Since I'm Not Dressing Up for Halloween...

I'll totes be a crazy cat lady and dress up my cat instead.

Although I guess a scarf hardly qualifies as "dressing up." Can you guess who he's supposed to be?

Mr. Cation and I love Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock. And because we are in love with Walnut and think he's the awesomest ever, of course we see him as our favorite consulting detective.

I mean, aren't most cats more or less high-functioning sociopaths?

And of course, I had to include this quote, because I'm definitely Walnut's blogger.

Awww, the feeling's mutual, cat. Happy dress up day, everyone!

Matching Couple Shirts: the Lady Version

After I made up this plaid fabric into a shirt for my husband, I still had plenty left over for a shirt for me. I've never made a real button-down shirt for myself before (the 1912 one hardly counts), and I have dreams of a perfect floaty white blouse to go with my Leonora shorts. In order to make that happen, though, I need to find the right blouse pattern. I figured that this plaid fabric, being only $1/yd and all, would be the perfect muslin fabric, but my pattern of choice, Simplicity 2246, aka the Lisette Traveler Dress, was not the perfect pattern. Boo. Mind, there's nothing wrong with the pattern as it is; it's just not the right pairing for this fabric. The Traveler Dress is meant to be made in a more drapey fabric, I think. Between the plaid and the stiffness of the fabric, my finished blouse reads more cowgirl than anything else. Of course, then I had to take that look a step further and pair the top with my faux riding boots.

Back view: the way the darts ended up, they make a neat optical illusion that there's actually some shaping going on at the waist. Also, ignore my lackluster ponytail. 

(Allow me to say at this point that I don't know anything about cows or what people actually wear to ride and rope them. I'm a city girl through and through; I've never "roughed it" in any way, shape, or form (not even going camping), nor do I plan to, ever. I'm sorry, but I just really like hot showers and indoor plumbing in general.) I guess that means that I did eventually fulfill the Sew Weekly "Worn Out West" challenge in the spirit of its original meaning, and not my geek interpretation...

I didn't bother with the pockets.

Anyway, I was originally clued into the Traveler Dress' existence by Andrea's fab versions, but after reading all the other write-ups on Pattern Review, I really should have figured out that the cut of this pattern was quite loose and shapeless.  Since my cotton shirting doesn't drape, it just looks boxy and weird. I ended up putting in a couple of huge fisheye darts into the back, but even then it's not very fitted. The sleeves are also a little loose, but I do like that that means I can roll them up comfortably. My only other gripe about this pattern is the weird all-in-one collar+collar stand. While it is quicker to sew, the resulting collar also doesn't fold over in quite the same way as a traditional one. Plus, it just looks weird to me that there's no break in the plaid? I don't even know. Also, I was running out of fabric, so I didn't cut a separate button placket on the bias like I wanted; I just extended the center front piece and did the foldover placket technique from Simplicity 7030 that I disliked so much.

See, doesn't that just look wrong somehow?

Summary:
Fabric: 1.5 yards of 60" wide, 100% cotton, blue windowpane plaid
Notions: Six small black buttons from my stash, from before I started sewing, so I don't remember where they're from.
Techniques: Flat-felled seams (I am really falling in love with this finish!), plaid matching
Hours used: Five
Will you make this again? Maybe. There are so many things I would change in this pattern, I'm thinking I should just find another blouse pattern that I like better. But if I ever find a snuggly piece of flannel, I am totally copying Andrea.
Total cost: $1.50 (I'm counting the buttons as free since I've had them for so long)
Final thoughts: I'm not sure if cowgirl is a good (or very convincing) look on me. Honestly, all I can think of is Jerry Dean Campbell from American Hoggers introducing his daughter, "This here my daaawwwter, Krystal Pistol Campbell..." But it looks cute on other bloggers, so I'll give it a try? Besides, this shirt is awfully comfy, probably because it is so loose. And I guess if we decide to, Mr. Cation and I can take the cheesiest Christmas couple photos ever. Maybe I can piece enough scraps together to make Walnut a bandanna, too...oh dear, somebody stop me.

How about I just settle for an awkward collage instead? Unfortunately, I couldn't get the colors to quite match since they were taken at different times and in different locations. 

Sadly, it is still too warm in TCOCC to wear this outfit, really. What is up with you, weather? It's almost November? See, this is why I can't take Sew Weekly challenges (like fall wardrobe colors?!) seriously.

