Bloom's Fabric Obsession

Better than designer...

2012-01-30T18:32:00.000-08:00

In keeping with Sherry's Fix-it-Friday series, I am going to show you a recent fix of mine. No, no, today isn't Friday...the week didn't go that fast...I did fix these on Friday but my blogging is a little sporadic.

My sisters and I share a love of swimwear fashion. Growing up in Queensland, we went through our swimmers pretty quickly, so there were always new ones to be made (thanks Mum!). When I moved to Melbourne in my twenties I was surprised by the lack of fashionable swimwear on the beaches at even the height of summer...I guess Melbournians rarely wore their swimmers, so they lasted...meanwhile, I was severely lacking in the winter wear department. Anyway, the October / November fashion mags are always my favourite because they contain all the new swimwear for the season. When we were reading them this year, one of my sisters noted that I particularly liked the Anna & Boy designs, so when she saw some of their swimmers reduced by 85% she bought me a pair for my birthday. Only they didn't stay up. I'm guessing that they didn't stay up on anybody, which is why they were so drastically reduced.

The design is a one piece; basically strapless; empire line; with the upper front gathered at a centre front keyhole opening. I could have take them in at the centre front to tighten the fit across the bust, but because the top edge was folding over to the outside, I thought there was another problem.

So I got out my gathered bandeau bikini pattern to compare the shape. The gathered bandeau is only gathered at the CF, not at the sides. If you compare my pattern to the swimmers in the photo below, you can see that it looks as though the designer has added extra length evenly across the front piece, which would have worked if the front was gathered onto the side. My bandeau pattern was made by slashing-and-spreading from the centre front to the side, which accounts for the shaping from back to front and the curved edge at the CF.

So I unpicked the casing and the elastic across the upper edge and re-cut the upper section. I stitched the casing back up, reapplied the elastic, and now they stay up. Well, perhaps not for surfing, but enough for me to dive down to the bottom of my pool and pick up all the leaves.

Casual

2012-01-29T20:24:00.000-08:00

I lead a pretty casual life. Whilst this next project is not especially interesting, it does get plenty of wear.

Denim shorts.

Pattern: Marfy 0293 from the Spring-Summer 2007 catalogue. I had to grade the pattern up, as the free pattern that came with the catalogue was not large enough for me. The lovely thing about Marfy patterns is that they use a metric grade, so it is easy to grade up using any ruler that I can get my hands on in this house.

I added extra length. This is an unusual length for me. I have taken inspiration from the J.Crew's 5" chinos. I did scoop out the front waist a little (which I don't think that I have marked on the pattern...note for next time!).

Fabric: Frankie B. stretch denim from EmmaOneSock. I am not familiar with Frankie B.; however, the denim does seem to be good quality. This one has an almost purplish tinge to it. I made these shorts last year, but I wanted to see how the denim washed and wore before I showed you.

I deliberately kept details to a minimum, as this seems to be the current fashion. The only decoration is silver rivets on the pockets.

I have stitched a simple design onto the back pockets. It is hard to see in this photo...it doesn't especially stand out in real life either, but that is what I wanted.

Missoni Many Ways

2012-01-24T04:22:00.000-08:00

Have you met Passiona over at Le Coutureve? She makes some pretty groovy stuff, and not even just for herself. One of my favourite projects of hers was the outfit she made for her Nanna. One of my daydreams has been to sew something fabulous for someone that the fashion world may have overlooked...she didn't just dream it, she got on and did it. Most inspirational.

Well, Passiona had a super-generous give-away and I ended up with a piece of Missoni. Gorgeous fabric, but being a gift, I felt a little pressure to do something worthwhile with the fabric. This pressure meant that it took me a long time to decide what to make.

My first thought, as with almost any knit print, was to make a boxy sort of boat neck top.

Then I remembered some cute looking summery missoni tank styles I had seen.

However, I couldn't walk away from the idea of a V-neck; it would be pretty groovy with all those zig-zags.

One of my most favourite Missoni garments is the dress captured by the sartorialist. I could make a dress, albeit a very short one. Could be cute, poolside, over a bikini.

Passiona made a dress I could channel her grown-up look with a simple skirt.

By then, it became a challenge too see how many looks I could create from one garment. A simple shrug turned out to be very useful when I headed south for the silly season.

A plain scarf. (An aside: my white pants, that I love, keep shrinking, every wash. Now they are too small and too short. Grrrrrr. I have worn them for this photo shoot, as I have not had the chance to sew a replacement.)

More of a jabot.

I was pretty stoked the day I realised that I could also wear it as pants. Not that I am likely to, but I could, if I had some sort of hippie event to attend.

A short cardigan is a possibility.

A poncho perhaps? The zig-zags go down on this one, for a little variety.

A one shoulder top, with or without a strap.

That was all that I remembered to photograph today, but I found some earlier photos that I took when I was making it, so I could remember some possibilities. Top with folded neckline.

A cowly sort of scarf.

A head scarf.

A vest.

An overskirt.

So how is all this possible in a single garment? Two rectangles. I cut the fabric into two equal pieces.

Across the top I sewed interfaced bias strips and hand stitched large snaps to the strips.

Along the sides I attached hand-made snap tape. The top strips and the snap tape were sewn down by hand, so as not to create a line on the other side of the garment. It was a tad tricky working out where to put the male and female snaps, for the best looking garments.

The snap tape was made using this press (although yesterday I saw that Lincraft sells snap tape in white and black).

The straps were quilted layers of linen, with hand sewn snaps at the ends.

I have kept one strap long. It sits inside the garment when worn as a dress. I have kept it long as I have not given up the idea of creating new looks with a long strap.

These outfits have all been snapped symmetrically. Imagine the possibilities when I start mis-matching snaps!

As you can see, I've had a lot of fun with this project. Whilst none of the looks may be as perfect as a single garment may have been, they are mostly very wearable. I wore this garment at least 4 different ways during my Christmas down south...as a shrug, a skirt, the cowl necked tank and the V-neck top (my favourite look).

Doorstops

2012-01-20T16:10:00.000-08:00

Sewing clothes is my passion, but every now and then a bit of home dec is necessary. I have just moved house, so this year I might have to do a bit more housey stuff and a bit less garment sewing. Not to mention the fact that the wardrobe in my new house is too small for the clothes I already own.

The first completed sewing project for the new year, in my new house, is a set of owl doorstops. Pretty cute, hey? Though, their resemblence to owls is a little tenuous.

I copied the owls from Hammer & Thread. I didn't use her downloadable pattern, because I was out of printer paper, I just hand-drew a copy, so my version may not be an accurate rendition of the original. I chose this pattern because it had the tail piece, which I thought would be useful because I wanted the owl to stand up and stop doors. I used sand rather than rice or beans to fill the doorstops, because they will be used on French doors that open onto a verandah and may sometimes get wet. Only the sand is pretty heavy, which I think distorts the tail somewhat, and maybe the tail piece is a little too wide, because the side-on view shows them to look more like chooks than owls.

These are for my daughter's room. My son has requested a turtle doorstop. I may have to sew a few garments first.

False Eyelashes II

2011-12-17T10:44:00.000-08:00

So, these ones may have been just a little over-the-top! I wore them to a really, big Christmas party. The theme of the party was "The Greatest Show on Earth" with Burlesque entertainers wandering around, a freak show (which I didn't watch) and cabaret shows, so I think it was the right occasion to try them out.

I did have a 15 minute walk to the party. It was windy, so I had to walk with my hands shielding my eyes to protect the eyelashes. Which is perhaps why one fell off during the evening. Next time I'll have to keep the eyelash glue in my handbag.

The dress was first blogged here.

False Eyelashes

2011-12-08T11:41:00.001-08:00

My friends are often surprised when I don't sew a new dress for special occasions. New dresses are fun, but it does seem a bit consumeristic to only wear them once or twice. This year, I decided to add some sparkle to my Christmas outfits with my new, favourite accessory instead...false eyelashes.

My local chemist has just started stocking the Napoleon Perdis range. I thought that these green eyelashes were very Christmas-y.

Gotta love the self-portrait taken by holding the camera with outstretched arms and clicking.

This dress was first blogged about here.

You will want to sew this for summer because...

2011-11-29T11:40:00.001-08:00

Is it summer where you are? I was woken this morning by a tropical downpour. I love to stand on my verandah, at the edge of the rain, looking out, feeling the cooled air. It will get hot very early. This time of year I am in and out of my swimmers several times a day. I used to be a one-piece girl, but the practicality of a bikini has won me over.

Over at my other blog - The Strawberry Milk Run - I have published a pattern and tutorials for a colour block bikini. The pattern is free. The links are at the bottom of this post.

Sewing a bikini is probably easier than you think. You don't need a fancy machine, just one that does a zig-zag stitch. You may need to change your needle to a stretch needle, but that is all. And think of the positives - once you can sew your own bikini, you will never need to go swimwear shopping again!

The hardest part will be choosing your colour combinations. Turquoise, watermelon & sunshine yellow would be very summery. If you are more of a bronzed beach goddess, you could combine different metallics together. Prefer something more classic? How about black, white & black? I have gone with peach, copper and jade.

Get all the posts

So go on, sew your own bikini! And if you do,I would love to hear how it went.

Screamin' Summer Spearmint Shorts

2011-11-23T19:36:00.001-08:00

Don'tcha just love the colour of these shorts? Don't they just scream out SUMMER. I purchased this fabric with view to make a Spring pencil skirt, but I am forever ducking out to the washing to fetch my Marfy linen shorts, so I thought a repeat pair was in order. In magazine speak, they would say that these shorts were "on high rotation".

This is a new colour for me, so I have been pairing it with all sorts from my wardrobe. Which is your favourite look? Early opinions will be heeded as I love these shorts so much that I am thinking of wearing them to the kid's Christmas concert tonight instead of a dress.

Starting with Christmas colours, just because that is the top I was wearing today.

Next in jewel tones. This Vogue blouse does not seem to have featured on my blog previously. I made it before I started blogging from a stretch silk georgette.

Perhaps with neutrals. I did not make this top; it was a gift from hubby. It has a lovely neckline edge.

More casual with a t-shirt.

A beachy look with my Tessuti fave top and a tote. I did make this tote out of Japanese cottons but have never got around to blogging about it. I actually made 2 of them and donated one to the school to be raffled off. I am moving house soon and my new neighbour was the recipient of the raffle prize. I wonder if she thinks it was a unique one-off. Do you think I will be able to keep using my bag. Ah, the dilemmas of living in a small town. Incidentally, the necklace in this photo is the first piece of jewelry that I ever bought myself. I never dressed up much as a teenage, never wore make-up, never wore jewelry. This frog caught my heart though.

Perhaps less colour?

Looking back at those photos, I think that the longer length tops are more flattering than the waist length ones.

Anyway, some sewing details.

The fabric is a linen from EmmaOneSock, still available. The description calls it a tie dye. It was more uneven in colouring than I realised until I sewed it up. Look at the photo below. I am considering this "charm" rather than a defect.

The pattern is Marfy 1668, reviewed previously here. I did modify the waistband to be a contoured band this time around.

I worked hard on not getting the inside of the front waistband to peek out (which is a problem that has been annoying me for years), using a method described on fashion incubator (method is for collars, but I adapted it to waistbands). I may have exaggerated the effect a little, but it has worked. The underlap still peeks out over the top, so I will have to work out how to prevent that in future.

Notice how neatly I have sewn the hook and eye? I have had plenty of practice lately, on a very exciting project that I will reveal shortly.

And finally, a photo to remind me how I blind stitched the cuff up. In all the times that I have sewn cuffs, I could never work this out. Now that I have, I want to remember.

Ugly Bug Ball

2011-11-22T18:10:00.001-08:00

I was not-so-secretly delighted when my son decided to go the Ugly Bug Ball as a green ant. I had seen some ant costumes in a show that I wanted to replicate...you know, the fantasies we hold...

Do you know about green ants? I didn't know about them until I moved to North Queensland. They are a really pretty green colour. They have large green bottoms. Apparently you can suck the juice out of their bottoms, but this is not something that I have tried. They stick leaves together to build nests in trees. You have to watch out for them when cleaning up fallen leaves in case a nest has fallen out of a tree, because they will bite you.

The nice thing about this costume was that it took only 30 minutes to make (not including queuing for fabric) and $3 worth of fabric. No pattern used. That's about the perfect level of effort and expenditure for a school costume.

Dancewear

2011-11-21T12:56:00.001-08:00

I have been sewing dozens upon dozens of dance costumes this past few weeks. This year I have even sewn a couple of costumes for the principal dancer, including her undergarments.

I did have some input into the design of this costume. The brief was a demi-tard with frilly legs. I combined a Jalie 2915 bodice pattern with a Kwiksew leggings pattern and added a flounce between the two. I modified the Jalie pattern to ruche some of the panels. I added frills to the bottom of the leggings, which are above-the-knee in length. It turned out rather cute. I did not choose the fabric. I imagine that there will be nowhere to hide under the bright lights in this white lycra.

To determine the attachment line on the leggings, I tried the leggings and bodice on the dancer and marked where the bottom of the bodice sat on the leggings.

I had a frilly elastic that I used along the top of the bodice.

It turned out to be rather easy to gather lycra for the leg frills. I just used a long stitch and a high thread tension and the frills gathered by themselves, no pulling of threads required. I attached the frills to the leggings with a zig-zag stitch so that the legs could still stretch.

I did not hem the legs or the flounce.

Donna Karan Vogue draped dress in a stripe

2011-11-19T12:59:00.001-08:00

I wanted a quick project to complete whilst I was visiting Cairns recently for a gymnastics competition. Knit dresses are usually pretty quick so I rifled through my pattern and fabric stash and chose Vogue 1159. All the reviews said that it would be difficult to modify to fit, so I was thinking that lack of fitting would save me a bit of time. Of course, it was entirely likely that I would end up with a dress that didn't fit, so I paired it with a fabric that I wasn't sure whether or not I loved. Well, I loved the fabric, but it was one of those fabrics that just seems more striped when you are holding it than when you are clicking that "Add to cart" button. I have talked about the traps of stripey fabrics previously here and here. Okay, so I am a slow learner, but I am doing creative things with stripes!

The pattern: Vogue 1159

The fabric: rayon/lycra knit from EmmaOneSock, lining is a lightweight power mesh, also from EmmaOneSock.

Some notes:

Sizing - for Vogue knit dresses, I usually cut an 8 for the front top half, a 12 for the back top half and grade the skirt out to a 16. For this one, I cut a straight 12. It seems to have worked for the dress, which has pleats in the front skirt, but I do have problems with the lining, which I will detail later. Next time (and there will be a next time, probably in a plain) I will grade the skirt out along the diagonal centre back skirt seam.

Length - I shortened the dress to above the knee. I would have made it a tad shorter, but the blue stripe looked better on the hem than the reddish stripe. This shorter length is not as elegant as the original length, but I lead a pretty casual life. You can see here that I have paired the dress with thongs. I was on my way to a school picnic that involved scooter riding.

Lining - I am having problems with the lining. The dress is only lined in the skirt portion, and the lining is necessary to hold the draping in place. When I am wearing the dress, the lining works its way up to my waist. I presume that this is because it is a couple of sizes too small. I have released the only seam in the lining, which is at the centre front, but this does not help. I am wondering if I should insert some width into the back of the lining. Any other suggested solutions will be appreciated! Next time, I will add width to the lining and use wider darts so that the waist circumference does not change.

Pattern placement - This dress is pretty lean on fabric for all its effect. Size 12 takes only 1.8 m of fabric. Of course, this is all I had, so I could not do any pattern placement. It just worked out as it worked out. It would have been better if I did not have the lightest stripe across the widest part of my butt.

Shoulders - I bought this pattern because it had the cap sleeves, but like other reviewers, I found that the sleeves shift position when you are wearing the dress so that it is more like a sleeveless dress.

Underarms - the dress has very low underarms. Different reviews show various methods of fixing this, including adding a piece or sewing up the side seams further. I just folded a pleat out and topstitched it in place, as shown in the photo below. This would be equivalent to the narrow chest adjustment that I often make if I cut a Size 12.

