Frock in a Jiffy

I was going to make another Heidi today, but as we head into winter next week, I fancied making something I can wear in the next two or three months!

I found some wool interlock (I think) in the stash, and used Simplicity 4429. I wanted more of a cap sleeve, so I added a few centimetres at the shoulders, and added a little depth to the underarm.

It really, really needs to be belted though. It's basically a slim sack. Not pretty. But pretty with a belt, yay! I love this frock!

It is a great background for brooches. I've been going a bit mad for vintage brooches on ebay
lately; in fact I bought two just last night, inspired by Tom and Lorenzo's Joan Holloway post. If you haven't yet discovered their Mad Style posts, you are in for a treat.

Heidi Ho

I have some vintage fabric and I couldn't decide on a pattern for it. I think it's rayon, it's got that crispy acetate hand, and it's quite thin. I pulled out all my vintage patterns, but I had a feeling I could easily end up in the 'matronly' arena with this particular print.

I took out my modern patterns, but turns out my tastes run more to the vintagey looks in modern patterns too.

So I downloaded Burda 6016, the very popular Heidi dress. There are some sweet frocks on those links.

I haven't done a download-and-tape-together-pattern before. It's not difficult, but it is time consuming. It took me over an hour to fold and tape. Then I traced the 36, which was closest to my measurements. I haven't made many Burda patterns, and I'd heard they have less ease than other commercial patterns. I knew I had to make a muslin before cutting into the 'good' fabric.

I'm glad I traced, because I will need to trace the smaller bodice next time.

I used the rest of the 70s sheet I used to underline the silk shift and because I will be lining the vintage fabric version, I also fully lined it, in white calico, for a practise run. I didn't follow the instructions to the letter for the lining, because they instruct you to handsew the lining to the zipper tape. Ha! No chance! I put the skirt lining in before doing the zip, basted the outer fabric and lining together at the side opening, and then put the zip in. In the right side of the dress as it happens; I got my left and rights mixed up. It's an invisible zip so it doesn't matter.

Why are side zips always on the left anyway, anybody know?

Here she is, with the hem very roughly pinned up. I haven't decided on the length yet. I want to ruminate on it.

Here she is with a belt. Looks better with a belt. I didn't make the belt which came with the pattern, it would have got lost in this print anyway. And, it's a muslin. Too much effort, way too much laziness.

Love those pockets!

It does look like it fits in the photos, but the bodice is too big. It's fine when I stand still with my shoulders back, but if I move the shoulders slip down and the neckline billows out like a spinnaker. Maybe I should do some pintucks, like this one.

This is the fabric I want to use, maybe with a matching cummerbund, for extra fanciness. What do you think?

Tell the bride the wedding can go ahead!

Thank you interweb friends, for your sympathy and your suggestions on how to fix this frock.

I bit the bullet and took Lsaspacey's advice (special 'mwah' to you!), and released the front darts, even though this meant undoing the overlocked and hand-stitched hem and pulling off the interlining. Ugh.

But it's worth it to have a wearable dress! I can move! (and eat, and laugh, and sit...)

Salvage operation

Yesterday's frock again.

I took out the zip, and clawed back about a centimetre of ease by sewing it back in on a smaller seam allowance. Of course the zip was one of the best I'd ever done, and *sob* it's not as neat and even now. (no one else will notice, but still, annoyment).

It feels a bit better, but doesn't look too different. I might make a stand-by frock from the rest of this fabric (because, Carol-of-the-comments, I do want to eat at the wedding...why else does one go to a wedding if not for a free feed?)

I shall shop the pattern stash.

Silk shift

I have a wedding to attend later in the year, and was talking of my desire for turquoise silk to Ms Moggy. I put it out there, and before I could say 'why-don't-I-make-a-too-tight-sheath-dress', Moggy scored me nearly 4 metres of turquoise/red silk dupioni for $10 total! Well Ms Mog, now
I'm dreaming about a million dollars, small bills. You should get on that.

I made New Look 6736 again, but forgot I made it in a stretchy fabric last time didn't I? Sigh. Here it is, much too tight over the bewbs and mid section. I even bought a vintage brooch on ebay to wear with it, as you can see in the close up.

I did teeny seams, and I suppose I could let out the darts a bit, but the thing is I underlined it. I never underline anything. I'd have to undo all that to alter it. Erm, not gonna happen. I bought these new-old-stock sheets at an auction you see, and the blue/green ones just looked so cute with the fabric. It does stop the silk wrinkling too.

Oh well. It's a cute frock, and I do have enough to make another, slightly bigger version. I just can't see that happening though, I've kind of moved on.

Shopping (sorta) Fail

I've just come back from four weeks in the USA (California, Arizona, New Mexico) and did very minimal stuff shopping - even though I did visit the LA Fabric district (huge!) a JoAnn's or two (99c patterns! But only Simplicity!).

I bought three pairs of the same shoes from Re-Mix (in red, olive green and black):


3 yards of fabric from Michael Levine in the fabric district:

One 99c pattern from JoAnn's (pretty similar to the Vogue fauxlero, but nice cowly bit):


and... an iPad fell in my bag. Oops.

I did also eat lots of tasty foods and drove up Route 66 and went on 360 degree roller coasters and saw lovely rocks and the Grand Canyon and mid-century houses in Palm Springs and general silliness in Las Vegas and lovely Santa Fe and Albuquerque and Ham the Space Monkey's suit and capsule and a Sputnik and the site of the atomic bomb testing and Smokey the Bear museum and Zion National Park and Monument Valley and lava and White Sands and and and....

