"The Herringbone Jacket" Simplicty #3298 ca. 1940s

First up for Fall/Winter 2011 is a lovely Jacket with asymmetrical closing & 3/4 length sleeves made out of 100% Wool "Herringbone."

I am using a Simplicity Pattern, bought on Etsy, that I graded up 2". This was awesome practice and it turned out great!

I am making View #2. I got the fabric to make it half price and I really love it, it is so easy to sew with. I think my new favorite fabric to work with is wool.....

I made the muslin and I was really happy with how the fitting turned out! I couldn't believe that my grading worked....I am so proud.

I have been focusing on really doing things thoroughly, instead of taking "shortcuts" that end in mediocre results. Therefore, I have been basting stuff together before permanently attaching the seams, highlighting the center lines with a hand done basting stitch to help with fitting, overcasting to finish seams and to prevent un-raveling....All these little things take a lot of extra time but I think they will pay off in better results.

At this point I am very close to finishing the outer shell.....I have finished the construction and the major "tailoring" details that I taught myself with this project. Again, very proud.

I used Hair Canvas for support and structure at the front and back as well as in the sleeve and body hems, I really like the result of this. I also "taped" along the neckline, front closing and armholes for extra stability. This detail has really created a crisp, solid look on the neckline and closing, like you see in men's suits. I have learned so much about what goes in to creating a tailored look and it has been really fun researching it and practicing. I can't wait to make more tailored clothing.

My resources have been The New Encyclopedia of Modern Sewing  (ca. 1940's), the standard Vogue sewing book and the awesome internet.

My next steps are finishing the interior seams to prevent the inside from raveling too much, constructing the lining and inserting it and then attaching the sleeves, which I will do after I insert the lining. I may not use buttons and instead use snaps on the inside for closure. I want to keep the finish as clean as possible.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

"Voila! A Voile Blouse Project"

So I have started working on Advance #7798. It looks really complicated from the pattern piece shapes but it is turning out to not be that bad. I am going with View #1....

Advance #7798

Strange shaped pieces....

I am using a really  nice cotton voile I got from the bargain bin at one of the fabric stores in town and I have added an underlining to it since it is so sheer. It is a basic quilter's cotton from Joann's, in green....I had bought this really cheap polyester silky fabric to use but I hated it, I am not sure why I bought it to be honest. I really dislike using material that are not natural fibers. 

Voila!

Green Cotton

 I really like to add weight to my fabrics with a lining. It makes fluid, flimsy materials easier to work with and more substantial. It gives items a more tailored look. I am done interlining all of the pieces, finished the darts, attached the front bodice facing, and attached the sleeve backs. The sleeves are "Raglan" sleeves, they are also the first sleeves I have ever made so hopefully they will turn out ok. 

Bodice Front with Darts

Front Bodice Facing

Bodice Back with Darts and Raglan Sleeve Backs

I will be making the bound button holes before I attach the bodice front and back together, I learned a lot about making these with "The New Look Blouse Project", I am so close to finishing this by the way I need to put in the shoulder pads and sew on the buttons....Anyway I bought some really cut buttons for this and I am going to use the green fabric for the bound holes. This project will also require me to insert an invisible side zipper...this is the part I am a bit concerned about, more so even than the collar.

 I will be posting regularly again, so stay tuned!

Cheers!

Amelia

Fourth of July!

What an awesome weekend I had. I worked late Friday and half the day on Saturday but once that was all over the weekend was great. I spent a lot of time in the sun, much needed and I still don't think I am any browner, in the pool and eating! I also got to wear "The Recession Recess Romper" twice, very exciting though I wish I would have made it a size smaller in the bust and especially in the waist. It was super comfy and great for the heat, light cotton is so comfortable in the heat. Here are some photos from the weekend:


July 3, 2011:
 

Family Pool Party 

Justin & I (in a vintage cotton bikini)

Kerry-Anne, Aunt Sue & Me

My Mom and I

July 4, 2011:


Annual Fillmore Classic Car Show & Chili Cook Off

Nice Rims....

Super Long 8 Seater

Justin & I baking in the 100 degree heat

Justin & Amelia's Fourth of July BBQ & Fireworks Extravaganza!!!:

....the results! (I am very proud)

First time I have ever BBQ'd.....

Fireworks!!! (Legal in Fillmore don't worry)

Yay!

RUN!

Long Time No Post!

This past week has been crazy! I have barely touched my harp or my sewing projects.....I am very close to completing a Sorbetto top I am making. I love how it has turned out so far but I wish I would have added some length to it, it is pretty short I am going to have to wear it tucked in to pants, shorts or a skirt to avoid looking preggo. I hope to have it completed by the end of the day as all I need to do is finish the bias tape around the armholes and hem.....I will post photos shortly!

The Summer Essentials Sew Along Doldrums

I am in this really boring sewing place right now. I have finished 'The Recession Recess Romper" and am dragging my feet with "The New Look Blouse Project" buttonholes, I need to bind 5 more holes and it is so much work and I'm sort of discouraged by how the first one turned out, even though my test buttonhole came out bitchin' the one I did on the blouse doesn't look as good. I think I need to make a commitment to do one a night instead of waiting until I have time to do them all at once.

