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.

my weekend

I decided I need some more staples (no, not office supplies... mmm, office supplies) rather, I needed some skirts and tops.

Two skirts with some help from Madame L'embroidery Machine:

The grey one was actually made last weekend and is reversible - cherry one side, swallow the other. I didn't put a picture of the black one, just the atomic boomerang, because I couldn't get a good picture.

Note: while I think these skirts look daggy in pictures, they are actually saucy in person. I used the bottom half of the McCall 5700 dress I used for the shamrock frock which makes for a nice highwaisted skirt (they are both out of doubleknit with a wide elastic waist, as I will wear tops over them)

I made a shortsleeve version of Vogue 2980 Fauxlero in a lovely soft snowleopard print knit

The instructions aren't the best. I'm going to make this again soon, so I am telling my Future Self to remember to put the side pleats on the inside, not the outside, since it is a bit puffy this way.

I also made the Vogue 2925 quick top (with side bewb gathers) as trialled by Kitty. Once again this looks daggesque in the pic and on Jane, but better on (yeah, yeah, I should take pics on me then shouldn't I?)

I also did some practice stitch-outs on some felt. Love those beakers!
These designs are from Embroidery library -they have some cool designs and are very helpful. I got some excellent Dia De Los Meurtos and robot designs as well.

I also reorganised the sewing bench and pegboard to make room for the embroidery machine and supplies
and contemplated a retro lab look for my bathroom (hopefully to be renovated at the end of the year)

Simplicity 6990

Dress for Signorina Quattro's birthday next month:


It's vintage simplicity 6990, in the 1970s seersucker bought at the vintage fair last month. It has an 8.25cm hem, so it can be let down as she shoots up.

Edited to add:
I made a reversible pursible for her too! I made it a little bigger than half size, for cuteness! It's reversible, but I used the same fabric for both sides:

Back on the eBay wagon

It seems like I haven't bought a pattern on eBay for ages, but I couldn't resist this cute frock:
It's mail order 4853, and the mail order envelope says it is from "Western Farm Life" which I assume is/was a publication? It also has the "Carole Clarke Fashion Service" on the return address line.
I'll need a fabric which won't hide those gathers, they're my favourite part!

Sister Navy of the Beutrons, reprised. Plus - Sydney Vintage Fair Kittyhaul

I made this frock last year, but I never wore it. I think it was the huuuuge collar. It was too much for me.
So I gave it to my friend S, who has been wearing it and loves it. She can handle the hugeness and whiteness of the collar, yay!

I still love the dress, so I made another for myself this weekend only I cut the collar quite a bit smaller. I also left a bit more room across the chest, but may have taken it in a bit too much around the waist...I'll see how I go but I may have to let it out a bit.
Moggy and I have been doing the mid-zip lately. I like a back zip myself, as I find side zips often go a bit bumpy and ruin the line of the frock on me (probably because I make my frocks too tight!) but having a zip going right to the back neckline often looks a bit messy at the top, at least when I do it with my patented slapdash methods. The mid-back zip is the perfect solution, as long as the neckline has enough room for your head to pass through. Here's a pic of the mid-zip on this frock:
Neat! Only after I had finished the frock did I realise that I now have to pull it over my head, so I will have to be careful about makeup smudges on that white collar. A zip right up to the top like I put in the first version, allowing me to step into and out of the frock, would have been more practical. D'oh!

Moggy came up to Sydney last weekend and we went to the Sydney Vintage Fair. Here's the Kittyhaul:
One frock pattern with nice drapey bodice detail; 3.7 metres of 70s floral cotton seersucker; a gorgeous handbag; and a barkcloth curtain, about 2 metres in length, which I plan to hang on the wall. Lovely!
It was nice to meet a couple of you at the fair, who recognised our frocks! Thanks for saying hello!

More stitchinks

I had other play with the embroidery machine today.
I found some sweet free designs on the net - the swallow from Skully on SewForum.com, and the raygun from Henry's Home Page - he's one productive chap!

I bought some felt the other day, as it is meant to be good for test stitching designs.

They turned out well, so I made a cozy for the iPod out of them:



I think Mr Touchy McTouch will feel happy in there, it is lined with silk satin - luxurious!

First embroidery (almost)

Here is my first go at the new embroidery machine (well, I did stitch out a one-colour word first, but that isn't very exciting, ergo the 'almost').

I found the design one of the myriad sites on the internet with free embroidery (there are rayguns! and robots! and skulls! and dinosaurs!).



The white bits are the bobbin thread coming through - I need to do a bit of tension adjustment.

It is rather fun. I am investigating threads and stabilisers and all sorts of supplies. There is also the world of 'digitising' which is making one's very own designs for the machine... I think that is a way off though.

This weekend I'll be having a play making an iPod Touch cover with embroidered felt this weekend.