Full-Time Vixen | being a nerd

Category Archives: being a nerd

Winter is Coming…To Your Sewing Room!

April 6, 2014 • 11:48 AM

I don’t always make posts that are not about showcasing a recent completed project but once in a while I have ideas for content that I think might be interesting, if not at least amusing. So I receive email updates from the Big 4 Sewing Pattern companies on a regular basis. The pattern lines are McCall’s, Butterick, Vogue, and Simplicity for those not in the know. The first three are from the same conglomerate company though!

I like to peruse the latest sewing patterns and add whatever catches my eye to my ever expansive wishlist. I already have way too many sewing patterns and not nearly enough time to sew them all up but I derive a lot of pleasure from ~~hoarding~~ collecting sewing patterns. These days I’m much more selective though and I’ve been favouring indie sewing pattern companies. But the Big 4 still put out a few interesting designs in each collection that are worth putting on a wishlist. I get a happy little rush every time I see a new collection has been put out and eagerly click the link in the email notification I receive.

So a long while ago, probably in February, I was scrolling through the McCall’s spring collection when my jaw dropped a little. I had to stop scrolling and squint my eyes at the screen. “What the…” This is what I saw:

This was hilarious! McCall’s actually put out two Game of Thrones sewing patterns in anticipation for the premiere of the next season on April 6 (today!). So for those of you who noticed this a couple of months ago, you could have made your very own costume, perhaps to wear to a season premiere party?

Check out the two patterns — the first is M6940 which is very clearly supposed to be a Cersei Lannister costume.

The sewing pattern illustration is even more of a dead give-away with the lions and her facial features!

So maybe House Lannister isn’t your thing? How about dressing yourself like The Mother of Dragons with M6941?

Simplicity patterns had actually put out a dual Cersei Lannister and Sansa Stark pattern, I think a bit earlier than McCall’s. Judging by the pattern number, it was probably a part of the early spring or winter collection. Here it is, it’s Simplicity 1487:

The Big 4 usually put out costume related patterns as a way to get in on the Halloween market. But I’ve been noticing in the past few years how they’ve really been putting in an effort to stay on top of the trends. McCall’s releasing these two patterns just a couple of months before the Game of Thrones season premiere is an excellent example of this. I’ve also noticed that they’ve been releasing Steampunk inspired patterns too.

Anyways, I hope everyone has a happy time watching the Game of Thrones premiere. I’m one of those weirdos who tends to wait till everything has been released and then binge watches them over a few days. This year I might wait for 3 or 4 episodes and binge them in small batches. Till next time friends!

A Scarlet Skirt – McCall’s M6438

June 17, 2013 • 10:39 PM

I made this skirt last summer for a “modern Velma” costume I wore to a Geeks After Dark event (more on that later). This skirt was a quick make and is now one of my favourite garments because of its simple versatility and because I can wear it to work!

The pattern is McCall’s M6438 which is a super easy skirt pattern that comes with four variations. I made view A but with a few modifications. I doubled the width of the waistband because I love the look of wider waistbands and I changed the zipper insertion method. I inserted an invisible zipper because I prefer this type of zipper and inserted it to look more like a ready-to-wear skirt. Here’s a photo:

The zipper goes up to the top of the waistband and I don’t have to fiddle around with sewing an overlap and then adding either a skirt hook and eye or button. I have nothing against overlaps on skirts or pants and love that look as well. But for this garment, I had a certain “vision” in mind so I skipped all those steps. It’s neat and tidy on the inside too.

I didn’t really save much time because I hand hemmed the skirt with seam binding and a catch stitch. Looks so tidy eh? Tasia has the best tutorial over on her blog.

Outfit details: The shirt was thrifted, the tights are from Dysfunctional Doll, and the shoes from Aldo.

EDIT: I wore this skirt to work today and one of my co-workers asked me if I got it at Banana Republic. ^___^ Nope!

Here’s a bonus photo of me as Velma or what happened to be a very loose interpretation of Velma from that evening at Geeks After Dark.

If you’re wondering what Geeks After Dark is, it was an event that would be held at The Cellar nightclub in downtown Vancouver about once a month or so and featured a nerdy theme each time. Star Wars, Disney, British Sci-Fi, you name it, they did it. There would be nerdlesque (which is nerdy burlesque), a trivia contest, costume contests, and then dancing part of the night away to “geeky” music like the Space Jam theme song and the Mortal Combat theme (techno remix!). It was one of my favourite things to do ever! Then the event organizers split apart due to irreconcilable differences and the new incarnations of Geeks After Dark are known as Geekenders and Mastergeek Theatre. I haven’t really been to these nerd events in a while but will probably go to Geekenders at the end of this month. It’s good to go dancing!

So there you have it, the cat’s out of the bag for the whole internet to see — I am a raging nerd. My friends already know this of course but I knew I couldn’t hide it from my blog for long. Nor did I want to hide it! I’ll have to do a feature on one of the costumes I’ve sewn later on.