Blue dress finished

Here is a close-up of the buttons and D-ring I got for the dress. The buttons are slightly smaller than called for (13mm as opposed to 15) so I put more on. I liked that they were very slightly turquoise and slightly mottled too. I didn't have a lot of choice in the D-rings so I got the pewter coloured ones, thinking they would blend into the dress more.

And here I am wearing it! I decided to wear it to school tonight so I got Peter to take a snap. It is SO comfortable.

Several weeks ago, in one of their regular draws, I won a gift certificate at FabricLand. I finally went shopping for the fabric yesterday. I had to spend it all at once so I planned ahead for a few of the things I wanted.

From left to right:
100% cotton damask in the palest of pinks. I need a larger coverlet for my giant bed so I have decided to add a flange around the edges of an existing matelasse coverlet - the one that the fabrics are resting on.

A black, textured cotton with a white line drawing of flowers on it, and tiny touches of lime green and mauve. I thought it would make for a knee length skirt and matching top that I could wear as separates too.

1.4 metres of mottled pink brushed cotton. I couldn't resist the fact that it was $1/metre and thought I might get a skirt out of it.

Navy rayon with large white flowers. It was the closest thing to a Hawaiian print I could find in rayon so I can make Peter a shirt.

Faux suede with all-over embroidery. I am making a jean jacket for my niece (who turns 15 this summer). She had asked for black but when I saw this suede in what is a neutral colour also, I thought it would look so much more flattering on her and be more versatile too. And it really feels like suede. I can always make her a black one later.

Thin blue denim embroidered to a raspberry pink cotton backing. They called it quilted in the store but there is no fibre padding between the two fabric layers. I imagined a jacket for myself where I could turn up the sleeves and show the pink inside.

Blue dress - almost finished

I'm done again, except for the buttons! Once I had sewn the bodice to the skirt, I could then put on the facings and collar. I made the facings and the underside of the collar in the complimentary geometric. You'll be able to see a small bit of it at the top end of the front placket (at the throat) when I'm wearing it.

Then I had to decide whether to put the belt loops on with the geometric facing out or not. I decided "not". It would end up being too much contrast, I thought. But again, you can get a glimpse of the geometric on the underside of the loop. Here's a photo of the front at the waist with two belt loops and the facings opened up to show the contrast. Now I have to find some nice buttons and get a D-ring for the belt.

Blue Dress - sleeves

When I made the short sleeved version of this dress, I wasn't happy with where the sleeve folded up and where the tab had to be buttoned. So when I started making the three-quarter sleeve version, I left my options open until the end of the sleeve process.

First I sewed the sleeves to the bodice around the armscye, before sewing the underarm seams. This way, it is easier to do the flat fell finish around the armscye. Then I measured where the pattern told me to fold the bottom of the sleeve up and ironed a crease there. When I laid the sleeve out on my ironing board and folded the "cuff" up on the outside like it would be folded when finished, I saw that the tab wouldn't work properly.

In this shot, I have put a piece of pink chalk to show where the one end of the tab is, secured on the wrong side of the sleeve. I have folded up the "cuff" and you can see that in order to button the tab where it is supposed to be buttoned (up at the other end of the tab), the wrong side of the fabric will show. The pattern called for a 10 cm fold.

In this photo, I have folded the "cuff" up on the inside of the sleeve, about 15 cm, almost all the way to the sewn end of the tab. Then I have folded it to the outside and pinned the tab up to where it would be buttoned. This showed me that I had to make the cuff deeper. I ironed the fold and made a good crease so it would show after I had sewed the underarm seam.

Once I sewed and finished the underarm seam, I folded the "cuff" along the crease, pinned it to the sleeve and sewed around the sleeve. I used my free arm on the sewing machine and held the tab out of the way as I sewed.

I hung the dress on the door and folded up the sleeve and pinned the tab where it will be buttoned. In the meantime, I also sewed the skirt to the bodice around the waist. Now I have to finish the waist seam and then I can put on the facings and collar.

Blue dress - assembly begins

Here I have lined up the first pieces I sewed all in one rush. From left to right, they are: bodice front with darts, bodice back with yoke, tabs and belt carriers, belt, front facings, skirt back on machine and collar at the bottom.

The tabs, carriers and belt are all tubes. Since I made them all with the geometric fabric on one side and and the organic print on the other, all the seams had to be partly pressed open to make the turning easier. Then, as I looked at them, I realized that I really should invest in a tube turning device. Oh you can turn them without one, but I think life would be easier with one.

