Lois Dress #1

Here's a recent make - and it's something I'm actually proud of!

This is the Lois dress by Tessuti patterns, and it's a pattern I bought relatively promptly after loving the pattern photos - but then sat on for ages. Same story for this lovely fabric from The Fabric Store - when I saw this fabric up sewn up quickly by a few social media friends (@clever_tinker for one) I rushed to Surry Hills to get some, and then brought it home and stashed it. 

Maybe for 2019 I should try a bit harder to sew the patterns and fabrics I like earlier rather than later? What a ridiculous problem to have ;o.

Here's a quick close-up for a better view of the fabric and style lines - and FYI the fabric is a slinky polyester woven with a satiny back:

The dress is quite low cut, which I think makes this more of a special occasion dress than a work or everyday dress - I've nearly finished version number 2 and have plans for a couple more, but there's nothing wrong with a wardrobe full of special occasion dresses, is there?

Hmm... after reviewing the photos I decided it was actually a tad too low cut - so I've now sewn the lowest 2cm of the v-neck together on the inside of the dress, which makes it just the right depth on me for a low cut dress with complete bra coverage, and also makes the bust fit a smidge less loose.

By virtue of a couple of silly mistakes I sewed this up a size smaller than intended. I thought I was making the size 12, my size according to the pattern instructions, but I accidentally cut a size 10 for the bodice pieces and then cut out the skirt pieces poorly, necessitating wide seam allowances that took it down a size too. Luckily this has turned out to be just the right size.  I wouldn't necessarily advise following my lead, but I would recommend basting your cut out pieces together to check the fit before sewing in your zip within the side dart / side bodice seam - if you do this you might also discover (like me, hooray!) that you don't even need the zip!

I should also mention that I have an extra CF seam in my skirt because my fabric was narrower than the recommended width and I just couldn't fit the width of the skirt front and sides across my fabric.  This hasn't particularly affected the dress apart from making the CF bust intersection a bit bulky, but it did bump up the fabric requirement for the dress.  I also lengthened the skirt pieces about 2 inches, and next time around am lengthening it a little more.


There's a step in the instructions (step 9) that asks you to ease the front skirt side seams into the back skirt side seams, but I couldn't think why you'd want to do that*, so I just sewed the seams normally and then cut off the resulting extra length in the front skirt. 

* If you've sewn the Lois dress and followed this step, I would love to know how the easing step worked out - did it do something interesting to the skirt drape, or help the skirt skim over hips and butt?

Hmm and the only other change I made was to ignore the recommended steps to stabilise the neckline and waist with tearaway Vilene.

I've tried using tearaway Vilene before but haven't enjoyed using it - so instead I cut the relevant pattern pieces from a lightweight iron-in interfacing, and this worked pretty well.  Before I started sewing the dress I was concerned that the v-neckline would gape, but on top of the tearaway Vilene the pattern uses a clever binding method to stabilise the neckline, and there's absolutely no risk of it stretching out.

This dress was intended to be my Christmas Day dress, but as it turned out I didn't need a Christmas Day dress - my kids both got sick on Christmas Eve and through Christmas Day - but perhaps I can wear it for New Year's Eve instead.

Finally here's the back view, looking quite old fashioned I reckon!

Thank you very much to those of you who replied to my last blog post - it seems that YES, there are still blog readers around! I still enjoy reading blogs too, but wasn't sure how many of us there were... I suspect that there are lots of people who intend to blog but just don't get around to it very often - it's obviously much more time consuming than instagram or facebook, but if you've got verbal diarrhea (ha, that's me!) those media can be a bit frustrating.

So - I'm going to try to keep blogging, and I need to build back up my own list of blogs to read.  If you're still (or newly) blogging I would love to know where; please feel very welcome to leave your blog address in the comments :).

