Allison.C Sewing Gallery

Stashbusting by The Four Tops

2012-02-08T13:26:00.000+08:00

(That so should have been an album title!)

After an involved project like a jacket it's nice to make something quick and easy so I pulled out some smallish pieces of knit fabric from a stash and found some patterns that I had already traced and made a top. And then made some more! These were all very fast and very simple so I am bunging them altogether in one bumper post - forgive the night time mannequin shots. I will get around to modelling all these for you soon.

1) Burda Style magazine 11/2011 - 114

In my year end tidy up I found that I had lost the instructions for this one because they were in the photo portion of the magazine which I no longer keep after a year. It was easy to figure out though. I made my usual size 38 but needed to unpick the side seams a bit on this one as I found that the wrap was a bit sad and droopy looking. Maybe it depends on the fabric - mine is a very soft drapy khaki cotton jersey. I experimented a bit and pulled the top of the side seam out a bit as shown below. I love the double layer front on this top and the shoulder / back design.

Droopy look before adjustment

The back - there is no shoulder seam, the fronts wrap over the back

The adjustment I made to each side seam

The finished top after adjusting.

2) Burda Style magazine 05/2004 - 111
I'm sure I will get sick of twist tops one day, but not yet. This was very quick and easy, but the pattern has cut on sleeves so you need wide fabric to make the pattern properly. I was working with leftovers of a grey jersey so I cut the sleeves as long as I could and added a doubled over band cut from scraps. It still only has 3/4 length sleeves but I quite like it. I sewed up the gaps left around the twist after making it and stitched further up the centre front seam as I found it a bit revealing as it was.

3) Jalie 2804 Empire Crossover top

I'm sorry to say this one has been cut out for at least a year, probably 2! When I finally got around to sewing it up on my serger it too no more than an hour so I don't know why I left it so long. I have a co-ordinating cotton print from which I plan to make a matching skirt, hopefully in less time than I got round to the top.

4) Patrones issue 300 #29
This is a loose fitting cowl neck top, here made up in a sheer, almost mesh, butterfly print. The side and shoulders are stitched with french seams and the hems are just left unfinished so this really was a speedy make. Of course I will need to wear a cami or something underneath it, but because it is sheer it doesn't always need to be worn with a belt as loose tops often do on me - I just thought it worked with this obi belt I already own.

Jacket - The Inside Story

2012-02-03T17:10:00.000+08:00

As promised here are some photos showing the work on the inside of the jacket. The Singer tailoring book I referred to is really well written, with 3 different options for tailoring a jacket;

Custom tailoring (lots of hand padstitching etc.)
Machine tailoring (using a machine to do padstitching)
Speed (or fusible) tailoring (using fusible interfacings)

I'm sure it will come as no surprise that I used the method with the word "speed" in it! In addition to the book and DVD I already mentioned in my last post some other great resources are;

Sherry's RTW tailoring sew along

Sewing tutorials site (a collection of tutorials from various bloggers helpfully put in one place by Sigrid)

Here is the front (fully fused) and side front (partially fused) with the fused chest piece below the shoulder. I think next time I would fuse the whole side piece and make the chest piece a bit larger, particularly with the weight of this fabric & the pocket I just think both these areas could do with a bit more support.

The back piece, upper back is interfaced and fusible bias stay tape applied to the neck and armscyes.

Bound buttonhole (on the left) and the window in the front facing.

Inside view of the above, I used a bias piece of lining on the buttonhole window, organza would be better but lining works. (There are some great tutorials for bound buttonholes in the sewing tutorials link above if you don't have the Singer Tailoring book).

Here is the whole inside jacket before the lining went in. I finished the pockets and the collar before sewing the side seams and then setting in the sleeves - it is much easier to work in the flat and also you can fine tune the fit. This jacket also had back darts and I left those pinned until I was ready to finish the side seams too for the same fitting reasons.

Here is a closer look at the shoulder and sleeve. Instead of a sleeve head I bind the top of the armscye with a strip of fleece, it serves the same purpose (I think) and gives a nice rounded finish. I'm not sure if this is a standard method, it's something I picked up from the English Couture Company course and DVD. At this stage the shoulder pad was just tacked at the shoulder seam, but I also tacked it about 2/3 of the way down each side.

I don't have photos, but the hem was also fused from the bottom of the jacket to just above the finished hem, which was handstitched, as were the sleeve hems.

I separately assembled the lining and then machined it to the front and back facings. I then finished attaching it at the hems (jacket and sleeves) by hand, I never enjoy this part but I find I have a lot more control than when I try to do a fully bagged lining by machine. Something to work on next time!

Jacket - Burda Style Magazine 01/2007 - 119

2012-01-30T17:46:00.000+08:00

I chose this fairly classic style jacket from the 01/2007 issue of Burda magazine - I'm not sure why I had to go back quite so far to find the details I wanted, but it made tracing out the pattern much easier than the newer issues. It is actually a pattern for tall women, but I made it with no alterations so if you are tall through the torso then beware! I am 5'6 which I think is average or at least not tall.

