A weekend down, One M5845 done

On Friday I decided to trot out to Tooting Broadway to visit the Wimbledon Sewing Machine shop to have a look for thinner needles for the overlocker.

I accidentally looked through the pattern catalogues & ended up with a very long list. I managed to short-list it down to two patterns - and one of them got used straight away. That is a rarity for me, as they usually sit in a box for 8 months before I get round to making one.

Another work outfit using McCall's M5845 using the dark red & cream dots John Kaldor fabric from Fabrics Galore. A super easy pattern, with the front & back darts on the outside, sleeves that hang over the shoulder & then the fun bit - a low square cut out back. I decided to line it with a chocolate brown.

However, the cut-out back does mean no bra.. so that may feel strange at work, that & I will probably freeze in the air con... hmm I don't think I thought this through too well.

The only thing I would change about this is human error.... the fact that I managed to make it fit like a glove, a very very snug glove... I was scared to sit down in case I would hear a massive RRrrrrip! luckily it didn't.. must eat more steamed veggies! ;) that or make more ease for my bum... or I could find a happy medium, between the two.

Still, I love the fabric on this, the spots/dots are all different sizes and hopefully will make excel spreadsheets more fun.

Looking way ahead to Autumn

I started knitting this last summer, it is my pick-up-and-drop knitting project. I have given myself the loosest deadline of getting it done over a year so it's ready for Autumn or Winter 2010. I will pick it up & do a few rows, then drop it by the bed or sofa & it may sit there for a week before I pick it up again. Sometimes I get some good headway, if I am on a train journey (rare, as they are) where I have no option but to knit as there is little else to do.

M took some super lovely photos when I left it on the table, so I thought I'd post them...

It started when John Lewis had a sale in the wool section, I snagged up 12 balls of yarn (cotton ease from Rowan) for the same in pounds - I think! can't remember really - only to realise I would need a lot more balls of the brown to make a whole long sleeve jumper or cardy... so I went back and got the orange...

Then a few months later, actually 6 months later, I realised that that may not even been enough. I trotted off and bought 2 balls of cream from the same yarn. Hopefully it should be enough.

Then my bog standard photo to counter the arty ones.

I would like to point out that I have not a) calculated how much yarn I will need, b) what size it's going to end up or c) followed any pattern. This will be created by eye & gut instinct, much more fun & natural.

V8280 Finito!

I finished it before the end of January! So far have keep up my end of the bargain to sew up a minimum of one item a month.

I like this dress, the silhouette is fun and kind of 40s, but if I made it again, I would make the sleeves much smaller, still gathered, but smaller. Even though I had removed a healthy 1cm all over the sleeve size, it still came out rather large and roomy. I got M to take some photo's quickly for me so I could pop them up here.

I think I will make it again, its a lovely shape, easy to make (once you understand the flange sewing instruction) in a more plain colour and maybe a wool for next winter, or maybe out of a thick 2-way stretch for a super fitted wiggle dress. Looking at the bust photo, I may even lower the neck line by an inch on the next one - though I don't tend to have an open chest at all (I get cold super quickly).

Here's a quick shot of the inside with the lining - a lovely metallic blue, I love the idea of only me knowing how contrasting the lining is when I wear it. Well, not just me, but you as well. Shh! don't tell ;)

What I didn't mentioned previously is that I ironed on interfacing to the flanges as the crepe is very flimsy and isn't super tight against me, so it gives it form.
Also for the sleeves, after sewing them in, they looked so ugly inside - Vogue just instructs you to ease in the whole shabang - lining & outer... so you end up with raw sleeve edges. Yick. I carefully unpicked the sleeves & then set in the outer onto the flange & then hand stiched the lining in. There much nicer & neater.

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Flowers for Spring

I went to buy underpants today. I left with a dress, 2 skinny belts, jumper, t-shirt, bra and remembered the underpants. But what a dress! It looks like Primark have made a copy of Erdem's style - I love his (?) silk floral dresses, super girly but structural shaped dresses, yummy!

