In construction, other musings and your feedback welcomed!

Sewing has been slow here, but I reckon you already noticed that. It has been slow for quite some time but it's not because my love for it has waned. The reasons are far more annoying but I won't dwell on them. I have been sewing and knitting and have some works in progress.

First my Couture Dress from Crafsty Susan Khalje class. I'm not quite sure when I started this, probably  a year ago. I almost chucked this project to the UFO bin, I'm just not loving it. The class is fantastic and the sewing tuiton by Susan amazing. But I'm not loving the dress. It doesn't help that it's intended to be a work dress, I know...how exciting! Still, I decided I need to overcame this and just get it done. I'm in the process of assembling (hand basting) the whole dress to check fit once more. When this is done I'll get a photo of it, below is an earlier photo of the fitting of the muslin.

Second the last episode on my Skirt trilogy. This is actually the first skirt pattern I decided to use and the fabric will be familiar as well. Fabric is cut and all is ready to sew.

I was planning on sewing the vintage dress briefly mentioned here and have traced all the pattern pieces but after thinking long and hard decided not to start a complicated project before I finish the one in progress.
I have also been knitting this lovely cardigan from A Stitch in Time. The back is all done and currently doing one of the fronts.

A few other important musings:

• I changed the look of the blog (and will tweak a bit more). I want to revert this blog to a personal sewing blog.
• That is why the Suzy Patterns banner is gone. Suzy Patterns hasn't been scrapped though, it's still a work in progress. When I am ready to launch, a new website, separate to this blog will be launched. This might be a while, a proper while. A Suzy Patterns tab will be added where any news or a current status will be available.
• I am also adding an "About me tab". Something different from the conventional and pre-set about me in blogger.

So I welcome your feedback? Do you like the new look, anything that looks bad and anything else you'd like to see? And is there anything about me you would like to know? Ask me any question!

In Construction and Fabric Acquisitions

I am so excited and also relieved to have finally released my first sewing pattern. So what's next? Sewing for myself, of course. I am taking the wonderful The Couture Dress by Susan Khalje from Craftsy and loving how detailed and labourous it is. I'm using a raw silk underlined with silk organza and happy to say it's all from existing stash.

I also started working on the gorgeous pattern below a while ago and all I have to do is hem it. I initially planned on sewing the bolero as well but have since changed my mind. To be honest I don't think I would wear it enough to justify making it...but, I am planning on making the Starlet Suit Jacket from Gertie in black so I think it will be a good substitute (and get more wear).

I don't think I'm alone in being constantly attracted to sewing beautiful dresses but if I'm honest, I hardly wear these dresses. Because they're not suitable for work or more commonly, because it's never hot enough for me to wear them. So, I decided to sew a bunch of separates, specially blouses and shirts. I am starting with Violet from Colette Patterns and currently sewing a muslin to check fit (I know it will be huge on me and also have been warned it's quite boxy). Nevertheless I am making a version without changes to see fit. Using a not so loved floral I have in my stash.

Can you spot what I've done with my beloved Colette Violet pattern? More on that soon.

My stash has also expanded recently but I'm proud to say I have spent very little money and bought fabrics that I do not have on stash (lightweight cottons). It was last weekend, the fantastic Walthamstow fabric bonanza, which many have already written about and provided photographic evidence. It was such a fantastic day, I love meeting up with fellow sewists :)

From the fabric swap, a gorgeous red floral from Kat, a stretch denim from Marie, a lovely checkered green from Camilla and an ultra awesome green houndstooth from Karen.

This is what I purchased (with very, very little money). A very soft but slightly crisp (if that's possible) navy cotton type fabric, more soft cotton type fabric, in my favourite colours (including black which I almost never sew) and some very soft checkered cotton.

But what about Suzy Patterns?
Well, I have already started designing my next pattern but will take my time to make sure lots of improvements happen and the end result is fantastic. If you want to receive more regular small updates you can like my FB page, where I blurb more about it.

Have you bought (or somehow acquired/ earned/ received) any exciting fabric recently?

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?

In Construction: Burda 7441 Casual Trousers

Sewing has been slow around here. In fact everything has been slow lately. I have been extra tired and lazy in the evenings and end up doing nothing. However I know that doing nothing for long leaves me frustrated so I hope to get out of this rut quick.
Last weekend I have started construction on my ambitious casual trousers, using Burda 7441. The pattern claims to be of average difficulty and rates it a 3 out of 4 in difficulty. The trousers also have a variety of features I have not sewn before, like a hip yoke (which I still have no clue how it works), lots of inner and outer pockets, fly zip, etc. I think I will take this one slowly.

I decided to do tissue fitting and follow Pants for Real People guidance to the letter. First you trim the pattern pieces on your size or a larger one, if you're unsure. It then advises that pattern pieces are pinned to a gridded cardboard cutting mat to help accurately mark changes equally in both sides. I confess I had never heard of such cutting mat, but eventually found one online and bought it.

Once pieces are pinned you proceed to doing any changes you know you'll have to make. I decreased leg length by 7cm and also created new line from size 10 waist to size 8 hip.

After these changes are made, Pants for Real People suggest you mark stitching lines. To do this you can use a measuring tape, as they are usually 5/8" wide. I actually found this very useful as sometimes my cutting can be a bit jagged. And I think it was the talented Sherry, from  Pattern Scissor Cloth that once said all you need are the stitching lines, the cutting lines don't matter as seam allowance size can vary. Sherry, correct me if I'm wrong.

In order to tissue fit you have to tape the crotch area, otherwise you run the risk of tearing the fabric. Scotch Magic Tape is the one to use.

