Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours.....Missoni dress

I have been coveting Sew Indigo's Missoni dress ever since it first featured on the Tessuti website.  Not any more, though, because now I have my very own.
 

The pattern is Pattern No. 2, the one-piece side drape top, from Drape Drape Vol. 2.  The fabric is from EmmaOneSock (still available).  My pattern wouldn't fit on the fabric as indicated in the book.  To get it to fit, my stripes are more horizontal on the front and vertical on the back. 

 I used my personal tank top pattern to modify the shape of the neckline and armholes.

 

The fabric is a bit sheer, so on some occasions, a slip may be necessary. Most of my slips are a bit long or have the wrong shape neckline.  I was wearing this slip, now worn as a nightie, when I was sewing the dress, and surprisingly it works okay, possibly because it has shrink a lot (fabric fail) and the straps have stretched out.

 

I thought long and hard about how I was going to bind the armholes and neckline.  A very long time.  For 6 hours in a boat whilst I  was trying to distract myself from sea-sickness, I was mentally auditioning selections from my fabric scraps.  In the most recent edition of Threads, Sandra Betzina says that she throws out all of her scraps.  I save mine, and am often dependent on them to finish a project.  Admittedly, my nearest fabric store is a plane ride away.   I decided to use a woven binding, to help hold the shape as the main fabric does not have a strong recovery.  This binding is a silk habotai, left-over from a dress I sewed pre-blog.  I used an existing tank top to determine the length of the bindings, and was careful to fit the dress to the bindings, so that it would not stretch out of shape as I sewed it.

The fabric is so gorgeous that I used some of the scraps straight-away to sew a clutch for one of my sisters.  I used the Hotpatterns Crepe Suzette Circular Clutch, which is available for free download from Fabric.com.  The online pattern reviews for this pattern indicated that the marking for the magnetic snap is in the wrong place. 

The online pattern reviews for this pattern indicated that the marking for the magnetic snap is in the wrong place.  I used a heavyweight pellon interfacing that I bought a few years ago for a special project that never eventuated.

I changed the internal pocket to a zippered pocket.  I find zippered pockets to be more secure in these sorts of clutches.

Whilst I was making this clutch I was getting that feeling...you know the one...the "I'm not sure if I can give this away" feeling.  I quickly posted it off before I could change my mind.

Would you buy this?

Not that I'm asking the right people...I guess that most people who read this blog like my sewing and other sewers would appreciate the effort it takes to make a bag.  I have made this bag for a silent auction at the school.  I hope that somebody buys it. Well, specifically, I hope that somebody likes it enough to pay a decent price for it.

The pattern is Nicole Mallalieu's City Shopper Bag, in her book, you sew, girl! The body of the bag is a linen, from Tessuti.  The patchwork panels on the front are linen, cotton and denim, including the scraps from my Marimekko teatowels.

I have used a vintage button to close the bag.

The straps are made from black canvas from Ikea.  I like using black for the handles as I feel it gives the bag less of a home-made look.  The Ikea canvas is strong enough that it doesn't need to be interfaced.

I have used a soft denim, from Spotlight, for the lining.  I used a heavyweight woven interfacing for the bag body, also from Spotlight.  I used the front panel fabrics on the bag facing, just for a bit of colour and fun.

There is an internal, zippered pocket.  I did depart from Nicole's instruction here and did a quickie zip / welt thingy.

I made one of these bags for myself, about a year ago, which I never blogged.  You can see it here.  The strap has faded a little, but apart from that, it is in good shape.  The main fabric was an Echino cotton-linen print and the front flap was a Japanese cotton, both purchased when I visited Japan.

The lining is a mystery fabric from a garage sale.

And whilst I am catching up...here is another bag I made earlier this year, using cotton canvas remnants from Otilly & Lewis and an Amy Butler print for the lining.  I have been disappointed in past bags made from Amy Butler fabrics as they fade terribly, but it should be okay in the lining.  The canvas is heavy enough that I did not need to interface the bag.

