Category: 2017 Makes

In July of 2017 I got married. It was the most un-fussy wedding; we only invited our immediate families, had the ceremony at city hall, and then hung out at the beach all weekend. I highly recommend this route if the idea of planning a wedding makes you panic, like it did me. Also, holy crap do traditional weddings cost a lot.

But let’s get down to the essence of this post: what I wore. Initially, I planned to wear a vintage dress and shoes I thrifted in Tulsa, OK. After declaring this was the outfit, I began to rethink things in momentary bride-like fashion. Vintage didn’t feel like the current me and I had no desire to make a traditional dress I’d wear for less than a day. Making a traditional dress felt wasteful in both time and materials, but the making part felt true to me.

Enter wedding “dress” separates. I had recently made an Named dress and decided the cropped tee would pair nicely with a gathered skirt. This clean silhouette would allow me to wear a sweet statement necklace AND, most importantly both pieces could integrate into my everyday wardrobe. It also gave me an excuse to purchase my minimal accessories from two bad-ass women.

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The much coveted Bryr clogs were acquired by pure luck. Normally, the studio has at least a 30 day waiting period, but this pair was in stock and I ran up to SF to claim them. If you’re a clog gal, this brand is worth every penny. They’re surprisingly comfortable and made in San Francisco.

I have been a long-time admirer of Fanny Penny‘s work and was also lucky enough to grab this necklace for the brief period it was in her online shop.

The top came together quickly but the skirt really tested my patience. I had my failing Brother machine serviced in the middle of making and it got dirty oil all over everything. Thankfully silk noil is pretty resilient and it came out/blended in with a wash.

The skirt shape I had in my head didn’t match any indie patterns, but it seemed simple enough to wing it. Boy, did I run in to a lot of problems. It was smooth sailing until the gathers, which took forever, then I sewed on the waistband and it was all messed up. I can’t remember the specifics due to blacking it out, but I do know I had already taken out all of the basting stitches before realizing everything needed to be redone. I think I may have even needed to recut the waistband… Anyway, it was a mess and I was running out of time and fabric. Once the waistband was finally attached, my machine couldn’t make it through the layers, so I had to abandon the pretty button plans. Then of course, after sewing on the hook and eye, I realized the inseam pockets I added to the sides weren’t evenly spaced. Oh well.

Even though the skirt proved to be challenging, I’m quite pleased I made the somewhat last-minute decision to make my “dress.” I’ve worn the top a few times, but would wear it more if I sewed the facing to the shirt or changed it to bias binding. I never grab a garment if it needs ironing and the facing ALWAYS flips up (probably because I didn’t interface it). The skirt hasn’t been worn at all since, but I’m blaming that on the weather.

Around this time last year, I decided to join #sewmystyle hosted by @alexbartholomew_. The project was designed to bring awareness to the #slowfashion movement and to encourage folks to take on sewing a capsule wardrobe. After reviewing the 12 Sew My Style patterns, I decided that purchasing new patterns wasn’t really in keeping with the Slow Fashion movement, especially when I already had at least 12 patterns that I had yet to make. So I selected a similar pattern for each month, drew it in my sketchbook, and shared them on Instagram for some accountability. 

Despite making myself finish a quilt before diving into January’s plan, the month proved quite successful! I was able to make both versions of Blueprints for Sewing’s Geodesic.

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I made Version 2 – Long first out of a thrifted black mystery knit. Version 1 – Short was made out of a thrifted men’s XXL sweatshirt. I can credit Version 1 with making me want to wear all things cropped.

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February also proved quite successful as I was able to make two Driftless Cardigans by Grainline Studio. The first version’s fabric is an Alabama Chanin knit and the second is a yummy Soy French Terry from Fancy Tiger Crafts.

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March is the month I lost steam and began going out of order. My car was totaled, work was killing my soul, and I was super indecisive about fabric choices. I ended up not making the Seamwork Moji Pants until May and they were a full-on disaster. But this project reminded me how important it is to make a muslin and to analyze the finished garment’s measurements before selecting a size.

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I made April’s plan in March and it really tested my pattern matching abilities. I had to cut out the dress twice to get the squares to line up at the side seams and I definitely attached the sleeve cuffs wrong ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. The fabric is a beautiful ikat from Stonemountain. The Inari Tee Dress made it in to my sketchbook again (because with pockets it’d be PERFECTION) and it ended up being part of my “wedding separates.”

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May’s plan remains a WIP. It’s a pattern I drafted from my mom’s beloved 1980’s jumpsuit. I’m making the muslin out of an IKEA duvet cover and will hopefully find the inspiration to finish it.

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I made the Mercer Tunics in March and April in Indian Block Print Voile from Stonemountain. The Alder Shirt Dress remains a WIP, partially because my introductory sewing machine started to poop out in May. The fabric is a thrifted cotton fish print that will, if I ever complete it, be great for the summer months.

