I will be back late april!

I have been out of action (sewing-wise) for more than 3 weeks and I have to say it has made me so sad.
I thought my leg was better (but it got bad again when I started to sew) leading me to believe it may be sewing related.

I am off on a massive trip (over 8 weeks) around Europe and beyond but when I get back I fully intend to sew and post on a weekly basis again.
I will be blogging pictures from my trip here (http://benandkathstravels.tumblr.com/).

It’s sad that I didn’t finish the dress for the Mad Men challenge but considering the circumstances I’m glad I gave the old leg some healing time.

I was pretty happy with where I was going with it after all the fussing with the fit. Notice the photos are better? I got a proper camera from my lovely boyfriend for my birthday and I am so happy for it! I have been busy playing around with it and trying to learn about photography.

I gotta say I LOVE what I have seen of  the costumes from season 5 of Mad Men.

(warning: spoilers)

The late 60s is the best! I adore all the playful prints and bright colours. I am ALL about those two things for myself as well! Bold colour and pattern is 100% my style.

I look forward to sew again when I come back! Hopefully I will encounter some fabric shops on my travels

Easy Skirts

My leg is better and I am so happy I can sew again.

Simplicity 3823 and the zillion alterations I have done on it has been getting me down. I am on version 7 and it still doesn’t fit correctly. I am really losing patience with this pattern or perhaps just patience with myself. I know I wont be happy with it unless I get a good fit but my skills in that area are sorely lacking. Perhaps its time to invest in some books on fitting, but then the ones I have are not much help….

So If you have followed my blog you will know I always turn to easy/fun projects when fitting a dress is getting to me.

This project is super quick and easy I made the leopard skirt a long time ago and I got a lot of wear out of it in summer. I wanted to make two more for my trip and they are great for travel because they are versatile and don’t take up much space in the suitcase.

I prefer skirts to shorts or pants and these are so easy to wear.

I use 70.5 cm of wide black elastic. The skirt length is pretty short at around 45 cms including seam allowance but it’s quite full and gathered so I think it balances out, this is the shortest I will go for a skirt.

I sew the elastic on top of the fabric with lots of pins.

The zerba print skirt is just one gathered piece. Because the fabric was 120 cm wide I could get away with just using the 45 cm piece I had. The blue floral skirt was made from fabric that was 112cms wide so I sewed is two pieces of 112cms together before I gathered it. thats why the gathers are heavier.

I look weirdly evil in this photo. But as you can see I did not have a lot of luck with taking photos.

I also made a whole bunch of drawstring bags for my trip but perhaps thats a little dull to post. There is so much more to post about but it will have to wait.

Out of Action and Styles I Love: Colour blocking

Can’t sew due to Injured leg but I will write a proper entry soon

Anyway…Hooray for colorful clothing!

Simplicity 3823 Version 4: Now we’re getting somewhere

Now we’re getting somewhere…..I do have a soft spot of the crowded house song for the same name haha. Wow I just discovered that was released a year after I was born hehe… yey 80s!

ANYWAY…Check out my 4th Muslin or Toile for  Simplicity 3823 (Its just the bodice/top part the skirt i’m wearing is just to stop you getting and eyeful/seeing my belly)

LOL I do kind of love my goofy expression!

I almost gave up on this dress but now I figured out the obvious fitting issue that would make the top of the bodice sit better (I am still working on the back and the band).

It was so obvious but for some silly reason I originally resisted my urge to lower the streamline connecting the gathered front halter piece to the midsection/band. It was not sitting under my bust, resulting in a bad fit.

If I just asked myself “How do I differ from a size 10 fitting model?” I would have made the right adjustment a long time ago.

So how do I differ? I am not a small bra cup/size and I am not ahem as erm….lets just say my breasts don’t naturally sit high up near my armpits and I am NOT a teenager.

Moral of the story is WHERE things are sitting can be just as important as HOW things are sitting.

As for the midriff band I made so many dodgey winging-it alterations on things I can sort of see why it would be pulling. But I am addressing that next!

Rather than following the dreaded suggestion from the pattern of putting boning in the back I am planning on just adding shirring to the back . I know Betty drapers dress would be a lot more dressy but this is my spin on the dress so I decided its still accepatable.

I have never worked with shirring/shirring elastic before but I found a good tutorial here.

Gertie also has one called “Making a Shirred-Back Dress”. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

That would solve the fitting issues in the back and ensure it stays up rather than the dreaded suggestion from the pattern of putting boning in the back.

Rule of thumb: The uglier the pattern pieces become-the better the fit. Haha Amateur pattern adjustments TO THE MAX.

I SHALL FINISH THIS DRESS.

I am going on a big trip to Europe soon so I better keep working on it.

Hmmm  Perhaps I should name every post after songs I like. Would that be wrong?

