The Sew Weekly

A Sew Weekly Gathering/Swap

I'm in the early stages of planning a gathering and fabric/pattern swap for readers of The Sew Weekly. If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area and would be interested in attending (some time in late February, most likely), leave a comment. Once I have a good idea of the number of people who are interested in joining, we'll decide on a venue.

Update: We have a date! Please RSVP via Facebook if you're going to attend. If you don't use Facebook, just leave a comment in this thread to let me know you'll make it.

St. Valentine's Day Fabric Giveaway

It's probably no secret that in two weeks, we'll be sewing with red and pinks for a certain romantic holiday. While I like to keep upcoming themes under wraps, I figured it would make sense to make this week's giveaway a tie-in to St. Valentine's day in order to give the winner some extra time to sew.

Up for grabs is three yards of this semi-sheer pink, red and white rose fabric with a 45" selvedge. I don't think the photos do it justice, but here you go.

How to win the fabric

This giveaway is open to Sewing Circle members. Go to this thread and post a picture of the pattern(s) you would use this fabric with and you'll be entered! The winner will be randomly chosen from that thread. Please, only post one reply (though you can post multiple patterns in that reply). Keep in mind that you have 3 yards at 45" to work with!

Enter now.

Challenge - 1/30/11

This week is about off-the-rack inspiration. Sew something that is influenced by something you've seen in stores or online.

Ask: 1/30/2011

How much inspiration do you get from garments that are off-the-rack? Do other designs factor into your sewing?

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

Last week, BusinessWeek published a story about the fashion empire that is Forever 21. If you've ever shopped at Forever 21, there aren't any real revelations, but it's troublesome all the same. In a nutshell, Forever 21 likes to skimp on quality, employ questionable  labor practices and borrow from other designers (a lot). Diane von Fürstenberg, Anna Sui and Gwen Stefani (for Harajuku Lovers) are just three designers who have sued Forever 21 for knocking off their designs in the name of fast fashion. 

That all said, where do all of us personal seamstresses draw the line when it comes to inspiration and imitation? This week's theme tackles that question as we challenge ourselves to create garments inspired by something being sold somewhere.

The "Not on My Watch" Outfit

The Facts

Fabric: Floral rayon from Etsy - ~$14 (including s&h), white cotton - $.25
Pattern: McCall 6511 (for dress), Butterick 8848 (for top) - ~$.50
Year: c. 1947
Notions: Vintage buttons - $.25, embroidery floss - $2
Time to complete: 17 hours
First worn: January 2011
Wear again? Surprisingly, yes.

Total Cost: ~$17

Here is a lesson for you. If you ever want to guarantee with a capital "G" that you will force yourself to finish a sewing project, spend two days hand embroidering an aspect of the garment. More importantly, don't be silly and actually wait until you've sewn the garment to do the embroidery. Instead, embroider onto a piece of fabric that is simply in its pattern piece form. That's what I did and that's probably the only reason I finished this outfit. 

Let's step back a bit. 

First, the inspiration for this week's creation is a Trudy Hall suit from the 1940s that I found on Etsy a while back (it's actually on sale for $117.30 right now so go snatch it up!). This, I believe, is the quintessential "smart" suit. It seemed fairly simple to recreate: a peplum shirt/jacket and skirt with a little embroidery.

Sure.

So, even with all my 1930s and 1940s patterns, I didn't have a peplum top close enough to resemble the Trudy Hall one. Okay, not a problem, I think. I decided to use the bodice/waist piece from Butterick 8848  to construct the top (coincidentally, when writing this post, I discovered that this person did something similar ). 

Here are the modifications I ended up making:

• I cut an inset belt to a couple inches bigger than the size of my waist to connect the top to the peplum
• I  cut the peplum piece as a long rectangle about 1 1/2 the width  of the belt.
• I Added  length to the facing piece to match the size of the original bodice, the new belt and the new peplum.

