BurdaStyle 04-2011-104

My BurdaStyle pants are all calico’d up and ready to check.  No alterations done yet and they are without fly front zipper or pockets. Oh, apologies for the creases – I wore them while setting up for the pictures.

Overall I’m relatively happy with the fit, other than:

(1) horizontal wrinkles at the front just before the crotch curve

(2) the side seams hang straight to the knee then there’s a little too much fabric in the front, plus diagonal folds at the front outseam from thigh to knee.  Not sure what’s going on there yet

(4) too much fabric under my butt and ripples down the side seams over the hips.  Will have to look into the latter

(5) the waistband (high hip band??) gapes particularly at the CB – I could take at least 3/4″ out there alone.  There is also about an inch too much room all around at the top

(6) a few small horizontal wrinkles at the side seams just below the band

(7) they pull up my butt just a little.

I have a bit of reading to do on some of these, but a sway back adjustment should fix some of the others.  All of this aside, do you know what I’m looking forward to most?  Oddly enough the welt pockets.  What’s wrong with me?

 

Catching up

Guess what?  I’ve started making a pair of trouser for myself.  Yes.  Very exciting for me anyway.  They’ve got a rear welt pocket, front flap pockets and a fly front.  Cool.  Anyway, I’ve traced and mostly sewn them up in calico with just the waistband to do before I can check fit.  I’m using BS 02/2011/104 :

Of course, just when I get to sew something for myself life happens and, suffice it to say the pants are on hold for a week.  Instead AB needs a frock for a wedding on Saturday next.  It won’t be a biggie cos she’s five and it’ll be fun to sew up I hope.

This morning we dove into my pink fabrics collection with AB happily comparing colour combinations for half an hour before deciding on three (butterflies ARE mandatory at a wedding supposedly).  Tomorrow I need to find a pattern.

Oh and I found this the other day.  Isn’t it amazing?  Its the 1969 version and in fab nick.

Ooo look what I found

I have been checking ‘my’ op shops regularly and haven’t found a single sewing book.  Have I found needlework texts?  Yes.  Home crafts?  Yes.  Embroidery?  Yep.  Sewing?  A resounding no.  So, instead I have drooled over the thrifty finds of other bloggers wistfully wondering why there was such a scarcity near me.

Oh but imagine my delight at finding this just a few hours ago for the princely sum of $3.

It is the 1977 Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Sewing in very good condition (not a rip or tear anywhere) and was along side a sewing machine (Janome I think), some bits and pieces related to the machine which I didn’t have time to look at properly, a whole bunch of fabric (and yes, I couldn’t help myself) and a weeny teeny zig-zag machine.  I will be going back to check out the machines in the next day or two – t’will be interesting.

The person who owned this book took good care of it though did use it – it was lovingly wrapped in plastic – and I am going to start reading it this evening.  With hot chocolate and a blanket.  Lovely.

Do you know of this book?  Do you have this book, or one of its later iterations?

Bodice block is on hold for the mo

A few evenings ago I climbed back into the bodice and stood very still while JJ carefully pinned me in (note to self, a centre back closure on a block is just daft).  About ten minutes later he ever so patiently ‘let me out’ and the block has been lying in a scruffy wee pile since.  It does have a few new pins in it.  Just a few, rather under confidently placed.

I wanted to get into it to have a better look at SBA volumes but it all felt too hard for some reason so I wimped out.  I’m being terribly lazy now and waiting for my dress form to arrive before getting on with it.

I have been sewing though but for the kids and other folk.  Nothing for me, which is a little annoying and mostly rather boring fare I’m afraid.  Still, it is better than nothing I think:

Output included three skivvies and two fleece hats for my girls, two tops for my friend’s birthday, another jumper for Dad (this time round necked), a snuggly nightshirt for my wee nephew and three baby  blankies and scarves.  All knits, mostly merino and cotton and all serged and coverstitched.  Not all pictured as the girls are wearing the skivvies and hats today (brrrrrrrr), the Dad jumper is en-route and the blankies and scarves have been delivered to their new owners.

Mutter mutter mutter.  Soon will sew for self.  Soon will sew for self.  And tidy the sewing room … Yes.  And that.

Dress form oh oh oh oh

The dress form search is over and within three weeks one of these will (miraculously) arrive at my door.  Very very excited.

It is made in New Zealand – very pleased about that – and they do custom forms, for which you are ‘cast’ at their workshop (too expensive for me) and tailors forms in the usual  standard sizes.  I did think about getting a standard 10 lengthened so I could then pad it out to my shape, but that was going to cost $1,200.  Oh well, if wishes were fishes I’d go custom …..

Granny’s lace

I was tidying my sewing room last night and I really should do it more often because I found a fascinating treasure in the bottom of a drawer.  A bag full of yards of different types of lace.  My grandmother’s lace.

My father’s mother died a few years ago and during her life created many beautiful things in needlepoint and embroidery.  I’m sure she knitted and sewed too as did so many of her generation.  however she hadn’t sewn for a long time so parts of this collection are probably several decades old.  The above picture shows the bulk of the collection, some of which is in relatively good condition.

In the picture below you can see the two pieces in the worst condition.  The upper has long shattered sections interspersed by stretches that are intact.  The lower is less broken but very very stained and fragile, though you can still see some of the original colour.

There are different weights and types of lace here and they feel like they were for garments of some sort or other.  From the feel of it there isn’t a nasty nylon amongst them and one or two feel positively silky.

I have just found the name of a museum textile conservator who I hope will willing and able to advise me whether it is possible to restore any of it.  Wouldn’t it be lovely to use it one day?

For me? How loverly

A while ago TJ held a giveaway and I was lucky enough to win the November 2009 Manequim magazine.  I love it when the post brings something other than bills! [Note this post is picture heavy]

I’ve never seen this magazine other than on blogs and it is very cool to flick through and get a feel for it.  There are some styles I would love to make up  and quite a few are pretty dressy so I need to find a few cocktail parties to go to ….

Edited to add the pics …

With the mag TJ very kindly included some cute cute iron ons for my kids.  This has sparked some fairly intense debate between them as to who gets which though it doesn’t really matter as they still share clothes.  Mummy does have to figure out what to put them on.  Hmmm, planning a sewing project around transfers…..

So, to the lovely TJ at The Perfect Nose, many many thanks.