Flash and Trash - Part XVIII

Plans  and a Good Start for a Hat

I normally do not make hats for my art garments, but for this one, I thought it might be something fun to try.  I usually will spend quite a bit of time finding the right vintage hat, gloves, purse, shoes and jewelry for the outfit.  Because of the uniqueness of the vest, a matching hat certainly would be better than hoping I could just the right piece to go with it.

Because I wanted something simple, I decided to go with Vogue 8052.  Fortunately, Threads published an article a few months back from which I also gleaned a lot of useful information.  It is called Millinery Marvels from Feb./Mar. 2011, pp. 49-53.

Since I had leftover velvet, that seemed to be the right thing to start with.  I found just enough buckram in my collection to stitch together to make the foundation of the hat.  I cut the pieces to the correct size, then wet and steamed it into shape and let it dry.

After that, I added the silk flowers in the same way as the vest, by stitching them down with decorative threads and embellishing them with beads and sequins.  You can see the top of the hat below, waiting for the bead work.

So far, this has been pretty easy and I'm really enjoying the hat making process.

Q/A:  From Sewing Spots:  "I don't suppose you'd care to elaborate with a detailed post about label making?"  Actually, I have done at least one in the past.  Doing a quick blog search turned up this post from the making of Ride 'Em Cowboy. 

Regarding Wellie, ashley0107 asked, "I have to ask, where did he get his name from?"  His full name is Wellington.  He's part of the New Zealand series of cats.  We also have a cat named Kiwi.  For some reason we name cats as part of a series.  We had a computer series for a while, with a Router, Proxy and had the name Packet picked out if we'd adopted a third cat. 

Lastly, Kelley asked for some history of my antique sewing machine.  It is a Singer treadle and is a family piece; it does work, and has a belt, but I've never really put it all together and got it going.  My sewing machine dealer could do that for me, as he also deals in antique machines.  It was my husband's great aunt's machine brought down to Maine from Nova Scotia.  We got it from her, who was storing at the time in the loft of the cabin on her property on an island off coastal Maine (the island is connected by a causeway to the mainland).  She made us promise not to sell it or give it away out of the family before we took.  That means I'll be handing it down some day.  

Next week is spring break for the children, I will be taking a blog break for the week.  I will be back with more Flash and Trash, Make The Look and whatever else I've decided to work on the first Monday in May (that sounds so far away, but it isn't!).

Tomorrow is Easter, I hope you have a wonderful day and celebrate the risen Savior!

Parting Shot:  Snow.  No, I'm not kidding.  It showed here today.  I'm pretty sure it will all be gone in the morning, but it was a little disappointing to see it coming down and then accumulating.

Flash and Trash - Part XVII

A Label

Usually the addition of a label signifies the end of a project.  In this case, it only is the end of the vest - there are a few more pieces to go, namely a hat and a skirt!

I have a procedure for making my labels, which I like and works for me.  I make my own by printing on silk or cotton all in the important info (garment name, completion date, my name, address, etc.) using BubbleJet set.  Once I'm done with the printing process, the labels are carefully cut out, shaped and appliqued by hand in place.  I almost always use an oval shape and have a set of templates that I've made from freezer paper.  I have three or four various sizes that I use depending on the size of label I make, which ultimately depends on the size of the garment or the space I have for a label.

Next Up:  Plans for a hat!

Parting Shot:  New Bead Project.  I've decided to do another bead encrusted project, although this one won't be totally encrusted.  At this point, I've got the base fabric in place and some antique glass buttons glued and ready to be caged with beads.  There's also a rough outline of what I want to do. 

Regarding my daughter in yesterday's post, she is a second year flute student and takes flute along with piano lessons at school.  She does not sew much, which is fine with me, but does make books and other sorts of paper crafts.

Flash and Trash - Part XVI

More Fringe!

The vest is almost complete, and today we'll take a look at the neckline trim and finishing.  I've decided to use the remaining fringe trim around the entire neckline.  I had the option of only using it along the top edges of the front, but since this piece is a little crazy anyway, I decided to do the whole thing.  Before making that decision, I did pin several variations in place to see how it looked and liked trim all the way around best.

To start, I basted the fringe in place and made up more bias binding.  There seems to be a lot of that in this project!  I then stitched the binding in place by machine, turn it to the inside and hand stitched it in place.  Seems like I've been doing quite a bit of that lately.

