Veronica Darling and Gatsby

 My Sunday was pretty awesome. Late afternoon I was lucky enough to meet up with Veronica Darling while she was in San Luis Obispo. She stayed at Madonna Inn with her family and I got to meet them all!

Veronica is just what you would expect, she is bubbly, friendly, and beautiful! As cliche as it sounds, when I met her I felt like I had known her a long time. She has a certain warmth about her and you can't help but want to be her best friend. Seriously! I am trying to convince them to move to California!

Her husband is equally as friendly and was sweet enough to take some photos of the two of us on Veronica's camera and a couple on my iPhone. Hopefully she will post one of the two of us with her adorable baby. He's just the happiest little guy with the cutest smile. I was really sad to say goodbye, but hopefully I will have the opportunity to see them here again. If not, I'm going to Australia! ;)

After meeting Veronica I raced home to try and vacuum up the cat hair all over my house before my good friends Jessi and Curtis came over for a double date to see The Great Gatsby. I have heard a lot of negative reviews about the movie, but in the end I really liked it! It was not authentic 20s, but I didn't go in expecting it to be. Come on, if Jay Z is on the soundtrack do you really think that it's going to be 100% authentic? The actors were great, the story stayed fairly true to the book (of course there were some movie adaptations), and the costumes, colors, and backgrounds were all so beautiful. A true feast for the eyes! I would like to see it again in 3D!

Have any of you seen the movie? What did you think?

Five Tips for Better Beading

Beading was a popular way of embellishing clothing in the 1920s. When The Great Gatsby Sewing Challenge first started I knew that beading was a topic I wanted to cover, but didn't know the first thing about. I immediately thought of Lizz and the beautiful tank top she made a few months ago. When she agreed to do a guest post on my blog I was beyond excited! Thanks for sharing with us, Lizz!

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Five Tips for Better Beading 

Hi! I'm Lizz and I blog over at A Good Wardrobe [agoodwardrobe.com]. I'm so happy to be here today to talk with you about beading. Last fall I was able to take an internship at a couture bridal atelier where I learned how to bead garments. It was such a great experience and I've been beading in my own work ever since. Since beading was extensively used in women's clothing during the 1920's, Erin asked me to come by and talk about the craft. Here are my five tips for better beading. 

1. Find Your Needle

The type of needle you use will vary depending on the fabrics, beads, and threads that you choose for your project. My favorite types are size 9 straw needles and size 13 beading needles. The beading needles are very fine, long needles with small eyes. The needles will flex easily and over time curve to your fingers. I reach for these when I'm beading delicate fabrics like lace. If I'm working with a thick thread that won't fit into the eye of my beading needles, I love a straw needle! The eye of a straw needle is punched into the shank making a consistent diameter throughout the body so you'll never feel resistance from the eye when pulling the needle through the fabric. The size 9 is still small enough to flow through a twelve-aught seed bead. As with anything, your personal preference may differ and I encourage you to buy several sizes and types of needles to experiment.  

2. Cut Your Thread Short

The length of your thread will affect your tension dramatically! When you first begin beading fabric, it's easier to get the feel for correct tension when your thread is cut to a shorter length. Also, working with shorter lengths will help to prevent tangling and no one wants to place a bunch of beads only to have their thread tangle up on them! I like to cut my thread no longer than the length of my arm span for a double threaded needle. 

 3. Always Wax Your Thread

Each time your pull your thread through fabric it breaks down causing the thread to fray. Waxing your thread helps strengthen it against this constant abuse. You can find beeswax at any haberdashery. To wax your thread, pass the thread through the beeswax.  Press the thread with a hot iron using a press cloth to protect the iron's faceplate. If you're like me and don't bead near your iron, you might be interested in a product called Thread Heaven [www.threadheaven.com].  You treat your thread with it just like beeswax but it doesn't require the added step of ironing to seal in the product. 

4. Watch Your Float Lengths

The length of thread between two beads is called a "float". Tension can be tricky with longer floats and the thread can snag on jewelry or other objects once the garment is finished. I try to keep my floats no longer than a half an inch. If two beads must be placed further than a 1/2" and you don't want to tie off and start a new thread, take a small, invisible stitch on the inside of the garment between the two beads to prevent the unwanted long float.  

5. Secure Often

Beading is time consuming and you want to make sure that the garment you make can hold up to wear and tear. However, beads can catch and break off, threads can snag and break, and knots can work their way free. To protect my work, I always secure my thread with a double knot every three beads or so. That way, if the thread fails, I'll only loose a few beads and I can easily go back and replace them. 

