Neeeexxxt....Kwik Sew 3199

 So I have tried Simplicity 2614 and to me it was okay but I don't think I'll be using it for the contest. The fit was good for a start but it was something about that bias lower front and back I just didn't like. I used a fabric that would be more like the fabrics I am using instead of the stiffer muslin that I have so I could gauge the hang better and it was that hang that I did not like. Also  just like other tops I have tried I get that huge pool of fabric in the back. With tops that are cut on grain I now I have an idea of how to adjust the pattern for this problem but a bias cut back I'm not sure if the same adjustment works. So I am moving on to another pattern on list of possibilities, Kwik Sew 3199. It has very similar line (the empire waist) as the Simplicity pattern, so my  rtw inspirations will still work with this pattern, in fact most would be better with his pattern. The main reason I went with Simplicity first instead of this pattern first was the closings. Closings take more time and also I would need to take a trip to the notions shop which is not always easy for me, as you can see with my LBD that is still waiting to get interfacing now for the past 5 weekends.

 This is where Simplicity has been left, I never got around to adding the sleeves.

As of today I now have two days to fit Kwik Sew 3199, if I don't want to cut into contest time. This is not a lot of time for me since the kids are in the middle of end of term exams,this also explains the lack of blog this week. I'm hoping that I can start work on my first top January 1.

Until next time, happy sewing...

Waiting and Waiting

My sewing has basically been put on hold for one simple thing, interfacing. I have tried for the past four weekends to get down to the souk but life with a large family,things just happen. So  have decided to move on for now from Simplicity 2473, but I hope to get back to it real soon since I do not want this to stay as a UFO for long.
On another note, Patternreview has finally posted the contest for next year, and I THINK

I will be participating in the very first contest of the year. From Jan.1 to 31 the OPML (one pattern, many looks) will be taking place and I THINK I’m in for this one. Once again I’ll be using a top pattern, as of right now I THINK I’ll be using Simplicity 2614. I’m really loving the patterns that already come with the different cup sizes, it just make fitting a bit easier for me even though I’m still figuring out which size is the best for me. 

As of this post there are 50 reviews of this pattern and for the most part the all of them seem to be positive reviews, so I’m hopeful.
My aim is to make seven different tops, one for each day of the week, but my goal is three. I already have a few ideas swirling in my head and all have a RTW top as its starting inspiration. So stay tuned for that. I have 8 days until the start, so I’ll be muslining (I know that is not a real word or verb for that matter) and trying to find fabrics in my small fabric collection. So stay  tuned.

Until next time, happy sewing…

I Got An Award

Idealbild over at The Magical Effects of Thinking has       nominated me for the Lovely Blog Award. Thank you so much, and I now have a new blog to read.I was actually nominated a few days ago but I'm just getting time to really sit and blog. I have been blogging now for almost 6 years and this is the first time an award come my way, I guess someone is reading my blabs on sewing and patternmaking ;-).

Okay now there are rules for this award, they are:

1. Thank the person who nominated you. Completed

2. Add The One Lovely Blog Award / The Very Inspiring Blogger Award to your post. – Completed

3. Share 7 things about yourself. Completed

4. Pass the award on to 10 other bloggers that inspire you. I only did 5 completed

5. Include the rules. completed

6. Inform your nominees. completed

1. I  have 9 kids ranging in ages from 12 years old to 18 months (there is a set of twins in there)
2. I worked at a fishery in Alaska one summer while I was in college.
3. I'm the oldest of 5 but the shortest of them at 5'6"
4. I was born and raised Muslim
5. Being from Baltimore Maryland crab cakes is one of my favorite foods
6. My dream career is to become an ER Doctor
7. I was a true tomboy as a kid, dresses and dolls were not my thing

My nominess are:

You sew Girl

Shoes Are My Muse

Sewingplums

Live and Let Sew 

SoSewSimple

Until next time, happy sewing

How Many Patterns Do I Need ? Part 2

What do I like to wear? What clothes do I wear the most? These are two of the questions I have to ask myself when trying to figure out what patterns to really focus on. So with that in mind I came up with a list:

1. A-line maxi skirt
2. Scoop neck T-shirt
3. Loose knit top
4. Empire waist maxi dress
5. Fitted button down shirt
6. Basic woven top no closures
7. Blazer
8. Skinny pant

So armed with this list I have come up with a few patterns I would like to try but that will be another post.

