MMM'14 Week 5

The last week! Sorry that it's a bit of an anti-climax...

Day 28: Colette Jasmine blouse in vintage cotton voile
Deer & Doe Anemone skirt in navy linen (again)

This blouse is the second new make for May 2014. It's been a long time coming... I think it's been languishing since January 2013. The voile is a lovely floral print that Mum picked up for me in a second hand shop in Glasgow, we think it must be vintage because it was quite narrow. The tie is silk chiffon.

I wasn't super happy with this pattern... It came out looking huge and sack-like and I had to take a lot out of the front and back seams, then the sleeves ended up sitting oddly because I should have taken it in more evenly. I suspect Mum may not have believed me about which size to trace though, so I should check that before I attempt it again. The fact that I took the front in a lot really changed the shape of the neckline as well. It looks quite nice but feels like it might slip off my shoulders at times.

And my new Anenome skirt again... It's lovely.

Day 30: Self-drafted dirndl skirt in cotton poplin

As I discussed with a colleague, on Friday I decided to go with the Austrian milkmaid look and run with it (I love that I have a colleague who thinks this is a valid choice). The skirt is self-drafted, it's just lots of rectangles - gathered front and back in to a narrow waistband, zip in one side and pocket in another, then the hem bound with strips cut the other way. The fabric is cotton poplin printed with flowers and stripes which Mum bought for me at Mandors in Glasgow.

I also wore it with my lazy petticoat, which I've worn with other outfits (teal circle skirt, balloon skirt) but so far neglected to mention. It's made from polyester lining fabric, with a yoke gently gathered in to an elastic waistband, then a wide rectangle more heavily gathered in to that and the hem backed with horsehair braid. Does that make sense? I really should have taken a photo. Anyway, it was pretty quick to make and didn't have netting (which is never fun to sew). It doesn't give me the full vintage bell shape but makes sure my skirts don't stick to my legs and gives them a bit of swing. 

Also, check out my hair! I was so proud of learning to do milkmaid braids, except that obviously after practising successfully at home, as soon as I had to leave the house it didn't work properly and kept falling out. But I'm going to keep at this self-improvement thing and learn more fancy hair things (and do them better).

Day 31: Beignet skirt (again again)

So the final day was such an anti-climax... I knew I'd be busy so planned to be lazy and wear a new scarf, but it just didn't cooperate with me so I didn't finish it and I had to fall back on my trusty Beignet. This scarf is kind of a me-made, in that I bought some beautiful merino wool jersey from The Fabric Store and then I... neatened the edges so that I could wrap a square of fabric around my neck. Meh, it's warm.

Also, since I didn't show off any impressive me-made clothing on the final weekend I'm going to take credit for another me-made... new flooring laid in our lounge room! So tired.

MMM'14 Week 4

Day 21: Circle skirt in teal/black check cotton

I self-drafted this full-circle skirt but these days you don't have to! By Hand London now have a calculator. This skirt is probably my most vintage-y make and always makes me feel elegant.

Day 22: Deer & Doe Datura blouse in cotton voile

I bought the fabric for the yoke of this blouse in Tokyo last year. It's a beautiful soft cotton voile with a paisley print. I was only able to get a remnant so it was perfect for the yoke of the Datura. For the body of the blouse, I used cotton voile which is a bit crisper than the yoke and as you can see gets a bit crinkled by the end of the day. I think something softer would have been better, but at least it was easy to sew.

Day 23: Deer & Doe Anemone skirt in navy linen
Deer & Doe Airelle blouse in white hailspot voile

I look long-suffering here after taking lots of photos, but this one shows the skirt best! This is my first new make for MMM and I'm super happy with it. I didn't have to adjust the fit at all, the only alteration I did was to cut 1.5 inches off the length of the longer version so it sits just above the knee (more work appropriate than the mini version).  

The fabric is navy linen lined with rayon.  I'm not sure how ironing will go after washing it, I guess I'll find out! The navy has quite a rough texture with lots of colour in it, which is a nice change from the smooth cotton sateen I used for my Beignet skirt.