Since tailored jackets are rather involved I'm splitting this post into two parts - here is my usual summary and photos. For those who are interested in the inner workings of the jacket I will do a separate post showing photos from the inside before the lining went in.

My fabric is either a loosely woven metallic tweed or a boucle, I'm not sure where you draw the line between the two. Anyway it looks like this:

And my lining looks like this:

Not having made a tailored jacket for some time I was a bit rusty and referred to the Singer Tailoring book I won in Pin Queen's giveaway last year and also to some notes I had from a speed tailoring course I did years ago in London with the English Couture Company (also available as a DVD).

So I didn't even look at Burda's instructions for this jacket, but other than use speed tailoring techniques, the only changes I made to the pattern were:

Changed the pockets to double welt pockets with a flap just because the instructions for these were better in the book and I liked the look of the visible welt.

Swapped the under and upper collar over so that there is no centre back seam on the top collar - I don't understand why but despite following the grainlines it just looked really strange and instead of seeing a sort of chevron pattern I could distinctly see one side of the collar with horizontal lines and one with vertical, I don't know if my fabric slipped while cutting or if it was just my eyes / imagination, but the easy option was to swap them over. (You can sort of see the stripes that show in certain lighting in the fabric in the pocket photo above).

Overall I'm happy with how this came out, there are definitely things that could be done better and though I'm not going to lose any sleep over them, I'll cover those in my inner workings post coming up next.

I've styled the jacket very simply here so you can see it on me, but I think this can work in lots of different ways, either toned down as a grey jacket or spruced up a bit to bring out it's silver side. I'm looking forward to experimenting while it's still cool enough to wear it.

Sneak Preview

2012-01-20T17:38:00.000+08:00

To all the giveaway winners who have sent me their addresses, your patterns were posted today in a rare fit of organisation.

It's Chinese New Year next week and the way the days fall mean we have holidays here from Monday to Wednesday so a nice long weekend ahead to celebrate the Year of the Dragon. In theory I could get lots of sewing done, but in reality I will probably get less done than usual so I wanted to give you a sneak preview of what I am working on.

Despite jackets being one of my favourite things to wear I haven't made one in ages. All that is left to do is buying a button, sewing the buttonhole, hem & lining, but here are the bits that look finished! This is, or rather will be, a BurdaStyle magazine pattern from 2007 made up in a grey metallic tweed. I'll post full details when it is finished.

Kung Hei Fat Choy!

Pattern Giveaway Results

2012-01-16T08:53:00.000+08:00

Thanks to everyone who responded to the giveaway and helped me make some room for new patterns! I can see more pattern giveaways in my future.

Here are the results, please can you send your mailing address to me at alchurchman AT gmail DOT com.

1) V2463 ELMO
2) V2588 Coffee Addict
3) V2513 Sunny Optimist
4) V2679 Beth (Sunny Gal Studio)
5) V2074 Lynaeve
6) V2362 Ringadal
7) V9907 Meigan
8) V7682 Debbie Fox
9) B5173 Christine
10) B3397 Heather Rose-Chase
11) V7648 MAD14kt

Vogue 8379 Wrap Dress

2012-01-13T16:00:00.000+08:00

I finally got around to making a successful version of this very popular wrap dress pattern - Vogue 8379. My previous attempt was a bad mix of pattern and fabric placement although I did salvage a skirt out of it which I still have and wear regularly.

I used a black, white and red zig zag printed ITY printed jersey, again from Fabric.com.

I only had 2 yards of fabric and the long sleeved version required 2 3/4 yards and while I find I can usually use less fabric than the pattern envelope says, this was a big difference and some miracle working was needed. As it turned out, on me, I prefer this dress with the changes I made. I also think it looks more like the current Diane Von Furstenburg wrap dress shape.

Here is a summary of the changes I made;

Folded a large triangle out of the skirt pieces to make it less full at the hem but keeping the waist the same
Cut the skirt on the cross grain - I didn't need the stretch there and it actually looks better with the zig zags running vertically
I pieced the underlayer of the skirt front, the seam is hidden under the wrap
Eliminated the bodice facings like most people who have made this dress, I just turned and stitched
Shortened the skirt by around 4 inches and did a very small hem
Finished the skirt front edges with facing strips from the scraps
Left off the collar and cuffs
Not a fabric shortage issue but I took out some of the sleeve cap ease

This is an easy dress to make up, even I managed to finish it in an afternoon and I am really pleased with the end result. The pattern is drafted with good wrap coverage both in the bodice and the skirt so is very wearable for a wrap dress. Now for the photos!

Sequinned T revisited

2012-01-11T17:34:00.003+08:00

I wore my sequin t a few times over the holidays, it was a great item to have in my wardrobe. There were quite a few sensible questions in the comments and I just wanted to answer them here so that they don't get missed even if it is a bit late to whip up one for New Years Eve. Or you could just be very early for 2012!