Until next time, happy sewing...

Muslin Muslin Muslin

I have had to put my LBD on hold for now, I need some black interfacing for the midriff which I did not know until I started sewing. I had enough for the facings but not enough for the midriff. I was hoping to get it this past weekend and was hoping to update my blog with a finished dress but of course that did not happen. i'm hoping to get to the souk this weekend and get some.

What I have been while I'm waiting is making lots of muslin. Since i'm waiting to finish a project and don't want to start another just yet, I figured I do the dirty work of fitting some basic patterns for things I hope to become TnTs for wardrobe staples and somethings I just want to make for myself. Again I have been focusing on tops, I just love a good top worn over a plain skirt or pair of jeans, and its also the hardest part of my body to fit.

This is my muslin of the peplum top that was a fail the first time around, this one seems more promising. In total I think I have made about 3 tops in muslin, I was trying to find one that would be a good starting point for a good basic top. I THINK it finally came when I went to the market on Thursday and picked up the December issue of BurdaStyle style 119. There are some fit issues but nothing major. With a size 44 I have enough for my broad back and no need for a FBA but it is a little wide in the shoulders. So I'm going to try and go down a size there.






Next up is to redraft my skirt pattern. While I do like my draft from Design It Yourself Clothes, I liked my skirt sloper from Building Patterns a lot more. So I'm going to try and morph the two techniques to come up with a more  perfect pattern. I still plan to finish the exercises from Building Patterns which one is a A-line skirt but I like how I get it with DIY Clothes more. So I hope my next update is the muslin of the BurdaStyle top and my new skirt pattern. So until next time, happy sewing

Reverb12 Day 3: What Do I Wish For?

Since this is a sewing blog I'm going to keep my responses related to sewing. If I could have anything I wanted it would be a perfect fitting sloper (thanks Gail for that idea) to use for fitting and also already  perfect fitted A-line skirt, T-shirt, pants, dress, loose and fitted top, dress and shirt. As a matter of I'm working on this goal right now. Also I would love to be able to attend a class in both patterrnmaking and draping starting from beginner to intermediate to advance, I know I can teach myself, but I love the idea of having someone show me and guide me in my learning.

I know yesterday I said I would not reveal my goals but this is one that has been on going for me, so I figured it wouldn't be that big of a deal. I have talked about this a lot throughout my blog, so no secret there. I'm just going to take it one garment at a time.

Until next time, happy sewing

Reverb12 Day 2: What Was My Most Significant Expenditure In 2012?

2012 was not a good financial year for me, so there was no big buys this year but I had one purchase that I remember most and that was my muslin buy. No its nothing big but it let me know I can find things here if I just look hard enough or push myself beyond my comfort zone when asking for things here. I had been looking for it since I came here but never really asked since my Arabic is so limited. Now that I know I can get the real deal and at such a cheap price I can really practice my patternmaking and also work on fitting patterns to my body, so for my hobby that was a significant purchase this year.

Until next time, happy sewing...

How Many Patterns Do I Need

Last year I tried to give myself a little challenge for 2012, and I failed miserably for various reasons. I won't go into detail why but I am learning with my sewing and goals. This coming year I have some goals planned but I will not expose them until I have completed them except this one which is a variation on this year's challenge and that is to try and use fewer patterns. Why? you might ask would I want to limit myself when there are so many wonderful styles out there.

1. Firstly, FITTING I hate it, it takes up so much of my precious time, and when you have a large family to manage personal time is extremely precious.  
2. Secondly I just want to be able to lay my pattern down and take my time and make a beautiful garment that flatters me.
3. Thirdly , patternmaking, its a goal of mine to learn it so why not try to use it more on simple patterns and create new styles myself  and not be a slave to the pattern companies, I mean most of what the pattern companies put out are just variations from a sloper.
4.  Fourthly, its not cheap or as easy anymore, back home in America it was but not here.
5. Fifthly I just want to sew (yes I know I already said this one).
6. I seem to be attracted to same patterns anyway.
7. I hate the idea of becoming an old woman with a hoarding problem and nothing to show for it.
8. I just want to sew.
9. I just want to sew.
10. I JUST WANT TO SEW.

