Colette Beignet Skirt

Well, my back recovered very quickly, as it happens, but I've had little time to sew. However, that didn't stop me from making my Beignet Skirt little by little in the evenings last week. It's surprising what can be achieved in just 30 mins or so every day.

This version was only ever meant to be a muslin, and not a wearable one. I had planned only to fit the shell of the skirt and "waste" this fabric in the process because I had thought the fabric to be unwearable itself. It's a stretch cotton drill and when I washed it (originally for a pair of Clover trousers, but that's another story altogether) no matter what I did to it I couldn't remove the creases made in the washing process. I even tried washing it again on a slower spin, ironing it almost wet...but nothing worked. Once I started making up the skirt, I was delighted to find that although the fabric wasn't behaving any better, it didn't show enough to be detrimental to the appearance of the garment, so I quickly fished out a remnant of Kaffe Fassett cotton and some really terrible, stiff lining that I had nearly thrown away a couple of years ago (after washing, the lining was much softer, though it frayed like a devil).

This pattern is made for a much more curvy, pear shaped individual than me. Therefore, although the size 4 waist fitted just right, the hips and bottom were HUGE on me. I took some of the excess out but there is still a lot of room in the hip area.

I really enjoyed putting this one together; I enjoyed attaching the shiny lining to the crisp, matt cotton and the curve where they join at the front (inside). I enjoyed making the little belt loops (though my drill fabric was so think I had to make my loops up in a totally different way to the pattern) and I even enjoyed making all the buttonholes. I must say, I think I got more satisfaction in making this skirt than I ever have in my sewing before! I keep looking at it and thinking "brilliant". I just love how everything came together so nicely, even though there were so many opportunities for things to go wrong, with three different fabric types and all those buttons, and the loops.

Things I have learnt and could really improve upon next time (I have already bought some navy drill - no stretch, and washes MUCH better - red lining and navy polka dot cotton for the facings):

Next time I will make sure the thread I use for understitching the facings matches the facings and not the shell. On the inside, the stitching really shows.

I don't think I can face ever using fabric covered buttons ever ever again. It took me and hour and a half to cover my metal buttons with such thick drill, even though I have the little "instrument" required. Honestly, the palm of my left hand was purple the following day, from pressing so hard. And I ruined about seven buttons by denting the metal.

I learnt to do blind herringbone stitch for the hem. It can't be seen at all from the inside, as it all happens within the hem. On the outside I still have lots of tiny puckers where I picked up threads from the outer. I found Sherry's advice so helpful - I just need more practise (or maybe stretch drill is tricky to do an invisible hem on). My stitches look beautiful anyway, if you pull the hem down and take a look!

Will I wear this skirt? You bet. I love it! (Will take pics of the skirt being worn when I get more time).

To finish off, here is yet another V2091 (it's one of the five versions I have made, and I must also say...please don't think I only ever wear these socks! I do have plenty of other types!):

Vogue V8184

I haven't sewn anything since the last time I posted, as I have hurt my lower back (a recurring problem) and cutting out fabric on the floor definitely makes it worse, as I have found in the past. It's frustrating as I have so, so many things I want to make and I can't. Well, I could, but then I would pay for it later!

So, I thought I would post a couple of dresses I made some time ago. I had already posted about this pattern, with different fabric, but it was almost two years ago (gosh) and I think I deleted the photo from my blog by accident.

I really wouldn't have thought I was a strapless-dress sort of person, finding them a bit twee and "alice-band-ish" in the main. However, I changed my mind for this dress. And it helps to style it in an unexpected way. For instance I would never ever wear this type of girly dress with heels (not unless it was boots). I would rather wear clumpy clogs or something to give it a bit more edge and balance the look a bit.

It's a lovely dress to make up; I found it very easy and enjoyable (that must be why I have so far made three of them). The bodice is self-lined and boned, but the skirt is unlined. The cotton I used is quite a thick one (Amy Butler) so, with the self lining and the boning, it could stand up on its own. I like it having some structure. It doesn't wrinkle but it still feels very comfortable to wear. In fact, I wore a version of this dress (in one size bigger) on the beach and found it practical and comfortable, even playing ball and running about in general.

