Allison.C Sewing Gallery

Simplicity 2497 - Cynthia Rowley dress

2013-05-14T14:38:00.002+08:00

I've made this dress twice before, a cocktail version, view C and a casual version, modified view A, the latter long removed from my closet as I wore it so much over 2 summers. Here's the pattern:

Simplicity 2497

This is a great pattern so out it came again to pair with the garden birds cotton print I bought recently.

I did attempt to add piping on the bottom of the neck band to minimise the effect of cutting off some of the birds heads at the seams, but the neckband is pretty curved and the piping had the effect of easing in the fabric so much that joining the band and bodice together was an exercise in major frustration. Then I decided to lighten up about the print and just treat it as a floral and I'm happy with how it came out despite having a few decapitated birds round my neck and waist (that sounds weird...!).

I made View A, size 12 with no changes other than adding a full lining since my fabric was on the thin side. In my previous versions I have left out the side seam pockets but I decided to add them this time. I must admit putting a side seam pocket where you also have a side zipper threw me a bit, but after some pinning and checking I got there in the end.

Here is the inside of the dress, the cotton I originally planned to use for the piping became contrast facings. I actually quite like how this looks so maybe a solid version with contrast neck and waistband is on the cards. The pattern comes with separate sleeve lining pieces which act as a stay for the puffed sleeve in view A.

Look, functional pockets!

I did wonder if the bird print, puffed sleeves and gathered skirt would end up being too cute and girly a combination for me but I really like how it turned out and I'm sure this dress is going to be worn till it falls to bits like it's predecessor.

BurdaStyle 05/2012 - 110 Top

2013-04-30T10:13:00.002+08:00

I wanted to use up the remnants of fabric I had left over from the dress I made recently, it was one of those annoying pieces that are slightly too small to do very much with and slightly too big to throw away. I managed to just squeeze out this draped neck top from the May 2012 BurdaStyle. I had to add a centre back seam and I also added ties in each side seam to give it a bit more shaping.

Here is the pattern from the magazine:

This is a very straightforward top to make so there really isn't anything to say about construction except that Burda suggest cutting it on the bias in the jersey version. I've made this top before and found that in jersey the neckline drapes perfectly well cut on the straight grain so save yourself some fabric if you make this. I also took in the side & shoulder seams at least 2 sizes so you might want to think about going down a size too, although bear in mind my fabric is very thin and stretchy.

I feel much better having used up every last bit of this fabric, but plenty more still to go from my last spree, must get sewing....

Close up of the neckline.

Close up of the ties - basically just tubes turned and caught in the side seam, I shaped them a bit so they are wider at the side seam.

I wore this to travel back from Chiang Mai home to Hong Kong recently with my denim pencil skirt. I look surprisingly happy here given we were about to leave!

BurdaStyle 03/2013 - 109 Lace Skirt

2013-04-13T15:47:00.001+08:00

One of my recent fabric purchases was some mint green cotton lace which I fell in love with despite not really being either a lace or pastel person. So I wanted to use the fabric in a way that was me and decided on a simple skirt from BurdaStyle 03/2013 - 109, underlined in black silk satin.

I did have moments of thinking it looked a bit like a crocheted tablecloth from my 70's childhood, but now it is finished I am really pleased with it.

I used interlining rather than lining so that you would not see any of the seams through the lace so although this is a simple skirt it was a bit time consuming. (I didn't use Burda's instructions which from a quick glance I think have you put strips of the lining fabric on the edges of the lace and then make a lining as normal.) I used the same method Amanda did when she made her lace skirt, except I didn't add a lining as well, instead just hand stitching the seam allowances to the interlining for a neat finish on the inside. Since the interlining hangs free at the hem and is shorter than the skirt to allow the lace to show at the hem, handling the interlining at the bottom of the side seams was a bit fiddly and had to be finished by hand, mine is a bit wonky on the inside.

Instead of adding a waistband I fused a piece of stay tape to the top of the skirt, stitched on some grosgrain ribbon, folded it over and hand stitched it to the interlining.

The only other change I made was to peg in the hem a bit, I did my best to match the pattern at the side seams, but fit was a bigger priority so it isn't perfect, but definitely good enough as you can see from the photo of the seam on the inside above.

Despite the fact this is a lace skirt I think it will be wearable either dressed up or down. Here is the dressed up version - I wore the skirt last night to a Chinese wedding reception with a black silk jacket (Butterick 5186, now out of print - wow, I made this 5 years ago!) and a mint green necklace.

