I've been thinking a lot about this, especially after my pants class last November where I learned almost as much as my students. 

I'm used to dealing with my clients, and I know it takes a lot of "faith" to knock on my door and put the delivery of my clients' dreams in my hands without seeing the end product.  But my reputation is that, as a client, you may not necessarily totally know what you're going to get, but you know that consistently my clients are very pleased.  My clients satisfaction is paramount:  that's my rep.

I want the same thing for my students. 

I want them to walk away from a class not only learning how to do what they paid to learn, but some wonderful ancillary techniques and information that can enhance their whole outlook about sewing and creating their dream wardrobe.

As a matter of fact, this is becoming an obsession.  Here locally, I'm pretty clear how to tackle this.  My enthusiasm is very infective one-on-one or in a personal class.  But I'm left with how to infuse that enthusiasm and jump-started-ness to students outside my immediate area.

It's frustrating for me to try and answer this when I receive emails or phone calls from prospective students who can not make it to the class or are too far away to travel to the class even for private lessons.

The idea of empowering my students not only with enthusiasm, but to get them to at least try to challenge themselves and watch them work through the usually stumbling points, and progress past that, is so much fun for me - that it's very addictive to me. 

I see so many times my students have this preconceived idea that this is impossible or that won't work on their body or their shape won't allow them to look nice this or that way, when all they need is a little extra help with fitting or technique-instruction, and poof - like some magic fairy godmother;  here they are not only solving their usual stumbling blocks, but whizzing on down the road like a formula one out of the pit stop!

This is probably because I'm reliving the same exciting experience I had when I realized I could do anything!  It's addictive and full of energy.

This has consumed me for the last month because I would not only like to pass this on to the students in my immediate area, but to others outside my area.  Not only do I know that I can fit almost any shape, I've done it with my clients.

I have this vision of sitting in front of a mega-computer with a camera and students from all over the world on my computer and we're moving around and I'm telling them to turn a little and pinch in here and check that, and how it feels, and how it looks and on and on....with the problem solved and students eyes wide with realization that they really CAN do it! 

Wa-ha-ha-ha....isn't that the evil witch's laugh!!!!

For the new year, this is my big New Year's Resolution:  to figure out how to do this (without the special effects needed to make Avatar!) for my students locally as well as regionally and wherever the internet will reach. 

Heck - if Martians want to learn, I'm sure I could do that too!

You can email Bernina of OKC here for details and to make reservations.  Here are the details on the class, and class supplies.   

And if you can not make those classes or one or two but not all, I also do private classes on your schedule.

Here's a jacket I did, which is a "try out" for the Chanel jacket I've been trying to finish which now appears (since I have a deadline), to get done for this class.

I love everything about this jacket, except that the sleeve head did not "puff" like I like a very tailored jacket to do.

This is easy to fix....just added a bias cut piece of horsehair canvas.  It's not made of horsehair - maybe it was at one time, but not now, but it has marvelous shaping qualities.

Sewn in on the seam or just a scant outside (in the seam) from the seam line so as not to show on the outside armhole seam.  Hopefully that makes sense.,

 

Oh and one more thing....I really don't like large wobbly buttonholes.

So I did a seam on center front and just separated it where the buttonholes were - same on the cuff and it turned out really well.  Very effective!

One of the fun things that is fun to do to personalize my designs is to insert a personalized monogram or cipher.  In my former life, I did a lot of calligraphy, and embroidery seems to be a wonderful off shoot of that love.

It can be anything....a monogram with a date:  RLS, July 12, 2008

This is what I call one of my ciphers...where the whole name is in a certain area...this was for my cousin Victoria...Tori! It's hard to see here since this was white on white.

Another cipher of two initials intertwined:  KS (not the state!)

This was a beautiful silk, double-faced satin ribbon for a bride, with her initials and her new last name (4 letters) with a date:  LC with the two larger initials S (maiden name) and F (married name)

This was a ring pillow for one of my brides with the groom's and bride's last initials on the pillow: C & W

Another monogram inside the bridal gown with the date:  AA were the bride's given name, P (maiden name) and B (married name)

Here is my cipher. (Claire)

This was for my cousin's child's CG (Christening Gown), however I don't think we ended up using this design, but I liked it very much:  PJK

This was for my sister:  Laura - a cipher all in one area, but still legible.

Another cipher - Mary.

And yes, I'm Irish...I've always loved the Chi Rho page from the Book of Kells.....

So hopefully that gives you a little feel for monographs and ciphers

This foot for Bernina works on the same principle as the flat felled foot.  I received so many requests about curved and special parts of hems, that I did a short little video to show how to do this.

Basically, this isn't all that difficult, but you just take it slowly through the difficult parts, and even though you are sewing slower than you might normally in sewing a seam, it is still much faster, much more efficient, and you have a much better result than if you were to do this by hand.  Believe me, I've done it by hand. (and by hand, I mean having to turn up the dang hem and pin it every 2" or 3" to get it to stay up while you sew the seam down.)  The foot makes it so much more uniform and professional looking.

The other method to be aware of is that you will curve this just slightly as you follow the curve of a hem - the same way you would as if you were putting in a blind hem, or any other type of hem in a curved hem.  I prefer to keep the left edge of the foot about ¹/₂" to ⁵/₈" from the edge of the fabric.  This allows enough fabric for a nice roll - too much (or too deep a hem) will cause the fabric roll to buckle and have tucks in it (not good!).  Too little hem allowance and there won't be enough to tuck under the fold and the raw edge will fold out.

Think about this for a minute....this isn't that difficult.  If you were just folding up hem and sewing one fold, you would curve around the seam to follow the curve of the hem.

You do exactly the same thing with the rolled hemmer...follow that same curve of the hem (or the edge of the fabric.)  If your hem is thick in some places and shallow in others, then you will need to cut the hem so it is the same thickness all the way around.  It's impossible to stick more fabric into the hem (on a thicker hem) without the hemmer causing the hem to buckle which will make the hem look sloppy.

Take out a piece of muslin and practice this.  This is often what design schools will direct you to do to learn a new or what may seem awkward technique.  After you learn it and can get a couple of good hems behind you, believe me you will get the hang of this.

Enjoy!

When I saw Lindsay T's labels, I was green, so I ordered my green set, and they just arrived today.....

Holy Hollyhocks, Bullwinkle!!! I'm hear to tell you I'm totally impressed.  I need to make up 15 gowns to put my labels in.

Thank heavens we had a blizzard for Christmas and I haven't delivered my family's Christmas gifts yet.  I'm opening 'em up and puttin' in labels right now!

These were ordered from WorldWide on their Etsy Shop and I highly recommend them.  I sent them my own heavy graphic and they did a superb job, matching the Pantone Colors perfectly.  Pantone 4545 for background and 554 for the green.  If you don't have a Pantone Color Chart - it's worth the money - it's the gold standard for color.  I have yet to meet a vendor who can't or doesn't have access to one and it makes color matching so easy.  Even though I deal in lots of white, what it does sometimes is just help define to my clients what they want - cause sometimes they don't even know till they see the various shades next to each other.

I'm a color fanatic and very picky about my colors and these came out so gorgeously.

Here's the label with the Pantone colors (as defined by my Corel PhotoPaint software), and you can see how close this is - almost spot on.

I'm pleased and highly recommend this company - they turned out 3" long by 1½" high and I got 200 labels for about $65-ish.  It was late in shipping probably cause of Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years, but I'll do this again.

And hey - thanks Lindsay!

Good tools make your life easier and are usually well thought-out and worth their weight in gold!

After having so much fun with Vogue 1145, and working all those felled seams by hand, I realized that Bernina had a flat felled foot that I could easily use.