The only problem with this skirt is that the hem doesn't sit smoothly which I think is a result of my hand-stitching on the hem catching the top layer of the linen. I'll have to see if I can iron it smoother or I might need to re-do some hand-stitching.

Nothing to say about the Airelle since I wrote about it a couple of weeks ago. Oh, except I think I forgot to mention that I took a inch or so off the length of the sleeve. Also I'm happy that I now have a skirt that's as dark as the collar and cuffs on this blouse!

MMM'14 Week 3

Week 3...

Day 13: Colette Macaron dress in black cotton poplin and teal check

Better view of the bodice detail

 This is my version of the Colette Macaron dress. I really liked this pattern but had trouble coming up with a fabric combination that felt wearable. I had this lovely teal check left over from a skirt. I left the waistband black and I usually wear my teal belt to pick up the colour from the yoke. I'm still not 100% happy with the dress though, the skirt sits a bit awkwardly on me (though since it's plain black it's not very obvious). If I make this pattern again I'll try adding some length to the bodice to see if the skirt sits better if it falls from the waist. 

Day 14: Deer & Doe Belladone in navy taslon (again)

This dress had to make another appearance. It's great (my posture could do with improving though).

Day 16: Sewaholic Cambie in polka dot seersucker

Hmm my Cambie dress. I kind of don't love this as much as I expected to, but I do enjoy wearing it when I get around to it. I think its shortcomings are more to do with me than the pattern,I need to make another version to decide how I feel about it. 

But I do have one tip from making this dress: don't use a fabric with spots AND stripes! It will drive you crazy (though give you a warm fuzzy feeling of satisfaction when they do all line up).

Day 17: By Hand London Anna dress in Nani Iro double gauze

My Anna dress. This is absolutely my favourite thing I've ever made (doesn't everyone say that about their Anna?). It's flattering but modest (perfect for work, engagement parties, lunch on windy mountaintops etc etc) and so comfortable. I made two modifications: added some extra length to the bodice (instructions here) and used a half-circle skirt instead of the 7(?) gore skirt. I think the look of the skirt ended up being pretty similar to the pattern, I just couldn't bear to cut up my beautiful fabric more than I needed to.

Which brings me to the fabric. In case being addicted to Liberty fabric was dangerous enough, I'm now a thorough convert to Nani Iro. I bought a few pieces when I was in Japan last year and this is the first thing I've made with it. I love it! The designs are so gorgeous, detailed and textured! The fabric feels soft but has beautiful body and the double gauze construction means it basically has lining built in. It's been holding up well to my regular wearing and washing, too. 

I need more Annas in my life. And more Nani Iro. More Nani Iro Annas? Perhaps.

MMM'14 Week 2

Here's week 2:

Day 6: Self-drafted pleated skirt in red cotton sateen

The pattern for this skirt is basically the same as last week's balloon skirt (though I made this one first). The colour blocking is based on a skirt I found in a shop, though when I went back to the shop after I'd finished this one I realised it turned out quite different... Never mind, it's bright and cheerful.

Day 9:  Colette Ceylon dress in navy pin-spot cotton

I got this fabric for free after it got used by being stapled to a table. It came pretty good in the wash, but I really need to make another Ceylon in nicer fabric. For a pattern with quite a lot of pieces it came together really nicely.

Day 11: Colette Beignet skirt in navy cotton sateen (again)
Sashiko-style circle scarf

 I spent most of the weekend wearing jeans with holes and a hoodie with a broken zip while we painted our ceiling so on Sunday night I fell back on my comfy option of Beignet with ugg boots (and new octopus leggings!). Then I added a scarf which was based on this tutorial to make up for the other me-made I wore this week and forgot to photograph. Oh well, I'll save that for another week! The scarf fabric is a silk/cotton blend with a sashiko style print that I loved but couldn't figure out what to do with. Sorry about the terrible lighting in this photo but I had limited time/energy before the very important task of WATCHING EUROVISION!

Still sad Sweden didn't win. Or Switzerland.

