EnchBySew-54: A Postcard from the Mother of the Bride (MOB)

Modernized Downton Abbey
MOB: Lace Overblouse/Lace Jacket

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Part three of my series about my 3-piece Mother-Of-The-Bride (MOB) outfit.
Wrapping up my MOB sewing project -sharing  my experiences working on this ensemble.
It’s about- Planning, Patterns, Prick stitching , Perturbation, and Patience.

All 3 garment pieces have involved  pattern creation or alteration.

Snapshot of This Month’s Show

- Pensamientos Primeros – Planning and Patterns
        Recapping the history of my mob ensemble
        a. Camisole slip - See my previous podcast - "A Camisole for the Mother of the Bride"

b. Modified Dirndl skirt

i. Modified dirndl is not the Heidi style traditional alpine look
It's NOT http://www.kaffeeundkuchen.co/home/guide-to-buying-and-wearing-a-dirndl
ii. It's NOT any of these fun skirts! http://vintagedancer.com/1940s/1940s-skirts/
iii. Back in the 80’s I remember a number of the suit patterns I sewed called the style of skirt I just made
a ‘modified dirndl’ – but I can’t find a link quickly. I’ll describe it
iv. What IS a modified dirndl?
1. Somewhat straight skirt
2. Not so straight that walking is inhibited
a. No slits or kick pleats needed
3. Wth a little gathered ease
4. Attached to a waistband

c. Lace over blouse
i. Kept under garments as narrow as possible. Lace blouse loose fit
ii. Downton Abbey inspired lace overblouse
1. Not straight hobbled skirt of Edwardian era

iv. Slightly below waist
v. Loose
vi. Scalloped lace ¾ sleeves and down the open front of blouse
vii. Hem of blouse maybe 3 inches higher than knee length skirt


- Technicos
    - Pick Stitch and A hand-sewn zipper

- Pensamientos Finales  -Perturbation and Patience

Mother of the Bride Lace Choice (MOB)

I've been working on my April podcast, which is about completing the work on my Mother of the Bride outfit. It includes a beautiful lace blouse-jacket from this lace.

The fabric.com sample swatch for this gold lace looks white in the picture from their web site.

In fact it is much more yellow-gold - which was what I wanted. 

Glad I sent for a sample!

https://www.fabric.com/buy/0438085/telio-daisy-embroidery-gold

Click on this link in iTunes   to download  episodes of the Enchanted by Sewing Audio/Podcast

Terminado - The Bramble Blouse - Another Semi-Fitted Sleeveless Summer Blouse

You don't hear the term brambles used to refer to berries much these days.
I think it dates more from times when lots of berries grew naturally
in woods and fields, and folks just went out to pick their own, come summer time.
Nowadays most of us find our berries in a box or frozen bag.
The birds and squirrels score most of the ones I have in my yard.
Oh well, they can't run to the grocery store like I can! I don't really mind.
And it saves me a bit o' trouble in those prickly bramble bushes.

Hey! Do you remember the podcast I did in July, where I talked about creating my sleeveless, pink and white seersucker blouse Amaryllis blouse from my much altered tried-and-true shirt pattern (it started out life as B5586)? Well I enjoyed wearing Amaryllis so much (that gal has been a real go-to summer wardrobe choice) that I made another blouse from my same much altered pattern.

And doesn't it look pretty durn cute with my sage'y green shorts from two summers ago? I think so! I've also been wearing it with my new Midnight Sky black denim skirt, but I don't have a really cute photo of that combination yet :-)

Oh yeah, I altered the pattern a little more!  I just can't get enough of altering now - no pattern is safe from my fideling fingers.   Blame my wonderful dress form buddy Conchita for that! Because this crisp bramble printed cotton doesn't hang off a woman's body in the same way as the loosey-goosey seersucker I used for Amaryllis, I made a few changes to my Bramble Blouse as I was creating her. . . 

i) I took the long front darts I'd created from the hem, up the princess line, to the bust apex, and extended them up above the bust apex. 
ii) I also took those darts in more - so my Bramble Blouse is all together narrower than Amaryllis.  
iii) In addition I added long darts along the back princess seam. 

My dress form Conchita was really useful
when it came to making the
Bramble Blouse more fitted

These alterations resulted in a semi-fitted blouse that's just a little more fitted. 

