Oh boy! A present. A Very Big Present!

Leave a comment

Yeah! My Horn Eclipse sewing cabinet is here. Unfortunately my sewing room is not ready to welcome it.

Six coats of paint on the ceiling & four on the walls later and I’m still not finish with the decorating. My arm is not exactly happy either. Probably should have tested the colors & techniques first. But I just didn’t have the patience.

Bright but boring after coat 2:

Hmmm… Looking rather Lemony after coat 3:

Ceiling looking like a cheesy Italian restaurant after coat 6:

Then I ran out of glaze medium, so couldn’t finish the walls,
even if the arm were willing – which it wasn’t.

So the Eclipse is now waiting in the hallway:

Hopefully I’ll get the painting done this weekend. So no sewing for a while 🙁

Free Alexander McQueen designer kimono jacket pattern

Leave a comment

Another one worth sharing while I’m watching paint dry in my sewing room…

Pattern from showstudio.com.
Link courtesy of Lisa who left a comment on my kimono post. Thanks!

The McQueen. Really. Looks like fun. Especially as there’s only one size and there’s no indication which it is. One giant origami puzzle from l’enfant terrible of British fashion. Anyone up for a challenge?

Vogue 2980 Show & Tell

4 Comments

So here it is, my latest sewing project: Vogue 2980 Today’s Fit knit top by Sandra Betzina.

Here’s the pattern envelope pictures for comparison:

The pictures look a bit twee to me, but I definitely don’t feel twee wearing it. In fact I’ve worn it a few days in the row now! Pew I hear you say? It’s in the wash now.

Hopefully it won’t shrink much. Because I picked the wrong project to try out Fit For Real People‘s suggestion of using the high bust / chest measurement as the bust measurement, and do a Full Bust Adjustment for the aging girls. So where I would have cut a size 12/B top according to Vogue instruction – I went with a size 10/A, but widened out to 12/B at the bust (see drawing below). Not a good idea for a pattern designed for 2-way stretch lycra fabrics which probably has negative ease for a close fit.

I tell you, boy was I glad I hand-basted & tested the fit before I put it under the needle – a first for me too, fitting with fashion fabric instead of muslin. I looked like an overstuffed sausage. In the end I sewn with 1/4″ seam allowance instead of the planned 5/8″. And the finished pattern was closer to a size 12/B. Typical! All that fuss for nothing.

The other problem the fitting highlighted was an unflattering pool of fabric at the back neck & shoulder seams. If I had used the recommended fabric it might have looked intentionally “draped”. But mine was a mid-weight cotton knit. So I looked like the Hunchback of Notre-Dame. I checked my Victoria’s Secret dress with a similar neckline design for ideas. I noticed that it has a more traditionally shaped back neckline. I followed suit & altered my pattern as follows:

I also tried a Sway Back Adjustment as previous T-Shirt attempts have resulted in an unsightly pool of fabric just above my back waist. It’s not entirely successful – there’s still a few wrinkles. But it’s definitely better.

To be honest, I don’t really know how to do SBA nor a FBA with dartless seamless knits. Have you tried either adjustments in knit with success? Can you share your tips?

As usual with sewing knit on my sewing machine, I’ve added a light-weight iron-on non-woven interfacing with cross-wise stretch for the hems. It makes my sewing machine overlock stitches look neater. I’d imagine I wouldn’t need this if I had only plucked up the courage & learn to use my new overlocker.

I also added clear elastic to the front neckline and front facing hem. I was worried the fabric would stretch out of shape & I’d be left with immodest front neckline gap. This was another idea courtesy of the VS dress. In fact, the VS dress cut the facing as a separate piece & sewn the elastic into the seam allowance. I had to sew mine just inside the fold. Next time I’m cutting the facing separately.

And I’m also going to redraft the collar piece to be more like the VS dress. It doesn’t look nor feel quite right. It feels tight across the front shoulder area, pulling on the sleeves a bit – you can see that in the side view photo above. With all the drape & fold you would have thought this wouldn’t be a problem.

But not enough of a problem to chuck this top to the back of the closet. Not yet anyway. We shall see after the first few washes!

All change in the sewing room

Leave a comment

Nope, no sewing show & tell yet. But I’ve been replanning my sewing room.

