Slow Sewing

My inspiration for this top was taken from the cover of Vogue Australia in November 2005, which my computer insists upon showing side-ways.  Most of all I loved the colour and I kept my eye out for something similar over the next few years.  I thought this piece of silk charmeuse was similar, but away from the flouro lights of the shop, it is greener than I wanted.

The original dress is backless, but I made a shell top with cut-away armholes, hoping for a similar effect in a more wearable form.

I started with out-of-print Vogue 2683, a DKNY shell top, cut on the bias with princess panelling.
- I eliminated the back zipper and made a front slit, bound with bias strips. 
- I made the neck wider and lower
- I changed the shape of the armholes to be more cut-away
- I inserted bias strips in the princess panel seam-lines and added an extra bias stripdiagonally from the top of the back princess line to the bottom of the front princess line.
- I added a flounce at the front.  First of all I wanted to use 2 flounces.  Then I decided that wide bias strips would be better, but I didn't have enough fabric left after making the flounces.  Then I modified one of the original flounces so that the width of the flounce changes from top to bottom.
- the bias binding on the neckline is not turned under and extends to form a tie.
- I used a narrow hem on the bottom edge.

I was expecting this to be a tricky project, what with slippery charmeuse, bias princess seams, bias-bindings, narrow-rolled hems, etc etc...what I was not expecting was fit issues.  I have made this pattern before.  As with other bias tops, I never had to worry about fit too much, because the bias just seems to fit in around body curves.  Not so this time.  I'm not sure if it was the added bias strips or just the heaviness of the charmeuse, but the top hung lower than my previous version and there was a lot of gaping at the back arm-hole.  Eventually, I put the top on my dressform and used the bias bindings to pull it in.  I managed to sew one of the bias-bindings on the inside of the top instead of the outside, but rather than re-do and risk more stretching, I just used my bestest hand stitches to slip stich down the binding on the outside.

The dress also gaped at the centre back neck.  I had this problem last time, and so did many of the pattern reviewers, but I always thought that it was a result of not stabilising the CB edges properly before inserting the zipper.  Apparently not.

Meanwhile, I am getting gaping issues on the neckline of my couture dress.  This didn't show up on the muslin.  I'm not sure if the stay-stitching stretched the seam line, or if it didn't show on the muslin because I didn't turn under the seam allowances.  I am still thinking of the best solution to this problem.  A tip in a SewStylish magazine suggests making a casing of catch-stitches and threading beading elastic through this casing.  Elastic never lasts too well in the tropics and this dress is supposed to last a long time.  I thought maybe I could reduce the length of the neckline on the lining and pull the dress in a little when I attach it to the lining.  I would love to hear any other suggestions. 

Twist-top Mock-up

I made a mock up of Butterick 5283 View C, using remnants somebody had given me, because I could not follow the instructions just by reading them.  This week I got my overlocker and coverstitch machine serviced, and I thought I would test them out by finishing off my mock-up.

I bought this pattern, thinking it would great to use if you needed to re-vamp an oversized t-shirt...you know, the ones you have to wear to support a footy team or the like.  I laid it out over one shirt and couldn't get the pieces to quite work, but I haven't given up on this idea yet.

I did make some pattern changes.  The pattern suggests cutting two fronts and sewing them right sides together, turning out before attaching to the back.  I don't think this is necessary, if you bind the centre front neckline edges before twisting.  I didn't actually bind the edges, just turned them over, after the twist, given that this is going to be back-yard wear.

I like the shaping of the shirt, with the extended shoulder and close fit through the hips (well, on me, I didn't do my usual grading out over the hips).

Denim leggings....who'da thought?

Well, I can't say that I ever thought about making denim leggings, let alone wearing them, but the French, black denim that I ordered from EmmaOneSock turned out to be much lighter and stretchier than I anticipated.  It seemed destined for leggings.

When I told a friend that I was going to make denim leggings, she said that she had never heard of denim leggings.  I said, "Haven't you seen all those ones on net-a-porter?"  Her reply, "Net-a-what?".  Hmm, must remember to keep internet trawling obsessions to self.

They look better than I expected.  Perhaps fit really is flattering.  If I get too thigh conscious, I can always save them for under my trench or perhaps even a dress.