My version of "I don't know what to do with my hands" is "I don't know what to do with my extremely pointy elbow."

I'm Not a Bad Wife Anymore!

Mr. Cation can finally join the ranks of the significant-others-of-sewasauruses-who've-had-button-down-shirts-made-for-them. 

Not that I thought I was a bad wife before, but it's just that I've been sewing for a year and some and still haven't made anything for Mr. Cation...until now! I had promised him I would sew him a shirt for his birthday; that was back in August and I only finished it last weekend. Unfortunately, while my intentions were good, my execution was lacking. While there's nothing technically wrong with this shirt, it's still just a wearable muslin.

"What do you want me to do? Where should I look?"

Pocket close-up. Mr. Cation was pretty adamant about the pocket not being but on the bias.
Unfortunately, the fabric was uneven/warped so I couldn't quite get the vertical stripes to line up. 

See, it started with my choosing a fabric that Mr. Cation wasn't thrilled about (he thinks it's too blue, the plaid is too ostentatious, and the general look is too much like a shirt that he had in junior high, and we all know what paragons of fashion those junior high school boys are, right? Yeah, not the best mental association.), but at $1/yd, I figured it would still be okay? I'm not sure how that worked out in my head. At any rate, the fabric choice was strike one.

Back view...you can kind of tell how much ease there is. 

Strike two was choosing a less than optimal pattern for a starting point: Simplicity 7030 was only $0.50 at the thrift store, but I probably should've done some more research before settling on it. How do I put this delicately: this pattern is made for large beefy males? Okay, I'm being facetious, but only slightly; even the smallest size was cut extremely generously. My husband is an average Asian guy and he likes his shirts to be slim-fit instead of with oh, ten-plus inches of ease in the torso. I ended up stitching down the two pleats on the back in order to eliminate some of that ease, but it still looks a little big. Also, the button placket is just a folded over extension of the front pieces, instead of being a separate placket cut on the bias. This isn't a deal breaker in and of itself, but it's just one of those RTW features that would have helped make this shirt look more professional. (Incidentally, the the shirt cuff design does not feature the standard RTW placket, which I found weird. Easier, maybe, but what guy really wears a shirt with a continuous sleeve placket?)

Okay, now you can really tell how much ease there is. 

Strike three would be my not doing good measurement comparisons with some of his favorite RTW shirts before sewing this up. I did measure the arms and torso and was able to foresee some changes there, but I didn't think to check the collar or armscye. As a result, the collar is simultaneously larger (higher in the back, more surface area to the folded over portion, overall less refined looking) and smaller (too tight to go around his neck comfortably) than he would like. The armscye is also much too low, which means that the sleeve is consequently too roomy. I did my best to bring in the sleeve towards the hem, but there was only so much I could do without making it look ridiculous. In the end, the sleeves still have a good extra two inches of ease on his best-fitting RTW shirt.

As long as he keeps his arms down, it looks normal?
But alas, clothes are made for wearing and living life in, not for standing around and looking good. 

Summary:

Every time I look at this collar, I get really happy. 

Fabric: 1.5 yards of 60" wide, 100% cotton, blue windowpane plaid shirting from the FIDM scholarship store
Notions: 7 small black Slimline buttons
Techniques: Plaid matching, flat felled seams (I am so proud of the fact that all my raw edges are totally enclosed!), and interfacing a collar and collar stand? Does that last one even really count as a technique? I thought about making a long-sleeved shirt and trying a cuff placket too, but decided against it; good thing I didn't invest any more time into this wearable muslin.
Hours: A season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I never watched it when it was on, but recently started because hello, Joss Whedon, how did I not make that connection before?? I am totally loving his strong female characters and witty dialogue so, so much, although I still do a mental double-take every time I see Willow, because all I can think is "What the heck is Lily Aldrin doing there?!"
Will you make this again? I'm itching to give this another try, because I really want my husband to have a me-made shirt that he can be proud of, but I think I'm going to have to be patient and wait until we find a fabric he genuinely likes, and not just go haring off and buy the first cheap cotton I lay my eyes on. Lesson learned -- Mr. Cation does not like excessively loud clothing (whether in color or size of plaid), unlike me.
Total cost: $2.75...at least it was a cheap learning experience.
Final thoughts: Personally, I don't think there's anything too horribly wrong with it; it looks about the same (to me) as any not-quite-perfect RTW shirt...but that's just the problem! This is a me-made shirt, not RTW. It should be perfectly tailored to fit him and his preferences, so even though I don't think it's that bad, it's not my opinion that counts. I think I have to remind myself that when I'm wearing something I made that doesn't quite fit or that isn't quite the right color, it's only the knowledge that well at least I made it for myself that keeps me wearing it somewhat proudly; with this shirt, if Mr. Cation doesn't feel comfortable and confident in it, it's only going to be the guilt of well my wife made it so I guess I have to wear it that brings it out of the closet. Which is pretty sub-optimal. So even though I don't feel the pressure of oh-gosh-his-birthday-was-months-ago-I-should-really-make-him-that-birthday-shirt anymore, I still want to make another one.

