That 70's skirt revisited! (Simplicity#5918)

Hello all!

What a weekend it's been!
I finally had time to sit down with my new (to me) sewing machine, and have a go at sewing again.
Let me tell you, it was great, but I disovered I was a bit rusty, and needed an easy project to begin with. So out came the skirt pattern I used for my 70's linen skirt. It's the Simplicity #5918. To date, that skirt has become my most worn item of all I've made, so another one would be a total win!

I pressed it. Honest.

I rummaged through my stash and declared I had nothing that was skirt appropriate, so there was a bit of shopping, too (win#2)! I got some cotton twill in a nice petrol blue that will go nicely with the Victory jumper I am currently knitting. After deciding I wanted to upgrade the first version a bit, I found some green acetate lining in my stash and made an effort to do it "properly". I even did french seams on the lining....oh la la.

Pretty innards :)

I also added pockets to this second version, because it is a rather plain skirt. I drafted them myself, and used one of Bertha's decorative stitches for embellishment on the opening edge. (What? Why, of course a gave my machine a name!) I didn't want top stitching on the pockets, and sewed them on from the inside. Which was a total b*tch on that curve, but I got the look I was after. Besides, challenges are good, however small :)

Small details  makes a big difference!

The hemming is always the worst part for me. I spent an entire day on this.... The hem on the first version looks rather aweful, the linen was so thick and I made them hem too deep for it to lay nicely. So I was determined to have this one look better. I wanted an invisible hem, and to make it extra fancy, I made bias tape out of lining material to cover the raw edge, and thus kept down the bulk. The hem was then hand sewn. Killed my back, but oh so worth it.

At this point, the thought of hemming that slippery lining too, struck the big fear in me and I got a bit creative. I just folded the edge once, and used the decor stitch again just on top of the raw edge and got a cool and easy hem that way. It looks great on both sides, so that goes into my success account! If anything, I am a bit annoyed that the lining ended up a little short, but I can live with that.

I know it's pathetic, but those pockets makes me proud!

I really like that bias bound hem.

All in all, I am very happy I made some extra effort with this skirt, as it turned out rather nice. I am also very happy with my machine. She sews like a dream!
Now, I just need to get a hook and bar to put in that waistband, and it's ready to wear. I know hanger-photos are kind of unenchanting, but I just had to share my excitement!

Did you make anything exciting this weekend? Do tell!

The Psychedelia Dress (Vogue#8852)

For those of you waiting for the announced 60s dress... Well you just have to wait a bit!
I sewed another dress! Wow, I really am on a roll here. I've made three dresses in a week, and that never happens!

This is also my very first go at knit fabric. Oh boy!!

This is the Vogue #8852 (very easy) halter dress from 1974, which I got from Retro Monkeys on Etsy (if you have left over money bothering you, go check it out).  It has princess darts in the front and regular fisheye ones in the back. The pattern called for a center back zipper, but I figured my fabric had so much stretch that I could omit that. So I did :) It was indeed very easy and I made the dress in an afternoon.

My fabric is something I found in a remnant bin for 70 NOK, that's about £6.7 or $11. So not alot.
The piece was 1.40m x 1.40m, just enough for the dress (and a wee bit left for a top). It is a "viscose mix" jersey, VERY stretchy and drapey. I thought the print was kinda funky, and I knew I had to try this knit-business eventually. So it was perfect for something that might or might not be ruined!

I do appologize for the weird exposure in these photos.
My camera was acting up in the cloudy conditions,
I was too pms'y and hissy to argue.

I think it went pretty well. The pattern is actually for a 34" bust (I'm a 37"), but I just cut it anyway. Someone once tipped me on sizing down for knits, and had I graded the pattern up to my size, I would've ended up with a tent! So good tip! I think the dress fit me rather perfectly. I also got to try new settings on my machine. Helpfully, I found I had misplaced the manual, so I just had to try every knob-combo until it produced something stretchy. It was good experience, and I now know my Singer even better!

The only issue I had with the fit was the back. It ended up a bit saggy, so it is low backed, and nothing that looks remotely elegant with any kind of underwear... I guess the seventies was the era of no bras, so it wouldn't have been an issue. I tried fixing it by attaching a drawstring to the side seams and running them through a "corridor" made by sewing the facing to the back piece itself. I dunno. It didn't work as planned, and the spaghetti-strap I made is stretchy too, so the tightening effect is virtually non-existent. So I now just call it a decorative touch, and artistic freedom!

Hard to see, but here's my drawstring back!

Even though my first experience with knits went fairly well, I obviously still have lots to learn. The facing pieces do not behave as they do on stable fabrics, and I suspect it would look better if I had stabilized the seams around the top area with something. Or added interfacing to facings. Also, when making buttonholes in something stretchy, it needs something stable underneath. I attempted  it on plain jersey, and the result was my Singer eating the neck strap to the point where I had to disassemble half of my machine to get it out. Needless to say, there was no buttonhole, and I just sewed the straps together at the neck and stuck a button on there for eye appeal.