I make Pencil Cases :). What do you do with your fabric scraps?

I love the PROCESS of sewing and I’m sure you understand what I mean! Something about creating something functional and pretty and being part of the entire process.

But sometimes fitting a garment and alternating patterns part can leave me so disenchanted with sewing. It’s not that I hate it (all the time) but as with doing anything you are not very good at, a lot of frustration and tedium and uncertainty is part of the learning process.

So often I have step away from the fitting process (especially this stupid halter dress) and go back  to doing a super quick basic sewing project(s) to kind of reignite my passion for making stuff. Actually I think I have written about this before.

So I decided I wanted to use some pretty fabric scraps and I make a fair few pencil cases.

I have stopped getting any shifts at my work. I used to work an average of 3 days a week at my job and this week I have zero shifts (they are cutting down on people to save money)… so selling these pencil cases on etsy may not be a bad idea!

They are fully lined and I also added an iron-on interfacing to make them more study.

Most of them are pretty large (25cm/over 9 inchs) but I made one really little one (pictured above). I am keeping it because it wasn’t perfectly straight/symmetrical. I now use it in my handbag for storing my  loyalty cards, ipod, shopping lists and fabric samples. Yay!

Here are the bigger ones…

The bird fabric was from a store-bought skirt that I took apart and re-purposed as was the green floral . I have two skirts made from the leopard print fabric I used here’s one.

The gingham and the white fabric with black dots are left overs from dresses I made and the cute anchor fabric was leftover fabric from a top I made years ago.

Why am I mentioning this stuff?

Lately I have been thinking a lot about how to use scraps and leftover fabric. Because I always over-buy when I fabric shop so I end up with a lot of scraps.

Quilting has never appealed to me. I am by no means against it though! I have seen some gorgeous quilts on the Internet that are a lot more clean, modern and stylish than the image I have in my head of the quilts and “quilting”.

Last week I donated 3 bags worth of my smaller scraps to a lady who quilts for charity. I felt sort of bad because I filled it with little pieces. didn’t know what she would deem usable or how small was too small for a usable scrap.

What do you do with your fabric scraps?

Another Collar and Sewing/Pattern-Copying Tips

I liked the silly collar I posted yesterday so much, that I decided make a pattern from it and sew the new one up in a medium weight cotton.

Edit: Wow now I realize how ridiculous this red collar looks (especially with my bad hair etc) .

I am kind of embarrassed. But fashion is like that… I mean I can barely comprehend it but once people thought mullets looked good. So tastes change, perceptions are distorted etc.

I was just making use of a fabric scrap and testing out the pattern so I wasn’t too fussed about the end result.

Here is how I made a copy of the pattern from the collar…

Also here is the sewing tip…. Actually its more of a pattern tracing tip.

Last year bought the Patternreview.com book “1,000 Clever Sewing Shortcuts & Tips”.

In the book it mentions a tip about using clear cellophane to trace with when copying a ready to wear garment.

I thought that sounded like a great idea because it would make it so easy to see the seams and design details on the garment, so I bought loads of clear cellophane in anticipation of trying it.

I tested it out and for the purposes of this collar and it worked AWESOMELY !

Please excuse my excitement over such a trivial matter thats just what I am like…

Here we see the cellophanes awesomeness in action: Look how easy it was for me to see what I was doing! I used a permanent marker/sharpie and it did not slide or rub off once I marked the clean cellophane (you beauty!)

That stripey thing on top of the collar is a self-made pattern weight. I use them all the time when I trace patterns (particularly burdastyle magazine patterns).  It its a small area I am tracing I do this: Before I put the weight on I mark any line then place the heavy sewing weight over the line I drew. That holds in in place and makes it easy to trace the rest without anything shifting.

I made it the weight(s) by buying what are called “mending plates” from the hardware store, taping two together (one on top of each other for extra weight) and the making a little pocket of fabric and sewing it closed both ends.

Would anyone want a pattern weights tutorial?

These weights are super heavy 100 times heavier than those fussy light little washers and I find them lot more effective.

The real commercial pattern weights ones are just too expensive for me but these ones are equally as effective !

This is what it looks like traced onto the cellophane with texta/marker. That upper line on the collar piece needs to be corrected but we will just ignore that. See how easy it is to trace with?

You could just add your seam allowance directly to the cellopane but I retraced them onto a thin tissue paper. Pictured above is the one I always use (its quite thin and slightly translucent). I also use this for tracing Burda Style magazine patterns. The only place in Australia you can buy this tracing tissue is Lincraft I think its around $5 for 5 sheets of 150×110.

The “finished” pattern pieces with seam allowance added and a center front fold. They are a bit sloppy but they did the job. I am a little messy/gung-ho sometimes.