But no  worries...it's another excuse to make up something to practice!!  We all need to practice, to be better and to have more fun trying out all sorts of new tools that we've purchased to make our lives easier!!

At least that's my story and I'm stickin' with it!

Here's the tool and how wonderfully it works - first time (with only a few directions)!

First thing is to cut away about 1/4" and pin the seam together....in this case this shows the front on the bottom and back on top (with the back seam 1/4" thiner).  The front will eventually fold back over the back.

Next fold over that edge that is the overhang and sew a couple of stitches to get the seam started.

Insert the needle, and lift the foot and pull that folded edge up and over the "tongue" of the foot.

And apply the gas, and go!  And the pins are far enough away from the seam that there's not a chance of the needle ticking or hitting them!!!  No burrs on the needle, thankyouverymuchladiesandgentlemen!

And look at this.  It was just too easy.

Does this mean the end of serging?

Are more projects in the till to practice?

Will Claire have a life after this foot?

Will Claire emerge from the sewing studio ever again?

Stay-tuned for the exciting conclusion and answer to this major cliff-hangers!!!

OK - I'm giddy - OU WON!!!  We've broken our curse!!!

It was especially fun this year since I had family and hotel Claire was up and serving.  It's amazing what you can whip up even when you aren't expecting a single person...defrosting was a little difficult the first night, but with the freezer examined and emptied and the pantry inventoried, I put together quite a few meals that amazed even me.

Two days after the storm and it's still snowy and especially icy out, but the main roads are enough passable that family can begin to travel home.

In the meantime, I've been able to finish a few things and play in my studio.  As everyone has gone their separate ways, I have the "laboratory" all to myself!

OOOOOOoooooooOOOOOO!!!

Hope your holiday was wonderful and fun and with warm memories.

But after I have met them, I have a respite - for a short time, and piddle around my studio just creating and thinking of things to create.

Some of you may know that I'm also an underwater photographer, and get to travel to wonderful far away places.  One of the things you know when you dive is that you don't do it 24/7.  You have to have rests in between.  The reason is a bunch of physics gobbledygook, which I will not bore you with her (thank heavens!), but it does leave time for other activities, some of which are beach combing, and one of my favorite things is to pick up sea glass.

Sea glass is glass that has been tossed around in the ocean, reef, and/or shore long enough that it has been softened and frosted look to it.  I had picked up some pieces and wanted to make a necklace from them a couple of years ago.

So got some diamond drill bits and some coolant lube to drill in (when drilling hard stuff like glass, you need to do it in a liquid so that your drill bit doesn't get too hot or the glass too hot.

And voila....

This is really effective on my turtlenecks, which are a staple in my winter wardrobe.

Then...I did a pair of earrings.  I really love 'em!

But here's the bonus!

 

This is a semi-precious or just a plain mineral that I found in Santa Fe which I was told was called rosasite or rosalite - it doesn't match, but I don't really care....the color and size was perfect for buttons.  All I needed was two holes for thread and some great buttons.

 

These were another set of semi-precious mineral called gaspeite but it's perfect for this silk!

The I Never Win Anything Department!!!!

And it's not that I'm complaining...there's a lot of junk out there I wouldn't want to win.  And part of this is that I'm so picky about what I have in my library.  But it is nice to win - and this is from Sandra Betzina's Twelve Days of Christmas so all those prizes are pertinent.

But this one has to be a little coincidentally symmetrical to this taking into consideration my posts last September!!!  But I'm of the ilk that there is always something we can learn, no matter how knowledgeable we are or think we are.

Most of the time, I'm either asked to leave or kicked out of the local women's emporiums around town, which has always confused me, but nevertheless, there it is.

This wasn't always so.  I knew a fine gentleman who owned a wonderful ladies store in town who welcomed me almost every time I entered the store, even though he knew who I was and what I did and what I could do.  But he realized that I needed shoes, accessories, and even times I could send my clients to him and vice versa!  But alas, he retired, and there was no place I could really feel welcomed.

Now when I travel to the large metro areas like Dallas & New York, this is never a problem, although I do know several of the staff at the finer Dallas stores, and they know who I am and what I can do, they are completely welcoming.

The reason may seem strange, but what I've found is that the truly creative and confident store owners realize I am not a threat.  Let's be honest, there is no way I could design and execute enough of the evening gowns that even my medium-sized metro area needs.  There is a need for a store and a need for me.  They realize that both can exist in the same market and there are enough customers for both of us.

Well, a new day has dawned in town...a new owner for a local ladies' boutique and someone not only I have know personally, but professionally.

 

Congratulations Cindi, and from my heart - I am so thrilled!!!!!

There's an old adage:  A person who never makes a mistake is probably not doing anything, which means if you sit around pointing out mistakes, it probably means you're getting a lot of stuff done.

At least that's my story and I'm sticking with it!!!!

A couple of months ago (OK it was more than that), I did this jacket.  It turned out OK....but I wasn't all that crazy about it. 

So I finally got Esmeralda out and put the jacket on to do some major re-fitting.

This is a great lesson on how to really use a mannequin to the best advantage. 

There's no way I could possibly fit myself on this, even the master fitter that I am, I just can not reach behind me and fit the back as well as I would like.  My arms aren't that limber, which is just as well, cause I would have to be horrible double and maybe even triple jointed to do this!

That's the beauty of a mannequin.  But there's a caveat with this - there's always something.  You have to be very careful when fitting to a mannequin as you can easily have a tendency to fit right to the very exact shape of the body of the mannequin. 

That might fit you, if you don't breathe, move or particularly if you just stand an exact right way.  But we move, and I don't know about you, but my waist moves when I eat, and my body has a tendency to "spread" when I sit, and I like breathing which requires a little room - just funny little things like that, which make fitting right to the very exact shape of the mannequin a real problem.

Of course you could shape the mannequin with the ease already figured into the body, but I don't like this either.  It doesn't really solve the problem, as you need to get used to fitting using ease, not fitting without ease.

The best way to guard against too close a fit, is after you have fit yourself on a body double, try on the garment to make sure it works....

In the case of my "redeux" it did....

Even though the sleeves look a little long here, I like this...this cord is heavy and I like having a long-sleeved jacket to cover my always cold hands.

And most of all my match in front is preserved and show (for those who care!!!)

Burda  World of Fashion January, 2008 #107

 

This is a great pattern and there are lots of things I can do to tweak it - although it doesn't need much.  One way I love it to take in that side seam a little.  This is like pivoting a dart, and the dart I'm pivoting here is the side bust dart.  I've made this blouse up 4 times, and this time I decided to take it in here cause I knew it would work.

This just has a great line - can't go wrong.  Oh yeah, and another showcase for some stencil art on this.  This is a Diane Ericson stencil that came out great on here.

I got a little carried away with the contrasting color here....and had a spool of polyester sheen that just toned beautifully with the color of the stencils, and in this case wanted a real "pop-up" buttonhole, so I used some pearl twist as a base for a stand-up button hole.  I've just gone blank, and this is called something and for the life of me I can't think of it....I'm sure you all know.  Anyway, it turns out really well here.

Then out of my wonderful button collection some very nice carved pearl in a nice teal color.  It's not the exact color of the silk dupioni, but close enough. 

This will make a great holiday blouse - a little off plumb, but then people sorta expect that from me - after all I have a rep to maintain!!!

Our stencil class continues this Monday and Tuesday, with a couple of new projects in my head!

This is Marcy Tilton's top, which is not new, but something I did to show off my stenciling from my class (yesterday's post here).

This is the fitting and making of this top.  I made the small size here, and had gobs of room in the bust and underarm area to take up.

