Thinking Ahead - Jacket - British Wool - Questioning at Crafster

Today I posted my questions to Crafster.org http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=450696.0

Working on not keeping materials in my fabric inventory for too long. I have a couple of other sewing projects going on, but preparing and thinking through how to work with this lovely wool, makes it more likely that it will get sewn once it gets chilly 'round here.  I also need to think about Seam Fnishes - I'm thinking either flat-felled or bound. This article has a lot of info and ideas for working with reversible garments

From My Journal - Mother of the Bride - Sewing Daydreams

Looking down the road to June of 2017.

The party will be at a lovely ranch in San Luis Obispo.

My daughter's wedding colors are blush and champagne. Her attendants will be wearing those colors.

For myself I'm thinking about dark rose, dark peach or gold

A sheer float'y overdress? Maybe I'll use the pattern I created for my Fiona the Irish Laurel dress (green linen below) - except I'll want to add 3/4 or elbow length sleeves.

Colored lace or a lovely sheer colored voile perhaps?

Somewhat high neck - or boat neck straight across. Dress below will be a scoop neck. Pearls will nest above.

Length of both over and under dresses - I'm thinking knee length. Show off those legs!

But tea length would look romantic.....

I have my nice well fitting straw hat. May want to re trim it. Or visit Wayne's studio for a hat workshop, and make a new hat based on  dress fabric scraps.

Clarks shoes - dressy low heeled sandals. Comfortable and cute too. I have two pair, but the colors are probably wrong. Oh durn, will need new shoes!

Beneath the sheer overdress I'm thinking of a simply shaped dress made from my sloper pattern. Similar to the above line art - but not quite as fitted.

Sleeveless? Cap sleeves? Quarter sleeves?

Plain colored silk or rayon? (Linen?) Silk dupioni or similarly draping polyester fabric?

Color same color/tone as the sheer overdress.

A nicely scooped neckline on this dress beneath.

.....

Either my long baroque pearls tied in a flapper knot, or my regular nice-string-of-pearls. I have a couple of different long strings of pearls, so I could see what color goes best with the dress.

Ench By Sew-33:Back in Town

Back in Town - A Summer State of Sewing 

Victoria and Albert had their own ideas about what made for a happy couples vacation in the U.K., Just like we do

Listening Option 1: Download from iTunes
Click on this link to iTunes  to download this and other Enchanted by Sewing shows to your mobile device (iPhone, Android, etc.) free from iTunes

Listening Option 2: Direct Download/Listen on the Web
 LISTEN RIGHT ON THE WEB (while sewing perhaps?)  http://traffic.libsyn.com/enchantedbysewing/CastFINALBackInTownSummerJune2015.mp3

~ ~ ~

Hey!  If you could sew only one garment this summer season, what would it be? 

- Answer the Poll here 

- Post your thoughts below

 or

 -Email me at EnchantedBySewing@Gmail.com

~ ~ ~

After three weeks vacation in England and Scotland, I'm not yet caught up and engaged in my sewing projects. I am, however, reflecting on historical and travel sewing inspiration from my trip, putting some good hard thought into planning sewing projects, and continuing to learn about working on my sewing pattern skills, using my sloper and moulage patterns.

Quick Fashion: When it comes to a summer state of sewing sometimes I just want to zip zap up 3 tees in a tried and true pattern and never mind about careful seam finishes or hems – maybe a deconstructed neckline or too. Other times I want to focus on slow careful pattern work, practice my sewing techniques and create a garment that I expect to see me through a number of seasons.

Slow Fashion: I also like to put time into developing patterns with personally crafted fit, carefully finished seams and well-thought techniques.

Planned Sewing: Other times I need to step back from sewing and give my fabric and pattern inventory and choice of sewing projects a good solid overhaul.

This Month:
1) Field trip to England and Scotland 
(7 days London, 5 days in Lake District (2 travel/3 self-guided walking holiday, 2+ days Edinburgh)

In and amongst our activities,  I encountered textile and sewing information and inspiration.

For travel to use with audio books and in flight movies, and tired evenings, I took along hand embroidery, and practiced stitches on a piece of natural linen scrap. I took this lovely little book,
Embroidered & Embellished: 85 Stitches Using Thread, Floss, Ribbon, Beads & More • Step-by-Step Visual Guide along on my iPad.

