Drum roll please ….

On By Sharon26 Comments

the Trench is finished Facebook smileys

It first started here, then the toile and pattern changes and lastly how it looked when you last saw it,

and now!

This has been one of the most challenging projects I have undertaken ever, but so worth it.

The rain coat fabric had its own requirements, but once I worked up the courage it was very easy to work with.

  •  I used fusible interfacing, Sheerweft TM for the facings and this fused very well using my Singer Magic Press, 
  • I used a Sharps needle,and increased the stitch length for my top stitching to 3.5 (previously using 3)
  • The fabric ravels quite a bit, so I over-locked/serged all the seams.

When you last saw the trench I had basted in the lining.  When I sat down again to work on the trench I realised I should have sat down a lot sooner and sorted out my to do list in a logical construction order as I hadn’t,

  • added the hanging strap,
  • installed the eyelets on the storm flaps,
  • made or sewn on the belt loops,
  • made and sewn on the double d-ring closure at the neck edge
this meant I had to do a lot of “going back”!

Now for a lot of  detailed photos:

Pocket bags secured to seams

This is a great tip from my sewing buddy Dilliander which she has posted on Pattern Review.

Batting used for sleeve cap

Bagged the sleeves using this great tutorial from Grainline Studio

Caught the lining on the sleeve seams to stop the sleeves moving forward

French Tacks from Couture Sewing Techniques at the shoulder and underarm seams

Pockets made for hem weights

Interfacing fused at hem, weights in place and hems finished

French seams used for the lining

Double D rings for neck closure, storm flaps have eyelets with washers installed using a Prym Kit
I purchased from the UK.

A closer look at the zippered pocket on left sleeve

Belts and buckles.

Lining with piping and hanging strap
Concealed buttons

oops, I missed a belt loop!

and last of all

can we go play now!

Even with the challenges and time this has taken I am thrilled with my Trench and look to forward to getting a lot of wear from it.

******************
Stash Out:  19.25m
Stash In:  3.3

Dressmaking with Stitches – Housekeeping

On By Sharon3 Comments

I have received a couple of messages to say that the links for the Indexes for the magazines have not been working.

It turns out that the company I was using to host the files on has been sold but now the new company is providing an excellent service and I have today updated all the links for the Indexes.

I am slowly working on getting Volume 21 finished, maybe a Christmas present for us all!

Silk Boxer Shorts

On By Sharon10 Comments

It was our wedding anniversary this weekend and I have always given DH a traditional gift each year, and this year it is linen or silk.

For some reason I left this to last week to organise so this would have to be the quickest project so far for me.

I purchased the silk from The Silk Shop on Monday, pre-washed it on Tuesday, finally found the pattern on Friday night and had it gift wrapped for DH for our wedding anniversary today!

I have again used Jalie 2326 but this time I referred to the great tips from Martyn Smith in Dressmaking with Stitches, Volume 18 No.12 and added 1cm (3/8″) to the side seams and an extra 6mm (1/4″) to the front in-leg and curved crotch seams which let me do French Seams throughout.

The silk had a shiny and matt side, so I used the matt for the right side.

The only thing I need to do now is add a button to the fly front which of course I didn’t have a suitable one in the stash!

My lovely card contained a very generous offer to go fabric shopping!!

Now to get back to the Trench Coat!

Ribbon Skirt

On By Sharon28 Comments

I am always drawn to sew-a-longs and had to join in the Julie Starr Ribbon Skirt Sew-a-long over at Goodbye Valentino especially when I saw one of my sewing buddies putting up her hand as well.

The biggest challenge was finding the 38mm (1 1/2″) wide grosgrain ribbon that this skirt is made from in tonal shades in Sydney in quantities of 5m.

Thankfully this is where the Internet really comes in handy, a search revealed Sarah Lauren who has quite an extensive range of grosgrain ribbons here in Australia and then I found Crafts Now who ship to Australia free with a larger colour range of 38mm grosgrain ribbon.

I ordered the ribbons from both and the service was perfect.  The cotton for skirt backing is a brand called “A Day In the Country” purchased from The Remnant Warehouse.

The instructions for this skirt are very easy to follow and this skirt takes a lot of precision measurements to make sure that your side seams match.

This is the small amount of ribbon I had left over!

Golden Brown, Chocolate, Turftan, Natural

So here is the finished skirt …

I am not a fan of waistbands so I have used cotton twill tape as my waistband stabiliser which is then hidden by the lining.

and then some lace for the finishing touch.

I can see this skirt working well with my evening tops I made for SWAP.

