Book Review: Gods and Kings

Gods and Kings:  The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano by Dana Thomas
Published by:  Penguin Press (a member of Penguin Group)
ISBN:  978-1-59420-494-4
Retail:  $34.95 Canada / $29.95 US

American born journalist Dana Thomas' double biography is a book that I wanted to like. I should have liked it just based on the subjects, Alexander McQueen and John Galliano, two creative giants of the fashion world.  

The book cover held so much promise and just like cheap ready-to-wear clothing it failed to deliver. I felt like I was reading a cheap gossip rag. Yes, it appears as a serious piece of investigative journalism but it is just an over-priced tawdry tell-all. It wasn't at all what I was looking forward to reading. Thomas' writing fell flat and and I don't remember ever being so disappointed with a read. Or maybe I feel disappointed that I wasted a gift card on this book.  

I'm not saying don't read it. I'm just saying sign it out of your local library and re-direct the funds towards some gorgeous fabric instead.  

Happy Sewing & Reading!  

  

This Hoodie Makes Me Happy!

Stash-busting 2015:  Butterick 6253

This was my favourite pattern from the Butterick Fall 2015 release and I have to say that it is one of my favourite kAtheRine Tilton patterns. Can I add that Butterick 6253 is currently on sale via the website.  

The pattern:

This kAtheRine Tilton design is my idea of perfect. I like that it has a hood, pockets and enough ease around my mid-section--perfection in design! The length wasn't my idea of perfect as I have discovered while sewing other patterns that Katherine Tilton does not design for the petite five-foot woman. This meant that I had to do some pattern tweaking. I aimed to shorten the jacket by three inches so I shortened each tier by one and a half inches. I found it odd that there was no finished length measurement to be found on the pattern envelope or on the pattern pieces. I guesstimated this alteration based on the front facing pattern piece. And it worked out fine. The sleeve length was also shortened.

After my very extremely loose fitting jacket I decided to cut a size small with this one. I'm glad I did because I love the fit. I omitted the buttonhole and cord from the hood and opted for a twill tape topstitched around the hood.

The Fabric:

My desire is to make this jacket in the fabric that is found on the envelope photo except not in rayon. I haven't found anything remotely close to the Marcy Tilton fabric in the local fabric stores without any rayon content. And since this is my first attempt with this pattern I thought it would be best to use what I have in my fabric stash. 

Enter the sweatshirt fleece that I used for these shorts. I still had some left-over in my stash, although not enough to complete the jacket. So I mixed it with some black sweatshirt fleece. Both pieces of fabric weren't enough for the jacket but together it worked. The colour-blocking wasn't my initial plan but I have to admit I'm thrilled with how it turned out.

The fabrics have been pre-treated with a tumble in the washing machine and dryer. They did shrink during this process. The jacket was put together with the knit stitch on my sewing machine and the seams were finished on the serger.  

The Stats: 

Fabric:           2.6 metres $23.50 ($16.00/metre - 50% off + taxes)

Twill Tape:    1.05 metres $0.42 ($0.35/metre + taxes)

Zipper:          22" separating zipper $2.80 ($4.95 - 50% off + taxes)

Basting tape:  44" $0.00 (2014 Birthday gift) 

Needle:          New serger needle $1.68 ($5.95/package ÷ 4 + taxes)

Pattern:          Butterick 6253 $13.56 ($19.95 - 40% off + taxes) 

Happy Sewing!

I'm Drowning!

Stash-adding 2015:  Vogue 9135

My goodness when I spotted Vogue 9135 in the new fall release, my jaw hit the floor and I couldn't wait to get my hands on this pattern. I even went and added fabric to my stash just for this project. And now I'm kicking myself because this

My droopy and sad version of Vogue 9135.

does not look anything like this.

Kathryn Brenne's gorgeous version.

The Pattern:

There pattern has a very generous amount of ease. I'm drowning in this jacket. Now, I should have known better since the pattern description reads,

Very loose-fitting, unlined vest and jacket (wrong side shows) has front and back outside casings with ties, flat-fell seams, and stitched hems. B: Side pockets, and front hook & eye closing. 

Somehow, I just assumed even with the "very loose-fitting" description, I wouldn't be drowning in it.  I even thought it would look as good on me as it does the model. Sometimes, I forget that I'm not a skinny, six foot Vogue pattern model. This is extremely loose-fitting on my petite, size 14 frame. I made a size medium. I could easily gone with a size XS. The sizing and length reminds me of kAtheRine Tilton's vest pattern that I made last year.  

