Forget Me Knot - Vest - Part XII

The Polymer Clay Buttons

Thank you all for the compliments on the closure for the vest. I am very happy with how everything turned out, and can now move on to finishing embellishing the peplum, assembling the vest and doing the final beadwork. My goal is to get the vest done by Monday.

I made the polymer clay buttons using the same metal template for the smallest size flowers. The clay is rolled through a pasta machine (used *only* for polymer clay) to the correct thickness:

The clay is then cut out using the template and the buttonholes are added with a toothpick. The metal templates are now proving how useful and versatile they can be.

Once the clay is baked according to package directions, it is sanded to remove any imperfections and to smooth out any roughness. After a quick wipe down, the buttons are ready for glazing. "Glaze" in this case happens to be Future floor polish. This is one type of glaze or finish used in the polymer clay world. I put a hook made of florist's wire through each button, dip it in the Future and let it hang to dry.

A few pasta boxes and a cake cooling rake make a good place to hang the buttons. After a few seconds of hanging, a q-tip will take care of any drips forming at the bottom of each piece. After the finish is dry, the buttons are ready to use!

Q/A: Designdreamer wanted to know, "What are the other flowers made of?" in reference to the other white flowers in the border that are not buttons. Those flowers are cut out of white synthetic satin using the smallest metal template and the wood burning tool.

Parting Shot: Fabric from Canada. Here's my official purchase from Timmel Fabrics for SWAP 2008. I'll be making a vintage blouse out of it. I guess I'm officially in, so now I need to finish! (I'll be showing you the jeans on Monday!)

Forget Me Knot - Vest - Part XI

The Vest Closure

The vest has border which runs down the center front, and must be closed. How would you make the closures?

Good question, isn't it? I had thought about this problem about a month ago, and it didn't strike me until Monday night while doing some beading (monotonous beading is good for thinking) that I had not made a decision about the vest closure. Hmmm . . . covered snaps, buttons, bound buttonholes, button loops, covered buttons . . . and so I thought about each option and started eliminating ones that wouldn't work. Snaps aren't going to work, the border is too wide and they'd have to be sewn in really weird places interrupting the artwork. Buttons and loops aren't quite right either, they wouldn't interrupt the border too much, but they still would be obtrusive, with a row of buttons just outside the border on the front of the vest. In the end, I opted for this:

What you're seeing is vertical bound buttonholes and handmade polymer clay buttons to match the other white flower embellishments complete with the same type of bead work.

Each of the buttonholes was made the same way I made the ones for the red trench. I did a post on that topic, complete with pictures. It didn't take me too long, either. It took me as long to do all the marking and make sure everything was accurate and exactly the same as it did to actually make the buttonholes.

The crepe isn't ideal for make the lips of the buttonholes, so I reinforced it with the fusible interfacing before cutting out the squares for the patches. To sew on the buttons, I also used an interfaced patch behind the button for security.

Tomorrow, I'll show you how I made the polymer clay buttons!

Parting Shot: Jackie O here I come. A new pattern for me, not sure when/if I'm going to make this one, but I liked it.

Forget Me Knot - Vest - Part IX

Fun With Sequins

I use a lot sequins in my work, and matching them to the fabric can be quite interesting. For the most part, you aren't going to find sequins that *exactly* match. This can be frustrating if you're like me, and things that are not a contrast and must match, well, ought to be pretty close to matching. How do I get around this? There's a little trick you should know.

To start, sequins come in a variety of finishes, but what we're concerned with is the opacity. Some sequins are "opaque", meaning that you can not see through them. Other sequins are colored, but clear, usually with an iridescent finish. Both of these types are useful not only on their own, but also *together*.

Sequins can be layered together to get different colors and shades depending on which two are combined. I've used this little trick on many garments. Those pink sequins on Waiting for Spring? Clear iridescent and magenta. How about the navy ones on Midnight Garden? Dark peacock blue and black. The light blue ones on Midnight Garden are pale blue over silver. Take a look at a few samples:

This is one reason why I order so many colors at one time - to play around and see if I can get a combination that is very close to or exactly the color I need. The other reason is that C. Cartwright's has a $10 minimum for US customers!