OK, I admit it. I used good old
safety pins to try out that extended dart.
Because just after I tried this out on
Conchita, I slipped it on
me and checked out that new dart in the bathroom mirror.

Amaryllis is somewhat fitted,
but less so than my Bramble Blouse
That works because she's made out of a non-crisp seersucker

~ ~ ~

Web Resources

Audio/Podcast Summer of the Blouse - Amaryllis http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/07/ench-by-sew-022-summer-of-blouse.html

Blog Posting about Amaryllis http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/07/amaryllis-my-new-semi-fitted-blouse.html

Wardrobe Builder - The Midnight Sky Black Denim Skirt http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/08/terminado-wardrobe-builder-midnight-sky.html

Creating Conchita, my Dress Form Friend  http://enchantedbysewing.blogspot.com/2013/09/ench-by-sew-12-dress-forms.html

What's a Shirt? What's a Blouse?

* The sixties clothing revolution (mid sixties on) took us from blouses to shirts. In the forties-fifties-early-sixties women's separates usually included a blouse. For blouses check out the Donna Reed Show, Petticoat Junction, Perry Mason and, of course, retro patterns. Look on the Dick Van Dyke show for Rosemarie wearing shirts over pencil skirts and looking the very modern professional woman. Shirts traditionally marked women who were moving into higher profession positions, starting during the New Woman era of the late 1800's

This traditional fitted blouse takes nicely to
embellishment. It's from a Miss Marple movie set in the 1950's 

This traditional women's shirt is sold by L.L. Bean

* A shirt tends to be somewhat loose, with style lines that hint at a woman's figure. Traditional fabrics are loose weaves. I think of materials like... oxford cloth, linen, cottons with body, somewhat stiff silk, silk noil/raw silk. Most shirts aren't big on embellishment, unless it's pretty simple like a bit of embroidery on a pocket or the point of a collar.

Another traditional fitted blouse from the same Miss Marple
movie. Blouses were typically worn tucked in, but
this blouse has a band at the waist so it could be worn
loose just over the skirt's waistband to flatter the actresses
very traditionally woman's figure.

* A blouse is more fitted. It's often somewhat delicate when it comes to fabric I think of materials like...  handkerchief linen, fluid cottons and silks like crepe de chine, sheer fabrics like silk organza. I think a blouse really takes to being embellished just about anywhere!

Petticoat Junction: Bobbie Joe's pink blouse takes well to
ruffled embellishment. The Doctor (center front) is also wearing a
blouse. Ruffles make a garment a blouse in my book.

This Silk Georgette blouse 
is nicely embellished in a very traditional blouse
fashion. It also has lot's of darts to make
it very fitted. It would tuck in well.

* What's a shirt? 
For me...

- yoke back-over-front

- no darts

- opens up well over a tank top - shirt jacket style

- minimal carefully thought out embellishment, often a pocket motif or very minimal trim - like a bias trim along the inner neckline or in the cuff area

- wide variety of buttons, can be fairly big and arty or non-standard or smaller, more delicate blouses crossover into the zone between shirt and blouse

For me this garment says 'blouse' because
it's buttoned all the way up, and has a Peter Pan collar.   Though the tucks
give it fullness in the torso, they are a constrained type of
fullness, not loose and floating away from the women's figure.
Another photo from a Miss Marple movie.

* What's a blouse? For me

  - more fitted than a shirt

  - darts to flatter my form

  - it tucks into a waistband

 - if anything underneath it's a thin camisole to mask undergarments, perhaps only open at the neckline to show a line of lace at the top of that camisole

- a blouse takes to embellishment ruffles, lace, ribbon on cuffs, collar, up the front around the buttons(see examples below)

- delicate buttons like a pearl bead, small mother-of-pearl, speciality like little fruits or flowers - especially where they contrast or complement the fabric

* Accessories that add to a blouse

 - pearls

 - a thin dangling necklace - For me that might be a cameo on a chain

 - colored purse, belt and shoes (especially if they are all the same color) give a traditional feel

* How do I accessorize a shirt?

 - a scarf often looks better with a shirt than a blouse
 - less delicate jewelry

Ench By Sew-022- Summer of the Blouse - Amaryllis

Hey! 