******************
Stash Out:  14.55m
Stash In:  3.3

Plenty of sewing time

On By Sharon11 Comments

but nothing is completed as I seem to be working on a number of complicated garments at the one time Skype Emoticons

The trench and pants muslins are still progressing, and there is another project or two that I haven’t yet disclosed, hopefully they will surface soon.

In the meantime, I thought I would share a stringing project that I have been meaning to share for a while. I purchased the smokey Quartz faceted beads from Bead Them Up at one of the Craft Shows in 2008 and they have been taunting me ever since.

One of my last classes with my beading teacher was to work on this project, and I used inspiration from a design by Lynne Soto from “Beading with Gemstones” a Beadstyle Special Issue magazine dated 2007.

and it was completed just in time for me to wear with my SWAP outfits

Fingers crossed that the next time you see me it is to share a completed garment!

Slouchy beret

On By Sharon14 Comments

During May whilst trying to find a hat to wear, I tried on a few slouchy berets and quite liked the style but couldn’t find any in a colour that I liked, so I headed over to Ravelry to see what patterns were available.

This pattern is a free download and has been designed by Natalie Larson and it is called “Star Crossed Slouchy Beret”.

This was a pretty quick knit as I cast on last Thursday night and finished it at lunchtime on Sunday.

I used Morris Empire Superwash Merino 8ply wool, Clove and it took just over 1 skein.

I’m very happy with this beret and can see it getting quite a bit of wear now the days are getting quite cool.

Don’t you just love being able to see something in the shops or on the internet and be able to go home and make it yourself, in the colour you like and even the fit – it really does make me smile!

Pyjama Party

On By Sharon13 Comments

I was disappointed last year when I missed Karen’s Pyjama party so as soon as she posted it was time again for another Pyjama Party – Tofino Style I jumped in.

I really liked the look of the Sewaholic’s Tofino pattern and was wondering where I could get one from closer to home when Sandra pointed me in the direction of Sew Squirrel who stocks a huge range of indi patterns and the prices are exceptional.  I placed the order on the Friday before the long weekend and the pattern was in my hands on the Tuesday, now that is service.

My stash contained 2 pieces of fabric that had been earmarked for pyjamas, a cotton with cute owls on it

and a flannelette,

 
 
both purchased from Spotlight.
Continue reading “Pyjama Party” →

Sydney Sewers High Tea

On By Sharon13 Comments

During the cold, windy and wet afternoon last Sunday, there was a lot of chatter about fabrics, patterns and sewing dilemmas during High Tea at Level 14

A huge thank you to Kristy for organising the event and it was so good to see some new faces amongst the group.

I definitely won’t win a prize for my photography but here are a few photos of the group after the lovely food had arrived.

Christy has a lot more photos to share and a list of all who attended, thank you for sharing this information.

I wore my Audrey dress and my Channel inspired jacket from a few years ago. 

I wonder where the next occasion will be, Christy did mention a pub!

All packed up …

On By Sharon9 Comments

and heading off to our sewing weekend.

This was last Saturday morning and after hubby had loaded the car for me I drove to the Mercure Hotel at Parramatta to meet up with 14 of my real life sewing buddies to sew and chat all weekend!

Here we are all busy and if you look closely you can see my trench coat hanging on the window sill at the back of the room.
At this stage the trench still had 18 steps to do in no particular order and those with a line through them were completed during the weekend.
 
– finish pockets
– secure pockets to seams
– install grommets on storm flaps both front and back
– attach back facing
– work out how to put zip in curved collar
– if work out then finish hood and install
– make collar and attach the Burda way
– make carriers for belt and sleeve carriers
– set in sleeves
– add batting to sleeve cap
– attach carriers
– baste piping around facings
– press hems in place
– attach lining – already made – basted in as I wanted to see how it looked 🙂
– handstitch/sew hems
– sew on buttons
– make belt for coat
– make straps for sleeves
 
I spent Saturday morning making various collar prototypes trying to work out how to  put the chunky metal zipper into the curved collar for the hood.  No matter how much pressing and shaping of the zipper tape I did, I couldn’t get it to fit the curve of the collar so that idea has been scrapped, so my trench doesn’t have a hood, but I can live with that.
 
The remainder of the weekend was spent completing the other steps and here is how the trench looks at present:
 
 
There are still quite a few steps to do on the trench and they are going to take some time.  
Thank you ladies for a wonderful weekend of laughter, shared experiences and knowledge, it was a lot of fun!!
 

Not much other sewing has been going on besides the pants muslins but I have decided to join the Pyjama Party over at Did you make that? as I am in need of some new winter PJ’s as well as a lighter pair for when we head to the snow as our accommodation is centrally heated and I definitely don’t need my flannel PJ’s then.

Is anyone else sewing along?