Wedding dress part 5: it’s the final countdown

Posted on August 22, 2016March 27, 2017 Posted in sewTagged bridal, bridalwear, dressmaking, fashion, gold, homemade wedding, pattern cutting, pattern making, petticoat, wedding dress, zipLeave a comment

In 5 weeks time the actual wedding will be over, so this is the big push to make up the final dress! In an ideal world it’ll be ready for the final fitting by next weekend, leaving me a couple of weeks to hem it, add a hook-up train solution, and do any last minute alterations. And that’s not a completely unrealistic goal: as we stand right now the top mesh layer is sewn! And almost all the pieces are cut ready for the second layer. The petticoat is well into development too. So if I can plough on during the evenings of the coming week maybe I can avoid a last minute panic?!

I wanted to get the petticoat nailed first, but that didn’t go terribly well. I’d tried to do research on how to make an underskirt but I kept coming up with nothing. We’d bought 10m of very stiff mesh at the beginning of this project, so I persevered with that, making tiers with an enormous amount of volume in them, but it didn’t look right. It was more like a tutu for a small child than a couture undergarment.

At which point Lucy, in trying to help out and find some more information online, realised that there was an alluring array available on eBay for no more than twenty quid… So I downed tools and bought one.

And it’s not too bad! Much more volume than I was managing to create. But very, very light ivory, which I would’ve preferred to be more like a cream. Also, and fairly vitally, it’s quite short. Even with my fitted facing on the top, the length is still 13cm shorter than the dress itself will be.

I am going to have to build it up a bit bigger, so I will add a layer of my own tiered mesh; to create a kind of hybrid store bought / made to measure petticoat. So this extra layer can be a little longer, and maybe that will be enough! Maybe under the full dress it will all work. And if it doesn’t then I’ll need to make a panel of my own to go between the boned top panel and the top tier of the bought petticoat.

Petticoat will therefore stay flexible until I’ve got more of the dress done, and we’ll cross these bridges when we get to them. But I’m really glad I ditched the overlapping panel closure solution (on the left below) and changed to more panels and an open ended zipper. The new one is working out very nicely, so at least I feel that however we solve the mesh dilemma it will have a good, well-fitting anchor at the waist.

And on to the actual dress!

Cutting out the skirt panels from the narrow mesh threw up an immediate mishap: I’d miscalculated on the width of the biggest, centre back panel.

I’d been super careful, but there were a few things I’d overlooked (like the centre back edge not being along the grain line all the way to the top, and the fabric being shy of the 90cm). To fix this I had to take away almost 5cm of volume from this panel, which won’t matter in the slightest because the back is not short on volume. Not a disaster, just a momentary pain in the arse.

The zip has been source of great concern for me. It’s a focal point in it’s own way, there’s nowhere to hide with it on a dress with this little adornment, and it could be the difference between the dress looking professional and shoddy. I’m therefore massively relieved to have gotten it in, to the outer layer at least.

Because the two layers are both visible and not just a simple outer and lining, I wasn’t sure what the right solution was. In the end I decided to make both layers up separately anyway, which means the zip construction can be super normal and much more likely to look good, but I do want the seam allowance of the waist seam on the mesh layer to be on the inside of the garment… and whether or not you can visualise what I mean by that! You can trust me that it’s kind of two contradictory things.

Even though I bought a concealed style of zipper I’ve sewn it in in the conventional way. There is an overlap on one side which covers the zip and I hand stitched that to the machine stitching line for the most subtle indention possible, rather than an obvious machined topstitch.

My plan is to make up the top and skirt parts of the bottom layer and then add them to the outer in a way that achieves the waist look I want. Then I will hand stitch the bottom layer to the zipper similarly to a lining, and hopefully that will go without a hitch!

The rest of the panels went to together easily. I’ve put tiny french seams on the bodice at the side and princess seams. The skirt seams are stitched twice and pressed to one side. So far I’m happy with this but I might still need to trim the seam allowance down if it looks too chunky against the silk under layer.

