review – Stacey Stitch

Ministry of Craft: Develop Your Sewing Skills Course (Weeks 3 & 4)

Published on May 3, 2016May 3, 2016 by Stacey StitchLeave a comment

Week 3

This week we started our pinny using some of the techniques we’ve learnt over the last two weeks, and learning some more.

As everywhere seems to be having a remnant sale at present I headed over to plush addict and picked up some end of the bolt plain purple and some mustard cotton with a white cross print.

It was a bit of a gamble as I wasn’t entirely sure what weight they’d arrive in. Turns out the mustard is lighter weight than the purple but I am hoping it wont matter too much when I using bias binding to edge the pinny.

On the plus side, the waistband and ties will be less likely to fold when I’m bouncing about the kitchen in my fab new apron.

The first thing we did was sew the waistband to the ties, then we folded and sewed leaving a gap for the main part of the pinny to be added to the waistband. Alison helpfully used her turning tool to turn the ends inside out before I pressed them (rod for my own back with the thicker purple fabric…). I might well be sold on the tool, I normally use a safety pin and some embroidery floss, Alison did mention sewing in a piece of ribbon into the seam allowance too which I’d never thought of before, but would probably make things a million times easier than fussing about and getting frustrated.

After pressing the ties it was time to sew a gather on the main piece of the pinny, which went like a dream, especially now I know about using the pins to anchor the ends!

We then moved onto piping, which Alison gave us a demonstration of making, using a standard zipper foot. The piping will be going in between the waistband and the main pinny piece. I was generously offered some lovely polka dot fabric to make mine with, which was a great match to both of my fabrics.

Unfortunately the piping feet were no where to be seen, so it was decided that we’d wait until week 4 to make the piping on our machines and attach to the pinny. This was no great bones for me as I like to get everything marked up and cut so I leave the fun bit (sewing!) to the end in one go.

Next up was bias binding. I do have some experience with this, in fact the first thing I ever made and blogged about on here was this dress, which had a huge amount of binding on it. As it was my first foray into bias binding I wasn’t so great at joining strips of it up though and we were taught two different methods of dong so in this class.

I went for the cut the ends off on the straight and sew method though, as the other looks too complicated for my dyslexic brain to even attempt!

I did my usual – folding the material at a right angle and pressing to make the first line of where the fabric needed to be cut and then measured amounts on either side. There is a waste of fabric if you do it this way but I am sure I will use it to line something or for a little craft project along the line. Once my strips were cut and joined the end of the class was nigh and I was ready for week 4.

Week 4

We started week 4 having everything pre-cut, which was great because, as you know if you’ve followed my other posts, this is my least favourite bit of sewing!

We cracked on with the piping when the class started, Alison had nicely donated a piece of polka dot fabric from her stash so I had something to break up the purple. It was a perfect match (thank you!).

Piping is pretty easy, the foot does it all for you and it would be lovely to use to finish or decorate a garment with (piping foot now on my Christmas list).

My finished piece looked like this:

Using the piping foot we then sewed it to the main piece of the skirt, which went like a dream!

Then it was time to crack on with the bias binding. Alison shows us various ways of doing this, and I went for possibly the one which would take the most time but as my binding was in a thicker material it appeared to be the sensible option.

I sewed one side and then pressed open along the seam line, then folded the other half and pressed again, then pressed closed then pinned and sewed to finish. I have no idea if that makes any sense in the way it’s worded, but it worked for me.

The curve of the apron came out really well, even with the thickness of my binding.

When I’ve used bias binding previous, I’ve made my own with a tool and even though this way was more labour intensive it really has come out well and better than last time. I think I will most likely do it this way and put the extra time in from now on as the finish looks so good.

The final thing to do was to sew on the waistband et voila my apron was done.

I’m really pleased with it. No photos of me in it as my bump is so big now it looks quite comical (also quite satisfying putting it on my tailors dummy and realising my waist will be that size again!).

I was a little sad to be finishing the course, MoC have been so great and it’s been brilliant learning new thing and new ways of doing old things which I think will definitely help me out in future.

It’s also been great meeting the other ladies on my course too and fun to be sewing together in a creative environment.

I’ll definitely be back for another course in future.

