Monday 31 January 2011

Drowning in Patterns.

I am at that stage it seems people! I have sooo many patterns and no fabric to sew them with. After these beauties arrived on my doorstep. I decided I needed to take action and put a few of my patterns up on Ebay.
I had some on Etsy for a while but they don't sell fast enough on there for me! I have seen some good fabrics around and would like to be able to buy them!
Here is a couple of examples. You should be able to find me on Ebay as Steviebeebeesvintagedress I have sewing and knitting patterns both vintage and modern but it will probably take me a few days to get them all up!

Sunday 30 January 2011

February Burda!

Its so hard to pick my favourites as always but I've tried to pick things i'd actually use or wear. It was focussing on the kind of latin kind of theme and this was one issue where I was dying to find out where the fabrics came from! All the florals were so fab!
I can see myself wearing this kind of dress all spring! especially white based florals!
It would also make a lovely top in a stretchy thickish jersey.
Another thing I really crave is this "Sophia Loren" style bustier top, but you would have to be careful it didn't turn out a bit too slutty especially if your on the bigger side of the bustline!
I know, I know I'm already making a Jacket but I hadn't seen this one! I love it on the cover too in floral but this check really appealed to me! The nautical theme always looks fresh and clean!
The line drawings for these dresses didn't appeal to me in the slightest, but in fabric they look really nice! I don't think it would be worth me attempting them but I was pleasantly surprised at how they looked on the body. On the plus size front, I wasn't convinced. Normally I really like this part, even though I don't count. I often find I like the plus size style more than the main magazine but they all seemed shapeless and baggy. Except for these. I prefer the stiffer fabric to add structure but i'm not sure the shoulders would flatter me.
What did you think of this Month's Burda? Any favourites or fabric suggestions?

Friday 28 January 2011

How's your patience?

Mine is awful especially when it comes to garments that take time and concentration.
I've started on the McCalls 5815 Jacket and good golly miss molly it has taken me the best part of two days to cut the shell fabric let alone the lining!
I have been carefully trying to use up the Teal linen look from my Joan dress and I've managed Version A by the skin of my teeth. This is hopefully a wearable muslin. But it is ironically similar to the fabric used on the Pattern front. I had a quick look on pattern review and most people are saying they had a linen look polyester which is exactly what Joan's fabric was. In an identical colour so go figure.
I also have 3 meters of minty green lining in my stash that will look fab even if it is a bit staticky. So if this works it will be a hypothetically "Free" garment if its wearable. The only thing that could interfere is that people suggested adding 3inches or so to the hem so it wasn't so short. But I couldn't spare the extra fabric on this version.
Here's the fabric and lining together:
I've got myself stressed over trying to fit the pattern to very little fabric in the shell so
I think i'm done with cutting for one (two) days. I've pinned the countless pieces into "Need Interfacing" "Bodice" and "other" piles. So I won't get overloaded.
The last time I made a tailored jacket was when I was 16. First thing I'd made was an A line skirt no fastening, shortly followed by a disastrous corset. Thats A level Textiles with a Poncy teacher for you. I subsequently got a big fat U for my efforts and ended up in college doing a fashion course which resulted in a merit for making. No thanks to said teacher.

However "The Fear" has stopped me from going back to making jackets. So i'm trying not to freak out. I think the trick with sewing is taking your time and the bit that needed to click with me then was:

"It is OK to go wrong. If it's a disaster who cares? You have to laugh and try again."

If I could give any new budding seamstresses any advice it would be exactly that.

"Don't beat yourself up if it goes wrong. You will learn, maybe not the first time, maybe not the second, but you will get it!" Sewing is for fun and individuality. It's not a test if your doing it for ENJOYMENT. So why stress?

I also want a say a quick Thankyou to Elle for my beautiful little bird purse that I received yesterday in the post. It was wrapped so nicely and as soon as I saw it I immediately swapped from my old boring purse!