As of today, I have the peplum completed, except for the rhinestones. I should have the next shipment of those tomorrow. I'll do another post on it so that you can see what I've done to it. I made the bound buttonholes today. I still have a little bead work to do to finish off the borders. Tomorrow, I'll show you the borders and the buttons.

Parting Shot: School Work. Even when I'm on vacation I still have papers and tests to grade. Among the lot are some Physics tests, which are always a lot of fun because I have to figure out someone else's problem solving logic (or lack thereof!). There are also some Biology papers to finish reading; these are what I call the "Careers In Science" papers. Basically each student gets a career in science (like zoologist or hospital lab technician) and writes about what the job is, how much training is involved, etc., bonus points if they actually interviewed someone currently in that career.

Forget Me Knot - Vest - Part IX

The Coolest Thing Ever! (And a Sneak Peek)

I might as well give you the sneak peek first, you'll probably scroll down there first anyway. Definitely no where near completion with all components just pinned in place, but I think you'll get the idea of where I'm going with this ensemble:

Now for the coolest thing ever, or at least in my life recently. Below you can see a photo of the bead/sequin/rhinestone selection process. Bascially, I pull out everything I think will match and once I have everything I've ordered (usually sequins from Cartwright's Sequins) I try it to see if I like it.
This is the first project that I've used hot-fix rhinestones on, and after some searching around, I found the Rhinestone Guy. He's got good prices and great service (I ordered on Monday and had my rhinestones on Thursday from California), and a great selection. He of course, recommends that you buy a color chart for better matching of colors to your project. This goes of course for all sorts of things you mail order, if you can get a color chart. The color chart cost me $20, but includes real samples of all the colors made by Swarovski and Preciosa, and samples of all the sizes. So here's the cool thing: the rhinestones are glued to a transparency and the color names are printed on a piece of cardstock and the two are taped together at the top. In order to match the colors, lift up the clear sheet and place it right on the fabric - you'll see exactly what matches and what doesn't and what size is right!

Isn't that cool? Once you know what matches you can find the color name and order the rhinestones. This is the best $20 I've spent in a long time. The bonus is that I'll also know what color of Swarovski beads will match my projects, too.

Tomorrow, I'll show you a neat trick for matching sequin colors. Now I must get back into the studio and work on FMK!

Q/A: Nancy asked if I could elaborate about the waist stay. There are actually two slightly different applications in sewing involving the term waist stay. One means a strip of stabilizing fabric or grosgrain ribbon sewn into the waist seam of a dress, usually with a very full and/or heavy skirt to help stabilize the seam and support the weight of the skirt. This is what I did for the red linen shirt dress with the silk organza selvedge to help prevent stress on the waist seam, which could lead to thread breakage or fabric shredding. The other type of waist stay is used in formal gowns, especially strapless ones. It is usually a piece of twill tape or grosgrain ribbon attached at the waist line by tacking the ribbon to the major bodice seams of gown and then is passed through slits in the lining and finished with hooks and eyes. The wearer would close the waist stay and then zip up or fasten the gown. This stay helps to keep the dress anchored in the right place on the body, so it doesn't shift, twist or ride up or down. It also does help to support the skirt (again, possibly full and heavy) of the gown. All the gowns I make include a waist stay of second variety. I haven't made a huge full skirted ball gown in years (yes, one is in the plans for 2009!), but would include both on that type of garment.

Parting Shot: Cat Nap. Pix finds the most unusual places to nap. I removed the laundry bag to do the laundry and came back to find her curled up in the square!

