So ... This is My Body

 

Thick- and short-waisted, slim-hipped, long-crotched, square-jawed, and small-breasted, not to mention the uneven shoulders and hips, presumably from my slight scoliosis.

Yep, this is the body I was given and this is as good as its going to get.

I made these sketches after being inspired by the directions in the Colette Sewing Handbook to make your own croqui. I took photos of myself in a tank and leggings and traced my outline in Photoshop. I also made a version that included my bust line, waist line, high and low hip, and knee line to guide me in tracing.

And holy cannoli, I should’ve done this eons ago. One of the things that has been most enlightening to me about sewing is how well you need to know your body in order to fit it. But even more generally, you need to view it objectively so you can understand whether the clothes you covet will look the way you imagine. And what better way to view yourself than to have an objective flat image of your body, with all its intricacies, before you invest time and money in a new project?

For example, this image would’ve cured me of my sway back denial that held its hold for several months.

And as an exercise, I traced two croquis and then traced two different 1960s patterns I love.

What’s most obvious about the one on the left is that I absolutely do not have that slim little waist in the pattern image, so it’s not going to look like that on me. The sleeves (which I wasn’t planning on) are probably a good idea as they make me look more balanced. Not a terrible look, reminiscent of Glee’s Rachel Berry, if that’s what I’m going for.

The image on the right, however, shows me that my rectangular-shaped body doesn’t change the shape so much. And the v-neck doesn’t widen my square jaw.

I have already cut the Colette Patterns Beignet. This is what it would look like on me, styled with a boatneck sweater and boots.
 

Considering this Kwik Sew pattern.
 
And I’ve been hemming and hawing over what skirts look best of my frame so I drew several: straight, a-line, mini, princess-seamed, godets.

Straight skirts definitely don’t do much for me. And because my waist is so, so high it’s no wonder I hate wearing skirts at my natural waist as it envelopes my frame. Here I drew the skirts/tops as I would realistically wear them, with an untucked high-hip length top.

This has been a fun exercise and I’m sure it will serve me as I try new silhouettes. Have you ever made a croqui? If so, how do you use it?

The Great Hat Trick (Or, Guess Who's Knitting?)

From the Egg Friends

Every fall, I buy a basic knitted hat. Some years it’s a beanie, others it has a brim, and others it’s a beret. It’s my perfect wardrobe item for the cold months: It matches everything, it's the easiest additional layer to carry, it can be stuffed into coat pockets and rear jean pockets, and into the Bermuda Triangle that is known as my purse. I wear it to death.

Then, inevitably, on the edge of every Spring, I lose it. Airports or bars or warm days where I simply forget it.

So this year, I was setting about buying a new knit hat. But thinking of going to the shops filled me with dread. Dealing with parking, people-shopping-crazy and overpriced, poorly made goods is not my idea of a good time. An idea percolated: I could make it. After all, I just needed ONE basic, neutral hat.

Gorgeous cloche hand-knitted by Jessica of A Yen for Craft for participating in her Challenge: Ridiculous. Seriously the best quality hat I've ever had, totally inspiring. Everyone asks me about it.

Problem is, I haven’t crocheted since 1998 and the knitting needles given to me by my mother-in-law has sat in the dark recesses of my closet for years, simply because I couldn’t remember how to cast on. Besides, there was a sewing machine nearby, geared by electricity. Fast, fast, fast. No counting stitches.

Still, perhaps this was proof that my Fashion on the Ration challenge was changing me. As cliche as yearlong personal challenges have become, I still think they can do a great service into “tricking” you into the habits that will serve you long-term. What begins as a scheme becomes a lifestyle. For me, that’s considering quality (of time spent and the finished object) over quantity.

So I learned to knit in early November. A mess of knits and purls. Here’s my first two hats!

#1: Occupy Hat

I’d been messing around with acrylic yarn to learn the basic stitches and was ready for a project when I read on Yarn-A-Go-Go about the Knit-In at Occupy Oakland. I’ve already talked about both my proximity and and passion for what’s been happening in my city, and here knitters were gathering to make handmade, warm items to help campers get through winter. Read Rachael’s great post about it here.

Much has changed in our city since then, but it was wonderful to begin this way—by making something for someone else. Knitting seems to enable that, a bit o’ selflessness. There’s no fitting issues, it’s totally portable, and I can’t think of anyone who lives in seasons who can’t use warm knits.

I didn’t finish my hat that day but here it is. Ugly, yes, but made with the best of intentions:

I used the Chunky Slouch Cap pattern on Ravelry. Though highly rated, it was over the head of this beginner. I wasn’t ready for all those yarn overs and SSKs.

#2: Ali’s Basic Hat

I was ready to make myself one and bought a skein of Berroco Peruvia Quick in a charcoal gray. Seeking an easier project, I turned to the Monk Hat pattern of Ravelry.

What I learned: Garter stitch and stockinette are different on straight needles vs. in the round. So, unlike the pattern, the brim is stockinette and the rest is garter. Sigh. Also, I was knitting in a bout of sleeplessness and accidentally knit two rows, leaving a crevice. Live and learn.