If you've beaded a piece of clothing before, I'd love to hear about it in the comments. If you've been curious about beading, I encourage you to give it a try! Although beading takes time, I find the slow and steady process to be very satisfying. I hope that you'll enjoy it as much as I do and that these tips will help you along the way. 

Gatsby Inspiration on Pinterest

Found via Qui's Pinterest/ Source

One of my favorite ways to gather inspiration is by searching Pinterest. Almost everything imaginable can be found and it's so easy to keep clicking and pinning. Without the Internet it would be much more difficult to research the 20s and see the fashions (almost) firsthand.

I know some of you have created Gatsby Pinterest boards (myself included) and I thought I would share because there are some amazing finds!
Tiffany
Lauren
Qui
Rochelle

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Oh, if you are still looking for a pattern then be sure to check out this awesome list that Anna put together. She has an Etsy shop and website with pdf patterns and made a post showing all the dresses, lingerie, and hats patterns available. There are some really cute ones!

Do you have a 20s style Pinterest board? Please share it below in the comments!

20s Patterns

Are you having fun researching patterns for The Great Gatsby Sewing Challenge? Before the challenge I never realized how many patterns from the 20s required people to actually draw out the pattern pieces themselves. It's something I have never done, but it's on my to do list for the year, so I may try and tackle it!

Below I am posting about a few patterns that I have found online that might be of interest.

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There are a LOT of patterns at Mrs. Depew's Etsy shop. Some of them require you to draw out the pattern and others include actual pattern pieces. Thanks for showing me the shop, Rochelle!

Last year BurdaStyle came out with eight Roaring Twenties inspired patterns. Any of the eight would make a great addition to a summer wardrobe.

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I found this instant download pattern on the Etsy shop, Vintage Visage, for only $2.99!

Rachel just e-mailed me a link that brought me to this super cute pattern! 

Have any of you found any great patterns online? Please share them in the comments!

For those that aren't fans of the 20s silhouette

When many people think about clothing from the 1920s the first image that comes to mind is of a flapper wearing a slim fitted dropped waist dress. During this time many women moved away from the corset and towards a looser fitting, "boyish" silhouette.

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Quite a few people commented on my last couple of posts saying that the 20s silhouette was not a flattering look for them and I don't want them to think that that style dress is the only sewing option! I recently purchased Everyday Fashions of the Twenties, a book that is a compilation of clothing catalogs from that time frame, and was happy to see a page dedicated to blouses.

When I saw this page I immediately thought of Steph's Sisters of Edwardia blouse which was inspired by the ladies on Downton Abbey.  If you are interested in making a blouse it might be worth it to check out the pattern she designed.

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I really love the flutter sleeves and bow/belt. They aren't something that I would immediately think of when I think "20s," but they work! I can see this working as a mix of a longer version of View A of the Cambie dress and the sleeves from the Taffy blouse. 

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This pretty vintage dress could be remade using the Laurel pattern as a starting point. You'd make the sleeveless version for the upper portion (see the extras for help with this) and make a slightly fuller bottom part. The embellishments would be fun to try and recreate!

I hope that I showed you a couple of options that you hadn't yet considered for your outfit. Are any of you making anything that might not be considered "traditional?"

My Mad Men Elisalex dress

Last year I was super bummed out that I didn't have time to participate in Julia Bobbin's Mad Men Challenge. My Joan dress was finished just after the challenge concluded, so I didn't get to join in the fun with everyone else. This year it was on my radar and although I'm cutting it close, I got it done in time! :)

I wasn't sure which outfit I wanted to emulate from the show, so instead chose a fabric from my last trip to Mood that I felt Megan Draper would possibly wear. The fabric is woven and a thicker weight, almost like a light canvas.

P.S. I'm a Megan lover, not a Megan hater. Why do people hate her?

I think this dress holds the record for the most time I have spent on a garment. I traced the pattern, sewed a muslin, retraced the pattern (went down a size from the original muslin, did a FBA, went in an additional size at the shoulders), made another muslin, and then got started on the final dress. While the fit is still not perfect (will it ever be?) I am still pretty happy that I corrected the initial problems with the baggy shoulders, tight bust, and baggy front. Doing a FBA made such a huge difference, but man, it was NOT fun making the changes for a princess seam bodice. Thank you to those of you that gave me suggestions and help on the fit!

 Oh, I guess I should tell you which pattern I used, huh? It's the Elisalex dress by the ladies over at By Hand London. Thanks to the sew along they are hosting I was able to sew the pattern with little confusion.

The dress stands up much better on the form.