On a related note what do people think is the best way for dealing with questions - should I put the answers as a comment, edit the post, send a reply to the commenter or put replies in a later post?

Jane - TNT means tried and true, basically a pattern that you have fitted and can use over and over. I used the term here to mean that you can make a sequin t from any basic t pattern, you don't need to use the same one I did.

The other questions were all on the same theme;

a little sewing said...

Did you sew through the sequins, or did you pick them off on the stitching line

Cennetta said...

Question: What type of needle did you use?

The Slapdash Sewist said...

Any tips on not wrecking your scissors or machine with sequins? Did you have any trouble stitching over? Were you using a metallic needle? I just did a project with a knit mesh with a few sequins sprinkled on it and even those few sequins caused much groaning among my equipment.

Well this is a bit embarrassing, I am going to out-slapdash the Slapdash Sewist! I did nothing special at all, just ploughed ahead without thinking to be honest as I wanted this to be a quick project.

I just hacked right through the sequins with my scissors (admittedly they will probably never be the same again, but they seem to be working fine. (If yours are precious definitely use some old ones!).
I shook off the sequins that came off easily, but certainly didn't diligently pick them all out of the seam allowance. You would have to with beads which are more 3 dimensional and would definitely break your needle.
Speaking of needles, I used a bog standard universal needle, just what I already had in my machine and changed it afterwards.

Sorry I know this doesn't help very much!

Burda Style 02/2008 - 103 Knit Dress

2012-01-09T17:10:00.001+08:00

This is one of the fall knit dresses I was pondering making at the end of 2011 and after reading your comments I decided to take the plunge. I made the long sleeved version as shown in Burda's photo below, mine is a slightly quieter print!

The only change I made to the pattern was to extend the underlayer of the skirt front all the way to the side seam so it is now basically a mock wrap. There didn't seem to be much of an overlap and my big fear wearing a wrap dress is that a gust of wind will reveal everything so this seemed like a good solution. This made hemming a bit fiddly, I needed to finish the hems before I could stitch the right side seam completely closed. I confess I only realised this after I had stitched the right side seam completely closed!

The fabric is an ITY knit from fabric.com, I think I would prefer this dress in a heavier knit so that the collar had a bit more structure (and maybe the front twist would have more of a corset effect), but overall I am happy with how this turned out and I'm sure it will get lots of wear this winter.

Close up of raglan sleeves and collar

Close up of front twist detail - bit lost in this print

I really really tried to do a different pose but they just looked silly so it's back to the old standby!

Next Vogue 8379, the classic wrap dress with some modifications due to severe fabric shortages!

(For those of you with good memories, I am still determined that the Burda 11/11-119 3.5 dot dress will not become a UFO, the sleeves are off which I hope will fix my fitting problems).

2011 Year in Review

2012-01-06T09:04:00.001+08:00

I'm really enjoying reading the 2011 reviews posted by other bloggers so I thought I'd go back over my blog and jump on the bandwagon. What an interesting exercise - for me at least, I learnt a lot.

This year I am not going to make any grand statements about making wardrobes or listing out the next few projects I have planned because it seems I never follow them through! I also need to branch out a bit from black and blue!
(Link to album here)

I've never done this before but think it will be interesting to compare with next year so here are some stats of completed items. For someone who thinks and reads about sewing a lot, 28 completed items seems kind of low, either I am even slower than I thought or I am a bad blogger and have missed a few things out.

Unsurprisingly, 2011 was the year of the dress continuing on from my discovery last year that dresses don't necessarily have to be dressy. They are now a major part of summer dressing for me, this year I am going to incorporate them into my winter wardrobe (uh oh was that a grand statement I made there, never to be fulfilled?).

I thought this was a fantastic year for Vogue designer patterns and not such a good year for BurdaStyle. My count is still quite high thanks to back issues but I am optimistic this year will be better if the last few issues are anything to go by (hopefully not another grand statement!).

New Year Giveaway

2012-01-05T14:19:00.001+08:00

Happy New Year everyone, here's to another great sewing year. I've just got back from my trip and have a huge amount of blog posts to catch up on. I don't want to miss anything so I will try and look through them all but forgive me if comments are a bit thin on the ground for a while. I'm especially loving the 2011 annual reviews.

Having been the lucky recipient of 2 giveaways at the end of last year I thought I would kick off 2012 with a pattern giveaway. Some of these are the wrong size for me, duplicates or just no longer fit my lifestyle. No rules, no restrictions, I'd just like these to go to someone who will use them. Leave a comment with the pattern you would like to win & I'll do a random draw if there is more than one name per pattern. I will do the draw on Monday 16th Jan Hong Kong time so get your comments in by Saturday 14th to cover all timezones!

Just one thing to note - a peek in the envelopes tells me all these patterns are uncut, but I haven't opened them all to double check.

