Simplicity 7032 progress.

I first decided to make this pattern in February 2011, can you believe that?! A year and a half ago? Talk about procrastination! The good news is that I am cruising along now and am getting close to finishing it.

I want to share with you some photos of where I am currently up to. Please be kind, this is the first jacket I have ever made. I know some of the seams are a bit dodgy, and the scallops are not perfect. But I am learning quite a lot from making this two piece suit, so for that I am grateful. I think a pink two-piece suit is a necessity for any vintage wardrobe.   :-)

Here are some photos of where I am up to with the jacket...

 ~ The back of the jacket has not yet been pressed ~

 ~ The Liberty Betsy fabric I intend to line the jacket with ~

 ~ Elbow dart ~

The skirt has been cut out and is ready to be sewn up. I am going to make it with an invisible zip because I like the look of these, even though the pattern asks for a side zip.

So, my question to you all is what is your preferred garment underlining method? I would love to get some tips/recommendations before I decide on how to underline the jacket and skirt. Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Sam xox

Simplicity 7032 progress.

Do you sometimes have sewing projects that you over think and put of making? It might be that you have some expensive fabric that you're too scared to cut into. A project that feels insurmountable. Or a pattern that calls for a technique you have not yet tried. 

I have been procrastinating this jacket and skirt pattern for well over six months now and it needed to stop. Months ago I had overcome the hurdle that was the interfaced scallop collar and edges, with pleasing results. Now it was time to sew on the fitted sleeves and begin on the lining.

I am almost finished the sleeves and lining. Stay tuned for photos of this jacket finished in the coming week!

By the way... does anyone have any tips on lining a garment???

Sam xox

Simplicity 5034 wrap dress in progress.

~ I am sewing view 4 ~

Do you ever embark on sewing projects that end up causing you more trouble than you anticipated??? 

I purchased this fabric with the intention of 'whipping up' this wrap dress. Boy was I wrong. This dress has now taken more that two weeks of intermittent sewing to get to this point...

Problems I have had thus far:
* I could not get the pleats and darts on the skirt right. I swear I followed the pattern correctly but the skirt ended up being much wider than the bodice. Also, when worn, all the pleats added a lot of weight to the hips, so I removed most of them.
* I lowered the neckline, because it was seriously choking me.
* It turns out my shoulder to waist measurement is quite short, or I have a high waist, and this is a problem when sewing a dress that wraps at the back. When first made up the back gaped terribly! I threw the dress in a ball in the corner of my sewing room for a week, then my mother-in-law suggested I raise the waist - duh of course! I raised the waist a couple of inches and good bye gaping back!

Simultaneous to this project I am making some summer pyjama shorts (or pajama if your in the US)... a quick project that is guaranteed to work.

All I have left to do on my dress is sew on the bias binding, attach the ties, and then hem. Hopefully I will get this done by the end of the weekend.

Sam xox

The teacher becomes the student.

Last weekend we had my sister-in-law Sarah and her partner to visit. Sarah and I spent Sunday afternoon sitting in the sun, drinking bubbles, and reading magazines as my chickens 'free-ranged' around our feet. About twenty minutes in Sarah asked me the magic question - "Could you teach me to sew?". A conversation rapidly followed that uncovered her plan to replicate a beautiful quilt she had found in an antique shop (the photos of said quilt were stunning!).

My brain clicked over as I thought of what sewing project she could embark on right there and then. I showed her the bikini I had made myself at the beginning of this year, and she was keen! We set ourselves up in the sewing room, and an evening and a morning later Sarah had her very own bikini. She did a seriously amazing job. There would not be many people who can sit at a sewing machine for the first time and manage to sew an elasticised garment using four way stretch fabric. She was thrilled to bits and I hope she has now been bitten by the sewing bug.

 ~ And sew it begins ~

 ~ Sewing elastic onto four way stretch fabric perfectly - and this was her first time sewing?!? ~

Monday evening I quickly changed from teacher to student as I began my 12 week sewing course at a local community centre. The course promised help with any sewing project I brought along. I decided on taking my scalloped jacket/skirt project as this little beauty has been taunting me for some time. I just have not had the confidence to tackle it yet. 

