tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61983948388760449452024-03-14T09:05:22.227-04:00There She Sews!Sewing and Craft Projects that have emerged from the cluttered chaos that is Welmoed's sewing room.Welmoed Sissonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16497763134207170293noreply@blogger.comBlogger287125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-57072547013683449192020-01-02T17:31:00.000-05:002020-01-02T17:31:11.060-05:00Party PajamasGood grief, I just saw that I have not made a single post in over a year. I will need to catch up and post the stuff I made in 2019. Not that it's all that much, but still. I <i>was</i> sewing.<br />
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My latest creation: Onesie pajamas for Bob and me to wear to a pajama-themed New Years Eve party.<br />
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The fabric is a lusciously soft minky fabric with a hedgehog design (the mascot of the club where the party was). The pattern for mine was drafted with PatternMaster Boutique, and the one for Bob was done with PatternMaster Tailor Made (their menswear software). They have convertible collars with no facings, and inseam pockets.<br />
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The closure is a long front zipper. And here is where I messed up. I don't do a lot of lapped zippers, and managed to mix up the lap directions. Whenever I do a button front, it's not as much of an issue, since the plackets are identical and the lap is determined by which one gets the buttons and which the buttonholes. With lapped zippers, once it's in, it's in, and if it laps wrong, oh well!<br />
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Years ago I attended a seminar with <a href="http://jimsuzio.com/" target="_blank">Jim Suzio</a>, and will always remember his little mnemonic about lap directions: "Women are always right, and men are left over." For some reason, I nearly always mess it up with lapped zippers. I made Bob's pajamas first, and managed to get the lap backwards, so it laps right over left. Oops. So when I made mine, I paid extra attention to the lap... only to make it with the lap left over right.<br />
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So what did I do? Absolutely nothing. And nobody noticed.<br />
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We are far more critical of our own work than anyone else is. So relax; the vast majority of people will never see your "mistake". And anyone who understands sewing and recognizes what you did, they will keep their mouth shut because they know it doesn't matter anyway.Welmoedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17476906210300173486noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-58049134135172320922018-11-18T15:44:00.000-05:002018-11-18T15:44:15.537-05:00Making an Inverness Coat, Part 1Making an Inverness Coat, Part 1<br />
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Wow, it's been a year since I last posted a project. Sorry to leave you all hanging. I haven't really been doing much sewing over the past year; life has been getting in the way. But I'm now embarking on a project for Bob and myself: costumes for a Dickens-themed holiday party on New Year's Eve.<br />
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Bob and I spent several hours researching styles we wanted, finding reference pictures and talking about colors. Bob was interested in having a cape, but after a few discussions, he found a picture of the kind he wanted: an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverness_cape" target="_blank">Inverness</a> Cape Coat.<br />
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Pretty straight-forward, you would think. Little did I know how many different variations of this style existed. One of them is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_coat" target="_blank">Ulster Coat</a>, which looks just like an Inverness from the front, but there are notable differences: The Ulster style is a coat with a cape over it. The Inverness, however, has no sleeves, and the cape does not extend across the back. Instead. the cape is actually a big open sleeve that attaches to the side back seam and drapes over the front of the coat. It's a bit more complicated to assemble, so, of course, I decided to give it a shot.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuvrgXaUAtSvXklDNOeT5pjZY-1zn0oGEnrrxoZAGzDjPyUY9BkcNxp3rMYSig5jHAA9tGRk9_CWynnnMFYWJfddixFsTqDYNrykzCs1NnYKFybkObWCfihl5mFHucXL6AQGRIEFFiYlc/s1600/InvernessCoat3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuvrgXaUAtSvXklDNOeT5pjZY-1zn0oGEnrrxoZAGzDjPyUY9BkcNxp3rMYSig5jHAA9tGRk9_CWynnnMFYWJfddixFsTqDYNrykzCs1NnYKFybkObWCfihl5mFHucXL6AQGRIEFFiYlc/s320/InvernessCoat3.jpg" width="309" /></a></div>
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I wasn't able to find a commercial pattern for the Inverness; the only ones I saw were for Ulsters. However, I did come across a scan of a vintage layout that showed what the pattern pieces look like.<br />
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The very thin lines show the "sloper" -- or base garment -- while the shaded pieces are the patterns for the back, front, and cape. The little one at the bottom right gives an interior detail for the pockets in the lining.<br />