\Okay you get the picture, anyway I'm not going to restrict myself that is just asking for failure but I am going to try and keep the patterns to a minimum. All other goals will be reveiled as I complete them.

Until next time, happy sewing...

Reverb12 Day 1: How Do I Feel?

I feel pretty good right now with my sewing and patternmaking. As I look back on this past year, yes I have failed miserably on my goals but so what, I'm still moving forward, I'm still getting up from each fall with much enthusiasm.  Yes when the failure first hits I'm a bit upset like anyone else would be but then I have to remember that if I let that get to me let that keep me down then I will never succeed. Like the popular quote from Winston Churchill "Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm" .  Its easy to give up, but then what would I be? I don't want to be a failure, I know that in time I will be a success. Follow my blog and hopefully you shall see.


Until next time, happy sewing...

M.I.A. But Still Working Sort Of

Oh I hate excuses , but I do have one and hope to make up for the last two weeks of no blogging. First off I got a bit obsessed with figuring out my size so, I took the original pattern and traced every size above 14 to 20. Then I started mixing and matching sizes in muslin, so I would do a 14 front with an 18 back or a full 14 bodice. While it was a bit boring and redundant I did learn something new about my body, I have a VERY broad back. I'm still learning but I think I have a good starting point. Also during this time I became very sick and was on antibiotics for a while and I mean for the first two days I was bed ridden. I'm still not at 100% but I am a lot better. So that is what has kept me away for two weeks. I'm hoping that the next will be much better.

 I have already started working on my lbd but I don't expect it to be done in time for contest. I'll just keep working on it until its done and of course blog about it along the way. I don't expect for it to take long, I just started working on it yesterday and think it will take me about 3 sewing sessions to complete.

Also for the month of December I'll be participating in #reverb12. So I'll hopefully be blogging a lot more for the month and reflecting on 2012 my success and many failures.

Until next time, happy sewing...

Wearable Muslin FAIL

Lesson learned, when you fit a muslin make sure you fit ALL of it. Before starting my wearable muslin I used some cheap cotton mix, and I fit most of the dress other than the sleeves. Now on to the wearable muslin, I don't know if the zipper made the problem worst or what but I did have some pooling of fabric in the back just above my hips but when it came to the wearable muslin with the zipper in it was more like a lake back there. Then once I got the sleeves on which I did not fit in the first muslin it was too tight in the armscye. The last straw happened when I tried to zip it up on my own and the front just split right down the center, which you can see in the pic above.  I have had it for now, two wadders in a row. I'm going to still try and make myself a LBD but I'm going to take my time. Fitting myself with now help is frustrating and sometimes a little discouraging.

I'm going to go ahead with my craftsy Couture Dress class and just take my time. I have to remember "quality not quantity". I'm using Simplicity 2473 which I loved when it first came out but for some reason put it aside. Now after seeing all of the reviews I know I want to make this for myself.  The pattern is not much different from the one what is offered with the class and the only reason I am using it is because the pattern was sent to my Dad's place , the class was a gift from him. So "quality not quantity" is the motto for this and future projects.

I think for next month I'm going to concentrate on working out my real size and my fitting issues. See this is why I need some TnT patterns.

"Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" Winston Churchill

Until next time, happy sewing...

Make Your Own Skirt Sloper

Now you can make your own skirt sloper or just a basic skirt, you have to have a Burdastyle account to access the pdf but its free so no big deal.

