McCall's 6996

So, the second post appears a few weeks after the first...not a great way to start out, but I blame it on my phone.  We had some disagreements about what comprises storage.  Totally doesn't have anything to do with my general laziness, no sirree.

Anyways, here's the first make!  It's actually from this summer, but it's the first one I'm blogging.  It's McCall's 6996, ViewA.

With my phone like that, I look like an Surrealist painting.  Maybe that should be my new look.

It's in a thin cotton jersey knit that I picked up at SR Harris (or possibly Hancock Fabrics) a while ago; it's probably been in my stash for about a year, maybe less.  I only really started getting into knits in the last year, so that part of the stash is finally being used. I had just enough of this blue to make it. I cut a size small, which came out perfectly.

As for fit issues, there are none.  This was perfect right out of the envelope.  The peplum in the back (which I couldn't get a good picture of without being a contortionist) gives a really nice shape.  I didn't have to do a swayback adjustment or anything.  I sewed it with a sapphire blue silk thread I bought from Tuesday Mornings ages ago; it shows up a little on the hems, but otherwise isn't noticeable, and actually looks kinda pretty.

There are more of these in the works, once I find another jersey that I like as well.  Most of the nice stuff in the stash is gone now and I have to use up the synthetics first.

As for other news, I bought a French curve and another design aid at the local thrift store for 50 cents this past week, so I'm pretty jazzed.  Now hopefully when I make pattern adjustments, they won't look so harsh.

I did make that Star Wars dress that I mentioned in the first post, and it will get blogged soon.  Right now, I'm focusing on underwear -- the So, Zoe pants pattern is waiting to be sewn as I type.

Hello Everyone!

So as the title says...Hello Everyone!  My name is Grace, and I am a seamstress.

Hi Grace.

Hi, fellow thread addicts.

So, background first.  I'm a college senior in Minnesota, graduating in December with a degree in history.  Not the most lucrative major, I know, but I love it.  Surprisingly, I don't do a lot of historical costuming, mostly because I'm cheap and I need clothes for theoretical jobs in the future.  I do have the material for an 1870s bustle dress sitting in my room at the parents' house right now -- maybe I'll get to that after graduation.

I probably learned to sew around third grade or so; there isn't really a time when I didn't know how to work a sewing machine.  My grandmother quilts and my mother grew up sewing her clothes, so it was a natural progression for me to learn.  I didn't get really good at it until freshman year though, when I took a Intro to Costume Design course from the Theatre department.  It basically re-taught me how to actually take my time when I sew, as opposed to finishing things half-assed because I want to move onto the next project.  It's also where I got the title of the blog -- the class mantra. (Clarke, if you're reading...thanks!  Also, when I'm a big sewing star, you will get the royalties.  Of course, I need to be a sewing star first...Working on that.)

As I said, I'm graduating soon, so I'm trying to upgrade my wardrobe to a more work-appropriate style. With a few exceptions, I'm putting the kibosh on fun sundresses and bright circle skirts (Star Wars dresses excepted.)  I love working with knits and I'm a huge geek, so the trick is to combine the two into a professional wardrobe.