Sewing

1920s Heiress

31st Jul 2020 yorkiemouse1 Comment

My recent obsession with Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries reminded me of one of my first forays into writing about sewing. I thought I would resurrect and update that article for my blog. The connection is because Phryne Fisher, the 1920s feminist protagonist, has the most enviable collection of nightwear.

Back in May 2019, Sew Hayley Jane asked me if I would like to be “Make of the Month”. Hayley includes a magazine in her sewing subscription boxes and her offer made me so proud (I phoned my Mum to tell her).

It often starts with the fabric…

Hayley’s February 2019 box included some dreamy Atelier Brunette Moonstone viscose in a blush pink, which was crying out to be made into something luxurious. When I received the fabric, I committed to making something immediately (after mandatory pre-wash) for fear of it sitting in my stash and being “too precious” to use. Typically, AB fabric is at the pricier end of the scale, but I’ve found the quality to be good to counteract the hit on the bank balance.

I had the Seamwork Almada pattern in my stash and decided that elegant loungewear was the way to go. At the time, we had been re-watching Agatha Christie’s Poirot and I fancied myself as some sort of 1920s heiress, swishing around and drinking cocktails…but without the crime. Now when I’m wearing it, I’m Phryne…minus the bodies.

Using selvedge as a label is one of my favourite touches

Adjustments

Quite a few reviews of the Almada said that the robe comes up short so I cut the robe at the longest pattern length, which was approximately 4″ extra. The tie placement was trial and error, figuring out what was practical and comfortable. I ended up moving the ties “up and in a bit” from the original pattern placement.

The fabric was a dream to work with. I decided to sew French seams throughout to compliment the overall look. I confess that I bought the bias binding used for the neckline – life is too short to fiddle about creating your own when Atelier Brunette have done the work for you. Through a stroke of luck, I had enough bias binding for the hem as well. Whilst not in the instructions, I think it looks nice alongside the French seams.

As you can see from my expression, I’m not destined for a career as a boudoir model but I do love swishing around the house in my Almada. I get so much wear out of it as it’s a perfect summer robe. As with most of the reviews that I read, I have noticed that the sleeves frequently get stuck on door knobs but it makes me move slower so that’s probably a good thing.

Thanks for reading. If anybody needs me, I’ll be having a cocktail whilst watching Miss Fisher and Jack solve murders ;o)

Adrift in a Meadow

22nd Jul 2020 yorkiemouse2 Comments

Hello all. Today, I’m writing about one of those fabrics that was in my stash for a while. You know the ones that are so gorgeous that you don’t dare cut into them in case you ruin them? It’s an Art Gallery Fabrics rayon from Guthrie Ghani that I think a lot of sewists will recognise. I love teal and had been lusting after this ‘Meadow’ for a while when I finally bought it. I pre-washed and ironed it (such a goodie-two-shoes) and then let it sit in my stash for ages because I couldn’t decide what to do with it.

My plans for this fabric changed approximately 15 times. I knew I wanted a floaty, feminine dress to show off the drape and pattern. I have made Papercut’s Adrift dress before and love the style. Learning from my previous experience, I knew I needed to add length to the skirt. Usually, I don’t have to lengthen things but this skirt comes up very short for my liking. My other version is a “tights only” dress.

Adding length to the skirt wasn’t without head-scratching because of the front ruffle. I added 3″ to the skirt length, then the same amount to the middle of the ruffle. Then I levelled the curve and crossed my fingers before picking up the rotary cutter.

Size-wise, I cut an XS on the bust, S on the waist and M at the hips. This means that the front frill piece is also graded accordingly – it’s a piece with a lot of notes on it!

The fabric is very delicate and pulled a few times even with a fine needle (thankfully, nowhere obvious). I used French seams to make the insides lovely and prevent fraying. Papercut use a 1cm seam allowance so the French seams are tiny, which I think is quite appropriate for this fabric.

This dress is so lovely to wear. It’s comfortable, feminine and the fabric really suits the style. I still have a slight nervousness when wearing it that I’ll spill pasta sauce down it or snag it on something, but I’m really pleased that it’s out in the open, rather that in my stash. It’s also one of my Make Nine 2020 – 8 down, 1 to go.

Thanks for reading :o)

MakeNine2020 · Sewing

Isewlation part 3 – frocks

6th Jul 202017th Apr 2021 yorkiemouse1 Comment

I’m back for part 3 of isewlation sewing with some dresses that I’ve conjured up.

Most summers, I wear a lot of dresses and prefer a slightly more fitted look for work. Due to the “pesky virus” (I’m going through a phase where I refuse to use its name), I have had less/no need/desire to wear them this year. They’ll keep for future years but I’m sad that I haven’t worn a lot of my wardrobe this summer.

Lilac Kew

Early on in lockdown, I made a Kew dress with this lilac broderie anglaise from Lamazi Fabrics. I had made the Kew before and love the fit, especially the high/low hem on the skirt. By nature, broderie anglaise has holes in it so I fully lined this dress with a thin cotton that I dyed in the machine.

I wore the dress for a virtual murder mystery night with my family where I played a debutante (hence the pearls). I was ridiculously excited to wear heels and get dressed up that evening!

Return of the Myosotis

Who’d have thought I had reservations about the Myosotis dress to begin with?! Since I made my first one (blogged here), I have made two more.

Having dipped my toe into the ‘double-gauze water’, I decided to use another of my Make Nine 2020 fabrics for a second Myosotis dress. This teal and gold dots fabric was from Sew Me Sunshine a while ago and has such a rich colour. The buttons were from my stash and I think were cut off an old ‘rtw’ garment. I made the entire dress during The Fold Line’s #sewingweekender, which was a fun few days of sewing as a global community.

For my third Myosotis, I wanted a longer version. Another of my Make Nine fabrics was from Crafty Sew & So, an abstract floral viscose that I have always wanted to make into a floaty dress. It didn’t disappoint. I cut version B of the dress before the bottom panel to make sure I had enough to make a complete garment. Then for the bottom panel, I cut as long as the remaining fabric would allow and gathered it before attaching. The teeny, tiny glass buttons are from the rabbit hole that is The Swagmans Daughter.

Park Lane

I won the Park Lane pattern from RedWSews as she had an extra copy following a pattern test. I really liked the style of the dress and was eyeing it up before winning it. I used a drapey viscose that I got in a Sew Hayley Jane box.

I made a few fitting alterations on this dress but the main alteration was to add an elastic channel in the cuff. When I tried it on, it was really floppy around my elbow, which I decided would annoy me. I was pleased with how the cuffs had turned out though so didn’t want to shorten and resew them! The lazy woman’s choice resulted in a sleeve that I probably prefer. I unpicked a few inches, then fed some elastic through to tighten up the cuff. I’ve since made the blouse version and kept this alteration.

If I make this dress again, I’ll also probably put the zip in the back. Whilst the side zip is more discrete, it made for a bit of a nightmare when I needed to grade the dress in by a few inches. To do this symmetrically, I had to taper the back. It worked but would have been easier if the zip had been down the centre back.

The photos of this dress offer some “lockdown realness”. The weather is awful today and I wanted some photos so I asked the husband to take some. He asked “are you leaving those socks on?”, to which I said “yeah, why not?”! It’s a lovely dress to wear and feels a bit special on grey days.

Thanks for reading :o)