The first thing I made this year (as in, on Jan 2 while I was on New Year’s vacation) was a black Charm Patterns Stanwyck Skirt. After making the Stanwyck for my Hanukkah skirt, I knew I needed a black one that I could use as a basic in my wardrobe. And in fact, it came in handy not long after in February when I joined a bunch of friends for a historical costume ice skating event.

I went for the 1950’s as my historical era and I paired mine with a pink petticoat for some lovely poof and initially wore my Vogue 8346 wool coat over it. But after just a few laps around the rink, I was too warm and switched to just the little initial sweater instead which was quite comfortable.

Most folks went much more historical then me. I opted for the 1950’s since I wanted to wear a shorter skirt. It had been a while since I skated and I was worried that I might faceplant on the ice with a longer skirt. Although after a few rounds, it came back. I probably would have been fine going slow with a longer skirt, but I’m quite happy with my choice.

I made a straight size 6. The black twill is a Robert Kaufman Ventana Twill. And while it does have some stretch, you can’t really tell. The zipper is a gunmetal black zipper which I installed using the lapped zipper technique, but instead of doing a trouser hook and eye for the closure, I did a buttonhole with jeans button. I just love that look.

On this version of the skirt I included the pockets. The pockets on the Stanwyck are massive. I’m pretty sure my 10″ iPad would fit in one of them. However, I found that after I’d made them, they seemed to poof out. Looking at some photos, that seems to be “the look” that they’re going for, but I wanted them more sleek to maintain the silhouette of the skirt. So I added a line of stitching down the middle of each pocket, effectively creating 2 pockets out of them (you can sorta see in the photo above on the left pocket). Still plenty wide enough for a phone or even a kindle, but now it maintains that bell shape to the skirt.

I also learned that black twill is very challenging to wear when you have a half husky pup. The white undercoat hairs get everywhere. In the photos at home, I used a lint roller, but I forgot it when I went to the ice skating event. I did a little post processing to clean up as much of the dog hair as I could on the skirt, but even so, it still has quite a few. So, yeah, must travel with a link roller.

And while incredibly versatile for coordinating, black twill is also very hard to photograph. It seems to suck up all the light unless you’re in daylight or can crank up the exposure.

Finally, I’ve amassed a collection of garment tags that I find cute or that I get through other means, like the one above which came from being a Charm Patterns Patreon member. I’m finally remember to actually add them to my garments and they do indeed give a professional finish!

     

Since it’s that time of year where aspiring fashion designers are filling out the last bits of their Her Universe Fashion Show applications and filming the last take of their submission video, it seemed like a great time to share some pictures of the pieces I designed as part of our Winners’ Collection that was launched at San Diego Comic Con 2024. So, fair warning, this post is mostly a lot of photos of those pieces.

The SDCC collection for 2024 was focused on Star Wars and X-Men ’97. Raeven (my co-winner) and I each designed a piece for each of those fandoms. When I was at Disneyland in January for the Disneyland Half Marathon weekend, I seized the opportunity to take some thematic photos. The Photopass photographers at Disney got some amazing shots (the ones without a watermark on this page), but I also coerced my friend Coco and my husband into taking a few as well. I couldn’t have too many to commemorate my first pieces to be sold commercially!

The first piece was a reversible sleeveless dress which is still available on Hot Topic as of this writing. One side is black with gray images representative of the Imperial Army and the other side is white with gray images representative of the Rebel Alliance. When I was designing it, I couldn’t decide which one I wanted to design for. Sometimes you feel more like the dark side and sometimes you feel more hopeful. So I realized, why not incorporate that? Why not design something that you can change for your mood? So I did!

It has a side tie and little cap sleeves and is a super comfy fabric. The side tie means it’s adjustable and the tie is long enough to loop around your waist if you prefer to have a more defined waistband. I’ve worn this all day at parks and comic cons and it’s been just lovely. Unfortunately due to the construction, it doesn’t have pockets, but I usually wear it over leggings or shorts that have pockets.

My friend Coco wore her dress all day and was the greatest hype friend telling everyone that complimented us that I designed. Most of the photos above are her in the dark side and me in the light side. It really makes for some great duo photos. I like to wear it with Leia style space buns so I typically wear the light side. But I asked Coco to take some photos of me wearing both so you could see both versions on one person. I seriously love this dress so much and was incredibly happy with how it turned out.

