La Roux-Look What You Do!

Yes, this is the jacket after
a weekend of Halloween partying...

DD got me to hurry up and finish the jacket- something I DON'T like! The result is never what I want, and this time was no different. The lining and vent seams are not to my normal standards but what can you do? She wanted to wear it Friday before Halloween so I sewed till my fingers bled- literally. Good thing this jacket is cotton and washable!

I never had time to finish the buttonholes before she started wearing it and when she came home and I looked at that collar... That's it! I thought. Why bother. She'd been spraying her hair red to look like La Roux.

But then I started scrubbing, using a nail brush, cold, then hot, water and lots of soap. Nearly all came out, but I see the jacket is still dirty in some places. What, did she roll in a pile a dirt?... Teenagers...

Here are some shots from today after finishing the buttonholes and buttons. My gravity feed iron water tank came crashing down from the ceiling on Friday while I was in a frenzy to the finish line, but isn't that always how it goes. Anyway, that's why the pressing is not happening at the moment.

The original jacket by
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac 

La Roux must have made a patch on the lower left front pocket, covering up the green with a black and white scribble paint. I painted a white pocket using Jacquard fabric paint. Because this is a fitted jacket whereas the original is straight cut, I had to use some trickery to get a balanced angular effect. The lower pockets are cut straight parallel to center front and the corners are not at 90 degree angle to one another. I shaped it on the form to get the best effect.

Likewise, the rectangles on the side/back had to undergo a little "optical illusion" as well. I used Steam A Seam to temporary bond in place and then hand stitched.

Below is how I did all the binding, curtesy of Roberta Carr, of course! She doesn't mention Steam A Seam but I'm sure she'd approve of cutting corners once in a while, don't you think?

ClaireOKC asked if I've taken any classes with Roberta Carr:

I wish! Her book is a treasure-trove of helpful information and I can only imagine how wonderful she must have been in person.

.

Sleeve vent

Working vent

The pattern I used was BurdaStyle 11-2009-119, doubt a review would be very useful. Can't even remember what changes I made... DD is very happy, people wanted to know where she got her jacket, and everyone knew who she was dressed up as.  Guess La Roux is a big deal. And now, thanks to a good scrubbing, she can continue to wear it. Just don't let anyone look too closely at the finishes!!!

Mondrian

What I'm working on...

DD loves La Roux's style so she asked me if I could make her the Mondrian inspired jacket she wears in the music video "Bulletproof". She wants to wear it for Halloween so I could easily have made a simple version but I really like the jacket and Mondrian, the artist, so I'm making a fitted version she can enjoy past the one day holiday :-)

I'm using BurdaStyle 11-2009-119, and it's been pretty painless so far. Roberta Carr has excellent instructions on binding and I'll post on that later. It's all cotton except for the yellow pocket, which is a stretch vinyl.

Hello again

That was quite a long break. We spent the last 7 weeks in NYC but I still got a few garments made, one of which is a complete wadder. It just goes to show that having a dressform is crucial whenever you delve into untested territory. It doesn't hurt to have a little space around you too, and a large mirror...

I have a Brother Innovis 450 that the hotel stores for me, and so far I'm pretty pleased with its performance, although the buttonholes were not great. But tell me which machine has that feature down cold! Should have looked up Lindsay T's place cause we're staying smack in Midtown and it takes me minutes to get to anywhere.

I have grown to love New York City. It's so immediate; you step outside and, BAM! Life hits you, whether you like it or not :-) Highly recommended if you happen to be a bit of a recluse, like I have become over the years. I especially enjoy West Village, such a wonderful, vibrant community. The one thing I do miss when I'm there is the excellent Mexican food that you get here in Los Angeles. I mean, it's excellent no matter where you buy it; taco truck, strip mall, restaurant... The best food I had in NYC came from the carts. One in particular, just around the corner from the hotel: Kwik Meal. Sooo good- and that green sauce, spicy and flavorful... On the other hand, the more expensive restaurants have, so far, not impressed me. Maybe it's due to the high turnover here in LA and the extreme competition. It could also be that the fusion cuisine that dominates the LA dining scene has jaded my taste buds; I'm craving small firework explosions with every bite. 

Okay, that was a lot of non-sewing related info. Nuff. Let's see if I can remember what I made:

BurdaStyle 08-2010-123

I made these in a metallic peach stretch fabric, pretty wild,

will wear with long loose shirt, clogs or sleek heels

Used riri zippers, LOVE THEM- the zippers I mean!