Thanks for reading and have a very happy new year

- Gabrielle x

Donna Karan Drape Jacket: V1129

I started this jacket back in 2011, before I owned a serger (or an edge stitching foot), back when I was very cautious sewist, still finding my feet.  I wanted to sew designer Vogue patterns like this one, Vogue 1129 by Donna Karan, but I was really concerned that a mistake at any individual step might be ruinous to the final garment (I'm so not like that now). So I took the sewing slowly, with tailor tacks at every possible marking and the neatest of precision notches... and it was going beautifully till I got stuck on a step that was beyond my experience and skills. 

My sticking point related to the way the drape is sewn and where it's sewn. It's basically supposed to be sewn onto one side front of the jacket in a curve, with the stitches hidden inside the drape, then attached to the rest of the jacket neckline, ending at the other side front.  Vogue provided a guide for the curve, but I wanted to adjust the placement of the curve - when I pinned it all in place the fit didn't look right, and I didn't know how to make it look right. Argh! What's more, I wasn't sure I'd understood the way the drape was supposed to be joined to the neckline...

In the months after putting it aside I took it out periodically, reviewing the pattern instructions in case they "clicked", examining the jacket, then putting it away again because I still couldn't work out how to sew that curved drape on neatly. And then it stayed put for a long time, because I had the idea in my head that I was stuck on something very tricky indeed.

Anyway, fast forward to the week before last and this time the challenges didn't seem that great - hooray for having better skills than 5 years ago!

I pinned the drape in place again, tried the jacket body on, moved the fabric around a bit and took out some excess at the armhole - easy :).  The curve I've sewed isn't perfect but isn't normally seen, and the fit seems good.  And the way the drape connects to the neckline is actually straightforward, but I'd made a small mistake in an earlier step that had made my garment look different to the diagrams, and I guess that had thrown me.  I hadn't finished the seams a few years ago (as I mentioned earlier I had no serger, and my zipzag stitch looked messy) and the fabric wasn't unravelling so I didn't finish the new seams either - consistency is the thing! 

You can see in these photos that my fabric is a dense wool - it wasn't labelled because it was a random op shop find (and only $8 from memory!) but it has a distinct wool smell and feel.  I'd say it's from the cheaper end of the wool scale because the fabric also feels quite scratchy on the skin.

Here's what the pattern envelope photos look like - and yes, I accidentally copied the colour (except of course I didn't; random op shop finds don't allow for colour choice):

The pattern is described as follows on the back of the pattern envelope:

Unlined, fitted jacket with pockets, drape, two-piece sleeves and topstitch trim, above mid-knee length.

There is a bit more to it than that though... princess seams, faux flat felled seams, in-seam pockets and clever concealed snaps in the front (as well as a nifty hidden hook and eye that holds the drape in place on the shoulder, though I haven't yet sewn mine in).

I cut this jacket out as a size 12, adding length to the sleeves and body at around hip level.

These days I think I would have cut it out as a 12/14, but I don't mind the fit of the 12 - and I think the finished jacket looks pretty similar to the pattern photo.

I like the length and fit of the jacket overall, though the sleeves feel a couple of centimetres too long on me (and I have no recollection how much length I added to them, sorry).

This pattern is out of print and Vogue are no longer selling Donna Karan patterns, but if you do come across it, it's a good one - the jacket has the clever design lines you'd expect from Donna Karan, and I think it also makes a pretty useful layering piece for those sunny winter's days where there's just a bit of a chill in the mornings and evenings; so pretty and practical if your weather is mild.

I don't normally give my garments a test run before blogging them because I'm clumsy and a messy eater, and I don't want to show you food stains when I'm trying to tell you how happy I am with a pattern, but it dawned on me that my typical delay between taking photos and finishing a blog post actually gives me ample time to wear a new garment out and about, without the risk of nasty stains in the blog photos. So this time around I have tested the jacket - and found I like it more than I expected :). I thought the itchiness of the wool was going to make this jacket borderline unwearable, but it turns out it's absolutely unnoticeable in a long sleeved top and a scarf (that is unless you try to cuddle me - sorry kids...).