Marking - as other reviewers have noted, the instructions for this pattern are not always easily understood. Take the time to mark the fabric properly before you start sewing. I used little triangles at the notch points. I would recommend this rather than little nicks in the fabric, as it makes it a bit easier to match your sewing with the Vogue illustrations. My print was busy, so I used tailor tacks to mark the squares and circles. I marked the pleat lines on the front with a fine-point sharpie, as I thought that would not be seen once the dress was made up. Usually they aren't, but I noticed that they do peek out when lounging on the couch for reading homework.

I do like this dress and I will sew it again, probably in a dark, plain knit. I should have made more effort with the hair / make-up, but life has been crazy busy lately....I just seem to look in my diary every hour or two to see where I should be going next. I promise that when I wear it with heels, I will do my hair as well! In the meantime, I am finding it a great grab and go casual dress.

Denim Skirt

2011-11-07T16:13:00.000-08:00

My daughter is reaching that dreadful, dreadful age. You know, the one where you can't eek a piece of clothing for her out of the side scraps from your own projects. It is also the age at the upper end of sizes for many children's patterns in Burda magazine. Sad, I know.

I did manage to scrape together this denim skirt though. It is leftovers from some denim shorts that I made myself and haven't shown you yet. The pattern is from Burda 11/2010, style 149.

The fabric wrinkles in the wash more than I expected. I guess that will reduce over time. It is an unusual colour, with a slight purplish tinge to it.

I did modify the pattern a little. She has narrow hips. I modified the waistband so that I could elasticate the waist. I split the waistband into an inner and outer piece, rather than cut it as a single piece with a fold at the top edge. I then pieced the inner band, so that it had seams about 5 cm from the button closure. I thread elastic through the waistband at these seams and then stitched it in place. I used regular elastic rather than adjustable button hole elastic as I find that the adjustable elastic is not firm enough.

The same issue of Burda had some stovepipe jeans for boys. I want to try these out, as my boys have such narrow hips that they really have to gather in the elastic on RTW adjustable waist jeans.

BTW, can you all zoom in on photos anymore? I seem to have lost this ability in blogger, but I don't know if it is just my settings or the if it is the way they manage photos now.

Gymnastics gear

2011-11-01T01:33:00.000-07:00

This blog entry is more for my own records than for interest, as I am aware that making boys gymnastics clothing is not a popular global pastime!

My son trains 3 times per week, and his club gear is expensive, so I have persuaded him to wear gear that I have made him. Naturally, he would prefer to wear his club gear over and over without washing, but I am trying to get good habits in place before those teenage hormones kick in!

This leotard is my design, although I did restrict myself to a simple tank style because that is what he is used to. It looks a little big in the straps. Part of drafting a tank style is reducing the length of the straps to account for the reduced width. Reduced width results in less rebound tension. I understand all this, but I do not yet have a grip on how much to reduce the strap length. On the up side, he will fit in the leotard for longer.

The colours are his club colours.

The shorts were made using Jalie 2914, although I modified the pattern for the striped side panel. They are a much closer fit than his club shorts, so it took some convincing for him to wear them. I have already had to repair the crotch seam. I sewed them with fluffy thread in the loopers of the overlocker, but perhaps my fluffy is not strong enough. Incidentally, when I tried to buy fluffy thread at Spotlight last week I found that they do not stock it anymore.

The longs (that is what they call them!) were also made using Jalie 2914. He is wearing them over the top of his shorts, because that is what they do. I used 2 different sizes to get the width and length right. He is so used to wearing baggy clothing because of his small frame that he is not used to a close fit. They have stirrups, though he has them pulled off in the photo. His club longs are white, which is a very impractical colour for 9 yo boys, so I have gone with his choice of purple.

The Jalie instructions have you fold the longs down the crease and top stitch to form a pin tuck. You can see in the above photo that this stitching has broken. I inspected his club longs, and they make a pin tuck using twin needles. I guess the zig-zag underneath, between the twin needles, allows you greater stretch, so next time I will use a twin needle.

Liberty Underthings

2011-10-27T21:18:00.000-07:00

I visited my sister last weekend and we had a bra sew-a-long. I made up my next iteration of a self drafted pattern and for her, we cut up one of her existing bras to make a pattern.

It was the first time she had sewn a bra so we set up our machines side by side; I sewed each step first and then she copied it. I'm not sure what everybody else does for fun on a Saturday night, but we had a very pleasant evening! Of course, I had an easier time of it, because I was using Liberty, which is a dream to sew, and she was using a slippery lingerie lycra.

My fabric is a bit more muted than the photograph shows; shame really as I like the brighter photograph.

The knickers were a bit experimental, as I was using a woven fabric for the front and a knit for the back. I started with a Jalie pattern and added 4 cm to each side seam of the front. This was based on a rough calculation that I did when I was nowhere near my sewing....I was guessing an 80 cm circumference, needed to add on the 10% negative ease that I was guessing Jalie used for their pattern, then added in an additional 10% ease. Not far off, but the fabric is taut across the front, so probably 1 - 2cm more each side would be better. I had forgotten that the Jalie pattern has a narrower front than back, and now that I have made them, I've measured a circumference closer to 95 cm when worn. I cut the front on the straight grain, but probably a bias would be better. Very comfy all the same, and now I know that I can combine a woven with a knit. I just need to get a little ribbon bow for the front.

Just for comparison, here is a link for a Liberty bra and briefs on net-a-porter (not current stock), totaling 170 British pounds!

here's one I prepared earlier...

2011-10-24T19:59:00.000-07:00

How often do we sewers lament that we didn't finish off something properly, because we were still sewing up hems the moment before wearing the garment out of the house? Well, I had the opposite problem here. This dress languished in my sewing room, just waiting for ties and the binding to be completed because I had nowhere to wear it. We had an unseasonably long winter up here, so even once it was finished, it sat in the wardrobe for a long time. Finally, last week, it got its first outing.

The pattern is a frankenpattern of Vogue 8631 and Vogue 8684. I made a muslin of Vogue 8631 last year and asked for feedback...some of you suggested that it made me look too wide...sadly, it is not the dress making me look wide, that would be my wide bottom making me look wide. However, I do accept that the dress was not disguising my wideness, and much as I love an oversized top, they do hide the petite bits of me that trick people into thinking that I am not a wide person. So I ditched the kimono sleeves and bodged the raglan sleeve and sideseam shaping from Vogue 8684, whilst retaining the wrap and pleating from 8631. In truth, this has saved me from fretting over the unused pattern 8684, which I love, but has a drop waist, which is equally unflattering on me.

The black and white fabric was a silk from my stash. I had bought it thinking I needed to up the neutrals in my wardrobe. My sister was rifling through my stash and declared that she didn't like it, because it reminded her of corporate uniforms. That sounded like a challenge to me, so I immediately took it from the stash and got to work. The sleeve fabric is left-overs from this dress. I quite like the clashing combination of fabrics, although my children are not so convinced. My elder son, who has a bit of an eye for fashion, thinks it would have worked if the brown bits of the sleeve print were black.

So, bodgy patterns, bodgy fabric choice, all brought together to make a dress that I absolutely love. I think it looks better in real life than the photos, and it feels gorgeous to wear, all silky and drapy. Perfect for spring.

Modern Slip 1

2011-10-19T21:15:00.000-07:00

I recently purchased a new pattern making book, which is currently occupying a large portion of my insomniacal hours.

I have used this book to draft a slip.

I drafted a straight UK Size 12, rather than draft for my personal measurements. First I drafted their bodice block, then used this to draft the slip. This book only shows drafts for one size. Sometimes it is easy to see how to change this for other sizes, other times, not so easy. Luckily for me, the size they use in the book is pretty close to my size.

I had to take it in a fair whack under the arms. I am wondering if this is a fitting, drafting or fabric choice problem. The slip is cut on the bias. The bodice block included 7.6 cm ease in the bust. I'm thinking that a bias cut, in a drapy fabric, will drop until it reaches a place it fits. So I'm thinking that I want very little ease. Admittedly, the technical drawing in the book did show an elasticised upper back edge.(On me, the slip stops dropping before the underarms fit, because it can't slide any further down my waist or hips...but you have to work with what you've got, don't you!)

I am wondering where the slip should sit. If I adjust the straps so that the empire line is under the bust, the bust point sits in about the right place. However, the slip feels more comfortable if I shorten the straps, so that the empire line is a little above the base of the breast. This does put the bust point in the wrong spot. (Either way, I will need to make some changes to get a good fitting cup.) I don't know if the improved comfort is due to the poisition of the empire line, or just because I am used to more coverage and higher underarms?

I'm not sure if you will be able to see the difference, but I will show photos with both strap positions.

Firstly, positioned below the bust:

Then, with slightly shorter straps:

I have not cropped out the scrunched up photographer face, for your amusement.

Overall, I'm happy with it as a starting point, though I will do some more work on the cup draft. I'm thinking of changing the dart to a curved, vertical seam. This seam placement seems flattering in my bras, so why not try it in a slip as well?

Vintage Slip 3

2011-10-11T19:09:00.000-07:00

This next pattern is truly a vintage pattern. Simplicity 4218 (vintage patterns wiki dates it as 1958). Single size, already cut, only punch holes for markings. It is a Size 12, so I had to grade it up. This is actually my first attempt at grading a single size pattern. I have a book on grading, as it was something that I had always meant to learn to do, but had not got around to. I dug it out and read enough to get me going.

The bust only needed to be graded up one size, but my hip measurement was sadly 6 inches bigger than the pattern's listed size measurements, so it had to be graded up a few sizes.

I used a lining fabric to test this. Navy lining. I have not sewn anything navy for at least 10 years. I did not have enough to make proper straps.

It doesn't look as bad as I was expecting. The neckline is a lot higher than we are used to. I omitted the side zip and could put it on okay. As an aside, I once went shopping with a friend of mine who is the complete opposite shape to me (long legs, big boobs, no hips) and found that we put on and take off clothing differently. She was always stepping into garments, whilst I was always pulling them over my head.

The bust cups are not as pointy as the previous one.

The bust point is too high though. The neckline stretched out as I was sewing it; lucky it was only a muslin. I wonder which would be the best method to stabilise it before sewing?

I did have one more vintage pattern to test, Kwiksew 941 , from 1979. It has a 1920's squarish camisole sort of feel to it. At the moment I am limiting myself to designs with separate bust cups so I will leave this one for now.

Next up: I have several instructions for drafting a lip in my pattern books, so will give these a go.

Vintage Slip 2

2011-10-09T20:43:00.000-07:00

Now onto testing the second pattern in my slip project. Butterick 5805. I can't find a year on this pattern, but Wiki vintage patterns dates it as 1951.

This pattern has some unusual seam lines.

Now don't be put off by my fabric selection. Slips take a lot of fabric because they are cut on the bias. I dug out some scraps of lightweight cotton to make this up.

In this photo, the centre front panel is collapsing. I think that this is partly because the red and blue fabrics are lighter than the green and yellow fabrics. I am thinking that this centre panel could even be cut on the straight grain next time. I shortened the pattern considerably; the original is mid-calf length.

The interesting panel seaming continues on the back.

These side views shows that the zig-zag seaming under the bust continues around the side.

The side profile shows that the pattern has quite a pointy bust. Many fashion illustrations of the forties feature this pointy bust, but I had always thought that it was an illustration fashion and did not realise that the clothing was actually shaped this way. The area above and below the bust point here are hollow...it only holds it shape because of the crispness of the fabric. Perhaps a bustier woman than myself would fill it out.

So what do I think of this pattern? I love the zig-zag seaming. I'm pretty happy with the amount of flare in the skirt. I would need to re-draft the bust cups.

Vintage Slip 1

2011-10-06T18:19:00.000-07:00

The first muslin in my slip project was made using Bevknits 4004. Okay, so maybe vintage patternistas would not put this in the vintage category, but it is definitely out of print, so I will group it with my vintage patterns. I don't know what era it is from, maybe 70s maybe 80s?

It was designed for knit fabrics, so I tested it out using some knit lining that I had bought by mistake, thinking that it was suitable for swimwear. The stretchy lace is from Spotlight and the elastic for the straps (which is a lovely elastic - I must get more) is from that funny little shop in Cairns.

So what do I think of the pattern? It has potential. The lining fabric is a little bit scratchy, but if I found a nice quality tricot I would probably make it up. I did lower the position of the front neckline lace by 3 - 4 cm. I would need to make some fitting changes in the upper bust region. Zig-zagging along the wavy edges of the elastic does require a little concentration, but everything else comes together easily. I did alter the construction a little, by cutting double of the side bust panel seams so that I could encase the bust seam.

I have no idea where I could get good quality tricot though. Any suggestions?

The Slip Project

2011-10-05T21:32:00.000-07:00

To me, grown-up glamour is a drawer full of silk slips. I have carried this image with me since I was a small girl. I think the image partly comes from the old black and white Hollywood films. The drawer in my images is always the wide, shallow drawer of my Mother's dresser.

Whilst I do have a modest collection of slips, I would like to indulge this image of glamour a little more. I do not live in a locale suitable to the collection of vintage slips, so of course I have to make them! I particularly like the slips with separate bust panels. This is a work in progress, but I have made a muslin of a few vintage slip patterns, which I will show you over the coming days.

Before then, I want to show you a slip that my Mother gave me for my birthday last year. It was the loveliest present! I think it was from her wedding trousseau, so it is probably from the late sixties.

The slip is made from a very smooth, nylon knit fabric, with lace overlays.

An asymmetrical lace overlay is placed on the front hem. The hem is at mid-knee length (so too long for most of my dresses). There is a side split on the left side.

The bust cups are made from lace and gathered onto the skirt panel. A lace motif has been sewn over the centre front of the lace.

The bust cups are lined with a sheer, non-stretchy fabric. The upper back panel has a curved seam where it joins the skirt. The back skirt has a centre back seam.

This photo of the inside of the hem shows that the lace edging was applied with a zig-zag stitch.

The inside of the bust cups show that they were darted as well as gathered. The darts go through both the lace and the backing fabric. The slip was assembled with an over-locker.

The straps are made of ribbon. The findings on the straps are very fine.

This coat-hanger also oozes glamour. I'm not sure where it came from, but I have had it for years and years. I always associate it with the theatre and those dressing room mirrors surrounded by lights. I have always meant to reproduce this gathered satin covering for a coat hanger. Perhaps once I finish my slips.

Making bra tester cups

2011-10-04T23:50:00.000-07:00

I have been playing around with drafting my own bra patterns from scratch. This necessitates a lot of testing. I was finding it hard to assess the fit of the cups without making the complete bra, which was time consuming. I also didn't want to deplete all my bra-making supplies. This is my new approach:

Cut out the cup pieces and the bra cradle in a woven fabric. Stitch the cups pieces together and then stitch the completed cups into the cradle.

Outside view

Inside view

Then I stitch down the seam allowance between the cups and the cradle. The seam allowance is only 6 mm wide. I can stitch the seam allowances down to form a channel that is 3 - 4 mm wide. This is wide enough to slip in the bra wires, without having to sew on a separate wire casing.

I can then use one hand to hold the wire beneath my breast and the other can hold the strap position. The wire helps hold the cups to my body and I can get a good idea of fit. It only takes about 10 minutes to cut out and sew up and I have used precious few materials.

Blusa con volante

2011-09-11T04:51:00.000-07:00

They'll have to lock away my credit card, now that I know that Crafty Mamas sells individual copies of foreign sewing mags. I would never sew enough to justify a subscription to any of these magazines, but it is fun to pick up one now and then. I bought Patrones Joven extra No. 5 and a couple of knip modes.

I'm really a bit busy at the moment, but I was so inspired when they arrived that I wanted to dive straight in and test them out. I picked a really easy pattern to start.

A sleeveless tank top, with a low scoop neckline adorned with a ruffle.

The back has cut-away armholes...oops, I'll have to match it with my racer-back bra.

There are no closures. The front dart has been transferred to gathers at the neckline.

A copy of my pattern review:

Pattern Sizing: I used the size charts to select a size 40, grading out to a 44 in the waist and hips. I didn't make a muslin, but I did compare the pattern to my sloper. The sizing seemed true to size and worked out okay for me.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Here is my google translation of the instructions. Obviously, you need to apply your own interpretation to these.

Sew shoulder seams.
Gather a double pass at the neckline front from center to signal A and reduce to 6 cm
Gather another double pass from signal B to composure shoulder straps and also reduce to 6 cm
Finish neckline gathers holding by applying the bias tape, sewn and back.
Finish armholes the same by applying tape
Attach the two strips to form décolleté and finish ruffle on both sides of the strip with a finishing point, go through a double gather at the center of the strip, place this around the neckline and above the shoulder straps, tighten the gathers and sew a stitch above the furrowed center around the neckline.
Sew sides and hem.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the modern front neckline scoop and cut-away back armhole .