I also decided to trim the fringe down a bit.  There was too much of it over the shoulders and it was too long at the back neck edge.  When you have a garment that has so much going on in it visually, there does need to be some places where the eye can "rest".  Without that open space between the flowers and the fringe, the back seemed to be a bit too much visually.

All that's left for the vest is the label!  That doesn't mean we're done, oh no, you know there will be more.   For starters, there will be a hat and I'm thinking I have enough fabric leftover for a skirt, too!

Parting Shot:  Recital Time.  It is that time of year again, and we're now working on a flute number.  I just got the accompaniment last week, but we've still got a good three or four weeks before performance.

An Easter Dress

The Finishing Touches

The last thing to do on the Easter dress was to bind the armholes and neck edges.  This was pretty straightforward bias cut satin binding, stitched on with the machine and then stitched down by hand on the wrong side. 

At the side seam where the zipper was inserted, I decided to finish off the binding with one side longer than the other and finish the closure with a snap.  My daughter and I agreed that this was a lot more comfortable in the underarm area than a hook and eye at the top of the zipper.

It's all done, but I won't have any photos of her wearing it until next week.  She has tried it on for fittings, but there wasn't time this afternoon for a photo shoot. 

Parting Shot:  Sweater. Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to find a purple cardigan to match the Easter dress.  Since the weather isn't always spring-like in New England at Easter, this is perfect to complete the look and keep my daughter warm.

Thank you all for comments on Wellie and his desire to lick plastic bags!  Nice to know that I'm not the only one with a cat that has weird habits.

Make The Look

Kate Spade Ikat Caroline Dress

Let's take a break from Anthro for a while and look at a few goodies from Kate Spade.  There always seem to be some nice pieces there and when I saw this dress, I knew there was at least one pattern for it.  From the website, "Ladylike and lovely, in a summery cotton ikat that's equally at home at an impromptu garden party or finding inspiration while wandering the halls of the frick. featuring a figure-flattering gathered bodice with double crossover straps and a full gathered skirt (all the better for dancing under the stars), it's finished with thoughtful details that include delicate piping along the waistband and an invisible side zip."  Nice, and now we have some details.

The first pattern I thought of was Butterick 5029, which is really close in style, with the exception of the double narrow straps, gathered midriff section and back invisible zipper.  Those things could be easily fixed.

The other two patterns that I found that would make a similar look are New Look 6699 and New Look 6776, although the skirts would need a bit of changing if you want to make something closer to the original dress.

For fabrics, one of my favorites is this cotton from Gorgeous Fabrics:

For an interesting monochromatic look, this fabric from EmmaOneSock is nice, too:

All photos from respective websites with links.

Parting Shot:  New Tent.  Our old tent had some manufacturing defects, so after returning it to the company, we ended up with a new tent.  As you'll soon see, Wellie had to investigate.  I heard the familiar noise of him licking something (he loves to lick plastic grocery bags), and sure enough I found him, in the tent, licking the walls of the tent.  Ugh!

An Easter Dress

The Skirt

The skirt is a combination of simple, yet carefully done finishing steps.  It is simple enough in that I cut both the chiffon and the satin layers in one piece, with the only seam being at the side where the zipper is.  The lining was cut in two pieces, just to save on fabric.  All three pieces were then basted together and attached to the bodice.  This is the point where it carefully thinking and constructing needs to be done.

All three skirts were basted together until about 3" or from the side seam where the zipper would be put in.  Then just the chiffon and satin were basted together.

All three skirts were then stitched to the bodice, starting and ending where I changed the basting to include only the satin and chiffon.  At that point, the lining was folded out of the way and then the satin and chiffon skirts were attached the rest of the way to the side seam.  This was done on both sides.  The lining will remain out of the way until after the zipper is put in. 

The zipper went in easily, and the hand finishing could begin.  The skirt lining is then gathered and hand stitched in place along the waist seam line first.  Then it is hand finished along the zipper edge.  Finally, the bodice lining was hand stitched in place over the waist seam.  This is how the inside looks now:

All that is left is finishing the armholes and upper edge with the binding!

Parting Shot:  Leather.  Wellie likes the leather, too.  I certainly count on Wellie to approve of any fabric that is left out too long before I get to putting it away!

Flash and Trash - Part XV

A Peplum!

