Pattern Give-Away Winner

Good morning! Well, today is the big day. Thanks to everyone who entered and good luck! But before I head over to the "Random Number Generator" I going to assign numbers to those who entered just because there was a reply and I don't want any confusion as to who the winner will be:  

1. Carolyn (would like an unknown size)
2. Jennifer C (would like size 14)
3. MAD14kt (would like an unknown size)
4. rachsews (would like an unknown size)
5. NurseBennett (would like size 16)
6. Rachelle (would like size 14)
7. Fellow RTW Faster (would like size 16)

The winner of McCall's 8823 is 

Jennifer C.  

Congratulations Jennifer! If you would drop me an email at grrracar (at) gmail (dot) com, with your mailing details I will pop it in the post.  

Happy Sewing!  

In Sewing News Today...

One of the goals I have for this year is to sew myself a Chanel-esque style jacket. I've been putting it off until the summer when I have more time to focus on all the little details. I'm starting to prepare for my seventy-to-eighty hour journey into fine tailoring with a small purchase. 

I broke down and bought a point press and pounding block to take along this journey. 

For now, I'm getting ready to sew Mama R's jacket. I made a wearable muslin that was a trial run before I cut into the gorgeous wool and silk fabric. The jacket that I planned on making for her Christmas gift but it got pushed aside. Mama R is a very patient person. I just have to finish cutting the underlining and then I can get busy with the basting and transferring the dart markings. But I digress...  

While at the store picking up the point press and pounding block I came across a beautiful fabric.  

I believe I gasped when I saw it. Or maybe it was my heart that skipped a couple of beats? Anyway, there was a reaction when I laid eyes on this fabric. It is a linen and polyester blend and was found in the home decor department. It's reversible!  

I don't know what side I want to use, I just know I want to make Sandra Betzina's pleated top, Vogue 1385, as a jacket. It was featured in the April / May '14 issue of Vogue Pattern magazine.  

I wanted to recreate this look since I saw this top turned into a jacket. I was just waiting for the right fabric. And I found it. 

Well, I have a lot of hand sewing ahead so I'm sure I'll find the time to think about what side to feature on this upcoming project. It looks like it will be the summer of jackets.  

Happy Sewing!  

Kickin Knickers

Stash busting 2014:  Butterick 6031 (x2)

Fabric:   0.8 metres

Elastic:  4 meters

Oh my goodness, this is the best pattern for knickers that I have in my stash. This is Butterick 6031 from the "Patterns by Gertie" line. And they are so comfortable. Best part, the full butt coverage. The low cut legs are very comfortable too. This is the second pair using this pattern. For this pair I cut my fabric two inches higher at the waistline for what Gertie referred to as "an authentic '50s look." 

The fabric is left-over from the McCall's maxi skirt that I made last week. It is a fair trade cotton knit and with the scraps I made two knickers.  The elastic was in my stash that I picked up earlier this year. I had enough of the same elastic to finish off both pairs. Looks like I can cross off "make some well-fitting knickers [a]nd then make some more" off my 2014 sewing goals list.

Happy Sewing!  

Pattern Give-Away!

Do you want to give McCall's 8823 a try? Okay, just bare with me for a moment. Despite all the drama that I documented this weekend around sewing this dress,

It truly is a lovely pattern. 

This is why I'm putting it up for the give-away. When I first made it in my younger days it came together without any issues. I only had to shorten the length. But this second time around when I went up more than a few sizes I forgot that I grew horizontally and shrunk an inch vertically. Those were my issues, not the pattern's issues. This is a great dress pattern.  

The description from the pattern envelope:

Misses' Unlined Dress, Lined Tunic and Lined Pants:  Pullover sleeveless slim fitting dress has mock back wrap, fitted tunic with straps has princess seams, front darts, side slits and back zipper, pants with front and back darts have waistband with side zipper closure and side slits.

I have three different pattern sizes to choose from, size 6, 14 or 16. The size 16 dress pattern is cut. The other garment pattern pieces are not. 

So here is the deal. I will give away one pattern, your choice in size just promise not to sell it, give it a good home, use it, share it and enjoy it. Oh, and leave a comment  below stating what size you would like and I will draw for the pattern on Thursday, July 10th. I will ship internationally.  

Happy Sewing!

Goodness, It Worked!

Stash busting 2014:  Lida Baday Dress

Fabric:     3 metres

Pattern:   McCall's 8823

Back view

Goodness, I can't believe it worked out.