In theory all of this should have worked. But it didn't. Actually, it fundamentally worked. It's just that it looked like a complete sack. This is when all of you who actually make muslins can say "you should have made a muslin first!" And I wholeheartedly agree with you. Lesson learned.

Here's a picture of the "before" top. My sleeves are rolled on the inside in an effort to see if that would make it look any better. Not really.

Because the fabric was so cheap (less than a quarter), I should have just started over again. Or, I should have moved onto another inspiration. I should have given up while I was ahead.

If it wasn't for the embroidery I would have done just that. But since the embroidery had taken about seven hours, I was not going to let this outfit die on my watch.

For those curious about how I did the embroidery: I cut out an embroidery-worthy portion of my skirt fabric and ironed it onto some fusible interfacing. Then, after pinning the fabric to the right side of the bodice piece, I embroidered using a standard hoop and stabilizer.

So then, with a top that looked absolutely hideous on me, I thought "maybe the top will look better once I've finished the skirt." Sure.

Instead of making a skirt, I made a dress -- the old work horse of McCall 6511 (see here and here). I figured that if I couldn't save the top, I'd at least have an entire dress for this week's creation. The dress itself took less than 3 hours from start to hem. 

And then I tried it on again and it all still looked horrible. I asked my husband his take on the outfit and he echoed my own opinion. It just wasn't flattering and more importantly, I hated wearing it.

And that's when I gave up. This was Saturday.

On Saturday night, I started looking for a new inspiration to copy. While I found some contenders, I was so beaten down my sad little suit that I couldn't find any motivation to sew. I went to bed.

On Sunday morning, I decided to take drastic measures with my top and force myself to make it work. I chopped off the inset belt and peplum, took in the side seams, chopped two inches off the sleves, shortened the peplum, reduced the gathers and sewed it all back together. Miraculously, it did the trick! While there are still construction flaws that bug me, it was wearable and I was happy enough with the final outcome to make it my weekly creation.

 

The Fake Bunny Love Outfit | Debi Fry

The Facts

Fabric: Faux rabbit fur from EmmaOneSock.com ~£13, cotton batting interlining from Edinburgh Fabrics ~£5, black sating lining from charity shop ~ £1
Pattern: Simplicity 3529 from Ebay - ~£3
Year: 1940
Notions: Vintage hook and eye -- ~£.05
Time to complete: 7 hours
First worn: January 2011
Wear again? OH YES!

Total Cost: ~£22

I've been enamored of early 1940's coats for quite some time.  When I picked up an amazing 1940's topper hat this summer, I knew I had to eventually make a jacket to match.  This week's challenge was the perfect opportunity as there are so many 1940's coats for sale.  I used this coat from DarlingNikkiVintage as my inspiration.  It is selling for $248:

I wanted something shorter but with the same lines that I could wear as a topper over any dresses I make from the time period.  I had the perfect pattern in my stash from the year 1940:

I originally bought the pattern because I loved the coat but the little jacket just grew on me--I adore it!

I got the faux rabbit fur from EmmaOneSock.com.  It is a thin faux fur so I didn't have to worry about shaving seams or combing it.  I was able to sew it normally and it was very easy and worry-free to work with:

And the biggest surprise?  The entire jacket took less time to sew then my Coco-inspired ('easy to make' pattern) blouse!!  That includes time carefully cutting out the faux fur (little scissor snips and cutting each piece individually), interlining the jacket AND lining the jacket.  It's a brilliant pattern and comes together very easily.  Then to line, you just bag the jacket lining, sewing the lining and the faux fur right sides together around the entire jacket (just leaving enough space to turn it right side out and then slipstitch that bit).

I love that the jacket sleeves are a bit shorter (I like the effect when longer sleeves 'peek out' under a jacket or coat).  I paired the jacket with a dress I made from McCall 3638, also from the year 1940.

I think this jacket will be very useful! I plan on wearing it over a dress for Valentine's Day!!

