Some sewing Q&A ....

The lovely Sherry from pattern scissors cloth (do take a look at her fabulous pink jacket in this post) has honoured me with the task of answering some questions. Now, I’m supposed to answer eight questions but, for now, as I’m fairly hopeless at this kind of thing, I am going to answer three.

Which pattern/vintage style have you been thinking about lately?
This gorgeous vintage pattern, McCalls 7521, has recently entered my pattern collection (see how I’m calling it a ‘collection’ rather than a stash?)


Dated 1964 it was designed by the renowned Pauline Trigere. Born in Paris, she moved to New York in 1937 where she established herself as one of the foremost designers of her time. One of the things she was known for was her “evening dresses that were dramatic without being fussy” (quoted from New York Fashion: The Evolution of American Style by Caroline Rennolds Milbank). I think this pattern offers a perfect example of that style. I have a fancy that I might look a little like Audrey Hepburn in this gown. However, as I am considerably curvier, the reality probably won’t match up with that little fantasy. I like the idea of making it in black – maybe a wool crepe or a soft satin or even a double knit would be nice – what do you think?

What is one sewing skill you want to learn/try out?
Making welt pockets or bound buttonholes. I keep meaning to do it, I have read about it extensively (both in books and looking at some excellent blog tutorials) but somehow I haven’t taken the plunge. I have been sewing regularly for about a year and a half now and during this time have learnt an enormous amount but I must remember to push myself to keeping on learning and expanding my skills.

What garment/accessory do you wear the most?
I would like to be able to answer that it is this maxi dress that I made last year from Simplicity 3503 (written about in this post).


I am pictured here wearing it on vacation in Miami earlier this year. I’d love to wear this dress a lot because it gives me that whole ‘tropical carefree summery vibe’ that makes me feel young and glamorous! Actually the reality is that I live in London so the weather is not often good enough to wear this. What I do wear the most is something far more practical for daily city life – jeans. And I have to confess that all my jeans are shop bought. (My favourite brand, in case you’re interested, is good old Levi’s and I always buy their straight cut). The reason that I’ve never been tempted to make a pair of jeans is because they look quite difficult to make and, by some miracle, I don’t have too much trouble buying a pair of jeans that fit me. From the waist up nothing (I mean NOTHING) fits me properly but from the waist down I seem to be, more or less, a RTW approved shape!

However, I am always interested and impressed by the fabulous jeans that other people have made. This jeans pattern, Jalie 2908, seems to be very popular


It has 58 reviews on Pattern Review (and 848 people have it in their stash!!). If I were to venture into jeans making, I think this is the one that I would choose. So, what I’d love to know from you is have you made your own jeans? Is it easy to do and does your sewing machine cope with the layers of denim ok? Do you think the result is better than RTW and why? Or, are you like me and fear that jeans making is too much hard work?

planning for spring sewing

Firstly I would like to thank everybody who left me comments of sympathy over my dose of flu - I really did appreciate your kind words. I am happy to report that I am feeling much better. In fact the last few days have been rather pleasant because I no longer feel terrible but my status as recovering invalid has allowed me to wallow on the sofa, eating hot buttered toast and Digestive biscuits brought to me by my lovely husband. Whilst doing this I have had beside me a large box of patterns and a huge pile of Burda magazines and have been planning all the wonderful garments I am going to make!

I’m think I’m having a bit of a Burda thing at the moment because I have just bought these new patterns from their catalogue. This one, Burda 7557 is a fitted dress -

Then Burda 7628, which is a looser fitting dress with a jacket -

Lastly, Burda, 7509, for a really easy top which I think will be nice in cotton, linen or silk -

Also some fabrics that I had ordered from Gorgeous Fabrics before I got the flu made a timely arrival to cheer me up. Yes, I know that I have lots of fabric in my stash but I really had to have some lovely new, colourful spring fabrics, didn’t I?


