More a Miaow than a Roar

Let me quickly try to blog against my Vintage Pattern Pledge target - I was aiming for 4 garments from vintage or reproduction vintage patterns, and though I'm pretty sure I've sewn 4 and a half, I've only blogged 2: my graphic alert dress and my frocktails cape; this broderie anglaise top doesn't count because I sewed it late last year. 

So here's vintage pattern garment number 3 for the pledge: a pink animal print (is there such a thing as a big cat with pink fur?) top made using a 1980s pattern. 

This next photo is the best I have - I'm not sure why the rest of my photos are so washed out! 

 

The fabric is a spongey, crepey, slightly stretchy fabric from Lincraft - it's got to be a cheap polyester. I bought it a few months ago (before I learnt my lesson) for a ridiculously cheap sale price, thinking it would be good "test" fabric, though it's unlike anything else in my stash...  On the plus side it needs no ironing, which makes the top useful when I'm running late for work.  In the below picture I'm doing a terrible job of acting "running late for work". Terrible! 

And the pattern is one I picked up very cheap in a second hand store - there is not that much demand for these 80s basics! I thought it looked like a good pattern though: firstly it's a designer pattern, and secondly it includes three very different tops: a shoulder-buttoned pullover top with cut on, fluttery sleeves (A); a drop shoulder, side-buttoned (!!) long sleeved top (B), and a forward shoulder, front-buttoned blouse (C).  I'm kind of staggered that these three tops were considered good for a single pattern back then - they are all so different!  

On first glance the pattern looked too small for me - it's a size 10, I know the sizing is the same as in modern Vogue patterns, and I currently fit a size 12 in modern Vogue top patterns. However, back then clothes were worn a lot looser than now - yippee!  For 80s patterns I get to go down a size (unless I want an 80s fit!), just keeping an eye out for nipped in waists :).  

I wanted to make something simple with my stunt fabric, so I went with variant A, and left off the shoulder buttons. On the pattern envelope photo the neckline on this top looks absolutely comfortable, but I assume a very slim model was used, as when I cut this out I found the neckline quite constricting - and so small that those shoulder buttons would have been a necessity - so I recut my neckline and facing a couple of centimetres bigger all around to fit my head.  

Without the shoulder button detail all that's left is the shape, with what turns out to be a rather lovely sleeve - I think these sleeves would look beautiful in a drapey silk. The arm scye is quite low cut but not so low cut as to show any bra. 

I sewed this very fast and carelessly, and the result is absolutely wearable but nothing special.  I do like a simple top though, and I think I may be able to square the shoulders on this pattern to make for an even more fluttery sleeve - and a pattern that would then work with a border print along the shoulder line (ideas, ideas, ideas!). So in short, I'll definitely be coming back to this one.

Happy new year, and see you in 2016!

- Gabrielle xx

Mixed Media Frock for Frocktails (V8945)

I spent a lot of time planning this frocktails dress; drawing all the possible dresses and moving snips of favourite fabrics between the sketches. And then suddenly there were just 3 weeks to go and some of the Melbourne crew were starting to talk about their completed frocktails dresses. Holy crab...

Under a bit of pressure I chose a dress and fabric combination that I thought would be warm enough for Melbourne and dramatic enough to express my personal style... it was certainly warm enough, and the sleeves are certainly saying something!

The pattern I used for this dress was Vogue 8945, a very easy Vogue that came out a couple of years ago (2013 I think?). The suggested fabrics are lovely drapey things like faille, crepe and challis - and I've seen some gorgeous incarnations of the pattern in these fabrics - but I had a fabric that made me think of Alexander McQueen, a black and white thick bonded polyester with absolutely no give to it, and that's what I really wanted to use, so... So I did!

I cut the dress out in my standard size: 12 from shoulders to bust, blending to a 14 below the bust. The sleeves were from dress version B (straight sleeve to above the elbow, and sleeve flounces below the elbow), and the neckline a much narrowed and reduced version of the rounded neckline in version A.

In the back of the dress I used an invisible zip rather than the recommended regular zip simply because I find them easier to install than regular zips, and I left off the vertical back darts as I thought I didn't want the dress to be too fitted. 

Originally I cut the upper sleeves from the same fabric as the body of the dress BUT of course a radical change to the suggested fabric type affects fit, and the original sleeves were tight and uncomfortable, and resulted in a lot of pulling through the dress body. I swapped them out for cosy, stretchy black merino wool sleeves that eased beautifully into the arm scye and that allow for as much arm motion as I could possibly want - they're even a little loose!  Stash to the rescue!

Next challenge? A narrow hem for the bonded polyester flounce sleeve?  No thanks - imagine the bulk! Instead (thank you again, stash!) I finished the edges with poly satin bias binding folded over, which I think you can just see in the above photo.