We took the photos at the Dean Gallery, a really nice art gallery in Edinburgh.  My sweetie took all the photos (how sweet is that)?  What do you think?

The "Giddy with Polka Dots" Dress | Adey Lim

The Facts

Fabric: Blue and white polka dots cotton fabric from Chinatown US$14.70 for 3 metres
Pattern: Simplicity 2591 Threads Magazine  Collection
Year: c. 2009
Notions: Red ric rac  and vintage buttons US$2
Time to complete: 5 hours
First worn: This week
Wear again? Yes!

Total Cost: ~US$16.70

I was really excited when I heard the theme! There are just so many wonderful items on etsy that I want and this is a great opportunity to recreate one for myself! I have always been in awe of the vintage inspired dresses handmade by etsy seller MichelleTan and feel honored reworking one of her creations here. The dress I've chosen to imitate is actually SOLD OUT so there really is no better time than this to sew one for the challenge. Here's a photo of Michelle's Renee 1950s dress.

My version is slightly different as I used a red ric rac instead of ribbon or bias tape to embellish the hem and asymmetrical collar.

It also came with big pockets which I adored. The asymmetrical collar is self drafted and if you are interested I've taken some photos of how I created them on my blog.  I have always loved the red, white and blue color combination and this is the first dress I've made with such colors. 

This was also my first time working with a modern day Simplicity sewing pattern and it was a dream to work with as the instructions were crystal clear. I'm uncertain if this is the case with most Simplicity pattern or if it's due to this being part of the Threads Magazine Collection.

I also love how well thought out the design is and how the pockets are hidden behind the curve of the front piece. Here's the technical drawing which gives a better idea of how the dress is put together. 

I used a light weight interfacing for the collar as I didn't want it to be too stiff. But, on hindsight, I wished I have used a heavier interfacing for the collar as the one I used seemed a little too light.

I bought the polka dotted balloons which I chanced upon after my hair cut today and had originally planned to have the photographs taken in a field but we have been blessed with higher than usual rainfall due to the monsoon and I got stuck indoors once again.

We will be celebrating Lunar New Year this Thursday and Friday so blessings to everyone and I'll see you in the Year of the Rabbit!

 

The "Chambray - it's so hot right now!" Shirt | Sarah Gabbart

 

Fabric: Chambray fabric - fabric.com (2.25 yards at $7.98 a yard); Floral fabric scraps from my stash.

Pattern: Amy Butler Liverpool shirt ($15.95)
Year: c. 2009
Notions: Vintage buttons - $1
Time to complete: 6 hours
First worn: January 2011
Wear again? Absolutely!

Total Cost: ~$35

Chambray. It's so hot right now. Chambray. Like the iPhone before it, I resisted the trend for a great number of weeks until waking up one day jonesing for a fix. A fix of soft blue cotton. I had to have it - NOW!

Thankfully, the ladies and I had an assignment that fit perfectly with my misson. After perusing some of my favorite shops,  J.Crew had a chambray shirt that would be a perfect source of inspiration!

After the fun part of "window shopping" (can you window shop online? Would it be monitor shopping?!) began the grueling process of narrowing down which pattern I wanted to use for this project. I landed on the Liverpool shirt from Amy Butler because it has three things I was looking for:

• Classic button down style
• Stand up collar
• Long hip length (good for tucking in or leaving out!)

I can tell you folks that I was ready to kiss Amy Butler on the face after last week's vintage instruction meltdown. She is just so dang clear on what needs to be done! I will definitely be doing this pattern again - next time as a shirtdress! 

Now there's the problem of getting some good chambray in shirting weight. With no source locally, Fabric.com has once again come to my rescue with exactly what I was looking for at a pretty good price. *Helpful tip: when working with chambray, iron the heck out of it before cutting - it tends to bunch together and will stretch out as you press pieces later, making them longer than they should be. 

