamlines on both sides of fabric. Chalk markings are only visible on the wrong side (inside) of the fabric. If I needed to make a lot of alterations, I think it would be very valuable. For a coat or large project, I'm all for it. But for a skirt or something simple, I'm unlikely to invest the time. Baste the threading, don't properly sew. It saves time. Also, baste the muslin. While it tends to unthread, unless you're careful, if you need to rip out stitches it will be a cinch.

In short, I'm just mucking in. Enthusiasm is everything here. Don't give up Andrea! You can do it.

I Want to Have Dinner Here...

Lord, I love this kitchen:

Photo: Desire to Inspire (the whole post is great so click on the link...)

It's so Victorian servant's quarters with a touch of modernity.

And you? What do you think of it?

Overexposure

I'm loathe to show you these photos of my Lady Grey Sew Along lining because they aren't accurate. The colour is actually not green at all (or teal as it seems here) but a rich jewel blue (to go with the navy boucle fashion fabric, every photo of which was wretched and flat or overexposed).

Nonetheless, observe the wrong side in the photo directly above. Do you see how it's flannel? This will add a layer of warmth without necessitating lambswool interlining (which I couldn't find) or yucky synthetics (which I couldn't bring myself to buy). I hope it's going to be effective. If nothing else it will repel the wind better than a regular, thin lining. And the satin is rather rich.

Wiggle Room

Here's the finished Vogue 8413 retro dress:





Of course, it doesn't help that I made it using the worlds most flammable fabric (Note the synthetic, see-through shot? Nice!) - I like to call it "space aged" and contend that it's authentic retro cloth. In fact, it's just really cheap ponte double knit I found for $5.95/yd on fabric.com. I don't know why I thought this would be a successful purchase.

Only in a way, it was. See, I didn't care a whit about wrecking this fabric as I was making the dress. It functioned, in my mind, as expendable (potentially wearable) muslin. And, even as I was constructing the dress (and realized that it was going to work very nicely on my frame), I went to FabricLand and bought some lovely orange ponte double knit for $16.00/yd, which will actually make a beautiful garment.

Some thoughts:

• No FBA (full bust adjustment) required. Mardel said something so smart, when I emailed to inquire how it could be that some patternreview.com posts mentioned that the pattern fit huge in the bodice and others indicated it was tiny. She suggested that the people who thought it was tiny were likely actually (accidentally) cutting the pattern piece on the grain when the instructions note to cut it on the bias (which is a pain in the ass, btw).]
• I cut it on the bias and it fit beautifully. What drape! It's def. got 38.5" in the bust. If I'd FBA'd it, it would have been too large. If I'd cut it on the grain, it would most certainly have been to tight.
• I actually think the sizing on this piece is fantastic. The fact that you get 6, rather different from one another, dresses with this pattern (each cuter than the last) - and the sizing is terrific - means that everyone should run out and sew this.
• I did have to cut 4" off the bottom just to get it to knee-length. Why does Vogue make the skirts so long?
• The instructions are very clear, if not quick, and I think it's about as simple as a "tailored" dress can get.
• What I lack in natural "zipper insert" talent, I make up for with pleats! Seriously, check them out.
  

Time, Time, Time

One of these days I'm going to count up the number of references to "time" on this blog - to not having it or needing it or enjoying it or wishing for more of it. I observe this in my writing all the time (ha!) - moreso than in any that of my fave blogs, many of whom are written by extremely busy people. (Dare I suggest it, they may be people even busier than me :-))

So here's another go at telling you that I have tons to say. Really, the details of my mind are so utterly fun and full you would love to take a ride on "Kristin's Tilt-A-Whirl Brain". (You do have to be a certain height though. It's not exactly PG in there.)

Meanwhile, let me give you a few sewing related updates:

