Sewing For Summer At This Time Of Year?

I wrote in an earlier post, I've decided to start following fashion schedules when planning my sewing. That means the start of the New York fashion should have been very important.

It wasn't.

There's good stuff, but also a whole lot of pastels and baige.

I watched as many shows as I could on Youtube but I felt more and more disappointing. The clothes were kind of boring, baggy and plain, and the colours were not my kind of thing. I don't know what I was thinking, but I expected more shape and architecture, more interesting colours.

I eventually came to the conclusion that it wasn't that surprising. Even though fashion shows are the place that designers show off their skills, they're also there to sell and advertise. If it looks like people are going to want pastels and pretty, floaty clothes then that's what they're going to turn to.

Also, I hate to say it, but the women they choose make the clothing less appealing to me. I know being down on other people for how their bodies look is iffy but when I'm admiring clothing I like to imagine wearing it, and seeing them on the most skinny woman they could find doesn't give me any idea what they would look like on my 34Ds.

And I like boobs.

Watching the fashion shows did have one up side, though, and that was seeing the Bea Szenfeld show. To be fair, it doesn't have any clothes in it, but it's still awesome. They're basically paper sculptures draped on models, and you really should watch the video to see how they move.

Planning for Cosplaying

I said in one of my first posts that my goals for the year included making a cosplay costume. (There's a few things on that list that I probably won't get done, but lets not talk about that.)

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I've finally decided which one I want to do first.

I'm a big fan of the Teen Titans cartoon series. It came out when I was in the right age demographic, they showed episodes at the right time so I could watch them at my grandparents, (we didn't have cable or satellite) and it turned into a gateway drug for the DC universe.

This costume has a couple of advantages that draw me to it. Firstly, as far as superhero outfits go it's pretty simple. There aren't any complicated emblems or insignia to trip me up. I might try them later but not on my first try.

Secondly, I finally feel like I have the figure to make it work. I know I shouldn't talk like that, a bigger cosplayer having loads of fun will almost always look better than someone the right shape who doesn't put the effort in and enjoy it, but confidence wasn't always my strong suit.

Thirdly, I probably have the supplies for the main clothes, belt, and broach already. That's an important thing at the moment because I'm completely skint.

Lastly, It's been done before and done well. It's always nice to be able to see what can be achieved and how it's been done by other people.

I'm going to try and get this together by the end of the year and then break it out at conventions in the spring, but I still don't know where I'm going to find the shoes...

Fabric Patterns And A New Posting Schedule

The blog needs a bit of a revamp. I'm not changing the template or the layout that much because I'm pretty happy with them but you can expect to see some changes in the content.

Firstly, I'm planning on putting up a tutorial or two. I'll probably only do them when things come up organically but as I explore the world of sewing and fashion more and more things should come to the surface.

Secondly, as much as I love writing every day and it helps me keep motivated, I think I can produce better posts if I have a longer run up time. I'm just changing to posting on even days at the moment, and I'll have two days to work on things at the end of 31 day months instead of switching or doing two in a row. I hope it works out.

On to my other subject!

Have you heard of fabric printing services like Spoonflower? I love the idea! Just imagine, a pretty dress or shirt made of fabric you designed yourself! Or you can browse the ones that are already there by popularity or a colour you like. You can even buy a printed pillow that you sew together yourself like the one below, available here.

I've always liked scribbling patterns and playing with colours in my notebooks and it would be cool to upload them. They might sell if I do them with Paint Shop Pro and it would be cool if someone liked them enough to pay for them but I mostly just want to put a personal spin on my own clothes

On a random note, it's apparently 'Different Colored Eyes Day'. The combination of that and meeting someone at work who had one blue, one hazel eye sort of inspired me to doodle a pattern. It's not as creepy as it could have been.

Forward Planning

How far ahead do you plan your sewing projects?

I have to admit, I have a tenancy to plan my sewing for about an hour before I start tracing the pattern and sometimes it really shows. I use the wrong fabric for the pattern, I don't think enough about how the finished garment will look or even if I'd ever be tempted to wear it.

My friends, that has seriously got to change.

I'm changing the way I plan and sew for the seasons. I'm going to be following the cycle set by the London fashion week, partly to get my inspired for planning and partly because it's a great reminder.

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I'll be planning autumn and winter clothes for March to August and planning my pretty summer dresses from September to February, but at the same time sewing cold weather clothes starting in June and hot weather clothes starting in December.

I'm doing this so I have three months for my ideas to solidify before I start sewing them and even the last projects for the season will get some wear that year, despite my horrendously slow sewing.

I'd love to hear what you guys think. Will I get fed up with sewing clothes that I have to wait to wear? Would you try this?

First Steps Of Stash Busting

 It was the first day of the Stash Busting Challenge yesterday and I got off to an okay start. I didn't cut any fabric but since I'm a tracer instead of a cutter when it comes to patterns, even ones I bought new instead of vintage ones, new patterns take a bit longer to get started.