SWAP Monday

Piece #5 - The Vintage Red Shirt Dress

Wait. What about the jeans? Next week, I promise. They're not quite done yet, and the dress is. So, today you get to see the dress. I made the long sleeve version of this dress back in September as a fall wardrobe piece, and really liked it but wanted short sleeves for summer. The red fabric is 100% linen that I bought on clearance a while ago for $2.00 per yard or so. I bought 6 or 7 yards at the time, with the intention of make a full skirted vintage dress. The pattern is Simplicity 2149 from 1957 or 58.


For this dress, I used silk organza to interface the button placket and the collar. I am really pleased with the results! I did add fusible interfacing to the collar stand portion only of the collar, fusing it to the organza, not the linen. The collar is actually a one piece collar and stand unit, you can see below how I fused the interfacing only in the collar stand area.

I also used a piece of selvedge silk organza as the waist stay. Many of the vintage patterns include this narrow piece of fabric or grosgrain ribbon to support those very full and very heavy skirts. I really like the result as the silk is strong, but lightweight and flexible which is perfect at the waistline.

I chose red buttons for the dress, as I can change the look of the dress easily with other accessories such as jewelry, belts and shoes. (For some reason, red patent leather belt exactly matches the dress, so that's what I used for the photos!) It was hard for me to find exactly what I was looking for, as the button selection where I live isn't the best. In the end, I chose these red ones with a little swirl detail. Here's the back collar button detail:

Lastly, here's the side zipper detail. While I love side zippers since they don't distract from front or back garment details, I really don't like putting them in unless it is a strapless dress and the zipper goes to the top edge of the garment. I can do them by machine, but I really don't like wrangling all the fabric (especially with a full skirt) to get it positioned in the machine just right to put in the zipper. Invisible zippers are a little easier to manage, but I prefer to put the zipper in by hand, using the old method of basting and pick stitching. It actually doesn't take me any more time to do all the hand stitching and looks better to me in the end.

Parting Shot. New Earrings. This was part of my Valentine's Day gift from my husband, but were a bit late. He originally bought me some gold earrings from our local goldsmith/silversmith/jeweler (a lot talent in that shop!), but they were a duplicate of a pair I already own. He said to go in and trade the duplicates for something else and these are what I got. Those are not real diamonds, but they are hand made - the stones and the curves are not exactly in the same spot on each piece. I like them because their style is a just a bit different than most hoop earrings.

SWAP 2008

I Love Patrones!

I made up a muslin of another Patrones trouser model, and I love them! I have never had a flat front pant fit so well just as traced and sewn. I made up #13 from Patrones 6/07, which is a more sporty trouser with some jeans-style topstitching, but without the back pockets and other regular jeans features.


I made it in a straight 40, but made notations as to the difference in size between a 38 and 40 so that I could taper in at the waist. Here's what we have so far:


Just a few minor tweaks, most of which amounts to tapering that waist down to a 38. If you look closely at the back photo, you can see the white marks on the waistband and center back seam for the tapering. So far, I am really pleased with these trousers! I am going to make these in the denim, so I'll have a dressier trouser jean to wear. The muslin will be recycled into another muslin for a different style, model #39 from the same issue. I'll need to revise my story board, but that's no big deal. I'm glad I had this little adventure. Now I know that if I want to make trousers or shorts I need to look no further than the issues of Patrones that I have.

Maybe I'll get this pair of SWAP trousers done next week!

Parting Shot: Sledding! Today was a really nice day, so the children and I went sledding next door on my in-laws property (yes, I live next door to my in-laws; it is not as bad as you think!). Here are the children, racing each other down the hill:

SWAP 2008

Muslin Mishap

I know it isn't Monday, but I thought I might give you a quick smile. I'm working on some muslin for the jeans and trousers for my SWAP, so this week I made up a muslin for the Vogue 7608 jeansl. I checked the pattern envelope for the size to cut according to my hip measurement, my widest part, not thinking much about the waist, because I knew it would probably be a bit big and sewed up a muslin without any changes. I didn't realize how much bigger the waist would be:

What's really bad, is that these are tight in the butt/hip/thigh! So, I looked at the pattern envelope again and found out that the size I cut, a size B, is for a 28 1/2" or approx. 72cm waist and a 36 1/2 or approx. 93 cm hip. In cm, I have a 63cm waist and a 93cm hip.

