Egyptian Night(gown)

This is a classic pattern from Folkwear. It's called the Egyptian shirt and is shown on the cover as a shirt or tunic with much embellishment. The pattern illustrations also show a caftan length, something worn traditionally by men in the middle east, I think. I added 22" to the standard one to make it close to floor length on me. 

I've made this several times in each length, and I've used the neckline facing technique more times than I can count. It's a nice finish for any otherwise plain neckline. The facing is shaped and sewn to the inside of the garment instead of right-sides-together. Then the facing is flipped to the outside and edge-stitched in place. This facing is the place for much of the suggested embellishment.

I shortened the front vent in order to simplify things. I did not want to mess with buttons or other closures. The front vent is just long enough to allow it to slip over my head. 

As I was sewing this one, it occurred to me how very similar it is to the Fit for Art Tabula Rasa jacket pattern. The front and back pieces are long and narrow. There are side panels, and T-shaped sleeves that are first attached to the side panels and then sewn to the Front/Back in one long continuous seam.

In the original Egyptian shirt pattern, there is actually a seam down the middle of the side panels. This allows for an opening to a nice little pocket. The pocket bag is simply stitched behind the panel and part of the side seam is left open. Super simple.

And super dangerous in the kitchen. I'm constantly catching the pocket opening on the drawer and cabinet hardware. So, for this version, I just made patch pockets on the side panels. Not as elegant, but much safer. For me.

I used some aged silk noil that I dipped in indigo once upon a time for the front, back and side panels. I did not have enough for the sleeves and so used another eco-dyed (or eco-splotched) piece of silk noil. I made no notes and so I'm guessing it was dyed with iron, vinegar and maybe yard debris. It's a bit odd.

You know, there are those who wear nightgowns, and those who wear pajamas, and those who don't. I am really a PJ gal, but have had to change my thinking of late. Three weeks ago, I went airborne in my kitchen, trying to dodge a poorly placed laundry basket and broke my knee cap. Yes, it hurt. A lot.

Since my little tumble, I've been in a full leg brace 24x7 and PJs are not practical. I've even switched to 100% dresses for day wear. I found myself wearing an older version of the Egyptian caftan and decided to make a back-up. 

Easier said than done in this leg brace, but I managed to finish it somehow. I used a combination of my Bernina and my mother's 1950 Singer. The Singer is lovely, and has one of those knee pedals. I managed flat-felled seams on that long seam that connects the Front/Back to the Sleeve/SidePanel. And I enjoyed wearing it last night. Just right.

Since I enjoy eco-dyeing, I'm now wondering if it would be possible to dip those sleeves in something without disturbing the indigo body of the garment. 

Roaring into the Twenties

My intention is to record my every sewing activity here, but somehow December has almost disappeared with no entry at all. In fact I did very little sewing during December. There is just too much going on to set aside significant times for sewing. So I worked on small, mainly mindless projects in the sewing room.

There were a few UFOs finished including these placemats, plus napkins that don't really match. It was one of those projects I jumped on and then lost interest in, once it became repetitive. That's why I'm not a prolific quilter. The napkins were made from remnants of a previous project. Teresa Daily gifted me some of her wonderful hand-dyes and I made a CLD jacket.

The placemats were constructed from the remnants of a lengthened Cottage shirt (TSW). I originally bought the fabric (from TSW) thinking they'd make wonderful placements and then got distracted by garment sewing. So I was only able to manage 4 placemats.

Actually each placemat is a little quilt. I used the quilt facing technique I learned in a class I took from Cindy Grisdela back in May. I really like the frameless effect.

Making rope bowls is a soothing activity for me. I made these 3 as a gift to take to newly married nephews in Austin.

And then I needed more soothing, so I made this one for myself. I almost have one for every season!

Then DDIL admired an old naked rope bowl during a visit. That was all the encouragement I needed to make a few of those. Here is hers:

This one was intended for DD2.

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And I couldn't leave out DD1 either, but I failed to capture a picture of it. It was really lovely, so simple. Trust me.

