Hongkongshopper

Sofie's Valedictory Dress

2011-11-28T21:03:00.001+11:00

My baby Sofie graduated from high school recently and I made her a new dress for her Valedictory dinner. I anticipated this event a while back and bought some silk chiffon from China on my last Hong Kong visit. The fabric is an ombra that is black on both selvages and grading to white/cream in the middle. Luckily she was happy with the fabric.

I used a mix of patterns - a bias cut night dress 12-2008-128B for the skirt and Butterick 5029 for the front bodice. I then cut long ties - very long rectangles and attached them just under the bust. To keep things simple I used elastic across the back to keep the dress close to the body as per the nightgown pattern - so no zip or other fastener needed! I later went back and added elastic under the bust too to keep that area also closer to the body

You can see the bodice here and the rectangles hanging down. I also stitched the beads to the shoulders to keep them in place as Sofie wore the dress.

The ties wrap up over the bust, tie up at the back and hang down the back. It was a bit of trial and error to see what looked good. We ended up twisting around the bodice neck and tucking in around the bodice.

Of course the occasion required fake tan, hairdo, heavy makeup and false eyelashes! The photos (except the dress form ones) were taken on a fancy smancy camera owned by Ellen's (dd1) boyfriend. More can be seen here

Another dress for Sofie

2011-09-10T10:34:00.000+10:00

I am a very lazy blogger. And a lazy sewer! But not to worry. I have recently made another formal dress for Sofie. We used the following dress from Net-A-Porter as inspiration:

Notte by Marchesa. Looking closely at the dress on Net-A-Porter it appears the dress is a white strapless dress with a thick black ribbon tied around and joined to the dress in strategic places.

That is how we approached making the dress. We started with a muslin for a Burda mag sheath dress (can't recall what number and it doesn't really matter as we changed it) and shaped the top to be sleeveless. We shortened it too!

Muslin looked good so we proceeded. I used a silk remnant I purchased in Hong Kong on one of my early trips. The black duponi was from Spotlight. We also used up a black crystal zipper purchased way back in Hong Kong too. I am sure they did not cost more than $10 all up. The black silk cost as much!

We won't discuss here all the trouble I had with that zipper! we won't mention that I shortened it and more than once managed to get the tab off of it. I thought we were a goner! Sofie to the rescue with her young eyes. By the third time she wasn't so happy with me however....

As this dress would no doubt be like others and worn only once, I took some shortcuts. I didn't do any boning. We put on a strap and I hoped that would hold up the dress well enough. Sofie's breasts had other ideas. If she leaned forward all was showing and even standing up her left breast was escaping. What to do!? Here is our quick fix - see the black patch on her left side above the white? We found a scrap and just sewed it in! Works well to cover her up and tighten the dress a bit. Not so pretty from the inside.

The right side was just a matter of arranging the "ribbon" into a pleasing shape and hand stitching in place. This was harder than I thought it would be. The proportions were hard to get right as I had made the black "ribbon" smaller as Sofie is much smaller than the model but I didn't take into account that her bust however is much larger than the model.

And the troublesome zipper -

We stitched the zip exposed on the outside. The dress is also lined.

Overall it is not my best effort but I think she looked gorgeous and the dress lasted out the night. It is still at the drycleaners as she managed to get a drink splilled on it and plenty of body makeup too. And did you see those killer shoes I bought her?

Sofie's bed head

2011-01-09T21:29:00.006+11:00

Quite awhile ago, Sofie and I bought some quilting cottons in green and pink to decorate her room. First project was to make an upholstered headboard. After much research (thank God for the Internet) we decided to have a go.

First, Sofie decided on a design. Then we traced a curve on some Burda tracing paper. From there we traced onto the board. We recycled an old desk we had in our previous house but have no use for in the new one.

Next job was to cut out the shape with the jigsaw.

We took the paper template to Clarke Rubber and have them cut out some low density foam (about 4cm thick) to fit the bed head. They also sold wadding which saved us a trip to the fabric store.

The foam was glued to the board and the wadding wrapped around and stapled down. The fabric was then stapled being careful to make sure it was nice and lined up.

We used "hooks and eyes" to attached the head to the wall. More scary power tools! We put the eye pieces on the wall and put the hooks into the back of the head. Here you can see the back is not so pretty, but hopefully this side will never be seen.

Et voila!

All styled up. Next project will be a duvet cover and some matching pillow slips I think. We also plan to recover a stool and make a runner for her chest of drawers.

Unfortunately the fabric was not wide enough and I had to seam pieces on the sides. This was the most time consuming part of the whole project. To make sure that the pattern matched up I used Summerset's way of basting from the front before machine stitching from the back. Works like a charm - can't see the seam can you?

From this angle you can see the width of the head board. Also you can see that the messy back can't be seen.

Not bad, if I do say so myself!

Sofie's VCE Studio Arts

2010-12-31T23:52:00.005+11:00

2010 has been a quiet year for me sewing wise but it was a big year for Sofie. A few posts back I talked about Sofie's year 12 VCE Studio Arts pieces. As part of her assessment she was required to produce two art pieces that were related. She also had to produce two folios discussing the preparation of samples and the actual completion of the art pieces. She chose to represent Odette and Odile of Swan Lake. She used similar materials and techniques - tulle, feathers, glitter, quilting, embroidery etc.

I was reluctant to post much about it as she was working on them as they were externally assessed and become part of her VCE score. I didn't want to do anything to effect that in any way.

So now that results are out;

.She won first place with Odette at her schools Creative Arts Week.

.Won peoples choice at Creative Arts Week

.Won the school's VCE prize on the Night of Excellence for Studio Art

.And received a 43 study score on her external assessment. This is out of 50. Anything over 40 is considered very good.

Needless to say we are all very proud of Sofie. I have uploaded quite a few photos on Flickr(please click over and have a look to see close up) and have a few here to show.

Excuse me if my spelling or grammar is off - it has just turned midnight here - Happy New Year - and many champagnes have been had..hic!

Vote for Ellen

2010-12-19T09:55:00.003+11:00

Ellen, my eldest daughter, is a film student. She has just finished her second year at Swinburne Uni. Being a big David Lynch fan, when she found out he was running a competition for a music video, she jumped at the chance to make an entry. The highest voted videos become finalists. If you would like to sit back and relax with some very chilled out music (and video to match) hop over to Ellen's blog . Please vote so that she can become rich and famous and I can then stay at home and whip up some Oscar gowns :)

Sofie's formal dress

2010-12-01T21:40:00.008+11:00

Sofie asked me to make her year 11 school Formal dress. She wanted something unique and as she said something "made with love". How could I refuse?

We chose Burda 12-2006-113. Fabrics were purchased from Cleggs in Lygon Street, Brunswick - a shop that specialises in evening fabrics. The lady who served us was so helpful. She helped us decide upon a sequin fabric for the bodice, poly satin for the trim and skirt and a soft pink silk Georgette for the over skirt.

After shopping for the fabric, Sof and I make a trip to Bridge Road to the perfect shoes - nude, shiny and very high!
Sofie trimmed an old bag of mine (from 1982) with a scrap of fabric and some trim
The zip was handpicked. I wish I could say the dress was a dream to sew, but my recent lack of sewing made it quite an adventure. Burda has it as a 2 dot pattern, but with our choice of fabrics it made it more a 5 star. I started on the Sunday for a Thursday night deadline. By Tuesday I was tearing out my hair and wondering why on earth I was putting myself through the torture. In fact I was telling myself that I was never going to sew again! However, after a few fitting tweaks, some hand sewing and few more hours of work, we were ready to celebrate with Champagne! And it was finished a day early!
And a couple of more photos to finish off. Sofie and her friend and a family shot.

Q&A and Sofie's project

2010-05-08T09:15:00.000+10:00

Thanks everyone for all the nice comments and the compliments on the new hair “do”. My usual hairdresser wasn’t working on the night of my last appointment and I had someone new. I was a bit scared as his hands were shaking but I shut my eyes and hoped for the best. Luckily it turned out pretty good!

From the last few posts there were a few questions to answer:

Birgitte asked: Is Sofie sewing a triple layer in the last pix, and if so, would it be easier with a walking foot? It caught my attention cause I'm using mine right now. Yes she is, and thanks for mentioning the walking foot – I hadn’t given it a thought. And obviously her teacher hadn’t either!

Karen (kbenco) asked: Where did you get the print? Mmm, not sure but I think it was good old Spotlight. It was a while ago.

Carol commented: This pattern is so versatile. Have you seen the Stitches magazine article that shows you how to draft a cowl collar and add a pleat front to this pattern? I use it all the time. No, I haven’t seen it (or just don’t remember seeing it). Do you have the issue handy – so I can see if I have that copy?

Isabelle suggested: It's probably time Sofie asked for a sewing machine of her own - as an early birthday present perhaps? :) I don’t think that would work. I have an older machine but she wants the better one. Everything belongs to Sofie! Lucky I love her and she brings me coffee in bed in the morning.

And a lot of you want to see more of what Sofie is sewing too. She will be making two dresses/tutus. One in white and one in black. These need to be artworks and not something you would wear. She must manipulate the fabric and incorporate different textures, embellishments etc. Before she starts on the art pieces she has to fill a portfolio on different techniques – including unsuccessful ones and annotate them.

She has lots of ideas but no firm decisions have been made. There will be – feathers, tulle, satin, quilting, sparkles. Already the sewing area is covered with “stuff”. She seems to be enjoying the subject but it does also include studying other artists’ work – which involves articulating what you are actually seeing.

This is a page from her portfolio showing the initial design thoughts.

This page shows some samples for the black dress.

Sorry about the photo being sideways - Uploaded 3 times (even as a small image) but blogger insists it be sideways!

Here is a close up view of one of her samples. She has screen printed onto silk, quilted and stitched around the design. Excuse me if I don't get the terms correct..

She has to continue to try new techniques until her book is full of samples.

In the future, I am not sure how much I will be able to show of her work as she is being examined on it. I will check with her teacher in case there are any "rules" about what I can show.

SMOT no 3

2010-05-02T17:25:00.005+10:00

I managed to get one more top in for the challenge. Cut out in April but sewn up in May - that counts doesn't it?

I used good old Kwik Sew 3338 - basic T top. I made some changes to look like that very popular Jalie tie neck top.

I lowered the front neckline slightly and added a length of brown mesh to the neckline. I also added the mesh to the sleeves to balance the look. The body of the top is a very soft viscose lycra. It was almost entirely made on the overlocker....and here is why...

Sofie has taken over the sewing area and MY machine. She is studying studio arts - textiles (VCE). At the moment she is filling a portfolio of samples. She needs to make two major works and she has decided on Odette and Odile of Swan Lake. She is up to her neck in feathers, glitter, satin and tulle.

SMOT no 2

2010-04-30T22:35:00.004+10:00

Thanks everyone for the welcome back! As you know I have been here but just watching from the sidelines. Thanks for all your posts over the past year - I have enjoyed them all and learnt a lot. And have got a lot of inspiration too!

For my second top I used Vogue 7799. I have made up view A previously but this time decided to make view B. It went together very easily. This time I did not stabilise anything., and it stretches to fit beautifully. I would normally stabilise the shoulder seams but these were so narrow I didn't think they would stretch much if at all.

This top has a front seam that really doesn't need to be there. Your could cut it on the fold. I went for the seam and am glad I did. I think it adds to the design - makes it a bit more interesting.

My fabric is a very soft viscose lycra and feels so soft. Which is nice, but doesn't give me the best look with low rise jeans. Shows bumps that I didn't know I had...hmmm. Perfect for work skirts however.

I can't remember where I bought the fabric but I noticed when cutting out that it was faded on one side. To make the pattern fit, I needed to put a seam in the sleeves. I think they look pretty good - matches the seam down the middle. And the best thing of all is that the colour matches perfectly withmy new teal shoes (flats and heels) and teal belt. Perfect.

The suit is RTW.

Sorry the photos aren't great. Our old camera went to Europe with Ellen and never came back the same. These photos were taken with the new camera but I think we need more practice. Also my duct tape dress form went to heaven and I am hoping I can get a real one on sale for mothers day.

I am hoping to finish top no 3 tomorrow.

SMOT

2010-04-29T22:28:00.003+10:00

It has been a long time between drinks! But hopefully I am back into the sewing mode now.

I signed up for Faye's Spring Month of Tops - which is a bit silly as it is Autumn here. But I have managed to make two tops so far and have another one cut out. All knits, so nothing of great excitement...but I am sewing :))

As the sew-a-long is for the month of April, and I did not start until last week, I decided to try and make a dent in my knit stash. And being short of time I thought I would make up some big 4 patterns. The first is an almost vintage McCall's 2418 (from 1999 I think).

A nice easy 1 hour top..Ha! It took me a lot longer. The pattern has a turnover for the neck facing. This doesn't work - it pulls and puckers. So I just stitched it down about 1 cm from the edge and trimmed it close to the stitching. I also used Burda's method of stabilising the armhole edges with tape. Which was not such a good idea - the armholes are a bit tight and of course now have no stretch. So, in the end it is OK, but I won't be making it again.

It goes well with my suit I bought in Hong Kong and also with another skirt I have cut out but yet to make up.

Burda 02-2008-117 and other ramblings.

2009-04-03T21:38:00.006+11:00

Thankyou ladies for all your suggestions. You had some great ideas. I love Belinda's suggestion to add a band and topstitch that. And I hear you when you say that the topstitching will be lost in the check. I was thinking I needed the topstitching to give the same silhouette and body to the style. Perhaps I may not need that either as my fabric does have a fair amount of body and may stick out on its own accord.

Tonight I have been tracing out the pattern but have run out of tracing paper! So when I get some more tomorrow, I will see if I can straighten the hem to line up with the checks and then ponder from there. Hopefully I can get as far as cutting out tomorrow. I am sure it will take my most of the day to work out what I am doing and to place and cut carefully - lots of matching to do. Then I may even thread trace. No plans for a muslin at this stage. I will compare the shoulders and lengths with my sloper. The width I think will be forgiving.

This is my first sewing project for the year. I have not been sewing. We put our house on the market and after much cleaning and preparation it was sold the third week on the market. The girls and I have also bought a new townhouse that is just 2 klms down the road. We move in early July. Unfortunately the new home does not have a spare room for me to use for sewing but there is a small sitting area at the top of the stairs that I have called mine!

Other news is that Ellen has started a Bachelor of Film and Television at Swinburne University. Miss smarty pants won a scholarship and will have all her tuition paid!!

Sofie is in year 10 at school and is studying (amongst other subjects) VCE Studio Arts/Textiles. So far she has done felting, screen printing, silk dying, transfer printing, solvent transfers, shibori, tie dye, lino printing and mono printing! She is really enjoying it. She also has made a couple of bags for friends for birthday presents.

Here they are sitting in front of their gift bags. She used fabric remnants.
Inside view. She made the label from fabric and embroidered on the words. She did have sewing help from me but the choice of fabrics and trims and the design of the bag were all hers. (I had better keep an eye on my stash..lol)

Finally I want to thank Paco and LindsayT for nominating me for for the sisterhood award. It is greatly appreciated and made me feel special when I have been so stressed and completely unable to sew or be motivated in general..sigh.

Advice needed...please

2009-04-01T10:32:00.004+11:00

I was planning to make this coat:

with this fabric:

But the bottom of the coat is curved and the fabric has checks (obvious straight lines). I was thinking the topstitching would be easy along the lines but alas it would be curved. How would this look? Wrong? What if I cut it on the bias? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Fire update

2009-02-11T22:17:00.002+11:00

Just dropping t0 let you know we are all fine! Well, as best you can be under the circumstances. I think all of Melbourne is in a state of shock and disbelief. We have had bushfires before but nothing of this magnitude or ferocity.

On Saturday it was so hot. It reached 46c - our highest ever recorded temperature. A scorching hot northerly gusterly was blowing. Perfect conditions for a bushfire. By lunch time the girls and I went off to Doncaster Shopping Town - an airconditioned shopping centre - to escape the heat.

When the shops closed at 5.30 we went outside to see if the predicted cool change had come yet. No. It was so hot we just about passed out just stepping outside. There was no way we were going anywhere! So back in we went and had some dinner and saw a movie. Normally from the food court you can see the city of Melbourne but on Saturday all sight was lost to dust and I presume smoke. We went home at 9.30 but still were not aware of what was going on so close to home. It wasn't until Sunday did we realise the devastation that took place. Many of the fires were at the fringe of Melbourne's suburbs - probably only 30kms "as the crow flies" from our place. Thank God the change came and the wind turned from being hot and northerly to cooler and southerly. We live on a bush block and are aware of the dangers that can present when the weather is hot and windy.