~ Light pink fabric is for the skirt lining, Liberty fabric is for the jacket lining, dark pink is the main fabric ~

~ The cutting tables were so roomy ~

During the class I was able to sew up a muslin of the skirt and have it checked by the teacher. The fit was perfect so I cut out my fabric. I was taught how to sew tailors tacks to mark the dart placement instead of using chalk. I have the skirt now all cut out and my homework this week is to sew it up to the point where the zipper is inserted, as I will do this in class next week.

Sam xox

Scalloped jacket and skirt progress.

I realised the other day that I haven't given much of an update on the progress of this pattern being sewn together...

I was planning on having this outfit sewn up ready to wear during my trip to Melbourne this weekend. Unfortunately, I procrastinated too long on the lining and it will just not be ready in time.

A month ago I made a muslin of both the jacket and skirt. The skirt fit perfectly, even though the pattern size was smaller than my measurements (does this ever happen to you when using vintage patterns?). The jacket muslin worked well, but I still need to perfect the scalloped edges (does anyone know of any good websites that give tutorials on sewing scallops neatly? Mine are just not sitting right).

This is the gabardine fabric I purchased to make View 1:

It is so luxuriously soft that I am sure it will break my heart a little to cut into it!

I have been waiting patiently for the perfect lining fabric to find me. As you know I love Liberty of London's Tana Lawn, and really preferred this for the lining. But after almost two months spent searching ebay I couldn't find the perfect fabric. That is, until I found this pink Betsy...

I was instantly in love, and just had to bide my time for the right amount to be listed on ebay for a reasonable price. I watched 4 auctions end before I finally won this fabric. My heart was set on it but I just wasn't prepared to pay too much for it, because it was lining after all.

Pink Betsy arrived in the post yesterday and it is perfect. I am hoping that there will be enough left over after lining the jacket to make a simple top to make the suit complete.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Sam xox

My vintage Simplicity 1430 blouse.

I have been feeling in a bit of a sewing slump recently. As fellow blogger Amy put it, I think I lost my sew-jo. I was beginning to get a bit worried, as I really wasn't feeling in the mood to sew much at all. On Sunday morning I sat cross legged in the middle of my sewing room and laid out all my patterns on the floor. I stared blankly at them, trying to select one that I could make in a day and that wouldn't be too much in cost for the fabric.

I really feel like sometimes I am my own barrier, like I build up some of my patterns in my mind to be harder than what they actually are. I know I do it, and am thinking of taking up Tilly's challenge and journaling my sewing productivity.

I think that might give me a little insight into my sewing routine. You see, Sunday morning I was sitting deflated on my sewing room floor, and by that evening I had one blouse completed and three other projects lined up ready to sew. I think I definitely need a happy medium between apathetic and obsessive :-)

As promised, here are the photos of the blouse I made. I used the Simplicity 1430 pattern I purchased from Etsy a number of months ago. Why did I wait so long to sew it? Well, I purchased this pattern early on in my 'discovering vintage' stage and did not understand what "unprinted pattern" actually meant. You can guess my surprise when I opened the envelope to find a bunch of shaped tissue papers with nothing on them but holes of various sizes. It was like sewing Morse code! I was scared half to death and placed the envelope at the beck of the shelf.

After a few months, and much vintage sewing blog reading, I finally understood how to use an unprinted pattern. On Sunday morning I went to Spotlight and bought this black fabric plus a cute floral print for Tasia's Crescent Skirt pattern (more about this later this week).

Sunday afternoon was spent sewing and watching the Formula One Grand Prix. This pattern was an absolute breeze to sew! Seriously, the pattern has very clear instructions and the finished garment has a very polished look to it. The pattern suggested fastening the sleeves with snaps, but instead I made use of self cover buttons for the fastenings.

I also made a few other small changes.

- I removed one of the waist darts so that it better fit my pear-shaped body.

- I didn't include bias tape around the neck as the fabric was so sheer.

- I used buttons on the wrist of the sleeve instead of snaps.

This blouse took me around 4-5 hours from cutting to finish. Like I said, it was a very straight forward pattern, and my size only used 1.2 meters of fabric, which made it a very cost effective sewing project.

~ I am so happy with how this turned out ~

~ Side view - you can see how the waist darts give a more 'fitted' look ~

~ Button up at the wrist ~

~ Bow ~

I have this Liberty of London fabric on my shelf, and I think I will use it to make View 1 from next...

Thanks also everyone who left me comments on my last post. It was really nice to hear your good wishes, and thanks heaps to everyone who pointed me in the direction of gluten free help! You're all gems :-) I will let you know how I go.