• Even if you don't intend to do the Lady Grey sew along, you should bookmark Gertie's site and read along. It's totally fascinating. I'd be interested to hear about it - and to read the comments and view the Flickr page - whether I sewed or not, never mind simply not "actively" participating. I very much appreciate the opportunity to sew in a community, to the completion of a common goal. In truth, I am lonely in my sewing sometimes. I mean, sometimes it's tough having only your stealth and newbie skills for company. I rely on my sewing friends (see sidebar) for all kinds of support - emotional to practical. I am so glad to have a chance to do something that 140 other people will be doing simultaneously. I'm a big believer in group energy, so I'm intrigued to see how this is going to play out.
• It's going to be full-on coat sewing during a month when I'll also be traveling on a few occasions for work. So I wonder how I'm going to fit it all in. I mean, where will I find the time??? (please see above).
• FYI, the fashion fabric I bought for my coat is a navy boucle boiled wool (not matted like so much boiled wool. That's a look I do not like.) Still haven't found the perfect lining. Have the muslin but need to get a bunch of interlining and interfacing supplies. I'm prob going to try to do this hardcore, with the group, so I'll need to use hair canvas (for tailoring) and lambswool interlining (for warmth) etc. If I stop to think about it, I get a bit nervous. So I don't bother to do too much thinking.
• Another FYI, in case you're still considering joining this sew along, you should know the coat will have cost me about 150 bucks by the time I add in all the supplies and fabrics. That's before I spend 30 plus hours making it. So maybe, unless you're really stoked, you may want to go to Club Monaco and buy yourself something warm and chic. I bet you could work out a participatory blog experience out of that, with a little thought. And I'm likely to join, knowing me.
• BTW, don't begrudge the cost of your coats. Now that I'm making one, I don't think I could consider spending less than $500.00 on one ever again, economies of scale notwithstanding. I used to wonder how people spent thousands of dollars on garments. These days I can't believe that one can buy a pair of pants for less money than it costs to purchase the raw materials to make them.
• The Colette Patterns Sencha top is finally available for reorder: It's been out of stock forever (she says, like she's been sewing for years or something?!) because everyone in the freakin' sewosphere wants a chance at it. I just snapped it up to make with 2 woven fabrics I LOVE. One is an animal print (vaguely sheer) and the other is a merlot-coloured matte silk. Here's hoping I can pull this one off so that I look that much more elegant in my new pencil skirt.
• BTW, I'm totally thrilled with the new pencil skirt. I've practically forgotten all the ways in which it is imperfect.
  

Creamy Delicious Goodness

Let's say you don't read this blog to keep up on my novice sewist experiences... If that's the case, you're in luck because today's post is all about dessert! And not just dessert, but dessert with cream, chocolate and salt - or as I like to call it, nature's divine combination.

I love to eat creme patissiere (aka pastry cream aka that stuff that sits between the sugar crust and the fruit in a tart) with berries or, if we're being honest, out of the mixing bowl with a spoon till half of it is gone. Usually I make it in its purest iteration - with vanilla bean - but sometimes a girl likes to shake it up.

I've tried many recipes for this treat but, for texture and overall fab, Joe Pastry's is the best. Joe's is my go to baking blog. His sciency interpretation of all things sweet really contextualizes why we bake the way we do. And he is always there to answer reader questions.

All pastry cream versions involve the yummy, and chemical, interaction of:

• egg yolks
• some sugar (or chocolate, in this case)
  
• a binding agent (either flour or cornstarch, in general)
• flavouring i.e. vanilla bean or chocolate or coffee or caramel or whatever you like
• dairy - sometimes it's only milk, sometimes a mixture of milk and cream

Some thoughts, based on my own experience:

• milk and cream are superior to milk alone
• cornstarch is the better thickener
• Joe, and others, suggest about 4 oz of sugar (total) for 2 cups of liquid - I prefer half of that or even a little bit less. I don't like pastry cream to be notably sweet, just as I don't like ice cream to be notably sweet. In whipped cream, if there's even a hint of sugar I won't eat it.
• I love anything sweet with added fleur de sel. It makes the salt better and the sugar better.

I'm not sure if I've written about this before (in almost 3 years and 1000 posts, I can't remember what the hell I've said half of the time) but I'm continually amazed that you can bake just about anything - from solid to liquid to somewhere in between - with eggs, butter, sugar, flour and milk. Talk about the versatility of nature.

OK, Joe talks about the basic recipe far better than I could duplicate it here (follow the link above), but below are a few gratuitous photos of my experience:





For this variation, note:

• When you make chocolate pastry cream, use bittersweet (about 3 oz for 2 cups of liquid), reduce the sugar content (if you use any at all), and melt the chocolate with the liquid. You can also add the salt to the liquid as it's heating.
• Really mix the cornstarch well with the egg yolks. Sometimes I get a little bit of lumping and it's likely that this happens when I don't whisk like my life depends on it.
• This is a beautiful, traditional recipe that dresses up or down, depending on how you serve it. Put it in a pate sucre crust and it's the basis of a very chic tart. In ramekins with berries and a dust of cocoa, it's homey - but elegant - like pots de creme, without the bain marie and all the fussing with setting the eggs.
• It's really, really easy, peeps. Anyone can have fun making this in 15 minutes (ish). It's kid- and grown up-friendly.
  

Sometimes I Love TO

Honestly, where else can you do Stoned Yoga??