I even found that the waistline marking sits a little low on me and if I knew better made a muslin, I would have raised where the back ties are located. The deeply dropped armhole (not my favourite) made it challenging to shorten the sleeve length so I went with my typical amount and hoped for the best. I still had to roll up the sleeves if I don't want to go with the drown look.

The instructions called for a corset hook to hold in the ties in the front of the jacket. I didn't do this since I opted for cording.

I stitched it in place with a little loop peaking through at one end and two ties hanging out the other.

I did use the pattern piece for the ties to measure the length of the cord. I also strayed away from the flat-felled seams called for in the pattern instructions. Instead, I used my serger to finish off the seams. The serging does show on the neckline edge but it really isn't all that noticeable since my thread does match the fabric quite well and the eye is distracted by the oversized amount of fabric that sits on my body.

I do love that this jacket has pockets. And to be completely honest, if I were a skinny, six-foot Vogue model and made a smaller size, I'm sure the sizing would be perfect. 

The Fabric:

I picked up this colourful fabric in the home decor section of Fabricland when it was on sale. It is a light-weight polyester according to the label but I question if there might be some cotton in there by the way it frays, handles heat from the iron and reacted in the washer and dryer.  

I pre-washed the fabric in the washer and dryer.  It handed a high temperature cotton setting on the iron without damaging the surface.  

I should mention that I purchased the recommended yardage on the pattern envelope (2.7 metres) but found that I didn't need that much fabric. I still have 1.15 metres left over. This could very well be that I didn't cut out the pattern pieces for the ties. Instead, I purchased and used cord.

The Stats:

Fabric:    1.6 metres $32.54 ($32.00 / metre - 50% off + taxes.  I only calculated the amount of fabric used for this project, not the total amount that I purchased.)

Pattern:   $22.52 ($33.00 - 40% off + taxes) 

Cord:      $2.71 ($1.20 - 50% off + taxes)    
  

I'm going to wear it only because I spent so much money on the materials and it does have pockets so this would be good for work. Otherwise, the dropped armholes, much too long sleeves, and bagginess of this jacket makes me feels like I'm drowning in a bad eighties look. Even though I really want to like it, I'm just not feeling the love. Now, what to do with the last bit of that fabric?

Happy Sewing!

A-line Top / Jacket

Stash-busting 2015:  OOP Vogue 1774

I've been searching for an A-line cut top / jacket. I thought I found one with Butterick 6056. But to be completely honest with all my tweaking and asserting that I was thrilled with the final result, it never was worn in the public sphere and eventually ended up in the donate pile. Enter Vogue 1774.  

The Pattern:

I found this uncut out-of-print pattern at a second hand store for a steal. Even though it is not the typical Vogue pattern size that I currently sew I thought I would be safe since the jacket is described as "very loose-fitting." There is a generous amount of ease in the bust and waist area so I fearlessly went ahead with the project. The top / jacket is a size 12 cut and fit is perfect in the sleeve, armhole, and shoulder area.     

I love that this pattern petite adjustable as well. I petite-adjusted the sleeve length and then shortened it even more. I guess Vogue believes that petite people have long arms. I chose the short jacket length with the long sleeves. But I did not petite-adjust the front and back pattern pieces. I'm happy with the length of the short jacket. If I were to adjust anything on this pattern it would be to re-shape the neckline in the front to achieve more coverage.  

The Fabric:  

I found this white and cream cotton batik fabric at Fabricland last year. It is actually left-over from this dress. The width of the fabric was only thirty-nine inches wide but luckily there was enough for the short jacket. The suggested fabric on the pattern envelope calls for light-weight crepe and silk-like tweed for the short jacket and chiffon and georgette for the longer jacket. Even though my fabric choice doesn't have the same drape as the suggested fabrics, I'm still pleased with how it turned out. I could see this working well in a stable knit as well.

The Stats:

Fabric:           2.5 metres cotton batik $31.08 ($22.00/metre - 50% off + taxes)

Bias Tape:     0.5 metres $0.23

Buttons:        6 - 13mm buttons $2.23

Pattern:         OOP Vogue 1774 $0.30

Happy Sewing!

In Sewing News Today...

Sew, I recently tried a new "Premium" quality serger thread on my serger. It was on sale, otherwise I wouldn't have tried it. And oh-my-goodness! Why have I've been so cheap? All these years I've been sewing with Coats Over-lock® 100% polyester thread.

