To Work: Vintage Calvin Klein

Ta daaaa!  Yep, it's another top...


This one is sewn from a vintage pattern from my 80s/90s pattern collection (which is NOT a "carefully curated collection", though seriously, what even does that phrase mean? Does it just mean "a group of things I like"??). The pattern looks pretty boring in the envelope photos, but it's a designer pattern, which I find usually guarantees good bones, and the back of the envelope shows three very different tops, one of which (this one) only needs a metre of fabric.

The pattern is described as follows:

Loose-fitting pullover top or wrap blouse has cap or full-length sleeves. A and B mock bands, A: buttoned shoulder and sleeves closing. B: dropped shoulders and side-buttoned closing. C: extended shoulders, front pleated into self-lined yoke with forward shoulder seams and two-piece sleeves with buttoned cuffs shown pushed up.

I have a few of Calvin Klein's top patterns from the 70s, 80s and 90s and they seem to have quite a consistent, minimalist aesthetic, but this pattern is from 1986 - even though it has no shoulder pads. Vogue magazine anticipated the 1990s Calvin Klein designs would inspire Raf Simons' 2017 Calvin Klein collection (article and links to collections here), so maybe this is nearly fashionable?? Probably not, haha!

Anyway, these next photos of the pattern come from an etsy shop (linked) that had the pattern for sale as at the time of writing, but I can see it's available in lots of other online shops too if you like the look of it.

So obviously I made view A, the one that takes only a metre of fabric, and I left off the lovely buttoned shoulder detail - with my drapey silk twill I was worried I'd mess up, and the top gets on and off without any closures anyway.

This little top is intended to slot into my work wardrobe - black pants and skirts mixed with more interesting tops and jumpers - and though it looks summery with its fluttery cap sleeves, I think it's going to suit winter too in my current, very warm office.

These pants by the way are RTW, but if you could see them in person you might notice they're quite similar to Vogue 8909, with a loose fit (looser than the Hudson pants) and elasticized waist and ankles.  I'd make a pair except I already have a pair!

Vogue 8909 pants

Not Vogue 8909 pants, but a similar style

Because I left off the shoulder and sleeve buttoning closure this was a very straightforward top to sew.  The fabric, a gorgeous Italian silk twill from Tessuti Fabrics (sorry but it was purchased ages ago so I doubt it'd still be in stock) was a bit shifty to sew so that made things a little slower, but it was still only the matter of a few hours.

I used French seams on the shoulders and side seams and a rolled hem on the sleeves, and I should have but didn't use Lena's gelatine trick for shifty fabrics (here's Lena's original tip blogged in 2011, and here's the link to the 2012 Threads article inspired by Lena's blog post).  The rolled hem is wonky over the French seams, so perhaps French seams weren't such a good idea - that seam area was such a lot bulkier than the rest of the hem.

And I'm not sure if you can see this in the first of the detailed photos below, but I also used Debbie's trick for neat interfaced facings with no messy edges.

One of the nice things about a pattern like this is that it's really easily adjusted up or down a size.  My copy of this pattern was a size 10, but by widening the neckline and adding to the width of the top (including sleeve length) my top was effectively made as a size 12.

Not smug but happy - and that's all!


Happy sewing

- Gabrielle xx

Jungle January: Kielo Wrap Dress

Kielo wrap dress?   Certainly.

Jungle print?   Is an Aussie-bush-floral-sort-of print close enough?  With a touch of rope?  The rope part sounds right - but is that going to be enough to swing it?

January?   I finished this dress on the 31st January, and did quite a bit of its sewing in January, but it was started months ago. And it's being blogged in February (only just February though!). Is that January enough? 

Let's have a look at some garment photos, and we'll just assume all the paperwork's in order.


First up, with the ties at the front:

Then with the ties at the back:

And then with the ties as hand entertainment, or <<amuse-mains>>: 

So, as you already know, this is the Kielo wrap dress by Named patterns.   Judging by all the versions of this dress I've seen on other people's blogs, this dress pattern is a bit magical - it works in knits and wovens, full length or cropped, sleeveless or sleeved, and on all body types.

I bought the paper version of this pattern some time last year (or maybe even the year before), traced my size (EUR 38), and then waited to think of the right fabric.  Looking at my traced pattern pieces now, I don't think I added seam allowances - I'd only skimmed the instructions when I traced the pattern, and the snippet about adding seam allowances was in the middle of a paragraph that I didn't read properly - and this is probably why my dress is very fitted around the lower legs. Oops!

Removing about 7 cm from the hemline to bring the dress to a length I prefer to maxi length didn't really help, so if I make another Kielo I'll have to remember to add seam allowances and I might also make the slit in the centre back higher for easier striding.

