Video: The $5 Featherweight

 

Sewing meets thrifting with today's video of my recent EPIC find. I got a Singer 221 Featherweight sewing machine for just $5. Is it in working order? Or is it a fancy decoration? Come hang out with me while I clean her up and find out for yourself!

Click the video below to watch :)

Video: Thrift With Me!

Who doesn't love a good thrift with me? Come along on a few thrift trips from the past few months and see what I picked up! Click the video below to watch.
 

Video: My Best Thrifting Find Ever!

New video, friends! I found the most epic thrift store score last week and I happened to be taking videos anyway. What luck! So if you like seeing what kinds of things people find in thrift stores and want to see my newest prized possession, head over to my YouTube channel and see for yourself.

 

FO: Crochet Flip Shirt (and New Video!)

 

I finished my project for the Crochet Flip Challenge last week and I'm so pleased with how it turned out! This challenge was dreamed up by Shannon Talks Yarn and Coco's Crochet on You Tube, and I thought it was a great idea so I wanted to join in. The challenge was to take a thrifted item and improve it in some way with crochet. I used this as an opportunity to use a technique I've been wanting to do more of: Irish Crochet. 

I'm trying something a little different with this blog post in that I don't have all the before and after shots like I typically would since I made a full you tube video to talk about all the details. So if you want to see what this shirt started out as and what it looks like now along with an explanation of the process, please head over here to watch my video and tell me what you think! 

Would you try Irish crochet? I'm addicted now and have plans on making a full shirt out of it eventually. I'd like to really do it the right way, but in the meantime I'm really enjoying this finished shirt and I know I will wear it a lot.

Summary:

Yarn: Knit Picks Curio 3 in Jalapeno, Serrano, Canary, Clarity, Clementine, and Lichen with Royal Maid size 5 thread in Cappuccino - $5.00

Pattern: Modern Irish Crochet Craftsy Class

Notions: thrifted shirt - $1.00, thread - $0.25

Time: 5 hours

Total Cost: $6.25

FO: Purple Roses Gable Top

 

After the success of my Prickly Gable Top, I immediately and excitedly cut out  more. Technically the one coming up next was cut out first, but this one was finished first, so it gets first billing lol. While thrifting about a week before making this top, I was at the cashier buying some things and noticed a bucket tucked under a table near the front that said Fabric $4 Per Bag. I always must look in these bins, but I really only found this interlock knit. Since I was buying a bunch of other things, the woman just let me have the fabric for free, lol. It was a 2 yard cut, 60 inches wide. It's definitely mostly cotton, but there's probably something else blended in there (I just try not to think about it now that I've been trying to change to natural fibers, lol). 

This fabric is really cute, but it is the type of print that could easily go wrong if you're not careful with the finished garment style. I thought that a Gable Top was the perfect combo, and I still think I was right :) I made the size 16 and narrowed the shoulder by 3/4 inch like my previous version. This knit isn't as tight of a stretch as the cactus print, so it came out with a looser fit that is very comfy while still looking fitted.

For this version, I decided to secure the shoulders on both seam allowances, not just one like the instructions call for. I used a pretty printed ribbon form my stash for the shoulders as well as the back "tag" so I can make sure I get it on right. I cut this one shorter, but I still made a 1 inch hem.

I particularly love the neckline on this version. It's just the right height and it holds its shape smoothly a bit more than the other 2 I've made. The shoulders are still that smidge too wide, so I need to go a full 1 inch narrower next time. Not bad though. I also narrowed the arms a bit on this one so they are more fitted like the body and I like how they came out.

I really love the print of this shirt, and the little yellow flowers make it match my mustard linen Fiore skirt perfectly. It's made for a very cute outfit that I continually reach for.

So this was a pretty quick and simple make, but a great wardrobe staple for me. It looks cute but not childish - very much me, lol. I have about a yard of this left that I want to use to make something for my girls to match me. How cute would we all be?!

Summary:

Fabric: 1 yard purple floral print jersey - Free

Pattern: Gable Top by Jennifer Lauren Handmade 

Notions: ribbon, thread - Free

Time: 2 hours

Total Cost: Free

FO: Mint Gingham Dress

So it's been a while since I blogged YET AGAIN. I thought I was going to be better about this since my absence is not due to lack of making things to show, which is very different than my reasoning for the past 2 years. I'm still avoiding sewing clothes in general, but about a month ago I came across a box full of my very old projects. This box has been hanging out in my spare room ever since I moved last April, and before that all the contents of the box were hanging out in a drawer anxiously awaiting me to give them my attention. This dress was among the projects and since Easter was coming up and this was a very springy dress, I decided to go ahead and finish it up. 

