Flutter By in Yellow

Sometimes you just find the perfect fabric.  Then you realise it's not gong to be that easy to work with. What's a seamstress to do?

Well this fabric find was from my local and l loved it so much that, after buying it in yellow, I went back for more and bought a length in fuschia.  It even got its own feature in Issue 18 of Love Sewing magazine.

So, nuts and bolts - the pattern I used.......

After some not insignificant amount of time spent thumbing through my vast pile of Burdas and Patrones I settled on Burda January 2014 pattern 108. 

The light to medium weight of this manmade fabric, coupled with the drapeyness, called for something that would show off its qualities. 

The most interesting aspect of this pattern is the shape of the pieces whereby the back folded around towards the front to form a batwing sleeve. I'd never worked with this pattern shape before and it was fine whilst I could play around with the fabric on the floor - the challenge was when I picked it up to sew the folds together.  Think draped origami and you get the picture.

After a not inconsiderable amount of folding, unfolding and re-folding I managed to get the pieces in alignment.  I actually did this inside out, i.e. right side to right side, as the fabric has a "high frayage" factor so I wanted to french seam them - indeed, I love a sewing challenge.

The main body of the top complete, it was time to attach the hem band and, joy of joys, no hemming of this seriously slippery fabric as the band is folded in half - more origami - and then slip stitched to the main body.

All in all, not an over long make, and and I felt well worth it to have something a little more unusual in my wardrobe.  It also turned out to be a useful travel wardrobe addition - not only because of the non crease fabric but also because it's so light and airy to wear typically in a hot climate, as evidenced below during a fabric shopping spree in Italy. 

Now to find a further suitable pattern for the pink variation of this cloth that I bought.

I love to style this garment in an oriental fashion, hence  the hair chopsticks, and it's also versatile enough to dress up or down, feeling equally at  home with a pencil skirt or jeans.

You can also read a write up of this pattern in issue 19 of Love Sewing Magazine as it was one of my Pattern Picks.

If you fancy something a little different, give it a go.  The pattern is available for download from the Burda website.

Difficulty rating - you need some sewing experience and patience to figure the folding. 

1 metre of 150cm width fabric, the drapier the better.

Happy sewing.

Linda x

Love Sewing? You should with this pattern

As any of you who follow my posts will know,  most of my makes come from patterns in my stash of Burdas and Patrones.  So,  I took a little diversion when I found an ultra glam and versatile pattern from UK sewing magazine Love Sewing .  So special was this pattern I decided to use some saved fabric in my fabric pile and make this dress for my birthday outing.  Now, you know you have to have a special dress for your birthday.

The pattern in question was the Bardot Pattern, a freebie with Love Sewing issue 14 and which I was fortunate to get on back order.

It had all the perfect ingredients for the dress I had in mind;  off the shoulder neckline; 3/4 fitted sleeves; fitted bodice.  The pattern came as a full pleated skirt design, and this was the part I altered so I could have full circle skirt in order to wear a vintage style petticoat underneath, although on the day, I wore it without a petticoat as it may have got in the way, so to speak, but it's nice to have the option for wearability.

The pattern itself was an easy make.  Back boddice x 2, front bodice on a fold and 2 x sleeves, oh and a full circle skirt.  The fabric was a medium weight cotton sateen in white with mauve, pink and green floral design - a purchase from Athens during last years fabric shopping spree.   Once the bodice was made up and fitted to my liking, I added a bright purple satin lining.  Just cos you  don't see the insides of your make, doesn't mean they don't have to be nice - and a lining makes the garment feel lovely when wearing it. 

I felt a bit like the queen with my handbag and posh dress having my photo taken at the other worldly toilet pods in Sketch.

The dress continued to take me through my special day and was worthy of the art deco interior of the Park Lane Hotel and the ultimate vintageness of the Savoy where it held its own with the opulent decor.

Well that was the day of the Bardot Dress but....... I wasn't finished with this versatile pattern yet!

I loved this little bodice so much I had to dive again into my stash and out came some leopard print cotton jersey with elastane - perfect for an off the shoulder top in true vintage style.

I made up the bodice the same as for the dress, but this time omitting the zipper as there was clearly enough stretch in the garment to leave this out.

The other two amendments I made to this perfectly hackable pattern was to add some thin 1/2 inch elastic into a casing at the neckline as the jersey was super soft which made it comfy to wear but lacking the body to  sit firmly off the shoulder, and add in a self drafted peplum, a detail I love whether on tops or dresses as it adds a very feminine feel to a garment and is a great vintage style detail.

For anyone interested in drafting a peplum you simply measure around the hem of where you want your peplum added. That will be the circumference of your circle.  You then work out the radius by that old maths chestnut 2 pi R (there's a tutorial on my Melon Yellow post) and draw your circle from said radius.  The depth of the circle from your initial circumference will be the depth of your peplum.  DONT FORGET to add seam allowance where it joins together if you have a join in your peplum that is.