Many of the fires are still burning and at the moment do not pose a high threat. But lets pray that the weather stays cool so that they do not flare up again.

You can read more about the bushfires on Wikipedia. Or on many other sites if you google Victorian Bushfires.

If you want to help, you can make a donation to the Australian Red Cross.

Astratex sale

2009-02-07T22:41:00.002+11:00

Astatex is having its half price sale from today to 15th February. Lots of European fabrics half the usual price. Well I did my bit to spend Ruddy's bonuses with the following:

Cottons for $10 a metre - were originally $32 per metre. I so need some summer clothes to beat this heat. But unfortunately it is too hot to sew!!

And I bought this (supposedly) silk fabric. Black and white checks with Burgundy/wine flowers. It is a taffeta with a bit of sheen - perfect for that Burda WOF trench. Sorry no numbers for now and anyway it won't be started for a while. I am thinking a perfect garment for my birthday in April. Here is a close up of the flowers:

Now, I am not convinced it is a silk as the burn test tells me it has a bit (or a lot) of plastic in it. There was no label on the bolt so I asked the sales assistant who assured me it was silk. It certainly was a silk price. So what to do? Complain as I was misled and ask for my money back or keep it anyway because it is gorgeous? I will see how I feel once I cool down (literally).

Today was the highest Melbourne temperature on record - 46.4C. And there are bushfires burning over a lot of the state - most very close to Melbourne. The weather has changed, and the temp has dropped to 26, but it is still windy. Keep us in your prayers.

Award part 2 and Burda 05-2008-104

2009-02-04T22:13:00.004+11:00

I have spent two lunch times checking to see if everyone has received a nomination for the Kreative blog award and pretty much come to the conclusion that we all have. But I didn't check everyone's blog so if I missed you, you just may be on my Google Reader subscription list. I have updated this and now have all 136 blogs on my sidebar - phew (and no wonder not much sewing gets done around here!).

Late last year I made Burda 5-2008-104 from a remnant poly lycra jersey I purchased from the Cleggs sale last year. This dress had just about been made by everyone, so I won't mention too much about the construction.

particularly sexy pose......

As I was working with a remnant, I needed to do the facings with a plain stretch fabric and the cross over had to be pieced in the middle. It has been my go to dress for the summer as it skims nicely over the extra padding that has somehow appeared over the last 6 months! Sigh, I seriously need to make some clothes that fit me or get back into exercise.

Award and is it February already?

2009-02-02T22:05:00.004+11:00

Hi everyone - where did January go? Well I can tell you it wasn't sitting in my sewing room, that is for sure. I did however clean it very nicely and it is there all ready for me to go. I also traced out a jacket pattern but I think I need to get back into it on a simpler style so will put this one aside for a while.

January is holiday month in Australia, but now Sofie is back at school and we have to get back into gear. Ellen will start at uni next month on a Bachelor of Film and Television degree at Swinburne. She did VERY well in her final year at school and won herself a scholarship that will cover her fees.

We are spending a lot of time cleaning up the house as we need to sell so I can settle with the X. And that is taking up most of my energy. That and the heat. Last week we had an all time record of 3 consecutive days over 43c - with Friday being 45!! (113F). And this is what happens to your garden when it sits in an oven for three days....

Our airconditioning at work failed on Thursday afternoon and we had to close down the file server. Only this morning did we have access to our computers again. Even at home it was too hot to turn on my computer (no aircon at all at home). We spent a lot of time at Doncaster Shoppingtown! lol

Now to some fun stuff. KatyS, E and Gwen all nominated me for the Kreativ Blogger award. Thank you so much ladies! I had been watching the award going around and felt a bit left out. But you all came to my rescue. Now I need to see who has not been given the award so we can all feel special.

The rules for this award are:
1. Copy the award to your site.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 7 other bloggers.
4. Link to those on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated.

I will need some more time to see who I will nominate. I think all of those great blogs have been nominated, and we know about them anyway. It is the other little gems out there that we have not come across that are great finds when these awards go around. So, if anyone knows of someone they feel should be nominated that hasn't yet been (including yourself) you can email me.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-22T23:04:00.003+11:00

I have finished the oven mitts - Hooray!! And just in time. It is 11.00 pm here and I need them for work tomorrow.

It promises to be nice and warm here in Melbourne for Christmas. We are going to my brother's place where the kids can swim and the adults can find a shady place to have a drink (or two...).

We had our first Christmas gathering up in Shepparton on the weekend where we all got to have lunch in the backyard. Some chickens and salads from the chook shop with chocolate ripple cake made by Sofie for desert. Perfect, except for all the mossie bites I have!

Here is a typical Aussie backyard lunch photo - even with the Hills hoist in the background..lol

And here is mum, me, Cheryl, Tess (my niece) and Sofie.

Have a very merry Christmas everyone!

Cupcake aprons

2008-12-18T22:27:00.003+11:00

I am still in Christmas gift making mode and have made 2 aprons for my nieces Laura and Tess. Sofie helped me tonight with the sewing and pressing and Ellen did a little pose with Eames to show the end result. We used two pink and two green co ordinating cupcake cotton fabrics from Spotlight. No pattern was used. We made it up as we went. We made the ties long enough to come around to the front to tie. Some rick rack or trim would have been nice but none could be found!
Here is a closer view of the pink one:

And an even closer view to show the fabric properly. There is silver sparkles on the fabric too.

Since my last post I have made two more little boy sets and am half way through my mitt making. Note to self....do NOT leave it until the week before Christmas to start making gifts......

Oven Mitts tutorial

2008-12-14T12:12:00.005+11:00

Every year I make something Christmassie for my co workers. We are only a small firm of accountants and this year we are all female except for the boss! Last year I made aprons (here too) and the year before table runners. This year it is oven mitts. I couldn't find a tutorial for exactly what I wanted so I just had a go and came up with this:

First, trace around your hand or trace a mitt you already have:
Next combine the outside fabric, batting and lining. I couldn't get any insulated batting so I just used poly. It is a bit thick but it should do the job. I could hold my hand against the iron for a few seconds before it got too hot, so I figure these will work for getting dishes out of the oven onto the bench top. I cut the 3 fabrics just long enough to fit one mitt length. I used the full width of the fabric. Easier to quilt that way.
Quilt using the walking foot. I just did straight lines every 5 white lines of the gingham. Fancy quilting would be nice, but I am a novice in this area and this was all I can do! Roll up the fabric as you go to make it easier to fit with your machine.

Cut two pieces from the pattern out of the new quilted "fabric". Cut one and then turn the pattern over to cut the other.

Make some binding. I used a co ordinating Christmas fabric with the 2.5cm wide binder. I cut the fabric on the straight grain to save fabric. It should be ok as I am not trying to go around curves.

Fold the binding in half making sure one side is slightly longer than the other.

Sew up the thumb side at least a few inches before attaching the binding.

Attach the binding with the longer side underneath. This will ensure you will catch it in your stitches.

Sew a couple of extra inches of the binding to make a hanging loop.

Fold the loop bit inside of the mitt before stitching the rest of the mitt together.

Here is the inside after I have finished. I didn't bother finishing off the inside. You could bind, zig zag or serge. I would have bound it I was making these for you ;)). But hey, I have 20 to make and my co workers will not care or even notice. Don't forge to clip to the stitching in the thumb curve to help it sit better when you turn it out.

And the outside:

Now back to the machine....I have another 19 to make :)

Little boy PJ's

2008-12-10T20:59:00.004+11:00

I saw this really cute Santa embroidery on Embroidables.com and thought I would have a go at making some pyjamas for some little boys. I haven't done much embroidery even though I have had my machine for about 8 years. I have a Janome MC10000.

The idea was to buy some white tshirts and and make little shorts. I looked high and low and couldn't find any white tshirts without logos. So in desperation I made a tshirt! I used a very old pattern that my sister gave me. I found it in amongst my children patterns in a plastic bag - no pattern envelope! Simplicity 5398 - Stretch and Sew.

I made a size 2 for my grand nephew William.

The old pattern sheet had lots of tips along the way. One of them was to put a bit of ribbon in the back so to be able to tell front from back. I know other bloggers have done this but this is the first time I have seen it mentioned in the pattern sheet.

Here is a close up of the embroidery:

I want to make a couple more but will go and buy some white singlets! I don't want to have to make the tshirts again. The shorts only took about an hour.

Young William enjoyed getting them last night and ran around in them for a while but unfortunately he wasn't very co operative in the photo department.

Australia (the movie) - a review

2008-12-07T08:24:00.006+11:00

Last night the girls and I went to see Australia the new Baz Luhrmann film. The film has had more than its share of bad press but being Baz fans we just had to go. (Ellen's passion for film making was ignited by seeing Moulin Rouge when she was 11). I did have to almost force Sofie to come along as she really was not keen. Well, we all enjoyed it very much!

The good:

. The film really captures the essence of the outback - the seasons - the wet and the dry, the vastness and remoteness of the landscape.

. It is a fantastic history lesson, particularly for Australian school children. I am sure it won't be long before it is on our school curriculum. This year Sofie studied Strictly Ballroom - Baz's first film and also learnt in history about the "stolen generation". This film covers the Aboriginal culture in a very positive way. It also teaches us of the tragedy of the injustice done to them. I know my generation were not brought up to respect the Aboriginal culture but the schools now teach our children of their culture, the injustices done and to pay respect to them as the original owners of the land.

. The history lesson also covers the impact of the Japanese bombing of Darwin in 1941.

. The costumes that Nicole gets to wear! This outfit I think is my favourite:

Here is a close up of the details of the cream and navy.

Princess Poochie has done a post about the shoes. I did notice the shoes in the movie but alas no close ups!

. It was a good yarn! Almost a "western" with the droving, the goodies and the baddies and the taming of brumbies. Baz starts this film in a very comical/farcical way similar to Moulin Rouge and Strictly Ballroom but then settles down into his story. Lots of fun with men fighting and general silliness. Also some shocking bits.......remember the kangaroo scene? Not sure to laugh or cry!

. Another fun thing was seeing all our great Aussie actors - Bryan Brown, Jack Thompson, Ben Mendlesohn, David Wenhan (he is so good you really hate him)...and lots more. It is a bit like spot the actor.

. We thought Nicole was perfect for the part.

. This film is just so Aussie!

The bad:

. The only thing I would say was for me was it didn't quite drag me in. It was great to watch yet I wasn't moved to tears at any time. Yet watching the Duchess a couple of weeks ago I couldn't stop the tears - so I can be moved.

. This film is just so Aussie! (lol) Crikey!

Fabric to me and more mother proudness!

2008-12-05T08:41:00.002+11:00

On Wednesday Colette of Tessuti fabrics turned 40 and I won some fabric! How cool is that? Here is a photo of the goods along with the lovely labels she sent. I won on Wednesday and they were with me on Thursday! Thanks Colette! The silk/cotton on the far right has a lovely silky feel and I am thinking maybe a dress. The cotton in the middle is quite rough and course, so I am not sure what would be best for it. And the elephant fabric needs to be something for a little one. Perhaps a shirt for nephew Will for his 2nd birthday next Feb.

Also on Thursday we were invited to my girls Night of Excellence where they hand out awards to students for outstanding academic, community spirit, arts, music and sport achievements during the year. Both Sofie and Ellen got awards to community spirit (being involved in many school related activities). Ellen also go a house award but the biggy was the top student in media studies in VCE. She worked really hard all year and didn't lose one single mark! Mummy is very proud of both my babies.

Ellen was also so proud of herself she slept in her school uniform with her medal under her pillow..lol! So now we wait until January to find out what placement she is offered at uni.

Tess's pajamas

2008-11-28T13:29:00.002+11:00

My niece Tess turned 11 yesterday and her mum suggested some summer PJ's for a present. Now we could have bought them, but no ... Sofie and I went shopping at Spotlight and came up with these:

The main fabric with the dresses print came from the curtain section and was marked down to $3 a metre ;) The pattern McCalls 2606 is an old out of print pattern but any draw string pants will do.

After Sunday night cutting out, Monday night sewing, and last night finishing off this is what we have:

Oops - excuse the shoes

The tops are from Glassons - 2 for $20. We actually bought them first and then went shopping for matching fabric. And two pairs of pants - perfect for Melbourne summers - hot one day, cold the next!

I didn't follow the order of the pattern but constructed in an order to make the process easier. We also added elastic to the ribbon drawstring at the back to make.

Some detail shots:

The bottom of the shorty pajamas has a ruffle that was done entirely on the overlocker (above) and the casing is the stripe contrast fabric (below).

The bottom of the longer ones have the stripe contrast print and twill ribbon added (above) and the flower print as the casing (below).

I have some fabric in the stash that Sof and I bought last year to make ourselves pj's, so I may make them up next week and take step by step photos - in case anyone is interested but also to remind me how I went about it. Just about all the sewing was done on the overlocker/serger.

Email from Pati

2008-11-27T21:20:00.003+11:00

After referring to Palmer Pletsch's book Fit for Real People back in my post about the muslin for Ellen's dress I received an email from Pati Palmer. How cool! You just never know who is reading....

She kindly thanked me for mentioning the book and gave me a link to the Palmer Pletsch free e-magazine. I actually met Pati way back in 1998 when she was here for the Melbourne Stitches and Craft show and she autographed my Fit for Real People book.

In the email she also mentioned Sue Neall from Sydney who does 4-day fit, pant and jacket classes in Australia. Sue is also co-author of the book Jackets for Real People. Of course any good Aussie sewing girl will know Sue from the Stitches and Craft fashion shows!

This week I have been sewing pajama bottoms for my niece's 11th birthday. Here is a picture of the magic ingredients. Tomorrow I will show the end result.

Sofie's skirt

2008-11-22T16:11:00.005+11:00

Sofie, my younger daughter wanted a new dress to wear to Ellen's valedictory dinner. As she is studying textiles at school I suggested she design what she wanted and we could sew it together. This was a couple of months ago. Well nothing happened and last weekend she decided she needed something new and wanted to go shopping. Shopping can be "hard work" with Sofie because if she doesn't have any luck in finding something that fits and is flattering she gets depressed and grumpy and won't even look at anything. This happened last Friday night at the shops.

Unlike Ellen and myself Sofie is well endowed in the chest department. However she is fairly petite elsewhere. So it is difficult to find flattering clothes for her. She needs fitted clothes to show that she does have a figure. And it probably doesn't help with a mother that can point out how cheap the fabric is and how badly made the clothes are!

Anyway, on Saturday morning she was going to Brunswick Street with Ellen and her father, so I suggested she drop into Clear It (an outlet shop) and see if there were any Alannah Hill fabrics that she liked. She came home with two metres of silk chiffon!

Co-incidentally she was doing a school project on 2 designers - one current and one from the past. She chose Alannah Hill (of course) and Elsa Schiaparelli. I photographed her page on Alannah:

Unfortunately, we didn't get to making Sofie the skirt until the night before the dinner as Ellen's dress took much longer than I anticipated. She decided that she wanted a floaty skirt with layers. No problem!?

Making up as we went we used a basic skirt pattern. First we cut a lining out. Then cut 3 ruffles. We made the ruffles by cutting the skirt pattern (traced) into 3 and adding a couple of inches so that we could overlap. We then cut and spread to give volumn.

We hemmed the ruffles and stitched them to the skirt. We tried to use the overlocker/serger to roll hem but it the thread was cutting the silk. In the end it was all sewn on the sewing machine. I am surprised this did not turn out a disaster - we just about gave up at 10.00pm but I kept imagining Project Runway and Tim Gunn - "make it work". And make it work we did.

Getting desperate by 11.00pm we quickly decided to just add ribbon as a waist band.

Voila - a miracle - it actually looked pretty good! Thank goodness nobody will be inspecting it too closely. But for under $20 we have a very pretty silk skirt. The ruffles are not even (I really should learn more about bias) but that is the charm, isn't it? And certainly no worse than RTW!

BTW, Sofie did some of the sewing, all of the pressing and sat with me giving encouragement. And she looks pretty darn happy with herself too.

No new clothes for me. I wore my birthday frock.

Ellen's Valedictory Dress - photos and Dior rose

2008-11-21T20:11:00.005+11:00

Frock:Burda WOF 08-2008-126
Socks: Alannah Hill
Shoes: Old ones from the wardrobe
Hair piece: Dior rose
Makeup: Aunty Cheryl

I made the rose following the instructions from Couture The Art of Fine Sewing by Roberta Carr.

