Revisiting the wardrobe project

As you may or may not remember, near the beginning of the year I posted about the burdastyle wardrobe project. I thought now would be a good time to revisit it and see how it went.

Esprit Dress - This dress was completed earlier in the year and I have discovered that I didn't end up posting about finishing it. The dress turned out well, except that some of the alterations I made to the pattern after the muslin resulted in the dress being too big, resulting in the dress feeling a little sack like. I need to take in the side seams. Also, the pockets are a bit low, which I didn't realise in the muslin as I didn't add the pockets. It's something i'll have to remember to think about for future projects.

Sencha Blouse - When I bought this pattern I loved it, now I've made it up I still love it. The one that I made was a practice garments (also known as "wearable muslin") from some unknown blue fabric from my stash. It is a great garment but a bit big, I am still planning on making another one in a smaller size.

Emily Shirt - I made a black version of this shirt (again a practice garment), and if i wear it i look remarkably like a waiter. It also has a number of fitting problems (mostly in the shoulder and sleeve), so it's been put aside for now.

Jenny Skirt - I initially had hesitations about this pattern, but so far I've made two version of this skirt and I LOVE it. The black version is a bit big and I need to take it in, but the grey one is fantastic! I'd like to make another one with a narrower waistband in a colour, I just haven't found "the" fabric yet.

Vogue Trousers - Sadly (as seems to be a bit of a theme with these items), these trousers weren't a huge success either. While there was nothing particularly wrong with them, the biggest problem was my fabric choice - the fabric (as shown, although exaggerated slightly, in the photo below) was a bit too shiny for the style I was going for. Also the fit wasn't ideal, however I think I know how it could be improved. I'm not sure if I'll bother though, as I've since decided that i'm not the biggest fan of wide legged trousers - they look fine when you're standing but they're annoying the way they flap around your ankles when you walk.

Hikaru Jacket - This is definitely the biggest success of my wardrobe plan. Probably a little warmer than my initial plan, but definitely a huge success.

A few successes, a few not-quite-successes... not too bad, especially since the project was abandoned part way through the year in favour of working on my thesis.

Full Steam Ahead...

Monday night is normally my 'stay home and sew and watch trashy TV (ie Desperate Housewives)" night, so that's exactly what I did - more work on my Hikaru. The jacket now has the peplum & pockets:

and a zip:

Slow but steady progress, mostly because I've been reading and re-reading each step of the instructions about 5 or 6 times before setting stitch to fabric. Partly because they're not the clearest, and partly because I really don't want to have to unpick anything on this fabric!

Can you spot my mistake?

Yesterday I finally started stitching my Hikaru jacket. After checking my stitch settings on some scraps of the fabric, and deliberating for far too long over topstitching options (thread colour, distance from seam etc etc), I bit the bullet and began.

Back seams... front seams... and then I got to the shoulder seams and they didn't match up... cue lots of looking at fabric pieces, pattern pieces and my muslin. It took me far too long to realise what I'd done wrong. Below is a picture of my jacket back piece... can you see what I did wrong?

I stitched the centre back pieces together the wrong way around! Faced with unpicking that much topstiching I was about to stop for the night, so instead checked if I had enough fabric to cut out new back pieces, which I did, and I made sure that I did it the right way around this time. Much better:

So now I have the front and back sewn up and together at the shoulder and side seams and the shoulder tabs basted in place on the shoulder:

Hopefully I won't make any more stupid mistakes as I don't have enough fabric left to cut out any more pieces and they don't have this fabric left at the store.

Injuries!

Last night I cut out the wool for my Hikaru Jacket... and discovered I shouldn't have been lazy and should have cut the two layers separately. Not because of any (yet undiscovered) inaccuracies between the two layers, but because the two layers is bloody thick!! Both me and my scissors are now feeling a little worse for wear! My thumb is bruised (and at one point last night didn't have any feeling), and my scissors were squeaking while I was cutting, which has never happened before.I tried them on some calico and they seem fine, but I will be taking them into get sharpened as soon as I have some free time...

Which leads me onto this question; does anyone have any recommendations of where to get my scissors sharpened in Melbourne? (Preferably in or near the city)

Pre-shrinking...

As I mentioned I would in my last post on the topic, I needed to do some research on pre-treating/shrinking the fabric I bought for Hikaru fabric.