Hmmm . . . maybe a pattern that's closer to my measurements might be in order? Something that I don't have to dramatically alter to fit? I remembered that at one point in time I was working on a muslin for some jeans/trouser from Patrones 6/07. I found the muslin and tried them on. Much better! The Patrones sizing is closer to my own, and I only have to taper down one size at the waist; a size 40 has 66cm/94cm waist/hip, while a 38 has a 62cm/90cm waist/hip. With BWOF, I'd have to taper down two sizes, I checked.

Here's Patrones 6/07 #35:

Mine lacks the waistband, and is already tapered to a 38 at the waist. My legs aren't as long as the models, which my children thought was quite funny as they're about 6" or 15cm too long (I'm 5'2" or 157.5cm), but the fit is better:

I still have a few fixes to make, but they're easy and as I was looking at the pattern pieces, I found some of them already done. This will be part of this weekend's project and next week's, too and we will be on winter break from school.

Parting Shot: More snow. Yeah. What was pretty and exciting in December, is now routine. I'll get off the bus this afternoon and have to clean off the car. Again.

Forget Me Knot - Dress - Part I

The Bodice Muslin

The vest has a matching dress, so in order to get working on it I needed to make a muslin of the bodice. This is particularly important because the pattern I am working from is a bust size 30. I was a little concerned at first that it might be too small, and I was right, but it wasn't so small that I couldn't get it zipped up. I just needed some breathing room. In the end I let out the bodice a total of 3/4" and it fits exactly how I want it to.

Here's the muslin, part way through the process of fitting:

I did the muslin and fitting a little differently than I normally do. To start with, I made the muslin of two layers of sturdy cotton. This is to imitate all the layers that will eventually be in the bodice: fashion fabric, underlining and lining. All that adds to the final circumference, and too many unaccounted for layers and you'll end up with a bodice that is too small. I did, of course, put in the boning as I always do, as that will make a difference in fit, too.

The other thing I did differently was to really take my time with the fitting. This was fitted over a four to five day period. I didn't spend more than 20 to 30 minutes per day working on it. I would make one small change in the evening, and then try the muslin on in the morning while getting ready for work and note any changes. I also kept a pretty detailed log as to what I did each time. I think this helped from getting tunnel vision - which sometimes leads to over fitting. Working with fresh eyes every morning really helped. (I'm doing this now with some jeans/trouser muslins - wait till you see that!)

Here are the fit notes, right from my spreadsheet:

bodice fit notes:

cut all widths to pattern widths

cut bodice back 1" higher

cut bodice side fronts 1" higher at side seam taper to normal height at seam

cut front with top edge even with points

top edge perfect; add additional 5/8" s.a. to existing changes

waist too tight

front bodice perfect with cups and boning not in

back too tight.

let out CB 1/4" both sides (3/4" s.a.)

not using cups

do not shorten between bustline/waist

increase back height by 1" taper up to side seams, and add 5/8" s.a.

split CF; add 1/4" at CF

CF fits perfect at bust/waist lines

make S-shaped seams at bust seam; take out oval shaped piece as marked

S-shaped seams (follow side with check); take out 1/4" extra per side (1/8" x2)

add boning to center front and back change zipper to side

I also was very careful to note on the muslin the exact changes. I drew the old seam lines, the new seam lines and noted the difference between them. Now I have a record in two places of what I've done.


Here's the front bodice piece with the S-shaped curve that I added. I felt that those seams that run over the bust line just hung straight done from the bust point to the waist and didn't curve attractively around the bust and in at the waist on my figure. This is a case where I actually took out the seam, drew the seamline and seam allowances and used that as part of the patter piece. It will be packed up along with a copy of my notes if I use this bodice again. I'm planning on it, since it is very basic and fits well.