And one more, just because I can (and she is smiling):

We all had a wonderful time!

Ellen's Valedicatory dress - some details

2008-11-20T08:20:00.003+11:00

The skirt. There is only one pattern piece for the skirt. Like the bodice overlay it goes from centre front to centre back without a side seam. We wanted the skirt to be fuller, so I cut and spread the pattern as shown here:

Well, let me say IT DID NOT WORK. All the fullness ended up somehow in the back like a fishtail and it dropped (due to the bias at work) a good 15-20cm. It was kinda cute but NO! And of course I had already sewed it to the bodice along with the lining. So I had to unpick and recut to take out the back fullness. I also had to recut the bottom of both the skirt and lining. And take out the zip, and unpick the ribbon trim on the lining.

For the hem of the skirt I used my rolled hem foot. Perhaps a hand rolled hem may have been more couture, but I was over it by then. I am happy with the outcome - looks pretty good.

The pattern has a zip going all the way up, but as I have such a contrast in colours I did not want to show a cream zip on the blue fabric nor a blue zip on the white fabric – so I opted for a blue zip up to the bodice and buttons on the bodice. I bought the buttons from a shop in Hong Kong. They come by the metre on lace. Very pretty. I did however have problems with the elastic loops - they stretched. My solution was to put hooks and eyes behind each button (and pray that it works).

Now to some questions and answers:

Caity said “I like that dress EXCEPT - don't you think having the straps coming out from the armpits is a bit weird? Maybe it will look ok on a small figure... I dunno, it just struck me as odd!” Yes, I agree that the photo does look a bit odd. I think they must have made a larger size and pinned it at the back or something. The pattern does not have it coming out quite so far back. It does suit Ellen however as she has a narrow chest and this helps to give her width. Also the ruffle front gives her an illusion of a bust.

Karen said “It does sound tricky, I hope it works out tonight. I have found that there is an awful lot of bust room in the BWOF patterns for my teenage daughter - the SBA for her is about 4cm in a straight dart(trial and error)even after scaling down to a 32 size, so maybe it is bodacious German busts on slim girls that the pattern is drafted for, not operator error?” Yes, it was my error (somewhere) as the bust fits perfectly after my adjustment. It is just the circumference that was iffy. The muslin was fine. The dress was not – first too small, then too large and now a tight squeeze. As she is small busted it gaped when she moved and to stop that I needed to make it really tight. But then it was pulling at the back. So I have put hooks and eyes there hoping that will solve the problem. I will let you know tomorrow if she faints from lack of breathing space or if someone gets hit in the eye from the closure popping

Lindsay had the answer - “I have the same problem with my small-busted daughter. I had to buy her some of that fashion emergency tape just to prevent the peekaboo that sometimes happens”.

Designdreamer had a problem with the Alannah Hill website. I did too, but if you just keep trying (type in the URL) you will be in for a treat. You should get a key to open the door and then you are in! I am not sure if you see much fashion but the site is really fun.

And Kristy said “And I trust you've been giving the gorgeous Cour Carre suit a workout in the meantime? It's too nice not to wear all the time”. Yes I have it on today! And I did buy another suit while in Hong Kong that I have been remiss in posting about. I will do that later when I get over this week.

Trena commented “So, pardon my ignorance, but do you have the same school year as us? Starting late summer/early fall and ending late spring/early summer? It never even occurred to me that our school years would be six months staggered!” Yes our school year is in a calendar year – from late Jan/early Feb to early/mid December. So we get to break up from school and chillax into the festive season. So January here is very much a quite time as many businesses close for annual leave. Then at the end of January we have Australia Day on the 26th. So it is party central from mid December to late January – swimming, relaxing, outside activities, lots of Champagne etc – I can’t wait!

And a sneak peek at what Sofie and I got up to last night.....look what is now hanging in her wardrobe:

Ellen's Valedictory Dress - finished

2008-11-18T22:36:00.003+11:00

I know I said I was going to talk about the skirt next and answer some questions..well I will leave that till tomorrow as tonight I have pictures! Yes it is finished!

Never before have I unpicked, adjusted, recut.....as much as I did with this (simple) dress.
Close up of the bodice front:
Close up of the bodice back:
Inside:
I trimmed the middle and the lining hem with a really cute blue and white polka dot ribbon. I will take photos of Ellen all dolled up on Thursday night. Tomorrow I will tell you about all the silly things I did along the way...

Ellen's Valedictory dress - the bodice

2008-11-17T13:49:00.004+11:00

Burda 8-2008-126. Last week I made a muslin of just the bodice of the dress. The pattern starts as size 36 and Ellen's bust measures 78cm. I penciled in on the pattern sheet a size 34 and then traced that. This is the first time that I drafted the smaller size before tracing and I found it much easier to work around. You can see the pencil line on the blue piece.

I made the muslin in the size 34 even though she is smaller still. We pin fitted the muslin and found we needed to reduce the curve of the bust (not quite filling that out) and taking the side seams in a bit. I used the instructions in Palmer Pletsch Fit for Real People to do the small bust adjustment.

I reduced the curve in the side piece and also reduced the length in the centre front piece. This worked beautifully and the cups fit her just right.

Now that was the good bit. The not so good bit was with the overlay. It is in one piece that goes from centre back across the front and back to centre back. As there were are side seams I needed to take circumference length out.

Also note all those pleat markings? Just imagine trying to mark, pin, baste all those and then they don't fit the bodice? Hmmm. I unpicked all that and made my own pleats to fit ensuring they looked pleasing enough. Much easier option!

All was going well until the next fitting. Oh, no...it does not meet at centre back! I am sure I added the seam allowances when cutting, but something went wrong. So onto plan B or is that C or D by now? I added the extra width by adding some panels at the back (remember there are o side . I then sewed on the buttons, inserted the zip and attached the skirt. Time for the next fitting.

The skirt has issues but I will talk about that tomorrow! Back to the bodice - it is TOO BIG! The poor girl is exposing herself each time she moves. Now, I would like to blame Burda but it has to be operator error - just not sure what error(s) they were. Anyway, back to ripping and resewing. I managed to not have to take the zip out by just gathering the extra back width into the bodice. Now I am just too scared to get her to try it on again!

This morning before work I was back at it trying to get the V to sit nicely at centre front where the skirt meets the bodice. It is not co operating! Perhaps tonight it will be a bit nicer to me.

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post and for welcoming me back! I have a few questions to answer but will attend to that in my next post. Wish me luck!

Posting again

2008-11-10T10:59:00.003+11:00

Yes I have posted!!!

What can I say? I have been lazy. No sewing, my sewing room is in a mess and my mojo has well and truly departed.

I have decided that I just need to make a new mojo and the only way to do that is to get back to it and SEW SOMETHING. And what shall I make ? Ellen’s Valedictory dress of course! She is currently sitting her final ever maths exam and her final ever high school exam will be next Monday for media. She has been so busy studying that we haven’t bought any fabric yet. What we have decided upon is BWOF 08-2008-126.

The plan is to do the bodice in cream satin and the skirt in navy satin. We will make the skirt fuller to have a more flowing effect. And in true Alannah Hill style we will attempt to make flowers for her hair and her shoes. Alannah Hill ankle socks have been purchased (at the new Doncaster Shoppingtown – don’t you love that place?).

The pattern starts at size 36 and we will need to downsize considerably to fit my petite poppet. So the plan of action this week is to fit a muslin of the bodice and decide if we will insert bra cups or leave it as is. Then we will go fabric shopping – going to Spotlight as our first (and hopefully final) port of call. Then next weekend it will be made. The dinner is Thursday 20th so I need to get to it, mojo or not!

Now some thank yous. First to all of you who have been posting. Even though I have not been posting I have been around and enjoyed all your efforts and posts.

Next special thank yous to the following lovely ladies who have been kind enough to nominate me for awards:

Belinda who gave me a Premio blog award (way back on 13/9/08)
Birgitte who gave me Premio blog awards and Excellent blog award (on 15/9/08)
Robin who also gave me the Premio blog awards and Excellent blog award (on 25/9/09).

I am very honoured (but feeling guilty) in receiving these from you. You are on my list of favourite blogs that I go to first whenever I open up my Google Reader. Your projects always inspire me!

What I bought - suit 2

2008-08-10T18:41:00.003+10:00

The second suit I bought from Cour Carre (at 70 - 80% off) was a Gay Giano suit:

This one reminds me of Burda WOF for all its unusual lines.

In this close up you can see the unusual seaming. The curved seam goes across the back as well, which you may be able to see in the back shot above. Not easy as the matching of plaid is perfect.

The skirt has unusual seaming too and a button fly front opening.

I found the Gay Giano website and it says its customers are "trendy customers, celebrities and artists." !! The Cour Carre customer is the modern professional and business executive.

Birgitte asked on my last post "I'm also SO intrigued by the three piece sleeve, and think the stars have aligned: I"m just starting on a Chanel-inspired jacket. Do you think this is the 'famous' sleeve and vent referred to in the Threads article? If so, could you be super duper kind and show the underside of the sleeve, pretty pretty please!!! " And yes I think it is! I just had a look at a Claire Shaefer pattern with the three piece sleeve and it looks the same. The seam up the middle matches the shoulder and there are two seams under the arm. Here is a picture of the sleeve up:

What I bought - suit 1

2008-08-09T15:08:00.005+10:00

I thought I would share with you the suits I purchased while in Hong Kong as I have not been sewing. Somehow with new clothes to wear I don't have the urge to sew anything.

I bought two suits from Cour Carre. They were marked down by 70 - 80% which made them very attractive. The green wool/silk/nylon/elastine I will show first I bought as a two piece - jacket and skirt. The skirt was the last one left and is a couple of sizes too big. I have started to unpick the sides but that is as far as I have got. But I have worn the jacket several times already to work with the 2 June capsule skirts.

I really love the details in the jacket. The side fronts and the back have a series of darts that are released as pleats - four on each - a total of 16. The sleeves have 3 parts. There is a seam down the centre, lining up with the shoulder seam. The vents at the bottom actually are real and you can undo the buttons.

In the all green outfit I am wearing one of the two new pairs of shoes I bought. Nice brand name - huh!?

This weekend I WILL take that skirt in and report back next week!

BTW, is anyone having trouble with their feeds via Internet Explorer? For some reason most of my feeds are not working. Some are coming in but the majority are not.........

I'm Back

2008-07-20T11:13:00.005+10:00

Actually I have been back a week but can't seem to get back into the groove. Cheryl and I had a fantastic time in Honkers (is that just an Australian nickname or is it global?) but we sure wore ourselves out. It was hot, wet, steamy, crowded and with all the walking I lost 1 1/2 kilos!

One of the best parts was meeting up with Allison. We managed to have lunch, get in a bit of shopping and later in the week some drinks out.

It is amazing how you can meet up with an internet friend and talk away like you have know each other for ages! We could talk about you all as though we both had the same circle of friends :) And how funny that HK now has Spotlight - Allison blogged about that here. Cheryl and I didn't venture out to see it (but I was tempted to see if it looked the same).

Shopping was a bit hit and miss. Fabric wise I only bought a few pieces.
Two green pieces from the Western Market - one is a nice cotton shirting and the other an unknown blend (the vendor did say viscose something or other but I have my doubts). The grey is a linen blend purchased from the Yen Chow Street Market in Sham Shui Po.

Yes, that is the market under the trees!

While out in Sham Shui Po, I stocked up on zips!

I also bought some trims, buttons etc.

We also dropped into Angus International for some silks. That was an adventure in itself. Finding the place, going up the ancient lift and into a private residence. They were renovating their store and the stock wasn't there but the remnants were! So here we were rummaging through neatly packed silks in someones kitchen, without aircon. It was hot!!! They did not have a lot, just basics. This is what I got:
As to other shopping, I bought three RTW suits, 2 pairs of shoes, 3 handbags, 2 pairs of jeans, a Chanel trench (nice find in an outlet shop), makeup, perfume and some things for the girls.

I have uploaded all my photos here. Enjoy!

Purple skirt, podcasts and Hong Kong

2008-07-02T21:00:00.003+10:00

One more photo of the JCC to show you a close up of the topstitching and the lining of the purple skirt

I used rayon embroidery thread to "topstitch" the seams of this skirt. The lining is Sunsilky from Lincraft - a polyester lining. The colour matched the wool so well and I didn't have anything in the stash that would compliment the skirt. The pattern is the same as my black skirt with the brown topstitching - Burda 01-2008-127.

While I have been busy sewing the May mini wardrobe and the JCC I have been listening to Lori's podcasts. I have really enjoyed them!! I only recently got my Ipod and so I have been catching up on all of Lori's posts. So THANKYOU Lori!!! Unfortunately I am all caught up and now will have to wait for each new podcast. So if you have not listened to Lori's podcasts, I recommend you do! I am currently downloading Toya's Inspirational Wednesday podcasts for my listening pleasure. If you have any other podcast recommendations I am happy to hear about them :)

Finally I am off to Hong Kong on Friday! So excited. This will be my sister and my 3rd trip together there. And it was only last week that we decided to actually go. We had wanted to go again but the time just wasn't right with our parents. Mum is settled at the moment so we have decided to go while the going is good!

Fold over top - Burda 10-2007-115

2008-07-01T14:00:00.002+10:00

For a detailed review click here. For a short review.....I was looking for a very quick top to finish off the June capsule. I wasn't feeling the love for another Ottobre T so decided to have a go at this Burda fold over top. As the smallest size is 38 (and I need a 34) I decided to just morph the fold details onto the Ottobre. Easy! And quicker than tracing the whole thing out. I also took out 1.5 cms in the armhole area. Lucky I did as it still is a bit low. Will raise it some more for next version.

I had great trouble working out the fold - Burda instructions are double dutch in relation to this! So if you want to make this top, refer to Christina's fabulous photo tutorial on Pattern review. I wish I had done that before I started. Would have saved quite a bit of ripping out and head scratching.

I am wearing this top to work today. But I have gone all conservative with a grey skirt, black books and a green necklace.

June capsule contest

2008-06-30T23:03:00.008+10:00

Yes, I have finished!! And in time - yippee!!

I need to thank Sofie for being my photographer and stylist and Ellen for being my photo technician! Thank goodness for teenage daughters. :)

I love this photo - Sofie decided we needed one with all the shoes....mmm...do you think I have a problem?

All contest photos are here

Robin asked if the patterned blouse was sheer - and yes it is! I have a purple RTW cami underneath.

I am off to bed now, so will post about the green top and purple skirt later.

Burda 09-2007-101

2008-06-29T17:09:00.005+10:00

My first top for the JCC is finished and I really love it. I haven't tried it on me so I hope I am just as enthusiastic when I do :). I used a very sheer silk jersey I bought from Artextile in Richmond (Melbourne). This is my first time with silk jersey. It was very hard to handle but sewed and pressed beautifully. I followed Burda's instructions pretty much except I used 6mm seam allowances and put the sleeves in flat before sewing up the side seam. I used my sewing machine for sewing as I thought the overlocker would be too "heavy" for the delicateness of the fabric.

Here is a close up with my accessory purchase from yesterday. It is my $10 necklace from Portmans.

Here is a full length shot. With the print it is a bit hard to see the details in the photo.

I have another top to do and some handsewing on my final skirt. I will do the handsewing while watching Rove tonight but still have to even decide what top to sew! It must go with the two skirts and the necklace. I feel an Ottobre T coming on....or maybe another one of these. Both would be pretty quick.

May Mini Wardrobe

2008-06-28T17:27:00.004+10:00

Photos of my PR May Mini Wardrobe - needless to say I did NOT finish in time! But I did finish. The fabrics were all from stash and were selected to match my animal print shoes.

Top Ottobre 2/2007 altered. Skirt self drafted/draped. Cami RTW

This time with boots and self drafted scarf:

Top Burda 1-2008-116. Skirt Burda 1-2008-127

Other combinations:

I went shopping this afternoon for the accessory for the JCC. I saw some gorgeous purple shoes that would have looked fab, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money. So I bought some beads for $3 and another necklace for $10. I am not sure how they will go as both my tops are prints and have bows. But I can wrap the beads around my wrist for a bracelet if necessary. Now back to the sewing.....

Burda 08-2005-102 (again)

2008-06-26T20:48:00.006+10:00

I know I said I would post photos of the May mini wardrobe but the gods have not been kind - the weather too wet, some items in the wash and even the camera decided to go to school!

