I haz bizzy

I've been trying to make more productive use of my time off, to whit:
Shirring! (inspired by Kitty) - for some reason this took me a few goes to get right (hint- don't wind your elastic on your bobbin too tight). This is from a Simplicity pattern (I think it is an 80s one) for a peasant-blouse style dress. I used fold over elastic for the neckline and underwear elastic (!) for the sleeves. Here is before shirring and after shirring:

I made this a week or so ago out of some lovely sludgy green seersucker.

The pattern is a 1951 top half and the standard ol' a-line skirt (the original had a panelled one which didn't fit on my yardage). I've mislaid the pattern for the moment. Vintage buttons from Buttonmania sale earlier in the year.

I got out the embroidery machine and calavera'd a cardigan (embroidery design from Urban Threads).

I also did a bit of mending, but that doesn't merit a picture.

Lepolar

I have already started tripfit planning for an as yet unbooked trip (March 2010) but these things can't be done too early!I decided that I wanted a polar fleece jacket that didn't look too much like one.I have McCall 5245 (now OOP) and some leopard print polar fleece in the stash (in the special leopard fabric section, don't you know). I think I bought it at the same time as the pattern.

So, here is my slightly dressy polar fleece jacket. It is very comfy and warm. All it needs is a button or two and it is done.

I was made for lining you baby (not!) and Owls

I have cut out and sewn together the lining for the jacket, but when it came to cutting away for the vent in the back it said to cut away on the left side, and I assumed that meant the left side of the 'right' side (as opposed to 'wrong' side). Not thinking lining was I? The right side of lining sits against the body of course. D'oh. So I've flounced away for a while. Harrumph!

This trauma has sent me a-knitting. I started 'Owls' by Kate Davies. (ravelry link). It's a free pattern, and so cute! I always get the urge to knit wooly jumpers when the weather starts to warm up. This is a quick knit so far though, so I might sneak in a few wears before the end of the socks and cardigan season.
This is how much I knit on the weekend, I love bulky yarn! As you can see, I was terribly original with my choice of colour, ie I'm using exactly the same shade of grey (although it looks a little different in this pic):
The yarn is Moda Vera 'Mousse', which is 70% wool and 30% soya. It's very nice to knit, and thankfully doesn't seem like it will be itchy to wear.

I went to the designer's website and saw this paper dolls jumper. Another cutie!

Score: one meh, one yay

Since Kittty went to the trouble of getting the Ashley-ish Simplicity 2614 before it is released in Australia. This weekend, I muslined it in the same skull print knit that Kitty used for a blouse before. Sadly I can't say I am that excited about the result - I think it might look better in a woven (i t is meant to be made from bias cut woven)

So I decided to make a skirt. I've had the pattern for McCall 5523 for a while, and bought the material at Darn Cheap last week. It's got that librarian vibe I was after so I am happy with the result.

Knit jacket

I have been threatening to make a doubleknit jacket for a while. I started to make this jacket again a week or two ago. I have a short attention span for jacket making though, so I have been doing it in short bursts. For instance, a week ago I traced out the lining pattern pieces, and today I cut out the lining. I have no intention of sewing it in yet. I am in a mid-winter sewing slowdown.

I added 5cm of length to the jacket this time to match the length of my favourite blazer. I remembered to add the extra length to the lining pieces too, although it was a close thing. I'm glad I remembered before I cut into the stretch silk I'm using for the lining. Eek!

I'm not putting the pocket flaps on it this time, but I have thought about small patch pockets. I won't have to make that decision too soon at the rate I'm going.

Trashy Diva

Moggy and I love Trashy Diva, and we have bought frocks/blouses/skirts/jackets from their online store on more than one occasion. They are great to deal with. Their silks are lovely.

Their sale section is a dangerous place to browse late at night with credit card at the ready and Ms Moggy egging me on via instant messaging. Lovely, silky danger.
I've just seen their latest dresses...mmm. Some beauties there.

Two copies of Simplicity 2614 arrived in the mail today, one for me, one for the Mog . (I will send it soon M! Along with cardigans for embroidering)

View D, the reddish blouse in the middle, would make a nice 40s inspired frock if lengthened, no? A bit like Trashy Diva's Ashley...

*Edited later to add* - after re-reading this post, I thought I should add that we at Frock and Roll aren't affiliated with Trashy Diva in any way, we just like em!

Knockoff in waiting

I tried on this frock in a shop a while ago while shopping with Moggy...
(Sneaky phone pic.) Cute, but too short for me (and a I prefer a bit of waist shaping. Still, I liked it enough to keep thinking about it. I think it's the collar)
Browsing around Pattern Review recently, I came across this pattern:
Pretty close, huh?
But it isn't out here yet.
eBay to the rescue. It's on its way!

