No sleeves thank you!

This week I've been working on my second Indie Pattern, the Go Anywhere Dress by Sewn Square One.  The pattern provides for three variations: a dress, a tunic and a top.

I selected the dress to make first up, with a woven pinstripe from my stash.  All was going well and literally finished today, BUT .... they just had to go - yep the sleeves just had to come off.

It wasn't just the sleeves of the dress but also the sleeves of the lining, which I had just finished hand stitching in place!  Although my fault, I didn't place the sleeves in when I did the muslin.  I figured a 'sleeve is a sleeve' and I've never really had any problem with a sleeve before.  My usual adjustment of a dress is for the hip and when I make that adjustment the waist is slightly adjusted when I true up the curve.

I think the dress will be great with no sleeves and actually more my style.  Maybe that was the message!   The pockets are a great feature and really make the dress - here is a sneak peek.  You will see what I mean when I reveal the finished garment :-)

My Cordova

I can't believe how quick this Cordova jacket has come together.  Here's all the deets on my preparation.

Usually I would sew a size 8 Sewaholic, but I decided to go with the finished measurement of the garment rather than the body measurement and have sewn up a size 6, although I could have gotten away with sewing up a size 4 - maybe next time :-)

I'm really liking the effect of reversing the fabric on the side panels and peplum.   Hopefully the next photo will show clearly the difference.  It's really hard to tell whether it's a deep deep dark blue or black, so I have gone with dark blue and added a blue lining and zip.  I think it looks great with jeans.

I would definitely make another Cordova.  The back pleat is a great feature and will make the jacket comfy to wear.  Next time I would think about adding another half inch to the lining to allow for a little bit more ease vertically.

I would also add another inch to the length of the sleeve.  Although it looks okay it only has a half inch hem and I would prefer at least a one inch hem.  My sleeve lining isn't attached to the sleeve fabric because it isn't long enough.  I am debating whether I add 1.5 inches to the sleeve lining and then attach it to the sleeve fabric.  I might wear it a couple of times before I decide.

Gee these photos make my bottom half look smaller than the top, but I think that is the idea of the jacket.  I am most definitely bigger on the bottom than the top according to the measure tape!

Gee, should really have done my hair before taking photos!

Oops you can see that I've been sitting down!

Final thoughts:  would definitely make again with a few adjustments; I'm still undecided on the double peplum; the construction techniques make it a dream to sew; Love Sewaholic :-)

Yay for completing my first project for Indie Pattern Month .... next!

Cordova Jacket on the table

As I mentioned in my last post I am constructing my first Cordova Jacket for Indie Pattern month.

I went along to the Fabric-a-brac in April and acquired this lovely reversible fabric, 2.5 metres for just $25!  I immediately thought jacket when I saw it and the Cordova was ideal, where I could use both sides of the fabric in the jacket.

I wanted the jacket to be quite close fitting so have chosen to construct a size 6 which has a finished bust of 36, whereas I would usually make a size 8 based on body measurements.  I double checked that this would work and made a quick muslin - perfect!  Sorry no pictures of that, I was too quick to pull it all part and get started.

I'm pleased to say that I'm no longer a tissue paper murderer!  I now trace all my patterns onto calico, sew up the muslin and then pull it apart and use it as the actual pattern from which I cut my fashion fabric.  For this pattern I've stitched all the seam lines to provide stability of the pieces and cut along the 5/8 seam allowance edge.  I only do this after I've made the muslin so I can make any adjustments to the pattern first.

Here I've cut out all my pieces in the fashion fabric.  The peplum, front side and back side will be the reverse of the fabric.  You can slightly see the effect in the pic below.

I decided to make version B of the pattern as I don't want to draw too much attention to my hips.  I might change my mind after I've finished this one, but for now the jury is out on the double peplum.

Sewing Indie in June

This month I am joining The Curious Kiwi and Macskakat for Indie Pattern Month.

It just so happens that my next project was going to be the Cordova Jacket by Sewaholic - good timing girls :-)

I had purchased a piece of fabric at the Fabric-a-brac which I thought would be ideal for the Cordova - more on that later.

My stash of indie patterns current contains quite a few from Sewaholic - Tasia's style just appeals to me although I am a rectangular body shape rather than a pear.  A small reduction to the hips and I'm done which is proving easier than having to adjust the waist and hips out-ward when sewing one of the big 4.

Recently I have added others to my list (more parcels in the mail - fun)
Tiramisu Dress by Cake Patterns
Rooibos by Colette Patterns
April Pant by Stylearc
Go Anywhere Dress by Sewn Square One

I also purchased Newcastle Cardigan PDF download from Thread Theory, which I thought would be fun to sew for either my husband or son.

I'm not going to get all these patterns sewn up this month but I'm looking forward to each and every one of them.

A Good Wardrobe hosts an extensive list of Indie Patternmakers which is like my own little index to sewing fabulousness!  Thanks Lizz.

For now back to my the sewing machine to progress my Cordova.  I'm posting progress on Instagram (http://instagram.com/sandra_stitch) if you want to follow along.

Quick Fix with Merino

Yay for quick fix sewing projects!  After the Burda Sew-Along in May and with by Robson Jacket hung on my "I'm not impressed" hanger I was looking for some instant gratification! 

