Monday, August 26, 2013
The lost art of tailoring
While browsing Victoria blog (tenthousandsewinghours.blogspot.com). I ran across an article about gentleman Jim. He is a master tailor currently located in savanna Georgia. While browsing I am certainly excited about picking up some of his fabulous tips. He happens to be doing a give away for a two disk set of his tailoring techniques DVD. You have to check it out. Follow the link to gentleman Jim. http://finetailoringbyjim.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Vogue 1245
Vogue 1245 is my latest project. In a nutshell this is a time consuming blouse. Although flattering on , its very time consuming. There is a lot of narrow hemming and French seams. The ties take forever and honestly there are no shortcuts. I tried. I made the blouse out of chiffon I had in my stash. There is a very slight sheen almost like silk. It's very pretty. I lined it with grey georgette. Makes for a nice blouse. 
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Vogue patterns fall preview - My Favs
Vogue 1361
Love it, just love it! -
Up next Vogue 1336
These pants remind me of Sandra Betzina's Princess seam pants.....
Vogue 1362
Vogue 8928 - Date night!!!! Leather!!!
Can't you just see this in leather with a peplum top, or crop jacket and tank, belt and gold shoes...My imagination is going crazy!
More to come!
More from Vogue 2532 Basic Design
So I have fallen in love with Voge 2532.
So far I have successfully sewn two pair of shorts and i am currently working on a pair of Capris from this pattern. Here is the description:
MISSES'/MISSES' PETITE SHORTS & PANTS Shorts, micro-mini, above mid-knee, below mid-knee or straight-legged pants have waistband, carriers, side pockets and mock-fly zipper. A,B,C,D: side slits and stitched hems. E: cuffs. Purchased top and belt.
FABRICS: Chino, Gabardine and Wool Crepe. Unsuitable for obvious diagonals. Allow extra fabric to match plaids or stripes. Use nap yardages/layouts for pile, shaded or one-way design fabrics. *with nap. **without nap.
WIDTHS/LENGTHS: Width at Lower Edge: Shorts A 23 to 27" (58.5 to 68.5cm), Shorts B,C 22 to 26" (56 to 66cm), Pants D,E 21 to 25" (54 to 63.5cm). Side Length from Waist:Shorts A 13" (33cm), Shorts B 18 3/4" (47.5cm), Shorts C 21 3/4" (55cm), Pants D 313/4" (80.5cm), Pants E (Cuffed) 42" (107cm).
My Second pair of Shorts are from View A - the Micro-Minis. I made this pair out of some stashed linen. I think i had less than 3/4 yard. I had to S Q U E E Z E the pattern out of this fabric. But it worked,maybe i should enter the stash contest on pattern review. For the waistband i decided to draft a contoured waistband. Ok that was really a big NO NO. It's obvious that my body does not need a contoured waistband. For the outside i had just enough of the linen but for the facing i cut it out of stashed cotton gingham. The shorts are really cute with the waistband mistake. So here is the deal, the band is so big that it folds down over the shorts exposing the gingham facing. Creating something similar to the look of this waistband in the photo below:
Not too bad, maybe with a white jacket and a tank top i can really dress up the shorts without having to take out the waistband and replace it with a straight one.
The capris are something unique. The pattern says straight leg, but for me the straight leg is just way to wide. So I will be making an adjustment to taper these in so that they are not oh so wide.
A few things i have learned with my Vogue 2532.
1. Go down a size if your fabric has considerable stretch in it
2. 100% Linen exapnds, so go down a size, wear then around the house for a bit and Violia a great fitted pair of shorts
3. DO NOT draft my own contoured waistband. My body shape doesn' t need it, even though i have a severe swayback
4. Straight leg from this pattern is more like wide leg. Taper the capris, but this straight leg will be great for Fall and boots.
Photos posting soon, my Ipad is out of space so need to cloud or clear out some photos.
So far I have successfully sewn two pair of shorts and i am currently working on a pair of Capris from this pattern. Here is the description:
MISSES'/MISSES' PETITE SHORTS & PANTS Shorts, micro-mini, above mid-knee, below mid-knee or straight-legged pants have waistband, carriers, side pockets and mock-fly zipper. A,B,C,D: side slits and stitched hems. E: cuffs. Purchased top and belt.
FABRICS: Chino, Gabardine and Wool Crepe. Unsuitable for obvious diagonals. Allow extra fabric to match plaids or stripes. Use nap yardages/layouts for pile, shaded or one-way design fabrics. *with nap. **without nap.