MMM'14 Week 1

It's the end of my first week of Me Made May! Here's what I wore...

Day 1: Deer & Doe Belladone dress in navy taslon

Shirt: Uniqlo, Cardigan: Portmans, Belt: Alannah Hill, Shoes: Jigsaw

Not much to say about this dress, it's pretty much as it comes from the packet. I love it!

Day 2: Deer & Doe Airelle blouse in white hailspot voile with navy voile collar & cuffs

Colette Beignet skirt in navy cotton stretch sateen

Cardigan: Nunie, Belt: Topshop, Shoes: Hush Puppies

This is the first Deer & Doe pattern I made. It fits perfectly with no adjustment, the darts are beautifully drafted. I have to iron it though, so it's not on high rotation.

And the Beignet skirt. This is probably my favourite piece of clothing. It took me ages to make because I cut it out at size 10 then took in every single seam to make it size 8 then pinned the waist seam about 5 times before realising I was actually pinning the front seam and then the lining ended up longer than the skirt... I don't think there were any problems with the pattern, just my brain. So it sat in a basket while I worked up the energy to finish it. And once I finished it I started wearing almost every week! It's so comfy and flattering and goes with everything. For more photos of my beloved Beignet check out my Japan album on Flickr.

Day 4: Self-drafted Hot Air Balloon skirt

Merino top & cardigan: Portmans, Ugg boots because I'm classy

I self-drafted this skirt, I'd like to say I was clever but it's really just 1 rectangle for the front, 2 for the back and 1 for the waistband.  Oh and some little ones for belt loops! It's very similar to the Deer & Doe Chardon pattern (which is probably a little more sophisticated than my pattern!). I found the hot air balloon fabric at Spotlight, I think it's a 50s reproduction made in Japan. Somehow my mum didn't agree that it was the most amazing fabric ever, but luckily the rest of the world agrees with me and I get nice comments every time I wear it. There are better photos on Flickr.

Sorry about the terrible photos, I kept taking them late at night and on a phone. A new camera is on my shopping list and I think it might be a more urgent than I thought.

Me-Made-May for the first time!

So I should've done this before May 1, but anyway...

I, Mel, Countess of Canberra, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May'14. I endeavour to wear at least four me made garments each week for the duration of May 2014 with a round up of outfits each week and to make two new garments by the end of the month.

For the first time I've decided to do Me-Made-May. I've decided to do it this year because I now have enough clothing that I can wear everyday and I'm also hoping it'll be a good way to clear out my backlog of things I've sewn but haven't blogged about. I'm going to keep my goals conservative so I actually have a chance of achieving them!

First post on the weekend : )

New Patterns!

 Me: Look! My parcel is all pretty and French-looking!
Jon: It's a brown paper packet.
Me: Exactly!

I am actually pretty excited about the contents of my parcel too - my first patterns from Deer & Doe.  Now I just have to stop my hands from hurting, finish my half-made Colette patterns and then I can get started...

Silk Mitts

A couple of weeks ago I finished off these C18th/Regency silk mitts.  I've been collecting pictures of late eighteenth century mitts on Pinterest for a while so I decided to make some up before this year's Jane Austen Festival in April.  They were mostly finished for the event so I wore them but I didn't get around to doing the embroidery until the end of May.

I love my mitts! They're much prettier and more practical than gloves - good for sewing workshops when you want to be able to use your fingers.  Most mitts in museums are dated late eighteenth century so they go with my Ikea dress but apparently they continued to be worn in the Regency period, so that suits me well! I think there will be more mitts in my future.

I used this pattern. I found it on Pinterest, I'm not sure where it's from but I just printed it out full size (cut in half on two A4 sheets). I was going to use the one in Costume Close Up but printing this one seemed easier than scanning, resizing, etc. I just made them the original size from the image. The calico one I did to test the pattern fit me really well but the silk I used for the real ones was stiffer so they're a little bit snug - the side seam on the right hand one is almost pulling through, so next time I need to use a bigger seam allowance.