False Eyelashes II

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

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.

Vogue 8527 Version 5!

This is my 5th time making Vogue 8527, but the first time that I have sewn view E.


I was making this the afternoon before my school reunion, in amongst a gazillion other goings on, so took a few short cuts.  For the other versions of this bag I used a heavyweight sew-in interfacing, but for this one I used a medium weight fusible interfacing.  Big mistake, as the bag is not stiff enough to clutch easily.  Now I have a piece of cardboard taking up room inside the bag :(.

I used a thick cotton for the main fabric of the bag and a satin for the bow.  I would recommend using a much stiffer fabric for the bow, such as duponi or taffeta, as my bow droops and does not hold its shape well.

Still, another cute clutch to add to my growing collection. 

Beach bags

I've just had the perfect beach holiday...morning swims, lunchtime daquiris, nanna naps and afternoon walks.  The first thing I did to prepare for my holiday was to sew some new tote bags to replace my worn and ripped bags from a few years ago.  Usually I make totes out of remnants or other fabrics for which I've lost the love, but I've had a bit of bag envy lately, so I broke out the good gear.

First up, Vogue 8485 (View C), using a Japanese cotton from Tessuti.  This bag is a great size and shape for carrying picnic blankets.  I made a few modifications to the pattern.  I eliminated the 2 shorter handles and attached the long strap directly to the bag.  I quilted some bamboo batting into the shoulder strap.

 I added an external zippered pocket.  Very neat, if I do say so myself.

 Here you can see the way Vogue adds the magnetic snap closures to their bags.

I changed the internal pockets to zippered pockets.  When I read through the Vogue bag reviews on PR, changing the internal pockets to zippered pockets seems to be a very common modification. 

 This second bag is the Hotpatterns nomad hobo handbag, currently available as a free download from fabric.com.

 This bag has a square base, so it is very roomy, which makes it great for carting all those snacks and drinkbottles to the beach.

For the exterior, I used 2 different Amy Butler fabrics.  For the lining, I used a stretch terry towelling left over from a baby change mat that I made almost a decade ago.  It felt good to finally clear it out of my stash and it absorbs the condensation from cold drink bottles.  I also changed the pocket configuration on the interior to suit my needs.

I made this next little pouch a while ago, but have only just got around to photographing it.  It is a waterproof pouch, for bringing home all the wet swimmers.  I wish I had made it years ago.

I used this tutorial for a lined, triangular, zippered pouch, only I made the dimensions bigger.  The exterior is cotton twill.  The interior is waterproof PUL, which is not my favourite fabric to sew.

Cocktail Dress

This is the dress I made to wear to a fundraiser cocktail party last night.  It is not the sort of occasion where I feel most comfortable, so I was going for understated.  Personally though, I find it hard to tell the difference between "understated" and "boring".

 I drafted the skirt part of the dress myself.

The bodice was taken from Vogue 1174.  I ordered the pattern before there were any reviews for it on PR, which is a shame because I forgot that Vogue puts in too much ease on strapless dresses.  On my usual size, based on measurements, there was 4 cm of ease across the bust, which is excessive for a strapless dress.  The foundation has your typical princess seams.  The outer bodice has both horizontal and vertical seaming, which doesn't show up well in my photo, but can been seen easily on the pattern line drawing.  I found it really difficult to adjust the pattern to fit, because of the combination of personal fitting issues and starting with a pattern that was way too big.  In the end I made a muslin of the foundation.  When I got that right, I drew on the seam lines for the bodice, and then cut up the foundation to make the pattern pieces for the bodice.  In the end I made 2 muslins before the final dress.  The final dress ended up being a smidge loose in the midriff, which gave a few wrinkles because the waist stay was tighter than the dress.  Making the muslins and pattern was a bit of work, but I do want to make up V1174 as per the pattern photo, so all this work will get an airing on a second dress.