1) Vogue 2463 Bill Blass Jacket & Pants, Size 14-16-18

2) Vogue 2588 Calvin Klein Jacket & Pants, Size 14-16-18

3) Vogue 2513 Guy Laroche Jacket & Skirt, Size 12-14-16

4) Vogue 2679 NYNY Tops and Pant, Size 8-10-12

5) Vogue 2074 Easy Options skirts and tops, Size 14-16-18

6) Vogue Wardrobe, Evening pieces, Size 12-14-16 (envelope in a sorry state but pattern & instructions are fine).

7) Vogue 9907, Jacket/Coat, Size 14-16-18 (some damage to envelope)

8) Vogue 7682 Vogue Woman Jacket, Pants, Skirt, Size 8-10-12

9) Butterick 5173 Maggy London knit dress, Size 8-10-12-14 (This pattern was reissued due to a printing error, this is the revised & corrected version).

10) Butterick 3397 Fast & Easy Basics, Fly front skirts, pants and shorts, Size 14-16-18

11) Vogue 7648 Wide legged mock wrapped pantskirt (or long skort if you like), Size 12-14-16

Vogue 8527 Clutch Bags

2011-12-22T19:16:00.000+08:00

Oh my goodness where has the month gone? Actually I know where it has gone, into a whirlwind of parties and shopping! There has even been a little bit of sewing but that will have to wait until the new year to see that as I still have to wrap presents and pack before we head off to see friends in LA tomorrow.

I did foolishly ask my sister in law what I could get my nieces for Christmas and she said they would love something made by me - argh not what I wanted to hear mid December with last posting dates imminent! But I managed to whip up two bags in sparkly denim using Vogue 8527, view C. I really like the bags, but if I make it for myself then I would add much stiffer interfacing, but for dressing up fun bags these will do just fine I hope.

Wishing you all very happy holidays and here is to another great sewing year in 2012. I think my new years resolution will be to get more organised with my blogging!

My husband picked this apple up at our gym, I have no idea how they did it but I'm not sure I want to eat it!

Sequinned T

2011-12-07T15:13:00.000+08:00

Thank you everyone for the brilliant comments which really helped me make up my mind about what to sew next. I will show you those plans in my next post because it seems even just writing down how I was feeling helped kickstart the old sewing mojo and I whipped up a top for the holidays.

Don't worry I haven't abandoned the Burda 11/11 dress, in fact stepping back from that helped me realise that all my problems came after setting in the sleeves - which are a little tight so I think they are pulling the bodice out of whack- so I am going to take them out and the dress may well end up sleeveless.

Anyway here is my holiday top, using the blue sequin jersey I bought recently. I used a simple BurdaStyle top that I have made before (08/2009 - 117) and modified it so the front was cut on the fold and I ignored the front slit and ruffle. I also took the top in at the side seams since the original pattern is designed for a non stretch fabric. I chose this pattern because I already had it traced and I wanted something with as few seams as possible, but any TNT tshirt or top pattern should work.

I know that this is not the generally accepted correct way to finish seams on sequin fabric, but I didn't want a 2 hour project to become a 2 month project and I think what I came up with, after a bit of experimentation, works really well.

There are two issues with the seams on sequin fabric

finishing the seam allowances so you don't shed sequins everywhere you go
stopping the sequins on the inside from scratching the skin

For the side and shoulder seams I cut strips of cotton jersey and just sewed them over the (fingerpressed) open seam allowances. I did shake off the sequins that were easy to get off first (warning: you will get bits of sequins everywhere!)

For the straight arm openings and hem I also used strips, but applied them as hem facings them flipped to the inside, topstitched and trimmed the raw edge of the cotton jersey close to the topstitching. I used a similar method for the neck edge, but cut shaped facings instead of strips.

I knocked this up on Saturday afternoon and wore it that night with dark jeans and heels. It was the perfect thing to wear for a casual party and I got many compliments so I think this one will get a bit of wear this holiday season.

These Saturday night photos are a little dark, but you can see the sparkles, and yes one of my cats also makes an appearance again.

Me at the party with a living statue (bit nervous he'd get make up on my top!).

Back online, now please help me get back to sewing

2011-12-01T08:43:00.000+08:00

Well I am just emerging from the dust and mess after having my floors redone. It would have been far easier to move out for a few days, but since accommodation & storage (for both cats and furniture) are all vastly expensive here we decided to just suck it up and live amongst the mess, moving a mattress around from room to room as appropriate. I hope I don't have to do that again, getting too old for that kind of malarky. Anyway it's done, it looks almost exactly the same as our self levelling concrete floor did before but now in ceramic tiles which I hope will be more resilient.

Anyway everything is now connected up again so I can get online at home and catch up with all your blogs. I also need to get myself back into the sewing room which is mostly tidy. Tidyish. Well as tidy as it was before (i.e. a mess).

Friends, I have to admit I am really struggling with the fit on the Burda dress and it is sapping all my sewing energy. It looked absolutely fine when I just roughly pinned it together for the photo in my previous post, but do you think I can get anything like that when I sew it for real? It's driving me crazy.