But before it went to school again today, I managed to get a couple of very quick photos to show my second JCC skirt. (The first still needs the lining, hem and waistband to be done - I felt like a break).

This is what I look like after a late night handsewing hems, waistbands, unpicking and sewing again...lol

I used Burda 8-2005-102. I have made this twice before but this time I decided to just have the flounce at the back and I redrafted the front to go all the way to the knees. I cut the flounce on the straight grain as I was short of fabric. Yes, another remnant piece that I bought from Artextile. It is the most soft beautiful wool lycra. It didn't like the steam much and I had to be careful when pressing. Also I could not get the darts to blend in at the tip. But it was so nice to wear today. I felt rather special.

I have to show you my lining too. This I bought from Lincraft off their "designer ends" table. It didn't say what the fibre content was but I suspect it is acetate. I bought quite a few metres of this one.

I really like this pattern. I can see even more in my future. I really like what Paco has done with this pattern here. So many options to add trim, lace, piping etc.

On another topic, today I received this email from JacquiE - an Aussie ladies fashion retailer. I think their website is really cute. Go here and then click on one of the outfits. If nothing else you can have a laugh at the accent.,lol. And yes I do have a few JacquiE tops in my wardrobe!

Burda 1-2008-127

2008-06-21T08:09:00.005+10:00

I am way behind on my posting and my sewing! This week I managed to finish my May PR mini wardrobe. A bit late I know but now it is done.

I had one skirt and two tops made to match my animal print shoes. I decided I needed another skirt but was undecided on what to make. I didn't want to go overboard on the animal print. I found this really soft black wool piece in the stash that I would have bought as a remnant. I don't recall when or where I bought it. Maybe Lincraft as I used to always check out their remnant bin back when they had them.

I used the skirt in the suit of Burda 1-2008-127.

I topstitched the seams in brown to tie in with the mini wardrobe.

I also used some brown lace in the stash to add to the black lining.

The photos I have taken are not very good - I hope it is just the light and not the camera ?!

I did not have enough fabric to do a full waistband so I did a mini binding. Here is a couple of photos showing how I did that.

For the pattern I altered it for my previously discovered torso petiteness. I shorted the distance from waist to hip by 3cms but then added it back below to keep the length. So now the skirt hip curve should match mine better! This is the first time I have adjusted for that.

I am away this weekend so no starting on my JCC. Yes, I know I am very, very late on starting this. My original plan was to make a jacket in the pink stripe, two skirts and a top with the patterned fabric.

I think the jacket will have to wait and I can throw in an Ottobre knit top. As long as I get one piece done by the end of the month I get to vote.

Next post I hope to have photos of the May mini wardrobe for your viewing pleasure. Have a good weekend !

The Great Coat Sew-along - part 1

2008-06-02T19:35:00.004+10:00

I have also joined the Great Coat Sew-along that Marji so kindly started.

My criteria for my coat:

Stash fabric only.
I want it to look good with jeans.
It needs to be trendy (but not too trendy)
I want it to be fitted.
Would like to use a pattern I already have.
Needs to be gorgeous.......mmmm

I don't need a coat to go over suits as I drive to work and park in the same building. And really, in Melbourne it is not that cold except on those frosty mornings...brrr. So I would like a more fitted coat that works with tops and knitwear and looks great with jeans. I doubt I will need to under/interline it, but will take advice here.

The stash fabric selected is a maroon/burgandy wool cashmere blend and the lining is a patterned viscose.

They were bought together a couple of years ago at the Alannah Hill outlet called Clear It. I love all things Alannah but find her clothes are too over the top for me. So, I like to take elements from her designs and make them my own - i.e. tone them down a bit lol.

I only have 2 metres (150 cm wide) so the coat will be short. I am thinking something waisted with a fullish skirt. I have Vogue 8299 that I could use for the top half and draft a skirt to that.

The size of the skirt would be determined on how much I can get from the 2 metres!

View B (the red one) uses 1.4 metres which would only give me .6 to fashion a skirt. Perhaps it won't be so full!! Also this coat only has a one piece sleeve, but I think Marji is going to give instructions on how to convert to 2 piece.

To make it a bit more interesting, I would like to do some blue stitching on the outside to echo the blue lining and to give the maroon colour a bit of a lift. I think something like the stitching Tany did on her Orwell coat would be fantastic.

Later that day.......

2008-05-31T22:01:00.004+10:00

Yippee, Sofie's team won gold and are the state aerobics champions for their level. So now she gets to go to the nationals. This will be held here in Melbourne in August. Well done Sofie!!

Ellen and I survived her first driving lesson. It took us 35 minutes to travel 2 klms in a local car park. We had a good time and will be out again tomorrow....watch out Melbourne!!

I also managed to finish Burda 1-2008-116. The very popular wrap top that many of you have made already. I should have read the reviews BEFORE I cut it out. Of course the ties are too short. Barely make it around me to tie.

I used a knit I bought at Brunswick Fabrics on our first Pattern Review Down Under weekend a couple of years ago. I bought quite a few metres and I have some left over for a matching skirt. The fabric has two layers. The under layer is very sheer - you can see my hand under it. The top layer is partially stitched to the bottom layer and is raw edged. I am not sure what the fibre content is but it feels like it has some cotton in it.

As promised here is a photo of me in Burke Rd Camberwell. Sorry, you can't see much of the street but I am in front of Koko Black where we had coffee. I will forgive Ellen for the not so good photo as she said my top looked like something you would get in Vesace..nice girl!!

No, I did not get to the gym, I certainly did not do any washing...so a very good day!! Hope your Saturday is as much fun as mine was. Oh, and we went out for pizza in celebration.....

Meme

2008-05-31T09:06:00.004+10:00

I have been tagged by Claire of Sewing is Like Chocolate to answer a few questions.

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

Not much different than what I am doing now. I was working 3 days a week and spending the other four with my 7 year old and 4 year old daughters. I worked for the same accounting firm, lived in the same house, went to gym etc.......mmmm......perhaps I am in a rut? Well things will be changing now – the x husband moves out next weekend and I may have to go back to work full time to finance the move the girls and I will need to do at the end of the year.

2.) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

Answer this meme. I saw the email yesterday from Claire and have been thinking about it since.

Take Ellen for her very first driving lesson!! ick!! Yesterday morning she passed (well got 100% actually smarty pants) for her learners test so now she can be let loose on the road. Wish me luck.Take Sofie to her aerobics competition. Sofie's school has 2 teams in the state aerobics finals today. It is being held in Camberwell (for any Melbourne readers). Sofie's team came first in the regionals and the other school team came in second.

Have coffee in Burke Rd Camberwell with Ellen while we are filling in time waiting for Sofie. We will be watching routine of course but she needs to get their early so we will wander the “high” street and see what we can see.

Finish my Burda wrap top. Almost finished last night but decided to go to bed instead. I admire others who can stay up and finish off their garments. Me, I just get cranky! I only need to hem a sleeve and the bottom. If I am a good girl and get it finished this morning, I could wear it this afternoon and get Ellen to take a photo in Burke Rd.

Nothing else I have to do. I could do some washing. I could go to gym. Maybe I had better get out of my PJ's and into the shower to start the day.

3) Snacks I enjoy:

Cappuccino's! Yep always plan a trip around the coffee stop. I rarely have anything with it. The cakes always look good but are a disappointment. Nothing compares to home cooked.

Brie cheese. This I have to share with Sofie. We can polish off quite a bit in one session. It's good for my bones, isn't it?

Champagne (or good old Aussie sparkling). I know this is not really a snack but it does have calories!

Fruit.

Sofie is now out of bed and she said to add "Sofie's chocolate cake". Mmm, I wonder if she will make one of those today?

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Easy.....quit work. Take the girls on a world trip and stop at.......Rome, Paris, London, New York etc and at each destination we would buy a completely new outfit each including shoes and bag and then wear that said outfit to the best restaurant in town!!! I would probably also buy some fabric.....
Naturally a lot of pampering would be in order too – massages, facials, etc etc.
New house, new car, more new shoes.........
Of course my conscience would get the better of me and I would have to share. Perhaps I could pay for all my blogging friends to come and visit in Melbourne?

5) Places I have lived

Edithvale, (suburb of Melbourne by the sea) – left when I was about 6 weeks old.

Bendigo, Victoria, Australia – until I was 3

Shepparton, Victoria, Australia – until I was 18 (except for next line)

Moorestown, New Jersey, USA – when I was 14. Dad worked for Campbell Soups and we were transferred for about 9 months.

Melbourne (various suburbs) from 18 to 24 in flats with friends.

Rowville, (suburb of Melbourne) – first house with DH

Park Orchards, (suburb of Melbourne) – current address and have been here for 17 years.

6.) Jobs I have had:

Very first job was part time at a supermarket in the fruit and veg department. Back then we wrapped all the fruit and veg in plastic wrap. The wrapping was the “glamorous” j ob of the department. I had to pull the produce from the wooden boxes for others to wrap! Sigh!! Lots of spiders and splinters in those boxes.

First job out of high school was in the office of Shepparton's mini department store.

Left that job to follow friends who had moved to Melbourne. I worked in the accounts department of an insurance agency. While working there I decided to study at night to become an accountant.

Worked for a couple of large city accounting firms before moving out to a suburban one to be closer to home (we lived in Rowville then). Have been there ever since.....22 years!!!

7.) 6 peeps I wanna know more about

Sorry I am not going to choose 6. I tagg all of you reading......

I will leave you with a couple of photos of Sofie and Ellen and my sister and me playing in the autumn leaves in Shepparton a couple of weeks ago

..

Sorry mum....we will rake them up later....

Sofie's wardrobe refashion

2008-05-20T20:24:00.003+10:00

Sofie is in year 9 at school and they run a special course (in addition to the usual subjects) for the year called the Ayin Program which is a multi-disciplinary program. One of their tasks this semester was to "go green" and included in that was an option to rework a piece of clothing that was past it's use by.

Sofie chose to rework an old evening dress. Here is the glamorous frock modelled by her sister Ellen:

Sofie prepared sketches of what she wanted to do to the dress. Unfortunately she had already handed the them in to the teacher so I can't show you those. They were really good, most impressed with her fashion drawing ability. We found some poly in the stash for her to use and this is what she came up with:

The dress is a bit big (well not the length!) on Ellen as it was made for another student to model at school. Next semester Sofie will be studying textile arts as well. It is good to see sewing is still alive in some schools here in Melbourne!

Happy mothers' day! (and my new skirt)

2008-05-11T21:01:00.007+10:00

I have been away to see mum over the weekend in Shepparton. And I have come back to all your very kind comments. I think I am overwhelmed with your hugs and kind words. You truly are the best ever friends a girl could have. I know a lot of you have been through what I have (and will continue for a while) been and understand how I am feeling.

I have to say I had the best weekend. The girls and I went up with my sister and two of our brothers. Mum is still in the nursing home but we took her out for drives and to church. She wasn't so good on Saturday but on Sunday she was quite well. Also the weather was fantastic, the champagne cold and the coffee good!!

The girls made me a photo album for mothers day. They had selected many photos of the three of us taken over the years together and added love hearts and captions. Really the best ever present a mother could want. Here are a couple (of many) of the photos that the girls worked for me....

And, I wore my new skirt to church today:

The fabric is a wool gauze type of fabric with fibres embellished into stripes. The stripes are a repeat type of pattern. The white stripes I put at the top and the rows of black at the bottom.
I bought a length of the repeat at Dancing Queen on our first Pattern Review weekend down under shopping trip. To make the skirt I joined the selvages for the back seam after inserting an invisible zipper. Then to fit around my waist I just made tucks in the front and the back to fit. I lined with black viscose lining. Easy peasy!

Some sewing for a change...

2008-05-09T08:27:00.003+10:00

Yes, I have been sewing! But not on any of my fit projects. My DH and I have decided to end our marriage and the process has left me drained. It is what I want, but of course it is a process that must be lived through, so bear with me over the next 6 months (or however long it takes).

So I needed to sew! Something quick and creative....

The inspiration:
I have these great shoes and some jeans that I can now fit into and I need some tops to match. The jeans were purchased really cheap in Hong Kong a few years ago and the shoes are from David Jones May 2008!

Having recently been inspired by some Geoff Bade knit jackets/cardigans that sell for $186 I gathered together bits and pieces from the stash. Geoff's designs are made from 4 or more different fabrics. I came across an outlet in Bridge Rd Richmond a couple of weeks ago. Bridge Rd has a lot of fashion outlet shops and is a great place to have a shop.

The ingredients:

I'm using - thin fake fur - vintage Lincraft, rayon lycra jersey - not so quite vintage Lincraft, open end zipper - Lincraft (not sure how old), stretch lace - recent Lincraft purchase and lace mesh from Ann's in Sydney Rd Brunswick, purchased on our first PR weekend.

The back is made up of 2 fabrics. The outside is the mesh. This mesh does not really have any stretch so I cut the seams 2 cm wider. I cut the mesh and then laid it on the rayon jersey to cut that out. I basted them together and worked them as one.
I used an Ottobre T from 2/2007 as the base pattern. I adjusted for a V neck. I also lengthened the sleeves to full length and also lengthened the body to fit the zip.
As my remnant of fake stretch fur was not long enough to do the front, I had to piece it together. I cut the stretch lace in half to use at centre front and the neckline. The full size lace is used at the hems

The end result:

(oops, please excuse my non glamorous shoes in the shots)

After that, I thought...mmm, a skirt would be nice to co-ordinate. Next post will show the skirt that I whipped up yesterday.

Book tag!

2008-05-07T08:56:00.003+10:00

Birgitte tagged me for this meme going around:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Turn to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people and acknowledge who tagged you.

Ok, next to me on the computer desk is an old school novel of both my girls - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. Copyright 2003. I haven't read the book but both of my girls enjoyed it very much. Now to page 123.....

"And Mother had never written a letter to me before.

There was no date on the letter so I couldn't work out when Mother had written the letter and I wondered whether someone else had written the letter and pretended to be Mother.

And then I looked at the front of the envelope and I saw that there was a postmark and there was a date on the postmark and it was quite difficult to read, but it said: London 16.10.97 NW2"

Now that is 3 sentences but the next one is interesting....."Which meant that the letter was posted on 16th October 1997. which was 18 months after Mother had died." Mmmmm, interesting, I think I want to go and read the book! The girls highly recommend it which is quite a feat since they HAD to read it for school. And with that title it really is intriguing.

Just to be different, I think I will tag some Aussie and NZ blogs - maybe there will be some new blogs that you can discover (some I discovered myself this morning) . And isn't it great when you find a new blog to see that you have been linked! :))
Tessuti -a Sydney fabric store blog
Lower your presser foot - this one is new to me, but she has me linked!
Sew-4-fun - Belinda, of course - another Melbourne girl
Karen - who lives in sunny Queensland and never stops sewing!
Keely - from New Zealand.

De-Mystifying Fit: Using the moulage to adjust commercial patterns

2008-04-20T20:52:00.004+10:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, I had purchased the CD book - De-Mystifying Fit: Using the moulage to adjust commercial patterns by Lynda Maynard. I heard about this book on Patternreview. It cost US$27.95 (less for members of PR). $8 international postage.

The CD book comes just in a CD case without any pretty cover or printed notes. It is a PDF file that you can print out. I printed mine out on my home laser printer - all 282 pages of it.

It has an introduction, notes on the photos and how the book is set out, and then the process of using the moulage to adjust the commercial patterns. You don't need Kenneth King's moulage to be able to make use of this book. Any sloper that fits you will work. The examples in the book show mainly a sloper with wearing ease.

The book contains 9 case studies and covers just about everything including bust adjustments, petite adjustments, sloped shoulders, large hip etc etc.

I used my sloper made from my saran wrap. I used this method of fitting for my party frock and now am putting it to test on Burda 09-2007-109.

109 comes in sizes 36 to 44. I need a 34 in the shoulder and chest area. I could have graded down the 36 but decided to start with the 36 and compare to my sloper. This pattern is called a blouse jacket and is more of a blouse really. I won't be wearing anything under it except maybe a cami or t-shirt. And it does not have shoulder pads. So I can use my sloper as it. I don't need to adjust the sloper as I would for a tailored jacket.

(click on the photos to see the pencil lines of the pattern. The black lines are my sloper on plastic)

This picture shows me putting my sloper over the back and side back pieces. I match up the waist and check my neck shoulder point with the pattern. I need to shorten my back by 2cms.
Once I have done that I check for shoulder slope(adjustment needed here too). The back is also too wide - see the armhole? The next photo shows the changes made so far in red. I have adjusted the armhole halfway between the pattern and my sloper. I am hoping that this will work - bringing it down to about size 34 but also leaving a bit more ease.

