Hey! Ho! Let's Sew!
What do I need a blog for? I forget to write in my diary most days...
Friday 11 February 2011
Monday 3 January 2011
Sunday 30 May 2010
Trapeze Act
Simplicity 7335 is a pattern that I've been searching for on eBay for a while and finally managed to get a copy in the right size. As you can see it looks gorgeous on the model-sized model in the illustration, so is sure to look great on me - right?
The problem with trapeze dresses is that they have the teeniest tendency to look like maternity dresses on anyone with boobs - sad but true. So while I'm quite pleased with how it turned out I think I may have to save it for actual pregnancy.
It's not an easy pattern, I was a little baffled by the inset pleat at the front, which is sewn in behind the front of the dress, which is then ripped open! I'm always happy with a bow though.
Wednesday 17 March 2010
Two-Tone Adventures
For the first time in my life I actually made a dress using PROPER measurements and I am very pleased with the results!
To start with I made a test-drive of this dress using some cheap material that I bought in a charity shop in two shades of purple.
However this mock-up highlighted certain problems:
- The pattern is a little large for me in the bust and small in the hips (or I am)
- The curves on the front are very hard to sew without little puckers appearing at the joins
So, in my second version I actually cut the fabric allowing for the difference in measurements and then sewed the front and back together with a tacking stitch and tried it on, then slightly altered before sewing it together properly - the result was MUCH more wearable.
In the second version I also added the optional pockets, but decided rather than plain to opt for one side in the plain and one in the patterned fabric, which gave a pleasing effect of contrast pocket flaps. I also added a covered button to the front - et voila!
Sunday 7 February 2010
VADS
I could spend all day browsing this and drooling over impeccable tailoring - check it out.
Monday 1 February 2010
Existence is Futile
But why? WHY would you ruin such a fabulous dress by accessorising it with a hat that looks like a turd?
Saturday 30 January 2010
The Lost Pattern
The pattern in question is a Vogue pattern from the late '60s - possibly Vogue Paris, possibly Vogue Couturier - the designer might be Pucci, then again it might not. It's a sleeveless shift dress with a starburst pattern radiating out from the centre - I can picture it so clearly - the photograph of the dress on the front is rendered in two shades of brown.
Not only can I not find the pattern that I imagined that I owned, but now I can't even find a picture of said pattern on t'interweb - even after trawling through Vintage Pattern Wiki! So perhaps I imagined not only my ownership of this pattern, but also it's very existence.
A most depressing state of affairs.
Oh well - in my travels I came across several other Vogue patterns that I am now desperate to own. Some of those are Pucci too!
None of them bear the slightest resemblance to the missing pattern though. The search continues...