Completed Project: Katy & Laney Tap Shorts

TA-DAAAAH!  So it would appear that I am sewing and blogging again after a one year+ absence!  I was lucky enough to nab a job almost one year ago sewing cushions and upholstery for one of the few locally owned, strictly made-in-the-U.S.A. furniture companies left in my part of the country.  Business has been good so I've been extremely busy.  I also have a rambunctious 4-year-old son, which absorbs a lot of my sewing time.  The plant was closed for the week of the 4th, so I took a minor "sewcation" and actually had a chance to make a few things for myself.  

I'm in dire need of shorts, so my first recorded make after one year: the Katy and Laney Tap Shorts!  These were incredibly quick and easy to construct.  I opted to make view A which features diagonal seams at the front.  No pockets, just a faced waistband, back darts and invisible side-seam zipper.  There are thorough instructions for back welt pockets, but I just wanted to be able to sew something quickly in my limited free time so I nixed those.

I'm a sucker for a high waist, and these are a true high-waisted pair of shorts!  They're extremely comfortable and flattering. 

Back view and side view.  The high waistline is flattering to most backsides, I think!  And this is probably the best and most invisible invisible zipper I've ever sewn!  Their instructions for sewing the zipper are fantastic.

I used a vintage lightweight pinwale corduroy from my deep within my stash (and when I mean deep, I mean that this particular yardage has been in my stash for well over ten - yes, TEN - years!  I thrifted it from a Habitat for Humanity ReStore and could never find the right project for it, mainly because it was only a one yard piece.  View A of the Katy & Laney Tap Shorts only requires one yard of fabric so I finally found the perfect project !

 Inside view of the front diagonal seaming detail.  I finished all interior seams with my trusty serger.

Closer photo of the vintage pinwale corduroy.  Hopefully I will be able to photograph and blog a few more of the projects that I made over my "sewcation" sooner than later.  Thanks for stopping by and happy sewing!

Completed Project: Scout Woven Tee

I have nothing but enthusiastic RAVES for the Grainline Scout Woven Tee!  It's a fairly simple to make, super-flattering and an easy-to-wear design.  And well-worth shelling out $6.50 for!  For the front of the tee I used reclaimed fabric from a vintage 1970s floral print scarf.  

Yes - quell horreur! - I plead guilty to cutting up a perfectly fine and wearable vintage scarf, but it was put to good use, right?  And I have a confession - I have tons more of these oversized vintage scarfs in my stash just like this that I've stored up from my various thrifting adventures.  I find that, at $.50 cents to $2.00 each, they are an affordable fabric option for small projects like this and usually offer nice pops of color or unique design that's usually hard to find in modern fabric.             

Since I only had a small amount of scarf fabric for the front I opted for a matching rust-colored rayon challis for the back and the sleeves.  I found this fabric at a thrift store as well.  This tee is extremely comfy to wear I really love the swingy fit!  Although the floral scarf fabric is slightly sheer, I opted not to line it because I have a feeling this summer is going to be a hot one and I plan to wear this often!

Completed Project: Reconstructed Tom Hanks "2x Academy Award Winner" T-Shirt

This reconstructed t-shirt is definitely an in-joke amongst myself and a few of my friends.  I'm notoriously not a fan of the once-ubiquitous Tom Hanks, which my friend Scott insists is positively un-American.  So he made me this t-shirt to wear as a joke to he and his wife Cate's annual Academy Awards party in late February.  I believe the photo of Tom Hanks used here is from an episode of Saturday Night Live that he hosted in the late 1980s.

The original t-shirt was an oversized Hanes men's shirt so I decided to take it apart and reconstruct it into something a little more wearable. This is the pattern I used: Simplicity 9165 from 1989.

I thought the front overlapped detail was really cool and I had *barely* enough fabric to make it happen.

I zig-zag stitched around the the original iron-on printed fabric photo so it would stay in place.

Detail of the unique front-lapped design.

The original design didn't call for a center-back seam, but I had to utilize it due to a major lack of fabric!