Vogue 1287 DKNY Dress - Second Time Around

2013-04-06T15:34:00.000+08:00

I've made this dress before and when I went back to check if I'd written anything helpful the first time (no!) I saw my closing sentence was "I think I like it enough to try it in a plain solid fabric rather than a crazy print".

Well of course that didn't happen and in fact I have used a very similar print although in neutral colours. This fabric was quite lightweight so I added a lining in the skirt. This was just a simple rectangle which I stitched into the skirt after basting all the pleats and finishing the pockets, after that I just treated them as one layer and followed the instructions for attaching the waistband and bodice.

As I did with version 1, I inserted the elastic in the whole waistband, not just the back which helps support the skirt front better, especially with my double layered skirt.

I went to Chiang Mai in Thailand for Easter which was lovely and I made sure to pack this dress so I could get some photos of me wearing it there. The weather in Hong Kong has been so miserable lately that although I have been sewing a lot, taking photos where you can see anything has been difficult.

That said while I have been sitting here typing this on Saturday afternoon the sun has come out (Mari - I hope you are still in Hong Kong!) so I'd better get on with taking some more photos for future posts while I can!

BurdaStyle 02/2013 - 126 Knit Top

2013-03-20T17:05:00.001+08:00

I like to give my posts simple boring titles so I can easily go back and find what I want - an added bonus is that the spambots seem to be less likely to find it. Anyway a more complete title for this post would be:

BurdaStyle 02/2013 - 126 Knit Top + Print Fabric Binge + Reader Testing Update + Award

but that would be silly.

So, first the top - this is proving to be a very popular make from February's BurdaStyle magazine, and with good reason. It's quick and easy to make and has just a bit more interest that your average t shirt with it's gathered raglan sleeves, a simple but effective detail.

I used up a leftover piece of knit in my stash which always feels good. I made a straight size 38 which fits well, but I found it to be really long so chopped a good few inches off the hem - you can see above that the garment looks a lot longer than the line drawing. After wearing I can also say I should have pulled the neck binding in a bit tighter, but I can live with it. Other than that there is not a lot to say about the construction, I definitely recommend giving this pattern a try, I'm sure I am going to make it again.

Sleeve detail, the neckline is bound with self made binding.

Fabric binge
Do you remember last time I went to the fabric market in Sham Shui Po I bought sensible solid pieces. Perhaps that wasn't a good idea because I went print mad this time. But you never know what you are going to find so you just have to snap these pieces up when you can. That's my story and I am sticking to it!

Love this collageit application, clockwise from top left we have:

the whole pile - I plan on using these next so they can stay out
bird prints (a bit 2 seasons ago, but I don't care!), really love the cotton on the right
slinky jerseys, the one on the left is now almost a dress, the middle a top
grey/black/white, I really like the digital printed pansy silk in the middle, actually what am I saying I love them all!
my favourite, if you took a photo of a parrotfish, blew it up (the photo not the fish) and printed it on silk this is what you end up with
a bit more up to date - this season's emerald colour leopard chiffon and a mint cotton lace

Reader experiments
It was great to get all your feedback on the last post and I'm also getting lots of information on other blogs. I am currently using Feedly which now I have worked out where the menu and preference settings are (3 little lines on the left and wheely thing on the right respectively) am finding it OK. At the moment - but not after 1 July obviously - it grabs data from and syncs 2 ways with google reader. Unfortunately I hadn't fully grasped this in my early experiments and inadvertently marked as read a bunch of posts I had saved to comment on later and of course now I can't recall whose they were. So now I am just sticking with feedly for the time being. Gail, I will try and add a subscription thingy to my blog.

Award
Last but by no means least I was lucky enough to get a Lovely Blogger award from Sewing in Athens. Thank you! These awards are always such a great way of finding new blogs and this one is no exception, I love her tagline "How many dresses are too many", a question I should probably ask myself more often. Go check out her blog here, the latest post is for a gorgeous Patrones pussy bow blouse.

Just testing readers

2013-03-15T17:18:00.004+08:00

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I have no idea why I need to do this, but am roadtesting some new readers thanks to those buggers at google. This is bloglovin which looks like it will drive me nuts since you can't see whole posts in the reader and have to go clicking off on each one.

I'm also testing feedly and I tried newsblur but hated that at first glance, I don't want to see whats on youtube, twitter and wikipedia thank you. Anyway I'll be keeping an eye out to see what everyone else is trying and praying someone out there comes up with something that is just an exact copy of google reader by July 1.

bah!