There's not much more to say - but when I was taking these photos a darling little fellow called Charlie wandered over and became my new best friend (sadly he had to scamper after a few minutes). He does a good job of looking like he's with me though, doesn't he:

So, to conclude, I love the shape and fit and drape of this jacket, and I'm impressed with past me for doing neat top stitching without any specialist sewing machine feet to help keep me at the same distance from the seam edge.  I don't love the fabric, but I like the colour and the fabric is absolutely wearable so long as I wear a scarf with it (not a problem!).

I think this jacket would be divine in a soft cashmere wool - something smooth and luxurious and drapey - but I don't need another jacket this shape, so I'll leave that one for someone else to make :).

See you soon

- Gabrielle x

Jacket Wrap

My last post - and all the lovely drapey jackets I keep reading about on people's blogs - reminded me of another drapey jacket, a much lighter jacket, one that I made last year and never got around to blogging.

I think this one's a pretty nice shape, though the fabric I chose to use wasn't right for the jacket. More on the fabric later, but the pattern looks OK doesn't it?  Don't answer; that's a trick question!

Before you commit to an opinion have a look at the jacket from a couple more angles... it was a windy day when I took these photos, but I thought they showed the drapey, fluid nature of the jacket quite well!

OK, enough photos for now!

Let's move on to the pattern, shall we?

The pattern is one I tested last year for Rosie Martin of DIY Couture fame. And yet... And yet if you know anything about Rosie's approach, you'll know she's all about liberating sewers from their patterns! So when I say it's a pattern I tested, well it wasn't a set of pattern pieces so much as a set of gorgeous, clearly illustrated instructions for sewing a drapey wrap top WITHOUT a pattern. I don't want to give the game away, but basically with this pattern Rosie shows you how to work with a top you already have and use it as a template for a a drapey wrap top - which can of course be a jacket if you so desire :).

The particularly cool thing about this sort of pattern is that it lets you make a whole range of different tops (or jackets or dresses) - you choose the fit you already like, and you choose the lengths and widths and hem shapes, and you choose what seam finishes you want, and so on. That probably sounds so broad that you're wondering what's actually included - well, there's still plenty to cover:

• tools needed for the job
• fabric information 
• diagrams of the wrap top design and of variations to the design
• easy drafting instructions 
• suggested order of construction and construction tips, with a LOT of photos and diagrams to make all steps very clear

OK, over to the fabric now. The fabric is really interesting; it's a double sided fabric I bought from Tessuti fabrics ages ago on a whim. It has a matte blue side that I've used as the outer or "right side" of the fabric, and a cold slippery black side that I've used as the lining or "wrong side" of the fabric. Unfortunately it turns out I don't like the cold feel of the black side on my skin, and the 3/4 dolman the sleeves I chose to make feel too narrow when I wear them over long sleeves (in these photos I'm wearing a 3/4 sleeve t-shirt underneath, and you can see those t-shirt sleeves are doing a bit of bunching under the jacket sleeves). So this jacket has ended up something for layering over sleeveless clothes - I'm thinking my lovely full length bias cut dress in layers of black chiffon - when my arms are up for it :).

Most of the wrap top examples shown in Rosie's instructions have a collar band and a waist tie, and all of her examples had finished edges - but this is the shape I was after, and although I generally like a finish to my jacket edges, in this case I couldn't think of anything that would look as neat as carefully cut edges. And I have to say, this fabric has not frayed in the slightest since I made it.

Of course you have to take my review with a grain of salt, as the pattern testing experience just necessarily results in bias, BUT I think this "pattern" (or the book it's going to be in) would be perfect for an adventurous beginner - someone with lots of ideas, but without a clear idea of how to get there. No advanced sewing knowledge or skills are required, so really anyone with a reasonable amount of attention to detail could use the instructions and make something from them. 

And for sewists with a bit more experience? I can't speak for everyone, but for me Rosie's approach was exciting and inspiring.  I guess I normally tend to think of sewing projects in terms of available patterns, plus I'm quite risk averse, so to be honest it took me a little while to work up the courage to cut into my fabric - but once my scissors had started cutting I relaxed and started thinking of all the possibilities!  