The belt is slightly wider than the other pieces so I left it to the end. When turning the tabs and carrier, I started by flipping one end (or the open end in the case of the tabs) right side out and then gradually and slowly, reaching into the tube and pulling a tiny bit of the inside of the tube out. Since I can only reach inside the tube about an inch, you can see why this takes a while. I used a point turner at the the end, to poke out the corners on the tabs.

On the belt, I had a little more room to manoeuver so after I got it going, I turned the already turned part on itself and grabbed the inside bit and pulled. This way, I could do more than one inch at a time.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize this was out of focus until I blogged but I thought all the tubes looked cute before they were pressed and top stitched.

I didn't put pockets on the grey dress because the rayon was more flimsy and I didn't think it would look very good. I made the pockets for this dress and when I pinned them on, I thought they would work. So far so good, after having sewed them on too.

Now I have sewed and felled some seams and am about to put the sleeves on.

Blue dress - interfaced pieces

I'm falling behind! We had an unexpected guest on the weekend, also went mattress shopping, had the neighbour's garage door installed yesterday, had dog adventures, having the mattress delivered today (between 10 and 1), teaching tomorrow, our garage door on Thursday, AND they switched garbage day pick up from Tuesday to Thursday. It's just just a whirl, what's a girl to do?

I'm posting two photos. They are taken with different lighting and cameras but the first one is all the pieces for the blue dress that require interfacing, having been interfaced and laid out on my sewing table.

The next one is me sitting out on the patio, having put pants on because of the mosquitoes (particularly bad this year - they have even invaded the city). I looked at the photo and suddenly realized that I was wearing the third print of the blue series! I made these pants (and a matching large over-shirt) last year or maybe even longer ago. I don't wear them much because, while I like flowing garments, I guess I don't feel they totally work for me. Worn with the shirt, it's a lot of blue and large organic print. At 5' 2", I'm not sure I am the flowy type.

Meanwhile, I am busy picking out a large tuck I put in a queen sized dust ruffle I made so it would fit on the double bed, because I am now going to need two queen sized ruffles. I am also going to have to either make a new coverlet or add a bit of fabric to an existing one because the new mattress being delivered today is extra high. So is the boxspring so I might have to add a border to the ruffle. Work never ends. :)

A Blue Dress

Here's the fabric I'm working with for this dress. It's rayon with a little bit of weight to it - not too thin, in other words. The print gives it a sort of batik look, with the watery background and changing colours. I had thought the print was floral but I was obviously remembering incorrectly - it's organic and the other one is geometric but I wouldn't call it "floral".

This shows the right and wrong sides. The right side had a crisper print to it. In this shot, the colours are different even on the right sides so the contrast is greater, but the wrong side up is on the left and the right side up is on the right. I may have to come up with another word other than "right" to describe the "correct" side of the fabric - this is getting ridiculous.

Bags finished!

I finished the bags this morning - I do so like this cotton fabric. If I had to restrict myself to only ever sewing with one fabric it would be cotton. I suppose I would choose a weight slightly lighter than this for more versatility and I would hope I got lots of colours and prints. But it would be cotton.

Woo, this photo gives me vertigo. I have put the tote over the end of the ironing board and have pressed the seam open. I am going to sew down the seam allowances even though the pattern doesn't call for it. I think it makes it neater and more durable.

I like this pattern because it gives you a zippered top on the tote - makes things more secure. You don't have to zip it up if you're carrying a baguette or something but I like the option. Here, I am pinning the top onto the bag.

Once I got the top sewed on, I remembered that I like to sew down the little seam allowances at the open end of the zipper - again for neatness.

Finally, here are the two bags. I made them with the idea that I would give them to Mum, although I am not sure she would use them. This is also a test to see if she is reading my blog (hi Mum!). If she doesn't think she would get use out of them, I'll have to think who else might like them. I already gave away a bunch of these bags two Christmases ago so I'm running out of folks.

Next, because I'm not going to FabricLand for red buttons at least today, I am planning to make that dress again. I wore the grey rayon dress to school last night and thought about the two lengths of blue rayon I have stashed from a couple of summers ago when I bought it on sale. One print is a small geometric and the other is a medium floral. I thought I would make the dress in the floral and use the geometric for the underside of the collar, the facings, tabs and one side of the belt.

Some bags

I decided to make a tote bag and a matching little bag using Simplicity 9949, which I have used before. It makes for a nice sized tote bag with a zippered top. I'm using the left over fabric from when I recovered my ironing board.

Here, I've got some pieces cut out and I'm deciding on which little bag to make.