All Sewn Up: Butterick B6031 – Patterns By Gertie: The Pants

Published on April 21, 2016April 21, 2016 by Stacey Stitch1 Comment

You might remember that nearly two years (how?!) after I’d sewn the slip ago I said next up would be the pants, then I promptly got distracted and never got around to finishing them.

In fact, I pretty much forgot about them until I recently had a bit of a clear out and found them pre-cut with the pattern in my sewing stash. So, with a bit of time to spare on Saturday morning I thought I’d give them a bash.

They took about an hour in total to sew, which I didn’t think was too bad for a little morning sewing project and it was all very straight forward.

The only thing that irked me somewhat was that I’d bought the kit from Gertie’s Etsy way back when but there wasn’t enough stretch lace to go round the leg holes (is that even a technical term?).

I did have a big bag of bits of lace and elastic my Nana had given me a few years ago so I did manage to find some, unfortunately it isn’t matching but it looks okay.

The pants came out really well.

I am just now trying to figure out how my bum is going to fit in them, having any kind of small clothing item fit you in the future when your preggo tummy resembles an ever expanding planet is a hard thing to come to term with(!).

Ministry of Craft: Develop Your Sewing Skills Course (Weeks 1 & 2)

Published on April 14, 2016April 14, 2016 by Stacey Stitch2 Comments

For the last two Wednesdays I’ve been attending the Ministry of Craft’s Develop Your Sewing Skills course.

I umm-ed and ahh-ed about booking it as we have had so much to buy for the imminent arrival in the meantime but I am so glad I did, and let’s be honest when am I going to find the money for the next few years?

A few of my friends have said “surely you don’t need to do that?” (I do, and don’t call me Shirley). The thing about sewing is there is no right and wrong way but there are definitely easier ways, and when you’re self-taught like I am it doesn’t do any harm to have someone show you a quicker way of doing something (especially if you’re dyslexic and struggle with written instructions).

As a disclaimer I would like to say I paid for this myself, so all views are honest and I’m not being paid to tell you how amazing this is for you to book on.

The course is a snip at £100 for four weeks (each session is 6.30pm – 9pm) and you learn all sorts of skills which will come in handy when you go on from the basics to more advanced patterns.

In fact, I probably could have save myself a lot of time and frustration going on something like this when I first started, but the fun of sewing is finding your own way in my opinion.

Week 1

The first week was all about zips. I’m not a stranger to zips having made my own clothes for a few years now, but they do have a tendency to frustrate me sometimes.

We went over techniques for inserting a standard zip and then an invisible zip, which is what I was most interested in. I don’t have an invisible zipper foot for my machine, so it was good to learn something new and decide if the purchase would be worth it (or if Santa might bring me one for Christmas this year).

I am happy to report that my invisible zip looked great apart from a tiny bit of a bubble at the end but we were shown how we can prevent this from happening again.

My regular zip insertion was good and I did learn about how to make them a little neater than I have been doing by using a few simple techniques.

At the end of the class we were given the pattern pieces to take home to cut our apron out (did I mention we get to make a vintage style pinny at the end?). I have opted for some mustard and purple fabric, but I’ll show you that in a later post.

Week 2

This week was all about using different feet and sewing different seams to then make a little book full of your experiments, and it was truly jam packed.

We started off with gathering, which I have plenty of experience with although I did learn something new, wrapping your thread round a pin at either end to even out the gather. Why had I never thought of that before?

I also realised that I don’t particularly like gathering anything, I think I still have the horrible associative feeling of frustration it leads to when inserting a set in sleeve and the hours it takes me to get it right.

Next up: french seams, which I loved doing. I haven’t ever sewn a french seam before (as I mostly fold and stitch (or use the pinking shears if I’m being super lazy) but I can see how it would come in handy especially with the bright pink vintage chiffon I scored in Vegas which is still in my stash.

Then we went on to flat felled seams, I can’t remember for the life of me if I did use these when I made the Gertie denim pedal pushers or not but either way I am happy to add another string to my bow and knowing that these are useful for bags is great as family should be expecting a lot of home made presents for the next few years.

We then went onto working with a twin needle. Something my machine does have but I have never used. I’m not sure why, I think I just wasn’t brave enough. We threaded it up and used it with a Teflon foot (where was this when I was sewing that raincoat!) and then used it for decorative stitches on the front of what would become our sample book. This was probably the most fun thing to do so far.