There was a request for a flannel pillow case in the Starwars porg theme, by one grandson. This led to a small Joann's Fabrics debacle. 

On a generous day, I am no fan of Joann's. I know that I am lucky to have better fabric stores nearby and so I don't malign anyone who is a fan. I dislike their stupid coupon schemes and the quality of their fabrics. But they have a monopoly on licensed fabrics, so I really had no choice but to shop there.

In order to limit my time inside Joanns, my work-around was to shop online at Joanns. This seemed to allow me to select my fabrics online, let them find the bolts and cut it, and then I would pick up the fabric in the store.

I received an email telling me that my order was received, but to wait until I received the next email telling me it was ready for pick-up. And then, crickets. Meanwhile my CC was charged. After a week, I called the store and was informed that my order had been cancelled because I did not pick it up. The CC charge was not reversed, of course. 

A manager did try to be helpful by finding the bolts, cutting it and setting it aside for my immediate pick-up. But when I arrived, a different manager wanted to charge me for the fabrics. My husband wanted me to just grab it and run, but I'm not that brave so I waited them out. They tried to reach the website humans and failed. After waiting and waiting, they finally gave up and let me leave with the fabric, saying "It's not that I'm taking your word for it. I'm just tired of waiting on the phone." Yes, a completely missed opportunity for them to display a modicum of customer service.

My final gift-making attempt was almost as snake-bit as the porg adventure. But by now I was taking it all in stride. The youngest grandson wanted me to make him a Power Ranger's costume and I did briefly consider making him one. Every time we saw him, or talked on the phone, he reminded me that I was making him a Power Rangers costume. So I bought one for him at Walmart.

My work-around for this request was PJs in the Paw Patrol theme, also large in his world. Unfortunately I was not paying attention and made a Sewing 101 mistake. I don't think he noticed, do you?

Despite these slightly challenging sewing activities, I had the best Christmas. We had some tiny visitors - a cat family my granddaughter is fostering. They were out of town for a few days and I got to cat-sit. It was fantastic!

And then, my youngest son, my baby, made a surprise visit. The six of us were together - what could be better?!?

Daughter Summer, son Paul (surprise!), hubs Jim, daughter Julie, me, son Mel

And so as the twenties roar into the world, I am grateful for so many things - family, hands that sew, time to sew, and, of course, you, because you're reading this! I hope you have a creative 2020!

Bleak Mid-Winter Sewing

It is that time of year when I decide I need warmer outer wear. It's mid-winter when the trees are black silhouettes against a gun-metal gray sky.

Winter in the southeastern US lasts about 3 minutes but I do love making a jacket or coat. Full length coats no longer really fit my life style no matter how cold it is, but I love a 3/4 length coat or even an extra-warm jacket.

So I considered the jackets I love wearing. First up is this super practical Tremont jacket. It's an interesting textured wool weave with a striped effect. I machine-quilted it to a medium-weight silk-cotton sateen blend. It's light but an oh-so-practical piece. It never wrinkles (or it's always wrinkled); it goes with everything; it resists rain.

Next is a caramel-colored, single layer wool jacket that I love. It's Vogue 8546. The color just makes me happy. It too doesn't wrinkle and resists rain, but it does not go with everything. Also the wool makes contact with my skin depending on what I wear with it and that's not comfy.

Lastly is another Sewing Workshop jacket - the Haiku II - in subdued plaid mostly navy tropical wool. It reads solid navy blue and so I wear it with lots of other items, even a pin-striped tropical wool pair of pants.

Continuing my 2019 theme of stash-depletion, I have selected a fairly heavy wool tweed. It's a remnant that Ley of Gail K had some years back. It's only about 2 yards but 62 inches wide. There was plenty to cut out a San Diego jacket, espeically since I'm adding a contrast in the front to protect my neck from the scratchy wool and just because I think it'll be nice.

