Epic Conclusion

And finally, the stunning conclusion to the epic saga that is the Vogue Suit! I had written a conclusion entry in real-time, but due to a computer error it was lost. I'll just use this as a photo gallery now instead.

Once I finished construction, it took me a number of days to actually complete the suit. I washed it once (in the washing machine! what?) But no bleeding since then. Unfortunately the dye that has already bled onto my sewing machine and hands (and then transferred to light switches, the iron, ironing board, the refrigerator, my bathroom towels) seems to be permanent. Ha. ha. ha.

And the final results!!!

The task that took me the longest to complete was the sewing on of the hooks & eyes. Once I had completed the suit, I discovered that I did not have enough hooks & eyes to complete the entire front closure, and again, I was lazy about getting to the store. Days later I finally I sewed them on, but I might still remove them and sew on snaps instead. The suit is not as tight as a corset, and thus the hooks & eyes easily come undone during normal body movement. This probably would not have been a problem if I had used hook & eye tape as the pattern called for. But! There was no hook & eye tape to be found at the first store I went to, and the second store only had it in white (no thanks!).

Someday I'll replace the hooks & eyes with snaps. I also don't like the fact that you can see them from the front

Sigh. I'll probably get around to that in the next year or so. In the meantime I'll just have to make sure I wear a shirt underneath at all times, unlike how the jacket is shown in the pattern. And for good measure, here's a close-up of the jacket. Soo pretty!

When I was finished constructing the epic-in-and-of-itself jacket, I realized I still needed to finish the pants. Now let's go a little bit farther back on the pants saga...

Back in the Spring of 2007, after pulling an all-nighter on a final presentation for one of my Mech. E classes, I was offered tickets to go see the Scissor Sisters, one of my favorite bands. At the show I fell in LOVE with the pants the lead guitarist was wearing, as you can see here:
The pants in question are on the gentleman on the far right. The ones I actually saw were brown with pink buttons to match that pink shirt, but you get the idea. I wasn't sure if these pants would look any good on me, but when I found the Vogue pattern I showed here, I was determined to give it a shot.

And voila!
Plenty of sass, if I do say so myself. Maybe I should add suspenders and a pink shirt with a tie if I want to really accomplish the look...

Here's another picture just for fun:

Finally.
The End.
And I've still got about 6 yards left of the pink pinstripe fabric for whatever else I might desire :D

Epic Marathon, Pt. 3

The next installment:

7:03am
It's Monday, and I have to finish the suit today and clean up the debris from the nuclear bomb that went off in my house before my roommate returns to town (although I forgot when that was supposed to be). In the wee hours of the morning, I finished one of the sleeves, got a good start on the other, and then took a 3-hr nap. Now it's just finish the second sleeve and finish the lining, then sew on a row of hooks & eyes and I'm done!

11:39am
Well I finished both the jacket and the pants now, except I didn't realize I was short on hooks and eyes. The jacket calls for a row of hooks and eyes to close the front, so I'm going to have to make one more trip to the store... sigh.

To be concluded...

Epic Marathon, Pt. 2

Continued from the day before, here is the real-time updates for my Epic Sewing Marathon Day 2!!

7:51am
I woke up sore in places too random to understand. Must have been all that crouching and stooping over my scissors. I dreamed I went skydiving. I landed in a muddy field, stole an ancient Winnebago, got stopped at the Canadian border and was given a ticket for not having a license to drive such a vehicle. I'm going to get breakfast started in the rice cooker, put a movie on, and get right back to sewing those dozens of fabric pieces together.

12:24pm
It's starting to look like a blazer! I've got the torso completely put together and the lining halfway finished. Once that's done, I'll be putting the sleeves on and then I'll really have something. Although it's a ton of work, the Vogue pattern is very satisfying to sew. It really feels like a professional piece when I hold it, and not just some fabric thrown together. And for once it actually fits right! (unlike the summer dress debacles) But now it's time to break for lunch, once I wash the purple stains that have been the byproduct of working with this fabric off my hands.

9:55pm
AAAHHHHHHHH!!!!! I got a little more sewing done after lunch, but then I needed a nap. I just ruined my sleep schedule, AND I missed going to blockbuster before it closed. This is going to be a loooonnnng night.

To be continued...

Epic Marathon, Pt. 1

I am going to embark on a marathon of sewing today, and I will update this post in real-time as the day progresses. So hold on to your hoopskirts cause here we go!

