The Camo Bombshell

The construction is over! I give you my Camo Bombshell.

I am so in love with this dress! Following Gertie's instructions was fantastic, she's really a great teacher! Obviously, there were ups and downs and this dress isn't perfect but I am quite chuffed with how it turned out. I loved all the hand sewing, which is something I used to dislike. Some parts were a challenge to sew, such as the zipper guard and bottom of lining to bodice. The polycotton I used is not very forgiving on mistakes and it was a challenge to invisible stitch to one layer only. On the zipper guard I had the opposite problem. Too many layers and little access to bottom bit (that probably don't make any sense but there you go).

A huge thank you to Gertie and the team at Craftsy for making this available. I do hope there's more to come.

Today I'm heading towards the BFI in London for the highly anticipated Bombshell Meet up party. Karen from Did You Make That? will be there wearing her fantastic Bombshell. Tilly from Tilly and the Buttons and Jane from Handmade Jane will be there too. This fantastic meet up was organised by Roisin from But it can't be Dolly Clackett? whom I'm also looking forward to meet. I have my camera on me and will report back.

In Construction: Camo Bombshell

Almost finished with my Bombshell dress...

I am loving constructing this dress. As I probably said before Gertie is a great teacher and makes the most difficult things so easy to understand.
All I have left to do is the lining, the boning and the hem!

What about you dear readers, are you sewing a Bombshell?

One Autumn, Four Garments

In a nutshell that's my plan for sewing this Autumn. I don't like having a sewing plan as I hate feeling restricted but a lot of stuff is happening between now and January. I'm doing a pattern making course in October and it will run for 10 Saturdays. Technical drawings and maths are not a natural flair of mine so some studying and practicing will be necessary. I have a secret project on the pipeline and on that I can't say much. Exciting stuff but still very undeveloped so don't worry, you're not missing much at this point. And knitting, yes! I want to actually finish a knitted garment this Autumn.
In order for me to do all these things and actually pursue my dreams instead of just dreaming them I need to be clear what to do and when. I am focusing on winter garments that I can wear in colder months.

1) Colette Pattern Beignet Skirt is already in the making. Fabric is cut and all I need to do now is sew. I am using a navy drill which will see much use in winter with some nice warm tights. I just hope I don't chicken up in the buttonhole phase.

2) Wool Flannel Vintage Dress. One of the bigger projects as I will be working with a fabric new to me which cost some money and I don't want to screw up. It also has lots of buttonholes. You have seen the pattern envelope but here it is again. It's so pretty!

3) Winter Coat: I was very indecisive about making a coat or not. I want to be sure I finish in time to use during the colder months. I was also divided between a vintage inspired coat and this one I found on a Brazilian pattern magazine called Manequim. Ended up going with this one as the other pattern works best with a waterproof fabric. This will be a big project too, as I will have a go at pad stitching and all other tailoring elements I avoided during Lady Grey.

4) Another go at knits with version C of Vogue 8685. I have a relatively cheap knit fabric I will use to do this.

I must also add that in the making but not on the list is The Perfect Fit Bombshell Dress from Craftsy online course. It is taught by the wonderful Gertie so I simply can't wait. Actually I might be able to wear in end of October if a awesome event is put together. Fingers crossed, it would be awesome!

So I have 4 months for all of these, do you think I can hack it?

Tracing and cutting!

I have been doing a lot of tracing and cutting lately!

 This is my first time putting together a printed pattern. This is the one Gertie uses in Craftsy Sew Retro: Bombshell dress online class. I followed her instructions and found little trouble.

I have also cut the calico for the bodice pieces and they are now ready for the sewing machine. I used carbon paper which I always used somehow, but Gertie introduced me to using it to trace directly on fabric, instead of pinning. I quite liked that. When I pin pattern to fabric, and depending on fabric, they tend to shift. Tracing directly might be a better option.
The Bombshell dress is my only project that is not a Autumn/ Winter project. I just love Gertie as a teacher and have been itching to do this since it came out. No way could I wait till next Spring.

I am also venturing on my first Colette Patterns Beignet Skirt. I bought some navy cotton drill and orange lining specifically for this skirt when I was in hungary and I think it's a good choice pattern for Autumn. I traced all the pieces and have cut some calico from fronts and backs for a muslin.

I have two more projects I want to trace and cut muslins before I take anything to the sewing machine. And why you ask, all this bulk tracing and cutting? Well, my new cutting table (which I am madly in love with) is solid wood which is great to hide or fix little imperfections caused by pins, scissors, etc. But being new and being solid wood also means I have to treat it every 2 to 3 days for about two months. That means sanding it lightly and applying some wood oil on it. It then takes at least 24 hrs to dry. So my idea is to do lots of prep work on all my projects and then not worry about which days I can use the table and just get on with sewing. Does that make sense?