Fabric Used: In a huge leap of the imagination, I chose the same fabric as the magazine; a Liberty cotton lawn, only in a different colour-way. Liberty is lightweight and easy to sew, which allowed me to use narrow bias binding finishes and french seams.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I lengthened the top by about an inch. Initially I made it longer, but then shortened it again. I was worried about unnecessary show of midriff (not being a young, gorgeous model and all), but I don't think the extra length was necessary. It probably looks short on the model because she is so tall.

I cut the frill on the bias so that I would not need to narrow-hem the edges of the frill. This takes more fabric, but I also wanted to make self-fabric bindings on the bias.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I nearly sewed it again straight away, but then stopped myself, in case there were other groovy patterns in the magazine that I should try instead.

Conclusion: A little summer top that should get plenty of wear. I did try it tucked into a pencil skirt, it was not as flattering as a more fitted blouse when tucked into a skirt.

Pink, frilly, boucle jacket

2011-08-28T03:50:00.000-07:00

Sewing is a funny business. A technique you wish to try here, a pattern waiting for its moment in the sun, a fabric sale there, and next thing you know, you have a frilly, pink jacket.

Actually, this pattern may never have come into being if I didn't have a fight with my partner over book week costumes. Originally, the Grand Old Duke of York was going to be Humpty Dumpty. Only somebody wondered why I would put that much effort into my son only to have him going to school to look like an idiot. I stormed off in a huff, with no place to go but the sewing room, where I chose the most time-consuming project that I had on hand.

The pattern is Vogue 2923 DKNY, which was printed in 2006, but is still available from Vogue clearance. I'll show you a picture of the muslin, as it looks quite different made up in a medium weight linen. The collar becomes a flounce the flows down the front opening and curves around to form the back peplum. I must say that sewing does not always bring out the best in me. I was quite the miss-cranky-pants when I was fiddling to get my muslin right, and children wanted things, you know, like to be fed, or driven somewhere compulsory. The linen for this muslin was gifted to me, but it actually doesn't look too bad...maybe I should have had my fashion moments in the eighties with all that peach and apricot.

I have previously attempted a Chanel-style jacket, which is my favourite jacket, but I decided that this time around I did not want the jewel neckline. I wanted something a little less classic.

The fabric is a boucle, with a high percentage of cotton. I was hoping that it would be what people in other climates might consider a summer weight jacket, but it is a bit bulkier and warmer than I was anticipating.

The pattern has darts. I was wondering how best to mark the fabric. I even paused from my frantic sew-a-jacket-in-a weekend pace to read some of the blog "Go Chanel or go Home". The first dozen or so entries did not mention marking fabric. It was then that I realised that the traditional Chanel style jackets have princess seams for a reason. I decided to fudge my marking and remember this as a lesson for next time.

It also did not occur to me to match plaids. Not that I would have had enough fabric anyway. Next time, I need to order more fabric to match plaids. By some fluke, the pockets pattern matched perfectly. Only then I decided to move them to a more flattering position. I did not muslin the pockets, but I would recommend including them in the muslin if you are going to trim them with a contrasting trim, as the trim gives a very strong horizontal line.

I trimmed the seam allowance and a bit more off the collar and sandwiched the selvedge fringe of the fabric between the upper and lower collar. I wish that it had occurred to me to account for turn of cloth in this bulky fabric, because the collar does not sit as flat as it should. I don't think it matters much on a frilly, fluffy jacket.

I did not have enough fringe to trim the pockets, so I wove a few strands together to make a trim. Nothing too fancy because I did not have many threads available.

I caught the collar between the jacket and the lining as I bagged the two together. I quilted the jacket after it was constructed, as outlined in a Threads magazine article. After reading the "Go Chanel or Go Home" blog I now know that typically the panels are quilted before construction. If you look closely at my inside-out photos, you will see that I quilted in shapes to suit the pattern pieces, rather than vertical lines. I used a walking foot for the quilting.

You can see that I have not trimmed and bound the armhole seam. That is because I have enough fabric to make a matching blouse or dress or tank plus skirt. I want to cut these out before I cut the bias strips necessary to complete the armhole. That could be sometime off as they are not at the top of my sewing queue, and besides, it feels as though the winter weather is over here.

I love the lining fabric. I have had the boucle a couple of years and was patiently waiting for the right colour silk charmeuse to present itself. A cut length of this pink print fabric went on sale at EmmaOneSock. I had admired a skirt and blouse made up in this same fabric on net-a-porter and had been stalking it for a while. It wasn't until it went on sale that I realised that it would be a perfect match for this jacket. Nothing like a sale to get the creative juices flowing. I'm not sure what this silk fabric is called, but it does not have the sheen of charmeuse and is more of a habotai weight.

A few quick photos on me. I made the muslin one weekend, the jacket the next and put the finishing touches on today. No time to dress up for a photo shoot though, so you get my spent-almost-all weekend gardening hairdo. I wanted to blog tonight though, as I am anticipating a busy month with little or no sewing and blogging. No front-on photos though, because the boucle is hardly slimming. I have bought a length of white denim (on sale, again) which I will hopefully make up into slim jeans to match, with a top in the pink lining fabric to complete the outfit. One day.

The sum of the parts

2011-08-25T21:46:00.000-07:00

This is one of those projects made up using a pattern that I wasn't sure I liked, in combination with a fabric that I was not sure whether or not I liked. And guess what? I've ended up with a shirt that I'm not sure whether or not I like.

I bought the pattern because I wanted to see the construction, as I am thinking of making a bikini with a twist front. The pattern is Butterick 4789.

I should qualify that I did like the fabric, but the print repeat was not placed as I wanted for the original project. That is one of the pitfalls of buying on-line. If you were in the store, you could say, actually, add on 50 cm so I can include that bit of the repeat.

I didn't read the reviews at PR (all 35 of them!) before I made the top (because I cut it out the day the fabric arrived, whilst watching the Ita Buttrose Australian Story). I later saw that there was quite a bit of discussion regarding the fit and the "wad" of fabric below the twist. My two cents is that bustier women look good with a close fit, but flat chested gals, like myself, look better with a looser fit, allowing the fabric to drape, as a feature (given that there is no cleavage to feature!). Each to their own, of course. I remember similar grumbles about the fit of another Butterick twist top I made.

I cut a Sz 14, instead of my usual 12, because I was being lazy about the cutting and thought that I could make adjustments later. Well, I didn't make any adjustments, not even my almost-always-required forward shoulder adjustments, so I am wondering if, being a designer pattern, the standard sloper was not used and a forward shoulder had already been included in the design?.

Bookweek as a measure of progress

2011-08-23T04:58:00.000-07:00

I found having 3 small children tough going. And I must have made it look tough, because people that I haven't seen for a while usually ask me how we are getting on now. Well, life must be getting easier, because this year I sewed 2 out of 3 book week costumes. Not that there is anything wrong with PVA glue and crepe paper. I'm not one for competitive parenting. I think that most of us just do what we can.

This is what I could do this year.

Did you guess who they were? The Grand Old Duke of York, Madeline and Tikki Tikki Tembo.

The Duke's jacket was based on an old Top Kid's pattern. It is a raglan sleeve, but it had the collar that I wanted, so no epaulettes for this duke. I went to Vinnies for the buttons. I could not find any clothing with gold buttons so I asked the ladies behind the counter if they could recall any garments with gold buttons on them. They went and looked at the clothes out the back and then dug through their sewing tin and came up with the perfect buttons. What lovely, helpful ladies! The Duke is so proud of his costume that he has been wearing it out and about all week.

Madeline was self drafted from a basic Burda bodice. There were several other Madelines there today, but I think mine was the most adorable.

The third child did not get a hand sewn costume because he declared that he hated book week and hated dressing up. No point wasting sewing time there! Must be the age, because nearly every boy in his class came as a football player.

Hello Yellow

2011-08-19T14:26:00.000-07:00

I think that I've mentioned before that I need a few yellow clothes to wear to my children's sports days, which is why I nabbed this Milly knit from EmmaOneSock. I started with a pattern for a raglan t-shirt, cut off from RTW (shown in this post). I used the scraps to make that thingy bit on the front.

I'm loving the white trousers, but I've really had to work to wear them. They were a bit tricky to sew in the first place. Then the buckle broke and I redesigned the top closure to do away with a buckle. After that they shrunk almost 4 inches in the wash. I kid you not. I had pre-washed the fabric before sewing and I had even put them through the wash previously without shrinkage. I suspect that in my climate, the drying time affects the shrinkage. On really humid days, when the washing doesn't ever seem to dry properly, I don't get as much shrinkage as windy, dry days when the washing is dry in an hour or two. The fabric wasn't labelled when I bought it, so now I am wondering if it had some tencel in it, as that is my only other experience of such drastic shrinkage. Luckily for me, I made the originals with a really deep hem. I have let all of that out and just have the tiniest turn-up now. If they shrink again, I'll have to wear them as capris.

The clutch is one I adapted from Nicole Mallalieu's new book "you sew, girl!". I was going to do a review of this book, as it is rather interesting and I have picked up a few tips from it, but that will have to wait, as I lent the messenger bag I made to a friend who is going overseas and won't get it back for about 6 weeks. I borrowed the book from my library but I am thinking of buying a copy for myself. The book includes patterns for bags, belts, children's clothing and directions for patternless clothing for women.

Pattern Launch

2011-08-09T21:07:00.000-07:00

I don't remember "pattern maker" being on the list of career options when I was at school. I guess I wasn't living in one of the fashion capitals at the time. Not that I am now. I think it is something I would like to do. For the last couple of years "give pattern making a good, proper go" has been on my list of New Years' Resolutions. Still, I've been a bit cautious, just dipping my toe in the water, never quite finishing what I start. Well, a few weeks ago, I decided to do what I could do, rather than reach for the stars.

Today I am launching my first pattern. It is not an Oscar-worthy gown. It will not put you on any of the best-dressed lists. But it is streamlined and chic, in its own way. It is practical. It doesn't take much fabric; "scrap bustin'" even comes to mind. It can be completed in less than half an hour. So go on. Try my Boys Trunks Pattern. Although, around here, we don't like to call them Boys' Trunks. Oh no, we like to call them "Man-Jocks".

I am pretty excited by this pattern launch. Sure, humble beginnings and all, but who knows where it could lead? In the meantime, though, I still want this blog to be all about me, me, me. So I have decided to start a new blog for my patterns. You will have to go to the Strawberry Milk Run to get my pattern.

There are 3 posts over there, all ready for you. Sometimes we don't want to drag these things out over days and days, do we? So here are the different links;

For the Boys Trunks Pattern
For the tutorial to go with the pattern
For fitting changes (because even though the pattern is pretty fabulous, how you like to wear your undies is personal)

So go on, 'ave a go! And if you do, I'd love some feedback, either here or over there.

From the back of the wardrobe

2011-08-02T18:21:00.000-07:00

This Vogue 2797 dress was made for me by my mother, about 8 years ago. I had bought the fabric and pattern, thinking it would be perfect if I ever needed to go on a boat cruise. Not that I frequently went on boat cruises. Then I was given a last-minute invitation to the local tourism awards, which started with a boat cruise. I was working at the time, and with my first bubba in tow, I didn't have the time to stitch it up. Luckily for me, my mother was visiting, and she spent the day stitching it up for me. Though I do remember being just a teeny bit jealous that she was home sewing a dress whilst I had to go to work. Thanks Mum!

I have not worn it often, but I pulled it out to go to the school ball on the weekend.

It is the same pattern that was used to make this dress. I love getting 2 completely different garments from the same pattern.

Sunday morning sewing

2011-07-31T21:25:00.000-07:00

Saturday is clean-the-house day around here. Often, I just shut the sewing room door and ignore it. This week, I left it open. Which meant I could wake up on Sunday morning with clear floors, a clear conscience and time to do those oft neglected non-sewing activities. But the lure of the clear sewing room was too strong. It would be easy to duck in there and whip up a quick project before my kids had the pancakes on the table.

When I looked up the link for the Eileen Fisher site in my last post, I stopped for a look around. This project is not a copy of one of her garments, but it was inspired by the feel of her collections. I started with an OOP Vogue pattern (from 2004) for a raglan sleeved shirt with a wide neckline.

My fabric was a cotton sweater knit that I ordered online. Initially I was disappointed, because it was heavier than I expected and it doesn't have great recovery, but I wore it all yesterday and it was comfy.

I cut the back and sleeves as per the pattern. For the front, I wanted to create a bit of a cowl, but I just wanted to add the extra fabric in the top half, so I first cut the bottom half as per normal (that is not bad cutting...that is me grading out to a Sz 14).

Then I pivoted the pattern to create extra room for the cowl.

I didn't want a very deep cowl. I also hadn't decided whether to sew the cowl as normal, or have it hang to the outside, or gather up the sides a bit etc. It was all a bit experimental.

I then sewed the top, except for where the upper part of the front attaches to the seams, so that I could play around with it a bit and decide what I wanted.

I used a blind hem on the bottom and sleeves. The back and side neckline was finished with woven bias tape, so that the top would not stretch off my shoulders.

Goes nicely with my pajamas and the remnants of the previous nights' eyeliner, doesn't it. Don't worry, I'll show you the dress that went with the eyeliner in the next post.

Racerback

2011-07-29T15:07:00.000-07:00

I do like the look of a racer back. I have not worn racer back styles though, because it annoys me when bra straps show (how outmoded of me!). I have tried bras with straps that hook together at the back and ones where the straps change positions, but they still seemed to cross at the wrong place. Then, a couple of months ago I saw a racer back bra in a magazine..it was a bit of a light bulb / "oh derrrr" moment for me.

So, using the cups from my previous pattern, I set about to make a racer back bra. I substituted a front opening design for the bridge piece (for one bra I used the opening from Elan 540, for the other I used the piece from Pin-Up Girls Sharon bra). I took the back piece and split it in two. I could have made the entire back piece out of powernet, but when you buy a bra kit, often the powernet is not wide enough to cut a back piece on the fold. This is why I split the pattern and made the centre back piece out of the same fabric as the cups. I actually cut a dart out ,rather than just split the pattern. I just guessed the width of the dart. I added some width to made up for the fact that the centre back was not stretchy.

This was my first attempt. When I tried it on under a shirt, the racerback position was too low and a smidge too wide.

I modified the pattern and made a beige version. This photo suggests that I need to make the band a little looser.

Here, it is being worn under Jalie 2565. No straps showing!

I made this top as a layering piece, using an Eileen Fisher fabric from EmmaOneSock. I had not heard of Eileen Fisher, but when I looked at her website, she has some great designs for layered dressing. This fabric is a great "neutral" for me, as I don't much wear white.

This is how I have been wearing this top. Hardly seen at all, but the glimpse of colour it offers seems to complete the outfit.

Getting the pattern I wanted

2011-07-26T20:22:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago, I had some success with the Pin-Up Girls "Linda" bra pattern. When I was placing an order for bra-making supplies earlier this year, I saw that they had produced a new pattern for a demi-bra with front closing, the "Sharon" bra. It looked pretty similar to the Linda pattern, and I probably could have made the changes myself, but sometimes it is easier to have somebody else do all the work for you, right? Uh-uh.

I made the pattern up and it didn't fit well at all.

Problems for me

To be fair, part of the problem may be that I used a fabric with no give (Duoplex), and maybe I need a bigger cup on one side. I ended up with a double boob, and let me tell you, I didn't think I had enough flesh for a double boob.
The straps are made from 5/8" elastic. The pattern I bought is for A - AAA cups. Whilst 5/8" may be fine for larger caps, I think it is disproportionate for these cups and I would have prefered that they changed to 3/8" elastic for the smaller cup sizes.
Using a 5/8: ring to attached the straps means that this ring is held in place by 3/8" elastic (the armhole elastic), so it is flimsier than a 3/8" ring would be.
The straps position is less than flattering. They are positioned above the BP. All my RTW bras use a wider position, which I prefer.
I used the recommended wires for this pattern, but they are too short, which I think is part of the reason why the bra rides up at the front when I raise my arms.

I was pretty cranky that I had bought an expensive pattern and wasted good-quality materials on this bra.

