Broken Sewing Machine

My sewing machine broke this weekend.  I messed up the timing on my bobbin.  :(  Luckily my FIL had a sewing machine that I could use to finish up the last costumes.  He said he would also take a look at it to see if he could fix the timing.  I have faith in him.  :)  Looks like I need to take a break from sewing for a little bit... hahaha... at least this gives me some time to trace Burda patterns.  Any ideas on what to use to trace the patterns?  Should I just use tracing paper?

Burda Magazine

I ordered a Burda magazine from the classified section of Patternreview.com.  I've admired many peoples creations from this magazine.  It's the November 2009 issue.  This is my first one and I'm pretty excited about it.  It seems to be a little bit more work since you have to trace out the patterns and then cut them out, but it'll be a different experience.

Hmmm... what to try as my first Burda pattern?!

New Clutch

I change bags/purses about 3-4 times a week... on days I have classes I use my backpack, on Sunday's I use my messanger bag, and the rest of the week I use whatever bag fits my mood.  With all this bag changing I needed a clutch or something to hold my essentials, which are phone, wallet, and chapstick, otherwise I would end up forgetting something.  A few weeks ago I made a little clutch.

I made some labels, too!  :)

Mihee is my Korean name... it means beauty and joy.  I thought it was appropriate for this clutch and hopefully my other sewing projects.  :) The labels are made from twill tape and printable iron-on transfer.  I had read about it somewhere awhile ago and can't remember where I saw it.  I believe there are lots of different tutorials on the web about this method.

I think I may make some more clutches for Christmas gifts... but I will need to add interfacing and use a different closure... the button is inconvenient and a little annoying.

November Tops

Faye is hosting "The Months of Tops" sew-a-long, and I've decided to join in.  I'm always in need of tops and I haven't made too many of them.  I just cut out Simplicity 2601 in a black silk charmeuse, which is also part of my fall wardrobe.  (However, I've never sewn with silk so this should be an interesting experience.)  Here's the envelope front.

I'm not sure if this counts, but I have some unfinished tops that I plan to finish.  One is the above pattern in an Amy Butler quilting cotton print.  I also need to finish a Butterick 5100 tunic.

Along with all the above tops here are the others I plan on making this month.  (They're part of the fall wardrobe plan, too.)

New Look 6831

Vogue 2980

Simplicity 2756

It looks like I have my work cutout for me.  On top of these tops my youth group is having a musical and I'm overseeing the costume/make-up team.  We need to finish the costumes for dress rehearsal this Sunday... eek!  I hope we don't have too many left... I need to re-tally all that we have.

Vogue 8413 Dress

I was flying out of town for my cousin's wedding Thursday morning so naturally I had to start and make a dress Wednesday night!  :)  I already had the pattern and fabric planned out.  The fabric was already pre-washed, but all the cutting and sewing happened Wednesday night after dinner.  I used Vogue 8413 view C.  The fabric was a berry ponte double knit from fabric.com.  This dress was less than $20 to make!  This dress was also part of my fall wardrobe (but not my PR wardrobe).

Pattern modifications:
1.  Removed the pleats from the front of the skirts
2.  Didn't use interfacing on facings
3.  Used an invisible zipper

I love this pattern and style!  It definitely needed a belt and I don't own very many.  I ended up going to Target the day before the wedding to buy a belt and a clutch.  They were perfect!  I think it was a good buy.  :)



Because I was making it in a haste, I didn't finish my edges or hem the bottom of the dress.  I will need to go back clean those up, but other than that I love my new dress!  I received many compliments on this dress at the wedding despite my hap-hazardly construction.  See my side seams don't even match... I need to fix that, too.

Hopefully I'll have some pictures up later of the clutch and back of the dress, but I don't have any right now.