I appreciate why Marcy designed it this way, but if you are slight of figure on top, then you will need to make the alterations to make this top work, and this top has gobs of style so it's worth the effort.  Also in the instructions, she recommends "pleating" it, and I didn't do that, so that's another reason for the fitting.

And this is a great showcase for my stenciling for this top/jacket.

So here's a little video on fitting and how I do it, plus how it looks after I've fit it.

The main reason I took all this time, was this is a fabulous cut and shape, and she has some well thought-out details like the button hole.

The buttonhole is in the seam, nice and stabilized, but great for large button which this top needs, and without having to do a bound buttonhole, which is what I usually use for a large button.

And there's a lot of style and graceful lines to this pattern, which makes it work, as you can tell by the video, in the end, the difference is astounding. 

Hope you use this technique of fitting like fitting your sheet on your bed when you make it up!

What creative class members...willing to try all sorts of techniques and mediums to see what works best for their own projects.

Betsy brought some fat quarters, and started doing some fabulous stenciling.  I like this creative stencil on a print that can be very exciting.

And the best part is we get to giggle and laugh about artsy things.

Ah another successful creation!

but back in the states...it's now a blouse. And yes this is the BWOF 1/2008 #107 .

You can see there's something a little extra on this other than this marvelous green stripe - and for those of you who don't like green, don't get sick - there's something else here too.

I used a decorative technique called stenciling on this as test to hone my skills for a class I'm doing in December (if you're in the area, we have a few spots left, and you 're more than welcomed to sign up....here are more details).  

I used all sorts of interesting things to get the look I wanted.

The first thing I discovered is that you can get your paint too thin and but hardly ever too thick - with thick paint you just get another look.

I also experimented with masking - to make it look like the stripe was going over the background design...this was fun and it gave the look I wanted, but I didn't like it for the shirt I was doing.

So I just went ahead and keep the design one or maybe two stencils, and used some shadowing, overlay and slight "dusting" of color and some a little heavier.

The overall look - came out very well, and I was really pleased.  I used a gold color here, with more of a patina-ed look.  This worked well with this bright yellow and green and maybe with some red bow, I could look like a tree ornament!!!!

There's one caveat for working with hand woven or home woven fabrics.  They are notoriously delicate, which makes them that much more charming, but sometimes you must be very careful.  I serged the seam on this, but used my standard pressure when pulling it out from the machine, and poof, all the serging came out along with the seam. 

 

So do use beautiful hand woven fabrics, but do remember they are much more delicate than the fabric we are so used to buying in stores.  Don't mess with the garment too much and certainly don't use a pattern or something you will have to do a lot of fittings on.  Get those seams finished as quickly as possible and you'll be OK.

I'll have you know that not only is this household a card-carrying member in good standing, but our dues and duties are up to date! 

There's no resting on our laurels around this establishment!  And once a sock has been properly redistributed, it doesn't need to be re-redistributed!  We're done with it! 

It's just a good thing this sock redistributor doesn't know how to open sock drawers, or he'd be a lifetime member in a week!

This is a busy time of year as my deb girls all come into town and sort of a time to think through the clients of the year, and once again be thankful for my even-tempered clients which seems to be an ongoing trend - never sure exactly why, but fun for me nonetheless!

I'm also reflecting on the great posters and followers here, and how much each and every one of you have added to my appreciation and confirmation of how creative, productive and yes, even experimental all of you home-sewists are!

But, the really fun part, is that for the first time in a long time, I feel really full of the holiday spirit and feel like celebrating, mostly cause I've gotten a few ugly, scary things behind me, and I can work on sewing, creating and thinking of all sorts of new ideas in my studio. 

This hangs right over the door to my studio!

I've long felt that when I enter my studio some fairy "poofs" me with her wand, and I magically turn into this extra creative and imaginative person, and then upon leaving return back to my normally scheduled life. 

But this year, that fairy seems to have spilled out of the studio, and we're having a blast together out in public!!!  Who knows where this will lead, but we plan on having a lot of fun!

Hope you all enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving and eat too much!!!

Often it seems there's more than enough about Geoffrey Beene on this blog, but Beene along with Trigère

(who is Trigère you ask?....Pauline Trigère?...what better than a picture....)

Anyway - on with what I was saying... about Beene, Trigère and Coco all had something that I deeply admire - they all followed their own path, and even though fashion took a turn here or there, they still designed within their own style and didn't veer from it. 

What makes all these designers even more admirable is that in the long term, they are responsible for setting up design techniques and style that ads so much to all of our lives.

So here's a review of ....

A couple of caveats...I like Chanel style and I like the woman, so that in mind, I thought this was a lot better than I thought it was going to be.  We've all seen Chanel and we know about her, so the story of her life wasn't a stranger to me and it is inspiring on it's own, so I didn't expect to learn anything new.

She was an orphan in the Belle Époque period of France when women and freedom were about as compatible as Einor Dashwood and womens' rights - it just wasn't done - although George Sand had been seen sporting men's clothing in public before Chanel.  Nevertheless, Chanel was born into poverty and had a pretty bleak outlook ahead of her - probably in the local market hawking her wares (whether these be actual products or her body), and started as a "singer" which led to her first liaison with a man of means who also introduced her to a world of fashion.  Chanel started as a milliner (hat maker) and then graduated to clothing and fashion.  Her forte was relieving and rescuing and removing women from the corset and into more freely worn clothes, but also clothes that were just as sexy if not more so than the "thong" of today.  This style made her till World War II when she finally closed her salon.  It is also rumored that she had an affair with a German officer during the war, but (also rumored) the current Duke of Westminster and even Winston Churchill came to her aid, so she was never punished out right for her treasonable actions during WWII. 

After the introduction and enthusiasm for Christian Dior's, "The New Look" with it's overly cinched-in waist, and tiny, tiny torso, Chanel was one again horrified at what women were having to under go to "look pretty" so she opened her salon on Rue St. Honoré in the mid 50's.  Europe, Paris, England all panned her.  The feelings of WWII hadn't gone away.  The American press couldn't get enough of her, and it was the American woman who brought Chanel back with her gloriously wonderful Chanel Jacket. (Thank you Erica B).  Here she worked until she died at 88 y/o where she worked till the day she died.....or rather she practiced her passion till the day she died.

But there's more to this movie than just the history and that's where the art comes in, and I was moved, and connected with the character which made her story all that more compelling and touching.  I didn't expect to be that touched, and at the end in her staircase of mirrors, here I was tearing up - old crusty me actually crying.

Coming home I went through my beloved Chanel book that a client had given me decades ago.

So here were a few pictures that cover the time frame of the movie.

Coco, with Etienne and Boy

With Boy

The "jersey" or knit look that Coco became famous for introducing to outer wear clothing.

 

And here's the famous stairway where she would sit (the figure on the left is actually a reflection of Mme. Chanel on the right (see the hat!)  If you've never been to the boutique on Rue St. Honoré, it is still there today.  At the time I visited Paris, I was more interested in Twiggy & Mary Quant.  Dang - youth!  I know better today.  I'm more interested in doing a Chanel jacket, than a Mary Quant dress today! (Although they are both classics!)

We are so fortunate as to have a wonderful art museum in town where they show all these wonderful movies - and an excellent restaurant next door....now the next one for fashionistas is The September Issue about the September Issue of Vogue Magazine. 