But guess what? I love wearing this. Not perfect, but I love that I made it myself and it’s already received lots of wear. I may lose it in the Spring, or, next year, I may tear it apart and make it the way it’s supposed to be made. And it’s wool!!

I’m in love. I’m sure there will be more on knitting soon, but in the meantime, it’s Thanksgiving and I want to give thanks. I once kept a “Gratitude Journal,” listing five things I was grateful for at the end of each day and that seems like a fitting exercise today.

I’m grateful for:

1.  Being a beginner again, with a new craft. More excitement, less stress.

2.  The incredible crafters in my life. Jessica and my mother-in-law helped me immensely these last weeks.

3.  My family: My two sisters who let me prattle on about sewing; my mother and father who both admire and are mystified by my desire to live with less; my stepfather, who taught me the joy of giving to others; my nieces and nephew whose laughter goes straight to my heart; and to my late grandmother, who showed me that everything worth having is worth working for. I miss them immensely today, but they’re across the ocean. If they didn’t live in the tropics, they’d be getting hats this Christmas too!

4.  The boy, whose humor and kindness is often the antidote to my frazzled nerves. Poor thing, he’s been hanging about his crafty mother and I asking for something handmade. The Colette Patterns Negroni, perhaps? How about a T-shirt? We’ve been too busy selfishly making, but his time has finally come: I just cast on—can you guess?—a hat.

5.  You, readers. With all the brouhaha in the blogosphere of late, I feel incredibly grateful that I have a space where I can share my obsessions and journey with you and I’ve been met with incredible encouragement and kindness.

Happy Thanksgiving!

IKEA, Black Friday Crazy and Relishing the Homemade

Hi all! I've been stitching away but not much has made its way into the blogosphere yet. In more exciting news, Sarah of Rhinestones and Telephones asked me to guest post as she's crafting her way to a homemade holiday. As we embark on Thanksgiving week, I talk about investing our time in what we really value. Find the post here.

Enjoy!

The Little Earthquakes Pant: Colette Clover, Take 1

As I've mentioned, I'm a bit obsessed with making pants. I was tickled when I discovered Colette Patterns was releasing its first pants pattern this fall, the Clover, which was exactly the kind of pant I've been trying to produce: A slim, ankle length pant, reminiscent of the 1960s.

 

I've had this stretch navy twill in my stash forever. I love and hate this stuff equally. I bought yards of it at a Salvation Army probably a year and a half ago and used it for my Saggy Butt Capris (R.I.P.). Compared to nonstretch wovens, this fabric is flimsy and frustrating and attracts lint like the devil. Each time I do a cull, I try and throw the leftover yards in the donation pile and then snap it back out, having a hard time parting with what holds so much promise: a neutral with stretch. Surely, I can find some use for it.

You can see where this is going, right? I used my crappy twill fabric on this great pattern. Any of my unhappiness with the final product can be chalked up to fabric choice and not-so-careful planning during the fitting process. The side zipper ripples and I look like I walked out of a dustbin.

That said, I really loved wearing these today. The stretch is comfy and I love the ankle length: So, so versatile.

As I made these, we experienced several little earthquakes, I'd say 4-5 in a 3-week period. Usually unfettered, I found myself shook up by the frequency, worrying about the boy coming back home over the Bay Bridge. The name's also fitting given the problems this little project gave me (and did I mention I also destroyed its first zipper? Sigh).

Pattern: Colette Clover

Type of Garment: Slim ankle pants with waistband pockets and side zip

Fabric Used: Stretchy navy twill, purple and blue gingham for pockets

Notions: 7 inch zipper, twill tape

Age in stash: Fabric, thrifted, 1.5 years old

Size: I’m 28 W and 37 H, so I went by my hip size, Size 4. Inseam 26 1/4 inches.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

Where do I begin? I was mainly worried about my swayback  and I started with a large waist increase, adding an inch. The muslin sewed up seemingly fine.

Once I was putting  my final touches on my fashion fabric, other fit issues became glaringly clear: I needed a narrow hip adjustment and a flat belly adjustment. The latter may be a different adjustment, given that the ill-fit cue was 2 inches of fold at the crotch, but the flat belly adjustment was the best option given the fact that I was 90 percent done. Talk about being pencil shaped: bigger waist, smaller everything else! 

Instructions:

Excellent as always.

Did it meet expectations?

Yes and no. Great pattern, but I used subpar fabric and all these fitting issues may not be handy when I use a fabric with less stretch (I’m sure this has more than 2% stretch). There’s some wear on the fabric from the constant seam ripping, I couldn’t get the flat fell seams just right and there’s still excess ease at the hip area. Excess + stretch fabric + zipper = Rippling side seams! Ugh. I doubt I’ll ever tuck anything into it so I can hide the bulge.

On the upside, I really love the leg shape, the fit in the rear, and how comfortable it is to have stretch pants! I can bike and sit comfortably. I’m also liking the navy color, pairs well with many colors (coral, a recent fave) and it feels versatile while being a step up form my usual dark denim.