BurdaStyle 02/2006 - 114 Denim Skirt

2013-03-07T10:26:00.001+08:00

I decided my wardrobe was missing a denim skirt, specifically a denim pencil skirt. I feel that denim needs topstitching and therefore seams so I dug around through previously made patterns till I found this one from 2006. it has a few variations none of which exactly match mine - this is the closest, I just left off the front pockets.

My denim has a bit of stretch to it and the topstitching is a silver-grey rayon thread just because I happened to have it on hand and it stood out well against the denim, I hope it will be strong enough.

Other than switching threads on my sewing machine this is like most pencil skirts, a simple sew.

I finished the inside of the waistband and also the pocket linings with a printed cotton fabric to reduce bulk in those areas.

I think the fabric will benefit from a few more washes to soften it up a bit, it's a bit stiff and prone to wrinkling at the moment. Nevertheless I think this is really going to fill a hole in my wardrobe, I can just pull out this neutral skirt and pretty much any top and be ready to go.

Look, real pockets, albeit rather useless ones.

The top in these pictures (not that you can see it) is the popular gathered raglan sleeve t shirt from 02/2013 more to come on that next.

BurdaStyle 12/2012 - 112 Dress

2013-03-01T18:20:00.000+08:00

This was the cover dress from the December 2012 issue, I am a sucker for these kind of draped details and funny shaped pattern pieces so it went on the seemingly ever growing list of things to make.

This pattern was the sewing course for the month so it has (relatively) detailed instructions and diagrams. While this was pretty helpful, I did get the impression that whoever wrote the instructions started off very detailed and then either got bored, ran out of time or ran out of space. This is a 3.5 dot pattern which Burda describes as "Advanced level sewing, with special features", but a lot of space is devoted near the beginning to putting in an invisible zip, which even if you didn't know how to do is pretty generic and can be looked up easily. Then you follow lots of diagrams which suddenly go from a picture that vaguely resembles a dress front to one that looks completely finished! Still I did manage to follow it - I think - so I shouldn't complain too much.

This is a tall pattern, but it was too difficult to figure out how to alter the bodice so the only changes fit wise I made were to the sleeves which were extremely long and tight (I just swapped them for another Burda sleeve) and to leave off the hem allowance on the skirt pieces.

I must admit I was pretty ambivalent about this dress, verging on disappointed even until I put it on and took the photos below. This is one of those rare garments that I feel looks better in photos than in real life - it would really benefit from a lining, but drafting one to fit is a bit beyond my skill level / patience threshold. My fabric is a poly crepe which has the right sort of drape, but still feels a bit flimsy without a lining.

Hemming this was a challenge, I used the hem marker attachment on my dressform for the first time ever and it turned out OK so if nothing else I discovered something useful. I just did a narrow machine hem on the skirt - I'm going to go back and do the same on the sleeves which currently have a hand hemmed finish but it isn't as smooth and invisible as I'd like.

Despite all these picky points, I think the dress will grow on me, I just need a gap between finishing it and appreciating it!

Giveaway results

2013-02-13T18:07:00.001+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year folks, I just got back from freezing cold Shanghai last night to lovely warm Hong Kong today. Not that Shanghai isn't great, but it sure is chilly!

Anyway this is a flying visit to announce the winner of the Burda Plus giveaway.

So the winner is Sarah Shewring - Sarah please send your address to alchurchman AT gmail DOT com and I will get the magazine in the post to you. Congratulations and please let us know if you make anything from the magazine, we'd love to see it!

Giveaway - BurdaStyle Plus S/S 2013

2013-02-05T15:27:00.001+08:00

I collect my monthly copy of Burda magazine from a local bookstore that orders it in for me. I got a call from them yesterday to tell me my new issue had arrived which I thought was unbelievably early given that the March previews have only just come out.

Excitedly (though I'm not sure why from the previews), I toddled off to the store only to find that it wasn't the March issue, but the Burda Plus Special for Spring/Summer 2013. I'd rather they gave me extra issues than missed some out so I bought it anyway and to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New year of the snake, I would love to give it away to one of you!

There are some great patterns inside. Of course this being Burda there are also a few WTFs, but on the whole this is a great issue to own. All patterns are in sizes 44 to either 52 or 54 plus a couple of petites. You can see all the included patterns if you scroll down this page; - Link to Burda Plus via Burda Russia.