Thursday, December 10, 7:30pm Friday & Saturday, December 11 - 12, 5:30pm & 8pm Sunday, December 13, 2pm The September Issue Anna Wintour, the legendary Editor-In-Chief of Vogue magazine for twenty years, is the most powerful and polarizing figure in fashion. The September 2007 issue was and remains the biggest ever, weighing over four pounds, reaching an audience of thirteen million people and impacting the global fashion industry more than any single publication. An intimate, funny and surprising look at Anna Wintour, and her team of larger-than-life editors as they create this must-have bible of fashion, the film explores the untouchable glamour of Wintour’s vogue to reveal the extraordinarily passionate people at its core. Director: R.J. Cutler 2009 USA 90min. PG-13 35mm

It's an eye-opener for some, rehash for others, but it sorta brings up a sore subject with me, so not sure I want to go push any red buttons of mine.  The worst part is the designers inviting Anna & André into see their collections before they are presented so as to get "approval"...ugh - puhlease!  Although I don't know why Karl Lagerfeld does this - he doesn't have to - he's one that has so much talent.

This goes back to the beginning with Coco going against convention and being a huge movement in fashion, or Trigère telling Fairchild off and never being publicized again in his periodicals even though her collections were some of the most beautiful classic designs of the day, or Beene who followed his own artistic direction developing such exquisite artistic patterns.  Thank heavens for designers who don't follow the masses and go out and do their own thing.

And thank heavens for home sewists who don't have to kowtow to the latest whims of fashion magazine editors!!!

And also thanks for the comments on the Lynn Mizono coat.  I LOVE IT!!!!  Well, I love the comments of course, but I really love the coat.

And toward that end, though you might like to see how it moves!  The volume on this is a little low, so you may have to crank up the

On the button/buttonholes.  For something like this (when I'm using large buttons), I love using a bound buttonhole, but you do have the problem of the wrong side.

There are some creative ways to solve this...but my favorite is to make a facing and (I know it's not good time-management), slip stitch it by hand. 

Here is the buttonhole on the wrong side of the coat.  Here because it shows here most often.

Here's the facing on the wrong side.

And here it is buttoned.  Another reason I elected to put the finished side of the buttonhole on the wrong side.  When the coat is buttoned, the button covers a lot of the coat.

And here's the definitive reason:

The buttonhole just doesn't show that much at all, and often the "collar" shawl piece covers the button completely, so this was a no-brainer decision.

One more variation on this coat.....After wearing it to Coco Avant Chanel last night, I do and will wear this with a jacket and the sleeves are a little tight - and I like this style of sleeve and wouldn't recommend changing it, but I am going to line the sleeve - it will solve the problem instantly.

The coat inside out...so that the sleeves are the only thing lined using Bemberg Ambiance rayon lining.

This shows how I just slip-stitched this in by hand - this took about 1 hour to do so for me well worth the time and effort to make this  coat slip on and off.  

OK - one last comment, and then I'm done...I would use a darker piping color than what I used here.  The piping is OK, but just the slightest turn in the bias, and it shows as an error.

 

This is the way the pattern shows to close the coat and it's a great way to close it.

But this is the way I love to close it

I can't say that this is a better look - it just feels better when I'm wearing the coat.

For this coat, I used a marvelous thick wool/angora blend.  It was pretty much the same on both sides, but one side was just a little softer than the other. 

And here's the part you have to be careful with.  It does call for a fabric that is the same on both sides, but if yours is a little off, I would recommend putting the facing/collar piece on in reverse, so that when it's folded over, the more right side shows.

The coat collar/facing naturally folds back on the coat, but if this is put on with right sides together, then you will have a problem when this folds back and the wrong side will show all the time.  And yes, I did put right sides together and finished it off, and then took it apart and put it with the wrong side of the collar/facing onto the right side of the coat and I'm much happier with it.

In the top picture you can see just the small variation between the wrong and right side, but for me this isn't enough to cause problems, but it did cause me enough discomfort to redo the top.

I finished the jacket with a nice silk binding.

And love doing bound buttonholes when using big buttons like this.  This is one of my flea-market buttons.  It may have been just a tad smooth for this casual look, but it seemed to work.

This is easy to put together and although Vogue instructions can cause Excedrin Headache #143, it's still easy enough to work through.  I have a love/hate relationship with Vogue instructions, as I believe a pattern should contain all the information you need and instructions can often confuse and so muddle the process of assembling that it can be daunting for an MIT scientist!

If you're willing to be a little daring and try something a little arty, this is a great coat, but it does require some killer great wool - must be heavy weight and look pretty much the same on both sides.  It's also perfect for a double faced thick fabric

Not only did she want a fabulously tasteful ensemble, but she was the most pleasant person to work with.

She's a true pillar of our community without all the falderol, fanfare and fakery.  She is truly an honest person wanting to perform her duties in the most excellent way with the greatest reward for those she is serving.

She survived the Oklahoma City bombing - just barely, with a chard of glass hitting her neck, that, had it gone just a smidgen either way, would have killed her.  As if she weren't grounded to begin with, this whole experience just made her more so.

So when she came to me wanting something special for her induction into our state's hall of fame, I was elated.

These photos are from the rebroadcast of the even, so they are a little grainy, but you can see the gist of the look we wanted...something feminine, but no frou-frou.  This is a no-nonsense gal, and she doesn't need or want a lot of bows and frills.

And that medallion on that ribbon didn't just land there out of the clear blue...

...we worked that puppy so that with the minimum of work it would just land there automatically - it looks pretty good!

As another detail, the inside of the cuff is also the contrasting satin.  It just was a little something extra that probably only she would know or see, but the kind of thing I love to do.

This beautiful "icy pink" is a gorgeous color on her, and yet to keep it from being boring, I used an insert panel for the collar.  This piece fits like a typical shawl collar with a seam at center back, but when it comes down in front it widens to make a dart for the front of the jacket.

This is a typical Geoffrey Beene technique for fitting and yet allowing the fitting seam/dart to look more like a design seam.  And no I promise not to wax on and on about Geoffrey Beene - this time!   In addition, the gown was in the taffeta side of the silk peau de soie, then used the satin side for the contrast, which made it sublime up close, but showy enough to carry throughout the room.

In these events, as important as the front, so is the back.  What you can't see here (and darn if I didn't get a picture of it while I had it in my studio), is that the fit in the back is sublimely right on, with the darts of the jacket matching exactly the darts of the gown. 

This lady has a killer great figure, so that was another feature we wanted to show off with the gown, but yet she wanted to at least "rustle" (you know this is a verb, no matter what Webster's says....I rustle, she rustles, we have been rustling, etc.!!!!!).  This is what I call the sashay factor of a dress.  Obviously a large skirt and oodles of sashay (oodles is also a technical term!), but that doesn't mean that a fitted gown can't have it too, and this is how I accomplished that with this gown.

It's just as important for the gown to move or sashay as it is when she's standing there speaking.

Most of all she wore the gown, not the other way around, and I've already started in with her about how many wonderful ways she can wear this now!

This is sort is a test to try out two things. One is to post mobile and the other os to see Essie's new duds all fitted and ready to go

I named her Esmeralda - I thought it sounded pretty and it sort of rolls off your tongue!

But dear Esmeralda has seen better days.

She came to me as a trade.  I was looking for a mannequin, and I had a high-schooler who wanted me to do a prom dress for her, but was just too much for her budget.  We talked and she said that her mother had a mannequin, and I was interested in what make it was and where she got it.  Before you know it, it came out that her mother doesn't actually sew that much, and the mother offered me the mannequin for the prom dress.

It was one of the best trades I made.

The mannequin is a "Faithfully Yours".  I'm not sure they even make these any more.  But it works great for me.

Back to Esmeralda...so once every 25 years or so I just have a wild hair and decide Essie needs new duds after helping me fit heaven knows how many gazillions of dresses.

And basically this wasn't difficult...just take the old pattern apart, and mark the seams, do my own seam allowances, cut and sew together.  She needed a little fitting, and after I finish this, I'll try it on myself.  If I can just breathe, I know it's right.

