Sewing: B&W&P dress problems

Pesky dress.

The biggest hurdle in finishing the dress is that work has ramped up. And I just want to sleep when I get home.

Okay, another part of why I haven't had any progress on hemming the pesky B&W&P dress is the problem of see-through-ness. I've pinned up the dress (taking out about 7.5 inches, and it looks pretty good. Except when I tried to mock-up the normal rolled hem. The pattern was very evident. Too see-through. The twill tape I've been using on the seams is only half an inch wide, which would be difficult to manipulate into a hem. So, I got some 2" wide hem tape, which I assumed would be suitable for hemming. But I can still see the fabric pattern through it. Thinking about using a strip of the lining or something, but that would require more hemming of the strip. Or something.

Still working on it, but mostly in my head.

Any suggestions out there?

Baking: End of Summer

Blueberry tartlet a la mode with nectarine syrup.

Craft: Ye Olde pen and ink

Work and other general life has ramped up, therefore, the B&W&P dress remains unhemmed. Soon, I hope.

As a break during work, I've picked up a calligraphy pen again. I took the first class in 3rd grade (hated the class, but found the calligraphy fascinating). My Chancery font (the common, slanted one) has always been terrible... just can't keep the slants consistent. My Gothic and Unical fonts (the Germanic and Irish-ish ones) are pretty good, though. I need to re-find my copy of the Speedball (yes, as in pen) textbook. So many ways to write an "S"!

Following the realization that letters could look different from the Printing Teacher's directions, I have consciously changed my handwriting three times in my life. I've also taken steps to make sure that my signature is something that I think looks good (and is legible). Guess I'm kinda bragging there...

There's a couple of links on the side of this page for beautiful works of calligraphy from different cultures, like China and Arabic Ottoman and Persian. Completely amazed by some of the zoo-graphical Arabic designs. This link is cool hand-lettered manuscripts from all over. John Langdon does "ambigrams" (the words that look the same upside down), and shows how to create them.

I've also just found this really neat blog on calligraphy. No, not just the thick-thin-lines calligraphy, but the more general use of the word, which applies to writing and communication in general, also including history of the art and accouterments. Check out The Calligraphy Alphabet.

Sewing: More Progress on B&W&P Dress

My goal was to sew a dress before summer finished. If I hadn't sewn the zipper in backwards last night, I'd have had something to show yesterday.

B&W&P Dress, mostly finished!

All of the internal seams are bound (yay me!)

Seams so neat!

The hem isn't done, and won't be done before summer's over, since my summer finishes, uh, yesterday. And I need a hook-and-eye thingy. Maybe I'll actually finish it next week. Next week-ish. -Ish. Here's my questions:

1. I think it's a bit long (or I'm a bit short... yeah, probably more likely), and I intend on shortening the hem (or growing me, yeah right) a little. How much should I take it up? AND...
2. I have seam tape for the inside, which will hopefully be inconspicuous. OR I could bind the bottom of the dress with purple satin, like the straps and belt. Which will look better?

The Style Thing

I have some issues with sewing and creating clothing that I would want to wear out of the house. Here are my (larger) problems with sewing totally awesome clothes for myself:

1. Sense of style. I'm pretty boring. I don't wear the latest trends, it's unlikely to find me in frilly blouses or giant pendant necklaces, I don't wear high-heels, purses make me glaze over. I look good in slacks and a button-down shirt, which is what I wear to work, along with the pair of brown or pair of black, sensible flats. Otherwise it's jeans and t-shirts and my faithful hiking boots. I do know if something fits me well, but I've no idea if an outfit looks good or not. I currently favor the stylings of Anthropologie, ModCloth, Banana Republic, and Boden, but I don't have a handle on knowing whether it fits me or not. Have I ever bought anything from any of the above stores? No. Have I drooled over them? Yes. Well, and I'm also kinda cheap and don't want to pay the prices of some of those shops.
   
2. I'm allergic to wool. This means no lovely woolen trousers, tweed jackets, cashmere sweaters, or mohair scarves for me. Yes, there are lined crisply-creased houndstooth pants, but the hems and waistbands are usually still woolen on the inside, leaving a fantastic red ring around my middle and ankles by the end of the day. Even my beloved woolen peacoat will give my neck a rash unless I wear a scarf. I do love a nice pinstriped suit (which tends to be wool).
   
