Monthly Archives: November 2012

Stranger things have happened

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Front ViewWell, I am back in the game as the saying goes. Following my recent disaster(s) my sewing ability felt like it was hanging in the balance once again but I moved on swiftly to ensure I didn’t give myself too much chance to ponder.  This time the fabric caught my eye first, on a website I have recently started using. The descriptions are always detailed and precise so I know exactly what I will get when it arrives.

Gathers & Twists

The centre comprises of three separate pieces to create the gathers and twists

Still focussing on the stretch fabric I had an idea of the type of top I wanted to make.  I already have a pattern with a twist in the centre which I adore so I decided I wanted something similar. With the help of my friend Google I was on the hunt to find it. Finally I chose Simplicity 1716 which features 2 different tops/dresses, with varying sleeve lengths, just the job.

Part Front & Back

Upper front attached to the back, I didn’t quite know what was going on there

It was relatively easy to make, although a little baffling half way through when I had fabric dangling from the front and couldn’t quite decide what the purpose was. It was all a bit strange at this point but it all came together nicely in the end including the sleeves; I love how they fit directly on to the armhole and drape beautifully from the shoulder.

Sleeves & Centre

I love how the sleeves drape

There you go, all in all a productive weekend restoring my confidence and faith in my sewing once again.  Next I will be moving on to my Donna Karan inspired creation, it will probably be a wee while before I return!

The dress that wasn’t and still isn’t

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One of the things I have noticed since viewing other sewing blogs is that we are all capable of creating sewing disasters, it doesn’t matter how hard we try for some reason, things sometimes just don’t want to go right.  Well, this dress is mine, this is the second attempt I have tried after seeing it on another blog (and I must say the lady who made it looked lovely in it).  I bought the pattern Butterick 5676 some time ago and decided to use the fabric suggested, which is a Ponte, it has a gorgeous soft and smooth feel to it and a slight stretch.  Front Full View As the focus of the dress is the topstitching I initially wanted to use a dark colour so it would stand out but decided quite quickly that I didn’t like it, I then moved on to grey, green and brown and finally decided the safest option was to go with one that matched the material.

Tipstitching

Topstitching that is carried through the front and back seams

I found the whole process quite difficult, matching seams and topstitching but I was reasonably pleased with my handy work, until once again, for the second time, the neck completely failed me.  On my first attempt I used the suggested facings including interfacing (4 thicknesses no less) and the neck gaped.  So this time I decided to use only one thickness of fabric rather than two and used bias tape instead and there is still a gape around the neck edge.

On the plus side the sleeves went in very well,  although I think they are too long to be three-quarter and too short for full length, I also think the dress on the whole is too tight.  There we have it folks, my sewing disaster, this dress was not meant to be, for me anyway but I thought I would share the experience.

Buy one get one free

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Front View - V8390

Vogue V8390 with gathers

After my euphoric experience with my vogue dress, I seemed to come to a grinding halt where my sewing was concerned. I think the whole experience left me a little too confident and so I rushed head long into making a new dress which I thought would be a piece of cake……oh no, this couldn’t be any further from the truth, it fell spectacularly on its face and left me quite downhearted. But not a person to be put off easily I decided to venture on the safe side once again with some left over material and a pattern I had bought a while ago, Vogue V8390 was created. This garment was incredibly easy to make, it has gathers on the shoulders and along the right side. The left and right front are both double thickness and also overlap each other which makes it lovely and warm for this time of year. My second creation also made from left over material, is an old favourite of mine which appears a couple of times previously on my blog, this pattern is Simplicity 2364, a lovely top which again has a focus on gathers, this time along the side under the arms.

Front View - 2364

Simplicity 2364

This also has double thickness fabric around the neckline. I decided to make the yoke and sleeves in black to add a slight variation but mainly because I didn’t have enough purple left. There we have it, two tops to ease me back into the satisfying feeling that comes with creating my own clothes. What to do next, I have some new material on the way, should I have another attempt at the dress that failed or do I move on to a new creation that will be Vogue V1259, which incidentally is for advanced sewers, we shall see……