What I'm Working On: The Caped Crusader Project

Thank you everyone for your lovely comments on my 'evil' dress. I'm much more at peace with it now.

I have, however, gotten to the point where I just don't want to sew anymore maternity clothes. I figure I have enough, and I'm kind of looking forward to getting back to my regular size. I love having my bump, but I'm not used to carrying this much extra weight (I've put on about 8.5kg so far - I start the third trimester next week!!)-- exercise is much harder now, and I'm going through a really tired stage again (my mum and sister swear I will get energy again soon). Plus I'm really really really really looking forward to meeting the little bub!

With that in mind, I looked through my stash, and tried to think of something that I could sew for 'after' that didn't really require any fitting. My body is sure to be 'different' for a while after I give birth, so no sewing fitted dresses, skirts, or blouses for the time being! I came up with this Burda Style Magazine 01/2010 cape:

You can buy it from their website. You're meant to make it out of a stretch jersey, making a cape that pulls on over your head - no fastenings. But I had 2m of a brown houndstooth that I got from Tessuti's $10 bin a while ago (fabric content unknown, but no stretch), and I thought it would be perfect for a cape a Sherlock Holmes type.

I've been keen to try out some new sewing techniques. I also have been keen to use the book I got for Christmas, 'Couture Sewing Techniques' by Claire B Shaeffer. Using this book, I amended the pattern in the following ways to allow me to use a non-stretch fabric and try some new techniques:

• I have wanted to do bound buttonholes for some time, and thought they would look good on this cape. I used Shaeffer's technique for these -- the process was extremely well explained. I practiced the bound buttonholes first, then did my cape - what do you think?

• I also wanted to change the pattern to have arm holes (I'll need to be able to get my arms out there to push prams, nurse bub etc). So I'm using Shaeffer's technique for bound pockets, but with no pocket pouch. I'm doing these tonight or tomorrow night. 
• I've completely lined the cape (the Burda Pattern doesn't line it).
• I've done french-flat-felled seams on the fashion fabric, and regular french seams on the lining fabric. I used a tutorial on BurdaStyle for the french-flat-felled seams. I think I'll use this technique for Michael's shirt too - they look so pretty. 

• I'm going to do the hem with lace. 
• I put a pleat at the CB - this pattern is sized oddly (72, 76, 80, 84, 88), and I misjudged my size. It actually looks really good with the pleat (if I do say so myself :-). 

I still have a fair bit to do. I need to do the pockets, finish the back of the bound buttonholes on the lining fabric (I'm using Gertie's tutorial for that bit), sew the buttons on, do the lining hem, and the regular hem. 

Usually I work really hard on projects, being very single-minded and devoting all my spare time to sewing. I'm working at a much slower pace with this one, and I love it!! It feels so much more rewarding, especially when a technique I haven't used previously actually works. I'll be back soon with more progress!

Vogue DKNY 1103: The Fit Nightmare

Doesn't look too bad does it? Simple empire waist, nothing really to fit... I thought it would be perfect for my 2nd last maternity sewing project (I'm still going to be sewing, just no more maternity stuff). It was straightforward to sew, just not straightforward to fit.

I made a muslin, using a straight size 12. It was huge. Huge I tell you. I could have fit another pregnant me inside. Incredible. So I cut a 10 for my fashion fabric, thinking that would solve most issues, and I would only have to make a few tweaks here and there. Wrong. Here are the alterations I made on the 10:

1. Decreased the CB seam by 4cm in total.
2. Increased the shoulder seam by 2.5cm on each neckline side, tapering out to 1.5cm at the sleeve edge. 
3. Decreased the side seams by 4cm on each side.
4. Decreased the length of the elastic on the back and the front by 2cm each (and it is still too loose now, but I will be growing more). 
5. Increased the length of the bodice upper front by 5cm. 

Here is what I ended up with:

I also inadvertently cut off twice the hem I meant to, which means the dress is a bit shorter than I intended, but I think it is okay. It is the narrowest hem in history though.  

There are elements I do really like. I like the sleeves:

And I like the gathers on the front and back:

What do you think? I think it is cute, and it is cool to wear (I used Japanese cotton again from Tessuti Fabrics - I'm addicted), but after so many issues fitting it, I can't help but look at it in disgust. It should not have been that difficult to fit, given its relatively simple design. 

I should probably feel like I triumphed over the evil pattern, but instead I just feel tired looking at it (another reason I think it is time to stop sewing maternity clothing). 