One more week then to make up the under layer, add sleeves to the mesh layer, and work on the petticoat. Seems manageable. And as much as I’m enjoying this I’m glad to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Total hours worked: 50

Wedding dress part 4; second fitting

Posted on July 11, 2016July 17, 2016 Posted in sewTagged bridal, bridalwear, fashion, fitting, homemade wedding, pattern cutting, pattern making, toile, wedding dress4 Comments

This is going to be a fairly quick catch up, mostly because I don’t think I took many decent pictures!

In my last blog post (here) Paula tried on the first toile, we pinned it to fit and we made a lot of design decisions. I used those fabric pieces to draft a new version of the pattern in paper, and that’s what I’ve used to cut and make the second toile.

Because the mesh fabric we’ve chosen is so unusual I decided to make the top part of this mock-up in the real thing, rather than calico. Partly because it would be impossible to get the perfect fit otherwise, and partly because I’ve never worked with something like this before so needed the practice! But as it’d just be costly and unnecessary for the skirt I’ve carried on in a medium/heavy weight calico there.

Which led to the first problem – I had the calico in hand before the mesh, so I went ahead and made the skirt first feeling all smug and efficient… Until I realised that meant I couldn’t put the bloody zip in properly. I should have sewn the waist seam for the left and right back panels first, and the centre back seam up to the bottom of the zip opening, then put the zip in, then carried on with all the other seams. Lesson learnt.

The zip threw up a multitude of issues actually. I tried two different methods on the left and right, one with the zip tape between the layers of mesh and the other treating the two layers as one, and in that confusion I stretched one side out pretty badly and ended up with the back neck line on the wonk.

Plus I bought a concealed zip and then realised I didn’t have a concealed zipper foot, which would allow me to stitch right beside the zip teeth. Without that the concealed zip is not even remotely concealed.

And then there’s the petticoat, which I hastily threw together the night before the fitting because I wasn’t really sure what I wanted! But actually that was fine, we talked about how it should be and we used the bit I had made to cobble together a look we liked under the skirt. So this will be the next part I work on; I need to make a wide facing with boning, I’ll meet up with Paula again and check it fits like a glove, then I’ll attach the lining and the amount of mesh we’ve decided on and that will be the first section of the final dress to be finalised.

The actual fitting went well! She seems like a happy camper, so I am too. She’d planned to wear a shaping body con thing underneath, Spanx-style, but actually when we tried that on it just seemed uncomfortable and unnecessary. Also less flattering, weirdly enough. Sometimes I think those garments are counter-productive, instead of smoothing out your silhouette they just squeeze you into a generic amoeba shape with no distinction between bust and waist, bum and thigh. Back in her normal bra the bodice fitted so much better, and we can even take away some fabric from the midriff to properly define her figure – infinitely better than the Spanx scuba sausage.

I’d made the sleeve a wince too tight, so we cut up to see how much to let back out. But it actually looked so nice with a looser, straighter sleeve that we’ve decided to run with that. It’s a bit risky I guess, but at least it’s only sleeves; if we have to whip them off and make slim ones again then it won’t be the end of the world.

So, as previously mentioned my next step is the underskirt contraption. But before I launch into that I’ll take this incarnation in to the seamstresses at work and see what they have to say on the subject. I have a lot of questions and I think there’s loads more minor disasters here that I’m not even aware of. I don’t want any last minute surprises!

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail, said… no one cool, ever.

Total hours worked: 31

Visit Boston and New York! (Also getting back to the wedding dress)

Posted on June 27, 2016 Posted in visitTagged aquarium, Boston, fashion, museum, New York, Provincetown, road trip, RockportLeave a comment

I’m finding life a bit hard to get back into after the trip I took last month. I’m struggling to pick up where I left off in all of my projects, including this blog. So I’m gonna make this post a quick-fire round: two weeks in 50 words or less… ish.

Boston. Shiny financial district. More matte university.

Lack of bars.

Good aquarium!

Rockport. Foggy.

Then less foggy.

Generally adorable.

Provincetown. Gay.

No lack of bars!

Providence / New Haven: Graduates. EVERYWHERE.

Hudson Valley: unexpectedly pretty.

New York: famously not shit!

Wore new holiday dress.

Saw Manus x Machina.

Also saw plenty of my favourite face :)

BOOM! Whole vacation, in chronological order.

And I’m back in the game.

(I’ve even got the ball rolling again on Paula’s wedding dress, but more on that when I’ve made more progress. To read about the previous stages click here, here and here.

