The true test of maternity apparel - the size 8 1/2 month belly

From Everyday People Cartoons

Sorry readers, I've been away from the internet but I haven't had the baby yet! I've just been so busy with last minute preparations that I've been ignoring the blog. And because I recently changed the way my comments are handled, I didn't realize I had so many comments pending from the curious among you (usually they go straight to my email inbox)!

This is the first weekend in months that I don't have a birth or parenting class to attend. And yesterday was my last day at work (for a few months anyway). I feel like a free woman...  I just hope this little girl lets me have at least a few days to enjoy nesting at home before making her appearance.

I finally got around to taking pictures of a few more of the maternity garments I've made. This Patrones blouse has actually been a favorite.

This Jucca maternity tunic pattern was included in the 268/Extra issue, back when Patrones regularly included a maternity spread in most of their issues (although Melissa has just informed us that there is a maternity t-shirt in the 289/Extra issue).

38 weeks

Fabric
Chartreuse textured silk charmeuse from the Vera Wang Lavender Label collection, purchased June 2009 from Fabric.com. I used the matte side of the fabric (not the shiny side) as the right side - in some light the shininess was okay and in other light it was just too much, considering I wanted something appropriate for day as well as night.

Notes on construction/alterations
I made a muslin using a sheer cotton, as I originally thought I'd make this blouse in a cotton voile or lawn, as was used in the model photo.  I found it looked a bit too stiff, so that steered me towards a more fluid fabric for the final garment.

This blouse features two drawstrings that meet at the upper bust, and a drawstring that winds around just below the belly. To form the drawstring casings, I stitched ivory Hug Snug rayon seam binding to the inside of the garment - much easier than forming casings out of charmeuse.

The pattern also included drawstrings at the sleeve hems, but I figured those would be more bothersome than not, so I finished the sleeves with a simple band.

Conclusion
I have mixed feelings about the drawstrings at the upper bust, I don't think it's the most flattering placement; putting them just under the bust like an empire waist would be another option.

Overall, this has been a great blouse for dressing up a bit during pregnancy. I pretty much live in knits, so it feels nice to wear something silky and somewhat sophisticated every now and then.

Trench coat love

Thanks to a fellow Pattern Review member, I was able to find the ever elusive Patrones magazine during my trip to Germany last month. This is Issue 284, the fall Extra issue.

Since my back issues of Patrones Extra have included maternity patterns, I was disappointed that this issue had none.  (Apparently maternity patterns are increasingly unpopular - in 2009, Burda magazine also ditched their once-a-year, throw a bone to the pregnant ladies, handful of maternity patterns they typically published in their August issue. Not to mention that the maternity patterns from the Big 4 are all leftovers from the 1990s or out of print. I actually have a whole maternity pattern rant post in draft mode that I'm sitting on...).

Anyway, as Melissa shared with us, Patrones has dropped the designer names from their patterns, but the clothes and the photoshoots are as fashiony as they always were.  Issue 284 has a collection of not-your-typical trench coats (including the coat on the cover) that I think really stand out.

Here, a big ruffle adds pizazz to an otherwise straightforward & simple coat.

 

I lied, this one is a pretty typical trench coat, but desirable nonetheless.

 

This one's all drapey and doesn't seem to have any closures (unless there's a hidden snap at the waist), hence the need for a RTW belt. Looks like a great layering piece.

 

This one's my fave. It has a hood! I loooove hoods on jackets and coats - when you live in a city that has as many impromptu gentle rain showers as Seattle, having a hood is golden. I examined the line drawing and the pattern pieces for this one and I so don't know what's going on... This one could be a future Big Project, but don't hold your breath.

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I do have a new BWOF top done, just need to take some pics, so that'll be making an appearance here soon. I've also been tracing Patrones and Burda patterns like crazy. Let's see if I can crank any of those out during the upcoming 3-day weekend.

Thank you Marita!

Look what the very generous Marita sent to me! Patrones 276. An issue of Patrones is nearly worth a bar of gold in the US, it is so rare and coveted.

This is the first issue I've seen that has kids clothes included (I thought they usually have their own issue?). And it has some nice bridal gowns too.

Here's a peek inside:

Nothing brightens my day like good mail

Since my recent success with the Patrones dress, I have been lusting even more after this hard-to-get-your-hands-on magazine. Lucky for me that Berry picked up an issue for me during her recent trip to Barcelona! And she included some mint tea as a taste of what’s to come when I visit Morocco later this year. So sweet. Thank you Berry!!


I am really digging the knit top on the cover. I also like this blouse/jumper combination. Check out more Especial Fiesta eye candy here.

Wardrobe garment 6: The shift dress

Voila! It’s the Ghana dress. I am in love. I haven’t been this excited about a garment for a while. But I should start from the beginning...

Let me tell you, I was nervous about this dress. As you may remember, the fabric was a gift from Cidell that she got during her trip to Ghana last year. It was this fabric that helped me to settle on my theme for this wardrobe, ‘global wanderings.’ So I had to make something good with it. I went through many dress patterns looking for the right one. Initially I decided on a Vogue maxi-dress, but I kept my eyes peeled for other alternatives because I just wasn’t 100% sold on that.

