My super sexy silk Papercut Saiph

Oh I was soooo excited to do this!  And whoooa I went out on a limb with creativity.  Seems to have come out ok despite that.

It was the perfect pattern to use for some silk - charmeuse I think?  It's dull on one side and shiny on the other, quite heavy, and it was the lining for my Victoria blazer, soooo at the end of it all I have a matching jacket!  I did have a few stray thoughts about using the dull side to make a nice contrast but I just stuck with shiny this time around.

Thanks Jennifer for an awesome lunchtime photo shoot!  We went urban chic: 

Yeah that's right...photo shoot at work and the rabble is getting restless!

Matches so well with my suede Victoria blazer

This was a size XXS.  I made some changes for summer -- omitted the facings and the sleeves.  Also although I adored working with this silk when I had been sewing suede, the truth is that it is shifty and it is shedding everywhere so I aimed for simple.  I wanted a dress with a nice finish and I still don't have a good idea how to make a good finish.  I just pinked the back seam and the skirt seam, and used french seams on the sides and shoulders.  My french seams got a bit big as they had to contain a bunch of shedded fibers.  I was worried that would make it smaller than I wanted but it is just barely perfect.  The hem length could be 2" longer so it would be more "dress" and less "shift" and I was rather sad to finish them hem as that made it even shorter...but it looks and feels awesome as it is so I don't mind in the end!

I considered bias binding the neck and sleeves but again the shedding silk made me reconsider, and I just rolled the edges in as I did for the back keyhole.  This came replete with some trials.  Maybe bias binding is better, because it's cut on the bias...right...the first armhole I folded-ironed-folded-ironed, and then pinned it down.  That was difficult and messy.  The second one I folded, ironed, and then did the second fold at the sewing machine.  The silk was easier to manipulate that way and I got a better result.  Still had to go back at some of the tight corners to fix them.  And it wasn't until I got to the neck that I remembered to grade my seams. Nonetheless, I naturally have a bunch of funky looking gathers at the front of the neck, hissss.  I will probably try to go back and loosen them up.  How to sew a rolled hem/neckline without making it look bad??

Finding a matching button was mainly luck.  I don't have a stash, since I'm transient, so my button stash consists of buttons from purchased items (all those spares.)  Luckily I had a nice green one, thanks Anthropologie!

At the end I went back and shortened the darts by about an inch.  No 1950s bullets for me (I don't think my boobs have ever sat that high!)  I'm considering shortening them some more.  I usually seem to have a slightly lower bust compared to darts in dresses, so that might be me.  And they are very pointy still...sigh.  

Papercut La Sylphide shirt

Oh, I wasn't sure about this.  But I had just discovered Papercut and wanted to support a local company.  I got the fabric as a remnant, and buttons came for free with another purchase.  I wanted to check that the fabric was enough, so I cut it out while I was sick in between other things (in August!!!) and then let it sit for awhile...and longer...and longer.  Just no true inspiration to learn how to buttonhole quite yet.

Then I got buttonholes figured out and I got tired of seeing something sit around, so it seemed time to get on with it!  Also after making a few undercover hoods, I am more used to the Papercut method of explaining, and now having seen it elsewhere I'm not so puzzled by sewing the underarm/side seams all in one go (which rather mystified me back in August, really!)  The sewalong also kicked me into gear!  I have a dress version planned, but wasn't sure I would like the style enough to also make a dress of it.

Sorry for my washed out and headless photos...the self timer and I are still not friends.  This was about as good as it gets.

Even up to the last minute I wasn't that excited, must say.  It's a style of shirt (ie button-up) that never fits me well, and frilly bits like bows irritate the hell out of me.  But it's looked good, and not irritating, on other people.  And it was my first Papercut pattern, to which I'm growing an undying loyalty.  Also I already have the fabric ready for my upcoming Saiph tunic so it was a sort of bribe to get this one done with.

I cut an XS.  As always going from Lauren at lladybird, I sized up one size from her to fit my square 34.5-27 measurements.  The instructions were super clear, my cotton-with-lycra was so easy to sew, and this came together almost magically in 2 stints at the sewing machine.  The curious bits were - figuring out how to sew the sleeves on, but after just doing what the instructions said, it was obvious - and the same with the neck tie.  It seemed totally weird, but once I just did what the instructions said, it was completely obvious.  I didn't finish the inside much since it wasn't shedding, and I continued to feel like this was a sort of complete muslin.  As lladybird also mentions, the use of interfacing to make the sleeves and the placket is really nice and easily lends itself to a clean finish.  The only place I couldn't finish cleanly was the annoying crotch between the top of the placket and the bottom of the neck tie.  There is a tiny no-man's-land that I didn't get sewn into anything. It's invisible when worn, but I guess a very very close attention to detail when sewing the neck tie might get rid of it - you have to sew absolutely up to the placket but without sewing over it.