The latest Enchanted by Sewing Podcast has been published!

Listening Option I) You can listen to the show right on the web by clicking on this link 

~ OR ~

Listening Option II)  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

Did I miss any links mentioned in the show? If so, please post here and share them with everybody

Email- EnchantedBySewing@gmail.com

~ ~ ~

I like Amaryllis with jeans too!

This show is created, produced and brought to you by me! - Laurel Shimer. THE Enchanted by Sewing PODCAST IS, An  EXTENSION OF my regular sewing blog - Me Encanta Coser, which,  roughly translated means, Enchanted By Sewing

My blog is written in English. The name celebrates the historical and modern use of the beautiful Spanish Language in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, where I live

* * *

In my slow sewing July, I focused on sewing just one pink and white striped seersucker sleeveless blouse.  Like my  CA Summer skies shirt– (that was blue and white checked seersucker shirt ) I sewed and talked about last months show, my new sleeveless blouse, who I call Amaryllis (in honor of the musical, "The Music Man"),  has quickly become an important staple of my summer wardrobe. And sewing a few more blouses, as a result of what I thought and learned about sewing this most recent garment, is something I’m considering when it comes to more summer sewing.

In this month’s show

1) Pensamientos Primeros
Slow Summer Sewing – Budgeting my sewing time and energy and coming out on top by improving sewing skills. Increasing my wardrobe choices. It’s about Feeling satisfied with my sewing recreation time and output.

The slow living movement includes slow stitching. Look for more about slow living and sewing on the web

http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/06/wardrobe-refurbish-sewist-loves-to.html

http://www.slowmovement.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downshifting

http://theslowstitchingmovement.wordpress.com/2014/06/10/welcome-to-the-slow-stitching-blog/

2) Entonces, Technicos y Mas
i) What’s a shirt what’s a blouse? http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/08/whats-shirt-whats-blouse.html

ii) About Amaryllis, a summer blouse

Music Man Inspiration for this blouses name http://simpleromantic.blogspot.com/2010/08/time-travel-primer-lesson-6-music-man.html


Now I've sewn Amaryllis, I'm envisioning other sleeveless blouses  http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/07/fabric-for-rosa-summer-dreams-blouse.html

iii) Technicos –My Amarylis Blouse
- More Seersucker Sewing
-       Sleeveless blouse facings
For my sleeveless blouse facings, I used techniques similar to those I described in my blog posting, Sewing a Fitted Facing, in Oct two years ago
http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2012/10/technicostechniques-sewing-fitted-facing.html

- Seam Finishes - Cut and Pink
- Altering a shirt pattern to become a blouse

3) Pensamientos Finales Blue Skies Sewing - I can't sew it all at once, but I can dream!

A couple of Inspiration Dresses are related to Bustiers, including the Stella McCartney floral http://www.pinterest.com/lrshimer/sewingbustiersinspiration/

Stella McCartney inspired my interest in this pattern for a bustier-related dress, Vogue 8849

I discovered the pattern at this great blog, Fitnottofit http://fitnottofit.wordpress.com/tag/v8849/

I bought my copy of this pattern from
https://sewingpatterns.com

More about designer Stella McCartney http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stella_McCartney

Amaryllis - My New Semi-Fitted Blouse (Pink and White Striped Seersucker)

Here's the kind of amaryllis that inspired me to name my
new blouse. These bulbs show up in our stores around
 the winter holidays, are inexpensive,  and  are 
pretty easy to grow.

I'll be talking about the techniques I used to create my new Amaryllis blouse in this month's Enchanted by Sewing audio podcast, which will be published before the end of July. 

Yes, I love my new Amaryllis blouse!
And I'm so happy I bought this wide red belt this summer.
It also sets off my CA Summer Skies Shirt - both of
which I've been wearing a ton with my new summer denim skirt.