Then we switched to a walking foot (again where was this when I was sewing that quilt!) swapped the needle and stitched the book together.

I would recommend this course to anyone looking to improve their skills whether you’ve been sewing for a while or you’ve, like me, taught yourself.

It has, so far, been great and there’s something nice and soothing about sitting in a room with the hum of a few sewing machines in the background.

The tutors have been brilliant, describing the process well and handing out plenty of resources and instruction sheets, checking everyone is up to speed and helping out if anyone is stuck or unsure.

The one thing I have struggled with a little is getting used to the quirks of a Janome electronic machine when I am so used to my beloved Brother. Little things like the extra stitch it appears to make after you’ve taken your foot off the pedal. I don’t know why they do this, but it has driven me nuts. This is a problem with me though – I don’t know how anyone else feels but once you get used to your own machine nothing else will do.

I am so looking forward to next week, bias binding, which I am au fait with, and piping which I haven’t tried out yet – all as part of making our apron. Roll on Wednesday!

All Sewn Up: Butterick B6031 Patterns By Gertie: The Slip

Published on September 27, 2014 by Stacey Stitch2 Comments

I thought it was time I pushed myself away from the cotton and towards something a little slinkier, so when I saw Gertie was starting a slip sew along back in February I thought I’d give it a go. The massively underestimated my time so I only got around to it this week.

I opted for purchasing one of Gerties slip packs from Etsy as I thought it would save me a lot of traipsing about or online searching for the little bits and bobs and of course I went for yellow.

Yellow is my favourite colour because it’s the colour of sunshine, how can you NOT like yellow?

The main material is micro jersey fabric (poly/spandex blend) and the lace is stretch. I decided that I’d go for a contrasting yellow cotton while sewing as I like the effect it has on it, give it a little cheat style decoration. I missed the bows off because I didn’t really like them all that much, and much prefer the slip all plain Jane.

So off I set. The pattern was relatively easy to sew up and I was surprised at how easy it was considering all of the stretch in all of the fabrics. This would have taken me a day to complete if I’d had a whole day but it took me several nights and half a day in the end and I am very pleased with the result.

The only problems I had were with:

Double sewing the dart on the bust. One side, if you look really close up, doesn’t look as neat as the other, I had a bit of an incident with the slippy fabric but trying to go as slow as possible on the other side was fine. So less speed required from me in future.

The straps; it took my dyslexic brain a while to figure out which way round the straps were sewn once the extending fastening pieces were threaded through, I got there in the end though and this is the finished result.

Next up on my sewing table are the pants (we say that up north, rather than knickers, or panties across the pond).

Decoupage Jewellery Making with the Ministry of Craft

Published on September 8, 2014 by Stacey StitchLeave a comment

Last weekend I made my way into town for a decoupage jewellery making class with the Ministry of Craft. This is the first course of theirs that I have taken, I have been aware of them for a while and finding myself at a loose end this weekend as Timbo was away with work, I thought I’d see what was on.

This was my first foray into decoupage; sure, I was one of those kids with a scrap book pasting in pictures from birthday and Christmas cards I’d cut out. A very clever and cheap way of keeping me and my sisters entertained when we were kids (well played Nana!) but I’d not even picked up the paste since then.

The course took place in the basement of Fred Aldous (again, I never even knew the classrooms down there existed – even though I’ve been in the shop several times) and we were met by Sam, the course tutor, who was extremely friendly and chatty and explained the process very well, guiding us through step by step and helping out where she could and was needed.

I chose some decopatch paper which was a map of Manhattan and got to work on covering a bangle, followed by a pendant and a brooch, all with different districts from the Island. I chose the garment district for my bangle, I thought it would be quite apt!

I really enjoyed the sticking and glazing process, even though I chose something which in the end turned out to be quite time consuming as I had to ensure that all of the sections of map lined up which meant applying them in small strips rather than chunkier ones, but in for a penny in for a pound.

I’m really pleased with the results and shortly I‘ll have a few bits and bobs for sale alongside my hairflowers, the proceeds of which will be supporting my ever growing adventure into sewing.

The workshop was well run, well supplied and expertly taught and I would have no problem recommending this to anyone who’s looking for a fun creative afternoon. For £29.50 you can’t complain as you get three items to take home (you’re shown how to build origami gift boxes too) and you get 10% off in the shop too – which is kind of worth it’s while but a note – Fred Aldous is known for being particularly expensive compared to online shops and other retailers.

Book Review: Fifty Dresses That Changed the World

Published on August 4, 2014 by Stacey StitchLeave a comment

While I was off on my camping adventures I finally got to have a good read of a book I’d had my eye on for a while an which was gifted to me by a friend as a thanks for embellishing a hen’s dress for her final night of freedom.

Fifty dresses that Changed the World promises a lot and on the most part it delivers.

Maybe I’m just more attuned to vintage clothes and therefore don’t see that Julia Roberts Oscars dress from 2011 (a 1982 original) really was a dress that changed the world.

People had been wearing vintage for some time by that point and while I accept it thrust vintage into the limelight and made it more acceptable for people to look to the past when considering what to wear, I don’t think it changed the world.

It is however a really nice little coffee table book and is full of treasures such as the Delphos gown, the Chanel suit, Mary Quant’s mini-dress, the Paco Rabanne disc dress (I really REALLY wanted to wear this in the 90s – even in my teenage years, highly inappropriate) and of course the devastatingly beautiful creations of Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell.

We can all learn a little by looking at the beautiful lines of these garments for inspiration and this book it great for a little pick me up to think outside the box when considering where to go next, or when comparing currently lines of fashion houses and which era they may be looking back to.

A great book to flick through, read through and even to learn a few new names to research.

Oh and special mention for them putting Cher in with her 80s Moonstruck Oscars dress (Bob Mackie). The showgirl in me LOVES IT.

Craftsy: Sew Retro – The Gertie Bombshell Dress Complete

Published on June 2, 2014 by Stacey Stitch9 Comments

Three days before I got Vegas, finally finished my dress this afternoon. Yikes!

Sometimes I think I am either incredibly lucky when I get things done so quickly, or incredibly silly for procrastinating in the first place!

Last week a gave an update of how this dress was going, which I’d started after signing up my my first craftsy course when I was looking for something an extra special to take off to Vegas as I would be out there celebrating my (gulp) 34th birthday.

I’ll pick up where I left off.

The bodice made, I started with the skirt, which is a faux sarong (which doesn’t have the extra flap underneath). It was relatively easy to put together with a lot of gathering to one side to give it the sarong look.

After sewing up the sides I pinned it to the bodice to see how it would look and I was so happy to see it looking gorgeous.

I have to say this is always my favourite part of sewing, when I can finally look at what the garment will become.

I don’t know why but it always does surprise me that I have managed to actually make something that looks like it’s meant to. You would have thought that almost a year in I’d be over it, but apparently not.

That’s the joy of making your own clothes though, isn’t it?

After this it was time to sew it in. Now, I know it was going to be a bit of a struggle with that amount of gathering to one side but armed with my seam ripper I knew that it might be a case of taking it apart and putting it back together again.

Which I did have to, as I got half way round (after holding my breath and hoping for the best) the doorbell went and local campaigners were asking if I have voted (which I had – at 7.30 that morning).

I look flustered, they apologised and I went back to the skirt, finished it then realised I’d not sewing in the sarong part properly and had to start over again.

Which I did and when I had finished (round 2) it looked a little like this.

I’m not sure it even does it justice, there is a lot of material in that side gather!

It was then time to insert the zip. Now Gertie shows you how to do a lapped zip, something which I have done before but much to my own dismay it didn’t work out as neat as it could have done, so it was nice to go through this stage step by step.

Half the Zip in – success! When I went to sew the other side in however I nearly had a little cry. Zip woes!

I tried twice to do it by machine but I just could not get it right, and to be honest, I really prefer the hand picked technique for this, so in the end this is what I did. I think it just gives the outside a much better look that the row of stitching.

The next morning I had a little try on as I was super excited to see what it looks like, and I wasn’t disappointed.

We were told at the beginning of this class that it would fit like a glove and it really, really does. So if anyone is about to embark on this class please make sure you measure it correctly.

The boning and lining was still to go on but I was so happy that I made the cups that little bit bigger because I was sure at this point that I would have been boobs out!

So on with the internal structure, lining and boning.

I normally don’t line my dresses, I don’t really know why, maybe laziness or more because when I have picked up vintage dresses many of them haven’t been lined, so all of this was new to me.

I went for a cotton lawn for the lining in a light blue with white polka dots. I cut out my pieces and spent an evening sewing them all together.

I have to say this was mildly frustrating as the cotton is so light I found it a bit tricky when it came to sewing the cups in.

They aren’t as perfect as I’d like them to be but I was tight on time by this point. A few hours later the lining was complete.

The next step was to add the boning. I was, by this stage, watching bits of the tutorial and stopping to do a bit of work, going back and pressing play.

I would say for anyone who would be taking this class to watch it through once at this stage and then go back from the start and sew along, as the instructions are a tiny bit higgeldy piggeldy and there are things you could do with knowing (or things it would make it easier to know) if you watched it all the way through to begin with.

Anyhoo, the boning channels were pinned and sewn in.

Then it was time to cut the boning down to size. I had chosen a variety of thickness and I thought I might need a little extra support around the bust area and I was glad that I did, but I did have a job cutting the larger pieces down to size (the chance of you getting any more than a couple of pieces pre-cut to the correct size is slim!).

This is fun, I thought when I first started snipping with much struggle with the wire cutters. I actually had to get Tim come and help me with the thicker bits I was no where near strong enough to get those bad boys done. Oh, and I didn’t purchase any extra end covers but I did manage to remove the ones already on the bits I had clipped and re-used them so all was not lost.

Boning clipped and in it was time to pin the lining into the bodice.

I was careful when I did pin it in not to pin right through the bodice (learnt my lesson from a long time of steaming and pressing out the puncture marks on the top of the bodice when I was making that up!) and ensured that everything lined up.

It this point Gertie mentioned using a piece of grosgrain ribbon for a zipper guard, which is a welcome finishing touch to the dress but I would have liked to know earlier that I would need an extra piece of ribbon which is double the size of that which I have for the waist stay.

I improvised and did the best I could with what I had and it did work out well.

This is a little bone of contention for this course.

There are times when things are not mentioned in the materials (such as this) or times when little tips are mentioned after the event.

Maybe it’s my ordered ind which getting a bit miffed when these things occur but as I am planning on making another couple of dresses based on this pattern then it is useful to add little notes at these stages reminding yourself of tips that would have been handier to know earlier.

I hand picked the zipper guard as I had done with the zip, being careful not to go through to the outside of the dress.

I then sewed the lining into the bodice and voila it was almost complete. Just the waist stay and hemming to go.

Doesn’t it look pretty! I did at this point stop for the day as my wonderfully patient husband had been waiting to hang out with me as he’s off to do newt based stuff on Monday so we won’t see each other until I get back from Vegas.

Now the structure is inside the dress I could see how much better it was going to fit and support me. Before this point I had had some serious misgivings about whether or not my juicy chest fruit would be particularly supported but now I had no qualms.

Next was inserting the waist stay and attaching buttons for the detachable halter strap. The strap is completely optional and this dress does hold up beatifully without it but if, like me, you plan on using this dress for other occasions where it might be better to add a little for more of a day wear look then straps are a perfect option. I do plan on wearing this dress to a wedding this year too, so a halter seemed a good way to go.

Unfortunately my buttons didn’t exactly match, I went for the thinnest ones I had due to the dress being so close to my skin so I had to go for these clear yellow ones – they will be replaced at some point.

All that was left to do after this was the hemming and finishing the skirt vent.

The instructions were relatively easy but I would have liked to know that I could finish the seams a little earlier where the zip is concerned as this caused me a lot of fiddling about.

The hem was finished with seam binding and then sewing on the back for an invisible finish.

I found some matching the light blue of my lining and waist stay in a box that my Nana had gifted to me, and I have to say the finish does look very pretty.

After this, there it was, my lovely dress, all complete.

There’s no final photo in this post as I plan on doing a few posts from Vegas so you’ll have to see the complete outfit post then, I don’t want to ruin everything, and me at the end of a two day sewing marathon to get this finished, in my scruffs, with my hair all pinned back would not have done it justice!

So in summary, I have really enjoyed this craftsy course and I am hooked!

I will definitely be taking more classes, there aren’t so many local ones around my neck of the woods so I’m really looking forward to bettering my skills and making this dress in different variations again soon.

If anyone is considering it I’d say go for it, you can do it, and I’d really like to see what you make!

Book Review: Reader’s Digest New Complete Guide to Sewing

Published on May 24, 2014 by Stacey Stitch2 Comments

I’ve had a few emails from readers and queries from friends about a good reference book to start with when they’re sewing, so let me introduce you to the bible: The Reader’s Digest Complete book of sewing.

When I first began my adventures I spent a lot of time on the net searching various forums, cross referencing with amazon’s handy “look inside” and reader’s reviews. I ultimately settled on this book after taking all of the above into consideration.

It might be a little pricey but it really does cover everything and anything in between.

Being dyslexic, diagrams are a great way of showing me what to do. I can only get so far when I’m reading written instructions and this book goes that extra step further, with clear instructions and pictures.

Whether you’re dyslexic or not this is a really great handy guide for anyone getting into sewing. It has step by step diagrams for processes from tailoring to hand stitching hems.

Take the circular ruffle on my Joanie inspired dress. Something that I really struggled with looking at the instructions on my vintage pattern (as with all vintage patterns, they assume you already know a lot about sewing) but I just looked to my bookshelf, checked the reference pages and found what I was looking for quick smart, and away I went.

I haven’t sewn any of the projects in the book – they’re not really my style but the instructions are clear, concise and contain a handy key at the top of the pages to point you in the direction of the correct pages for each separate part of the making up process.
Everything I have ever been stumped by, whether it’s a technical word, the correct way to sew a fastening or a tricky seam, I know I have the help I need an arm’s length away.

If you’re beginning your sewing journey and would like the perfect accompaniment then kit yourself out with this book. It really is the best and works side by side with your sewing machine.

It’s currently on Amazon for £40 BUT you can get a good second hand copy for under £10 too.

PLEASE VOTE FOR ME – 6 DAYS TO GO!

It’s super close folks and one vote could tip me into the top three which means I could be going through to the judges panel. Please give me a little vote if you can.

If you liked this blog please vote for me in the NVAs as I’ve been nominated under the Best Vintage Fashion/Lifestyle Blog category. Voting is open throughout May and it’s a simple click to select Stacey Stitch and then enter your email address to confirm the vote (you wont be spammed). Clicking on the photo or links above should take you straight to the website. It’ll only take a few minutes of your time if you have it spare! Thank you!

Craftsy: Sew Retro – The Gertie Bombshell Dress So Far

Published on May 22, 2014 by Stacey Stitch4 Comments

I thought I’d give a little update on my Sewing for Vegas Sew Retro bombshell dress and my experience of using Craftsy for the first time.

I signed up for this course with a little trepidation, boning? yikes! But you never get anywhere unless you push yourself do you? And in some respects I have all too easily become used to doing what I can do and sticking with the “safe” stuff.

So first things first:

When I found out about craftsy I thought it would be marvellous for me. As you may know I am dyslexic, so looking at instructions in the written word are usually quite confusing.

Add with that mild dyspraxia and you have a whole heap of confusion when it comes to things such as left and right.

I learn so well when people show me physically how to do something rather than from reading instructions, hence the idea of video classes which I can access at any point seemed perfect.

So sign up I did.

I downloaded the course materials and pattern (easy enough) ensuring that the test square was the right size and then ordered everything I needed to make up the dress (apart from the boning – you really need to measure your bodice pieces for that).

I decided on a cerise medium weight cotton for the main fabric with the lining in a lightweight light blue and white polka dot.

I cracked on with making up the pattern.

Now, I know this should have been easy and it was up to a certain point but honestly, being told that it’s “fun, like doing a puzzle” doesn’t actually make it any more fun and less fiddly.

Oh, and if you’re like me and don’t have a table big enough, prepare for some backache.

This was however soothed by watching the amazingly trashy cultness of Showgirls while I was doing it.

Next up was marking the pattern pieces on calico for the toile of the bodice.

When I first discovered that the pattern had no seam allowance I was struck by a little bit of fear, I completely didn’t understand how beneficial this actually would be and how easy it would make the whole process. Thread tracing is a new one on me but I feel like it’s something that might change my sewing life!

