mamazilla - 1, metric system - 0

so... i did it!!! :)

i converted all the measurements from metric into (good 'ol, familiar, clunky) american units, drafted the patterns (including the varying seam allowances), and sewed up a camisole from the japanese pattern book, "feminine wardrobe" by jinko matsumoto.

here's mine:



and here's the model from the book:



i used this funky vintage fabric (another goodie from my mother in law's old craft room stash...):



notice how the screenprint is printed on the crosswise grain... (??) i wasn't sure what to do with it but after i saw the bipatterned camisole, i immediately thought of that fabric and was curious as to how it might look as a finished product...

i LOVE it! :) and really, as soon as i got over my fear of all things metric, it was a breeze... can't wait to start on another garment!!! huzzah!!! :)

me v. metric system - battle royale

it was a such good idea at the time...

i was in sanseido books, a not so local (to me) japanese bookstore, where they stock a number of lovely clothing pattern books and magazines...

it was all the pretty pictures and the cute colorful diagrams that lured me in... despite all the blog posts i've read to scare me off the prospect of actually making patterns and garments from these books... (the conversion of cm. to in., the variant seam allowances in one (freeekin') pattern piece, the actual drafting of pattern pieces, the language barrier, is there a zipper or isn't there? what size (width) elastic?!! etc...)

i bought two... *facepalm*

feminine wardrobe by jinko matsumoto:



and the latest issue of cucito magazine:



so, i've FINALLY gotten thru converting most of the measurements for one garment... the simplest blouse of the bunch... i have fabric... i have to hit the fabric store for some more interfacing and elastic... let's all hope i survive... with some hair intact.

make it, wear it! challenge

** UPDATE: I WON THE CHALLENGE!!!!

i actually sat there for a while staring at sew mama sew post announcing the winners... and i didn't even notice that i'd won... i was SO sure i wouldn't win... it wasn't until i received the message via flickr that i found out!

i'm SO happy!!! i love my little brother straight stitch machine that my mother bought for me 20+ (zomg!) years ago... but it will be very nice introducing a new machine into the works to give my little brother a break... :)

i can't wait to start sewing on my new machine!!!

and last but not least, many heartfelt thanks to the lovely folks at Sew Mama Sew for hosting such an awesome and inspiring giveaway!!

**END UPDATE

i'm a new reader to the sew, mama sew blog and i just recently read about the make it, wear it! challenge. all one has to do is sew clothes in june and enter a photo of the garment(s) to the flickr pool or their forum. (the prizes include a sewing machine... i love my little brother sewing machine... but i've had it since high school... it would be nice to have a new one.)

immediately, i thought - "oh that's easy, i can do that...."

not so fast, sewing sistah... enter the custom designed/fitted sofa pillow covers from h*ll... *insert psycho music here*

a few months ago, i agreed to make some pillow covers for a friend of a friend. it would require me to knock off the existing cover into a new pattern, cut and sew up 6 of these babies...

little did i know, the sheer boredom of the project would absolutely suck the soul right out of me... thankfully, despite a few roadblocks (customer didn't buy enough fabric yardage (i gave ydg amt) or the correct kind of velcro) they're done and banished from my sewing table...

it reminded me of working for one of my teachers, Alice Berry... after meeting with a client one day for a fitting, alice confessed to me that after many years of designing, she finally felt like she liked what she was designing, that she would actually wear some of it... that hit me like a truck... her business was so successful and there was so much about her design philosophy and her fabric/color palettes that i admired and yet, she was just NOW (circa mid 90s) enjoying her work... my dreams/ideas of what it meant (and what it cost) to be a fashion designer were completely altered that day...

mark my words i will never, EVER make stupid, boring pillows again!!! *shakes fist to sky*

anyhoo.... i was SO relieved (after finishing the PILLOWS OF DEATH) that it was still june and i still had time to make something... (i entered the dress i made for paloma's classmate into the challenge, but i wanted to make something for me too). and here it is:



the fabric was part of a large donation, compiled from my mother in law and her mother's craft rooms... the vintage geometic print fabric was made by a company called soptra. the yardage has this sticker on it every yard or so. love the five and dimes!:



i used simplicity pattern #3833. the only change i made was using an invisible zipper instead of a lapped zipper... i just prefer the look of invisible zippers. :)

wish me luck! and thanks for stopping by and reading! :)

baby steps... outside the "norm"

so... i finally broke down... and bought labels...

i often wonder if other moms (or even former garment industry folk), with backgrounds similar to mine, have as difficult a time as i do, in doing things like this, that other crafters maybe take for granted...

after 5 years in a fashion design program and 10+ years in the garment industry, i became indoctrinated into the "how one correctly goes about starting a fashion design label" idea.

it's a sound and well tested hypothesis. and, of course, there are exceptions (i never expect to be that exception). but for the most part, in my experience anyway, after clearing all the requisite physical, financial, emotional and political hurdles, one becomes 1) a small designer with a small label 2) a small designer with someone else's BIG label or 3) a BIG designer with a BIG label.

however, you DON'T just *willy nilly* go out and purchase a label online (!)... without already establishing a business... researching to see if your label already exists... drafting a business plan... lining up the funding, etc... calendaring/scheduling out your production season.... designing a line... selling the line at a market... determining yardages of fabric (haggling for the best prices in fabric) and the notions (closures, thread, elastic, etc)... lordy, the notions!!! producing the line... domestic or international... getting the finished products to the final consumers... yada yada yada...