Essie's new duds are a 100% cotton heather denim.  She wanted something tough this time around, and this was perfect

But for right now, I'm just enjoying how pretty she looks, and I suspect she's happy too!

I'll fit the rest of her today.

From Jackets

to wedding gowns

Nothing is too weird

or too classic

whether it's short

or long.

No one in my family sewed much (if at all) - - mostly sewing on buttons and taping hems.  But more than that, I have a gift for fitting.  It's really what I do the best.

This is what made the pants pattern class so much fun.  Not only did my students walk away with a pants pattern, but they also walked away knowing themselves, their bodies and their lifestyles better.  Some didn't need to zip in front and didn't want to learn that, some didn't like waistbands, some didn't know they were sway back, some did, and didn't know how to fit it. 

It was so much fun watching the light bulb come on in each of my students.  I just wish I knew how to pass that on without being there in person.

What we did was measure ourselves, but out a pattern larger than what we thought we would need, and pinch in...mostly on that "innerspace" - between the center back, crotch and center front lines.  Then I would watch them walk, sit, stand, turn walk away from me, and if the pant hung straight from the largest part of their body, straight to the hem, then "We have a pattern!"  Each student loved hearing that.

I guess being so picky about my own clothes all these years has finally paid off.

I'm so lucky to have found what I love, and to do this every day - well, OK I can't do it every day, but I want to and I get to do it most days!

For one of my students we put the old envelope pattern over the newly finished muslin and examined it.  She was pretty much in line with pattern except that the pattern (for her) tilted the wrong way.  Once we got the hang perpendicular to the floor, she looked great.

It also goes to show that any figure can be fitted.  I've always felt this strongly as I've fitted all my clients, and today's class proved it once again.

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After each fitting there was usually a little "un-sewing" and then sewing a new line and another fitting.

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Back to sewing again - this is the great classroom they have at my local Bernina.  I'm very fortunate cause not only do they have great service for any of the Berninas, but they also are a great group of very creative people who work and teach there.

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After a pattern is completely fitted and done, then it is completely taken apart and all seam lines are traced with a permanent marker.

 

The great news is that every member of the class walked away with a pattern that works for them.  Not only does it fit, but some class members found out interesting information about themselves - some do not like waistbands at all, some like only back zippers. 

This is a wonderful insight into each member's likes and dislikes.  Some took a little longer as we had to determine what they really liked.

This is one of the things we home sewists know and enjoy - we know what we like, because we are used to doing and creating it for ourselves every day.  But it is fun to watch newbies discover this.  I think my favorite moment was when we talked about variations...shorts, front/back zips, side slant pockets, welt pockets, pleats, flat-no pleats, capris, dress/silk pants, casual cotton twill pants - really the variations are endless - just from one pattern.

These are from one of Kate's cute bridesmaids...Kate had a problem here cause all her bridesmaids looked so darling!!!

Well, I think that about says it all!

When you're niece who've you've known since she was a tiny baby, gets married, NOTHING is too much or too great for her. 

So went the saga of her dress.  We visited some shops to look at some of the couture dresses, but she knew pretty much what she wanted, and I couldn't have been more in favor of it.

She choose a light airy gown, that to me, would show all my masterful skills - every seam would show a mistake and her beautiful figure would be a gorgeous palette on which to showcase this dress.

So off we set on a beautiful adventure....from finding the fabric to walking down the isle!

As I left you last here and here, I could not tell or show more of the dress till after she walked down the isle which was marvelously accomplished in late October!

This is more of a log of how I created the dress....more pictures of the wedding later.

 
I'm not much on draping, but for this style, this was the only way to make her dress do exactly as I wanted.  This was constructed with one draping over one side of the bust, another draping over the other side, accomplished by cutting two pieces on the bias (above), and draping and gathering like below.

This is a little like watercolor painting.  Watching the artist do watercolor makes it look so easy, but it does take years of practice and experience to really make this work well.

After crossing both busts, I wanted to do a twisting waist effect in front.  After twisting the fabric, then I rouched it into place.  This is always an important step and one which RTW hardly ever takes:  tacking down the rouching, but this also makes the garment look exactly  as you want.  Otherwise, the gathering is haphazard...it's more here than there.  The best method here is not to tack down too much but enough to evenly disperse it in the area to be covered.

The back is fairly straight-forwarded.  It gently sloped back to the center back zipper.  Yeah, I know I'm a little larger than my niece and didn't want to tempt the zipper!!!

Next is the train.  We wanted something that would delicately A-line to the floor then fall flat like a white liquid with little or no rippling.  IOW, the train would lay flat on the ground.  This meant a group of inserted godets.  More fabulous pictures of the train soon to come from the ceremony.

The tale is how it looks and feels on the bride - she loved it, and it was beautiful on her.

The proud Dad and Bride.

And here is proud auntie zipping up cute niece!!!   If you're on facebook, friend me, there are a smattering of photos coming in...the professional shots are in yet!

I promise there are more to come!

To get this, I had to do a lot of bustling up in various locations that was more of a trial and error effort rather than a planned thought-out effort as I originally planned.

Isn't this always the way....best laid plans and all!

But the end result was pretty nice:

This probably won't be the last of this topic, but it's something I feel very passionate about and it gets very little, if any play - at least not as much as it's worth.

Catching up on my blog reading, it's just plain fun to see all the different details, techniques and methods that home sewists use today.  What's even more fun is to realize that these techniques and details are hardly ever found in RTW. 

So what's new about that?

Well, the very fact that home sewists are creating such beautifully detailed and styled garments that would cost far more, if they could be found in department stores of today. 

I was altering a client's dress and the seams were all detailed with pick-stitching.

The very detail of this was so unusual to me particularly on a print.  I'm used to seeing this all the time on solids and a nice detail on exclusive men's clothing, but not on RTW print dresses, until I got a  look at the price tag.

This is the bottom line (no pun meant) on these types of garments.  And here in lies the detail that we, as home sewists, often add to our garments that make them just a notch (or even more) above RTW. This raises the hair on any RTW fan, but the truth is that as a home sewist and sewing enthusiast, we often have the time to add these special details to our garments that really make them beautiful and look very pricey!

So what's all the purpose of this rattling?  It's just that I think too often we compare our efforts to RTW and more particularly RTW pricing, when this is like comparing apples and oranges, or more pertinently apples and diamonds.

More often than not our home sewist garments are much better made, better fitting and more detailed than RTW, so to compare these with RTW, and particularly the pricing, is not in the same ball park  just not pertinent.

It's probably more appropriate to compare these beautifully made garments with couture and couture pricing.  Go out and price some couture dresses  and ensembles.  After you pick yourself up off the floor, give yourself a pat on the back!

...or even rocket surgery...or is that brain science - oh no matter!!!...On my last post about coordinating...it's a lot simpler than you think.

How to coordinate a wardrobe or your closet isn't all that difficult.  The very first place to start and the most important place to start is with color.

Here's my first blog on this - just a little dabble into color.

Get your color coordinated to your skin color.  This means basically if you have ruddy (a little on the red side), you will tend toward the warm side of the color wheel....

 

if you have more of a porcelain or blue tint to your skin and hair, then you will tend toward the cool side of the color wheel.

Here's a picture of that color wheel just so you can see -

We ALL have colors that we look better in, and although this isn't a law (but it should be), not only does it make your wardrobe work for you and you look great in everything in your closet (wow, talk about a fantasy!), but it makes coordinating everything in your closet easy as pie!!!

OK - I'm going on here, but not to take up too much space, I'm going to have you click below to read all of this.....

Black is the gold standard in classic, and yes we all look good in black, but this needn't be the ONLY classic color you have in your wardrobe.

If you tend toward cool colors, consider gray, slate blue, wine as some of your basic colors.  If you tend toward warm colors, then your taupe, beige, warm greige as some of your classic colors. 