The fabric is one that I've been holding in the stash for a long time - possibly a few years even.  I bought it from Tessuti fabrics, initially just a small remnant, and then more because I loved it and the remnant didn't look enough for a dress.  It feels soft and drapey and natural, and I vaguely recall it being a silk cotton mix.

My beautiful fabric was too transparent by itself, so under the dress is a 3/4 lining in a medium weight champagne coloured satin lining. The lining was made as another Kielo dress that stops at about knee length, just above the walking slit, then sewn to the dress proper at the neckline and armholes.

If you look closely you can see where the fabric's background colour darkens, below knee length, where the champagne coloured lining ends.

When I was sewing the outer and the lining together my fabrics stretched out in the shoulder straps and neckline, but I took the shoulders up about 3 or 4 cm and that fixed the problems without messing up the design.





My side seams also stretched and moved as I sewed them - I don't sew fine fabric too often, so I was probably being too cavalier with it - and that movement made me decide to skip the back darts. I think their absence is absolutely fine in this light fabric.

The natural rope ties were sewn into the seams, and the points where these ties come through were later hand stitched to the points of the lining.  The ties are wide and made of cotton - I think this a kind of webbing that's sometimes used in bag making, but please correct me if I'm wrong -  and I'm really happy with the way they juxtapose the airy dress.

To save cutting into my second piece of this fabric I pieced the upper back of the dress.  I wasn't able to match the print so I matched the colours instead:

And that's it - an imperfect dress that I'm very happy with!

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And now I have a question for you, my clever readers.

I've been invited at short notice to a fancy cocktail party with people I don't know (I'll be going as Mr UpSewLate's plus one), and I'm wondering, would this dress be appropriate, or would it be better to go the traditional route with something knee length and fitted - or something else entirely? What would you wear to a cocktail party?

Happy sewing, and see you soon


- Gabrielle x

MMMay14 Days 11 - 18

Another week of Me Made May documentation, taking me up to Sunday the 18th of May:


Day 11


Day 11 was Mother's Day in this part of the world. My kids spoilt me with handmade treasures, and Mr UpSewLate had repaired a favourite glass ring for me - yay! And we celebrated with my mum over breakfast at a lovely sunny French cafe.



I wore my recent BHL Elisalex/Vogue Pink Panther dress (a SewDollyClackett make) with a big yellow RTW cardi - I got it at a third of the normal price even though it was brand new stock, simply because most people apparently don't want to wear yellow. Crazy!!! But I do wish I could knit so I could make my own big chunky knitwear!
 

Look what the shop was selling - I was so tempted by these French oilcloths till I looked at the price:



Later in the day we headed over for a "bring a plate" dinner at my mother-in-law's house to celebrate a brother-in-law's birthday.  We brought a traditional bouef bourgignon that Mr UpSewLate had spent hours slaving over (we use the Simone Beck / Louisette Bertholle / Julia Child recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking and I'm going to resist a little aside on Julia Child mythology, as it really irritates me... ). We finished off with my MIL's lemon pound cake, then it was time to scarper off home and rush the kids to bed.  It had gotten chilly so I wore an old Vogue patterns black wool jersey dress. I'm not too sure of this dress - it always feels too short and too loose on - but my MIL loved the way it draped... And unfortunately I took very few photos and you can't see much in them. If you do want a better view, you can also see this dress under Day 17 in this blog post from MMM13 and under Day 25 in this blog post from MMM12.
 

Photos taken by me and MrIUpSewLate (backdoor of the cafe), then later with camera on tripod with 10 second timer on, with camera on continuous burst mode.


Day 12

Back to work - I don't hate Mondays though! It was another gorgeous Autumn day, so I wore my plaid wool jacket-cape, made from a vintage Vogue pattern reissue. Evidently I don't know how to wear scarves, even though I wear them all the time in the cooler months. These pictures were taken in the Royal Botanic Gardens.  I was planning to take pictures with the sea and /or Opera House behind me, but there were too many other people already doing the same thing (tourists? or maybe they were MMMay-ers?). 

Photo taken by me with camera on a bench (tree photo) and attached to a handrail (statue), on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode.


Day 13

A long meeting at my old office meant one good thing: photos on one of their terraces after the meeting. The doors to this particular terrace are normally locked, but the staff told me I was allowed out there if the doors weren't locked - and they weren't :). So I got the whole area to myself, with the downside that everyone walking past the glass doors on that level would have been able to see my foolishness. Oh well, I'm working on that thick skin... Wearing my self-drafted geometric silk top (this shape reminds me of the Belcarra top!) with my cropped cashmere jacket and The RTW pants that fit (even though they don't fit perfectly).
 
