When wearing ill-fitting clothes really is a crime!

I want to say thank you to all of the very kind commenters who, after my last post, expressed concern for my safety during the riots that we experienced in London and other parts of England last week.

I am happy to tell you that the riots didn't reach my street although last Tuesday afternoon it was very strange to see our local high street heavily guarded by police. A large proportion of the stores were closed throughout the afternoon and many were protected by iron shutters or boarded up. Thankfully, things returned to normal the next day.

So far 1,401 people have been arrested and 808 charged in connection with the riots. Amongst them was a young man, aged 17, apprehended wearing luxury clothing stolen from a store called Zee and Co, in east London. How was his crime detected? Police were suspicious when they noticed that his pricey designer clothes didn't fit him. "They were very expensive and if someone spends that sort of money they would at least get clothes that fit" noted a prosecuting lawyer. (Reported by Tom Coghlan in today's The Times).

So, this young man is happy to walk around looking a complete idiot in ill-fitting clothes just as long as they have the right designer label. Priceless!

My advice to him would be, learn to sew. It will keep you out of trouble and you will then be able to wear clothes that fit, make you look good and keep you out of jail!

Anyway, as every post needs a picture, here is a photograph of my very own brush with law and order. Actually I mean Law & Order


Eugenia at the desk of ADA John J. McCoy!

This was taken a few years ago when I was lucky enough to visit the filming of my very favourite crime show, in New York City. Pretty cool eh?

Burda Style skirt + top = tropical madness!

For approximately 360 days of the year my latest sewn outfit looks crazily optimistic when worn in my home city of London. But last week we just happened on a few 'heatwave' days that made me glad I hadn't totally lost faith in the sun ever shining on us again.


I'll have a Tequila Sunrise please!

Both the skirt and top are made from Burda Style magazine patterns that are easy to make. The skirt is pattern no. 114 from July 2008.


Burda Style #114, July 2008

I have made the pattern before (blogged about here) but this time I left out the eyelets and tie on the front yoke because I wanted a slightly more streamlined, less sporty look (and, yes, I was being lazy!). The fabric I used is 100% cotton.

The top is taken from an even older issue of Burda, it's pattern no. 119 from the July 2007 issue.  


Burda Style #119, July 2007

 
This is also an old favourite revisited because I first made a version of the top over two years ago. I kept meaning to make another one and I'm happy that I finally have. I like the style a lot - the gathers that go into the button band add some interest and nice shaping. The fabric I used is a silk that I have had in my stash for ages. 


Top out, more casual!

I hope that my choice of fabrics hasn't put you off these two really nice patterns. A dazzling sunshine yellow skirt paired with a bright and splashy flower print top is not everyone's cup of tea. I know that it's not really 'city chic' but sometimes I just can't help myself. I find I am irresistibly drawn to colours and prints that make me look like I have just stepped off a cruise ship. Is your wardrobe firmly rooted in your home climate or do you, like me, sometimes sew as if you are on a semi-permanent tropical vacation? Or, perhaps you actually do live in a hot-spot, in which case, do you sew as if you are hoping for snow?

Spending time with people who sew!

Have you ever started to talk about your favourite subject, yes, I mean sewing, only to see your companion's eyes glaze over? It happens to me a lot. But not last Wednesday. Why? Lucky, lucky me I spent the afternoon with these lovely people


Helen, Catherine, Claire and Elizabeth



Helen, Catherine, Claire and me

Elizabeth, from SEWN was visiting London from New York (I was very happy to see her again - we first met last summer in her home city). Also in the party were Helen from Sew Stylish, Catherine Daze and Claire from Sew, Incidentally. I was so pleased that Elizabeth's trip was the catalyst that enabled me to get together with these UK sewing-blogging ladies whose work I have admired from afar.

Naturally all of us wore something that we hade made. Helen's stunning colourful top, Catherine's amazing plaid dress, Claire's fabulous Sorbetto top and Elizabeth's super-cool linen pants perfectly showcased their wonderful sewing skills. Oh, and the skirt I am wearing was made by, yes, me!

