I know what you’re going to say...

I do know what you’re going to say, but I just wanted to make sure you were going to say it, just in case, ya know, you weren't (but you're going to, I just know it...).

Below is the bust of the first muslin of my Cambie dress. As you can see, I haven’t got far mostly because I’m getting weird, sticky-outy bits around my underarm. I have three options to fix this (well actually, only one, but I’m trying to avoid it if I can):

a)      a bust dart – okay, not really an option, but I thought I would try.

Edited to add - I've had some questions about why a bust dart wouldn't really be suitable. To explain, I think it would really ruin the lines of the dress. If I was making it in a busy fabric I might get away with it, but making it in a plain fabric, the dart line would be really noticable. It wasn't designed with a bust dart in mind so I would really want to avoid it if possible!

b)      really huge waist darts - this would mean a lot of bulk around the tummy area (so probably not really an option...)

c)       a small bust adjustment – there, I said it!

So my question is, do I really have to do a SBA? I have a few tutorials lined up on how to do it because I’ve never done one before (more help is welcome if you have it though!), but I just wanted a second (and third and fourth etc) opinion on whether that was actually what I needed to do.

I think I have an irrational fear. 

Do I have to?

Jen

On the sewing table...

Summer is fast approaching us in Sydney Town. The days are longer (it’s so nice to get up in the morning and its light!) and the temperatures are slowly rising. Spring is most certainly here… 

I have a number of summer sewing projects that I’m gearing up towards and so I thought, as a little motivation, I’d share them with you. I’ve been washing my parisienne fabric hoard slowly over the weekends, and collecting and sorting my various vintage patterns into bite sized pieces to sew up over the next few months. With my newly found love of ‘taking it slowly and doing it properly’ when it comes to sewing, I may not get all of it made, but I can certainly try! And let’s face it, the pants are for autumn, I’m just trying to get a head start… 

1 Stripy black and white dress 

2 Vintage button blouse 

 3 Tartan dress 

4 Red Circle Skirt (completed) - photos coming soon!

5 Japanese Floral dress (started, should be finished this weekend).

 6 Strappy Japanese cotton lawn dress 

7 Pants 

8 Gathered dress 

9 Cambie dress - I'm currently in the middle of a muslin of this that I desperately need your help with. Post coming soon!

10 Colette Patterns Macaron Dress - I still need to actually get the pattern for this, but I have my fabric combination all sorted! And that’s the hard part right?

11 Flowy lace/curtain skirt - my own made up pattern (yet to get fabric!)

12 A version of Tilly's picnic skirt

13 Skulls Dress - David found a rockabilly style dress made of this fabric in London but the style just wasn't flattering on me. They had almost the same pattern as below made up in every other fabric except the skulls, so when I found the fabric after returning home (and the pattern that had been hiding in my stash for YEARS) I knew it would work. I'm excited about this one :)

14 Strappy flowery cotton dress - this fabric was about $6 a metre, can't complain!

15 Gathered neckline blue cotton dress - yes, the same fabric as a dress above, but I have so much of it I may as well use it. I paid about $3 for the lot at an op shop in Dunedin, NZ.

16 Blue/Black polka dot gathered bust dress 

18 Green Zig Zag pleated skirt - my own made up pattern, and I've yet to get the fabric.

Phew, that’s A LOT! Of course, these projects will change as I find new inspiration/as new patterns mysteriously land in my mailbox, but these are most of them up to this point. 

What fun projects do you have in stall? Is it a huge long list like mine, or small number of pieces to add to your wardrobe for the coming season? 

XX
Jen

The last Winter Skirt…

 

I’ve had this skirt in mind for a while but took my time in making it up. It’s a fairly basic skirt, but is nicely out of line with the big round circle skirts I usually make. Having finished watching Mad Men a little while ago, I decided I was sorely lacking in the cute 60’s skirt department.

I made this up with a left over remnant of thrifted vintage rosey pink wool and I used up almost every single last scrap. It’s lined with a bubblegum pink lining and does up the back with a zip and hook (and as usual with most of my sewing, I moved the zip from the side to the back. My hips do not need any extra bulk thank you very much!).

Because it’s such a plain skirt, I thought I needed a cute detail and so found some cute buttons, made up some belt loops and then went about experimenting with different ways of designing them. I ended up hand sewing them together with a triangle pivot at the bottom - I really like how they turned out and think they add a nice little detail.

 

I’m calling it the last winter skirt because it’s basically Spring now and there is the potential I won’t get to wear it much in a few weeks time. But I think it would look cute paired with the sleeveless jasmine blouse I made in autumn this year.

How do you perk up a relatively plain garment when you are sewing?

 xx

Jen

Taking the Time…

While I was in Paris shopping up a fabric storm, I had a lot time to think about what I was sewing, what I was blogging and what motivated me to keep posting on here years after I began.

I’ve always been someone who sewed for the end result, not the learning process in between.  I think that this has something to do with the fact that I picked sewing back up when I started the blog as something to post about other than outfit posts  - I found after a few years that they just really weren’t all that interesting to me anymore, my tastes in blogging and what I was reading in the blogosphere had changed (though I do still like to do them from time to time, it’s always nice to show off a pretty vintage dress!).

Sewing for the end result gave me something to post about and so I zoomed through my projects quickly, not necessarily taking the time to make sure they were well constructed, fit well and were comfortable, so that I could take photos and blog about them as quickly as possible.

While I was away in Paris, I joined the Craftsy course on Couture sewing (David was away for a week at a conference and I needed some English speaking entertainment to fill in my night times!) and I got all inspired by the slow process of couture sewing. Learning to make a proper muslin, fitting it, making changes as you went, hand sewing zips, basting the fabric together, making under linings etc. It was all so new and exciting and slow - something I really hadn’t been doing at all!   

