Monday, July 8, 2013

My Colors

I so wanted to take part in Me Made May 2013. But, alas, I don't really have enough me mades to last for a month. This is my goal for next year. To actually sew so much, that I could pledge myself to wear at least 2-3 times a week me mades. But, I loved getting inspiration from others and enjoyed the posts of other bloggers. Inspired by Gillian, who included a color palette for her MMM'13 challenge, I wanted to create my own color palette. Not really to challenge myself, but to think more about the colors I use and what kind of fabrics I buy. I came up with the following:


The idea is that the smaller rectangles are sort of accent colors, so that I have more neutral tones to choose from. This isn't really that strict and I'm not going to go and throw away clothes that don't fit to the palette. But I've noticed that these are the colors I wear most often. And if I look at the things I'm sewing, the Réglisse has pink and brown in it, the Sassy Librarian Blouse will be from orange and yellow and the swimsuit from turquoise and red. So, not bad...

Monday, July 1, 2013

La Réglisse - finished!

Well. I'm finally done! This took forever, although I gotta say, it wasn't the actual sewing. I've had so much extra stuff to do, that I just didn't have time to sew. But still, it took me a really long time. I could've not lined it, but then again, I think I will wear it more with lining. Or I think I underlined it. I always get confused with lining and underlining. I know the difference, but in Finnish we just have one word for it and just different methods how to achieve it. So, I talk about lining, but it might be underlining...




















Contrasting side pocket
Somehow the waist ended up being a bit high after all. It was exactly at the right place in the muslin, so I don't know how it happened. It looks ok, though, so I'm not going to try to fix it. Also the bust darts are a bit high (again correct in the muslin, so I guess the problem is with the upper part of the bodice), but again, not too obvious. But if I do the pattern again, I will definitely fix this. There are some issued with my topstitching and my lining doesn't look pretty always, but I don't think these show too much when I'm wearing it. I'm so happy how the pockets turned out. You really can't see them, but there they are. And having little pink inside as well makes me happy. All in all, I think this dress is a success. Especially, since this wasn't my favorite from Deer and Doe patterns, but I definitely warmed up to it.

Few words about the photos: I've seen so many blogs with awesome pictures and I really want to get better ones. I think I need to invest on a tripod. But I think these weren't half bad. I tried to use the posing tips Rachel from House of Pinheiro posted couple of weeks ago. And I  think they are working. Now, I suck at posing, I feel very self-conscious when someone's taking a photo, and I really want to improve this. Maybe taking my pictures for the blog will help... Although it's even worse, when you're taking them in your parking lot, where people walk by... But I kind of like the wall there as a background. We'll see. Maybe I try another place. Oh, and one more thing: I had these perfect shoes for these pictures, but my ankle is still swollen, and they didn't fit. So, that's why I'm wearing my tennis shoes...

Fabric: Dotted brown (100 % cotton), dotted pink (100 % cotton), and beige bemberg lining (100 % polyester).
Pattern: Robe Réglisse
Changes to the pattern: Added 1cm to the length of the bodice, so that the waist would be in the right place (it wasn't though, needed even more length). Added pockets and lining.
Year: 2013
Notions: Elastic for the waistband, pink dotted bias
Time: ~24h (this includes everything from tracing the pattern to finishing, a bit of an estimate, since I forgot to check the time a lot...)
Total price: 75,45 €*

*The cost is pretty accurate: I have a table of costs... I love statistics! Although I don't know if this reflects the real costs of my sewing, since there are always the Craftsy classes and patterns that don't get made in the end and books that are for technique and my dress form and pins and needles and stuff... I'm too much of an accountant I guess, and it bothers me that I don't include the fixed costs... anyway, this is my decision: I will include the fabric, pattern and notions for the project. Unless they are over 3 years old (except pattern books I keep for 5), which is when they become sunken costs... and I have some additional rules that might change - or not. Do I just think about this way too much? Maybe I shouldn't even calculate how much it costs, but I kind of like having a record of it...