Sorbetto Sew Along: Let's Get This Party Started

It's official!  Day One of the Sorbetto Sew Along.  I'm going to give the procrastinators a couple more days to get everything together and then we'll start the real sewing.
Step One - Print out the free pattern (see link in previous post).  Tape together and cut out.

Step Two - Cut out pattern pieces from fabric.

Note: Consider adding a bit of length when you cut, as I've heard many people (including me) mention it feels quite short on.  You can always shorten, but you can't add length.
Another Note: If you are going to gather instead of pleat, you can still cut out the pattern pieces as they are, no changes needed until actual sewing begins.
Yet Another Note: If you are eliminating the pleat all together, just line up the fabric fold with the pleat line instead of the edge of the pattern piece.

Step Three: Decide on what bias trim you will use.  You can use store bought or make your own.  Here are some links for making your own.
From Coletterie: How to make bias tape and Continuous bias tape

From Sempstress: Making Bias Tape

From Creative Little Daisy: DIY Bias Tape Maker

I'll be back on the 17th to start sewing with you!

Sorbetto Sew-Along: Only Two More Days!

I finally narrowed down all the ideas swirling in my head and decided on a couple to try for my Sorbetto. Have you made your final decisions yet?  Are you ready to start cutting in two days?
If you happen to have any questions, feel free to post in the comments or email me at simplybeu@gmail.com.  I'm here to help and I'll offer any help I can.

Here's a sneaky peak at the beginnings of mine.

If you still need to download the free pattern, it's here.

If you haven't seen my inspiration board on Pinterest, that's here.

MeMadeMay 2012 Round Up: Days 6-10

Day 6: Anna Maria Horner Socialite Dress pattern made in Amy Butler home decor Trumpet Flowers.

Day 7: Anna Maria Horner Needleworks fabric from her Loulouthi line made into Simplicity 2591.  The fit is excellent because this is my second version and I made some alterations to the pattern based on the fit of my first attempt.

There are lots of things I wish were different about this dress.  

1) I fell in love with this particular colorway of this fabric and was practically hugging it all the way home after buying it.  I particularly wanted the mustard color at the top to feature the large rose pattern on the fabric right where one might wear a pin or brooch.  However, I do NOT like this color next to my skin.

2) I wanted the side panels to be the same blue as in the fabric, but I couldn't find any exact matches at the store... to ANY of the colors.  I chose forrest green, which compliments the other colors, but has now made the whole thing send me a backwoods log-cabin vibe.  I can't really explain it.  The mustard, burgandy and forrest green together... I feel like I should be standing under an elk head on the wall.

3) I used bias tape instead of hemming because hemming would have made it too short and because I wanted to bring out the little bit of pink in the fabric.  The bias tape is pink, but it's such a light pink that it looks white, so it fails to bring out the pink in the dress.

This just seems to be one of those times for me when I made the fabric into something it wasn't really meant to be.

Day 8: Two me-mades today!  I'm wearing my new (as in, made the day before) Scout Tee from Grainline Patterns.  I am really happy to have discovered this pattern.  Who knew you could make something that looks like a t-shirt, but is woven instead of knit?

I'm wearing my new tee with my turquoise Colette Clovers and a fabric-covered bead necklace.

Day 9: I get to have a pass today and wear my new crochet detail tunic I got the day before from the Target clearance rack and some khakis.  I carried my new clutch made from the Cassablanca Clutch pattern from Charlie's Aunt off Etsy.  It's a really adorable shape and it's large enough that I just transferred everything I usually carry, including two extra diapers, into it from my purse.

Day 10: Here is the second tunic I bought from the awesome clearance rack at Target. (I'm finally learning to buy more than one of something if I love the style!)  I paired it with my red Clovers.
Here I am acting as if I can just lounge around in my living room all day.

HA!

MeMadeMay 2012 Round Up: Days 1-5

I have not only committed to at least 7 me-made items of clothing per week, but also will be trying to vary my poses so I don't get stuck with my hand on my hip all month (as in Day One...)

Day One: red cami - from long ago, faux wrap tank - Target clearance,

Me made basic gathered skirt made in red/white pinstripe poly suiting.

Picture taken in the Belk dressing room because that's where I remembered to do it and had a chance.

Day Two: ruffled keyhole blouse - secondhand Liberty of London for Target

Me made Colette Clovers from turquoise stretch Bengaline suiting from Fabric.com sale.

I faked out my poor puppy dog, Dolce, and made her think that the remote shutter release was a treat so she would be in the picture.

 I have to give you a close-up shot of my favorite nail color coordinating so well with my blouse.  It's Done Out In Deco by OPI.

 Day Three: Me made self-drafted pj pants from a sheet handed down to me from my parents, so, vintage? I guess.

 Day Four: a mini challenge Friday.  Subject matter - food.