A couple of days ago, I was ready to raise the white flag and throw in the towel after the first fitting. Perhaps it was the love for this fabric that wouldn't let me quit and the fact that my brain wouldn't stop thinking about it. I don't know why I was almost ready to quit because one of the things I love about sewing is the problem solving and challenge. And finding a good fit on this dress did prove to be a challenge. I have a table full of trimmings to prove it!  

First, lets talk about the fabric.

This silk fabric has been in my stash for decades, since the days that I lived in Toronto. I picked it up for a song at a going out of business sale. I haven't come across fabric like this since, especially in black. There is still another two metres of this fabric left. And this is the same fabric that I used to make the first version of this dress.

Since this is a light-weight fabric I used the fashion fabric for the bodice lining pieces.  

The 1997 McCall's pattern has been in my stash for quite some time as well. I actually have three copies of this pattern. Hmmm, might be time for a pattern give-away? It is a Lida Baday design, she is a Canadian designer who recently announced that she will be closing shop. Early in her career she designed patterns for McCall's and this is one of them.   

I cut out the dress as a size 16 but it was too large in the bodice area and sat low making it appear that there wasn't enough room in the hip area. I had to make several alterations and adjustments to make it work.  

1. Cut 2" off the shoulder, raising the waist and hip line to a comfortable level.  
2. Took in the side seam just below the armhole 3/4" removing a total of 3" from the bust line.  
3. Lowered the underarm 1"
4. Lowered the front square neckline 2"
5. And then did the same changes to the facing piece.  

Oh, and on the pattern pieces, before I cut out the dress, I did shorten the hem length by four inches. If there wasn't all the fitting issues to contend with, this would have been a quick project. Instead, this pull-over dress took the weekend to complete. I'm just relieved that it worked out in the end.

I'm not sure that I love this dress as much as I did the first time around. I like it, I like it a lot, just not as much as I thought I would. Maybe all the fitting issues diminished my excitement for this project as the days wore on.

Promise, the next project won't be in black.  

Happy Sewing!  

Try, try again.

I couldn't get the McCall's 8823 pattern out of my mind today. I guess I am just not ready to throw in the towel on this one. I cut the pattern out in a size 16 hoping that it would fit around my large womanly hips. According to the finished hip measurement there should have been ample room for my hips to move around.  But it wasn't so.  

I also didn't like that the back fell opening fell so low. I don't recall this being the case on the first version of this dress that I made. 

I tried it on today and tried pulling it up at the shoulders which seemed to work with resolving the issues at the hip area and even raising the back opening to a comfortable level.  

I have this pattern in three sizes. A size 6 that I was once-upon-a-time able to fit into and made the first version of this dress in. And there is a copy in a size 14 and the 16 that this one is cut out in. 

Boy, life would be so much easier if this was a multi-sized pattern. But I digress.  

So raising the dress up two inches from the shoulders solved one problem but presented another. I'm going to have to lower the front neckline and armhole.  And the width of the shoulder seems to be off a bit too.  

I'm using the smaller sized patterns to help me reshape the armhole and neckline. And I might need a dart. Sigh. I certainly will have to take it in at the sides around the bust area. I'm kind of winging it here and hopefully will end up with a wearable dress after all this tweaking. Fingers crossed. 

Happy Sewing!  

Sometimes You Just Can't Go Back

Today in the sewing room I was working on a dress.  

This Lida Baday back wrapped dress was once upon a time part of my wardrobe. Let's just say, many moons ago. It was a time when I was a wee skinny thing and sewed this dress in a single digit size.  

I'm no longer that single digit size. But when I spotted this pattern on Etsy I couldn't resist the thought that maybe it could be part of my wardrobe once again. I liked that dress that much. 

I had enough black silk in my stash that I made the original dress in. There was no stopping me, not even a muslin. If it fit me back-in-the-day it will surely fit me in a newer double digit size. I worked on the dress carefully basting the two back layers together and then stitching the front to back pieces. 

I thought what the heck, I'll try it on before I sew the bodice facing pieces when the realization that sometimes you just can't go back.  

“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.” ― Karl Lagerfeld

That's what these photographs capture, a moment that is gone forever and impossible to reproduce.  

I don't like this dress as I once did. I have curves where I didn't have when I was younger. This is a dress suited to my younger self, not the me of today.  

Sew, it is hanging on the dress form, that beautiful silk fabric, waiting for inspiration to transform it into something that I will like to wear.  

Any suggestions?  

Happy Sewing!