I used some silk dupion from my stash. The main fabric is an odd blue/yellow-green shot mix that I've never known what to do with but the colour looks nice in this. I lined the points with gold silk dupion. I think I'll make a matching reticule at some point. Silk taffeta or satin would be more accurate but this was the first pair I tried and I wanted to use something I already had. I think I'll make another pair in satin or taffeta soon, with a bigger seam allowance so they don't break! A lot of extant mitts also seem to be lined (often with leather) so maybe I'll add a lining in the future. I thought I could add it to these ones at some point but not if they're already tight!


I stitched the side seam and the point by machine but everything else is done by hand. For the hems I used a tiny spaced backstitch and used threads pulled from the leftover fabric, which I'm quite proud of. I embroidered the lines on the back of the hand with blue silk thread, using herringbone stitch and chain stitch. Many mitts also have herringbone stitch around the thumb and point so I may do that at some point but I shouldn't be doing more embroidery than I have to at the moment, with my hands/arms still being sore. Sigh.

New Blog

I decided to start a new blog for a couple of reasons:

1. Blogspot seems more popular among historical costumers so I thought it might make it easier to follow people
2. It's attached to google accounts, which I use (I keep losing the password for Wordpress)
3. I was feeling dissatisfied with the name of my blog (especially that the title and address were different)
4. Setting up the new one seemed like a useful way to procrastinate from doing anything important.  

Sadly I still felt uninspired about titles. How do people do these things? So I'm not sure which one I'll keep using, but for now I've copied the posts that are reasonably recent and non-pointless.  The old one is here: http://melegance.wordpress.com/

At the moment I'm happy with blogspot except for one thing: Occasionally the title loads in Comic Sans instead of pretty curly font. And then the whole thing seems futile.

Owls!

This post was originally published on 10 September 2012

I've done 3 of my planned 5 crochet owls. They're so cute!

SO CUTE

SO CUTE

Cross-Stitch

This post was originally published on 9 September 2012

I just finished a cross stitch project! I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. I saw an ad for a pattern in Cross Stitcher magazine for corgis but I couldn't get the right edition, so I was so glad when I found out the pattern was on their website! It is SO CUTE.  The original pattern didn't have a tail though, and since I'm making this for my grandma and her corgi/jack russell has a very character-filled tail I had to add one on. I was worried about doing that so I didn't work on it for a while, but I just put the tail on and I think it came out pretty well.  I'm not 100% sure about the outlining since it was meant to be in dark brown and I didn't bother buying one, but I think he's cute anyway.

Corgi!

I've also got a few more projects lying around that I haven't done anything with yet.

These ones are also from Cross Stitcher magazine (I really like that magazine. It's not all kittens and fairies). I did the bird on a train in Norway and the Santa in Evidence lectures last summer.  I'm planning on putting them on Christmas aprons, I even bought the fabric last year but I ran out of time so I'd better find time this year.

Christmas cross stitch

This was my first go at sewing on evenweave instead of aida (nicer but more effort). There's a couple of mistakes in it, which makes me grumpy, but I'll cope.  I thought I'd turn it into a Christmas decoration.  The pattern is from Modern Folk on Etsy. I love all of their patterns and want to make them all, if only I had the time.

Snowflake

This one took me so long to do. Like, years.  I bought the pattern in Scotland in, I think, 2007? I think I just found it boring to do with all the lines and it never seemed to get anywhere... But I'm really pleased with it now, so it was worth it.  I think I'll frame it, the other suggestion was to make it into a pillow but I'm not brave enough to do that after the time it took to make. The pattern is from Textile Heritage - I've bought quite a lot of things from them on various trips the UK.

Craft Fair Goodies

This post was originally published on 9 September 2012

The craft fair was in Canberra a few weeks ago and, obviously, I went. It's good fun because there's so many different things so even though I could probably get most of the stuff online it's fun to browse. Much more variety than the few shops in Canberra.  So this year's goodies included:

Packet of various types of linen and evenweave to try out (don't know the shop name), novelty zips, sashiko printed panel, sashiko thread and lovely japanese fabrics to edge the panel with and turn it into a table runner (from bebebold.com) and a book! 18th Century Embroidery Techniques, which I thought would be handy for working out how to do my pockets - I ordered a pattern from Nehelenia Patterns, which is nice but doesn't have much explanation of stitches or anything like that.  The books looks really nice, I saw a review of it on American Duchess a while ago, and I agree with everything she said, if you're interested.