See you soon

- Gabrielle

Chilling: V8930

Back in October of last year, I fell in love with a coat. This one! Oh, Yoshimi - I want to come to Japan and steal your coat - is that too evil of me?

Well, probably yes.

I don't really have plans to travel this winter, so for now I've had to make my own jacket from the same pattern, Vogue 8930. Yoshimi used an amazing double faced wool that I imagine was a real challenge to finish along the long edges of the jacket, but I used a boiled wool (so much easier! so much quicker!) in a lovely berry colour.  My fabric came from Tessuti fabrics, and while they don't look to have this colour in stock any more, they do have boiled wools in grey and black. Oh and the dress I'm wearing is this one in merino wool, made back in 2011.

# V8930 : drapey in boiled wool

The V8930 pattern comprises a front pattern piece which extends into the ginormous collar, a cut-on-the-fold back pattern piece and a sleeve piece. There are two options for jacket length and hem shape, and there's a choice of patch or side pockets, depending which view you sew.  The shoulders are dropped low and the jacket is a loose fit, which makes it easy to throw on top of other warm clothes - although I should mention due to a purchasing error I sewed the size L here, and normally I sew a size M, so I guess mine is looser than the designers intended.

My jacket is basically view A of the pattern, with the length from view B and the side pockets from view C.

# Side pockets for cosy hands in V8930

View A is the single layer of fabric version of the pattern, and it has a raw edge finish that's refreshingly quick to sew. The pattern suggests a single line of stitches set in from the edge, but I added a second parallel line of stitches about 0.5cm further in - I thought the single line of stitches was disappearing in the fabric, and that a second line might make the stitches look more intentional. Plus boiled wool likes to fray, and two lines of stitches seemed safer than one.

# Close up of edge stitching and mock flat felled seam, V8930

Speaking of simple modifications, the sleeves as drafted on this pattern were a bit short for my liking. Looking at the line drawings, the sleeves are apparently intended to be 3/4 length and to show sleeves from the layer you're wearing under the jacket, though this isn't mentioned in the pattern description. I really didn't want cropped sleeves on a snuggly coat, so I cut my sleeves 1.5 cm longer, and later trimmed the edges back by 0.5 cm instead of the 1 cm in the instructions.  I also gained a few centimetres in sleeve length by having narrow shoulders (finally, a narrow shoulder win!!) and by making a larger size than usual. So all up the resulting jacket sleeve lengths are perhaps 3 or 4 cm longer than the standard lengths, and exactly as long as I wanted.

I also took the opportunity to cut out the jacket with a few extra centimetres of length in the body - I figured it's easier to subract than to add length later!

# Very dropped shoulders on V8930

And one more change, a small detail. Given I don't intend to wrap that huge collar around my head, in step 8 for views A and B, I lapped the right side of the front sections over the right side of the back. The instructions tell you to lap the wrong side of the front sections over the right side of the back, but this results in an exposed seam when the collar lays flat on your back, and I wanted instead to have the neater right side of the collar uppermost when the collar was laid flat.

In the interests of fabric frugality (and now I have some left over!) I cut the back of the jacket as two pieces and sewed a mock flat felled seam on the centre back. [I used 2.6 m of 150 cm wide fabric, but the pattern suggests I should have needed 3.9 m; I'd bought 3 m.] The majority of the seams on this jacket are exposed seams where one piece of fabric overlaps another, and I know that sort of seam is trendy but I think I prefer the look of flat felled seams, and they're not too much harder to achieve with a well behaved wool.

# A back view, V8930

Did I mention how easy this pattern is? It's rated Very Easy, and that classification is absolutely spot on. Sure, you could pick a tricky fabric to up the challenge level, but with an easy fabric - and specifically, something that doesn't fray much - this is the sort of jacket you could whip up in on a quiet afternoon.

# V8930, draping like a waterfall cardigan

I'm really enjoying the way this lighter fabric drapes and folds... it's a bit like a waterfall cardigan. Having said that, I'd still really like to own this jacket sewn up in a luxuriously thick fabric, just like Yoshimi's...


Thanks for reading, and see you soon!



- Gabrielle  xx