Sew Weekly: Into the West

The good thing about unpicking very, very old costumes (circa 2005, before I can even pretend to say I was sewing) is that back then, I had no idea what tension or stitch length were, so I'm essentially picking apart a costume held together with basting stitches.

It's rather wrinkly from being in storage for so long. 

The bad thing about unpicking very, very old costumes is that for some unknown reason, I thought it was a good idea to topstitch seven times in some areas, albeit with a basting stitch.

I would've ironed/steamed it better, except that it's going back into storage to wait for December.
And yes, I'm wearing jeans with it for pictures...not very elven!

The excellent thing about old costumes is apparently, I totally scored on fabric since I picked up 3 yards of very nice 60" wide gray wool in the remnant bin, and probably paid no more than $10 for it.

The hem is longer in the front. I wish I could say it's because I tend to catch hems with my heel and
I took that fact into account, but it's really just because that's how it ended up. 

The sad thing is that I saw fit to cut up that yardage and make into a very poorly constructed and totally unfitted "cape" of three gores. And I mean cape in the loosest sense of the word -- it was really just a large, uneven pentagon that had a necklace sewn to it to make it stay closed. Even then, the weight of the wool was too much for the poor thing and eventually the lobster clasp broke.

Capes are so nice for twirling!

The practical thing about this cape is that since it is wool, it's very warm. And of course, I had the brilliant idea of working on it this week when it was in the eighties. Thank goodness Cecily was available as a body double. As it was, trying the cape on several times was nigh unbearable.

You can kind of see what I mean here about the three triangles sewn together thing. 

The only reason why I brought this cape back out to work on was this week's Sew Weekly challenge: "Worn Out West," i.e. looking to Western wear for inspiration. Well, me being who I am, I had to interpret this in the geekiest way possible: west = sailing across the Sundering Seas = elves in LOTR. So, rather than breaking out the ditsy florals and button-up shirt patterns, I opted to remake my old cape in anticipation of the movie coming out in December. I know, it's The Hobbit, not LOTR, and Galadriel certainly didn't give Thorin's band camouflaging elven cloaks, but I'm going to want something warm to go over my hobbit maid costume (which is done, btw, but I haven't taken any pictures yet) when I line up for the midnight showing.

I think this hood is just the right size for staying on my head, but not looking out of proportion to the rest of the cape.

Like I said before, the first incarnation of this cape was really just three isosceles triangles sewn basted together, with no hem and or collar or anything. It didn't really hang right since, you know, shoulders. It would've worked well had I been, say, a literal beanpole. So, with Cecily's help, I reshaped the top seams and did some creative pleating to help it sit better over my shoulders. I also added on a hood from the remnants that I had thoughtfully saved and carried with me through multiple moves (at least six times, through four cities, over a period of seven years -- that's some serious stashing commitment right there!). I had just enough to squeeze out this hood, and it's not nearly as long and pointy as the ones from the movie, but that's fine. I think those look a little silly, anyway. To close the cape, I cut off the sad necklace and replaced it with a more suitable clasp from Jo-Ann's.

You can see the weird pleat I added to make it sit on my shoulders.
Also, I actually used one of my machine's decorative stitches on the hood!
Annnddd...I just noticed I need to do a better job brushing off that pink chalk. 

Summary:
Fabric: 3 yards of very scratchy, very warm gray wool...maybe I'll get around to lining it one day. Hah! As if, seeing as how this is just a costume cape.
Notions: A clasp
Techniques: None, apparently, since I just winged it the first time around, and even the second time around!
Hours used: The first time I made this, I remember it taking me the better part of a day, probably around eight hours. This time, it took about four hours to undo and fix my mistakes and add a hood.
Will you make it again? No need for more capes like this. But capes not based on isosceles triangles? In all likelihood, if I'm being honest with myself, yes.
Total cost: The clasp raised the price to $13.
Final thoughts: If only it were socially acceptable to wear long, flowing capes on an everyday basis! I love the feeling of having it flapping around and behind me, even if it does make me more susceptible to being sucked into plane engines. And gray goes with everything. And if I were playing hide-and-seek at night on the UCSD campus (which is mostly concrete buildings), this cape would be excellent camouflage.

If only I were standing among the graceful arches of Rivendell, and not just in front of a bay window in my apartment complex!

This cape definitely made for a nice break from knit-stashbusting. Sometimes, you just need to break up the cake-baking with something entirely frivolous! Don't worry, though, I'll be back to real clothing real soon!

Before the Blog: Easiest DIY Maxi Dress Ever

Guess where I am!

I swear this really happened. Walnut
just went over and sat down like that.

I know I said I was going to show off my finished UFO, but even though the dress is finished, I don't have any pictures yet. Blame Jeremy Lin for starting his basketball game right around the golden hour before sunset. There was no way I was going to ask my husband to step away from watching a Chinese-American guy play in a groundbreaking game to take pictures for me. Goodness, what's happening to my blog? First I mention COD: MW3, now basketball. As if my search results aren't already skewed enough, what with having made a Team Fortress 2 sniper vest in the past.

Anyway, I thought I'd share some pictures and a fake-torial for a dress I recently wore to the Getty Villa instead. Since the Getty Villa collection is mostly Greek and Roman art, I wore my most Grecian-column-esque dress. This was the actually the first dress I made when I started sewing, right after two elastic-waisted skirts. And let me tell, you, this was even easier than the elastic skirts. It's really an awesome beginning sewist project, especially since it's so simple to get such a glamorous result. Every time I wear this, I get compliments on it, my husband loves it, and it is SO EASY. So even though it's a little late for the Sew Grateful week tutorials round-up, here are my instructions anyway. Mind, though the waist is very adjustable (it's entirely dependent on your having a nice wide belt), the length is based on my height, which is 5'5". If you're significantly taller, you'll need to cut a longer piece of fabric.