The giveaway is open to anyone - just leave a comment on this post and I will draw a name at random on 13th Feb - this will be Hong Kong time so get your comments in the day before to save an exercise in maths and time zones! Also, just to be clear despite the German image and Russian links, the giveaway copy is in English.

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

BurdaStyle 01/2011 - 126 Jacket

2013-01-30T13:56:00.002+08:00

Thank you everyone who commented on my jacket, and to those of you who patiently waited for it to get finished. Next it was time for something easy....

I recently decided that my fabric stash needed some plain sensible things in there so I stocked up on some black, red and grey crepes. This is all well and good for my wardrobe but the reality is I much prefer buying and sewing with prints and unusual fabrics. So I allowed myself to get two fun pieces, this blue / rainbow boucle sweater knit and a crazy cloud print fabric that you will see on here soon. Maybe.

With our winters being so short I thought it would be smart to get onto the sweater knit straight away, I knew I wanted a cosy cardigan and went through all my Burda magazines till I decided this one was the best suited for me (01/2011 - 126). I love the look of waterfall cardigans on other people but I've had to come to the conclusion that they do me no favours so this straight fronted one was the winner.

Evidently I had decided this way back in winter 2011 as when I pulled out the magazine I found it was already traced. This of course was a nice bonus, but I could have saved myself more time if I had remembered. Never mind, it was good to make sure nothing better had come along since, right?

I shortened the pattern considerably, to around 30" in total so it was more a jacket and less a full length coat. Otherwise it is a very quick and easy sew and there is really nothing to say about it construction wise other than I decided to hand hem it so no stitches would show. This was probably a waste of time of this fabric, but at least the hem didn't get stretched out and I didn't have to be too neat with my handsewing anyway.

There is plenty of ease in this jacket - partly what makes it so easy to make - I made a 38, my usual size and could probably have gone down a size, this is not a sleek slimming cardigan but it definitely fulfills the cosy brief. I just have one regret that only dawned on me when taking these photos and trying to find something to do with my hands - I wish I had added pockets! (Tough - I have no spare fabric left and I do not fancy unpicking anything on this fabric).

BurdaStyle 08/2008 - 115 Jacket

2013-01-24T18:08:00.001+08:00

I FINALLY finished my jacket. I expect you need a reminder of the pattern, it's this one from BurdaStyle 08/2008, and what I love about it - all those details and buttons is also why it took so darn long to finish.

This pattern has only a partial lining which seems daft in a wool jacket so I drafted my own based on the partial lining pieces and the full pattern pieces. That's really all I am going to say about it because I either did something very wrong or my silk lining moved during cutting because I had a heck of a time getting it in without causing the outer shell to pucker. In the end I handsewed the hem of the lining to the jacket and made it work, but the result is not pretty! I underlined the peplum piece so that bit at least is OK. I also like the two coloured lining, although I fully admit that was because I didn't have enough navy to hand.

The lapels are cut as separate pieces from the jacket (rather than having a roll line) which makes it much easier to get a nice looking collar but it does create some bulk in the seam joining the jacket to the lapels.

I left out the front pockets because I knew I would never use them, but I still did real buttonholes everywhere, which my machine was not happy about in some places. I even made 6 buttonholes in the front before noticing the instructions only require 3 - you just sew one column of the buttons onto the front of the jacket and fasten it inside with a single button. Oh well.

All that said, I really like the finished jacket, it's a classic - especially in navy wool - with a twist in the details and the back peplum.

And now to get to all those other things I have been tracing and cutting....

Up and Running

2013-01-19T13:35:00.000+08:00

I finally have my sewing room ready for operation! Aesthetically there is plenty of room for improvement, but practically it is great. Have a tour....

My new desk, it's wide enough for 2 (or even 3) machines, but not very deep so I can put the presser foot cables down the back, and there is plenty of room in the front drawers for various sewing notions. I think I will make one into thread storage if I can find the right dividers. Quite proud of myself for managing to put this together - if the people who wrote self assembly furniture instructions moved over to Burda we would all be much happier! I'll probably get a chair on wheels in the future, but for now our old kitchen stools work fine and can be raised if I want to sit at the higher cutting table.

I'm making good use of the bay window area as a pressing station. Admittedly it's a bit of a Heath Robinson arrangement with a folded ironing board propped up on a spare folding table, but it is stable, at the right height and saves space.

