My Liberty print fabric is now a shirt!

My rather expensive Liberty print fabric, that I bought last month, has now been turned into a shirt -

Perhaps, at this point, I should reveal a little bit of my personal shirt history. I haven’t owned a long sleeve shirt since, probably, the late 1980’s – in those days shirts were much looser and, indeed, I was much smaller and, whilst the fit was never perfect, I could buy one RTW that was at least passable. Throughout the 90’s fashion got more fitted and my figure got curvier and I discovered that narrow shoulders and a full bust meant that if a shirt fitted my shoulders I couldn’t do it up and if I could do it up my arm movement was restricted by overhanging shoulders. I shudder to recall the many depressing changing room scenes where desperate sales assistants have attempted to button me into some hideously unflattering garment. Since taking up sewing last year I have been determined to make myself a well fitting classic shirt – the sort of thing that all the style gurus say is a must for any wardrobe.

I chose this pattern

which is pattern number 105 from the September 2009 issue of Burda Magazine. As I mentioned in my previous post, I liked that it was “slightly-fitted” and had a double-layered shoulder yoke, a narrow collar and curved hem. It took me two muslins to get something that I was happy with. I started by tracing the size 38 and making a 1” FBA but eventually decided that this was too fitted from the armholes down (I wanted a ‘relaxed’ fit) and was too big around the shoulders. So I started again with a size 36 for the neck and shoulders, grading out to a size 40 for the body and made a small FBA. I also made a petite adjustment across the front, back and sleeves just above the armhole notches, shortened the sleeves and cut the cuffs at a size 36. See what I mean? That’s a lot of fitting adjustments isn’t it? Next time I might be able to fine tune the fit a bit more but, on the whole, I’m pretty ecstatic that I’ve got a shirt that doesn’t gape at the bust and allows me to actually move my arms.

When it came to making it up I have to confess that the stitch ripper was constantly at my side with this one. I can’t blame Burda because their instructions were fine as far as Burda magazine goes. No, it was me not paying attention to what I was doing – Burda give you a nice way of sewing the outer and inner yokes on to the back and front pieces so that everything is neatly enclosed but I managed to sew the outer yoke on inside out! Or, it was me changing my mind – at first I chose to do the topstitching using a dark, navy blue topstitching thread but after doing the first line of topstitching on the back yoke I decided that it would be too overpowering so I ripped that out and switched to a regular thread in a mid-blue that disappears and lets the pattern do the talking.

Here’s a close-up picture of the neat little collar and, if you look closely you can, hopefully, just make out the lines of the yoke and the topstitching.

The funny thing is that, once I was done, although I really liked it as a garment on the hanger, when I put it on me I wasn’t so sure that this style suited me – I felt that it just wasn’t me! However, Mr Fabulous told me I was wrong, so I wore it out shopping for the day and, you know what, by the end of the day I decided that I really did like it on me after all. So, here’s another, full length, picture of me in my new smart-casual wardrobe basic.

Looks like I’ve found my TNT shirt pattern – thanks Burda!

The sheath dress with a little bling!

With not too much trouble at all my McCalls 5927 ‘fashion sheath’, that I promised in my last post, is complete and, with as much modesty as I can muster, I have to say that I like it and think my sewing and fitting skills are improving of late.

and here's the back view

Yes, I can hardly believe it, I made it myself!

The fabric is a silk twill designed by Rebecca Taylor – purchased from Mood Designer Fabrics, during my trip to NYC in July, for $14 per yard. I made the sleeveless version of the pattern, View B, but I added the neckline tabs from View C, onto which I have sewn some jewels bought in M & J Trimmings. Here’s a close-up so you can, hopefully, see the ‘bling’ a little better -

I followed the pattern instructions fairly slavishly but added a couple of ‘little improvements’. After cutting out I stabilized the armholes, neckline and centre back edges with a lightweight fusible interfacing to stop them stretching and help the zipper go in smoothly. Like this -

The bodice lining is an ‘edge to edge’ one (no facings) so I used the technique I learnt from Connie Long’s book where you trim the armhole edges of the lining to stop it rolling out – as explained in a previous post.

