Cherry Cola Coat: aka My Minoru

So, I made this jacket AGES ago.  And I kept promising to post about it.  Whoops.  Well, better late than never.

Things I love:

I love how easy this coat was to sew up! It really went rather quickly, and the instructions were so easy to follow. Tasia did it again!

I love the fabric that I used :) I was a little worried about the fabric at first.  I have always loved the print.  I bought the fabric online, and I know what cotton canvas feels like, but I was still a little nervous when it came in the mail I kept thinking "oh man, is this going to make a good jacket?  Is the fabric going to be right?"  But after it all came together, it was so great!  I love how vibrant the colors are, and the pink pops of cherries make me smile!

I changed a few things.  I added pockets, although I should have made them on my muslin as well, because I didn't get the height of the pockets just right.  I used the pocket pattern from the Peony and just stuck it right in the side seams.

I also couldn't quite find the right zipper length that I wanted, so to compensate, I didn't put the zipper all the way to the top of the collar.  Instead, I added these FABULOUS buttons that came from my grandma's button stash that I inherited!

Aren't they freakin' amazing?!?!

Things I would change next time:

I wouldn't line the whole thing with shiny, slippery fabric.  I would line only the sleeves with slippery fabric.  I don't really love opening up the zipper and seeing the high gloss fabric peeping out at me.  I think I would prefer a matte fabric.

I would sew in the waist elastic during the muslin phase.  I didn't do this, I just drew on the line, and it looked great, and in the final project it is so close, but I would have dropped the elastic down about 1/4 to 1/2 inch.

I would decrease the size of the hood.  It is too tall on me!  Haha, when I actually pull the hood out to wear, it is so tall that the front flops down over my eyes.  I would also definitely not recommend using a slipper fabric to line the hood.  Bad plan.  It slips on my hair, so the hood has real trouble staying up.  So either my hood is falling off my head or over my eyes.  Ugh.

But, all those changes aside, I love this jacket!  I wear it all the time!  It is so cheery, and I get compliments on it all the time :)

Below are a few photos from our Engagement Session.  Almost my entire outfit can be credited to Sewaholic patterns *grins*  Minoru Jacket and Renfrew top.  Two of my favorites combined!  All photos were taken by Brandon Witzel.  He took both our engagement and wedding photos!  He did such an amazing job :)  If you live in the Portland, Oregon or LA, California area, look him up!

My Closet: Bikes and Top Hats!

Hello friends!

I've been holding out on you.  It's true.  I once upon a time (around November of 2011) made a shirt, that I was so excited about.  And I was reading lots of sewing blogs and thought to myself, "Well, gosh!  Maybe I should start one too, because then I would get to share things like the shirt I just made!! And, maybe people would give me tips and hints, and say lovely things about my creations (because lets be honest, we all love a little praise and love from our fellow sewists!)"

So I started this blog.  I had so much fun getting it started that I totally forgot to blog about the shirt.  It was my very first Sorbetto!  I made it from a cotton fabric that I had gotten in my grandma's enormous stash of fabric!  I actually had to fight over this particular fabric with my dad, and he only relented when I promised that I would make him something out of it as well!  Which, reminds me that I need to still do that.  My dad liked this fabric so much because it has old fashioned bikes on it.  Along with the old bikes, there are men in top hats, and ladies in big dresses; the print really is fabulous.

I've enlarged the photo in hopes that you can get a better look at the print

I have a few things that I wish I would have known before making the shirt, but hindsight is always 20/20, yes?  I didn't bother making a muslin of this shirt because I thought the pattern looked simple enough that I would be able to make any necessary changes to the fashion fabric itself.  It's true, I was able to make all the changes that I wanted, except one.  For some reason, once you've cut out fabric, you can't make it grow longer if the shirt is too short, boo.  It's not necessarily too short, but I don't like my belly skin to flash if I move wrong, and this shirt could use another inch or two, but I've had fun finding things to layer it with.

Other than the length, this garment is wonderful!  I did all french seams, so the inside looks great, and the cotton itself is incredibly soft, heavy, and has a great drape to it.  I probably would have made a skirt out of the fabric instead of a shirt, if I'd had enough yardage.

Bikes!

Do you have any specific item of clothing that inspired you to start your blog?  What blogs do you find that have the most inspiration to keep you blogging and sewing?

On a slightly different note, but seeking feedback please!!  Do you any of you bloggers have any great resources for getting better at photography?  Books, blogs, tutorials?  Please send ideas my way if you have any.  Thanks!

P.S.  You can now Follow my blog with Bloglovin.

Meringue-alicious!

Hello friends!

So I posted ages ago that I was going to show you my Meringue skirt that I completed for Sew Colette.  I didn't get around to it until just now, so... oops.  The sewing community is a forgiving one, yes?  Maybe as punishment I will have nightmares about endless tracing patterns, and cutting out fabric, and never getting to sew a stitch!  I would be one miserable little sassafras!

On to better things.  My skirt!  I made it out of some fabulously fuscia corduroy fabric.  I got the fabric from fabric.com and was really just curious because I had never sewn with corduroy before.  It's fun!  One very interesting thing that I noted, was that chalk goes right through all the layers!  I'm sure that could be really annoying sometimes, but for this skirt, it was really great when marking the darts... I marked one and the other was already done!