These are make-your-own plastic coasters.  I have a plan for making some super cute cross stitch coasters. I don't know how pretty these will look, but it's probably a better option than sitting a mug directly on the cross stitch.  Anyway, I'll see how it goes.

This is last year's craft fair purchase! I hadn't heard of sashiko before (Japanese embroidery) but I've always loved those geometric Japanese patterns (apparently originally derived from sashiko) so I decided to have a go.  It's even easier than cross stitch (the kits come with pre-printed fabric) so it's a nice relaxing thing to do.  My mum was pretty sceptical, Japanese isn't really her thing, but she came to the craft fair with me this year and now she's got her own sashiko project : )

Crochet!

This post was originally published on 5 September 2012

Here's a project I've been working on, on and off, for about a year now:

Lots of circles!

A saw a picture of one of these lovely 'circle in a square' afghans on Pinterest, and then I found this pattern, which is what I've been using.

The wool that I'm mostly using is Paton's Bluebell, which is 100% wool 5 ply crepe.  It's beautiful wool to use and I know it lasts well (I have an orange cardigan my Mum made from it sometime in the 70s - can you spot the left over wool I'm using in the afghan?).  It's kind of a silly project for me to be doing, since it would be good for using up little scraps of wool but I haven't really built up much of a wool collection so I've had to buy a lot of it. There's some odds and ends I got from my mother and grandmother, but since it's an unusual weight they didn't have that much.  At least I got the cream wool cheap! It's also 100% wool 5 ply crepe but it's not Paton's so it was much cheaper ($2/ball?)

When I get enthused I can get quite a lot done pretty quickly but I keep getting distracted and putting it away for months at a time.  Getting tendinitis didn't help either.  At the moment I have 90 circles, so I'm somewhere between a half and two thirds done, depending on how giant I make it. I'm a bit worried I won't have enough cream wool to make it enormous though.

Oh, and when I started I was putting the cream borders around until I realised that it would be easier to link them up if I do all the cream at once.  Then I did a few more cream bits to make sure I would be able to put them together, but I can and I think it'll look nice! My grandmother was very impressed that I won't have to sew lots and lots of squares together.

And then I was on Pinterest again and got distracted...

BUT LOOK CROCHETED OWLS

They are so cute and I couldn't resist them. I won't do a whole afghan of them, and I don't want to mix them in with my dignified, classy looking one, so I think I'll just do a cushion cover. And I in fact have three owls now, so it shouldn't take long, except that I was thinking of doing the back in cream, so I really need to wait and see if I actually have some left over from the afghan... Or buy more, if I can.

Oh, the colours I'm using for these ones are mostly a selection taken from the afghan ones (the pink and green are new so I haven't made any circles from them yet, but they'll be in there) except for the bright, shiny, acrylic blue. I kind of have in mind a cute fabric range that I'd like to make cushion from which has similar colours.

Regency Plans

This post was originally published on 30 August 2012.

I've been really busy with uni so, as usual, I've been procrastinating by making costuming plans without actually doing anything constructive.  Since my 18th century plans are basically made and waiting on me finding time to carry them out, I've mainly been thinking about Regency.

I've got a couple of fabrics put away that I bought because I thought they might make good Regency things. The first is a printed quilting cotton in green and blue.  I think the print is technically Civil War era and I know quilting cotton's a bit heavy, but I think it'll be good for a more practical day dress. I've been thinking that a drop-front gown could be a fun thing to try and it'll make it more practical, so that's the plan.  I like this dress as a fairly plain drop-front with a gathered front and this one has really cool braided trim around the neckline, although it may not look as cool without stripes.