I spent yesterday copying the Cravat Dress from Silver Needles. I've never heard of this pattern company before so I'm looking forward to it and it looks like a dress I'll make a couple of times in this challenge and then again afterwards. If I start trying to sew with silk then this might be the one I start with.

One thing that did make me pause. I was copying out this pattern and got to the bottom, about 10cm from the edge of the tracing paper, when I noticed the little line of writing at the bottom. That's right, it says extend 48.5cm.

I'm used to that kind of thing from pattern cutting but I've never seen it in a printed sewing pattern before. It kind of makes sense.

I traced the other main piece along the long side of the paper instead of the short one and was left with about 40 cm of room to extend my dress. I made it 35 cm because I'm short and not exactly the most modest of people. The other one I just extended with another strip of paper.

I went over the lines with a black pen so I could see them better and cut out everything so when I get to cutting fabric it's all ready.

I'm posting this a little late today because I went to a car boot sale then a coffee shop with my boyfriend this morning. I hate to say it in a place this public but I'm scared if I don't I won't say it at all, I sometimes think we have a different understanding of goals. I've talked about my weight loss before and I've got about a stone to go but every time I talk to my boyfriend about it he talks about the 6 stone (84 lbs) he needs to loose and maybe we should do it together. That sounds great until you take into account our differing motivations. I'm quite happy to subsist on salad and determination if it works and I really want this, but ten minutes after bemoaning his ballooning waistline my boyfriend suggests making a cake 'just because'.

Don't get me wrong, I want my boyfriend to succeed and have shared goals but if he just ends up dragging me back then I'm not going to be too happy. It's the same with blogging. My boyfriend has a letsplay profile on Youtube that he hasn't updated for a month and keeps talking about but when I say 'I should probably update my blog for today' he tells me it's not that urgent. I'm starting to get fed up with it because I'm a rather lazy person and sometimes I need a cheerleader. I'm happy to be a cheerleader for him because he needs it, but I need the same in return.

Maybe I'm putting too much on his shoulders. Maybe I'm trying to stick to an agreement that hasn't even been made. Maybe I should look inside me for a cheerleader and stop looking to other people. What do you guys think? Do you find being in a group helps you or holds you back? Does it depend on the group?

Goals for the Year

I don't have any sewing to report from yesterday, as it was a uni day, so I thought I'd come up with some goals for the rest of the year. It's a bit late for new years resolutions but it's never a bad time to look ahead.

1. Make myself a statement coat. Something sinched at the waist in a bright colour that instantly makes you look put together, even if you brushed your hair on the walk in and haven't had breakfast yet. I have black coats and grey coats, and hoodies for when I need to relax, but none of them say classic style.

2. Make lots of leggings! I want to start wearing dresses and skirts more often, but I'm not that comfortable with my legs right now. I'm going to be wearing tights sometimes, but I'd really love some colourful leggings to cycle in and to put on when it's a bit to cold to go without. I've even got the pattern, I just need to get the fabric and the construction knowledge.

3. Make a shirt dress that doesn't just look like I'm wearing someone else's shirt. I'll probably use a blue and white striped fabric to give it a nice clean feel and I'd definitely like to finish it before summer. It's just one of those things that, if I combined it with a nice belt, would probably look quite good.

4. Make at least one knee length black skirt. I think I have a grand total of three black skirts at the moment, one which drags along the ground and ground and two that might belong to a lady of the night. I'm not even sure I bought any of them myself! One was second hand (too long) and another was bought by a boyfriend (imagine the slutty school girl look). I just need some simple, black skirts that I can wear with a nice top and look presentable. It's a wardrobe staple.

5. Get knitting! I've made a few rectangular scarves and tried to make a jacket for a friends baby, but nothing for a while now. (The baby grew faster than the jacket and the project was abandoned.) I'd like to get my needles back out this year and make use of the time I spend on trains and sitting around. Who knows, if I start now I might get some things completed by the time it gets cold!

6. Make up one of the Sewaholic garments. I've been reading through the blog from the beginning recently and it's really helped my get excited about sewing. I want to show a little gratitude and I really want the clothes!

7. Make a bag. I either want something simple and practical to carry my laptop in or a fun backpack. I pretty much carry a bag everywhere and I get through them quickly, overloading them with books and anything I feel like I might possibly need. Maybe if I made one myself with pockets for all the things I carry I'd be more organised?

8. Make pretty summer dress, something flowery and floaty that will make me feel pretty and happy.

9. Have a go at making a basic cosplay costume. It sounds like a fun thing to do and an interesting community. I'm enough of a nerd to wear it to conventions.

10. Read more about sewing. You can never learn too much and I want to learn as much as I possibly can. I'll be reading blogs like I normally do and borrowing books from the library.

That list, university and my job should keep me busy for most of the year. That and all the other interesting projects that sidetrack me.