3. Pink. I despise it. It looks fantastic on a lot of people (women and a few men), and even yours truly, but I hate everything that color stands for and represents. I will not wear pink, other than (possibly) a few stripes or dots in an otherwise-other-colored fabric. Basta.
   

While the pink issue is relatively easy to avoid (except some summers when it replaces red), the other two are harder for me to get around. Wool is all over the place in winter, especially with the fashion industry's recent "discovery" of mohair and cashmere. (Side note: If you find non-wool sweaters that are not ribbed turtlenecks, please let me know!) However, there's enough cable sweaters that will layer over shirts (can't anyone make a thick, warm cotton sweater?!) My biggest problem is the style thing.

The fact that I'm calling my issues "the style thing" just shows how clueless I am. Fashion frankly scares me, but yet, I desire it. I want to look more modern and indie and non... uh.... non-obsolete. At the same time, I don't want to look ridiculous or strange. I also don't want to light myself on fire, which actually is a job hazard for me (this is part of the no-frilly-blouses bit). Plus, there's the whole outfit-making-thing. "Accessories" to me means "stuff you don't need" rather than "stuff to make you look better." For me, you take pants + shirt + shoes = outfit. This apparently is a misnomer when you get into that super cool layering thing, which means at least three shirts of different lengths and decorations, plus maybe a vest or a necklace or something else, and have you thought about your hair? I just don't see it.

What are your suggestions/rules for trying new fashion thingies?

Sewing(?): Handsome and Valuable

Here's a thing that was in my box of pins:

It's not actually bent, it's kinda 3-D, about an inch long. I've no idea what it is, nor how it got into the pins. There is a stamp on each side, one says "handsome" and the other says "valuable." What the heck is this?

Sewing, Tutorial: onestringbags

On my introductory blog entries, I mentioned onestringbags, which I found via instructables. These are the best things for avoiding the plastic produce bags at the grocery store and farmer's markets, and super easy to make. I love them. However, here are a few things I've learned by using these things:

Pros: No more plastic bags! Run under faucet to clean Lightweight (doesn't add much to fruit-per-pound totals) Inexpensive People ask where you got them and you get to brag

Cons: Does not work well for berries or very soft fruits Still have to remember them, along with the canvas bags

Eh. Not much you can do about that last one. Anyway.

I realize now that I do them a little differently from the instructable, so here's a tutorial on making my version of onestringbags. The biggest difference is that I fold all of the edges over, just so that there's more layers of tulle and the seams have more to hold onto. I apologize in advance for the poor pictures, but it's hard to photograph pesky delicate light green tulle.

Materials:

• length of tulle (get the stuff that's in the sale bin, probably in some wacky color, but your vegetables won't mind)
• length of string or cording
• thread (time to use the weird scraps!)
• sewing machine

Step 1: Cut the tulle into the size you want. (To keep it slightly more simple, I have a fold on one side edge. This piece is about 20"x36", so the final bag will be about 19"x18"-ish.) Lay the tulle flat. Find the top edge (where the drawstring will be... see mine?), and fold the sides in, about 1/2". Pin a little.

Step 2: Fold the top edge down, over the drawstring. I think the drawstring works better if you give it some space, so I make this fold about 1" to 1.5". Pin the drawstring to the fold, just so it's outta the way when you start sewing.

Step 3: Sew the drawstring in, giving it some space (I give it about an inch). Make sure to tie knots in the ends of the threads. Good knots.

Step 4: Put the side edges together. Pin the sides together, keeping that 1/2" fold on each outside face (it's sooo much easier to sew through four layers of tulle than just two). The edges might be a little messy and it may not lie quite flat, but it won't matter when you stuff the bag full of apples.

Step 5: See the layers? Good.

Step 6: Fold up the bottom. No need to keep the sides separate anymore, and it doesn't hurt to have something more than just twisted threads holding your plums inside. Pin it all!

Step 7: Sew the edges. Tie knots in the threads!

Step 8: Overhand knot to tie the drawstring. Now, go to the farmer's market and get stuff (ooh, I think peaches are in season...)