Ok, the pants are pretty cool too... But they run BIG!

I took in inches and inches due to the very stretchy fabric.

And I also eliminated the horizontal leg seam.

BurdaStyle 08-2010-121 (the wadder)

I used gray silk chiffon, both solid and leopard print,

the fabric is lovely, the dress is a tent.

I saved it in hopes of making something else. We're talkin'

yards and yards here...

BurdaStyle 08-2010-126

Yes!!!! This is an awesome vest! I'm turning myself into Annie Hall!

I'll try and post pictures of the finished items soon, in the meantime, here are some construction shots of the vest. The fabric is a beautiful fine wool suiting from Mood.

That's it for now.

Oh almost forgot: I'm still waiting to hear from the Silk Winner: A Sewn Wardrobe. I left you a message, please contact me at bjorum at mac dot com so I can send you the fabric. If I don't hear from you within a week I will do another drawing from the comment pool. 

Silk

Here I am in the latest silk creation, Burda Tunic 02-2009110 and Burda skirt 03-2010-105.

Side zipper and re-beading to complete design

Both fabrics were bought at B&J Fabrics in NYC. The black is silk chiffon with three types of beads: black round and rectangular, and silver rectangular. The tunic is in a super lush silk charmeuse. I made it a bit looser this time to accommodate movement- yes, I wear this when I choreograph :) it has such wonderful drape. I also lengthened it 1".

I had very little of the beaded fabric( $$$ ) so I couldn't make a complete match on the sides, although the left side (see above) comes pretty close. But since this design isn't too obvious I just created new design lines by re-beading. Also, I never wear ANYTHING tucked in anymore so I don't have to worry about the upper part. The skirt also ended up a lot shorter and sits on the hips. I wanted to take more photos, but my camera fell off the tripod! Yes it broke, well the flash broke, so DH is off to get a new one. Did you know we've been married for nearly 18 years? That's a LIFETIME here in Hollyweird...

I did manage to take photos BEFORE the accident so below you can see some of the work  I did.

Daisy asked where I buy my silk fabrics:

The plain white and black I buy mostly from Dharma Trading, and some from the Silk Connection.

Katy mentioned Thai Silks and I buy from them too, they have some lovely prints. Then locally, I have F&S Fabrics five minutes away and Moods is about ten minutes... yes, I know, I have it goood...

I have several pieces in my stash and some I don't think I'll use (wrong colors for me), so watch out :) There will be another giveaway muy pronto! We're taking a little break from the hustle and bustle to spend time on the beach in Laguna, and then we're off to NYC.

And to the last giveaway winners; thank you, I received your mailing addresses and the magnifiers will ship tomorrow.

Dropped shoulder tunic

Another version of one my favorite tops, this time with dropped shoulders, pleated sleeves and contrast details:

Silk tunic BWOF 02-2009-110

This charmeuse print was bought at B&J Fabrics while in NYC, which is also where I bought the metallic tweed for the jacket. The contrast is cut from a vintage piece I had in my stash; black silk chiffon and silver metallic stripes. I made a modesty panel for the front, I think Catbird was the one who thought to do that on her recent gorgeous version of this tunic. Thank you, such an excellent idea! I also closed the bottom part of the top even more than my earlier versions.

Below are pages taken from one of my favorite books, 

Dress Design, Draping and Pattern making,

by

Marion S. Hillhouse & Evelyn A. Mansfield

FIRST PAGE                                                                            SECOND PAGE

My altered pattern

I made an earlier top using this same technique, the link below

Build A Blouse

The details on this tunic is not very easy to see in pictures but I really like it in person. Very understated. I'm planning a black and silver skirt (also from B&J).

It's so much fun adding details. Do you have any favorites to share?

Burda 07-2010-118 Peplum Jacket

This jacket has made many people's "must sew" list, including mine...

I bought this fabric in NYC, it's a metallic tweed. Hard to work with mainly because the pressing is so sensitive. I made a few (well, many) mistakes, but they're all avoidable if you keep your head on straight. The right pressing cloth, very little heat and of course, pressing from wrong side whenever possible is a must, which made this jacket not exactly the ideal choice. That peplum needs to be pressed so I cheated, some... :) I added 1" to the length of the jacket.