To make them, I started with my jeans pattern.  I decided to eliminate all the pockets and have an invisible side zip rather than a fly front.  This was to keep it all sleek in the squidgy region.  I placed my leggings pattern over the top and used it to shape the side seams.  I wasn't sure how much extra width I would need, compared to the leggings pattern, so I kept to the leg width of the jeans, basted them together and then took in the side seams until I was happy with the fit.  I put 25mm wide elastic in the waist band, to stop them falling down as they stretch with wearing.  I did this by sewing the elastic to the wasitband seam allowance when I was understitching the wasitband, similar to the method you would use if using a grosgrain ribbon as a skirt facing.

In spite of these distractions, I am making progress with my couture dress.  I have stitched most of the outer dress together.  I just need to sew the side seams and then finish catchstitching all the seam allowances to the underlining.  I'm not sure what to do about the hem.  The method I am following attaches the lining to the hem with a jump, but I am not sure that this is the best thing for a flared skirt.  The fabric frays.  I guess overlocking is not very couture?  I haven't started on the lining yet.  I may have to take that away with me.

Couture learnings

I did a little reading from "Couture The Art of Fine Sewing" by Roberta Carr, looking for answers to my basting questions.  I learnt that short, even stitches, in-out-in-out, similar to gathering should not be used for basting or thread tracing (p 44).  To thread trace, take a long stitch, then short, then another long.  This is to ensure that the fabric remains flat.

Oh dear, I have already done all that thread-tracing with even stitches.  I don't think that I will re-do it. This is a learning process and some of my learnings will no doubt benefit my next couture garment!  For once, I have not chosen the world's most expensive fabric for a project (though it is still beautiful), knowing that I would be trying out a lot of new techniques.

Onto basting.  Baste with a single thread and no knots.  On long seams, tie off loosely at the beginning and end to secure basting (p 46).  In the purist form of couture, stitching lines are indicated on the right side of fabric.  This allow you to fold one seam over the other and slip baste from the right side for maximum accuracy (p 45).  So there is my answer...folding and slip-stitching.  I have used this technique for princess seams before.

Of course, all that reading just created more questions.  Page 47 reveals that dirctional staystiching is rarely used in couture, and never on necklines as so often recommended, nor on armholes.  This is in contrast to the Susan Khalje Threads article I am following (Vol 135) which says to hand-staystitch the neck edge, fold under the seam allowance, and catchstitch it to the underlining.I have also been referring to her Master Class article in Threads Vol 125 which says to machine-staystitch the neckline and armhole edges on the seamlines of both the fashion fabric unit and the lining.  Several steps later, the pressed edges of the lining are placed slightly inside the fashion edge fabric, and joined to the neckline and armhole edges with small, firm fell stitches right at the line of staystitches.  The Roberta Carr book makes no mention (that I can find) of how linings are attached.  If I am attaching the linings by hand, I don't see how I can get a smooth neck edge without stay-stitching before turning?  I was going to use a walking foot for the stay-stitching.  Well, I guess I'll have a lot of time to contemplate this, as I slip-baste all my seams together...

Gorgeous-ness

I love it when my on-line fabric purchases turn out to be exactly what I wanted, only more gorgeous.  This Italian red/ivory batik cotton voile is from Emmaonesock.

Yesterday I was talking with my sister about cutting out more projects than we sew and then I went onto admire Mary Nanna's dedication to one project at a time.  Only now, mid-way through quite a big project, I have received this gorgeous, gorgeous fabric, which I was wanting to make into a scarf.  It would make a beautiful blouse, but I am one of these people that has to wear colour if I don't want people asking why I look so tired / sick / run-down etc.   A scarf will get me a lot more wear from my neutrals. 

And really, it will only be a minor interruption.  Just sew two lengths together, narrow hem the sides, a wash to soften and crinkle a little and I'm done.  It will be perfect to take on my holiday.  I'd better go change the thread in my machine.

Couture LBD - started

One of my favourite editions of Threads was March 2008, with the cover story "Little Black Dress from Start to Finish" by Susan Khalje.

I have finally started on my own version of a couture LBD, based on Vogue 8494. The dress is very plain but the fabric is textured; some parts of it sheer and some parts embossed. I couldn't find a black organza locally to use as interlining, so I have chosen a crystal ivory organza, which adds a subtle shimmer through the sheer sections of the fabric.