So, there it is - two of the options available for for this versatile pattern. If you've made the Bardot Dress yourself I'd love to see it either through a link here or on Instagram.  Check out DaisyCreatesIn Sussex to see more or copy me in so I can check out your makes and be inspired even more.

I used about 3m of 150 cm wide for the dress but this was for a circular skirt and I had a bit left over, plus a zip and some lining.
The top took about 1.3 metres (I can't remember exactly!!) plus a length of elastic.


Happy sewing

Linda xx

Glam Slam Repairs

In a diversion from my usual sewing posts,today I'd like to offer inspiration on a little shoe glamour.

Do you have a pair of washed up shoes that you really don't want to throw out? What to do?

 I'm really not sure how the colour wore off the heels of my beloved gold sandals and thought the only way to repair them would be to spray the heels. What if the gold shades didn't match? Hmmmmm.

The answer came when I found a fab tutorial by gorgeous vintage loving Sussex belle Miss Amy May who has written a wonderful and very informative post on bedazzling which gives a step by step guide to jazzing up your accessories - especially shoes!

As a guide it took me about an hour per heel to sashay up these gold glam pots but you DO NEED to make sure you use a wax pick  to pick up the stones (available on ebay for around 99p for 3) and a strong glue that dries clear- that's really about it- oh, and use a small receptacle for the rhinestones too as you can shake it around to get the rhinestones the right way up.  Don't worry if you think the stones seem to disappear under a sea of white glue as you are sticking them on, they will come out super sparkly once  the glue dries.

So really that's it.  A once treasured pair of shoes, almost destined for the bin, now given a new lease of life. 

Well, what are you waiting for - go bedazzle.

Daisy xx

To Japan, well kind of .....

Japan is the one place I have a passion to visit, but due to current lack of readies, I decided to do the next best thing, and sew a little piece of this fascinating country.

Have you guessed yet? 

Of course, a kimono. A Named Patterns Asaka Kimono to be precise. 

However, gorgeous as it may be, the downside (for me) is , this was a bit of unselfish sewing as it was a present for my daughter in laws birthday, so no wearing this gorgeous piece for me!

However, a bit of unselfish sewing never hurt anyone. Check out that lotus flower style design. This fabulously Japanese-like fabric was an excellent find from fabric heaven Ditto in Brighton. The story  behind this beautiful print is that the design was purchased in Paris and the fabric was printed in Japan by the factory that makes liberty fabrics for the Japanese market.  I do love this story and love the fact that this fabric has a story behind it.

My very favourite part of this pattern is the sleeves which, when you lift your arm, have been designed so beautifully, they're like an oriental butterfly. The pattern allows for extra fabric on the sleeve vent so it's not merely a hem where the sleeve seam is and makes the garment hang beautifully. Of course you do need to use the right fabric and this example was from a light to medium weight cotton lawn style material , vey libertyesque. 

The most taxing part of this make is the collar band, joined at the centre back to make a long piece to work with. If you do choose to make this garment, I'd recommend using a walking foot on the collar, as the first time I made this kimono, I made it from satin and used a regular foot. Much swearing ensued as the slippery satin refused to align. No such problems with this make though using my trusty foot, and once the collar band was attached it was merely a case of some careful top stitching on the right side to ensure neatness. 

Neatness continues inside in the form of French seams, perfect with a lightweight fabric.

The pattern itself contains six main pieces - front, back, upper and lower sleeve, collar band and belt so it's not a difficult pattern for a seamstress with some experience. You can also sew belt loops but I went with looped cotton belt carriers on this occasion. 

As I was slightly short on fabric the inner collar and inside of the belt was made from black cotton, which seemed to work really well as a contrast. 

Finishing off I made the effort to tie the belt in a very geisha like bow. 

Now, where's my hair chopsticks? 

Basics:  I used 2.2m of lawn/cotton plus 30cm for the collar band and belt lining.

Pattern: 10 euros from Named Patterns. 

Happy sewing

Linda x

Fools and Fabric

What's in a title?  Not what you'd think for this blog post as the Fools and the Fabric are really a bit of alliteration aside to the main matter.

Really it's about a home made dress but let's start at the beginning when I purchased some green hawaiian type lycra print from Birmingham Rag Market.  The fabric lay - unloved - in my stash for over a year - I wasn't even sure about the colours.  Then I found the ideal pattern in my other stash - the Burda Magazines. Pattern number 109 from Burda February 2013 was the ideal vehicle -  finally,  the perfect meeting of pattern and fabric.

It's not always so easy to find a good pattern for lycra fabric, specially when you want something glam.  However this pattern seemed ideal with it's gathered shoulder detail.   The pattern itself is unusual in that there is no shoulder seam the should piece is an extension of the back.  The original pattern had only one gathered shoulder but I hacked it to give both shoulders gathering as I felt this gave the garment a more vintage feel and suited my personal style.  ... and I do love a bit of hacking:

Here's the back view to show how the back of the dress continues on to the shoulder:

Now to the fools bit -

Fools because the dress got its first wearing on a night out to an "Only Fools and Three Courses" dinner.  Do you think the dress has a good background against the Trotter's van? Mr P being a bone fide Fools and Horses fan we couldn't miss out on this evening and as it meant no cooking for me I was double happy.