Getting the peplum on was the next big step and that is done!  It wasn't hard, but it did take some time to make sure everything was just right.  First thing was to get the fringe attached and the piping for the bottom edge attached:

With that done and ready, the peplum was placed right sides together with the vest and stitched on:

 Now for the one of the trickier parts, adding the peplum lining.  The lining was attached right sides together with the peplum.  This was one of the slower parts, because of the piping.  I had to make sure that I wasn't stitching too far away from it or too close!

 With the lining in place and turned right side out, all I had to do was turn in the top edge of the peplum lining and hand stitch it in place along the seam that joins the peplum to the body.  This is how the piece looks from the inside, now:

There's not much left to do on the vest at this point, just the neck trim and finishing and the label.  That's not too much!

Q/A:  I've had a few recently and need to get caught up!  First regarding the yellow purse from sewbluetiful:  "Great bag, question though,, the sides of the bag look like the "collapse" in, right? what keeps them from collapsing out.  The reason I ask is I made a backpack that the sides went in,, but it had straps that attached with velcro to hold them in,, other wise they would go out... then the flap went over that..."   There really isn't anything that keeps them collapsing inward, I just fold them in when closing the bag.  I could have used straps like you've described.  Actually for the next purse, I'm going to interface the bag sides, and use the Peltex 70 elsewhere.  That's one of the changes for version 3.0!

Second, regarding the hook and eye tape used for the closure of the F&T vest from AllisonC:  "I've always wanted to know and now seems like a good time to ask a dumb question - how do you attach the hook side of the tape without the hooks getting in the way of the sewing machine foot and needle?"  Ah yes, this is always a tricky thing to do.  Because I sew other garments that need this sort of closure, I've done some experimenting with how exactly to sew this stuff on and make it look good.  The hook side is the harder of the two.  I generally will baste the longer side on first - one side is slightly longer than the other.  Then I will stitch the shorter side down through all the layers (shorter side, fabric and longer side); after that I remove the basting.  To get close enough to do this without hitting the hooks, I have found that a piping foot or any foot that's very skinny and narrow works best.  Sometimes I can stitch it with a zipper foot, but depending on style of foot that may be too wide.  For F&T, I stitched the one side down by machine and the other side by hand, it was easier to avoid all the hooks this way!

Parting Shot:  MQX Goodies.  This is all I bought at MQX.  Yep, I little jar of dye powder and a blank stamp.  I'm not a super big spender at shows since much of the merchandise I don't have an immediate need or use for.  If I need something, I'll check the vendor's website and order it.

 

An Easter Dress

The Bodice

Thanks for all the compliments on the fabric and pattern choices for this project!  I've been able to work on the bodice.  Although this is a simple dress, it should fit right, so I made up the lining first and tried it on my daughter.  It didn't fit too badly, but I chose to make two corrections.  One, the points of the bust darts needed to be moved over about 3/4" toward the center, this correction you can see below.  Two, I shortened the bodice length so that the waist seam is at the natural waist rather than a bit below. 

Once the pattern corrections were made, I then cut out the silk and the satin layers.  Then it was time for all the basting.  The silk and satin layers needed to be basted together to prevent shifting around.  I also basted through the center of each dart before stitching them to keep things from shifting. 

Now that the darts, shoulder and side seams are stitched, I've got a bodice lining and a bodice:

The next step is to work on the skirt and get it attached.

Parting Shot:  Pink Bag.  I got a request for a money bag cover for a ladies event at our church.  They didn't want the standard blue one, so I found a some pink vinyl in my collection, a pink zipper and some fibers to make a tassel.  It is big enough to put the blue one in but fits in better with the event theme. 

An Easter Dress for My Daughter

This is Number 13.

For this year's annual Easter dress, my daughter has chosen a really pretty silk chiffon from Gorgeous Fabrics:

Since this fabric is so pretty, we decided that we'd need a simple dress to show it off.  As you can see from the photo above, the fabric is a print, but also fades to a deep purple border on the one side.  To take advantage of that fabric, we chose Burda 2/11 #101:

I am going to make a few changes to the pattern, but that's nothing new.  Here they are:

1. The skirt will be cut cross grain with the purple border at the hem.  I will not cut 2 pieces, but one long piece to avoid making one of the side seams.  
2. There will be an underlining in satin as the chiffon is too sheer by itself, even with a lining.  I chose a lightweight ivory crepe, but when I got it home, my daughter didn't like it, so we ended up with a sand color satin instead.
3. I am going to bind the neckline and armholes with dark purple satin.  She liked this idea and it will just as nice of a finished edge as fully lining in the traditional way, and probably easier.  You can see the purple my daughter found in the collection with the silk below.