WIDTHS/LENGTHS: Width at Lower Edge: Shorts A 23 to 27" (58.5 to 68.5cm), Shorts B,C 22 to 26" (56 to 66cm), Pants D,E 21 to 25" (54 to 63.5cm). Side Length from Waist:Shorts A 13" (33cm), Shorts B 18 3/4" (47.5cm), Shorts C 21 3/4" (55cm), Pants D 313/4" (80.5cm), Pants E (Cuffed) 42" (107cm).
My Second pair of Shorts are from View A - the Micro-Minis. I made this pair out of some stashed linen. I think i had less than 3/4 yard. I had to S Q U E E Z E the pattern out of this fabric. But it worked,maybe i should enter the stash contest on pattern review. For the waistband i decided to draft a contoured waistband. Ok that was really a big NO NO. It's obvious that my body does not need a contoured waistband. For the outside i had just enough of the linen but for the facing i cut it out of stashed cotton gingham. The shorts are really cute with the waistband mistake. So here is the deal, the band is so big that it folds down over the shorts exposing the gingham facing. Creating something similar to the look of this waistband in the photo below:
Not too bad, maybe with a white jacket and a tank top i can really dress up the shorts without having to take out the waistband and replace it with a straight one.
The capris are something unique. The pattern says straight leg, but for me the straight leg is just way to wide. So I will be making an adjustment to taper these in so that they are not oh so wide.
A few things i have learned with my Vogue 2532.
1. Go down a size if your fabric has considerable stretch in it
2. 100% Linen exapnds, so go down a size, wear then around the house for a bit and Violia a great fitted pair of shorts
3. DO NOT draft my own contoured waistband. My body shape doesn' t need it, even though i have a severe swayback
4. Straight leg from this pattern is more like wide leg. Taper the capris, but this straight leg will be great for Fall and boots.
Photos posting soon, my Ipad is out of space so need to cloud or clear out some photos.
Friday, July 12, 2013
My journey to a great pair of shorts part deux
Fabric - a red/pink cotton sateen from Joann fabrics
Amount- about 1 1/4 yards. This was a remnant piece in my stash from my attempt at v8815
Pattern. Vogue basic design
This pattern is really for a dressy pair of shorts. I opted for the walking short length with side vent and side pockets. The pattern was really easy I didn't really use the instructions. And total sewing time was about 1 hr. I made several fitting adjustments to the pattern. Since the fabric was stretchy I had to cut down a size to get my adjustments. The shorts are still a little big in the leg. But I am so proud of them I don't care. 
Friday, June 28, 2013
My journey to a great pair of shorts
I started this journey with butterick 5649. This is a very basic short and three skirts. Looking at the pattern it looks rather simple pnot very attractive but, I needed the basic design. I am worked view D.
Here in Cincinnati we have a few of the typical fabric stores Joanns, Hancock Fabrics, silk road textiles. But there is one special place called Banach's. they carry designer fabric and they are rather expensive. However the remnant bins and the warehouse is just fab. Last year i picked up a yummy off white stretch cotton. It almost feels like flannel its so nice and has a great weight to it. i picked up 1 3/8 yards for $7.00 the original price was $29.99 a yard. Yep you read that right!
In my attempt to sew without a muslin I decided to get the measurements from my best fitting pants and transfer them to Butterick 5649. Oh my goodness what a mistake. This pattern is so strange. The shorts crotch sits way too low the hips are way too big and the waist. Is super large. I only transferred the crotch measurement. I am so disappointed now I have to turn the shots into a skirt and even that will be too big. So I walked out of the Diva den with my head low
This morning while looking for a new pattern I ran into vogue 2532. Again basic not much flare but a great foundation. Again I transferred measurements but this time I had to lengthen the crothch, expand the waist and hip. I did this using the pivot and slide method. And wow what a difference. Still using a stretch cotton and from Joann's I stitched up my pattern without a muslinand wow these fit great pictures coming soon. Here is what I did. Added 7/8 " to seams for waist, added 1/2 " for hips. Added 4" to crotch. Using the nancy zieman method worked like a charm. Can't wait to show the photos.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Sewing Inspiration
I haven't posted much in the past few months, and that is simply becuase i am too busy. But i have been sewing and i have lots of posts to share and patterns to review. But while browsing the internet for inspiration i found the following "dupes". check them out.