These are the exact same directions I am using for my skirt sloper minus the waistband since this just the sloper . Jamie even tells you she learned the ins and outs of skirt making from Apparel Arts. The book that I am using Building Patterns was written for the students by the founder and director of Apparel Arts. Now you can draft your own or at the very least see what I am doing. My ultimate goal is to no longer need to buy ready made sewing patterns. I'm just not a fan of being a slave to them anymore, I don't mind buying something if I just want it but lately its been hard finding what I want and just the though of having to fit with no one to help and with so little time and let's not forget I'm not in America anymore so no more cheap patterns. So I need to get cracking with my learning.

Until next time, happy sewing

Drafting A Skirt Sloper

 

So I have started with my patternmaking book Building Patterns: The Architecture of Women's Clothing , there is not much out on the web about it, which is a bit surprising to me since the craft of sewing and making your own clothes seems has taken off tremendously. I decided to start with this book instead of the many other books in my collection is because  this one seems to aimed at someone who is self teaching, it seems easy to understand at least for me from just reading over a few of the exercises and it seems this system can be used for any body, there is no measuring a dressform or using only standard measurements in order for it to work, I can use my own or any other persons measurements and it works.

I have started it once in the past but for some reason never got past making the skirt sloper. So this time I have already done one skirt sloper for myself but there are some drafting issues, so I have to redraft it again which I plan to do soon and also I'm also planning   to use the example measurements also so that I can get as much practice as I can.

You can see the drafting issue here, if you look at the side seam from the high hip to the waist the angle is too much which causes a bubble in the side seam when worn. So I have to figure out how to change it.

Here is the sloper and muslin with an invisible zip in the back. The sloper does NOT have seam allowances added to it. I'm trying to train myself to add them when cutting or thread trace the pattern since this seams to me more professional and accurate.






Until next time, happy sewing...

I Got Real Muslin

Before I  left America three years ago this month I knew I would have a hard time getting the things that I was use to back home for my sewing for several reasons but the main reason language. So I bought with me some samples, one of them being a large piece of muslin. I was using some cheap cotton and poly mix that I could find easily at the souk, only problem is that it is not very wide and is extremely off grain. Since I had decided to get back into my patternmaking, I knew I would need the real deal. So I asked DH if he could take to the souk that sells a lott of things whole which includes fabric and notion shops. I was hoping I could find something there, I didn't know for sure. I took my large piece (read: more than one yard) of muslin with me. I walked into one of the wholesale fabric shops and first asked if they spoke English which they did not, and then just handed them my piece of muslin to sales help and he took it to his boss he felt it asked me if it had been washed, which it hadn't then told his clerk what to get and bought it to me. I asked was it 100% cotton and he told me that was it so I got it. You can see how it came in the pic above its a folded continuous piece. Its unbleached and cost me 80sar per pack which is the equivalent to $21.30 usd for 20 yards of 59inch wide, I got two packs so this should last me a couple of months.

I took pics of the fabric shop to give you an idea of what the wholesale shops look like here.

This is where the owner was seated. Those books are books of swatches of everything he has, and there is a lot of fabric cramped into a small space.

This is the aisle where he got my muslin.

No trip to my favorite souk is complete without some fabric shopping. The two prints at the bottom are poly knits, the blue is a sweater knit, the grey at 12o'clock is a cotton twill and the beige is poly crepe ( I THINK).











Until next time, happy sewing...

Its That Time Of The Year Again

SWAP or Sewing With A Plan time, lots of other sewist, are talking and thinking about it over at Stitcher's Guild. I have attempted a few times in the past but never finished and I know that the first time I tried my plan was not that well thought out and other times too ambitious and when time was quickly going and nothing was getting made I just gave up. Now after my recent mini wardrobe success, finishing on time and working together, I think I can push myself to do this one.

Every year there is some sort of twist to the contest and this year there is a 5+5+1 or two different coordinating groups of five which are linked together by 1 piece concept. I'm going to keep as close to the original plan whilst having two different groups which means no dresses. I wear mostly separates anyway so this would not be that hard. I'm also trying to tie in my learning to sew garments as well if I can since I still plan to start working on it again the beginning of next year. Also since I'm still working towards building a small collection of TnT patterns, I want to working with patterns I hope to use more than once. So I have a lot of planning before the start date (Dec. 26, 2012), but if it does not work out that is also fine with me.

