This is what happens when…..

In the middle of tracing my 11 piece pattern (biggest one by far....very nervous) for SESA 2012 and the doorbell goes. I answer the door, pay for my takeaway and come back into the front room to see this.

   

My daughters bloody cat had obviously decided to skid across my table and tissue paper pattern :( :( One day I will catch her and string her up! Bit of sticky tape and all is ok but I like my patterns to stay like new.

Note to self.... Take cat with me to the door next time!

 

Finally finished the tracing & cutting….now onto the fabric….Gulp!!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

X

Mini Me: Summer Dress

I got this great New Look pattern from Ashley Brook Fabrics during their pattern sale thinking it look nice and quick!! :)

I must stop reading the pattens before I cut the material as I nearly had a heart attack and didn't have a clue what some of the instructions were saying and started to panic! Time for a muslin!!!!

I cut the pattern in a 4 as Louise is quiet small for her age but I know it will still be way too long for her! The style I went for had 5 pieces so was nice and easy to cut.

Once I got sewing the guide made sense and the process moved along quite quickly. I was very impressed. Gathering took a long time...Note to self to invest in a gathering foot.

Here is the finished muslin, I basically used an old sheet. I used contrasting cotton to see where I made mistakes and it worked a treat as there are a few things I need to make sure I don't do on the final dress.

The gathering turned out well which I was pleased with. I must remember to snip the inside of the seams on the bodice, I did remember to grade them though!

The back was a bit tricky as I have never done this type before, but in all fairness I let the thinking confuse me and should have just followed the guide without trying to work it out before hand! All I need to do is the button holes (I am so dreading that).

I must say I am looking forward to Louise trying it on in the morning :)

From the Ashes: Sorbetto Finished

Well this is the final finished top and boy did I have some issues fitting it! I must have either the weirdest body shape or I am still thinking that all patterns should fit first time!!!! I am still not 100% happy but refuse to sew a dart of 4-6mm to reduce the tiny gaping at the armhole which I am sure is made worse why the bias tape (shop brought and quite stiff).

I ended up cutting a 10 shoulder, 12 bust and 14 hips but there was a tiny bit too much strain across the bust. Being lazy and not wanting to do a FBA as I have never done one before, I unstitched the pleat and repined to fit my bust with minimal gapage.

I altered the pattern and cut my fabric (from Ashley Brook Fabrics). It turned out well. Or so I thought. I decided to wear this for my birthday and as the day wore on so did the obvious flaws. The shoulder did not sit right on me. There was way to much gaping and too much room in the bodice which lead to twisting.

I altered the shoulder and pressed it. Without realising I had let the pressing cloth slip and it melted my new shoulder seam completely. Well ladies I nearly cried.

But I had to do a repair job which entailed redoing the bias tape on the front (and as you can see I had to do it wider to cover the old tape as the fabric ripped when I tried to unpick it). I then had to chop about an inch off the shoulders to remove the burnt material. The overall fit is not close to perfect.

Complete disaster has been averted and I have a lovely top in a print I just love that fits really well. So well in fact both my Nan and my friend want me to make them one....fitting for me was bad enough, not sure if I could fit for anyone else!

I will be making another at some stage but I want to really expand my wardrobe before the warm weather gets here :)

Great Print from Ashley Brook Fabrics priced at £2.95 per metre

Louise picks her 1st lot of material

So I took my little one Louise (age 4) to the fabric shop with me. Ashley Brooks in Romford Marketplace (or now known as the Romford Shopping Mall) are really good with her and don't mind her sitting down behind their counter out the way while I browse and procrastinate over fabrics!

I asked her to pick some fabric she liked for her summer wardrobe and here we have her choices all priced at £2.40p/m and perfect for the hopefully hot summer.

I was very happy with her choices however I was thinking dresses and she has asked for skirts which would be easier but then I will have to match them with tops!!!! 

Colette Pastille Dress: Half way there.