Oh, and because I like to show everything, here’s a pic of the back so you can see the coordinating wrap tie.

The second piece I designed was an X-Men Varsity Jacket (again, currently available on Hot Topic as of this writing). Growing up watching the X-Men, I wished I had a super power and could attend a school for the gifted like the Xavier Institute. This jacket was my way of making that a reality, not just for me but for everyone. When you’re wearing this jacket you can feel like you are a student or alumni Xavier’s school. I like to think everyone actually does have a super power (it just may not be shooting laser beams out of our eyes).

There are so many details that I love about this jacket. The back has the crest. The 1963 is when X-Men first came out in comics. On the arms are the date again — Est. 1963 — and the Institute’s motto — mutatis mutandis. The inside has the X-Men logo (see the photo at the top of this post) and the buttons are also the classic X in a circle logo. It’s just the right warmth for California winters, although I hear my family in Florida only has about a week they get to wear it in winter (and, yes, this is what everyone got as gifts for the holidays).

Unfortunately there’s no X-Men area of Disneyland, but the Avengers’ Campus is at least Marvel and looks superhero-y, so that was where I did these photos. And colorwise, it was a good match. I told the Photopass photographer that I designed the jacket and wanted to get photos and she was fantastic, really making sure I got lots of angles. Again, I was sooo happy with how this jacket turned out as well.

One of the most amazing parts about winning the competition was this experience of taking a design from concept to consumer. Having only worked on things for myself, it was great to be designing in a way that would be flattering to all bodies and that would appeal to a wide range of people. It was fascinating and educational to go through the process with a team who knew exactly what they were doing and learn the hows and whys of the decisions needed and steps to take to make a collection happen. I definitely grew as a designer through the process and have a deeper understanding of the industry.

And, below, I’ll leave you with a picture of one of the pieces Raeven designed, a unisex Ahsoka pullover. So incredibly comfy and seriously looks good on all genders. Her other piece was an X-Men Storm themed hoodie which I didn’t have with me probably because I wear it all the time and it was in the laundry.

Oh, and if it looks like spilled something all over it, that’s because right before this, Coco and I went on Tiana’s Bayou, the new ride to replace Splash Mountain. We did not have ponchos. Coco had a mostly waterproof jacket so I made her sit in front. This was how wet I got so you can imagine the state she was in afterwards . . .

     

This is the Cashmerette Vernon shirt! Would you believe this shirt was a muslin? It was! Before diving into the Swanton Blouse, I decided to make the Vernon to get a feel for Cashmerette sizing since prior to that I had never made a Cashmerette pattern so I wasn’t sure how their block would fit me. I chose to make the Vernon (which was gifted to me to do a mashup with Swanton) because it’s a very classic style and would give me a good indication of how Cashmerette patterns would fit.

As it turned out, Cashmerette patterns fit me very well with little to no adjustments. For this one, I made a size 4 C/D for the shoulders/bust, graded to 6 at the waist, graded to 8 at the hips which is what I measure at. Although it fits great, if I make it again, I will do a straight size 8 because I’d like it just a little less fitted at the armscyes. This is just personal preference because I don’t like feeling stuff in my armpits.

As I said, even though I’d do it slightly differently next time, I’ve been wearing the heck out of this since I made it last winter. I can’t remember the last time I had a flannel shirt and they are amazing! So comfortable and warm. Why do I not have more of these in my life?? Fortunately, I’m now equipped to fix that

The fabric is some cotton flannel that I picked up at one of Cañada College Fashion Department‘s donation days. At that particular donation day, I mostly picked up some amazing books which are incredible inspiration, but I did get a few choice pieces of fabric including another cut of flannel.

Plaid can be challenging emotionally for me to work with because I’m stubborn about matching plaids. I can’t not do it, no matter how much extra time it takes me. Case in point: my swing coat.

So, one thing I love to do with any sort of plaid or gingham is toss in a little bias. It actually makes it easier since you don’t have to match plaids in those places saving some stress, but it also mixes it up and makes the garment visually more interesting. I love how the bias plaid looks on the yoke, placket, and cuffs.

Speaking of the placket, I had originally made it with the hidden placket, but it turned out to be really chunky for the flannel and I decided I actually liked the classic look of buttons for flannel better. So I cut it off and sewed it normally.