From left to right. Multi-coloured cotton with some stretch. White cotton sateen, also with stretch, which I think will make a nice lightweight jacket and/or a skirt. Linen with a waffle texture called “arrest me red” (how can you resist a fabric with that name!). Turquoise linen with a huge green and pink flower print - I know that as a short person I shouldn’t really choose large prints but, there it is, I have and I like it!

So, here is my plan. I’m going to finish my white wool jacket (I have made some progress on that). Then I’m going to make one more dress from my winter fabric stock. After that I’m going to start sewing up at least some of my new fabric purchases using my new Burda patterns and one or two designs picked out from old Burda magazines. I want to make some quick, casual clothes ready to take on vacation. I’m feeling quite excited by it all – it looks like I’m going to have to get up off the sofa and get busy.

Have you made a spring sewing plan or are you still working through your winter stash?

I love to sew but ........

Here’s some good advice for everyone – if your temperature goes above 100 degrees, step away from the sewing machine! I hope your week has been better than mine because I’ve spent it in a semi-delirious, coughing, sneezing wretched state caused by the flu. Not the “oh I’ve got a touch of flu” kind of flu but the real, authentic, “I’ve never felt so ill in my life!” wailing kind of flu. However, although I am still feeling extremely vulnerable and very pathetic, my temperature has now returned to normal and I can at least see the vague possibility of life returning to what it once was.

But enough of my self-pity, let’s talk sewing! I have, of course, achieved nothing in the last week but in the couple of days before my viral meltdown forced me off to bed I had begun work on the jacket that I have mentioned I was planning. After much indecision I chose this pattern


which is style no. 120 from Burda Magazine, August 2009. I’m using some wool coating fabric in ‘winter white’ and I’m lining it with the fabric that I showed you in my earlier post. I’ve traced the pattern, made a muslin, cut the fabric and hand basted an underlining to the main pieces.

This was my first time using a Burda Magazine half size pattern and, when it came to fitting, I was quite excited because, although I still had to do an fba, I didn’t have to do my usual petite adjustments (for short waist, short arms etc). Hey, at only 5’ 2” tall, – I’m a half size! Now I know this, I’m going to be taking a closer look at Burda half size patterns in future.

It’s very frustrating seeing my jacket in pieces and being too feeble to get to my sewing machine but I’m hoping there will be some progress with it very soon. In the meantime, I think it’s going to have to be back to the sofa with a big box of tissues, a hot drink and yet another undemanding, made for TV, movie!

IS THIS THE PLAINEST SKIRT YOU'VE EVER SEEN?

I know you're going to look at this picture of my new skirt and think "wow! ..... that's dull" but stick with me because there's some interesting stuff going on inside.

This skirt is made from Simplicity 2564

so I could have chosen to add pockets, trims, belt loops etc. but I decided I really needed a very plain skirt - I wanted it to look good with my new top (Simplicity 2501), featured in my last post, but I also wanted to be able to wear it with lots of other things. Sometimes you just have to bite the boring bullet and make a wardrobe workhorse.

It's made from a grey medium-weight denim, so it should be sturdy and can be dressed up or down to be casual or smart. Size 12 fitted straight out of the envelope but to be really perfectionist I made a small swayback adjustment. I made the following changes from the pattern instructions - I used an invisible zipper and I mitred the corner of the left back vent, which looks much neater that just folding it over. Also, I lined the skirt, putting a lace trim on the lining hem.

Above is a picture of the inside of the vent and you may be thinking "what's gone wrong there, why is there is a fold above where the vent is secured to the skirt?" But the reason for this is 'lengthwise ease'. When cutting the lining out I referred to my oracle - Connie Long's Easy Guide to Sewing Linings - and what Connie says is "Whenever you connect the lining to the outside vent, lengthwise ease is important to keep the lining from distorting the outer seam". So, as per her instructions, this is how I drafted the lining pattern -

The green line is the cutting line for the outer fabric and the red line is the cutting line for the lining. As you can see, the lining is cut a half inch lower from the pivot point to the hem line at the centre back, blending upwards to the original hemline at the side seam (note that for this pattern I have allowed 1 1/4" for the skirt hem and 5/8" for the lining hem and the lining is 3/4" shorter than the skirt). When sewing the lining to the skirt you match up the pivot points so that the lining hem is raised up and becomes level and a fold forms above the vent. So it looks a bit wonky inside but I think that it does actually work to make the outside look better and doesn't strain or pull the seam when moving, sitting etc.