You can see my new cutting lines in red. I have adjusted the shoulder according to my sloper - taken it out and down a bit. I am not sure whether I should adjust the neckline as well. I have just drawn a dotted line where my sloper goes. I can check this when I get to the muslin stage. Also I am not sure about my curved back. Do I add a back seam to fix that? Or adjust the side back seams? So much to learn..... Hopefully the muslin will also tell me something there. I am sure I will have more than enough ease and I can take the seams in to fit where I need.

Also you can see my sloper has a back dart but the pattern has princess lines. My dart is larger than the dart created by the princess line so again another reason to think that this pattern will need to be taken in in the seams.

Next post I will show the my front adjustments.

Saran wrap

2008-04-16T08:09:00.002+10:00

Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes (yes it was the big 50..ick). And for all the lovely comments on my dress. You guys really appreciate the effort that has been put into fit and then the extra details. No one at the party seemed to "get" how excited I was about the dress, except perhaps my two gorgeous daughters.

With the success of the dress I feel now that I can blog about the saran wrap process, my sloper comparison to pattern et al! I have also received the fitting DVDs from Mary Beth and have watched them so will do a review later this week on those too. I have to say I really enjoyed watching them and learnt a trick or two.

So now to the saran wrap. I learnt about this from Liana and Kathleen Fasanella. Liana recently did a post on her experience with the process and also has links to Kathleen's tutorial. Here is also a link to the tutorial.

This was a very easy thing to do and I only needed the help of two teenage daughters. Really one would have done but the more the merrier! So some photos:

We used small pieces of saran/glad/cling/sandwich wrap. At first it did not seem to want to stick to my body but as we put more and more layers on it stuck together quite well. We marked main body points - apex of bust, apex of shoulder blades, armscyes, neckline, waist. We used sticky tape to tape the lines on the side, back and front before cutting those lines so that they would not distort.

After cutting the wrap off it still has the shape of my body. We need to turn it into a flat pattern. I decided to just do the waist up. But have kept the hip area for later use. I may one day redo the exercise and have a complete sloper, I'll see how well this works first. But either way it is not a big exercise to do. Maybe half an hour?

From here I cut darts to flatten the wrap, copied it onto paper, rotated some darts and added some ease. Details on rotating darts can be found in Fit for Real People and also in many other books (and probably somewhere on the internet).

I have now copied the sloper onto plastic to make it see through. This will make pattern adjusting easier. I didn't have this when I adjusted the green party frock pattern but this will just make future pattern adjustments easier.

I have documented the process on my Flickr album here. Hopefully the process is clear enough.

Next post I will talk about the Linda Maynard CD book that I purchased that shows how to adjust patterns using your personal sloper.

Party frock!

2008-04-13T12:51:00.006+10:00

It was my birthday last Thursday and last night we had a bit of a party. So a girl needs a party frock...

I used Burda 1/2007 106. I put a lot of fitting skills to making this dress which I will post about separately.

Cheryl (DS) and me in the frock!

The dress cost me less than $20! The main fabric was a remnant purchase of 95cm X 138cm wide rayon/poly/nylon from Cleggs in Melbourne called Star Shimmer Fern. The county of origin was India. Don't you love the dockets that give all that info? And it cost all of $4.75!!I lined with some remnant green lining I had left over in the stash from another project. I also beaded the zip and neckline with glass seed beads from Spotlight.

I was inspired to try a hand picked zip after seeing Laura's version.

I was also inspired by Summerset's beading and had a go at beading around the neckline following Summerset's instructions on Jan 02 2008 (sorry I can't seem to get a link to work to go directly there).

Blogger is misbehaving and won't play fair (I can't upload anymore photos), so I will finish off now, but you can see more in my album or over at Patternreview.

Excellent Blog award.

2008-04-02T10:17:00.005+11:00

Gwen of After the Dress has nominated me with the "excellent blog" award. Thanks Gwen!! I very humbly accept. My acceptance speech needs to include another 10 blogs to be nominated....there are so many fab blogs out there sharing advice, creativity and friendship. To spread the love around I will try and not double up on any blogs that have already been nominated.

Gwen has nominated her 10

Summerset has nominated her 10

Shannon is updating her blog list

and I nominate:

Princess Poochie (not sewing but Shoes!!)

Claudine (doesn't post often but makes gorgeous garments)

Mimi - Domestichaven

Erica

Angela

Ok, that was hard! Too many to choose from. Keep blogging ladies - when we don't feel the energy to sew, reading about it is ALWAYS good!!

I'm a winner and a new muslin!

2008-03-30T21:17:00.008+11:00

Sigrid, Tany, Marji, Els and Angela nominated me for the Threads DVD giveaway that Mary Beth was kindly giving away and lucky me I won! I am so looking forward to receiving them and putting them to good use. Thanks ladies :)))

In the meantime I have received Lynda Maynard's fitting DVD and have been working with my sloper. I decided to work with the free Marfy pattern 1101. The smallest size is 44 and I at least 42 but maybe smaller. However after reading Lynda's book I thought I could work with the size 44 and agree it to my sloper. Remember I made my sloper from the saran wrap (which I promised to blog about but will when I am more confident that it works).

I laid my sloper over the Marfy (which I had cut out as a size 44) and made the following adjustments:

Back:
Took out 4cms in the back between waist and armhole
Took out 1cm each side from shoulder to hem
Took out 2cm below the waist
Reshaped the armhole (my line is the inside line and the original pattern is the outside line)
Tapered the shoulder line a tad.

Front:
4cms out between waist and bustpoint
Lowered bust point a bit more and redrew dart legs
2cms out below waist
Reshape the armhole (my line is the inside line and the original pattern is the outside line)
Taper the shoulder line a tad.

I also adjusted the sleeve to take out some extra ease from the front.

Now to the muslin:

(BTW, I have the cuff only on my left sleeve and oops, I have it on upside down. Oh and the dart looks like it is going too high but that is just a crease from my pressing.)

I was pretty happy with the front but had found it to be tight to move my arms. So I look 1 cm in on each side seam and adjusted the sleeve as well. This helped. I think I still need to reduce the ease in the sleeve cap a bit in the front.

The back, not so good! It is tight if I pull forward (see the horizontal pull up high on shoulder blades) and theres lots of fabric further down.

After putting in some darts and tucking a bit for a straight back this is what I have - much better but I want to go back and work on that further.
I had DD cut the upper back to see how much extra I need. I need it up high to cover shoulder blades but not around the armhole....mmm....maybe a shoulder dart. Need to go back and review sloper with pattern.

I plan on making this is a soft cotton so it will not be as stiff as the calico but will still have body and no stretch. So I mustn't over fit but when do I say - this is how it should look? After all I do have to be able to move in it.

I googled up this pattern and came up with a post by Liana and Sigrid. Both have made it before. If either of you are reading can you comment on what you did with the back on your versions? Did you leave it as per the pattern or did you shape it a bit? ETA - Both Liana and Sigrid have done reviews on PR - neither adjusted the back. Also Sigrid pointed out the error in the cuff - no wonder I put it on the wrong way!

Sorry if this post is a bit disjointed, but I am just playing at the moment. When I am confident that my alterations will work I will post a better example of how I went about the changes. In the meantime any feedback is always welcome :))

Popping in to let you know where I am up to.....

2008-03-21T12:43:00.002+11:00

It has been a few weeks since my last post and I have to admit to no sewing, no fitting and just about no energy! It has been unbearably hot here (but cooler since Wednesday - and yes today we have the heater on) and I don't work so well in the heat. And when I say hot I mean sweat dripping off me onto the patterns hot! Pretty unseasonal for this time of year. It usually is just perfect autumn weather.

And to be honest I think I have lost a bit of confidence with the fitting! A bit like - OMG, where do I go from here? My plan is to make a shirt using my sloper as a guide. I have been checking out my Burda's but there are very few patterns in size 34. And to be honest again, I am not really a shirt lover (much prefer knits) so I am not getting overly enthused. But I think it would be good start to work on real clothes in a basic shape with what I have learnt. And I do have some shirting fabrics in the stash....wonder how they got there!?

I have been on the Internet a lot and have been enjoying everyone else's blogs - so thank you for that! I have also read the chat over on PR with Kenneth King and Lynda Maynard. Lynda has a CD book on adjusting commercial patterns using a fitted moulage. I figure my saran wrap is the same as a moulage as it has no ease, so I have ordered the CD book. Lynda mentioned that you start with matching your moulage waist with the waist of the pattern and then check out the shoulder point and make adjustments to fit. So I am hoping this CD book will send me in the right direction.

Also this morning I read a post by Lisa over at Blackwater Park on fitting and a book by Natalie Bray called Dress Fitting. The post called to me so I Googled up the book and it is available on an Australian Website - which means low postage and (hopefully) quick delivery. So that is ordered too!

This afternoon I will be going up to Shepparton (yet again - this is where my weekends are going) and won't be back until Monday. So the sewing will have to wait a bit longer. Maybe a bit of tracing out can be done while away.

Hope everyone has a very restful Easter and I will catch up with those Easter outfits next week!

Fitting - part 5 - saran (cling) wrap

2008-03-03T21:18:00.006+11:00

This post is for Marji who had just left a comment asking for an update on the next stage. Marji has been helping me with some of those pesky fitting issues. I am still not satisfied so I have been delaying my report.

On my last post I made up a size 36 Burda blouse pattern which wasn't too bad but I felt still had some major issues around the shoulders, arms, front, back....well everywhere. So while reading my FFRP and also checking out a Palmer Pletsch pattern I have, they strongly suggest you start with a size that corresponds with your upper chest. That would put me in the size 34. So I made a muslin in 34 - better but still the same issues.

I can see armhole folds and gaping , shoulder "arrows" (btw, I did do a forward shoulder adj with this one), excess fabric in back below armhole and what would appear to be a prominent shoulder issue.

I have really appreciated all the feedback everyone has given me and I have tried all your suggestions. A common theme was to do a sloping shoulder adjustment.

On left no shoulder pads, on the right shoulder pads. The arrows to the shoulder are a bit worse and the neckline now is raised. And the armhole folds are not fixed. So no, it is not a sloping shoulder problem.

I played around and if I folded out a dart from bust to armhole it seemed to fix the problem. I don't think FFRP addresses this issue very well and I just wasn't confident in what I was doing.

So forward and onward I decided to have a go at the saran wrap. I had heard of this from Liana and followed the tutorial and Kathleen's Fashion Incubator site.

ok, no laughing! I will do a separate post of this later this week, but this photo will do for now to show your how I came up with this:

Most issues are gone! I can't quite figure out the lines just under the shoulder seams. I spent most of yesterday afternoon pinning, adjusting, resewing etc. In the end I have come to the conclusion that I have the neckline going too far up my neck or the folds are due to a dip in my shoulders - there is quite an indentation where my bra strap goes. The camera does magnify the lines. In the mirror they are barely visible.

So that is where I am up to. Next is to compare the sloper to a standard Burda 34 and see what adjustments I need to do to that to make it work. I am figuring the list will include:

Petite adjustment
Forward shoulder
Rounded upper back
prominent shoulder blades
narrow lower back
sway back

and the list goes on.........

I tell you, ignorance was bliss!

Fabric!

2008-02-25T20:58:00.004+11:00

I bet you all have been thinking I have dropped the fitting challenge. NO WAY! I have been at it since the last time I posted. I have taken photos, made more muslin's, sat and stared at my photos and......obsessively compulsively been working away at it. I have now tried something new, but I am not going to report on it yet just in case this doesn't work either.....but I am feeling hopeful.

So today I thought I would share with you some recent fabric purchases. I went to the Astratex's (formerly know as Artextile) 50% off summer sale. And these are my goodies....

A lovely pink pinstripe Pierre Cardin wool and my first ever silk jersey. Nice match huh? I was thinking skirt for the wool when I purchased it but maybe a nice jacket? A skirt is perhaps too predictable.

The left fabric is a nice linen blend, the next is a wool skirt length and the piece on the right is a Versace mixed blend I got for $10 a metre. They only had 1.6 left and now it is mine. Apparently there is a small fault, but nothing that can't be worked around. I'm thinking some nice pants!

I have also received my Amazon order which included this book that Carolyn recommended.

And I love it!! (Thanks Carolyn!) So you see I am very keen on getting fitting slopers so I can start playing around. My plan is to use this as a text book and work my way through it. What fun!

Fitting - part 4 - muslin

2008-02-20T21:56:00.003+11:00

I still was not sure if the sloper was fitting correctly. I feel there are issues around the upper chest and armhole - have I raised the armhole too much?

There seems to be pulling across the front in the upper chest. And scrunching of fabric under the arm.

The back has slight folds suggesting the pattern is too wide. Also some bunching of fabric above the waist (and below).

As the general feedback has been good I thought that maybe I am over analysing. So I decided to make up a muslin today. I chose a very basic Burda WOF blouse. I made my length adjustments as follows:
Take out 3cms in the back above the waist
Take out 1cm in the front below bust and add the extra 2 cms to the bust dart.
Raise the armhole 2 cms and take same amount out of the sleeve cap.
Shorten below the waist by 3cms.

The problems that were in the sloper now are in the muslin. See the horizontal line across the upper chest. Do you think this could be because the chest is too wide and is pulling into my arm?

I think the shoulder point looks too far down. Actually I have no idea what any of the pulls etc mean...I think I had better go back and re-read Fit For Real People!

Ok, I am going to sleep on it and hope the fitting fairies come and visit overnight!

Fitting - part 3 - sloper (part e)

2008-02-15T11:32:00.003+11:00

I have got to the stage of putting it all together. I raised my armhole by 2cms and adjusted my sleeves accordingly. I have set the sleeves and inserted the front zip. From here I now need to adjust for my body curves and shapes which are unique to me - so say Vogue.

Many of you have commented to try the sloper in muslin. I will eventually do that, however again according to Vogue....."Unlike muslin or gingham, the non-woven fabric will wrinkle or pull which will immediately identify the area that needs an alteration." The "fabric" is not paper and is more like Vilene. And let me tell you it is pulling and wrinkling!!

Here are some photos taken with the self timer...so not so good. The first thing that concerns me is the the bust point looks too high and I DO NOT WANT to undo and redo. There is also all sorts of things happening in the upper chest and around the armhole. (Oh, and please excuse the bra - I need to keep wearing the same one for these fittings)

So that is it for now as I am leaving to go visit mum in Shepparton this afternoon and won't be back until late tomorrow. I will then get my photographers (who are at school at the moment) to take closer photos and then we can start to analyse.

Fitting - part 3 - sloper (part d)

2008-02-13T10:45:00.000+11:00

Do you think I need to raise the underarm? According to fitting books a fitted armhole is about 1/2" from your actual underarm with your arm down and 1 1/2" with your arm out to the side. But where do you measure that from? The highest arch?

And do you think the front is too wide? It goes a bit into my arm. And as for that elusive shoulder point..........

Now this is supposed to be fitted with miminal ease so I want to get the upper chest area correct. I am thinking that looking at the first photo I need to take side seam in too at the top only. So maybe the alteration is to cut out the armhole and raise it say 2cms and move it over about 1cm and then redraw the shoulder point back to original place?

I am getting the feeling that it is too big from chest upwards as the fabric is puffing out from my body. Feedback please.............

Fitting - part 3 - sloper (part c)

2008-02-10T21:30:00.000+11:00

I wish I had some good news to report. I have spent 2 days on this and I am no closer. If fact I am so p*ss$d off I am leaving it for a few days.

My measurements keep changing. The more I take them the more variances I get.

I have raised the bust and taken out the changes to the front bodice. My latest measurements agree with the sloper.

I also picked up an error in the bodice. Remember it did not reach around me at waist level? Well I measured the sloper bodice at the waist and it was only 65cm. The standard measurement for size 10 is 64 and add the 2.5 ease (they say there is) and the 4cm I added = 70.5. But it only measures 65! I double checked my sewing and it is accurate. The skirt waist measures 71 (as it should). So I gave myself more room in the bodice and reattached the skirt. AND IT IS STILL TIGHT!!

I also tried putting in the sleeve and I could not get my arm into it. My arm is 28 and the sloper has 31 across the bicep - I should be able to get my arm in?

I also raised the armhole in one side by 2cms so as to compare the raised and non raised. I was all ready to have the photo taken to ask your opinion, but the battery is dead. I think that is telling me enough is enough. I am putting this down until Wednesday (my next day off).