There was a piece of soft black leather in my stash too. I remember buying it and I still feel guilty. It has a tiny hole in it for guess what. I finally decided that the best way to respect it is to use it.

I did not have anything in stash for lining this piece. I found this pretty piece of silk at Gail K. It's about the weight of charmeuse but not nearly as slippery. I'm hoping it will be cooperative. I'm considering sandwiching some cotton flannel between the wool and the silk if it's not too heavy.

Meanwhile I finished my 3rd in a series of PJs made from stash items. As with the others, the top is the Eureka and the pants are modified Hudson pants, both Sewing Workshop patterns.

The pants and trim are made from a piece of cotton interlock knit. It's a little heavier than the rayon jersey knit, of course, and I'm not sure I'm going to like it as much for PJs.

The top is made from a piece of cotton knit purchased at the Martha Pullen booth at the Sewing Expo. It is super soft and just right for PJs. It may be a little fragile. I've made PJs from this before and it developed runners, like panty hose. So far this one has survived two nights!

So what's on your sewing table?

More PJs!

I'm beginning to feel quite fancy with multiple new PJ sets, especially as I consider my old nighttime garb. Just finished my second set and a third set is cut and ready to sew. For each I'm using the Eureka top and the Hudson pants from the Sewing Workshop.

This set fits differently than the previous set because the fabric is a rayon jersey. I think. This red and white polka dot is one of those what-was-I-thinking pieces in my stash. I made the pants slightly smaller because of the knit and overlayed the totally-stright side seams to cut front and back pieces as one.

This was inspired by a visit to the High Museum with BSF to see the Yayoi Kusama exhibit. It was fantastic. Every time I noticed this crazy red and white piece, I could not imagine why I bought it. Well, now I know. I needed Kusama-inspired PJs. And you do too!

Per usual I did not have enough fabric to make it entirely out of the red and white polka dot. And per usual that's a good thing. I had to add the panel at the bottom front piece of the Eureka. And so I also used that printed rayon jersey for the neck band and the sleeve cuffs.

The additional print made this project more interesting. By cutting it on the bias, the pattern is little squares you can see on the neck line. I like that a lot. It's the little things, you know. Cut on grain for the lower panel and the sleeve cuffs, it's little diamond shapes.

I feel like I'm really getting into knits at the moment. And I don't usually like knits to sew or wear. But they are perfect for PJs. I learned some little tricks at Sew Kansas like stabilizing the hems with this fusible stuff before top-stitching. It makes all the difference. No ripples.

These PJs make me inordinately optimistic.

"After all, well, moon is a polka dot, sun is a polka dot, and then, the earth where we live is also a polka dot." Kusama

My Wildest Dreams

Today's post is about my new PJs. I made these using a crazy piece of rayon challis that I dyed years and years ago. It's been languishing in my stash because, let's face it, it's wild.

My plan for 2019 is to whittle down my stash of whole uncut pieces. And this is one of my oldest pieces. At some point I'm going to have to whittle down my stash of remnants but that is another story.

PJs are perfect for this piece. Rayon is a mess to control so the fewer seams, the better. And it's soft the way PJs should be.

As a side benefit, it sort of matches my last make - the flatiron jacket.

I used some TNT - tried and true - Sewing Workshop patterns. The top is the Eureka top. I lengthened it quite a bit and made a deep hem. The Cottage shirt taught me the value of a deep hem with fly-away fabric.  The pants are slightly modified Hudson pants. Instead of darts in the hem of the legs, I made tucks.

I hear that tie-dye is back on the runway. Not that I plan to wear these out anywhere...

The title comes from a joke I once heard at one of the many, many graduations I attended in my career as an academic. Sonny Perdue, our governor, was scheduled to be the speaker. At the last minute he was sick and so his wife, Mary, was the sub. What a gift.

She told of the day they moved into the governor's mansion. Sonny was going on and on.

Mary, can you believe we're actually living here?! Did you ever, in your wildest dreams, think we'd end up here?

But, Sonny, you are not in my wildest dreams.