I sat down to consider the features that I really wanted in a bra. This is what I came up with;

demi-bra coverage
cup with vertical or steeply diagonal seaming
back band that curves downward (to take into account the back dart that we put in fitted clothing)
3/8" elastic straps (I know some people prefer fabric straps, but my straps don't fall off and I think that the elastic looks prettier)
The other side of the strap ring to be held in place with fabric, rahter than elastic, as this elastic is one of the first places to show wear in my bras.
padding optional
back elastic can be connected with either a t-intersection or an integrated strap

I combined several patterns to come up with the pattern I wanted. The bridge pattern is customised to my shape. The band piece is from the "Linda" pattern. For the cups, I was guided by KwikSew 3300 and Elan 540. I wanted less coverage that the Kwiksew and more than the Elan.

This is a comparison with the Kwiksew pattern. I did mess up a bit here. I assumed that the Kwiksew pattern that I had copied, cut out and left in the envelope was my size, but it was actually a 32A, not a 34A. I have been using wires for a 34A, which only just fit in. I made this cup up 4 times before I realised. Next year, I will modify for longer wires with a wider diameter. If you click on the photo, you can see that the top of the cup has a different shape.

Here is a comparison with the Elan 540. Slightly different curvature in the cups, due to mistake mentioned above.

Here are the completed bras, made using a kit from Bra-Makers Supply. I like pretty bras, but beige ones are far more practical. I think that this one is both beige and pretty. The fit is good and it is comfortable. Maybe a tad snug around the rib-cage, but the elastic will probably give with a few washes.

I made another one in blue / white. I thought this combo would be cute, but I actually don't like it as much as the beige one. Maybe because I haven't finished it off with a satin bow (It took me ages to work out how to make those bows)?

Child's t-shirt refashion

2011-07-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

This t-shirt was brought back from a business trip for my daughter. To the inexperienced shopper, it probably looked about the right size. The fabric is very stretchy, and the neckline large, so I think it is actually a body-fitting top for a teenager. She loved it though, so rather than pass it on, I took to it with the scissors.

I used burda style 5/2011 140 as a guide. I left the hem and side seams as they were, which was the right width and maybe 5 cm longer than the pattern. I cut off the sleeves. I cut a new neckline, shoulders and armholes. For the front neckline, I could leave the ribbing attached. For the back, I removed the ribbing and attached it to the new neckline. I left the hem and side seams of the sleeve, but cut a shallower sleeve cap, before re-attaching the sleeve. I used the scraps to make casings and ties. They are not the neatest or straightest casings and ties, but they will do.

She made the shorts and necklace herself.

Blue Lovelies

2011-07-16T00:47:00.000-07:00

Well this was a fun, little project to lift me out of the doldrums.

I visited a funny, little shop in Cairns recently. It was one of those treasure-trove-emporiums. Huge bolts of cheap (and nasty) fabric. All sorts of weird and wonderful trims. Elastics. Zips. Buttons. I suspect most of them were manufacturing left-overs.

In amongst all this I found some good quality bra elastics and laces, in navy and maroon. I bought some of the navy odds and ends (though next time I visit I will go in and get the maroon). They were a great match for the leftovers from the dress in my last post. The fabric was Mary Nanna's fabric (and still available from EmmaOneSock I found today) and did not match anything in my remnant drawer, so I thought best to use up all the scraps.

Click on the next photo to get a good look at the stretch elastic I used for the sides of the bra. It is very pretty.

I did not have a blue fastener, so I bought a black one from Spotlight. This niggled me at first, but then when I designed the knickers, I made the back of them black, which made the black fastener a little less incongruous.

I did have blue sliders and rings, but something went wrong at the top of the bra (in spite of careful planning) and it was too bulky to turn over a ring. Instead I sewed the elastic directly to the bra. This means that it is not adjustable, but given that it is custom-made, that doesn't really matter. It does stop the project being perfect though, which annoys me. It seems every garment has one, little thing wrong with it.

I had trouble cutting and sewing accurate seam allowances in the slippery charmeuse. This led to a poor fit, so I had to unpick a lot of the bra and go again. The second time around, I sewed a lining to the bridge before cutting it out. For the main bra pieces, I cut them in Antron jersey and spray basted them to the charmeuse before cutting it out. This actually gave the bra more of a plush feel, so I did not mind the unpicking in the end.

The pattern was made from an old Elle Macpherson bra from almost 20 years ago. Those were the days when I used to buy lovely lingerie. These days, my discretionary spending is all consumed by fabric.

I'll show you a picture of the pattern, because the inner cup piece has an unusual shape. I checked, and re-checked and checked again when I was making the pattern, lining up the grain, and making sure that the shape was not due to fabric distortion.

The neck edge is pulled in with elastic.

I like this pattern because I can use it to sew scraps of woven fabrics that I love. Some time ago I made a version from Liberty print. I don't think that I ever blogged about it, so here is a quick picture (this blog is my primary sewing record after all).

The knickers are my own design. The pattern is based on a swimwear pattern that I drafted myself. I have used silk charmeuse cut on the bias for a centre panel, stretch lace for the sides, and a soft power net for the back. The elastic was from a different place to the bra elastics and it caused me a lot of grief. The thread kept breaking as I sewed it. It was also tricky getting the elastic right when I was sewing it to 3 very different types of fabric with different amounts of stretch. The photo of the flat garment shows the elastic all curling up, but my model shows that it sits straight on the body. I'm very pleased that the scallops matched up on the lace at the front of the knickers.

They are very comfy to wear, which I am pleased about. Mostly I avoid matching sets because I prefer all cotton, skin coloured knickers, but these are so soft that I will wear them. And always under that dress. What's not to love about a matching lingerie and dress set?

Vena Cava Dress

2011-07-09T14:26:00.000-07:00

How many sack dresses does a girl need? Well, one more than I already had, it would seem. Though, I didn't race out and buy this pattern. I uummed and aahhed and eventually bought it at one of Vogues $3.88 sales.

The fabric is a silk charmeuse from EmmaOneSock. It is a little different to my usual colours and styles. I probably bought it because it was fashionable more than anything else, so I wanted make it up quickly rather than pop it in the stash. I dyed my hair dark this week. Everytime I catch sight of myself I feel like I am wearing a wig, but I am having fun trying different colours and make-up than I typically wear.

The pattern is Vogue 1228. I made 2 changes to the dress pattern. First, I cut off the wide sleeve bands and made them narrow bands. I liked the bands on the pattern, but the dress was less flattering with them on. I know this, because I am one of those people that try on a dress about 500 times during construction.

The second change was to make the neckline narrower with a series of pintucks, after the dress was completed. I didn't muslin the dress; instead I used my sloper to adjust the pattern, after reading this great post by Audrey. Usually I make a narrow chest adjustment. I wasn't sure how to do this with the kimono sleeves. The neck width was the same for Sz 8 through 14, which seemed a little odd, but I went with it. When I put on the dress, the neckline seemed too wide and my bra was showing at the corners of the neckline. Pintucks to the rescue, but I think they were a good idea and I would use them again next time.

I tried out a new technique on this dress, that I read about years ago. After reading the other reviews for this pattern, I left out the zipper. This meant the construction was all French seams. For the first pass of the French seam I used my overlocker. I wouldn't use this for sheer fabrics, but for slippery charmeuse that frays, it works great.

1st pass, wrong sides together, overlocked seam.

2nd pass, right sides together, stitched seam enclosing the overlocking.

Right side completed, nary a frayed thread in sight.

This last photo is really just photographic evidence on this blog that I can smile! I wore this dress for my daughter's disco party yesterday. My photographer arrived home after the party had already started, so I was in party mode when we ducked out for half a moment to take these photographs.

Dress-ups

2011-06-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

Dress-ups tend to follow gender stereo-typical lines around here...tutus and mermaid costumes for the girls and camo gear for the boys.

The tutu was made using Jalie 2915.

I used the same pattern to make the top of the mermaid costume. The mermaid costume was made out of scraps left over from all those ballet concert leggings I made last year. This Jalie pattern is great for scraps because the princess panels mean you only need little bits. The skirt is basically a tube. The tail is scraps of the lycra sewn onto an organza background.

The camo pants were quickly whipped up to go with an existing shirt. It was only worn for a little while though...turns out he prefers his elf costume from last year.

Zero waste or madness?

2011-06-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

Scraps are taking up too much valuable realty in my stash wardrobe. I generally buy good quality fabrics, and it seems a waste to throw out even scraps of them. After seeing this post by "sew i do", I decided to use up a few scraps on boys jocks. I made a pattern off a RTW pair and then I ordered Jalie 2327 so that I would have a range of sizes. I lowered the rise on the Jalie pattern, more like the RTW pair. For one child, I cut a larger size and gathered it more onto the elastic as he likes a looser fit in the legs.

I also got the chance to use up some button-hole elastic that seemed a good idea when the kids were little, but in fact was never strong enough to hold up trousers.

Sewing jocks does seem to be bordering on sewing madness though. The boys are happy with them, even the child who does not want to wear homemade clothes anymore. I guess everyone likes comfy undies. I have been making them whilst the kids are home on holidays. I would feel guilty sewing for myself whilst they were home but I don't seem to feel the same guilt for such utilitarian sewing.

I even got out the coverstitch machine out to practice both hemming and flat-stitching. I threaded the bottom thread with fluffy and it has been behaving so well that I have not wanted to change threads. It seems cover stitches pull out so easily when they are sewn well but are difficult to remove if they are not, so I need to improve my skills to sew straight and require no unpicking. Undies are a good place to practice.

Whilst I was ordering pattern from Jalie, I bought a racer back tank, Jalie 2565, for my daughter. Here she gets a new knicker and cami set from scraps of a shirt that I have not shown you yet.

And finally, I got a set, using scraps from a dress that I recently made a friend.

Aprons

2011-06-07T04:29:00.000-07:00

Try as I might, I could not get the whole self-timer thing happening today. Too dark, too light, too far away, too close. Patience is not one of my virtues. It was easier to revert to my bodgy-in-the-mirror shots. Which is a shame, because they really are the loveliest aprons that I have ever worn.

I completed the patchwork for these aprons so long ago that I can't remember the designer of the fabric. I bought one of those packs of squares and then filled it out with an Amy Butler print leftover from something-or-other. I made up two rectangles, originally planning to make an apron for me and another as a gift.

I bagged out the rectangle, to hide all the patchwork seams. Then I held it around me and marked where I wanted the pleats, which you can see from the inside view below. I added a waistband and then ties. It fits rather well. How very sewing-nerdy of me to be concerned with the fit of a an apron.

The second apron also fits rather nicely. Again, I bagged out a rectangle, held it up to me, and marked pleats to fit. I sewed the ties over the pleats to hold them in place. The upper sides of the apron are folded under in a traditional BBQ apron shape. The strap is the perfect length, unlike every other apron that I have.

Now because I am wearing an apron and feeling all very domesticated, I thought I would share a recipe that is a favourite around here at the moment. It is a recipe for Rocky Road, as I remember making it when I was a child. It is so yummy, that I keep coming up with excuses as to why my children can't eat it...no, you haven't tidied your room, you've already cleaned your teeth, it's too late, you've had enough sweet things already today...all the more for me.

Ingredients:
I pkt marshmallows
1/2 pkt jubes
A handful of almonds
1-2 handfuls of shredded coconut, toasted lightly in a dry frypan
I block of cooking chocolate, melted

Method: Combine ingredients in a bowl. Stir until all ingredients are coated with chocolate.

Transfer to a container lined with baking paper. Pop in the fridge until set.

Cut into slices or squares. Most delicious.

This is my fourth batch since Easter. Must stop soon.

Burda Tunic for girls

2011-06-03T22:31:00.000-07:00

I adore everything about this Burda tunic (8/2010 #145).

The care-free style.

The drawstring shoulder ties.

The drop-waist casing and drawstring, and hip pockets.

It is what I would want to wear if I was 8 years old. Actually, my Mum made me a very similar dress when I was eight and I loved it. Only it had large patch pockets with zips.

After paying so much for the buttons on my previous shirt, I went and bought a jar of buttons from Vinnies for $3. None of the buttons for this tunic are identical. They are all the same size, colour and shape, each with a different logo embossed on top. I don't think anyone will notice.

We have all been doing a bit of sewing today. The last photo is of my youngest son, using the pencil case that he just made himself.

Sewing clutch, beta version

2011-06-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

Ever since I saw Amy Butler's project for a fashion checkbook clutch, I have been wanting to adapt it to make a sewing clutch. I have the fabric. I even have the peltex. I keep forgetting which length of zipper to buy.

I have been stalling though. Then I realised that it was because I didn't want to sew an expensive, fiddly project if it turned out to be not-quite-right. Which leads me to...the beta version.

I made this clutch using a travel pouch from our last holiday that came with our tickets, itinerary etc. I sewed lines down the existing pockets to create smaller pockets. I sewed in a mini pincushion. I had to slide a piece of plastic in behind the pincushion to stop the pins coming through to the outside. I sewed in a couple of zip-lock bags to hold buttons and hooks-and-eyes. I sewed in a length of elastic to hold cotton reels. Twenty minutes and almost zero cost.

I love that this clutch is flat, and can be carried easily amongst books, magazines etc. It will live in my tote bag, because I like to carry around my hand-stitching for the odd times where I am sitting, waiting...football training, gymnastics carnivals etc.

If it works well, I may go on to the real version, but then, if it works really well, I may not need to.

Re-fashions

2011-06-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

It is a shame that I did not take a before photo or even do a tutorial for this first re-fashion, because it is such a useful re-fashion for fast-growing children. This was a long-sleeved top that had become too short. The younger cousins are out-growing my children and it was possibly a tad too grubby to give to the op shop, so I turned it into a tank top. Tank tops have a lower neckline than t-shirts, so the length was just about perfect. I used the existing hem, side seam and neckline. I laid the "Brooklyn Tank Top" pattern from "Sewing clothes Kids Love" over the top to cut the shape of the armholes. I then made the straps from fold-over elastic, but you could easily use the fabric from the cut-off sleeves to make straps. Quick, yet satisfying.

I do have a before photo for this next re-fashion. It was a women's t-shirt with voluminous sleeves that I picked up from the op shop for $2. The fabric was a lightweight cotton knit with a lovely sheen. It looked hardly worn. I guess somebody regretted those sleeves when they got home.

I turned it into a singlet and knicker set for my daughter. Not sure why. I was pretty busy that week. I guess I just needed $2 worth of fun. The singlet was based on an Ottobre pattern, though I added the frills. The knickers were made using a Jalie pattern.

The Shirt.

2011-05-31T20:08:00.000-07:00

The shirt. It's on all those wardrobe essentials list, mostly accompanied by the words "classic" and "white". I can't seem to work it into my wardrobe very well. I did want to sew one though, so that's alright.

My fabric is a Liberty print. The pattern is Vogue 2634.

You may have to enlarge this next picture to see that the bottom bottom hole is horizontal, whilst all the others are vertical. I have seen this done on men's shirts. Not sure why, perhaps to anchor the other buttons in position?

The back view. I added back darts.

The pattern had the option of sleeveless, short sleeves 3/4 sleeves and really long sleeves, but no wrist length sleeves. I adjusted the length to the wrist and added a placket. This is the first placket I have sewn. I used some very good instructions in an Australian Stitches magazine.

See these buttons. They cost $2 each. I nearly felll over when the shop owner told me, but I am not spoilt for choice in sewing supply shops. Just another reason not to sew collared shirts. Sadly, I only checked the vertical placement of buttons and not the horizontal placement and the under-placket shows.

You can see here that I used a contrasting fabric for the collar stand and plackets. Only it is in a similar colourway, so this effect is subtle.

This is how I styled it today. Actually, it was about all I could come up with, unlike the mustard pants that I showed you on Monday that lent themselves to dozens of wardrobe combinations.

I suspect that not many women look great in a collared shirt. All the views on runways and magazines show the shirts unbuttoned to a deep V, giving a strong vertical line that you don't get if you wear it buttoned up. If I went out like that, it would only take moments for somebody to tell me that my buttons had come undone. So this project was more about the process than wearing.