Second fitting is in a week and half, time to get shit done.)

DIY wedding dress part 2 – pattern and first toile

Posted on March 29, 2016April 13, 2016 Posted in sewTagged bridal, bridalwear, butterick, fashion, homemade wedding, pattern cutting, pattern making, vogue, wedding dress2 Comments

I have taken the two commercial patterns I bought and had a good, close look at them. Instead of cutting out the tissue paper pieces I’ve traced them off onto dot and cross paper so I can keep the originals intact for another time. Plus, that tissue is really irritating to work with! It’s virtually impossible to make alterations on because it’s so flimsy, so a bit more time spent here will pay dividends.

butte rick commercial dressmaking pattern

The plan for the skirt was to keep the volume exactly as the Vogue pattern, but switch the gathered side panels to pleats. I was thinking we should have two deep pleats facing away from centre at front and back, but when I folded these into the paper they just look too contrived and didn’t give the sort of fluffy, flowy look I know Paula likes.

Therefore I moved on to random pleats of mixed depths, all facing away from cf. There are probably a thousand more professional ways I could’ve achieved this! But I chose to prop the paper up with weights at the hem and smoosh the waist down accordingly. As long as the final waist seam measurement matched with the bodice I was pretty easy on the rules.

All hunky dory; until I got to the back and realised that the train was going to look a bit weird folding over itself in that way. You’d naturally want pleats to face away from centre back as well as centre front, but then do you just put up with a weird box pleat on each side?!

To get a better picture of the 3D effect here I pinned my paper pattern to a mannequin:

And at this point I just started to wish that I’d draped it from scratch and not buggered about with the paper pattern at all! Although this stand is not the same size as Paula, and is considerably taller, I could’ve made it work.

Never mind though, I’ve started so I’ll finish. But I’ll definitely keep the pleat size and position flexible so I can chop along the waist seam and move them around while she’s wearing the toile.

Before I cut the fabric out I moved the pleats one more time, reversing the direction of the pleat closest to centre back and then randomly switching some of the others. And I was happier with it then, it felt more organic and interesting, far better suited to the bride in question.

Bodice-wise it’s not been a walk in the park either! I used the size closest to Paula’s body measurements, but I know full well that the initial fit is not going to be good! I’m going to have to take a lot out of the length and I also feel that the shaping in the bodice pieces is too basic, probably leading to a clunky, sack-like fit which is not full enough over her boobs and too baggy below.

I used the Butterick pattern for this part, which has a strapless under bodice with two vertical seams over the bust, plus a long sleeved bodice to be made in lace which has two very large darts from bust to waist. When I laid these two sets of pieces together they seemed like two completely different fits though, with a lot of suppression over the bust on the lace layer. It doesn’t call for stretchy lace, but perhaps all lace has a certain amount of give because of its mesh base?

For our dress we want the mesh and the silk layers to be cut as one, so no contrasting sweetheart neckline underneath, just a well-fitting bodice with armholes and a round neck. So what I’ve done is to take the lace layer of the Butterick pattern (because this fits with the sleeve, which we definitely want to use) and start with that. When I fit it on Paula I’ll need to make the body shorter and probably open it up in some areas and pin away in others, but I think I’ll be able to see where we need to put the seams. It’s hard to know at this stage if I’ll need to make the bodice in 6 pieces, with side panels at front and back, or if only 2 would be ok.

Paula’s imagined from the start that it’d be nice to have a more sheer sleeve, with just a double layer mesh and no silk, so we bought a half metre of our chosen mesh and I’ve incorporated that into the toile to test it.

So now I have a full toile of the outer dress ready to fit! It has a double mesh sleeve on one side and calico on the other, so we can see if we prefer a sheer look or more of a unified, all-over effect. I haven’t put any under layer for the skirt, but I don’t have 6m of very stiff mesh to play with so I think I will make a rough petticoat. It would be good to get the skirt falling properly at this stage so that the pleats will be nice and accurate for our second (and hopefully final!) toile.

Next stage: get Paula over for a fitting, pin and chop this guy as needed, then take it apart and trace it out for the next pattern.