I may have to put it aside for a week or two and work on something else, but even here I am having procrastination issues. I really want to make some fall dresses from my recent jersey haul - here are some patterns in my stash I am considering, all thoughts and general kicks up the backside to just get on with something will be much appreciated!

BurdaStyle 06/2011-139

DKNY Vogue 1257

Vogue 8379

Hot Patterns Cosmo dress

BurdaStyle 02/2008-103 (3/4 sleeve version)

And for Robin here is the current state of my fabric stash, not too crazy but there should be plenty of inspiration in here. The cutting surface below flips up to cover all this up if I need to hide it!

Finally, CGCouture asked about magazine subscriptions. Personally if I could only get one it would be Burda, I use it the most mainly because it is available in english, it has it's dodgy periods but is going through a good phase right now. Patrones (Spanish) and Mannequim (Brazilian) both really appeal to me too. Melissa at Fehr Trade has put lots of information on the various subscriptions available so I recommend a look over there to help you decide which magazine is right for you.

BurdaStyle 11/2011-119 Dress - Getting there...

2011-11-16T20:24:00.000+08:00

I've discovered there are two surefire ways to get my sewing mojo going;

1) Go fabric shopping
I ordered some ITY knits from Fabric.com as it is a bit hit and miss getting them here and I really want to make some fall knit dresses. Their prices are good enough that I can overlook the shipping costs. I also picked up a couple of pieces locally so I certainly hope my sewing mojo sticks around for a while.

Lots of ITY knits for fall (though the crazy butterfly stuff will wait till summer)

Local purchases - sequin jersey for a top and a metallic wool for a jacket

2) Have an enforced no sewing period looming
We are having our floor retiled throughout our apartment and somehow trying to manage this without moving out so the place is going to be upside down for a while. On the positive side it is making me have a good clearout before the workmen come next Monday.

On the back of this I am feeling motivated to get moving on the November Burda dress. I hit Sham Shui Po today and found some perfectly matching beads that I may use on the front of the dress to cover this mess of a seam!

I've tacked the sides and zip to get the dress to a try on-able state and thankfully I like it so far and think it is going to be worth the effort it requires. There is still a lot to finish but I feel I am on the home stretch now - here is a bathroom pic! I'm going to a party on Saturday for which the dresscode is "blue" so I hope to get the dress finished and proper photos taken then.

Dress (lack of) Progress

2011-11-10T17:03:00.000+08:00

So sorry for the late post, I hope no one is waiting for me! My excuse is that the place I usually buy my zippers locally has inexplicably been closed for over a week now and so this project has lost some momentum. I'll have to go and trek further away to get one, but won't be able to until next week.

But I did get a bit further which I hope will clarify what happens with those unfinished front lining edges as already seen in this photo;

After this you join the the front and back at the shoulder seam and put to one side. Then stitch the darts in the upper back and attach to the upper front. Now you attach the upper front right side to the wrong side of the dress joining along those unfinished lining edges above and continuing round the back neck.

I should add here that Burda want you to finish the seams with strips of lining as binding, but since I want to have a chance of actually finishing the dress I am just serging. So that raw lining edge gets finished at this stage (although it looks like Burda leave it unfinished since it is hidden under the upper front).

I also understitched this seam to help stop those facing pieces from flipping out. Then turn the upper pieces over the dress pieces and it begins to look something like the drawing. Hooray!

Gee, this is hard to explain, Burda have my sympathies with this one - I hope these pictures help. Please fire away if you need more pictures or explanation and I will do my best - and also bear in mind that I may have done something wrong!

Inside dress front - that previously raw front basted edge is now joined to the upper front (which is against the dressform in this view)

Close up of inside showing understitching of the facing pieces

Outside dress front after attaching upper pieces

Next we need to baste together the upper front to the facing and stitch them to the dress front - between the two corners. I strongly recommend you reinforce the dress front around the U shape - I didn't until I realised that after so much handling mine has started to fray a bit. Maybe you are supposed to go round the corner when you attach the facing pieces? I think I am really going to struggle now to get a nice square corner so when I do go and buy my zipper I might try and buy something (studs, trim etc.) that I can attach over that seam to hide the predicted mess!

While waiting for a shopping opportunity I felt like working on something a little easier. Also my Patrones subscription just came up for renewal and I was feeling guilty about not using it much so I'm making this simple ruffled tank from issue #307. I just need to finish the armscyes and hem so I'll show you that next time by which time I should have a zip and mystery notions to finish the dress.

On the cutting table - Burda Style 11/2011 - 119 Dress

2011-11-02T11:57:00.000+08:00

Clearly I loved the November issue of BurdaStyle as, amazingly, I am already making something from it, dress 119.

I am making it in a - probably poly - stash fabric in a teal/black heathered sort of weave.

