Big Plans

I'm still dreaming about making a cape. A few weeks ago I was out and about and I just happened to stumble upon a Kate Spade cape. I found it at Winners, you know that retail store that claims to have "the hottest brand name and designer fashion of the season," blah, blah, blah. Well, they also carry last season's hottest brand name fashions and that is where I found this Kate Spade cape from the 2014 Fall / Winter season. Even though this is so last year (and possibly a half), it is still so pretty.

Seriously pretty, and not allowed while on a RTW Fast. But that didn't stop me from taking it to the change room to try it on, gush over the gorgeous details, and snap a few pictures. Besides, quality workmanship is timeless and there is a lot of pretty details in this cape.     

It is a beautifully crafted 100% wool lined cape. And it is my inspiration for my next sewing project. A couple of months ago, I picked up this pattern, Simplicity 6680.  

It is a vintage pattern, circa 1974, and will be the foundation of my cape. The one detail missing from this pattern that I absolutely love on the Kate Spade cape are the pockets. And that is where this pattern will help out. 

I plan to borrow the welt and pocket pattern pieces from Vogue 8863 to get those pockets that I love in the Kate Spade cape. Sue over at Ilove2sew! made Vogue 8863 a few years ago and although she did not have high praises for the jacket she did for the pockets.

The welt pocket came together well and the pocket is nice and deep, perfect for a jacket.

There was one thing that I forgot to record when I was in the changing room gathering all my research material, the length. I knew that I like the length of the Kate Spade cape but I did not have a measuring tape with me in the changing room. Drats!

Thankfully, I was able to find this information online. The Simplicity pattern lists the finished length as 32" and the Kate Spade cape is a 29" length. It looks like I am all set to get to work on a toile. Yes, I'm going to make a test garment first before I cut into my fabric.  

Oh, wait until you see the fabric...  

Happy Sewing!  

Spring Vogue Patterns

The new spring Vogue patterns were released last night. Oh My!  

Vogue 9174

Marcy Tilton posted a preview of this pattern, Vogue 9174, on her website and I've been waiting for its release since.  

Vogue 1488

Vogue 1488, a DKNY shirtdress and slip looks comfy, I would just have to lengthen it significantly if I want to make it work.  I really like the front tie detail.  

Vogue 1493

I was surprised to see another Koos van den Akker design, Vogue 1493. It is such a beautiful design that highlights the loss the design world endured last year.

Vogue 1494

And another jacket caught my eye, Sandra Betzina's Vogue 1494. It is a high waisted peplum coat. My kind of coat and one of the suggested fabrics happens to be lambs leather. Could you just imagine! 

Vogue 9168

This has to be the biggest surprise of the collection, Kathryn Brenne's dress. Even though it is not at all my style, I will admit that I do find it to be quite pretty. My favourite part of this outfit is the slip worn underneath.  

Vogue 9168

Vogue 9177

And there is another little gal's dress that I think is too cute.

Vogue 9177

It is the smocking detail that I think is too cute. This pattern goes up to a girls size 8 which I haven't typically seen before, usually I come across patterns for smocking in younger sizes. I've always admire this detail but I think my days of little girl dresses is behind me. But I hope to follow someone else as they tackle this project, it looks like a lovely pattern.  

What about you, did you have any favourite picks from the new Vogue line?  

Happy Sewing!  

  

Vintage Jumper: The Wearable Version

Stash-busting 2016:  A Striped Dress

You know what "they" say about horizontal stripes? 

Here is the skinny:

• Avoid putting horizontal stripes across the larger parts of your body.
• The wider the stripe, the wider and shorter the area will appear.
• The higher the contrast in color, the more dramatic the widening effect.

Well, I threw caution to the wind, broke all "the rules" and ended up with this jumper.  

I should be smiling in this picture because I'm really do like with how it turned out. And check out the stripe matching on the sides.  

After testing out the changes I made to OOP McCall's 7946, I decided that I was ready to cut into this ponte knit that has been in my stash for a few years.

I kept the same empire waistline change but took it in a wee bit at the side seam at the bust. I also tried to narrow the neckline but after trying it on, I went back to the original neckline.  

I pretreated the fabric with a tumble through the washing machine and dryer cycles and there was no need to iron. Gotta love that! It is a medium ponte knit which will be comfortable for this mild prairie winter we're having this year. I'm sure I'm going to get quite bit of wear out of this garment.

The Stats:  

Fabric:    2.6 metres $15.87 ($18.00 - 70% off + taxes)

Pattern:  OOP McCall's 7946, already priced out with this one.  

Thread:  Averaged out $4.00 for the sewing machine and serger. I finished off a spool of thread during this project.  

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Sewing machine, serger, walking foot, cutting table, scissors, and pins, and three enjoyable hours listening to the radio while sewing.  

Happy Sewing!  

Monday's Mending Pile

I think I might have mentioned that I DO NOT LIKE MENDING. So, when something ends up in the mending pile that does not belong to me, there is one one explanation. Love. George Bernard Shaw got it wrong when he said

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Seriously, there is no sincerer love than someone doing someone else's mending. And I do love my parents, it goes without saying. It is the only reason why I would allow someone else's mending to end up on Monday's mending pile. Love. 

This week's project is another pair of pants that belongs to Papa R. I have already hemmed these pants for him after he tried them on and blah, blah, blah. I measured, pinned, had him walk in them before I took them to be hemmed. But when Papa R thinks no one is looking, he wears his pants like the "cool" kids (or do they like being called the "kool" kids?).  