I also sewed it up in denim, but a ridiculously thick denim. Seriously, the great all-knowing Universal Consciousness only knows what was at work in my brain when I chose this fabric. It's far too thick. As a result I have never been able to wear the dress, as it's turned out smaller than it should, and I can hardly breathe when it's on. Shame, as I really like it. The lining has sentimental value: it came from a huge pair of pyjamas I wore in hospital after I gave birth to Charles. One day I will fit into this dress. But then all the others will be too big. Hmmm.

I do like these dresses so much but I think it's because the skirt is straight. I'm not sure I would like the pattern so much with the full skirt. I did buy some black and white gingham and some stiff interfacing to make a sort of fifties style version but I think I went off the idea.

I'm waiting for some blue drill to arrive, for a Beignet skirt. That could be my next project. Or it might be V1236 in a black, slightly twinkly fabric.

I got the book Patternmaking For a Perfect Fit by Steffani Lincecum and I'd like to try the rub-off technique on a fave simple top to start off with. Again, it's having the time.

I am still trying to come up with enough names for the Leibster Award but only have two so far, as most of the blogs I read already have more than two-hundred followers.

Vogue V1228 and My Fifth V2091!

Thanks very much indeed to the most wonderfully stylish Catherine for nominating my blog for the Liebster Blog Award. I would never have anticipated that, and I appreciate it. I will try to come up with five nominations of my own in the next few days.

Though it is much milder outside today, it was still jolly chilly taking photos without sleeves, hence the frozen expression on my face.

As you know, I really like V2091 a LOT and I now have five of them. This one is a yellow, grey and green lycra something-or-other. It's relatively thick, and very soft and warm. The look of this fabric takes me way out of my comfort zone. I forced myself to buy it. Weirdly, I like it, so it does pay to take a risk sometimes.

Vena Cava V1228

Somehow I haven't posted for about three weeks. I don't know how it happens! We had the school half-term hols last week, and so far this whole week has been spent doing some (boring) accounts for our company, but that's finished now, so back to sewing. Actually I have made a couple of dresses in the last few weeks, and have another couple of things planned and strewn across various tables, making the place look even more untidy than usual.

One of the dresses I finished was Vena Cava V1228. I wasn't sure the shape would suit me, as I'm short and tend to look swamped and shapeless in clothes that aren't very shaped themselves. This time I made a muslin and I quite liked it so I went ahead with the dress, and cut it out in a lovely Liberty Tana Lawn I have, called Chilterns. It has a special place in my heart as the village we live in is in the Chilterns (not right in them, but you can see them from the window!) I didn't want to ruin the fabric so I was playing safe (talking about wasting fabric...I've decided I actually detest the red dress in my last post and every time I see it hanging in my wardrobe I feel hatred towards it - what a waste of a lovely fabric that could have made a wonderful, summery shirt).

I really did enjoy making this dress up; it was very straightforward. It has kimono sleeves, so no sleeves to sew on (apart from the cuffs, but that is okay). There is a horizontal pleat at the front just below the square neckline, and one in the middle of the upper back. There is a concealed zip in one side. I had never put in a concealed zip before, but it was easy with the concealed-zip foot, though fiddly at the top and bottom of the zip. I hand sewed the top and bottom in...I don't know if this is the usual thing to do but I couldn't see how one would manage to take the zipper foot either all the way up or all the way down.