Designdreamer asked if the "material" came with the kit - yes the kit comes with the pieces all marked, a tapemeasure, dots, and a curve. It also has C & D cup pieces. You just need to cut out the pieces.

This project is taking way longer than I thought it would. Every change means unpicking and reworking.

Ok, I am cranky and I am going to bed. Thanks everyone for the support and advice.

Fitting - part 3 - sloper (part b)

2008-02-08T22:20:00.000+11:00

I had better luck today with the Vogue Patterns Professional Fitting Program.

First you take your measurements. Some of these are different from normal pattern measurements. Look at measurement 8 - from the back of the neck, around the shoulder and down to bust point. And measurement 9 - from bust point to centre of your waist.

Next you compare your measurements to the standard Vogue measurements. My variances were not surprising. I needed to marginally increase (.5cm) length above bust and then .8 out below the bust. In the back I took out .4 just under the arms and then a whole 2cms lower in the back.

The best fun (not) was the bust dart. As my upper chest is 82cms and my full bust is 83 cms according to Vogue I was an A cup. In my bras I am a C cup due to only being 71 cms under the bust. But who am I to argue with Vogue? So I did the small bust adjustment. And then centre front did not join and the side seams of the bodice had no hope of matching. Remember I took out .3 in the front but 2.4 in the back, and I reduced my dart for A cup. So the front side seam was way longer than the back side seam.

So all that work had to be undone. I adjusted the bodice back to a B cup. I then measured the extra front side length I had compared to the back and it was 2.1cm as you would expect (the back adjustment of 2.4 less the front of .3). So I increased the side dart by 2cms to make the sides agree. The kit does have C and D cup adjustment pieces but I thought I would just go with what my gut instinct told me to do. I should have listened to that earlier!

The blue lines are my adjustments

For the skirt, I needed to take out 3cm from the area between my waist and my hips. Then for the the hem to reach mid knee I added back 3cm to the length. I also needed to add 1cm to each side seam as my waist and hips are 4cms bigger than the size 10.

So the results so far? Bust, waist, hip and kneecap all hitting at the correct places. A slight problem about the waist circumference, but I will check that tomorrow.

See, it doesn't quite meet...oops! Oh and please excuse the bra!

I have to look at my shoulder point too tomorrow. I need to see which seam line is best. And to determine if I need a forward shoulder adjustment. It looks pretty good in this photo - what do you think? Move it forward a tad or leave as is?

And I am pleased to see the back neck comes up to the necklace and no round back adjustment is needed! Mmmm, but bust point looks a bit low side on - see the top dark line? I have a round flat bust rather than pointy so maybe I need the line to be higher? Check this and then the front on photo and feedback would be appreciated. Of course then I would need a bigger dart - so much for A cup!!

The armhole pooching should be fixed when the sleeve is fitted. I may need to raise the armhole too ( I am predicting that!).

Looking forward to hearing all your thoughts. And thankyou to everyone who has commented so far.

Fitting - part 3 - sloper (part a)

2008-02-06T21:20:00.000+11:00

I worked on making a sloper all day and this is what I got:

Not a good result:

Front neckline too high
Back neckline does not reach necklace - but only in the middle
Armhole too low..way too low
Whole bodice too long - see how it bunches up because it is hitting my outward curve from the waist?
Armholes are all wrong.
Forward shoulder adjustment - 3 cms - I have never had that!

I used this book to draft a sloper based on standard measurements and my measurements.

I am not confident that the sloper calcs are correct. I had trouble drafting the back armhole as the points as plotted just did not join together with any curve shape?? I played around with it for a while but decided that I just was not confident that I was working with an anatomically correct starting point.

I then tossed around the idea of draping a sloper as per Threads and also mentioned in FFRP. But the girls were not jumping for joy when I mentioned this! You see I would need alot of help!

Then I pulled out a Vogue fitting pattern that I bought way back in the 70's (or maybe 80's) but had never used.

It is a size 10 and I had been using a size 6 as a starting point for my sewing. Many years ago I went to a Palmer Pletsch fitting instructor and she had me as a six 6 based on my high bust measurement of about 75cms. Well 30 years later and 20 of those working out at the gym has added an extra 7cm to that measurement. (Yes I do carry more body fat too - but really there is muscle where there was none before). My full bust is still about the same (I remeasured today and came up with only 83cms...sob). So now it would appear that this fitting tool may just be the thing I need. So it was back to the drawing board for some more measurements - DH came to the rescue.

So I will get back to it on Friday (I have to work tomorrow) and hopefully will have some better news to report.

Now some thanks:

To Belinda (Sew 4 Fun) and Ann from Stitches Guild who both confirmed for me that the difference between back and front lengths is accomodated with adjusting the bust dart.

Thanks to Anonymous for teaching me how to turn a print screen into a jpg - will try that when I update my measurements!

Ann from Annsfashiostudio asked if my shoulder slope measurements were the same on each side -yes they are but my right side doesn't slope as quick as my left - it appears to have more muscle near the neck. Better adjust the training routine!!

And thanks to all who are following on. It will certainly make me keep going until I get there!!

Young Ellen continues to be a celebrity - Optus one of the sponsors of the competition she won has had a publicist on the case - so far she has been in a magazine article, on community TV, ABC radio and now has made it to the local paper and their website. So as a very proud mother I just have to link.

Fitting - part 2 - measurements

2008-02-05T21:33:00.000+11:00

I have taken all my measurements and have compared them to the Burda standard measurements. Going by them I am pretty much somewhere between a 36 and 38. However if I follow FFRP's guideline of using upper chest as a guide I would be a 34.

One major thing to notice is that my back waist length is short (as expected) at 39 cm's. In the past I have not adjusted for this other than by way of a sway back adjustment. And I have not been happy with that result. Here is a lovely side on shot of me - doesn't look like a sway back nor a straight back to me. What do you think?

Another thing to notice is that I do swing out quickly from waist to hip.
I may need to shorten here as well so that the high hip is higher.

Now, I have posted this very unflattering photo as it shows something interesting. My shoulder slope and the place where the necklace sits. From the back (prior photo), the slope looks much more than the 4.5cm we measured. Maybe we only measured from where the necklace is falling - is that correct? From the front the slope does not look so steep - hmmm.
And finally, I think my bust is low eventhough my bust depth measurement is as per sloper. Maybe I need to shorten the upper chest and then lower the bust? Oh so many questions, and to find the answers, I think I need to get a muslining!

I had a bit of a play around on the photocopier today and came up with this:

I don't think the proportions are completely accurate (maybe the angle my photo was taken at)but it gives a nice summary.

So tomorrow the plan is to draft up a sloper for the bodice and compare to the Burda sizes and see what I come up with. Wish me luck....

Fitting - part 1 - body map

2008-02-03T20:33:00.000+11:00

One of my sewing goals for this year is to perfect my jacket making. In order to do this I am going back to the basics and working on my fitting.

In the past I have been doing a sway back adjustment in the back to fit the bodice to my back waist. I am 39 cms and patterns are about 41. My front waist is 43 and patterns are about 44. Just adjusting the back seemed to work fine but lately I have noticed that the sway back adjustment is making the bottom of my jackets fit oddly. So maybe I need to take out more in the bodice but then add length to the middle front?

So where to begin? I decided to re read Fit for Real People by Palmer Pletsch. First port of call is to do a body map. Here is the FFRP version:

and here is mine:
Oops, I forgot to label the underarm dots - they are the ones below the shoulder ones, just in a bit.

I am sorry it is so hard to see but if you click on it it will be a bit clearer. The horizontal lines in a very faint green are my equal eights. The red dots are my points - shoulders, waist, hip etc,

The bottom line is
a) I am 164 cm tall, patterns are for 168cm
b) I am 77cm in the top half of my body (head to hips) and 87cm from hips to feet. Nice long legs but short in the body. The ideal proportions are 50/50.
d) I am evenly long in upper and lower legs. Both are exactly 43.5cms
e) My shortness seems to be mainly from waist to hip as my waist is exactly on a green line (where is should be)
f) there may be more shortness in shoulder to underarm (the numbers are about the same but my neck is long. Also as I am shorter that the sloper lady I am 1.5cm shorter from head to waist eventhough I am in proportion for my height in this area.
g) I don't have narrow shoulders (and I always thought I did!) - 12cm as per ideal
h)Shoulder slope is ok - 4.5cm compared to ideal 4.25
i) Crotch depth looks short, but I will worry about that when fitting for pants! Not today's problem!
j) I am a triangle/hourglass as Shoulder width is 35cm, waist 23cm, fullest hip 39cm - this is measured across the body map (not around me). See the red dotted rectangle in the middle of the body map? But I think only just a triangle - 4cm is not much.....and waist is quite defined.
Measurements are as follow:

sorry, I don't know how to imbed a spreadsheet so I took a photo!

All comments and feedback are more than welcome.:) Next post I will compare my measurements against Burda....and some lovely body shots...ick!

And in finishing up I would like to thank Ellen and Sofie for helping me with this and not fighting too much over who was doing it right, blah, blah,

Fabric musings and another skirt!

2008-02-02T17:57:00.000+11:00

I have realised that I have the habit of buying fabric that will match with the clothes that I have on while shopping. I wander through the store and a fabric will catch my eye and I think to myself "this will go really well with the top/skirt/whatever that I am currently wearing!". I suppose that is a good thing as I will always have something in my wardrobe to match my new piece.

Last week I purchased a chocolate brown viscose/poly/lycra blend jacket weight fabric that will go lovely with the cream Burda skirt I made. I had been snoop shopping just prior to the fabric shop and there was a lovely cream and cholocate brown dress that I was admiring. Mmmm, nice!

Last year I was also browsing through Spotlight and I was wearing a pink camisole and a green cardigan (with jeans I think) and I came across this cotton eyelet fabric:

So this morning (and some of yesterday) I sewed up this skirt using my altered Ottobre skirt pattern and look I have tops to match already!

For something a bit different I added 4 godets into the skirt.

I used these books for instructions on inserting godets:

I had read in Roberta Carr's book about adding godets, but when I came to follow the instructions, I found them to be very sparse and for the life of me could not follow. So to the sewing library (and this is why we NEED all these books) I found a two page spread in Claire Shaeffer's book.

Great instructions and a perfect godet:

I have taken a few more photos which you can see here if you would like.

Hopefully it won't take me a year to make up that cholocate brown jacket fabric......

Thankyou and darts!

2008-01-15T21:26:00.001+11:00

Wow, you guys have left me some lovely comments over the last few posts. Thankyou so much! I really appreciate it. It is fun to share projects with like minded friends.

Now something to share. Most of you probably already know to do this but I had an "aha" moment so maybe there is someone who has not thought to do this.....

When I was tracing the Marfy skirt I noticed that the pattern did not have a "top" to it - that is it was cut out. But as I am used to have darts just drawn on the pattern sheet I put my own little pointed top on it. Then when I was ready to mark my darts I thought of Carolyn's post about using carbon tracing paper to mark the darts. I don't have any of that but do have a clover tracing wheel. Then I thought wouldn't it be easier if the dart inside wasn't there......

How easy is that?

Designdreamer commented: “really cute and creative! I had to go back and look at your picture of your remnant, I noted it said 1.25 on the label. Is that what you paid for the remnant?” Yes, that is right, how can you go past a bargain like that? The rest of the outfit is made from purchased remnants or leftover fabric from other projects...so I would guess the whole outfit (excluding shoes..lol) would be less than $20! Maybe only $10?

Designdreamer also commented: “Oh, and I too have some (A LOT) of some coral silk chiffon that I'll bet is very similar to yours. I haven't figured out what to do with it however. If you come up with any great ideas, I'd be interested.” It is not on my list to make up really soon, but I think a soft see through blouse/top would be nice. I have already bought some buttons just in case I feel the urge.

Marfy 1031 and Ottobre T

2008-01-14T20:59:00.001+11:00

Skirt and top....without jacket...
with jacket.....
and the shoes......

Marfy 1031 - skirt

2008-01-14T10:42:00.001+11:00

You know you are in a mess when you can't find your TNT (tried and true) patterns! Search high and low for my straight/pencil skirt pattern but it wasn't to be found. Ok, should be easy to find a straight skirt in all my big 4 patterns......no, I buy the patterns to fit my top which is a lot smaller. How about a Burda....no, all the patterns have fancy details (of course that is what we love about Burda but today I just want a plain straight skirt).

Ok, lets look at the 2 Marfy catalogues I have... YES a straight skirt in the Autumn/Winter 06/07 Marfy catalogue. The pattern comes in sizes ranging from 44 to 54 (waist 72cms to 104cms). Perfect - currently the waist is 70cms, so will give it a try.

The pattern is complete even with facings, however I did not use them due to lack of fabric. This is the left over fabric from the Vogue 8398 jacket (cotton lycra purchased at Spotlight in Shepparton). I used cotton tape to stabilise the waist and lined up to the waist. I also understitched.

The lining was a viscose remnant purchased at Cleggs in Jan 08. I used a decorative stitch to take up the hem of the lining. The lining was handstitched to the vent.

I followed the instructions in Power Sewing- Step by Step by Sandra Betzina (page 150) to do a mitred vent with walking ease.

The hem was topstitched using the triple stretch stitch in black to match the jacket.

I had some quick photos taken this morning in the outfit, but didn't have time to upload. Hopefully they are decent enough for posting tonight.

Yet another Ottobre T

2008-01-12T19:53:00.001+11:00

During the sales I managed to buy myself 4 new pairs of shoes! Three are black and the fourth pair are a coral colour I could not resist. It blends into my colour palette so of course I needed them!! And lo and behold they match the 30cm piece of fabric I purchased at Cleggs on the remnant table.

The top fabric is the remnant, the second and third fabric are net/meshes previously purchased from Frou Frou and the bottom piece is the left overs from this jacket. And of course the shoe! The coral mesh was discarded from the project as the colour was too bright for the rest.
I drew a plan for the piecing of the remnant. No section could be wider than 20cms.
The finished top. If you look closely you can see the joins. I was going to use the net to highlight the joins but decided I liked it as it was. I used the net for the neck binding, hem and sleeves. The neck and sleeves have the netting doubled. The sleeves are single layer and hemmed with the overlocker using the rolled hem function.
The back is the netting lined with a brown knit lining.

The green skirt fabric is just pinned around Eames at the moment but hopefully soon will be a simple skirt. Once done, I will take a photo of me in the outfit and shoes.

Ahh, it feels good to have sewn something in 2008!

Too hot to sew....

2008-01-11T10:51:00.000+11:00

(Sofie and her friend Grace)

Yes, I am still here but not sewing...far too hot for that. I can't even get inspired by making a sun dress! January is not a busy sewing time for me as the girls are home on summer holidays. In fact today Sofie and I are hitting the shops to get some airconditioned comfort. Ellen is off on a summer film course.

But I have been exercising and of course keeping up with what every one else is doing!

(Sofie and Ellen)

A day in the city.

2008-01-02T19:53:00.000+11:00

Today the girls and I went into the city for the day. It was a beautiful day today and we wandered the smaller lanes, arcades and small designer shops.

In the afternoon we saw Atonement. I have to give this 11 out of 10. The costumes were fabulous and the whole feel of the movie was emotive and I cried....a lot....

And of course a day in the city means I have to drop into Cleggs! Cleggs is a fabric shop that I would visit almost everyday in my lunch break when I worked in the city. About 22 years back! . The actual shop has moved from its old Little Collins Street address to bigger premises in Elizabeth street but the main sales assistant is still there though he is very grey now.

And what did I buy? Well the remnant sale table got me first.

From left, coral silk chiffon, poly mesh (only 20cm so I will piece it), olive green viscose (for lining), poly rayon green/gold, and a couple of ribbons. I also got a large piece of brown knit that I will use for lining which is not in the photo.

From the bolt for $5 a metre I purchased the following two - a poly lycra knit and a poly mesh.

And the great thing with Cleggs is that you get all the details of the fabric on your receipt, including the composition, washing instructions and even the country of origin! All up it cost $30 exactly.

Hey, lucky I did not add "not buy more fabric" to my new year resolutions?

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T13:48:00.000+11:00

Please forgive me for this lack of depth post, but I am dying here! We are in the midst of a heat wave and we don't have air con. In fact it is too hot to go swimming!! My brain is fuzzled. And my tummy is complaining of too much drinkies.

To bring in the new year we spent the day at Chadstone (shopping centre and theatre complex) to get some cool air. We saw The Darjeeling Limited - quite enjoyable. And then went out for dinner (again air con. lol) and home to have a midnight swim.