I started this dress during Me Made May in 2014. At the time, I had decided this pattern (Butterick 5982) was the perfect princess seam bodice block that I could do all the fitting work on and then produce ad nauseum in various adorable cotton prints à la Modcoth. So I made a few muslins, changed the pattern, got it to fit me, then cut into this adorable mint green gingham seersucker fabric I bought at a thrift store, which I loved, as well as my super fancy lining of a white poly cotton bed sheet from the Target clearance section. Everything looked good in bodice assembly, but when I added the lining it became too tight across the bust. I was soooo discouraged. Here I had put in all this work (which was a lot for me at the time) and thought I would be fine in the finished dress only to have it not turn out that way. I was new to fitting myself back then and I really didn't know what the problem was nor how to fix it. So I stuffed the dress, all the pieces still to be sewn, extra fabric, and pattern into a big ziplock bag and forgot about it until now. 

I remembered the problems when I first opened this project up back in March, but given that I have lost so much weight recently I knew the dress wouldn't fit my body now anyway so it wasn't as precious of a project anymore. I tried the dress on as it was, which was bizarre - word to the newer sewists: don't sew your skirt to the zipper and not to the bodice, please. My justification was that I wanted to try it on with the zipper but before fitting the skirt in order to make any bodice adjustments I needed. This was a terrible idea that caused a lot more work for me now. Anyway, the dress was too big, as I expected. I scooped a bit out of the princess seam under the bust and took the waist in about 2 inches. It looked a little roomy still, but it was no worse than a ready to wear dress might be and I didn't want to spend a ton of time working on it given that I am still trying to lose more weight. So I just decided to attach the skirt after that. This was a challenge - not only had I already attached the skirt to the zipper, but I also had never figured out the new pleat layout to make it match up to my bodice. Even if I had done the pleats back in the day, I would've had to change it now given my change in size. So I had to make up the pleats as I went and hope that they looked even enough in the finished dress. This was a big pain in the butt, and my mental state at the time didn't really help things. I found myself on the night before Easter in a big wave of depression but with this dress still unfinished. I knew I wanted to get it done, but I just wasn't feeling it at all. I muscled through, and I even cleaned up and made myself take blog pictures just after hemming the dress on Easter before taking my kids to hunt eggs, but these smiles are quite forced. Interesting how the context of our photos can change with how we are feeling. Anyway, it wasn't the best weekend overall, but sewing does help me when I'm down, so I got a mental boost knowing this project was finally finished 6 years after I started it.

That said, this is probably the most ill-fitting thing I've ever sewn to completion. After attaching the skirt it became clear that the bodice was too long. I have a long torso and I am always worried about things coming up too short at the waist, but back in 2014 I overcompensated for this. That is why I have all that bunching at the waist. It's not awful when worn just since most things will bunch a bit as you move around, but it does bug me. I just wasn't in the mental space to unpick that whole skirt and redo it 1/2" shorter. So it stays.

The upper bust looks pretty good though. There is a little bit of wrinkling at the sleeve seam but it wasn't anything I was willing to unpick them over. Also the sleeves are quite roomy, again not something I wanted to mess with. I do love the neckline of this dress. It's high enough to not feel like you're going to show much but still open enough to not feel strangled. A good combo :)

It's still pretty loose at the waist even with my alterations - I really should have taken in the princess seams as well as the side seams - but it made the dress quite comfy to wear on Easter. Here you can also see how wide the sleeves are. They are totally lined and enclosed - I was not going to unpick them now. 

I am happy with how the zipper itself turned out, and that was done back in 2014. I love a regular slot seam zipper. The long waist is pretty obvious in the back, but fortunately I don't have to look at my back when I wear it, lol.

I am also very happy with the lining. I've actually made very few lined items, mostly because it feels like I'm making the dress twice. I'd rather just pick a fabric that doesn't require a lining, generally speaking. Plus lining = extra layer = very hot in Florida. But I do love how they make everything so neat and tidy inside a finished garment. The last part of making this dress involved me hand sewing the lining to the zipper tape just to ensure a smooth finish, and I really like how it turned out.