All the seams are french seams, except where the cuff is attached, but that is folded back on itself, to cover the unfinished seam, and slip-stitched in place (and then turned up again).
I did make a change to the sleeves, of which I'm quite proud, as I'm usually not very innovative with my sewing and tend to just follow the pattern without even considering I could ever do anything differently. In the case of the dress one is supposed to actually sew the loose end of the shoulder tab permanently at the seam where the cuff is attached (after hooking it over the sleeve fabric) but I thought it would be crazy for future laundering, as what you would have is a long sleeve, which is supposed to be turned up at the end (and the turn up is not sewn into place ) and then the whole thing ruched under the shoulder tab. There would be no way you could ever iron it properly, or dry it properly. Instead, I sewed a popper on to the end of the tab, and the inside of the cuff seam and now I can easily undo the whole thing for laundering, and no one would ever suspect!

I see that some have said the neckline is too low on the dress, and that it's difficult to find a bra that doesn't show at the corners of the neck. I found that a balcony type bra solves this problem for me. I don't have a large bust - maybe that makes a difference.

I really really like this dress a lot and just can't wait for the warmer weather in which to wear it. If it wasn't such a distinctive shape I'd make another.

Roll on spring!

(sorry the photos aren't too good. I will try to do some better shots tomorrow).

Anna Sui Vogue V1217

I made this dress with high hopes, which is why I used a wonderful, soft cotton lawn I've had in my stash for about two years, waiting for the right thing to come along. Heavens above, why is it that the one time (in recent sewing sessions) I don't make a muslin, I really should have? I mean, muslins are so useful for (as far as I am concerned) three reasons:

I can check the fit
I can check any tricky construction details
I can see if the shape of the garment actually suits me.

And I do think that the last reason on the list is probably the most important. Yes, I have been alive (at least this time around!) for a whole forty-six years and I still have learned only a couple of things about what suits me! I should know by now that loose-fitting, billowy dresses just swamp me and make me look, well, small and puffy. Not good.

I sound as though I really really am unhappy with this dress, but I'm just a bit disappointed that it doesn't look as good on me as I wanted it to. The shape is wrong for me, the neckline makes my shoulders look very sloping. It's too short, even though I'm short myself. I will still wear it in the height of summer when everyone else is too hot to care what they or anyone else looks like, because it is very floaty and cool! I think this dress needs more definition in the shape: ie. narrower at the bottom than it is. That would help.
On the plus side, the dress was so fast to make up. I used piping for the first time, and it was easy (but I suspect I used thicker piping than was called for). It pulls on over the head, rather than needing a zip. I didn't hem it...just finished it with my overcasting foot (how did I live without one?)

I wouldn't make it again, but I did enjoy making it at the time. I just don't look that good in it. It actually feels like a hospital gown. This shape suits me much better. It's another Vogue V2091 (there are more!)

Vintage Vogue V2859

I still haven't done any actual sewing as too much has been going on here, and this week is the week of the month I do all our company invoicing, so I have no free sewing time again. I did manage to cut out another McCalls M5661 in a hand-printed silk but haven't even got around to marking it up (mmm, my fave sewing bit...not!) I also ordered some black Linton Tweeds "fancy" fabric for a 1950's jacket/cape, together with the lining, and frog closures. I hope I don't mess it up, as it will be an expensive mistake!
I thought I would post a pic (sorry, it isn't a very good one) of the Vintage Vogue V2859 blouse I made a few weeks ago, over the Christmas hols. I made it up in a sort of shiny jacquard-type-thingy - with a bit of stretch horizontally - from Ditto fabrics. I don't know what the fibre is but it was perfect for the blouse, as it had a nice "wrong" side, it being the "right" side in negative, so it doesn't matter when the wrong side shows on the belt.

I don't usually make up muslins. I mean, I didn't, but now I do. And luckily I had changed my lazy ways before I made this blouse up, otherwise I think it would have been a disaster. Not from a fitting point of view...I mean from a technical point of view. Let's be honest here: the pattern was recommended for more advanced sewers and that isn't me!
There were a few things I came across for the first time, and the muslin really helped with that:
a patch buttonhole, the narrow hem on the neckline which turns a sharp angle, all the teeny tiny narrow hems (see pics).

