Tuesday 30 December 2014

Fashion Icons

So I went to the Fashion Icons exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia. This exhibition has been brought over from Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris. 90 pieces showcasing fashion from the 1940s to the 1990s. What can I say, other than fan-bloody-tastic. It felt like a dream walking through clothing designed by some of the most famous people in the world: Chanel, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent. I did find myself struggling to even breathe. As I progressed through, things improved so I could really focus on design and construction elements. Sigh! There was so much to see. At times I thought my brain would burst! How to keep it all in there. Whilst not every piece got me excited, I could appreciate the work put into it all. The fabrics (or plastic or metal or glass!) were phenomenal.

I did want to take a few pieces home with me. Ok, I would have taken any of it home with me, but there were some extra-special pieces. The beading on the jacket of the evening suit by Yves Saint Laurent (black on pale blue velvet) was divine. The jacket was quite fitted and was paired with a short full black skirt - so typical of the 1980s. It took me back 😊.

The ball gowns were amazing. For me, this is the quintessential component of French fashion. The first gown in the exhibition was a 1948 Dior ball gown with huge amounts of tuille in the skirt (I think someone said 90 metres!!!). Just amazing. The piece is exhibited on a mannekin but with a wonderful photo showing how it could have been worn at the time. Just beautiful!

But my take home piece was the Chanel gown from 1996 right at the end of the exhibition. And typically for me, it was the most expensive piece of the exhibition 😉. But of course that wasn't why I loved it. Firstly the fabric - gold (literally) beading and threads stitched onto black velvet in a pattern that mimics panelling in Chanel's own apartment in Paris. Then the sillouette - fitted bodice and a straight skirt over the hips and to the knees and then flared. And finally, construction. One of the best parts of the exhibition is that you can see 360 degrees around almost every piece. I spent a good deal of time, especially this piece, with my neck craning to see details of the back or side or hem. The beading details were breathtaking.

I picked up a copy of the catalogue so I can flick through it for years to come. A glance at the photo will bring back memories and the written content includes a wealth of technical details as well as interesting stories about the designer, the collection or fashions of the time.

The exhibition is on for another two months. I plan to go again. I wonder what elements I can incorporate into my own sewing.

Tuesday 11 November 2014

Vogue 1071 #3

I blogged about cutting this shirt out a while ago.  And I sewed it up a while ago too. Plenty of other things to do other than blog :)

One thing I didn't blog about was my pattern placement, or lack thereof. I was limited due to the fabric meterage and, to be honest, didn't really think about it too much. But now I've made it up, I've realised that I could have done better. Check it out.


This is view B of Vogue 1071. I cut out a straight size 12, as per my previous versions of view A. I really enjoyed making it up. The fabric is just as fabulous to make up as cut out. I used many of the techniques developed over my sassy librarian blouses, including understitching the facing and easing the sleeves. I also got to use some of my favourite buttons ever, bought of course from The Button Bar.


I struggled a little with the rear neck edging. I followed the instructions but the final look looked wrong - too wide, which meant that it wouldn't sit flat. So I rolled it over again and it looks much better. There is a little distortion and gathering at the neckline but it's not too obvious. I think I've been pretty successful. Some of my topstitching could have been better but I received compliments the very first time I wore it. One of colleagues asked me where I had bought it and didn't believe that I'd made it :)



Socks!

I try to knit a pair of socks every year. Our mild climate doesn't require any more than that. This year I thought I'd give a crocheted pair a go. I had found some sock weight nylon-wool blend at my local Spotty's called Regia's. I searched for their patterns and found knit and crochet ones. I picked a toe up. My last pair were toe up and I liked working them up. This pattern was pretty straightforward - rounds of single crochet with the heel inserted. I made one up, fitting as I went and then I started the second. And... meh. I wasn't excited. I think it's a mixture of the variegated yarn being lost in the crochet and the lack of stretchiness.

