Sabrina Dress in Action and Hungarian Fabric Shops

I woke up this morning with an urge to finish my RTW tailoring sew along jacket but have now given up. For some reason everything I do is not that good and I have lost count on the number of mistakes I've done. I'm also very clumsy, dropping everything to the floor, constantly stabbing myself with pins, etc.
Instead I though I would share with you a couple of photos of My Sabrina Dress in action and report on the Hungarian fabric shops I found.

I made the bolero using Butterick 3345 View A, without the ruffle. The taffeta was a dream to work with and my first time as well. I lined it with a baby blue habotai. It was straightforward to sew, with only sleeves being tricky (which they always are for me).

You might notice, the lovely green clutch bag I got on ebay (after madly falling in love) is not in the photos. Unfortunately the seller emailed me a week after I bought it to say she was going on holiday and not back until after the holiday period. I was not happy with the poor service and communication and got a refund. That meant I had to do something last minute. I am not proud of what I did, but for what it was it worked.

Obviously, part of my agenda in visiting Hungary was exploring fabric and haberdashery shops and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. I bought a considerable amount of fabric ::blushes:: and will share it with you in a different post.
In Budapest I visited a street stretch full of shops, recommended by the lovely VickiC. The shops I visited (about 7) were full of fabric, in some cases so much that browsing was difficult. The prices were slightly lower than UK or about the same. The problem I had was not being able to read what the fabric label said and majority of shops assistants not knowing the English fabric terms. I kicked myself for not having done proper research, including find out names of fabric types in Hungarian.
In Győr, where the wedding was, there were more fabric shops with cheaper prices than Budapest. I visited about 4 and again, they didn't disappoint.
One of my favourites had a dubious entrance, as it looked like we were entering someone's house. It is also the only one I managed to take photos. I know, massive failure for my part, but when you surrounded by so much fabric loveliness, who can think of photos!

The accessories for My Sabrina Dress

Thank you very much for all the lovely comments on My Sabrina Dress. They are truly appreciated and I love reading them!

As I probably mentioned before, I will wear My Sabrina Dress at an upcoming friend's wedding. My plan was to do a bolero (in case it gets a bit cold at night), a clutch, a fabric belt and possibly some fabric shoes redo all on the same complementing fabric. My choice was a dark green taffetta.
Bolero:
I have slipstitch lining opening and sleeves this morning. First time working with taffetta and I quite enjoyed it. I used view A of Butterick 3345 and ignored the ruffle. I'm quite pleased with the result but failed at taking a decent sneak pic so you will have to wait till after the weeding to see some photos.

Clutch:
I had plans to make the clutch bag in the same fabric as the bolero but stumbled upon the most gorgeous clutch on ebay and couldn't resist. Isn't it gorgeous?

Fabric Belt:
I have ditched this idea after trying on the dress with the bolero. I think I will make that area too busy (if that makes sense).

Self fabric shoes: Well, I waited too long to experiment with this and have to say taffetta was not the best choice. I decided to do a shopping trawl to see if I could find some nice green shoes but no luck. Blue is in season. Light green and khaki is in season but dark green isn't. I settled for some wedges (I looove wedges) and will try to decorate them with maybe a green bow or flower. Ideas and suggestions on this are more than welcome.

I have sent a request to join the brilliant community blog Sew Retro. Been an avid reader for long and now that I completed a dress out of an original vintage pattern I feel I can belong there.

My Sabrina Dress - It's finished!

And so I have inserted the zipper and hemmed the skirt and thus I have a finished Sabrina Dress:

The skirt length is not as I initially wanted but it looks ok. I will be wearing this at a friends wedding next May in Hungary and now looking to do matching accessories, including a bolero. I know pink would be a good complimentary colour but I don't like pink that much so settled for a dark green. I will share photos of the full outfit in action then. 

I know I said I would publish a post about waist and seam finishes but life got in the way and I didn't manage to get one ready. I also didn't manage a inside out shoot as this dress doesn't fit Shelly (my dressmakers dummy). Hope you're able to forgive me!

I'm really happy how it turned out and have to say working with a vintage pattern didn't seem to differ from a modern one. At least in this case! The front fits perfectly well and the back is not bad either. It gaps a tiny bit though.

I'll leave you with a twirl!

Pretty twirl was followed by falling flat in the floor. A photo of the fall was taken but I will not share it.