The easiest refashion EVER and other neat discoveries

This is a little quirky and I know its not everyones style.

But I am all about quirky style (well OK not the Lady Gaga I-wear-meat-or-just-underwear-in-public-level of weird) but a little kookyness is good!

Today while I was getting dressed I noticed I had a shirt in my wardrobe that no longer fit me and the print was a little OTT for  a whole shirt .

Perhaps its not a big revelation but I cut off the collar and now the collar is a frivolous fashion accessory that I love! It reminds me of those miu miu collars from a few years back…Wow I just discovered a tutorial here I am 3 years behind haha never mind.

Also I remember coveting these collars in 2010 when one of my favorite fashion bloggers made and wore them! She is adorable. Look at how she styled the collar here I love her colourful retro style!

Anyway here is my tutorial (I realize it may be silly to give a tutorial since its super easy/obvious)

1. Find a shirt you no longer fit or you no longer like (it has to have a 2 piece collar)

2.  Cut just below the stitching line of the collar stand.

Volia! insta-fun collar!

The container I am holding is from Daiso store in Chatswood, Sydney, Australia (it came in a set with 2 other animal contaniers). It’s from a Japanese shop where everything instore is $2.80 an item.

If you are a horder of have no storage space perhaps you should enter with cation. Such a great shop for cute/silly/kitchy items though !

OK so another thing I am excited about. Today I bought a small cookbook holder that makes a fantastic stand for my Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Yay! Now I can watch Gertie’s Starlet Jacket Course on Craftsy while I sew! Actually  I recently enrolled in almost all the craftsy sewing courses (thats where all my money goes…)

Those of you who have ipads or galaxy tabs you would know how expensive the proper stands are and this one does the job nicely for $4. This is so excellent also because I don’t have room for a TV in my sewing room.

Edit: I wrapped some cut pieces of rubber bands around the metal slats of the cookbook holder (where my tab rests on), that way it has a bit of traction and wont slide off.

OK perhaps this is the most trivial thing ever but if you are an Aussie and you hate cheesy tissue box designs with pastel butterflies and that sort of thing: The Reject Shop has leopard-print tissue boxes at the moment for $1.

I love leopard print so I was sold!

Now If only my sewing room wasn’t so cluttered I could get in and do some actual sewing!

I Have (fitting) ISSUES with Simplicity 3823 Version 3

So far, so….um…. this is the best I can do at the moment!

I have wasted what feels like the whole day on trying to fit this dress.

I  had better remind myself that the things that are the most frustrating are often what you learn the most from.

I don’t even think I should wear/suit a halter neck style dress for reasons I’m not sure I should share (lets just say it is to do with my bust and leave it there).

After my third muslin I decided that I am just going to sew up/in lots of/most of/hopefully all of my corrections  directly onto muslin version 3. I changed the thread I used for different corrections.

I am semi worried about how I am going to transfer all these alterations at least semi-accuratley to my pattern, because I usually do some small corrections then new muslin, small corrections then new muslin etc. But this has a ton of alterations and it is very confusing. Use Muslin as pattern?

Other concerns:

The back is wack as you can see! According to the Colette Patterns Sewing Handbook  “Tight diagonal wrinkles mean that there is not enough fabric to go round the curve. you will need to add fullness to the curve making the area both longer and wider”. Apparently where the wrinkles are pointing too indicates where you need more fullness. Shorten back bodice increase mid to lower waist? or perhaps decrease volume where back goes in and add fabric to side seam. God only knows!

After reading more of the Colette Handbook I realize I need to be using techniques such as spreading or and pivoting to alter my patterns and stop doing things the dodgy way.

Also after all these dodgy changes I made the side seams are not where they are supposed to be.

Another thing to consider: I am not putting boning in so perhaps I should have a elastic in casing on the back. Or I could kill this whole back problem by shirring (which I have never tried before)

Also must add:

Gape darts. Doesn’t look gapey but what about when the lining is added and the excess SA is folded in…

Must make underarm bigger and ensure it covers my bra. Have to wear a one strap bra with this style when you are busty.

Phew I am sure I am missing some more issues but trying to get the fit right on this dress has totally exhausted me.

Simplicity 3823 just may haunt my dreams and continue to trouble me in ways never imagined possible.

Fitting of Betty Draper Halter Dress Pattern Simplicity 3823 (Fitting Misadventures)

I have spent hours working on the fit of the Betty Draper halter dress (Julia Bobbin’s Man Men Dress Challenge)

This is the bit where I temporarily fall out of love with sewing. ARGH fitting and making muslins.

Not only am I still trying to get it to fit my body without dragging and pulling and excess fabric but I am not impressed with simplicity 3823 at all. Well done to them for the pretty pleats etc but…

WTF?! The side seams don’t even match on the corresponding pieces! Even I can get that sort of thing right.