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I turned to my trusty drafting software, Wild Ginger's <a href="http://wildginger.com/products/pmtailormade.htm" target="_blank">PatternMaster Tailor Made</a>. I used the Blazer draft, as that shifts the side seam to the back. However, the program doesn't have an option for that wing sleeve, so I did some extensive editing in the included CAD program, Pattern Editor. Here's what I came up with.<br />
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You can see that I added flare to the coat as well, at Bob's request. Now, a coat like this will take a lot of fabric, and I didn't feel like wasting so much just to test whether the pattern pieces actually worked the way I wanted them to. Luckily, the program gives an option to print out a pattern at half-scale! This gave me much more manageable pattern pieces; I just had to remember that the seam allowance was also scaled down.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIk4ZosiAOeAnG1iUyn8PxElpO2GTcFCxD4hyphenhyphenVAWTIfUb06fWRerHiTwQ8_bqIPng7-RgmnrFoV5vf3J4htqIuge-e-5yAcI96u0oLnPUJXNQJBISgI7TEgJV-ggr-RVZ3kyvw-wnJ_V8/s1600/HalfScale1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIk4ZosiAOeAnG1iUyn8PxElpO2GTcFCxD4hyphenhyphenVAWTIfUb06fWRerHiTwQ8_bqIPng7-RgmnrFoV5vf3J4htqIuge-e-5yAcI96u0oLnPUJXNQJBISgI7TEgJV-ggr-RVZ3kyvw-wnJ_V8/s400/HalfScale1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Much easier! And it only took about a yard of muslin and about two hours of work (including some cursing, and ripping out of seams, and puzzling over how that cape had to be attached). To my astonishment, it worked! Here's the half-sized test coat, modeled by my "My Size Barbie", which happens to be pretty close to half-life-sized.<br />
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No, I didn't bother pressing anything, which is why the coat flare looks odd. But you can see how the cape drapes quite nicely over the shoulder and arms.<br />
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Here's the back view, showing the cape attached to the rear side seam.<br />
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It almost looks like normal sleeves, with the arms held down at the sides. Once it's done up in the finished fabric, it's going to drape beautifully.<br />
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Here's the view with the cape open, showing that the coat itself has no sleeves.<br />
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So what's the fabric going to be? Here are the swatches:<br />
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The outer shell for both the cape and coat will be the black wool (probably a wool blend), and the linings will be the red satin.<br />
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I have six weeks to finish the cape, along with the other elements of the outfit: pants, jacket and shirt for Bob, and an intricate outfit for me to complement them. The color scheme will be red and black with gold accents.<br />
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I won't be making much progress until after the Thanksgiving holidays, though. Watch for an update in about a week!Welmoedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17476906210300173486noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-16069393094413225062017-09-24T17:00:00.000-04:002017-09-24T17:02:54.844-04:00Sewing for ME again!After a pretty long dry spell, I am finally back in the sewing room and eager to revamp my wardrobe. I know; it's about bloody time! To ease myself back into the routine, I decided to make up two of my "tried and true" patterns: some jeans, and a knit top.<br />
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Nothing terribly exciting, I know, but I'm very happy with how they came out. The jeans are yoked in the back, and have boot cut legs. The front crotch is a little loose, but not bad enough to do anything about on this pair. Most of the time, it will be covered with my tool apron as these are work pants. They're made out of a very nice stretch denim that I've got plenty more of, so I'll be making more of these in the future.<br />
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Back view:<br />
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Two patch pockets in the back, and scoop pockets in the front. Fly front.<br />
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I must have about six of this same style in my wardrobe already; I keep making them when I find interesting printed knits. I got this fabric at Spandex House in New York City the last time I was up there. It takes me about two hours to put one together; it's all done on the serger and the hem, cuffs, and neckline are turned under and cover stitched.<br />
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I've put together a list of the things I want to sew; there's a new dress in my near future. Then I think my husband wants a fleece-lined flannel shirt for the cooler weather (and I'll probably make one for me, too).Welmoedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17476906210300173486noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-24291302699786252042017-06-11T21:06:00.001-04:002017-06-11T21:06:33.577-04:00Diana's Wedding, Part 3: The WeddingFinally I'm writing the last post about Diana's wedding!<br />
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One of Diana and Alex's rules about the wedding ceremony was that there were to be NO cell phones or camera use by guests. And I was so happy to see that everyone complied! The photographer took great pictures, so the event is well-documented. Here are some pictures so you can see just how lovely the whole day was!<br />