I had originally wanted to move into a bigger place so I can leave sewing mess around like the Other Half does with his dirty laundry. But we’ve given up. London is just too expensive. And I’m frightened by news story about people going on holiday, or even visiting family for the weekend, and coming back to find their house broken into by squatters, their belongs strewn all over the garden. I can’t bear the thought of anyone doing that to my fabric piles.

So we’re making do with our small place and decent neighbours. And that means rejigging things around, and clawing more space from the Other Half.

The fabric piles have moved into the bigger bedroom. Sewing gadgets & books are staying put. I’ll need access to fabrics less frequently than gadgets at the rate I sew.

I’m also taking the opportunity to repaint the room. I got patches of test paint on the wall: white, white, & off-white. Tempting. Especially as the room doesn’t get strong sun-light. But too boring for a hopefully creative space.

So I’m debating between sticking with the same colour as now (top 2 Dulux paint chips: Coral Canyon 2 & Pharaohs Gold 1) or going crazy (bottom 2 Dulux paint chips: Moroccan Sands 1 & Grecian Spa 3).

I chose the latter. Sod resale value. I’ll only live once & I want my sewing space to be a happy space. So bright orange & turquoise it is then! 🙂

The inspiration came from this picture in my Paint Recipe Book:

Oh yes I am. I’m so sticking to my so 90’s paint effect tricks. Sod the modern trend for matt flat colours. I think in a small space like mine, matt flat colour is going to be too claustrophobic.

Maybe not quite as runny & ready-worn as the picture above, but a glaze of transparent colour over white I think will make the walls feel deeper, more interesting, jewel like.

My current colour is a 3 layer colour wash: cream base + yellow, peach, cream washes. It was inspired by this Shaker style decor from my Decorative Style book – yes, another paint effect book, this one by Kevin McCloud of Grand Design fame, who used to do theatre set designs.

And it can be used on ceilings for that sunny blue sky effect. Mmmm… Holidays!

That was inspired by this Grecian style decor from Decorative Style:

Back to sewing room…

I’ve also taken the plunge & ordered an ugly Horn sewing cabinet.

I’m hoping the medium oak colour will at least match the fake oak laminate flooring. In reality, I would like to paint both. But I’m not sure if you can paint either.

So my Eclipse should arrive in 3 weeks. Then my sewing machine & overlocker will both have a home to hide in.

What about you?

What does your sewing space look like? Is it a happy place full of engery? A calm & orderly place? Am I totally mad with my colour scheme?

Aside

Vogue Men’s Patterns Give-Away

Leave a comment

OMG, I finished a top! But the sun has gone down now. So too late to show & tell. Another day then.

Between the craziness of a new job and redecorating at home, I haven’t made much progress on the sewing front. But I have gone through my pattern collection recently, and earmarked a couple for a Give Away.

Don’t get too excited yet. These are men’s patterns. Sorry, I’m hanging on to most of the women’s ones, even if many are a couple sizes too small now. Hoarder’s finger grip is strong. You can pry those other patterns off my hand over my dead body! 😉

So here they are:

Give-Away 1: Vogue 1928 Men’s Jacket, Pants & Shorts, chest sizes 32-34-36, uncut.

Loose-fitting, partially interfaced, lined, below hip jacket has shoulder pads, side panels, no side seams & long, 2-piece sleeves with mock vent & button trim.

A: collar, flaps, & pockets. A,B: welt. C: button/loop closing. B,C: side front pockets.

Shorts, above mid-knee or tapered pants have waistband, carriers, side front/back pockets & mock fly zipper.

D: stitched hems. F: cuffs.

Give-Away 2: Vogue 8918 Men’s Pants, waist sizes 26-28-30, cut to 30.

Tapered pants have front button wasitband, carriers & fly zipper closing.

A: side front welt pockets. B: shaped, side front pockets & back pockets. C: side pockets. A,C: back button welt pockets.

Both are not in the pattern envelopes anymore. But neither have been used. My other half has gotten a bit too well fed for these to be useful to me. So in the spirit of freecycle, I’m passing these on to those who can make better use of them.

How to get these:

It’ll be on a first come first serve basis. I’ve been a bit negligent in updating this blog, so I don’t expect there’ll be enough instant traffic for a proper prize draw.

So just leave a comment with your email address and I’ll get in touch to get postal address.