I made the hem facing out of some fun polka-dot fabric that I had left in my stash from a book bag that I made years ago.  I was excited to put a flash of something fun in there!  The waistband has the same fabric for the facing as well!  I should mention that I used Caitlin's (Design assistant for Coletterie) awesome tutorial for adding a waistband to the Meringue.  

Fun hem facing!

So I have a silly confession.  I had my roommate take these photos (she is so awesome to help me with that!)  And after taking a bunch of different photos, I was scrolling through them later and noticed something a little funny about my purple sweater.  Lets just say *ahem* it is a good thing that I always wear and undershirt beneath this sweater.  I wasn't really thinking about it for the photo shoot, and just threw on the sweater.  These two photos are the only two where you can't glaringly see my white bra.  Ha! Oh dear.  I figured you all didn't want to see better pictures of the lovely scallops on the bottom if it meant that your eyes would be burned by my lady support.

Not my best angle, but hey at least you can see the skirt!

There was one little wonky spot on the skirt that makes me furrow my brow in frustration.  On the inside, right where the waistband and facing meet with skirt, I did something wrong I'm sure, because the zip gets stuck.  there is a little part of the facing that is just close enough to the zip that when you're trying to pull up, the zipper head gets stuck and you have to wrench the waistband apart a little just to get the zipper up all the way.  Annoying enough to take out and fix?  Eh, we'll see... 

If you peek in the bottom left corner you can see some of the fabric that I'm using in my Minoru Jacket.  Yes folks, I finally got started on it!  I'm so so excited to show it to you when it is finished!

What are you working on?  Any interesting new fabrics that you are trying out?  How about the weird waistband and zipper problem?  Anyone else ever dealt with that?

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend!

P.S.  On the subject of the Sew Colette project;  I've opted to skip February's Pastille.  I'm not sold on the dress, plus, I just put so much time into a fitted bodice with the Peony, which is the learning goal with making the Pastille.  I think I'd rather use my time to make the Minoru Jacket and pick up with Sew Colette in march.

Sew Grateful: Reflections and Buttons!

Hello friends!

 I was looking at the rest of the schedule that Debi posted for the second Sew Grateful week and saw:

• Write a reflection post (on what your 'sew grateful' for): post by Wednesday, February 8th
• Finish a sewing project: post by Saturday, February 11th

Well, I am late for getting my reflection post up by Wednesday, but I thought I would combine the two into one nice post. 

I feel that most girls learn sewing from their mothers.  I love my mama, and she helped me hem somethings while I was younger (with gritted teeth I imagine), but even she will tell you that I did not inherit my crafting gene from her.  Both of my grandmothers were wonderful seamstresses, even my daddy has some way better than adequate sewing skills (although he hasn't pulled those out in years).  I definitely got my sewing obsession from my grandmothers.  They have both passed away and I sure wish that I could pick both of their brains for sewing help and thank them properly for all the inspiration they have given me.

One memory that I have of my maternal grandma Winona, is of her teaching me how to cross stitch!  I don't really remember much of it now, all the counting and tiny stitches gave me a headache.  I do remember though, that she patiently taught me how to do the stitches, how to count the rows, she let me use her big magnifier to make it easier, and she also bought me the cutest bear patterns to cross stitch!  I also remember playing dress up in her closet of fantastic mu-mu's and polyester track suits.  Her eyes would laugh as I tried them on, and she would tell me about making them.

My paternal grandma, Enid, was a professional seamstress.  She taught me the basics of sewing, letting me learn on her machine, and letting me pick out fabric to make a skirt with!  I remember rolling my eyes when she tried to explain to me the importance of matching my plaids...  I really didn't get it at that point!  Haha, how things change.  

I have both of these women to thank for so much.  Not only did they teach me so much, but they also left me many sewing and crafting related goodies to play with.  My first sewing machine was inherited from my grandma Enid, and the serger that I still use was Winona's.  Since they have passed away, I have gotten boxes of fabric, and lots of haberdashery!  Which leads me to the finished project portion of the post.

I already had posted a few pictures of my finished Peony for you, but I wanted to post a few more pictures, especially showcasing these adorable buttons!  I first spied these buttons when I opened up a box of haberdashery that I had gotten from Grandma W.  they were sitting right on top, and I remember squealing in delight, and then promptly forgetting about them.  When putting the finishing touches on my dress, I was about to head to trusty JoAnn's when I remember that I had boxes and boxes of vintage buttons; and what should be on  the top of the very first box I open...?  You guessed it.  Perfection!

Peony!  Sorry for the dark night-time photo.

It is hard to tell in these photos, but the blue almost perfectly matches the light blue background color in the print.  And the buttons themselves are so fun!  They remind me of the waves at the ocean, part smooth, part foamy/lacy.  Very pretty!  And I really love the contrast they make with the saffron sash.

