Colette Sewalong: The Pavlova Revealed!

The modified (beyond recognition) Meringue - the 'Pavlova' - is revealed! Linen really is such a beautiful fabric to work with.

Not quite sure what I'm doing here...
but it's a good shot of the skirt!

When I went to put on this skirt, I realised after dumping my entire wardrobe on the bed that I have NOTHING to go with this skirt. I had specifically made this top to wear with it, but turns out it looks better out than tucked in... 

So I'm going to need to make something to wear with it - something other than this boring grey cotton top. I'm thinking a pale yellow Sorbetto. I haven't jumped on that bandwagon yet, so it's about time. I keep seeing everyone else's and the pale yellow is in line with the original inspiration for this skirt - the Louis Vuitton Spring 2012 RTW collection (via style.com):

As you can probably tell, I ended up making a LOT of changes to the Meringue. 

Summed in short, I moved the zip from the side to the centre back, added a vent and a waistband. The straight hemmed Meringue was tapered to make it look more like a pencil skirt, and the scalloped Meringue on top has been hoiked up and adjusted to match the side seams and waistband.

But the biggest challenge by far was matching the scallops to the cut-outs in the white linen. The Colette scallops were about 12cm wide on the size 6 skirt I used, but the repeat of the cut-outs in my fabric was 11cm in width. I wanted to 'match' the linen to the scallops - Calamity Central! The 11cm repeat meant I'd either have a peplum-skirt that was too big or too small (multiples of 11!). In the end I compromised and I have one mini scallop at the back. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this - it does look a wee bit odd!

On the other hand - check out the seam matching at the back:

I'm pleased to say this is yet another garment where I'm as happy with the inside as I am with the outside. I love seeing the insides of other people's garments, so indulge me whilst I show you mine:

To try and reduce the bulk around the hips, I made the top half of the underskirt from silk I had left over from a previous project that just happened to match. Lovely!

Sadly for me, this is where my participation in the 5 month long Colette Sewalong ends... I just have too many other projects on my mind - and then at the end of March, Mr poppykettle and I are heading off to South America! Whoohoo!

It's been a stinking hot weekend here in Melbourne - but perfect beach weather. Shortly after these photo's were done and dusted, Mr. poppykettle & I enjoyed a lavish picnic whilst watching the sun set...

101: Finishing the facing/lining on a sleeveless bodice

The first time I was shown how to do this, it was (and still is) one of the most 'a-ha!!' moments in sewing I've ever had. I still grin to myself when I pull the fabric through to the right side when done!

When you need to apply a facing (or a lining) to a garment with no sleeves, and the facing/lining is joint to both the neckline and the arm holes, like with my Marfy Top above, this little trick will allow you to have the same finish at the arms as what you have at the neck.

1. Sew and then under stitch your facing/lining to the neckline. Clip and press  as is required. You now have a beautifully finished neckline, but you need to somehow get the same finish on your arm holes:

2. Here's that 'a-ha!!' moment I was talking about. With the wrong sides of the fabric facing, roll up your garment towards your unfinished arm hole:

Try to keep it as tightly rolled as you can.

3. Keeping a grip on your roll, fold one of the loose ends back over the roll, so that it comes around and meets the other loose edge:

Now the right sides are facing each other. If the shoulder seam was rather narrow, you can pin the 'roll' inside your shoulder strap so it stays in place. 

4. Sew your lining or facing seam - press flat to set and clip where necessary. 

5. To turn this back around, simply pull the rolled fabric back through the shoulder. Roll the seam between your fingers to get the seam on the fold, then iron flat.

6. If you wish, this is the point where you can under stitch the seam allowance to the facing or lining, going up as far as you can towards the shoulder seam.

To get a nice finish at the start of the under stitch, flip your bodice over so you're looking at the thread on the wrong side of the fabric - pull this so that the loop holding the two threads together comes up. Using your quick-un-pick or a pin, pull the top stitch thread all the way through, and tie them both off with a knot. 

Repeat steps 1 through 6 on the other side, and there you have it! Your sleeveless bodice is lined (or faced) to perfection :) All you need now do is to sew the side seams.

F2465: Mad about Marfy

Yup, I am completely and wholly Mad about Marfy. The fit! The cut! I'm a huge fan of the swooping circular neckline - it hugs your decolletage and doesn't even undo your modesty when you need to bend (or slouch) - and how the shoulders are ever so slightly 'off' the shoulder. 

Made from a beautiful oak green silk charmeuse that was rescued from the remnant bin at Tessuti. It was indeed tricksy to work with, but it feels so luscious that I feel like a million bucks just putting the thing on. 

Actually, this is a surprisingly simple top, which came together in very short space of time (over two evenings) - once of course, I'd figured out what the markings on the pattern meant. That did take a while, and included a bit of seam-ripping on my first time around that mulberry bush. Thank goodness for toiles!

After that, it was delightfully simple to finish off - sew together the shoulders, sew the facing around the neck and arms, then the side seams last. Really very quick to put together - I promise! I finished my seams off with some cream rayon seam binding.

