Men's Vest, Second Edition

A couple of years ago, I made this vest for my son.  As there was plenty of the brocade used for the lining left over, we opted to make another, this time a dressier version, with the brocade forming the outside this time.  The lining and back were made of black Bemberg rayon, which is a terrible nuisance to work with, being so slippery, but which has a wonderful silky hand to wear.

To reinforce and support the Bemberg (and to make it easier to work with), I interlined the entire thing with pieces cut from a poly-cotton bed sheet too ugly to see the light of day, but which was stable enough to help the entire project move forward more smoothly.

Once again I used Burda 7799, this time without the pockets, lapels, or back half-belt.  I used buttons that coordinated with the silver-white in the brocade.

As you can see, it turned out quite well. The next version will probably have either bound or hand-worked buttons as I work to improve my skills and expand my sewing lexicon.

Polka-dot Portrait Blouse

With spring in the air, it was time to start thinking about spring/summer clothes, especially tops, of which I never seem to have enough.  I spotted a gorgeous polka-dot polyester crêpe de chine with a navy ground and dots in off-white and a blue that reminded me of Delft porcelain, and, what's more, it was heavily discounted ($4.20/metre, instead of $14).  This fabric didn't speak to me.  It sang like the Vienna Boys' Choir, speaking of interviews and summer barbecues and Audrey Hepburn elegance.

What to make from such a versatile fabric?  Nothing but an equally versatile blouse would do, namely, The Portrait Blouse from Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing.

It whipped up really easily, even having to do my usual full bust adjustment and sewing the side zipper, hem, and armholes by hand.  I used a lightweight sew-in interfacing on the neck facing, sewing it to the outer edge of the facing wrong-sides together and turning it right-side out to enclose the raw edges of a fabric that had a tendency to fray a bit.  All in all, it turned out quite well, and I definitely will make it again, maybe a whole collection of them for summer in a variety of lightweight drape-y fabrics.

As you can see from the photos, it goes really well with the pencil skirt I made last month, but I can see it going just as well with jeans or trousers, too, peeking out from under a blazer.

More Purple: Girl's Easter dress

It started with a library book.  Girl's World, by Jennifer Paganelli.  

I started looking through it with my daughter, and she expressed an interest in one of the dress patterns included in its pages, namely "Mary's Fancy Sash Dress".  

A few quick size and yardage calculations later, I found myself in the fabric store looking for coordinating fabrics that wouldn't immediately alienate a ten-year-old girl who has expressed strong dislike for any colours that she deems "girly".  

I ended up with two nicely coordinating purple quilting blenders:

 I only made one minor change to the pattern, using the bias binding facing the neck and armholes on the outside instead of the inside.


Since the skirt was quite long, I took a 1" deep tuck around the entire skirt.

Beginning 1" above the stitching line for the tuck, I also added three rows of trim, two of 1/4" satin ribbon, and one of 1/2-inch bias binding of the sash material.

Once everything was completed, I had a happy girl in a pretty dress.

Purple Pencil Skirt

Or finally, a postable project.
Well, I finally finished one of the personal projects I've had in mind, the high-waisted pencil skirt from Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing.  I copied the pattern nearly a year ago, I've had the fabric in my stash for even longer, but it finally all came together.

It started with a thrift store find, several metres of a purple-grey suiting-weight satin-weave mystery fabric in a shade somewhere between dark slate blue and muted purple.  It might be wool, it might be acrylic or polyester, but I liked the hand and the colour (and the price, of course, appealed to my Dutch sensibilities).  I made up the skirt in a straight size 16, with only minor alterations (shortening the back darts and moving the front darts to a more flattering position for me).  I also opted to forgo the high-waisted look in favour of a straight 1-1/2 inch (3.8 cm) band.

The hardest part was trying to match thread and zipper, since the colour is not really a fashionable shade right now. I finally opted for dark grey.  Oh, and trying to work around a series of regular holes along the centre fold of the fabric, which had probably been a mill end.

This is definitely a skirt for wear with heels, and if I were making it for someone with even slightly shorter legs, I would definitely either shorten the skirt or put in a deeper hem, since it hits me (with a 33-inch/83 cm inseam) just below mid-calf.  The other issue I have is that the hem tends to bind my stride a bit. I will wear it as is for a while, but I'm thinking I will either need to shorten it a bit, or add a vent to the centre back seam.

INPUT REQUESTED

In addition to working on some personal projects and some commissions, I am also developing some of my own designs, particularly a small collection of Victorian/Edwardian-influenced office-appropriate attire, which will be available in a range of larger sizes. (I am thinking sizes 10/12 and up). If any of you have any ideas of what you would like to see, please send me your suggestions, whether as a comment on this post or as a private message.  Thank you.

Fudging it: or how to create a late Edwardian hat in less than 30 minutes

Today was Election Day.  A number of acquaintances through the local steampunk/costumers group had advanced the idea of voting whilst attired in full suffragette kit.  As someone whose initiation into the history of the women's suffrage movement came through Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins and biographies of the Famous Five, this struck me as a wonderful idea.  And then it hit me.  The stereotypical woman's conundrum.  "I have nothing to wear!"

Or at least, nothing truly Edwardian, which was the historically notorious period of the militant suffragettes under Emmeline Pankhurst.

The organizers of the event had suggested a long skirt and suit jacket as a suitable imitation of Edwardian wear, so I reached into my closet for a green 1890s skirt and petticoat (from this outfit), then added a pale purple tailored shirt and black suit jacket from my everyday wardrobe.  The  green-and-burgundy tie was lifted from my brother's wardrobe many years ago.  Thus, all I needed was a period-appropriate hat.  I took inspiration from bicycling costumes of the period such as this one and from images of shopgirls of the period.


A trip to the local thrift store provided a boater-like imitation straw hat (paper and polyester, for anyone who's interested).  Michael's provided the 1.5-inch brown grosgrain ribbon and a pair of barred pheasant feathers.  I also picked up a fall garland of imitation leaves and berries from a dollar store, but those will probably be later additions.

I don't know if you can see, but I covered the existing black grosgrain band with brown, cut another piece for streamers,  and folded the remainder into a multi-looped bow.  Once I get a good photo of the back, I will add it.  I then stuck the feathers into the side of the stitching holding the bow in place.  They will probably get attached more securely as the design of the ornamentation on the hat evolves.

Bikers, karma, and UFOs

Today, I decided it was time to clear up some of the UFOs (UnFinished Objects) in the stash, one in particular that I discovered while organizing my new sewing room (which is, in itself, a work in progress).  This was a project I had taken on for a friend many years ago (like, um, fifteen or so), but life circumstances got in the way of finishing it at the time, and then two moves served to bury it in the bottom of the stash.  
Anyway, the project today was two biker-style "do-rags", actually a semi-tailored head cover with an adjustable tied band, or what looks like a fitted bandana, but in fun printed quilting cottons instead of the traditional polka-dot or paisley patterns.  

The first was more of a challenge, in part because I had to re-learn how to assemble the darned things, but also because the large scale of the whale print made motif placement more challenging.  I opted to center the side panels over some of the smaller, more colourful fish in the pattern, leaving the larger centre panel to feature the whales.  

The other was just a bright, fun jumble of a marine-life print, much easier to work with because I didn't have to worry about pattern placement.