This may be a somewhat boring entry…but If I don’t write about my failings and mistakes I will never learn from them so this entry is more from my reference. If you read this blog don’t abandon me…Just rejoin me in a funner entry.

Unfortunately I didn’t document my fitting misadventures because my camera was out of battery. But  I did take the above photo earlier today to document the fact that I like saturated pink and orange together (orange being my favorite colour of all time already)!

More Pink…I love pink with orange together! (I didn’t make the jackety thing or blouse but I did make the necklace)

OK so fitting notes….

As you probably know I am an amature at fitting and on the second muslin I relished I had taken too much out of the side seams and the back panel lines…But then I did use a lighter fabric than usual for my first trial (but for the next few I have used a thick calico because its easier to write on).

I usually under fit and make a LOT of muslins but I thought I was saving time by taking in more for a tighter fit  but I  ended up with the opposite problem which took longer to correct. Better to slightly under fit because overfitting takes longer to correct!

I also did this very stupid weird thing on the second muslin where rather than tapering in a straight line on the side seams I made an inward curve. I still don’t know what the hell I was thinking.

Then I thought I had a stroke of genius.

I would remove the back panels and extend the tie detail on the dress wrap it closed. I drafted it etc but I think I am abandoning that idea because I think it would be gimmicky and hard to finish the seams. Strangely enough when I make garments too adjustable I don’t get a lot of wear because I can’t be bothered styling it/adjusting things all the time.

Because I have no formal training in fitting I have to learn the hard way through trail and error (and occasionally asking Dad (he designed car seat covers in the 70′s and he just understands form and geometry and that sort of thing).

One thing I learnt today was: it’s not always about the side seams. If something is too tight you actually have to kind of look at where there is excess fabric because its not always about letting seams and panels in and out!

Case in point. the front panel below the gathered bust was dragging/too tight/not sitting flat and it had nothing to do with adding or removing from the side seams (I tried lots times) It was more of a case of the above piece having excess fabric that needed to be folded out (and then move the seam higher). As soon as I safety pined out the excess fabric near the bust it fixed the fitting issue.

Everything effects everything else so I have to remember to experiment with pinching excess out in all different places.

But I would have never guessed that would be the thing to do! lucky I tinkered with it. Sometimes a fit fix is not always obvious.

But here is something obvious that I need to remind myself.

Tapering is an awesome thing. With the front bodice band it needed to be bigger but I didint want to change how it fit onto the gathered halter piece so I let the bottom of the center front fold out (that is on the fold) out and tapered to nothing near the top where it attaches to the bust/halter pattern pieces.

That way it created more room but did not effect the size of the piece on the top or how it fit into the   gathered halter piece.

OK that did sound pretty close to the ramblings of a crazy lady.

I better go and do something non-sewing related! Perhaps later I will post some photos so I can better understand what I am trying to document :S.

Julia Bobbin’s Man Men Dress Challenge

I have decided I am going to participate in Julia Bobbin’s Man Men Dress Challenge.

She is an amazing blogger who’s creations are always super cute/inspiring! I just love her Peggy Olsen Gingham Dress!

The deadline for creating a Mad Men-inspired dress is Friday, March 30.

I have never participated in a challenge so whether or not I get it done by then is anyones guess.

The above dress is what I am planning on making… (To read more about this dress visit this site)

Last night I went trawling through Mad Men images. I remember after I watched the first season of Mad Men I took a bunch of screen caps. It is just filled with inspiring looks, but you dont need me to tell you that… Janie Bryant does such an amazing job.

Ah the 60s has always been my favorite era in fashion as I love the femininity and glamour.

I found so many dresses I wanted to try and make. I think Joan is the most stylish and her looks always compliment her gorgeous curves so well (eg the tailored sheath dresses and pencils skirts)!

Unfortunately I don’t have any fabric in any of the colours that she wears .

I got a little sad and disheartened because I thought I had lots of fabric… but I have NO FABRIC that resembles any of the looks that I love on the show! I have a lot of bright colours and bold patterns in my stash!

I went fabric shopping today and I found a cotton in a hot pink that is sort of similar in colour to the dress worn by Betty Draper (or whatever her new last name is now) in the above photo.

My fabric is a lightweight cotton with a very narrow pinstripe, while the dress Betty is wearing is a Silk Taffeta.

I know Taffeta behaves very differently to a cotton but thats OK. I am more of a casual girl (I never have occasion to wear taffeta gowns!).

Below is my fabric and possible pattern choices

Simplicity 3823 most resembles the bodice of Bettys dress (there is a seam under the gathered bust) but I want to add some kind of wrap-over detail and the waist like butterick 4919.

So I just may be making a Betty-inspired dress which she chose because she was inspired by Marylin Monroe.