Now to the details - I love little unexpected pops of personality in simple garments, which is why I decided to pimp this shirt out with some flowers. On the inside collar stand, the bottom of the collar and the inside of the cuffs with Regent Street Lawn (a total imitation of Liberty of London's classic Tana Lawn fabric - they're not hiding it either, Liberty is on Regent Street!)

The vintage buttons were a find from a bin at work for $1 (SCORE!), and the added details of floral fabric on the collar and cuffs were scraps from my fabric stash (the cuffs are rolled up in all these photos to show off the floral-ness, but are plain chambray on the other side). 

Construction was decently easy and I had no Sarah-related mishaps with the directions - I'm considering this a win after two projects full of my self-inflicted issues! Because this pattern has a bunch of pieces and steps (like topstitching), it took about 6 hours from cutting to completion. This includes sewing on the buttons by hand, which is my least favorite part of anything for some reason. It's like the washing dishes of sewing to me. I HATE doing it. Yet I keep picking things with like 50 buttons on them - go figure!

After trying this bad boy on, I can tell you that I will be living in it when the weather gets warm again outside (it's threatening to snow here this week - can you believe it?!)! Chambray shirt: I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Do you have any tried and true wardrobe pieces that you can't live without? Tell us in the comments!

 

Imitation and/or Flattery: A bit of wiggle room | Veronica Darling

 

The Facts

Fabric: vintage blue floral cotton stretch sateen type stuff - Gift from Mother in Law & light cotton stretch fabric for lining $2
Pattern: Vogue Easy Options 9668 $1
Year: c. 2001
Notions: Vintage zipper $1
Time to complete: 3 hours
First worn: January 2011
Wear again? Absolutely!

Total Cost: $4

Some of the vintage loving blogs that I follow post about Vivian of Holloway and one of my darling besties is often decked out in Stop Staring attire. So for the 'Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery' Theme, I turned my attention to those websites, because they do make such gorgeous modern day reproductions of vintage gowns. I'm not much of a shopper, or a browser of garments online or the real life shops, and tend to get inspiration from fabrics, patterns and people I see around town (Melbourne IS an amazing fashion capital!), so I thought I'd try and replicate (in a positive way) these vintage-esque websites! 

In particular I wanted a wiggle dress from stretch fabric, and my first attempt (albeit I never got past the cutting stage; due to not enough material) was a brilliant bright green cotton stretch/sateen thing. So my next largest (I'm so thrifty even down to material! I hate waste!) stash fabric was this blue floral stuff, and it was JUST enough fabric to go round.

I'd found this blue wiggle dress at Vivian of Holloway (to the right), and wanted something like this Stop Staring dress in the neckline, as I'm not sure a halter neck dress would suit me.

I lined it with a similar stretch material, but in white, and it's the first time I've lined the skirt as well as the bodice, and it seems fine (I was worried about it bunching up and being too thick for a wiggle dress), but I made sure I didn't make it TOO tight, just in case the two layered skirt was hard to walk in. It's a fabulous dress, with a 'darling daring' back shape (see photo below!), and I'll totally wear it again.

The pattern was easy to follow, and very nice all over, but I did have to stop and test it out for fit all through the stages of instruction, and I'm glad I did. I wish I had resized the front top bodice bit before cutting, as I usually shave off the shoulder seams a bit to fit on normal patterns, but this one was made for really 'high' shoulder women, and I had to cut more, and lost a lot of the scoopy neckline, and thinner straps. Oh well! Still looks cute!

The shape of the bust made it ok to wear without a bra! Amazing! I might try the rest of the styles on these patterns (I used style C, the black dress) as I really like this waistband and the fitted skirt. I wore the dress for the first time and went for a massive bike ride and because of the stretch in the fabric, it suited riding just fine! I'm am falling a little for blue fabric now, especially since it's summer here and I'm kinda tan. 

That's a total 'pull in your tummy' shot above, by the way! See you next week OR I might see you 'round at the Sew Weekly Sewing Circle! I love that Mena's set up a forum where we all can chat!