you can't imagine how buying this little (like .5" x 1.5") woven label... actually - first of all - finding a supplier with the teeniest minimums, and then actually buying the label - very nearly produced a grand mal seizure in me... i would be too embarassed to tell any of my sourcing friends how much i spent on the labels... they wouldn't stop laughing at me...

someone like me just doesn't do what i just did... and if any of my professors or former employers asked me why i did something so miscalculated, so amateurish... i wouldn't have an answer except - "baby steps"

'cuz i don't know why i did it... but i felt like i wanted - or maybe deserved - a label... like a newly mobile baby wants (or deserves) the tv remote control lying across a vast expanse of living room rug... i still haven't got past the feeling that i just cheated or as the porkchop says "don't be a cheeto, mom!"

i dunno... maybe these clothes and accessories that i make will actually continue to go somewhere... maybe they won't...

i just felt, at this time in my life, after all the wonderful and varied experiences i've had in this chaotic and ever kaleidioscoping field, it would be nice to hold a small label, woven with "my name", and sew it into something i made... that's all... :) jeez... when did i pass that threshold where i based decisions on logic and not on my emotions?

anyhoo... after my little crisis of conscience... paloma was invited to a classmate's birthday fiesta tomorrow... so, i made this little dress from butterick pattern 3889 and another little fabric flower - i sewed it to a barette this time.



i hope the gifts are well received... :)

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what i did on mother's day...

also known as "why i didn't wish you a happy mother's day..." :)

i am a glutton for punishment. i (once again) was determined to make presents instead of buying them. so, for my mother, my stepsister and my stepsister's mother in law i made little reversible satchels (w/ new added pockets) like i made for paloma's teacher.



i also added some matching accessories - a tissue case, an eyeglass/sunglass case and a fabric flower brooch:



anyhoo... i really hope you gave yourself some much deserved R & R on mother's day... an hour of two before mother's day lunch, i finally unclenched. :)

National Teacher Day on May 4th

so, on my calendar (and the linked website), national teacher day is celebrated tomorrow...

which does not explain the phonecall i received from my husband shortly after he walked the paloma to school:

the thin man: "um... did you know that today is national teacher day?"

me: "um... according to my calendar that's tomorrow."

the thin man: "well, according to all the other children and parents with flowers and gifts that were gleefully standing in line... it's today."

me: *shakes fist at sky*

anyhoo.... lately, i've been REALLY good at making gifts instead of buying them... and i wasn't going to let someone else's errant reading of the calendar stop me.

the only thing i could think of making without the use of notions (i.e. zippers, snaps, buttons, etc...) was a bag of some kind... i did some googling and found this lovely tutorial for a reversible bag from the verypurpleperson blog.

i have a lot of fabric (no!? really!?) and i picked a bunch of different combinations, but i went with a neutral palette anyway... it's kinda "listening to van morrison, drinking wine coolers at the lake" summery... :)

the paloma's teacher is really nice and has been one of the many highlights to the paloma first grade year... i'm glad that i can make something for her that will brighten up an already beautiful day... i really hope the paloma didn't feel too bad about not having something for her this morning... eek. :(

last but not least - to the teachers who made the realm of H*LL, otherwise known as high school, bearable (and oftentimes magical) for me, thank you, thank you, thank you... especially Mr. Harper, Mr. Thetard, Mr. Wood and Mr. Poehler. :)

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zamboni!

i love that name.... sometimes i think it's underused as the generic name for an ice resurfacer... why don't we use " zamboni!" to express our joy in recognizing the little things that make our lives easier... like self adhesive stamps or pocket packs of kleenex... :)

speaking of ice resurfacing... one of the family nieces is hosting her birthday party at an ice rink. my stepsister asked me to make our niece's Springfield Doll something new to wear - of course, i responded, "how about an iceskating dress?". she replied, "that's perfect!" so, i made two from Butterick pattern 3329:



little known fact about mamazilla: i used to make dancewear and iceskating costumes for a local company - Designs By Valerry. it was a really extraordinary experience. my bosses and co-workers were lovely, knowledgable and totally laid back... i learned a LOT about garment construction, pattern making/drafting and sewing - especially for knits (a whole world outside of wovens) and decorative stuff/sequins/beading, etc...

i didn't have a lot of time to go fabric shopping so, i had to go with what i had at the local Joann's. my intuition told me to look for the stretch braid first since that's what's really hard to find... at least something that looks nice... especially in a small size for a doll...

of course, they didn't have any stretch trim (that wasn't hideous) in such a small size... and for stretch fabrics you should always have a stretch trim (please don't ask me why a doll would need a stretch fabric or stretch trim... it's not like she knows her movement is restricted...)

so, here is my tip o' the day: don't be afraid to buy stretch sequin trim that is too big:



you can always cut it down:



when you turn the stretch trim over you'll see that all three rows of sequin are chainstitched separately (see navy thread) and then looped together (see lt. blue thread)... just use a set of embroidery scissors or sewing nippers to clip the looping thread - NOT THE CHAINSTITCH. you'll have three single chains of sequin in no time... also, make sure when you machine stitch it down, you a) use transparent thread as your top thread b) you stitch the sequins so they are lying down properly... just feel them thru your fingers - one way they fly up, another way, they lay down flat, like fish scales... ZAMBONI! :)

and i'm off... back to the lamb drawing board i go...