In the end I adore the fit -it's great on my wide shoulders and skims comfortably down from there without any gapping at the bust.  The darts are perfectly placed.  I still quite hate the ties and feel really stupid when I'm wearing it because of them.  I'm not sure what to think of the peplum but it does seem to look good.  The sleeves hit awkwardly at my elbow - I'd prefer either 3" longer or 3" shorter!  I will definitely do my dress, but I also have visions of a longer shirt style without the peplum, and maybe just ending the neckline and not having long ties...I can see a lot of pattern modifications in this pattern's future.  And it was super fun to make!

Papercut Undercover Hoody marathon

Yes, I've already made two.
So now I made three more!

I did some minor fit changes to each one - they weren't all for me : )  Although I was perfectly happy to model them in the interests of a complete blog.  The cut is the size XS.  For me, in pink, I took out 1" of the centre front.  For my friend Sarah, in cotton purple knit with a terry inner finish, I took the same 1" out of the back.  I also left hers at the normal length, because she likes things long.  For Ellie, in ocean blue merino, I kept the size XS without any changes from the pattern. Except that I took about 2" out of the sleeves on all of them.  The sleeves on the pattern are looooong!

It was cool to see these small changes and the impact they had on the overall fit.  But I think the most important thing to see was how different fabric changed the design completely.  This hoody, in my opinion, is best in a heavyweight jersey or knit.  Both the blue and purple hoodies are heavier than the pink, and also much heavier than the lightweight green merino I used for the first two versions.  I like that a lot more.

It's me with the self timer again...we still aren't friends

On Sarah's, because the inside was a nubbly stuff that was getting everywhere, I decided to line the pocket.  There were so many benefits to that - no seam in the pocket, easier to sew on, and also it added structure to the knit.  I did the same with mine (and wanted to line my hood, but I didn't have enough cotton fabric left.)  I think that my pink hoody will still be a nice summerweight option but if I made this again I would stick to the heavy stuff, and probably just size down to an XXS.  And yes, enough hoodies for now!  On to some other Papercut patterns...

Sewaholic Alma

This was a pending project for quite awhile.  I finally figured I should stop dithering as it was a very very quick piece to make.  I wasn't interested in any details - just wanted a nice shell top.  It came together in about 2 hours, although that's because I didn't have to put in the zip (more on that in a second.)

My fabric was a cotton with lycra - quite a bit of stretch, that I got as a remainder.
I didn't do any belt or neckline decoration.
In fact, now that I've figured out how to properly understitch, my facings stayed in place pretty well.  However I would totally be keen to do this in a lighter weight fabric with some self bias tape.

I cut a size 4 and didn't taper at the hips.  I thought a bit of flare would be quite nice on this piece.  I shortened it by 1 inch at the waist, and added 1 inch width at the shoulders.  I think I'm getting the hang of the basic changes that suit me.  As a reference, I'm short (5'4") and square, about 34 1/2, 27, 37 and with abnormally wide shoulders.  This top isn't form fitting.  I'd probably use the same size for a material without stretch, but in a stretch fabric I could take out some at the seams (but then I'd need that zip.)

The construction was simple and I just pinked the seams, so it was very quick.  As it got time to put in the zip, I discovered something unexpected - I did a Taracat!!  She is renowned for never needing zips, but because of my wide shoulders and weird in-dress claustrophobia (I have been stuck in things!  Seriously!)  I never expected it to happen to me.  That was extra delightful and probably took an hour off construction.  I am still putting off learning how to use my new invisible zip foot.

The shaped hem is a particularly nice design feature.  I'm extra happy for my Polly top now, because the instructions for the Polly are very detailed regarding these shaped hems.  They have you make a line of stitching (I used 1/4" here) and then trim all the curves after you iron that up at the stitch line.  It's simple then to just fold it over one more time, making a perfect curving hem.  Otherwise I think I would have made a mess of it. 

Vogue 8784 - the wrap dress everyone is "about to do"

So I usually try to get some idea ahead of time about my projects by looking online.  With this one I was stymied, because everyone seems to have written in their blogs, as of December 2012, that they were *about* to do this dress!  Any minute now!  But only about 4 finished reviews, and only one or two with detailed information.

