Victory and the Hedgerow Dress

I finished my Sew For Victory dress in time! I posted a little while ago about my bodice muslin using the Colette Hawthorn pattern as a base, and my adventures in scallops, so here is the final product. I'm not sure the pattern of the fabric is very 1940s, but I couldn't resist it! The scallops do get a little lost, but I know they are there and I am quite pleased with the outcome. I ended up doing split tulip sleeves using the tutorial in Gertie's 'New Book for Better Sewing'.They came out well and it makes the dress much more summery; I think I'll be wearing it a lot! I'm also happy with the raised neckline and the length of the skirt. It was really fun to play around with a pattern and see what I could come up with, and I really enjoyed looking at patterns and photos from the 1940s for inspiration, although I am probably drawn more to 50s and early 60s silhouettes. Right, more poses for you!

Pockets of course!

I really tried to make an effort at finishing the insides properly. Side seams are french seamed, I bound the waist and armhole seams, and used pinking shears to trim the facings.

To do the scallops, I drew out a template after testing spacing and size on my muslin. I then used carbon paper to trace sew lines onto the facings, so it was nice and easy to stitch up. I clipped the curves well then went for topstitching to make it all behave! There are two scallops on the skirt front, then I stitched up the rest of the front. Someone post a pic of a vintage pattern on the flickr group that used scallops in the same way, so I stole that idea!

So overall, as I'm sure you can gather, I am pretty pleased with my first sew for victory make! I think I'll try and make something a bit more authentic next year ;)

Thanks Baoxiu for the posing photos!

Sew for Victory - Scallops Galore

Firstly, apologies in advance for the bad photos, especially anyone who is here for pretty scenic views, you might just want to ignore this post ;)

So I thought I would have a stab at Rochelle's Sew for Victory challenge this year. I love historic fashion, and the 1940s has some particularly appealing shapes. I'm attempting to recreate a scallop fronted dress seen in one of the free downloads Rochelle has released (the green dress on page 5 if you have it). I'm using the Colette Hawthorn pattern, which I have sewn before (pic here), and getting creative with the modifications.

This is a first attempt at a muslin of the bodice. I've altered the neckline, added a scallop detail to the button band, and changed the shape of the sleeve and the cuff design. This is all a bit new to me and I have been making it up as I go along, so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Here is a (bad) photo of the full view, on:

I am quite pleased with the neckline alteration. There are bust dart issues, which seems to be a usual problem for me. They are always too pointy! I think the scallops are working quite well, but I am very much open to suggestions! The original dress only had 3 scallops between the waist and the bottom of the neck opening, so maybe I should make them bigger? I'll make the two sides of the neckline mirror each other, I was just experimenting with the scallop shape.

The scallops are a little messy, but I think that would be improved by more careful sewing, and better fabric.

I used facing and topstitching on the scallops, is this a good technique or is there something better? it was hard to get the points between them neat. Anyone know if topstitching was used in the 40s?

I also used a facing for the cuff, but I'm really not sure this is the best way, as it wants to turn in the wrong way as soon as I put my arm in the sleeve. The point is even sharper than on the button band scallops, so it is even messier!

So, sewing gurus, advice and feedback would be fabulous! I still need to pick out a fabric to make up the final version, I'm not sure whether to go for a plain or floral, decisions decisions...

2013 Sewing Adventures

This year I have really made a stab (pun intended!) at sewing, partly inspired by The Great British Sewing Bee BBC programme, and all the brilliant sewing bloggers I subsequently discovered (Tilly, Karen, Gertie, Rochelle to name just a few). Here is a summary of the few things I have made this year, hopefully the learning curve is evident!

This is the first garment I have made, or at least that is wearable! A simple gathered skirt, using the tutorial on Tilly's blog. I made the front as one piece and put a zip in the side seam, and put a pocket on the other side - all clothes should have pockets! I also lined it as the white was a bit see-through. I have worn this lots so I call that a success.

I then gave my first proper pattern a go, the Hawthorn dress by Colette, following the sewalong that followed the pattern release. I made a dress version using this fun floral print, then later made the plaid/tartan shirt (below).

Cuff with proper sleeve placket, the learning curve continues!

After starting my sewing career on a hand-crank Singer 99k from 1946, I got this beast after sewing up the Hawthorn dress. It is a Singer 401G, made in 1965, and it is brilliant machine! An ebay purchase, including shipping and a service cost less than £100, much less than a new machine that is so well built. As it has lived for this long I hope it will last for many more years. It is an all-metal construction, and does lots of fancy stitches. It also came in the original case with most of the original accessories, so I think it has been well looked after. I love it!

Next up, I made a bridesmaid's dress for my sister's wedding. That is me on the left of the pic! It is based on the Elisalex dress by By Hand London. I braved some expensive silk, which unfortunately my camera does not like photographing! I made a circle skirt and an underskirt, to fit with the style of my sister's dress. I also added lace sleeves. I am fairly pleased with the outcome, although the silk stretched a bit during sewing so the fit wasn't as good as it could have been.

More wedding fun!

As an aside, my beautiful sister runs a catering business in the French Alps, if you ever find yourself there and in need of delicious food. Have a look here if you need convincing of whether you should visit!