I didn't have enough of the bonded polyester to make it into triple layer flounce sleeves, and I think the fabric would have been way too heavy and thick for three layers anyway, so once I'd finished my single black and white flounce I went through my stash for a coordinating fabric for the under layers of sleeve flounce.  The fabric I came up with, a coral silk organza, is just what I wanted - it has lots of body, which is great under the thick polyester, and it also drapes beautifully.  The sleeves were supposed to be three separate flounce layers, but I wanted clean edges and extra body in the organza, so I trimmed the two organza layers to the same size, sewed them together, trimmed the seams and pressed them inside out.  I LOVE the way this looks - so schmick!

I ended up hand stitching the double organza layer to the seam between upper and lower arms as I wanted to get just the "right" amount (yes, of course that's subjective!) of silk organza showing all around, and after lots and lots of pinning to different sleeve lengths a machine stitch seemed risky :).

Apart from the sleeves, I guess the other interesting thing going on with this dress is the fabric. It's sort of like an animal print, and sort of abstract, and the print moves in swirls and curves with light and dark areas. I tried really hard to factor these aspects of the print into my pattern layout, but I didn't have a lot of extra fabric to play with... Maybe I should tell you what I was trying to do with my print placement, and let you judge for yourselves whether or not I managed it?  I was trying to get (1) the swirls of print below my bust and near my hips, (2) the prints to look like they belonged alongside each other on the side seams, and (3) the sleeves' print to look like they belonged with the part of the dress they sat alongside.  I don't think I did that great a job with (1) but I'm happy with (2), and everything changed in (3) when I swapped out the upper sleeves for black merino wool.

The night before frocktails I did some brutal last minute fitting and finishing, trying to see the dress through a party filter. I lopped a good couple of inches from the dress length before hand stitching a deep hem; I think the dress would have sewn up as just above knee length on me otherwise. And I took the whole dress in a size or more through the side seams and gave it back the waist the back darts would probably have suggested - but it still looks loose through the waist in all these photos. In fact I can also see some excess fabric in the upper chest, but I don't know how I could have removed that without compromising movement and comfort. With the waist level pouching I think a couple of vertical darts below the bust would have helped, as would those darts in the back I skipped - I'll have to think about darts if I make this pattern again, though the fit would be entirely different and perhaps more forgiving in a drapey fabric.

And how do I feel about the dress? Well it was very comfortable to wear, plenty warm enough for a winter cocktail party in Melbourne. and I'm really pleased to have made the dress I wanted to make rather than something "safe". That does sound silly and trivial, doesn't it, but I think making a statement with your clothes is absolutely suitable for frocktails!

And finally, maybe you're asking yourself whether this is a stunt frock - will it be worn again? Surprisingly for something so dramatic, no and yes! I wore it all day on the day I took these photos, and as a result of the sleeves had some lovely sewing conversations in a costume shop. And then I wore it out to a fancy dinner this weekend - so that's three wears in a month!

  

Not all the photos have normal faces in them...

See you soon!
 


- Gabrielle xx

Vintage Weigel's Dress #1

Q: What do you get when you cross a sweet vintage pattern with a pretty quilting cotton?


I've had this Weigel's pattern for a few years, and I've been so looking forward to being able to make it for my daughter. A few weeks ago I got it into my head that the time was right, and then that thought morphed into ambitious thoughts of Christmas dresses.

The last time I made my daughter a vintage dress I was pleasantly surprised by the fit (I don't think I ever blogged it though, sorry, but it was a 1950s Simplicity dress in striped cotton), so this time around I didn't expect many issues.  I wanted to make the view on the right, the blue dress with the detachable bib (or whatever it's called) with that cool step shape, but then I got it into my head to use a pretty coral and cream quilting cotton in my stash. I only had a metre of the fabric, not at all enough, so I made do with approximation of the dress - with the bib omitted and the skirt volume reduced - which I thought might still be pretty. And all going well I thought I'd then be able to whip up the complete dress with bib in plenty of time for Christmas :).


A: THIS is what you get!

"Aha!", you say, "but you did NOT use that pattern!"

Yes, I did use that pattern, but I only had a metre of fabric to play with. Even without measuring anything I knew I'd need to lengthen the skirt substantially for my very tall 7 year old, and to do that I had to leave off the sweet geometric bib, massively reduce the fullness of the skirt, and leave out the sash. I had enough small fabric scraps left over to piece together some simple facings (not included in the pattern), but there's now only really enough material left for a little something for Barbie.

