It's a Zebra Wrap!

My Colette Zebra Crepe Wrap Dress done as part of Gerties Sew Along is done. I finished it about a week ago but have been waiting for some good(ish) weather to go out and take some photos. That hasn't happen so all you get for now is some indoor photos.

I am very happy with this dress and have Gertie to thank for all the tutorials and support. The final construction steps were not hazard free. I had to do some serious fudging after some pattern pieces not matching others but at the end it all came together nicely. It was all due to changing pattern pieces during the fitting stage so need to take extra care in future to make sure everything matches everywhere.
Gertie used french seams and bias binding but I decided against it as my fabric is a medium weight cotton. With the batiste as underlining, french seams would make it too bulky. I opted by pressing seams open and overlocking (with a overlocker foot). With the waist seam I also pressed it open and hand sewn some seam binding. I'll leave you with a shot from the inside. I think it's the first inside I really like (even though I can't seam to press the batiste properly).

Crepe bodice mistake and the game winner!

There we have it! With all fitting forwards and backwards I managed to end with the bodice back pieces one good inch shorter than front bodice. How annoying is that! Need to think about what to do now.

And the winner of the game is....

...wonderful Debi from My happy sewing place.... If you do not yet follow her blog, go now and do it. It is absolutely gorgeous.
Congratulations Debi, I hope you make more use of this cute sewing book than I did! Drop me an email at suzysewingblog[at]yahoo[dot]co[dot]uk and I'll make sure it's on its way this week.

Crepe Sew Along progress and a game... with a prize!

The Crepe sew along is moving along nicely and I'm happy to be up to date with the help of Gertie's brilliant tutorials and posts. The schedule for this sew along has gone out of the window and I confess the thought of racing ahead passed through my head. But then I remembered the reasons why I joined this sew along and started other projects to keep me busy.

My pieces were all cut so first thing was to adjust facings to the changes I made in the fitting process. There were only slight differences and I didn't need to draft my own facings. Started by sewing the darts, and then moved on to shoulder seams.

Gertie has chosen to pink her seams but I was keen to try the overlocker foot in my sewing machine (after Toria alerted me there is one). I have never used or seen an overlocker so not sure of the differences but I quite liked the look and decided to finish my allowances that way. Doesn't it look pretty? Attaching the armhole facing to bodice was ok but the U curve made me sweat a bit. I went on to sweat even further with grading seam allowances. I get very, very nervous doing this as I think I'm going to cut something I shouldn't. Next step was understicthing (by hand) the facings and at first thought I panicked (hand sewing is not my strong) but after seeing Gertie's brilliant video tutorial I dare say it was easy peasy!

Side seams were then sewn, seams finished and this is what I have so far:

Now what's this talk about a game and a prize? In the midst of all this, I discovered a rather stupid mistake from my part which has left me pretty annoyed but not defeated. Find my mistake (in the photos or in the text) and leave a comment on this post by Sunday 30th January 6pm (GMT London time) and you can bag yourself a Simple Sewn Gifts book. I bought this book some time ago in an effort to use fabric scraps but haven't done anything. The little, gorgeous things in this book also call for a lot of hand sewing and cross stitch, which in not my thing.
All correct entries will enter and winner will be chosen at random.
You have to be a follower of this blog.
Open to the whole world.

Basting, Cutting and half a Corset

I decided to go ahead with my Crepe muslin number 2 as my final one, as Gertie mentioned in flickr that it looks good. I still had some doubts but I think when you're in a frame of mind to find faults you'll find them everywhere. So I've been slowly cutting my underlining pieces and basting to main fabric. I haven't finished yet, it takes ages. I should be done by the time Gertie comes back from holidays and presents us the next stage.

I have also been cutting my muslin for the Trousers Sewalong in preparation for its start in January. A mix of excitement and anxiety felt as I'm still a bit traumatised by my previous trousers drama.

As Christmas is a 4 day break this year I found myself with plenty of time to sew and a bit annoyed that all I had to do was trace and cut and baste. So I decided to put together an underbust corset. Purchased as a kit by Sew Curvy Corsetry this is my second attempt at a corset and so far is going very well. As you see from the photo below, I even made a muslin to check fit.

It was going so well I really believed I would finish it quickly but time to insert the eyelets at the back came and all went downhill. I started by inserting the first eyelet the wrong way round but then corrected it. After I corrected it I had a moment of dumbness and was using the eyelet tool wrong. After my bf came to the rescue I continued seemingly victorious to figure out at the end that all the eyelets were, like the first one, the wrong way round. Not a sewing moment I am proud off. I had to put it away and I ran out of usable eyelets. Below is what I achieved so far. Doesn't look very flattering on my dummy but I'm hoping for at least a 2 inch reduction in my waist.

