Baring

Wow, the sun was disappearing on the horizon and it was still 105° as I was taking these pictures. Gulp. I feel like a wilting flower. Last week Austin went into an intense early heatwave and I tried hard to stay indoors especially during the afternoons. I think future summer outfit posts may have to be inside, too, but then of course I wouldn’t get to twirl about and let a skirt like this catch a hint of breeze.

This is the Cascade skirt pattern by Megan Nielsen, and exactly the kind of skirt I like to wear in summer. It has lots of elegance with no effort and is cool as a cucumber. This is something I just adore about my Lonsdale dress, and I’m thinking of making another one of those this summer, too. As soon as I saw Megan’s new collection, there was no pausing: I immediately went on the hunt for a light and drapey rayon print. The pattern is a simple design, a circle skirt with a graduated hem that wraps over in front, and when I walk about the hem has a lovely petal-like floating.

My man loved that part so much, we did a little “short” so you can see the cascading in action! Check it out on Vimeo. It’s my first attempt at editing video so I’m a little shy…

I was thinking of cascades when I braved the heat to the area where I took these pictures. There is a lovely little rocky stream along the part of Shoal Creek that runs through my neighborhood. It has a gentle sound, not waterfalls of the sort that Megan Nielsen was surely inspired by, but the trickle of a creek over limestone. Something I mightily needed on this day. I was willing to brave chiggers and heat to get to it but alas it was dry to the bone.

Outside of the pictures, I was barefoot all day and the shoes were a bit of an afterthought. I normally wear them out with shift dresses, and I think I like this skirt better barefoot. And bare-shouldered: I tried on a bunch of tops with this and decided that it just begged to go with a tube top. (Do we still call them that?) Of course I didn’t have any tube tops, so I made a pattern for one and sewed it all in an afternoon. I think it might look better, less bunchy, as a bodysuit and would need a little shelf bra to be truly, ahem, effective, but I really wanted it quick.

This skirt is total instant gratification sewing. It makes you look like you know what you’re doing, and quickly! Gotta love that. But since it borders on circle skirt territory and a baby hem is really the only option here, hemming is a patient exercise. Cutting and sewing main part of the skirt: 1 hour. Hemming: another hour. Anyone who’s hemmed a circle skirt groans with me!

And p.s.: The original pattern is quite is long in the back. An easy way to figure out the right length is to measure the center back piece from waist to hem, which was almost ankle length on me. I’m 5’4″. I removed about 6 inches from the back hem length so it would hit mid-calf, slowly curving and tapering to nothing just past the side seams.

Details:
Skirt pattern: Cascade from Megan Nielsen
Skirt fabric: lightweight viscose woven, Emma One Sock
Strapless top pattern: self-drafted
Top fabric: cotton-modal jersey, hand-dyed (dye is Dharma Trading Procion, “Antique Lace”)
Gold strap rings: stash

It Takes 50 People to Design a Bra

Have you seen this National Geographic video called “Bra Business”? My husband and a reader recently shared this with me; it’s a quick look at how a Maidenform sample-maker develops a new molded bra prototype from patterning to fit models right in NYC. There’s even a little sewing in there, along with the help of a 405° heat molding machine:

I love that it takes “50 people in 7 departments over 6 months to lock in the design of one new bra”. Puts some perspective on fitting our own bras, right? I’m not a huge fan of molded bras but I admire the precision, how each millimeter counts, in bra manufacturing. They might be small but in the history of the bra business these little things, down to underwire angles, have been secrets or even patents.

I Heart Norma Kamali (A Bombshell Suit)

I’m not naturally a performer; that is, becoming a symbol, a larger-than-life self in front of an audience. My husband is. I’m an introverted intellectual. And so he was giving me cues about what one does taking pictures of oneself in a bathing suit standing in a hallway. Like read the New York Times? Yeah, he actually handed me a paper, shots of which did not make it to my final cut. Any prop will do, he said.

But I really wanted you to see my fantabulous swimsuit. (And after this I’m going to resume posting pictures of lingerie on mannequins (or friends, or models!).) It makes a body feel good. This is the super-glamorous Bombshell Swimsuit pattern by the lovely Heather Lou of Closet Case Files, which she just released Friday and is available here. When she asked me to test her pattern it couldn’t have come at an easier time, since I’ve been up to my ears in spandex lately.

For this pattern Heather was inspired by Norma Kamali, which made me love it all the more. I’ve long had a fascination with the queen of nylon and mesh. Kamali is a smart and adventurous businesswoman with an eye for lean production. She was the first designer to open an Ebay shop, and one of the first to offer “a try before you buy” online shopping experience and forgoes the traditional fashion week catwalk for collection releases featuring cut-out paper dolls of models and 3D displays. She’s got a flare for costume and irony–anyone remember her designs for The Wiz?–especially with her famous Victoriana dresses out of parachute nylon and “sleeping bag” coats. Every year she comes out with a new take on her classic ruched one-pieces, which you can see in action on a young Bette Midler here:

[vimeo 32116475 w=575 h=323]

I hope I look that healthy at 67.

But back to Heather and her amazing, ageless Bombshell. If you’re up for an adventure in swimsuit sewing and like a bit of oohlala retro, this suit may be your gal. It’s got a very clever design that allows it to sit low on the bum, which all comes down to the way the back back seam is shaped. And I’m of the opinion that ruching in the right places has a svelting effect on the body. But you’ll have to prepare for some swanning and answering some “where did you find that!” questions if you wish to wear this in public.

