Making Plans

Thank you for your consideration regarding my last post.  Thank you too to those who took the time to email.  It means a lot.

Slowly, slowly I’m starting to try and resume some sort of normality.  I haven’t touched my sewing machine since finishing my V2903 and I know I still have yet to post any pictures of it!  I will though…

So, I’ve been distracting myself with a bit of autumn / winter planning of the sewing variety.  I have discovered that I feel a million more times attractive in a dress or skirt, so that’s the direction my sewing is going to go in.

My Beignet has been in heavy rotation and I have some dark blue moleskin type fabric that is destined to become mkII, although sized down a bit.

My Sencha gets worn a lot too, so there will probably be another couple of versions of that as well, again sized down a bit.

Then there comes the work wardrobe (thank you for the suggestions, twitterers!).  My office is weird in that it’s in an old 1960s building that is either boiling hot or freezing cold.  Comfortable happens for about an hour once a week if your lucky!  So I’m planning on dresses with 3/4 length or short sleeves as full length sleeves just annoy me.

So my pattern plans are:

New Look 6000 View C in a prince of wales plaid

Colette Peony with long sleeves in a navy wool I think (if I have enough!)

Simplicity 2724 (thank you Liz!) – the middle photo with the round neckline, 3/4 sleeves and slim skirt with a thick dark pinstripe cotton for the skirt and a japanese slubby cotton with a fireworks sort of pattern for the bodice.

Vogue 8280 with the sleeves and bodice of view B and the skirt of View C in a dark grey wool

New Look 6070 in a teal plaid

New Look 6968 View D, which is actually the photo as it has pockets and the tie collar  Fabric to be decided, but I like the idea of some sort of polkadot…

I’ve got nearly all the fabrics already in my ‘collection’.  I just need to get some sort of polkadot for NL6968.  And some colour catcher sheets for S2724!

Does anyone have any experience with any of these patterns (I’ll be referring to her Scruffyness’ posts for NL6000)?  Any suggestions or thoughts?  Have you planned your sewing, or are you winging it?  I know I often plan big and sew a much smaller number of garments, but hey dream sewing is fun too and if I actually manage even three of these I’ll be quite happy.

Slow and Steady

I’m gently making progress on my shirt dress.  The collar is constructed and basted in place, I just need to put the permanent stitching in then add the buttonholes to the bodice.  After that it’s skirt attaching time and it’ll really look like a dress!  I’m really proud of the results so far and the inside is looking beautiful – french seams and bound seams!

But my sewing mojo has wandered off for a short while – I suspect due to outside influences like suddenly needing to buy a new truck for my husband’s business as our Land Rover decided starting was too much like work.  It’s taken four weeks to fix the Landy (when all along it was just a faulty fuel pump which the ‘specialists’ failed to identify for 3 weeks), a bit of juggling and a small (hah!) amount of stress, but we’ve sorted it.  Phew.  New truck is being collected end of this week or maybe next – depending when the bit that covers the load bay arrives.  We’re getting a twin cab Navara.

Apart from anything else, no truck means no holiday and no Olympic Sailing!  So it’s a double relief that its getting sorted.

But, you don’t really want to know about our mechanical and vehicular nightmare!  So, whilst I couldn’t summon the energy to sew ‘properly’ I decided to do some virtual sewing.  Also known as pulling patterns and fabric from the stash and planning the next half dozen or so items!

The next ‘project’ item will be this:

Vintage Vogue 2903

This is for Brother in Law’s Wedding on the 8 September.  I’ve read the reviews on Pattern Review and understand that the yoke and sleeve insertion is unusual!  I’m planning on using the wider yoke with the shorter sleeves.  I think I may well shorten the skirt to knee length rather than mid calf too.

I’ve yet to decide on a fabric and it uses a LOT – 5 yards of 60″.  I think I’m likely to use a taffeta of some sort.  Possibly a bronze/gold colour.  The wedding colours are a deep ‘Cadbury’ purple so I don’t want to use that  colour (despite loving purple), and my other thought was a deep teal.  I have a hair clip that I’ll wear with peacock feathers in it, so I have a beautiful range of colours as inspiration.

So, whilst the above is going on, I thought I’d make the top and maybe the skirt from this:

Rachel Comey for Vogue 1170

I’ve got an irregular pokadot fabric which I think would be great for the top.  I’ll be omitting the ties on the sleeves though.  I’ve also got a black imitation suede that I may use for the skirt.

Then I have to decide – dresses for holiday (in two weeks – gotta  finish the shirt dress and make the 1880 wrap dress first…) or start sewing for autumn?  Anyway, here’s where I got to:

Seersucker Lonsdale

Lawn Butterick 5750 or Colette Chantilly

I’m not sure about the Chantilly as I love the gathered section over the bust but as my bust is already ample I worry about looking like I’m all boobs!

Then for the autumn I’ve got this far:

New Look 6000 in teal plaid

Vogue 8280 in charcoal wool

I think probably view C on NL6000 but with short sleeves and view E of the Vogue.