So, that's my dress. 6 years in the making only to turn out as a cute but not great fitting item, lol. Sorry, dress. I do love mint and gingham and seersucker, and I still love this style of dress. The only thing it's missing are pockets, which I still can't believe I didn't include even way back when, but I just couldn't be bothered now. I'm glad it's done, and should things open up again soon I will certainly wear this to church while it still fits me. So yay for finishing old projects even if it's not a total win - done is better than perfect!

Summary:

Fabric: 3-ish? yards of mint green gingham seersucker - $3.00 (thrifted), white poly cotton bed sheet - $1.00

Pattern: Butterick 5982 - $2

Notions: 18" white zipper - $2, white thread - $1.00

Time: 6 years? and then 3 hours

Total Cost: $9.00

FO: Refashioned Old Navy Top

So this project is so simple it kind of feels like cheating to even make a blog post about it, but I haven't posted any refashions in a while and I thought I could show how such a simple thing can transform a piece into something you love. 

I found this at a thrift store a while ago - it was an odd length - too long to be a shirt, too short to be a dress for anyone with any decency, lol. I suppose it was a "tunic", but I just don't do tunic length anything. It's probably the most unflattering length I could wear. I really liked the top itself, and I purchased it knowing I would shorten the hem. During the time when I was waiting for Hurricane Dorian to not show up, I came across this top and decided that I could totally have a new shirt to wear that day with very little effort. So I finally re-did the hem :)

I really like a lot of the details on this top. It's originally from Old Navy, but I love the exposed zipper at the neck, the contrast fabric yoke and pocket. It's just a fun piece that I doubt I would've ever made myself yet I really love.

I started by putting it on and deciding on the length I wanted. I marked it all around and chopped off about 9 or 10 inches from the length.

See what I mean? Indecent dress length, lol. At least on me, that is.

 Next, I just pressed my hem under and stitched it with my preferred twin needle and wooly nylon thread in the bobbin.

Just look at that fine hem! This whole thing took seriously about 20 minutes, and most of that was deciding on the length I wanted and then marking it correctly. 

So there you go - my shirt that I was able to wear out 20 minutes later :) I love the finished product, and I just share it to show that refashions don't have to be some big ordeal. Sometimes it's the really simple fixes that give us pieces we can love and wear for a long time. Yay for easy changes!

FO: Someone Else's Blanket

Years ago, I had a big shopping problem. I would spend money on stupid things that I didn't need just for the sake of "the deal." Target clearance sections were my downfall. Then one day I found myself in a very bad financial situation - not due to my shopping habits, just for the record - and I had no choice but to majorly cut back on shopping. This turned out to be a great thing overall, but that doesn't mean I quit my shopping fix cold turkey because I was lucky enough to find the Thrift Store. I always had shopped a bit here and there at thrift shops, mostly for vintage items to sell on Etsy or eBay, but after this fiasco it became my place to get anything (mainly clothing) that I didn't make myself. This lead to countless hours in the craft section, because let's be real - I love craft supplies, anyway, but particularly since I couldn't afford to buy them new, I was extremely interested in scouring what was available second hand. Occasionally, I would come across half finished projects and lament for the person who started them and was unable to finished for whatever reason. A few of them I decided to buy and try to finish myself just to do the previous maker's work justice. Fast forward to now, years later when I've already re-donated a bunch of these projects I just had to have at the time, but there are still a few projects I just couldn't bear to part with. This post is about the first one I have actually finished.

Look how snuggly! lol

This blanket came to me in a very large shopping bag - it was clearly intended to be at least queen sized when it was finished, and it was still on the horrible plastic cable needle to make it with. The bag had the blanket on the needles as well as about 4 Caron One Pound skeins of navy yarn to make the whole project (they made it with 2 skeins held double), and it only cost me $2. At the time, I figured even if I didn't do anything with the blanket, I at least got all that yarn for a great price, but I just could never bring myself to unravel the completed section. The big problem in this purchase = NO PATTERN. I was so bummed when I got the bag home and saw that the pattern was nowhere to be found. What would the odds be of finding the one random blanket pattern that some previous person used to knit this up? Very slim, I can tell you. In one of my moves/stuff purges, I made the decision that I would just finish the blanket the size that it was by adding a seed stitch border to match the already completed edge. That was a few years ago now, lol. So earlier this month when I finished my Dahlia cardigan, I saw this large bag just sitting in my sewing room adding to the clutter, and I decided to FINALLY buckle down and finish it even if it was just so it wouldn't be sitting in a ripped up bag anymore.