Along the neckline you can kind of see my lining popping out a bit. While I did hem the bottom of the dress and the sleeves by hand, I haven't had a chance to properly stitch in the lining. I was kind of burned out on all the hand sewing today. And I ran out of Pretty Little Liars episodes to watch ;)

Speaking of hems, I took a lotttt off the bottom of the dress. Nine and a half inches to be exact! If you use this pattern I highly advise you to lay out your pattern pieces before buying fabric. I ended up using close to a yard less than the recommended amount.

Thanks for putting this sewing challenge together, Julia!

The Great Gatsby Sewing Challenge

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A week or so ago I asked if there was an interest in a 1920s sewing challenge. The response was amazing and today I am so happy to officially announce The Great Gatsby Sewing Challenge!

WHO
Anyone that sews or crafts is welcome to join. Whether you are an expert or just an admirer when it comes to the time period, everyone is invited to participate. It's not necessarily important to make perfect historically accurate clothing (although you certainly can), the point is to have fun!

WHAT
If you're as excited about the movie release of The Great Gatsby as I am, then join the challenge. The goal is to make an item, or items, inspired by the era. Haven't read the book or maybe Gatsby's not your thing? What about making an outfit like one of the ladies on Downton Abbey or Boardwalk Empire? Or maybe try to incorporate beading or another new technique into your make. Make a dress, a blouse, a headband, a hat, anything with a 1920s feel.

WHERE
Bloggers and people without blogs are encouraged to join and add photos to the Flickr group. Post your progress, ask for fitting help, get opinions, and meet new people. At the end of the sew along I will do a round up of projects from the Flickr group. Weekly I will share some inspiration posts, here, on my blog.

WHEN
The movie is being released on May 10th, but the deadline for us will be at the end of May. That way you will have time to make an outfit and wear it to the movies if you'd like :)

WHY
Sewing challenges are a great way to get inspired and more importantly, meet new people. Some of my favorite blogging buddies were made when I joined Sew Colette. And if you've been waiting for the excuse to whip up a 1920s dress then here it is.

If you'd like to add a button to your blog to show your participation, please do so. And if you're on Instagram then hash tag your progress with #thegreatgatsbysewingchallenge so we can all take a peek.


<a href=" http://misscrayolacreepy.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-great-gatsby-sewing-challenge.html"><img src="http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g252/misscrayolacreepy/TheGreatGatsbySewingChallenge.jpg" /></a>

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Who's in? 

Great Gatsby Sewing Challenge?

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Rochelle and I spent the end of last week texting about how excited we are for The Great Gatsby movie to come out on May 10th. We were joking about making dresses, taking photos of ourselves at the movie theater, and then doing a blog post of us having a virtual hang out session (we're dorks).

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Would any of you be interested in joining in on our fun? I don't mean taking photos at the theater (although you could!), but do you have an interest in making 1920s inspired clothing for a Gatsby sewing challenge?

Two muslins

I spent this past weekend making muslins for two dresses (Laurel and Elisalex) and realized that due to my limited knowledge on fit my adjustments generally leave me feeling one of two ways, frustrated or ecstatic. It can be SO frustrating to make something that doesn't fit and not know how or where to begin to fix it. On the other hand, that feeling you get after things suddenly make sense and the alterations work is an amazing feeling! That's how it goes with leaning, though.

The Elisalex sewalong is going on right now and before I cut into my wild fabric I want to have a muslin that fits well. Thursday night I started working on the bodice and everything went smoothly, including sewing princess seams for the first time (!), but the fit is off. It's funny, it's easier to pinpoint changes that need to be made on other people's makes, but so hard for your own. I slept on it before making any crazy changes and I think I need to do a narrow shoulder adjustment, does that seem right? Or do I need to make other changes too?

Elisalex muslin

 The wrinkle on the center of the bodice front looks prominent in the photo above because of how I'm holding the camera in my hand. It's not as bad in the photo below.

Elisalex muslin

In the past it has been suggested that I make narrow shoulder adjustments, but I didn't have much success with the method I was using. For my second muslin of the weekend (Laurel) I decided to try a different technique from Gertie's book. I made the shoulder 3/4 inch smaller and reshaped the curve for the sleeve. This meant that I needed to also adjust the sleeve cap, which I did successfully, yay!

 Laurel muslin

Laurel muslin. Wrinkles are more pronounced in this photo.

The shoulder area no longer has the vertical lines, but now there are diagonal wrinkles :( Do you think it needs a FBA? I'm not sure, as I have never done one before. Or did I get too crazy with the shoulder adjustment and make it too narrow?

Even though Laurel isn't completely ready for its final fabric, I'm pretty excited that I learned a new adjustment (and did it correctly :) )! I'm dying to sew up this pattern, the fit is a lot more flattering that the shift dress I made earlier in the year.