Like many of you, I love reading style guide books. Earlier this year I picked up Wardrobe 101. I compared their essentials checklist to my own wardrobe

- tailored jacket, short jacket, fitted jacket and trench coat. Whilst I own these, I only really wear my Chanel style jacket.
- tailored pants - again, own these, rarely wear them
-wide-legged pants - tick
-jeans - tick
- the perfect skirt - tick, tick, tick
- full skirt - I'm not sure that this is an essential, outside of a bush dance or ballet concert
- collared shirt - see above
- statement top - tick
-knit sweater or cardigan - tick
-tee-shirt - tick
- day dress - I have several, but none of them is the perfect dress, still searching
- little black dress - which I do wear occasionally, but I always feel boring in black
- special occasion dress - plenty of these, but they don't leave the cupboard too often.

So it seems, I meet the list, but these are not the clothes I wear every day. I've started my own list to work against instead.
* jersey dress, appropriate for work or somber occasions, when you need to grab an outfit in 30 seconds after you have just sat in somebody's yoghurt. Essential that this dress does not require ironing.
* pull-on dress, no fussing required, to be grabbed on your way to answering the front door, or when you should have been somewhere 20 minutes ago.
* t-shirts, take the time to find a flattering fit
* knit tops, dressier than t-shirts, but also must not require ironing
* statement top, for all those times when people mostly only see your top half anyway. Throw on with jeans for any occasion when you are not sure what the dress code is. Ironing is permissible.
* cardi / scarf that is able to be rolled up into your bag
* tights / leggings, to go under all those dresses you made / bought, forgetting that you are not in your twenties anymore
* skirts / pants / shorts. Forget the fashions, Choose styles and lengths that flatter. Pockets are handy but not essential.
* one dress that makes you feel gorgeous. Matching heels. You may need a matching bag if you don't have a bloke with pockets.
* pretty pjs
* swimmers in which you are prepared to be seen in public. It is a lot more fun in the water than watching from the sidelines.
* cute exercise clothes. I only exercise to help me look good and it defeats the purpose if I am wearing baggy old uglies for the duration.
* underwear that you can forget about once you have it on. No pulling, pinching, fussing allowed.

What do you think? Anything missing?

Underwater Dreaming Dress

2011-05-30T19:17:00.000-07:00

Can you tell that I've been playing around with the self timer? Trouble is, I'm not sure how to get the photo to focus on me, and not the background, which means that the details of this dress are a little obscured, sorry.

Fabric: "Underwater Dreaming", printed silk satin from Tessuti
Pattern: Vogue 8529, previously made in a silk jersey

This fabric was a gift from Colette. The colours are divine and the shine is really opulent. In spite of all this fabric gorgeousness, it has taken me a year to make it up. It was that whole stripe dilemma thingy. I would sit down at the table, pattern and scissors in hand and go...stripes across? stripes up and down? to the mirror. pin. pin. pin. oh, I don't know. an hour later, put everything away again.

Genius that I am, it only took a year to figure out that I could mix them up a bit. No project runway deadlines in this house!

The wide hem band and the princess seams give the back of the dress a bit of a mod look. The front cowl does not drape as nicely as my jersey version. It is possible (can't quite remember) that I changed the grain of the pieces to get the stripes how I wanted them, so this may be my fault, rather than the pattern drafting. I love the colours. When I slipped it on during a late night sewing session, I suddenly looked a whole lot less tired, so one of these colours must be "my" colour. Just need to figure out which one.

The fabric did fray. It would have been nice to use French seams, but I wanted to fit as I went, rather than make a muslin, so I just finished my seams with an overlocker.

Pegged Trousers

2011-05-29T20:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, confessions time.

So last year, trousers came back. After what seems like a decade of the dress, trousers were featuring in the fashion mags again, and I wanted some of the action. I dallied with Vogue 8657, but really, elastic-waisted pants are best left for jammies. I ummed and I ahhed and then I saw Jorth's pants. I wanted Jorth's pants. It was too late for me to get that copy of Burda. I scoured the pattern books looking for something similar. I hung about the Burda box at the library, hoping that someone would return this edition. Then one night, I sat down to draft my own version. I was just putting pencil to paper, when I paused, thought how ridiculous, I do not have time for drafting, it is nearly the end of the year and I have about a gazillion things to do before kids break up from school. So I went and bought trousers. I, who never buy clothing, went a bought a black pair of pants. They did cost me a small fortune (which I think is why Jorth sewed hers in the first place). They do look good and I do wear them.

This month, the Burda mag finally showed up at the library (I could have reserved it, but I did not want to put that sort of pressure on someone who might actually be using it, or thinking about using it, or hoping to get a moment to trace off patterns before the due date....like I am hoping to trace off patterns from another edition I have that is waaay over due.)

I made up Burda 6/2010 #105 using fabric from my stash. I can't remember the composition of the fabric, though I suspect it is a blend. It is more robust than I expected. I was expecting it to fray badly, but it didn't. It is a little springy, but presses well. The colour matches more of my tops than I anticipated.

In these photos, I have already been wearing them for several hours and they have bagged out a bit. This is my first time sewing Burda trousers. My hip size is 42, but after comparing the pattern with others I use, I went with a 40.

Here I am, reading the camera manual, trying to work out setting in my new photo location. I may be deceiving myself, but I think the pants look less clown-like in real life. Though, I don't think I'll make another pair in this style. There's probably a good reason why pegged trousers all but disappeared for a while.

So the Burda pants don't fit as well from the back as my Marfy pants. I'll know this for next time. I could unpick them and fix this, which would also reduce the clown-like bagginess a the front. Or I could just stop taking rear view photos.

I do like them though. I'll just make sure I wear them before the fashion fades away. Not everything has to be classic, right?

Would you share your jeans?

2011-05-19T18:57:00.000-07:00

This month, in bookclub, we read The Necklace by Cheryl Jarvis. It is the story of a group of women who share a luxury diamond necklace. They each paid about $1500 and get to wear the necklace for one month in the year.

This prompted discussions about what we would not share (my list...my bloke, my babysitter and my toothbrush). Then when I asked who would share their jeans, I got a resounding "no way" from everybody. I was genuinely surprised. I have been meeting with this group of women for about 10 years and some of them I would consider close friends. When I badgered a few of them about it, they replied, well, my jeans wouldn't fit you anyway, my jeans wouldn't look good on you, you wouldn't get a hot date wearing my jeans.

Personally, sharing my jeans wouldn't bother me in the least. Either my store bought ones or my homemade ones. How about you?

Burda Yoga Top

2011-04-20T00:25:00.000-07:00

Fabric: Organic cotton jersey from Tessuti, that has been sitting in my stash for a while.

Pattern: Burdastyle 7/2010/111. Tany has posted a tutorial here and illustrated pictures here.

The instructions for this pattern called for Vilene / Pellon G 785 interfacing. I thought that the right sort of interfacing might be important, so I held off until I could get some. When I was at Spotlight on the weekend, they wanted $20 for a 90 cm square of this interfacing. That seemed a little excessive for what has been described around here as a "glorified boob tube", so I went home and got sewing without it. I did use some interfacing for the centre panel, but it was not a knit interfacing. I didn't quite follow the instructions properly (can't seem to concentrate these days) and the interfacing was showing, so I stuck another piece of fabric between the centre panel and the straps, which is that bubbly bit you can see in the middle. I admit that everything would probably be smoother with the interfacing, but it is okay, and less noticeable in real life than in the above photo.

I modified the pattern to incorporate a bandeau style shelf bra. I know that shelf bras do not offer the best support, but it is enough to make me feel more comfortable wearing the top. I cut separate pieces for the bandeau, but extending the fold-under facing would probably have done the job. The depth of the bandeau is 14 cm, including the 2 cm wide elastic at the bottom edge. I also put some elastic along the top edge of the top.

Now I am way too highly strung for yoga, so the top is unlikely to ever make it to a yoga class, but I think that it will get plenty of wear anyways.

Insa Skirt

2011-04-18T13:37:00.000-07:00

When I pulled out these fabrics and the book "Sewing Clothes Kids Love", I asked my daughter if she wanted the Insa skirt or the Feliz party dress or the Manhattan Special Occasion Dress. She replied that she wanted a skirt. Of course, I was forgetting that all skirts end up as strapless dresses :).

I have also seen her wear a boob tube from her dress-ups as a skirt and a fairy skirt as a poncho. I guess your wardrobe is more versatile when your chest, waist and hip measurements are all about the same.

Cynthia Rowley tank...

2011-04-17T00:05:00.000-07:00

Isn't it a bummer when your favourite shot of a garment shows you with your eyes shut...

Or with some weirdo look on your face....

Or a person sleeping in the background....

Never mind. Crap photos but I still like the top.

Pattern: Simplicity 2593

Fabric: lightweight knit from EmmaOneSock. Possibly it shrunk quite a lot in the wash, as the fabric width seemed unusually narrow, and I could only just get a tank top out of it. EmmaOneSock has a minimum yardage of 1 yd and I have very little in the way of scraps, so thinking more about it, it really must have shrunk!.

This pattern was designed for wovens. I cut a Sz 6 in the width, using the Sz 12 line for the neckline and length of straps. I haven't sewn with Simplicity patterns much before, but usually I start with a 12 in the Vogues. My neckband is a little narrower than the pattern suggested, only because I had a shortage of fabric. Neckband and bindings were cut on the cross instead of the bias. Instead of using the guidelines for the gathering, I just put the top on and adjusted the gathers to where I wanted them, overcoming my usual fitting problems in this area.

What more can I say? Love the neckline. Will probably use this pattern again.

How long does your sewing last?

2011-04-15T19:11:00.000-07:00

I have made more than a dozen of these pencil rolls as gifts for my children's friends over the past few years. I mostly make them out of remnants of my dressmaking fabrics, although some I do sew in brighly coloured children's fabric.

Each time I make one, I wonder how long it will be used and cherished. I like to think that they will be used for decades; that some child will go on to become an artist, designer, achitect etc and will still be using this to store their sketching pencils. Dreaming? Probably.

Chevron

2011-04-10T19:47:00.000-07:00

When this Japanese cotton print arrived from Tessuti, I was a little surprised at how stripy it was! Of course, the on-line photographs show it to be stripy, but somehow my brain had not registered that detail. Being pear-shaped, I am never quite sure what to do with stripes. It seems no matter which way they go, they just emphasize that pear shape. It took a bit of pondering, but I decided to discard my original pattern choice and go with Vogue 8184, with the skirt panels cut on the bias to give a chevron effect.

Here are front, back and side views, to show you the pattern matching. The bodice panels were cut off-grain, to get a diamond shape of the pattern in both the front and the back. I only used boning in the front princess seams. I would have liked to not use boning at use, being a casual dress, but the dress was collapsing below the bust. I'm not sure if this is because I am small busted, or whether I need to contour the seams below the bust more.

I should have stabilised the seam allowance before I put in the zipper, especially because the bodice is off-grain. I did realise part way through sewing the zipper, but I have little sewing time at the moment, and knew that if I didn't finish this dress that night, it may not have got finished for a long time, so I just powered on through. The zip is a little bubbly, but not too bad. I am only admitting to this mistake on the chance that somebody else wants to make a chevron dress!

It pairs nicely with this cardigan and my favourite necklace.

A close-up of the straps. I took this idea from one of the designs in the Twinkle Sews book. In this photo, you can see the lining peeking out, even though it is understitched. I think this is happening because I cut the bodice off-grain and the lining on-grain.

Growed-up Trousers

2011-03-17T04:07:00.000-07:00

Most of the trousers I make my kids are elastic waist pants. I have been doing a bit of stash-busting this week. I was going to eek out a skirt for myself from this fabric, but really, such a classic (boring) skirt is not one that I would wear a lot. So my son got this remnant piece. I combined it with a thrifted zipper and button and an Ottobre pattern that I traced off years ago and never used.

He is most pleased with them and asked me "could you remind me that I have these Mum, so that I can wear them again?". Unlike the other umpteen pairs that I have made him and are either lodged at the back of the drawer or have been handed down to nephews, hardly worn.

I only had enough fabric for one back pocket.

He is wearing it with a linen shirt that I re-made for his brother 5 years ago. It has been worn twice in those years. Once to a christening and once to a wedding. Apparently it is a really, really itchy linen. The shirt was way too big when I bought it, so I cut it down and used the scraps to add the pockets, pocket flaps, and sleeve tabs.

This close-up shows that the trousers are a little on the big side. He doesn't seem to mind though.

Men's shirt

2011-03-12T18:19:00.000-08:00

It seems that I never have "nothing to wear" these days, which means I can spare just a little time to sew for somebody else (well, maybe just a little, not too often mind!).

The Fabric: Shirting cotton, from Tessuti. I was so delighted with the quality of this fabric when it arrived, that I almost kept it for myself. Lucky for him, this colour looks terrible on me. The fabric is a pale white / grey colour with tiny, short black lines woven through it. He tells me that it feels great and is very comfortable to wear.

The Pattern: I made a pattern off a Ben Sherman shirt that fits him pretty well. I don't normallly like making patterns off clothing, but this shirt had a small grid pattern on it, which made it easy to check distances and grainlines etc. I pinned out some fitting changes (whilst he was playing guitar...can you imagine? Why can't men stand still for 5 minutes) and transferred these changes to the pattern and then made up a muslin. I needed some more fitting changes to the muslin (got about 2 minutes to check these whilst he watched football). Then there was a slight pause of about 4 months. I was going to sew the shirt as part of the MPB men's shirt sew-along, but that was the week we lost power. When I finally got around to starting, I couldn't remember where I was with the fitting process, so just made up the pattern as it was marked.

The Instructions: I used David Coffin's Shirtmaking book for instructions. Truth be known, I would have been better off using my overlocker than messing about with all those felled seams because the fabric has a tendency to fray.

The Fit: The photograph below shows that the shirt is too wide across the chest. Turns out this is not a fitting issue; I just folded under the wrong amount at the centre fronts. This would also explain why I had such a hard time getting the collar stand to fit the neckline!

The front pattern piece shows that I narrowed the chest and raised the front shoulder (the red lines are the changes). This raise was to accomodate a prominent front shoulder bone.

I'm pretty bloody impressed with how this back yoke fits. Usually there are pull lines between the shoulder blades and drooping of the bottom yoke edges (see here for the last shirt I made him, showing these problems).

To get this fit, I lengthened the centre of the yoke, without lengthening the sides of the yoke. The neckline was also widened a little.

I tapered the upper edges of the back piece, essentially taking out a dart below the yoke.

The sleeves are close fitting (unlike the "wings" sticking out from the previous shirt). I like the shape of the sleeves but I am not happy with the fit. There seems to be too much fabric at the back....

...which is more evident when he bends his arm.

The sleeve pattern piece shows the changes I made (I traced off a new pattern piece to add seam allowances). The red line shows that I raised the shoulder and moved it forward a little. I think perhaps I need to move it forward a little more and then remove some of the depth of the back curve (Any advice welcomed!).

The details:

Collar stays (this is the most accurate photograph of the fabric)

2 piece sleeve (back view)

Diagonal button holes (idea borrowed from Carolyn)

I have fabric for another shirt. I'm pretty happy with this pattern, although I do need to improve the sleeve fit. The next shirt will be a business shirt, so I will probably change the collar shape. David Coffin's book has a selection of collar shapes to choose from.

Look what I found in the washing machine...

2011-03-10T17:08:00.000-08:00

Matching guitar picks.

It only took a moment to realise that they were from this shirt. Guitar picks as collar points. A nifty idea for the guitarist in your life! I'm only mentioning this because there has been a lot of men's shirts sewing going on.

Myra asked a question about the cowl tank I made. I hope this diagram helps.

Dortje Trousers

2011-03-08T01:15:00.000-08:00

The pattern for Dortje Trousers is from the book "Sewing Clothes Kids Love". Belinda has done a very thorough review of this book. When this book arrived, I asked my daughter to look through it and pick out something she liked (I was trying to distract her from some tantrum or other). She grumbled as she usually does when I ask her to look at patterns. After she flipped through the book she declared, "I love everything in this book. Well, everything except the boys clothes". So I picked out the trousers. I had to explain that they would not be exactly the same as the ones in the book, because I didn't have the same fabrics. She wanted reassurance that they would be just as colourful.

For these pants I have used a green & purple linen for the top, a turquoise cotton drill (to match the hat made from a vogue pattern) for the lower legs and an Amy Butler print for the flares. The ruffles above the flare are made from a purple mesh jersey. There is a string of white pom-pom trim between the upper and lower leg. The back pockets are a different Amy Butler print. I have used a purple and white daisy trim across the pockets and bottom back hem (she especially loves the daisies).