I am getting ready to work with two vintage patterns for my Summer Essentials 2011 sew along but things are not going as smoothly as with "TNLBP". I sat down to trace off copies of Vogue #7078 ca. 1954 for "The Who Wears Short Shorts Project" when I realized that what I thought was a printed pattern, is not! I have never used a vintage vogue pattern and when I got it in the mail a couple weeks back I apparently did not check to see if all the pieces were there or I did and just forgot that it was unprinted. My issue is not that I am worried about the difficulty, it is a very simple pattern in that there are 3 pattern pieces, and having read through the directions it is going to be very similar to the shorts on my romper. My issue is that tracing it is hugely difficult there are no dark lines on it so seeing it through the tracing paper is impossible especially since the lighting in my living room sucks right now since I need to replace the bulbs in my good lamp. I have to trace it out because I need to grade it up a couple inches.

My next issue is with Advance #7798 for "The Voila! A Voile Blouse Project" I may not need to grade it but I am going to have to make a muslin to see as I am not confident of the fit and tracing it out is taking forever....this project is going to take awhile and I might not finish it for some time I am just going to have to be slow and steady on it.

All of this pattern drama is annoying and I have been practicing my harp for a couple hours a night so things are moving slowly sewing wise and I want to make something! So I think I am going to add something to my Summer Essentials 2011 Sew Along program. I downloaded a free pattern from Colette Patterns, The Sorbetto Top, this pattern is seriously being used by everyone and after reading the instructions I think it should be pretty easy to do, I have some material in my stash I can use for it and I won't have to mess around with a grading and the like. I just really want to make something as I am impatient for results so I will be adding "The Silky Sorbetto Project" to my line up....more details to come. 

"TRRRP" Finished!

 I'm done! I love how it turned out, both the inside and the outside. Except for my initial confusion with the diagonal lines on my fashion fabric it was super easy to make and I think it turned out looking pretty good. I plan to wear it for the Fourth of July. Though I may wear it sooner if the weather in Southern California turns sunny again, this June gloom is depressing.






 



It looks a bit funky on the hanger and I'm sorry there are no photos of me in it. Living alone makes it hard to get pictures of myself in my creations. I have to take photos in the mirror and they never turn out, the lighting in my bedroom sucks and the camera always gets in the way. I'm going to have to commission my gentleman friend to take photos on the weekends when we spend lots of time together. I'll lure him by promising to note him as a contributor to my blog, which is such an honor I'm sure....I kid, I kid and I am off on a tangent so back to my romper.  

I have to tattle on myself, I am not totally and completely finished, I still have to add the hook and eye closure. I didn't have any at home and I didn't complete catch stitching the lining to the zipper tape until 11:30 last night so I'll be picking those up this evening and inserting it tonight. I was just too excited about this project to wait another day to reveal it. 








I am really very happy with the interior of this garment....unlike "TNLBP", which I can never post interior pictures of it is just too much of an epic mess in there, this interior is completely enclosed in lining, clean and pristine. I could probably wear it inside out only the zipper would give it away.














  I hadn't had the idea to line the whole thing until after I had bought the contrasting facing material. Once I had attached the facing I decided I wanted to line the entire thing. I really like the results when I have lined garments. It really adds to the weight of it making it seem higher quality and more substantial. Anyway, when I went back to Joann's to get another yard of that red with white dots they were out though it had only been one day! I had just enough of the outer shell material left to squeeze out another pair of shorts. What I ended up doing was sewing the right sides together at the hem. There was no way I was going to hem those shorts up another 1 1/4" so having the inner pair of shorts acted like a facing and resulted in a very nice, clean finish, unlike "TNLBP" hem which was a disaster.

Here a couple more detail photos:

Front Facing

 

Inside Waistline

I'm really proud of this!

And that's that! This was a very easy pattern to make, it took me a lot longer than it should have due to my issues with diagonals....

Next Up....completing the bound buttonholes on "TNLBP" and Tracing & Grading for the "The Who Wears Short Shorts Project" & "The Voila! A Voile Blouse Project"

Cheers!

Amelia

"TNLBP" Almost Finished....

I am almost finished with my blouse! It has turned out so much better that I could have hoped considering it was a first for me in a lot of ways. It is the first blouse I have ever made, it is the first time I have ever worked off of a vintage pattern and it is also the first time I have made something out of a fabric other than cotton. I learned a hell of a lot.

I will never again use fabric tape on silk...talk about a nightmare.

I will only pin it with super fine pins.

I will never save the buttonholes for later....this is currently what is taking me so long.

I will handle it as little as possible, and be extra vigilant to prevent snags.

I found that cotton voile is a great lining for silk chiffon.

I will stay stitch all cut edges, including the lower even if it will be hemmed later, to prevent slow unraveling.

The only thing left to do is finish the buttonholes and sew on the buttons. I am having a hell of a time with this as I am having to do it by hand since I waited to long to do bound button holes and at this point they would look stupid.

Here are some photos:

Please excuse the bizarre self portrait and messy room. I live alone and I was trying to show the silhouette as best as possible. It is pinned in the back where the buttons would be....