We shopped at Liberty then trawled the fabric stores of Berwick Street. We laughed at shiny, sparkly theatrical polyesters and swooned over wildly expensive embellished silks. Have you ever cut into a piece of fabric costing £150 (USD 245) per metre? Phew!

We finally settled ourselves into one of Soho's characterful public houses for a well-earned drink, where we were joined by the lovely Karen, from Did You Make That? I am so sorry that I missed meeting Melissa, from Fehr Trade who joined the party just after I had to leave.

There is nothing like spending some time with like-minded people who sew to inspire you and reinforce your love of sewing. Do it whenever you can - I heartily recommend it!

I used the fabric of shame!

Those of you that live in the USA are currently gearing yourself up for the ninth season of Project Runway, which starts this week. So you might be a little surprised to hear that here in the UK transmission stopped at season 6 and there are no plans to show seasons 7 or 8. However, to my delight, I recently managed to get my hands on a dvd of season 8.

Whilst watching episode one, I was thrilled to see that one of the designers picked out this fabric

I purchased some of this very same silk fabric at Mood, back in August of 2009 (blogged about here), and I used it to make a dress shortly after. How excited I was! Could it be that this fabric was going to be used to make the winning creation? Would Heidi, Nina and Michael love it?

No, of course not. The designer was McKell Maddox and her dress was the losing dress. McKell was out.

I am trying not to feel too mortified because she only used this fabric for a part of the dress (the waistband and sash). Also I think that it was the design of the dress (Michael hated the "side cleavage") and the styling ("a train wreck"), not this particular choice of fabric, that the judges took issue with.

When I used the fabric I didn't mix it with other fabrics. Here's the dress I made (I originally blogged about it here.)

McCalls 5927 - made in November 2009

I actually love this dress - it is now over a year and a half old and I still wear it quite often. I stand by the fabric, it handles beautifully and I really love the colours and print. I have some left and I do plan on using it - with careful thought!

With McKell's dress I think it's a case of good fabric being made bad, although under that kind of pressure I think she can be forgiven! In fact, I think that one of the most difficult things about making your own clothes is working out what fabric is going to work with what style, especially when used in combination with other fabrics. I have certainly made quite a few bad choices and I believe that even the most experienced of sewists have sometimes been surprised to find that their style judgements haven't quite worked out as they expected.

Have you ever taken a fabulous fabric and turned it into something disastrous? Do tell .......

Yes, it's that dress again and yay or nay for hand stitching?

No apologies, but I have made yet another version of Simplicity 3503. I'm calling this latest version (number five) my 'English Summer Garden Dress' - just right for afternoon tea, the village fete and, of course, garden parties, where I can blend into the rose bushes!

When the fabric, which is a rayon lycra mix, arrived from Gorgeous Fabrics I loved it so much that I didn't want to take any risks with it. At the best of times knit fabrics can behave in quite wilful and unpredictable ways, so having a pattern you've made before really does increase your chances of finishing up with a dress that you love.

The pattern gives you a lot of different options.


Simplicity 3503

The one I made is in the bottom right hand corner (but I didn't use a contrasting fabric for the midriff or neck band).

I do love the sleeves


If I flap my arms hard enough will I take off?

They give coverage but because they are loose they are not too hot on warm days.

Whenever I make this pattern I follow the instructions as written except for one thing. Instead of machine stitching the neck band facing to the neck band at the inner edge I like to hand stitch it. Usually I am all for patterns that give you instructions for machine stitching rather than hand stitching but, in this particular case, I have found that it is easier to control the knit fabric, and keep it looking neat on the inside, if the facing is stitched down by hand. I also like the look of the clean neck band without machine stitching on the outside. But that's just me - if you hate to hand stitch, then following the pattern instructions is the way to go.