After all the years of carting this around and putting off working on it, I had the entire thing off the needles in about 2 hours. Isn't that ridiculous? Most of that time was spent untangling the two skeins of yarn barf that was going on. But it's like anything else - you just have to be in the mood to make something, and with all the stress I've been going through these past several months, I just didn't want to start anything new - I am on finish it up mode. I actually only had to knit the seed stitch area near my face in the photo above.

The pattern is really lovely, and it's a shame it wasn't included, though who knows how much longer I would've put off finishing this had I actually HAD a pattern and intended to knit a queen size blanket, lol. So it's probably better this way. At least now I have a lovely blanket that no one else will even know isn't the way it was initially intended to be, but that is pretty and useful nonetheless. I don't buy unfinished projects anymore, but that's not to say I don't recommend it for others. It's an interesting challenge figuring out what to do with something already partially made. I'm thrilled to finally have this done. Yay for finishing old projects!

Let's have a close up look at that lovely stitch pattern :)

So now I have a slightly odd shaped blanket that is long enough to cover my body on the couch and just a little bit narrow but enough to stay warm. Thank you, lovely knitter who made the rest of this blanket! I will put it to good use for us both :)

Refashion of a Refashion: Navy Linen Skirt Redux

One of my big misses last year was this navy linen skirt refashion. There wasn't anything exactly wrong with the skirt, it just didn't really work in my wardrobe. In my Top 5 Misses post, I mentioned that I would like to fix the issues I had with this skirt to make it more wearable for me, and I finally got out my seam ripper a few weeks ago.

The big change you can see right off are the buttons. As much as I love shell buttons, I it just made this skirt more beachy and casual looking than the rest of my wardrobe, so I was greatly limited as to what shirts I could wear with it. I knew I wanted to change them and I lucked out a little over a month ago when I came across a cache of 1/2" navy shank buttons on cards at a thrift store for 5 cents each. I grabbed all they had - I think it was 30 or so buttons, and they turned out to be the perfect size and color for this skirt. I spent some spare time removing the old ones and sewing on the new ones - easy peasy!

The next big and important change was the waistband. Originally I used a cheap polyester grosgrain ribbon as my inner waistband. It didn't seem like a problem when I decided to use it, but it was really scratchy against my stomach. Also, the skirt flares pretty quickly with the gored construction, and the ribbon was 1" wide but had zero give, which lead to some bunching up on my top stitching. I always wore my shirt untucked so it wasn't a big deal, and if it hadn't been scratchy I would've probably left it, but out it came. I picked a fun batik print fat quarter from my stash and cut some 2" wide bias tape. I needed to make sure the skirt didn't stretch out, so I used a poly satin ribbon as a waist stay inside my bias tape seam allowance - now it looks cute, stays the right size, and feels much more soft against my skin :) I also decided to actually cut a buttonhole in the bias tape and hand stitch it into the buttonhole on the front unlike last time where I was lazy and just folded the ribbon up to clear the hole, lol. It's much neater in there now. I did have one little snafoo with unpicking and I cut a tiny hole when I unpicked the ribbon waistband, which you can see at the top left of the waistband in the above photo. I just dabbed a bunch of fray check and called it good, lol.

Once I finished my two niggling changes that I had always planned, I started to think about pockets. This construction has no side seams, so adding traditional pockets wasn't really an option. Not having pockets really is a pain for me though - I wear skirts at work and I need to have my counter keys on me at the very least. Pockets just make life so much easier. So I pulled out the scrap pieces from when I cut the original waist off this skirt (because I'm crazy and keep everything) and they were just big enough to get some basic patch pockets out of! I just cut as large of a pocket as I could from the scraps and rounded off the bottom. I used my bias tape as a facing for the top and got that all enclosed, then I overcast around all the outer edges. Next I stitched around the edge of the rounded section of the pocket at a 5 stitch length and gathered it in to make a nice edge - such a life saver on a rounded pocket like this. Folding that over by hand would be a nightmare without the gathering. Then I just placed them where they looked good, measured to make sure they were evenly placed, and top stitched 2 rows to secure them.

It's amazing how much something as simple as pockets can change your whole outlook on a piece of clothing. I seriously love these pockets. They are just big enough to hold what I need in the day (actually they even fit my phone!), plus they look really cute. I'm so glad I had enough fabric to add them. Patch pockets - who knew?