The lining fabric is easy, I've hand washed that with the silk wash I bought at Tessuti.

Onto the wool... I have been informed by one of the ladies who works at The Fabric Store that the fabric I bought is "boiled wool". So, armed with this information I Googled... and I Googled... and I Googled.... (written three times because I know that Google don't like you verb-alising their name and I'm a rebel like that!) and Google failed me! I could find heaps of information on making boiled wool, and lots on pre-shrinking other wool fabrics (summarised beautifully here or here) but nothing on boiled wool.

So, I went back to the store and asked their advice, and I was assured that I didn't need to pre-shrink the wool, I just needed to dry clean it once it was finished... sceptical of this advice and still not convinced that my jacket wouldn't shrink the first time I get caught in the rain (much like an umbrella I once had) I went to the Library.

I got out "More Fabric Savvy" by Sandra Betzina, which confirms that pre-shrinking is not necessary.

Just to triple check, I cut a little strip off the end (after laying out my patterns pieces to check that I had the spare fabric) and drew around it on a piece of paper. I then steamed the crap out of it with my iron and compared the size of my piece to the outline on the paper... it was the same size. I repeated the process a couple more times just to be completely sure, and the fabric definitely hasn't shrunk.

I know any of you that know what boiled wool is are probably thinking 'Duh, of course, don't you know how it's made?', and I do, but I wanted to be absolutely and completely sure as I'll be absolutely gutted if it shrinks the first time I get it cleaned!

Some other useful bits of information that "More Fabric Savvy" tells me are that I don't need interfacing, that I should use a 3mm stitch length, and I should use the wool setting on my iron, with steam and a press cloth.

So it seems I'm ready to start...!

Trousers!

You've seen the muslin, but here are the finished thing:

They're not as shiny as they seem in the photos in real life, the flash did something funky!

I wore them to work on Tuesday, but will confess I took a spare pair in my bag in case of a wardrobe malfunction, but they weren't needed. I ended up hemming them to be worn with flats, as I figured they'll get worn more that way, but the front of the trousers doesn't quite sit right because it rests on my foot...

The thing about them that I'm most proud is actually the inside. I did french seams on the pockets, bias binding around the fly and invisibly stitched the waistband lining down. I'd love to show you, but I can't seem to be able to take a photo of it in focus.

Hikaru Fabric!

I know that I had picked out the olive green wool for the Hikaru jacket, but when I got to The Fabric Store to buy it I spotted a different wool that wasn't there when I was last there.... and indecision struck!

After spending far too long pondering, including dragging out a VERY large pile of possible lining fabrics, I settled on the (slightly extravagant) combination shown above. On the right the wool for the jacket, a little thicker than the olive wool I was going to go with, and lovely and smooth, the dappled pattern is the colours. On the left, the fabric I'm going to use as a lining - I thought a bit of colour and pattern would be good fun, and this lovely silk/cotton blend was just too nice to resist! Also shown are a matching zip and the two spools of thread that I bought - one matching and one darker one, which I'm considering using for top-stitching.

The only thing stopping me from making a start on it now is that I have NO idea how to pre-treat the fabrics before sewing with them. Obviously I need to pre-treat them; I have visions of getting caught in the rain and the jacket shrinking unevenly if I don't. Thus, my next job is to do some research on the subject... watch this space! (or comment if you have any wisdom to share)

Hikaru Muslin...

The next item for my wardrobe project is the hikaru jacket so today was spent sewing up a muslin to check out the pattern and the fit. (Please ignore the fact that I set the sleeves in inside out, it's not worth going back and redoing them!) Overall the fit isn't bad. It has plenty of space for extra layers (it's photographed with just a tank top underneath) but isn't too big.

The only fit issue I can see is the slight bagging at the back, caused I think because it gets caught up on my behind when I move around (if I pull it down it will sit smooth and not be pulling too much over my hips but as soon as I move it gets caught up again).

What do you think, is it enough of a problem try and alter or not really worth bothering about?

I have swatches of fabric to choose between from The Fabric Store (which is a convenient less than 5 mins walk from my house):

The top one is a dark olive green and kinda has the feel of slightly thicker felt. The bottom one is a dark-ish grey, is a bit thicker than the green and has a bit of texture to it. I'm erring more towards the green, what do you think?

Jenny, I love you!

