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. 

My New Waist ;)

Hello friends, just a quick post while I'm coming up for air. So much sewing going on so no time for blogging. Guess that's what happens when you work on several projects at once. DD  has now acquired quite a few new skating outfits and more are on the way. I hope to post pictures and write reviews eventually.

And for myself; it's all about Empire, and how I love thee!! It works magic on my waist-less self, how can I ever thank you enough, Imogen! I have finished one dress and the second is almost done. Then there will be reviews and pictures... sigh. I just dread taking those pictures, but I will I will. Promise. In the meantime, here's a glance at the styles and fabrics:

The turquoise is a Giorgio Armani stretch, absolutely unbeliveable. The color/shine/texture defies description. The print is a European silk charmeuse, also exquisite.

And Anne was wondering if my gray coat had become a UFO and was sleeping with her denim DKNY jacket... LOL, you're so funny, just love your writing. Now go finish that book will you!! My coat is done and hanging in my room where I can look at it and feel guilty that I didn't take any pictures and posted a review. I actually really like it, although, after reading that we rectangles should avoid all waist details, I'll probably never close that gorgeous belt. But, it's hanging on the side so I can pretend I can close it if I want to ;-) Ah the games we play...

And I will post a review. 

But the trashcan got a precious gift the other day; my vintage jacket. It was not meant to be. Marji asked me a while back (sorry I forgot to answer, Marji!) if it was the fabric or the color I wasn't thrilled with.

See this post for more info

A bit of both I guess, but mostly the color. It was absolutely impossible to match as well, and it didn't look good with ANY OTHER color! It was also the wrong texture for the jacket; too crisp. I may try the suit again, but then I will alter the jacket and make it more shaped.

I did get a very nice email from NY Fashion Center Fabrics where they apologized for the long shipping time and gave me a discount on my next order. How did they know I was a bit, shall we say, unsatisfied? I didn't write or call them, so I'm very impressed. Which means I will be ordering from them again :)) 

Too Much Of A Good Thing?

I'm a bit overwhelmed by having plenty; plenty of fabrics, plenty of ideas, plenty of new found knowledge. I'll start with fabrics:

Mother's Day and birthday came and went, and with them came a whole bunch of fabric. Exquisite fabric. Fabric I've only dared to glance at. Yup, DH is priceless. And his wallet seemingly bottomless :)) I'm going to post photos of them all eventually.

Below is a picture of fabrics that I bought on my birthday. They're not for me. Did you guess? They're for DD #2. Crazy. I know. Silk charmeuse for blouse with scarf, sequined fabric for skirt. Now I'm thinking DD #1 would like this as well. We shall see.

Ideas:

Being in possession of such incredible fabric certainly gets the juices flowing, but since they're so intricate (lace, beads, sequins, feathers) they require careful planning, and I'm not up to the task at the moment. I just received Susan Khalje's Bridal Couture and will hopefully find many tips on handling these kinds of fabrics. In the meantime; I got one fabric that was plain and just the perfect color:

Remember this dress?

It's the same color, which happens to suit me perfectly. So, I'm doing some draping. I want a cowl neck but nothing else, just a simple dress.  Below is my initial test.

And finally; knowledge.

I was browsing the boards over on PatternReview the other day and stumbled upon the thread Sewing for rectangle shape and of course, being a rectangle myself, had to check it out. There I found a most amazing link: Inside Out Style, a blog by Imogen Lamport who is an Image Consultant based in Melbourne. Below is the link to the H Shape:

Body Shapes Explained - H Shape (rectangle)

It made everything so clear and I will refer back to her anytime I'm in doubt. What really changed my viewpoint was the fact that us rectangles are born this way; our hips and ribs are closer together and therefore, no matter how thin we get, there's never going to be a real waist definition. On the plus side; we usually, because of this, have longer legs :)) So, understanding how we're put together allows us to choose styles/patterns that really work to our advantage.

On a final note: I'm almost done with the vintage Cardin jacket. After reading about the H shape it may turn out the jacket is too boxy for me, we shall see. It's a one color suit with a fitted skirt so that may help but the fabric is very stiff. So far I'm not in love with it but it was fun to learn how the collar is done :))

Here's a link to the post about the pattern:

Cardin

This Is It!