 

Photo taken by me with camera on a low wall, on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode.


Day 14

On day 14 I had another long (all morning) meeting at my old office, so I took my lunch break on the way back, via Darling Harbour. There are plenty of photogenic backdrops here, but there are also always loads of tourists and city office workers down here at lunchtime, so it was hard to find a spot that wouldn't have other people in the pictures. I managed to hide some people behind posts, and then I went up to the pedestrian overpass that takes people across Darling Harbour from Pyrmont into the city - I figured people up here would either be moving too briskly to notice me or taking pictures for themselves!  I was wearing my Converging Lines Brasilia dress - I really should make another of these, and take in CF below the bust!
 

Photo taken by me with camera on a raised ramp, then later attached to a post, on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode.


Day 15

Busy, busy day! I had a substantial piece of work due on Friday, so I put my head down and only dashed out to Martin Place briefly for photos when I was grabbing some lunch. I completely mistimed it though and ran out at the busiest time - people everywhere! Because I was a bit nervous and in a hurry I thought I'd probably stuff my photos up, so I found an attractive backdrop (which I asked permission to photograph) to distract you just in case :]. And the me made clothes? It's two Vogue/Tessuti combinations: a V8486 dress made from a gorgeous Tessuti silk, and my lush cashmere-wool V1098 jacket.  I don't wear either of these garments too often, but that's because I want to keep them nice!

 

Photo taken by me with camera on a bench next to a very confused young man who had to get to walk away from it all, replaced by a solicitous older man, on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode.


Day 16

On Friday we had a team yum cha, and we ate so much and so fast! Our organiser had warned us to wear loose clothes, but I think I was the only one who did so :). After lunch I raced to the top of Martin Place for a photo with the lucky wild boar (Il Porcellino) that sits on Macquarie Street.  I wore my Starry, Starry Gabby dress with a red linen jacket (I know this looks like the Tokyo jacket pattern, but it's an old Vogue Anne Klein pattern, and the sleeves aren't cut on). Not the best pictures, but embarrassing getting them as usual as the boar faces down Martin Place across a pedestrian crossing / set of traffic lights, and there are always office-y people coming and going down Macquarie Street. As well as joggers who are determined to do ALL their stretches by the boar even if your camera is clicking at them lol. As I don't think he was wearing me mades I shan't include those photos.

Photo taken by me with camera attached to railings, on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode, then a regular non-timer photo looking down Martin Place from across the road from the wild boar.


Day 17

Saturday was going to be a quiet day with a bit of kids sport thrown in, but we were woken at 7am by the sound of a large concrete mixer truck coming down our driveway to do some work for the neighbours who live behind us. I'm glad my neighbours are finally fixing up their driveway - we'll be able to have a side fence soon! - but I do wish their builders wouldn't use my back garden as their staging area. I talked to the builders about it before I went out, they apologised and said they'd fix it, but when I came back home they'd established even more equipment in my garden! Grrr! I went out again and bought some cheap plastic fencing and bamboo sticks and that was the afternoon's craft activity - making a crappy plastic fence to remind the various builders of the boundary. While I was out getting my fence supplies I took these snaps of what I was wearing - I don't know what the buildings are but the light looked lovely and I didn't think anyone else was around. Wearing my Maria Denmark Kirsten Kimono tee and my denim Grainline Moss Mini.

Photo taken by me with camera on a low bollard, on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode.


Day 18    

Sunday! I haven't been doing enough sewing lately but on Friday night I read all the reviews I could find of the Papercut Patterns Pleated Pants, on Saturday night I traced the pattern and and on Sunday morning I cut out some nice weighty denim. I won this pattern last year from a giveaway on Juliet's blog and I have been so slow to sew it up! Sorry Juliet! Anyway, for a comfortable day at home I wore another Gabby dress, this one made from a stretch fabric. Unfortunately not only have I shrunk in the last year, but the weight of the fabric has also stretched this dress out - so it's another I really need take in. In the photos below you can see I'm cutting out the instructions for the Papercut pants and celebrating unreasonably once that was done :). Small steps, small steps...

 

Photo taken by me with camera on a tripod, on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode.

Phew!  Another week down. I don't have too many observations to make at the moment, apart from that it's nice to see my sewing has improved over time (there were some dodgy seams back when I started, like in the silk dress on day 15) and that I obviously like blue and red!

I'm aiming to wear 10 me mades each 7 days in May. My tally for this week is 13 me mades in 8 days, including repeats, and to date that's 28 me mades in 18 days.