Yesterday was a super productive day. After a mini field trip to Clegs to buy a zip I finished off my blue Sencha and black Jenny Skirt.

I have to say, I agree with Gertie entirely; the Sencha and Jenny are a match made in heaven!

Despite my initial misgivings, now I've made it up I'm in love with the Jenny Skirt. I decided to buy some cheap black stretch suiting during my trip to Spotlight earlier this week (when I bought the fabric for my trousers) to make a wearable muslin/test garment to check whether the skirt suits me.

After being honest with myself and taking accurate measurements I cut out the skirt pattern... I then measured how long it is and cut at the upper lengthen/shorten line and added 2 inches (although I think I'll take 1 inch back out again for any future versions). As with Gertie and Zoe, I made my own waistband piece rather than following the slightly bizarre instructions of cutting a piece on the bias and stretching it to fit. I just cut a straight strip and used the side and centre back seams to shape it to my body nicely.

I was very under-whelmed by the instructions for the pattern and ended up completely ignoring them and making it up how I felt like it. The instructions also don't really detail what you need to buy, which is why I had to go and buy a zip today as the one I had bought was too short, and also why the skirt isn't lined.

The order of construction of the skirt also didn't really make much sense to me, so rather than follow the instructions I did the following:

- Sew the darts, sew skirt front to skirt back, press side seams open

- Sew the front and back waistband pieces together (x2) and press seams open

- Sew the skirt to one of the waistbands, matching side seams

- Sew the other waistband to the first waistband, understitch and press.

- Sew the back seam between the markings, pressing slit open

- Sew with an invisible hem around the bottom and up the slit

- (Go out and buy correct length zip)

- Add the zipper up the back (matching waistband seam)

- Invisibly stitch waistband lining down along waistband seam and by zip

As I said, VERY happy, my only problem now is to decide what colour to make it in next! Suggestions?

Trouser Muslin (at last)

My trouser muslin has been finished for over a week now, but to start with I didn't have anyone to take photos for me, and then after I got some photos at sewing club last week I've been ridiculously busy so haven't had the chance to post them until now. Without any more wait, here's my muslin:

Front:

Side:

Back:

Not the most flattering when made up in calico, but I'm still pretty proud of my first try! I'm sure that there are heaps more alterations I could do to make the fit better, but this will do for now and I'll investigate them for a second pair.

After scouring the shelves at tessuti in a very picky fashion I just couldn't find the right shade of grey... so I looked in the fabric store and clegs and finally spotlight where I found some. Here's my fabric, it's a gorgeous mid grey and this close-up photo shows the slight pattern it has:

Oh, and Melbourne people, don't forget that it's the Clegs Easter sale this weekend (Sat, Mon & Tues), where it's 20% off everything and most of all $5 patterns!

Jenny Skirt - Yes or No?

As I mentioned, I'm considering making the Jenny skirt as part of my wardrobe plan. However I'm not entirely sure if it will suit me. As far as I can tell from the ones others have made, the skirt comes in at the bottom... I'm worried that it would turn out to be super unflattering. Any opinions?

My first pair of trousers!

Yesterday I made up a muslin for the Vogue V2907 Pattern that is part of my Wardrobe Project. I'm very proud of myself; they're the first pair of trousers that I've ever made! (Pyjama bottoms don't count!) I did the fly front with a random zip I found, and included the front pockets, but didn't bother with the welt pockets on the back (I'm not sure that I'm going to include them at all).

I've altered the back trouser pieces and back yoke so that the trousers fit my rather large sticky-outey bum, and have cut those pieces out again. I was hoping to be able to show you the finished muslin this evening but i have learnt a vital lesson today - increase your stitch length on muslins!!! I didn't and because of that it's taking me FOREVER to unpick the seams of the trousers so I can resew them with the new backs.

Hopefully i'll be able to finish the muslin tomorrow evening.

Sencha Progress...

I apologise for neglecting to update you with my progress, but I did (almost) complete my goal for last weekend, to make the blue practice sencha blouse.

Sadly it's not completely finished as I don't have any buttons for the blouse yet. Sadly some not so nice weather in Melbourne this weekend has deterred me from venturing out very far, so no new buttons for me yet.

It was interesting working with slippery fabric for the first time. I was very careful with the cutting and the pinning (using FAR more pins than necessary I'm sure.

Silky Purchase...