The other corner for my dressform, and those are full closets all along the right hand side for storing everything. One has been pinched by my husband but that is probably a good thing and will stop me filling it up with fabric.

I'm making progress on my jacket, I'm at the slow and boring end bit, feel free to give me some virtual encouragement / kick in the pants to get it finished!

More cutting table photos

2013-01-10T18:06:00.002+08:00

For those of you interested in the cutting table I gushed about, I have taken some more photos for you here. I purchased this in the UK back in the 90's and I'm sorry I don't have a clue who I bought it from, I think I met the supplier at a sewing expo.

I am sure these days there is more availability - a quick google search for folding craft table brought up this lot. Also people have done some amazing DIY and come up with designs of their own, lots of examples on the rather brilliant Ikea Hackers site here. (I promise I am not on Ikea's payroll!).

My table is quite large, the centre section is 21 x 40 inches and each folding bit is 26 x 40 inches.

The middle section has a slot for cutting mats - mine has mysteriously vanished in the move but it is a really useful place for stashing rolls of tracing paper etc. too. There are also drawers - one side has 5 drawers, and the other has two drawers and a cupboard with a slide out bottom for a machine.

The legs are gate leg style on casters for easy folding and the centre section is also on casters.

Awards & My New Sewing Space

2013-01-09T13:07:00.000+08:00

Firstly a huge thank you to Cennetta at The Mahogany Stylist and Piakdy at The Overflowing Stash for the Lovely Blog award. Now I am quite late to getting around to these so I am going to cheat a bit on the rules - I have enjoyed reading others top 5 inspirations for 2012 posts so I want to point out 5 that have a bit of a Burda twist in case you haven't come across them already. This is how my blog reader has an almost unmanageable number of feeds, but I wouldn't have it any other way. So in addition to the two great blogs above you should also check out;

Aventuras de Costuras - This talented lady not only blogs in two languages she makes some amazing clothes, check out the BurdaStyle designer coat she made here.

Made by Meli88a - A bit of Burda, a bit of Vogue, a lot of everything fabulous, like this electric blue dress.

Sew Skate Read - The monthly reviews of BurdaStyle are superb and I often spot things I had overlooked, or just enjoy sharing a laugh at Burda's moments of madness. There is even a year end wrap up here.

Chanel no6 - Great writing, as you would expect from an author and perhaps less expected, wearing LBD's in the snow!

Burda Addicts - a collection of reviews of Burda patterns, it's in french but you can see the photos and the pattern numbers which is good enough even if you don't understand a word.

I've made some progress sorting out my sewing room / guest room. Actually I even tried to palm off the guest sofa bed into my husband's study, but that ended in near disaster with me trapped in the study and the sofa bed wedged in the doorway for about 30 panic stricken minutes! I don't really have anywhere to put my sewing machines yet, they are just propped on a bay window which makes for very uncomfortable sewing, but It is lovely to have my folding cutting table back out of storage and while not much sewing has been happening there has been lots of tracing and cutting. I've ordered a desk from Ikea which is due to arrive next Tuesday and then I'll be properly back in business.

I love this thing so much I can overlook the 1990's pine. It travelled with me from London in 2001 and has spent the last 4 years of it's life in a storage warehouse. Welcome back old friend! (note the deceptively large sofa bed lurking in the background!)

Um yeah, currently a mess but only till next Tuesday, assuming my self assembly skills are up to the job.

Goodbye 2012

2012-12-30T10:13:00.003+08:00

Well the last month of 2012 has been pretty unproductive on the sewing front with moving apartments, hosting parents and in-laws (not at the same time thank goodness!) and general Christmas madness. I still haven't figured out how to arrange my new sewing space, I think I just need to start using it and see what works and what doesn't and go from there. I'm also planning a new year present to myself - a trip to the fabric market next week to get things moving.

Goodbye old apartment

Hello new apartment - awaiting our Christmas day lunch guests

But I have been diligently putting my completed garments from 2012 into a separate flickr folder so I could look back at them easily at year end and see at a glance just how few garments I have made compared to everyone else!

First, just for completeness are two gym tops I made from rehashing old ones, I used Jalie's crossover top pattern and even over the excesses of Christmas these have been thoroughly tested and I'm really pleased with the results, I'll definitely be making more next year, gym clothes are ridiculously expensive.

I made two of these, one is just plain black, but otherwise looks the same so no photo.