I cut a size 10 and I usually wear a size 12.  Although the original design is cropped, the shirt is extremely cropped on me and (as pictured here) will require the use of a camisole of tank top underneath.  Not sure how often I'll wear it as I consider it to be pro-Tom Hanks propaganda and - well - I'm just not cool with that!  ;-)

Completed Project: McCall's 6387 - Rainbow Brite Dress

I have a confession to make:  I rarely have time to sew for myself, let alone for anyone else, so sewing things for other people usually falls very, very low on my list of priorities.  However, a couple weeks ago I found several amazing scraps of vintage 1980s Rainbow Brite fabric panels at a thrift store in Black Mountain for a mere .25 cents and my niece Ella's 3rd birthday is July 3rd, so the time finally presented itself for me to make her a dress!  

I used McCall's 6387, mainly because I was charmed by the little detachable "Heidi Style" apron.  Ironically, even though I purchased fabric for the apron, I ultimately decided not to construct it since it was going to partially obscure Rainbow Brite and her horse Starlite which is the main focal point of the dress.

The skirt of is made from rainbow multi-striped cotton quilting fabric which I lined with white cotton.  For the lower fabric ruffle, straps and bodice lining, I used an orange and pink toned batik.

From start to finish, I was able to construct the dress in about 4 hours.  It's a very simple design, but all of those gathers take an eternity!  Even though Ella has no idea who Rainbow Brite is, I think she will love the colors, ruffle and gathers.  Her parents, both children of the 1980s (like myself), will probably appreciate the nostalgic elements of it!

Completed Project: 1970s Betsey Johnson High Waist Pants

When I moved back to North Carolina almost 9 months ago, I unintentionally lost a lot of weight due to stress and other factors. I found that all of the pants and trousers that I'd put so much time into making no longer fit, which left me without a few essential wardrobe basics. So now, along with looking for thrifted vintage pieces, I'm trying to sew and build up my wardrobe again (with a 1970s slant, of course)! I used Butterick #3846 (a "Young Designer" pattern by Betsey Johnson) to make this pair of simple high waist pants:

Do forgive the dark and pixelated photos! I am well in need of a new camera (and some natural sunlight)!

I omitted quite a few details from the original design and opted to keep these pants extremely basic. I thought the extreme high waist fit and wide legs made enough of a statement. The original pattern design included huge patch pockets over the hips, round applique patches at the knees and a detachable bib.

I wore these out to lunch today and received a few nice compliments. The fabric that I used is a lightly slubbed medium weight denim-look cotton that I purchased with a huge lot of patterns at a local sale. I thought this type of fabric would be perfect for the transition from winter to spring - not too heavy or too light. The pants have a front zipper, wider than usual waistband and button closure.

I will definitely be wearing these often and I'm so glad to have a basic pair of high waist pants in my wardrobe again!

TOTAL PROJECT COST:

Fabric - approximately $1.00

Zipper - approximately $2.00

Pattern - $6.49 from Granni Gert's Attic @ Etsy

____________

$9.49

Completed Project: Waves Print Dress

This was a relatively speedy project for me! The total time spent cutting out and constructing was a little over 2 hours....because I didn't have to construct or hem the skirt!

I used an early 1980s pattern for the bodice, which is made from black ponte knit (the best knit fabric in the whole wide world to work with, by the way!). It has puff petal sleeves and I added a white embroidered floral collar to brighten up the bodice. The skirt is actually an upcycled vintage 1980s rayon skirt that I thrifted a while back. I love the crazy squiggly waves print and the bright primary colors! Altogether, a quite satisfying project for a very time-strapped person like myself!

Completed Project: 1970s Wide Leg Trousers

So I've finally resigned myself to the fact that I will probably only be updating this blog whenever I complete sewing projects which, at my current sewing rate, will be about 1x per week. I'm just in love with posting on my Tumblr blog, which I actually do daily, so check me out over there if you'd like!