Now I will be able to make a longer, shaped-for-me version.

Shirr-ley (Update: now with photo of frock on me)

(See update at end of this post)
In a recent post I mentioned that my friend had sneakily taken photos of some frocks in London she thought I'd like. Here is the one that I decided to try and copy:
...and here's my version, made from stash cotton jersey. I bound the neckline and armholes in white stretch bengaline left over from making white collars:
Here she is with a temporary flounce I whipped up quickly. I want to make one in a wider stripe, in a knit fabric (this is just a scrap of leftover woven rayon). I like the flounce on it, it makes it all fancy like:
This was the first time I've ever done shirring. Can I just say - addictive? Oh yeah. There's a danger that I will be shirring everything from now on.
I used Simplicity 2995 for the basic frock and just marked where I wanted the waist to be and shirred away. 4 rounds did it. It transformed what was basically a sack into a saucy little frock.
I read this tutorial to learn how to do the shirring. It really is just sewing with shirring elastic in the bobbin. The longer the stitch, the tighter the shirr. And I like my shirring tight!
Betty dressform is modelling the frock, because this is a summer frock and we are in the midst of a sunny but very cold week of winter here.
Although I could wear this with a slip and warm tights of course. It doesn't get too cold in Sydney compared to the rest of the world. But, I am a wuss, so this is what you get.

Update: It was warm enough today to do a photo shoot, so by popular demand (well, Moggy asked) here's Shirrley on me:

tart in dress

Yet another pinafore - but they are so handy!

Not having sewn with tartan / plaid for yonks, while I think I did an OK job at matching the up 'n' down, I see I didn't place the centre front in quite the right place. Ah well, I'm sure it won't be so obvious in the wild.

I did my usual sloper-adapted pinny, with a scoop neck rather than a square one, and the addition of extending the back shoulders to the front to make tabs (inspired by Kitty's pinny from last year). I got to use a whole TWO buttons from my buttonmania stash, 'ray!

Note to self: I usually make this out of stretch-woven. If I don't, then add some breathing space...

Not much sewing going on

It's been ages! I think winter is slowing me down. I've had a cold, which involved having a simultaneously blocked and runny nose. How does that work? Anyway, it wasn't conducive to spending much time leaning over cutting out and marking fabrics, if you know what I mean. Ew.

I have managed to cut out one knit frock , and am hoping to sew it up tomorrow. It's an experimental frock; I'm trying to copy a cute dress my friend S saw in London. She took photos (in the changeroom) of frocks she thought I'd like. What a fine friend.

There has, however, been midnight online shopping. I bought a whole heap of presser feet from Gone Sewing.

Today I dragged out the machine to test them out. They all fit yay!

First up, a walking foot:
Worked fine. I might try this out on the knit frock tomorrow.

Then, an adjustable bias binder foot:

This one I couldn't get to work so well with 12mm bias binding, the fabric kept slipping out.
This is likely operator error.

It worked fine with 25mm binding:

I also bought a teflon foot, for those sticky fabrics...which I don't use, but maybe I'll make some oilcloth bags sometime, you never know:

The piping feet are a revelation! Perfect inseam insertion! I tested this one really hurriedly and it still turned out great. The feet were a bit tight to fit on my machine (as in the snap-on bars seem a little less wide than they should be), but a bit of a wiggle got them on:
Result!

Mail order 4853

This is mail order 4853, in the red/white/blue houndstooth I bought for $1 per yard in LA.

One of my favourite things about vintage patterns is how accurate the illustrations are, and this frock looks very similar to the picture, now. The collar piece, however, was enormous. Handy for hiding a neck brace perhaps, but not how I pictured it would be from the cover of the pattern. This is what it was like straight out of the envelope:

I chopped off about 2 cm all around and I like it much better.
It may have been the nature of the fabric which meant the collar didn't stand up very well I suppose, but even when I held it folded up, it still looked too big.

I also had a bit of a struggle with sewing the front panel to the yoke section, there was a lot of extra fabric on the edges next to the gathers. The instructions were sparse, so I just sewed it on matching the notches. It looked okay, so I cut off the excess. Thanks go to Moggy who talked me down on both issues. My new mantra: 'don't overthink the sewing'.

The fabric feels like a thick cotton blend. I did a burn test and there was a big flame but it didn't burn up much fabric, the fabric sort of just hardened. The smell was sort of like a wood fire. I have no idea what that means.
This fabric frays aggressively, and I doubt overlocking will contain it for long. After cutting and handling briefly, the edges looked fringed. So this may only last a wash or two.
But! One.dollar.a.yard.

'nother fauxlero

Made another Vogue 2980 this afternoon. This time with the long sleeves, in the knit I bought from Darn Cheap back in February.

What more can I say? I love this pattern, so quick to make and nice to wear.