Confession time! My one mistake on this shirt: I got overeager and snipped the seam allowance that was supposed to be folded over for the flat-felled seams, so there's a tiny bit on the shoulder that's not enclosed. Oh well, I doubt it will fray much, given the amount of wear this shirt's likely to get. Other than that, though, looking at all my perfectly flat felled seams makes me so incredibly happy. 

Even though this shirt has so many things going against it, I'm actually still pretty pleased with myself for making it. I learned a lot (I've never made a real button-down shirt with a real collar before!), I know what changes I want to make for next time, and even if Mr. Cation doesn't wear this out ever again (he humored me and wore it to church once), it was a profitable learning experience. Also, I may or may not have enough fabric left over to make a shirt for myself...

One last goofy picture: Mr. Cation learns how difficult it is to pose when taking photos.
" I don't know what to do with my hands," à la Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights, a movie I've never actually seen.

Frosting Fortnight and Halloween Prep

If you follow Steph and Mari, you'll know that these two weeks leading up to Halloween are Frosting Fortnight, a celebration of the frothy confections we love to make but rarely wear. I'm guest posting about bringing whimsy into everyday wear over at 3 Hours Past the Edge of the World, so go check out a fifties-era sewing book's advice on the matter!

All of this leads up, of course, to the most frostingest night of the year: Halloween, aka National Dress Up Day. Unfortunately, I'll be traveling next Wednesday so I still haven't decided if I'll be dressing up, but you can bet your whiskers that Walnut will be in costume! If, like me, you're not participating in this year's costuming festivities, you can still celebrate more subtly by sporting some black cat paraphernalia. Last October, I made a super easy black cat necklace and black cat flats, so if you're looking for a quick(ish) craft, you might want to check out my fake-torials:

One more week to decide if I need to whip up a last minute costume...

Walnut Expresses My Feelings For Me

Le sigh. I never asked to be adopted into a Giants household. 

I've never been a fan of sports, mostly because of bad childhood memories of always being picked last for teams. To this day, I still can't catch a round object with any kind of reliability, and if you ask me to dribble a basketball, it will get away from me after two bounces. So imagine my horror when I discovered that Mr. Cation is a huge sports fan! I reluctantly resigned myself to having to learn something about 1) Notre Dame football, and 2) the SF Giants.

Wearing this cap is an insult to my dignity. 

While I now know more about sports than I ever thought I would (and definitely more than anyone in my elementary school thought I ever would, I'm sure), I can still think of at least forty-two other things I'd rather be doing than watching ESPN. Seriously, during the fall the TV is always on on weekends because there's either a game, or highlights, or commentary to watch. This used to bug me when we first got married, but now that I sew...that just means I get five hours of uninterrupted sewing time to churn things out.

Wait, what did you say the final score was tonight? We're going to the World Series, you say?

So when I found out that the Giants winning the pennant means that there will be at least another four games to occupy my husband, I cheered.

Reaching up for a double high five?

What does your significant other do while you sew?

Giveaway Winners!

Walnut announces the winners of the lovely Colette/blue flowers combo and the vintage dress/poppies combo!

Congratulations to Njeri and knovak, please email me by next Wednesday with your mailing address so that I can send you your goodies!

Chevron Peplum Top Fake-torial

Thank you all for your kind comments about my chevron peplum top! It seems that the optical illusion effect was not lost on quite a few of you; I will put up warnings next time for those of you prone to seizures...