Since I was planning to use a Liberty lawn, I didn't want to mess it up!  Also it takes huge amounts of fabric.  My lining was supposed to be bemberg, which I got from MacCulloch & Wallace.  But it has a funny feel to it.  Anyway I didn't have any other white lining so I still used it.  I don't know those tests to do to figure out what a fabric is, but my Bemberg from Mood drapes like silk, whereas this stuff had a funny wrinkle to it.  When I look at it against the light it has lines in it like a waterproof nylon lining would.  Shrug. 

Before hemming, close up view

After hemming.  Sorry, tights not so flattering.  And I'm not even going to start wondering if my hem is straight.

Overall I think this pattern proves I have graduated from beginner's school.  It' s a Very Easy Vogue, and it felt easy!  I still made dumb mistakes but they were more from lack of attention, rather than lack of knowledge.  And it's the most beautifully finished dress ever since I actually did hand slipstitch the lining together at the waist.  Of course the hem was annoying since my lining was partly cut on the bias and sagged in some spots, making it longer than the dress...I had to debate for days to figure out how to deal with this.  I ended up hemming the dress, then opening the side seams a bit, cutting about 4 inches off the lining and hemming it again.  Also I had forgotten to finish the skirt seams since it was lined - the lining is free of the skirt so I should have done all the finishing prior to attaching them.  Lately it seems like the finishing steps take me longer than the sewing-together steps of most of my projects!  But those finishing steps are the ones that give an item its longevity -finishing seams and making sure no loose bits are hanging out.  (I still often have lots of those!)

The size 10 fits well enough, but I am pretty sure a size 8 would have also fit fine.  Once I am wearing the dress I feel like I'm strangling my waist trying to get the neckline tighter.  This is actually a great wrap dress for larger busted girls because it has excellent frontal overlap and it has pleats (a la BHL Anna!) so there is lots of booby room (even too much for me, and some weird fact of bra physics calls me a 32D). I didn't make any changes to the pattern.   I think it's relieved some of my panic about using Liberty fabrics, too!  I would definitely make this again, maybe updating it a bit by cutting it 3 inches shorter and using the size 8.

Papercut Patterns Constellation Collection!

If you haven't heard of Papercut patterns, now is the time to discover them.  Katie designs unique and quirky patterns and the pattern instructions are fun and straightforward.  Also, with lladybird Lauren running the website, it's been invigorated with new activity and a sew-along.  I have so far made the Undercover Hood twice and have three more lying on the floor (mostly for other people!).  I also have about three other Papercut patterns in my queue...

But there is a new collection, and it is fabulous!!  If you haven't spied anything from the Constellation Collection, go look!  They are on sale now, but I believe the sale ends today. 

My particular favourites of the moment are:

The Saiph Tunic.
Could this be colorblocked in green and blue silk?  Hm...I'm thinking a sleeveless version for summer.

and the Sigma Dress.
I'm already imagining a silk version with this scary expensive Roberto Cavalli silk that I got.  Or a Liberty print!  But for a trial run, hm...must sort my scraps.

I'm off to daydream!  I really have too many projects lined up and only about 2 months left in New Zealand to get them done, but I couldn't resist ordering these straightaway.  It protects the environment, right?  I'm only having them shipped in New Zealand instead of to a far-off country!!

Colette Sorbetto

This is a quick and easy make.  It's a 2 piece pattern and the most time consuming part is applying bias binding.  I cut a size 4, which seems to be my size in the other Colette patterns I have seen, and it fit well.  And I did french seams on the sides to have a clean finish!

I made this in one evening out of a very flowery Liberty fabric.  I'm not totally sold on this fabric...but I do like the shirt.  As part of my Fall/Spring essentials sewalong, it fits the bill - I can see it as a go-to when I want something light to wear.

  I got to play photo shoot in Napier while a friend was visiting me.  (We went biking along the ocean.)  It's nice to have friends around to take the pictures...

V-neck Sewaholic Renfrew

To start out, I widened the shoulders 1 inch.  I cut 1 inch off the final length (I had taken 2 inches off the previous Renfrew and kept trying to yank it down a bit, so....)

The v-neck was a bit challenging but super fun!  Hah!  Everything is fun after the Minoru : )  I was pretty pleased how my v turned out, it's about 1 mm off centre and it is mostly obvious when I look down.  Also my sewing machine isn't too fond of the very very stretchy knit and it seemed like I had to pull the fabric through the machine, and lengthen my stitch length a lot so it didn't snaggle up in the feed dogs.  I was using the ball point needle and I did wonder if I should give that stretch needle a try.

This fabric was much looser than the blue cotton.  Because of that I think all my changes were unnecessary...I really should have left the length a bit shorter.  The wide vneck totally compensated for my shoulders.  If I do this again I will probably leave off the sleeve and bottom bindings for a more normal tshirt look.  But it's still fabulous!  I made my own tshirts : )