So that is my refashion of my refashion :) This skirt integrates wonderfully in my closet now and I already have a bunch of things I can wear it with. The linen rayon fabric makes it super light and lovely, and I'm sure this will be a warm weather staple item this year. Hooray for saving something I thought was a failure!

Summary:
Fabric: batik print fat quarter - $1.00, scraps from previous refashion
Notions: 12 navy buttons - $0.75 (thrifted), navy thread - $0.50
Time: 3 hours

FO: Navy Skirt Refashion

This was a case of fabric love at the thrift store. I was searching the skirt rack of my favorite shop during a bag sale (everything they can shove in a paper grocery bag for $5), which  means I was being much more open to refashions, when I came across this lovely skirt. The fabric is 55% linen 45% rayon, and it's a 6 gore style with a button front. The only problem - it was extremely small. Actually I believe it was actually a size Small considering it had a 26" waist (the size tag was gone). In spite of its waist measurement, the skirt was very long and very flared - like almost a circle skirt - so I knew it was a great candidate for a refashion :)

I started by measuring my waist (39") and then measuring at various points down from the waist of the skirt to find the spot that fits my waist measurement. It happened to be about 6" down. So I made sure to add seam allowance and chopped the waist off.

I had to make sure the top button hole would still be accessible, so I had to fudge around with where to cut, but I got there in the end. Next I overcast stitched the cut edge (this stuff was already fraying like crazy) and pressed 1/4" over from the edge. I decided to use a ribbon for the inner waistband (from a spool of also thrifted ribbon). I cut the ribbon to measure plus a bit to fold over, then I melted the edge and pressed about 1/4" inside to give a smooth edge at the button bands. I edge stitched the ribbon at the pressed line of the new waist. Basically I understitched the ribbon to the fabric. This way I could just press the ribbon inside and it was all invisible from the outside. Then I top stitched around the other edge of the ribbon (about 7/8" down). My thread was such a dead match that the top stitching sinks right in. I had to do some forceful pressing to get the ribbon to curve around the waist, and I had to fold the ribbon under at the button hole so I didn't cover it, but it all looks fine from the outside now.

Next I had to figure out the buttons. The skirt already had lots of buttons, but with the new length on me the buttons stopped about 5" above my knee. That's a bit high for my comfort, so I took the buttons off the section I removed from the waist and made new holes for them below the original buttons.The bottom 4 buttons in the photo on the right are all new ones I added. I also had to decide on a finished length. After changing the waist it hit me about mid-shin, which is not generally a length I go for, but it wasn't awful. I just had to decide if I should leave the length or go just below the knee. Eventually I decided on just below the knee to keep with the summery feel (I just really like knee length skirts).

I now have a delightfully swishy linen skirt :) I love the fullness of the skirt - it really makes this feel more girly and fun. I was hoping this skirt could replace a previously much loved Refashioned Navy Blue Skirt. I wore that skirt until it was coming apart at all the seams. I still miss it, lol. So this new navy skirt helps to fill that void. This new skirt is certainly a bit fancier feeling being a linen/rayon blend and having such a wide hem span, but the color goes with a lot and most of my wardrobe is a bit dressier anyway so it works great in my wardrobe.

 Back view - I love the way this drapes. I'm narrowing down more and more clothing aspects that I like or don't like, and I don't really care for true circle skirts because they end up with pools of fabric over the tummy area. It just feels like I have to fiddle with them to keep them looking good. This skirt doesn't pool until below the tummy, giving a nice smooth look over my area I want to distract from, which I love. I will admit that the buttons seem a bit heavy for the angle of the grain of the fabric, meaning that they like to sink between the folds of the rest of the fabric (you can see this in the first photo), but that's a minor issue.

And what's a big skirt project without a twirl photo? I really like this skirt. Having worn it a few times now I may change the ribbon waistband to a petersham ribbon - the polyester I used was a cute color and I had enough, but it's a bit scratchy on my skin sometimes. Other than that I love this and know it will be a great piece to have in the Florida heat. And even better it only cost me about $0.50 to make :)

Yay for refashioning!

FO: Medieval Garb For A Madrigal Feast, Part 1

Sub title for this post: The Dress The Thrift Store Built.