Hours worked so far: 10

Embarking on making a wedding dress

Posted on March 15, 2016March 29, 2016 Posted in sewTagged catwalk, craft, design, dressmaking, fashion, homemade wedding, pattern cutting, wedding dress3 Comments

Literally every single person I know who has made a wedding dress for a friend rolls their eyes and says never again when asked about it… But I am super psyched!

My friend and ex-colleague Paula is getting married in September and cannot find her dream dress. She wants a long sleeved, round necked dress with a sleek skirt, full at the hem but smooth from the waist. She’s collected a few catwalk images but everything she sees in real life, from full-on bridal made-to-measure to RTW occasion wear, isn’t cutting the mustard. So she’s asked me if I might be able to make her one, and completely unbeknownst to her it’s something I’ve always wanted to try my hand at.

When I started my fashion degree, bridalwear was totally where my heart lay. It’s a rare corner of the fashion industry where handmade dresses are still a reality and where one creative individual can take a design all the way through from concept to finished garment. Had I been less of a girl I’d probably have focused on tailoring, but I just can’t resist a giant meringue skirt.

Anyhow, I did some work experience in boutiques and I took some evening classes in specialist patten cutting, but my resolve crumbled under the scrutiny of my uni tutors. There was little to no respect for the area on my course, the tutors held the catwalk and the cutting edge designers in high regard and saw bridal as the antithesis of cool, edgy design. If I were to do it all again now I think I’d have the gumption to take that challenge and run with it, to find a contemporary niche where couture bridalwear could be exciting, and in actual fact there is clearly a gap in the market where brides like Paula are finding the traditional boutiques falling short of the alternative looks on the catwalks.

So she brought her catwalk images to me:

And the there was clearly continuity between them! She knows what she wants and now I do too. The only slight catch being that these girls are willowy 6′-ers, built with all the sex appeal of an ironing board. Paula is, in the best possible way, the polar opposite of that; barely clearing 5’1″ with a rack that’d put the cast of Baywatch to shame.

(Side note – thank god she doesn’t want a strapless dress! I absolutely hate that!! Women who haven’t worn a strapless bra since they were 13 and barely needing an B cup, suddenly deciding at 33 that they want to spend the most highly-photographed night of their entire lives hoicking up a cheap, ill-fitting bustier. Don’t do it to yourselves! You know what they say about packing for vacation? – if you wouldn’t wear it at home, don’t take it on holiday. Same goes for weddings. If your tits don’t defy gravity 364 days of the year, they still won’t on your wedding day. Unless you can afford the personal attentions of Rigby or Peller don’t even think about it.)

I decided I’d use a commercial pattern as a base. Maybe that’s a little shameful coming from a professional pattern cutter, but the rigmarole of starting from scratch without even having a block or the right size mannequin to drape on just wouldn’t be worth it. The choice was really disappointing! Each of the major companies does a few, but none had all the features we were looking for. I printed out several of the pattern envelope images and sketched some designs over the top, sadly they don’t photograph too well but here’s a few to give you the gist:

Paula and I met for lunch and looked them over. It seemed to be going in the right direction so I bought these two patterns:

The Butterick pattern includes cup sizes, so I think it could be a good base for the bodice, but we’ll want to merge the strapless under layer with the long sleeved top. The Vogue option seems to have a much nicer skirt, but I’ll need to remove pleats from the side.

I’ve redrawn our main design ideas and started a little pin board, where I can keep all our images and developments. I still need to print and add the original inspiration images, but here it is so far:

(My attempts at half decent photography are falling even more short here – to get a tolerable shot I had to put the cork board into the light tent thing and I haven’t got the software to erase that from the corners, so please avert your eyes.)

Next step is to go fabric shopping, just to pick up some swatches and settle on a look and fabric type. This will heavily inform what our final design looks like and how I’ll adapt the pattern, then I can get started on the first toile.

Exciting times!

Free knitting pattern – men’s rib and cable sock

Posted on January 31, 2016February 16, 2016 Posted in gift, knitTagged accessories, fashion, free pattern, gift, knit, knitting, menswear, socks1 Comment

I wrote this pattern and subsequently knitted these socks for my girlfriend Lucy’s dad, Paul. His 60th birthday was last September and finally I have gotten around to pulling the pattern together and putting it up here! But I’m actually pretty gutted that I didn’t sort this out before I gave them away, because now I’m left with photos I don’t really like but can’t retake. So please forgive the images in this one and try to trust me – these are actually nice.