2007 in review

2007 has been an eventful year and when I started the year with the hope to have adventures I should have been a bit clearer and specified FUN adventures! Dad passed away and mum is still under care. DH also lost a brother. Ellen and Sofie both had teenager issues with friends and school.

On the positive side there were two new great grandchildren for mum, Ellen had success at school and with her film and I have started this blog and met so many wonderful sewing friends over the Internet.

Sewing wise I had a very productive year. I have set up an album over on Flickr that has a photo of each garment made during the year here. 23 garments does not sound that much compared to Shannon and Carolyn, but not bad for me considering the year. I'm happy.

2008

I am not much of a resolution person. I am happy to go where life takes me. But having said that I would like to:

January:

Increase my exercise program to lose the body fat accumulated from my 2007 emotional eating.

Finish up my summer sewing - maybe a couple of dresses, and some tops to match other bottoms in the wardrobe.

Clean out and organise my jewellery collection. I spent last week cleaning out and sorting my wardrobe but have yet to hit the shelf with the costume jewellery.

Make at least one new item for each of the four new pairs of shoes purchased at the boxing day sales. (oops, well I love shoes, what can I say).

February:

Start on some serious jacket making! I have had this as a "goal" for many years now. I have bought the books, made a couple of jackets but haven't really progressed from there. My hope is to make one tailored jacket a month. Of course I will then need a skirt or two to match.....and a top.....maybe shoes????

Make some pants. You may have noticed in my 2007 album that I made 11 skirts last year but no pants. I think 2008 can also be the year of the pants. I am more of a skirt girl but a few pairs of pants won't go astray. I have always avoided them as I know there will be a lot of fitting and of course I need to lose a kilo or two first (sound familiar?). Well to be realistic I do want to lose last years weight gain first, so depending on how well I go with the January goal, this one may move to March - we'll see.

March to December:

Continue with my jacket making.

Sew what ever I am inspired to! And boy there is a lot of inspiration there with you all!

Use my favourite fabrics first!

That's it for now! I think I will go for a swim..........

Merry Christmas

2007-12-23T07:58:00.000+11:00

This will be my last post before Christmas, so I want to wish you a very merry Christmas, with lots of love, fun, and family togetherness!!!

I have one more post to make about Christmas pressies. This one I made for Sofie to hold the make up brushes she had hinted at for a Christmas present.

I have to thank Summerset for her wonderful instructions on how to put this together. I can highly recommend making these - so easy (easier than aprons lol).

I used denim (so omitted the interfacing), cotton and ribbon. All from the stash. The funny thing is that the cotton print was a remnant I bought with the intention of making an apron. (Can't get away from those aprons.....). And because the project uses so little fabric I still CAN make the apron!

Merry Christmas!!!!

PJ's for Ellen

2007-12-22T17:05:00.000+11:00

Today Sofie and I made some PJ's for Ellen. It has taken us a year! We purchased the fabric from Spotlight last Christmas.

We used McCall's 2606 - an old pattern that has straight leg tie waisted pants. I hadn't used it before but it is perfect for PJ's. We used elastic and ribbon for the waist (which we lowered by about 9cms). We also added ribbon and bows to the bottom of the legs.

I purchased a cheap top to use as the PJ top. We unpicked the label and added our own out of the PJ fabric and embroidered Ellen's name on it. We also added a bow.

Here is Sofie modeling. They should be a little bit looser and shorter on Ellen. Hope she likes them! PJ bottoms are so quick to make on an overlocker and you can do such fun things with ribbons and the like. A fun project.

One for us!

2007-12-19T08:03:00.001+11:00

When making the apron gifts I accidentally cut the width of one piece of fabric too narrow, so I could not use it to make ruffles, so I thought why not make a Chrissy apron for us?

This was a combined effort apron. Sofie sewed, I ironed, pinned and made the bias tape and Ellen helped with the design.

Originally Sofie and I had made the apron with the main fabric and used remnants to make the binding and pockets. Here is a picture of the first draft...

I felt that there was something missing and that the pockets (yes they are on an angle) looked like they did not belong. I said that maybe we need the pocket fabric somewhere else on the apron. And that is where Ellen came in - she suggested the second ruffle to bring more fabric in.

And then just to finish off we put some bows and buttons on the pockets!

Now to some sewing that is NOT aprons......

Male apron

2007-12-17T20:34:00.000+11:00

This is Adam's apron. A very quick project after 6 frilly aprons!

I used 3 Christmas themed cottons from Lincraft - the main one for the body, a second one for the binding and a third one for the top of the pocket and the ties.

I traced the basic shape of the apron from on old bought one floating around the house. I added a pocket by cutting a large triangle, binding the top and then stitching it onto the front of the apron. It was also stitched down the middle to form 2 sections.

I made bias tape to edge the sides and bound the top. I made ties and used a D ring set for the neck.

More photos, including showing more of the binding and the rings can be seen here.

Thank goodness the work gifts are done in plenty of time for our Christmas lunch on Friday!

Gathering using the overlocker/serger

2007-12-17T08:52:00.000+11:00

I remembered while I should have been sleeping that I forgot to mention how I had gathered the ruffles on the aprons. I used the overlocker to quicken up the process.

This is a great way to gather large amounts of fabric using your overlocker. The picture above shows what happens after it goes through the needle.

Use these settings (or fiddle around to get what works best, or check your manual)

Stitch length 5
Needle thread tension 6 to 9
Upper looper tension 3 to 4
Lower looper tension 3 to 4

then serge away! Just keep a reasonable lengths (tails) of chain at the beginning and the end so that if you need to reduce the gathers you have enough thread so it does not unravel. Much faster than stitching 2 rows of basting stitches and pulling up.

In fact the gathering for all 6 aprons would not have taken more than 5 minutes! Got to love that!

Christmas sewing!

2007-12-16T18:58:00.000+11:00

I have just spent the weekend (in between shopping, cooking, sleeping) making aprons. Each year I make gifts for staff at work. I usually make the same thing for everyone. Luckily there are only about 10 of us. And this year it is easier as one in on maternity leave, and the boss in in Thailand.

So for the girls....

I made ruffle aprons. This is a tutorial by Morgan that was featured on Sew,Mama,Sew! Aprons seem to be a very popular gift this year as there have been quite a few appearing in blogland. I pretty much followed Morgan's tutorial but made a couple of changes. I overlocked the ruffles rather than hemming- quicker when you are making 6! Also I accidentally cut the ruffles an inch too narrow. Not sure what came over me but these things happen I suppose and not hemming helped out!

I also made one long tie for the top of the apron. Morgan has you add a band and then attach the ties to that. Again I was after speed and this seemed simpler to me.

One long tie made with the centre left open to insert the apron.
You need to be careful when topstitching to also catch the back of the tie.
Close up of the band (a different apron) sewn at the top to secure.
And here are 3 pretty maids all in a row. The other 3 that I made are similar. Now onto the one male apron that I need to make - will post about that one tomorrow!

Latest Ottobre tshirt

2007-12-03T17:31:00.000+11:00

Thank you all so much for your very kind comments and congratulations. We really do appreciated tham all. Ellen has been lurking and reading your comments and it really has added to her excitement!

She will need to do a short film next year for her final year at high school and she is still considering what it should be about. I have tried to convince her a story of the process of turning a flat piece of fabric into a finished garment would be interesting (and nobody else would do that) but she is not convinced! lol!

Anyway, on a more mundane topic - I finished another Ottobre 2/2007 tshirt over the weekend:
I purchased the poly onionskin type of knit from Frou Frou on our Pattern Review weekend. It was in the remnant bin - gotta love those remnant bins. It is a lovely turquoise colour.

For the trim I cut some strips from another fabric I purchased from Darn Cheap on the same weekend. I simply topstitched the strips onto the front of the tshirt.

And here you can see it with my skirt that I completed last week.

I am going to try and get a couple more tops done this week, then work on a sun frock for Christmas.

Great news!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-11-30T16:51:00.000+11:00

Yes we have the Internet back after a week offline.......

But much, much, much better than that.......Ellen won the Shakespeare competition I posted about a while back. The competition was to interpret a line of Shakespeare anyway you liked. And my baby won the national competition. So now she is in the money and her school also wins $10,000. I think she will be popular with the principal now :) Not bad for a 16 year old...mummy is very very proud.

In case you missed the film and you would like to see it go here

McCalls 8972

2007-11-26T08:44:00.001+11:00

I have finished my linen skirt using McCalls 8972. Sorry the photos are not very good. I took them this morning and uploaded them at work (still no Internet access at home) and can't go back and take better ones as the skirt is at home and I am not.

Overall I am pretty happy with how the skirt has turned out. It was much shorter than I anticipated - should have measured! So the hem turn up is minimal. Also I had trouble getting the hem straight. The linen wanted to "bubble" along the edge

I underlined with silk organza using Shannon's method of sewing right sides together of each piece, turning out and making up as usual. Thanks Shannon! I didn't line as I think the underlining is enough.

The belt is not perfect and I would have redone it if I had any more fabric. I found that the belt changed shape due to it being cut in a curve, so some parts stretched. I think it would have been better to cut the shape out of a very firm sew in interfacing and then use that as the sewing guide. Well I know for next time! Also the belt is a bit thin for the buckle, even though it is the right size per the pattern.

Ann asked "...I see allot of people have presses, do you recommend them?". Yes I would recommend one if you have the room and the money to buy one. It is not a must have sewing accessory but it sure does make fusing interfacing a breeze. Mine is only new and hasn't had much of a workout yet :)

Off the Internet

2007-11-24T15:28:00.000+11:00

The phone lines in our area have been down since Wednesday and as we are on ADSL we have not had Internet connection. I am typing this from my office (on a Saturday). The girls have been having withdrawal symptoms so I have brought them into the office to catch up with their MySpace etc.

The phone company is telling us it will be Tuesday before anything is fixed! So I will only be able to catch up with blogs etc in the office.

On the sewing front, I have almost finished the skirt mentioned in the previous post. I still have to do the hem and make the belt. It is looking good! Now to try and catch up on some other posts (but I don't have my feeds here!). Oh how quickly we become dependent on technology!

Mini wardrobe plan

2007-11-22T08:43:00.000+11:00

As I am on a roll with my cream suit and co-ordinates I thought I would expand it into a mini wardrobe plan a la Carolyn.

The next item I will make is an old McCalls pattern 8972. It is a really versatile pattern and I haven't make it up before. I noticed that the date on the tissue of the pattern is 1997. 10 years isn't too bad and I think the style is still current. I will be making view C - the black and white with the belt.

I will be using a $5 remnant of pure linen from Materialise of Camberwell, a belt buckle from Darn Cheap Fabric in Heidelberg and left over poly crinkle from Brunswick Fabrics in Brunswick. All of these were purchased on our Pattern Review Down Under weekend.

I was telling Ellen about the skirt and she laughed! I asked her what was so funny and she said I WAS! - I always have everything so matchy matchy. Mmm, daughters! So yes, I confess I am a matchy matchy girl....and this skirt WILL match my jacket!

Yesterday I also at long last took my steam press out of its box and pressed up the linen. Worked like a charm. In the photo I have the linen showing with what I have chosen to be the wrong side. The lighter side matches best with the jacket. I plan to underline the linen with silk organza to help reduce the crushing factor. If anyone has any better ideas please let me know. Thanks ;)

McCall's 5007 finished.

2007-11-19T21:55:00.000+11:00

Yesterday I finished up the matching jacket to the skirt - McCalls 5007.

You may recall that I was not happy with the inside of the jacket as I had to adjust the hem to make it even on the outside. This left the inside uneven. At this stage I have decided to just live with it and work a bit more on fitting for future projects.

The jacket was made up entirely in size 6. I checked the measurements and there was enough ease to fit my size 12 hips! I should have done an adjustment to lower the bust point, but completely forgot! Oops. As it is a loose style it is not too evident.

Fabric is poly crinkle fabric purchased from Brunswick Fabrics October 2007. The jacket is underlined with poly cotton batiste. Buttons from Lincraft. The jacket is not lined.

I used silk organza as interfacing for the centre fronts and the collar. As all the materials in the jacket are washable I will be able to use the hand wash cycle on my washing machine to launder it.

This is how I wore it to work today:and this is what it looks like with the jacket undone
My resident photographers had left for school by the time I was ready so I had to use the self timer!
And of course a picture of my shoes:

More pictures etc can be seen at Pattern Review and my Flickr album - both have links on the side bar.

Now what to do next?????

Ottobre 2/2007 short sleeve T and Burda WOF 07-2007-115

2007-11-18T11:36:00.001+11:00

This is how I wore the outfit last night to Ellen's and Sofie's dance concert. I added belt loops so that I could wear a belt. Bag, belt and earrings from Myer. Shoes are a few seasons ago. Bracelet from Diva. Here is a close up of the belt loops:
I used the triple stretch stitch again for the topstitching. Love the triple stretch stitch! And have a look at the back. I certainly am getting better with the invisible zip. I would say IMHO that it is pretty close to perfect! To reduce the poof in the back I took the centre front panel in a bit. I also had to unstitch the casing that the elastic was in. I was being clever and just stitched the underlining to the fabric rather than a separate casing. But I think that was also causing the puffiness in the length in the back. So I undid it and just zig zagged the elastic to the front fabric. I think it helped a bit.

Now to the Ottobre 2/2007 short sleeve T. I really like how this turned out! I overlocked the seams and topstitched the neckline and hems. I really love the fabric and I have enough left over to block another T in the future - maybe a long sleeve one with brown or grey sleeves and back? I will leave that one till next winter I think. The fabric for this T was all of $3!!

I placed the flower so that it came across the bust and added crystals on the flowers. Here is a close up of the crystals. They are clear crystals. The flash has changed the colour in the photo. So now I need to get back to the jacket and then I will have a complete ensemble.

And Carolyn, (re yesterday's comment) I have room for you to come and visit but you won't want to this week - 37c tomorrow! That is too much summer! So maybe I could come to New York for some shopping?

Burda skirt finished and a new T

2007-11-17T18:23:00.001+11:00

Burda 07-2007-115 skirt and Ottobre 2/2007 short sleeve tshirt. I am still not certain about the back of the skirt but will wear it and see if anyone comments. I can always take the elastic out.

Both fabrics were purchased at Brunswick Fabrics on our PRDUW - do I win?? (being the first to make up an outfit from fabric purchased that day).

The tshirt is a poly lycra knit. I blinged the flower across the bust for a bit more interest.

I will take better photos and post tomorrow, but for now this is it. The camera has gone off with the girls to their dance concert tonight. And I have something new to wear to go and watch!

Hot Patterns Deco Vibe Flippy Skirt - review

2007-11-14T21:21:00.000+11:00

Sorry for the delay in the promised review. It has been a busy week!

I found the HP skirt to be easy to put together, it fit well (maybe a touch tight for my measurements) and the finished result was a fun skirt. I have done a more detailed review here and have taken photos with comments here. Hopefully they will be helpful for anyone who wants to make the skirt and would like a heads up.

The instructions were not good for a beginner, but of course we knew that. I didn't follow them as I did not like their order of construction. The instructions do say "This is just our way of doing things...if you prefer a different method, go ahead!" And that is what I did! But if you have made a skirt before and have tackled curved seams, then you will be fine.

Since finishing the skirt I have been working on McCalls 5007. I have almost finished it but have put it down as I am having trouble with the hem. Long story.....I made a sway back adjustment but that had ended up with the bottom of the jacket being crooked. So I adjusted the hem but I am not happy with how that is looking on the inside. I was not planning to line the jacket as I want to be able to machine wash and I have underlined. So I thought I would work on the skirt for a change of pace. I am making Burda WOF 07-2007-115, the one that Summerset made a while ago. Now I am having issues with the back of that! It is a bit poofy, like I have a full nappy (diaper) and it has slipped a bit. lol.
So I have partly undone the back seams and taken out some of the fullness in the centre panel. I will report back later in the week. For now I am putting costumes together with daughters for their dance concerts this weekend. The full dress rehearsal is tomorrow night so we are madly finishing up what should have been done weeks ago!

Hot Patterns Deco Vibe Flippy Skirt

2007-11-10T13:35:00.000+11:00

A few of us Aussie girls (with the help of Mel) bulk ordered some Hot Patterns to save on the high international postage. I ordered the Deco Vibe Flippy Skirt. Jeremy's email a while back on the many possibilities of this skirt really inspired me.