My latest completed project is a pair of wide leg trousers that I made from an early 1970s Butterick pattern designed by Betsey Johnson. I think the design was actually inspired by 1940s-style trousers but with a much more exaggerated silhouette for stylin' 1970s seamstresses. :) These were really simple to make: several top stitched pleats at the front, a 7" zipper at the back, and a wide waistband with a button closure. I used a slubbed black and white rayon/linen blend fabric that I scored from a local thrift store for $4.00.

I'm really happy with how they came together. I'm obsessed with high waist, wide leg trousers (just as I'm obsessed with 1970s fashion in general) so I have 3 more (different) pair in my sewing queue waiting to be made. They are so comfy and breezy and perfect to wear up until it gets really hot during the summer!

Completed Project: 1970s Floral Brushstroke Dress

Here it is: my first completed sewing project of the year! I used Butterick #4393 (a 1970s Jane Tise young designer pattern) to make this dress which has a shaped yokes, a casual, flared silhouette and 3/4 length puffy sleeves.

I was originally going to make the blouse, but I decided to make the dress since my wardrobe is severely lacking in them. For the yokes, collar, front tab and cuffs, I used grey cotton shirting from Jo-Ann's. The sleeves and body are made from lovely vintage 1960s floral brushstroke print cotton fabric that I found at a local thrift store for a mere $2.00! I used a fabric-covered button for the front buttoned tab.

Although it has a pretty unstructured fit, this was quite complicated to make, mainly due to the self-lined yokes, puffy sleeves (TONS of gathering), side seam pockets and topstitching. The construction put many of my sewing skills to good use.

Here is a scan of the pattern - it is definitely a keeper!

Completed Project: The Perfect Wide Leg Pants

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I have an all-consuming love for 1970s fashion, so wide leg pants are an absolute must for my wardrobe. I've been searching for the perfect wide leg pants pattern for a very long time, and I knew that I'd finally found it when I saw BurdaStyle member Reneebies version of the high waist pants from Vogue 8604.

You're probably wondering why I didn't just use a vintage 1970s wide leg pants pattern - right? Well, I have used 1970s patterns to make pants before, but I fell in love with the built-in extremely high waist design of this Vogue pattern, plus the legs are super-duper-mega wide!

I anxiously grabbed the pattern during a sale at my local Hancock Fabrics and I already had some trouser-weight denim on hand that needed destashing. Add the zipper and 1/2 yard of lining fabric for the pockets and the resulting pants only cost me $20.00 and a few well-spent hours of my time!

It was so nice to actually get dressed up and wear these today just for the heck of it! My son turns 1 year old on October 6th and, being a new mom, this past year has been a particularly unfashionable one for me. After my pregnancy, I quickly fell into the all too easy and convenient sweatpants and t-shirt routine. My hips also spread 4" and, although I am roughly back to my pre-pregnancy size, those hips just aren't going anywhere. So I had to completely get rid of my former pants and skirt wardrobe. And since I prefer to sew my own clothes, I'm in desperate need of pants and skirts....mostly pants.....and it's taking me an eternity to build my wardrobe back to where I want it to be.

I also want to give myself motivation to dress up everyday so, by October 6th, I hope to take daily "what I wore" photos and post them here, if not everyday then at least once week. Here's the breakdown for today's outfit:

Pants: Handmade

Shirt: Vintage 1970s - thrifted for $1.00

Necklace: Kohl's

Belt: Banana Republic on big-time sale

Shoes: Doc Marten Mary Janes

xoxoxoxo

Completed Project: Burda "Marilyn" Trousers

I was able to steal a few minutes today to finally take photos of my completed Marilyn trousers (taken outside in the 100 degree heat, no less)! I used a lovely brown herringbone wool/rayon blend suiting to make them - a steal at $6.00 per yard at Jo-Ann Fabrics. This is the first time that I've used a Burda pattern and, even with the limited diagrams, the trousers were pretty simple to make and I am anxious to use Burda patterns again! I'm really pleased with these and will definitely be wearing them often this fall and winter.

The only alteration I did add was to an extra inch to the length because I think the cropped version from the original Burda photo looks quite awkward: