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The turquoise and silver motif dress

I am very pleased to finally be able to show you this dress, which has been quite a while in the making!

I first bought the motif at Mode et Travaux in Paris when we visiting there last summer, but then a few months ago I decided that I really wanted to do something with it, so I started laying out my first pattern ideas. Then I finally decided on a a pattern and started basting the motif onto my linen in preparation for our French road trip, where I painstakingly sewed the motif onto the dress using silver thread and an embroidery hoop.

The finished dress is a variation on dress #102 from the March 2010 KnipMode supplement, but I modified the neckline heavily so that it’d match the motif’s curves. In actuality, I cut the curve of the neckline after I’d completely sewed the motif into place!

Since I changed the front neckline, I also had the widen the back at the neck edge to match the front, too. It means my big head can only just fit through, as it’s much narrower than the original pattern.

Inspiration, Magazine

KnipMode June 2011

I’m a bit slow on reviewing this latest issue of the Dutch pattern magazine, KnipMode, but it’s not a reflection on the content this month! Usually I tend to not find as much to like in summer issues in general, but there’s a lot to love in this one that will work with our English summers. I think it was FehrTrade reader Marie-Christine who once said “You can tell it’s summer in England when the girls switch to wearing white cardigans”! So true!

Mix & match dresses! Like the cocktail ones in November’s issue, you get to choose which bodice, waist, skirt, and sleeves you want and put it together yourself. I really like this idea, but for me, the choices on offer don’t really do much for me, whereas I was really excited about the cocktail dress options…

This plus knit surplice dress really reminds me of the lilac dress I made for my mom. I think these sorts of patterns can be so flattering, too, especially when the skirts are fixed in place to prevent wardrobe malfunctions!

There’s a few great Plus patterns in this issue, actually – I especially like the trousers and cowl top in this wardrobe.

In Progress

Grading down the vintage tab dress pattern

One of my big tasks this weekend was to finally get cracking on my upcoming vintage tab dress, Style Print 1543. It doesn’t have a copyright date, but was estimated to be from the late 1950s/early 1960s by the vintage gurus on Pattern Review. I’ll be making the button-tab view in blue, but since this pattern is for a 42” bust, I’ve got to grade down the pattern to be closer to my 38-39” (depending on the bra!) bust.

My first step was to trace the pattern pieces (read more about my pattern tracing method here) so I wouldn’t have to cut or damage the vintage tissue. Those blue enamel coasters from my mom are the most perfect pattern weights! They’ve even got a nice felt bottom to them.

This pattern has seam allowances (called “turning” here!) included, but they also mark all the seam lines! Heaven! Since I’m going to be altering the pattern anyway, I just traced on the seam lines to make life simpler.

Surely this is the best of both worlds, right? You can choose to use the seam allowances or not (though I understand how this would be impractical on multi-size patterns!)

As I was unfolding all the pattern pieces, I found it really interesting to see the fit alterations the previous seamstress had made. She:

In Progress

Flashes of gold and silver

the gold

Yesterday I ran a 10km running race to celebrate my 2nd rebirthday of my bone marrow transplant (well, it’s a month early but this race is so much nicer than the July one I ran last year!).

The race went really well, and I truly gave it EVERYTHING I had, running the first 4 kilometers at an astonishingly fast 5min per km pace, and then I tailed back to a bit more realistic 5:30/km pace until the last 200 meters, when I gave an all out sprint for the finish!

Like last year, I ran with the memory of my three departed BMT friends firmly in my mind – this was for Vera, Rob, and David, who fought so so hard, and who even today inspire me to push and fight even harder on their behalf.

I wasn’t quite sure how well I did until I viewed the official chip times on the website last night… 51:21!! That’s only 7 seconds off my pre-illness Personal Best! I really was only trying to beat last year’s time of 53:38, and I honestly didn’t think I’d come anywhere close to that magical 51 minute point for me!

Inspiration

I'm currently excited about…

My turquoise and silver motif dress is nearly done (check out the fantastic lace hem tape I found in my stash to pretty-fy my hem, too!), but it doesn’t stop me thinking ahead…

  • Lekala 4020 – My brain needs a quick knit top, and I looooove the cowl neck and shoulder yokes on this. I’ve created echoing sleeve bands on the back to decrease the “coffin back” look (the only reason I haven’t made their “S dress” yet is that I’m contemplating how to jazz up the back on it. Any ideas?). I’ve got some small lengths of silver silk jersey left in my stash that I think will find a good home in this top.

    Even better is that they’ve got every pattern available in a free size 44 pdf this month if you want to try them free before you do the custom-size thing!

  • A foam cup bra – OMG I am amazingly excited to learn there’s a pattern out now for making the type of bras I buy in RTW with the moulded, foam cups! It’s the Pin Up Girls “Amanda” bra pattern. I’ve made bras before, but I’ve never been happy with the fit, and I think that half my problem is that I’m trying to sew the kind of bras I never actually buy…

    I had an email chat with the lovely Kellie, owner of The Sewing Chest shop (the best UK source of elastic and boning and lingerie fabrics, hands down!), and I’m now totally excited about sewing bras again. She’s advised me to put some of her foam cups onto the non-cup parts of the KwikSew 3300 bra I’ve made before, and see how that goes. She’s also advised me to use a different underwire size, too. Fingers crossed for bra success!

Inspiration, Magazine

Manequim May 2011

I must admit, I’m feeling a bit of pattern magazine fatigue at the moment, but I’m only halfway through my pile, with a bunch more Brazilian ones to go. Having a glut of patterns come in all at once means I’m feeling like I want to sew loads of things all at once, which is great for inspiration, but not necessarily production when you’ve got a full time job!

Good luck, then, that the latest issue of Manequim is a really good one! It’s not just me, either, as Arielle and Jacquie have both been raving about this issue, too!

This white sheath dress is such a simple idea, but one that results in a very elegant shape. I know it’s winter in Brazil, but this is a totally beautiful summer dress. And as my friend Holly pointed out, this neckline shape is great for broad shoulders!

This red dress has a pretty basic princes-line bodice, but it’s paired with a great cross-pleated skirt.

Gallery

The Burda September cover dress (summer lace version)

Remember back in January when I made the winter version of the Burda September 201 cover dress (#122) with long sleeves in purple pont di roma? It looked like this…

Well, at the time, I said I’d definitely make a summery version, too, but then again, I often saw I’ll remake patterns and then I hardly ever do, so I can’t really blame you if you thought you’d never see this pattern again!

But you’d be wrong! This dress is just so stratospherically flattering and magical that I couldn’t resist making a summer version in pale pink and grey lace, even though it meant hours of hand basting the lace onto the knit during our French road trip. And then once I was home, fusing metres upon metres of vilene bias tape to the various curved seams so they wouldn’t ripple during wear.

All this before I even constructed a single seam, but you know what – it was totally worth it.

Inspiration, Magazine

Fait Main Grandes Tailles (Plus sizes) magazine – giveaway!

The final magazine I bought on our French road trip is the plus-sized special edition of Fait Main magazine (remember I showed you a standard-size Fait Main magazine last week?). Like the regular Fait Main, this magazine is published in French. I’ve since learned that Fait Main is a translation of the Danish Sy magazine (thanks, Rose!), but I can’t seem to find any mention of this plus-sized edition on the Danish site to determine how frequently it’s published.

I wouldn’t normally buy a plus-sized magazine since I’m usually just one or two sizes too small for them, but the designs in this edition were just too good to leave lonely on the tabac shelf! As it turns out, I would be able to make a few of the designs in here, but it’d be greedy to keep it all to myself…

I really like this knit day dress, probably because it reminds me so much of my favourite frankenpattern dress I made so much two summers ago!

I love the rock and roll styling here – leather leggings, a loose tunic/dress, and a sequinned waistcoat/vest!

Inspiration, Magazine

Elena Couture – 01-2011

This magazine (and its aliases) is by no means new to me, but this is the first time I’ve actually bought it so I thought some of you might enjoy a glimpse inside. Elena Couture is published three times a year – this is the first of the three 2011 issues, rather than being a January edition as you might expect from the numbering!

This magazines goes under a few different names, which you can see printed on the pattern sheets since they all use the same ones.

  • Sabrina Woman (German)
  • Fashion Trends (Dutch)
  • Elena Couture (French)
  • Modellina (Italian)
  • Tendencias de Moda (Spanish)

I’m not sure why they chose different titles for different territories, as it seems Burda have the better idea in keeping the magazine title the same no matter what the language. That way, readers get a more coherent feel for the brand, and it certainly makes reviews, eBay searches, and subscriptions easier! As it is, Americans can subscribe to the Italian version through GLP for $30, just fyi.

This batwing knit top is pretty basic, but I like the cool hem-band gathers on this skirt. Just different enough to intrigue me…

Gallery

A fuzzy pink bolero

Following on from last week when I showed you the shirt I made for my nephew, I also wanted to share the super-belated Christmas garment I sewed for his cousin, my niece.

When I saw the cute boleros in the February Burda magazine, I just knew I had to make one for Megan. Bolero #142 seemed to be the most wearable version for Spring and Summer, and I had just enough of this incredibly soft, pink zebra print minkee I’d bought for her at Fabric.com!

Honestly, how great a model is this girl??