Think I've found a TNT dress, and it was a breeze to put together:

BWOF 02-2009-105

Fabrics and buttons from F & S. Fabrics, belt from Bloomies :)) I used sleeves from style 106.

Here's a close-up of the silver detail in the fabric- always a bit of sparkle, even when I don't look for it...

I'm also busy sewing skating dresses for DD. She just started and is totally in love with it, which makes this mom very happy. She used to do gymnastics but I got so scared I had to stop going. She's completely fearless and a bit of a klutz... you do the math. When she falls on the ice she's wearing kneepads, and the distance from her to the ice is not that great :)) Not yet anyway. We'll see how I feel if she advances and starts jumping and twirling at full speed...

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Thank you for all the nice comments on the other dress. And rest assured, the shoes will be worn with caution. I'm not the klutz in the family (see above), and take my heels very seriously :))

All over the place...

That's where I've been, sewing wise. DD's jacket, a dress for her as well, BWOF 11-2008-111, which is almost done. And this dress that I decided it was time to make.

Check out my shoes and nails - gotta bring the dress little more into the summer :)) 

And about the fabric from NY Fashion Center; it arrived the day before yesterday. Almost one month... I'm not sure I love it either. The color is more fuchsia than carmine. It's called silk zibeline and is very crisp, similar to duchess satin but with more of a twill weave. I think it will work for the vintage suit, but now I have plenty of time to decide :)) Bye bye contest, maybe next year.

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Thank you for all your praise of DD's jacket. She loves it and will send me a picture of her wearing it. If you go back and read the comments you will find that she actually left me one -a first for her. So proud of you, darling :)) She told me she's even linking to my blog from her Facebook page... 

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And the coat... well it's still missing two buttonholes. I'm planning to take it to Warren's - the coat is too nice to fool with a silly buttonhole lever!

Do I Have Time?

... For vintage, that is. The contest on Pattern Review has already begun and I'm still working on my coat. I truly dislike starting another project before having completed the current one but I might just make an exception. I found these two patterns on Vintage Fashion Library and they arrived today. The one on the left is copyrighted 1930, and the one on the right 1958. It's an exclusive design for McCall's by Pierre Cardin. Just adore that collar!

As you will see below, the front and collar is one piece. Such a nifty little detail, me like nifty little details :)) Also love the art deco dress of course, perfect for my rectangle.

Here's the coat at the moment; one sleeve basted on, the lining stitched and waiting to be attached. I'm going to have Warren down at A 1 Pleating make the belt; he did a superb job with the pleats and belt on my first BWOF project. I may have him make buttons as well.

If you're ever in need of these kind of services, he takes orders across the country. You simply mail him the fabric with instructions and he sends it back when it's done. The work usually takes about 1 week. Here's the current address, he will be moving a few blocks down in a couple of weeks:

A 1 Pleating Custom Belts & Buttons

8426 1/2 W 3rd Street

Los Angeles, CA 90048

(323) 653-5557

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Thank you all for Happy Birthday's last week. She had a fantastic time, watching our show with good friend Iris (DD to Bad Mom Good Mom, Grace). The actors brought her up on stage in the end which made for one truly Happy Birthday :))

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And another thank you for answering my question about the silk shantung fabric. Now I know that my previous thought about this fabric was wrong; that it's drapey and not crisp, like dupioni.

Christmas Morning

Thought I better post a photo of DD in her Bubblegum 4 Christmas dress or I'd forget. This one was taken on Christmas morning, yet she always manages to pose somehow, I mean, in the midst of presents and all... It fits her perfectly but the lace frayed... oh well. 

The coat is coming along and I've made several changes along the way. I'll post on that later. Cindy wanted to know how I make the fringe: Here is a link to my Chanel jacket fringe. The only difference is I cut a double layer of boucle this time because the fabric is lighter, and I also did not use any yarn to cross over.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. We did, but... I'm absolutely, 100%, without a doubt, ready for things to get back to normal, whatever that may be :)) All I know is it includes school. Thank heavens for teachers!