When I'm making things like this and using heavy cotton fabric, I don't sew the seam together where the zipper will go. Instead, I just iron over the seam allowances and set the zipper under them.

Then I pin down one end of the zipper and the fabric and put pins in along the stitching line, which I will take out as I sew.

The little matching bag has a separate bottom piece and I oriented the stripes perpendicularly to the body of the bag for contrast. Here is the wrong side, the inside of the bag, before I have sewed the ends. I have pinked all the raw edges so they won't fray and I won't have to finish them in any other way later.

In this photo, I have finished the little bag and have sewn the handles on the large tote. Next will come the side seams and the installation of the zipper and I'll be done.

The Collar

I have sandwiched the collar between the two layers of the coat and have turned it the right way out to make sure I have to correct sides touching each other.

Next, I laid the collar on the ironing board and started pinning the striped side of the coat to it. After pinning the ends, I had to cut small clips into the neck edge of the coat to get it to stretch out to fit the collar.

After I had the striped side roughly pinned, I flipped it over and pinned the red side to the collar too.

Here I have both sides pinned to the collar and am ready to sew.

Without even trimming or pressing I turned the coat right side out and red side out to see what it will look like and hung it on the door. It looks kind of messy because I haven't sewed the fronts together and I have flipped up the collar on the left side of the photo so you can see its underside. But I think it looks great!
Now it will be on to the loops and buttons. I have a reversible winter coat that I didn't make and I wear it almost every day. I took a photo of the top of it to show that there are buttons on both sides and they are done up using loops sewn into the front edge seam.

The loops are actually elastic and you don't notice them at all really. I haven't decided whether to go with elastic or make loops out of the same fabric as the coat. If I can't get red elastic, I think I will go with fabric loops. Next it will be a matter of choosing some buttons (the last time I was at FabricLand, I didn't see any I liked) and then making sure the loops fit the buttons properly.

Since I am not sure when I am going to go to the store, I may start on that tote bag I was mentioning as an interim project - which I don't usually allow myself but may make an exception in this case. I am pleased with the coat so far and don't want to ruin it by rushing. I am glad I have allowed myself some thinking time so that I could decide on loops, for example.

The Red Side

I have now finished the red side of the coat to the same stage as the striped. I have a few photos from the construction that I think I missed on the striped side. The first photo shows the wrong side of the front with the princess seam press open.

I press seams open first, even when I am flat felling them, because it makes for a flatter finish. On a princess seam, there is extra fabric on the side front piece that has to be eased (blended) into the other front piece. That is one reason why I have trimmed the seam allowance on the main front piece and am using the seam allowance on the side front piece to fold over for the flat fell.

Here I have folded over a little bit of the seam allowance and am holding it down with my left hand (taking the picture with my right of course). I have a fair bit of fiddly work ahead, as I have to fold under this seam allowance at the same time as work in the folds and wrinkles and not get wrinkles on the right side when I am done sewing.

I am pleased with the way the finished seams look on the right side or outside of the coat, especially on this plain red side. It's hard to see in this photo, sorry.

I am still stewing about the buttonholes and reversibility of this coat. I went on the internet to look for anything related and only found stuff about what I already knew. I have a reversible coat that I didn't make and it uses loops and buttons on both sides. Because of the loops, when you button it up in either configuration, the buttons end up on the left side. I am thinking I will make buttonholes using a patch method shown in my couture sewing book (from the folks who bring you Threads publications) and just put up with having the buttons on the "wrong" side (the right hand side, the way men's stuff is buttoned). This will mean I have buttons sewed on top of buttons but I guess I can cope. I'm still stewing. Maybe I will make a couple of tote bags while I think about it.

However, next I will sew the two halves together a the neck edge with the collar and see how it hangs after that. I won't sew down the fronts because I want to leave my options open for loops or other fastenings.

Sleeves

Here is the collar, still not turned right side out:

I have folded it in the middle so you can see both ends and the contrasting sides. I have also interfaced both sides of it.

After I attached the sleeves to the shoulders (I will sew up the underarm seam all at once), I hung up the coat to have a look at it. The stripes are maybe a little - mattressy, pyjama-like perhaps? Maybe they should have been bolder? I was thinking that I would alternate every time I wore the coat so it would get even wear but now I am wondering if I will prefer the red side out with the striped side as the accent. Just musings at this point - when I get the whole thing put together, I think I'll have a better idea.

After I took the photo of the coat as it was hanging up, I folded over the shoulder seam allowances to finish them in the usual flat fell. You can see in this photo that the front piece is interfaced and I have finished the shoulder seam in a modified flat fell. Now I just have the underarm seams left, which I will finish in a modified flat fell. Once that is done, I will put the red side of the coat together to the same stage the striped side is.

