Wedding dress #1 (and the Linden I made while procrastinating)

Hi all!

I'm glad to report that the pre-clinical-rotations-two-months-of-frontal-lectures-hell is behind me! I past the exam and my body (and mind) are slowly recovering. Sitting in class all day IS NOT FOR ME and I'm glad I'll never have to go through this again in my life.

As I mentioned before, we are getting married in the beginning of February. We've been living together for several very happy years, so getting married and formalizing our relationship was not a surprising step for anyone. Therefor I naively thought that everyone will accept our opinions regarding the ceremony itself, and will let us hold it in a way that suits our lifestyle. I was wrong... Weddings in Israel are big (and expensive), the stadard is an evening wedding with dinner and a dance party (DJ included), in which guests are expected to give money as a present, to cover the costs of the party. Needless to say, this kind of celebration isn't really for me... but as the wedding ceremony is also a gift we give the families, we are doing what we are asked to do, while trying to fit it into our lifestyle as much as possible. 

Having a "standard wedding" is difficult for me as my mother died when I was young, and nothing can make up for the fact my only wish for this happy occasion would be that she could witness it. therefore I tried as much as I could to push aside the traditions, the "should" and the "proper", and make this night about love and happiness in a less formal way. Unfortunately, as I wrote above, not all of my wishes were granted and for the past weeks I was just sad about this entire thing. 

I know it makes very little sense, as I get to spend everyday with the love of my life, and one night in which I put other people's wills above mine will not change it. But I still struggle with letting go of the things that will not be as I wish, despite knowing I'll enjoy this night no matter what.

Anyway, the wedding dress and all that involves my appearance is one place were I can do whatever I want (within reason). The process of designing my outfit started with deciding about several topics:

Do I want to make my own dress, rent it, or buy it?

Well, that was the easiest... I think that making my own dress will not only save money but will allow my to wear (almost) exactly what I have in mind. It will also spare me long hours of looking for an RTW dress, fitting sessions etc. Most importantly, the making of a garment is part of the experience in wearing it. I think I'll feel more "me" in a garment I spent time working on.  

How much money am I willing to invest? Do I want to save money, or try working with high-end material?

I want to feel special and beautiful in my wedding dress (aren't we all...?), and it shouldn't look cheap. At the same time, this is a one-night garment, so I didn't want to invest a lot of money in fabric. I prefer to invest money on fabric for garments I'll wear more (such as high quality denim, that I already asked for my birthday). 

How much time do I want to invest in this project?

Nowadays sewing knits is all I want. The speedy work on the overlocker and the cozy result excite me. I have plenty of projects on my winter sewing list, and since winter-wear is my favorite to sew (and I would also like to sew a cascade coat this year), I don't want to spend all my free time on the wedding dress. Therefore, while I think dresses with lots of bead work and hand-sewn lace are amazing, it is probably not the project for me.  

What is the general style I'm going for? 

There are probably one-million dresses I would enjoy wearing. The waiting gown from Sex and the City would probably be my top choice as an inspiration, while the Vera Wand dress from Brides Wars is another one I always liked. However while I like this aesthetic I probably won't feel comfortable wearing such a big dress to this particular evening, so I started a pinterest board and realized I wanted something with less volume and more coverage. 

At the end (of admittedly a very short search session) I decided to use the two-piece outfit from Rue De Seine as the inspiration (it's at the bottom of the board). 

After a few weeks of procrastination I finely went fabric shopping with a friend. For the top I decided to use the snowball dress by Waffle patterns, the base layer would be made of cotton-sateen in off-white, and the top either from lace we bought or from a lace shirt I already have (depending on the amount of lace needed). The skirt is "just" a full circle skirt cinched at the waist, made out of three layers of white chiffon and one layer of lining in cream sateen. 

