Recidivist

Oh, I have been remiss. It has been many weeks since my last post. There has been a lot going on here - summer fun, my poor husband (still sounds odd saying that) was knocked off his bicycle and had a nasty break to his elbow (still in a sling, poor thing), parents visiting... not much time for sewing. Until the weekend just gone! I made some more progress on my Vogue dress, but also in a fit of productivity, made my first ever quilt! A square one for my little sister's baby - which is due on September 18th, the day after my birthday! I am actually really impressed with how it turned out - pics to follow.
frustration with said dress

In an effort to get me back in the sewing groove, I am going to join Gertie's coat sew-along, and have just purchased the pattern from Collette. Hopefully it will arrive before we start!

I will try and post some pics of the dress and my little quilt tonight. I have been terrible at posting generally, but I do read all the lovely blogs I follow almost every day (though I have not been commenting) - thank you all for the lovely posts on your blogs which have made me feel I am still in the sewing loop.

Quick update - Vogue 8555

I have been doing some sewing, though we have had a lovely stretch of warm weather here in London which has meant more time outside drinking Pimm's and less time in the study sewing! A few quick (bad) pics of the dresss - just have to put the zip in and fit the back seam and do the hem now... was thinking of doing it today, but it's just too warm!

Excuse the lack of ironing, it needs a good press before the next stage. I did a French seam on the side seams but annoyingly forgot to trim the seam allowance before sewing the second part of the seam, so I have some little threads poking out of the seam on the outside which will need trimming. I am so far pretty pleased with how this is working out, though a bit nervous about putting the zipper in with the lining... also not sure about the pleat at the bottom and how long to finish them hem - will I need the pleat? I think this dress will look awesome with a funky belt and my lovely Chloe wedges. I'm going to try and finish it in the next week or so, my parents are visiting in a couple of weeks and would love to be able to wear it out to lunch with them.

Return of my sewing mojo (sew-jo??) - Vogue 8555

The pink Burda dress horror was doing my head in - I decided to put it to one side and get on with something else. I was inspired by a recent trip to Joel's Fabrics up by Edgeware Road (more on that in another post - I am still recovering from the BEATING my AmEx took that day) and I bought a load of patterns (with the awesome Sew Today 50% discount - huzzah!) which got me all enthusiastic again.
One of my amazing purchases from Joel's was some gorgeous purple floral cotton. This stuff is cotton the likes of which I have never seen, it feels so smooth and almost silky - and as it was a bolt end (at two metres!) it was in the 50% off section (which was frankly just as well as I think at full price it was about £25 a metre - that place is NOT cheap)... then when some of the patterns I had ordered came at the weekend, I spotted Vogue 8555 which I thought would be fab for my lovely purple cotton. I am making view B (the yellow dress in the link). The dress is lined and I had some beige silky lining which is perfect. On Saturday I did a quick muslin of the bodice in size 10 which seemed generally ok though might need taking in at the centre back when I put the zipper in.

I have so far finished the bodice which looks good so far - I really like the pleats on the neckline and the sweetheart shape at the front is pretty cool. I am really keen to finish this dress as professionally as possible - and I wanted to understitch the lining to the seam allowances as per the instructions (which say to understitch 'as far as possible'). The annoying thing is that the instructions said to do that after I'd sewn the lining and the fabric together at the neckline and armholes - and the curves just wouldn't let me get the sewing machine all the way around. I couldn't just go part of the way and stop - it would look odd on the inside surely??

What is the best way to do this properly?? Advice please!

On the length, I was going to have it above the knee (the is the most flattering length on me) but now I'm thinking if I taper the skirt in towards the hem a bit more to make it a bit more pencil-y, it might be ok just over the knee... hmmmm. To be continued.

GAAAAGGGHHH...

I have been sewing - but not much posting! I made a start on Burda 113 from the 8/2009 edition in some lovely silk. I have so far almost finished the top half - I used some of the gorgeous cerise silk I got on Goldhawk Road a few weeks ago. Frustratingly though, I must have added on too much seam allowance at the bottom of the back, because after sewing the side seams I realised that there is too much fabric i the back armhole - you might just be able to see from the pic how there is too much floatiness going on in the back of the sleeves? Also, again, REALLY frustratingly, I must have done something wrong on the ruched front self facing because it wasn't long enough to actually make a self facing for the inside front, so the seam is on the neckline. For some stupid reason, I sewed this with a zig zag stitch, which you can see peeking through the fabric.

So annoyed. Basically something must have went awry when I was copying the pattern.

Not sure the best way to fix this stuff - for the front perhaps I unpick the zig zag seam, and maybe sew another bit of the cerise silk long enough to fold to the inside and make the self facing? Notice how from the front the bottom edge is curved - I think it is supposed to be straight so maybe I have more fabric I can pull up and wrap over to form the self facing...? Another issue I think is that the silk is heavy so it pulls the inside lining up where the self facing is supposed to be (does that make sense?) - maybe once the lining is sewed at the waist it will be a bit better.