So without further ado...here is my version:

I had a bit of a drama as I mentioned on a previous post. I had this fabric that I really adored that I thought would look really cute made up in the skirt. But alas I did not have enough. I thought I was being clever by cutting out part of the skirt and then adjusting the remaining fabric to cut out the flounce at the back. Horrors - not enough. After letting the project sit for a while I had another look and decided to add a centre back seam in the flounce. I still had to cut out the pieces on add angles so the flounce probably does not sit quite how it should but I am happy with the outcome!

Now, what to wear on top.....searched the stash for matching purple or cream knit. Nope! Well maybe the wardrobe would have something ok just for the photo shoot. Lo and behold, not only do I have a JacquiE RTW top (several years old) an exact match, some shoes also are perfect. It sure does work to keep to a core of similar colours!

I will do a review of the pattern and show some photos of construction in my next post.

BTW, the fabric is a cotton lycra with quite a bit of body. Love, love, love it...................yippee!

McCall's 5007

2007-11-07T19:00:00.000+11:00

First, I want to say my sewing room is once again presentable. I would show you a photo to prove it but the camera has gone "walk about". Hopefully Ellen has it with her?

I really need some new jackets for work and lets face it, I have the fabric and the patterns! I have been quite undecided the last few days, as I thumbed through Marfy catalogues, Burda magazines and my pile of unopened patterns for inspiration. In the end I decided to try out McCall's 5007.

The fabric I will use is a crinkle poly purchased at Brunswick Fabrics (for $4 a metre) on our recent PR weekend.

As the fabric will show through on the seams I will underline it with a cotton also purchased at Brunswick Fabrics ($3 a metre).
I won't line the jacket as it will be one of those jackets you wear on hot days and then throw into the washing machine. I haven't decided yet what I will do with seam finishes. Maybe just overlock and then HK finish the hems.

I also bought some nice buttons at Lincraft today (sorry on photo) in the same cream colour. I will top stitch in cream as well so the jacket will match just about everything!

Admitting I have problems

2007-11-04T10:57:00.000+11:00

I have been thinking for a while that I should 'fess up and Summerset's post this morning (well Aussie time) has moved me out of my computer chair, forced me to take up the camera and......admit my sewing room is a mess!!

Why is sewing so messy? You see I want to make myself a suit for work and I can't get started. Do you think my creative area has anything to do with it?
I have started to clean up by repacking fabric in my cupboard. Actually, looking at this, I think I have room for more!

See the mess next to my pressing and cutting area? I tend to dump scraps etc there as I work on a project. Maybe I could just put it all up in the roof space (attic). Lots of bits of projects past...

And the view from my desk - ick! So now I also have to admit that I still haven't taken out my steam press from the box.

And here is the pressing area. My Hot Patterns flippy skirt is cut out but oops I don't have enough fabric for the back flounce........

and my final confession.....I have put on weight and none of my jeans/ casual pants fit me...sob! No one to blame here but myself. OK I have admitted I am a mess but stay tuned.....

Ottobre 5/2007 skirt

2007-10-31T13:06:00.000+11:00

This skirt is a basic yoked pattern. It has a slight A line and hits about mid knee. One version has the tie as shown on the photo at the left. I wanted my skirt to be fuller so I cut and pivoted the skirt front and back four times and added 5cms into each cut. This gave me an extra 4(pieces) x 20cm = 80cms extra in the hem circumference.

This is a very poor photo of the pattern spread out. You can just make out the slashed pattern on top.

I used newspaper. Once spread I recut the front and back the larger size. Only the hem increases and not the top that attaches to the yoke. I also added about 5cms to the length.

The yoke is faced but I did not line the rest of the skirt. An invisible zipper is in the back.

For the hem I used the narrow hem on the overlocker - quick and easy!

I like the fuller look of the skirt and am very happy with how it turned out. It was an experiment to see if it would work - and it did! I cut the skirt with the straight grain down the centre front and back. Cutting with the straight grain running down the centre of the pattern pieces would give different folds. I remember this was covered in a Stitches magazine but I can't remember which way was supposed to be more flattering.

Pattern Review weekend 2007

2007-10-28T18:46:00.000+11:00

I am back from our Pattern Review weekend Downunder. What a great time we had. Cheryl (my sister) and I stayed overnight in town even though we live in the same city. Lots more fun.

We had dinner out on Friday night, a fabric shopping tour (by bus) on Saturday, dinner Saturday night and a workshop (get together) on Sunday. It was very hot on Saturday and the cotton fabric of my latest outfit stood up well to the heat and excitement. Thank you to everyone for your lovely comments left on my last post about the outfit! :))

Here are a couple of photos but of course more can be found on my Flickr album

On the bus with our fabric purchases.

Me back in the hotel room surrounded by my 24 new pieces! Looks like I have a lot of sewing to do..................

It is so much fun to shop and get together with other "sewists". Highly recommend it!!

Vogue 8398 and Ottobre skirt

2007-10-26T17:18:00.000+10:00

Here is a nice "arty" photo of me in the skirt and jacket taken by Sofie. I have a RTW cami underneath. I had photos with the top in and out. Out looks better but you can see the skirt better in.

The jacket fabric is quite stiff and does not want to play nice. The shoulders could be better. But its "good enough" especially for a casual jacket.

I don't have time to blog about the skirt today other than to say it is from Ottobre 5/2007 but modified to make it fuller. I am off now to our PatternReview get together dinner but I will be changing first - it is a bit chilly tonight. Tomorrow is supposed to be hot so I may swap the shoes for flats and wear the outfit on our shopping trip.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

Vogue 8398 - finished

2007-10-24T22:19:00.001+10:00

My green version of Vogue 8398 is finished! I made the uncollared version and top stitched with the triple stitch in black. I was going to use green but changed my mind at the last minute. This is the first time I have used this stitch and am pretty happy with how it turned out.

I changed the order of instructions. The pattern has you sew the under and upper seams of the sleeves before attaching to the body of the jacket. I decided to just sew the under seam and then attach to the body. This way I could pin fit the sleeves to the shape of my shoulders.
To help reduce the extra fabric in the back of the sleeve that I had in the muslin, I pinned the seam of the sleeve a little bit deeper.

I also sewed up the matching skirt today but still need to hem it. I will post about that another day. But here is a picture of the top of the skirt with the matching binding on the inside of the jacket.

PatternReview weekend

2007-10-23T08:21:00.000+10:00

This coming weekend is the PatternReview Down Under weekend. This will be our second official PR weekend and I am really looking forward to it.

One of the things we will be doing is a fabric tour. We will be catching a bus that will be taking us all over Melbourne in search of that perfect fabric and wonderful bargain! Last year I won the dubious honour of the one with the most fabric ! Here is a link to my photo's of last year's event.

And the good news is that we have room for a few more on the shopping trip. So if you can get to Melbourne on Saturday and would like to join us, please come along. You don't have to be a member of PR. Just be willing to have a good time. We are a very friendly bunch and there is nothing like going fabric shopping with others that are like minded. Last year I had not met any other ladies before the trip, so don't let that stop you. Leave a comment if you would like to come or pop over to the message board on PR here.

We are popping into a fabric wholesaler during the day, and I can promise you that the prices are wonderful! On past visits I have bought wool blend fabric made for Ojay for less than $10 a yard! And wonderful knits for $3. Ooh, I hope they have some nice summer weight suiting this year........

This is a photo of a coat I made using a beautiful cord fabric (for around $4 a metre) from the wholesaler. The knit at the neckline was about $3 a metre.

Our expected itinerary for the day is:

Darn Cheap (Heidelberg) - more of a bargain type place, with a variety of different fabrics. They do roll ends & I've found some great stuff here.Cloth Shop (Ivanhoe) - very nice quality Materialise (Camberwell) - a clearance outlet for Tylers which is really upmarket. I went in there last week and I was really taken with some of their stuff, particularly I liked the brocades that I have zilch opportunity to wear. Cutting Edge (Malvern) The Button Shop (Malvern) - these two are almost next door to each other. Gotta have buttons!Frou Frou Fabrics (Glen Waverley) - this is one I've heard heaps about, they have interesting garments around the shop. There's a bakery next door where you could grab something to eat if you didn't bring anything. Then we're travelling over to the other side of the city, & these shops are more for the bargain hunter. By this stage of the day bargains will be looking good!Our first stop of the afternoon is at a place that does wholesale. The retail shops we're visiting in the afternoon are:Rathdowne RemnantsGJs FabricsSydney Rd Shops - Anne's Discount Fabrics no 363 - Unique Fabrics - Sari fabrics & good for silk dupioni- Brunswick Fabrics - Vonne's favourite from last year

Another film from Ellen

2007-10-12T09:34:00.000+10:00

Today I am off to Shepparton for a couple of days so no more work on the Jacket. Thankyou for the encouragement. I really want to get it done now!

In the mean time, Ellen wanted me to share this with as many people as possible. She has made a short film (about 90 seconds) for a competition initiated by a company that travels to schools to perform and educate on Shakespeare plays etc. The competition entails interpreting a line of Shakespeare any way you like. She has chosen the line "Out damn spot" from Macbeth, the play which she studied this year. In a nutshell - Lady Macbeth is feeling the guilt's for her part in the murder of the king. I really like what she has done with this.

There are lots of good prises, so if you would like to vote for her she would appreciate it very much.

If you go to this link, Ellen's film will show up (eventually) and then you can watch and vote for it (if you like). Make sure you have the sound on as that adds to the film.

http://www.makeascene.spikemobile.com/?mediaid=23253

Enjoy your weekend!

Vogue 8398 - how many muslins does a girl need?

2007-10-10T20:24:00.000+10:00

Thankyou to everyone who gave me fitting tips here, on Stitches Guild and via email. All were much appreciated and considered.

The overwhelming majority of you suggested I stay with size 8 and work from there. Well.....I did consider this but if you can see from the size 6 and 8 back views the size 8 is far too low and I would not be able to wear a tshirt underneath without it showing. The line drawing of the jacket does suggest it is low to account for the collar but I don't think it should be that low...anyway I don't want it that low.

Here is another photo of the size 6 where I have pinned the centre fronts to my top. They meet fine at the neck - just a problem with the bust! I measured about 5 cm short across the centre of the bust.

So off to Fit for Real People - page 150. But first I moved the bust point down 2cms - page 149 of the same book. My first FBA and what a fine job I did -

I adjusted the muslin just on one side - I think my face says it all...........

Oh no! My bust could not in a million cream buns time fit that cup size!!!!! lol

Somehow doing the FBA after dropping the bust point, dropped it even further. And you can see the jacket still will not sit together at centre front. I suppose it never will unless there is something to keep it closed - eg hooks and eyes.

Ok back to the drawing board. I prepared another front with just the dropped bust point and fitted that to myself. No photo as by this time I was just in my bra! (easier to take the muslin off and on). Much better. It still did not quite meet at centre front so I pulled apart the princess seam until it did and measured that gap - about 1cm. So I adjusted the patterd with the "alternate alternation for just a little extra room" on page 153. I added about 1/2 cm to each piece - the side front and the centre front.

I have now cut out the fabric!

Other great fitting advice I was given...
Vonne said to raise the armhole as Vogue often has low armholes. I checked this but found that the armhole on this pattern is right up at my armpit - maybe because as I am using the size 6? So no changes needed there.

Patsijean felt that the size 6 had stress marks across the back. I agree there are some and I had not noticed that before. I will be using a stretch woven for the jacket so that should fix that. If not I can tweak the shoulder seam to give a bit more room. She also suggested I look at a tip in "More Power Sewing" on page 52 by Sandra Betzina for raglan sleeves. Thankyou for that - I do have that book but hadn't referred to it for a while.

For the back, a lot of you suggested scooping out the back sleeve but not the back itself. I will do this when I pin fit the fabric.

I may not get back to this for a few days as I need to go up to Shepparton over the weekend to see mum. And remember on my last post I was going to make the skirt up? Well I seem to have lost my pattern. I had a Burda WOF pattern I traced from a library copy so I can't retrace. But it is very similar to a skirt in the latest Ottobre, so maybe I will try that.

Vogue 8398 - muslins!

2007-10-07T09:51:00.001+10:00

Yesterday I made a muslin in size 8 based on my high bust measurement. It fit well across the bust - but that is all. The neck was too wide and the shoulders a mess.

Warning - you may want to look away as some very unflattering photos follow.......

So I then made a size 6. Much better across the neck and shoulders but it does not meet at the centre front - maybe my first ever FBA? I am a C cup so I suppose I need one. I also need to move the bust point down.

But the back still has issues and I am not sure what they are. To me there is still too much fabric around the armhole.

It fits Eames much better than me (which of course is telling me something...lol). But she still needs to lower the bust dart and do something with the back. Normally I would need a sway/straight back adjustment but I haven't done this as it does not go below the waist. Maybe I need a centre back seam so that I can adjust from there? Or maybe you just need that extra room to reach forward?

Today I will move onto the skirt and wait for some feedback as to where to go next...

Yesterday Summerset commented "...make yourself a simple, fuller skirt like you suggested out of that purple/white flower print, then make that little jacket in a solid purple or a solid white with purple topstitching. Then wear a close fitting t-shirt or tank with it in the opposite color (either white or purple), maybe with a little lace on it. Pretty, feminine, and spring-like! It is getting to be spring in your part of the world, right?" Yes, it is spring and I love, love, love your suggestion! Thankyou very much Summerset! I want to make the green up first as I have all the fabric for that. And if I can get this jacket to play nice I can certainly have more than one! ;))

Need some motivation

2007-10-06T06:46:00.000+10:00

I am missing the sewing mojo. I think those couches have driven the fun of sewing out the back door!

However, I have two exciting weekends coming up - the second last one in October I am going to Sydney for a work conference. We will be conferencing by climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, cruising on the harbour and having cocktails enjoying the city view.

The last weekend in October is the PatternREview Downunder weekend. Dinners, fabric buying trip etc. So maybe I should sew up some of the gazzillions of metres of fabric I bought last year?

But I am thinking of starting on some recent fabric purchases:
From left..
. Olive jacket weight- 62% cotton, 35 poly and 3% elastine
. Green flower on white for skirt- 100% cotton
. Sparkle jersey for a top - 65% poly, 35% viscose
. Green cotton for dress - 100% cotton
The last fabric is not part of the mini wardrobe but was purchased at the same time - Purple flower - 97% cotton, 3% elastine

I am planning on making the jacket using Vogue 8398 - the centre view.

So what sort of skirt? And what top? For the skirt I am thinking a half circle type on a yoke. Simple. And for the top........a T? The sparkle jersey does not have any elastine so will not fit closely. I notice that the silhouette with the jacket is slim. I think full will work as long as there is the slim directly under the jacket. So no full top.

I have to say I am not feeling the love with this, so any feedback would be good! I will start with the jacket and see how I go.....

At long last, it is over!

2007-09-29T08:46:00.000+10:00

After many months of pain, torture and internal (and some external) dialogue of "why am I doing this?" I present to you:

My helper Sofie is all relaxed on her new recovered couch. This is the three seater. The two seater is in the next photo and you can see the wall hanging that we made in the background.
Yes, they are not perfect, BUT THEY ARE DONE!!! BTW, the threads you can see are actually on the carpet which had not be vacuumed before the photos.

I have to say I learned quite a few things with this project:

How to dismantle couches and cover from scratch
How to make square cushions and fill with fibre
How to keep going when you just want to throw them over the balcony
How Sofie is such a great helper - she helped put the fabric on, off, on, off the couches for fitting. She unpicked when necessary and generally was a cheerleader from the other side of the sewing machine.
How I never want to do this again!

So my advice to others thinking about undertaking such a project....don't! Life is too short to cover couches!

And just a reminder of how it used to look with a before and after shot:

We still could do with curtains - but hey summer is coming and we don't want to cover the view now do we ?;) And the green cupboards (actual chalk board paint) needs to be replaced in due course.

If you want to see all the posts on this (including my earlier enthusiasm) refer to the label "The Good Room"

The thought of a structured Tailor jacket now seems easy peasy after this project!

Burda 08-2005-102 on me!

2007-09-20T22:14:00.001+10:00

I wore my skirt to work today and I really loved the way it felt so feminine and swishy. I liked it so much I think I will have to make another one.....now which fabric?

To keep warm in the chilly office I wore my RTW Ojay jacket. This grey jacket gets worn a lot as it goes with so many skirts that I have. I think it will need a helper! I think the shorter length looks better on me too.

And a close up (but not very good) shot of my Fendi shoes and bag. Purchased from a market in Hong Kong for about $10 each - of course they are genuine?!