Happy National Tweed Day!

Yes, it is National Tweed Day! I might be thinking about spring sewing and sitting on the edge of my seat for the new Summer Vogue patterns to hit the stores and/or go on sale. But shall we take a moment to swoon over some tweed in honour of this day?  

Vivienne Westwood Heart shaped collar Tweed blazer
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This day of honouring tweed fabric comes at a time when it is still nippy outside. Perfect for a good tweed jacket. The fabric blocking on this Vivienne Westwood blazer is beautiful.   

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Or how about a tweed handbag? 

So what is it about tweed that makes it so special that it calls for it's own special day? 

Well, tweed encompasses a wide range of rough textured, sturdy wool fabrics characterized by fibre-dyed, marked with spots of colour effects. Originating from Scotland, this fabric's colour effects were traditionally vegetable dyed yarns. Harris Tweeds is the most famous of tweed for its traditional hand crafted wool fabric.   

Chanel Suit {Source}

Coco Chanel, after discovering the exquisite qualities of tweed, played a part in making this a highly sought-after fabric using it in her iconic cardigan jacket. There is a lot of celebrate about tweed. It's a fabric rich with history and upholds a quality that is sadly becoming rare in a marketplace filled with wool blends and man-made fibres.    

Is there any celebratory tweed sewing going on in your workroom?  

Happy Sewing!  

Fancy Pant[ie]s

I swear, I'm never ever buying panties again now that I have Simplicity 8229. This pattern is on its way to being a go-to item for knicker-making.  

This latest pair is made in a lace stretch fabric and the elastic used at the legs has a pleated edge. They're my fancy pant[ie]s! 

The lace fabric, pleated elastic and the beige cotton used for the crotch lining were all Fabricland finds. The waistband was finished with beige picot elastic that I found at Northwest Fabrics. I wish I picked up more of the beige picot elastic when I had the chance. Oh well. I picked up plenty of the pleated elastic and have enough green lace to make another pair.  

The Stats:  

Fabric:  0.7 metres of stretch lace and cotton knit

Elastic:  2.8 metres of pleated and picot elastics

Pattern:  Simplicity 8229

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Sewing machine, serger, 100% polyester thread for the machines, cutting table, scissors, thread clippers, tweezers, pins, pin cushion, iron, ironing board, wrist brace, and some good tunes.  

Happy Sewing!  

I Made Another Coat! (Vogue 9219)

I completed an unselfish sewing project. Okay, maybe there was some selfish sewing involved. I really wanted to make another coat but I really don't need a third coat. So this one is to be gifted.

Vogue  9219 is a coat for one of my former colleague's daughter. I know, it's spring but I made it a size bigger so that [fingers crossed] it will fit her daughter next winter. 

I made this toasty warm with a fleece underlining attached to the kasha (cotton back) coat lining both were found at Fabricland during one of the member's sales. The fashion fabric is a 70% wool / 30% polyester blend that I picked up at Northwest Fabrics last year. The underlining fabric is left-over lightweight fleece that I used in this coat. The kasha lining was a recent purchase specifically for this project because the silver colour matches the silver in the buttons. And I couldn't resist the buttons. 

All of the fabrics were pre-treated. The wool was thrown in the dryer with a few damp towels and then steam with the iron afterwards. The lining and fleece went through the pretreatment process in the washing machine and then the dryer. All the fabrics handled the pretreatment process well.

This pattern is the cat's meow!  The pattern is perfectly drafted and the instructions are well written but I will admit that I didn't follow the order that's laid out. Instead of sewing set-in sleeves, I sewed the sleeve cap before sewing the sides. I found that I didn't need to sew ease stitching on the sleeve cap and just eased with my fingers and pinned in place. It worked out perfectly fine.

I really wanted to sew buttons and buttonholes but I opted to follow the pattern instructions on this step since my automatic buttonholer doesn't like working on thick fabrics. So the buttons are purely decorative and the coat closes with snaps. It is probably an easier option for little ones.