Anyway, here is my fake-torial, as requested, for how I made my top. If I find more appropriately striped fabric, I'll try to make another one with pictures for a real tutorial, but for now you'll have to be contented with my drawings. I think the challenging parts in making this top are really just the layout (to be sure you get the V of the chevron, and not just a big slanted line) and the stripe matching (just sew slowly and use lots of pins!). If you know how to sew a basic t-shirt, this is pretty much the same thing but with a few more pieces to put together.

You will need to start with a basic fitted tee pattern, like the Renfrew or Lydia, or you can just use a  fitted tee you already have and use it to draw your own pattern. Or if none of those options works for you, you can try this tutorial to draft your own pattern from your measurements. You'll need it to be quite tight, maybe even with negative ease, since the peplum will just hang awkwardly and the chevrons won't be smooth otherwise.

I hope that makes sense! Let me know if you have any questions. And for a more detailed neckband insertion tutorial, check out Sherry's excellent step-by-step. 

Here's what my top looks like on the inside. Please don't judge me; I don't have a serger and this fabric is so thick and stable I just left the edges raw! But hey, it works and I haven't had issues laundering it.

You can see how the neckband looks from both the outside and the inside. You can also see that my stripes didn't *quite* line up. 

The waist seam was zigzagged, and you can also see where the side and center front seams meet. 

Close-up of the armscye and the sleeve hem. 

So there you have it! Now you can make your own optical illusion top that will make people mesmerized and dizzy! One last word on fabric selection: I will say that this style probably works best with thicker, more stable knits, and not those tissue-thin drapey ones that inevitable get sucked into the underside of the sewing machine.

Lastly, there's just one more day left to enter the fabric/pattern giveaway! Go leave a comment for a chance to win free stuff!

Pep Up for Peplums!

So, apparently peplums are a trend. And chevrons. And stripes. That's not a big surprise to most people, but I'm always a little late on these things. Actually, when peplums first started showing up all over Pinterest and grocery store checkout magazines, I thought they looked absolutely ridiculous. Why would anyone want to wear a little circus tent around their hips? But, as is usually the case with me and fashion trends, I eventually came around to the idea, just like I did with pointy stilettos, riding boots, and drop waists. I'm still not a fan of harem pants, though. And if I ever write a blog post about how I've suddenly realized that harem pants are actually awesome, please start an intervention before I go ahead and sew a pair.

Testing range of motion: yay, the underarm seams held up!

Anyway, ever since my chevron BCT hack died in the laundry, I've been wanting to make another one. I had almost a yard of black and white striped knit leftover from my Hamburglar top, so I thought I would experiment with chevrons and peplums simultaneously. I took my not-a-Renfrew pattern, changed up the grain lines, and then played some Tetris trying to get all the pattern pieces to fit on my remaining fabric. It was a pretty close call, but I mostly managed -- I couldn't get chevrons on the back peplum and had to settle for vertical stripes there -- without having to sacrifice much of the overall look I wanted. I also ended up with a less full (less peppy?) peplum than I wanted, but that's okay. I'll ease into the look with a four-person camping tent before I go full-on circus big top.

I don't have to look at the back, so it doesn't bother me that it doesn't have chevrons. 

There's not much else to say about this top, since I've used this pattern so many times. I did have to bring my side seams in to get a tighter fit, since the original amount of ease just looked silly; they caused wrinkles of extra fabric, which distorted the chevrons, and the peplum just hung weirdly. I think if I were to do this again I would also curve the center front seam in under the bust. This would help the tee to hug my torso better; I usually ignore the looseness on tees that don't have a center seam, but since this "pattern" does have one, I might as well utilize it!

I managed to get the side seams to match up on top, but not on the peplum. Oh well. 

I'm pretty pleased with this top overall, but if I make another one I think I'll use a solid color for the neckband. It's a little too busy for my taste with the stripes, although it's not a deal breaker by any means. Even though I have another top made from the same fabric, I think this looks different enough that it doesn't feel redundant in my wardrobe. And of course, the black and white go with everything!

When you get closer, you can see that my chevrons are just the tiniest smidgen off.
 didn't care enough to pick my seam out of a fairly thick knit. 

Is anyone interested in a more in-depth tutorial on how to adapt a fitted tee pattern to make this top? Let me know! Or, you know, you can just scoff at how I fell for this trend.