I really like the cut-in pockets of this style and the neat vent at the back. The vent is the kind where you machine stitch the seam allowances of the dress and the lining together – I had never done this before and was pleasantly surprised by how quick and easy it was.

This is the first sheath dress I have made – I’d been feeling rather cautious about making such a close-fitting dress style but this one has some little pleats at the top of the skirt at the front which means that the dress skims rather nicely over an area where I (and maybe you too?) like to have some leeway. Mr Fabulous and I are going out to celebrate his birthday tomorrow night so this dress is going to get its first outing at a very fancy restaurant where I want to look good - I hope it's up to the job!

HOOKS AND EYES - HELP NEEDED!

I like to think of myself as the kind of person who, with a little effort, can get my head around most things but these little devils drive me crazy. I HATE HOOKS AND EYES.

In the past I have given them plenty of chances but every time I’ve tried to sew them on they will not behave. Just getting them to stay still is difficult – either the hook or the eye tends to leap out of my hand when I’m positioning it on the garment, never to be found again, leaving me with an orphan half. When I do manage to stitch them down they don’t really lie flat properly and I find it quite difficult to judge exactly where they need to be placed so that the two sides of the garment come together exactly right when done up. This isn’t helped, of course, by the fact that a hook and eye usually has to be sewn onto the neck or waistband area where a whole load of fabric and interfacing and a zip tape all meet up and, even with a lot of clipping, you are bound to land up with a lot of stiff fabric layers for the little hook and eye to have to balance on and stretch itself across.

The last time I used a hook and eye was on this sundress – here’s a close-up of the centre back.

This style meant that the top of the zip was going to be right in the middle of the back rather than up at the neck so I resigned myself to the fact that I would have to use a hook and eye so that the dress was completely ‘done up’ in such a showy place. It looks OK but it took me three attempts to get this sewn on to my satisfaction and you can still, if you look very closely, see it glinting through a small gap!

My solution since then has been to not bother with a hook and eye. Yes, really, I just put in a zip, placed as closely as I can to the top of the garment and leave it at that. If the zip is put in correctly it doesn’t come undone and I can live with a little bit of a ‘V’ effect at the top of the neck or waistband. But that isn’t really good enough is it? If I want to make a ‘couture’ garment I’m going to have to learn to do better.

Do you use hooks and eyes or do you hate them too? Do you have a much healthier relationship with these pesky little things, can you tame them? If so, have you got any tips for me on how to get them sewn down nicely? I’d love to know ……

PURPLE AND PUFFY - IS IT A GOOD LOOK?

Fall (Autumn for us British) is well and truly here. It’s getting cooler and the days are shorter but what I like about it is the opportunity to create clothes in delicious darker shades. With that in mind I dug deep into my stash and pulled out a lovely piece of shiny silk in a jewel toned purple-blue that I purchased at New York Elegant Fabrics, whilst on a trip to NYC last winter. All wrong for summer but just right for a festive season top –

It’s made from my ‘new best friend’ blouse pattern - Simplicity 2501 that I wrote about in an earlier post.

This time I made view B and I think it looks very different from my first version. It still has the tie at the neck but it has a plain bodice front (no peplum and waistband) and has some lovely puffy sleeves. To be honest, as I am quite small, I did wonder if these sleeves were going to be a girly indulgence that I would regret but, you know what, I LOVE them and think I can get away with them. However, please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong on this count - is it OK for small girls to wear puffy things in shiny purple?

This version was slightly trickier than my earlier one, mainly because of the slippery nature of the fabric. The sleeves are a little fiddly because of all the pleats - my tip here is to be very accurate with the marking so that all the pleats are exactly the right size. To do this I used a combination of old fashioned tailor’s tacks and my new Clover Chaco Pen which I highly recommend – it’s so easy to use and works really well.