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!

My Sabrina Dress #5 - Cutting and Marking

That photo speaks for itself! The width of my fabric wasn't enough so I will end up with a 1950s above the knee length dress. Not ideal, I know! The other thing this meant was that it was quite difficult to match floral prints, like I had originally intended. Not the end of the world.

I cut all my fabric on the floor as I do not have a big enough table. To make up for accurate cuting I usually cut roughly around pattern pieces and end up with a pile like the one below.

 I can then take to my small work desk and accurately cut and mark.

My absolute favourite way of marking fabric is to use carbon paper and a tracing wheel. Here, however, I didn't do that as the fabric right size is on the outside.

 I usually snip all notches. As long as you do it well within your seam allowance there is no problem.

For the darts I used tailor's tacks. Great for marking fabric on both sides without risking permanent pen/ chalk marks. Saying that after I do the tacks and remove the paper pattern, I outline the dart on the wrong side of fabric. That ensures I'm sewing the dart properly.

That was basically all the marking to do on the pattern. I was happy when it was over as I could get on with the fun stuff: sewing it together! 

My Sabrina Dress #4 - Fitting alterations

It has been slow over here, for a number of reasons I won't go into right now. I managed to finish the fitting alterations I needed on My Sabrina Dress. The final bodice looks something like the below.

Much better than this, don't you think? So what did I do? I followed the advice given by Alexandra in my previous fitting post and pinch excess down the middle of the bodice. You can see it pinned on the photo above. It made all the difference, so thank you Alexandra. I ended up removing 4cm at top reducing towards the midriff. I also took some excess out of side seams, 2cm at top phasing it down. The midriff fits perfectly well at the waist so none was removed there.
This all sounds very easy and straightforward but do not be fooled, my dear readers. It was a nightmare to transfer alterations to pattern pieces and I did 4 more muslins before I was happy with it. The problem was very simple: maths! Do I need do say more? Me and numbers do not go well together and even simple, logic problems leave me stumped. A bit embarrassing, I have to say.
This weekend I will be cutting the fashion fabric and if I'm successful at matching florals in the way I intend to, I will share it in a post with you.

My Sewing List

I have been procrastinating lately and have done very little sewing. My latest buttonhole nightmare plus failed attempts at transfering pattern alterations on My Sabrina Dress (simple maths but I'm crap at it) have send me into a idle state. I have however, managed to buy a few more patterns and add a few more projects to my to sew list. To hopefully keep me on track and sewing, I'll share what's coming with you, more or less in the order I intend to do them.

My Sabrina Dress: I have figured out the fitting alteration I need doing, helped by Alexandra comment (thank you!) and now in process of transfering to pattern pieces. I'm hoping to get this cracked soon. I love the fabric but still unsure how it will look.

I love sew alongs! They help me keep focused and force me to stop and wait for further instructions or advice, before I go and cock up something. Sherry from Pattern~Scissors~Cloth is leading a Tailoring Sew along and I initially shied away from it, as I had to many projects on the go. But after buying some gabardine fabric for trousers and realising the fabric is too heavy for that, I decided to join in. I had to choose a pattern that asked for less than 2mtrs, and quite liked the red illustration from McCalls below (not keen on the photo version). It doesn't have many elements from a tailored jacket, but I'm sure I'll pick up good tips and advice. Need to whip up muslin and fitting issues soon.

Next on the list another vintage pattern, this time for a wrap shirt. I will be using a lovely lightweight cotton I bought months ago. In an effort to wear more skirts, I will also do a basic skirt in this fabric. I LOVE this fabric!

Summer version of my Vogue 8604 Trousers. Hopefully in this blue linen blend with some pattern alterations.

And again, another original vintage pattern, this time for night wear. I will do a first version in the cute cotton poplin on the left, which is a left over from a baby coat and all going well I will do a second version in this satin(ish) fabric with some lace inserts. Probably not followed as it would be too boring.

I need more work shirts so will have another go at shirts with another Very EasyVogue in a lovely red cotton.

Disclaimer: The information printed here is correct at time of publishing. The writer holds right to change any project fabric or pattern, or add/ remove more projects to the list. ;)

My Sabrina Dress #3 - The first muslin

I have finished construction of the muslin/ toile for my sabrina dress and surprise, surprise? It's too big on the bodice. I read many times before that vintage patterns run smaller and because this one has my exact bust measurement I was hoping it would fit. But no. Alterations will be needed, especially as I intend to use to dress snug (unlike Audrey Hepburn in the movie, who uses it with a jumper underneath).
A couple of shots from the front. There is to much space on my bust and also on shoulders.