I’ve begun to enjoy naming the garments I craft. It reminds me each one is a work of art! That’s what the designers do. I’m designing for myself, and it’s fun to think like those fashion designers who give name to their creations, just like I do :-)

As I did with last month's CA Summer Skies seersucker Shirt,
I interfaced and lined my blouse facings with silk organza. This also gave me a
 neat completely concealed outside edge to  hand stitch down

I named my new pink and white seersucker blouse Amaryllis, after the musical “The Music Man” Are you a fan of  that play? You may recall it’s set in the American town of River City, Iowa in 1912 in. Below is a snippet from a blog posting I wrote a few years back, in my first blog, “The Simple Romantic” When I began that blog it represented a lot of my different interests including: hiking, sewing, and time travel! The Simple Romantic blog is still out on the web – and nowadays I keep it current by adding in postings from my different, more specifically themed blogs. I’ve included a link below, to the full time travel posting relating to the Music Man. Here’s that excerpt…

Suddenly I find myself there in the middle of the train station, a looker-on to the arrival in town of The Music Man himself. Is it the huge striped-candy blossom that makes me think about the barbershop quartet rehearsing in their shirtsleeves ? Perhaps it's the memory of Winthrop's heartbreaking lisp when he is forced to greet his elder sister, Marion's, piano student - she's named after the belladona lily, that sent me tumbling back in time.

Amaryllis, of course, was that piano student, and now she has become the inspiration for my new semi-fitted summer blouse.

I'll be talking about the pattern alterations I made
in my Enchanted by Sewing audio podcast, which I'll publish
 before the end of this month
Putting the partially completed blouse on my
dress form Conchita, helped me to notice that the top
end of my darts needed some realignment!

I used stitch and pink seam finishing techniques for Amaryllis

Completed Stitch and Pink

I like Amaryllis with jeans too!

~ ~ ~

Web Resources

Put a Little Muslin Into It - Altering a tried-and-true shirt pattern to create my Amaryllis Blouse http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/07/put-little-muslin-into-it-sleeveless.html

The Music Man - A Time Travel Trip

http://simpleromantic.blogspot.com/2010/08/time-travel-primer-lesson-6-music-man.html

Basics on last month's blue and white checked seersucker CA Summer Skies Shirt http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/06/terminado-my-ca-summer-skies-seersucker.html. Find out more about techniques I used, in the June Enchanted by Sewing Audio Podcast http://www.enchantedbysewing.blogspot.com/2014/06/ench-by-sew-021-ca-summer-skies-sewing.html

Sewing a Simple Denim Skirt is Good Medicine http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/06/terminado-sewing-simple-denim-skirt-is.html

Sign up for email reminders, so you'll know when new editions of the Enchanted by Sewing Audio Podcast are published http://www.enchantedbysewing.blogspot.com

Put a little Muslin Into It - Sleeveless Blouse from Shirt Pattern (B5526 Pattern Alteration)

If English isn't your first language.... I based the title for this posting on the English phrase/idiomatic expression "Put a little muscle into it", which is an encouragement to work hard.

As I mentioned in a recent blog posting, I've been working on altering my tried-and-true B5526 from a shirt to a sleeveless   somewhat fitted, summer blouse. Here's the muslin I created to help me decide how I want that blouse to fit. As you can see, I tried out the dart on one side to see if I wanted to just have that bit of fabric be loose and blouse or add fit. After trying the muslin on my own-self, I went in favor of the dart.

My dress form, Conchita, has been of immeasurable help to me in this endeavor as I 
a) Dropped the shoulder seam slightly forward
b) Decreased the torso girth
c) Added a waist to apex-of-bust dart.

Practicing my draping skills to make pattern alterations is the kind of thing that keeps me...

Enchanted by Sewing!

~ ~ ~

Web Resources

Planning for Rosa: My Summer Dream Blouse (Liberty of London Tana Lawn)

http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/07/fabric-for-rosa-summer-dreams-blouse.html

My Experiences Creating Two Different Dress Forms (Audio Podcast with show notes links to various blog postings)

http://www.enchantedbysewingpodcast.blogspot.com/2013/09/ench-by-sew-12-dress-forms.html

Conchita's New Dress (Dress Form Fun)

As I mentioned in a recent blog posting, I've been working on altering my tried-and-true B5526 from a shirt to a short-sleeved, somewhat fitted, summer blouse. My dress form, Conchita, has been of immeasurable help to me in this endeavor as I 
a) Dropped the shoulder seam slightly forward
b) Decreased the torso girth
c) Added a waist to apex-of-bust dart.