On the cuffs, I also deviated a little. The pattern calls for buttons and buttonholes, but I opted to do snaps. With the flannel, the cuff was going to be pretty thick to try to do an automatic buttonhole one. Plus, I often find buttonholes on my cuffs hard to do on my own, but snaps? Snaps are pretty easy. I’m really pleased with how they turned out and I’ll definitely need to remember snaps for future projects.

So yeah, not much more to say here. I didn’t make any adjustments on this one. Instructions were good. Will likely make again. Great, basic buttondown pattern but with some sleeve variations in case you do want to mix it up. And of course, if you get the Swanton, then you’ve got even more options.

And gratuitous pupper photo since they like to sneak into my photoshoots. She was quite disappointed that there was not, in fact, a treat in my hand.

     

Well, it’s certainly been a hot minute since I lasted posted. It’s not that I haven’t been sewing. In fact, I’ve been sewing a ton! But that’s part of the issue — I’ve been making so much that I haven’t had time to sit down and my computer and write about all the things I’m making! But last I counted, I’ve made over 10 things since the start of this year alone; nevermind all the things from last year that I still haven’t had a chance to post! But I’ve finally found some time, so let’s get to it!

First up is my Victorian Tea Dress which I wore to a goes-to event at the Legion of Honor for the Mary Cassatt exhibit. The event was arranged by my friend Vivien aka Fresh Frippery with the instruction to wear something that matched the era which Mary Cassatt painted. This actually gave a pretty wide range of late Victorian through about Edwardian which is early 1900’s and people chose to represent almost every style in that range!

The event itself was a total blast! Huge thank you to Vivien for organizing and to the Legion of Honor for such an opportunity! Attendees who were there just to see the paintings seemed to really get a kick out of us walking around in period costumes and many said it enhanced the experience for them. We had lots of folks asking to take photos with us and asking us about where we got our outfits to which all of us were very proud to say, “I made it!”

The exhibit itself was very interesting. I enjoyed seeing the evolution of her style. I always really like the drafts that they show for artists like this. It reminds me that even talented artists need to practice a bit before making masterpieces. Jillian and I both took pictures with the photos that inspired our looks. Mine is at the top of this post, albeit in blue, not pink. But that’s the same general style of dress.

So let’s get into the making of the dress itself. I opted to do a Victorian Tea Dress. Why? Well, first, I had the pattern already and it was the right era and matched a fair bit of the subject matter in Cassatt’s paintings. She painted a lot of women and children at home and a Victorian Tea Dress is basically like a house dress. Second, I didn’t have a lot of time and this seemed feasible since it didn’t need to be fitted like most Victorian garb. Third, I didn’t need to wear a corset under it (though I did wear petticoats) and we were going for tea afterwards so, yay, room for tiny sandwiches!

The pattern I used was McCall’s M8304. And I have soooo much to say about this pattern. Where to start?

I’ll start with the good. It was a good choice to make given my time constraints. All things considered, it was pretty fast to make. It was a week from buying the fabric to wearing it, working in the evenings mostly. It was also very comfortable to wear as predicted. But, I’d only recommend it with reservations because there was a lot that was iffy about the pattern.

First, the sizing. I measure at a 12 around the bust though I usually make a 10 in Big 4 patterns based on my upper bust. However, I had to size down to an 8 which I thought was good, but probably even could have gotten away with a 6. I didn’t make a muslin because I had a friend who had made it before and my friend Jillian (in the photo above) that had done a muslin so I was able to use their sizing data to gauge mine.

Second, the grading. You’ll notice that the shoulder wings are quite large on my dress. Almost comically so. I’m pretty sure I could have taken off if I’d gotten them to flap. But I’m a go big or go home kinda gal, so I also loved them. They don’t look nearly that large in the pattern photo. I’m not sure what size she made in the pattern photo, but from what I could tell, almost all sizes had basically the same size for the wings with only minor adjustments. Certainly not enough to compensate for the difference in dress shape between sizes. I was using a printed pattern, not a PDF, so I know this also wasn’t a printing error. At least not mine.

Third, the supply list. They tell you that you need 6 yards each of piping and lace for the edges. This is wrong. You need at least 10, possibly 12. This is why I don’t have lace on the inner flaps. I ran out. I just barely had enough for what I did do. Fortunately I had bought extra piping. One extra package because I like to be prepared and then 3 extra packages of the light blue because I wasn’t sure what color I wanted to use. But that’s also why you see light blue piping around the big flaps — because I ran out of the dark blue! Now, historical costumes are known for piecing things together and it totally looks like a design choice and you wouldn’t have even known if I hadn’t told you, but, still. I would expect this type of thing to be more accurate.

