Imminent tripfits

It's only a week until my fortnight's jaunt to Europe, so I thought I'd post a couple of my new tripfits. According to the weather reports it will be around -1 to 11 Celsius across Brussels, France and London (22 - 51F for our non-metric friends). However, as previously mentioned I run a bit hot, so I'm going on the layering theory with some silk thermal undergarments for good measure...

First up is  the Simplicity 4789 Maggy London knot dress out of the giant orchid knit from my Spotlight Knit Shopping expedition:

Comfy, dressy, and rolls up into a nice small space.
I also made a plain black version of McCalls 6081 that can be used as a dress or a skirt. As a dress:

As a skirt, over the top of the orchid dress:

I also made a tiny happy over-the-shoulder bag for walking about the town. I put a zip in, which went in easily and sits rather nicely I am happy to say. It's big enough to fit the iPad in (I put a pocket in). I lined it with green ripstop nylon, but I neglected to take a pic of the lining...

I also bought some more shoes from Amazon. These are the Dansko Savanna which are already lovely and comfortable. Yay for good travel shoes!

I'm also taking the grey ponti pinafore, Citrine (doubleknit travel coat from a couple of years ago), a skirt from the scribble ponti that Kitty made her lovely frock from (it's a plain knit skirt so I haven't taken a pic), and one short sleeve and one long sleeved wrap top from Butterick 5101.

Brocade McCalls 5349 (and another Heidi)

I am going to a wedding this week, on Thursday evening.
I was going to wear vintage Heidi, with a sparkly turquoise crystal necklace, but thinking about the dress code (which is "Fancy"), and seeing what my friends were planning on wearing (umm, Fancy!), I began to doubt myself and think vintage Heidi might be too 'daytime'. I went to the stash and found this chinese brocade I forgot had been given to me, and made McCall's 5349 which I have wanted to make for a long time. With some modifications, this is the result:
I made a plain sash out of the reverse of the brocade, instead of the cummerbund. I love the cummerbund, but the brocade was just too thick to sit properly. The pattern calls for an under-bodice (due to having the sheer overdress option) but I just made a panel and hand-stitched it to the bodice lining for a similar effect. I experimented with using the reverse side of the fabric for the panel, but the dark blue looked better. Here she is without the sash:
The sash has covered buttons and button loops. It's a bit sad that it falls down to my natural waist instead of sitting over the midriff band. Maybe I will tack it on and see how it looks.
A couple of weeks ago I made a quick modified Heidi out of red ponte de roma. Probably not a great idea because the fabric is thick so the pleats are a bit exaggerated, and overlocking and turning the neckline was a pain and didn't turn out so well. Oh and obviously I didn't press it before taking the photos, oops. It's wearable thankfully.

New Look 6968 version 2

Here is New Look 6968 again, in scribbly ponte. I made view B minus the welts, and with the sleeves from view D.
I wore her out to dinner tonight with these beads, which broke and scattered all over the restaurant floor. I can report the frock is very practical for scrambling under tables retrieving beads. Tested in the field!

And yes, I had strung the beads myself. Please note: blog is not called "I wanna bead and roll all night". That is all.

New Love and New Look 6968

I realised today I hadn't blogged about my new love. She's a mid 1960s Singer 348, in her own sweet table. I bought her at auction, got her serviced and have been sewing away for a couple of months now. She came with cute little matching blue tool and a dozen cams for decorative stitches. She handles all thicknesses of fabric and I love the adjustable presser foot pressure. I've always wanted that, and now I have it. Sweet!
My other machine has been relegated to buttonhole service. Fortunately all my Janome presser feet fit the Singer, yay!
Here she is:

Lovely isn't she?

I used her yesterday and today to make New Look 6968. The fabric is a stretch bengaline, shocking pink shot with black, for a dupioni-like two-tone effect. It photographs a wine colour, but it looks more interesting in real life I think.

It turned out okay, but this frock is in my bad books a little due to the horrific collar instructions. I'm a bit traumatised. Apart from that, I didn't cut the collar pieces on the bias because I'm a smartypants who thought the stretch fabric would negate the need for bias. Learn from my mistake...the collar really should be cut on the bias so it sits properly. Mine doesn't and it's annoying.