Although these aren't black, for your palate they are perfect, and once your closet is color coordinated, you will be shocked at how much goes together, even combinations that you never though of before...suddenly that shocking pink looks fabulous with the slate blue dress....the wild jade looks scruptious with the brown pants. 

It's like some sort of miracle color coordinating fairy has come down and magically transformed your whole closet into not only something that works for you, but also everything goes together.

OK - maybe not everything...I'd be careful of the chartreuse with the burnt orange, or the vibrant purple with the shocking pink, but most everything you have will tone with most everything else.

Here is my stash closet....I don't even think of buying anything unless it's in that warm side of the color wheel...no blues, navys, shocking pinks.  It's all greens, oranges, browns, taupes, yellows, rusts, and they all coordinate.

And here's the green lady's closet - it's not too much green cause it all looks good on me.  I don't wear navy jackets, grey pants, shocking pink shirts so I don't have them in my closet.

Basically the reason that this gold-toned, warm/taupe dress works so well, is that it tends toward the warm and green side of the color wheel.

Think about this when you're considering your next suit, jacket or major piece.  And don't fall under that trap that, "I have no navy, so therefore I need a navy jacket,"  or "I haven't got a stitch of brown, therefore I need a pair of brown pants!"  That's malarkey, and there's probably a reason why you don't have cerise in your closet, or a reason why you don't have bright green - it's because you don't look good in it. 

So when that old navy jacket or brown pants wears out and you haven't worn them, don't need to replace them - replace them with something that will work.  If you have 2 pairs of black pants, no need to get another one, but replace that old pair with navy or charcoal, or wine pants....if you tend toward the warm side, replace that shocking pink shirt with a silk ivory one, or celery green - those colors are neutral for you and your closet.

Suddenly something happens to your closet.  Everything goes together.  Everything works together.  That new blouse or jacket you made goes with everything even though you don't really think about it that much.  Stay in that color range, and....

....it's magic!

One of her latest blogs is about working the Little Black Dress.

First - color coordinating your skin/hair to your wardrobe is a great way to start making your wardrobe work for you.

Next is thinking about the use of the garment in your lifestyle and closet - does it fit for what you are doing?....do you already have 5 garments like this in your closet?....those sorts of questions.   

For me, I have the occasion I need to upgrade my wardrobe a little and this is how the dress from my niece's wedding works for me in my wardrobe

A fun little BWOF jacket - one in a sueded cotton floral and another in unlined linen - one functions for winter and the other for summer.

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A jacket to go with some fur trim.

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Actually two different jackets - one is pale yellow (left) and light taupe (right) - left is jacket from a pants suit, and the other just a loose jacket.

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This is a little difficult in my wardrobe, even though the oxblood red and the taupey-green are wonderfully coordinating - but wow - I love the way this dress looks with this and will definitely wear this.

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Yep - this is that old BWOF redeux in that linen jacket - a great transition look for when it's warm, but I need to look cool (OK, no smart remarks!!!)

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These are both the same pattern - one is a Christmas version and the other (right) is a corduroy I saw at JoAnn's and just loved it....I knew it would be great in this style.

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Here's one thing that doesn't work.  This is a great pattern and looks delicious with my pants - particularly closely fitting pants, but this looks dowdy - too much covered up and won't work.  The colors are great, but it's the style that prevents this from working.

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Another jacket that matches in front and pockets - I think it's a little easier to see the pockets on this one.  But this jacket doesn't work either.  It's just too long although doesn't look that bad here, but it is.  I probably need to retire this from my wardrobe :-(((  I hate doing this with this one - it's a cotton fabric and works great as a transition jacket!

Hopefully this will prompt you to go through your closet when you're considering a new piece for your wardrobe.  It suddenly makes a huge difference and makes your designing and sewing go a lot further!

Here they are before the service getting ready.

The walked down the outside isles of the church and started singing while the bridal party left the church, then they recessed behind the bridal party singing the entire way. 

It was magnificent.

This was one of the first weddings in the new chapel at my niece's church, and the minister was assured that this was the the best christening it could have had!

There will be video to follow of this most whimsical and serendipitous occasion!

I'm Irish, so my Halloween comes to me from my Irish heritage.  I'm also a graduate of All Saint's School for Girls, and have a great fondness for All Saints Day.

One of my favorite examples of this is the beautiful transition from the ominous sounding "Night on Bald Mountain" to "Ave Maria" in Disney's Classic Fantasia

Isn't YouTube Great!!!

But Halloween is more than this!!!  For we fashionistas, it's a delicious time to relish in complete fashion failure...the Faux Paux Follies....The thongs that have gone awry and other horrible accidents.

I like to think of this as a time of purposely being tacky just so we can get this out of our systems, just in time for the holidays.  Some people don't quite make it past Halloween, but we won't mention names here - just pictures.

So here's my nominations for this years Halloween Hilarious Horrors!  But warning, if you are just a little skittish about visual pollution, please avert your eyes quickly, and it would probably be wise to take the little children into another room before you continue!

There, now, that we're in private...here goes:

John Galliano is a really good designer, and I really don't think he needs to do this sort of thing.  And I like a lot going on just as much as the next person, but this misses the mark - I'm sorry - it's just not pretty - no way.

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Cruella is such a delicious perennial favorite, and Glenn Close played this to the hilt, which made this character even more the Cruella we love to point at and laugh!

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Now I ask you - is this REALLY fashion?

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And how could anyone thing this is even remotely close to stylish?...is there a purpose to this?

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Ooops - a bag lady went wrong.

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Uuuuuh - please - no!

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I'm speechless!

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OK - now that we've gotten that out of our systems...here's to a tasteful holiday season!!!

Enjoy Halloween!

I sort of use interlining and backing interchangeably and they really aren't meant to be used that way.

I think of an interlining as something that is required like behind a sheer fabric - something that will show through to the top side.  But a backing is something that is usually done to add body or stiffness to a fabric. 

However in the case of netting or petticoat I used petticoat as a method to keep my dress from wrinkling.

Here's a close up

I hope you can see that this is netting.

I think of crinoline as being a lot finer

The woven fabric is a lot tighter and smoother

Hopefully you can tell the difference here.

Believe it or not I have a hard time getting crinoline here, but petticoat netting is as easy as pie to come by.  I might use the crinoline if I had access to it, but I just don't have easy access to it.

This is part of that 50's/Mad Men culture, but back in those days, it was common to use petticoat or the netting - the stiff netting (as opposed to illusion or the netting one would use for a veil), as a backing.  The purpose was to keep the garment from wrinkling as most home sewists had very little access to good man-made fibers and fabrics, and there was very little sizing or finishing on fabrics in those days.

While I was working with it, there was a little bit of a rustle to the fabric and netting/petticoat and it alarmed me just a little, cause I didn't want to come down the isle noisier than Scarlet O'Hara!  At the same time, I had committed to using this to see if it worked.  I didn't remember it being noisy when I had used it before and worn it before so it was a little baffling.

But once I finished, the rustle seemed to stop.  Now if you have a full dress, there may be a little rustle, but you probably will have a "petticoat" and that would cause as much rustle as anything that would be used as the backing.

Here's a picture of what the inside looks like

This is easy enough to do, just cut the same pieces as the fashion fabric pieces have been cut from, and pin them together and then sew the pieces together....pin them so that the silk and petticoat are sewn as one.

I guarantee you will be thrilled with this.  It won't entirely stop wrinkling, but there were so many times I was squatting with my whole dress wadded up in my lap, and when I stood up and smoothed the dress out, there was very little evidence of wrinkling - a little, but it was remarkable. 