Incidentally I initially found it a real headache to work out how the lining vent was attached and which side needed to be cut off and where until I looked at Jackets for Real People by Alto, Neall and Palmer. Even though their explanation was for a jacket vent it's the same for a skirt vent and I found their illustrations really easy to understand.

Next time I make this skirt I think I'll go crazy and add some pockets!

NEW PATTERNS

So, taking a break from making dresses for a moment or two, I'm turning my attention to getting some basic separates together. Here in the UK Simplicity patterns have all been in a half price sale recently so I grabbed these two new ones -

I loved this one as soon as I saw it. I particularly like the view with the waistband and peplum and I like that little tie neckband but I also like the plain bodice version and the neck ruffle so there's lots of mixing and matching possibilities with the one pattern. For anyone looking for "the new shoulder" that the fashion magazines are all raving about, there are two different versions of short, big puffy sleeves but I rather fancy a sleeveless or long sleeve version.

I've already made my muslin, which is shaping up really nicely and, guess what, this pattern is one of those that gives separate pieces for different cup sizes so NO FBA NEEDED! I'm in fitting heaven.

Pattern number two is this one -
I was looking for a basic skirt pattern and this seems to fit the bill nicely - a straight skirt with simple lines but with options for pockets, belt loops and yoke decoration. And, I've got to tell you, the words"Step by step to sewing success!" on the envelope were a big attraction: "sewing success" - don't you just love those words? Although I bought this one for the skirt pattern, when I got it home I took a closer look at the blouse and have decided that I want to make that too (I have a weakness for ruffles). I've never made a kimono sleeve blouse so I'm not quite sure how I will tackle the fba on that but I have no doubt that my fitting bible, Fit for Real People (Pati Palmer and Marto Alto), will have the solution for that.

I'm reckoning on getting quite a few outfits out of these two patterns - so, enough of the chat, now all I have to do is get on and make them ...................

MAXIMUM STYLE FROM SIMPLICITY 3503

My maxi is finished and I'm lovin' it!

This is the only full-length dress that I own and I'm really enjoying wearing something a bit different. The main fabric I used is a poly-lycra print called "Let's Play" and I used a plain black poly matte jersey for the neckband. Both of these were purchased from Gorgeous Fabrics. The bodice was lined with some black tricot. Here's the inside

I really liked this pattern, it went together well and I pretty much followed the instructions as written with only a couple of modifications. I ironed some Vilene bias tape (the stuff that Burda Magazine are always telling you to use) on to the front armholes to be certain that the fabric didn't stretch out and gape above the bust. Instead of machine stitching the neck band facing down I hand stitched it because I wanted a clean finish round the outside of the neckline. Lastly, I didn't add the pockets - I told myself that because the fabric is very stretchy and drapey I didn't want to risk them pulling the dress out of shape at the sides but if I'm really honest I think it was because I was so eager to get my maxi done I just didn't want to spend the extra time on them.

This is a pretty straight-forward dress to put together. I think that the only bit you need to be careful about is making sure that the neckband and bodice centre front seams are all lined up just right. Using a different fabric for the neck band meant I had to take particular care about this -

I sewed the bodice and lining with my regular machine, using a stretch stitch, but used my serger to sew the skirt and attach it to the midriff.

I kept seeing all these great maxi dresses made by other Pattern Reviewers and was always thinking I WANT ONE OF THOSE. I wish now I'd made it a bit earlier in the season but better late than never and I'm hoping the maxi thing will still be going on next summer. I'll be wearing mine if you'll wear yours ........

