Anna Sui Silk Chiffons

The fabrics for my next project have been chosen! I know it will be another peasant blouse of some sort (are you getting the feeling that it’s unbearably hot and humid here???) and I thought these two Anna Sui coordinates would be perfect. I purchased the white/pink “puffball” chiffon some time ago and found the coordinating print later on. I’ll probably use bands of the coordinate to finish the sleeves and hope I have enough (I only bought a yard) for bias tubes and maybe some piping or bias trim. It says Dry Clean Only but you know I’m going to at least try to wash it. 🙂 DCO just isn’t practical in Florida in the summertime.

And yes, I know I’m using yellow again! Carolyn’s got me hooked…

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Serious Lust

My friend just refurbished and built this machine for a customer over the past week. It was to the testing point yesterday so guess who got to do the testing? ME!!!! And I am completely in love with this machine. It is a Consew 339RBL-1, double-needle walking foot machine. Do I need this? Of course not but that doesn’t make me stop wanting it. Imagine only needing to make one pass when flat-felling a jeans seam! Sigh…

I’ve been trying to plan my next sewing project but I’ve been so tired every night. The past two weeks have been hellish.

Silk Georgette Peasant Blouse

Here it is, done but for the main hem and a few finishing touches. I meet my girlfriends for dinner on Thursday and really wanted to wear this so I completely blew off my housework and laundry on Sunday!

Not only is this blouse really pretty on, it also goes together so quickly! The most time-consuming part is making the neckline casing (it’s turned in twice so there are no raw edges visible). The rest goes fast, even if you make French seams.

I made very thin bias tubing for the neckline. Originally, I had made a wider cord (about 1/4″) but it wanted to twist and turn inside the casing so I removed it. To make the very thin tubing I used the edge of my straight-stitch foot as a guide and then left enough of a seam allowance to fill out the tube for a nice rounded effect. I’m glad I took the time to redo it because it looks much nicer.

Tomorrow I’ll finish the hem and then start planning my next project. Maybe something vintage! Definitely something cool – it’s getting hotter and stickier by the minute!

New Look 6870

It has been hotter than Hades the past few weeks and I’ve been craving some loose, whispy tops instead of my usual body-conscious styles. I do love a peasant blouse and have quite a lot of patterns to choose from, both vintage and contemporary.

This one from New Look immediately caught my eye because it isn’t too voluminous. I made View B.

I started with a size 8 and tissue-fitted the pattern. I was really surprised that I didn’t appear to need a full-bust adjustment. The only alteration I needed was a sway-back tuck. Still, I wanted to make a trial garment before cutting into my beautiful silk georgette. I’ve had this black folk-art floral in my collection for quite a number of years. I bought it in Hialeah with my friend Elaine and my late friend Barbara – that’s how I know it must be at least 6 years old. It was sold as rayon but I had my doubts about that. A burn test revealed that it is indeed polyester but it did pass the breathability test, probably due to the open weave of the fabric. If you want to see if a synthetic will breathe simply blow through the fabric lightly.

The only change I made to the pattern was to eliminate the neckline elastic and button/loop closure. Instead, I used a self-fabric bias tube.

Here is the back. Next time, I will probably eliminate the ties.

This top goes together very quickly and will work well with both pants and shorts. I’m really happy with the fit: loose but not baggy.

I think I’ll give it the wearability test later today and then cut into this beautiful silk georgette that I purchased from Textile Studios a few summers ago.

I don’t know how much sewing time I’ll have this week as work has been so busy! Which is why I don’t feel too bad about neglecting my household chores and spending time in my sewing room this weekend. 🙂

And, as an aside, if you were thinking about going to see the new Harry Potter movie, don’t bother. I was extremely disappointed!

Yep, I’ve gone crazy!

Many of you know of my aversion to florals. Mmm, aversion might be too strong a word because I do actually like florals. I just think they are very tricky for mature women because they can either look too 17-ish or too matronly. When I do choose a floral it’s usually something very stylized. I don’t know what happened here, all I can say is that I loved this print the moment I saw it!

Because this would be a “whole lotta look” on a petite person, I thought it best to stick with a small garment. I also thought it would be a good idea to chop up the print a little so the Jalie Sweetheart Top was a good choice. I still need to stitch the hems which I’ll hopefully get to tonight after dinner.

You know I tried very hard not to have a big flower near the bust but I finally gave up! 🙂

I moved my FBA to the yoke seam and I am very pleased with the fit this provides. I may also try moving it to the neckline. This is a really great basic pattern that I anticipate making many, many times.

Because I liked the fabric so much on the first version, I took it apart and recut a new front after I’d made the changes to my pattern. I am much happier with it.

I had hoped to get much more sewing done this weekend but my pool pump had other ideas. I was not happy about that *at all* but I do now know how to change the impeller in a pump!

1940s Beach Coat

I decided to see if I could find a beach coat pattern similar to the one in my previous post. Right now I can’t justify spending $50+ dollars on a pattern for a swimsuit coverup that I’ll wear a few times a year. I got lucky – look at what I found on Ebay:

I adore the square armholes (I honestly like them better than the cut-on sleeves in the other pattern) and I can easily modify the sleeves and collar. Of course, I’ll add the D-shaped pockets with a ginormous vintage-style monogram! With shipping, this set me back only $8.88.

Fashion Sewing Supply

My friend Pam over at Fashion Sewing Supply is having a 4th of July sale through the 8th! If you haven’t tried her interfacings, you absolutely must. The quality is top-notch, better than anything you’ve tried before: no shrinkage, no bubbling, no boardy feeling. The sheer is a great all-purpose interfacing and the weft is wonderful for all of your tailoring projects. The low-temp interfacings are great for fabrics that are too sensitive for traditional fusibles.

Fashion Sewing Supply

Check out Pam’s notions while you are there – I’m crazy about the seam gauges I bought from her. Pam is an incredible sewer as well, do have a look at some of her inspiring projects. She just completed a vintage shirt for her husband that now has been combing Ebay and Etsy for men’s shirt patterns!

That’s it for me for the next week or so. I hope to be well-rested and raring to sew when I return. 🙂 TTFN!

Jalie 2794 – Take One

Here’s what I was working on last night: the Jalie Sweetheart Top. This is the first time I’ve made it so I have some more tweaking to do. I made a size R and did a 1″ FBA which I eased in at the side seams. That should have been more than enough but it still felt too snug through the bust. When I really analyzed it closely, I came to the conclusion that the yoke is the problem. I should have seen that coming but you know how it is! What I need to do now is simply move the dart to directly in front of the yoke so that the fullness will actually be where I need it. Other than that, it’s a really nice top that I know will become a favorite basic for me.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was a bit aggravated last night! My coverstitch machine always purrs along beautifully but here’s what I got instead:

Ack, skipping! Right needle breaking! What is going on???? So, I rethreaded the needles and checked everything several times. It still skips so I change both needles. Still. Skipping. So I decide it’s time to rethread from scratch and notice this:

The right needle thread has somehow become wrapped around the spring on the back of the machine. I take care of that and have another go. Will. Not. Stitch! I investigate and find this:

The looper thread has broken. No big deal, I rethread it, clear my needle threads and begin again. And again. And again. I finally decided that it must be a bad cone of Maxilock. I rethread and Yay! I finally finish my hems.

Yes, I do own downturn fellers but I never use them. It’s just not all that important to me to have the raw edges completely encased by the looper thread. If I don’t get close enough to the raw edge I simply trim the excess with my pelican scissors.

Needless to say, by the time I finished the hems I was very ready for a cocktail!