                                                 

Many Wonderful Large London Museums are free: Victoria and Albert (free) (Fee for special Alexander McQueen exhibit – Savage Beauty) 

~ ~ ~

Laurel Loves London  (2013) http://enchantedbysewing.blogspot.com/2013/06/ench-by-sew-009-laurel-loves-london.html
A Tour of the Victoria and Albert Fashion Gallery with Laurel (2013)  http://enchantedbysewing.blogspot.com/2013/07/ench-by-sew-010-v-fashion-gallery-tour.html

 ~ ~ ~

Imperial War Museum (free) – Fashion on the Ration 1940s Street Style exhibit http://www.iwm.org.uk/exhibitions/iwm-london/fashion-on-the-ration

Museum of London (free)

The Queens Gallery (Moderate Cost - worth it) – painting paradise became scavenger hunt for pooches (get your ticket stamped for free return for a year)

Conversation Starters - Greeting friendly pooches and their people.
On our treks between museums and scenic places, we enjoyed greenery, statuary and ornamental waters, not to mention horses, dogs, people and kids, in the big parks Holland Park, Kensington Gardens,  Regents Park, St James Park.

Mid Week break for More Green with Country Feel, easy access from London
Osterly Park (free estate/park area and/or paid access
to Neoclassical Robert Adam (Regency Era Architect/Designer) historic house and formal gardens) A good mid-week break - 30 minutes from Kensington by train -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osterley_Park
Robert Adam ‘one of the most fashionable architects in Eng’ also designed furniture to match the rooms at Osterly, which they still have!

A Place Like Home - Agency we've used repeatedly to rent flats in London

Mickeldore - Self-guided walking holidays in England. They setup up the B&B, schlep your luggage and give you maps and directions. Well worth it. We have used for two or our three walking trips in the U.K. (They don't have a Cornwall trip or we would have used them for all 3!) http://www.mickledore.co.uk/

Wool  - Lake District - We stayed at Askhill Farm B&B (http://www.loweswatercam.co.uk/Askhill_Farm_Stay.htm ) There, I learned a little something about current challenges in English wool market chatting with my hosts

Tartan Weaving Mill: Edinburgh On the Royal Mile, just down from The Castle Tartans /Plaids Weaving ( http://www.royal-mile.com/interest/tartanweavingmill.html) Sure, it's primarily a gift store, but there are tidbits for the fabric savy on more than one floor. Working looms.

Jaquard Loom and other Looms are on Display - National Museum of Scotland (Wonderful Museum) Extensive Exhibit area on textiles


2) Technicos: Fitted Tee Shirt – Sloper/Moulage to Pattern, Nibbled that Tee

Damson Plumm Private Eye Tee Shirt - Creating Pattern from Moulage
http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2015/04/damson-plumm-private-eye-nibbled-that.html

3) Purging – Pains and Pleasures - Please post your own thoughts

Is it worth it? You tell me
http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2015/06/purging-fabricpatternssewing-books.html

Fabric for Rosa - The Summer Dreams Blouse

A few weeks back I purchased two yards of Rosa, a Liberty Art Fabric Tana Lawn, at Brittex in San Francisco. Like my other Tana Lawns, the hand of this material is incredible, like a wonderful silk - kind of - but with something else I haven't figured out how to describe. 

Why is this print different from any other basic flower print? I can't say, but for me, it is.

In preparation for cutting and sewing a short sleeved blouse from this wonderful fabric, I altered my favorite shirt pattern, (B5526) into a short sleeved blouse pattern. My alterations involved moving the shoulder lines forward, decreasing the bodice girth and adding waistline to bust apex darts.

I'm currently working on sewing my first test version in pink and white striped seersucker. When I say "test version" I don't mean a muslin - I've created a muslin already and fitted it on my dress form and on me. The test version is one that I'll be wearing to see how I like the alterations. I plan to make at least one more test version before I snip into Rosa. That's partly because I adore Rosa and partly because Tana Lawn is quite pricy - a real investment! - whether I buy it in San Francisco or London. 

http://www.liberty.co.uk/fcp/product/Liberty//Rosa-H-Tana-Lawn/59043

Designed for Liberty by Allan Thomas in 1997 and has been on Classic Tana since 2002. 100% cotton with a texture and sheen to beat the band! Product ID: 59043

Summer of Jeans Sewing: The Plan

Pockets like the ones on these
L.A. Idol jeans are inspiration for learning to
sew my own denim threads.
No, I don't know yet how they get that bling,
And I also wonder what kind of thread they
use for topstitching. Learning about stuff like
that is a ways down the road for me. I've got a lot
of basic skills and fit lessons to learn first.