So I have the last project for maternity (a vintage sundress - very easy, and almost finished), and then I'm making myself a 50's housedress that is for when the baby is born. It isn't fitted at all, so I don't need to worry about fit, which is a massive relief. 

I'm also making a cape for when bub is born (it will be winter here), and Michael's b'day shirt. I'm also making a simple quilt, and some baby bunting to decorate above the cot. I'm feeling a little bit overwhelmed and as though I've committed to waaay too much. Time will only tell if I actually get it done. 

What is everyone else sewing at the moment? 

Delving Into Men's Tailored Shirts

After taking a few deep breaths, last night I committed myself to making Michael a tailored shirt for his b'day in April (before bub is due) this year. I set this idea in stone by blabbing to several friends at dinner that I would be doing so. Michael was there and heard, so there is really no backing out now.

I had decided Colette Patterns' Negroni shirt would be perfect:

I think this is a wise choice for my first men's shirt as I've used Colette Patterns before and the instructions are nothing short of amazing. I also got Michael's approval, which is clearly the most important factor in pattern choice.

To further make this project easier, I have joined Peter's Sew A Long (his blog is Male Pattern Boldness - it is hilarious and he is an awesome seamster). It is perfect timing - his sew-a-long begins on February 1, and he is using the Negroni pattern. My plan is to make a 'wearable muslin' version with the sew-a-long and then make the 'good' version after that for the b'day present.

Is anyone else sewing along? I'm quite excited!!

I've got a Burdastyle Anda waiting to be photographed to show you, and I'm unpicking and making smaller a Vogue DKNY frock that should be ready soon - I'm quite frustrated with the DKNY frock as I made a muslin first, amended the pattern, and it was still massive. Very annoying. And then my sewing will slow right down, as I'm back at work on Monday - very sad about that. Hope you're having good weekends!

New Favourite Sewing Technique: Shirring

Recently I've realised that having an expanding bust and belly calls for some expandable clothing. Especially on hot days, or days when I have lunches or dinners to go to where I may eat a lot (there just isn't as much room in my belly for food as I'm used to). So shirring has become my new favourite sewing technique.

To arm myself with some appropriate shirring fabric, I went to Spotlight (chain fabric store for non-Australians) a couple of days after Christmas when I was still in Queensland, and was lucky enough to get there on a day where there was 30% off all fabric, including already discounted fabric. I got 11.5m of fabric for $51. Woo Hoo!! I got 2.5m of some green floral cotton voile for $3.50/m that I'm making into a Burdastyle Anda frock; 3m of some white cotton sateen with little black polka dots for $3.50/m that I will make into a shirtdress when I've lost my baby weight; and 3m of some navy and cream striped cotton sateen for $3.50/m that I'm not sure what I'll do with yet, but is for later on too.

I spent the most ($7/m) on 3m of this lovely cotton voile with pinky tones that I turned into a shirred dress:

(side view to show you how my bump is growing at great speed!)

What do you think? I used Jorth's tutorial again, but did the sleeves differently, as well as many more rows of shirring so that I have a bit of waist definition in this dress - not that I really have a waist anymore. The sleeves were taken from one of my birthday dresses. I used the front and back 'flounce' pattern pieces and joined them to a regular straight strap to create the sleeves:

I really like how they turned out. Again, shirred dresses are an easy project - the only time consuming thing is doing lots of rows of straight stitching. It really is just two rectangles joined together. I'm also glad I've learnt to do shirring, as I think it will be a good technique for little baby clothes!!

I also realised that I missed my blog-iversary, which was on New Years Eve. I can't believe it has been a year. I've had so much fun looking through my projects to see how my sewing has progressed, and had a good laugh at my sewing attempts when I had a broken arm. Thank you for reading along with me, and making my sewing all the more fun!!

The Turnabout Dress

Happy new year everyone! I hope your celebrations last night were lots of fun. I want to mark the new year by saying thank you for visiting my blog and leaving comments that really are insightful, fun, and helpful. I'm looking forward to the coming year of blogging!

The film Rosemary's Baby is a solid favourite of mine -- Mia Farrow is awesome -- and I love her maternity clothing in it. How about this one?

She rocks the pregnant 60's look so well. So, inspired by her cute tent dresses, I decided to sew 'The Turnabout Dress'.

It is from 1966. I love the names and descriptions given to vintage garments - "The Turnabout Dress - Back to front ... front to back ... wear it either way" - how cute is that?