I also have to say how much I like this pattern, I’ve made two tops from it but I still think there’s a lot of mileage left in it because there’s more sleeve and collar options to try out and, of course, different fabric choices can give it a very different look.

But next up is going to be another dress. I love dresses and now that I’ve organized my fall/winter fabric stash there are several pieces of fabric crying out “Make me, make me – I’m going to be a lovely dress!” Let’s hope they’re right ……….

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!

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!

WORK IN PROGRESS

A word on what I'm working on at the moment - because it's driving me crazy. I don't know if it's the heat (it's hot and humid in London at the moment!), me needing a bit more experience with knit patterns or if it's the pattern.

This is the culprit ......

It's Vogue 8571, "Very Easy, Very Vogue" - looks like a nice, simple dress doesn't it? Hmmm. I have made up a muslin (in some very cheap white cotton knit) and it turned out to be huge - but more about that when I get to do a proper review of this (assuming I do get to finish it). Anyway, after cutting the pattern pieces down a size or two I am plunging ahead with the real thing although I have a few doubts. I'm not certain about the way that the neckline is put together (the facing is handstitched down and I'm wondering if this is going to look a bit 'home-sewn') and I'm going to think again about the way they have you finish the armholes (which is just turning in the seam allowances and stitching in a narrow hem) because I did a trial run on one of the armholes of the muslin and didn't like it.

But I still have high hopes that, after all, it will turn out great (positive thinking or delusions?) and I've set my heart on having another knit dress - so the fabric is now cut and, for better or worse, I'm embarked ....... I'll keep you posted!

A SUNDRESS FOR A SUNNY DAY

Believe it or not, we've been having some warm weather in the UK - which brought to the surface my longing for a sundress. This has previously been a bit of an impossible dream because ready-to-wear sundresses just don't seem to fit me: they gape in all the wrong places and cling in even wronger places! Shopping for such a garment always left me feeling frustrated and freaky. But, with my new sewing skills all that has changed. Look! I have a sundress .........

and it seems to fit in all the right places ....

I made this dress from Butterick 5351

Although it took a bit of messing around with muslin to get the fit just right it wasn't too difficult and, in the end, I think it was worth the effort. I started with a size 12 band (the bit that goes round the body at the top of the bodice) then graded out to a size larger for the bodice and skirt but tweaked it in a bit for the waist as well as raising the waist about an inch. The trickiest part of the fitting was getting the strap placement just right - I have narrow shoulders and attaching them as the pattern was drafted meant they just would not stay on my shoulders. After a bit of trial and error I attached them about an inch further in towards the centre and shortened them by couple of inches. Now they stay put.

I think one of the key things about getting this dress right is getting the bodice band to fit closely around the body. The pattern tells you to cut this piece on the bias but I noticed with my muslin that the band was stretching out -by the time I had finished with the muslin it was far too large and all pulled out of shape. So, (and this was possibly breaking the rules about these things?) when it came to cutting the real fabric I cut the band with the grain instead of on the bias. This meant the band stayed the right size but it still wasn't quite perfect - there was a little bit of gaping at the top of the band above the bust between the straps and the underarm. I considered sewing a little dart into the band but, after some thought, came up with the following solution. With the dress on me I pinned out the gaping - it needed three quarters of an inch taking out. Then I opened up the band and ran two lines of long stitches along the seam allowances where the band joins the band facing (at the very top of the dress) from the front straps to the underarm. I pulled up the lines of stitching until I had taken three quarters of an inch out and distributed this evenly so there were no actual gathers, just some puckering. I cut a piece of twill tape then sewed this down over the puckering, right up against the seamline, to keep it anchored like this ........

After repeating this on the other side I turned the band back down and sewed it down. I was really happy with the result because the band now stays close to the body and doesn't gape under the arms.

Butterick call this pattern "Fast and Easy" and, if you discount all my messing about with the straps and the band, I would agree that it is, indeed, both fast and easy to construct. I'm also interested in making up either View C or D, which have a looser, elasticated bodice - I thought that made up in a stretchy towelling material this would be a great poolside/beach dress along the lines of those made by Juicy Couture.