I feel a little bit like one of those optical illusion posters. (Remind me to never wear this when teaching. One time I wore a similarly striped skirt, and a student actually asked me to stop wearing clothing that made him dizzy.)

And hey, if you haven't entered my fabric/pattern giveaway yet, it's still open for a couple more days!

Time for Another Giveaway!

According to Blogger, I've got more than 400 followers, plus it's been a while since my last giveaway, so it's about time to pick a couple people to get free fabric and patterns! I really do appreciate all of you who take the time to read and comment on my little blog, and Walnut especially appreciates all the lavish praise that he thinks is his due. So to thank you all, we're giving two people the chance to win a new outfit! Of course, you have to make it, but you know, we can't do everything for you. Walnut doesn't even have opposable thumbs.

Walnut examines his paws, but finds that his thumbs are not opposable. 

Set #1: Colette Patterns' Crepe Dress and giant blue flower fabric

I got this pattern a long time ago and never made it up. After reading other people's reviews and finally figuring out that Colette Patterns are designed for C-cups, well, let's just say that I still buy bras in the kids' section so the amount of muslining and redrafting required to make this pattern work for me are just more than I feel like dealing with. That said, I think this pattern would look lovely for someone curvier than I. The pattern is uncut, and the instruction booklet's details make this a good beginner sewing pattern.

The fabric is a mystery blend with some stretch, good weight and drape, and probably not a small amount of polyester -- you've been warned! There are 4 yards of 48" wide fabric, so enough for a dress, although maybe not quite enough for the Crepe if you don't use a contrasting fabric for the belt.

Set #2: McCall's 2032, a dress pattern from 1969 in size 14/bust 36, and a cotton poppy print fabric

This is one of the vintage patterns that I picked up in a bundle. I really like the V-neck bodice, but at two sizes up, it's more resizing than I want to do. The pattern is uncut and, as far as I can tell, hasn't even been unfolded. The instructions are all there, although they are a bit scanty, so this might not be the best beginner pattern.

The fabric is a fairly thin cotton, printed with poppies in coral and brown, with lighter patches of mint-green on the background (hard to see in the picture). It's got great body and would be perfect for something with a gathered skirt, but would definitely need to be underlined or lined since it's a bit sheer. There are 3 yards of 54" fabric, enough to make a dress as long as you're not too picky about print-matching.


And because I'm very kind (and also because I had space in my laundry basket), both lengths of fabric have been pre-washed! Mind you, they've also been living in the same house as a cat, so if that's a problem for your sinuses you may want to rewash them.

So there you have it. Two dresses, just waiting to be made up. Here are the rules for entering:

1. Leave a comment, telling me which set you are in contention for. And because it's October, tell me if you're planning to dress up for Halloween, and if so, what costume? Unless it's a surprise. Or you can tell me what was the best costume you ever got to wear. Or you can tell me that dressing up for Halloween is for devil-worshipers, which, by the way, my parents totally cited as the reason why I couldn't go trick-or-treating when I was growing up. How ironic that I now play dress up with oh, my whole life, all year round, whenever I can. 
2. This giveaway is open to all geographic locations. 
3. Same as previous giveaways: it goes without saying, but you really should be a follower of my blog. I'll assume that you're a follower if you leave a comment. Also goes without saying, but I hope you really intend to use your winnings! Please don't win just so you can turn around and sell the prize on Etsy, shred it for hamster bedding, or use it to decoupage a Regretsy-esque wooden plaque. I'll close the giveaway at the end of the week, on Friday, October 19, 2012, at 11:59 PM PST, and announce the winners on Saturday morning. Again, thanks for reading Cation Designs!

Incidentally, I'm having a hard time thinking about Halloween this year. On one hand, I already have so many costumes/dress-up clothes that I'm having a hard time justifying making another one; the guest room closet is already bursting as it is. On the other hand, making costumes is my favorite kind of frosting, and hello if I made a new one it would be all new and shiny and exciting!!! There's also the fact that I'll be traveling on Halloween (it should never be allowed to fall in the middle of the week, when people have work and business trips and such), so that makes costumes difficult. "Hello, TSA, this steampunked Nerf gun is totally fake, so please don't take it away from me; I spent way too much time painting it and gluing things to it..."* I'm undecided, and yet I joined the MPB sewalong...dilemmas, dilemmas. 