I will try to finish making the bodice this evening and if I have time, stitch more trim on the vest. If not, there's always tomorrow evening!

Q/A: Nina wanted to know if I knew anyone who was shipping Misty Fuse internationally. Yes, there is! There is a seller on eBay. If you go to eBay and search for Misty Fuse, there is a seller in Washington State that ships internationally. She's the only one selling it on eBay, too. I bought mine from her, and had no complaints with the transaction.

Parting Shot: Rhinestones! Monday, I ordered some hot fix rhinestones for FMK from the Rhinestone Guy. He's located in Santa Ana, CA and I got the order today! I also ordered a color chart, which has actual samples of all the colors of Czech Preciosa and Swarovski rhinestones. He sells only by the gross (144 pieces), but the prices are good and he's got all sorts of sparkly goodies.

Forget Me Knot - Vest - Part VIII

The Braided Trim

On either side of the cables section on the vest border, there are some spaces for additional trim. I forgot about it when I originally drafted the artwork, so I had to go back and resize the artwork to include this trim. I've finally got to the point where I can make the trim and today I'll show you how it is made.

The trim consists of a braid of 3 strands of embellished soutache. I got this idea from Jane Conlon's book, Fine Embellishment Techniques. Bascially, I've added an line of stitching in decorative thread down the center of the soutache.

To do so, I used the cording foot to guide the soutche through the sewing machine and used the same thread I used for the quilting and satin stitching. The cording foot makes a big difference when trying to do this, as it keeps the soutache in just the right place to stitch.

Here is one package, all done and wound back onto the card. I ended up having to embellish three packages of soutache, which is 15 yards. It only took about 30 minutes to do, once I figured out the best way to get it stitched.

Once the soutache was embellished, I braided it. In order to braid it easily, I stitched the ends to a piece of tear away stabilizer.

I then put it into a binder clip and pinned the unit to my dress form and braided and braided and braided some more.

When I got to the end, I stitched the ends down to another piece of stabilizer and now it is ready to be hand stitched in place on the vest. I was also able to get the vest assembled last night, getting the darts and side seams stitched. When I get the trim stitched on, I'll show you what it looks like so far. I hope to get that done in the next few days.

Parting Shot: A Lot of Snow. There's so much snow at school, that the children can't use this part of the playground. Thankfully, there is a nice sized hill behind the gymnasium that the younger children can sled down during recess.

Forget Me Knot - Vest - Part VI

Making the Peplum

Now that I have a lot of flowers cut out of the synthetics, I can begin making the peplum out of them.

To start, I've traced the circular pattern piece onto parchment paper so that I know where to place the flowers

Next, I place flowers where I want them within the pattern lines, wrong side up. Notice that the flowers graduate from large at the bottom of the peplum to small at the top; I cut out four sizes of flowers to use.

To fuse them all together, I next layer a piece of Misty Fuse over the flowers. Misty Fuse is very thin and disappears once the bonding is complete, doesn't leave excess residue and leaves the piece softer and more flexible than other fusible webs. You can see how thin it is in the second photo.

Lastly, I place a layer of tulle over the flowers and Misty fuse (I promise it is there, white tulle is hard to photograph!):

I then fuse the flowers and tulle together by placing another piece of parchment paper over the top and ironing on the highest setting.

This is the resulting piece, which is only one quarter of the whole peplum, but you get the idea:

Once I get all four quarters assembled, I will trim off the tulle beyond the bottom row of flowers and then it will be ready for stitching into place and futher embellishing. Tonight I'm going to try layering everything the other way, with the tulle on the bottom, Misty Fuse in the middle and the flowers right side up on the top. I'm thinking it might be easier to keep everything where I want it.

Parting Shot: Easter dress fabric. I got a fabulous deal on this Kona Bay 100% cotton fabric on eBay for my daughter's Easter dress, so I bought three yards. Essentially, I got three yards and shipping for the price of two yards at my not-so-local quilt shop. This is such a pretty shade of green and there's gold iridescent accents, too.