This is why I sew

Well, there are lots of reasons why I sew, but ending up with gorgeous clothes has got to be one of them!

The following photos are from www.style.com for the Calvin Klein Fashion show S2006RTW.

The fabric:  I had saved the above pictures in my look book of absolute favourites, so I was very excited when Colette showed a sneak peek of this fabric on her blog.  I was even more excited when a panel of this fabric made its way to me.  It is a floaty chiffon, and I was a little worried that I would lose it in my stash, so I have been keeping it in my underwear drawer.  As much as I loved the above pictures, I wasn't sure how much I would wear a silk, floaty dress (life with kids is a little rough and tumble).  One panel was the perfect amount to make a camisole, so I went with that instead.

The pattern:  "Age of Innocence" from Twinkle Sews.  The pattern was designed for 2 contrasting knits, but apart from that little detail, it was remarkably similar to what I was wanting.  Read my pattern review for details on sewing up this pattern.
 

 I printed out the pattern and sticky-taped all the bits together.  I lay the fabric on top of the pattern and then cut out the pattern and the fabric at the same time, to prevent the chiffon from shifting around whilst I was cutting it.  In the next photo, you can see that the fabric is sheer enough that I could see the pattern through it when cutting. 

You can also see that I centred the dots...resulting in a lovely big, green dot right on my belly button!

The bubble hem silhouette may take some getting used to.

Counting down to Christmas

I have been wanting to take a photo of this much loved Advent Calendar, complete with tickets, made by my sister for my kids.  I never got around to it, but I have just found a photo in a set that the kids took the other day, so here it is.  Now I don't have to keep track of days for every times my kids ask me.  I think my favourite pocket is No. 23.

It was a big project...I think she started it on Boxing Day last year.  Bernice has taken up both blogging and sewing clothes this year.  Go and check out her blog at Raindrops and Bellyflops.

Sewing up the basics

When I got back from Sydney, I thought that I would whip up my basics in a few weeks.  I started with this t-shirt, in an organic cotton knit from Tessuti.  The pattern is cut off a ready-to-wear shirt of mine.  It is raglan sleeved, with a wide neck.  I don't think the traced off version is as good a pattern as one I drafted for a similar style last year and now can't find, so I think next time I will have to draft my own again.  I had a few problems with the transfer on the front, detailed below.

The skirt is made out of the same linen/silk blend that I used for my wide-legged trousers earlier this year.  I love this fabric and wear the trousers all the time.  It is available from Tessuti in lots of different colours.   Peter likes it too and touches it every time he walks past...well that is his excuse!  I used a basic Burda pattern, changed the CB invisible zip to a fly front and added some oversized pockets.  I started this skirt about 2 months ago, but every time I sat down to sew it, I got interrupted.  It didn't help that I had to think about it every time I came back because I did not have instructions for my modifications.  Eventually I got sick of the interruptions and put it aside.  Now that my Christmas sewing is done, I have got back to it.

The oversized pockets were inspired by a Lee Matthews wool felted skirt that I saw in a Marie Claire magazine.  I was going to put press studs on the pocket flaps but sometimes they go wrong and I didn't want to mess up the skirt.

The iron-on transfer was from a booklet of transfers from Sukie.  The pictures are really groovy, but the colours did not transfer as well as I had hoped, even though I followed the instructions to a tee.  The transfers also slip around a lot.  I messed up one shirt front because the transfer slippped halfway throught the process.  I cut a new front, cut out the old one and stitched the new one in its place, which meant that the shirt ended up a little bit smaller than I wanted.  I basted the transfer in placed before I ironed it on, second time around.

In spite of all those set-backs, I really like the resulting outfit, especially the colour combination.

Twice is nice

I always say that I am going to use a pattern again, and this time I have.  This bag is View B from Vogue 8527.  This time round I noticed that the seam allowances are 1/2 inch, not 5/8 inch.  I've also realised that I sewed the pleats in my previous clutch the wrong way, which was a surprise to me because I made an effort to follow the arrows on the pattern piece and not just do as I thought best.

 

I used a stretch linen from my stash for the main fabric and La Dolce Vita cotton from Tessuti for the contrast and lining (which I only just bought from their on-line store, but can't seem to find now, perhaps it has sold out).  I used a stiff, woven, sew-in interfacing.  This bag is a gift, and luckily for the recipient, I don't have a black and white wardrobe.  Otherwise I would be tempted to keep it, because it turned out rather nicely, if I do say so myself.

 

I omitted the magnetic closure, mostly I'm not sure where the dickens I put them.  After reading a review on PR, I attached the straps to the sides of the bag, but I think with my choice of fabric it would have worked out as the pattern described.

We're looking for a prince...

...one that is handsome - not too handsome, just handsome enough.  One that is romantic but also a little dramatic, strangely charming, and of course, he must have impeccable manners.