Walnut is grumpy that he can't be an active participant in sewing. Darn you, thumbs!

*When I took my gun with me to Tucson for the Zombie Walk last year, I didn't even think about how it might look on the airport scanners. I shoved my suitcase through like I always do, then watched in horror as the plastic gun's outline showed up on the little screen. The TSA dude pulled my suitcase to the side and I watched in horror as he found the gun, pulled it out, gave me a hard stare, then waved over a couple of other security people. To my immense relief, they were just a couple of other young guys and he just wanted to show them how cool my gun looked. He wanted to know if I painted it myself and then told me I was awesome and sent me on my way. ::big sigh of relief:: Although I guess it didn't hurt that the gun was nestled among my goggles and pocketwatch and other steampunky paraphernalia!

"Easy" Chiffon Tunic

Last week at church I saw a a lady wearing a lovely, floaty, black chiffon tunic with rolled up sleeves held in place with buttoned tabs. She looked so classy and cool, I was immediately enamored and wanted to make my own. I still had quite a bit of black chiffon left over from my Girl on Fire dress, so I decided to give it a try. Um, yeah, totally distracted from my knit stashbusting quest. Forgive me, I have the attention span of a cat. That is, incredibly focused at times (usually on a nondescript spot on the wall), but also capable of being distracted by nothing.

No darts, oversized sleeves. 

I didn't really use a pattern -- just sketched out a large, oversized bodice with no darts, and added appropriately oversized sleeves -- since it was such a simple top. Or at least it was in theory. If I had been making this in a nice, well-behaved, non-slippery fabric, it would've gone together in less than an hour. But since chiffon is devilish like that, I took my time and employed a bunch of Andrea's tips for sewing chiffon. French seams everywhere (although I still need to get better at cutting very close to my stitch line so I don't get frayed bits sticking out of my seam!), narrow hems, new needle, and tape on my machine all made things go better than last time. Unfortunately, my chiffon is a weird crinkly kind, so it wouldn't hold a crease and starch didn't really help with the sewing. But! I persevered, went slowly, and in the end, I came out with a very wearable top. And despite the problems it gave me, the nice thing about the crinkly chiffon is that it almost functions as a stretch fabric. All the crinkles, when stretched out, help make this pullover top easy to, well, pull over. But when they're not being stretched, they crinkle back up and make the top look slimmer than it really is.

Besides forgetting what a headache it is to sew with chiffon, I'd also forgotten that setting in sleeves is a pain! And when the already-frustrating setting in process is exacerbated by the slipperiness and fraying of chiffon (and its inability to hold a pin!), well, let's just say that in the future I'll be sewing sleeves in flat if I can. Even after my best efforts, the sleeves are a bit more bubbly than I wanted them to be; let's just say it's a design element again, shall we? Besides, we've got the tabs and buttons on the sleeves as distractions!

You can see what I mean here about the crinkly texture of the chiffon. This made it a beast to work with. 

Summary:
Fabric: 1.5 yards 54" black crinkly polyester chiffon from Michael Levine Loft
Notions: Two gold buttons from one of those giant button grab bins at SAS Fabrics in Tucson
Techniques: Narrow hemming chiffon, French seams
Hours used: About four, curse that chiffon that requires sewing every seam twice, but refuses to hold a crease! And don't even talk to me about making bias tape out of crinkly shifty nightmares.
Will you make it again? If I find the right chiffon, and after I forget about how much work it is to sew with!
Total cost: Less than a dollar, what with leftover fabric and bulk buttons
Final thoughts: Even though I had some curse-worthy moments, I love the resulting look. Chiffon is so lovely and drapey, it almost makes up for itself. And really, what's better than seeing a garment on somebody, then going home and whipping one up yourself for a fraction of the cost? Seriously, the more I sew my own versions of RTW pieces, the more pleased with myself I am.

If we're going to take pictures at this time of the day, we have to go for the backlit sunflare-y shot. 

I realized while I was making this that not only have I not done zippers in forever, I've also not used a real commercial sewing pattern in over a month! Everything I've been making has been more or less pulled out of my head or from existing garments, which is quite fun. When I went to cut out the pattern pieces for the jacket I want to make, I found myself grumbling about the ridiculousness of choosing a size and marking darts and such. Does that ever happen to you, where you forget about what an ordeal it is to prep a new, untested pattern?