I think if you went and bought all the different fabrics and trims to make these trousers they would be very expensive to make. All of this was from remnant stash and leftover trims, so I have been able to use up small pieces of fabric I love to make a garment for somebody I love, so it turned out to be a very special project.

I found the book to be truly inspirational. It got me into the sewing room and sorting through my stash for bits and pieces. So many sewing books are targeted at beginners. I love sewing books but I already know how to sew a tote bag and an a-line skirt. I have been delighted that this book contains so much more (and at a very reasonable price). The book is probably not best suited to beginners, but we all know that beginners can do just about anything if they really want to. I guess the most important thing is to remember to add seam allowances to the pattern pieces. The only down side of the book for me was that there were no pants / shorts patterns included for boys.

As well as these trousers, I have already make the Insa skirt for my niece (didn't take photos), the Riviera leggings and the Brooklyn tank top. The Brooklyn shrug is sure to be a favourite as well.

In this next photo, you can see the first quilt that my daughter has made. She met a lady in an airport queue who told her that she taught girls to make quilts. My daughter picked out all the fabrics when we were in Japan. She didn't want me to help sew it at all. Eventually I convinced her to let me cut the squares with my rotary cutter, as she was cutting almost random shapes that weren't going together very well. She sewed all the pieces together (I mended a few holes here and there and then pressed and pressed and pressed it into shape...no pressing as you go for her!). The layers were spray-glued together. She quilted rows across the quilt. My lovely friend at Pom-Pom Rouge gave me the advice for her to quilt in wavy rows, rather than try to sew parallel lines. The bottom fabric was folded over for the quilt edges (I think binding was a little too advanced for her).

It is really, truly a fabulous effort, sewn in 2 - 3 days. She has already started on her next quilt as a birthday present for her little brother.

The new fashion season

2011-03-03T03:10:00.000-08:00

In and out of the car the other day, I caught parts of a story on "Bush Telegraph" on the different number of seasons experienced in different parts of Australia, and how far removed they are from the traditional Winter, Summer, Autumn, Spring. This got me thinking about my wardrobe (because everything comes back to clothes and sewing, in the end, doesn't it?). I had not got around to completing my Marfy pants, partly because I had no need for them. In many other places, loose-fitting, white linen pants would be considered a summer wardrobe item, perhaps even a summer staple. Not here. Not this year.

It has been too wet. Too many puddles. Too much mud. They are too long to be worn with plastic thongs.

Today I received a Country Road winter catalogue in the mail. I was momentarily confused, seriously. I tried to remember what month we were in. I wondered if it was a Sale catalogue. Why were they sending me this? The brain moves slowly these days and it eventually dawned on me that it is March and the start of the Fall fashion season in the Southern Hemisphere.

Where I live, some years we have the Wet and the Dry. Not always. Some years we have the "Hot & Disgustingly Humid" and the "Hot & Sunny" seasons.

Anyway. Enough Babble. I finished the pants and here they are. I think they look much better in real life. I got a lot of compliments on this outfit, which totally confirms my belief that the image in my head is far more accurate than the one that the camera shows me. As I explained to my sister recently, I am a pear masquerading as a column. These pants make me feel column-like; I just need my photographer to capture that feeling.

Some lifted t-shirts shots to show more detail. I really must remember not to waste time on waist details when I never tuck shirts in. I don't need to provide close-ups, now that I know you all blow up my pictures looking for imperfections!! (Really, did you think I would show you all the bodgy bits of my dress?) The linen is a twill weave and I wouldn't be surprised if I found it was actually a linen / silk blend.

I have actually lost weight since I started sewing these, so they fall down a bit and are baggier than they should be. Is that something to complain about? Not really, I am sure they will fit perfectly again in the not-so-distant future. I am not happy with the buckle. It is just basted in until I find one that I like better. I would like to do a PR for these pants, but it is so long since I started them, I can't really remember what I did, although there are a couple of construction posts, if you are interested (here and here). I'm pretty happy with the skin-coloured lining of pockets and yokes as the show-through is minimal. Yay for me!

Things have been a little topsy-turvy here this year, so not much sewing has been done. I did whip up this little top though. I was trying to decide between a drapy, trendy-but-unflattering tank or an old stand-by Simplicity sleeveless top. I was holding the fabric in front of the mirror, trying to decide, when I had an epiphany and decided on a cowl top.

I sat on the floor and started cutting straight away, using my tank pattern to guide me. To work out how wide and deep to make the cowl, I just held the fabric against my shoulders in the mirror until I was happy with the shape. This is not a highly accurate method, so I had to take it up at the shoulders and it is still a little low, but oh well. The weight of the necklace holds it in place and I actually own a blue bra, bought in the days when I was a 14A, which is even harder to find than a 12A, and I bought whatever I could find.

What I forgot to do was lower the centre front hem and true the hem curve so that it interesected the fold at a right angle. If you copy my bodgy method, shown in the photographs above, please remember to do this.

This fabric is a gorgeous rayon from EmmaOneSock. So gorgeous that I knew what I wanted to do with the scraps before I even cut out my top. A singlet and knicker set for my daughter. The singlet is an Ottobre pattern and the knickers are a Jalie pattern. The knickers stretch a lot, so the picture is a little deceiving...the singlet is quite fitted, not A-line.

I finally photographed them this afternoon, which she is very happy about, because now she is wearing them snuggled up in bed. She informs me that they fit perfectly. This makes me happy. I was embarrased to wear knickers my Mum made when I was a child (sorry Mum), but she seems to wear the ones I make her in preference to the shop-bought ones.

Green Garden Dress

2011-02-23T17:15:00.000-08:00

Youngest son: Mum, are you going to wear high heels today?
Me: I don't know yet.
Youngest son: Are you going to wear a dress?
Me: Yes, I'm going to wear my new green dress.
Youngest son: You can wear your green high heels then.

They are all in training around here!

This is a close-up of the fabric of my new, green dress. The fabric was a bit of a lucky dip. I was picking up remnants from Little Workers one holiday. None of the remnants had much "bolt" appeal. Thery were all tightly wrapped into little rolls. I pulled out a few green and yellow pieces for only a couple of dollars each. When I got home and unwrapped the fabric, I was delighted to find this rose print.

I am also wearing my new necklace, bought with birthday money from my Mum. Thanks Mum!

Here is the dress. The top half is from the pattern I drafted when trying to sew Vogue 1174 last year. Now that I have made it with contrast piping, I am not sure that the piping lines are all that flattering for a small bust. The fabric is lightweight cotton, so I thought a gathered skirt would be best. The skirt is a rectangle, gathered about 2:1, using my cheap gathering foot.

I did build a foundation and included a waist stay; however, the dress did not go together as nicely as I would have liked. The piping is cheap and nasty stuff from Spotlight. It buckled and waved when I sewed it in. I trying putting a little tension on it, but then I ended up with the fabric gathering onto the piping. Not every day is a couture day, so I decided to go with the satisfaction of completing a project quickly rather than labour over the details.

I also wanted to say that my thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the earthquakes in Christchurch. It seems a frivolity to talk about clothing when such events are occuring. Water and power are the priorities and I wish I could send you some of ours. Flood, cyclones, bushfires and earthquakes. It has been a hard start to the year for many.

The ultimate twirling skirt

2011-02-14T12:55:00.000-08:00

I love finding our about independent pattern companies, so I was most excited when a friend recently introduced me to farbenmix and Studio Tantrum patterns. These are patterns for children. My friend gave me the Redondo skirt pattern and I loved it so much that I then went out and bought their book "Sewing Clothes Kids Love".

I made this Redondo skirt for my daughter. She loves it, but much prefers to wear it as a strapless dress over leggings. She tries to turn everything in her dress-up box into a strapless short dress, so that is obviously her style preference!

The pattern is essentially 2 pieces, an upper flounce and a lower flounce. Five full flounces are sewn together to make the skirt. I cut the pieces on the bias so that I could get them out of a fat quarter, which seems to have worked okay.

Here it is, being worn as a skirt, on the streets of Tokyo. I had bought my kids brightly coloured jumpers to minimise my chances of losing them in a crowd. As it seems almost everybody wears black in Tokyo, this was even more effective than I had anticipated!

A cyclone and a muslin

2011-02-09T17:54:00.000-08:00

It has been a week since cyclone Yasi blew through and I now have power back to my house. We all got through okay, with no-one injured and only minor damage to the house....a few trees landed on the house, damaging gutters and one casement window broke. It wasn't all bad. My sister and her family evacuated to our house and it was lovely to have them. I rediscovered the pleasure of a candle-lit bath. A forced holiday from television and computers is probably a good thing now and then, and I didn't need to make excuses for not vacuuming, ironing or washing!

The day before cyclone preparations began in earnest, I whipped up a very quick muslin of this interesting design from "Pattern Magic Vol 3 - Stretch Fabric Material". This book is listed for $50 on Amazon, but it only cost me $20 in Japan. If you go to Amazon you can see some images from the book. Admittedly, Amazon are showing only the more wearable designs. Some of the others are pretty kooky!

I had lots of jobs that I really should have been doing, so I picked the quickest project to try. It is basically 2 circles sewn together. The bottom circle has a hole for your body to go through and the top circle has a hole for your head. Two slits are left open between the circles for arm-holes.

Initially, I thought that the top was wearable, probably best made up in a neutral colour, to layer over other neutral coloured knits. I liked the back neckline. Now that I have seen photos of me wearing it, it won't be getting beyond the muslin stage. Never mind, it was a quick, fun play-around.

This is the tree that landed on the front of the house. Some kind neighbours helped us remove it.

This top does feel a little like a super-hero cape.

From some angles, the back looks quite lovely. From others, not so much.

And lastly, a photo of our cyclone bunker. We moved our very heavy, jarrah dining table into my sewing room (I did have to do some tidy-up to get it in there). Fortunately, we did not need it, but we did check to see if everybody could fit underneath.

Skiing Base Layer

2011-01-27T00:32:00.000-08:00

I am finally back at the computer, with lots of lovely blog reading to catch up on. Before I dive in though, I wanted to enter these garments in the PR active wear competition.

We took our family skiing this January. Our first big family holiday. For most of us, our first time at the snow and our first time skiing. As you know, I live in a very hot climate, so we are not equipped for cold weather. I borrowed ski suits, gloves and goggles from a couple of friends and then decided to make the under layers myself. Like many sewing projects, it seemed like a good idea at the start, but with ordering problems from the fabric supplier (details to follow) and getting caught in the floods down south, I was left with only a day and a half to make 25 garments, most of this time without people to try on the garments as I was making them. So, maybe a few didn't get their leggings hemmed. And then at dinner one night, I saw that only one of my daughter's sleeved were hemmed! Not all garments were made with matching thread and only some were hemmed with the coverstitch machine as I did not have time to cope with technical difficulties. They were a success though, all worn, some for days at a time.

I will group them by fabric type, with pattern details to follow.

The fabric supplier was Rose City Textiles. They have a HUGE selection of technical fabrics; however, I did find ordering from them to be a frustrating experience. My on-line order didn't go through. They were slow to respond to my email asking if the on-line order went through. Lots of emails seemed to go missing. It took a couple of weeks for all the emails to be sorted and the order posted. Many of the listed fabrics do not have photographs and I did not have time to request samples, so I used price as an indicator of quality, choosing fabrics at the upper price end, being $US 8 - $US 12 /yd. These prices seem very reasonable to me in Australia. Kathmandu have had huge sales on thermal wear, with the cheapest items being $15 / item, but I managed to sew 25 garments from about $200 worth of fabric, so it was much cheaper to sew them myself.

The fabrics I used were either wickaway knits or wickaway liycra. There was no information regarding warmth or thermal properties. None of the fabrics were as warm as the Kathmandu polypropylene thermals, but this turned out to ba a good thing, because the ski suits were warm enough and you can get very hot skiing. Most of the garments were made to be very close fitting.

These first garments were made from

Manufacture Name:PENN PRINTS Manufacture Style:04802 Content:PO Width:58 Weight: RCT#:65266 Color:GREY CAMO Qty. Available:169.5

Manufacture Name:PENN PRINTS Manufacture Style:04802 Content:PO Width:58 Weight: RCT#:65265 Color:GREEN CAMO Qty. Available:79.5

This fabric only had stretch in the width, and even that wasn't super stretchy, so I cut the garments a little larger for this fabric. My boys loved the print. Because these shrts weren't as close fitting as I would have liked, they wore a close fitting t-shirt over the top. I'm not sure if this was necessary, but I didn't want anyone getting cold through the day (Your eyes aren't blurry, this is the print!).

This next shirt was for me. It was made out of supplex. I hadn't heard of supplex, but a quick google showed it to be "A Du Pont trademarked fabric made of nylon fibers. It is durable, lightweight, soil-resistant. colorfast, quick-drying and breathable" and "a family of fabrics that combines the traditional appeal of cotton and the performance benefits of modern fiber technology."

The supplier listing is

Manufacture Name:ECLAT TEXTILES CO, LTD Manufacture Style:H210371A Content:SUPPLEX /LY Width:60 Weight: RCT#:65708 Color:RASPBERRY ICE Qty. Available:1

I can report that it is very comfortable to wear and quickly became a favourite. I wore it 5 days in a row, either over the top of a long-sleeved top for skiing or on its own for dinner. I had it on to wear on the plane home and then when our flights were cancelled and delayed I changed out of it, because it was getting a little smelly after 6 days. I think I will be able to wear it in Townsville, as this fabric is used for lots of exercise clothing.

This next set was for my daughter. This fabric was not photographed on the RCT site, and probably wasn't a great choice. My daughter did not wear it much, because the fabric was more like undergarments than outergarments, so she did not like to wear it if she had to take her ski jacket off (eg eating inside). It was very lightweight and maybe a tad prickly, with a little bit of static. She mostly just wore them to bed.

Manufacture Name: Manufacture Style:KZ7270C Content:POLY/ LY Width:46 Weight: RCT#:63378 Color:ANTIQUEPINK Qty. Available:269.49

This next fabric wasn't photographed either and was a lot brighter than I was expecting. It was a set for me. Very warm, maybe not as soft as some of the other fabrics. Now that I am home, it will not get much wear because it is too warm for me to put on for even a couple of minutes here. I wore this on the colder days, under my ski suit, and was snug as a bug.

Manufacture Name:MILLIKEN Manufacture Style:695758 Content:POLY/LYCRA Width:65 Weight: RCT#:62033 Color:SALMON RED Qty. Available:164.1

These next ones were favourites of my daughter. I recently purchased "Sewing clothes kids love" and took some inspiration from their designs, even though I didn't use their patterns. The fabric felt very much like cotton, although it was quick drying. I'm sure they will get worn again as layering pieces come winter.

Manufacture Name:UNITED KNITTING INC. Manufacture Style:59712 Content:RA/PO/LY Width:68 Weight: RCT#:66064 Color:PUMPKIN Qty. Available:366.9

And finally, 11 garments were made out of the following fabrics

Manufacture Name:MILLIKEN Manufacture Style:690082 Content:PO/LY Width:63 Weight:5.7 RCT#:54556 Color:LEMON PIE Qty. Available:183.3
Manufacture Name:MILLIKEN Manufacture Style:690082 Content:PO/LY Width:63 Weight:5.7 RCT#:54552 Color:BLUE/SKY Qty. Available:2012.5

The fabric was very soft and lightweight. Possibly not as stretchy as some lycras, so the leggings were a smidge too snug. I made a men's shirt, which was a winner. My partner gets very hot skiing and just wanted a thin shirt under his ski suit. The first day, he wore a Kathmandu thermal, but it was too hot and got very sweaty and smelly after just one day. This shirt was much more successful, wicking away moisture and being able to be worn for several days before I threw it on the "too smelly" pile. Apparently, it is also very good for cleaning spectacles, so I know what to do with all of the scraps!
My youngest son found his to be very comfy and snuggly and didn't want to take them off. I'm sure he will use them as winter jammies.

I don't have many shots of the clothes being worn, as they were under-layers, but here are a few shots taken in our Tokyo hotel, before we got to the slopes.

The patterns:

Men's t-shirt - Jalie 2918. I was really happy with this pattern. It fit nicely and much better than my Burda men's t-shirt pattern. I made a straight Sz X.