This is the first time I've tackled a slippery silk that was destined for outer wear, rather than being hidden away as lining. Just the thought of cutting out silk gives me chills, but no longer. My beau bought me an incredible invention for Christmas - one of those nifty self-healing cutting mats and a rotary cutter! Oh, I'm in heaven. It's SO much faster, more accurate, no more hand cramps, and once you've got your silk weighted down, it can't slip'n'slide anywhere. I still use a sharp little pair of embroidery scissors when it comes to concave corners, but otherwise, I'm hailing it as the best invention EVER. Well, since the sewing machine, anyway.

To avoid the task of hemming, I finished it off with some of the charmeuse in reverse, giving a lovely contrast between matt and shiny (which is surprisingly difficult to catch on camera). This conveniently averted my absolute loathing of hemming, and avoided any stitches on top of the silk. 

For those of you who are curious about Marfy patterns, I say go for it - this has been such a positive sewing experience for me (only one tiny alteration - taking in the side seams 0.5cm both sides) that I'll definitely be buying some more of their patterns. In fact, I've got a cup of tea handy and I'm about to head over to their website. If you'd like more information on measurements and the amount of ease, you can see my post on my toile of this top here. If you're planning on making this at all - I ended up using about 1.1m of fabric that was 1.35cm wide, for the size 46 pattern. 

Now, I'm off to finish my tea, peruse some patterns and enjoy the leftover Australia Day Lamingtons made by the super talented Mr poppykettle... 

Pavlova on the cutting mat, and in the Oven...

Construction of the Pavlova is well under way. After nearly suffering an apoplexy over trying to get the lace to match the scallops and whatnot, moving the zip to the centre back and adding a waistband, I'm at that horrid stage of wondering whether or not this is going to pull together and be wearable. I've come close to throwing in the towel and just going with the ridgy-didge Colette pattern that many times...

I decided to use some interfacing on the scallops - linen does tend to be a bit floppy after all. This should help to sharpen up the curves. Has anyone else felt the need to do this? 

I've also interfaced and used some horsehair in the waistband, and tried to lighten the linen load with some leftover silk from lining my Lady Grey Coat, which just happens to match rather nicely :)

I'm so close though, so all should be ready for the big reveal on Tuesday next week!

The Vogue Suit and the Economics of Sewing

Between all of my other sewing projects on the go - I've been working steadily on my new suit jacket, and doing a bit of thinking too. 

As for the jacket, I've been using some bright orange rayon seam binding to finish the seam edges at the back, resulting in a rather striking look. It also appears to be a completely unintentional homage to the Pantone colour of the year - Tangerine Tango.

I'm still going to need to catch-stitch the seam allowances down to prevent them from flopping about though. I'm waiting to try it on to see whether or not it will need shoulder pads - if it does, I'd like to try making my own. With no lining to cover them up, I'd like them to match the rest of the jacket. More on this soon!

I've also found the pattern for a matching skirt - Vogue 8543. It has as equally interesting lines to match that of the jacket:

As for the thinking - there's been a fair bit of chatter on the blogosphere recently over what we pay for our clothing, or what we pay for fabric. Whilst I tend to feel the same way as Carolyn on releasing such intimate details about my fabric habits, other seamstresses openly talk about what each garment cost them, which I will admit often makes me envious that I don't live in a country with options as inexpensive as theirs, nor do I spend the time to go 'thrifting'. 

But it became personal for me the other week whilst in Cleggs, where I came across the silk fabric above which I thought equally beautiful and appropriate to be a lining fabric for my jacket front, sleeves and skirt. I arrived at the counter and chatted with the fabric enthusiast on the other side of the bench, each of use talking about what we were making at the moment. As she lowered the shears to start cutting into the silk, she asked what I was going to sew with it. 

"It's going to be the lining for a suit jacket I'm making :)"

She recoiled her arm like the fabric had suddenly morphed into a funnel web spider and said with a look of horror:

"You DO realise how much this costs, yeah?" 

Never have I been made to feel guilty over a fabric purchase before. As I walked out of there, I began to question my habits a bit...

SD1002: The Simplest Skirt a Seamstress could Sew

A gathered rectangular skirt with a grosgrain waist ribbon - about the simplest thing a seamstress could make for herself! Non?

I made this skirt in a single sitting - a world record for me. No toile, no seam ripping, no swearing, just instant satisfaction. I bought this grey and white striped taffeta (about the first wholly synthetic fabric I've ever bought...) from Tessuti, and used a black grosgrain ribbon for the waistband (23mm wide) from my usual ribbon supplier - Ribbons Galore.

Taffeta is puuurfect for this kind of skirt - it holds its shape and remains poofed nicely. The fabric is so light it won't sag under its own weight! 

It's also great for when you're planning to eat a feast - the waistband keeps you looking slim whilst your stomach is allowed to expand to the required size... without giving away that you've eaten more than you should!

You can whip one of these up just as easily as I did - and all you'll need is your waist measurement:

F2465: Marfy in the making

I've been waiting a while for this - getting started on one of those fabulous Marfy patterns I mentioned last year, specifically the blouse from pattern number 2465. 