Arielle is wearing her me-appliqued popsicle shirt and holding her favorite afternoon snack.

I am wearing my favorite me made from last Summer, my Sis Boom Jamie Dress made from a rayon that can still be found at Hancock Fabrics.  I am also wearing a me made necklace of Liberty of London fabric wrapped beads.  They came in a kit from Whimrose on Etsy.

Day Five: pj shirt.  A cowl neck might be a wierd choice for a pj shirt, but I had two goals (neither of which was to make a pj shirt).  One goal was to try out the very thin knit I had bought to make pj's for my daughter to see how it was going to be to sew.  The other goal was to make something with it that didn't take up a lot of fabric and would let me try another view of a pattern I liked making in the past.  I used McCalls 6078.  If you are looking for a pattern like this, get this one!  I highly recommend it.

Sorbetto Sew-Along Inspiration

I just made a Pinterest board to inspire anyone interested in participating in the Sorbetto Sew-Along I'm hosting starting on the 15th.
Look at it if you dare!
I'm having a really hard time choosing what variation or combination of variations I want to try!

Browse and enjoy!

Sew-Along!

If you're here from Facebook or here as a follower or because someone sent you or just by chance... WHATEVER the reason, you need to know that I'm going to host a Colette Sorbetto Sew-Along starting May 15th.  It will just go untill the end of May, because the Sorbetto isn't that involved.

Join in if you like and sew up your own oh-so-versatile top.  This is a perfect top for beginners because there's not anything too difficult, but at the same time, you'll pick up some valuable skills (as one ALWAYS does when using a Colette pattern) that will take you further on your sewing journey.  For those of us that are more advanced, this pattern is a great one to alter and add to.  You can really get creative with it!
This is a great pattern to show off a quilting cotton that you love, or to ventrure into possibly uncharted territory and try out a voile or even a rayon blend.

So, just for starters, here are some links for your to enjoy.
The link for the pattern:
http://www.coletterie.com/colette-patterns-news/free-pattern-to-download-the-sorbetto-top
Blog post where gathers are exchanged for the pleat:
http://jemimabean.blogspot.com/2012/05/sorbetto-sneek-peek.html
Floral top:
http://katriniella.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/colette-sorbetto-top/
Sleeve addition:
http://sew-incidentally.blogspot.com/2011/08/sleeve-pattern-for-sorbetto-top.html
A week of sorbetto variations by Mena Trott:
http://www.sewweekly.com/2011/07/7dos-the-starter-sorbetto/

I think that should be enough to get you salivating.
More later!

Simplicity 2281

This post may be a bit disjointed because I am not feeling all that much like writing it.  I made the dress, so it deserves a review, but I'm not thrilled, so I'm low on motivation to organize my thoughts.

Let me just start with what I liked: 

I liked the way it came together.  I remember really enjoying the process of putting the bodice together.  It's lined, so it feels substantial even with my flimsy, cheap rayon from Hancock Fabrics.  I think this fabric turned out to be the perfect weight and drape for this dress actually.  Anything thicker might have been too bulky.

I like the gathering at the front neckline.

I like the IDEA of the sleeves.

I like the IDEA of the tulip skirt.

That's about it.

Now, on to my complaints:

The armpit area is too low and too open.  I'm not opposed to making this again and fixing that.  I also think it would have been fine in the long-sleeved version.

That cute little cap sleeve was sitting way too high for me at first.  Imagine the sleeve ending a good two inches higher on my arm than it does in this picture below.  Basically, I was feeling weirdly exposed with the armpit being low and the sleeve being high.  

 I totally redid the pleat placement on both sleeves and probably won't mess with this cap sleeved version again because of that.
(side note:  I am just now realizing that my camera wasn't really thrilled with my dress either, as it decided to focus on my front door and not me.  Apparently, I still have some figuring out of the-ways-of-the-remote-shutter-release to do.) 

The middle section is a tad too thick for my proportions.  If I made it again, I'd shorten it by an inch.

As I mentioned, I like the shape of the skirt in theory, but I don't think it does my booty any favors.  I'm hippy enough without anything accentuating that.  I doubt I'll ever wear this dress because of that fact alone.

Lastly, even though I really love the gathering of the bodice in the front, I'm not sure what I would need to do next time to get it to fit properly in the back.  When I first tried the finished product on, it was like the neck was just plain too big.  If I situated the dress to where everything looked good in the front, the back of the neckline and the slit sagged and gaped horribly.  I ended up unpicking the slit and re-sewing it as a "v" shape so that the tie ends started farther apart and, when tied, were more snug.

It still gapes and pulls funny.

arg.

I bought this fabric a long time ago and, while I think the weight and drape are perfect for this dress, I don't really love the color and design of it any more.

Maybe I'll grow to appreciated it more after we have some time apart, but for now, I'm just feeling kinda meh.