Today I have spent the day working on a muslin for this jacket. As expected I needed to do a forward shoulder adjustment and sway back. I also adjusted the shoulder seam to take out the need for shoulder pads. This may have been a mistake as the pattern does not call for "stuffing" (the Marfy term for shoulder pads..lol). There was still too much fabric in the yoke section, so I took out 2 cms in the armscye area (and in the sleeve to match).

This photo shows the back before any adjustments. You can see that it there is too much fabric in the back. I adjusted for the length in the yoke and the sway back. I did not adjust for width as the shoulder width seem about right.

After adjustments I got Ellen to take a couple of photos of the muslin on me. Not a pretty sight! Looking at the back it does seem I have too much fabric in the width. My left armhole has had the seam allowance removed and it appears to be in the right place. But the right looks like it has too much fabric and the set in sleeve has dropped.

I may need to lengthen I cm above the bust (but below the yoke) to move bust down a tad. Also another 1cm below the bust to then bring waist back down to where it should be. This will bring back in the 2 cms that I took out in the yoke section

Please if you have any suggestions comment me. I would love to hear your opinions. In the meantime, I will go back and re read Fit for Real People, from front to back.

And Belinda when you asked "tears or tantrums" the other day when a project is giving you grief? Well I now know it is tears....and even more than tears...depression! Yep, I get depressed and that flows onto everything else and I just want to eat icecream.....mmm, cookies and cream........

Marfy 1245

Marfy 1245 is my next project. I have had this pattern for a little while and have been a bit scared to touch it. But I have decided to just jump in!

I have cut out a muslin and am in the process of sewing that up. I did not make any changes yet to the pattern. I am expecting it to need a forward shoulder adjustment and sway back adjustment - my usual changes. I have a size 42 and the measurements equal my waist and hip exactly. My bust is 2cm larger (with my bra on) but as my shoulders and upper chest are pretty narrow I may find it too big in that area. We will see.

I have a linen blend blue fabric (with shades of brown flowers) that goes really well with denim. I thought some denim for the contrast would be great. Then I had a bit of a look through the stash and came up with this brown striped stretch denim. Mmm, that will go nice particularly if I top stitch with brown thread. I have enough of this fabric (hopefully) to make a pair of pants to match. I also have brown jeans and blue jeans that will both go really well with the proposed jacket.

So far I have laid the pattern out so that it resembles how it will look - ie match up the letters. Then I have cut the muslin and put the pieces into groups - front, back and sleeve. I have started to sew them together and so far so good.

I haven't forgotten the Chanel jacket but I wanted something that I could make now and wear within two weeks. This burst of motivation has come from a visit to Shepparton last Friday. I am popping up there (about 2 hour drive north of Melbourne) pretty often as both my parents are in hospital there. I was stopped mid sentence by three different nurses at three different meetings about the jacket I was wearing. All commented how gorgeous it was and were even more impressed when I said I made it myself! Don't you just love it when that happens? And the jacket just happens to be made from a pink version of the blue fabric above. I bought both when I couldn't decide which one I liked most. Here is a photo:

The fabric has a lovely sheen to it, which makes it just that bit extra special. So of course, I am hoping to get the Marfy done by the next time I go up to Shepparton. There is no way I will get the Chanel done by then!

Spotlight

Today I went to check out the grand re-opening of the Box Hill (in Melbourne) Spotlight store. Spotlight stores are the large craft/home ware/sewing stores in Australia and New Zealand.

I often go to this store or the extra humongous Bayswater store. I went to snap up a bargain and the pins, threads and a pattern for my Chanel jacket.

And in the words of Jane Austin (slightly misquoted)..."there was an appalling lack of fabric!"

This is all that is left of the fabric selection. One small tenth (at a guess) of the store. And no I didn't buy any. I did rather think a bolt of viscose spandex brown/teal knit may look nice on me, however there was not a mirror to be found to check the effect on me. Next to find some silk thread - no not to be found! But I did get some topstitching and other thread for my next Marfy project. So not all was lost

Later in the day I took youngest DD to Knox shopping centre to see Dean Geyer (an Australian Idol finalist)at a CD signing. While there I popped into Lincraft (another large fabric store turned into a craft shop with a bit of sewing bits and pieces) and I was very pleasantly surprised to find the silk thread in exactly the colour I was after.

So Melbourne girls, skip Box Hill Spotlight in favour of Bayswater and good old Lincraft at Knox is still worth a pop in for notions.

Oh, and which jacket pattern did I get for my Chanel jacket - well this one of course....