I even got to meet Del Boy after the show, complete with dodgy wares!

Enough silliness.  Now to the Fabric part of the post.  I decided to wear the dress for my annual material shopping spree in Athens. I feel if I wear a me made it serves as a good luck charm for finding lots of nice fabric.  I'm pleased to say it worked.  You can make out three of the shops in the background  there's about another nine in the area - fabric heaven.

The dress was actually pretty easy to make - if you want to give it a go it's from Burda February 2013, number 109.  The basic dress contains only three pieces - a front and two backs, but mine contained six as I lined it with itself.  I added in some gathers at the bust and to give it a vintage sweetheart neckline.

The basics:-

Ease of sewing - as it only has three pieces it was easy to sew but take care if you use lycra - it's a slippery character.

Requirements - 1.5m of fabric - you'll need a stretch fabric for this one.  I had the fabric so long I can't remember how much I paid for it!!

Happy Sewing and Happy Holiday Time

Linda x

Its All About Tea

Well that was a long tea break - more like a hibernation really - but that's the British winter for you.

My poor old blog has been a bit neglected due to my sewing up a storm over the winter months and all sorts of fun things I'd planned in my calendar.  I've also now decided on a blog overhaul to take in other interesting stuff - like Tea! - so it's not just a diary of my sewing makes and will hopefully  appeal to other readers where ever they are in the world.

Being a quintessential English lady, I live up the rule that all non Brits they think if you're British you must be awash with tea.  Guess what - its all true.  There's nothing like a nice cup of tea, Earl Gray being my particular preference, especially when it's served out of some vintage china and with a smattering of cakes. 

With tea in mind I've produced the perfect Afternoon Tea skirt (as opposed to the Tea Dress) and am pleased to say that it was well received on it's first wearing for a spot of Afternoon Tea in Kemp Town's The Tea Cosy - a truly delightful and eccentric place to take tea.

I'd heard lots about this place, all good, and being on my doorstep it seemed silly to pass up the opportunity to sit and drink tea in some delightfully eccentric surroundings whilst munching on scones and cake.

The walls of the Tea Cosy are covered in all manner of royalist memorabilia, started off by the previous owners who intended it to be a shrine to the late Princess Diana.  Everywhere you look there are newspaper print outs, commemoration mugs, tin signs, tea towels and even a life size cardboard cutout of Her Maj.

We'd decided on afternoon tea but on arrival discovered it needed to be ordered in advance so, instead, settled for the Princess Diana High Tea including a selection of sandwiches, cakes, scone with accompanying conserve of your choice (I had salted caramel) and of course a pot of tea. 

All teapots are refilled and fitted with their own little hand knitted cosy

Here's some more views of the interior - how cute?

So, here's the sewing bit.  The teapot fabric is from the usual emporium Fabric Land and at a width of 110 cm just needed enough to create the length twice - a front and a back and a waistband.    I previously had serious issues trying to work out how to do the pleats (yes, pleats, not gathers), but had a brainstorm moment and deciphered that, for each piece,  if you deduct half your waist measurement from the fabric width (i.e. 110 cm minus 40 cm) then you just decide how many pleats will fit nicely into the remainder (i.e. 70 divided by 12 equals 5.8) then each pleat and spare in between gives you the 5.8 cm to work with so your pleat could be 1.5cm - that is a triple fold where the fabric folds back on itself and a bit to spare - the in between  (remember to allow for seams!)  Sorry if this sounds a bit complicated.  Annotating maths isn't my strong point!

So, if you need a pick me up, a tea skirt and a cuppa are your best bet.  Find out where your local tea emporium is and head off there dressed appropriately.

Details:

2 skirt lengths of fabric. This one was 110cm wide and the skirt 60cm long so 1.2 m plus some for waistband . A metre and half should cover it.  Plus button and zip.

Simples

Happy sewing

Linda x

Me Made May 2015

Yikes, where did that 11 months go?

It doesn't seem so long ago I signed up for my first ever Me Made May in 2014 and in a flash, was feeling a little lost at not being able to share daily garments with worldwide friends when it came to the end. 

So, I'm glad it's back and thank you to Zoe of So Zo What Do You Know for once again organising this fantastic challenge.

I'm really looking forward to digging out those old me mades (and a few recently me mades) and challenging myself to wear them in whatever form that may take.

Last year gave me a glut of ideas and I promised myself I'd make more cozy separates, T shirts and comfy lounge pants .......... and then I morphed off down a vintage side street of crazy fabric, big skirts and wiggle dresses, so I still have that to do.  Who know's what I'll discover this year. 

Go on, give it a go, you know you want to.

Happy sewing

Linda