After a short time I had my cups made and decided it was time to leave it for the night.

The next day I began stitching the rest of the pieces together. It took me about 40 minutes of not understanding why the cups weren’t fitting into the bodice sections before I realised I’d sewn them on the wrong way round (dylexia-dyspraxia strikes again!). Once they were un-picked and re-sewn I had a bodice which looked pretty fantastic.

I just made a few adjustments to the height of the cups (these would make me blush in their original form, and I’m not shy by any means) which Gertie talks you through every step of the way, There’s also a section on a full bust adjustment, which I didn’t use but I did watch and it was very thorough. It will be a great reference if I make something for someone in the future who is bustier than me.

I added a little height to the back of the bodice too, in line with the height I’d added to the cups and then I graded this down towards the closure section where the zip will be inserted.

After this I made the changes to my pattern pieces to incorporate the extra material and I cut more calico for the interlining, marked it up and used these pieces as a pattern for the main bodice material, which I then cut and tacked together.

Then I made up the bodice as instructed, step by step, including inserting a bit of padding to the cups and a few other tailoring techniques as shown (I don’t want to give everything away).

This where I’m up to, an almost complete bodice. I am so happy with how it looks.

My thoughts on the class and on craftsy:

I am really loving doing something new and more challenging with guidance from others who have completed the course and from the instructor. I would definitely recommend this type of learning to anyone who is talking up sewing. The instructions are clear and concise and it is invaluable to be able to see in motion what you can only read about in other respects. The little tailoring and hand sewing techniques and finishes and shared experiences from Gertie are well worth signing up for, never mind the fact you’ll have a gorgeous dress at the end of it.

I fully intend to carry on doing more craftsy courses after I have finished this one. What I have learned so far is so much more than I thought I would, and it’s great to find out little tips and tricks so that if (like me) you’re learning as you go, and on your own, you find speedier and more accurate ways to make garments.

PLEASE VOTE FOR ME

8 DAYS TO GO AND EVERY VOTE COUNTS!

I need to be in the top 3 and I’m currently in 4th place. Only the top 3 go through to the judges panel. Help a fellow vintage sewing enthusiast out?

It’ll only take a few minutes of your time if you have it spare! Thank you!

Fabric for Fashion: The Swatch Book

Published on March 27, 2014 by Stacey Stitch4 Comments

Let’s not sugar coat it; Fabrics for Fashion: The Swatch Book is expensive with the RRP £60. I got it for around about £37 and even then I could only afford it due to the stroke of good luck I’ve had recently.

It is however, for someone like me who doesn’t yet know her batiste from her shantung, priceless.

I am one of those people that walk around a fabric shop hanging her head in shame, confused about the properties of various fabrics and all too often drawn to the cotton blends as I know them well.

I am oh so typically British in my embarrassment in asking anyone anything, my husband refers to it as “the shyness”, wherein if I find myself in a situation where I don’t know something the normal me (friendly, chatty, enthusiastic) reverts to the painfully shy and not wanting to attract attention me that I was in my formative years.

This swatch book is perfect for me for a few reasons:

I like to order pretty fabrics online but with limited knowledge I find myself stumbling about in the dark, googling dresses made from certain fabrics to get an idea of drape and weight and then fearing the postman will delivery something that I simply can’t work with (this has, so far, not happened as I have been cautious)
I’m quite a tactile person when it comes to fabric. I am also one of those annoying people that keeps you in a fabric shop for too long because I’m busy stroking everything. Shop in Abakhan in Manchester? I’ve probably touched your fabric (don’t worry – I have very clean hands).
I find prints and colours far too distracting, often considering them more than how the fabric will hang and drape when the garment is made.

There are 100 swatches in the book and with exception of a few they are in their natural, undyed state. The samples are a good size, giving you a true impression of their feel, weight and structure and all have a description alongside them.

Each section is accompanied with information on fibres, the basic construction of fabric and weave comparison. There’s a fantastic glossary in the back which helps with the terminology used throughout.

All in all, a great reference book that I know I will use time and time again, will save me many future headaches, make purchasing fabric online so much easier and will add much diversity to my future home sewn wardrobe.