Red, White, and Blue (Fiber #38)

I made these awhile ago, just never shared the photos! Remember Challenge:Ridiculous? Well, I promised prezzies to peeps and have given out 3/4 of them (Debbie!!! Your package is freakin' sittin' in my room, giving me a guilt trip every single day!!!) ... and now that the recipients have received them, I can spoil the surprise and post them here.


Can we just say ... oh boy! Matching but not!


Not one but three cloches, all made from the same pattern, each just a little bit different. I think what I love most about this pattern is how well it takes to customization (ribbon? No? Bow? Flower?), different color combinations, and truthfully each hat showed was knit up in a different weight yarn but they still all work! So I sent Sigrid the blue one, Alessa the white one, and Ali the red one. And I think they each work for their respective personalities ...

Thanks ladies for sewing Ridiculousness along with me!

Challenge: Ridiculous // Dress # 7 :: Spectacle

Whew! Took me an entire week to get photos ... but here they are! My latest Ridiculous sewing project ... Dress # 7 :: Spectacle.


Hah! Isn't it great to walk around with a dress full of spec's? (I know, the name is such a deliciously bad pun, I couldn't resist). I'm thinking mustard yellow tights + a gray blazer + black boots may squeak this into the office on a "casual" Friday come fall? In the meantime though, it combines the elements I search for in that perfect summer dress: loose but fitted, with enough pizazz to make me feel stylish when I walk out the door. Even if I literally just tossed on a dress and scrambled for the train.


I am not sure what inspired me to pipe both sleeve and neckband, but I think it's the perfect bit of detail to set off this otherwise crazy print. Crazy print: keep the details minimal, keep the pattern simple, make it all about the print. (Now, not positioning aforementioned crazy print right over one's bust? We'll save that level of finessing for next time! I don't think it's terribly noticeable though. I hope. You will tell me if this calls crazy attention to my chest, won't you?)

This is my latest iteration of the Fauxbetto pattern, lengthened to dress-length this time. I wanted to keep it loose enough that I could slip it on without needing a zipper, hence the lack of curved darts below bust. I think I've finally nailed this iteration of the sloper as it fits about as well as one can hope, and it now fills a "wishlist pattern" that's been on my brain for awhile - simple but fitted, works well with a fabric not woven to drape over curves (like all those fabulous novelty quilt cotton prints I see and cannot figure out how to work into a garment because they lack the proper drape. Hello quilting cottons. NOW I CAN ATTACK YOU WITH FULL FORCE AGAIN!).

To fix the sagging issues in the back, I shortened the upper back by 1/2" and then took a wedge out of each top shoulder seam for back only, and that eliminated most wrinkles as you can see:


However, I do notice that the lower hem of the front now hangs shorter than the rest of the dress. I think I need to add that wedge back into the bottom of the dress. Isn't it funny how these things work? It's a bit like when you add the wedge back in at the bottom for a swayback ... except in this case it's to the front bottom edge instead of the back bottom edge. My brain's too tired to make much sense of it, but if you have another suggestion for getting an even hem around let me know. (I confess I rarely mark a hem the proper way, that is to say I just eyeball what looks like an even hem on the flat pattern, hem and press. Flat, it works on this dress; but on the body, clearly it does not. Perhaps I should not be in such a rush to finish my projects!)


I also folded the entire back piece in by 3/4" at the center and moved the darts out 3/8" on each side to compensate, the second strategy to achieve a less wrinkly back. The next time around (I never know when to stop tinkering!), for the second, fitted version of this sloper, I may try making the back bottom better fitted as it is still not quite what I'd like.

But! But! But! Supremely thrilled. I shall be quite a Spectacle walking around in this one ;-). Too bad we can't throw a Ridiculous Meetup Party!



Oh yes, Ridiculous prezzies + how winners are selected. Um. Hm. If there are less than 4 of you who whip up a Ridiculous project, I'll probably just ship you all out a prezzie, but if there wind up being more than that, I think we shall go with a random drawing (more Ridiculous projects = more entries) and I'll email those selected to ask for a ranked preference, and hopefully everybody gets something they're happy with. If there's some prize unanimously ranked at the bottom of the heap, I'll probably throw in some extra goodies =). If you have more questions though, just ask! And thanks to everybody who has made up a Ridiculous project so far!!!

EDITED TO ADD: Challenge: Ridiculous deadline? Why don't we say until the end of August? That seems like a nice "end of summer" deadline, no?

A Detour Towards Ridiculous?

After teasing you all with green spec's and then other non-essential sewing, I got hit with a tidal wave of inspiration powerful enough to cause further detours off the mental sewing queue (truth be told, neither one of those prior projects had been in that mental queue, either! All the queue seems to consist of are my snooze-worthy projects.) What ensued was literally a case of she saw! she coveted! she dove in like a madwoman! Which is entirely the definition of "ridiculous," methinks!


Not quite the same as the inspiration top. I had this Italian checked stretch shirting in my stash, 1 yard chopped up in odd segments (math gone wrong, don't ask -- except, I ordered this when I was bound and determined to make a blue gingham-looking chicken scratch full skirt - and who does that with 1/8" checks??? The seeds of ridiculousness were planted early, my friends) and the premade navy bias tape didn't match, so I went with white though I'm wondering if I would have preferred self-fabric bias tape, now that I look at it. Oh well. With the premades this project took about 3 hours from start to finish, not bad if I say so myself.


Hm, sketch in the back, no? But the eagle-eyed of you may point out that the original Sorbetto does not have back darts and you'd be correct.