So below is a summary of what I made in 2012, just like last year it seems like a really low output to me, but at least it is all stuff that has seen lots of wear. This was the year of Burda magazine for me, I think as a result of trying to buy less patterns, it was also the year of the dress, but I didn't make a single pair of pants! For those who like stats, 34 completed items break down like this;

Lets see how 2013 compares.... Happy New Year everyone!!

Burda Style 11/2012 - 136 Top

2012-12-17T14:35:00.000+08:00

A few weeks ago I found a plus sized top in one of the sample shops here costing less than the equivalent of US$2 in a great quality inky blue jersey. So I snapped it up and then chopped it up and made this very simple top from the November issue of Burda Style. There are just two pieces and I kept the original hem of the top making it a really quick make. It isn't a terribly exciting top, but a great basic and the wide cut on sleeves and narrow waist give it a good shape.

The styling in the magazine gives the impression this is supposed to be worn over another top and this would explain why the armhole is drafted so low. I just sewed up the side seam a few inches. This photo shows the alteration although it's a bit confusing because it's on it's side (I rotated it in iphoto, but blogger isn't ready to pick up that version yet, don't ask me why!). The stitching line is the original, to the right is the armhole and the pins mark my new stitching.

You already saw me wearing this top with the pencil skirt from my last post, but here it is a bit closer.

Burda Style 07/2012 - 120 Pencil Skirt

2012-12-13T18:35:00.000+08:00

There wasn't much to interest me in this July's Burda, but I did find the darts on this pencil skirt interesting. Still, at the end of the day it is just a pencil skirt and the two versions I made are in prints that means you can barely see the dart detail! The fit though is great and if you don't already have a TNT pencil skirt pattern you might want to consider this one.

This is my first version, in a blue/green/brown/cream woven fabric I purchased a few years ago from Metro Textiles in NY while visiting. I love the colours and texture in this fabric and there will be lots of options for mixing it with different tops. Maybe not with my existing wardrobe of course......

I can't remember for certain now and all my Burdas are packed away for the impending house move, but I think this pattern was originally unlined, it's easy enough to add a lining although I cut my front lining a bit big and added in a couple of pleats to take up the excess. I used a grey silk satin from my lining stash, it feels so nice to wear.

The instructions said to clip the curved front dart along the centre and press it open which I duly did and then worried about this fabric fraying so I fused a piece of interfacing over the raw edges. (In my second version below and in both linings I didn't clip it, just pressed it and it was fine).

Gee I sure hope I can take better self timer photos in my new place!

This is version 2, in another multicoloured fabric, this time a metallic brocade fabric that is brown, gold and a bit of orange and impossible to photograph. There seem to be a lot of glam fabric pencil skirts around at the moment, often paired with simple relaxed sweaters and t shirts which I think will be a good look for holiday nights out. Again, my wardrobe needs to do some catching up to match the ideas in my head!

You can see the side front dart detail here.

This fabric is a little bit scratchy so instead of using the facings I reinforced the top of the skirt with fusible tape and fully lined it, understitching the lining to stop it showing on the right side.

Butterick 5576 Handbags

2012-11-28T16:34:00.000+08:00

Well this is how UFO's are born, but I have a few inbetween my inbetween jacket projects to post. I am full of excuses why, but mainly while trying to sell our apartment I have had to keep the spare room tidy and constantly putting away the jacket was driving me nuts whereas one evening start to finish projects were good for my sanity. We've now sold it so I can go back to my messy ways, although we have a very tight schedule now and will be moving the week before Christmas. And my dad arrives for a two week visit tonight. Argh!

It's becoming a Christmas tradition that I give my nieces a handmade handbag filled with treats and girly accessories. This year I made two variations on Butterick 5576, View B (the yellow and silver ones from the pattern envelope below).

I used some leftover purple silk dupion and bits of trim from my stash to make them look a bit different to each other. I changed the strap to a short shoulder style, but otherwise made them up following the instructions. I used a medium weight canvas for the interfacings and although I would prefer a much stiffer bag for myself, these will be fine for kids dressing up, plus I'm not sure my machine would cope with many more layers.

Here they are, I have even mailed them already which is somewhat of a miracle!

With bow and satin ribbon trim

With pleated front flap and diamante trim

I have some more stuff to post, but today managed to snap two feet of my dressform stand and I am waiting for the superglue to set. I promise I'll get back to finishing off the jacket soon and answer your questions from my earlier post then.

Not what I should be doing with my packing boxes!