St John - this is a beautiful dress and on the website is it priced @ $795. check out the vogue pattern on the right. Looks like a close match. It's out of print but you can still buy it from Vogue. a few yards of fabric from just about anywhere and you can dupe this for W A A Y Less than $795.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Friday, January 11, 2013
Mccalls 6706
McCalls 6706 is a new pattern for the spring 2013 line. My 15 yr old niece just loved the skirt. So being the Auntie i am i decided to give it a try. From Joann Fabrics I picked up a Fushia Polyester Shantung with Satin back and a Black Polyester Shantung with Satin back. The pattern doesn't call for much fabric. That is the only good thing. Here is the review below:
Pattern Description: MISSES' SKIRTS AND PETTICOAT: Skirts have waistband, pleats, side hook & eye and zipper closing. Narrow hem. C: shaped back hemline, wrong side shows. B,E: bands.
Petticoat has elastic waist and ruffle.
Pattern Sizing: A5 6 --> 14 Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? This pattern did look like the envelope when done
Were the instructions easy to follow? I did not follow the instructions but this is a very easy pattern
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the pleating on the skirt. Very in fashion and great on several body types. Where do i start with the dislikes:
1. This pattern runs VERY SMALL. Now it is possible my sewing skills, pleating skills caused a problem. I don't know but i just know that my 15 yr old Niece is 25" waist. The size 14 was 4" too Small in the waistband. So once someone else reviews this i guess well know if it runs small.
2. The length is VERY SHORT for view A. On the pattern envenlope View A is displayed. The model appears to be wearing the skirt right above the knee. My niece is 5' 1" and the skirt hits her about 2" above the knee. So for you non petite women this skirt would need to be lengthend a bit to allow for modestly unless you are wearing it as a mini skirt.
3. The contrast piece is drafted too large for the top piece. When attaching the bottom to the top i at first was going to ease it. But after looking at the pinning i decided to just recut the piece and adjust. I cut over nearly 3 " from what will be the side seams of each piece. I hope the issue was just my fabric and not the pattern piece.
Fabric Used: Polyester Shantung
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: Becuase the waist band didn't fit and the zipper would not go. i removed the zipper and added an elastic waistband. My niece likes to wear her bottoms on her low waist so this will be more comfortable for her
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I might try this again just to be sure the problem isn't with my pleating and will try the longer version to see if it works better for my niece.
Conclusion: This is a beautiful pattern, but so far my experince will rate this as mediocre. Someone else needs to review it before i can make a final decision on if i keep it. Thank goodness i only paid .99 for it.
Pattern Description: MISSES' SKIRTS AND PETTICOAT: Skirts have waistband, pleats, side hook & eye and zipper closing. Narrow hem. C: shaped back hemline, wrong side shows. B,E: bands.
Petticoat has elastic waist and ruffle.
Pattern Sizing: A5 6 --> 14 Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? This pattern did look like the envelope when done
Were the instructions easy to follow? I did not follow the instructions but this is a very easy pattern
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the pleating on the skirt. Very in fashion and great on several body types. Where do i start with the dislikes:
1. This pattern runs VERY SMALL. Now it is possible my sewing skills, pleating skills caused a problem. I don't know but i just know that my 15 yr old Niece is 25" waist. The size 14 was 4" too Small in the waistband. So once someone else reviews this i guess well know if it runs small.
2. The length is VERY SHORT for view A. On the pattern envenlope View A is displayed. The model appears to be wearing the skirt right above the knee. My niece is 5' 1" and the skirt hits her about 2" above the knee. So for you non petite women this skirt would need to be lengthend a bit to allow for modestly unless you are wearing it as a mini skirt.
3. The contrast piece is drafted too large for the top piece. When attaching the bottom to the top i at first was going to ease it. But after looking at the pinning i decided to just recut the piece and adjust. I cut over nearly 3 " from what will be the side seams of each piece. I hope the issue was just my fabric and not the pattern piece.
Fabric Used: Polyester Shantung
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: Becuase the waist band didn't fit and the zipper would not go. i removed the zipper and added an elastic waistband. My niece likes to wear her bottoms on her low waist so this will be more comfortable for her
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I might try this again just to be sure the problem isn't with my pleating and will try the longer version to see if it works better for my niece.
Conclusion: This is a beautiful pattern, but so far my experince will rate this as mediocre. Someone else needs to review it before i can make a final decision on if i keep it. Thank goodness i only paid .99 for it.
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