My sister is married!!

She got married in Las Vegas on Friday! Hooray, I am so excited for her! Now I need to get used to calling her by a different last name, LOL!

Her reception is in November, so I need to get started on her dress soon!

What to do first, what to do first.... hmm. Bodice or skirt? Hmmm...

Patterns for my daughter

I've been looking around at patterns. I haven't been able to find much, but here's what I have so far:

Butterick 4972 (ordered off eBay for less $$, it's out-of-print so it can't be bought in stores)
McCall'a 5745 (bought online at SewingPatterns.com during a $2.99 sale... not as cheap as a sale at JoAnn's or Hobby Lobby, but cheaper than gas to either of those places, and cheaper than Walmart)
McCall's 5135 (also ordered at SewingPatterns.com).

I'm also keeping these in mind (some are OOP, some are not):

McCall's 4765 or McCall's 4246 (for special occassions)
Simplicity 2878
Simplicity 4106

Making skirts for my daughter

I've sewn skirts before for my 8-year-old daughter, but now I have to. She's gained a lot of weight in the last year (she eats a LOT and refuses to do any activity, despite my efforts to bring healthy food into the house and trying to get her to be active... even putting her dishes in the sink when she's done eating is too much... sorry that sounds mean, but I am frustrated). She is 4'3" tall and 95 pounds... about 30 pounds more than she ought to weigh. I bought some size 10.5 (plus) shorts for her online... and they are way too tight. I have to buy her size 14.5 to fit her! But... most of the plus-size girls' clothes I can find are school uniforms! There are a few other things, but not anything I can afford. And I got frustrated looking for plus-size girls' sewing patterns because most of the stuff is immodest. Still, I did manage to find a couple, and have put them on my sewing list to pick up if I am at JoAnn's (80 miles away) or Hobby Lobby (45 miles away) at the same time they are having a pattern sale.

She got mad at me this morning, as we were getting ready for church, and had the nerve to yell at me because she couldn't find anything to fit her! What, as if all this is *my* fault? She asks me for a milkshake every time we go anywhere (which I do NOT get her), she steals food out of the pantry and sneaks it into her room to eat, she screams whenever I ask her to do anything (trying to get her off the couch), and yet it is somehow my fault that her clothes don't fit. Or who knows, maybe she was yelling at me out of frustration on her own part, I can't imagine she likes being overweight... the kids at school make fun of her about it all the time. (Someone told me, "Well, it's just a part of socialization that she needs to learn to deal with"... yeah right. No kid should have to go through this. I was overweight as a kid- not as overweight as my daughter- but I still hated all the name-calling and getting shoved around. Didn't do me a bit of good as far as I can tell.

Anyway, I need to make her some skirts, so she has something to wear to church. I figured tiered skirts will be the easiest. I have some new T-shirts I picked up from Hobby Lobby ages ago, I can take scraps from the skirt fabric and make little appliques to stitch onto the coordinating shirts.

1883 Riding Habit

I decided on Monday that I wanted to make a repro 1883 Riding Habit, using the Truly Victorian bodice and skirt patterns. I had planned on entering it in our county's Fall Festival, and the entrance deadline is this morning at 10:00... but sadly, I did not get it finished in time. I don't have buttonholes or buttons on the skirt yet, I don't have the seams inside the skirt finished, I haven't finished the armscyes inside the bodice, and I need to re-do the hook & eyes inside the bodice (I put 2 of the 3 hooks facing the wrong direction- silly me!) And I don't have it ironed properly... I can't seem to get the creases right. So the bodice doesn't look as crisp & tailored as the photos on the Truly Victorian site. Oh well.

I also made it in a pattern size 12 (or "C" in Truly Victorian sizing), or about a ready-to-wear 4/6. That's quite a bit smaller than I am now! I was that size a few years ago, maybe I can get there again. Not that I'd have anywhere to wear this to, as I sold my horses last fall (*sniff*). Not that I'd be brave enough to try sidesaddle on anything other than an old plug...

I only have 2 photos right now. For some reason, every time I take a photo in that room it comes out blurry... so I have to turn off the light and use the flash (in the nearly-dark room) to get photos to come out well. Weird. I think it has something to do with the CFL bulbs we use, maybe??

With the skirt extended out to the side:


With the skirt looped up in the back:

Cleaning out my pattern stash

Okay, there is a possibility that we *might* be moving in the coming months, so I am trying to declutter. Actually, whether we move or not, I still need to declutter!

I've started with thinning out my pattern collection. I cannot bring myself to get rid of any of my Civil War patterns (though honestly, how many copies of Simplicity 4551 do I really need?) But I did pull out a lot of my historical-based-but-non-authentic Big 3 patterns, most of which are now OOP. I don't know what to do with them now... sell them on Etsy for a buck or two apiece?

I have one copy of Simplicity 8399- the Titanic gown (based on Rose's red beaded gown). Just a couple years ago I remember seeing them go for $25-$30 apiece on eBay... there are still some listed on eBay for $40-$60 but there are also ones listed for $1-$4! And there are a LOT more for sale than there used to be. I also have two copies of Simplicity 9221 (their cheapo Regency gown) that used to go for $10-$20 but they're going for next to nothing now. I'll bet it's because of the economy... people not being able to pay that much for patterns now, and people trying to sell of their "rare" or "in-demand" patterns to try and make some extra cash.

I suppose sometime this week, I can take pictures of all my historic patterns and put them on Etsy, try to earn a few dollars. If I get it done, I'll post a link.

I just posted all my unwanted "modern" patterns on my local Freecycle. Now I'm awaiting the flood of emails. (A lot of people around here try to snatch up everything that's posted on Freecycle, in the hopes of reselling them on eBay or yard sales...)

Starting on a new project... 1873 Polonaise

I have no idea why I started on this, LOL. My insane goal is to have this, a petticoat, and a bustle finished within a week!

For the pattern, I am using TV410 - 1873 Polonaise. Below is a picture of the fabric I'm using, it's a length of cotton calico from my fabric stash. The underskirt will be TV201 - 1870's Underskirt and will be made from, if I can manage it, an ivory stripe-on-stripe bedsheet!


Click for larger image

A shirt I want to reproduce

I was at Cabela's in Utah last week and I came across this shirt... I love it! $45 was a bit more than I wanted to pay, though, so I'm going to try and make one like it.

Let's see now... it looks like it's princess-seamed, not sure whether I'll "keep" that feature. I like the mandarin collar and the placket. I looked at the sleeve ties. They don't seem too difficult, it looks like self-fabric ties that are attached to the sleeve with a 2-channel "casing" of fabric over that, covering up where the ties are attached (securely). Zoom in and you can see what I'm talking about.

Now, for patterns. I think New Look 6849 might work... it's not exactly the same style, and no mandarin collar, but the sleeves are nice and wide. I also like Simplicity 2696, Simplicity 3684, and Simplicity 3786. But I think Simplicity 2854 (View D top, without the ruffle, and View B sleeves) will look the closest to the original top.

I just found out that Simplicity patterns are 5 for $5 at JoAnn's thru Aug 23rd, but I live 80 miles from the nearest JoAnn's. (Sigh) It'd be cheaper to buy it at Wal-Mart at their normal 40% off price, and save the gas.