(Inside A Black Apple)

This Year's Liberty Dress (2015 edition)

I've sewn up this year's Liberty dress (I've actually made a few so far, from fabric I squirreled from the Liberty store...maybe more on those in another post?) So technically, this is one of this year's Liberty dresses.

You can see the last two years here & here if you'd like to (2013 & 2014 respectively.)

The print is called Poppy & Honesty (I think) which is so pretty in all colorways but I was especially liking this nice demure blue & gray colorway. The pattern is my devising, a kind of pared-down version of this beautiful No.6 dress, the Alice dress, with nice long ties that wrap around the back & tie in the front.

It's light as a feather, really comfy and easy to wear (all extremely important as it seems to be getting toastier & toastier in famously gray, chilly Portland.)

And of course, (most importantly) it has nice big pockets!

I found this excellent little tutorial/technique for creating perfectly matched patch pockets and I've been going crazy putting pockets on everything. I've always had a hard time not only matching the pockets, but also pressing the rounded edges under so they lay nicely to stitch them down. But now I've got this little trick!

Pockets. Pockets for everything!

A Little Bear in Striped Trousers

I made this little bear for a new bebe.

I went into this with delusions that I'd make a beautiful, heirloom teddy bear -- old-fashioned and soft mohair and shiny glass eyes. But when I set to work, this funny little guy is who I ended up with.

Not exactly the perfect Winnie-the-pooh bear I'd imagined, but a bear nonetheless.

A bear with his own charms & his own striped trousers.

We just returned from London (and a side-trip to Paris) & there are things I want to share from the trip.
I also need to finish posting the last few Eleanor pieces.

More dispatches soon!

This Year's Liberty Dress

I've decided to make a tradition out of trying to make a new Summer dress out of Liberty cotton every year. It would be so nice to build a little stockpile over of the years.

This is last year's, and keen eyes will notice that (thrill-a-minute creature that I am) this year's is the same print, Claire Aude, just in the red/pink colorway. I actually sewed it inside-out, because I liked the back of the print a little more (the colors were a little softer).

I drafted the pattern from my favorite dress, a slip dress with a gently gathered waist. I've made so many clones of this dress, I think I could make it in my sleep. For the fabric, I usually order via Purl (but if they don't have a Liberty colorway or print in stock B&J fabrics almost certainly has it)

I've also been ordering a lot from Mood, with their amazing selection of silk & wool & other fabrics it's hard to buy locally. I am sewing so many of my clothes these days and I love it. Even when I botch something (which is often) it was in the pursuit of making something that's exactly like what's in my mind. And like with anything you make: when it isn't botched, and it works just right, and it's exactly like you hoped, it's completely wonderful.

I Made a Summer Dress

It's been uncharacteristically toasty around these parts lately, and it has put me in a very stitchy kind of mood. I always get a bee in my bonnet to sew in warm weather - I don't know why that is?

 Standing over a scalding, steaming iron and cozying up to a big stationary machine doesn't seem like a natural fit for hot weather, but here we are & there I go.

I guess sewing Summer dresses seems much more easy and breezy than sewing heavy woolens for Fall (and it is) so that's probably most of it. This year I really wanted a few extremely simple little 60's-inspired shift dresses with elbow-length sleeves. That's been the bee in my bonnet.

I'm so particular and get such specific ideas in mind, sometimes it's easier to just make things yourself, right? Right. So armed with cold, milky iced coffee, that's been one of the things I've been up to lately.

I promised myself if I would actually sit down and draft a pattern for this dress and test it and test it (and test it again) I could buy a few yards of Liberty fabric. I picked Claire Aude in the goldens and pinks and jadeite green, because it's always been one of my favorites of all their prints.

After it was washed and pressed, even though I'd already made a muslin and two other mostly-successful dresses from my pattern, I had the worst time getting the nerve to cut it. It's such truly lovely and excellent fabric that I felt terribly outclassed, but I crossed my fingers and went to work.

Somehow I managed to sew the whole dress (tricky to do with my fingers crossed) and it turned out just liked I hoped. Perfect for the hottest days, when we get them, and easy to wear with some little old sneakers or worn-in flats.

And the best part?

It has pockets!

I have my share of sewing-heartbreaks, so when something turns out like I'd hoped, it's so gratifying. And besides, when you make things with your hands for a living, it feels extra-special to make things for yourself, for fun.

Have you done any Summer projects (sewn or not) (pocketed or not) you're particularly happy about?

Red Silk Kit

For Christmas, a thoughtful, generous friend gave me some of the most beautiful tomato-y red silk yardage, along with matching tomato-y thread, and then sweet little buttons and buckles and such in case the spirit moved.

She knew I wanted to try my hand at sewing with silk - just something simple. But I had been too gun-shy to order some or go to the shop and just pick some up and give it a whirl. I don't know why - just one of those dum dum, self-defeating, frozen-by-intimidation things. And so, in a show of true thoughtfulness, she went ahead and bundled up everything for me.

"This way," she said "if it's a total bust, the supplies were a gift and you don't have to be mad at yourself for wasting the fancy fabric."

This bundle of fabric and notions and love made me certain that thoughtfully chosen supplies, especially supplies that a sewer/baker/candlestick-maker might not buy for themselves, are one of the nicest gifts.

And I am going to make myself cut into that pretty red silk some day soon.
Mark my words!

A Bee in my Bonnet Blouse

Firstly, thank you so much for the extremely kind response to the Alice originals! There's only one left in the shop (as of this posting) (update: it's sold, too! All twelve are spoken for.) I'll be adding the prints very soon.

Secondly, a couple days ago, I got a bee in my bonnet to duplicate a simple blouse I own. I realized I was wearing this blouse about once a week, and I had some beautiful yardage of 1930's floral cotton voile just waiting to become something. It seemed like it would be very happy as a blouse.



It's always equal parts scary and exhilarating to cut into fabric that very well might be one-of-a-kind. But I also believe that pretty, special things are meant to be enjoyed, so I made my pattern and then cut & sewed this little garden print right up.

The fabric has the prettiest colors in it - strawberry coral, marigold yellow, ice blue & jadeite green. Oh, I just love it so.

The blouse I traced is a simple shift shape with minimal shaping (I added some darts so it wasn't a total sack) but most importantly, it has the perfect little tie that can become a bow, or just knotted, as above.

I added a collar underneath the tie (a scooped peter pan sort of deal) to add more versatility to how it could be worn, but truthfully, I think I might leave it off next time, since you can barely see it.

To determine if I think I'll be capable of drafting a pattern from something, I usually sit down with it for about 5-10 minutes, turn it inside out, examine the seams, figure out how things are attached. I look for things I'd like to change and figure out how I'd change them. Then I draft the pattern on butcher paper, and go to work! Happily, this one worked on the first try, which feels so good.

The blouse is different from the original in a lot of ways...it's shorter, has the peter pan collar, different sleeves. You'd probably only know they're related from the tie.

I wore it yesterday, and it's really so nice under my always-present cardigans.
I can't wait to sew one in black/white gingham!