For the sleeve, think I am going to have to unpick the side seams and sew them again. Annoying. Any other ideas?? Have to say, totally NOT loving the brevity of the Burda instructions... next project is going to be from a PROPER PATTERN with, like, PAGES of instructions....

BTW, apart from these miscellaneous disasters, this silk is a JOY to sew with. So heavy and feels so lovely!

Now to find my seam ripper.....

Apathy...

I finished the toile of Vogue 8511 (obviously too big as I thought - should have cut a size 10)... and you know what? I'm not sure I want to make it up yet.

I am not loving the pouffiness of the skirt. The pattern envelope suggests lightweight jersey, lightweight crepe, lightweight tweed and linen - none of which I have. I think it would be too bulky in a wool. I have a silky satin with spots on, but think it might be a bit too much 'all over'. I could use some of that lovely jacquard silk... but not sure I love the pattern enough! And then it would have to be a 'going out' dress which would mean hacking a good six inches off the length. Hmmm. Sort of disappointed I don't love it. Maybe I'd be more keen if I could get excited about which fabric to make it up in. I had been thinking about making the bodice and skirt in contrasting colours - perhaps the top half in the cream polka dot silk I got from Gorgeous Fabrics, but not sure what to do for the skirt. Maybe I could do the skirt in the black jacquard?...

GAGH.

Speed the likes of which has never been seen before in my sewing room

Last night I managed to escape from work awesomely early and so when I got home I was desperate to start a new project. Ripping off the 'Dream' dress seemed like too difficult a place to start, and so I thought I'd crack on with the lovely Vogue 8511 (which A Sewn Wardrobe has just finished) – a dress with sleeves. Dresses with sleeves are so glam at the moment. I haven't quite decided which fabric to make it in… maybe some of the lovely Loro Piana wool I got recently, which would be nice for work? But in any event I thought I'd make a toile of it first. All this London College of Fashion stuff has really gone to my head! The main reason I wanted to make a toile was because I wasn't certain which size to cut… I think probably a ten would be right but the measurements on the envelope put me at a pattern size 14 (I am a UK dress size 8 or 10)… so I cut out a 12 and we'll see how well it fits.

First I cut out the pattern, and then dug out some cheap cotton I had bought months ago for this sort of thing and started pinning and cutting out the fabric. To be fair the pattern is a very simple one and there aren't many pieces (I think there are seven?) but I WAS SO QUICK! I'm not sure if I'm just getting a little faster at doing things because I've had a little more practice, but in three hours I had cut out the pattern, cut out the fabric, and sewn the front and back bodice sections together. Some of you reading this are probably thinking "that took her three hours?!", but it has been known for cutting out the pattern alone to take me longer than that… Tonight I am hoping to get the toile finished and then I can assess what I need to change (I am hoping nothing, other than maybe cut it out in a smaller size!) and maybe even cut out the fabric… whoa there, don't want to get too carried away.

Next project(s)?...

Now that the end of my jacket is in sight – along with the end of my course at LCF (only two Saturdays left to go!) – I have started to think about my next project.. So far I have been quite good and have only had one project going at a time. But I think I can probably handle more than one thing at a time… as long as one of the two is pretty straightforward...

I have been thinking about sewing a coat, but like Gertie I am concerned I might be biting off more than I can chew. I ordered McCall's M5766 (pic right) which I think would be lovely in the peachy pink flannel I got from Gorgeous Fabrics] (did I mention a giant box arrived all the way from the US of A last week – MOST EXCITING!), and armed with my recent jacket-making experience (and a new book - 'Tailoring: The classic guide to sewing the perfect jacket') I have a little more experience. But taking on a coat is still pretty daunting. I think that it might have to be my 'in the background' project. Though I'd like to get it finished in a few weeks so I can wear it during the increasingly freezing weather we are having here in London. And it would be sorta Christmassy. Oooh, maybe I could have some fur trim..!

Something else which has inspired me is a beautiful dress I bought from a shop we have in the UK called L.K. Bennett. They are selling some beautiful clothes at the moment – I always considered them a little old-fashioned but they appear to have really upped their game in the last couple of years (or have I just got older??). Anyway, in a massive rush last week I had to find something to wear for a party and tried on a gorgeous dress called 'Dream' (see pic left, though it doesn't do the dress justice) in a pewter / silver silk. It was just so amazing on! It fit beautifully and is brilliantly made. With the festive season looming and numerous 30th birthday celebrations (three in the space of eight days) on the horizon, combined with the fact that the dress was WELL LUSH, I took the plunge… The thing is, I suddenly started thinking how actually this is quite a simple dress and.. would it be possible… could I?... rip it off?!

'Simple' dress. Hmmm. Then I started looking at it in more detail. The fashion fabric is silk and it is self lined for the top half and with a different lining for the skirt. There is a side zip at the hip and a little opening (for getting it on) covered by a panel of fabric that has a tiny stud, to tuck into the seam. It has tiny thread loops on the inside at each shoulder seam for attaching to your bra strap (genius) which close with the same tiny studs. The front is cut from one piece of fabric and has two darts at either side. The back is made up of four panels, and has a slit at the bottom. The front waistline is, I think, actually slightly curved. The top half of the dress has a cowl front and slightly lower cowl at the back, plenty of ease around the middle and then gathers in at the waist. I thought it would look lovely in the black silk jacquard I got from Gorgeous Fabrics (the circles on which are actually translucent black, not grey – but maybe with a grey lining I would get the desired spotty effect?).