I'm getting ready to do a ball gown for a client who will be receiving an honor that will be televised locally and this is what I'm going to use for her gown, so that after she has been seated and stands up to accept her reward her dress won't be all wrinkled in the lap area.

Let's not talk about after doing all this work on a beautiful gown and then not having to steam it every 5 seconds or even as often.  This whole idea just gets more and more appealing!

I know you're all dying to know....

I had seen that wonderful #115 out of 4/2009 dress and it had been haunting me, so I knew this would be perfect for this event. 

In the meantime, I had an old jacket that needed to be restyled too update the lines on it, so both of these would be fairly easy to accomplish.

I started out with a bolero that had huge shoulder pads in it and then had to take in that shoulder and side seam.  Most of the time the armscye is so deep in these extended shoulder pad sleeves, that some how you have to make that armscye a lot smaller.

In this case it was made a little simpler in that I had to take in the side seam. 

When you take up the side seam, you naturally make the armscye smaller.  If you want the armscye to remain the same, then you either have to let out the shoulder seam, or raise the armscye to match the sleeve head.

So this is what I did.  I really didn't need to change the sleeve head, but I did raise it up on the shoulder line enough to take up for the amount of fabric I lost in the armscye when I took up the side seam.

This sounds complicated, but all I really had to do was take up the side seam, then on my mannequin I just pinned in the sleeve head to where I wanted it and voila....

Here is is, and a much nicer and less obnoxious shoulder line.

This fabric came from Italy from a trip my parents took in the late 90's so to wear it to my niece's wedding was extra special.

It just so happened I had a nice piece of iridescent silk taffeta in my fabric stash that I pulled out the day before (yep, you guessed it - I did all this the day before and day off including a bridal shower!!!).

But I did something else extra to this dress to try out something I hadn't done in years.  In the olden days, we used to use petticoat fabric to keep our dresses from wrinkling.  It worked, but for some reason it's something that didn't last through time.

But I tried it on this dress, - sitting in the sanctuary, and at the reception, but wanting to look fresh for when we were up and down the isle or just whenever - I do have a rep to maintain and all.  And here is the dress after being worn all night long, up and down, in and out of car, moving stuff all around, squatting, bending over, sitting down at the church, reception and it just hung overnight, put it on the mannequin the next day and snap - here's how it looks after all that....

Remember, this is silk, that wrinkles at the drop of a hat.  Frankly even I was surprised, and it's brought back an old technique that I had forgotten and works beautifully.

It looked a lot less matronly on me at the time - I promise pictures of me in the dress from the wedding will be forthcoming - you won't be able to get out of this!!!

For the rehearsal dinner for my niece's wedding we had a lot of fun.

My niece had tried on a wedding dresses when we were looking for something for her to walk down the isle in and we looked at the line of this back and both thought it was wonderful.  She tried it on and it looked elegant, but was just a little too bare for her wedding and a little too bare for church, but still had great lines.

Then I found this lace at Fabrique and it all came together....we would use the lace for the backing, and keep the dress line the same.  The dress was still elegant and evening-ish, and appropriate for church and elegant for evening.

We decided that the neckline needed a little something at the top, and me always wanting to make things a little more convertible, made them so they could be removed.

Obviously, this was on my mannequin and the dress did fit my niece not me (so excuse the zipper not closing all the way and the top closes nicely).  However you get a real good idea about the beauty of the lace and how appropriate it was for this dress.

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To me the real magic of this whole dress is that with a jacket it becomes an everyday casual dress. 

Without the jacket:

...it becomes this va-va-voom cocktail special dress!

I wish I wasn't so picky....the bridal gown I designed for my niece has a particularly voluminous train which we both love, but this does present certain problems when bustling up.

To me there is one purpose to the bustle, so the bride can dance and move around at the reception without having to contend with the train.  This means she can do a 180 turn and not step on her own skirt.  This does not mean that the hem is completely lifted from the floor.  As a matter of fact, the bustle is done correctly when part of the back drags the back.  The reason is that to lift the whole hem off the floor would require that part of the hem be at mid-calf length which would look irregular at best and just plain bad at worst!

Traditionally there is a thread loop sewn into the center back seam and another on either seam on either side of the back seam.  These are hooked over the outside - usually at the point in the lower waist in back.  These are the traditional English bustles.

But my niece's dress doesn't lend itself to this sort of bustle...so we're doing a French Bustle.

This is where the train is tucked under the skirt and held up with a ribbon or hooks on the inside of the skirt.  This isn't exactly what we will be doing, but we are using a French bustle.

There's also an Austrian bustle which as you might suspect looks like an Austrian shade, hence the name (yeah, I know, it's a duh moment, but I'm still on drugs from my cold, so am having a lot of those!)

I know - why no pictures of the dress....I'm funny that way....as soon as she marches down the isle...loads of 'em....but I like doing it this way.

As I mentioned the design of our train, made this a little more difficult than just sewing some thread loops and hooks on the inside of the dress.

For one - I don't want to put a hook or loop on a part that is not a seam...the stitching will show on the outside.

The other is that I have to do this symmetrical...this is where my perfectionism comes in.

And then there's no way to make sure this is correct other than with the tape and spreading the train out to make sure that it's all working. 

It came out great....but there's one more technique I used here that really makes this work.

There are times when you just can not avoid it.  You must put either a hook or thread loop in a place that the threads will show on the front side. 

Yes, this is terribly tiny....approximately 1/4" wide, but just wide enough for me to make a loop and catch all layers of the dress without the thread ticks showing and this looks like a minute decoration.  Actually this a piece of lace from the veil.  But this is an excellent solution to the bustle for my niece's dress.

And I also used a lot of pins - ugh!!!  this takes forever, but it is the only way I know to guarantee that the seams will not only go together well, but will press very nicely.

This is one of my favorite fabric combinations.

It's hard to see here, but the lively (OK, that should be electric) surface of the charmeuse shows through a little through the organza and the satin-faced organza shines as well.  It makes a lovely show.

OK - this isn't red, but it shows how delicate and sheer the lace is....I can't wait to show you what I'm doing with this!

But I did decide to just give into the dang thing and rest, AND you will be glad to know I haven't seen many clients as I'm not interested in passing this around this year particularly.

The big problem (aside from not creating) is that my poor Siggy wants to go for his daily walk:

What a poor pathetic look, but I ain't going out in that cold rainy day with my noth stopped up!!!

Alas, he'll survive - just barely!

The next is I've been finishing my nieces rehearsal dinner dress.  

Oh well, I'll do that tomorrow!!!  After I sleep!!!

• is this clear - or is just plain boring?
• does this make sense - is this in a usable format
• does it serve you?....IOW, would this help you select a fabric (either by directly making suggestion or by process of elimination)
• and of course any other helpful comments.

It's really hard to have an exchange or conversation on these things, and that's what I really enjoy - hearing back from you and then exchanging info, ideas and idiosyncrasies!!!

So toward that end, I started a Facebook Group - OKC Sewing University.  It's not really a "school" it's more of an exchange of information that will be organized and available for easy viewing and asking questions - even if the subject is months or years old.

Here's the link to go there, and you'll want to sign up so that you can get updates.  For a while there will be redundant info here and on the group, but you'll see it's much easier to exchange comments over there than in a blog format.

Holy Cow - don't know if it's the shock of cold weather (and welcomed at that) or just the fall doldrums (finally recovered from my major trek Eastward - although I went West to get East and I'll leave it at that!).  So it's Anne over at Gorgeous Fabrics to the rescue!!!

So now without further adoooo....ta-da.....

As a youngin' I would have picked Sally Bowles (in Cabaret) - so full of life and vim and vigor....

 

But then Sally grew up ....

Yikes!!! I don't think I like that!