Thursday 27 January 2011

Barcelona Sewing Plan


Now onto the Sewing Plan of Action for Barcelona. I have until Mid March but I do not want to be too optimistic. I'm already surprised I've finished two dresses out of my 10 garment challenge this year!

I'm having second thoughts about the Flowery Voile for the Burda 7448 Shirtdress wrap delio. I think it might look frumpy... So I don't know if I should leave that for now.

I'm thinking about whipping up a little pencil skirt with visible back zipper with the rest of the flowered tweed I have left over from my Macaron.

Another project that was on the list for holiday was the Pearl dress so that one is ticked.

I've had a few more patterns delivered too including the one for my navy inverted pleat dress. I was going to follow Tilly's example and use a red ribbon, but having seen this dress I've decided on white accents. I'm in two minds on what pattern to use too.

My Vogue Badgley Mischka easy (16 pieces!?) or go for a straight shift dress like Style 1937 (Ordered off Ebay so can't get an image) Which has a similar neckline to this?

Or Frankenstein the skirt of vogue to the top of Style and get something similar to this
Depending on time. I would also love to do my McCalls Jacket. Maybe in a camel colour but I'm not sure. It needs to be versatile. (my favourite word I know) Any fabric suggestions on that one? I'd make view A but maybe with sleeves...
OK so to clarify I want to make for Barcelona:
My Pearl Dress (M6011) FINISHED
Flowery Tweed pencil skirt with visible back zipper
Navy Dress with white accents (Vogue 1020 or Style 1937)
Camel coloured jacket (McCalls 5815 View A but with long sleeves.)
Before Mid March...
I hope that's do able.

Wednesday 26 January 2011

Pearl is done!

I have decided to call this dress Pearl, due to the shiny appearance and the 40's style sleeves.
This is the easiest project I think I have ever done and the material was an absolute dream to use. It was run up within a matter of hours. The pattern said to fully line but as it was jersey I didn't bother. I cut the larger sized neckline and folded over a little into the waistband and did vertical stitches on the seams to keep it in place.
I am sooo pleased with the results. Yet again I could have done with cutting the smaller size. I had to take all of it in but kept some fullness in the skirt which looks lovely.
Before resizing
Jersey is officially my friend, It doesn't fray one bit this material! I did have to put in a little dart in the shoulders so theres no peek-a-boob moments, It made this bit of bulk in the sleeves giving a bit of a 40's look which i love! but I still think i'll have to put a stitch in on my bust line to keep this baby together. My only grumble is that it is a tidgey bit shorter than it appears on the pattern, Its fine on me because i'm 5ft 4 but I would have preferred an inch or two longer and on a lovely tall lady you might want to watch it a bit but here are the final results!
If you are a beginner to sewing I recommend this McCalls M6011 pattern a hundred times over! I wish I had come across it when I was learning, and it was cheap!
This will do nicely to shove into a suitcase for Barcelona. I can stick on a cardi for daytime wanderings or a nice necklace and heels for night time!
I really can't talk this pattern up enough. Even with slight alteration in the shoulder, Its so versatile and can be run up in a few hours?! Can't get much more brilliant can you?
2 Garments down for my 10 garments in 2011 goal my friends, 8 more to go? I think I can handle that!

Friday 21 January 2011

Planning your sewing adventures!


Don't you love the best laid plans and all that? I have just discovered a tatty looking notebook, in which I have documented lots of ideas for various sewing ventures,
in all manner of styles and all different types of garments. laid out in a wistful and whimsical fashion!
Some have sketches or reference to films and things and some are just plain mad!
I had totally forgot I kept it but there are some good idea's in there and most are linked to patterns I own or that are in Burda (Boo to tracing)
I had planned to sit down and work out what I could make before Barcelona. But today I thought it would be fun to show you the list and my current sketch book that I had planned for this year.