At the bottom of this post is the pattern, for a classic ribbed sock with a little mock-cable detail running the full length of the outside. I like to think they’re a little more sophisticated than your average handknit sock, which too often look like you’re either going to wear them to bed or on a hike. These were designed for a man who I’ve never seen wear trainers, or even slippers; so I was aiming for a sock that looked handmade and cozy, but wouldn’t be ridiculous if he put them on with Churches’. Therefore I went and chose yarn first and designed the pattern around that.

This Uncommon Thread Tough Sock yarn is lovely, it’s hand dyed to a tremendously civilised shade of charcoal. There is just enough deviation in tone to make it look unique and hand crafted, but not so much to tip the scales to rustic. Indie, not hippy.

Unfortunately it’s also expensive – £21 per 100g skein. Which I bought under the illusion that I would only need a single skein and therefore might as well buy the good stuff, but the first sock took up around two thirds of that so I was soon back at the till at Loop. (The leftover should be easy to find a home for though, given that it’s superwash I think it’ll make lovely baby socks for giving away to my many breeding friends.)

In the end I was really pleased with them! They looked professional and tasteful and that ticked all the boxes. And they were very well received, although Lucy made him a proper pair of completely bespoke leather shoes, from scratch, so that pretty much blew me out of the water. Honestly, they were insane, and please don’t underestimate my abounding pride… but I basically could’ve just bought him a box of Quality Street and saved myself the time.

She really is a testament to what you can learn off of the internet. There are so many talented people out there keen to share what are arguably rare and dying skills, so no matter how ludicrous your dream of throwing pots in your bedsit or soldering metalwork with zero formal training may seem – don’t write it off!

(She’s working on a little tiny kids’ pair now, which are on their way to being crushingly adorable. I’ll think they’ll deserve a whole post of their own.)

Sock pattern:

Cast on 90sts using the long tail method. 2mm needles.

Left sock:

Leg:

Knit in 1×1 rib until work measures 3.5cm from start.

Change to 2.5mm needles.

Round 1: K5, p1, (k3, p1) to end.

r2: (K2tog and k into 1^st st again before slipping both off needle) x2, k1, p1, (k3, p1) to end.

r3: as round 1

r4: K1, (k2tog and k into 1^st st again before slipping both off needle) x2, p1, (k3, p1) to end.

Rounds 1-4 form the stitch repeat for the legs, continue until work measures 20cm from start, ending on round 4.

Heel flap:

K5, p1, k1, (sl 1 st with yarn in back, k1) x22, turn.

Sl 1^st st, p43, turn.

These 44 stitches form heel flap.

Right side row: (sl 1 st with yarn in back, k1) to end.

Wrong side row: sl 1 st, p to end.

Repeat these two rows until heel flap measures 6.5cm.

Turning the heel:

Row 1: Knit 24sts, ssk, k1, turn.

r2: Slip 1, p5, p2tog, p1, turn.

r3: Slip 1, knit to one stitch before gap (the slipped stitch from previous row),, ssk to close gap, k1, turn.

r4: Slip 1, purl to one stitch before gap (the slipped stitch from previous row),, p2tog to close gap, p1 turn.

Repeat rows 3 and 4 until all sts have been worked. (24sts)

Gusset:

Knit 24sts of heel, pick up and knit 24sts along the left side of heel flap, k46sts of instep (keeping rib and travelling stitch pattern repeat), pick up and knit 24sts along left side of heel flap (118sts)

Place the marker here for the start of the round.

Round 1: K46, k2tog, k1, (p1, k3) x9, p1, (K2tog and k into 1^st st again before slipping both off needle) x2, k1, p1, k1, sl1 k1 psso, k23

r2: k48, (p1, k3) x9, p1, k5, p1, k25

r3: k45, k2tog, k1, (p1, k3) x9, p1, K1, (k2tog and k into 1^st st again before slipping both off needle) x2, p1, k1, sl1 k1 psso, k22

r4: k47, k5, p1, (p1, k3) x9, p1, k24

r5: K44, k2tog, k1, (p1, k3) x9, p1, (K2tog and k into 1^st st again before slipping both off needle) x2, k1, p1, k1, sl1 k1 psso, k21

r6: k46, k5, p1, (p1, k3) x9, p1, k23

Continue decreasing in this way, decreasing 1 stitch at each side of the gusset on every other row, until 90 stitches remain.