I've been promising myself since last fall, that I would begin to work on learning to sew jeans this summer. Isn't it important to keep those promises we make to ourselves? Part of that promise was that I'd take the beginning and intermediate construction sewing classes, as well as the pants construction class, at Cañada Community College, in order to improve my overall sewing skills and begin learning techniques that had always seemed more advanced.

OK, I did that.

Now, the plan is to:

1) Sew samples to work on learning and improving jeans sewing techniques : flat felled seams, fly front zippers, special pockets, decorative pocket stitching, attaching rivets and special jeans buttons, jeans hemming, belt loops, dealing with those thick seam crossovers (I know people use hammers and little shim's and stuff)  and probably some other things I haven't thought of yet. And what about embellishment? How do manufacturers, like L.A. Idol create the cool bling on their pockets? I don't know yet.

2) Work on jeans ft for me. Improve knowledge of general pants fitting. Use instructions from various jeans patterns to assist with fit. Take the pants fitting class in the fall to produce a muslin/toile/sloper.

3) Collect information from others - books, magazine articles, web links. Pattern Review has good resources I've been reading and Threads Magazine did a series of three articles a couple of years back, that I have set aside (even though I broke down and bought the full archive of Threads, I held onto those particular paper issues in my "Jeans" drawer).

4) Collect resources to help get started: needles, topstitching thread, budget denim, sample (worn out) jeans from others I can analyze, study and maybe even cut up for sample sewing

5) Collect inspiration. Photograph cool jeans - especially pockets - I see people wearing and I use pinterest (http://pinterest.com/lrshimer/boards/ )  to save references to beautiful jeans features - yes more pockets!

National Sewing Month ¿Estamos Listos? Are We Ready?

Septiembre es el mes para nuestra nación a coser!

September is, of course, National Sewing Month

¿Pero estamos listos?

But, are we ready? 

1) Los suministros / Supplies

I have a goodly sized fabric, trim and pattern stash. (You guessed that didn't you?)

2) El Plan / The Plan
I've got a basket full of things cut out that I plan to sew in September

          - One pair of green shorts, the same pattern as I used for "The Lady Wears Shorts" (see my earlier posting)
          - A cloche style cap, like the one I now wear almost everyday (It needs break and a bath!) . Refer back to "Chewing a Bun with Tuppence" (an earlier posting)
          - A beige lingerie type camisole to go under a very pretty sheer, burnt-knit, dressy yellow tee shirt I finished recently. (No, I can't take a photo of me in it because it would only look appropriate in the kind of establishment I don't patronize! You probably drive by them too.) Believe me, I need a camisole under that tee.
           - One test pair of unmentionable nether garments!
           - A mostly sewn buttercup purse (See my "Do You Like Butter?" posting)

There a few other projects in my basket that I'm not committing to for September, but they could fill in any extra sewing time .... another buttercup purse in home dec roses and stripes fabrics (leftover from aprons I sewed for myself and my daughter about six months ago), a reconstructed tee shirt I'll likely use for testing binding techniques - but it will still see use in the garden, a pretty partially sewn silk wallet I started with my daughter about 4 years ago that needs heavy duty snaps installed - a skill I need to work on.... You know the kind of stuff you resurrect and put in your to do basket, but don't actually commit to

3) Estudio de costura/ Sewing Studio
I decided to get serious and  signed up for Cañada College Fashion 110 "Introduction to Sewing". I call myself a low intermediate level sewer (and I'm always willing to take a chance on an advanced pattern) but being primarily self-taught, there is so much I don't really know and so many things I can, and have been learning. For one thing I'm not naturally neat (something in the genes I think). I don't have a good sense of how closures and edge finishes should even look, much less how to do them in a standard way. Also I just do a lot of things the wrong way. In addition, I often find written instructions confusing. And don't get me started on youTube videos. Yes, I use and love them. But I've done some pretty odd things following them. (More on that another time)

             - Right now I'm working on the first tee shirt project for our Fashion 110 class. I hope to cut out a sample version of that tee this weekend before I cut into the good stuff in class next week. With the help of our wonderful teacher, Rhonda Cheney, I added a dart to the basic Stretch and Sew 333 pattern (Rhonda really did the dart. I traced over her work, but I wrote a lot of how-to notes while I watched her work). I'd like to test the basic front and back with dart on a couple of $2.50 tees -I use two of the same color for test garments-  before I cut into my good stuff in el estudio.

I also signed up for a 4 session Lingerie Sewing Class at Cañada. I'm looking forward to learning how to work with elastic better, for one thing.

National Sewing Month?

 ¡Soy muy listo! 

 I do feel ready!