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<h3>
Getting Ready</h3>
Since the ceremony started at sunrise (7 a.m.), we all had to be at the venue (Brookside Gardens) while it was still pitch dark out. I had the dress and coat with me so Diana wouldn't have to worry about transporting it.<br />
In the "dressing room" (really just a classroom), the photographer took some pictures of the dresses and coats waiting to be worn.<br />
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On the left was the Matron of Honor's dress; my only part in that was adding straps to it so she would feel more secure. The wedding dress is next, followed by the Matron of Honor's coat (the wearable muslin of the final coat), and Diana's coat.<br />
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Closeup of the neck detail:<br />
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Closeup of the button detail:<br />
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The funny thing was that Diana and I searched for the right buttons in New York and came up empty; I found these at my local Joanns and they were perfect! This was also the first time I had attempted bound buttonholes, which was nerve wracking.<br />
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Detail of the embroidery on the facing:<br />
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There are things about the coat I'm not happy with, but Diana was thrilled and that's what mattered.<br />
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Then it was time to dress the Bride.<br />
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I think this is one of my favorite pictures. I'm wearing a blue wool dress I finished the day before the wedding (in the rush to get her stuff done, I kind of forgot that I had to have something to wear as well).<br />
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The cummerbund sash at the waist presented a bit of a problem; when it was fastened, the end of the band tended to stick out, which Diana didn't like. She wanted it to lay completely smooth. So rather than fuss with moving the skirt fastener that held it together, I just took out needle and thread and sewed the end down.<br />
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(I did clip the stitches before the happy couple left!)<br />
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Then it was time to head down for the ceremony! Here's the Parents of the Bride walking towards the pagoda where the ceremony was held.<br />
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I'm wearing a coat made from the same pattern as the one for both Diana and her Matron of Honor. In the interest of speed, I omitted buttons and just had a sash, and also had patch pockets. The lining was fabric I had bought as a fallback for the coat, in case we didn't find the right fabric in December. But we did, so I had extra. The light blue wool was a Mark Jacobs wool given to me by a friend; it was so luscious to work with! My dress was a wool from my stash.<br />
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<h3>
Here Comes the Bride!</h3>
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She carried a bouquet of heather, along with Bob's mother's handkerchief and my mother's wedding gloves. And, thanks to the generosity of a dear friend, she also had a Lucky Sixpence in her shoe!<br />
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The ceremony itself:<br />
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At the left, you can see the MoH, Alyxzandra. The officiant was a dear friend of ours who has known us since Diana was maybe four years old. At the right is the Best Man, Cameron, who is Alyxzandra's husband.<br />
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Part of the ceremony was a traditional Handfasting. Guess where the term "tied the knot" came from?<br />
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A few more pictures from after the ceremony and at the reception:<br />
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The coat had the proper amount of swirl.<br />
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Brookside Gardens was such a lovely backdrop for these romantic pictures.<br />
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Cameron being Cameron.<br />
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It actually wasn't bitterly cold out by the time the ceremony was over (maybe 38-40 degrees), so they were able to get pictures without her coat on. But not many!<br />
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And finally, Diana's godmother gives her a paddling at the reception. Diana called this picture "testament to my mother's skills as a seamstress," as there was absolutely no gapping at the neckline, even when her new husband hoisted her over his shoulder.<br />
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And that, my friends, is the end of the Saga of the Wedding Dress! I hope you enjoyed it! I'm just glad everything came out the way it should; the happy couple is off to a wonderful life together.<br />