I like the texture and pattern on the shirt I have so I hope I can use it for the dress (also, I got the shirt from my father's wife, and it feels special to integrate it into the dress)

 

Before we went fabric shopping, D jokingly said I can buy as much fabric as I'd like, but he will lock all my non-wedding-related fabric until I finish the dress, as I have no plan B and the wedding is getting closer (I don't really have time working on the dress during the week, and we still have to make all the decorations, since no made-in-China-by-children decorations will be part of our wedding...). Obviously Linden sweatshirts are made faster than the time it takes to persuade me to confront 20 meters of white slippery fabric, so this one was made immediately:

 

(Worn here with my Go-To Knit Pants. I know I promised a review but I'm still not sure what I think of this pattern). This is my 4th Linden, this one is made from Scuba knit I bought along with the aforementioned ridiculous amount of white fabric, and put immediately into good use. I made straight size 2 based on my measurements, and surprisingly my broad shoulders don't need extra room. Please note: Linden comes with 1/4" seam allowance!

After finishing my Linden I was ready to conquer the piles of white fabric, which meant I had a "white Christmas" after all! The results of this first sewing session will follow shortly. 

Till then, Happy Christmas and may you all have a fabulous end to 2015!

   

 

Alexandria Peg Trousers by Named

Hi All!

Med-school started four weeks ago, and it is not as bad as I anticipated. We had the first test two weeks ago and it went well, despite the fact I spent the last weeks on-and-off sick. I hope things will slowly settle into a routine that will allow me to study, work, sew, run, and spend time with my friends and family. Actually today was the first time I ran this week, as I spent most of it fighting a cold - and I had so much fun!

I'm looking for patterns and ideas for my light workout / lounge wear wardrobe. In the weekend before med-school started, instead of finishing off my responsibilities to work, I made up the Alexandria Peg Trousers by Named. This was my first time sewing with a Named pattern, and judging by the success of this garment - it won't be the last time I buy a pattern from them. I was looking for a trousers pattern for a woven fabric that is casual and comfortable. I like the general aesthetic of the Alexandria, but I didn't know if it could work with my body type - the model in the pictures is stick thin, and I was afraid the pleats won't do me any good. However despite my concerns I couldn't let go of this pattern and eventually bought it and made it up immediately!

I'm SO happy with this make! I have no idea what fabric I used - I just bought something black and thin with good drape. The fabric is soft to the touch, and the trousers are so comfortable! I even wore them for a short hike we took:

I wore them with my hemlock tee, and my UV protection sleeves. Black is very difficult to photograph, I'm sorry for the lack of details, but hey - you get a good idea of the view from the Jerusalem mountains :)

As it's the first time I sew with a Named pattern, I was a bit worried about the fit. Based on my hip measurement (about 90 cm) I was between 34 and 36, but I do have a very full seat so I sized up and after a quick muslin decided I was good to go. I'm happy with the fit of the trousers, they are loose fitting but the length and the tapering of the pant leg make them more appropriate for casual wear.

The instructions are great, and sewing was fun and smooth. The only part I had difficulty with was pressing the seam allowance of the pockets. The pockets are curved, so I had to fight with the iron. Next time I'll make a cardboard template I can use as a guide.

I do need another one of these in my wardrobe, possibly something a bit warmer as the weather here is getting colder. I have a light-grey flannel that may be a good candidate for my next attempt... although I doubt I can beat the success of these trousers - I wear them all the time and I think they are one of my favorite makes of all times!

In addition to having so much fun with this pattern, I'm also very happy I've discovered a "new to me" indie sewing company. I already have some of their patterns on my wishlist, one of them is the Rene Maxi Skirt pattern, to be used for my wedding skirt.

Have you sewn with Named before? I'm looking for information regarding the Wyome jeans pattern, I would like to try it as my next Named advernture...

Difficult days in Jerusalem

Hi all,

Med-school started again 4 days ago, it is not as bad as I anticipated, but I find it difficult to juggle my research work and med-school responsibilities. I'm sure I'll settle back into a routine in a few weeks, probably things will calm down on the school-front once I'm done with the first exam (10 days from now).

Unfortunately things around here are once again unstable. in the past two weeks we experienced daily terror attacks around the city (mostly stabbing, but there were shootings as well), meaning leaving the house is a bit dangerous, and going to center city is not an option. Public transportation is also less-safe so we need to juggle, be careful, and be at home/university and off the streets as much as possible. 

You can imagine how difficult it is... I'm still going to dance class twice a week, and I'm getting my sewing mojo back (I hope) but it is still very difficult. 

