In the Mood for Sicily

Dear readers, doesn't the fabric on this skirt remind you of Sicily? Black with tiny modest flowers, beaded in slightly irregular pattern to make it look just so perfect and authentic...

I picked this beauty at Mood on Monday two weeks ago, just a day before we took a plane to Europe.

THE (SEWING) HOLIDAY

Because our holiday is exceptionally long this year (the reason behind the light posting recently) - four weeks, readers - I decided to take some sewing with me. I packed this fabric (incl underlining and lining) along with tangerine red dress-in-progress, hoping to work on both projects at my in-laws in Germany. Yet, my mother-in-law's sewing machine I hoped to use was beyond home repair and so I put my already-basted tangerine dress aside and took on the beaded chiffon challenge.

THE MOOD

I have to say a few words about the fabric before I explain the project. As I said before I got it at Mood. I went to Mood knowing I wanted a 'statement' fabric for a simple skirt, a garment I could dress up or down.

Now, Mood has a small but great 'lace' section. Unfortunately, high quality lace in colors other than white and cream sells out really fast, but if you are flexible you are likely to find some gem pieces at a very reasonable price! This was the case with my beaded fabric too, as I was initially looking for dark solid-color guipure or Alencon lace.

THE SKIRT

As I am typing this post, the project is finished. As you see it is a straight skirt - simple project for complex fabric. I took pictures of the work-in-progress and will upload them as soon as I am back.

For now I will just finish this post with a quick note that this skirt is done all by hand (partly due to the absence of a sewing machine, and partly due to the nature of the fabric). It has only one, center back seam, with the most work gone into removing and resewing beads.

... AND THE STARRY NIGHTS

Please excuse me if I am very slow to answer your comments - I am currently in a picturesque place in South Tirol, in Italian Alps and the closest connection is a 30-min hike away. In fact, I am quite happy I am not distracted by internet as I truly enjoy the tranquility and the beauty surrounding us here. No music, no traffic, just pure nature, the Alps and the incredibly starry nights...

Let me just share this view from our terrace where I sew slowly, couple of hours a day while my younger daughter naps in our bed.

Busy week's posting and finished project-s!

Readers, despite the light posting, another cold and taking care of my daughters I did sew this week! Hence the image quality - quick work with my iPhone  (see the weird halo effect?) so, proper snapshots with me wearing this are coming! Voilà, le Sencha floral!

And, yes, I did hand-overcast all seams!

This makes the second garment off my twelve-items-transitional-wardrobe-SWAP list this year - very proud! I pledged to buy new fabric only after I finish three garments? Hmmm... Yesterday, I went to Paron's and bought more (they have moving sale now and everything is 40% off). But more about it later! And, I just realized, I haven't blogged about my SWAP! I got to catch up!


What are you working on? Any classes? Challenges? Sew-Alongs? Do share good stuff!

Finished: Oliver & S Ice Cream Dress

So, here is the finished Ice Cream Dress from Oliver & S. The print is a screen printed cotton from Robert Kaufman. I pre-washed it, which caused the fabric to get off-grain. It took me some pressing and stretching to grain the fabric, but there is still some distortion...

The next on the list is the V-notch on pockets and on the neckline. I blogged about the infamous V-Notch Tutorial yesterday and will try the techniques you suggested this week. If you also struggle with sharp V-points on your garments, check out comments under the linked post - there are some really great suggestions there. As for print matching - I think it was overall quite fine - and it was pretty easy

the back of the dress...

...with a little perl button

I also understitched the hem by hand - really enjoyed the process after a stressful working week!

Here is my little one modeling the dress. No ice cream, but a lot of Hello Kitty stickers on her hand :-)

She wears it with confidence! That's a good sign, or? :-)

My Haute Couture attempt of a blouse :-)

Burda 9/2010, #110 - was my trial run for an Haute Couture Silk Blouse. I doubt the Chanel House would hire me after seeing this blouse, but I am happy nevertheless :-)

Pattern Sizing:

I went one size smaller. I always do, with Burda patterns. For some reason, if I go true to measurements, pieces turn out too baggy.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

It did, more or less.

The original style

Were the instructions easy to follow?

It is a relatively easy style, but I did follow instructions, which were ok, except for the closures. I had to guess how the closures work. I used self-fabric selvedge to reinforce the stitched edges underneath the buttons; and, instead of making buttonholes, I decided to make loops on the outside, and small snaps inside.

I reenforced the side seam allowance (1" / 2.5 cm wide) with a selvedge strip.
The buttons are sewn through the seam allowance and through the strip.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I liked how the blouse drapes, as well as the style. I don’t like the height of the collar - it collapses. Therefore, for drapey fabrics, I would either reduce the height of the collar, or reinforce the collar with some interfacing.

the neckline

Fabric Used:

I chose silk charmeuse, and it feels really wonderful against the skin!

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

I have already described some of the changes I made above.

More importantly, I have sewn the entire blouse by hand! I also hand-overcast the entire blouse, following an example of an Haute Couture silk blouse featured in Claire Shaeffer’s PDF “Behind the Seams: Chaeffer on Chanel” 

Two reasons:

(1) I wanted to learn and apply couture techniques I learned recently, and

(2) I wanted to have more control over the slippery charmeuse. I was watching Netflix movies while I was sewing, because the sewing process took several long evenings.

Hand-overcast shoulder seam.
Seam allowances are about 1" (2.5 cm) for all seams

I also made self-fabric bias binding for the sleeves. 

Lessons learnt:

Shoulder seams: even though I hand-stitched, then pressed-open the shoulder seams and then hand overcast each section, as in the Shaeffer’s example, I would have rather used a narrow French seam. It would have added more stability to the seams. 

This reminds me of Roberta Carr’s Rules of Couture (from her book Couture: The Art of Fine Sewing) " "Sew with your head... Understand that couture requires judgment."

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

I would recommend this sleeveless version, but I won’t sew it again- there are enough other styles I am looking forward to.

Conclusion: 

I really like the final result, even though there were few things I would have done differently for this type of fabric (marking, shoulder seams, hem). But, all in all, it makes a great wardrobe builder that works well with cardigans (which I love), jackets, or on its own.

paired with a cardigan

Apart from the garment itself, I really enjoyed sewing charmeuse. As Ms. Carr said: "Enjoy the process as much as the result." Which I definitely did!

Finished object #2: Draped Flared skirt.

I know, it seems I haven’t been doing any sewing lately. But this is not the case. In fact, I have almost finished three different projects, which I will be uploading one by one starting today.

The first one is a gray skirt, which was based on my ‘circular/gored skirt’ draping project I blogged earlier about here.

It was extremely easy to drape, but finishing this skirt took me ages. The main problem was making and attaching bias binding made of silk organza. It is extremely unruly and difficult to handle. After I conquered this one, the rest was much easier. I inserted a zipper and closed the side seam. Finally I serged the waist and attached a grosgrain ribbon.

I don’t know if this skirt makes me very happy. I mean, it's kind of cute, but not perfect. Or maybe I am tired of looking at it? What do you think, dear readers?

Marina