Pattern purchases at the Vintage Show

I went to the Sydney Vintage Clothing, Jewellery and Textiles Show last weekend. I managed to go on the opening Friday night, which I have always wanted to do.
It was good as usual, but I didn't find any have-to-have fabrics or accessories. I did try on a pair of vintage 40s shoes which were gorgeous and fit me perfectly, but they were well out of my price range.

These patterns were in my price range though.
I'm going through a 60s shift/sheath phase, in my mind.
In my mind because after 3 and a half weeks of house guests, there has been no sewing here.

No sewing on this public holiday either. Too many sheets and towels to wash, and I still have to set up my sewing room again.









I had to buy Style 2323 (below), because it is the same as the dress I copied in this post. It will be fun to compare my drafted pattern to this one. Once the washing is done.

A pittance of sewing

A pittance is all I have to show you after all this time.

A couple of weeks ago I started to make vintage Simplicity 6672 (sometimes called the Goddess dress). I started sewing a muslin out of polyester jersey, but we are in week 2 of having a houseguest for 3 weeks (eeeee! 3 weeks!) and I just can't sew when I have guests, unless they are sewing friends of course.

I am going a bit crazy with the not sewing.

I am going to show you the frock, with the hem awkwardly pinned, the armholes unfinished, and the seams all puckery because this is stoopid poly jersey and despite a walking foot and jersey needle and stretch stitch it's the best I could do.

I don't know whether I'll finish it looking at that photo. I think it looks better in real life. If I do finish it I'll have to wear it to places where I won't be photographed! Or just ditch this one and make it in a nicer fabric.

I don't usually do muslins, but this is a very different style for me. As it is I took heaps of volume out of the skirt because I only had 2 metres of fabric. I don't think I'd like it with a very heavy skirt. What do you think? Worth finishing, make it in a nicer knit, or give up?

Igor, frock and hat

Last week I did a practice pack for next week's trip and thought I had everything. But then I read the weather for Los Angeles and apparently it is around 25-27 Celcius - so I though I'd better pack a sundress!

Notwithstanding the fact I have about one billion sundresses, I thought I should make another. This is a combo of the vintage Butterick 8149, the skirt from New Look 6699, and a band made up on the spot...

It's not actually a halter, I just haven't finished attaching the straps to the back. I also thought I should make a little bolero to pop over the top if it is even sunnier. This is a frankenpattern of Simplicity 3748 and McCalls 5006. I shall call her Igor:

I also decided to make a hat (why the hell not!) It is the baddana fabric on one side, and some leftover hawaiian print barkcloth on the other:

This is made from the Wild Ginger software called 'Wild Things!' which is a free download of fashion accessories patternmaking software.

Maxi refashion

It occurred to me the other day that all those maxi dresses you see around - on sale of course! - would be the ideal candidate for refashioning. I've been finding leopard knit rather hard to find for a while, so when I saw this I thought it would be a good candidate at a mere $20 on sale up the road:

The neckline is way too blingy - it looks even worse in person I think.

So I cut the bling off (interestingly, it came off as one piece which might actually make quite a nice necklace - as you can see in the Afters).

I cut it fairly straight (the back was slightly elasticated and straight so I left it as is), put some pleats at the centre front to dip the neckline, and made the Butterick 8149 gathered straps.

Here is the after. This might even end up being a tripfit, since it packs up small and doesn't wrinkle.

I might need to sauce it up a bit, but I will wear it a few times first.

Random stuff

I am in the midst of knitting a baby blanket for a colleague:
It's the 'Old Shale Baby Blanket'. It's an easy knit, but looks far more complicated than it is. You can find the pattern here.

I also recently made toadstool rattle for a friend's new bub. It's cute, but my version came out more like a toadstool ice-cream cone. Mmm, poisony. (Pattern here)

Finally I have a couple of weddings to attend, so I am on the lookout for fancy fabrics to make up some of the vintage patterns I love but haven't made because I haven't had occasions to wear them. I went looking at Remnant Warehouse today. I came home with two sweater knits instead of glam silks. Oh dear, looks like I will have to do more fabric shopping. Sigh.
I'm thinking the McCalls 5245 jacket from the dark chocolate rib which the label says is a poly/viscose, and maybe another Vogue 2925 top from the teal, which is a wool/acrylic blend.

Luaus and sewing rooms

I'm having a housewarming luau in a few weeks, and not surprisingly I have a few tropical frocks to choose from.

I think I have decided to wear flamingos (see the last link above), but as I'm thinking more of a 60s-Blue-Hawaii-Elvis-movie -theme-luau, a wiggle dress seemed appropriate, so I took her in, and up.

Here she is now, along with a sneak peek of my new sewing area, wooo! (I love the old telephone desk I got at auction, but I can't fit my sewing machine and overlocker on it together, so it may be replaced when I find just the right desk) Not as fab as Moggy's purpose built sewing studio, (no, I'm not envious AT ALL), but I am just so happy to have a place where I can keep my machine set up!
Is it bad form to leave your guests for frock changes? I'm having trouble deciding which frock. Help anyone?

Also, I think I have found just the right fabric in the stash for a machine cover, what do you think?