Patrones 256 (May 2007) Dress by Flamenco, style 24

Flipping for the millionth time through my oft-paged-through-but-never-used issues of Patrones, I found a dress with a silhouette I thought was very complementary to the fabric. The dress is by Flamenco, which is a brand I’ve never heard of before. I’m assuming it’s Spanish. I tried Googling to find out more about this company and maybe see some more dress pics, but as you might imagine, when your search terms include words like “Flamenco, clothing, apparel, dress”, all you get is links to apparel specifically marketed for flamenco dancing. Edited: Thank you Laüra for providing the link to the Flamenco website! Very fun clothes!

Notes on construction/alterations
The muslin
A muslin was a must in this case because of my unfamiliarity with the fit of Patrones patterns. I looked all over for “cremallera” (zipper) in the Spanish text but I didn’t find it, so I figured this must be the kind of thing that will just go over your head. It is. I took in the shoulder seams a bit and made the neckline larger (even before I added the tab collar it was seriously choking me). Otherwise the fit was good enough to proceed.

Bias cut front
To add a little pizzazz to the look, I added a center front seam and cut each of the two fronts on the bias.

Button loops
(This one’s for you, Leslie!) As you can see, the front yoke has a slit down the front which is held together (or not) with 4 buttons. I had planned to form button loops using soutache but I couldn’t figure out a way to hide the cord’s raw edges given the way I constructed the slit (I should have taken pics of how I did this but I was working expediently and trying to stay focused!). The only other option I could think of was to make button loops (a thread bar covered with buttonhole or blanket stitches) like I learned last month during the “Couture Techniques” class with Susan Khalje in LA last month (yup, PR Weekend). Since I most certainly did not remember this technique off the top of my head, I consulted a couple of my reference books and I found it on page 138 of Susan Khalje’s Bridal Couture as well as on page 33 of Claire Schaeffer’s Couture Sewing Techniques. My practice button loop did not turn out great, but in the interest of time I just went ahead and worked them on my garment. One’s wonky but overall the experience was a confidence booster. I can now turn mere thread into a button loop!

Buttons
I found the gold buttons in my stash, they match the button that I used on the tunic with the drawstring neckline (See? There is cohesiveness in this wardrobe :) )

Curved seams
The muslin, thank goodness, gave me a chance to practice curved seams (on the front yoke), which I rarely do so they’re always a bit stressful. There was a lot of staystitching, seam allowance clipping, pin basting and thread basting involved…

Hem
Looking at the pictures of me wearing the dress, I see that the hem is flipping out at the left side slit. Could this be because I pulled the thread too taut when I was doing an invisible hem by hand? Must investigate. The camera never lies, does it?



Conclusion
The overall design of this dress is simple and therefore a good ‘introduction’ for me to Patrones. (Now I’m seriously hooked and I just ordered the latest issue (Joven) from Ebay!)

I prefer the way this looks when I have the collar spread open vs. when the collar is completely closed. Because of the round shape of my face, I think I look better when I have some neck/chest showing to help elongate. In the model photo, the yoke seems to naturally spread open, but mine doesn’t do that unless I really fold the entire collar under.

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The deadline for the wardrobe contest looms near, and I really have to thank this lady for getting me through some long sewing sessions...

I wish all my mail was like this

A couple of weeks ago I was browsing the boards at Supernaturale (a site I found through one of Stacy's links, I think), and I clicked on the Swap & Trade board. There I found someone who was interested in obtaining some of the Built by Wendy Simplicity patterns, and she was located in Portugal. Well you know what my first thought was... Patrones! So we had a nice little email exchange, and look what was waiting for me in my mailbox today - not only the latest issue of Patrones, but also vintage navy plaid fabric and dotted bias binding!

Isabel, thank you so much for your generous package :)

Two bindings to go

Tim and I are heading out for another vacation this upcoming Friday, we are going to Maui (my first time in Hawaii!). Tim's parents have a condo there (they otherwise live in SF) so we are meeting up with them there and we'll stay through the 4th of July.



So I've been doing some sewing to get ready for the trip. No, not sewing any beach coverups or fun dresses, rather I spent several hours today working on two baby quilts. My coworker will come back from maternity leave while I'm gone, and I want to have them ready for when she returns. She had twins and was assigned to bed-rest just before we had the office baby shower. Since then I've let the quilts-in-progress languish in the corner. I actually like working on quilts, so not sure why it's taken me so long to get back to these, except that of course it takes time away from my apparel sewing.

All that's left is to apply the binding, which will require some handsewing, best done with some TV as entertainment. Good thing Big Love is on tomorrow night.


Patrones update

Several weeks ago I mentioned that I ordered Patrones Extra (#257) from Around the World. After some time passed, I called to check on why I hadn't received it yet. The gentleman told me that they did not receive #257 in their latest shipment, but they do have #256, the Joven issue, and would I like him to send that one? Well, twist my arm. It arrived on Friday via Fed Ex - lots of great eye candy...

Patrones Extra

I found out today that the new Patrones Extra, June 2007, No. 257, has been released. Since I don't have any trips to Spain planned in the next month, I called Around the World, purveyor of international fashion mags in NYC, [(212) 575-8543] and arranged a charge-send. It was as easy as could be. $9 for the magazine and $5 for shipping, so $14 for 93 beautiful patterns, not a bad deal at all. After I hung up the phone, I wondered if I should have inquired about back issues too, but no, let's make sure this first transaction goes okay before I go crazy ordering magazines over the phone.