But I still had the "sock bug". I still wanted a pair of socks. So I pulled out my dpns and searched Ravelry for a suitable pattern. I took a moment to come up with a few "wants" - not too complex so I can relax, not too complex so the self striping stands out (hmmmmmm... is there a theme developing), toe up knitting (I wanted to practice this cast on again), a loose top bind off. And the winner is ... Lacery by Michelle Hunter.

I started knitting whilst travelling for work and spent a couple of quiet nights getting started. This was the perfect project for travelling. And once I got started (and travelled some more) I just kept going. Ravelry notes here.

Sunday 21 September 2014

Second Sassy - finally!

For the first time in months I feel that I have enough head space to get back into regular sewing time. I even started thinking about UFOs. I currently have two sewing projects hibernating and they are beginning to play on my mind. So this week I put on my big girl pants and faced one. My second Sassy Librarian Blouse.

I completed my first SLB last year. I love this pattern. L. O. V. E. The neckline and cute Peter Pan collar, the vents that aren't darts and just enough shaping to stop it from being boxy and yet not fitted. And then there are all the options - sleeves or sleeveless, tucks at the front, a cute bow at the front opening.

For my second one, I decided to have a go at the tucks and sleeveless bound armscye. I also made the collar and armhole binding is in a solid contrasting fabric to the patterned main fabric. I added 1" in length. I'm a bit long waisted. A little between the bust dart and armscye and a bit more between the bust dart and vents. But I did forget to increase the length of the front facing. Duh!I


I refreshed my knowledge on pleated fronts and bound armscyes on the Craftsy platform. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed Christine's style. What a great smile!

The blouse came together really well. I motored through the tucks. And then....

Stopped...

Fast forward 18 months (yes, really that long). I had pulled a heap of stuff out of my craft cupboard and was looking at the pattern pieces - all cut out and ready to go. There were fewer reasons to put it all back away than to get to and finish it. So I did. Using a pattern for a second time is a bit like riding a bike; you never forget. It did help that I'd written copious notes during make #1. But I did re-review (is this a word?) binding the armscye on Craftsy. I made up the collar and faced the shirt. I found making the collar and manipulating the facings so much easier this time.

Using different fabric for the collar and binding did present a small challenge. I think that the armscye binding could have been a little longer. The binding fabric wasn't as flexible as the main fabric.

All in all I'm really pleased with the way SLB#2 turned out. I do have fabric for #3. Hopefully it won't be 18 months before I finish this one. :)

Wednesday 17 September 2014

Ice skating on butter...

I've started on another version of my current fave pattern Vogue 1071 but this time view B (the picture on the right). Main differences are set in sleeves and buttons down the front (not back).

I've had this beautiful fabric in my stash for a little while courtesy of those fab girls at The Drapery. I went in looking for something else completely, walked past their remnants basket and spied this. It's from the Lou Lou Thi collection by Anna Maria Horner. Sigh! I couldn't leave it there. It needed a good home. Take a moment to check this fabric out. The pattern is delightful - sunflowers! And the quality of the fabric is breathtaking (yes, I gasped when I touched it!). It felt like butter. 


I spent last night layout out and tracing the pattern pieces. The usual size 12. This pattern is verging on vintage and needs to be looked after. Tonight I had enough time to cut out the fabric before dinner. But X had his homework spread out over the dining table which is where I usually cut out. I got inventive. The kitchen island bench was empty - cleared in readiness for dinner. I estimated that there would be enough length but maybe not width. What the heck! Have a go. Wide enough. Just. 

So I laid out the fabric, positioned the pieces and started to cut. Wait a minute... Why haven't I done this before? The pins slid over the granite. No sticking at all! Then I started cutting. It was like skating on butter.

Tuesday 16 September 2014

Vogue 1071

I'm slowly developing a few TNT patterns. And Vogue 1071 (view A - the one on the left in the picture below) is probably the first one - almost without realising it. Very occasionally the fitting gods smile down on me and they did with this pattern. When I first made it after "re-finding" this pattern in my mum's stash, the only mod I made was to open the neck up. The original is too tight. The rest of the fit in size 12 was just fine. This is a semi-fitted top so it doesn't have to be perfect.