So yeah, the pattern worked out and overall it’s a decent pattern, but just go in with eyes open and read some reviews so you can buy extra.

I had orderd some fabric but it wasn’t going to be here in time, so I ran to Joann’s to pick some up. This was just a couple weeks before they declared bankruptcy so I’m definitely going to have to plan better going forward. This pattern calls for 9 yards of fabric for the main fabric so the sets you see above are the only ones that had enough of at least one fabric. I obviously ended up going with the blue. I was only able to get 7 yards of the dots after buying them out. I got extra of the florals and the light blue solid which worked.

The fabric itself was not the highest quality, but I could tell that in the store and the price certainly reflected that (pretty sure it was less than $4/yd). After washing, it got white streaks where there were folds from the dryer. Kinda annoying, but once the dress was on you couldn’t really tell. I’m just gonna tell myself it makes it look more historical.

The pattern has you use the main fabric as the bodice lining and the facings of the collars, cuffs and flaps, but there’s no reason you need to use it for that. So I used my extra light blue for the bodice lining and the collars and cuffs facings, and I used the extra floral for the undersides of the flaps as well. So that’s how I made it work with the fabric I had.

The other thing I did differently was that I used some red organza (yes, I’m still going through the roll from the Minnie dress. It’s the gift that keeps on giving!) instead of the iron on interfacing. As I mentioned, a friend had made this costume and warned me that when you try to gather the flaps and sew it to the armholes, it becomes very thick. Not surprising. You’ve got 2 layers from the bodice, 2 layers from the sleeve and then 4 layers gathered from the flaps. Needless to say you don’t need to add another 2 layers of heavy interfacing.

Plus the organza gave it more body and lift than just normal SF101 or similar would have. I also really liked using sew-in interfacing in this case. I didn’t need to worry about bubbling or anything from fusible interfacing. I did use SF101 for the cuffs and collar, but kinda wish I had had some sew-in. Though it looks fine.

And indeed, it was a chunky seam! I had to use fishing line to gather it rather than normal thread because it was so thick that the thread kept breaking. I basted to the bodice first and then the sleeve to that. It was probably the hardest part of this dress.

Otherwise, the dress was fairly straightforward. Lots of nice big seams. Above is one of my first try-ons and when I knew I’d be happy with the look. They have you do french seams for all the long skirt seams. I did. I don’t know why I did. I guess it’s historically accurate construction, but historically accurate construction techniques have never been a real concern of mine. I should have just serged them. You can’t see them, so who’s gonna know? But they’re long and straight (mostly) and cotton is super fast and easy to sew, so it wasn’t that big a deal. But if you’re time constrained (as I usually am), just serge them.

You will want to read the instructions though because the assembly order seemed a little odd, or at least not what I’m accustomed to. Maybe it’s more historical? Or maybe I just haven’t run into it. But you sew the skirt to the bodice lining, add some trim, sew the necklines, add trim to the bodice outer, and then sew the bodice outer to match up the 2 trims. You’re supposed to sew that by hand.

I did not. I used lots very precise pinning and then stitched in the ditch with an edgestitch foot. I’m not a big fan of handsewing. My handsewing isn’t nearly as even as machine sewing or at least takes me forever if I want it to be that good so I found this gave me better, faster results and in my opinion, looked just as good since you can’t even see the stitching it’s so in the ditch.

And then I had to hem the dress. I put it on my dress form which is matched to my height and marked along the bottom. Then I laid it out and cut a smooth curve between the marks. I did this because I ended up taking off about 8″ in the back and only 5″ in the front. Still quite a bit. I did a 1″ hem.

Of note, you can see the buckle that I used. I got this at the Marketplace at Costume College several years ago (the last time I went was pre-pandemic). It’s an antique bronze and it was really just perfect. It looked great and happen to be the right size for the belt! I knew I’d need it eventually

And finally, I didn’t want to be that chick with the 21st century purse in historical garments (like I usually am, but I’m trying to be better) so I made myself a little matching purse. I believe this would be called a reticule, but I’m not entirely up on the differences between the types of Victorian purses. I freehanded this whole thing, so no pattern to share for it. It’s fully lined, and was just the right size to hold my wallet, phone, keys, and a few other bits, so I’m actually pretty thrilled with how it turned out!