I love how maxi dress can make one look so tall and columnar.

I made a super long tie so that I could have a huge bow at the back.

You'll need a drapey fabric, preferably a stable jersey knit, a long sturdy ribbon for the tie (or make your own super long tube of fabric), and the aforementioned belt to complete the look.

Yikes! There's a typo (write-o?) in here: it should be 54" x 24", not 44". Thanks to the Sewing Princess for pointing it out!

That's it! And in the spirit of full disclosure, I got the idea from American Apparel. I was just browsing their store, feeling a little heady with my first sewing successes, and I looked at the Le Sac Dress and realized it was just two rectangles sewn together. I thought, I can do that! And I can make it not scandalously short, too! So I dropped by my local Yardage Town, found this lovely soft black and white bamboo print jersey knit in the remnants, and snatched it up. An hour later, I had a new dress.

Please don't look too closely at my horribly non-parallel lines of topstitching, though.

I love these super fast projects that have disproportionately awesome results. Granted, this kind of dress is also just made for SoCal weather, but if you're taking a beach holiday, try it!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day to be at the Getty Villa, wandering around, looking at a great art collection...

...enjoying the beautiful architecture and marble floors everywhere...

 ...and the fantastic statuary. I just couldn't resist once I saw the crazy eyes on the statue.
I am a serious, mature adult who knows how to appreciate art, I promise.

Before the Blog: Self-Drafted Pencil Skirt

Just because I happened to be wearing it and feeling nice about it.

Most of the things I sewed before I blogged aren't really worth documenting, as they're mostly elastic-based. However, since I was wearing one of my first "real" projects, made back in 2010 (wow, that was ages ago!), I thought I'd get a couple of pictures of it. I had gotten sick of of making no-pattern-required-since-it's-just-two-rectangles-elastic-waist gathered skirts, so I decided to make the opposite: a fitted pencil skirt with an invisible zipper. This was definitely in my fearless sewing period -- I had no idea what I was doing, but I was determined and just brazened on through and made what was actually a surprisingly nice skirt...in quilting cotton. Also, it had no vent, so every time I had to go up two flights of stairs to the copy room at my old school in SD, I cursed my lack of foresight.

I used this excellent tutorial from Mademoiselle Chaos to make my skirt pattern, and I think I might even have it somewhere still. I should really try to find it, as it made an astonishingly good fit! Besides putting in a vent, the only other thing I would change is to add a waistband, just for a more finished look. And also take out the belt loops. And also use a more appropriate fabric, like a nice wool blend. And use a blind hem instead of just stitching a blatant line across the bottom. And use a nicer lining fabric, not some thick polyester nightmare from the thrift store. And make sure my invisible zipper is actually invisible. But aside from all those things, I actually really like the fit, the length, and even the subtle pattern. And since it's made of extremely durable fabrics, I can just toss it into the laundry with no fear. Anything I don't have to hand-wash or dry-clean is excellent in my book, even if I have to iron the heck out of the cotton afterward.

My horribly non-invisible zipper. I decided that it was neat enough to just wear the skirt anyway.

Sometimes 2010 me impresses 2012 me, that I took the time to do such nice darts and get such a good fit.

Even if my hook and eye stitching is atrocious, at least I took the time to hide all my lining raw edges! Also, you can see the scale pattern on the fabric here. It is ridiculously hard to photograph.

Summary:
Fabric: 1 yd remnant of gray quilting cotton with a vague scale pattern, thick cream polyester lining
Notions: invisible zip, hook and eye
Hours: Gosh, I do not remember, but probably at least seven hours
Techniques used: Drafting a pattern based on my measurements, making my own belt loops?
Will you make this again? I want to, with all the changes mentioned above, but I also don't like wearing pencil skirts much, even though I love how they look.
Total cost: about $6, if I remember correctly...even back then I loved remnants and thrifted fabrics!
Final thoughts: This is one of the few me-made neutral pieces I have. I guess I gravitate toward quirky and fun fabrics? I do love how pencil skirts take so little yardage, and that something so simple can look so good when fitted well. I've worn this skirt many times since making it, and it seems to be holding up fine, so I don't know how much I would need another one. What strikes me most about this skirt, though, is that 1) when I made it I didn't know that I wasn't "supposed to" make such tricky pieces, and 2) how much care I took to make everything as perfect as I could in construction, at least to the best of my abilities at the time. Now that I supposedly know better and am more experienced, I think I've developed a fear of trying difficult things that I didn't have back then, while simultaneously skimping on finishing the insides of my garments. I need to recapture the best of that n00b spirit in my sewing.


No qipao pictures yet, although it's been done for a while! Between the dumpling party and people over to visit and all, I didn't have a chance to take normal pictures of me wearing my new qipao. But it's coming, I promise! In the meantime, have some pictures of the dumpling-making. Apologies if you don't like looking at raw meat.

Ground pork, chives, shiitake mushrooms, green onions, ginger, garlic, sherry, soy sauce, white pepper, salt, brown sugar, and cornstarch = the beginning of awesome.

All mixed up! My hand was freezing at the end of this.

We made two whole trays of dumplings.

They fry up so beautifully! Thankfully, we have a whole tray leftover and stashed in the freezer.

We'll end with a picture of Walnut cuddling with two red envelopes.

 

"Miiiinne...my own, my precious!"