Sam xox

Simplicity dress 4310 complete.

I purchased this pattern on Etsy about two months ago. It says it is for ladies 5'1" and under. Being 5'5" I was a tad concerned but I loved the dress/jacket combo so much I took a risk and bought it. The patterned turned out to be fine for my height.

As I worked a 6 day week this week, the only time I had to buy the dress fabric was Thursday evening. I made a quick dash to Lincraft (a standard large scale 'craft' store) and navigated my way through piles of hideous (and highly flammable) fabrics to find something that somewhat resembled a vintage print. I was lucky and found two fabrics.

The first was a fabric with a pink rose pattern printed on black, and I used it to make this dress. I decided not to make the jacket to match as I was worried that it might just be a bit too much on the... um... floral side :-)

This dress took me a day and a morning to make. I could probably do it in a day next time, but as it was my first time I had to make a few modifications to the pattern. As most women out there, I am not a standard body shape. My hips are two sizes larger than my bust, and my waist one size smaller than my hips. This pattern was my bust size, so I had to add 2" extra to the skirt pattern, and added an extra pleat too.

The dress fits like a glove thanks to having an adjustable dress form.

Ok, I have to be honest here. That is the first time I have ever inserted a back zipper the 'old fashioned way' with the bit that folds over. I was very impressed with how neat I had sewn it... the only hiccup coming when I realised it was sewn in about 2" to the right of the centre back. Woops.

I borrowed Casey's method of covering up serged hems with pretty lace. Love.

I am super happy with how this dress turned out. I would highly recommend this pattern!

Sam xox

Autumn palette challenge progress.

It has been incredibly hot this week in Sydney. We have had eight consecutive days of temperatures over 35oC (thats 95F) - something that has not occurred in 150 years. And to top it off, last night was the hottest night on record for 40 years (it was still 33oC/91F at midnight). With only one tiny fan that blows the hot air around our small apartment, it goes without saying that not much sleep has been had this week.

So all I have been able to do is lie in front of the fan, drink lots of water, and plan my Autumn Palette Challenge...

I have mostly been thinking about what fabric I want to use to make this Simplicity Jacket and Skirt. Tilly made a nice version of this pattern in purple with a contrasting blue lining, but purple is not in my palette so I think I will make it in a navy blue pique fabric with a Liberty lining.

Here is what I think I will use:

A solid navy blue pique fabric available on eBay at the moment.

Tana Lawn navy blue Wiltshire for the lining - isn't this a great print?!.

I think this will look really cute with the Wiltshire lining, I just hope that the scalloped edge of the jacket isn't lost on the darkness of the fabric.

Sam xox

Simplicity skirt 2656.

Here is my first Sewing Triathlon project - Simplicity Skirt (2656).

My review:

Pluses:

- I learnt A LOT making this pattern. The skirt front is in three parts: waistband, pleated panel and yoke front. This was something I hadn't come across before so it was fun trying to work out how it all went together.

- The skirt also had pockets that button up. This was a challenge as I had never sewn pockets or button holes before. Initially I wasn't going to put the button holes in, and just sew on the buttons on top of the pocket fabric, but once the skirt was finished the pockets gaped really badly.

- The back of the skirt has darts and an invisible zipper. These I had done before so had no trouble there.

- I stay stiched the waistband lining and it looks really good.

- I love love love the fabric I used, and how it looks with the wooden buttons. The skirt is made from cotton fabric with grey and white pinstripes. It was sold in the quilting section of the material shop so it is the perfect weight for an autumn skirt.

Minuses:

- To be honest this skirt was a bit tricky to make, as it has a yoke front that a pleated panel is sewn onto. As a result the corners of the pleated panel are not quite square, so you can see tiny little bits of thread. Mill assured me with some more pressing it shouldn't be noticeable.

- As the waistband is only at the front of the skirt, I found it difficult to secure the waistband lining. I decided to overlock the edge of the inside waistband and sew a ribbon over it, this actually turned out to be a really nice touch!

All in all, would recommend this pattern!

* * * * * * *

I am now home again... but alone! Jamie is away on a cycling tour this week, and judging by his Facebook updates, is having a fantastic time. Today he did a 180km/112mile ride!

Doesn't he look cute in his bike kit?

Sam xox