See you soon


Gabrielle x

MMM Days 4 - 10

Here goes - more Me Made May documentation, taking me up to Saturday the 10th of May:


Day 4

Day 4 was a quiet Sunday at home, with a park playdate in the late afternoon. My house is freezing, so even though it was a lovely sunny day I absolutely rugged up - in my Tessuti patterns Anita pants in "Bleach Boys" ponti (pants blogged here). Rachel has a matching pair; did anyone else make Bleach Boys Anita pants?

Photo taken by me with camera on a tripod, on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode.


Day 5

Day 5 was a day of annual leave for me, but I couldn't just laze about in ponte pants all day because I had to go visit a school and make a good impression on the staff.  I basically dressed as I would for work: my recent floral silk twill top coupled with black RTW trousers, black shoes and a lightweight black RTW coat (not pictured).

These pictures were taken on my way home from the school. The top is really hard to photograph for some reason, even up close!

 

Photo taken by me with camera balanced on my car using the gorillapod, on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode.


Day 6

Back to work. The days are getting cold on either end, but since I work short days I can mostly ignore that and dress for middle-of-the-day-in-the-city weather (which is up around 20 - 22C lately).  I wore this wild, floral jersey dress (Vogue 8511) that I don't wear too often - I worry that it's too exuberant for work, but when I posted this Me-Made-May dress on Instagram I got lots of encouragement, and I've decided the big colours can come back and stay. [Although I do need to take this dress in before I wear it again.]

Anyway, at lunchtime I took my exuberant dress for a walk down to The Rocks, to a lovely bright pink door I'd spotted last week. I attached my camera around a telegraph pole, and waited for people to pass so I could take some photos. While I was waiting I noticed a woman hanging around way past the end of her cigarette to watch me. I took a couple of photos and checked them, and then she approached. "Art project?", she asked. "No, no, it's me made May, which is a month when people who sew from all over the world wear things they've sewn and take photos to share what they've worn blah blah blah..." "Aha! Yes, art project!" And now satisfied, she was able to walk away.

Photos taken by me with camera attached to telegraph pole, on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode.


Day 7

On day 7 I wore my blindingly white Vogue peplum top (it's too white, I need to dye it - the colour is awful on me, though you won't be able to tell because it's apparently impossible to photograph) with THE pair of work pants that fit and my perfect-for-this-time-of-year unlined wool Donna Karan jacket. I love, love, love the shape of these clothes together, but they really do not want to be photographed!

My work day was hectic so I didn't have much of a lunch break to take photos. I found a simple backdrop in some shade, and found a railing to attach my camera to, but the photos I got were hopeless. I must have been making some pitiful faces as I reviewed my efforts, because a group of random passersby - fellow office workers - smiled and offered to help! Oh, the kindness of strangers :). They did a pretty good job too, considering the challenge of photographing both black and white together! 

First photo taken by passersby :) on continuous burst mode, second photo (earlier) taken by me with camera attached to a railing, on 10 second timer, on continuous burst mode.

Day 8

Day 8, and my son woke up feeling and looking ill so I stayed home with him and took the opportunity to tackle some challenging code while he read and did homework (that's right, staying home sick is not fun around here!).  I wore the orange/coral and cream merino wool top I made last year. It coordinates with the blue one with horizontal stripes, though obviously I'm never going to wear them together - but they're some of my absolute favourite colours.

Photos taken by me with camera on a tripod, on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode.


Day 9

I love Fridays! It's nearly the weekend, and my Friday workload is usually absolutely reasonable. The weather turned glorious and sunny in time for a walk at lunchtime down to the King Street Wharf before a delicious vegetarian curry at Peace Harmony on Erskine Street.

I wore my blue Anita ponti pants, found last night hiding under some RTW pants (I've been looking for them for so long!), with an ex-maternity top, the grey wool Donna Karan jacket I've been wearing nearly constantly, a colourful scarf and some equally colourful felt beads from a sale in a children's clothing shop.

 

 

Photo taken by me with camera attached to a handrail or pylon using the gorillapod, on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode.


Day 10

It's the weekend! Saturday started off busy with kids' activities, but the afternoon was lovely and quiet. I wore my Grainline Moss Mini denim skirt with everything else RTW - I was planning to wear more me mades, but was too tired when I woke up to sort out an interesting me made outfit.

Photos taken by me with camera on a tripod, on 10 second timer, with camera on continuous burst mode.

I'm aiming to wear 10 me mades each 7 days in May, and my tally for this week is 11 me mades in 7 days, including repeats (my wool jacket). And to date that's 15 me mades in 11 days. 

My wardrobe still has plenty of choice in it if I ignore fit, but the photo taking is becoming an impost and my Instagram pics are pretty dodgy. Anyway, time to head over to the Flickr pool and share these me mades with the group.


Thanks for reading!

Gabrielle x