Last weekend I found a spare day (I know it seems strange :)) and I needed a bit of stress relief. It has a been a very busy time. This pattern is vey simple - two pieces. The arms and bodice are one pattern piece. There are facings but I used bias binding for both the neck and sleeves. I had some cotton with pink flowers on cream just waiting for something to inspire me. There was a lightbulb moment when I saw the wider neckline on the Butterick 2444 and I knew that I wanted to try something similar with Vogue 1407. For my first make, I made up the back as two pieces with all seven buttons but for this one, I realised that I did have quite enough fabric for the buttoned back so I contemplated cutting the back on the fold (I never use the buttons on the original to get it on and off). But I couldn't quite stretch the fabric that far so I cut the back with a seam. And no, no pattern matching happening at all.



All in all the top took an afternoon to make. I wore it the next day to work. I love wearing me-mades to work.

This is a great top for work or casual. I am contemplating my next one in a sheer silk of some kind. I think this would be a good pattern to work on my technique for sheers.

Saturday 30 August 2014

OAL2014

This has been soooooo much fun! I was actually a bit torn... which do I start... dress or cardigan... cardigan or dress. So I started BOTH!

The Myrna. This is my second Andi Satterlund knit. My first, a Miette, is in very high rotation this winter, so this OAL's timing is perfect. I love how quickly 10ply knits up. And the Bendigo 10ply is a dream to knit. I spent half my time patting the wool. The colour is a little bit like butter and for some reason that's what I think of when I'm touching it. I did have a moment with the keyhole in the back. It's shape didn't look so good after knitting, but after finishing, I have to say it looks fine.



I was checking out Lauren's posts on the OAL dress when she snuck in one about stabilising button bands with petersham ribbon. What a good idea. There's nothing worse than having a fab cardi ruined by the dreaded GAPING BETWEEN THE BUTTONHOLES. So I went hunting for some butter-coloured ribbon and stabilised those bands. Very happy with the result. Minor issue with the size of button holes made. Note to self: when using irregular (flower-shaped) buttons, make the size of the holes just a little bit bigger. Whilst I can open the buttons, it's not an easy job. Oh well, I'll just have to wear it all day. Can you tell? I love it. Love. It.


Simplicity 2444. I've not made this dress before. This is a wearable muslin. This fabric is not what I would usually pick but nice enough and the lemon colour matches my buttery wool. The double bodice darts intrigued me and whilst full skirts aren't my "thing" I thought that a pleated skirt would be worth trying.

So I was making this up and, because I like doing this kind of thing, I hand basted all my skirt pleats down about 1 1/2 inch from the waistband. I still had the basting in when I first tried it on. A little bit of pulling over the hips, but wow! I really liked the silhouette. As a rectangle, any assistance in waist definition  is good (one reason that I generally make straight rather than full skirts). I usually end up looking like a box when I try on gathered or pleated full skirts. This was a nice compromise. But because it pulled and it was just hand basting, I took out the basting. Nice, but not as good as before. So I made the closed pleats permanent by stitching them down. Much better. There is also some gaping at the neckline. I've read that others have had the same problem. I might slip a couple of little darts in around the neck if I get around to it later, but I will make changes to the pattern. I will use this bodice again. Don't know if my wardrobe will stretch to another full skirt but I definitely use the bodice again.

I actually finished both the cardi and the dress in time for the grand reveal but then got sick and had to travel for work so either didn't feel like photos or wasn't anywhere near my new outfit to take them. So instead, here's my own personal reveal. Better late than never.