Only after I had cut this out and found myself completely baffled by the first paragraph of instructions did I notice this pattern is rated 3.5 out of 4 dots in difficulty. I think now I have figured it out and am past the most confusing steps so I have taken some photos of the construction below in case it helps anyone. You may want to hold off taking any of my advice until the dress is actually finished though just in case....!

As an overview the dress is made up of a main body with an upper front and back overlay. Underneath that the dress bodice is partially made of lining material which is applied so that it sandwiches the raw edges of the centre front and back. Clear as mud? Thought so, here are the photos:

The back is shown here but the principle is the same for front and back. Apply one pair of lining pieces right sides together to the centre edges (Burda helpfully numbers the seam to be sewn). Then place the other pair of lining pieces right side against wrong side of the dress and stitch along the previous stitching line to create a sandwich, with the dress as the filling. Then press both the lining pieces over the seam and baste together.

The back pieces should look like this after basting.

The front pieces should look like this after basting.

Stitch the shoulder seams, then you are ready to attach the overlay pieces. I suspect dealing with the corners is going to be a bit tricky, I'll take some photos during that stage too.

Vogue 8408 Dress

2011-10-26T16:33:00.000+08:00

I really meant to get this posted up before I went back to the UK for 2 family parties, but time ran away from me. I am now back and had a great time, but still suffering a bit from jetlag, it seems to get harder as I get older (like many things!).

I decided to make a new dress that would work for both parties, one was a casual afternoon affair and one a more formal all day marquee extravaganza. This seemed like a good time to opt for the reliable LBD option, using the now out of print Vogue 8408.

I've had this pattern in my stash for ages and although the long sleeved version would have been more practical for the UK I also wanted to use a piece of black wool blend from my stash and only just managed to get the sleeveless version out of it. In the end it worked out well, we had glorious weather while I was there, a bit fresh, but with beautiful clear skies.

This pattern is one of the Very Easy Vogue patterns and although it is easy to sew I think the collar could be drafted better, perhaps with more of a curve and an undercollar / facing sort of thing. Of course then it wouldn't be "very easy" which is often the problem with these patterns. As it is the neckline is quite bulky and sits a bit weirdly - I was not feeling the love for this dress until I hunted around a few reviews and found Trena's where she added a brooch at the collar intersection, albeit for different reasons. Eureka! I hopped off to H&M and bought two black fabric flower pins that could be worn either as a hairclip or a brooch and the dress was transformed!

For the more casual party I left off the extra hair decoration but wore it for the second party, my hair looked somewhat neater at the beginning of the party but of course I don't have any photos from then!

In addition I collected my giveaway book from Pin Queen and was really surprised to find she had also included 2 patterns (which miraculously I don't already own) and a cute packet of needles. So lovely - thank you!

Twin set and lava skirt

2011-10-04T17:41:00.001+08:00

I am heading home to the UK for a family visit shortly and while I am there will be able to pick up the Singer Tailoring Techniques book that Pin Queen sent to my dad's house after I was lucky enough to win her recent giveaway. Thank you Pin Queen, can't wait to get my hands on the book! That would almost be enough reason for the trip, but in fact I am going for my dad's wife's 70th birthday party and also separately to my MIL's 70th birthday party.

Hong Kong has suddenly got cooler and the UK is having a heatwave so right now the temperatures are about the same in both places, but I know it can't possibly last until my visit so I have got started on fall sewing.

First up is a knit cotton twinset and pencil skirt from the strangest material I have ever used - none of these pieces are going to set the world alight but they will get a lot of wear both on my trip and beyond, particularly the versatile twin set.

PATTERN DETAILS

1) Knit top - Burda Style 04/2011-122

I left off the neck zipper so it is a bit of a squeeze to get it on. The turtleneck is just cut on so it has a bit of a weird drape to it, but I like this more than I thought I would, especially with the sleeve, it feels very Japanese designer or minimalist Calvin Klein.

2) Cardigan - modified Burda Style 01/2011 - 126

I didn't have enough fabric to make this pattern properly so I used a combination of the knit top pattern above and the front drape and sleeves from this cardigan pattern to make a shorter, narrower version. This was all a bit experimental but I like the end shape which has minimal ease.

3) Pencil skirt
I bought this fabric a few years ago in Melbourne when Vicki took me shopping. It is very unusual, a textured stretch fabric with a slight metallic sheen to it. It looks a bit like lava rock to me although I must admit there is a hint of cowpat to it too! This is a self drafted pattern - just a tube skirt. As the fabric is quite bulky and difficult to hem I just serged the edges, resulting in a scalloped finish and zig zagged a wide piece of elastic for a waistband.

Baby Hem Technique

2011-09-27T18:06:00.000+08:00

Thank you all for the comments on the bridesmaid dress, I'm not sure if I am generous or just a bit of a nutcase, I must say it is nice to be able to get back to planning fall sewing for me and I have made a few simple pieces off my list that I will post shortly.

So before I forget how to do it, here is the technique I used for the narrow baby hem on the satin bridesmaid dress. I did actually start by experimenting with my narrow hem foot, but ditched that idea pretty fast when I realised that I have a huge learning curve ahead of me there. Something for another day...