Underneath the skirt I wore my Victorian petticoats (and also some leggings because it was freezing), but no hoop skirt since you wouldn’t have worn one just lounging around the house. The petticoats were a tad long for this dress since they’re meant to be over a hoop skirt which adds length. I was able to make them work but I did have to hike them up a few times.

But overall, very happy with how this dress turned out in the end, even if the pattern was lacking a bit. My friends and I regularly have costume events that often overlap the late 1800’s so I expect I’ll definitely get more wear out of this in the future!

     

For this last night of Hanukkah and the first day of 2025, I made a fun little pajama set consisting of the Cashmerette Fiske Pajama bottoms and the Pattern Emporium Hugs & Kisses Cami top. I’m not going to go into too much detail about either pattern since I’ve covered them before (bottoms and cami).

The fabric is some Happy Llamakkah cotton spandex from Califabrics. I don’t really get the whole llamakkah thing, but this was the cutest fabric I found and one of the only stretch knits other than my own designs. It has little hanukiahs, sufganiyot, dreidels, and kippah-wearing llamas. According to Califabrics, it’s a designer deadstock and I did actually find the same print on pajamas by Bedhead. So, yay, I’m wearing designer PJs!

I made the pants pretty much the same as before and according to the instructions with 2 significant changes.

Since this was as stretch and the pattern is designed for a woven, I knew it would fit baggier. I didn’t feel like reprinting and taping the pattern, so I just folded out 1/2 inch on the front and back from my already printed 6 waist/8 hips. I didn’t bother to do this on the pockets because I don’t mind them being good sized. It was pretty simple to do and I think they fit nicely and are not bigger than they should be (it’s a relaxed fit).

However, I did shrink down the length of the pockets. I tried to do it as little as possible because I like big pockets, but this was because I didn’t have enough fabric. I used pretty much every piece of the 2 yards for this set. I’m pretty happy (and a little impressed with myself) that I could get this whole thing out of 2 yards AND it’s directional fabric which meant the pants had to be side by side rather than nesting!

After cutting down the length of the pockets, I rounded the corner by stacking all four pockets so they’d all be the same and eyeballing it with my rotary cutter.

The only other thing of note was that I did mess up the waistband a few times. My serger ate my fabric at least once. I should have basted it and I think I just got cocky since I’m usually pretty fast and good with the serger. Fortunately the knit fabric was forgiving so I was able to make it work. You know when you try to do a fast easy project and the universe gives a little laugh, and says, “nope”? Yeah, this was that kind of project although I was still able to finish it in a couple of hours, even with the bumbles.

Everything else for the pants was just normal as the pattern is written. Also note that they look a little too long here, but they’re not. For some reason, I was wearing them low on my hips. I usually fold over the waistband a couple times, but for whatever reason, I was wearing them as low riders in these photos. It’s also why the crotch looks a bit low as well. It’s not really if I wear them at my waist, where they should be.

On the cami, I normally would do a size 8 graded to 12 at the waist, but because this cotton spandex didn’t have as much stretch as usual, I did a straight size 12. I’ve found that Pattern Emporium patterns look best at the measured size with fabrics that have at least 50% stretch or lots of drape which this one did not have. I probably could have gone with a size 10 but because it’s intended to be PJs, I don’t mind it being a bit looser. I did the high back without a shelf bra. Again, since it’s PJs, no need for a shelf bra . . . and I didn’t have enough fabric, so that worked out well. But I am wearing a strapless in the photos for modesty reasons. Otherwise, just a straight sew. The Hugs & Kisses cami is intended for knits so this was just following the directions.

I used the cover stitch for the cami and the pants hems which was . . . fine. My cover stitch machine kept catching so the stitches aren’t as even as they could be. I’ve never been truly happy with this coverstitch machine (Janome Coverpro 2000) so I’ll likely be looking for a new one this year. I’ve heard good things about Babylock.

But, look! I have Happy Llamakkah socks! Coincidentally I got these last year or the year before. Who knew I’d have a matching PJ set to go with them?

And that’s it. A great way to ring in the new year with a new set of PJs! Happy Hanukkah! Happy New Year! And, I guess, Happy Llamakkah?