And in my 30's I should have been portrayed by some great doyenne of style like Martha's of New York, but alas I can't find that actress...maybe....

 

....or maybe even.....

And no dog letters please...I'm not wanting to kill 101 Dalmations...I love dogs....it's just the whole idea about this picture is so hilarious to me...the dog, the lady (or whatever that concoction is), the hair (I've had hair days like this and I did not think it was presentable), the look (do we need to do a serious intervention with those necklaces), and of course her version of a Chanel jacket (well, OK maybe that part is passable, which makes it even more hilarious!)
    

So at last here I am in my 6th decade, and I think that this would do me the best:

OK-  I've been a little remiss in posting lately...My poor Sooners (I'm still in morning).  But they will bounce back - it's just so sad to see them loose.

But I haven't been sitting around doing nothing....composed a little slide show from our wonderful trip.  I'm still enjoying the memories, which is what traveling is all about!

It's so much fun to see someone else's take on creativity and especially the refashioning of something.  I'm not hot on that put-a-little-ric-rac-on-something-and-call-it-a-redo!!!!

The girls at Fabrique in Dallas are some pretty amazing and gifted gals.  One of them will even custom paint your fabric for you....she did some yummy green (remember I'm the Queen of Green), for me with some great fishies on it.

An iridescent green no less with these beautiful fish - as yet, it's so special, I haven't figured out exactly what I'm going to do with it, but I know I'll love it!!

But this is really fun:

And lest you think you have to place all those stones exactly correctly and go through eons of time to get it done - oh, no - they have all sorts of short-cuts that make this not only fun, but quick - just my sort of thing!

I love the idea of this little jewel.

Here's the link to the post, but it's so full of great ideas, that it should be three or four posts. 

Enjoy!

I only had a couple of hours to fabric shop in all of Denpasar (the capital of Bali), and this should be reported to the proper authorities for cruel and unusual punishment - err...that's torture, but that's another story.

Here's a pic of the fabric....

And yes, lest you think all those neutral colors are taupe - nope, they are green, which is what originally drew me to the fabric. The other was the hand.  it had a beautiful smooth/silky hand that only comes from long-staple.

It was a bargain at $2,600.00 (Rp)....now let's see was I supposed to divide that by 1,000 or 100!!!!

As of this morning about 6:30 a.m. (CST), I've been traveling this ol' planet for about 6 decades. I was born on Michaelmas, which I think is pretty amazing, and given the name of the patron saint of embroiderers and needle workers - also pretty amazing!

What I'm most proud of is that I've found my passion.  So many of us go through life without a passion, and I think this is one thing we sewists share - a passion for not only fashion, looking good, but also for putting things together.  There seems to be a drive to do better, learn more, practice our art and craft better and to become better than we thought we could.

The best way to celebrate was to give you each something that really drives you and puts the 'light behind your eyes" like a passion and empowerment does.  I use those words a lot around here, and I don't use them lightly or frivolously.

Think of sewing as empowering in that you are now free of others making decisions for you.  Sometimes, you can use some of their expertise at first, but after you have developed your own style, you can do what you want and still remain "in style" but with your own style.  This is so much more fun and elegant.  Look at Jackie K - she had her own style, so did Audrey Hepburn - both of them used designers, but they chose what they would look like and then used the designer to help them toward that look.  Granted we don't have the public persona they do, but that doesn't mean we can't have our own style.

I don't know about you, but I can't cal Karl L. up and say - "Karl, dear, I need something for my next diving trip - do something that exemplifies my style, will you dahrling! - Thanks ever so! Ta-ta!"  Although Karl might think this is a somewhat hilarious call, I'm not sure what I would get!!!!  But, I can dial up my own designer (me!) and get my own look for the event I want and not only look the way that I want to look, but look the way I look best.

Another thing about me is that I bridge two very different worlds...I have this active, sportswoman-ish, casual, natural style, and then I have this other formal, dress-to-the-nines gala, killer-drop-dead gorgeous style, both of which do not match or go together, but I can keep both wardrobes because I don't have to rely upon one or two or a cadre of designers or names or stores to supply me with clothes that exemplify my style.  Which by the way, we all bridge different worlds, and wouldn't it be nice to have wardrobes that can function in both those worlds, without having to go to a whole raft of designers here and there to find something for this part of my life, and now something else for that part of my life.

I'm totally empowered - I get to choose what I want to wear, how I want to make it up.  This is what I mean by being empowered by your sewing.  Because you're doing more than just sewing - the very act of making up a garment is designing - and I don't want to hear any, "Pshaws or yeah right's" out there....you have picked out the fabric, you have made a decision about the trim(s), buttons, top-stitching or not, and other decorative features to the garment which are all the decisions a designer has to make.  As you graduate to more and more garments outside your comfortable range, you will be making more designer-like decisions about your clothes.  You have a vision of a blouse, skirt, dress, jacket - and you want to see that vision to reality - that is empowerment!

So my birthday wish to you is to think outside the box, press yourself a little to do something that you might not normally do, and do something that you've always wanted. 

Take these projects in small steps and do not worry about the problems that may or may not come up, but work on the problems in front of you now.  Now, this doesn't mean that you don't think on down the road, you do, but what I mean is don't get overwhelmed by all the things that you will have to do to make a garment, just know that you will do them step-by-step.

Now - go get 'em!!!!!

There are lots of ways to fit a skirt and lots of styles.  And of course the style defines a lot of the fit, but starting with a simple straight skirt, these are some of the basic fitting lines.

This isn't that difficult to understand.  You want to fit the waist, upper hip (just below the waist) to hip without it looking funny, jagged or contrived.  The darts in the waist help that - this means that the side seam doesn't have to do all the fit and have to be cut with an extreme curve in it.  You can add a waistband if that's your comfort level, or face the skirt, whichever you like best.  Fitting on the center front is not recommended here as this keeps the skirt clean and classic in front which goes with the style of this skirt.  A straight skirt is about as classic as you can get and you don't want to get too tricky on this.

There's another way to keep from having to cut a deep curve on the side seam:

You can have a yoke to the skirt.  This yoke is curved and the skirt is curved a little less, so that you get a wonderful fit with this technique.

For fitting a skirt, the first picture is really the classic version, but the second version makes a nice alternative, and remember don't get too carried away and think that you get scared of this.  Take this one step at a time, and do not get discouraged if your first alteration doesn't work - keep at it.  This is the way all sewists learned how to do this. 

Remember that it is possible to fit all body shapes and sizes.  There are issues with every body shape and once you understand what it takes to fit yourself, you're home free - try some experimenting and let your imagination run with this.

Enjoy!

First, do not get discouraged with this fitting process - it is a process and it takes a while to get this right, but once you get it right, you can use that information for all future alterations.  Don't make this hard, it just takes time sometimes.  Even me, as many bodies and types I have fitted, sometimes I will run into a problem for one reason or another, fabric is not cooperating,  client changes shape, things just aren't working - don't give up - keep going, there IS a solution to every fitting problem (well except for the ones that want to defy gravity and other physical laws).

Second, calmly think through your situation and more than likely you will work through the solution to your fitting areas.

I really like this making a bed analogy....think about this - if you were making the bed which would be the muslin of your body for a sway back, what would you have to take up?....where would you have to smooth out the wrinkles?....If you totally fit the back, then you should have more fabric in front - a wrinkle.  How would you smooth that out?....you would most likely pinch it out.  Do the alteration to the muslin and try it on again.  Are there other wrinkles, is it smooth?  Work back and forth till you get that line just right.

I don't like making this complicated and don't try to out think this too much.  It's pretty much like making a bed, and work from that frame of mind, keep it simple and be tenacious and you will work through to your fitting solutions.

Good luck!