Neck band facing inside dress

I don't like to do lots of hand stitching but I do enjoy it sometimes - I find it rather relaxing to be stitching away and listening to the radio and I like the exactness of it. How about you? Do you love it? Do you only do it if you absolutely have to? Or have you worked out all sorts of ingenious ways so that you can stitch absolutely everything by machine?

Is hand stitching haute couture or hateful? I'd love to know what you think .....

Is it a crime to actually use vintage notions?

Last weekend I went to a small vintage sale, it had all sorts of lovely things and amongst them I was very happy to find some sewing treasures

Vintage sleeve board, buttons and 5ft folding ruler

I particularly love the sleeve board because, unlike my modern one, it is very heavy and absolutely rock solid.


Underside of sleeve board

Somebody has re-covered it very nicely so it is both decorative and extremely useful.

But on to the main subject of this post. The vintage buttons.

They are French and the woman who sold them told me that they dated back to late 19th or early 20th century. As she handed them to me she asked

"Where will you display them, are you going to frame them?"

My answer was "I'm going to use them".

She looked startled and anxious. "What do you mean? What are you going to use them for? You're not going to take them from their cards are you?"

"I plan to sew them on to a dress that I am going to make and, yes, that will mean taking them from the cards."

I suspected that if she hadn't already taken my money, and handed them over, she would have refused to sell them to me. Now I do understand her feeling that lovely vintage items should be treasured but I don't believe that this sentiment should preclude actually using them. I promised her that I would only put them on something appropriate - I am thinking of a 1940's style dress (and I do have an original pattern that would be perfect - but more about that at a later date). My feeling is that these buttons were made to be used and loved and enjoyed and that sewing them to a dress is a happy thing for them.


There's a woman out there committing crimes against buttons


What do you think? Should vintage things be preserved intact and only used for display? If I callously take my lovely buttons from their cards will the vintage police swoop in on me? Or is it ok to actually sew with them? I’d love to know what you think .....

Vogue 8664 - hot dress alert!

You may not have noticed this pattern - the pattern envelope is quite understated, a couple of drawings, no photograph of the actual dress - so I nearly passed it by. Except for the fact that it is one of those Custom Fit patterns that gives you separate pieces for A, B, C, D cup sizes and I'm a real fan of those. So I bought it and, feeling the need for a classic sheath, made it up:
 

Every woman needs a little red dress!

I really like how this pattern turned out - I think it has a kind of Mad Men meets Roland Mouret look!

In my opinion it has a wonderful cut. The fit is well-judged, just the right amount of ease, and I really like the midriff piece: it adds waist definition without being uncomfortable. The neckline is interesting but not too low. I also think that the skirt is pegged perfectly - not too tight for comfort but it tapers in just enough to give it some va va voom. On that note I should probably mention that my DH LOVES this dress. If you’re looking for a sleek sheath, you might want to snap this pattern up.


Vogue 8664

What's more it is classified by Vogue as Very Easy to make. Which it is. The trickiest part of the construction is the attachment of the sleeves. Here’s a tip - when marking up the pattern it is important that you differentiate between the large and the small dots at the lower corners. 

Cap sleeve pattern piece

At first glance the sleeve pattern piece might look symmetrical but it isn't and the folks at Vogue have been smart in putting a large dot at the back and a small dot at the front to be matched with the bodice pieces. Take notice of these to ensure that you don't accidentally try to sew the sleeves in back to front. (I bet you're thinking that's exactly what I did. Well, as it happens, I didn't, but I have been caught out by this kind of thing before so have, hopefully, learnt my lesson!). Personally I make tailor's tacks using a different coloured thread for each of the dots because they show on both the right and wrong side and are easily removed but using different coloured chalk would also work. When it comes to sewing the sleeves, ensure that you match the dots exactly and then the sleeves will go in perfectly.


Sleeves good, arms not so much!

A note on the fabric I used – it’s 100% wool, called Gabrielle Gabardine, purchased from Vogue Fabrics, and I lined it with bemberg rayon.

So, I love this pattern. Will I make it again? I think I might!