In the photo of the foundation below, you can see that I used elastic, rather than grosgrain ribbon, for the waist stay.  I read about this possibility in the Summer 2007 edition of sew stylish, and thought it sounded like a much more comfortable option.  I put on the foundation, then did up the waist stay over the top, and marked where the elastic lined up with the seam-lines.  I attached the elastic by stitching it to the vertical seam-lines of the foundation.

In the next photo, you can see that I left openings in the back seams of the lining to pass through the ends of the stay.  The waist stay certainly did its job, as we danced like it was 1989 all night (I'm sure you know the song list!) and I did not have to hitch up my dress even once.

The dress was made from a piece of silk dupioni that I picked up from the remnant table at Gardams.  The lining is polyester that I bought locally.  I always think it is a shame to use a poyester lining on a silk dress, but I do not have much choice locally.  I was pleased that I could get such a good colour match.

Yesterday morning I made a bag to complete the outfit.  I had ordered a bundle of mystery remnants which arrived during the week.  I was hoping that there would be something in amongst the remnants that would be suitable for a bag, and I think that this piece of silver brocade was perfect.  The sewing gods have provided!  I used Vogue 8527.  This is the fourth bag that I have made from this pattern.  Recently, I got my will made up.  The lawyer, who knows me, asked if I was going to leave my collection of dresses to anybody.  As I was sewing this bag, I had visions of great-great-grand-daughters opening up a box to find 15 bags in the same style but different fabrics.  I guess when you're onto a winner...

Happy Birthday to ......

... Bernice, of Raindrops and Bellyflops.

I made you a present, but of course I haven't posted it.  I have, however, popped it up here, knowing that you are my blog's biggest fan, and you will at least see it on your birthday.

I had a hard time choosing the fabrics.  In the end I went with a Tessuti Japanese cotton for the flap, some vintage Sheridan home decor fabric for the front, a navy corded silk for the back and centre strip and a navy linen for the lining.

I reckon it'll go nicely with jeans, with all those navy bits.

Out with the old...

What do they say...until you try, you don't know what it is you cannot do?  Well, I didn't know that I couldn't put in-seam pockets into a welt seam until I tried to do so on my raincoat.  This process was made a little more complicated by wanting the inside edges all bound because the fabric frays and the coat is unlined.  It has thrown me all off kilter.  I didn't want to keep working on it, but I didn't want to move onto a new project.  Meanwhile, it rained and rained and rained.  Now that it has stopped raining, I have nearly finished... just some flaps and then sewing on the buttons.  It is so hot and muggy here that I am certain some more rain is not far off and I will get to wear it this wet season.

In the meantime, I have done a little procastination sewing...replacing the old and worn with new and bright.  First up, a pin cushion.  The old one didn't have enough stuffing in it and the pins and needles often came out the sides or bottom.  The new one was made following a tutorial by Heather Bailey. Much groovier.

(ps I'm having trouble searching Heather's blog to find the tutorial.  I know it is there somewhere.  You might have to read the whole blog to find it, but that's okay, there is lots of good stuff to distract you on the way.)

Next a soft bag.  The old one has been used so much, the linen on the side you can't see is all torn.  The new one is Amy Butler's Covington Bag.  Only, this new bag is not such a good replacement as it can not hold nearly as much as the old one.  It is a strange pattern, because the lining does not have the pleats that the outer bag has, so it is actually a lot smaller than the bag.  I want a bag to be roomier than it looks, not the other way around.  The top panel is an Amy Butler fabric and the main panel is a canvas from Otilly & Lewis.  I only bought a small piece of canvas because this fabric is ridiculously priced.  At about half price, it was $85 / m.  I just wanted to see what the fuss was about.  It is supposed to be mildew resistant and less prone to fading than other canvases, but at that price, I don't think I will be putting it on my outdoor setting any time soon.  Nice stripes though.

Twice is nice

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

 

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

 

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

Trying on Zakka

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

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