I think that's it, but there might be more changes along the way.

So far, I've traced up a size 36 and have made some neckline modifications.  Next step is to make up the bodice lining and get a check on the fit before cutting or sewing the rest of the fabrics.  

Parting Shot: Packed and Ready.  I'm headed out to Providence, RI this afternoon to see the MQX (Machine Quilter's Exposition) Show and to catch up with some friends.  Glad I have a big bag to hold all my stuff!

Flash and Trash - Part XIV

A Little Bit of Drama

If you've followed any of my art garment series, you'll know that practically no garment has escaped some sort of drama.  While this one has gone fairly well, it is no exception.  This is also the part where I actually had to spend two dollars and change on this outfit.  Just when I thought I was going to be able to make a garment without spending anything!

So, how did I end up spending such a grand sum on this project?  Well, the next step in completing the vest would be the closure.  Because I've decided to use a hook and eye closure, already made by the yard, I need to attach it before finishing the neck edge and the peplum.  There's only one problem:  it is white.  Which really isn't a problem at all, because not only can I dye natural fibers, but I can dye any sort of nylon, too. 

So, I dyed it, hoping for a nice orange color and got this orange:

Whoa!  That's just a bit too dark!  Not quite like the orange tones already in the velvet at all.  Since nylon need an acid dye, unlike the dyes used for cotton, this stuff doesn't bleach out.  Nor will it come out or lighten up with hydrogen peroxide.  Nope, the only thing that will lighten this stuff is more chemicals, specifically, good old Rit dye remover.  This is what I had to spend money on. 

The good news is that it did the job! Following the directions on the box, I now have a lighter hook and eye set and it has the same color variations as the velvet, ready to go:

Attaching it was easy, and now I'm ready to finish up the peplum.  The first photo shows both sides, ready for the final hand stitching, the second photo shows the hook side from the inside of the vest.

Hopefully, everything else about this project will go smoothy!

Parting Shot:  Spice Box.  I was out shopping with my son for some gear for hiking this summer and he really loved this little spice box.  I ended up having to order my item online anyway and needed something small and cheap to get the free shipping, and the spice box met the requirements. 

Make The Look

Helen Mirren's Lanvin Dress

Thanks for the compliments on the yellow purse!  It is a good way to add a pop of color to the wardrobe.

This dress is a Make The Look request from Reethi, who saw it and was really taken with it.   It took me a bit of time, but I think I have found some good patterns for inspired by versions and one frankenpattern version.

The version that Helen Mirren wore is a little bit different than the runway version.  The most notable difference is the neckline and a higher center front seam.  A quick look at the photos will explain that.  Other than that, it looks pretty much the same - there are dolman sleeves, a straight skirt and an exposed zipper on the left side.  If you would like to purchase the exact dress, then check it out on Net-a-Porter.  Also check the $2520 price tag. 

To make a dress that is similar to the original, but not exactly, you could use either Vogue 8631 or Vogue 1025.  Neither of these is an exact match, but both have some similar style lines such as the sleeves and slim skirts. 

To get closer to the original, you'll need to do a frankenpattern.  For the top half of the dress, I suggest Simplicity 2223.  This is technically a jacket pattern, but has the right lines.  You can work with this one of two ways.  Number One:  you won't need the bottom half of the jacket, just the top half.  You can also modify this pattern to include a center front seam.  For the skirt, any straight skirt that you know fits you will work, preferably one fitted with darts if needed for a smoother look.  You'll also need to include an exposed side zipper from under the arm to the hem.  Number Two:  Extend the bottom half of the jacket into a skirt, again adding a side zipper from the underarm to the hem. 

As far as fabric, the original is a navy stretch twill.  Both Fabric.com and Fabricmart have some now and have other colors as well, if navy isn't your thing.

All photos from respective websites with links included.

Parting Shot:  Pretty.  Teal blue and sparkles, what's not to love?  Just for fun and for spring, a new pedicure color.