Denim Dress fix

Hello again! 

I was thrift-shopping with some friends a couple months ago and found this interesting maybe-it's-vintage, maybe-it's-your-grandma's denim dress. 

It was much too long for me to pull it off, but I loved the check-print on the bodice and the pockets. Especially the pockets. 

So I brought it home and hacked off about 5 inches. 

I originally planned on folding the hem under to hide the serge, but I kind of like the serged-finish. It looked good with the denim. 

And I'm currently in love with dresses that button up the front! Buttons always add so much to a garment. They're def underappreciated and undervalued. 

And now we just have to wait for the right weather to wear a summer dress like this...hahaha...that's funny...summer dress in San Francisco...

-Taft WK

Cape for P

Remember the blue circle skirt I made for Pauline last year? She's going back to the same event this year and wanted a cape that she is going to decorate to make more fandom-y reference-y. Don't ask me any questions about it. 

We picked out a black, slightly sheer fabric at the store that had a nice drape to it. I then patterned the cape body from scratch and altered a hood I found on another pattern. 

The cape fastens on the side with a faux button. I didn't trust my sewing machine to do a good enough job on the button hole, so I put a snap under the button to fasten it. 

(Cheating? Maybe? Maybe not?)

All the inner seams are finished with the serger cause this fabric frays like cray. (hey, that rhymes!)

I wish I had changed the thread color to black before sewing this, but have any of you tried to re-thread a serger before? It's definitely joining the List of Things I Hate (hear more about that here). 

There you have it! I'll post pictures of the cape after Pauline makes it more fandom-y so you can see the final product. 

-Taft

Bow Tie for J

As evidenced by the fact that I'm posting summer camp adventures in late October, Halloween costumes on New Years Eve and saving dresses that walked a runway in early June for mid-fall, you really can't be all that shocked that J's October birthday present turned into a Christmas present and then turned into a Martin Luther King Day present. Never heard of an MLK Day present before? Well, that's because you don't procrastinate your gifts nearly as well as I do. 

Anywho, I found this really cool velvet in the remnants section at Fabric Outlet (not actually during a 40% off sale, are you surprised?) and thought it would make a great present for J in the form of....

A bow tie!

I found the pattern here (free and downloadable).

I would also like to note that while the List of Things I Hate is very short (including, but not limited to, Google buses, waking up before 6:30 and bigotry), sewing velvet has had the pleasure of joining that list. It's slippery, fuzzy and sheds. And its impossible to take the stitches out if you mess up. Never sewing velvet ever again. 

Well, hopefully I'll get more on top of my time management issues and keep y'all better updated.

-Taft WK 

Cecilia's Suits: Part 3

Aaaaaaaand I'm back! With more suits! Did you miss me? (Catch up here and here)

I just adore the buttons on this suit. Absolutely my favorite.

I discovered I have a severe dust allergy while pulling all these suits out to take pictures. There's definitely some cleaning in order before I can work with these.

And the one and only non-suit in the collection...

Check those shoulder pads. I might just cut them out and wear the shirt as is.

There was also this belt that looked like it matched the above pants:

Well, that's that! We've reached the end of the suits, so look forward to posts about what I used them for.

-Taft WK 

Pink and Gray Striped Tunic For Mom

I'm such a good daughter. Especially when I'm getting paid to make clothes for my mom. It really only makes me a better daughter (I hope Mom is reading this...)

I made a tunic for her several months ago, which she loved, so now there's more! 

For this one, we dropped the neckline (same as my Halloween dress) and added 4 or so inches to the bottom. 

This fabric is (surprise!) from Fabric Outlet, picked up during a (surprise!) 40% off sale. I know you're all shocked every time I say that.

And I got the stripes to match up perfectly on the side seam! I'm so excited!

We love Fabric Outlet because of their fantastic prices and sales, but now that I'm making clothes that are supposed to last longer, the seams are outliving the fabric. The knits we purchased there are pilling very quickly, so I was wondering if anyone had suggestions of where to find well-priced, quality knits in San Francisco? (Our next thought was Britex, but that's waaaay too expensive for us). 

-Taft WK