I won't have the centre front buttons or the collar. I am hoping Claire's instructions will be helpful along with those in her book:

Chanel Suit

I am starting a winter long project - a Chanel suit. Marji has inspired me to have a go at this . Her jackets are just beautiful and I do have the perfect fabric!

I bought the wool tweed (Black, pink and burgandy) at a market in Hong Kong. Believe it or not, this is a picture of the market!

Just the lower tent like area is the market- all under tarps. It looks a bit scary, and it was but my sister & I ventured on and actually went in! I can't remember what I paid for it - probably about $40 HK for a metre - so about $6 Aussie dollars or about $7 US (on our fab exchange rate at the moment :). This was the only fabric I purchased from there.

The silk lining was purchased from a stall at the Western Market. The picture at the left is the building that this more upmarket market is situated. The trim was purchased at a shop in the garment district of HK - in the same area as the first market. I am not sure if I will have enough trim as I only have 2 metres. It should be enough for the edges, pockets and vents.

And I don't know what pattern I will use yet. A couple of years ago I did make this jacket in the style - but without the quilting and the "Chanelisms". I used a Burda WOF pattern. It does not have princess seams, or a three piece sleeve, so I think I will go in search of another pattern. I was also wondering - do you use shoulder pads in Chanel jackets? This pattern uses shoulder pads.

By the way, this jacket was made from a silk tweed from the Western Market and lined with a poly fabric (big mistake - too hot). I fused whisperweft to all the fabric before cutting. I also made the trim. In fact I think I will wear it today when off to parent/teacher interviews at DDs' school - with brown jeans, brown boots and a coral tshirt.

Finishing off a UFO

My Marfy skirt (see previous post) was made from the left overs from a UFO. This UFO dates back quite a few years and I couldn't remember why I had left it. Anyway today I dug it out and just about completed it. It is a simple bias skirt. Two side seams, facings at the waist and a side zipper. Ok, now I see what is wrong....the invisible zip is broken! Well that would make you throw it into the corner and leave it to ferment for years, wouldn't it?



So today - I took out the broken zip, put in a new zip, sewed two side seams, found the already interfaced facings, sewed them onto the waist and ..............viola!

This took me all of one and a half hours! I still need to do the hem, but I will let the bias drop a little. Actually I will let it drop for a few days as I need to go up to Shepparton to attend to family stuff. Happy sewing :)

My first Marfy

I thought I would try a Marfy. I made the miniskirt included free in the autumn winter 2007 catalogue - number 093. I chose it because it was easy and I just wanted to check the fit and to see if I could do it. I used some left over fabric from a UFO that I partly made years ago. It is a poly. Pretty horrible stuff. I thought it would look good with my new shoes........but maybe not......

I opened the door so the flash would not "flash" onto the glass. So what does it do? Flash the bra..lol.

The feedback from the daughters was not good! Sofie says it looks like a kilt and Ellen thinks it needs a different top. I'm not real happy either. Not sure if it is the colours (not really me) or the length (or lack of length) or the checks or the shoes......or......

DH just came in and said that he liked it and "..he would wear it" - what the?

It is a shame because I made it pretty on the inside as well. I found an 80cm remnant I bought years ago. Again it is poly, but quite pretty and the colours match really well in real life.

Here is a close up of the buttons I used. There are 2 more on the back.

Well, maybe I will finish off the UFO while I have the red and black thread out.

Update

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes!

I haven't done any sewing (apart from taking up Sofie's new jeans), but boy have I been following everyone Else's progress! Some amazing work/ art is being undertaken from all over the world.....and I can sit at home and be part of the fun! So thank you to all you bloggers and posters on boards for inspiration.

In fact I am a bit overwhelmed! So much inspiration - shirt dresses, Chanel jackets, working wardrobes, summer frocks. I want to do it all. Well, I can cross off the summer frocks!

In my last post I talked about setting some goals. I optimistically thought I should be able to do one garment a week, so over the next 3 months I could make 5 jackets (I just love these and I need more practice), 5 skirts/dresses (no pants as I haven't quite mastered these) and 3 tops.

Now, this might sound like too big an ask, but I only work 3 days a week (so 4 days free a week) and my only other hobby is body building (oh dear I have goals for that too!). Oh and watching TV..lol.

I think I need to sit down and work out a plan. One that will increase my working wardrobe options (as per Carolyn ) and matches my new red shoes (see back a couple of posts). And tomorrow I will finish my Marfy miniskirt that has been sitting half done for too long.......ps, it matches the red shoes!