Foot:

Continue working these 90 stitches, keeping rib and travelling stitch pattern correct, until the measurement from the back of the heel is 23cm (or 3.75cm less than the length of the foot of the intended wearer).

Toe shaping:

Add 2 stitch markers splitting the sock into halves, 45sts between markers.

r1: knit along sole to 3sts from marker, k2tog, k1, (pass marker) k1, sl1 k1 psso, knit along instep to 3sts from marker, k2tog, k1, (pass marker) k1, sl1 k1 psso, k to end.

r2: knit all sts

These 2 rounds form decreasing pattern, repeat until 23sts remain between markers, 46sts total. Ending on round 1/

Next round, as round 1.

Repeat round 1, decreasing every round, until there are only 15sts between markers, 30sts total.

Graft toes closed using Kitchener stitch.

Right sock:

Leg:

Knit in 1×1 rib until work measures 3.5cm from start.

Change to 2.5mm needles.

Round 1: (k3, p1) to last 6 sts, k5, p1.

r2: (k3, p1) to last 6 sts, (k2tog and k into 1^st st again before slipping both off needle) x2, k1, p1.

r3: as round 1

r4: (k3, p1) to last 6 sts, k1, (k2tog and k into 1^st st again before slipping both off needle) x2, p1.

Rounds 1-4 form the stitch repeat for the legs, continue until work measures 20cm from start, ending on round 4.

Heel flap:

(K3, p1) x9, k2, (sl 1 st with yarn in back, k1) x22, turn.

Sl 1^st st, p43, turn.

These 44 stitches form heel flap.

Right side row: (sl 1 st with yarn in back, k1) to end.

Wrong side row: sl 1 st, p to end.

Repeat these two rows until heel flap measures 6.5cm.

Turning the heel:

Row 1: Knit 24sts, ssk, k1, turn.

r2: Slip 1, p5, p2tog, p1, turn.

r3: Slip 1, knit to one stitch before gap (the slipped stitch from previous row), ssk to close gap, k1, turn.

r4: Slip 1, purl to one stitch before gap (the slipped stitch from previous row), p2tog to close gap, p1 turn.

Repeat rows 3 and 4 until all sts have been worked. (24sts)

Gusset:

Place the marker here for the start of the round.

Round 1: K46, k2tog, k1, p1, (K2tog and k into 1^st st again before slipping both off needle) x2, k1, (p1, k3) x9, p1, k1, sl1 k1 psso, k23

r2: k48, p1, k5, (p1, k3) x9, p1, k25

r3: k45, k2tog, k1, p1, K1, (k2tog and k into 1^st st again before slipping both off needle) x2, (p1, k3) x9, p1, k1, sl1 k1 psso, k22

r4: k47, p1, k5, (p1, k3) x9, p1, k24

r5: K44, k2tog, k1, p1, (K2tog and k into 1^st st again before slipping both off needle) x2, k1, (p1, k3) x9, , k1, sl1 k1 psso, k21

r6: k46, k5, p1, (p1, k3) x9, p1, k23

Continue decreasing in this way, decreasing 1 stitch at each side of the gusset on every other row, until 90 stitches remain.

Foot:

Toe shaping:

Add 2 stitch markers splitting the sock into halves, 45sts between markers.

r1: knit along sole to 3sts from marker, k2tog, k1, (pass marker) k1, sl1 k1 psso, knit along instep to 3sts from marker, k2tog, k1, (pass marker) k1, sl1 k1 psso, k to end.

r2: knit all sts

These 2 rounds form decreasing pattern, repeat until 23sts remain between markers, 46sts total. Ending on round 1/

Next round, as round 1.

Repeat round 1, decreasing every round, until there are only 15sts between markers, 30sts total.

Graft toes closed using Kitchener stitch.

Multi stitch, linen yarn dress

Posted on November 29, 2015January 24, 2016 Posted in knitTagged fashion, knitting, linenLeave a comment

Started out with an idea and some swatches.