Until next time, happy sewing

LBD Muslin

 So Blogtoberfest 2012 has ended and I would consider it a success for myself even though my blogging did slow towards the end of the month but I hope to get back on track and continue until the end of the year. Now it won't be everyday like at the beginning of October but I hope to post at least 3 times a week.

Okay now on a sewing note, I'm doing a wearable muslin for my dress for the LBD contest. Now I'm not that into wearable muslins since fabric is not easy for me to get and so I want to make sure whatever pattern I'm going to use that it at least fits me and then after the first wearing I can tweak the pattern more if need be., but with this pattern the fabric I was buying is not wide enough for me to make a good muslin. So since I did fit the upper part of the dress already I decided I could go ahead and do a full wearable muslin in fashion fabric.

I'm using a cotton sateen that I bought for $1.99 a yard from fashionfabrics club a few years ago, so $6 for a dress that fits is not bad, I think. The pattern is a morph of Simplicity 4118 and Simplicity SewSimple 1993 which is just a reprint of New Look 6347.

New Look 6347

Simplicity SewSimple 1993

Simplicity 4118

So this is where I am currently, everything cut out and ready to go.

I also preped my final fashion fabric for the LBD, it was raveling so bad that I decided to serge the cut ends before I washed it. I have not read about doing this anywhere but it was the only solution I could think of so that I would not loose any yardage in the wash. It worked just fine, no extra raveling or shredded ends.

Until next, time happy sewing...

Bored Child 2

Remember two years ago I showed you bored child, well here is number 2 her older sister. She asked and I  gave her a needle and some thread to mend a garment of hers and this is part of the outcome along with the fixed garment, children.

Until next time, happy sewing...

The Process

"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
 By Ira Glass

How I feel about my sewing, designing and patternmaking.
Until next time, happy sewing...

A Visit To The Fabric Store

 Last night I got a chance to pop in on one of my favorite fabric stores to pick up some fabric for my LBD. I decided to take some picks so others can see where I shop here. There are others but this is one of my favorites because his prices are reasonable has a good selection within such a small space and its easy for me to pop in and out of sometimes unlike some of the other stores that are hidden within the walls of the souk. The man who runs the shop does not speak English so I just have to go on touch and drape or sometimes the salvage of the fabric to tell me what it is and my fabric knowledge is VERY limited, but can tell me in English how much per meter everything is and if not I have learned my numbers by now so even if he belts it out in Arabic I understand.

So a quick tour, this is the view from the door from the main road side. It has two entrances one off the main street and then the back which is within the walls of the souk.

This pointing in the direction of the door from the first photo, on the left are some of his knits.

 Again this is pointing in the direction of the main entrance that I was standing in in the first pic.

This is looking at the other entrance to the souk. Think of it as an "L" shape and I am standing right where the corner is and this is the other way I'm looking from the one above.Is that clear as mud?

 Again looking at the second entrance but the other side behind the counter and the fabric they have laid out all over the counter. These are some of the cottons and cotton satins all shirt or dress weight.












This is behind the counter, mostly cotton satins here, this is the corner of the "L" shaped store behind the counter so standing where I am you can see both entrances to each of my sides. Also if you look at the roll on the counter or the bottom of the pic, it is one of the pieces of fabric he showed me when I was looking for my fabric it is a black cotton satin., I did not get it since I wanted something with a bit more drape and a little more weight to it also something that would not wrinkle like crazy.

Close up of some of the knits and don't be surprised if you see some of these pop up on here sometime in the near future.





 So this is what I ended up with, 3 meters of I don't know what. It looks a little like a linen but I can tell its not and it has some weight but not stiff. I tried to give you and idea of the drape and texture in the next two pics. I did a burn test but again still not sure.


































As for my pattern I'm still not sure and I need to make up my mind soon. The Simplicity Project Runway pattern 2359 has just gone missing and I have not idea where it can be. So now to keep looking. As far as my jeans are concerned they have been put on hold for a minute, I had some issues with the fit and I have been trying to figure out how to save them and I think I have found a way but I need to walk away from them for a minute and then come back.

Until next time, happy sewing...