What do you think to my plans?  Any opinion on fabric or colour for the Vintage Vogue? All advice gratefully received!

Autumn Colours

I seem to be drawn to rich, jewel colours this autumn/winter.  I find colours easier to work with at this time of the year as the saturation isn’t so searing.

Autumn Jewels - my palette for autumn!

Like the ones above – a palette I made on COLOURlovers.  I love the combination of teal and chocolate.  And plum works well with the rich brown as well.  The mustard adds some golden warmth and would be an accent rather than a solid for me.  Navy is my dark neutral or black.  Cream is my light neutral as I wash out if I wear pure white.  I seem to have chosen stronger, darker colours but all rich in tone.

When I make my Lady Grey coat (not likely to be this year – I don’t have the confidence yet…) I imagine it to be either teal or plum with a chocolate lining, finished with a flash of gold piping where the lining joins the facings inside the coat.

Other plans are for a satin Pendrell in teal, and maybe plum and a navy Beignette in a beautiful brushed cotton…  And of course my beret and fingerless mitts are in a tweedy teal too.  Oh, and if I get Colette’s Jasmine pattern for my birthday, I may consider a solid golden mustard piece.  Even if I said it’d be an accent colour two paragraphs ago.  Just look at Sarah Gabbart’s top she made for the Sew Weekly.  If that can’t change your mind, nothing will.

I love this so much!

This is the first time I’ve ever actually thought about what colours I’d like to wear and which suit me.  It’s helped focus me a little more.  I can understand why Colette’s Colour Palette Challenge is so popular!  I’m unlikely to create 8 pieces in 8 weeks, more like 8 pieces between now and spring.  But I’m not making any promises, or putting any pressure on myself.

Do you plan with colour like this, or are you much more of a sew with whatever pattern and colour combination inspires you at the time person?

Sewing Progress

This evening I’ve graded the waist band of the crescent skirt, and hope to make up a muslin to check the fit tomorrow.  I may even be able to cut the fabric tonight!  So I’m a little bit light headed from over exposure to Sharpie marker pen fumes…  I’ve been following the Snug Bug’s method, but wont be grading the pocket, just moving it over to the new side seam.  I’ll then follow Tasia’s sew along posts on her Sewaholic blog.

I’ve also been fabric stalking for Casey’s Circle Skirt sewalong!  I love the colour combination of chocolate and turquoise, so I really like this fabric! As it’s a plaid / tartan I’ll have to be careful matching the seams, but it will give a really pretty chevron effect!  I think quite a wide waistband will also be a good idea – 2 to 3″ probably.

I think a lining in turquoise and the skirts seam binding in the cerise would look amazing.  It’s a polyviscose though which is good for the pennies, but means the lining will have to be anti-static! I’d like to find some horsehair braid to give the hem some fullness and I may even invest in a crinoline / petticoat to give it that added woosh…

I’ve also faffed with the Pendrell I made last month in preparation for some production line sewing.  I’ve taken an inch out at each side seam, so 4″ in total which makes it look a lot better.  I’ve also taken a good 6″ off the bottom as it was way way way too long!  Even though I’ve lopped all that length off, it’s still plenty long enough to tuck in, but wont look daft untucked either!

Planning an Autumn Wardrobe

OK, my Lonsdale never made it as far as the cutting table.  I’m going to add it to my sewing list for next summer.  I just couldn’t find the fabric I had in my head for it.  So I think I’ll wait, keep looking and make it in the spring for next summer when it’ll get a lot of wear.  You never know, they may have sorted my wretched hormones out and I’ll be a tad smaller?  This running has to pay off sometime…

So, for this autumn I plan to concentrate on separates.  Here are my ideas…

Pendrell: in striped shirting with cap sleeves.  Probably multiples!  I wonder if this would look good layered over a long sleeve T.  Or would that be too casual for work?  Oh, and of course my gorgeous butterfly / moth fabric.

Shirting from Ditto Fabrics

Circle skirt: in solids and maybe a plaid if I feel confident in matching them…  Navy, purple and maybe a border print with some teal or turquoise.  This pattern from Burda is kinda where I’m thinking.  Ooh, chocolate baby cord?

Linda Skirt - Burda

Beignette:  In solids.  Again in a deep purple, navy, deep red wine colour and maybe even a pinstripe?  I have some cute indigo buttons…

Ginger:  See above!  Maybe another polkadot one in a dusky teal?  I fancy bias though as I think it may hang a little better in the heavier fabric…  Definitely a straight waist band.

Gah, I forgot the Crescent skirt too – and I have a really sweet vintage-esque navy with stylised flowers printed on it too…

You see, my plan is that these will all be wearable for work, with tights.

I’m also going to need to think about my casual, running around with boy outfits.  And these will have to involve trousers some of the time- I’d love to make them I just don’t know where to start.  I do love this burda pattern though:

Bella Trouser - Burda