NEAT LITTLE KNIT DRESS

Well I've finished making Vogue 8571 and I'm happy with the result -

Here's the back view, which has a kind of blouson effect - nice design feature or hunchback effect - I'm not entirely sure?

In my earlier post I expressed some misgivings about the neck facing being folded over and hand sewn down (rather than serged on or machine-stitched) but I did do it as instructed and it turns out that I rather like the neat finishing that it gives to the neckline both inside and out - like this

But I didn't follow the pattern instructions for the armholes - they tell you to just fold in the seam allowance and sew it down. I tried this out on my muslin and didn't like it - it came out too wonky looking for my taste. So I cut separate strips of fabric as armbands - sewing them right sides together with the armholes of the dress then turning them inside, folding the edges in and sewing them down. I think the result is much neater -

Apart from that I pretty much followed the pattern instructions.

Now that I'm done I like the dress a lot better than I thought I would but I think that my initial concerns about whether this dress would look any good were based on my muslin. I cut the muslin as a size 8 through the neck and shoulders (I have a narrow back and shoulders) then graded out to a size 12. Size 12 is actually one size smaller than Vogue, according to their measurements, would have had me make, but it was still pretty BIG. I didn't want to mess around too much with this - after all it was supposed to be "Very Easy, Very Vogue" so I just pinned it in all down the sides until it felt like it fitted then cut down the sides of my traced off pattern tissue to match. Lastly I added about an inch in length to the bodice front (curving under the bust in a kind of unscientific freehand way) so that the seam that attached it to the skirt came just below my bust rather than half way up- a kind of half fba - adding length but not width. Interestingly when I compared my new pattern tissue to the original one it turned out that I should have just cut a size 8 all the way down which is pretty crazy because according to Vogue measurements that would make my bust 31.5 inches!!!!! You can take it from me that my bust doesn't measure 31.5 inches. Why oh why do they have to add so much ease to a knit dress?

Now that I've had that little grumble my general view on this pattern is that it does make a nice looking dress that works well for both daytime and evening, depending on the fabric you choose. Now that I've got the fitting sorted out it wouldn't take too long to make another - the instructions only take a page and a quarter with just 16 steps. I can also report that my DH really loves this dress - it seems to have some man-appeal - so I guess that makes it a bit of a winner and well worth making!

EASY, QUICK GLAMOUR FROM NEW LOOK 6892

I first made up this New Look pattern a few weeks ago (see my previous post for a picture of version one) and liked wearing it so much that I decided to make another.

It's very quick and straight-forward to make (though I have to say I didn't quite manage their two hour estimation for either the first or second version). This would be a really great pattern for a beginner.

It's a pretty easy pattern to fit. I have very narrow shoulders so I cut a size 10 for the neck, shoulders and sleeves grading up to a size 12 from the armholes downwards (Technically, going by the Sizing measurments this is one size smaller than I should have but I am learning to always go down a size with the big 4). I also did a small FBA (by making a dart then rotating it into the neck gathers) so as to keep it loose-fitting across the bust and to ensure the front length was right. Even though I cut a smaller neck I still cut 4 inches off the length of the neckline elastic because I didn't want my bra straps to show - one of the good things about this pattern is that this is a very easy fix and you can adjust the neckline to exactly how you want it.

I like the style of this pattern because it has some shaping through the waist so you can avoid the 'heavily pregnant look' (a great look if you are expecting but not so good if you aren't) but it's still loose enough to be comforable. For both versions I chose View B because I love the flouncy sleeves - I have a real thing about flounces and ruffles at the moment!

Here's the second version -

It's made in a beautiful silk charmeuse from Gorgeous Fabrics - this big, bold print was crying out from my stash to be made up in this pattern - I was going for an exotic, summer in the tropics look!

So, if you're looking for a quick top with a bit of glamour, this is a great pattern.