Don't you think Conchita deserves this new lace frock to celebrate all the help she gives me? It's actually a piece of lace salvaged from a long-ago frock I had taken apart and then tucked into my fabric inventory. 

I simply draped the lace over Conchita's foamy body, but I think it suits her style.

Having fun with my dress form buddy is the kind of thing that keeps me...

Enchanted by Sewing!

~ ~ ~

Web Resources

Planning for Rosa: My Summer Dream Blouse (Liberty of London Tana Lawn)

http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/07/fabric-for-rosa-summer-dreams-blouse.html

My Experiences Creating Two Different Dress Forms (Audio Podcast with show notes links to various blog postings)

http://www.enchantedbysewingpodcast.blogspot.com/2013/09/ench-by-sew-12-dress-forms.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

Lilacs and Liberty: An Insiders View

I've had an awful lot of fun wearing this shirt I finished at the beginning of the year. Yup, it's another of my favorite Butterick 5526 - the pattern my buddy Susan altered for me. You may recall the other two versions I made. The first was my No.1 Lady's Detective Agency shirt, and later came the Mille Fleur shirt I took to London (I also finished the red plaid Pearly-Wannabe jacket for that trip. with some strips of bias trim I eked out of the scraps from the shirt).

The main fabric is Robert Kaufaman Lilac Gingham and the trim is Liberty of London Tana Lawn "Mauverina". I've had a lot to say about Liberty and this wonderful quality cotton, both in my podcast and this blog.

I ams really happy with my threesome button groupings (Click
on the illustration to see an up-close view of those)
I also liked the pocket, a variation on the pattern pocket
but I took tucks instead of the folds in the sporty-style shirt.
I also added these long tucks in front and back that weren't in the
other two versions of this shirt. The fluid nature of the
gingham seemed to call for them. They're figure-flattering too.

In my February podcast, "Getting Shirty",  I described some of the seam finishing techniques for shirts I've been working on incorporating more often in my sewing projects. I'm really happy that I did a good job on the inside as well as the outside of this garment. I wear it often and so there's quite a lot of pleasure putting on this well-fitting (thanks Susan!) shirt.

Remember when I described slicing double packaged bias tape lengthwise and wrapping the one remaining fold over the raw edge of the hem, and facing edges in the podcast? Doesn't that make a nice crisp edge? You bet! And it really defines that shirt tail hem too. I sewed three rows of topstitching too, which also helps with the stable, crisp feeling.

Notice that French Seam. Isn't that a nice clean look? It really looks finished and helps with the hang of the garment.

Not being a dab hand at seam finishes, I wasn't sure if using a french seam at the shoulder seam would be challenging. But it worked out just fine. I did baste the set-in-sleeve first, but I would have done that even in a traditional rights-sides-together seam.

We spent a lot of time learning about seam finishes in my Intermediate Construction Class at Cañada. I'm only just starting to get in more practice with them - just as soon as I'm done with this bustier project I'm chugging away on. (Woof! It's turning into a multi-month project. But what a feeling of accomplishment it will be when I'm done:-) 

Once that challenging project is complete (Oh and did I mention I'm planning to squeeze out a simple straight denim skirt to wear with it before I move on? Hey it's got to have a real spot in my wardrobe....), I'm going to get some more recreational sewing time in with shirt sewing. You bet I've got one more cut out and in the hopper, and several more for which I have fabric (two of them are my favorite lengths of Liberty Tana Lawn I got on my trip to London last year). I'm really looking forward to polishing my seam finishing skills on those new garments. 

I'm looking forward even more, to putting them on and wearing them!

Practicing new skills and getting to enjoy the results. That's the kind of projects that keep me...

Enchanted by Sewing

More Techniques From This Shirt: http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/08/kit-1-progresso-en-curso-shirt-sewing.html

   Audio/Podcast Getting Shirty: http://www.enchantedbysewing.blogspot.com/2014/02/ench-by-sew-017-gettin-shirty.html Includes seam finishing techniques and pattern discussion

This book has really helped me to learn how to sew different seam finishes. The illustrations and descriptions are spot on!

The New Complete Guide to Sewing: Step-by-Step Techniques for Making Clothes and Home Accessories Updated Edition with All-New Projects and Simplicity Patterns (Reader's Digest)