The collar instructions are still horrific. I stand by that.

I only did a 1cm hem on this frock, it was this length straight out of the envelope. If you want it longer, or you're tall, you will need to lengthen the skirt pattern pieces. I usually have to cut off at least 5cm in length on New Look, so this worked for me, but check first if it's right for you!

Look what I found at Spotlight! A dead ringer for scribbly knit, but in a nice thick ponte! I had to have it, and I've already cut out another New Look 6968, with the plain neckline this time!

I'm posting this from my iPhone, using blogger+, so apologies for the dodgy phone pics. If this works, I'm going to force Moggy to get it and to post about fabric shopping when she's in Europe next month.

Edited to add a clearer pic of the frock.

NYC

I'm back from New York. As the second photo suggests, I did go to the garment district. I spent a full morning there, and only bought one dress length of black wool double knit (from Chic fabrics on 39th St.) I really can't explain it, except nothing else took my fancy. The double knit is super nice though. I did go to Mood, which seemed to have everything, but nothing I particularly wanted. Had a fabulous time looking though!

What I've been sewing while not gallivanting in New York

I've been remiss with my posting the last couple of weeks - I'd say it was because Kitty was in New York and I didn't want to take over the blog while she's away... but that would be an excuse.

Anyway, since I last posted I've booked a holiday myself - there were super cheap fares for Brussels so I am off to Europe for a couple of weeks mid-March - Brussels, London and visiting a friend in the French countryside where I am already engaged to help sew some curtains!

Sadly I will miss the big fabric market in Brussels... but hopefully I'll find a fabric shop or two amongst the mussels and chocolate and frites.

Therefore I am thinking tripfits again... and I am dreaming of just taking a carry on bag - three frocks, a skirt, four tops (short and long sleeve), a coat and pashmina, a couple of pairs of shoes... I think the temperature will be a top of 15oC, but I wear short sleeves half the time when it's that temperature here so I reckon I think I'll cope... plus I think last time I was in London I saw a shop or two around the place.

So far my thinking is the scribbly frock from the last post, plus a long-sleeved black ruched-side frock (picture to come... those black frocks!) and a grey ponti pinafore I made the other week for that very purpose:

This should be warm and layerable... haven't done a test wear yet because it is still summery here. You can't go wrong with ponti + grey though!

This was adapted from Simplicity 2550 bought in the Xmas pattern shopping extravaganza - I used the skirt and cut a square neckline into the plain view of the bodice. I lined (bodice only) in some leftover black knit.

Not sure I'm entirely happy with the pleats in the skirt rather than darts, but I suppose I can always sew them down later.

I've also made a wearable muslin of McCalls 6081 from the same pattern shopping expedition, made from the etchy knit from the knit fabric shopping experience. I've worn it to work (with a top over as it is a bit bare) and around the house as a dress. It's a bit long as a skirt, so when I make the next one for travel I will shorten it a bit more.

Having said that, it may well be fine in the print as I seem to be going black and grey...

I also made a long sleeved top version of the wrap dress-top thingy from Butterick 5101 in black wool knit - again, photo to come.


I also made a completely nontravel related dress in big fat stretch woven spots, but the photo appears to have escaped from my computer for the meantime...

Scribbly Sunday Sew-off take #2

As Kitty mentioned, this weekend we had a bit of a sew-off, using the scribbly knit I found the other day.

Since I was frankensteining two different patterns, I thought I should muslin in some cheaper fabric. I don't usually do muslins, but I knew this would be a wearable one if it turned out. This was also a good chance to do more coverstitch practice. I did about 1/3 of the stitching on the sewing machine for the Rosie Scribble (the muslin), much less on Newt (I call her that because she is mostly sewn on the Overlocker... mostly.*)

I frankensteined Simplicity 2364 view b with the lower dress from an a-line knit dress pattern that has mysteriously disappeared (note to self: clean cutting table). Aha, found the pattern I used for the dress part - Simplicity 4697

 

This time I actually traced everything off onto interfacing rather than just pinning it all in situ on the fabric - yay for repeatable experiments!