So – where do I start drafting a pattern for this?? Start from scratch (holy bejebus)? Even though I have a fantastic book on pattern drafting (which I posted about here) I've never had the time to try it out. Or should I try and find patterns with the elements I want and mash them together? Am I punching way above my weight here??

Fab fifties

It seems that fifties fashion is back - AWESOME! Maybe my most favourite fashion period. This month's Burda magazine has a feature on 50s inspired clothes, and I already have quite a few vintage patterns waiting to be made up... in fact Jackie was based on a 1950s stle pattern. I love the fitted bodice and wide skirt style - so flattering (as long as the skirt is the right length of course!), though I'm not sure I'd go FULL 50s and wear the full petticoat / crinoline, it looks gorgeous. Again, born fifty years too late (I reckon nicest to be in your early twenties in the fifties to make the most of the gorgeous clothes!). On that note, we have just started watching the first series of MadMen, the series from the US about advertising in 1950s Manhattan. It's AWESOME. Not least the clothes. Office politics in those days... wowzers. Anyway, work wardrobe then was great. Pencil skirts, silky blouses, tight tops, 3/4 jackets. So flattering. Which brings me onto my next project I think - the skirt and blouse from August's burda issue, and maybe a second frilly blouse. They both look fairly easy, and the blouses both have sleeves (eeek!) but as they're not set in they probably don't count for my Virgin Sleeve Challenge...

Wondering whether I need to bother making a toile of the top or whether it is easy enough for me to just crack on... hopefully the latter, although I don't have any chiffon-y type fabric (though I do have some spotty satin stuff which might pretty cool for the one without the frill). Wonder if chiffon-y fabric will be hard to sew with... and cut out... maybe I will try and get to Goldhawk Road on Saturday morning.

Roll on the weekend - maybe I might actually get some sewing done, wedmin appears to have taken over (churches booked: 0, venues booked: 0, guest lists finalised: 0, minutes spent awake in the dead of night worrying about foregoing lack of progress: too sleep deprived to remember).

And I shall call her.... Lisa

Long time no post... I have been away on hols (hooray) but am back now and raring to sew... (geddit??). Jackie was a hit at the wedding - though annoyingly I soon found out that my strap adjustment was a little over-zealous... and the bodice wasn't as close fitting as it should have been at the back - forcing soldier-like posture to keep it all flat. Some pics to follow when I find some nice ones (could be some time)...

So today I wandered down to Goldhawk Road to buy some fabric for some of the millions of dress patterns I appear to have bought but been too nervous to try.... It's the first time I've been down there - happily it is only about 20 mins for me on the tube. There were some gorgeous Swiss voiles in one of the shops for £25 p/m, I was going to buy some but didn't have a good pattern in mind and am not yet feeling confident enough to draft my own.. but I managed to find a lovely maxi dress pattern which would be perfect for some of the bordered fabrics. Very Cavalli... I did managed to get some lovely blue cotton with a sort of woven stripe, and another blue cotton with a fine purple satin-y stripe. I thought it would make a lovely dress, but then realised loads of the patterns I have say 'not suitable for obvious stripes'. Goddammit. Also got a heavy woven cotton in lavender and a sort of aqua / turqoise colour. And some lovely wooly boucle type stuff of which I have grand plans to make a Chanel-style suit for the winter... Though given I have made about four things in total so far - none of them involving sleeves in any format - that may be a bit ambitious... Anyway onto the current project.

In a massive pattern splurge in Peter Jones on Sloane Square, I found Vogue pattern V8232 which I thought was a really nice simple design that I could make up in loads of different colours / fabrics. And it was in the 'Very Easy Vogue' section. Hurrah! I am going to make it up in the plain blue cotton (and think I will line it) and then maybe do some funky decoration-type-thang with grosgrain ribbon... And I shall call her 'Lisa'.

So far I have cut out the fabric - am about to start on the lining. I am sooooooo slow....

A little bit of glamour

The next thing I wanted to make was a dress - something that I could wear for lunches out, something a bit summery... I had bought a gorgeous vintage dress pattern in a 1950s style (Vogue 2960) and also found some yummy oyster silk which I ultimately want to make it up in. Thinking Jackie O with big shades, some natural pumps and a small handbag... I made it up in cheap cream cotton (and some bits of pink chambray for the skirt, which takes LOADS of fabric).. this pattern - though graded 'easy' by Vogue - was a lot more tricky for me. It had interfacing, darts and bound buttonholes! The interfacing I used for the bodice turned out to be much too stiff (lesson for next time, I have since purchased a lightweight version) and also the buttonholes were really tricky to do neatly. Even sewing the buttons on was a trauma... It turned out ok for a practice, though the cream cotton is quiet translucent so not sure to the extent I'll be able to wear this version. I hemmed it to just on the knee as anything longer than that is really unflattering on me.