Eye candy button :)

So there it is! My first knit garment! It might not be my best work, but it will do for a simple sun dress to wear around the house. It was not worth all the procrastination, knits are totally okay, even without a serger!

That 70s skirt (Simplicity # 5918)

Hi all!

So , it's been a while!
Well, after the Sew for Victory sewalong I found myself needing a bit of a break.
Nothing serious, just life in general.
I decided to leave the sewing alone, until I had an urge to sew again, and this weekend the urge surfaced.

So, I made a skirt!
Although unblogged, I have attempted some skirt sewing earlier, but never really had any good results. I lost interest and left it. But with summer drawing close, the skirt shaped hole in my wardrobe became to much to ignore. I love the look of cute skirts in summer and they are so easy to wear, but I have struggled finding my style. I love the look of pencil skirts, but I have found that they are difficult to sew and make look good on my boardlike figure.

This winter I came across some sewing patterns in my local thrift store (which never happens!), so I bought them all! Among these was this cute 70s pattern for pants, skirt and jacket.

The skirt would be a perfect quick project, and I had both fabric and notions in my stash. Win win!

The fabric is a medium to heavy weight linen, that was originally destined for a dress. It was gifted to me by my mom years ago :) Thanks, Mummy!

I came to the conclusion that is was too heavy for a dress (and insanely wrinkly!), so a casual skirt would be better.

Bad hairday hat.
 My most prized posession...

The construction was straight forward, and basically a breeze right up to the hemming. I'll be the first to admit that the hemming on this thing is not my brightest of sewing moments, but it was dang hard! The linen was stiff and hard to wrangle, but it works. Kind of.

I also think an invisible zipper would look better, but I am fine with this one. It came off some pants that was given to me, so totally free of charge. Recycling is rewarding!

It is hard to see from the photo, but I got to try the overlock-stitch on my machine too! I can't believe I have never tried it before, it worked great on this fray-happy fabric! I read about the stitch setting on some excellent blog some time back, and was baffled to find that my cheap little machine had it :) I love you, little Singer!

 It is good to be sewing again, and this instant satisfaction was just what I needed. Besides, I think this pattern will be great in other versions too. Finally, a tried and true favourite!

Have you done any quick 'n easy summer sewing?

Meow!

Hello good people!

I am back, with my newest make!
For your viewing pleasure is a pussy bow blouse made from Simplicity #8738, printed in 1978.
The fabric is a light cotton I found in a remnant bin for about 1£, and it was just enough to squeeze out this cute blouse.

The pattern is one I got in a small lot off a Facebook group, for a couple of £s earlier this summer, and when I saw there was going to be a Bow Neck Sewalong hosted by Seamstress Erin, well... I was good to go!

The pattern was VERY tatty... I had to totally restore it, before it could be put to use. If someone told me it was cut by Stevie Wonder, I would not bat an eyelid. (No offence, Stevie, but we all know you're no good with scissors..). On several pieces the seam allowance had been cut off, and they were also severed at all "lengthen-here" lines, so it was quite the puzzle.

I went for View 4, with short sleeves.

The construction was actually great. The back yoke piece is self faced, and made the inside lovely and clean. The instructions was clear and easy to follow, and the bow collar was so easy that the whole shirt was made up in just a few hours spread over a couple of days. None of that usual collar-crazyness!

I found the perfect buttons!! Can you see the little pussycats?
So cute!!

When it was time for sleeves, I decided  to use the same pattern pieces as I did on my first blouse.
There was not enough fabric for long sleeves, besides I really liked those little puffy ones with the pleating, but I wanted pointy cuffs this time.
To make a long story short, I went about fusing on interfacing, and cut the ends of the cuff pieces at an angle, only to find out that I was actually suppose to fold those pieces and so - they were ruined.
I was sure I could make new ones, and rummaged through my scraps. Oh no. Not a single piece big enough for even one of the cuffs, so it was time to get creative! I managed to cut out six narrow strips about 5" long, three of these were joined together and used as binding. I figured, since this was a bow blouse, some more bows couldn't hurt, right? So, ta-dah!! Bowed sleeves :)

I really like this blouse, but I think I need to put some darts in it, because it is HUGE! I have become accustom to 40s sizing, so a size 16 usually mean a 34" bust. This pattern, however, is from the late 70s, so the amount of ease is enormous! The fact that the bust size of 97cm (38+ inches), is printed on the envelope, totally escaped my attention... I blame my enthusiasm. Heh.
The color is really fresh, and to my recollection, I have never worn yellow before. So it was a positive, and cheery change in my wardrobe.

Pussy bow blouses are fun to wear, and I really want more of these. But i might look for a more fitted style next time. This one was great for getting my feet wet with these cute blouses. I would also like some in a more "dressy" fabric, but for my first go this everyday cotton was just the ticket!

The sewalong runs till the end of November, so there is still time to join, if you haven't already ;)