Time: 8:39am
I am hungover and my head is pounding. I put the Pride & Prejudice miniseries dvd on to passively entertain me. I soon realized this was a terrible idea when Mrs. Bennett started shrieking in her strident tones. But rather than turn it off, I have chosen to leave it on as background while I sew! I have no plans today, and I have plenty of sewing that needs doing.

Time: 9:30am
After breakfast and tea, I gathered up my 12 yards of black suiting with pink pinstripes. Ahh, to see a pile of fabric strewn about the room.Yes, 12 yards. Did I mention that it had pink pinstripes? Here, enjoy a close-up:'Nuff said. But oh my goodness! My sewing kit is an absolute mess. Let's make a bigger mess by strewing the contents on the floor and reorganizing.

Time: 9:42am
Ok. Here's the pattern:
I've already made the blouse (through a series of misadventurous sewing, haha. I realized upon it's near completion that I had cut out two identical sleeves, rather than two mirroring sleeves. But I did not have enough fabric to cut out another sleeve! I went back to the fabric store and they were out! I put the blouse away dejectedly hoping that time would solve my dilemma. 6 months later I returned to the fabric store and was lucky enough to find another bolt. I bought the fabric, cut out the correct sleeve, sewed it on, and realized I had sewn the cuff on backwards. Both the cuffs point the same way! Alas, I do not care enough to fix it. I'll just say it has "personality"). But the instructions say that this pattern is unsuitable for obvious patterns or stripes! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Screw it. I've got 12 yards. If these pants don't work, I'll just throw them away and try another pattern.

11:14am
I've tried on the pants and I'm not all that crazy about them. They are obviously more suitable for more waif-like figures, but I'll keep on going. So rather than drive to the fabric store to obtain the correct zipper, I'll just use one I've got lying around (much more suited for jeans, but oh well). If I change my mind about the pants, I'll trade out the zipper later. In other news: the dye is running! Well, not actively running, but I've got dark stains under my fingernails and smudges all over my hands and sewing machine (and a couple on the walls). Hopefully a single wash will solve this problem. Fingers crossed! In the meantime, here's a nice picture of my post-project sewing machine, and the dye which won't seem to wash off:
12:05pm
Pants are nearly done, but I've tried them on with the blouse from the same pattern and I've decided I'm going to keep them. They're saucy. Next task: this jacket. I don't have shoulder pads, so I'll put them on my shopping list along with the proper zipper for my pants. That and fusible interfacing. Ugghhh! I don't want to go to the store!

12:57pm
Oh my god. This pattern is classified as "Advanced". And it's Vogue. That combination means nothing short of epic. The jacket has 16 pattern pieces. I have so far cut out 5, not counting the duplicates required in lining and interfacing. Oh, and did I mention the pinstripes? I've never done pattern matching before. It's going to be a long afternoon...

1:41pm
Pride and Prejudice is over. Time for another one!!!! I'll be putting in the feature film with Keira Knightley now. 12 pieces cut, 4 to go (still not counting lining or interfacing yet, sigh).

2:19pm
After a phone call from Ellie and a declined invitation to lunch, I've finally reached the point where the shopping trip cannot be put off. I do not have enough lining to complete the jacket! But first, a quick shower; I looked in the mirror and saw that my face is smudged with the dye from the fabric! Maybe there's some sort of dye-setting chemical I can buy at the fabric store.

4:02pm
Back from the craft store. It was packed! Busier than a WalMart on Friday night. I finally got hungry so I made myself a quick lunch, and now I just have to cut out the lining and interfacing pieces before I can finally start putting it together. Yay!

4:40pm
Done cutting. Score. Time to sew for real now.

6:22pm
Ahhh! A friend just called to confirm plans I had made to go see a play tonight. What? Sigh. I suppose I should be at least a little social. Gotta get dressed!

10:38pm
Back from the play; it was a cute one called "If it Ain't One Thing, it's Another" by a local Louisiana playwright. I'm too tired to sew anymore, and I'm too decisive to eat anything, so I think I'm just going to have to brush my teeth and call it a day. With any luck I should be able to get a full night's sleep tonight (I slept three hours night before last, nine hours yesterday afternoon, and three more hours before getting going this morning). And hey, if I can't sleep, I'll just get up and do some more sewing!!

To be continued.