Bubblegum 4 Christmas

The dress is done. She won't get it until the 14th because it goes on the advent calendar, but here are the photos on the mannequin (which is a bit bigger and taller). Silk, silk silk... I always end up with silk. But you know, it's a wondrous fiber, not at all what some people might think. It's strong and durable, can be washed in hot water, takes dye with brilliant results, and of course, it feels like a million bucks :)) I had the good sense this time and ordered in bulk from Dharma Trading- one bolt each of black and white habotai, as well as a bolt of 4.5mm white gauze. I use the gauze for nuno felts, which, btw,  I haven't made in more than a year !!  Oh well.

As you can see I manipulated the fabric as I did with my blouse, only this time I used Jet AB crystal beads.

And the shoes... Aren't they gorgeous? And the color matching went pretty well, if I may say so myself :)

Some details: I made a little bow at the back, using the extended bias. That was a tip from Roberta Carr's book. Hook and loop closure. My label under the ruffle.

Here's the lining being attached, and the finished dress inside out.

Vicky asked if I cut the ruffles on the grain: 

Yes. The sheerness of the gauze worked well this way, and the lace is very light as well. I used a 3-1 gather ratio.

Thank you for your well wishes. I feel a little better today, and having this done was a relief. I'm not sure if I'm ready to go into the black, so to speak, but I probably should. I really need that black dress...

I'm Still Here... Sort Of...

It's almost Christmas, and yet I feel quite uninspired. This is usually a happy time- actually anytime is usually a happy time cause that's been my number one thing since I made a promise to myself as a very young child. I'm not going to pin the blame on anything other than myself, so I'm working things through and will see the light again soon :)

I've been making a dress for youngest DD and it's nearly finished. It's built from the ground up- literally. I bought some super-delish shoes and a dress had to be created in honor of their fabulousness.

I used the bodice of this dress (BWOF 11-2008-139) as a base,  and drafted the skirt to incorporate ruffles and lace.

The fabric is silk habotai and silk gauze, and the lace is the same I used for my blouse. I dyed the fabric with Bubblegum Pink procion dye- how appropriate :)) This dress will be called Bubblegum 4 Christmas...

Also, I forgot to correct an earlier post, where I mislabeled Nancy's bias skirt. The color is not black, but a deep plum, sorry Nancy.

I would also like to thank Ann for providing a link to a photo of a Roberta Carr video, that was very thoughtful of you, Ann- thank you.

I have not forgotten about the bias dress but...  Oh well, all you mommies out there know how it goes.

Creative Christmas Gift

It's been a while since last post, and apologies to all who read my blog. I've been tired and not my usual self. But the good news is that both our shows are doing well in spite of the bad economy, so I have no right to complain.

Youngest daughter is an aspiring designer (among other things- she's six!), and keeps drawing outfits for her future store. She's even taking orders :)) So... I came up with this nifty (I hope) idea of a Christmas present:

I present The Design Portfolio

I bought the folder at a drugstore, created the front picture in Photoshop, printed it on silk fabric, and attached it using Steam-A-Seam.

Inside are photocopies of illustrations from the book below, with additional smaller outlines of same poses so she can design to her hearts content :)) And if she's really productive, mom will print her favorite poses in any size she wants.

She's a hard worker with a keen eye for detail so I'm hopeful this will continue to inspire her. I also bought some wonderful art supply from Blick on line- they have fantastic prices btw.

The bias dress is coming along. I need to cut the sleeves, buy a button and hem it. It gives me curves I never had  :)) Carr's instructions were superb and I loved handling this dress. The hem is even- can you believe it! That's what you get when you do it exactly her way.

Working With Bias

I'm taking a break from my mini wardrobe to work with bias. All thanks to Nancy and her beautiful black skirt which so inspired me.

I have recently added two books to my library: Couture, the Art of Fine Sewing, by Roberta Carr, and Draping for Apparel Design, by Helen Joseph-Armstrong.

The latter has a chapter on draping bias which is very interesting, but Carr's book has detailed info on how to manage bias, from the very first touch and all the way to the finish line, so I'm mostly using her instructions. I'm not draping this time, instead opting to use this BWOF dress as a block (03-2008-115).