Fun side note.  Can anyone guess what my new fun word of the day is?!  Haberdashery!!  So, maybe I am just behind in my vocabulary, but I had never heard of this word, until I started reading some blogs based in the UK.  I finally looked it up, because I was prone to believe it meant tom-foolery  But when it was so often used with sewing in context I realized, it must not be related to mischief!  Trusty Wikipedia helped me out with this definition (for anyone else who may be wondering...)

A haberdasher is a person who sells small articles for sewing, such as buttons, ribbons,zips, and other notions. A haberdasher's shop or the items sold therein are called haberdashery.

So, as a final word, if you haven't signed up for my giveaway of a great little gadget (dare it be called haberdashery), please do!  Go here and leave a comment telling me what you are grateful for!


P.S.  My computer is tweaking out and not letting me post the wonderful pictures that I have of my grandmothers, so I will keep working and update the post if I can figure out what the glitch is.  Thanks for stopping by!

Introducing: My Saffron Peony!

Hello friends!

I finally finished my Peony!  I haven't been able to take great photos yet, but I did snap a few shots with my cell phone while at a part this weekend with my love.

And here, if you are curious, was my date :)  Isn't he a hottie!?

I will try and take some better photos in the next few days, and get a few shots of the fun details!  There are some absolutely darling vintage buttons on the back of the sash!  Anyways, please enjoy!  And please feel free to leave me some comment love.  

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

The Turquoise Truffle Sorbetto

I'm sure that you are sitting in your chair (or laying on my bed as I do often while checking my blogs) and asking...

"Montana, don't you sew anything other than sorbetto blouses?!"  Truth time.  Yes.  Yes, I do.  BUT, when I'm short on time and need a sewing fix, there is nothing quite as satisfying, especially since I love love love them!  They are so fun to wear.

As you guessed it, here is another one!

I was planning on taking pictures along the way to show you the construction of the tucks.  But I got too excited and forgot.  Oops.  You'll just have to imagine if you will.  I originally wanted to try pin-tucks, but had an idea in my mind that I didn't quite have the fabric for.  So, I settled for just regular old tucks with a much smaller version of the original box pleat in the center.

I wasn't able to tuck in the perfect amount of fabric in order to use up all the fabric alotted for the box pleat, but that just meant that I had my roommate help me with the side seams, which ended up with an awesome fit that I love :)

Another fun adjustment is the back neck.  I have noticed that the back of my sorbetto's tend to gape slightly when my shoulders are not slouched.  Now, this may be a whole different fitting issue in itself like the slope of my shoulders, or an incorrect back width or between the armsyces (armsycies? armscye?  armsceese?!  Really, what is the plural for that???) or something.  I will really have to consult my Fit for Real People, one of these days.  But anyhow.  To quick fix the problem on this top, I just made a quick inverted pleat in the center!  It actually turned out way more adorable than I planned.  And, of course, this gave me just the excuse that I needed to put a fabulous, sparkly, vintage button on the back :)

And I shall name thee, the Turquoise Truffle Sorbetto.  And you shall be mine!

The Retro Sorbetto

Well, friends... better late than never, right?!

Several days ago I posted about the Sew Grateful Challenge.  I showed you a picture of what I was working on, and told you that I would show you the finished project soon.

*Confession*  I still haven't finished that project.  I started messing with the design, and I am perfectionist enough to want no top-stitching on the outside of this fabric, thus sewing all the seam bindings on the neck and arms down by hand.  Plus, the fabric is slippery and hard to work with... but enough whining and excuse-making.

So what is the silver lining you may ask?!  Well... I made a different shirt!  Following the same guidelines for the Sew Grateful Challenge; to use either fabric, or a pattern that had been gifted to me to make a garment.

Are you ready for the small details that make me giddy? (I'm sitting in my chair, giggling with mischievous anticipation)

The fabric was gifted to me by my grandmother.  I am not quite sure how old it is, but I really wouldn't bat an eyelash at guessing that it is older than I am.

I'm pretty sure it is some sort of cotton...

The thread I used was from my grandmother's stash that was given to me when she passed away.

The bias tape was gifted to me in my grandmother's stash as well... I have so many different colors of bias tape and rick-rack!  Again, all possibly older than I am.

The buttons!  Oh, the buttons...  They are just fantastic aren't they!  They were also gifted to me in my grandmother's rather sizable button collection that I really need to go through, organize, color code and find a way to store.

So, not only was absolutely everything I used gifted, but every thing I used was also retro... get it?!
Yeah, ok... I'm a dork sometimes.  But a charming one, I hope!

And now, for a few glances at the final project.  I hope you enjoy!  Thanks for stopping by.  And I would love comments of encouragement, or helpful fitting tips, or anything really.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

happy face :)

serious face.

Suprise!

 p.s.  I used Mena's pattern for adding sleeves to the Sorbetto.  She gave us the pattern with her 7 Days of Sorbetto Challenge that she featured on the Sew Weekly.  You can find that pattern here.

Lumpy Lining no Longer!

Dear lumpy lining,

  I know that I worked hard on you.  During our five hour car ride we spent some great time together, getting to know each other better, but I've decided that we shouldn't see each other anymore.  It's not me, it's you.  Sorry.

Sincerely,

Me