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!

Trousers Sewalong by The Cupcake Goddess

A few weeks ago I discovered the excellent blog by The Cupcake Goddess and also found out it she was hosting a trousers sew along. I initially hesitated, as I'm still a bit traumatised by my last experience but then changed my mind. Maybe this is what I need. A sew along full of tips and advice to help me conquer trousers. And dear friends, I do want to conquer trousers. In risk of repeating myself here but I am a trousers girl really. Love dresses but rarely use them.
I'm not overly keen on the Burda pattern they're using so have picked up one from my existing stash. The Vogue 8604. The illustration is gorgeous but like many illustrations often very different from end result. However on my research I found Miss Dandy sew them and they look gorgeous. I thought of using the Burda 8488 I used in my previous trouser attempt. I really like those sailor slacks and love the way they look on great fellow bloggers like Bea from Butterflies and Hurricanes and Zoe from "So, Zo...". But I'm still a bit weary of them so will leave it for another time. Decided to go with a soft corduroy fabric which I purchased from the awesome The Fabric Loft. 

This sew along is due to start in January so it will overlap slightly with the Crepe one. And talking about it, I better get offline and work on my bodice alterations.

Baby Coat

Quick post today to show you the little coat I've put together yesterday for a soon to be here little baby! My work colleague is going on maternity leave tomorrow and quite happy I finished this in time to give her. It was a struggle to find suitable fabric for babies. I'm sure there's many places that cater for it out there but as I never had to look for it I found it really hard. I settled with a nice 100% cotton poplin for main fabric and batiste for lining. I love the print as well. We don't know if it'll be a boy or a girl but I think this little number fits both.

This week I also finished a tote shopping bag taken out of Sew Retro book. I really like it as it has a outside pocket for your wallet and keys. Gorgeous red fabric from Patchfabrics.

I also did some cushion covers this weekend in a black fabric with brocade contrasting panel, with some great guidance form The Thrifty Stitcher. The photos didn't came up nice though but the covers are gorgeous. Will try to take some quality photos another time.

I will now immerse myself in fitting my Crepe Dress bodice properly. Much happier sewing for clothes than home and decoration I have to confess.

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?

Corduroy Winter Dress finished

"The hills are alive with the sound of music..."

That's what I thought when I finished this dress and saw myself in the mirror. Actually it was more like "Hello Julie Andrews!" I was also called Dorothy at work! What can I say, I wore it with a blue turtleneck and some cute wedges and a ponytail so the entire outfit was a bit more The Sound of Music.

I do love this dress though and see myself wearing it quite a lot through winter. Being able to wear chunky knitwear underneath definitely helps. If it wasn't for that I doubt I would use it much in cold weather.


And that's exactly the reason I decided to do a sleeveless version. The pattern was taken out of Sew magazine issue 17.
I enjoyed working with corduroy and think I will very soon be adding another corduroy project to my immense To Sew list.
My only issue was lining the armholes. I ended up just pressing and sewing. Not gorgeous inside but it doesn't look bad either.In terms of fitting the only issue is the fact the bodice is a bit to loose, as you can notice on the photo on the right. I usually have that problem with bodices. Definitely need to learn how to fit a bodice but hey, that's one of the reasons I decided to join Gertie's Crepe sewalong!


Photos were done by my gorgeous bf who also did my hair! Am I not a lucky girl ;)

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?

Progress on Winter Dress

Working on my Winter Dress Project and now stuck and in need of help! Started last week by cutting all my fabric pieces but couldn't start sewing as I ran out of black thread. Placed an order online and I'm now stocked so started sewing yesterday. Was very anxious as it's my first time sewing with corduroy but have to say it hasn't been bad. I had to zig zag all the raw edges because corduroy ravels like crazy. It also sheds some "fluff" which is now everywhere. I decided on some design changes. My initial though was to insert sleeves, after all it's a winter dress. But when I gave it a bit more thought I realised it wouldn't make a difference as even with sleeves the dress wouldn't be warm enough for me to wear in winter. So I decided to do the sleeveless version and use it with a nice close fitting jumper underneath. Because I want to keep it simple I'm not doing the collar either. The princess seams were fairly easy to sew. They are a bit of a nightmare but with care and attention it works out fine. I also had to chop off 11 inches from bottom as it looked like I was out of the Little House on the Prairie 80s TV series.  This is what I have so far:

I've constructed most of the dress, attached the lining, finished neck seams and have the back seam and invisible zipper to do plus finish the lining in the armholes. And this is where I'm truly stuck and in dire need of help. I have found several tutorials on how to attach lining to sleeveless armholes but a) they are all in fabrics less bulky than corduroy and b) all have the side seams still open. I have thought of a way to do it but would love to finish it the right way, if that makes sense. Below are Sew Magazine instructions for the armholes and it's gibberish to me. I have read it countless times and have not yet made sense of it. I am sure it means something very simple and once I crack it I'll be like...duhhh!! But for now I'm truly stuck, so if someone knows about this or can make sense of the below please leave a comment or email me at : suzysewingblog[at]yahoo[dot]co[dot]uk. Thank you!