So far I have
- drafted a pattern, based on my sloper and using the design lines from Vogue 8494.
- traced the pattern onto muslin, using wax paper.
- machine basted all the traced lines on the muslin.
- pinned the muslin together for a fitting (and then repeated the above couple of steps to finesse the fit)
- taken the muslin apart and ironed the panels
- traced the basted lines from the muslin onto the organza, again using wax paper
- the photos below show the organza laid out on the fashion fabric, ready for me to attach the organza to the fashion fabric and thread trace all the stitching lines, which I have nearly completed now.




Do you like my pattern weights? We have moved from the Bob the Builder pattern weight set to the kindy blocks pattern weight wet.

I'm not sure how accurate it all is. The organza slipped around a bit whilst I was tracing the from the muslin and I had a lot of trouble seeing the wax lines when positioning on the fashion fabric, which is why I moved to the outside table. I've still got my doubts about grainlines, which I should have done a better job of marking. I'm not particularly skilled or experienced at using a tracing wheel or thread tracing, so I imagine that there is a bit more error there.

The next step is to baste all the seams together for a fitting in the fashion fabric. I'm a bit confused as to how best to baste seams together. I have always relied on fixed width seam allowances to sew accurate seams. Even though the seams are thread-traced, I can only see one side of the fabric at a time, so how do I made sure that the thread traced seams lie on top of each other when I am basting? Do I feel the thread tracing with my fingers or just turn the fabric back and forth a lot? Any tips would be appreciated.

I don't think I will be putting in the zipper by hand. My hand stitches have never been that great. I'm thinking about using an invisible zipper instead.

Pseudo Housework

Yesterday I was taken on a tour of my house. The tour included the corner where all my new sewing books are sitting, the corner where my recently aquired retro Burda magazines are piled up, the corner where I have left my drafting tools and sloper because I will get back to the sleeve sometime, the corner where I leave the library books (mostly sewing related) and the corner where my general reading books are because my bedside bookshelf is filled with Threads and Stitches magazines. Then we went and had a look at the purpose built bookshelf for sewing related stuff. Which was full. Funnily enough, the tour did not include the corner where guitars seem to be multiplying, the corner when the not-yet-unpacked suitcase resides between trips and the corner where useful papers get thrown in amongst useless papers. Perhaps I had to pay extra for that.

Anyway, today I have dealt with the corner where school notes pile up in the kitchen and there is no room left for cooking. It is all a bit country-cottage, but I have sewn an organiser to hold school notes, seed-envelopes to send money to school with those notes, and pens to fill in the notes.

The fabric, puchased at my local quilting store, is cute, but it does not seem great quality. It was pulled out of grain, stretched when I sewed it, and crushed very easily. All very unusual for quilting cottons. I decided that near-enough was good enough and did not get out the quilting ruler and cutting mat. This was probably in light of the lesson in perfection my daughter gave me the other day.

I had bought her a couple of fat quarters and she decided to make her doll a sleeping bag and pillow. I gave a little direction for the sleeping bag and then left her to get on with the pillow (her sewing machine is set up next to her bed, which is in the perfect location for an afternoon nap). I didn't have any stuffing. She wanted to use batting instead, but I argued in favour of waiting until I could buy some stuffing (mostly because I really wanted to nap). Her reply was, "Mum, Lisa is just a doll. She's not real, you know. It doesn't have to be perfect." And she was right, not all sewing has to be perfect.

Wash-day dress

This dress is for when I don't so much want to head out into the world as a veritable fashion force, as hang out at home with the kids and get the washing done. Which is just as well, because I don't have shoes to match.The pattern is an Evelin Brandt exclusive design from Burda WOF 6/2007. It has been made up in plain fabrics in the magazine, which makes for quite a different look. I went to Spotlight to get fabric for a muslin and came home with this fabric; too expensive for a muslin, but pretty enough for around-the-house.

I like the open neck-line on this design, which makes it a little different from your everyday shirt-waister. I haven't sewn many collared shirts, but I think the techniques used here are a little different from the standard sewing instructions. No hand sewing was required at all..

It was my first attempt at using my sloper to adjust a pattern to fit. This exercise was not completely successful, as I had to later adjust the CF seam, resulting in front panels that are not on the straight grain. I actually felt a bit bad making my fitting changes, after reading how the designer places emphasis on extremely exact cuts and admits to being excessively preoccupied with getting eveything absolutely right. Nothing like a clunky fitting change over an exact cut!

I will get a pattern review up sooner or later...I'm needed in the kitchen just now to prevent a birthday cake fiasco.