I also bought some white silk chiffon with little woven dots, which I think would make a fantastic evening dress but I'm having trouble coming up with something interesting to do with it.  I'm not really into the super-decorated flouncy things from the later period, but it want it to be more exciting than just a white dress. So I have to think about that, but at least I know that I need to make a petticoat to go under the chiffon (which I could use for some of my other dresses).

Then, I don't remember why, but I was looking through a book I bought in Denmark about Louise Auguste, published by Rosenborg palace, which happens to have some very lovely extant regency-era costumes in it.  In particular, it has two amazing silk velvet dresses. It also has a pattern diagram for one, though sadly it's for the one that I like less, but I'm thinking I could do something that uses the bodice and skirt of the one I like more and the sleeves of the one that has the pattern. It seems like the collection isn't online anywhere so I can't find any pictures except what's in the book... Anyway, I think it would be a really cool project, so we'll see how that goes.

And finally, since it looks like I'll be starting on a reasonable number of Regency projects, I think I might be weakening on the stays front.  I've always been a bit worried about the 'regency stays will make you look like you have no bust' thing, but I'm feeling better after looking at lots of pictures of European royalty looking for pictures of those dresses. And short stays should be reasonably quick to make. And they can't be as slow and painful as the 1780s stays.

Elizabethan Partlet

This post was originally published on 19 August 2012.

I took some time off from the stays this week to make myself an Elizabethan partlet.  My Elizabethan outfit was my first proper historical costume (I made it in 2008) and I'd never got around to to making a partlet to go with it.  I'd returned the one I'd borrowed so thought I'd better make my own in time for yesterday's Renaissance ball.

I wanted to use silk organza, but I've already started hemming the piece I have for an 18th century kerchief (not sure how that'll go, but that's a different story) so I didn't want to cut into that, and the shop that had some until recently seems to have run out.  Frustrating! So I spent a couple of days stressing about that, until I decided to use a piece of silk/linen blend that I was planning to use for lining 18th century things, but  I decided I can always get more when I finally get around to working on it.  I was happy with that, in the end - it's nice and smooth, with the look of linen but a bit of sheen as well. It also creases really nicely, which was good for doing the collar.

It also took me longer than expected to find a pattern - I thought for something as simple as a partlet there must be a free pattern somewhere online, or in one of my books.  Eventually I found this free pattern from Margo Anderson.

Once I found that, everything was pretty straightforward.  The only change I made was to box-pleat rather than gather the frill at the top, which meant I could fold the piece over rather than hem it, and made it look more like a proto-ruff.  I also chose to close the collar with hooks and thread loops rather than ribbon since my necklace is my favourite bit of my Elizabethan costume and I didn't want bits of ribbon getting in the way.

Box-pleating the frill

Side view of the pleats

The partlet

The completed collar

I also added some extra ribbon to the overskirt, which I shouldn't have done because I didn't really have time, but it turned out well.  Wearing the outfit on the night, I was very happy with my overskirt and partlet, but was reminded that the bodice/sleeve situation is a bit of a nightmare, and I think I need to make new sleeves. And an underskirt at some point. I guess I'll ignore that for now and worry about it at the last minute before the next Renaissance event. Hmm.

Wearing the partlet!

Looking tired and vague

And now I just have to clean up the debris of last-minute sewing and dressing. Yay.

Progress on the 1780s Stays

This post was originally published on 16 August 2012

After months of apathy (and a lot of non-sewing stuff going on), I'm finally getting on with my new set of 1780s stays.  Here's what I've done:

Fitting: a few months ago I asked a friend who was briefly in Canberra to check the fit of my prototype.  She suggested cutting the tab slits higher, bringing the front shoulder tabs in and altering the angle of the lacing at the back.  I made all these changes to the prototype (had to cut yet more pieces for the front, grumble) and I think it went well, although the lacing at the back met, so it's possible that the angle still isn't ideal. On the final version I'm taking an inch off each piece so there will be a gap, so I'll have to see how it goes.