Now, I'm not saying that this is bad thread. Coats Over-lock® thread has served me well over the years and I do like that I can pick up a wide range of colours. It is just that these premium spools are something else.

They are Miniking spools from Gütermann. The thread is finer than the Coats spools and my Janome has been working very well with these spools. Maybe that was what all my serger issues were about? But they are double the cost of the Coats spools.  

How about you, do you splurge on premium quality threads for your serger?

✄ ✄ ✄

I dropped off the dress today and my friend's daughter "loves it" which made my day. And I've been told that it fits perfectly. I'm super happy about that since one of the previous dresses I was told the dress sits too low for the young gal it was made for.

✄ ✄ ✄

In other sewing news, I recently stopped by my local fabric store to check if the new Fall Vogue patterns are in [queue the happy dance]--they are in! I don't remember Fall Vogues ever being in stock in late July / early August. This has to be a first.

I also found this beautifully colourful piece of fabric that I picked up for this pattern. It is a lightweight polyester fabric that I found in the home decor department. I love the colours in this piece of cloth and I think it will be fun for this pattern.

A few things to clear off the sewing table and then I can get to work on this project.

Well, that is all in sewing news today...

Happy Sewing!

This Pattern Makes Me Sew Happy

Stash-busting 2015:  Lynn Mizono for Little Gals

This is the sixth version of Vogue 1455 and this pattern makes me so sew happy every time I work on it. 

The Pattern:

I think this is the most adorable dress pattern for little gals that Vogue has released. It is reversible and that has to be my favourite part of this dress. The bubble hem is created by hidden buttons and you can interchange the ribbon. What is not to love?   

The Fabric:

One side of the dress is in the red and white cotton fabric that I made with this version. The contrasting hem band was left over fabric from this project.  The red and white fabrics used for the main body of the dress were found at Northwest Fabrics about a year and a half ago. It has some stretch. I found the red and white polka dot ribbon at Northwest Fabrics as well.  

The reverse side is 100% silk noir. The main part of this side is a royal blue silk that I found at Northwest Fabrics. Don't hate me, but this was another bolt that I picked up for ninety-nine cents per metre if I took the whole bolt. That was a no-brainer, that the whole 9.3 metres should come home with me. I used some yellow silk noir that was in my stash and even though I picked it up at 70% it was more than the blue but has significantly more width that the blue silk. The blue ribbon is from my stash--my first choice would be a yellow ribbon but I don't have any more in my stash.  

The Stats:

Fabric:      1.7 blue silk $1.90 (99¢ + taxes)

                  0.9 metres yellow silk $6.71 ($22.00 - 70% + taxes)

                  0.8 metres red and white circle patterned fabric $5.41 ($5.99 + taxes)

                  0.4 metres red and white floral patterned fabric $1.81 ($4.00 + taxes)

Ribbon:    2 metres $1.02

Buttons:    4 $0.00 (recycled)

Pattern:     Vogue 1455 (already priced out in previous versions)

Thread:      Used various colours (yellow, red, and blue). Finished off another spool.    

Sewn on:    Janome sewing machine and serger. Used a buttonhole foot, seams were double stitched and finished with the serger.    

Happy Sewing!  

And One for Mama R...

Stash-busting 2015:  Another Lisette Top

This one is for Mama R. She liked the first version I made of Butterick 6182 and asked if I would make one for her. So I did.  

I did tweak the pattern a wee bit.  

• The centre back seam was removed and cut as one
• I goofed while placing the back pattern piece on the fold.  Instead of placing the stitching line on the fold I placed the pattern edge on the fold.  
• The above error meant that I had to lengthen the neckline band by 5/8" on each end.
• The pattern required more ease in the mid-section / waist area so I adjusted the width a total of 5 1/4" around the hemline and graded it to a size 14 at the bust, shoulder and neckline.  
• The hem length was given an additional two inches and a one inch machine stitched hem instead of the 5/8" hem.  
• I didn't fold the bias cut neckline band before stitching it in place.  

Despite my error with the centre back piece, the fit was perfect. [Thank goodness!] Mama R's pleased with her new top and has already place a request for another. She also hinted that the dress looks like it would be nice. I think I'm going to be busy with this pattern.  

The fabric might look familiar. I made Mama R a dress from this fabric a while back. It is the last bit of this fabric that has been in my stash longer than I care to remember. Now that I know the changes to the pattern work and Mama R is happy with this wearable muslin, all that is left to do is press that hem and get to work on the next one.  

Happy Sewing!