List from Rogue Notebook:

Burda Coco Chanel, Parisian Chic in Green Tweed (Check, Although it was a disaster)
Light Rose Chiffon Shirt for Floating around in... (What?! I kind of get what I mean...)
70's style Corduroy Jacket (too much That 70's Show)
Replica of Ossie Clarke and Celia Birtwell's Airplane dress
Black Jersey Glitzy Dress (What I'm currently working on using McCalls M6011)
Red Satin Shirtdress (Burda 11/09 101, I believe this is full length but I don't think I wanted it to the floor)
Lady Grey in Mustard wool (PAH)
Chiffon Pussybow Blouse (Burda again)
Purple and Mustard mix Tweed Pencil Skirt (Watch Confessions of a Shopaholic for the scene with the cape)
Camel Coloured Trench Coat
Simplicity 8591 (Vintage Pattern) "Cocoa" Chocolate brown outside Dusky pink in,
Joan inspired Simplicity 8591, Iridescent pink centre and plum purple out,
Paisley cowl neck 3/4 sleeve top
Winter Cape in purple tweed
Karl Largerfeld jacket from Burda in Blue wool.

List from Current sketchbook:
Sophisticated Macaron(CHECK)
Simplicity in black glittery jersey (CHECK-ish)
Longline white shirt for wearing under dresses
Pendrell Blouse in a Ditsy Floral Voile
Burda Wrap dress in Floral Voile
Orangey mink Pencil skirt (Scarlett Johansen wore one and I loved the very specific colour)
Floral Tweed Pencil skirt
Plum Pencil skirt
Teal Sateen shirt
Badgely Mishka inverted pleat dress with white bow belt and white accents.

The problem with a lot of the stuff on this list is that Winter is practically over so a lot of these projects have to hold off until next Autumn. But it also gives me a good excuse to have a go at some spring pieces. I'd like to get a few bits done before I go to Barcelona in Mid March.

That is a pretty ambitious list but its fun to think of all the possibilities! Here is a quick shot of the M6011 dress i'm currently working on. Super fast easy peasy pattern. I've practically run it up in an afternoon!

Barcelona!

Hello lovlies,
I have some lovely news, I'm going to Barcelona with my boyfriend in March Wooop! I'm so exited, It's been on my list for ages!
Anyone who knows of any good Fabric Shops in Barcelona please let me know!!!

Anyhoo. I am thinking It might be nice to take mostly handmade stuff with me.
I have had a bit of a sewing plan going for ages but It never seems done does it?
I have a mending list that is miles long. I could have lots of nice new garments fixed up if I tried really hard. So my mending plan is in action...
My Macaron is fitted better now and is just awaiting a bit of bias binding around the neckline,
Joan has a little hole in the waist and needs her bust darts messed about with (ooo er missus.)
my polka skirt could do with the waist panel being shrunk, and my parisian dress is in dire need of reconstruction.
So thats the mending...
I shall return with the sewing plan forthwith...

Thursday 20 January 2011

Finished!


Thank god. If you thought my stack of Virginia Woolf research was bad have a gander at this. I have just completed an essay on "the ways in which an interest in American popular culture began to influence British design in the 1950s"

Wow right? Super interesting but harder than you would think to cram into just under 3,000 words. But what got me through it?
Well the fact that I can have a short sewing interlude before my 5,000 word beast of an essay next and...
NEW SHOES! Aren't they Lush?! 1950's looking (Schuh) little heels in the sale. I've been practising on them all day!
Normally I'd be like Eww toe Cleavage but there too pretty for me to care!

Tuesday 18 January 2011

In my defence...


I have been looking for a dress pattern with an inverted pleat to do a version of Tilly's Birthday dress for quite a while. I have Navy fabric poised and ready in my stash...
The other 6?... Oh huh their ... backups.
The OOP McCalls Jacket took me ages to find at a decent price! But its sooo pretty and little jackets are what are missing in my wardrobe.
I did also buy an 80's new look pattern for a long sleeved dress but Ebay won't let me have the picture and I can't find it anywhere else.
Any fabric suggestions for any of these? The jacket I think in a plum or in the teal of the photo? Maybe even Tan!
I leave you with a video that always makes me giggle and just proves how obsessions can get out of hand... In a pattern buying scenario I am Carl.

CAAARRRRLLL...