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The Kelly Anorak, which I actually finished in May is what caused all of my sewing machine issues. Issues that made sewing really frustrating. In addition to my machine being on its last legs, I started the Patternmaking & Design certificate program at Apparel Art and all of my free time was blown to bits. My Anorak was made with sienna cotton stretch twill from Indiesew.

I did, however, have one glorious weekend of extreme productivity and was able to get a lot of the Archer done. It’s still waiting on my dress form though… The flannel is another thrifted bed sheet.

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The Ginger Jeans are the only project I haven’t started. I think it still just feels too challenging for my current skill set, which I realize I need to get over. That and my only pair of jeans are getting pretty threadbare.

Inevitably one of the plans changed completely. I swapped the Anna Dress (the only planned pattern I had already made) for the Farrow Dress. The Farrow is much more aligned with the silhouettes I’m most comfortable in.

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I made two Watson panties using leftover fabric from a Linden but have yet to venture into bra making. The panties are super comfortable and I really like the idea of being able to use scraps to make them. However, it’s really hard for me to find the motivation to make undergarments. I need to accept that buying RTW underwear and bras is okay.

Overall I made a LOT outside of the planned monthly makes, not including my patternmaking work. Next year, I think I’ll pare down plans to 9 since one project per month seemed to be too constraining. Sometime you just don’t want to make a thing.

WOOT! I finally finished something that’s been in my brain for a long while: a metallic linen dress with geometric goodness. The idea for said dress sprang from Purl Soho’s Mineral Linen collection release however many years ago and the need for a somewhat fancy dress for holiday times.

Initially, I thought I’d pair the Mineral Linen with By Hand London’s Anna Dress and do a geometric triangle thing on the skirt panels (think half rectangle triangle). But after reading the fabric is dry clean only and the realization that I almost never wear the one Anna Dress I’ve made, the whole idea kinda fell apart.

Then in walk’s Grainline Studio’s Farrow Dress, satisfying all my clothing wants and desires: pockets, sack shape, and geometric lines.

In true Sienna form, it took me a long-ass time to make it. Partially because I was still searching for right fabric that could withstand regular washing and a hot iron. Partially because there aren’t enough hours in the day.

Thankfully, my favorite semi-local fabric store, Stonemountain & Daughter Fabric, started carrying metallic linens. I scooped up the necessary yardage and followed the tip of ironing it with the hottest dry iron possible (to set its wrinkle-less finish) followed by  washing and drying at the highest temperatures possible. It has the yummiest linen wrinkles now.

I cut a straight size 4, which seems to be my near perfect Grainline Studio size. If I were to do it all over again I would definitely shorten the sleeves by ~2″ as I’d like for the sleeve to hit a little lower than 3/4 length. As you can see in the picture above, I’ve awkwardly folded the sleeve up.

It all came together relatively quickly, despite one sleeve facing being a big turd (it still has an imperfection and I’m pretending I’m fine with it) and the disappointing fact that I just couldn’t finish it in time for a fall wedding a week ago.

In addition to the dress, I envisioned some sort of statement jewelry for the whole look. I found a kit and tutorial from Beadaholique that looked fun to make and would coordinate with my fabric choice.

Growing up, sewing didn’t make sense to me. The fabric was ugly, big four patterns hurt my brain, and it took SO. MUCH. TIME. My mom, aunts, and grandmothers all got it (and were pretty good at it), but somehow the sewing bug escaped me.

Hemming curtains, the annual Halloween costume, and making small adjustments like shortening the neck strap on my painting apron on my mom’s heavy, mechanical Kenmore was the extent of my experience through college. The Kenmore had chronic tension issues and made the process pretty infuriating.

Shortly before moving to Oklahoma to become a teacher, I thrifted my own machine on a whim. It was similar to my mom’s machine, but had a penchant for zinging along when the pedal wasn’t even depressed. I only used it a handful of times before it ended up right back at the thrift store.

Then in late 2014, after watching young students tackle sewing with reckless abandon, I thought I should give it a real go. I bought a Brother cs6000i on Amazon, thrifted a bunch of bed sheets, and made a top using Sonya Philip’s Tunic No. 1 pattern. Independent pattern makers with excellent instructions, a reliable beginner machine, and the online sewing community helped me get it.

Over the next two years, I added several more machines to my collection. An industrial unused Juki I purchased at an extremely discounted price, a Janome, and a Brother Serger I’m still a little scared of.

After nearly 3 years of constant use and the beginner’s mistake of using shitty thread, never cleaning or oiling, and the Kelly Anorak, my trusty Brother became less reliable. It still works, but its maintenance costs more than it’s worth.

With my hobby feeling more like it could be a living, I created a budget and began tracking my expenses in order to save for an upgrade. Initially, it was projected that I’d be able to purchase it after 9 months to a year of saving, but thanks to insurance returning my deductible from a car accident, a stipend from my job, some penny pinching, and a local dealer trying to bring me in to his store (he knocked $500 off the price), I was able to purchase her.

She’s a dream and it was a real struggle to leave my house for work last week. Last night I finished Bernina’s inaugural project – birthday pajama pants for my man.

We’re still getting acquainted, but I can tell she’s the one.