I am so behind with the sew along but I will be catching up real soon!

I have spent the evening finishing off my muslin and I must say I am glad I did as I have had to make a few adjustments.

I have had to take length off the front and back bodice as I obviously have a very short body myself! But I also have very small shoulders so I will have to take some bulk from the shoulders too.

I have also decided lower the neckline on the final garment as high necklines do nothing for me and I have spent too much time procrastinating over pleating the fabric down to the hemline as I feel it will look much better (plus I'm such a shorty I need to loose a fair few inches off the skirt length). My pattern has been adjusted accordingly I am ready to go!!!!

Roll on my little ones bed time so I can get going of the final garment tomorrow. Here is the unaltered muslin and despite my attempt to re-pad Deirdre she is still not the same as me fitting wise.

I hope everyone has a fab weekend. :o) x

Spoilt with goodies!

Well I am still working on my Pastille muslin but I had to share these goodies I got :)

I think my beginners arsenal of equipment and info is near enough complete.

I know I can sometimes bog myself down with too much information but in an attempt to not be so distracted by the internet I have purchased some good old fashion books.

I seem to do a lot of alterations on patterns and am hoping to be doing some self drafting in the near future so I was told a French Curve/ Curve Ruler/ Dressmakers Curve was an absolute must! I got this one from Minerva via their eBay shop. It has a square ruler incorporated. Slits and spacings for button holes as well as markings for seam allowances. Changing necklines and armholes will be so much easier now!

            This book will probably be like my bible! I have the  
            strangest body shape and find that patterns just
            do not fit first time. I am so glad I got this as there
            is so much information here and so many alterations
            I doubt I will have to spend hours researching on the
            world wide web for a long long time :)

I can imagine there are some people out there cringing at my choice of book however this encompasses everything I could foresee me using for the time being. I am self taught and again this is a bid to not get distracted when I get stuck.















I can honestly say that I never thought dressmaking would be as complicated or expensive as it has been but I am thoroughly enjoying it and now I have no excuse. So I am off to clear my table and get on with finishing my Pastille muslin.

Colette Sew Along: Hosted by Rhinestones and Telephones

A link for anyone who is interested in following or taking part in the sew along.

Rhinestones and Telephones: Introducing: Sew Colette

Over and Out or Cut and Hem???

Firstly I would like to say I promise I am working on my Meringue skirt :)

However my new toy has arrived:

I will be honest and say as a beginner I am reluctant to purchase an overlocker (and am shocked at the price of them) so I had a look at some alternatives. There are a few 'cheap' portable overlockers but they didn't come to highly recommended but my Mum managed to find this on eBay.

I thought I would give it a go as I have material that is fraying quicker than I can make the skirt!

She was a little tricky to get on the first time and god help me when I loose my threads...very little room underneath when fully raised.

This is the finished result of my practice. Not bad for an attachment costing less than £20. I know they are not perfect but at least I can finish my seams with the knowledge they wont be unravelling beneath me!

I tried a few different tensions to see what was best this is the back view I think (got them a bit mixed up as you do)!







Right back off to finish my skirt :) xx

Shopping Trip

Well I spent all of yesterday on the internet researching projects for a beginner. I have bided on one too many patterns from the delightful eBay website and and downloaded numerous amount of free patterns from Burda Style's website so thought I was ready to go.

A trip to my local fabric shops showed me I was far from ready to go. I had no idea of what material I wanted or how much! The good thing was they sell second hand patterns (all unused but with no envelopes) so I purchased a few along with a guesstimate of 3 yards in a cheap black cotton fabric to play with.

I then had to hit HobbyCraft to get chalk, tape measure, seam ripper....had the idea that may come in handy and of course being a woman I spent far too much on things I probably didn't need *does little excited dance and massive smile*

When I got back I managed to print off the pattern covers and all the guide info and shoved them into some envelopes to keep them in one place.

Surely I must be ready to make clothes now? :)