My t-shirts - Jalie 2805 with V-neck. Sz U in the bust, Sz W in the hips, extra width across the back, square shoulder adjustment. This is a close fitting t-shirt pattern, and I found the sleeves to be a little too close fitting. The pattern pieces have the wrong neck-line diagrams on them, so take a moment to check the pieces before tracing them off. I have made this a few times now and am pretty happy with it now. I just need to add a little width to the long sleeves.

My leggings - Jalie 2920. I added some length to Sz W. I found these to be a little too tight in the calves, otherwise fine.

Children's t-shirts - most of these were made from a Burda WOF exclusive design pattern that I traced off several years ago, but did not record the pattern number. It is a close fit shirt and I was really happy with it. I should have used the smaller pattern for my youngest, but I wanted to test out the Jalie 2918 pattern. I had to take in the Jalie pattern quite a bit at the sides.

Children's leggings - most of these were made from Jalie 2920 . The camo print ones were made from the leggings pattern in "Sewing clothes kids love" which is a little wider in the leg than the Jalie pattern.

All up, very successful sewing. Some garments will be put away for our next ski trip, others can double as winter jammies, and just a few could be worn as t-shirts here in Townsville.

Red One-Shoulder Dress

2010-12-19T02:46:00.000-08:00

When I ordered this fabric from EmmaOneSock, I was planning a summer blouse, but once it arrived, I could not get the image of a one-shoulder dress out of my head. After a few days I wondered why this was so...perhaps I had been reading too many fashion magazines with red dresses in them? So I google-imaged "red one-shoulder dress". My gosh, could a red fabric be used for anything else?

I planned to wear this dress to a big Christmas function, then at the last moment decided that I really needed to wear something more demure. Finally it got an outing at my bookclub Christmas party. That's one of the things I love about bookclub. I can wear whatever I like and everybody tells me I look wonderful! Such lovely ladies.

I accessorised with my silver clutch. In the background you can see the Christmas stocking my mother embroidered for me and the Advent Calendar my sister made for my kids.

I also like to wear the dress unbelted, which is how I will probably wear it on Christmas Day.

The fabric is very vivid! I am not familiar with the designer Caroline Herrera, but this fabric was listed as being from her collection. It is silk with the texture of a seersucker. It is subtly embossed with shinier flowers, which are not showing up in the photographs.

The pattern used is McCalls 6118. I bought it for the one-sleeved version after seeing Anne Hathaway wearing a similar dress by Roberto Cavalli.

The pattern should have been a 1 hour quickie but I had a lot of problems. In a pattern review, I read that the reviewer found the sizing to run large. I am not familiar with McCall's sizing. It seemed a bit silly to muslin such a simple style, so I compromised and just muslined the neck band. I made square shoulder and forward shoulder adjustments, which is what I would expect to make. Then when I made the dress up, it was way too big, so I took in a total of about 6 inches from the sides (1 1/2 inch each seam).

I sewed a beautiful blind hem. The fabric texture was perfect for a blind hem. Then I had to unpick it all because the hem hung much lower on the non-shoulder side. I didn't want to make the dress any shorter by taking up the long side, so I just made the hem much smaller on one side than the other. The dress is still uneven, but that was the best I could do without going shorter. I handstitched the second hem because it no longer ran on the cross-grain and I thought that I would not be able to control the hem very well by machine.

I did put the ribbon on the shoulder, but did not tie it in the bow suggested by the pattern. My ribbon was cut on the cross grain instead of the bias because I was short of fabric, but because of the fabric drape, I don't think that this matters.

I added a bra stay to the dress, under the arm of the non-shoulder side. This stay tucks into a strapless bra, so that the dress does not hang down on that side, or slide down over your bra when you bend over. I have previously written instructions to make a similar decollette stay. It is basically a length of boning inside a casing, which is hinged to the garment with fell stitches. Close-up photos are shown below. Sadly, these photos do not show the beautiful french seams that I made the first time I sewed the dress, but the modified double-stitched seams after I took it in.

Children's swimmers

2010-12-17T19:29:00.000-08:00

Summer sewing always means a lot of swimmers around here. We are in and out of the pool several times a day, just trying to survive the heat.

The first pair is for little miss. I used Jalie 2792, a leotard pattern, for the body, then added my own straps.

The straps are rather cute and easy to make. I folded a length of lycra in half and stitched a line 1 cm from the folded edge to form a casing. I threaded rubber elastic through the casing. The elastic was about half the length of the lycra strip, so it makes a pretty ruffle.

The fit of this pattern looks the same as on the pattern envelope. There is quite a bit of negative ease, so it is a very snug fit. She is very happy with the fit, and says that the elastic is not too tight. I think if I were to make a ballet leotard out of cotton lycra I might go up a size or two.

I only lined the front. Next time I will modify the front of the pattern to shape it more like the bikini top below.

She still loves to dress in the same clothes as me, so I made her a bikini very similar to mine. The top was made using Kwiksew 3165. The kwiksew instructions are very good and showed me a new way to apply the straps / elastic. The bikini bottoms with this pattern have never fit her particularly well, so I drafted my own using Stuart's children's swimwear block. The bottoms are reversible.

She has plenty of swim shirts, so then it was onto the boys. Again, I made the pattern for the boys' briefs. For my older son, I cut the shirt off a perished RTW shirt. The shirt for my younger son was made using Kwiksew 2888, which must be out of print, because I cannot find it for you in the catalogue. I went up 2 sizes because the pattern is for a close fitting raglan sleeved top and bike pants (actually, I was too lazy to trace off the pattern. Tracing is one of my least favourite sewing activities. My children have nearly all grown out of this pattern so I just cut it in the largest size).

I bought the fabric from Glitter and Dance. I think it was called "aqualife" and is supposed to be chlorine resistant, so I am hoping it lasts better than most swimwear.

Now, back to the swimming pool.

Doily Tank and Marfy Pants 2

2010-12-14T03:42:00.000-08:00

I'm still making tank tops. I have 2 pieces of fabric to make summer tanks, but I am not 100% happy with my pattern, so I am just toiling / toile-ing away. On my mesh tank, I wasn't happy with the armhole bindings, but I didn't know if it was the mesh that was the problem. Turns out it wasn't; I need a tighter binding on the armholes than the neck (or maybe the neck edge is not so critical?).

The fabric is from my stash and the doily is from my local Vinnies. This tank will be worn as a PJ top with some PJ pants I made last summer out of shirting fabric from Tessuti.

Today I continued with the Marfy pants. Thanks for all your (unanimous!) input. I will go with the silver buckle and white buttons. I will use my bodgy silver buckle for now, but keep an eye out for a nicer one to replace it. Jenny asked about the pattern number. It is 1666. It is not from the current catalogue. I am making Sz 46.

First up, the back pocket. This was constructed as a jetted pocket, using a method outlined by Martyn Smith in Australian Stitches. I'm not sure of the difference between jetted pockets and double welt pockets. In this method, the jets are folded over the seam allowance, so that the seam allowance stays in the marked box; whereas in welt pockets the seam allowance is folded out of the way with the welt seam allowances. This pocket opening was shown as curved on the Marfy pattern. I toyed with idea of cutting the jets on the bias, but decided that there would be enough give in the twill fabric for such a shallow curve. I chose to line the yoke facings with nude lining, but I should have lined the front yokes with nude lining, so that none of the yoke seam allowances would show. The pocket bag was sewn with French seams.

I sewed the front pocket as a welt pocket. The pattern showed a curved opening but I made mine straight. I have never sewn a proper welt pocket before, and I didn't practice one when I was practising pockets, but today I was feeling a little bit brave (now I am feeling like the Gruffalo's child...who was feeling a little bit brave and a little bit bored whilst the Gruffolo snored and snored...). I used the method demonstrated by Kathleen at Fashion Incubator. It was a bit more stressful than the window-pane method or jetted pockets, but it worked out okay. There are a few puckers in the corners, but that is because I could not see the white stitching on white fabric particularly well and I was a bit conservative when cutting (and the Gruffalo's child did scurry on home at the end of the story).

This time I lined the yoke with nude lining. I did not have any nude binding tape, so I just folded the lining edges of the pocket over the fabric edges.

Whilst these photos were loading, I basted together the side seams and tried them on. Actually I tried them on with about 15 tops. I never can wait until the sewing is finished before I am trying things out. I am pretty happy with them, but there is still a bit to go...side seams tweaked, yoke facings, hems, buttons and buckle.

Marfy Summer Pants Construction 1

2010-12-13T04:13:00.000-08:00

For a while now I have had a mental image of the "capsule" wardrobe that I will take on summer holidays with me. Shame is, this mental image includes quite a few items that I have not made yet, including a pair of white linen pants.

I chose a Marfy pattern for these pants. These pants have a angled waistband, wide on one side, narrow on the other, with a buckle closure. The pant legs have front seams. Instead of a front fly, the pants have a button opening in line with one of the front seams. There are welt pockets on the front and back waistband, but these are shown on the pattern pieces as curved openings, not straight ones. Also, the pocket pieces hang below the waistband, which I am not sure how to address, If you are having trouble picturing these pants, check out Sigrid's blog post where she drafted her own version.

I never appreciate how much I use the pattern instructions until they are not there! And seam allowances...whoa, no seam allowances means a lot more concentration during cutting. I pondered the construction of these pants, then cut them out a few weeks ago. I practiced a few different types of welt pockets, and then life got in the way and I didn't get to them. Now I have to rethink all that construction and only the sewing gods know which welt construction method I decided to go with.

First of all, the front pocket construction. You would think that this would be straightforward, but something has gone wrong. I sewed the pocket bag with french seams, but I think to do this, I should have made the pocket extend beyond the opening towards the CF. It is a little bodgy there, but that will be in the seam allowance, so I am going to ignore it. It also looked like I attached the side piece slightly off-grain, so I have thread traced the seam allowances to make sure that the size of this piece is right, even if the grain is slightly off. After making these errors, I went back and tailor-tacked a lot more of the marks to assist with construction.

I have used a nude coloured lining for the upper part of the pocket bag, to minimise show-through in the white fabric.

Then onto the pants opening. This all went better than expected. I have lined the opening facing with nude lining to prevent show-through here as well.

This inside view shows that everything fits together nicely. The edges of the pocket sit neatly under the "fly" extension. I catch-stitched the fly extension to the pocket bag.

Then the front seams, inner leg seams and crotch seam and I have something that resembles a pair of pants. Next up, I will start on the waistband details.

Typically, I am too lazy to post construction photos, but I have put these up today because I need some help. What colour findings should I use? White buttons would keep it all sleek, but should I be making a feature of the unusual opening? Navy buttons would give a jaunty, nautical look, but I am not the jaunty, nautical type. Maybe wooden buttons could be considered neutral? I went to buy metallic button, but Spotlight failed to deliver (there is a little local independent haberdashery but I have not had a chance to visit). I could use jeans buttons. I need to decide on this before I continue construction, because I need to decide on buttons or snaps for the welt pocket flaps.

And then, what about the buckle? I have a lovely wooden buckle, but I don't know how it will cope with washing, and being white pants, these are going to need washing. I also have a bodgy metal one. Should I cover a buckle? I think I have a threads article on how to do this. Can anybody recommend a buckle supplier?

So, this is one way to make summer sewing a drawn out affair!

A brief post

2010-12-12T02:29:00.000-08:00

My daughter needed flesh and white coloured full briefs for under her dance costumes. I thought that it might be quicker to make them than do the rounds of the shops to find knickers that weren't pink or blue or covered with pretty motifs.

These briefs are worn over stockings, and possibly other undergarments, depending on costume changes, to keep everything up and together. I tried out a few different patterns which I will review here (I realise that this post will be of interest to a very, very small audience...but at the end I will put links to the skirt in the last post that a few of you asked about...scroll straight there if you like).

This first photo shows the comparison between Jalie 2915 and Jalie 2564, both made in Sz J. The underneath pair are made from 2915, which is a pattern for a leotard and tutu skirt. I thought that this pattern would be ideal, but for my daughter, there was too much fabric bunched up around her bum cheeks. Jalie 2564 is a briefs pattern. The circumference is narrower and the legs cut higher. I was worried that it would not give enough coverage, but they fit her really well (she does not have much of a bottom...genetics can be strange).

Then, out of curiosity, I thought I would compare them to Stuart's children's block, which is what I use to make her leotards. I cut this next pair with a lower waist line, as she is not used to full briefs and kept pulling them down. Stuart's block is not as full across the bottom as 2915. Its leg line is a little lower than 2564. The back is very similar to the 2564, but the front differs. For Stuart's block, the front and back are the same width. 2564 has the front narrower than the back, which you can see in the seamlines in the top photo.

I compared the patterns to Jalie 2447, a tankini pattern. Jalie 2447 has a curvier leg line, but I didn't make it up. I have since made some swimmers using Jalie 2792, which is very similar to Stuart's block, with a little more negative ease...review to come! Can you tell that I am a teensy bit obsessed by patterns? Most people would have just made one, and modifed it to suit.

In the end I made a fourth pair, which was mostly based on Stuart's block, but using the higher leg line from 2564. I can't find these today to photograph. I didn't ever think that I would bother to make girl's knickers, but these were not too hard and look cute, so I may just sew these again to use up scraps of fabric. I should keep some elastic in stash as elastic is way overpriced at Spotlight. The beige elastic used here was from BoobyTraps, the ivory from Bra-makers Supply and the white from Spotlight.

Now it seems I have more readers these days. I love connecting with other people who sew, so welcome to my little blogspace. I love getting comments, although sometimes they make me feel slack because I don't comment on as many other blogs as I would like to. My relaxation time these days is to look at other people's sewing, but it is usually in 5 minute grabs, so I don't always get to comment.

The skirt in the pevious post was reviewed here.

Here are links to some of my more funky sewing, that you may also like, if you liked that skirt. Enjoy!

Layer skirt

Skirt with retro pockets

Embellished Tank

2010-12-08T17:58:00.000-08:00

After the success of my ruffled tank, I was keen to whip up a few more. The main fabric for this one is from Tessuti. The dotty mesh embellishment is from EmmaOneSock. I cut a long strip and gathered each side to make one large ruffly bit for the front of the tank. I didn't use the usual method of binding the edges. Instead, I applied the mesh edge the same way I sewed ribbing onto sweatshirts when I was a kid. I sewed the short edges of a long, narrow strip of mesh together to form a circle. I then folded it in half lengthwise, being careful to fold the dots in half. I lined up the raw edges with the right side of the neckline (or armholes) and stiched using a narrow zig-zag. I then top-stitched around the neckline to keep the raw edges on the inside. It was actually easier than applying a binding, which was good because binding knit edges is one of my least successful sewing skills.

Swimmers for me

2010-12-07T20:08:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of fun sewing swimwear, so I probably own way more swimmers than most people, but every year I like to make a couple more. I get to try out different styles, and each year my techniques are refined a little bit more. Some swimmers only make it to my back yard pool whilst the more modest ones make it to the beach. Some are just for looking pretty. Others need to be able to stay up in the surf!

I have been playing around with a photo program, so that I can show you the swimmers on my body, without having to put my body out there on the internet! I need a bit more practice at the program, but I hadn't even opened it until this morning, so I think these pictures are not too bad.

These one-pieces were self-drafted, using the information over at Stuart's site.

First up, a surf-friendly style. This pattern was based on the tank suit. I cut off the pattern at the empire line and made a cross-over V neck front, then added the frills. It is very girly! The fabric is from Tessuti. They do not have lycra listed in their on-line shop, so you will need to contact them if you want samples. I purchase my lining and elastic from Beach Bubble Swimwear.

This next one will probably only make it to the back yard. It is an asymmetrical style that I have been wanting to try for a few years. It took a bit of effort to do the drafting. I would like to get to the point where I can draft in Corel draw, but I admit I gave up on these and used paper and pencil.

I changed the spagetti strap to a cut-on strap so that I didn't have to mess around with binding elastic. I think I should have placed the strap on the other side, to create an "S" shape to the swimmers rather than the one-sides asymmetry.

Again, the fabric is from Tessuti.

Liberty Tunic

2010-12-05T13:11:00.000-08:00

What do you wear when you get home in the afternoon? Do you continue to swan around in the outfit you put together so carefully in the morning, looking the part of the domestic goddess, glass of wine in hand as you prepare dinner? Not so me. The more stressed I am, the quicker I reach for my comfort clothes. For me, it is a loose fitting purple floral 70's tunic that I picked up in an op shop. I have re-sewn most of the seams on this tunic, as the thread did not last as well as the fabric. Only now the fabric is starting to wear too. Time to find a replacement.