I didn't really find making this blouse terribly difficult once I understood the instructions, especially the bit where you are supposed to use a bit of scrap fabric to reinforce the corners at the neckline and to carry the narrow hem around that corner. I still don't know if I did exactly the right thing there. Putting the little patch at the corner and turning inwards was no problem, but when it came to hemming/finishing it on the corner, well I just did it the only way I could, and it seems to look okay (in one of the photos above - you can also see where I have slipstiched the underside of the neck twist). Sorry, I expect none of this is making much sense, as I don't have photos of the actual process, but if you ever make this top, you'll know the exact bit I mean when you come to it!!
I was sort of dreading the narrow hems, of which there are many, but in fact came to like doing them. I didn't have a narrow-hem foot, so did them by hand, just turning under by about 13mm and pressing, cutting very close to the crease (about 1 to 2mm away)and then turning and pressing again, then stitching...very carefully! They turned out to be 3mm wide, so not bad.

I lengthened the top by three inches but I wish I had made that four inches as it still tends to ride up a little during wear, which makes it just a little too short for me (and I am only 5ft 2). Because I lengthened the top and kept the belt sewn in the same position vertically speaking, I had to account for this when finishing the lower hem of the belt, the bottom hem of the blouse, and the vertical back edges of the blouse, too. The belt should have been attached so that the lower edge of it was in line with the hem on the blouse, making things a lot simpler. I didn't realise this until just in time, when I realised I would have to finish things off a bit differently. It wasn't difficult, just took a little more time.

I really like this top a lot. So much that I was determined to finish the garment off beautifully, so I would be proud of it, and I am. I like that the sleeves are such an elegant shape, and I really like the neck detail. One thing: if you slouch at all in this top, it will show, as the sleeves and neckline call for bolt upright, vintage posture! I do tend to hold myself much taller and straighter in this top.

McCalls M5661

Because I have done no sewing at all for a couple of weeks I just wanted to make a quick post on a top I made a little while ago and never got around to posting about at the time.

It's McCalls M5661 and I made version D, which took only a metre or so of fabric, even though the fabric I used - a black silk dupion - was quite narrow.

I really like this pattern; it's so easy and so fast to run up. I did make it much more time-consuming for myself though: I oversewed all of the seam edges and the facings, and did the hem, by hand. I know! It took ages to do all that hand-sewing but it was very relaxing. Don't think I'd go down that route next time though.

Although the top is made from silk (and has Very Special - expensive!! - buttons) it's very wearable and looks great with a pair of jeans and a cardi.

I'm going to make the top again, possibly version D again, as I just bought a metre of some really beautiful printed silk dupion on ebay (I think it was £7.00, so not bad).

Checks...and Vogue V1127


I bought Vogue V1127 because I really do love the blouse. I first saw it here - isn't it wonderful! Amanda is such a talented lady. Anyway, I didn't have the right fabric for the blouse and, since the jacket had quite taken my fancy, I thought I might use up some orange checked stuff I had mooching around in my stash. Heaven knows what it's made of. I have never made a jacket before, so was looking forward to the challenge.

Ahem. Making a jacket for the first time is one thing, but making it from a check fabric is another. What a to-do! Having pressed the fabric nicely and folded it in half lengthways so all the lines matched up beautifully, I suddenly remembered the checks would need matching up somehow/somewhere (on the pattern pieces). Rushed to find a book to see what to do. Realised the first thing is...match up the centre of the check pattern with the centre-back. My checks were aligned geometrically with the fold in the fabric but not the correct centre-pattern-repeat-thingy check. I hope I'm making myself clear. So, I re-pressed and then re-folded the fabric with the correct check bit along the fold, only to realise that, in order to be accurate from one sleeve to the next, etc. etc. one is supposed to cut pieces singly when dealing with checks, so the whole thing would have to be flattened out and pressed again. I am already fed up with the word "checks".

Suddenly, what with the sewing time-warp and all that, it was my son's story and bed time so the whole thing had to be discarded and put aside until next week, since I will now have to use up all the floor space I have in my whole house, to lay out the fabric flat, and cut out all the bits singly. And that is after I have figured out where the checks should really line up.