My inbetween project - Burdastyle 08/2008 - 115 Jacket

2012-11-02T17:22:00.000+08:00

Thank you for all the advice on the bias nightmare of a dress, I haven't given up on it yet, just parked it to one side. It's good to know that we have similar ideas and I had already tried some of the suggestions before and during the 3 separate assaults on the side seams.

Another problem with bias cut patterns is that they can be fabric hogs and leave you with odd shaped leftovers. As luck would have it the front piece of the dress with the skirt on the straight grain fits perfectly onto my leftovers so I took this as a sign and promptly cut it out. Next step is to unpick practically the whole dress so needless to say that's as far as I have got with that!

Meanwhile I am working on a jacket, this one from 08/2008 Burda in a navy superfine wool. It has some interesting details although was originally designed to have raw edges everywhere so I am modifying it somewhat.

I am sure I bought this fabric with the intention of making a classic blazer so why I only bought 1.5 yards is a mystery to me and it took a while to find an interesting pattern that would work. I managed to squeeze out the pieces for this cropped jacket but I have had to piece the facings and the undercollar is cut in a black wool.

Although making a jacket from start to finish can be a lengthy process, it does lend itself to sewing in small chunks of time which is sometimes the way I like to sew. Here are a few snapshots of bits I've finished - sleeves and back.

Despite marking you can see one buttonhole on the sleeve flap ended up out of alignment. I contemplated ignoring it (heck I even contemplated just sewing on buttons and not making buttonholes at all since they have no function), but I knew it would annoy me so out came the unpicker. In the process I had an epiphany and realised the little bit sticking out the front of my buttonhole foot is there to help you line up buttonholes.

Naughty buttonhole on the left!

Useful sticky out thing on the front

Completed sleeve hem and flap

Inner sleeve darts sewn on the outside

Two completed sleeves

Back peplum and half belt detail (also with real buttonholes)

Finally my thoughts go out to anyone affected by hurricane Sandy. Here in HK I have become a little blase about the typhoons we get every summer, but the terrible pictures and tragic stories coming from the States reminds us how powerful nature can be.

Beastly Bias

2012-10-27T11:39:00.000+08:00

I am having seemingly insurmountable problems with my second version of the Burda 10/12 118 dress, all due to the bias cut of the front skirt portion. I've left it hanging waiting to be hemmed for a week in the hope that the problems would magically go away but they haven't so I think I am left with the following options;

Bin it
Cut it off and make it into a top, although I will probably have to reinstall the zipper upside down - stepping into a top seems kind of weird
Unpick it and recut the front so that the skirt part is on the straight grain if I have enough fabric (Kristy just tried this and it works)
Add a waist seam and recut the skirt on the straight grain

Any other thoughts on this? I didn't have any of these problems with version 1 so I think this is due to the looser weave of this fabric. Here is the dress as it stands now, you can see the side seams which I have already redone 3 times are swinging to the front, plus I have lots of puckering going on and I won't even talk about how bad it looks when I attempt to hem it.

This has been driving me so crazy I even started making a jacket of all things in between working on the dress, you can just see it hanging in the background, I'm pleased to say I'm making good progress with it and no doubt that will be finished before this dress.

Burda Style 10/2012 - 118 Dress

2012-10-19T14:50:00.000+08:00

The first thing to note if you are making this dress is that (in my copy at least) there is a huge typo in the sewing instructions which is especially unfortunate given that it is the Sewing Course pattern.

The pattern pieces are the black lines on sheet B not A! The instructions for the top versions are correct luckily - can you imagine trying to find the right pieces otherwise. I think if you use sheet A you would end up with some kind of pants and a huge headache.

Once you have got that out of the way putting this dress together is very easy. My sleeves are a bit long because I totally forgot to flare out the hem allowance (it even tells you to do this in the instructions) - since the sleeve itself is quite tapered if you don't flare it out then the hem allowance is too small - I just ended up taking a narrow hem.

I made this in a brown wool pinstripe which produces a slightly odd effect in that the front is on the bias and the back is on the straight grain, but I quite like it. This will be a great dress for cooler weather, it reminds me of a woven version of the famous Vogue 1250 DKNY jersey cowl dress - just throw it on and you're good to go. I've lightened all these photos so you can see the detail.

I have started a second version in the same cranberry wool that I made the previous skirt from and that gave me a lot more problems, I think because it has a slightly looser weave so the bias is more difficult to handle, in fact it is still hanging waiting to be hemmed. More on that in my next post, for now here are photos of version 1.