I was inspired by a Threads article (Issue 145 "Bias on the Edge") on applying bias facings to armholes and I think it may be the same method used by Susan Khalje since she refers to 3 lines of stitching, but I am not sure as I don't have all her books (yet!). This method is only slightly different to my standard approach, but the results are far superior. Hopefully you can spot the difference, but below are samples of the old way (top) and new way (bottom).

You will need to test a sample to see how far from the finished hemline to put your first row of stitching (basically the width of the first fold, but the measurement will vary depending on the fabric). Anyhow here is the basic method with photos;

Stitch a row of stitching just below the finished hemline.

Fold on this stitching line and press.

Stitch again very close to the fold. This is the extra row of stitching and it makes all the difference.

Trim as close to the second stitching line as possible.

Fold over and press again.

Stitch again - I found the finish to be better if you don't stitch directly on top of line 2.

Finished front side.

Sewing for Others - Bridesmaid / Cocktail Dress

2011-09-20T16:40:00.001+08:00

Phew, apologies for the lengthy absence - I was making a bridesmaid dress for a friend and whilst I had the intention to blog about it on the way it quickly became clear that I had better focus on actually sewing it so she would have something to wear at the wedding.

I delivered the dress last night and it fits perfectly and looks fantastic on her so although it was a lot of work I am feeling very satisfied, confident and relieved right now. The dress will also be worn as a cocktail dress after the wedding, it is purple silk with a purple lace yoke.

I am no pattern drafter so this began life as a combination of 3 Burda magazine dresses and gradually came together after a muslin and 2 fittings. Here are some photos of the dress in various stages of construction, I hope to get some of the dress being worn at the wedding to show you later as trying to pad out my dressform can only do so much!

I also - after procrastinating nervously for days - managed to do the best baby hem ever so I will explain that in a separate post, not least so I can remember how to do it again!

The finished dress - hard to photograph satin at night but this shows the true colour - a Cadbury's Dairy Milk Chocolate purple!

Interior of the bodice which was interlined with interfaced cotton lawn, boning channels and catchstitched seam allowances. I referred to Susan Khalje's Bridal Couture book a lot for this stage.

Hanging loops - and another Susan Khalje tip to add thread loops to hold the hanging loops in the interior of the garment while being worn.

Inside the finished bodice, the lace was handstitched to the inside of the bodice and the lining handstitched on top of that.

Cover button on the back lace fastening. I experimented with ways to finish the lace edges - in the end I faced them with a strip of the lace and then wrapped it round the edge and stitched again.

Back of the dress, I think this is my favourite part!

Front bodice

I added a strip of gathered net to the lower edge of the lining, it sits between the skirt and the lining and gives great volume to the lower part of the dress without adding any bulk to the hips.

The net effect!

Burda Style 05/2011 104 Dress

2011-09-04T12:11:00.001+08:00

(With obi style belt from Burda Style 06/2009 - 110.)

You already saw a preview of this dress in my Singapore post (which it has come to my attention should have been called Self Stitched Singapore, not me made, but never mind!). This is the dress version of the tunic top I made previously - Burda Style 05/2011 104.

It's a very basic dress but ideal for so many occasions and is made from black stretch silk, I've already worn it many times. Instead of my usual tie belt I made an obi style belt which suddenly seem to be everywhere and liked it so much I went out and purchased two more (from Zara I think) so I can change the look depending on my mood.

One is black leather with bronze studs in it and the other has grey python print and red ties for a pop of colour. I have to confess I have discovered that obi belts can make you very hot, but they do encourage you to sit up straight as well! I plan to wear these belts with different tops and jackets if it ever gets cooler.

Obi belt pattern from BS 06/2009 - 110, the mid section is interlined with stiff canvas.

You've already seen the casual dressed down with flats version so here it is marginally more dressed up and with different belts. As always with black (and my lousy photos) it is hard to see the details - sorry!

With the matching belt I made.

With the leather studded belt.

With the grey / red python belt.

Me Made Singapore

2011-09-01T09:01:00.001+08:00

Me Made September starts today and I admire anyone who can commit and participate in it everyday. While I probably do wear something that I have made everyday, especially in the summer, taking and posting photos each day for 30 days? Well it's just not going to happen.

However I recently spent a long weekend in Singapore as my husband was working over there and as I was packing my bags with stuff I'd made decided I would do a mini Me Made Singapore Weekend.

Friday afternoon travelling
Not a lot made here, just the top version of Vogue 1250 . Singapore is only a 3.5 hr flight so I ignored all the conventional advice to not wear jeans or heels!

Friday night bar hopping
My new Vena Cava Vogue 1258 dress. As predicted I can't keep my hands out of the pockets, consider me a pocket convert!

Saturday shopping
Burda 05/2011 - 104 with obi belt. Blog post to follow!
This black silk dress was perfect for shopping on a hot day (although I didn't find it as hot as Hong Kong is at the moment). I had to (yes, genuinely had to!) go to Arab Street which is filled with fabric shops - more on that another day....