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NOTE: All photographs are by <a href="http://exposedbranches.com/" target="_blank">Exposed Branches Photography</a>.Welmoedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17476906210300173486noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-22192752525940467052017-05-14T14:00:00.000-04:002017-05-14T14:00:00.926-04:00Diana's Wedding, Part 2: Drama in the Sewing RoomRemember how I said Diana had already bought a wedding dress?<br />
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She assured me that it would just need a few minor tweaks to make it perfect. The top was very plain, so she asked if I could spiff it up with a layer of lace. I figured that wouldn't be too hard. So she brought the dress to my sewing room and we took a look.<br />
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And I had to be brutally honest with her: the dress did not fit.<br />
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The biggest problem was that it was too tight across the bust, and there wasn't enough fabric in the seams to let it out. In the hands of a more skilled alterations person, it might have been workable, but it was beyond my abilities to do it justice for such an important occasion.<br />
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So yeah... Mom, can you make my dress after all?<br />
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By now it was mid-November, so there were just three months until the wedding. It meant we had to take yet another trip to New York in early December to buy fabric.<br />
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We had discussed the general style of the dress; she wanted a strapless sheath with sleeved lace overlay. We had pictures with us of similar dresses. For the first hour or so of shopping we concentrated on finding just the right lace for the overlay, figuring that it would be the hardest thing to nail down. And we were right. She couldn't find just the right lace to match her vision.<br />
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Then we were in a store called, appropriately enough, Diana Fabrics. She looked at laces and didn't see anything, so we started for the door. There was a bin of sparkly fabrics near the door, and I jokingly held up a length of a sheer organza with aurura borealis sparkles on it and said, "How about this?"<br />
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She stopped dead in her tracks and gasped. "That's it!"<br />
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Now, you have to understand that Diana is not a Sparkle Princess type of person. She was never into the frilly glittery stuff while she was growing up; it was all about understated elegance (remember the black wool skirt? Even when she was little, she had style). So I was completely shocked when she fell in love with this sparkly, shiny fabric. And instantly we knew it wouldn't work for the style of dress she thought she wanted. We had to make some major revisions.<br />
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We retreated to a deli for lunch and sat sketching ideas. Once we were done eating, a new dress had taken shape and we returned to shopping with new enthusiasm.<br />
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<h4>
The Work Begins</h4>
The dress was drafted in PatternMaster (of course) and I put together a muslin for the first fitting.<br />
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The shoulders were just a wee bit too wide, but overall the fit was pretty good. She's wearing a purchased petticoat underneath to give it a bit of fluff.<br />
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The real dress starts to take shape. The bodice fit wasn't quite right, and we both felt it was too plain this way, so I added sleeves and a waist sash to the final version. And yes, I put pockets in the dress. Gotta have pockets.<br />
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Final Fitting</h4>
The final fitting was the week before the wedding. You can see that I added sleeves, plus a two-layered organza overskirt. All it needed at this point was some adjustments to the hem and she would be ready to walk down the aisle. She's holding her bouquet of heather.<br />
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The back of the dress was specially designed to show off her tattoo. Part of the finishing work also included tacking down the top of the zipper; I kept that for last just in case there were fitting tweaks.<br />
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Construction Details:<br />
Shoulder princess bodice, gored flared skirt. Bell sleeves cut on an angle and finished with a two-thread rolled hem with variegated embroidery thread in aurora borealis colors.<br />
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Now that Diana's dress and coat were done, I had a few days to think about what I was going to wear. I reached into my stash and found a navy blue wool, and made one of my favorite styles: my "J. Peterman" dress. It's a button-front dress with kimono sleeves and a shawl collar. And then, because I'm a total glutton for punishment, I made myself a coat with some light blue Mark Jacobs wool given to me by a friend, using the same pattern design as for Diana's coat, but without the fur.<br />