Friday 29 August 2014

Book Week for The Princess

Do your kids participate in any book week activities? Mine do (or have done) with a parade at school.  I think this year was my 9th one but my first in a while where only one was involved. X is now too big (and too cool) for this kind of thing. But The Princess is still right into it. We spent a week gathering ideas. Which book? Which character? She decided on Sophie from Sophie's Misfortune. This is a lovely book by Comtesse de Ségur written in 1858 for her grandchildren which has been translated recently by Adelaide's own Stephanie Smee. So what does Sophie wear?


I spent a bit of time checking out the story and more time checking out the cover (and any other cover versions I could find online). Not much there beyond a white or light coloured dress.

So artistic interpretation was definitely an option. I have invested in a few girls patterns lately, including Simplicity 1457. A very versatile pattern. Options for length, sleeves and neckline. And a cute little bag included.

After much consultation with The Princess, we landed on a lovely poplin with a light embroidered pattern overlaying a tiny red and mint strawberry pattern. From our local Spotties. Cap sleeves and round neck. I made up a 12 which is still a little big, but maxed out the length. A few reviews mentioned it was on the short side. The length was ok in the end. 

Nothing special in the construction. The yoke is fully faced, which could be overkill but given I was using a light weight fabric I went with it. It looked fine. I had a zen moment hemming the dress. I decided to do it by hand. There is something calming about working a hem with a fine needle and thread (I am contemplating more hand sewing - don't know how I'll fit it in though). I bought mint coloured ribbon to match for her hair, but ended up embellishing the front with a bow too. I think it's a nice touch.


Importantly, The Princess is dead chuffed with the result. Lots of compliments on the day and she is already contemplating when she can wear the dress again (although it's spent a little too long in the ironing basket since). 

Monday 21 July 2014

Jeans refashion skinnier

So I've had this pair of cord jeans with animal print! For some time now. They're from a couple of years ago and haven't got much air time. I like them but... you know... Near enough but not quite good enough. I found them again a couple of weeks ago during a camping clothes clean out. They nearly ended up rock climbing and sitting around campfires. But in a moment of inspiration, I put them aside on the "repurpose/refashion" pile. And then they started to whisper to me "Come on, you want to wear us again. Get out your favourite pair of skinny jeans and cut us down to fit. You know you want to. And we've leopard print too." So tonight after finishing a current project (trying to cut down on these too:)) I picked them up again, grabbed my fave skinnies and got started.



Very soon after I started seriously checking out other people's sewing blogs I discovered  Miss P who is a fabulous refashioner. Check her out. She has a great post on quick and easy jeans modification, which I followed closely.

The photos are terrible - grainy night time doesn't do the leopard print justice. But I'm really happy with the outcome. The jeans have stopped whispering. They're know they will have an outing this week.



Monday 2 June 2014

At the starting blocks...

Today I officially begin the 2014 OAL. I ordered that 10ply Luxury from Bendigo Woollen Mills I mentioned last time and it's arrived. I've put the fabric and wool together. Check it out. I'm buzzing!

Today's job is to draft the pattern pieces. I will need to modify the waist and I will pay attention in case I need to make a potential swayback adjustment. Hopefully that's all I need.


Wednesday 28 May 2014

I'm still here... And pretty excited

I know, I've not posted for a while (ok not for ages). It's not that I've not being doing stuff, it's just that other parts of my life have required my attention. I'm hoping to rectify this in the next few months, but in the meantime, be reassured that I'm continuing to create.

So onto the excitement bit... Woo hoo! Andi from Untangling Knots and Lauren from Lladybird have organised an Outfit Along. What an awesome idea! Andi has released a new cardigan pattern Myrna. She will host a knit along. Having just made Andi's Miette, I'm dead keen to try out this new pattern.

Lauren will host a sew along using Simplicity 1803. Now, this is not on my to do list or in my pattern stash and honestly I don't think that this is a pattern that I would normally use. But that doesn't matter. You can make any dress. So I've chosen Simplicity 2444. Fuller skirts are not usually my thing, but I want to try the pleats.