 

Wearable muslin for the win! I think I'll wear her to work tomorrow.

So... heeeere's Newt my for real scribbly contender. I lengthened it about 4" (yeah, I know, but I seem to sew half in metric and half in imperial!). She will also be worn in the coming week.

* points if you got the Aliens reference

Sunday Scribbly Sew-off!

Moggy found this lovely scribbly patterned knit a while ago, and was kind enough to get some for me.
Today Moggy and I decided to sew it up, into very similar frocks as it happens. Does finishing first mean I won? I think it does. I didn't do a muslin though, so Moggy will have two frocks sewn today. Maybe I get line honours, like in the Sydney to Hobart, but Moggy wins overall.

So really, we're both winners!

This is the first pattern I've used from the auction lot too! Very easy, only two pattern pieces, and no darts! (well, a little one in the back armhole...quaint)

Three baby bibs and a frock

I haven't done much sewing lately. I'm going to New York in 2 weeks (yay) so I have been knitting hats, cowls and socks! I want to try and wear a frock while I'm there, despite the cold. I have a down coat and fleece-lined tights so I'm hopeful! (Understand that I have only been in freezing weather one day of my life. I have no idea if I can do this! Exciting!)

I have made a frock from wool interlock. I was inspired by this frock from Selfridges, which I saw on The Fashion Police when it was Dress of the Day:



I frankensteined this pattern (view F, just widened the neckline) which I have made previously:
...with the long sleeves from this pattern, which Moggy kindly sent me in a care package. I took about half the volume out of the sleeves due to lack of fabric, and also they were HYOOOOOGE.
I'm going to stay with a friend in NYC, who will be having a baby this year. I sewed some bibs (still need to attach velcro) which Moggy kindly embroidered for me using her awesome embroidery machine. One of them goes up to 11! I owe you Mog. Luckily I found some pink/black shot stretch bengaline for you, which I hope will partially repay your kindness!

coverknit floralshirr

So I sewed one of the knits I bought on Monday. Of course I had to buy a new pattern (huh?) for it.... I chose New Look 6936, view B.


I coverstitched the neckline, sleeves and hem, and did the rest on the 4-thread overlocker. I had a bit of a struggle with the coverstitching, but it worked better once I used the clear foot instead of the fancy metal one.

Instead of drawstrings on the shoulders I used clear elastic, zigzagged on the wrong side. I shirred the waist from the underbust seam down - I spiralled it down until the elastic in the bobbin ran out (happened that it was at the side seam where I started, how about that for luck!). I also put a stitch or two where the top crosses over to stop possible gaping.


Verdict: comfy! easy!

More shoppingks - knits

I popped into Spotlight again this morning to check out their sale knits to play with on the new overlocker.

The "dry knits" are on sale for $2 per metre (there does seem to be a bit of variation in which shops have what knits at the sale price, but I digress). These knits have a matte finish and I think they are poly-lycra. Nice and drapey.

I bought 5m of this one - I think it looks like the detail of an etching...

A floral with a black background - I am hoping it doesn't end up too eighties Laura Ashley but that will depend on the pattern I choose...


A huuuuge orchid print (yes, that's my hand):


And one of the not-$2 prints at a different shop - large scale rose (each one is hand-sized)

Now to think of patterns - I reckon McCalls 6081 for one of them and a wrap or wrap-style dress or two for the others.

I heart Sergio

A new serger deserves a new cover, so I used Sergio to make a grey denim cover, and embroidered a lovely calavera from Urban Threads on it



Today I trialled the knit top from New Look 6977 to put Sergio through his paces. The whole thing took 1 1/2 hours - I think it would've taken less than an hour if I was more used to the rethreading.

I sewed half on the 4-thread safety, then the hem and sleeves on coverstitch:

...then back to the 4-thread safety for the sides and neckband. So three threadings altogether. I had a few issues with thread breakage but realised it was because I had a missed a bit of the threading.

Here it is on:


Verdict:

New Look 6977: yay!
Sergio: double yay!