Saturday afternoon poolside
McCalls 6069, this makes a perfect beach/pool dress. Actually I confess this photo is from Sunday afternoon as I realised looking at the photos that I had the dress on backwards on Saturday - thought the front was lower than I remembered!

Saturday night dinner
Vogue 1120 DKNY blue silk dress
Admittedly we only got around to taking photos after dinner by which time both model and photographer were tired and had got through a fair bit of wine so these are not the greatest pictures!

Sunday
I wore this all day, except for another spell by the pool - Vogue 1250 LBD

Vogue 1258 Vena Cava Dress

2011-08-18T15:21:00.000+08:00

Thank you everyone for the comments on my Burda dress, I'm still waiting for their phone call, must be problems with the time difference or something....

Having had success with 2 pleats and pockets I have gone the whole hog and made a dress with lots of pleats and pockets, this Vena Cava dress from Vogue's recent releases.

Erica B recently made this and wisely said;

"I like that the skirt tapers off to the hem. This creates a VERY body-conscious silhouette. And the pockets and pleating draws the eyes straight to the hips. So if you're not good with your hips, thighs and butt, walk away from this pattern"

She was not kidding! My first thoughts when I cut the pattern tissue out were "how on earth are these pieces going to fit on 2 yards of fabric" (they do) closely followed by "how on earth is this back piece going to cover my backside" (only just) and "is it even possible to walk in this" (yes). The stretch takes care of the walking, but my side seams are swinging to the back a bit, in retrospect one size up at the back would have been a good idea. (This is a 12, no fitting adjustments).

Not very imaginatively I used a purple ITY jersey, you can see the true colour in these dressform photos below. I didn't take a photo of the whole dress on the dressform because it looks ridiculous!

I made a couple of minor changes:

I raised the neckline by about an inch, this is easy to do, just sew up the centre front seam a bit higher
I left off the topstitching on the sleeve bands. My thread is not a great colour match, I was impressed with my edgestitching on the bands and thought topstitching was pushing my luck frankly!
I shortened the ties significantly, they come down to the hem of the dress which looked a bit odd on me. Erica B tied hers at the back which is another way of dealing with them.

This is quite a different style for me having bypassed the whole tulip skirt trend and I am still getting used to the shape, but it is a really comfortable, yet dressy dress. I'm a little self conscious about my hips and something about the pockets is not quite hanging right at the lower opening so I may go back and try and fix that. Anyway enough chat, here are some more photos:

Burda Style 07/2011 - 110 Dress - On Me

2011-08-12T15:42:00.001+08:00

Well it's Friday and I have some make up on so here as promised are some photos of the dress on me.

Having already bumped into the tripod Barney also wanted to be in the shot.

I am going to have an urge to stick my hands in my pockets all the time while wearing this dress, I love them!

This is me mucking about trying to recreate the photo from the magazine. I'm sure Burda will be calling me any day now!

Here you can see that the pockets and pleats stick out when viewed from the side, this is down to the design and is unavoidable, but I can live with it - don't make this if you can't!

Burda Style 07/2011 - 110 Dress

2011-08-11T14:06:00.003+08:00

My sewing has been a little haphazard lately with lots of things being traced and started, but for one reason or another nothing was getting finished. Before my sewing room filled up with UFOs I decided to get my head down and finish this dress - it's from the July issue of Burda Style, #110.

This is actually sized for petites, but the measurement chart is very helpful so I compared the petite and regular measurements and just added back what I needed in the bodice pieces by slashing them and inserting extra paper. Strictly I should have added some both above and below the bust, but from my measurements I just adjusted by 1.5cm just above the height of the front inserts so that I didn't have to mess with them, as there is some shaping built into those seams.

Other than that I followed the instructions - this is the illustrated pattern for the month - and I found them pretty good. The pattern is really well drafted and everything matches and meets where it is supposed to. For once I even included the pockets and love them! Naturally with the pleats and the pockets there is a bit of "pouffyness" going on at the front, which would normally put me off trying a style like this, but it just goes to show you need to step out of your comfort zone and try new things sometimes. The wide shoulders also help to balance the look as do the contrast front panels.

Here is a close up of the front panels, I just used the reverse side of the fabric on the cross grain, or maybe it was the right side of the fabric, I'm not sure - anyway the other side! The fabric is like a cotton twill but has quite a different texture on each side, one side sort of basket weave (I used this side as my main fabric) and the other side has a striped effect. I decided not to add the additional stitching around the panels and pocket edges and in keeping with this handstitched the hem so no stitching is visible on the outside of the dress.

The armholes are very high, I don't know if this is due to the petite sizing but is something to look out for, it's just on the right side of comfortable for me.

The back view is fairly plain and in dire need of a final pressing!

I'll get some photos of me wearing it in a separate post soon, I feel very Roland Mouret-ish wearing it!