Even more sketch. And there's a good reason for that. This is not actually the Sorbetto pattern. It is my sloper and it still looks as darn blousy in the upper back as my last blouse because I did not do a darn thing to change the upper back. Actually, it looks blousier because I did make the bottom half more fitted. Go team.

Blouse #8 // Checkered Past

Why is this a Ridiculous project?
Let me count the ways ... One, I work in San Francisco (cold year-round), rendering this unwearable at least 5 days out of the week, most weeks out of the year. Two, who goes and drafts their own version of a free pattern??? Three, if the last version of said own sloper block had major upper back blousiness issues, why would one not address that in their next iteration of the sloper??? Four, well, I literally saw, coveted, and started drafting. Practically instantaneous. It really was the perfect impulse project.

What was your inspiration and process?
Saw, coveted, drafted, stitched, shrugged over the bias tape malcontent and moved on, have decided will wear regardless. Have most certainly decided to never take sideways or back photos of this blouse ever again, nor to ever catch my image in any but a fully frontward-looking angle.

The technical: after my last blouse, I knew I needed to make some mods. My sloper's orginal back pattern piece had the waist line extending out from the upper back, so I just dropped that line straight down to the waist and made a new side seam to the hip that was 1/4" in from the original (to remove some of the extra side ease) and also used a less curved seam for that side seam. I also dropped the back darts down to the bottom of the blouse and made them 1/4" wide on each side. These 2 mods took 1.5" out of the bottom and waist of the back pattern piece. I also redrew the armholes to give me a lot more room, but I may have gone overboard in that regard (these seams sewn at less than 1/4" SA). I also removed 1/4" from each side at the lats (so, at that widest point of the back piece). You know, looking at these photos, I'll bet I could extend those back darts up by a couple inches.

For the front, I narrowed the bust by 1/4" on each side, redrew the hip line, then added in 4" for the front pleat (no idea what it actually is on Sorbetto). Left off the fisheye darts and prayed, with the stretch and the drapey yet crisp content of the fabric, that this would hang nicely off my frame ... and I think it does ... from the front.

Lessons learned?
Hm. I feel like this blouse can't decide if it is Italian sophisticated or country picnic, so I guess the lesson there is -- don't half-ass something, if you're going for a look then go the whole way, even if it takes a bit extra time!

But actually, I think the lessons are twofold. First of all, I rarely wear shorts but this top practically begs for a pair of shorts, no? And you know what? Not sure why I've shunned shorts for the past decade! They're brilliant in their own right. So thank you Project for getting me over that hump.

Second of all, sometimes it's really fun to just go with that impulsive project! When it works out it is so satisfying. And I feel like the more of these that I tackle, the better I get at them. The better I get at improvising, going on instinct, and best of all not angst-ing over the sewing, the planning, the new techniques, the off-roading.

Verdict?
Ridiculous? I ... think so. It seems so plain and, um, Sorbetto-ish to be Ridiculous. But I think the process was ridiculous enough.


I don't know, what do you think? Does it qualify as Ridiculous? Have you had projects like this?

PS: for a lovely other take on Sorbetto in navy and white, check out Alessa. I totally feel like we're same-wavelengthing!

Challenge: Ridiculous

Let's get to it then, shall we? Thank you again for your enthusiasm for a Ridiculous Challenge this summer! I'm pretty excited. I was thinking we could keep this fun but informal - I've created a Flickr group for you to post your inspiration photos and finished objects, and I'm putting together a prize package for the end of summer (more on that below). But in the meantime, a little recap of the challenge.

Challenge: Ridiculous is all about taking your craft to zany and unexpected places. Maybe it means taking on a "stretch" project that pushes your comfort zone - venturing into whimsical prints if you're usually one for whipping up basics, trying out a new technique you've been eyeing for ages now, pouring gobs of time into getting the details right if you're usually a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type of crafter, or drafting a pattern for the first time ever. Or maybe for you it's about bringing the spontaneity back into crafting - she saw! she coveted! she plunged in without a second thought! - which could be the perfect antidote for us overthinkers out there (ahem). Great! That's exactly what the Ridiculous Challenge is all about! There is nothing Too Ridiculous or Not Ridiculous Enough. But if you ever catch a thought that begins with, "I really shouldn't be doing this ..." then 1) Go do it, please! and 2) consider it Ridiciulous Enough!

Whatever it takes to keep you feeling like a rockstar!

We'll keep each other updated through our blogs and through the Flickr page. Upload your inspiration, write rambling posts about your thought process. Do share with us what worked and what didn't! Improvisation and going off the deep end are both part of the creative process, and this here is about celebrating those together.

At the end of summer, I'll put up a post asking for nominations for Ridiculous projects that deserve an award (or at least to be showcased in a most Ridiculous fashion). We'll interview the Inspired Ridiculous Crafters about their inspiration and why this project was particularly Ridiculous for them, and crown a winner! I'm still figuring out prizes -- so if you wanted to contribute a prize, let me know. It would be fun if we could have different categories (Most Ridiculously New Technique Tried, Most Ridiculous To Wear To A School Reunion, So Ridiculous I'd Stalk You For An Autograph, etc.)

For my part, I'm planning a series of Ridiculous projects for you this summer. First up, a plan to convert this fabric into a summer dress ...

But if you're looking for some Ridiculous inspiraiton, please look no further than Sigrid, who has already stitched up a stunning example of Ridiculouslry. She deserves an ovation, that woman.