I'm hopeful that I'll be able to complete everything in the required time, before the end of July. I have some leave coming up and this would be the perfect time to knit up a new cardi.  There's also plenty of time to try out the dress pattern.

Off to find some fabric for (hopefully) a wearable muslin and match it with some 10ply, probably from Bendies  I have fallen in love with their sunflower shade.

Saturday 1 March 2014

My Miette is finished!

In amongst Christmas and school holidays and not one but two heat waves (definition at least 5 days with maximum daily temperature of greater than 35 degrees Celsius) I managed to finish My Miette! This is one good pattern. And I'm very very happy! 10ply chartreuse (!) wool. Check out my effort on Kollabora - I'm new to it and  having a play. A few notes also on Ravelry here.


Thursday 27 February 2014

My Meringue

So I've tried to work through my tension issues. And I think I'm winning. But in the meantime I have a bunch of UFOs that are demanding attention. Add the now-9-year-old Princess demanding sewing machine time and things are getting interesting.

I started back on my Meringue from the Colette Sewing Handbook. With lining. I made up the lining and shell and then with wrong sides facing, treated them like one. I slipped the lining inside the skirt shell and pieced it with the facing. I really liked Sarai's steps for attaching the facing around the zipper. Very tidy and straightforward. I struggled to see her description in my head but her excellent descriptions carried me through. The will now be my go to process for "how to insert a facing around a zipper".

I also attempted my first invisible zip with a proper foot. Yippee! Apart from a small amount of puckering around the zipper base (truly two stitches only) it was a great job. Can you hear the huge sigh of relief from where you are? So many bloggers have written about their successful invisible zipper experiences. The "magic" moment for me was using my new invisible zipper foot. I have had unsuccessful (and unblogged) attempts at inserting an invisible zipper using either the standard foot or a zipper foot. I was never confident about where the needle should be positioned. That's the great thing about the invisible zipper foot - it takes the guess work out of where things should be. Now I know how it "feels" I would consider trying one without the specialty zipper foot, but let's be honest, why would I bother when things are soooooo much easier with the right equipment [aside: I'm now seriously considering other specialty feet...].



Zipper with just a little pucker at the base
I do have to mention Sarai's procedure for sewing a scalloped edge. Noice! The template to shape the scallops is simple but smart. I was really pleased with the way that the scallops turned out. Also the trimming suggestions - a little extra at the points between the scallops.

Scallops!
I finished everything off apart from the lining hem. I left that for a couple of days in case there was any stretch. And then a simple hem a good inch above the highest point of the scallop. I find putting lining hems too close to shell hems ends up with another hem (on the lining) being required. I chose a narrow zigzag which is good for fray-able fabric like rayon lining (turn up lining seam allowance, pin, iron, narrow zigzag close to the hem and trim off excess seam allowance).

Narrow zig-zag hem. Still a few tension issues here. 

In my first post on this skirt I did mention concerns about size and they were warranted. The skirt is too big - not ridiculously so - but enough that it is not a good fit on me. A-line skirts are not usually my favourite look so I think I might hand this skirt on. I have a friend in mind who I think would both love it and look great in it.

This was still a great project for me. My first pattern from the Colette Handbook. My first invisible zipper. Inserting the lining. Trying a scalloped hem. And using fabric from my stash.

Ta da!

Friday 31 January 2014

Making bias binding

I decided that my self drafted peasant blouse required it's own bias. The fabric pattern was far too unique and varied to attempt to match with anything made commercially. Solid bias would have been awful. Plus I have managed to acquire two new bias making tools (these from Clover).

I did have the additional challenge of having very limited amounts of fabric. Piecing would be required. So I did the obligatory research and discovered some useful tutorials here and here. I also took the time to review the instructions that came with the tools (is this too obvious?).

Anyways, I still managed to stuff up the fabric joins. Some were the "right way" and some were the "wrong way".  Luckily the length between the rights and wrongs were sufficient to have seams facing the same way. Extra luckily, it's pretty hard to find the difference between the sides when there's just barely 1/2" to scrutinise. Even better, there is over 3m left and, yes, there are some interesting seams.