After, you pin front to back piece on stitching lines and "dress" it on. I do not have photos of this, so I do apologise. I found it very odd and not entirely convinced I can identify fitting issues easily. After all, paper doesn't behave the same way as fabric. All I looked for was length and CF and CB. Maybe I am not doing it right?
I used the cardboard mat to cut the fabric and see if it would improve my cutting experience but apart from helping me match selvedges I didn't find many advantages. Maybe because I did it on the floor. If you look at all those photos you see me crouched down. My back didn't enjoy this at all and I was very tired when I finished. I don't think I'll use it like this again until I have a proper cutting table.

Do you do tissue fitting? Do you use a cardboard cutting mat? What are your experiences?

RTW Tailoring Sew Along - Bound Buttonholes

Following my buttonhole nightmare with Vogue 8604 I decide to learn how to do bound buttonholes and use them for my jacket.  I followed Tasia from Sewaholic tutorial and was pleasantly surprised to find out how easy they were. Sherry and Gertie also have brilliant tutorials. In fact it is dead easy when you doing isolated bound buttonholes, but when you need to do five, perfectly lined up the story is completely different.
I thought I had marked the placement lines carefully:

But somehow along the line, I ended up with two different buttonholes, so wonky that the only way to cover would be to get huge buttons. I was frustrated and only managed a lousy photo on my phone to share with my twitter followers.
CarmencitaB came to my rescue (as she always does, thank you!) and shared this link (from a blog that I now follow), which shows more complex bound buttonhole marking techniques. I didn't follow it by the letter but took what I needed which was mark, mark, mark!! I can only hope all those markings will disappear easily. I also basted all buttonhole lips before I started poking holes, to make sure they all aligned.

And the results were much better!

I have attached the outer jacket shell (minus sleeves) and inserted the fake flap pockets. Sherry shared a tutorial for jet pockets and I was determined to try them. But I confess, poking more holes in this jacket made me nervous so I stuck with the fake ones!

The Interfacing Tale - RTW Tailoring Sew Along

I have certainly not forgotten this brilliant sew along and now that I can be sure to have a dress to wear for the wedding in a couple of weeks time, it's time to tackle my summer jacket. It's not a standard tailored look so not all posts by the brilliant Sherry will apply but I'm learning lots nonetheless and definitely bookmarking posts for the future.
One of the brilliant things I have learned is blockfusing. After reading about it I thought: "Oh my, it's so simple but it makes perfect sense. Why haven't I thought of it". There's beauty in the simplest of things! Unfortunately for me, I couldn't do this with my jacket. Because I knew I would be busy with My Sabrina Dress, I cut the pattern pieces a long time before Sherry posted about blockfusing.

So I've cut and fused all pieces and learned (or relearned) a couple of things on the way. One is about how to buy and store interfacing. I have bought several weights and qualities depending on what patterns ask. I usually buy more than the pattern asks for as I reckon I will end up using it. But (and this is a big but) after I use it I "shove it" on my cabinet with the other interfacings without labelling or marking. Duh! For someone who still can't recognise weights and types of fabric and interfacing just by touch this is a tad silly. So now, everytime I need to interface something I fuse all types on scraps. Pretty silly no?
The second thing that keeps happening (and I keep repeating) is illustrated in the two photos below:

Can you see what happened there? The first photo shows my lovely front piece with accurate markings made using my favourite method, carbon paper and tracing wheel. Seconds later we have a beautifully fused front piece but where the heck are the markings? Gone with the fuse! I end up pinning the pattern tissue again and re-marking. And always forget about it.
I'm interested to hear form you. How do you deal with pattern marking and notches on pieces to be interfaced?

*Apologies for the weird colour in photos. I love sewing at night but I pay the price with lousy photos.

My Sabrina Dress #6 - Bodice construction

I have made lots of progress on My Sabrina Dress and spent much time and attention getting the bodice right. The front piece has soft pleats which were quite straightforward to sew. I just pinned them down and pressed the lower end to help when taking it to the machine.

 The back is darted and I used my favourite method to do them. Start at the raw edge and when close to tip reduce stitch length. Don't back sew to avoid puckering. When you reach the end raise the presser foot, move the fabric so the needle goes inside the dart and the back sew. You can see a proper explanation of these here. I learned this awesome method through Gertie's Blog For Better Sewing when sewing along the Crepe Wrap Dress.

 I decided to follow pattern instructions and use bias binding to finish facing raw edges. I went for a soft pink just because it doesn't show on the outside. I really do not like wearing a lot of pink. I started by opening the binding and pinning to the edges of the fabric...but...I didn't take in account cloth allowance so the binding didn't wrap around the seam nice and smoothly.

The end result is a bit shoddy, as you can see from photo below but I overlooked it as the front of the facing isn't as bad. (You'll see a inside shot when dress is finished).

When the time came to attach the binding to the armhole facing I took in consideration the cloth allowance and the results are much, much better. I do need to practice sewing bias binding. With my underbust corset the bias is also very poorly sewn.

And voila, the bodice is completed! The end is near and I suspect I will have a whole dress to show you by next weekend. Before that I'll post about waist seams and seam finishes!

In Construction:Kimono Sleeved Jacket

I am half way doing the kimono sleeved jacket from Vogue 8604 and this is what is looks so far:

I'm using the left over from the black corduroy fabric I used for my Winter Dress. The jacket has 6 buttons at the front (which I confess I'm not looking forward to sew) and is fully lined. The shell was pretty quick to assemble and I could have finished it last night, but I paced myself so as to distribute the different tasks between my different projects. The last thing I want is again having nothing to sew but 4 patterns to trace. I will probably have it finished by the weekend so will share the finished thing then.

This jacket and the next 4 or 5 projects I have going under the sewing machine are all part of my plan to use my existing pattern, fabric and habby stash. Not to say I won't buy anything new but I do want to get rid of some existing fabric remnants, etc.

Tonight I will trace!