Lovely Lisa

So yesterday I managed to finish Lisa - I had a total nightmare with the zipper... I bought a plastic invisible zipper foot and put the zipper in but I think I must have sewed too close to the teeth because the zip got stuck fast and I had to unpick all the stitching, take it out (the zipper was broken after that), buy a new zipper and start again... that was a nightmare. The second attempt was better but still not perfect.

Also because the finished size of the bodice according to the pattern was too big for me, I had to adjust it at the sides and centre back of the bodice to make it smaller (I made it up in Vogue size 10 which as it turns out was about two sizes too big) - by that point I had already stitched on the grossgrain ribbon decoration so the adjustment meant the ribbon didn't quite meet at the sides and back. A bit annoying but not too bad.

Always a bit mystified as to the best hem finish - I usually do a double folded hem (which is what I did here) but need to experiment with other finishes. Same for seams - takes ages to finish seams... think that will be what prompts me to get an overlocker...

Jackie Oh..

So here is Jackie, modelled rather fetchingly by Maud. I wore this to a wedding and I think my daddy managed to take some nice pics, but sadly I don't have any of those yet. I had to finish it the night before I had to leave for the wedding, and ended up doing an all nighter... like an essay crisis - sewing crisis!

In real life, the fabric isn't as shiny and weird as it looks in the pics. The fit is ok - nice around the midriff but the shoulder straps are too long (the ribbon pinching was an attempt to shorten them!) - my alteration clearly not needed and in any event conducted with little or no accuracy.... gagh... oh well, I'll learn for next time. It is also not tight enough at the back. and gapes a little - requiring perfect posture with shoulders pushed back to keep it flat and nice! Comes as a result of not really fitting it properly I guess. But now I have Maud....

The invisible zipper also isn't great - not that invisible - but now I have a new zipper foot (though between you and me, there are about a billion bits to it and am frankly terrified at thought of taking my presser foot to bit in order to attach it).

So many lessons to learn from this one I think!

Spotty Marie skirt

I made this from the free pattern on Burdastyle and hemmed it to a more flattering length. It was actually a bit tricky to get the hem right as the original pattern has facings for the hem which is a sort of tulip shape. I cut and hemmed it shorter so it didn't have the balloon / tulip shape. I also lined it with the help of Connie Long's book 'Easy Guide to Sewing Linings' - basically the quick-lining technique. Lining really makes it a lot nicer to wear, and the whole skirt feels a lot more substantial. I did managed to prick my finger on a pin and bleed on the lining a bit which was slightly annoying. I am now deliberating whether to use this skirt shape for Jackie. The shape will probably be a bit fuller made from silk, but that might be quite nice... Hmmm. I will also need to move the zipper to the back, as the Jackie bodice opens at the back but that will probably make it neater to finish.