The pattern has two versions: a halter style which I’ve made, and a bandeau-top style. Alternatively, you can cut the pattern to create a high-waisted bikini and top. Heather is hosting a sew-along starting next week that will walk you through the process of each.

I chose a pattern size based on what I thought was my hip (an 8), but it’d been awhile since I measured myself. Oopers, I’m closer to a 10, which explains why I had to artfully wiggle to get into the bottom but it’s quite comfortable once on. The front is composed three layers, a lined flat front which is then covered with a ruched and skirted bodice. My fabric is a matte 4-way spandex which I dyed to a creamy pale daffodil. My crush on yellow is getting out of control, but at least it’s going into purchasing dye rather than fabric.

I love love this bathing suit and the pattern. And so does my husband. He followed me around for the hour complimenting me for looking as if I was on the set of a Fellini movie. Thank you, Heather!

Details:
Pattern: Bombshell bathing suit pattern from Closet Case Files
Fabric: white 4-way nylon spandex from my pile
Fabric dye: Vanilla Cream acid dye from Dharma Trading
Rubber elastic & swimsuit lining: Fabric Depot Co.

The Little Tank that Could

Hoo-ah, this week Austin was really heating up! Seems like about this time every year I come up with gads of strategies to keep me cool and feeling healthy and refreshed (#1: must drink more water). Usually by the end of July I start feeling pickled and strategize all over again. The last three summers I’ve been a bit obsessed with finding the perfect tank top pattern. I really love drapey tank tops and especially woven ones in silk.

Coming up with a perfect tank is a bit like trying to define the perfect t-shirt. I’ve made several different patterns and clearly obsessed about this a bit, but was never completely happy with the fit or style of my previous attempts. My perfect has somewhat narrow straps, a narrow neckline, and a slight racer back. It’s a little bit slouchy and drapes softly just around my hips. This time, I drafted one using my own bodice sloper, something I finally got around to fitting over the winter.

And I think I finally got there! Sometimes the long road is the better one. Drafting my own block taught me some great things about my body lengths and widths and has really been helping me to fit myself better. For example, I’ve used it to adjust my bust length and fullness on this Style Arc shift dress and this Vogue top. I finally feel like fitting myself is starting to click!

Please excuse my rumpled appearance. I’m having a bad hair month (I’m growing out my bangs–argh) and this outfit has been through two hot and busy days (I wore this outfit twice, don’t tell anyone!).

This is a silk crepe I bought almost four years ago from Tessuti. I had it in mind for a sleeveless top back then but feared cutting into it because I just didn’t have the pattern right. And now I do. The print looks like paint splatters but these are actually large pop art flowers that seem to jump out of black negative space. I wish I had more for a drapey maxi dress–because that would really show off their scale.

My favorite, favorite finish for these kind of tanks is an all-in-one neck and armhole facing.

It looks so clean and pretty and turns out miles better than my bias bound finishes. And my favorite tutorial for sewing (and drafting) an all-in-one facing is by Sherry at Pattern Scissors Cloth. She hasn’t been active on her blog for awhile, but don’t go missing out on a goldmine of tips from a patternmaker!

Speaking of which, I’m also a big fan of her method for rolled (aka handkerchief aka baby) hems. My mom asked me about rolled hems recently, so I thought I’d mention my favorite! I think this method is quite easy and ends up less wonky-looking than using a rolled hem foot especially on those evil bias hems, and with every top my hems are getting better and better looking. Alternatively, Jen at Grainline published a roll-hem method which involves sewing a line that you can follow as you roll, until you get used to rolling by eye and learning how to keep slippery fabric from unrolling. (My tip: wet your fingers, roll, stitch a few inches, repeat. It’s weird but it works!)

Details:
Floral silk crepe: Tessuti
Pattern: self-drafted
Earrings: Native Clutter (by Stephanie at Makes the Things – just had to mention because I love her jewelry!)
Jeans: old and much loved

Back to Basics

Hi again! So this week we just got back from a trip to my favoritest city, San Francisco. It was a much-deserved get-away after all the moving and house fixing we did this spring. And all that good food and fog must have gone to my head because I came back really looking forward to an Austin summer.

Before we left, I finally finished up the last of my hand-dyed lingerie sets, so I thought you might like to see what became of my dyeing adventures.

Remember the neon lemon elastic? My original intent was to dye this cotton knit somewhat of an ecru color but instead I experimented with a mink brown.

On these next set of pieces I was experimenting with a cotton/modal knit and a Tencel knit. Both modal and Tencel are dreamy lingerie fabrics. They’re just a bit silkier than cotton, which tends to cling–Velcro, anyone? I’m waiting for a new shipment of Tencel jersey to test some more dyeing, because I think it might just be my absolute favorite.

As you can see, most of these are fairly simple styles. A few months ago a friend and I got to talking about 70s lingerie and how understated it was–feminine and flirty with a little bit of French insouciance. So I took that as a challenge to come up with simple bikini and bra styles that were easy to make and wear. Nothing screams 70s more than a little hipster bikini and triangle bra, dontcha think? Surprisingly, I spent way more time working on the bikini patterns than the bras. It took me five samples before I came up with my idea of a perfect bikini style. Maybe I imagine Annie Hall wearing these under her Saturday clothes, a little slouchy tee and wrinkled jeans. I’m a Woody Allen nerd, what can I say…

I hope you had a great week and happy June!

P.s. Is anyone else getting sidetracked by all the swimwear sewing going on around blogland? I think it might be time to finally pull out that oh-so-soft lycra I’ve been storing for the last year and get cracking on a swimsuit.