Oh, and I added some curve to the side-front seam of the piece since I've read (for example, from American Duchess) that this is how you get the more rounded line of the later decades, which sounds more flattering and more comfortable to me.

Materials:  I've had a lot of trouble deciding on materials, but I've finally made some decisions.  Ideally, I wanted to make the stays soft blue with pink trimming. I have some blue silk, but it's actually quite yellow-y and odd, so it really doesn't go with pink.  Then I ordered some pink silk twill ribbon from etsy for binding, but when it arrived the colour turned out to be less rose pink and more salmon, so it needs a nice clear colour so that it doesn't just look brown. I was going through my silk collection and realised I have just enough ivory silk dupion left over from binding the last set of stays and it looks OK with the silk ribbon.  I also managed to find some pink silk thread that goes well enough, so it looks like the stays will be ivory with pink stitching and bound with ribbon.

For the interlining fabrics, I'm using a layer of beige-y cotton/linen and yellow cotton canvas. Finding pure linen fabrics without stretch was basically impossible, and I think the final effect will be the same.  Also, I'm hoping that only having one layer of canvas will make the stays more forgiving and curvy than the last set, which had 2.

If I put in a lining, I'll do it at the end. I have some reasonably soft pale blue linen that I can use.

Boning: I've still got German synthetic whalebone from the last stays so hopefully there will be enough.  In terms of arranging the boning, I think I'll look at these stays from the V&A, this pattern from JP Ryan, these amazing stays, and the Butterick pattern I've been using. I'm starting with bones along the seam lines.

Tracing around the prototype pieces

Cutting out: I've traced the outline (without seam allowance) of each piece onto the silk and then cut out them out of all layers, leaving plenty of spare fabric all around the lines.  Then I basted around the outline through all three layers.

Outline traced in water-soluble pen

Construction: I've started sewing the boning channels. I'm sewing by hand, using backstitch.  I'm not sure how that'll go, it's much slower than machine, but it does give me more control - doing channels by machine, I often had to undo them if it got wonky, or I realised that it was slightly too tight for the bone - by hand I can check these things as I'm going, instead of unpicking the whole thing and starting again! It also means that I can do a seam or two at a time, watching tv or while I'm at uni.

Then once I've done the channels, I'm planning on whipping the edges of the pieces together.

Anyway! Progress.  I think it's going well.

Adventures in Patterns

This post was originally published on 24 May 2012.

I've only just started venturing into independent modern pattern companies.  I'd seen the Colette patterns at the local fabric shop but wasn't sure how good they'd look from looking at the illustrations.  Then I saw some pictures online and decided to give them a go.  I even found some perfect fabric (on sale!) to do a Rooibos, but I when went to to the shop the only dress pattern they had was Ceylon.  I decided to try it anyway, which was possibly not the best idea, given how many pieces it has - it probably wasn't going to be that quick to whip up just to see how I like the pattern company.

Ceylon by Colette Patterns

However! All went well.  I love the cute booklet and the clear instructions. The slightly unusual construction of the yoke went together beautifully and the finished product is comfortable and flattering.  I now know which sizes fit me and that I can probably get away with less fabric than the pattern says.

So now I want more! But where to start?

• I already have the fabric for Rooibos

• I have fabric which could be cute for a Chantilly or Parfait

• Macaron looks really  sweet, though it seems like finding a perfect mix of fabrics is hard

• The Beignet skirt looks really versatile and a good change from dresses

• I want some high-waisted shorts like Iris (though I don't need them, having bought 3 pairs of shorts last summer...)

I wasn't that inspired by the Sewaholic patterns - Lonsdale is a bit angular for me, and I'm not that enthused by sewing tops.  But the other day I saw the Cambie dress and I LOVE it, so I'm very willing to be converted.

And on top of those...

I want some lightweight pants for our trip to Turkey, so I should start that.

I also have some Liberty fabric to do a skirt, plus a couple more pieces I haven't decided what to do with.

Plus I love this patttern.

And this dress, which could work with the Burda pattern I've used a few times.

Oh, and this dress.

Not enough time! So many patterns to buy, and make!