Now I don't know if Weigel's were known back in the day for drafting their patterns wide, but this dress - geez!!! there was so much ease in it! In these photos you can see the dress looks loose with wideset shoulders; bear in mind that I took these pictures after I'd removed 2 centimetres from each side seam, from underarm to waist - which is as much as I could take the dress in without making the bodice narrower than the shoulder straps. I'm pretty surprised that excess ease in children's patterns has been around for so long - I thought patterns were all smaller in the old days!

Next time around to improve the fit and get those shoulder straps in the right place I want to remove about an inch from CF and a couple of inches from CB. [Yes, there will be a next time though probably not in time for Christmas. I've got my fabric lined up: the Atelier Brunette "Blue Moon" fabric I bought a couple of months ago when Busy Lizzie introduced me to Lil' Weasel in Paris. And I've got 1.5 metres of it, so I think there's enough to make the bib and pouffy skirt too. YAY!]




At least the length looks good, doesn't it? Well that's not the pattern either; I added a substantial amount of length to the dress as drafted, with hopes for a lovely deep hem, and what I've ended up with is a stingy little turned-over-once-and-serged affair.  Very disappointing given the cover art - I just wish someone had posted a review on patternreview (don't worry, I'm kidding!)

The loose fit isn't really a big problem though, as my daughter loves loose dresses - they're comfortable for handstands, soocer, eating, whatever!  More embarrassing though is the distinct Becky Home Ecky feel to the dress when my delightful model turns around... Behold THE most rubbish zip I have ever inserted!

I'd like to blame the tension on my sewing machine, but since the machine was only just serviced the responsibility looks to be all mine. At least the seams are matching up nicely (phew!).

Moving swiftly along, what I do like about this pattern are the bodice pleats and the square neckline, and I'm sure I'll like the bib too. And I think the fabric colour is super pretty on my daughter :).

Let's skip the moral of the story - most importantly of all, the owner of this new dress LOVES it!

Hope you're well, and see you soon!


- Gabrielle x

Vintage Outfit for the New Year

Back so soon!  And I've actually done what I said I would (congratulates self on improving time management skills) and completed a little outfit for my daughter. It took longer than expected (nothing new there) but I think it's pretty cute!

It's a button back dress with matching reversible kimono sleeve box jacket.

The buttonholes on the dress back are horizontal at neck and waist but vertical in between, reflecting the different amounts of stress I expect at these places.  I've used pale pink vintage hemispherical buttons which proved hard to photograph...

The dress and one side of the bolero are made from a light cotton voile which I figured would work well in our hot summer weather, and the coordinating fabric for the jacket is a midweight linen.

I pretty much used the pattern (Simplicity 4968 from the late 50s or early 60s) as is, with only a couple of small changes. After sewing the bodice up I got Miss UpSewLate to try it on and she advised me that it was too short. In her view, her waistline is below her belly (let's hope she grows out of this opinion and never gets too keen on beers), and she gets annoyed with all the dresses that put a waistline at her ... uh... waist. It was a bit short but not as short as she thought so I added a waistband - just a band of double layer, interfaced fabric to extend the bodice. In the end this was acceptable. She also didn't want the cute patch pockets shown on the pattern picture and in fact wanted NO pockets, because pockets always seem to get sand in them. And this is of course true for all those who like playing in a sandpit...

I think the result is really nice. Not my style, but very sweet for a young girl and quite dressy with the little summery jacket. I prefer the jacket linen side out, but Miss UpSewLate's preference is flowers on the outside - more, more, and more flowers, mum!, as you can see from her photos with flowers. Perhaps the floristry trade is calling?

Now if you've been reading this blog a while you'll know I haven't sewn much since around late October last year, and I've hardly blogged since then. It felt like there were too many "fails" amongst my last few projects, so I was hoping this project would help me regain my sewing skills so I could take on another adult project with a bit of hope for a decent result. Although I'm sure this pattern could not be regarded as complex, it did let me practice a few sewing skills that I have definitely not yet mastered - namely using the serger (I need to work out the correct way to serge corners; maybe I need to watch the boring educational DVD!) and hand sewing (for some of the edges of the reversible bolero and for the inside facings at the shoulder seams). For these personal challenge areas I took it very slowly; the results are not perfect but are decent enough for me. For a Simplicity pattern, the instructions weren't as detailed as I would have expected (eg no mention of interfacing - surely it was used in the 50s / 60s?), but the illustrations in the instructions were very clear. And I do like pre-cut pattern piece patterns; I traced around them to cut the fabric on my new (Christmas!) cutting mat and the cutting activity was a pleasure :-).




So, what do you think?  Can I move on up to selfish sewing now?

PS Because I managed to make this within December and it's for a child, it's eligible for the current "Sewing for Children" competition on Pattern Review. So I'm entering :-). The entry gallery is here, and there are some fabulous entries but if you particularly liked my outfit I wouldn't mind at all if you voted for it. Really!