One of my favourite parts is the label and the contrast on the under collar. Oh and did I mention how well this pattern is drafted? Love that there is a separate under collar that is cut in the lining fabric.

Well, there you have it, another coat, an itsy bitsy coat with the tiniest pockets ever. Sometimes you just want to sew something cute and this one fit the bill.    

The Stats:  

Fabric:  5.2 metres (2 metres wool coating, 1.6 lining, and 1.6 lightweight lining)

Interfacing:  1.8 metres fusible interfacing

Buttons:  5 - 3/4" buttons

Snaps:  5 metal snaps

Pattern:  Vogue 9219

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Sewing machine, serger, threads (100% silk for hand stitching, 100% polyester for the serger and sewing machine, and button thread for the snaps and buttons), cutting table, pins, pin cushions, measuring tape, metal ruler, fabric shears / scissors, thread clippers, seam ripper, pro seam ripper, tailor's ham, sleeve ham tailor's mitt, clapper, steam iron, ironing board, tylenol, coccyx cushion, lots of breaks, timer, chai latte and stretching breaks.

Happy Sewing!

March in Review...

Sewing:

My sewing mojo took another hit this month as I was still on the mend. I did manage to accomplish some easy projects with the aid of a coccyx cushion and replacing the chair at the serger with an upholstered footstool.   

Clockwise top left to right:  Chambray dress for Mama R, Simplicity 2372; Knit dress, OOP Vogue 8939; Chambray shirtdress, McCall's 7546; Panties, Simplicity 8228; and more panties, Simplicity 8229.

I've been working on a little girls' coat, Vogue 9219, as well. If you've been following on instragram you'll have seen bits of progressive throughout the month. It's not quite finished yet.  

RTW & Fabric Fast:

This ready-to-wear fast is easy peasy now that I'm into my forth year but the fabric fast is proving to be quite the challenge.  

Fabric shopping was a bit of therapy this month. You see the physiotherapist told me to make sure I keep moving. That meant fabric shopping, right? I'm kidding.

Sadly, Mitchell Fabrics announced earlier this month that they will be closing and I made my way down there to pick up fabrics that I know I won't be able to find again. Unless, some brave soul with fabulous taste in fabric opens up a new fabric store in the city. A gal can dream. The end of this month my annual membership at Fabricland expires and I've vowed not to renew it. I have more than enough supplies and fabric to keep me busy.  

The Stats:

Supplies	Quantity Used from the stash this Month	Quantity Used this Year	Added to the Stash this year
Basting Tape	1.10 metres	2.22 metres	0
Bias Tape		1.8 metres	0
Buttons	14	28	42
Chain		0	0
Cord Stopper		0	0
Elastic	4.7 metres	5.5 metres	6 metres
Fabric	8.8 metres	31.0 metres	31.9 metres
Fusible Tape	2 metres	10 metres	0
Hand needles		1	0
Hook and Eyes		0	0
Interfacing	1.35 metres	2.3 metres	6 metres
Lace trim		2.6 metres	0
Pattern (new)	2	5	7
Pattern (previously used--TNT)	1	6	0
Ribbon		0	0
Serger needles		0	0
Serger thread		3	12
Sewing machine needles		0	0
Snaps		0	0
Thread	2	8	14
Trim		2 metres	7 metres
Velcro		0	0
Zipper	1	2	0

Happy Sewing! 

In Sewing News Today...

Have you seen the new release from Vogue patterns? ~swoon~ I really like the summer 2017 release and best part, I think I found the dress pattern I would like to work on for an autumn wedding.

Vogue 1544 would be my pick for such an occasion and I have a silver silk fabric that might work. Of course, I'll lengthen it to somewhere below the knee.  

Vogue 1550 is my favourite from all of the summer released patterns. Simple and comfortable looking. And I have some linen stashed away that would be perfect for this outfit.   

What is it about a Marcy Tilton dress pattern that I can't resist?  Vogue 9254 calls for knit fabrics and I like that you can mix and match up patterns and colours with this one.