I wanted this to be a nice breezy summer dress that would accommodate my bump, so I chose a lovely light 100% Japanese cotton from Tessuti Fabrics. I tell you, Japanese cottons are divine to work with and wear. Granted they are not overly cheap, but they are soooo worth it. I wore this dress yesterday in 40 degree heat and it was very comfortable and light. Very important when sporting a bump that adds extra kilos you're not used to to your frame.

The front comes together on the bias, and the back goes across the grain (does that make sense?)

I added about 2cm each side of the centre front seam from the bust line down to accommodate my bump, and made it longer in the front than in the back. I also used self-made bias binding to finish the arm holes and the neckline - the pattern called for you to turn these edges under in a narrow hem. I also finished the centre front seams using the Hong Kong finish with a satin bias binding to make it more pretty (there is only one seam so it seemed worth it to use a more complicated technique):

It was an easy sew - there is just one pattern piece, and really only the CF seam and the shoulder seams. And it is so comfortable.  One of my next sewing project is another tent dress, but from the 80s. Tent dresses are such great maternity garments.

I'm hoping I'll be able to wear them post-giving birth - what do you think?

Maggy London & Marc Jabobs: A Maternity Match Made in Heaven

Our beach holiday has been going very well. Relaxing, swimming, eating, walks on the beach.... ahhhh. We were meant to go to Vietnam for Christmas, but growing a little baby prohibits you from having the necessary immunisations, so a change of plans was to be had.

As I mentioned in a previous post, for our beach trip, not to mention the lovely tropical weather of Queensland, I decided to sew a few things to accommodate my growing belly. I envisioned airy frocks... light materials, lots of belly room, a few long ones, and a few short ones. Perfect summer holiday wear.

 Today I thought I would show you the Maggy London Butterick maxi dress (B5456). Here is the pattern picture:

It has all the requisite elements for a good maternity dress - empire line, you can wear a bra, isn't fitted etc. It is for knits only, and I wanted this to be cool to wear, so I went searching for a 100% cotton knit. I found a funky lightweight Marc Jacobs knit at The Fabric Store in Fitzroy. It is light without being transparent or feeling cheap. It was also the easiest knit I have ever sewn with - nice and stable.

Anyway, onto the dress!!

There were a few things I disliked about this pattern. They have you sew the bodice up, leaving the shoulder seams open. You then sew the bodice shoulders, leaving the lining open. Then you hand stitch the lining. I wish I had read ahead - there are ways to sew a bodice together without doing any hand stitching, so I'm annoyed with myself and with Butterick.

I also dislike having a bodice lining, but then sewing the lining and bodice together as one piece. It looks so much prettier to have the seams concealed. Ah well. Next time!

The only other thing I dislike is that you can almost see my bra at the back, and you can at the sides. I know how I can fix the back issues, but does anyone have any ideas about how to fix the sides?

Issues aside, this is a very comfy dress that I think looks quite cute - (although looking at it now I do look a little heffer-ish). It will be great with flat sandals (I'm less and less able to walk around in heels - my back hates me for it now that I have a belly out in front).

We're jetting back to Brisbane tomorrow for Christmas with my family, and then will be back in Melbourne for new year. Hope you all have wonderful Xmas and new year celebrations, and I'll see you soon with more frocks!

Christmas Bags

I'm officially on holidays now! Yay! We arrived at the beach yesterday and had a swim - the water is just gorgeous. Unfortunately today is bucketing with rain, but it has been nice reading books and relaxing. Although boo dog hates it. I'm using michael's iPhone to post this, but I'd written it before going so it should make some sense!

As you may know, I decided to try my hand at crafting some Christmas presents this year. I made some necklaces for various women in my life, but wanted to make something else. I was starting to feel like I may have to hit the stores until I saw Tilly's post on a cute fabric bag she had made as a gift for her sister-in-law. I immediately wanted to make some. 

I had a look in my stash and found some small pieces from projects past. I decided I wanted to make three - one for my mum, my sister, and my sister-in-law. Using the same pattern as Tilly, the Buttercup Bag by Rae, I made these three bags in two evenings:

The one up top is made of linen, for my mum, the checked one is Japanese cotton for my sister-in-law and the other one is cotton sateen for my sister.

I changed the pattern so that the pleats went toward the centre - the original pattern has them all going in one direction. I then made the centre pleat a two-fold pleat. 

Here is a close-up (sorry the pics do not show the detail very well!):

All in all, they turned out very well, and were very easy to make. I am going to make myself one out of the same linen as Mum's. 

Did you craft any Christmas pressies this year?