As these patterns have no seam allowances, I used the technique Gertie used in her Craftsy bombshell course (awesome course, I have yet to even think about making the dress for myself but I still refer to her video every now and again). For those that aren't in the know, this very loosely entails:

1. Tracing the pattern onto your fabric, then marking a seam allowance around it (I'm using a nice wide 2cm for the practise run):

2. Then hand sewing along your seam lines with a brightly coloured basting stitch (for the purposes of the toile I'm cheating and machine sewing these - but for the real thing I'll do it the hard way):

3. Before matching up your seam lines and actually sewing your seams. Oh yeah, and picking out the basting stitches afterwards of course.

The most interesting thing here for me is to see what kind of ease Marfy allows for. This pattern was bought as a size 46, which is a 96cm bust (37.8"), a 78cm waist (28.3") and 100cm hips (39.4"). The website also lists a few more measurements which I paid zero attention too. Besides, Marfy say to pick your top based on the bust measurement, and garments for the bottom half by your hip measurement, just like all the other big pattern companies.

The biggest issue here? How on earth to transfer all of the pleat markings from the pattern to the fabric. For the calico version, this is simple - I just drew extended lines out with my ruler, then took the fabric away and drew them back in according to their length:

But I was at a loss as to how to transfer these markings onto the silk I was planning to use. To the rescue, Marina from Frabjous Couture and Rachel from The House of Pinheiro happened to conveniently put together a post on exactly this topic - which you can read here. 

I'm planning to use a silk charmeuse half price remnant I bought on a whim, but which will complement just about everything in my wardrobe (and the things I'm still planning to sew before putting in my wardrobe!). It's a beautiful soft oak green in colour - I've got to stop buying green fabric! Geez!

Calico (even the lightweight stuff) is probably not the best fabric to do a test for a top that I'm planning to do in something much more drapey, but you get the idea. It came together very easily, and has approximately 6cm ease at the bust (it measures 50cm across the back - the front is slightly more due to the pleats), 18cm at the waist and 6cm at the hips. So I'd say it's fitted across the bust and loose in the waist and hips. Here's the test pilot:

I'm just loving the neckline! I only finished one of the sleeves, but I'm surprised at how well the lines of the drawing match the made up version. I'm dying to start cutting for the real thing :)

Colette Sewalong: Perfecting Scallops for the Meringue

This post just wouldn't be complete without a dodgy toile/muslin photo! So here is my completed Meringue toile, right on time as per the sewalong's schedule. I cut an 8 at the waist and a 6 from the hips down, and it fit like a charm. No fitting adjustments required!

As I was haphazardly throwing this together, I clipped, trimmed then ironed the scallops without really thinking about how it would look. Of course, this didn't yield a very attractive result - with me being unable to get a smooth curve on my scallops:

I then remembered reading sometime ago a fabulous article on the Threads Magazine website by the guru Susan Khalje about getting a good finish on scalloped edges - it's definitely worth the read. Here's how she does it:

1. Before clipping, 'set' the seams by pushing your iron inside the scallop and pressing over the scallop seam. I did this twice - once for each fabric side of the scallop. (I rushed ahead and clipped before I should have though...naughty). Doing this before clipping apparently strengthens the curve, whilst clipping it does weaken the seam to some degree. Having the form already 'set' will also help to give a smooth curved shape.

2. Clip! The important thing here is to 'stagger' your clips, rather than do both seam allowances together (like I did the first time). Susan also says it doesn't hurt to be generous with your clipping:

3. Turn your scallop around, 'roll' the seam between your fingers to position it correctly then press! This clearly gives a far superior visual result to my first non-thinking attempt:

So. I love the skirt on its own, but truth be told, I'm not over the moon about it on me. I'm considering some rather drastic changes:

I'm going to add a waistband (which will be in the lilac linen for contrast), and I'm making it a two-tiered affair - with the scallops just above the half-way mark, and the skirt ending just above the knee. I'll have to change the width of the scallops anyway so they fit in with the cutout pattern on the cream linen, and do some fancy pattern matching to get a nice even look about the skirt.

I'm going to nickname it the Pavlova - which is an Australian/New Zealand dessert, with a meringue base and a cream/fruit topping. So as the Pavlova dessert is like the Meringue + cream and fruit, so this skirt is the next iteration of its parent. Smart, eh?

I basically have two Meringue skirts here, I've kept the scalloped part and raised it up, taking in the side seams so they match the circumference at the waist and look relatively non-poufy. The one underneath just has a straight hem and I've tapered it slightly (ok, majorly) to be a little straighter.

I remembered the Coletterie Blog did a tutorial on making a waistband for their Meringue a while back which I followed too.

When I make this in my actual fabric though - I'm going to need to change the scallop design. Colette's scallop has a frequency of 12cm (the length of the pattern repeat) whilst the cutout pattern on my linen has a repeat of 11.2cm. You wouldn't think 8mm would make much of a difference, but it does!

So I'm off to do some number crunching and curve drawing to knock out my new 'pattern'. Hopefully my modified version is still in the spirit of things and I'm not kicked out of the sewalong! :)