Burda Style 08/2012 - 112 Skirt with Godet

2012-10-12T14:31:00.000+08:00

I love pencil skirts and have a few already traced that I could easily use, but as I mentioned clearly I just get a thrill out of testing my eyes and patience on those Burda sheets. This pattern is a bit of a twist on a standard pencil skirt though as it has a godet inserted in a side seam for a bit of swishy-ness. I liked the asymmetrical look too.

I made this in a wool crepe which I am going to call cranberry colour, although it looks very orange-red here.

The pattern calls for a petersham ribbon waistband, but instead I just used an interfaced strip of fabric which is lazily just plonked on top the lining I added, stitched in the ditch from the right side for a fairly bulk free finish and held closed with a hook & eye.

The pattern is unlined, apart from the godet which has a smaller lining piece - a godet stay I suppose to help the skirt keep it's shape. I decided to add lining and just used the same pieces (remembering - hallelujah! - to flip the front pattern pieces upside down) leaving the side seam open below the godet and just handstitching those edges to the godet stay. It would look better if the godet stay was the same length as the lining, but the lining was a bit of an afterthought. As was this photo - excuse the wrinkles!

I feel like I am getting ahead with fall sewing possibly for the first time ever! Despite the (for me) bright colour I think this will work with a lot of pieces and end up being a versatile fall skirt.

Burda Style 10/2012 - 119 Knit top

2012-10-10T18:10:00.000+08:00

Oh my I didn't mean to go awol for quite such a long time, after my UK trip I got my usual season changeover loss of mojo plus we decided to move apartments and it is only when you have estate agents and clients trooping through all the time that you realise what a messy business sewing can be.

In addition my old camera died and while the new one is undoubtedly superior I am still learning how to get it to focus less on my face and more on my clothes. Also the self timer function is annoying - my old camera would do 3 shots at 10 second intervals, this camera either does one at a time or 10 within about a second which I am sure is great for photos of hummingbirds etc, but I just get 10 lousy shots of me instead of 1!

Anyway excuses excuses blah blah blah, let's just get on with it shall we and see if the photos improve over time, bear with me....

First up Burda 10/2012 - 119 jersey crossover top. I probably already have at least 1 pattern like this somewhere but it seems I like to torture myself tracing new ones.

I made this with an odd shaped offcut of brown zig zap printed jersey. It's a little loud and, well, zig-zaggy, but I think with a brown jacket on the top this will make a great fall outfit.

There really is nothing to say about the construction other than I raised the neckline about 1 inch and made the sleeve hem smaller due to fabric shortage, it's very straightforward to put together and dare I say that the instructions are even quite good!

Ah it feels good to be blogging again, I feel more inspired to sew already!

Cowl top duo

2012-08-12T13:57:00.003+08:00

Thanks for all the encouraging comments on my last post, I think you are right that I just need a bit of time away from it and to pep it up with some interesting accessories. I tend to prefer wearing dresses because I recognise that I really am no good at putting separates together and I don't have a lot of skill with accessories either.

I also came to my senses and decided that rushing to make something new for the wedding I am attending would probably end in disaster. In July, Erica B came to a similar conclusion for an upcoming event and grabbed a DKNY dress from her closet. I have decided to do the same and hope some of her fabulousness wears off on me! I even commented at the time which is why I can remember it.........

"AllisonC said...

You know whenever I have made something last minute I have not been truly happy with it. I generally adore DK patterns and this one looks fantastic on you."

I'm going to wear Donna Karan, Vogue 1159 a very similar dress to Erica's. I'll try and get some decent photos at the wedding.

But, I still had to make something new to take so I have made two simple knit cowl tops using up some remnants in my stash. I'm sure I could keep my stash much tidier without all these small half cut raggedy pieces. Both needed a bit of creative piecing of the fabric scraps, but I managed it.

This one is a silk jersey, made using the famous Vogue 1250 Donna Karan (again!) dress, shortened to a top. The jersey, which feels divine to wear is very drapy so I found I needed to stitch the neckline together a bit to control it. To get it out of my small piece of fabric I added a centre back seam and a band at the hem, the busy print means you can hardly see these extra seams.

This grey top with metallic silver stripes was made using Burdastyle magazine 05/2012 - 110. I started out with my usual size 38 and found it to be huge, I had to take it in at the side seams by a good 2 sizes to get the fit I wanted. The short on fabric solution for this one is a back hem panel with the stripes going in the opposite direction. Excuse the wrinkles!