As you can see the lining is pretty bright! I dyed silk charmeuse light green. The peplum lining hangs free from side seam to side seam. I cut a facing for the peplum hem because this fabric refuses to be manipulated and shrunk. Also made a hidden pocket in the lining.

I also made a zipper pull out of pearls and crystals;

The jacket is part of an ensemble; the blouse I already reviewed on PR, and the skirt is done. Just have to get pictures of me wearing it all. And the Balmain as well... the review of that jacket is finally written.

Hope the summer is going well for everyone. Here in LA it's been heating up the last couple of days. Not that I notice that much, mostly in air conditioned room, sewing and dancing. I try not to sew when I dance, or dance when I sew...

Dior Coat- it's been done since forevah!!

Better late than never. At least that what I've heard... Remember this coat? Maybe not, and I won't blame you. I had to go back and see when I last posted about it. That would be December 29. And it was done way before that. Ha. It's been worn, NYC was a perfect match. Got my boots there too and love love.

Open gets the most wear, but it was good to close it

on those chilly windy days.

Some close-up details: Double collar, single welt pocket, chest flap. And of course, the exquisite workmanship of Warren at A1 Pleating: belt and buttons.

Like the lining? Silk charmeuse in ombre, gray to purple.

Here's the link to the post about the pin tucks, which also shows the original Dior inspiration coat:

Using grainboard for pin tucks

Btw; I can't be the only one having trouble with the new blogger formatting? The photo thing is driving me nuts. And the preview is so bad! Hey Blogger/Google, get together with Mac, they know how to do it, just check out their iWeb :))

Thanks for all the encouragements on how to wear the Balmain; I'm inspired!!! I'm in the process of beading the collar, which means the lining is not far behind :)) Thanks sooo much, it's the push I needed.

Modern Madness Coat

Or something like that :)) I just returned from Chicago- waaay to cold!!!- and went right back to sewing. The coat only needed the buttons, but I also finished the white shirt I'm wearing.

I like but don't love. It's a bit too big and the colors are not me, but I'll wear it with white. The pattern is good so I'll use it again, with some tweaking, especially the sleeves. I need sleeves to look slender (probably cause I truly dislike my arms). Ottoman fabric is hard to work with, at least this one was, but that won't stop me if the right one comes along ;)

I've been reading what you're all up to, just not commenting cause although I love my iPhone, I don't like typing on it too much. It was a hectic time in Chicago, and it hasn't let up since returning to LA, but I'm squeezing in as much sewing as I can to stay reasonably sane... I also ordered some more goodies, so look for another giveaway soon :))

Must Be Dreaming...

... About spring :))

This coat dress happened because the fabric I ordered was not as chartreuse as I thought, more like a spring green. Which does not work for me. Chartreuse is a finicky color and I should have known better. Maybe I'll post a picture later with all the fabrics I now have labeled chartreuse, if I take the picture in natural light it will show how different they all are- ranging from spring green to mustard!

I've wanted to make this coat dress for DD ever since it first came out, BWOF 02-2008-117. She has the perfect figure for it; small upper body and waist, swayback and full hips. The fabric, from Fabric Mart, is silk shantung and the lining is silk chiffon and charmeuse; here's a link, they still have some left:

Cache silk at Fabric Mart

No shoulder pads so it can be worn both ways.

This is not a difficult pattern, but because I lined it- and I wanted her to be able to wear it both ways- I had to change a few things. Most importantly: I used casings instead of shirring elastic at the waist. Quite tricky, but the final result is good. Of course, I haven't tried it on her yet, so we shall see, it will go under the tree. I also didn't have fusible batting, so I used regular, which takes a little extra effort- the walking foot came in handy here. A lot of thread was used for this project :))

Speaking of thread... I left loose tails at each end of each topstitching, which then was woven into each seam... yes, that's a lot of work, but it looks much better this way.

The snaps were covered with fabric and carefully stitched on in the same formation; itsy bitsy details but for me worth the extra work.

The label is on the outside.

And about my coat: It's done just need to attach the buttons, and slipstitch the lining side seam closed. I'm not in love with it but it will work over white jeans. Next time I'll cut a 36, this coat is roomier than I thought it would be.

To all my readers:

Have a Merry Christmas, a Happy Holiday!!!

Thank you for visiting, I so appreciate it.

Hugs and love,

Birgitte