My daughter was happy with my suggestion that she re-create The Princess and the Pea, as told by Lauren Child and captured by Polly Borland (look for it on her website, http://www.milkmonitor.com/).  I was happy that she was happy to do this, because I had been wanting to make a set for a while, but held off, mostly because I suspected that my motivation was more about having pretty things than playing with my children.  She did a good job, sewing 9 mattresses before asking me to help out with the last 3.  I then quilted a heart onto each mattress to hold the batting in place and she whipped up a poster bed out of a shoebox and some tissue paper.  Her little brother made a pillow and found the ladder from our doll house.  We then rounded up some dolls for the main characters (with a few extra fairies and cars thrown in).  Only we don't have a suitable prince.  Apparently the Ken Barbie is just too tall and our other boy dolls don't seem to have much appeal either.  She is not too perturbed by the missing prince, but I think he is kinda integral to the story.

We would like to make some paper dolls, in the style of those in the book...but that won't be until I'm ready to take on another craft day with my children and all the associated mess. 

PS I just found a great interview with Lauren Child here, where she talks about the process of creating her books.

Trying on Zakka

I first heard the word "Zakka" on Emily Kate's blog.  Last week I borrowed the book "Zakka Sewing" from my local library.  I only borrowed it for the eye candy,  because I mostly just like to sew clothes.  Then, as I was wrapping my camera in a washer to protect it in my bag on the kindy picnic, I thought perhaps I needed a little zakka.  A while back,  Peacock Chic made herself a really groovy camera case, which has inspired my zakka version.

It is very cute.  Perhaps a little too cute for me?  Maybe I should have stuck to plain linens.  Or maybe a drawstring bag in pretty fabric would have been sufficient.  I'll try it for a while.  If I find that I am embarrassed to take my camera from my bag, I might have to re-gift it.

Queue Jumper

This week I was compelled to sew this top.  Not sure why..moon phase, hormones, tropical heat stroke?  I have plenty of must-sew (Christmas presents), a UFO, a special project for me, but this is the top that demanded to be sewn.

The pattern:  "Read Between the Lines" from "Twinkle Sews".  I liked this pattern on the model, but didn't think I would ever sew it up because it has several features that I usually avoid.  It is not very bra-friendly.  The designer recommends wearing it over a plain coloured tank, but it is way too hot hear to wear breezy, summery tops over tanks here.  The humidity is on the rise and shortly I won't be able to bear any knit fabrics against my skin.  I have modified the pattern to make it more bra-friendly.  It also has that "surely, she's not pregnant again" empire line.  It is longer than I usually wear my tops.  In spite of all this, I like the final version and think I will get plenty of wear from it this summer.  The main problem is that because it is such a deviation in silhouette from the rest of my wardrobe, I don't have the right shorts or pants to wear with it (I am sorely disappointed that this book doesn't provide the pattern for the gorgeous pants featured on p99, for anyone who has this book).  See my pattern review for details.

The fabric:  If you thought that seersucker was best left to children or tablecloths, check out the Imazu range at Tessuti.  I made this top from Imazu Night.  Seriously grown-up seersucker.  I ordered a fabric for the contrast panel, but the fabric turned out to be so popular that it sold out before my order was filled.  So I ordered a back-up fabric, which was too heavy, and a second back-up, which was not quite the right colour.  Then I combed my stash for something suitable and came up short.  Finally, I emptied out the remnant drawer and made a patchwork of different scraps.  Sometimes creativity is forced upon us!  I love the final result...the textures and colours all harmonise beautifully with the Imazu.

The ochre scraps are from one of my all-time favourite fabrics.  It is a Roberto Calvalli fabric purchased from Apple Annie Fabrics.  It began life as this jacket.  The fabric was a very generous width, so I had plenty left to make this skirt.  Then I used a strip of it on the handle of this bag.  It is a beautiful texture and so perfect for the outer of this pencil roll.  It complemented some other scraps to make-up my ballet shoes bag.  And now it features in this Twinkle top.  And still, I have some left...I reckon it will pop up one or two more times yet!

An oversized clutch

I'm one of those last minute sewers who is stitching right up until the moment a dress needs to be worn.  Then I realise that I don't have bag or shoes.  I decided to do something about this, with Vogue 8527 offering 3 oversized clutch designs.

The fabric is a silk duponi and a darker turquoise than the photograph suggests.  It is from my mother-in-law's linen press. It is one of the "good remnants".   I'm always hopeful when somebody offers me their fabric stash, even though they mostly turn out to be grandma polyester knit prints from the late seventies / early eighties. 

I didn't realise that the pattern was for an oversized clutch.  Even though Vogue provides dimensions on the pattern envelope, I never seem able to comprehend these figures before the pattern is purchased.  I prefer it when they photograph the designs on a life-sized model.  Actually, I can't put too much more in it than a regular sized clutch, otherwise it becomes too heavy to, um, well, clutch.  I do like it though, and I think that  I'll make it again in a more sedate fabric.

Tip for gathering tulle

I discovered a neat, little trick for gathering tulle the other day.  It starts with zig-zagging over dental floss.  I positioned the dental floss in the loop of my narrow-hemming foot to keep it centred as I was sewing.  I used a fairly wide zig-zag, so as not to get the dental floss caught.  Then, because I knew I was short of dental floss, I kept the floss under tension.  This had the added bonus of gathering the tulle evenly as I went, saving the tedious hand gathering step.  You can see it gathering behind the foot in the photo above.  Pull the floss tighter to increase the gathering.  The amount of gathering can still be adjusted after you have finished, as long as you have not cut the floss off too short.