If anyone has wondered what I've been up to the past month and a half or so, this is it, lol. This was shaping up to be a huge post with all the work that went into this project, so I decided to split it into two parts. This is actually how I went about making the dress too, so it works out :) So this post will have a very normal looking outfit, but don't you worry - this baby got a lot more costumey looking by the end, lol.

Anyway, the singing groups I am a part of, Soliloquy and Broadstreet, are performing in a Madrigal Feast at a local church. Having never done singing other than broadway style in high school, I had heard the term "madrigals" talked about by the chorus students, but I didn't really have any idea what it meant. So don't feel alone if you don't know what I'm talking about, lol. According to dictionary.com: noun

1. a secular part song without instrumental accompaniment, usually for four to six voices, making abundant use of contrapuntal imitation, popular especially in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Basically it's a medieval party with people singing difficult multi-part songs. And guys, this music is hard. Like you have to pay really close attention and you are the only one singing your part, and no one really has the melody because it is shared between the group, and if you get lost there is no real point you can jump back in because everyone is doing something different, lol. It's been an experience just to learn the music, but I also had to make myself a costume. I'll confess: I've always wanted to make a medieval costume. Back in the 90s, they were "the thing", and I always begged my mom to sew me one. Being a sane woman, she always said no, lol, but I've always appreciated the styles and the intricate patterns Andrea Schewe put out for Simplicity back then. I didn't have any of those patterns in my collection, and I wasn't about to spend $25 for their on demand printing service, so I hunted my pattern stash for something else I could manipulate into the medieval style.

Before I could pick a pattern, I had to figure out my fabric. I dug through my stash and set aside anything and everything that could work, but nothing really jumped out and inspired me. I decided to go thrifting and see what I could find, and over the course of a few weeks (and a few trips to different stores) I was able to find almost everything I needed for this outfit. I Know! Crazy. The biggest find was the fabric you see in this post. A local thrift store was having a clear out sale and marked everything in their back room at 50% off, plus they had a bag sale going on for their cut pieces of fabric (of which they had tubs and tubs full) where you got a grocery bag stuffed full of your choices of fabric for $5. I hunted through the tubs and managed to find some neat things, but nothing big enough for this project. That is always the issue with any dress of this time period - it takes a lot of fabric. Most patterns called for 5 to 7 yards just of your main fabric, some even more. There were a few rolls of fabric in the corner, so I walked over to check out that situation and what should I find but 2 rolls of real raw silk! I Know! I couldn't snatch them up fast enough. I walked out with 7 yards of tealy green and 2 yards (marked as 3 yards, but whatever) of white silk for $17.50. For 9 yards of silk! lol I'm still a bit in disbelief. The fabrics are very slubby and textured, particularly the white. I'm not sure what type of silk it is, but I didn't care. I knew they would be perfect for this project. So now I was able to make a medieval dress in fabric that was true to the time period - pretty cool :)

Next step was to pick a design. I had a few actual costume patterns, but in the end I decided to use Kwik Sew 3381. I picked this pattern up at a thrift store a few months ago for 50¢, and it's a nice formal wear design with a top and a full length skirt. I liked the idea of separates, mostly because that way I could wear this skirt in a non-costume setting as well if I wanted to. A skirt like this is a bit fancy for everyday, but it's a versatile thing for other costumes or if I need a fancy dress for another event or something. I used the green silk for the skirt (since I had plenty for that) and the white for the top.

The skirt came first since I knew it would be easiest to fit. I had to add a little bit to the waistband since my waist is slightly bigger than the largest size of this pattern, but it was very straight forward to make. I added 1/2" to the sides at the waist and hip at each side and at the CB, angling down to nothing after the hips. I added 3.5" to the length so it would cover my feet and skim the floor. I also had to change the angle of the bottom of the skirt because my fabric was not quite wide enough. I followed the angle of the pattern (slightly a-line) until just before the selvage, and then just curved a bit to go straight down. This made hemming more complicated, but the skirt is so full you can't tell anything was changed in person.