And got cracking when the weather was still bright.

It’s grown through the strappy top section.

Through the diamonds of the waist section.

To adding heaps more stitches for the skirt section.

And I’m not bored yet!! So it’s still growing.

While it’s on the circular needle I can’t really tell how full or A line the skirt will be, but it takes me a whole evening to do two rounds with this many stitches so I’m guessing it’s huuuuuge.

Summer’s coming, look dressy.

Posted on March 24, 2015January 23, 2016 Posted in sewTagged dress, fashion, pattern making, sewing, skirtLeave a comment

I literally can’t stop thinking about dresses – 50’s dresses; denim dresses; the sort of long, gathered, tiered dresses that one might wear to skip through a meadow of dappled sunlight – I want to make them all! And I will… Or maybe more accurately, I will start making them and then find that work gets busy again and they get abandoned, facing- and hem- less, to be left in the box until this annual feeling comes around again. Aspirational Summer Dress time.

I have started off with this one. Let’s get one thing straight from the offset: no this dress is not based on the one from the Sewing Bee. Also, no I do not watch the Sewing Bee.

I’ve had a double wrapping dress for years which came from Hobbs and which I love, despite it looking pretty severely mummsy. And now I find myself in a summer-dressy mood! So I thought I’d make my own version. I drafted the pattern digitally at work for this one, rather than basing it off a commercial pattern. I temporarily borrowed our shift dress block, updated it for my body measurements and then used it as a starting point for my new design. For those of you that are interested, the image below shows this dress pattern as it appears on screen in the Lectra CAD software, which has all manner of scintillating functions so help make pattern cutting quicker, more accurate and (theoretically!) easier than doing it manually. Other CAD programmes are available.

At this point in time I have made a rough toile for fitting. I wasn’t long enough in the back bodice for me, and I had to tweak a few bit here and there, but by and large it was good!

I work predominantly with knitwear, which often doesn’t involve a pattern from me at all, let alone one with all the bells and whistles. So I love doing things like this for myself because it really helps to keep my head in the game professionally! Here I’ve made facing and lining pieces as well as the shell pattern. The lining is a bit of educated guesswork – last time I lined a garment it was a jacket which requires excess volume specifically placed to allow for movement, but a sleeveless dress is a different animal. I made a second toile of the top part just to check I remembered what a lining was and how it worked:

I have placed the darts differently in the lining than on the outer to reduce the bulk where all those layers would stack up, and I think it’s going to be fine. I’m actually going to take my time sewing this one but the pattern would be just as nice without lining or facing, as a quick-sew item with bright binding on the edges and length of bought ribbon for the tie. I might give that a go next time, especially if I can find something drapey and non-iron which would look great straight out of a backpack.

This fabric was from the January sale at John Lewis, Oxford Street. They had dozens and dozens of beautiful prints reduced this time. I didn’t stop at the one chunk, there are two more pieces waiting in the wings.

I fancy a really full skirt in this geometric / mandala print. I’ve started drafting a pattern which will be almost two circles, so it will wind up super swirly and voluminous. It does mean that the hem will be over 7m all around, I just hope it’s not insanely heavy and puts extreme tension on the tight circle at the waist edge.

If the double wrap dress comes out nicely I think I’ll do another in denim or chambray with a gathered skirt. And as my crewelwork module at the RSN will be over this month I’m thinking about putting my skills to use, embroidering some big, bright birds onto it. There’s something very 70’s about embroidery in wool on garments, especially around a neckline, and I like it! I’ve got a little swatch of nice chambray from the Cloth House to do a few practice stitches on, when I get a chance.

Oh, and also, I finished the baby socks my friend had ordered :) I’m really chuffed with the stamps! Will have three pairs to go on the Etsy shop soon…

Margaret Howell

Posted on September 25, 2013September 25, 2013 Posted in sewTagged fashion, photography, tailoring1 Comment

All things Margaret Howell are always supremely beautiful, but this series of photographs is extra lovely. Really gorgeous shots of their exquisite tailoring and Italian production:

http://www.margarethowell.co.uk/collections/women/autumn-winter-2013-campaign/

milkbottle

Tag: fashion