I've officially commenced a bias stash!

Wednesday 29 January 2014

Self drafted peasant blouse - Part 2

Very late post. I finished this in November!

So I've pulled one of my favourite tops apart (read about this process here). Now I'm going to make a new one!

I ironed each piece so I could identify symmetrical and mirror image pieces. I contemplated creating new paper pattern pieces but decided to just use the original fabric pieces. This worked well - no movement like paper patterns. The original also had a woven stripe so the grain line is obvious.

I've had some vintage (70s I think) brown/back/cream cotton complete with paisleys in my stash for a little while and knew that it would look fab as a peasant top. Additional challenges were less meterage than I remembered and it's very narrow (a smidge over 90 cm) which  makes pattern piece placement a challenge. Also the pattern is non-symmetrical across the 90cm. InitIally this troubled me - the centre should be symmetric, shouldn't it? Shouldn't it? Ummmm, no. It doesn't. What a liberating statement! Woo hoo! It's not symmetric around the centre fold on either the front or the back. But that's ok. I'm happy with it and that's what counts.

The fabric is quite sheer but not slippery so only tension issues (what else!). 

I referred very closely to the deconstruction notes (in reverse!) and managed an acceptable copy of the original.
See, not symmetric!

A few learnings:
  • Whist similar, the weight of the copy fabric is lighter and you can tell from the drape. The top is actually slightly A-line.
  • Peasant tops with at least 3/4 length sleeves are good. 1/2 sleeves are a bit short (but still ok)
  • I need to practice faced gathered necklines. This is too gathered.

Sunday 26 January 2014

Enough already!

I commit to not buying any new fabric, apart from lining or interlining, until I have at least sewn my planned list for 2014. 

I commit to not buying new patterns unless they are discounted and are on my "list".



Thursday 23 January 2014

Planning some more

It's funny how home and work life can collide. I have just finished a bunch of reviews of 2013 at work. It's interesting work. Now it's done, I can finish off my planning for the year. And at the same time, I have felt the need to have a think about planning my creative activities. So maybe a little reflection of 2013 is necessary here too. I posted in September about Summer sewing plans. So how have I gone?
  • Black silky shirt (a Taffy maybe...)
  • Black capri pants (I would like to try a Burda pattern) Burda 7068 blogged here
  • Suit 
  • Casual jacket (By Hand London)
  • Peasant top (self drafted from an old favourite) done! Blogged here
  • Knit top
  • A summer frock that fits! (Pastille by Colette)
Given my machine tension issues and the fact that I've almost finished my Miette cardigan, I'm quite happy with my progress.

I've also done a toile for my Pastille (yet to be blogged) and I'm very happy with the result so far.

So what's next? Does this list still stand?

Thursday 2 January 2014

Black Burda Pants

The last piece I finished in 2013 was a pair of black ankle-length pants in black stretch cotton sateen. I used Burda 7068 - a semi fitted pant with side zip, rear darts and front pleats. I used the wider waistband (view A) but shorter length (view B).

I decided to cut out a size 14. I'm usually a 12 but I've not used a burda pant pattern before. My measurements are larger than a 12 in the waist but less than a 12 in the hips. But my last pants experience ended up too small and is now languishing In the cupboard.

I checked the fit using the Sandra Betzina trick of machine basting the side seams before adding the waistband and zipper and trying them on inside out to check the fit [best fitting idea ever - I'll be using that one. I ended up taking from 1.5cm to 3cm in on both inside and outside  leg - most at the hip.
This isn't a big deal given that I'd upped a size and used stretch fabric.

I'm pretty happy with the result. There is some pulling at the bottom of the front pleat but not significant. These will do great service for work and replace a pair that are just about trashed.

The only other modification was for a sway waist - increased width of darts at back and took a small dart in the back waistband.

Poor light and crappy camera so there's not too much detail