Getting started with seams

Yesterday, I got the main body seams on the striped half of the coat finished. I figured I would do the stripe first as the white and the pattern would be more forgiving of error. By the time I sew the red half of the coat, I will be better practised at it, especially around the pockets. There are princess seams where the side back and side fronts attach and for those, I folded the seam allowance over and sewed the seams down in a proper flat fell.

In this photo of the back, you can see I balanced the centre back seam with a modified flat fell, while the side back seams are the true flat fell.

There are pockets on the front side seam. I cut out four pieces of lining that I had left over from some other projects - plain white for the striped side and red for the red. I am hoping the fact that there will be two pockets on top of each other will not make that section of the coat bulky.

I have both front sections on the ironing board. The far one is wrong side up with the pocket folded over.

I have decided to sew the collar by itself and attach it when I sew the coat together at the neck. I have been stewing over how to do the collar and I was going to attach each piece to each half and then sew round the entire perimeter. But now I think this will be neater and as a plus, I will have the neck edges sewn together firmly.

The layout and the cut

I knew I had bought an uneven stripe (it looks different from right to left) so I thought about how I could make the striped side of the coat look better than the little blouse I just finished with the uneven stripe. I decided to fold the fabric width-wise so that the stripes would line up on the matching pieces (i.e. that two fronts, the two side fronts, etc.). This would not work if the fabric had any nap because then the nap on one front would be opposite to the nap on the other. But with cotton twill, there isn't any nap so I think I am safe.

There are eight main pieces to the body of the coat - two fronts, two side fronts, two backs and two side backs. Here, I have pinned three of the four pattern pieces to the fabric and the fourth piece is off to the left. The fabric is wider than the table because I have folded it along its width. Usually, you fold a fabric along its length. So when I cut out the four pattern pieces, I will get the eight coat pieces.

Here, I have made the bottom of the sleeve piece square by measuring the bottom and then measuring up on the body of the sleeve and drawing lines down to make the same measurements line up. In this way, I will be able to hem the sleeve to the proper length without worrying about trying to ease a smaller bottom edge into a wider body of the sleeve.

On the shirts I have been making, the top of the collar is cut with the same pattern piece as the bottom of the collar. In this pattern, the underside of the collar is a slightly different shape from the top and it is supposed to be cut on the bias. Because I am trying to make the coat equally reversible, I am going to cut the top and bottom of the collar using just the top pattern piece.

Finally, because of the uneven stripe problem that I suffered with the blouse, I decided I would cut this collar with the stripe running lengthwise down it. I am only cutting one because the other side of the collar will be solid red. And that's the same with the front pieces. Normally, you would cut four front pieces and two would act as facings. In this case, I am cutting two red and two striped. I am also going to interface all four fronts and both collar pieces.

A Reversible Coat

Except for sewing on 16 buttons (two shirts' worth), the shirts are done!
Here is his shirt. Note the straight hem so he can wear it untucked.

Now I am on to my reversible coat! I just hope it works. I am using a brand new, untested pattern and I am improvising because it is not supposed to be reversible.

It's McCall's pattern 5060 and I'm going to make view A, the single-breasted shorter model on the far right but without the belt. I bought two lengths of cotton twill - one in a nice bright red and the other in a stripe (Ack! more stripes!). And sorry about the ironing board cover being so stripey too - didn't think about it much when I got the new fabric.

I plan to make two coats without the lining piece and then sew them together around the perimeter (collar and front edges). Each coat will have the opposite colour collar attached to it so that when you wear it, the same colour will be folded down on top of the collar. In other words, the underside of the collar will have the opposite colour on it. It will be clearer as I get going, I hope. I have also decided to make the sleeves a normal length instead of making them longer and having the opposite colour turned up. Because I usually have to take sleeves up, I am also going to make the bottoms of the sleeves straight so I can cut off the excess there and not worry about trying to make a hem with a slanting underarm seam. Hmm - this will also be clearer as I go.

I'm going to make the small pockets in the front princess seams as the pattern calls for. I'm going to sew the ends of the sleeves together but I'm going to leave the bottom hem hanging freely. The only thing I can't seem to properly conceptualize is the buttons. I have a reversible coat but it uses loops and buttons on both sides and I want to make buttonholes. I may have to end up buttoning the coat one way with red and the other way with the stripe.

Here are all the pattern pieces. I've ironed them now and will start the layout next.