And then another Claire Schaeffer French inspired jacket makes it onto my wish-list. I don't think that I'll be picking this one up even though a French jacket has been on my sewing wish list. I already have two of Claire Schaeffer's French inspired jacket patterns in the collection. I just need to stop dreaming about sewing it up and get to work.  

How about you, do you spot any patterns that made it onto your wish list?  

In other news... did you hear the latest hoop-la over leggings? Despite the fact that wide-legged pants are supposed to the lastest it-fashion item for 2017, millions of people didn't get the memo. Kidding. Passengers flying United Airlines were denied entry onto the aircraft because of the way they were attired for the flight. Apparently, leggings were a no-fly item and it didn't fly well on twitter either. 

Muddy Mutts
{Source}

I wonder how old that dress code policy is because it seems like everyone and their dog is wearing leggings everywhere. I guess United Airlines didn't get the memo. 

Well, that's all in sewing and other news today.

Happy Sewing!  

The Starry Night Dress

I made a couple of turtleneck dresses using Vogue 8939 over the years. Sometimes when you find a good pattern it's just worth revisiting. And since I was in the mood for an easy project this pattern fit the bill. Minus the hem which I finished up this morning, I was able to cut and sew this up last night.

It feels great to be back in the workspace and sewing clothes again. It was a great feeling. Yes, I do have that coat in queue but I wasn't feeling it last night.

Vincent Van Gogh's The Starry Night, circa 1889.  

Instead, I was drawn to the knit fabric I used in this project because the colours and pattern reminded me of Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night painting. It is a polyester sweater knit with a soft hand from Fabricland.  

The pattern is currently out-of-print (OOP) yet it is still available on the Vogue pattern website. It's a Vogue Wardrobe pattern that also comes with a vest, jacket, skirt and pants pattern although the dress pattern is the only piece I've tried. It is only four pattern pieces and easy peasy to put together. I didn't quite follow the instructions. Instead of set-in sleeves I sewed the shoulder seam followed by the armhole seam and then stitched closed the side and sleeve at the same time. Then I tackled the collar piece. The hems and shoulder seams were interfaced with Knit-N-Stitch™fusible tape. I lengthened the dress by ten inches (one inch hem) to create a maxi length and shortened the sleeves.     

The Stats:

Fabric:  3.0 metres 100% polyester knit

Fusible Tape:  2 metres

Pattern:  OOP Vogue 8939

Additional Tools and Supplies:  Sewing machine, serger, tweezers, screwdriver, walking foot, scissors, thread clippers, threads (for the sewing machine and 4-spool serger), cutting table, pins, iron, ironing board and coffee.  

Happy Sewing!  

The Verdict is In...

The knickers were sewn first.

And oh my, Simplicity 8229 panties pattern is a keeper! The pattern arrived in the mail earlier this week. I wanted to try these in a smaller size than I cut Simplicity 8228 from and I'm glad that I did. These fit better than the first pair. I'm not sure if this pattern is sized big or if it is the amount of stretch in my fabric?  

Remember back-in-the-day when pattern envelopes came with a stretch guide? This one does not, instead it has a description of recommended fabrics. 

**Patterns were designed to be made with fabric that has approximately 30% - 40% stretch.**

My fabric is a two-way cotton stretch. The pattern is designed for optional lining but I just went with my fashion fabric only. I didn't open or read the pattern instructions since these are my second pair of Madalynne panties. I did however take bbarna's advice to use a size 11 ballpoint needle. Thanks bbarna! The pattern recommends a size 12 ballpoint needle. The needle worked like a charm, no issues to report of my fabric pushed down the needle plate. It was a quick, easy, and enjoyable sewing project.  

The Stats:

Fabric:  0.50 metres

Elastic:  2.40 metres picot elastic

Needle:  Ballpoint size 11

Additional Tools and Supplies: Sewing machine, serger, screwdriver, scissors, thread clippers, 100% polyester threads for the sewing machine and serger, pins, wrist brace, elbow gel pad, iron, ironing board, coffee and biscotti cookie break.

Happy Sewing!