 

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I really liked the shaped waistband, the midrise, and the pockets are a nice touch. More than anything I like how simple this is, so I can focus on fit. I  should give a shout-out to the great sew-along and fitting advice over at Colette Patterns blog, Coletterie. I would’ve been lost without it, really demystifies fit issues.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

Yes, definitely. I’ve been dying for a red pair but I’ve got a nonstretch red twill and I’m afraid that it may be a feat. Either way, this pattern’s really a keeper. I’d love to also try adapting it to have a front fly and pockets for a different look.

Conclusion:

Great TNT potential of a classic look.
 
Out of curiosity: Do you have these fabrics you wished you loved (but don't) in your stash? Do you try and find a project for them or do you move on and move up, quality-wise? 

You Don't Own Me, J. Crew: Copying the Schoolboy Blazer

[Skip down to the pattern review here]

Greetings from Oakland! It's been an exciting and sometimes heartbreaking few weeks here, with the protests that lead to the unleashing of teargas and flashbang grenades onto a peaceful crowd in late October and a citywide General Strike last Wednesday that brought together 100,000 people.

After the boy and I returned from the Port of Oakland, where the march ended, the office building next to where I work at a nonprofit was "occupied" by a comparatively small group of people. Dumpsters were wheeled out into the intersection I cross daily, lit aflame and another violent clash occurred with the police. I returned to work the next day, disheartened that the peaceful protests I saw and had participated in had devolved. Arrests and injuries racked up, including two veterans. Graffiti covered the walls and windows of offices that provide medical and youth services.   

By noon, when I stepped out for lunch, Occupy volunteers were cleaning off the graffiti with steel brushes and paint. You gotta hella love Oakland.

I know this isn't the place to wax sentimental on my deeply populist leanings (though I'd argue my foray into handmade and living with less is, at least in part, a response to the society I live in), but I did want to make two points, the second which relates to our wardrobes.

First, as a media person myself, I'm disappointed how the events in Oakland have been reported. My experience was with an incredible group of people who cared about this country: A diverse mass of families, teachers, union men, and veterans. People after my own heart, the America I love. And those headline catchers are the minority, the rabble-rousers who came ready for a fight, with their shields and gas masks. 

Second, I've been thinking about this quote from Linda Grant's The Thoughtful Dresser:

Clothes as the story of our lives. And if you were to gather together all the clothes you have ever owned in all your life, each baby shoe and winter coat and wedding dress, you would have your autobiography.

When we think about our clothes, what will each one tell us about that particular moment in our lives when we made it or bought it or wore it and loved it?

What this finished object will remind me of is my pre-Occupation of what was happening in my city as I made it and a whole lot of hope.

   
Pattern Review: The Occupy Blazer (Source: J. Crew)

In a previous post, I detailed how I was copying this J. Crew blazer using the paper rub-off method.

Source Jacket: J. Crew

Type of Garment: Blazer with contrast undercollar, collar tab, and pockets with flaps, unlined bodice, lined sleeves, back vent.

Fabric Used: Shell -- Black canvas in stash, very lightweight double-sided fabric (plaid/polka dot) for undercollar, thrifted emerald lining for sleeves

Occupy Blazer

Notions: 3 3/4 buttons, 5 smaller buttons

Age in stash: Blazer borrowed from a colleague, several years old. Canvas and collar fabric 1 year, lining new-to-me

Size: Small

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

Shortened at waist by an inch
Shortened sleeves by one inch
Made patch pockets instead of welt pockets
Small bust adjustment
Added about an inch total to hip area

Instructions: I sort of just winged it, though it helped that this is my third jacket-like garment I've made. Lining the sleeves (for easy slipping on and off) was tricky, but I could do the back vent just by looking at the source garment.

Did it meet expectations?

Despite the fact that I hit burnout halfway through this project and would've abandoned it altogether if it wasn't my colleague's jacket that needed to be returned, I'm impressed that I largely pulled this off. The canvas is fairly heavy and stiff and the collar isn't perfect, but the fit is perfect and the details—especially the undercollar with tab—I would be hard pressed to find using a regular pattern. We've been in the midst of an Indian summer, but I'm hopeful it's such a basic piece that it'll get lots of wear.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

Loved the details as noted above, and the lined sleeves are a nice treat. Because this was such a complicated garment to trace, the pattern pieces didn't line up perfectly at the armscye and the shoulder seam, but I fixed it during construction.

Also: I'm not convinced it's easier to leave a jacket unlined -- it takes just as much energy to make the facing pieces and the inside look pretty as it does to make a lining, in my opinion.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

If I become a blazer convert because of this, then yes. In terms of sewing it again, I'll need to forget how much work it was (so many pieces!) before that happens, though. I'd likely use a fabric that has a bit more drape than this.

Any new techniques?

New details: Pocket flaps, darts emanating from front collar and shoulder seam at rear, back vent, lined sleeves.

Conclusion:

This copying ready-to-wear technique really works! I also realized that, while I love J. Crew's styling and catalog, their clothes are really ill-fitting for me and frankly, poorly made for the price. This may have cured me from worshiping at their altar. Hooray for handmade!

Thanks for bearing with me through this looong post. I'm still in sewing burnout, but there's stitching afoot. More soon!