Holiday Wardrobe Aim No 1 (16 days to go): Finish the polka-dot skirt

Can I do it in one day? No way (by hand?) But I will try to accomplish as much as I can. Here is the plan:

1. cut the lining

2. assemble the lining 

3. attach the lining to the skirt

4. make waistband

5. hem the skirt

6. make closures

Ok, I am off to the cutting table. 

Holiday Wardrobe: an exceptionally bad start

I knew it would come - sixteen days left until our flight to Europe and I am not ready. I wanted to take with me a few fabulous pieces for three holiday/X-Mas dinners, a cocktail with old friends, a theater night and a party for kids. All I have is an almost finished polka dot skirt and nothing to match it with.

My sewing machine is broken - which leaves me with hand sewing. That's going to speed up the process, ha-ha.

I will have to be full time at work and that means sewing at night.

Well, what helps is my optimism: I can do it (I hope).

Oh, right, and I promised myself and my better half hand-sewn leather gloves. I better become organized and shoot right away with the first pieces.

So, dear Blog, I promise I will document my progress and post all the details of my joyful journey to a fabulous holiday.

Now, straight to the cutting table, I need to cut lining for my PD skirt.

M.

Handmade's Tale: A feature on Haute Couture

a glimpse into the world of Haute Couture

Sharing from Vogue.com
issue 10/2008

Adieu, my sewing machine...

My sewing machine is broken. It was not really a fancy one (actually not at all), neither was it a big investment (it was the cheapest one available, except for travel versions). A basic Brother model, all plastic (the reason for the longevity, yes).

My grandma always said, we are not so rich to buy cheap things (Yes, grandma. you were right, yet again).

So, this time I am going to buy a good, all metal mechanical sewing machine. My fashion design instructor recommended Bernina 1009. Quite an investment ($600 and up), but apparently those machines are eternal. Juki was also mentioned, but I am biased towards Swiss quality even though it's not a watch. Since I cannot have a Rolex, I am saving money for the another masterpiece of Swiss engineering, that is Bernina.

Meanwhile, all my plans for sewing a fabulous holiday wardrobe, fit for traveling (to please my mom and to impress everyone else) are challenged by the fact that I will have to do all my sewing by hand. This will last forever, I guess.

polka dot skirt: work in progress

Here is the silk taffeta I bought at Mood Fabrics. Not an easy fabric, that's why I knew I am going to do a lot of hand sewing (which I love). But this is what this fabric deserves. I especially love the rustling sound of silk. If you can hear it, enjoy it. It's like hearing birds in a busy city: always mesmerizing for me. These sounds make you forget the daily stress. There is something classical and ethereal about silk.

The taffeta is actually very dark blue, but it looks almost like black.

I underlined the skirt with silk organza, mainly to prevent wrinkling. In my job I spend most of my time sitting in front of a computer, so wrinkling is an issue. I also wanted to give some body to taffeta, and organza was the perfect solution

I didn't want to set a regular zipper. Normally I would hand pick the zipper (or stitch) , but this would create an additional lines there, which would interfere with the dot pattern, making the back look busier than needed. 

 So, my skirt is almost there. I need to add lining - for this purpose I bought navy China Silk (perfect for linings). After that a belt and hemming the skirt and it should be finished.