May 2013
2 posts
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Dress in progress: petite pleated toile
This is the toile/muslin for a dress that I’m making for my sister. (Burdastyle 02/2013 #112) It might be a while before we find time to get together to do a first fitting.
This is in the size for women who are 5’3”/160cm in height, which is good as it means I won’t need to add length which I think might be tricky with this pleated design. I used tailor’s tacks...
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Inhabited garden
“The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers & cities; but to know someone who thinks & feels with us, & who, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden.” (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, author of “Faust”)
Last month I went to a screening organised by Crafty Pint of “Handmade Nation”. The film was...
April 2013
1 post
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The gathering
Today was such a lovely day. Some forty plus sewists gathered in London for a meet up which was hosted by lovely Rachel from House of Pinheiro. Beginning at the Victoria and Albert Museum, where we tucked into tea and cakes in the beautiful cafe, and chatted about all things sewing.
Afterwards we headed outside to the garden for the group photos. The sun was shining on us and it felt so...
March 2013
4 posts
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Making the cascade top
This is the first time I’ve made something in a knit fabric. I wasn’t really sure what I was doing - I did some reading to get some tips on how to sew knits on an ordinary sewing machine by browsing online and in books.
I didn’t have any problems with selecting a stitch. I just chose the most shallow zig-zag stitch and checked that it would still allow the fabric to...
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Making the high flying birds top
This is another recent make that has gathering on the bodice - which means no darts to fit. I’m finding this design feature suits my body shape.
I had a couple of mishaps. I absent-mindedly pre-washed this fabric with the hot pink fabric and ended up with pink birds. I washed the fabric in a few drops of bleach (this is probably not very good for the fabric), and managed to get rid of...
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February 2013
2 posts
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Making the hot pink shirt dress
I had been eyeing up some lovely hot pink fabric in the shop for a while. Then after seeing bernie and I’s lovely creation - I decided this would be a great colour to make something vivid and cheerful.
I decided to make a classic shirt dress with the fabric I was gifted for christmas from my wish list (lucky me!)
The only adjustment I made to this pattern was to add some width to the...
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December 2012
5 posts
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Sewing goals for 2012 reviewed
I made a modest list of things I hoped to achieve with the sewing in 2012. My goals were there just to help me stay focused - so they weren’t at all rigid and allowed for inspiration. Here’s how I did:
make more wearables ✔ - made cropped trousers, overalls, tops
wear more of what I make ✔ - I wore trousers and overalls the most
try patterns from Burdastyle magazine ✔ - made...
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Making the Celebrate dress
This is the first dress I’ve made that’s suitable for the autumn/winter season. I actually started planning this in the summer when I got the August 2012 edition of BurdaStyle magazine. I really liked the bodice - the pleats at the neckline and the long sleeves which has two darts at the top and is flared at the sleeve hem. The dress has a pencil skirt which is very elegant...
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July 2012
2 posts
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Making the green fields jacket
From the tissue fit I made the following alterations:
The front had a pair of darts - I eliminated one of them & altered the apex of the remaining dart.
The back piece was so strangely rounded and high at the top near the shoulder blade. I removed a wedge of excess there by pinching out a 1.5cm sided dart by slashing a horizontal line across to the centre back and then pivoting and...
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June 2012
2 posts
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Making the sateen cropped trousers
Out of all the garments that I’ve made - the ones I wear the most are my black trousers, overalls and shorts. Living in London the summer weather is very changeable and unpredictable. As much as I love making dresses, I do prefer to wear more practical clothes. These cropped trousers are great for this reason.
I have never owned a garment made from cotton sateen and wasn’t...
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May 2012
2 posts
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Making the scarlet shorts
I had some cotton left over from the red 1970s dress, and I thought it would be a good idea to use it to make some shorts to wear at home. The shorts pattern is from the December 2011 issue of Burda Style magazine.
There are only four pattern pieces and it is a really simple design. The cotton that I used would not normally be used for shorts, as it isn’t really heavy enough, but...
4 tags
April 2012
7 posts
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Making the Ruby slip
I really like the gathered bodice version of the Ruby slip from pattern scissors cloth - it’s a lovely classic shape. I also wanted to try working with satin - the last time was many moons ago at school. I had intended to make it with the lace detail, but I wasn’t very enamoured with the lace available in the shops - scatchy texture and uninspiring patterns. So this is my version...
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Making the wild flowers top
When it comes to choosing prints, I really have to be drawn to it. My local fabric shop is a nice big shop in Tooting and they let you browse freely, which is good news for me as I tend to dither a lot.
This cotton poplin was tucked away between two other fabric bolts and I instantly liked it. It makes me think of wild flower gardens, folk art, and long childhood summer days. It feels very...
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Making the paisley top
I thought it was a good time to tackle bodice alterations by making a simple top. I chose New Look 6808 as the bodice has a nice fitted shape, and a variety of different sleeves, necklines and collars to choose from.
I decided to make this into a summer work top and chose a cool blue and white paisley patterned cotton.
I did a tissue-fit with the following pattern adjustments:
narrowed the...
7 tags
March 2012
2 posts
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Making the contrast dress
One of the things that I wanted to make this year was a dress that can look like separates - one that has a contrast to the bodice and skirt. I’ve seen many lovely ones including Mena’s statement necklace dress and what I wore’s ray of light dress.
I cut the bodice from a Liberty Tana Lawn, which I bought in Edinburgh (Crafters’ Ceilidh). The print design is very busy,...
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February 2012
3 posts
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Making overalls
As part of the plan to make more wearable clothing - I decided to make some workwear for when I’m painting. I found this reproduction 1940s overalls pattern from EvaDress. It will be interesting at some point to look at workwear during that time in history.
I did struggle a bit with this pattern. I have never made anything with gathered darts, double darts or anything with a bodice...
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January 2012
6 posts
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December 2011
4 posts
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November 2011
1 post
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