During the writing of this post, there was another terror attack in the central bus station (a few kilometers from our house). The rule is "if you hear one ambulance, it's fine. If you hear three - it's a terror attack.  

I guess I'm a "stress organizer" because the stress from the upcoming academic year along with the general stress we currently experience, pushed me to continue with the KonMary project, this time organizing my stash. While I did the "throwing out" part in April, the current organization system was not working.

 

Initially keeping my fabric rolled was a good system, but with time it got messy and the scraps and leftovers overshadowed the material I'm more likely to work with on a daily basis. So instead, I chose to use boxes and fold the material the same way I fold my clothes. I still don't have enough cardboard boxes, so I'm only half-way through. I hope I can find enough in the next couple of days, so I can continue with it during the weekend.


To raise my spirits and make me feel as if I was "getting things done" I tried to finish one UFO: the Morris blazer was the first!

 I started it a long time ago (immediately after the pattern was released), but my overlocker had some problems and had to be fixed, so it took me this long to finish it. (Worn over an Archer shirt)

In addition I made a second version of the Morris blazer (which I wore for the first day of school over my beloved Strathcona). As I can't go buy fabric or notions for projects, I'm trying to make things for which I have everything already in the stash. The Morris blazer needs no notions, so it's an easy choice:

Unfortunately I have some issues with the overlocker again. I'll try to fix it myself, but if not I'll have to wait until things calm down here, because the Bernina shop is located in central Jerusalem, and I can't go there right now...

Both blazers are size 2, graded to 4 in the shoulders. I have access fabric around the chest, so I think next time I'll grade the shoulders back to 2, or do a small bust adjustment (I did it on the Scout, on which I had the same problem with the fabric and it helped). Anyway until I find a solution to the overlocker problem, I'll have to stick with wovens.

What should I do next, another Archer perhaps? finally try the Aster pattern from colette? 

I'll keep writing about my makes, and continue with updates on the situation from our tiny spot in the middle east. I do hope that this stinky situation will be over soon.

On fall/winter wardrobe (that should include a wedding dress) and going back to med-school

Hi all!

It's always so difficult to start a new post after not writing here for so long.
In the past few months I've been mostly working on projects for our home, continuing with my Konmary project and trying to organize our place in a way that will help me feel comfortable and happy during the the next year of med-school. Additionally, I had to finish all experiments for the PHD, and then we took off to Scotland where we traveled for a month. I was, and in many ways still am, exhausted.

I'm studying towards an MD/PHD degree, so in two weeks time I'll be back in med-school after 3 years of research. I don't have the right words to express how it makes me feel. I want to be a doctor-researcher, but my years in pre-med were a total misery. I was alone, and lonely, in a new city. I was cold most of the time, I felt I didn't belong and that I wasn't good enough. I had very little guidance and I was lost. 6 years have past since this first week in pre-med, and I'm in a totally different place in life now. I'm in a stable relationship (that we will formalize this winter!), I have my PHD project that I love, and most importantly I have learned that some of the difficult things I had to cope with in life, were not things I deserved and where not my fault. The thing is - It's very difficult to change our habits, and learn to expect different things from the future despite a certain past. Specifically I find it difficult to imagine having a good time next year, as my memories are based on past experience that was so bad.

It is very difficult to be outside looking in, and as the sewing community is indeed a place in which I feel belong, I would like to participate! However, as this blog is public, and as pictures from here are quite up the "google image" search of my name (found out the bad way), I never know how personal I would like this place to be.

HOWEVER after reading this post from A Stitching odyssey I thought there was no way I'm keeping my radio silence. If they can write so openly about such a life-changing journey, I can be open about my fear from the near future :)

I'm trying to come up with a list of garments I would like to sew and wear in the upcoming months. It will take me a few more hours to finalize the list and understand what patterns / materials I need to gather, and I'll keep you posted!

I'll leave you with a picture of my new, finished Morris blazer! worn over an Archer shirt, with my "proper" black denim (RTW). I bought this pattern immediately upon its release (that never happens...) but due to some overlocker issues I just finished it yesterday!

On accomplishments and judgment against them

Some days I know who I am, some days I think I have no clue. 