And this is my Christmas party dress! This is a proper Elisalex with the tulip skirt. The construction of this dress is a joy, the bodice is really clean in the inside, and the princess seams give a lovely fit. I love the fabric, found in Cardiff on sale, supposed to be for curtains I think, but the weight works well with this pattern.

As well as attempting dress-making, I also thought I'd give quilting a go, I have loads of clothes anyway! I like quilting, it is a little less stressful than dressmaking as it can be quite repetitive, which is good when I only have evenings to sew, after using my brain for science all day.

My first quilting adventure, blogged in more detail here. Purely self-indulgent, now has a permanent spot on my bed :)

This was a wedding present for my sister, more details here. I think it was liked!

So, I am quite pleased with everything I have made this year, I feel that I have learnt a lot and pushed myself, and I know that everything I have made will be worn. I think it is safe to say that I am addicted; next up, Grainline Archer shirt! Lots of fabric to work through...

Quilted Wedding

I seem to have got hooked on quilting already! I thought a quilt might be a good wedding present for my big sister and her (now!) husband, so I had a good browse for ideas and decided to give a star design a go. I used the tutorial here for guidance, so it wasn't too difficult to put together. Here is the work in progress and the final reveal, I'm pretty pleased with the outcome for only my second attempt! First time I've done any embroidery too :)

Laying out

Piecing together

quilting

A bit of cheesy embroidery :)

Binding the edge, in my own special way

Backing, playing with the decorative stitches on my machine!

All done!

Let's Do The Timewarp

Strange things are afoot in Bath, it seems like there are a whole bunch of people casually wandering around in full Georgian style! It might just have something to do with Jane Austen-fest, either that or everyone has gone slightly bonkers... If you have ever been to Bath you may notice a slight obsession with that particular author. The city certainly does feature in several of her books, and many of the landmarks she mentions still exist, such as the Assembly rooms and the Pump room. The architecture certainly fits in with it all. If you ignore the buses getting impatient at being held up by a parade of Georgian finery, it is certainly easy to picture how things may have looked two hundred years ago. What Fun!

Don't Just Consume, Create.

It seems quite probable that I can only be considered supremely uncool as I like to spend my evenings making and creating. However, I AM OKAY WITH THAT. Ha! Perhaps a true sign that I am over my teenage years (er, at almost 26), I do not give two hoots what others think of how I spend my time, my housemates can give me funny looks and entertain themselves with pointless football, I shall make things. So there.

Well I suppose the point is I am incredibly pleased with myself because I have just completed my first patchwork quilt. It is not by any stretch perfect, but those imperfections are because I hand-crafted it and it is beautiful and I love it :)

Just in case anyone is interested, here is a quick run through of what I got up to. See also this great blog and also this one for some great tutorials and lots of inspiration. I spent a few hours searching the good old net and then I was away. I love the internet, and all the wonderful bloggers that put out amazing information for curious people like me.

This selection of tools makes life significantly easier, though of course a ruler and scissors would do. I went for a very simple design of lots of half-square triangles, made up from 10 different colours and patterns of fabric. I got half a metre of each fabric to make a double bed-sized quilt. There are plenty of tutorials for HST out there so I won't bore you, I cut 6.5" squares of each fabric (the size of the grid ruler!) for mine, then trimmed to 6" when I had sewn then into HST. I made up a whole load of squares, then laid them out on the floor to concoct a design. I went for 13x13 squares because I'm awkward :)

Make sure you label the rows when you gather them back up! I just piled them up left to right then pinned a row number to the top of the pile and kept them together in a plastic sleeve.

I stitched all the squares in each row together, then stitched the rows together. Trimming and pressing as you go makes life significantly easier. All the sewing done on my trusty £3 1946 handcrank Singer 99k, sewing machines do not need to be expensive!

Top done!

Then it was time to do the actual quilting. I made a sandwich with a double sheet (cheaper than fabric and no joining!), and the wadding/batting, then used curved safety pins to hold it all in place. And I finally got my 'new' sewing machine serviced, it is a beast! It is a Singer 401G, 1965, works like a dream and does loads of fancy stitches, unlike my 99k which will only go straight.

Sexy sewing machine :)

Border time! I probably did it in a completely unconventional way but I like how it looks :)

The final product. Like I say, I am just a little bit pleased with myself!

Also, I made a damn tasty dinner of stuffed squash, so I am one happy bunny :)

Always Look Up

Having spent the last few years driving straight past Longleat on my way between home and uni, it was a bit tragic that I had never actually paid a visit. That was finally rectified last week, when I had a brilliant day out with my Aunt (skiving off work, me?!). It was pretty busy as of course we are in the thick of the school holidays, but the park is well designed to space people out. The beautiful house was also a good place to escape from the hoards-only a few ambitious parents were dragging their offspring around. The house is stunning, and there are many rooms open to the public. The collections of furniture and art are particularly impressive, and of course the ceilings! I love the effort that went in to ceilings in stately homes, surely having a decadent ceiling is the epitome of opulence.

Can I have a library like this please?! There seemed to be a particular oriental influence to a lot of the furniture choices. There were many beautiful cabinets with ornate paintwork and inlays, and one of the bedrooms had what looked to be hand painted oriental floral wallpaper.

The ceilings!

Animals to follow :)