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It is the only explanation that I can come up with to explain this mess.  

It doesn't look so bad in this picture so let me stick my hand through this mess to demonstrate.  

Some kids just need to pull up their pants, right Papa R?  

And if that fails, their pants get hemmed dangerous close to a flood length hem. Now that these pants are re-hemmed, the question remains, how low can Papa R go?

Happy Sewing!

Vintage Jumper: The Test Version

Stash-busting 2016:  McCall's 7946

Yes, I made myself a jumper, in the North American sense of the word. Not a sweater, nor jumper as known in British terminology. And just to add a bit more confusion, it is my muslin, or is that a toile? Either way, I tried out a pattern for a jumper. I used OOP McCall's 7946 and I do believe this is now considered vintage, circa 1995.  

It is designed by Shelli Segal from the Laundry label. I was pretty thrilled when I found this pattern in my size over at Etsy this past summer. 

I did make a couple of small changes to the pattern, I raised the bodice by three inches changing it from a pull-over jumper with a fitted bodice to a pull-over jumper with a empire waist. It worked out great and I prefer the raised waistline. The skirt length was shortened by four inches. Even though this is a petite-able pattern, I still found it to be quite long for my slightly over five-foot frame. I have one more change to the straps / neckline that I'm considering on the final version.  

The raised waistline might be difficult to detect in these photos since my fabric is a dark grey knit (sorry about that).

This fabric has been in my stash for a long time and just might be the same vintage as the pattern. I picked this knit up when Fanny Fabrics closed down in the city. It is a lighter knit than I wanted to make but I thought this would be good enough to test out the pattern. It is actually not the best choice for this pattern but I just wanted to use something that would give me an idea on the waistline changes. And even though the fabric is light-weight and not ideal, it didn't stop me from wearing it out in public a couple of days ago. It is a garment that needs a slip underneath.

The fabric was sewn with a knit (lightning bolt) stitch including the top-stitching. And it was pre-treated with a tumble through the washing machine and delicate setting on the dryer. All these treatments worked well with the fabric.    

I hope to make and post the wearable version soon. I have a striped ponte knit that I would like to try with this pattern.  

Stats: 

Fabric:    2.4 metres knit, $13.56 ($5.00 / metre plus taxes)  

Pattern:   McCall's 7946 $16.00

Thread:   I'm going to average out $4.00 for thread used in the serger and sewing machines.

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Sewing machine, serger, scissors, pins, pattern paper, pen, one cup of coffee, and about five hours of my time.  

Happy Sewing!  

   

Jungle January Jammies

Stash-busting 2016:  Sweet Dreams Are Made of This!

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I am in need of flannel pyjamas and of all the flannel prints out there, an animal print is the only one that makes me feel grown-up. Don't grown-ups wear flannel pj's anymore? Most of the flannel found at the local fabric store have cutesy or cartoonish prints. Not the look I was going for so, I had to travel far (Northwest Fabrics) and search deep in row and rows of flannel to find this grrr-own-up print. In the end, it was worth the search for this 150 cm wide beast. A rare find indeed!

For this project, I used the nightgown pattern from McCall's 2476, circa 1999. I went for a simple nightgown with long sleeves since it is not exactly Jungle-like temperatures out here in the Canadian prairies this time of the year. Although, we are experiencing an El Niño this winter.

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But I digress...

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This pattern is easy peasy. I didn't make any changes to the pattern other than adding an inch and a quarter to the length. I should have shortened the sleeves but for now I'm okay with rolling them up until this ends up in the mending and alterations pile. Oh, and I didn't use any interfacing on the neckline facing pieces, it just seemed like an unnecessary step.

The fabric was pre-treated in the washing machine, a tumble in the dryer and a good pressing before it was cut out. This flannel fabric came out of the process feeling softer by the time it reached the cutting table.

This is a project I would most certainly recommend for a beginner. I almost feel guilty sewing up such a simple Jungle January garment after Ann posted all these lovely inspirational photos on her blog. Almost. I'm too cozy to let it bother me too much. I'm just going to lounge here and check out everyone else's Jungle January makes while I stroke this soft cotton flannel.

The Stats:

Fabric:     2 metres $13.54 ($5.99 / metre + taxes)

Thread:  I've averaged out $4.00 to cover the cost of thread for the serger and sewing machine.

Pattern:  McCall's 2476 $8.78 ($12.95 - 40% off + taxes)

Additional Supplies and Tools:  Sewing machine, serger, washing machine, dryer, scissors, pins, three hours of my free time, and an iron.

Happy Sewing!

In Sewing News Today...

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone survived the holiday season without too much any damage to the budget, stress level, and sleep patterns. Santa(s) were very generous this year with tools to help out in the sewing room.  

One of the items was one my Christmas wish list, the small pair of scissors. The other item, Pro Seam Ripper Kit, is a new-to-me item. I almost can't wait until my next sewing blooper to try it out. Stay tuned.  

In other sewing news, I've decided to continue with RTW fasting even though I did stumble over 2015. Looking back my RTW purchases were activewear, tights / pantyhose, undergarments, and sweaters. I believe that 2016 will be a better year for the RTW fast well because I'm all set for activewear, undergarments and tights are allowed items and sweaters. Well, I need to work on the sweater thing.  

And it is Jungle January and I currently have my first Jungle January project on the cutting table. I hope to have it finished and photographed to show you tomorrow.  

Happy Sewing!