Some days I am confident with my life choices while on other days criticism really hurts me. 

We had a long weekend, and I wanted to deep-clean the apartment. I LOVE our apartment, it's the first place in my adult life I call HOME. I want to spend time (and money) making it prettier and more "us". Rented apartments in Israel are usually kept in a bad condition. Despite the (very) high prices it's not uncommon to have lousy and old facilities. When we moved in two years ago we cleaned the place thoroughly, painted the walls, hung shelves etc, but we didn't do much with the bathroom since it was all too much and we didn't want to start painting both walls and ceiling.

It was fine for two years, but after the winter the bathroom needed a face-lift. So I bought hydrogen peroxide (diluted it to 3%) to get rid of the mold, and gave the washing machine its annual treatment with vinegar and baking soda. As it wasn't enough, I also applied new grout on the bathroom floor.

I felt like a super-hero!

All happy and stinky I went to a family dinner, and proudly shared my afternoon act of magic. The first reaction was "oh, you have too much free time!", followed by another key line  "but it's a rented apartment, why would you go through all the trouble?"

This reaction crushed me. MY HOME is so important to me. Coming back from work to a place I can call HOME is a feeling nothing can replace. having a place that I love, knowing that most of it is my own creation, this is something I care so much for. Being surrounded by items that spark joy is precious. And having it all dismissed by someone implying my time is better spent doing other things is hurtful.

I didn't know what to do, so I went back HOME and went all out: painted the bathroom (walls and ceiling! primer and paint!), scrubbed the ceramic with vinegar to get rid of all the limescale, took the sinks apart to clean the pipes, removed the carpet from the bedroom floor (my landlord approved) and more. The bathroom looks amazing, and three days from now I'll take myself on a date to the flee market to find accessories. Every shower I now take is different and refreshing. And I have myself to thank for it.

But I'm still sad.  I choose to live a different life. I have a "normal" day-job I will not replace for anything in the world, I think what I do is important. But at the same time I feel that sewing my own clothes, using ecological cleaning supplies, recycling and reusing is my way of living a balanced life, feeling that I'm a positive force in the world, that I do more good than bad. I also choose to spend my (hard-earned) money on dance classes, trips, fabric and craft supplies. Should I be ashamed?

When somebody dismisses my choices, saying I'm wasting my time with all this, there still is a little voice in my head thinking that he might be right.

Should I do something else? Be somebody else? Am I a young idealist that still hasn't grown out of it? (I'm 27, will I change?)

and most importantly - am I alone with my point of view on life?

Did anyone ever insulted you, laughed at you for sewing and DIYing?  How should I react if/when it happens again?

 

Me Made May - a celebration of me-mades (?)

I am one of these people who anticipate May since March. For the past few years May was a month for celebrating all the self made garments and reflecting on the sewing process in the year that passed. May is also the month during which blogs discuss broader aspects of sewing rather than publishing only posts with new finished projects. So this year I anticipated reading and watching pictures capturing the dynamic aspects of clothes and how they work in real-life, outside the "finished garment" posts. I anticipated reading posts about the successes and failures in sewing, and how these experiences affect the "to-sew" lists. 

I was a bit disappointing reading that many of the big bloggers decided to ditch this experience. I know the sewing community develops over time and it is true that many of us wear our me-mades on a daily basis anyway. But circumscribing me-mades to finished-garment posts takes the point out of making and writing about our sewing, and makes sewing similar to RTW where the only job a garment has is to look good and picture-ready.

The lack of documentation in MMM15 reflects a bigger change in sewing blogs over the past two years - the easier patterns are to sew, and the greater frequency with which patterns are released makes sewing more like fast fashion. Maddie posted her take on that exactly one yer ago, during May. This change is also apparent in the photo shoots presenting finished garments - sewing photography becomes as important as sewing itself. Much like in RTW.

The growing sewing community is amazing, and it is because of these changes that we are able to sew most of our clothes. The quality and detailed information that comes with the new patterns helps us all conquer sewing garments we would otherwise skip such as jeans. But these changes could also make us less aware of the actual job our me-mades have in the real world, which is to be comfortable and pretty outside the settings of the photo-shoots and blog posts.