I hadn’t been enjoying the process of sewing like I should have been, I hadn’t been taking the time to acquire new sewing skills because I was so bent up on having a finished garment to post about that I actually stopped enjoying sewing all together! And speaking of not enjoying it, I hadn’t actually been finishing any of my planned projects either because I just felt so much pressure from myself to get them finished solely to put them up on the blog.

I’ve come to realise that I can actually post about the process of making a garment, it doesn’t have to be just about the end result, it can also be about the learning bits in between too.

And so I’ve come back to this blog with fresh eyes and a new focus. I’m taking my time with the construction of my garments, and while that may mean I won’t have much in the way of finished garments to post about for some time in between, it does mean that I’ll hopefully learn new skills that I can pass onto you here and hopefully inspire you to slow down a little too and take the time to enjoy the journey…

xx

Jen

Ye Olde London Towne…

I loved London, no, I love London. One week was not long enough!

Yes there was some rain (but mostly sun!), yes it was busy and bustling, especially in the touristy areas, the Olympics were about to start and it was the same temperature in Summer as it was in Sydney’s Winter, but I absolutely loved it.

I had the pleasure of meeting up with some lovely ladies, including Tilly (we wandered around Liberties and discussed sewing classes while ooh’ing and ahh’ing at the pretty (and rather expensive) fabric and wares).

We did the London Eye, Tower of London and went to Claridges for afternoon tea. We wandered the vintage packed streets of Bricklane and ended up in Spitafield markets where I bought 2 gorgeous hat bands from a lovely lady (I wore one to afternoon tea). We ate at pubs, scoffed pork pies and ate mushy peas (erm, gross, just don’t even go there…). We visited the Stone Henge (where I tried really hard to feel the Gregorian vibes but couldn’t), wandered around pretty Bath (where I bought shoes, naturally) and just enjoyed the pretty quaint-ness that is England.

I’m sure I’ll be back soon…

Paris in Summer...

I've been ignoring this little bit of the internet lately - ever since we got back from Europe in fact, and I have to be honest, I've enjoyed it. My priorities once we got back were mainly to do with catching up with work (having deadlines as soon as you return from holiday is not fun!) and *ahem* handing in my notice at my current work place (eek!). I have a shiney new job in the city now, just a 15minute bus ride away. No more 3 hour journeys to work and back each day!

Any way, onto Paris! Our apartment was truely parisienne, on the third floor of a beautiful old building complete with inner courtyard and basil planted window sill. What I loved most about Paris was that it was just so, well, Parisienne. Everything you think Paris should be, it is. People running around with freshly baked baguettes, brightly coloured flowers on window sills (even in the most run down of neighbourhoods) and patisseries on every street corner.

Our apartment building in Montmartre

We did all the toursity things - Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sacre Couer, Arc du Triomphe, the Louvre etc and also spent a day out at the Chateau de Versailles. And then David left for his conference in Normandy and I spent a week exploring Paris by myself. 

  

Eating my first pan au chocolat on the steps of the Sacre Couer on our first morning in Paris

 The Sacre Couer

I spent most of my time exploring Montmartre (except for a visit to a Miss Mona Lisa for the day at the Louvre) and went a little crazy at the fabric shops (okay, more like really crazy...). A quick tip if you are heading to Paris for fabric - go into the stores that say 'Coupons' in the shop names. These stores sell off cuts from their larger counter parts (I spent most of my time in the Marche' Saint-Pierre Coupons shop) of some of the most beautiful fabrics. Most of them are 3metres or longer and they are much cheaper than going into the main stores and buying off the bolt. It's also useful if your French isn't too hot as you just search through the piles (oh so many piles...), take your wares up to the counter and pay. No asking for specific lengths etc. The piles are also handily categorised - cotton, wool, polyester, silk...

I had to tone my fabric shopping down after a few days as it was so heavy I was worried I wouldn't be allowed it all onto the plane (I went for heavier weight cottons mostly). But I am really pleased with everything I found and have a few projects lined up - now I just need another holiday so I can find the time to sew them up!

I also went away with a few French fashion magazines ranging from the 30s-50s including some Marie Claire's. While I might not be able to read them, they are amazing for inspiration and you never know, I might even get around to scanning a couple in a little while.

I could go on and on... but next up, I'll post about London (I loved London the most, I really miss it!).

XX

Jen

Birthdays and Trips Away...

It was my birthday a few weeks ago now (May 28th) and David bought me this beautiful red and white stachel bag to celebrate. I've wanted a satchel bag for a really long time now and have been using it every day since. The Sail Boat necklace was also a gift from David for Christmas last year.

These photos were snapped just aftter my birthday - it was the one fine day amoungst what seemed like months of rain. But lucky for us it has finally decided to clear up just in time for us to do some ALL of our washing before we leave for Paris on Thursday night (!).

I made the circle skirt on my birthday weekend - yet another to add to my Parisian arsenal because they are just so practical and go with everything! Packing made easy I say. It's made with a thrifted cotton/wool knit blend and is fully lined with some lovely silver lining.

  

In other news, I got my greedy little mitts on Tasia's latest pattern, the Cambie Dress and I can't wait to sew it up when I get back. I've been really drawn to sweetheart necklines lately and this dress fits the bill perfectly. Have any of you made it up? Any fitting tips you care to share?

I'll hopefully be blogging brief snippets of our trip in between sightseeing in Paris and London with the help of David's ipad, so stay tuned...

XX

Jen