I had to do a bit of easing to get the skirt to match the waistband (maybe I shouldn't have added to all the seams - oh well), so I kept the gathered sections to the back of the skirt. It's a bit puckery, but I knew my top would cover it, so I didn't bother to redo it. I did a lapped zipper just to keep things fancy with my fancy fabric (and to keep the illusion of not having a zipper since they didn't exist back then), and it turned out beautifully if I do say so myself :) The waistband was really skinny, so I just added a sewn in metal snap to the overlap piece and hand sewed the edges of the tab closed. I've never been able to figure out how to close up the overlap pieces after a zip insertion with the machine in any way that looked good. Anyone know the trick? Anyway, because of my finagling the angle of the hem, things got a bit wonky at my side seams. No matter what I tried I just could not get a nice looking hem with my machine, so I decided to hand sew it. I machined some 5/8" wide horsehair braid to the edge first to keep the shape of the hem, then I folded it over double and hand stitched with a blind catch stitch. This took almost 2 hours of hand sewing, but once pressed it looked so good! I'm really happy with it. The close up here looks a bit wavy, but this was after wearing the dress that day and then transporting it in the car. Trust me - it was smooth and wonderful :)

The top was much, much more complicated. I cut out a muslin in the largest size and did everything the "couture" way since I knew I'd have to make adjustments. I had to make so many adjustments I can't even remember them all, lol. Here's a list of what I remember:

• I took it up at the shoulder joint of the neckline about 2.5" on each side for my hollow chest
• took the shoulder seams in 1"
• scooped out the neckline to compensate for raising the shoulder seam
• added 3.5" in length at the hem, extending the darts
• cut in armscye 1" on each side
• took in sleeves 5/8" at seam
• shortened sleeves by 4.5"
• took a 3" wedge out of upper center back seam angling to nothing (for "dowager's hump", lol)

I'm sure there were a few other changes in there as well. Basically I put on the muslin inside out, pinned out an adjustment, ripped the old seam and resewed the new alteration, tried it on again and repeated the cycle over and over for each change. I spent about 2 hours just taking the thing on and off, trying different things - some worked, some didn't. I got things pretty good in the muslin, so I moved on to my real top a few days later.

Cutting out the white silk was a complete nightmare. I didn't want to use colored wax paper since it would show through as this silk is a bit sheer, but I had to mark 8 darts. I tried the "couture" way of using white wax paper, but this fabric is so slubby that I couldn't tell if the lines I was seeing were the wax or just the weave of the fabric. I marking the darts completely with pins, but then came the problem of how to pin the legs together with all those pins lining them already? I finally had enough after a few hours of trying to cut this out and mark it, so I just used friction pens, lol. I've heard a few horror stories of the pen showing up as a ghosty mark later on, but since this top is just a costume I wasn't too worried about it. As long as it looks good on the day I need it, I'm fine. Maybe I'll just hit it with the iron again later if the mark show up again, lol. Once everything was cut and marked, the sewing itself was a breeze.

Since the silk is fairly sheer, I lined the top with a white bridal muslin remnant I had on hand. It felt a bit silly to go to this effort for a costume, but it really needed the lining. After wearing the top once, I see now that I really needs boning too, but I'm not going to worry about it. Can't be bothered since it's all sewn up!

I did a lapped zipper on the side, which turned out great :) I really love lapped zippers. The insides look so pretty and enclosed from the lining! I didn't fuss with lining the sleeves, and I just set them in like normal and finished the inside with pinking shears. I knew I was going to add fancy bell sleeves at the elbow, but I also knew I wouldn't have them finished in time for when I needed to wear something as a little ad plug for the show, so I just double turned the sleeve hem and top stitched for that day.

I realized it was still loose on that day of the ad plug, so I keep pulling it toward the back to look a bit tighter. In my muslin I deliberately left some ease at the waist because when I sit down I need the extra space in the tummy and we will be sitting and standing, but it doesn't give the most flattering silhouette standing :/ I thought that this silk would be stiffer, but it has a much softer look all sewn up. It's kind of a bummer, but the entire top is lined and I even hand sewed the openings so it is completely sealed. Technically I think it needs boning in the seams to hold the shape, and possibly a stiffer fabric for the lining, but that's not going to happen at this point, lol. I'm probably going to safety pin the back tighter for the performance and then remove the pins for the rest of the night (which would look like the first picture at the top where I'm holding it back, lol). We'll see what works.

So that's the story with the base of my medieval outfit :) The top feels kind of boring at this stage, but you will see how that changed in Part 2 of this post (coming soon to a blog near you, lol). I am pleasantly surprised at how much fun the skirt is to wear, so I am really happy I chose to do the separates since I am sure I will be wearing that skirt again. It's so swishy and light. I definitely see why people like silk (having never really worn it much, this is a learning experience).

I'll be wearing the completed costume tonight, so I will be able to report how it wore in my next post. So check back soon to see how I jazzed this baby up to look like a costume!