Crepe Sew Along - Second bodice muslin

I slowly worked my way through the fitting of the bodice this past week. And comparing to my first muslin this one if much improved. Although I'm not yet sure it's good enough. Opinions welcome!

• I took in 3/4" at the side seams
• I tucked and removed 1/2" across the front and back of bodice (just above darts)
• I moved bust dart down (but stupidly did this before I took side seams and ended up with shorter dart)
• I added width to the upper part of the waist dart to address the extra fabric just under the bust.
• I took 3/8" from shoulder seams

There still seams to be a bit of extra fabric under the bust and at the side and depending on how my arms are positioned it crinkles up in that area. That might be resolved with adding length to bust dart. For muslin 3 should I also add a bit more width to upper part of waist dart?

I think the bagginess you see here is just because I didn't tuck the inner part well. (at least I hope so). As I took in side seams should I move darts in ? Might be a "duh" question but not sure.

If you have any idea or suggestions I am, as always, happy to hear it!

Crepe Sew Along - First bodice muslin

Very excited to have started my Crepe Wrap Dress. I was unsure of what size to cut but after some valuable advice I decided by a US size 0. This is one of the parts of the sew along I'm most looking forward to as I have never learned how to fit a bodice properly. The dresses I've done so far are all wearable but they also are a bit spacious in the bust area. Especially vintage inspired patterns tend to to be drafted to those with generous busts. Mine is a long way from generous, it's simply small!
So am I happy with a straight from pattern fit? I'm not sure.

A view from front. With my arm open the fit seems fine.

However with my arms relaxed there seems to be surplus fabric in bust area and shoulders.

A side close up vie show the darts and the shoulder better. The bust dart ends a bit above my bust point (do they call it apex or am I making it up?). It also shows a bit of extra space leading from waist dart. Maybe it's the style but at this point I'm not sure.

A back view show on shoulder a bit sloppy but maybe it's because it's not tied around the waist the way the finished dress will. Again not sure.

My own conclusions are that the bodice is a bit spacious in bust and could be adjusted and the shoulders could use with a few adjustments as well. But I just don't know. I've never gave fitting much of a thought so find it difficult to know what's right and what's wrong (some things are obvious, I know).
I'm going to be uploading these images to the Crepe Sew Along Flickr Pool and hope someone can help me with fitting. I think Gertie will shows us her muslin this weekend so hopefully there's something there as well to help me. And your comments are more than welcome as well!

Talking about fitting made me look around for a good book and Fit For Real People has very good reviews. Any of you familiar with this book?

Crepe Sew Along - fabric and measurements

So what do you think of my fabric choices for Gertie's Crepe Sew Along? I was split between two but the zebra pattern with red belt won the day. It will go super well with my gorgeous red shoes!

The sew along is due to kick-off next week and quite looking forward to it. I had so much fun sewing along with my Lady Grey, not to mention everything I learned. With the crepe sew along I'm particulary looking forward to learn how to fit a bodice properly (on dresses I've done so far they are always a bit too big) and on using organza to stay a neckline.

So this week I'll be tracing off the pattern. I got used to doing this and now cringe at the thought of cutting the pattern directly. To be honest it's annoying sometimes and I might need to learn how to "let go" of a uncut pattern.

Size chart and my own measurements don't match quite well:

Bust: 32 inc

Waist: 27 inc

Hip 34.5 inc

My waist is the culprit ;)

Because this is a dress I think size 0 will be the best option. What do you think?

A new Sew-Along

So Gertie announced a new Sew-Along, this time aimed at beginners using the Colette Crepe wrap dress pattern. When I initially read about it I decided not to take part for a number of different reasons:

a) The dress is very cute but I'm not mad about it.

b) I really do not wear dresses that often. 

c) For the times I want to wear a dress I usually end up being cold. Having grown up in a place where summer is equivalent to 30 Celsius plus, the average British summer of 20 to 25 Celsius doesn't feel hot  enough. (I know there where some very hot days this year). 

d) I also thought that having done the Lady Grey, which is more advanced, a beginner sew along would be silly. Very stupid thought, I know, but I did have it for a few minutes.

However, and coming to the point of this post, I have changed my mind and decided to join the sew along because I'm really a beginner and could use with constructing a more simple garment with the right techniques and support from start. I've done a couple of dresses already but even though they are totally wearable they're not exactly perfect.

So my next step was to fret about the fabric. I decided to use a existing stash fabric but changed my mind after as I  have it saved for a very specific project. I decided against cotton lawn as I want to be able to use the dress in spring with some tights, however I'm undecided on two fabrics. I actually spent most of last evening thinking this out and took ages to fall asleep.

I ordered the pattern from Sewbox who also has some gorgeous cotton lawn available, if you inclined that way.