The pattern: A Burda tunic, previously made here. The pattern was originally tunic length, but I only traced off a shirt length. When I lengthened it this time, I widened it to accomodate my hips, so I ended up with more of an A-line shape than the original Burda tunic. This kinda reminds me of the lady on the "children crossing" sign. I have always loved the silhouette of her short dress, though when I was a child I often wondered why they did not update the woman to reflect current fashion. I think it would be groovy to have a different "children crossing" sign for each decade.

The fabric: A Liberty cotton lawn. I love the feel of Liberty prints, but sometimes I find the prints to be a little busy, not allowing the eye to settle. I added a hand-dyed ric-rac from a local craft store Pom-Pom Rouge. I didn't stitch it on the hemline, which would have been neater, because I wasn't sure if it would look too childish and I would have to remove it (being easier to unpick if it wasn't on the hemline). It doesn't look too childish, but I don't think it offers enough contrast. I think I maybe should have used a contrasting print on the yoke? Like previous Liberty garments I have made, something is not quite right. Perhaps small scale prints are not for me.

Last holidays, my visiting sister was hanging out my washing and she asked why so many of my clothes were unfinished on the inside. Some of them were unfinished because I made them on holidays when I didn't have my overlocker. Others were children's clothes, finished with a zig-zag stitch because I was too lazy to change the thread colour on my overlocker for such a small garment. Others were made from lightweight fabrics. On lightweight fabrics I sometimes find that an overlocker is too clunky, so I use other techniques, such as french seams, zig-zagging the edges, or using a double row of stitching. In the photo below, you can see that I used a zig-zag stitch to finish the inside yoke of the tunic. It still makes for a neat finish, especially given that Liberty prints do not fray much.

The verdict? It sure is lovely and cool to wear, and I have worn it a handful of times already, but I don't love it as much as my 70's tunic. It actually looks better worn over jeans, but it was way too hot yesterday to get the jeans out for a photo shoot. It was hard enough just putting shoes on. There must be a thunderstorm on the way soon.

Ruffle Tank

2010-11-23T17:54:00.000-08:00

I am ridiculously pleased with how this turned out. It is just a tank top after all.

Mostly I am happy with the fit. It doesn't gape at the bust or roll up at the hips. I started with a Jalie t-shirt pattern. Size T for the top half, although a U across the upper back. I graded to a size W at the waist line. I made a gradual transition from T to W, rather than closely following the body line. I drew in the strap width and neckline. Next time, I think I could make the upper back a tad wider, the armholes lower and cut in the armholes some more.

The fabric was a remnant piece of unknown composition. I didn't have much of it, so I cut the tank on the cross grain. The fabric is pretty stretchy so this doesn't seem to matter. For the binding I used a lighter weight fabric from another remnant. This remnant was marked as cotton-spandex, by hand, but it smells like silk to me. This fabric was one of those crazy curling knits, so I cut the binding strip wider than I needed. I was going to trim the excess width, but before I could do that, it curled itself nicely, bringing the raw edge back out past the neckline. I quite like this effect, so I am going to leave it untrimmed.

The skirt in the top photo is reviewed in an earlier post.

Stripy Tank

2010-11-18T02:11:00.000-08:00

I love drapy tank tops, on other people.

This one was inspired by one that Suzannah showed us how to make.

Front detail.

Side detail.

Tank tops are difficult for me to buy, being very pear-shaped. This one I made is not terribly flattering. It looked better before I put the binding on it. I think that I haven't got the neckline and armhole shape right. Drapy tanks seem to have very little side shaping, but this just seems to emphasise my bigger bottom half rather than my smaller top half. I just fudged the pattern myself, but I would love any pattern recommendations.

Late edit: After looking at the photos in my blog post I went and hacked into the top, narrowing the straps and lowering the armholes. Do you think it has helped? I only turned under the edges and didn't bind them as I still have not cleaned the kitchen tonight (shame about domestic duties) and tomorrow I start another batch of dance costumes, so all my machines will be threaded in red.

Marfy Shorts

2010-11-08T16:08:00.000-08:00

My Marfy shorts are nearly complete. I was going to get up this morning and stitch on the hook closure at the waist. There were lots of things I was going to do this morning. I lay awake half the night thinking about them, then fell asleep at dawn and got nothing done. Anyways, a quick photo before my photographer went to work and here they are, hook to be sewn on later.

Pattern: Marfy 1668

Fabric: Linen from Tessuti

The patch pockets with the flaps seem to give them a squarish, mannish sort of look, so I find they best suit more girly tops. I made this top before I started blogging. It is Simplicity 5055, with the sleeves from another Simplicity pattern that I have since thrown out. The fabric was from Knitwit.

A close-up of the zippered welt pocket.

I will put some pattern, fit and construction details in a pattern review.

Zippered welt pocket in a side seam

2010-11-06T18:01:00.000-07:00

I've returned to an earlier project, the Marfy shorts. Thank-you to Belinda, Jenny, Christine and Mem for helping me out with my Marfy pattern puzzle. The consensus is that the lower half of the patch pockets have a vertical zippered opening. Whilst I was thinking how to do this, I pulled out some King Gee shorts. I have learnt a few construction techniques by studying King Gee clothing. One of the pairs of shorts had a zippered welt opening in a side seam. This would be on the opposite side of the pocket than the Marfy pattern indicated, but I decided to try this technique out anyway.

I took some photos of my practice run.

The brown fabric is the main fabric. I have interfaced the edge, to a width of about 5 cm. The floral fabric will become the welt. This welt fabric should be interfaced.

Mark the welt position on the main fabric. The box is a width of 2.5 cm (1.5 cm seam allowance plux 1 cm welt width) and the length of the zipper opening. I have marked a basting line 1 cm (welt width) away from the box. I have also marked the cutting lines, 1 cm inside the box.

Place the main fabric and the welt fabric right sides together, lining up the edge.

Baste along the basting line ouside of the box.

Press the welt fabric up along this basting line.

Stitch along the long side of the box, stopping and starting exactly at the ends of the box.

Trim the excess fabric away along the cutting lines in the box. Cut diagonal lines into the corners of the box.

Turn the welt to the inside.

Fold back the ends of the main fabric and stitch a short vertical line to secure the ends of the welt. Repeat for the other end of the welt.

Fold the welt over the main fabric so that the seam allowances are exposed.

Place the zipper face down on these seam allowances.

Change your machine foot to a zipper foot and baste the zip in position, making sure that you do not catch the welt or the main fabric panel in the stitching.

Sandwich the zip between the seam allowances and the pocket lining. (The pocket lining should be twice the depth of the pocket plus seam allowances. ) Stitch. After sewing most of the zip, you may need to stop the machine with the needle down, lift the foot, pull up the zipper tab, lower the foot and continue sewing.

Press back the pocket lining.

This is what is looks like from the right side.

Fold the pocket lining in half, forming the pocket. I handbasted the other side of the zipper in place along the seam line, so that I could see and sew the seam line without catching the welt.

Place another main panel on top and sew the side seams of the garment. All done.

I haven't sewn the ends of the pocket bag in this example. On the shorts I will sew the pocket bag by topstitching through the main panel.

Now for the real thing. Wish me luck!

A lined vest tutorial and a book review

2010-11-04T00:48:00.000-07:00

I'm still sewing ballet costumes! This one is a boy's lined vest. I thought that this would be a good opportunity to try out some of the methods in my new book "Industry Clothing Construction Methods" by Mary Ruth Shields. The method is a little different to other methods that I have tried (See Sigrid's lining a vest tutorial or Josie's waistcoat) so I have taken photos for a tutorial. Sadly, I haven't used a contrasting lining or different coloured thread. If ever I make a vest for me, I promise I'll use contrasting fabrics and threads so that you can see the process more clearly.

First of all, sew the darts in the vest and the vest lining. The next step is to sew any pockets, or flaps, but my vest is plain, so I skipped those steps. I also do not have a back waist belt, so I skipped those instructions as well.

Stitch the front and back of the vest together at the shoulder seams. Repeat for the lining. Press shoulder seams open. Place the lining and vest right sides together, ensuring that the shoulder seams match.

Stitch around the vest, starting about 10 cm from the side seams on the front bottom edge. Continue up the front, around the back neck, down the other front and along the front bottom edge, stopping on the bottom front edge about 10 cm from the front side seam. If you enlarge my photo, you can see the threads hanging off where I started stitching.

Stitch around the armholes.

In the instructions, I cannot find any mention of clipping the seams, although they are shown clipped in a later diagram. I clipped the curved seams aroung the armhole and neck edge.

Slip your hands up through the back opening and pull the fronts through the shoulder seams.

This is the vest turned right side out. The side seams are not sewn yet.

The next step is to sew the side seams, front and back right sides together, continuing on to sew the lining side seams, lining front and back right sides together. The diagram for this in the book is not very clear, and my photo is not that clear either, but this step is easy to do. I pinned the match point at the underarms before starting to sew.

There is no mention of pressing this seam, but I think it is worthwhile pressing this seam. Turn the vest right side out and press.

Turn the vest inside out again.

Stitch the bottom edge, vest to lining, leaving a gap to turn the vest through.

This next step is a tip I picked up from Threads magazine. When you are going to turn through a gap, pivot at the end of your stitching line and sew to the edge of the fabric. This is particularly useful if you are going to stuff the object and the stitching lines are placed under quite a bit of stress. It also makes it easier to sew the seam shut later.

Turn the vest right side out.

Edge stitch or hand stitch the gap in the bottom edge closed.

Next I have to sew the buttons and buttonholes. The book recommends sewing horizontal button holes so that the vest can expand a little when worn. I will not topstitch this vest, but it could be topstitched before the buttonholes are sewn.

So my initial review of the book (given that I have not read all the front chapters yet);
- the instructions are easy to follow
- the illustrations are diagrams, not photos; however, the diagrams are easy to follow.
- the method outlined for constructing a vest was new to me and a simpler construction technique than other methods I have tried.

Ruffles

2010-10-31T04:59:00.000-07:00

I've made a lot of ruffles lately. 80-odd at least. So I thought I'd share some of the benefits of my experience with you, in case you ever found yourself needing to sew 80 ruffles.

Sewaholic has written a recent post on the usual method of gathering fabric, as often descibed in pattern sheets. This is not my favourite method, because I have trouble gathering the fabric evenly. Also, I used to get unwanted tucks, but this is because I didn't realise that you were supposed to sew between the 2 rows of basting stitches and not below them. All those wasted years of frustrating gathering because I never learnt the technique properly.

I was given ruffle-y ballet costumes to sew because the person who designed them decided that she did not have enough time to sew them! When I started the gathering, I tried using the zig-zag over dental floss method, as posted here. Only I used cheap cotton instead of dental floss because I had so many ruffles to do. This was not working so well, because the "dental floss" was not staying anchored, and I was pulling the gathering thread out too far and losing gathers.

So then I moved onto a modified zig-zag technique. This was not the final method I used, but it is so interesting that I thought I would document the process here.

In the following photos, the upper thread is light blue and the bobbin thread is red. (A big thanks to my photographer. This method takes 2 hands, so I had to enlist the services of my photographer, who interrupted his rugby viewing to take photos).

Hold the end of the upper thread and take a single stitch. I use the hand wheel to take this stitch.

Then use your other hand to grab the upper thread where it comes out of the needle.

Pull both sides of the upper thread to bring the bobbin thread to the surface.

With your left hand, hold the end of the bobbin thread and don't let it go. Use your right hand to grab hold of the loop of bobbin thread that was brought to the surface.

Pull this loop of bobbin thread out (don't let go of the end in your left hand).

Keep pulling until the length of bobbin thread is at least as long as the final length of your ruffle, and then some.

I push the upper thread back to the foot, just to keep it all tidy.

Zig-zag over the loop of bobbin thread.

Here you can see the blue threads zig-zagged over the red bobbin thread, behind the foot.

You can either apply tension to the loop of bobbin thread, to gather as you go, or pull it tight afterwards to gather the fabric.

Pretty tricky, hey? But as I said, not the final method I went with. The ruffles were taking me way too long. I recently bought "industry clothing construction methods" by mary ruth shields. I have only had it a few days, so it is too soon for me to review it, but I have read the chapter on skirts where it says only to use the basting / gathering method if you have a lot of time on your hands, as this method is too time consuming to be used anywhere but in a custum or couture setting. Well, these ballet costumes are custom, but they are not couture, so I investigated the gathering feet described by Mary.

First I looked up my Elna manual. Elna does make a gathering foot, so I went to see my local Elna man. He could not help me out, so then I went to Spotlight (all the time wondering if I would be better off staying hojme and just getting on with the ruffles). No gathering foot for Elna and none listed in their catalogue. I was just about to leave when the ANGEL behind the counter pointed me in the direction of the generic sewing feet. I have not tried generic feet on my machine before, but the Sewparts low-shank gathering foot only cost $3.99, so I thought it was worth a try.

Check out my beautiful gathering. The amount of gathering can be adjusted by altering the tension of the upper thread, the stitch length and the foot pressure. My foot pressure is usually set at its maximum of 3. I used my maximum stitch length of 4. My upper thread tension varies from 0 - 9 and I set it about 6.5 to get the gathers below. The fabric is a sheer nylon. Apparently more gathering can be achieved by holding your fingers behine the foot so that the fabric does not pass through so quickly. I did this, but I am not sure how much difference it made. It took me a few goes, changing the settings, to get the gathered strips to the length I wanted. From then on, it was just a single row of stitching to produce beautiful, even ruffles.

I was so excited, I finished off the ballet ruffles and then began gathering everything in sight. Some samples are shown below. The fabric for these samples were harvested from the floor around my sewing machine, so you can just imagine what my sewing room looks like (and after a week of focussing on ballet costumes, the rest of the house does not look too much different to my sewing room)! The gathering foot seems to work best on lightweight fabrics. From the left, there is a synthetic georgette, a lightweight cotton, a quilting cotton, a bias strip of Liberty fabric, a synthetic organza and a lightweight stretch denim.

A heavy-weight twill cotton did not gather very well. I could not get any knit fabrics to gather at all. The knits just would not progress under the foot. Initially I was disappointed by this, but then Suzannah did a post on gathering knit trims. The following sample was made using the regular sewing foot, a stitch length of 4 and an upper thread tension of 9.

After all the ruffles, I used the gathering foot to gather the tops of 14 pairs of green organza harem pants, that were then attached to a lycra waistband. For a one-off garment, the basting / gathering method would most likely still be my method of choice, as it takes a bit of fiddling to get the right amount of gather with the gathering foot, but when sewing multiples, I am definitely a fan of the gathering foot. I forgot to picture of harem pants before I gave them all to the studio.

I hope that ruffly, gathered things stay in fashion for a while longer, now that I am so proficient at gathering.

Here is a photo of the leggings for the ballet costume. For my records, I used Jalie 2920, shortening the legs to below the knee. The lycra had only 50% stretch, so I went up 2 sizes. I didn't use the waist elastic measurements recommended by Jalie; instead, I measured the girls' waists and cut the elastic 3 cm shorter than this.

Narrow Bindings

2010-10-28T03:20:00.000-07:00

I have been toiling away at my machine, sewing up ballet costumes for a local concert. At the moment I am working on 14 caterpillar costumes. Whilst the sewing itself gets tedious, I enjoy the process of working out my patterns and construction methods for maximum efficiency and minimum number of fittings.

These caterpillars are all wearing green satin bolero vests. The fabric is heavyweight and frays terribly. The boeros are for 6 yo girls. This is the neatest method I came up with to bind the edges of the boleros, which have some rather tight corners.

Step 1 - Keep the bias binding folded. Lay the binding with the folds facing upward on the right side of the bolero, matching the raw edge of the bolero with one folded edge of the binding. Stitch down the centre of the binding.

Step 2 - Trim away the seam allowances (my seam allowances were 6 mm). It is okay to trim off some of the binding.

Step 3 - Fold the binding, and about 1 mm of bolero fabric to the inside of the bolero and stitch along the folded edge of the binding.

This is what it looks like from the inside.

This is how it looks on the outside.

This is the completed bolero. Not perfect, but as neat as I can get it.