I especially liked A/W09 & the detail of S/S10 with the applique silk flowers that makes the whole fabric.

Although his probably cost alot more than this baby did, so I will wear it in homage, until I earn vast sums to spend on Erdem itself!

Whilst prancing around it in, I realised that my back was feeling breezy, but with M taking the photo he pointed out that in fact I do NOT have a dowager's hump, but should accept that maybe I have a broad chest and a narrow back.

Sewing sure as hell makes you super aware of your physical 'attributes'. I am happy I a don't have a hump though...

So no rest for the wicked. I am going to have to undo the lining & zip on this pretty thing & take it all in on the back bodice so it fits. It gapes too much to get away with wearing as is. I shall have to remind myself when I grumble at unstitching it all that it's all good practice.
I may even add in some pockets on the side seam of the skirt.. you can never have too many pockets!

On that note. I got excited about making another work skirt, but with pockets. I always forget to add pockets into everything I sew (including the V8280 - which I havent forgoten to finish I promise).

I saw the Fleur-de-Skirt on Modcloth. Now its got my name in it, so I thought it was a sign.... Inspired I was, so I have been drafting myself a skirt for work, as I love pockets this should satisfy my greed. I think I will use my herringbone fabric I have left over from making this (it's actually grey, but looks green in that photo). I have the same herringbone but with a pink instead of the grey, so I may use the two together..

Whilst I haven't finished the V8280, I did however re-hem a black woolen work skirt by hand tonight. I had used the machine to blind stitch it, but had been lazy & not done a good job, so I sat down before dinner & did by hand. Much better job! Its very plain in black so I don't think its worth posting a picture.

In Love with Designer Vogue Patterns

I just checked out Erica B.'s blog here and followed her link to Vogue patterns. Which is a different site to the one I usually browse them on.

Then I saw this!

HUBBA HUBBA! I even love their fabric choice too! I can see this being my work outfit - maybe lengthen the skirt down a tad so I don't flash my bits when I sit.

Then there is this:

Okay, I could go on and on, and on. So I will stop there.

My final words are thus; Love this site for finding my next Vogue patterns! More user friendly and seems to have more than I am used to seeing. Lets hope its not just restricted to the US market.

The Perfect Fit for a Dowager

Having done half a good fitting for this V8280 dress, as I mentioned in my last post I came slightly undone in the final fitting when I realised I had a large amount of spare fabric on the top few inches just before the nape of my neck... now fitting this myself would be a problem, so I will resort to M helping me out, but until I can coax him into it I decided to do some homework on fitting.


I forget that I have a growing library of sewing books on my shelf. Silly I know, but I have come to rely heavily on t'internet to answer my burning questions. I got "The Perfect Fit" off the shelf. I had forgotten how detailed & amazing this book is! It breaks down fitting patterns to each section of your body & addresses all the potential fit problems that we mere mortals have if we do not fit the 'average' body shape. I could extol this books' virtues for an age, but then it would probably be easier for you to have a look yourself. 


So I flicked through till I got to 'Fitting the Back' & there it was... staring right at me...


Dowager's Hump. Dowager's bl**dy hump?!? Oh my, I not only get called granny at work (another story) but I am growing a hump to match! 


Just in case we all need reminding what that looks like click here for a fabulous drawing. In the US its called Buffalo hump, don'tcha know.


Weeping aside... at least my infirmity *ahem, has a fitting remedy described in the book. See, a light at the end of the tunnel, I can see it now, a fitted hump.... nice.


What I then realise is that I should have looked into this before sewing my lining in. See awful attempt at photographing a book (yes I am too lazy to get the scanner out & do it properly)

So the above are the steps I should have undertaken to create a perfect fit on my baby dowarger's hump. I am still not happy to think I have one, but the picture (out of shot) with a baggy material at the top centre back is what I have with certain bits I have sewn in the past without any stretch. 


So I may just have to do my own handy work on this with two small darts near the CB & then take it in at the top of the CB as well.


I find it too funny that I have a 'hump' after all this time, I never knew - Quasimodo, move over!