I made up a muslin to fit and then cut away SA. Armstrong's book suggests to leave all design detail off below the bust, so I left the waist darts stitched down in the muslin and pressed it flat in order to get the fit in the bias without darts. We'll see if this works... I'm just testing and learning at this point, and thankfully the black silk georgette was had at a bargain ($2.99 a yard at Trim Fabrics) so I won't feel too bad if it goes wrong :)) I will most likely add a bias-cut fitted sleeve, maybe 2/3 length- I just don't look good in sleeveless, and the puff sleeve is not suitable for this fabric.

I have also ordered a grainboard cover from All Brands and will make the board according to Carr's very clear instructions. I can see this becoming one of my most important tools in the future.

If you have a grainboard, please leave a link to a picture of it in the comment, I'm just dying to see everyones nifty tools at this point! As always, when something gets my attention it becomes an obsession :))

Ever wonder why some bias skirts just can't seem to hang even on both sides?... Thread count, friends, it's all about thread count :)) Click below to see how to lay out ALL bias cut fronts and backs. I'm gonna blow it up and hang it on the wall :))

And this made me smile. And no, I will not attempt this... at least not without my grainboard! Roberta Carr shows a wonderful sense of humor in this book and I'm truly sad she passed away. 

So, pictures friends, pretty please!

"Sabrina" Dress, Part 3

The dress is put together, zipper, hook and all :) Now its Lace-Time. Just finishing stitching on the upper border.

Here's the bodice pattern.

I underlined it with organza and stitched it to the lining as shown below.

Here's the finished petticoat before it's attached to the skirt at the waist. Marji asked if I attached the netting to the lining at hem: No, I attached the crinoline fabric to the lining at them. The word Crinoline is confusing to me. From what I understand it can mean two things; the finished petticoat, or, the fabric. In my case I use the word to describe the fabric I used on the bottom of the lining. That's what they called it at F & S Fabrics.

An up close of the back.

DD is staying a few more days so I'm hopeful I get a good photo of her wearing it. She found a super adorable pair of shoes at Nordstrom.

And off topic: Boy is it hot in LA,  91 F!! Not complaining, just amazed.

"Sabrina" Dress, Part 1

DD  requested this dress... Thankfully she also asked me to put my own "spin" on it :-) A good thing, since I haven't had time to watch the movie again, and there's not much info on the internet. Think it's made of silk satin, but at $50/yard, I said 'NOT'! I'm using silk taffeta, here's a link to my old blog and the fabric . She did request the dress be longer, so I'm cutting the skirt 32".

She's coming home tomorrow for a surprise visit from boarding school, so I'm trying to get as much done as possible before I fit it on her. I made a muslin on her a month ago, but there's nothing like having the 'real thing' fitted, is there ?!

The time consuming deal here is the petticoat (especially with two rambunctious kittens forever present... )I bought 10 yards of 45" wide stiff netting, 32 yards of 1/4" double folded bias binding, 3 yards of lining, and 1 1/2 yards of crinoline. Below shows how I cut the netting: I divided the 10 yards into 3 equal 10 yard strips. I used a masking tape on the table, and that made it pretty easy to get sort of accurate. I attached two of the strips to make one 20 yard loop.

Then I attached the binding to one edge of this loop.

I marked the loop into 8 equal sections and machine basted between each, leaving loose threads at each start and stop. Then I used 6 yards of the remainder 10 yard section, marked this one also into 8 sections, and then gathered and attached them by machine, section by section. I finished the raw edge with a 3 thread wide on the serger.

Here you can see what 26 yards of netting looks like, pretty neat I think :-) The crinoline is attached to the lining at both the hem and the top, it reaches up 11". Finished the lining hem with bias as well. I'm now in the process of cutting the dress skirt, and will finish the petticoat afterwards... need to see how puffy I want it near the waist. Contemplating where the lace should go as well. I like to "see" it as I go along.

Should I use silk organza underlining? Thoughts on that anyone??...

This dress is fun- so nice to have a dainty young woman to sew for :-) 25" waist- I wish, oh I wish...

If you haven't visited Marji yet, please do so. She had a terrible accident and needs all our support for a quick recovery.