Whatcha going to make? (I love making plans)

One month into the challenge and I haven't made a thing!! I haven't bought a piece of clothing either, but the goal here is to get me sewing...So I'm going to do what I always do - make plans. But this time around, I'm going to declare it to all the lovely sewing people out there just so that you can feel free to give me a kick in the rear, if I don't make it.

Now that's established, let's talk more on the plans. The more I see my previous patterns related to plans and carrying them out, I realize that long term plans don't do much to me.. I lose sight of the goal real quick.. but short term goals, quick ones, small ones work well.  Sooooo.....

In the next 4 weeks, I'm going to make 4 tops and 2 dresses.

There! I've said it! 

After a big purge in the last 2 months, I'm finding that my wardrobe is seriously lacking in the tops department and summer short sleeved dresses. Time to do something about it.  And it will also help me tweak the minor fit issues with sleeves.

Now isn't this too many garments??  I chose this number, only because my almost TNT knit top pattern is ready and I think I can do it. At least 4 of the fabrics have been prewashed too!  Now I just have to cut up and sew.

Writing that was easy! Posting it was nerve wracking. Let's see what comes out of it!

Meanwhile, I'd love to hear from you..... What's your plan for the next 4 weeks?  Do plans work for you? Short term plans? Long time plans? What helps you carry out your plans?

Creative Festival - Spring 2013

Having lived in Toronto for 8 yrs now, I've never been to the Creative Festival until very recently.  Adrienne and I met up at the Creative sewing Festival on Friday and took some seminars together. We also bumped into Reethi and her mom on that day. Seraphinalina and Debbie joined us on Saturday for more fun.

Highlights:

1. Meeting up with fellow sewing bloggers of course. It was so much fun going to the expo with them.
2. The fitting seminars by Lorraine Henry -  FANTASTIC!!! (insert many many light bulbs here!) Lorraine uses the book "Fitting and Pattern Alteration - a multi-method approach" by Judith Rasband, Elizabeth Leichty. Out of her 6 seminars, I attended 4. She showed us how to make a crotch curve and how to use that template on the pattern, how to take proper measurements and how many of those to take (plenty!)  and how to use those measurements on the pattern. She also showed the order of alterations - what goes first and what next. (Length before width and in a certain order). All of these were before we even brought out the scissors for pattern alteration. The book that her fitting principles for pattern alteration are based on, has been on my wishlist for a while now ever sine I read glorious reviews (It will continue to be, at least till next year!). And even without the book, I can work on my fit issues based on what she taught us. I also loved the fact that she wasn't doing a sales pitch for her products during the seminar. I bought the ingenious 'Two easy Measuring tape" that she designed herself.  Now got to put that all theory that I've learnt, into practice. for anyone who is curious about her alteration methods, you can check out, this Threads article for back alteration and this one for full bust (FBA) and swayback.
3. No, I did not break my resolve of not buying stuff. The measuring tape is a nifty notion.Other than that, I bought some beads for my 6 yr old DD, who is not a part of my No buy resolution, for this year. She uses her stuff, unlike her mommy!And I bet it will be used up in a week or two.
4. Seminars by Johanne Brousseau - While Johanne is not a fitting expert, I learned some  practical tips on machine maintenance, needles, sewing swim wear, serger basics etc. I found it very funny that she measured my torso diagonally (crotch to shoulder tip) and proclaimed that I have a tall torso. Lol! No, just have too much squishy factor that she didn't take into account. When measuring bodies, there's length and width and then, there is depth that most people ignore! I practically drown in most of my tops and have to buy petite tops and bottoms. So, no, not a tall torso by any means!

Lowlights:

1. The expo was not targeted at the younger sewing crowd. Not even a teeny tiny bit.
2. No demos of sewing techniques - there's so much the organziers could have thought about. Easy breezy welt pockets, Bagging a lining with the machine, Attaching lining with zippers with no hand stitching, Sewing with leather  .... Why save these techniques demos only for fall?? All demos can be done with one machine and using a video projector to project it on a huge screen. Come on, guys! Use the darn technology!
3. Allowing the internet ticket buyers to go in early and check out the stores before the crowd comes in, was a good way to promote online buying and to reduce the long lines. But starting the seminars early? So not cool! I bought my tickets online, but those that bought the tickets right at the door were not amused!

An essential top!

Finally, a top on the blog. Thanks to Faye's Essential top sewalong! It's almost done, except for the hems. I'm too tired today and if I go any further I'll mess up. So the hems have to wait for tomorrow.

Fabric is from King's Fabrics, Queen Street, bought maybe 2 yrs ago.. The color is more  of a deep royal purple in real life.

The pattern came from Ottobre Women 2/2007 issue. The top seemed a bit plain like a tank top, so I added a tie on collar to it. I surprised myself that the collar isn't too bad after all. The kicker is that it fits!  Did you hear that?? IT FITS!!! :) No gaping neckline, no armhole gaping, no bra strap showing on the back shoulder - nothing!! Apparently, the regular FBA works out better for me, than the Y dart one!

Thank you Faye, for the sewalong!

Why do a muslin? Why? Oh why?

I've been thinking about muslins. A lot. Because I have a unique body, the pattern right out of the envelope would never work for me. So, I 'have to' make a muslin(s) for figuring out the fit and hopefully will help me to turn that pattern into my pattern.

So far I've muslined Burda and Ottobre many times to come up with a well fitting Tee. I'm almost there but not quite yet... I did learn a few things worth mentioning -  I tried the famous Y dart FBA technique and discovered that it was not for me. Continuing on my quest to find a well fitting Tee, I even printed and taped a million sheets for a 'customized' Lekala pattern. No, that didn't work for me either....  More on these two later... But what I discovered in this process is that, even though I did start on the muslins to sort out the fit issues,  I got a lot more than that out of it...

Here's what I think muslins help me with:

1. to work on fitting issues, of course (duh!)
2. to see if the pattern style suits my personal style 
3. to see if the pattern style suits my unique body shape
4. to do a trial run on the construction technique, if I'd like to try that.
5. to figure out the order of construction or come up with your own better version
6. to see if the drape of the fabric is the right fit for this pattern
7. to take the pressure off to get the garment look and fit super duper great the very first time (that's torture!)
8. to use up stash ;)
9. to say bye to the fear factor - muslins can be done in cheap fabric that I don't care to wear anyway and if it doesn't workout, I can kiss it goodbye and embrace another muslin.
10. to feel encouraged - after every muslin, it's so obvious how far I've come from where I began and how close I am to a decent fitting tee.

 What else do you think making a muslin can help with? 

Claiming my blog on Bloglovin

I am now on Bloglovin - just to see what the hype is all about. :)