First off the rank was McCalls 5006 which is a pattern I've had in my collection for a few years and never ever sewn!   I've had my eye on this merino for a few weeks now, specifically to pair up with my Cambie.  But for today I've paired it with my shirt dress and jeans. 

I lengthen the body by one inch and opted for long sleeves for winter wear.  I really like this pattern and after wearing the top all day today it is really comfy and warm.  Next time I make this I would consider adding a band to the bottom and shortening the ties by about two inches.

Then I thought I would make the Meg McElwee Surplice Dress, shortened to a top.  Again I opted for long sleeves (original pattern had short sleeves).  Clear elastic is used around the neckline, for modesty and again around the empire line to hug the body. 

I had my first Renfew all lined up with another piece of merino, however it wasn't quite enough fabric for a true Renfrew, so with a slight modification to the pattern here is my third quick fix merino.  I used the front neckline and bust from the surplice, because it's not required to be cut on the fold and the result: a Renfrew with a twist  :-)

I really enjoyed making these garments and can't wait to return to the shop for more fabric to make a 'proper' Renfrew.

Sorry no photos wearing these last two, they just got completed today so they are about to be washed.  I'm looking forward to enjoying these basics in my wardrobe.

Lace & Peter Pan

Well there is never any Punch without Judy in my house.  So after the Lace Dress for daughter #1, here is the requested Lace Top for daughter #2.  We both totted off to Fabric Warehouse and she selected the underlining and the lace, to create her vision.

This is my second project for the Burda Style May Sew Along (quietly pleased that I managed to get two projects completed).  I used the same pattern as I did for the Lace Dress - the featured sheath dress in the 09/2012 magazine.

My daughters are different sizes, so for the this top I had to trace off the pattern again - so no shortcuts for the second project!

The number one request was for a Peter Pan collar, for which I followed Gertie's tutorial to draft a collar specifically for this pattern.  It didn't look anything like Gertie's draft, but it sits perfectly.

This was nice and easy with great results.

I inserted a lap zip in the back - not that you can really tell, because the lace hides this quite well.

I really loved sewing this pattern because there were features of the dress that I hadn't seen before.  First was the side darts which run from the breast to the high hip - hopefully you can see this in the picture below?  This dart provided bust and waist shape all in one - easy and effective.

The second was the shoulder seam, which has a dart in the top of the sleeve, but the dart isn't sewn prior to inserting the sleeve.

The side seams of the sleeve are sewn together then the sleeve is inserted and finally the shoulder seam and dart are sewn in a single line.  I've never inserted such an easy sleeve.

I really enjoyed sewing this pattern and I'm now thinking about making one for myself!

Daughter #2 is in love with her top and hasn't really taken it off since I finished it last Thursday :-)

Finally, THE Lace Dress

Wow, talk about take forever to finish this one.  But finally, after my stretch lace dilemma,  the dress is finished!  And looking damn fine, if I do say so myself. 

The dress was made for my daughter (that's her and our mochi "Jayjay" in the photo), in an effort to build her wardrobe of stylish black clothes (also see the Peephole top made for her).  Why black?  Because this year she is studying make-up artistry and the dress code is black.  But black doesn't have to = boring, right!  Lace is all in, so a lace dress it was at the top of the list.

Early in the year I has purchased (on impulse) the 09/2012 edition of Burda Style magazine and it so happens that the front cover is a lace dress - perfect starting point I thought.

I hadn't actually traced a Burda pattern from their magazine before.  Even though I had sewn other Burda patterns I thought it would be good to start with an 'easy' pattern while I get acclimatised to the magazine instructions, which by the way I read more than a few times to really understand what it was saying.

I was all set to whip this up in a day, easy pattern, lace would be underlined with a cotton and sewn as one, couple of darts and a zip.  So straight forward I didn't even bother to make a muslin.

Well ... then the customisation requests began. "Can the underlining stop above my boobs; can there only be lace across my chest; it must have sleeves (dress code) - but lace only sleeves; can it hug my body, I don't want it to just hang".

No problem -  I put two darts in the back to give it a fitting silhouette and ran the side seams in a little.  I traced the sweetheart neckline from the Cambie bodice and shaped the underlining, tacking the lace to the underlining around the top of the sweetheart neckline.  At this stage I thought I was doing great.  We were up to the next fitting so I could see everything was sitting in place before I tackled the top of the dress.  Yep, construction didn't go according to the instructions because usually you would sew the shoulder seams first, but I had to leave the shoulder seams until now.

It does fit better - but she insisted on holding the dog!

Here is where I hit my conundrum - for the the shoulder and sleeve seams I had lace on lace, and stretch lace at that.  What to do, what to do?  Oh I know, procrastinate!

It's quite hard to photograph this lace!

After some great suggestions from the blogisphere and some more thinking I finally finished the dress ... I inserted some stay tape into the shoulder seams, so they wouldn't stretch over time.  I then eased the sleeves in by hand basting so I could get another fitting and decide whether it needed any additional support.  What would you know, it looked and felt fine, so I proceeded to overlock the seam edges, providing support that moved and then a row of zigzag over top of my hand basted stitches. To provide some support for the lace top I also inserted some shoulder straps made with the underlining fabric - this will prevent the lace across the chest being stretched out of shape because of the weight from the dress.

I may have started this project back at the beginning of April but because I finished it in May, I wonder if that counts towards the Burda Style Sew Along May 2013?  I hope so :-)  Although there is another that I want to make.