I just ask myself this: WHY? I have masses and masses and masses (no kidding) of fabric in my stash and I have to put myself through this. I am such a slacker I suspect I will trash this project, so I have blogged it to shame myself into continuing. We'll see.

I will post about my lovely 1930s blouse soon. At least that is a happy story. And my dress form too. I wanted one for so long. And now I have one. Yippee!

Butterick B5559

As I said, I couldn't resist making Butterick B5559. I do really like my clothes to be form fitting as I'm quite petite. Though I love flowing, graceful clothes on other people, they can swamp me and make me appear totally shapeless, so a dress like the one above is perfect for me. This photo was taken on Xmas day, the first outing for this dress.

Cutting out the pattern, I did feel a little daunted by the tucks that needed marking out and indeed this proved to be quite a tiresome task. Marking the fabric up is my least favourite bit of the dressmaking process and there is a lot of marking up to do for this one as you may imagine: darts and tucks galore. I basted all the lines in huge stitches and then cut in between the stitches so I could remove the pattern. Ugh. Now I know there are such things as carbon paper I might try that method next time.



Sewing the dress up was really very simple. The tucks/pleats were very easy to sew; quite enjoyable actually, and the dress came together very quickly indeed (once the fabric was marked!) You just sew the darts, sew the tucks, add the facings, sew the back and front together and make a hem. Ta da! The one tricky bit (that I didn't achieve, no matter how I tried) was lining up the tucks, front and back. Mine are slightly out, which irritates me and, as I was so careful to be accurate in my marking and my sewing of the tucks, I don't know why this should be. I know it's something to do with me, rather than the pattern, as I have seen others of this dress with perfectly aligned tucks. Would I make this dress again? Probably not, due to the fact that the prospect of making all those markings again makes me want to weep. I did buy some tomato-red double knit for another version, with sleeves, but I can't face it. That said, if you don't mind transferring so many markings, this is a simple dress to make, and very comfy and enjoyable to wear.


(By the way...although the hem looks wonky in the photo, it isn't!)

I'm Back (again)

Oh dear. I seem to have headed more posts in this way than a decent person should have to!


We had a kitchen extension, which took four months - longer than anticipated, due to various problems (although I enjoyed the whole process immensely - even having no kitchen whatsoever for six weeks!) During that time the only thing I could think of was building and fixtures and fittings. No exercise. No sewing. Nothing except choosing things and making tea and tea and tea and more tea. I don't miss that. I did miss my sewing, however, but then the run-up to Christmas came and that also meant no time for sewing. Until the Xmas hols...yippee!



Of course, no sewing didn't mean no following my fave sewing blogs, so I kept coming across wonderfully inspirational posts and was itching to make certain items. I made a black double-knit dress, which I love. I knew my Ashtanga yoga would be put to practical use one day: it helps to be able to partially dislocate my shoulders in order to get into the dress. Hehe, only joking. However, the dress is so tight when getting my arms in, I really do have to do some weird shoulder clicking to make things happen. Oddly the dress is very comfortable when on. I wore it on Xmas day and it expanded as required and stayed comfy too. It's Butterick B5559 and I'll post on it properly in the next few days.


There was also my new absolute darling favourite, Vintage Vogue V2859 Blouse (1930s). Gosh, bits of it were tricky dicky but it was worth it. I have never found making a muslin so useful. Oh wait, I've never bothered before! Thank goodness I did for this one, though. Not so much for fit, but for figuring out what to sew and where! Again, I will post about it separately, with photos.


Happy new year to all...what a fab time of year. I do love it (not Christmas...I can honestly say I completely detest it and I think I'm becoming phobic) But I love the new year and the fresh start it offers (even if that's just psychological trickery). It just feels good. I hope 2012 is great for you all...

PS We got a dog four weeks ago. That's her, above. Her name is Pickle. She is eight-months old.