The dress has two pleats running from midriff to bust and the idea is to increase width to make it snugger. With the shoulders and neckline I'm not sure yet. I might just pinch around (like I did for the Crepe) and see what happens. What I will do for sure, is read my copy of Fit for Real People to see what I find that can be of help.
The back has to much ease as well. Pinch excess and remove?

The midriff sits nicely and the skirt as well. It will be longer that here.

What do you think? Any tips on this fitting?

My Sabrina Dress #2-Tracing

So how do you trace a vintage pattern? Depending on its condition, the same way as any other pattern, I would say. There are a multitude of tools and materials you can use to trace a pattern. Some are cheaper than others, some are bespoke to tracing. I think it is a matter of individual preference what you use to trace your patterns. If you are indecisive just try a few and see how it goes. I use greaseproof paper, the same sort you'll find fairly cheap in your supermarket. It is brown, transparent enough to trace without the need of a light underneath the pattern and sellotape sticks well to it. This last point is very important. I am yet to find industrial greaseproof paper in a width larger than 375mm. This means that for most pattern pieces I have to sellotape sheets together. If you know where I can find it, please let me know!  

The Sabrina Dress pattern pieces came out of the envelope just like it shows on the first photo. The pieces are in pretty good condition in comparison with the envelope. I fear that might crumble at any moment.

The next step with any pattern, for that matter, is to iron the pieces before tracing them. We want to make sure the traced piece is an exact (or nearly exact) replica of the original. I started with a low setting on the iron as I wasn't sure how the paper would react.

Next it's important to find a stable surface where you can spread your original pattern and the tracing paper of your choice. Even more important is to make sure you secure both pieces together so they don't shift whilst tracing. There are specific weights you can purchase for this but you can also improvise with heavy objects around you, like a can on beans. Unfortunately I do not have a suitable tracing surface as my desk is too narrow. This makes tracing circle skirts a real juggle. To keep my paper still I use a mix of heavy objects and clamps I use on the desk border. 

I was pleasantly surprised with how different this pattern is from current patterns. It gives a lot more information on the pattern piece itself. I know this is not the case with all vintage patterns. This one, which I remind you is a Simplicity 4808 circa 1954, has seam lines printed in the pattern indicating the 5/8" allowance to use.  It also has notes on how to stitch darts and pleats.

All 9 pieces are ready now for cutting, marking and preparing to start sewing the muslin. And before you go, let me direct you to this link, where the lovely Casey from Elegant Musings shares her tips on tracing a vintage pattern.

Bad photo of part of my sewing space. I like hanging the pattern on the blinds.

My Sabrina Dress

I am about to start work on what I am already calling My Sabrina dress. Simply because it is a Sabrina dress...

Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina...featuring a Sabrina dress!
Have you ever watched this movie?

I will be using Simplicity 4808, dated 1954 on Vintage patterns Wiki. That's right, I will be making my first ever original vintage dress. Not a reproduction, not a inspired pattern, the real deal. How nerve wrecking and exciting at the same time!

"Junior Misses' Jumper with Two Skirts: "Simple to make" jumper may have a slim or full, gored skirt. Empire bodice has soft pleats at bustline and joins a midriff. A low, rounded neckline is featured. View 1 is outlines with top stitching at neck, armhole and midriff. View 2 shaped tab at center front neck edge is trimmed with buttons. Slim skirts has a pleat at lower edge of center back and soft pleats at front waistline."

After some of you expressed an interest on my twitter account, I have decided to make an indepth coverage of the making of this dress so look out for a lot of posts on tracing a vintage muslin, decipher it's instructions, make a muslin/toile (oh yes, muslin/toile is needed), cutting fabric, sewing final fabric, etc, etc, etc. I also think it will be interesting for those wishing to work with vintage patterns to read about my own experiences working for the first time with one. It might also help me, in getting tips and hints from more experienced vintage seamstress.
I do have a deadline for this dress but a very comfortable one so will take it easy and slowly. And of course, I will have a few sideline projects, as usual!

So next on My Sabrina Dress...Tracing a Vintage Pattern