I wish that while the community continues to grow and new patterns are released, we will remember to reflect on the process more often and continue the discussion over garments long after they were first photographed.

Me Made May 2015 - 2nd week

Hi all!

I was better at documenting my outfits this week, and since I like reading round up posts I thought I'll contribute with my own. I think when all results are shown together trends are starting to emerge from the data. If it works for day-job science it could work for hobby-science as well, so here we go:

 I made the above top a week ago, the sleeves are sewn front-to-back but I don't really mind. This is a Scout tee from grainline studio, but I altered the side seams for a more fitted silhouette. I also did a small-bust-adjustment, this pattern is drafted for a B cup and I'm AA so it was necessary. Since I'm as flat as a board I have no trouble putting it on, even in a woven fabric. worn here with my worn-out RTW  jeans and fitflops. From the mess behind me it appears it was either early in the morning or late at night. The past week was busy and passed real fast, especially since I was still tired from the work-trip the week before. 

 Above is my self-drafted striped tshirt, worn last Thursday. It was still cold so I wore an RTW jacket (that I bought 11 years ago in GAP during my first visit to NYC) and black RTW loose fitting jeans (bought 6 years ago in Old Navy, NYC). 

It was my first attempt with a long-sleeved variation of the pattern. The sleeves are a bit wide but I like the fabric so I wear it a lot. 

Friday, another Scout tee in viscose and the same RTW black jeans. All seams are french seams as I always do with wovens, but since the fabric on this one is a bit sheer I also faced all hems with self bias binding (sleeve hems included). I think I'll continue with faced hems on wovens, it's nice that the pattern is very simple but I can play with the details and finishes. 

Saturday, another Scout tee and blue Ultimate Trousers. I wore the pants before hemming to check the fit and at the end of the day lowered the front waistline in about an inch, as I felt as if it was cutting my circulation when I sat. The fabric has NO give and I'm used to more ease in my clothes so it's a change. I can't do a split in those pants... but apparently I can easily climb a ladder as evidenced by our successful mulberries picking day. I'll save the splits for another pair of pants.

I'm still experimenting with the pattern and I have a way to go, but this is a (heavily) modified size 10. I narrowed the side seams to size 8 and then shaved the side curves off. I always thought I was a pear shape but I guess I'm not. I also used a smaller seam allowance at the side seams at the waist, but took a wedge off the center back. I'm happy with the fit of those, but would like to have a more flared leg opening on my next version. Also this pair has an exposed metal zipper instead of the recommended hidden zipper. 

Sunday, at the ugly lab environment. (Work week in Israel is Sunday-Thursday, don't mistake me for a workaholic). 

My self drafted knit top, the same pattern used for the striped tshirt from Thursday, crop variation. One of my favorite garments, worn over an RTW black tank and RTW jeans. This crop top was one of my first makes on the overlocker about a year ago, and I wish I had more of this fabric so I could make a longer version as well. The fabric is so soft and easy to wear on hot summer days, and to my eyes the shibori looks like clouds, making me feel free and energetic. 

5 minutes after arriving home this is what I looked like:

 I didn't forget the lounge wear part of my pledge. I change clothes the minute I get back home, this time I jumped into my red fleece pants. I like them a lot and wear them during the winter all the time, but it's 27 degrees today, I should have an alternative for summer!

From this documentation it's very clear that I have a preference to loose fitting garments irrespective of the temperature. Skinny jeans are around for a few years now, but I only care for loose fitting "boyfriend" type silhouettes. I know there's a rule saying that if you wear wide pants you should wear tight top, but as evidenced by my (crappy) selfies I ignore it. I like to move a lot and I hate anything that restricts my movements so I'll try to focus on looser pants from now on. The Ultimates could be a good path to follow, maybe I can add a back yoke and draft my way towards a proper jeans variation without the negative ease (they are drafted with 1" of ease, which is the minimal amount for me to feel good in my clothes). 

Another conclusion is that I should focus my fabric quests on lounge wear material, to be used with the "go-to knit pants" I already tried. 

This Me-Made-May proves very effective! I hope you are all enjoying this month as well,

Roni