Shopping at Mood and earrings from Elladolce

Last weekend Luke, Frankie (my dog), and I went to Mood for some fabric shopping. I felt bad making Luke and the pup wait, so I tried to be quick. Frankie had fun though, she had her first dog celebrity sighting and got to meet Oscar de la Renta, the Los Angeles Mood dog that hangs out in the store ;)

Even though Mood Fabrics is a 3+ hour drive from my house I make the trek when I need garment fabrics. You have more than likely checked out their website, so you know there is a huge selection (and even more in person!), but what really keeps me coming back is the customer service. The last two times I have been lucky enough to be helped by Silvana, she is amazing! Seriously, if you are ever there make sure you ask for her. She was so patient even when I asked a million questions, helpful, knowledgable, and fun to talk with.

Anyway, here is what I bought:

 Silk in a wild print.

This fabric is actually more of a wine color. I messed with the settings in Photoshop, but still couldn't get the correct hue :( The polkadots are my ironing board, fyi.

Another wild fabric. I've been super into fabrics that have a sixties feel to them, so I immediately fell in love with this one.

Yesterday my talented friend, Taryn, posted this photo on Instagram of earrings that she made. Ummmm, match made in heaven for the fabric I posted above? I immediately bought the two pairs on the right. Do you ever plan what you're going to wear with outfits that don't even exist yet? haha :) If you're like me and need jewelry for imaginary outfits (or real ones!) then check out her Etsy shop, you will not be disappointed.

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I got a new sewing machine

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram this is old news, but I got a sewing machine! I actually got it a while back, in late December. I held off on posting here about it because I wanted to actually use it before sharing my likes and dislikes.

What I like about my Pfaff Expression 3.0

• The stitches. With my old Brother machine I was constantly fighting with the tension to get the perfect stitch (and it rarely happened).
• The needle placement can be adjusted to the left or right. It's been useful when installing zippers!
• There is an option to leave the needle down or up when you stop sewing. If it's in the needle down mode and you want the needle temporarily up a quick pedal press brings the needle back up.
• Tons of decorative stitches for future quilts. One of my goals is to quit stitching in the ditch and use the pretty options available.
• Storage compartments built into the machine for storing bobbins and presser feet. 
• I never realized how much I needed a built in walking foot, but it makes a huge difference. Do you ever come to the end of a seam and see that one piece of fabric is slightly longer than the other? The lady that showed me the machine explained that with a walking foot this was less likely to happen. She was right.
• There is a three step zig zag stitch that I love.
• The space is amazing. The arm is long which was so helpful when I was working on my last quilt.

What I don't like about the machine

• The manual that came with it doesn't give a lot of info on how to use all features. Maybe this is common, but I was hoping that for the money I spent on the machine that it would come with a thorough booklet. I know that I can take a class to learn it all, but the classes are offered on weekday afternoons and that doesn't work for me.
• If I cut the thread and don't leave a long enough tail it slips through the needle really easily and I have to rethread. I can't just stick the thread through the needle though, I have to completely rethread everything.

Some of the features listed above may be old news to you guys, but they were new to me! Granted, my last machine was pretty basic, so almost anything is an upgrade :) I'm not currently using it to it's full potential, I still have a LOT to learn. So far I'm in love.

I made pants!

This is my weird "I made pants!!!!" pose because I am so excited to have made 1940s pants for Sew for Victory!

I have heard from a few people that Simplicity 3688 is fairly straightforward to sew, so I decided this would be a good first project to help with my fear of sewing pants.

This is my wearable muslin and I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand I am really really proud to have made pants, but on the other hand they aren't really my style, so I'm not 100% in love with them. Wide leg high waisted pants are new to me, but maybe I will grow to like them. They certainly are comfortable!

As this is a muslin I had no idea what I was getting into, so I cut a size closest to my measurements without making any adjustments. I machine basted the sides to try them out and they were too big. Each side was taken in by 3/8 inch and in hindsight it should probably be more.

Fit wise I know there are issues, but I'm not sure I want to try and tackle them. That makes me sound so lazy, but since I'm not 100% in love with these pants I wouldn't feel passionate enough to take the time necessary to fix the problems. I'm going to start fresh with a different pattern that I like more and see how that goes.

Serious face. The top is my first Colette make ever, a Sorbetto top from January of last year. It has gotten a lot of wear over the past fourteen months!

This twill is a cat hair magnet!!!

What is your favorite pants pattern? I think I might try making Colette's Juniper next. Or I might use the pattern in the Pant Fitting Technique class that I am enrolled in on Craftsy.