Last weekend I spent some time with my sewing machine and made up a muslin of my Sencha blouse and it turned out really well. It was useful in two ways; obviously finding out the fit, but also learning how the blouse goes together so I'm less likely to have any hiccups with construction when I'm working on the real thing. I don't have any photos of it yet , but I will get some. Due to this success I have taken the plunge and bought fabric.

At sewing club this evening I spent quite a while laying the pattern pieces on the fabric to work out exactly how much I needed. I ended up buying 1.3m, which was quite a bit less than the 1 7/8yd the fabric says to buy, which my bank balance is very grateful for! I bought the "Crepe De Chine Silk" I mentioned before (pictured and linked above), and also bought matching silk thread, some lightweight interfacing, the correct type of needles and some silk hand-wash solution. When I got home I hand-washed it and it's now drying so it's ready whenever I am.

I'm still planning on a "practice run" first with some royal blue fabric from my stash so I can get the hang of sewing with slippery fabric on something that I won't be devastated about if I ruin it. We did the burn test on it and concluded that it's definitely something artificial, probably acrylic or polyester. Either way the fabric has a similar drape to the silk so will be a very good practice run.

My goal for the weekend: To make at least the blue blouse

Wardrobe Project

As I mentioned, as part of my Sewing club I have joined the BurdaStyle Wardrobe Project. I took a printout of my wardrobe plan along to the last meet of sewing club but am yet to share it with you on here.

As I mentioned in my "Looking Ahead to 2010" post, this year I wanted to sew with more of a plan and expand my winter wardrobe - so this fits into that perfectly.

Without further ado, here's my current plan (although it is subject to change):

Winter 2010 Wardrobe Plan

Esprit Dress - I started this a while back and have completed a muslin, made the necessary alterations and even have bought some lovely black fabric from Tessuti, I just need to get started on it and it hopefully won't be too complicated (fingers crossed!)

Sencha Blouse - As I mentioned, I now have this pattern in my grubby little hands, and plan/hope to buy this fabric to make it with. I'll need to read up about working with slippery material before I make it though, as that's something I've never done before.

Emily Shirt - I made a muslin for this last year in some black poplin and have some gorgeous white on white stripe Italian shirting I got on sale at Clegs ready and waiting to be cut into. (I'll be making the version with the normal sleeves)
Vogue Trousers - I've had this pattern for a while (ever since I saw EmilyKate's gorgeous pair from this pattern and I bought it at the $5 sale at Clegs). I'm not sure what fabric/colour I'll be making these in yet but I think I'll make view A. I plan to make a muslin before buying fabric.

Jenny Skirt - I'm not completely decided on this one, I know I want a Skirt but I'm not entirely convinced this skirt will be all that flattering on me... so I may substitute this for a different pattern.

Hikaru Jacket - I hope to make the Hikaru jacket as a middle weight jacket, which I desperately need for this Winter - I have a few warm coats and some thin jackets but nothing at that mid-warmth level that's vital for Melbourne winter. I don't have any fabric in mind for it yet, I don't really want to make it black but other than that I'm not sure.

So there you have it, my plan. I'm not totally sure that they all fit together perfectly, but I'm sure it'll be fine, especially when i take into account the clothes I already have and can mix with these items. As I make items I'll make sure they fit in with the other ones and make any choices/changes accordingly.

New Pattern Delivered!

As part of my BurdaStyle Sewing Club we are having a wardrobe sew along. I have my plan and will post about it soon, but I wanted to share with you this little bit of excitement that is related to the sew along - my new Sencha Pattern from Colette patterns:

I bought it online for a steal from Modern Retro Textiles, who sent it out to me super quick as I only ordered it Monday night and it arrived in the post yesterday (Wednesday). Incase you hadn't seen elsewhere on the internets, the Colette patterns are super cute in format as they come with the pattern 'envelope' being a little booklet with the intructions on, with a pocket in the back for the pattern pieces.

I'm very excited about this pattern; I think I've even picked out the fabric I want to make it out of; a gorgeous silk crepe that's white with tiny black spots from Tessuti. The plan is to make a muslin of this on the weekend to take along to sewing club next Thursday and buy the fabric. I have some fabric already that I inherited that would be gorgeous for this but i don't think i have enough. Once I have the pattern pieces cut out i'll have a go at laying them out on the fabric just to make sure though!