Those of you with sharp eyes might notice that the fabric is the same print as my wrap dress made from Vogue 8379 (see my earlier posting) but this isn't a knit, it's a cotton poplin. Rather surprisingly I didn't even buy the two different fabrics from the same supplier - I bought the knit by mail order then some months later happened to notice this cotton poplin in Peter Jones (big London department store) and felt that I just had to have it. I guess I must really like this print!

So, now I am hoping for some more sunny days ............

Vogue 1086 - TRACY REESE DESIGNED DRESS

I loved this dress as soon as I saw the picture in the Vogue patterns magazine. I've visited Tracy Reese's lovely boutique, in the meatpacking district of Manhattan, several times and am the happy owner of a really nice skirt and a cardigan bought in there. So I was very attracted by the idea that I could make a Tracy Reese dress for myself - one that would actually be tailor-made to fit me.

On a styling note, I'm wearing it here with a really pretty pair of pink Marc Jacobs shoes that I bought many years ago - his shoes never seem to date!



This pattern is graded "Average" difficulty- so, for me, it was quite an ambitious project - my previous dresses have been made from "Easy" patterns and this one had so many different pieces. But, no pain, no gain and, you know what, once I had got the muslin fitted, it really wasn't too anxious making.

As is so often the case with me, it was the fitting that took up so much time. I had to make two muslins of the bodice - I started by cutting a straight size 12 but the shoulders and neckline were so loose-fitting that I decided to re-cut the bodice pieces to a size 10, grading up to a size 12 from under the armholes down to the midriff.

In the end I still had to take a couple of inches out of the centre front seam to stop the neckline gaping and to prevent it from looking too blousy.

I bought the fabric from http://www.chrysalisfabrics.co.uk/ - it's a linen/viscose mix and, although it's a little heavier than the fabrics recommended for this pattern, I chose it because it hangs really nicely but has enough body of its own so that I didn't have to line it. Added bonus is that it goes in the washing machine. Because the fabric wasn't as lightweight as the recommended fabrics I decided not to follow the pattern instructions to use french seams - I didn't want to add any extra bulk or stiffness - instead I used regular seams finished with my serger.


In the end I'm really pleased with this dress and it's one of those happy garments that you can wear on a summer day but also looks good as evening wear. I've worn it to a couple of parties already and it came on a trip to New York with me and was worn out to dinner three times (I think our hotel reception staff and doorman must have thought that this was the only dress I own!).

PASSION FOR SEWING RE-AWAKENED

After a long, long break (pursuing a career, studying for a university degree as a mature student, getting married .........) I've taken up sewing again! Our home is now cluttered with patterns, magazines, equipment and an ever-expanding fabric stash! Over the last few months I have been diligently updating and expanding my sewing skills. BUT some good things (as well as some not so good!) have now taken their place in my wardrobe. Here are some of my favourite things that I have made ..........


This is my winter coat and it's just great to have a coat that actually fits me. It took quite a long time to get the muslin to fit before I cut into the lovely deep red boiled wool fabric but once I started the construction, it really wasn't too difficult. This is made from Simplicity 2812.

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This is what my husband calls my 'flowery A-line dress'. This dress has turned out to be a real wardrobe hero for summer parties - I've worn it a LOT. It's very forgiving if I want to eat (and I do want to eat), it's got a nice, respectable neckline and hemline but is quite eyecatching and the colours co-ordinate with lots of things. The pattern for this one is Simplicity 2725.

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Ok, so this one isn't quite so respectable - I have to watch that neckline - but every girl has to have a wrap dress. This one is made from Vogue 8379 and it's a real winner of a pattern.

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So that's a little look into my wardrobe. If you want to read more about these creations, and others, look at my reviews on Pattern Review by clicking on more ....... in the highlighted panel in the right-hand column.