I appear to have found myself again in the position where I’ve been doing an extreme amount of sewing and sewing-related activity, but I can talk about only a small portion of it, and I don’t have any proper photoshoots for the things I can talk about… Bad, Melissa, very bad!
So consider this a little roundup post to let you know what I’ve been up to, until I can get my act together properly…
Silver cowl top
I cut out this MyImage cowl top pattern before we went to Mexico, thinking I might have enough time to quickly sew it up before we left. I would’ve, too, if I hadn’t decided I needed to make a quick travel bag. So it was waiting for me when I got back to cold, grey London, mocking me with its sleeveless-ness. I finally just sewed it up so I could have the space back in my sewing room, though I’m afraid I won’t really get to wear this until next year.
I made it out of some absolutely glitter-tastic jersey I bought at Tissue Reine in Paris a few years back, and I recall it was on the pricey side. It also left a trail of silver all over my sewing room… Boo.
Anyway, I like the top (though the cowl is waaaaaaay too deep to wear on its own), but I’ve been putting off doing the photoshoot for it because it’s freezing outside!
Cynthia Rowley satin jacket
We have a wedding coming up this weekend, which I’m planning on wearing my purple Matthew Willamson birthday dress to, but seeing as how it’s November, I wanted to make a little jacket/coverup to wear with the dress. The problem is that there wasn’t very much of the purple satin leftover, but I liked how it looked paired with the salmon satin of my swirl sheath dress, so I decided I’d make a jacket using both fabrics and then I could wear it with either one. Clever, see?
The pattern is the same Cynthia Rowley Simplicity pattern I used for my fuschia party dress – a simple, loose, open jacket with dropped shoulders and wide sleeves. I just drew some extra seamlines onto the pattern pieces for my colourblocking. It’s also unlined, so I sewed it all with french seams and neat finish facings (where you sew the facing to the interfacing, then flip it around to fuse). It’s debatable whether just drafting a lining would’ve taken up more time!
Anyway, I’m not entirely sure whether I like it or not, or whether it’s “me” – I vacillate between thinking it’s a chic kimono vs a “lady of a certain age” style. I guess I’ll ultimately decide at the wedding, where I’ll try to get some photos of me wearing it with the dress.
More lingerie
After my success with my turquoise lingerie set, I immediately started on a lemon yellow & pale blue set, but I ran into some supply issues that forced me to stall a bit. I’m still waiting on the straps to arrive, but the panties have been done for ages. Here’s the set in progress:
And if you did like my turquoise lingerie set, then please vote on Pattern Review if you’re a member! I’ve entered it in the lingerie contest, but voting is only open for a few scant days so do it now!
KnipMode update
Lauriana alerted me last week that KnipMode’s future is looking uncertain as its parent publisher is looking to sell off the bulk of their titles, KnipMode included. I really hope they can find a buyer who can keep the sewing focus and make it even better. I’ve stopped buying it over the past few years as it’s gotten very expensive and IMHO the styles went downhill after the latest editor took over, but there have also been big improvements made, too (most noteably the pd download store) and it’d be a shame for such a Dutch sewing institution to fail now…