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Next: You're Invited to the Wedding!Welmoedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17476906210300173486noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-39270614770285011622017-05-12T21:11:00.000-04:002017-05-12T21:11:31.168-04:00Diana's Wedding, Part One: Plans and ChangesIt really was my intention to write about the sewing I did for Diana's wedding. But life has a way of intervening: while all of the wedding stuff was going on, we finally found a buyer for our house, so we were also tossed headlong into the search for a new place to live, plus packing, plus work, plus everything else, so blogging kinda got shoved onto the back burner. But rest assured, I did not get run over by a bus.<br />
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Anyway, to recap: in my last post, I wrote about how I was going to make her a wedding coat inspired by a picture she found online. She had already found a dress. We had gone to New York City and found fabric for the coat.<br />
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Step one was to make a muslin to check the style of the coat and get the hood figured out. I used PatternMaster to create the draft.<br />
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First muslin pass:<br />
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The body fit wasn't bad; just a few tweaks needed. But she didn't like the hood; it was too much like a bubble sitting on her head rather than a gentle frame for her face. She showed me a coat she already had and asked if I could copy the hood style; I took a few pictures and modified the pattern to make a hood that flowed smoothly into the lapel to create the kind of look she was after.</div>
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What About the Fur?</h4>
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I was stymied about where to find fur trim that wouldn't require a second mortgage. Then a miracle happened: one of the members of the online sewing group I'm in offered to send me a fur coat she had that she wasn't using. It was a gorgeous Arctic Fox, and went perfectly with the cashmere/alpaca fabric we bought.</div>
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I will admit that it was painful to take such a lovely coat apart. I cut it into strips to use for the trim around the hood and cuffs and set it aside.</div>
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On to the Wearable Muslin</h4>
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The next step in the process was to create a wearable muslin to test the final form of the coat. Diana thought it would be great to have a fancy short coat she could wear in the future, so I made this one a little below hip length. This way I could really test the fit of the body, arms, and hood.</div>
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It went together pretty well. It's fully lined, with Thinsulate interlining for warmth. I even made bound buttonholes. Here it is on the mannequin, prior to the final hemming. The fur strips are hand-sewn onto the edge of the hood and the cuffs.</div>
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Now for the Real Thing!</h4>
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The final coat came together pretty easily. The only tricky part was adding the pockets; I'm still a little wobbly on welted pockets and even with watching some YouTube tutorials I wasn't 100% thrilled with the outcome. But they were good enough. Here was my practice piece on a scrap.</div>
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I didn't take any pictures of the assembly process, so here's the coat at the final fitting. It still needed hemming at this point but the rest was done. It is also fully lined and has a layer of Thinsulate.</div>
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Coming Next: Drama in the Sewing Room!!Welmoedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17476906210300173486noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-177397192790725062016-09-14T17:02:00.000-04:002016-09-14T17:02:02.519-04:00A Wedding Coat for DianaI can hardly believe it, but my little girl will be married in five months. Where did the years go?<br />
I've always loved sewing for her. Early on, though, I got her way too used to wearing clothes that fit well and were made of better materials. I think it really started in 2002 when I made her a wool skirt with a silk lining for an outing to New York.<br />
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She wore that skirt a lot while it still fit!<br />
Well, now she is getting married (cue "Sunrise, Sunset"). She already has her dress; she purchased it at a thrift sale for $60. I'm not upset that I won't be making it for her; she and I agreed that we would most likely butt heads during the process if I were to make the dress.<br />
But I won't be left out in the cold... Well, no, actually I will be. See, the wedding is on Valentine's Day, and it's an outdoor wedding. Bob and I were married that way as well! But here's the kicker: the ceremony starts at 7 in the morning. Yes, my little girl wants a Sunrise wedding. In February. In Maryland.<br />
So I offered to make her a wedding coat. We did a little surfing and found the perfect example of what she wants.<br />
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We took a whirlwind one-day shopping trip to New York on Labor Day, only to discover that most of the "Big Name" stores were closed. Darn it!! But there were quite a few of the smaller stores open, and we managed to snag a gorgeous cashmere/angora wool at a store I know only as "Kabbalah Man" as my dear friend Sarah calls it. Now all I need to find is an old fur coat I can repurpose for the trim. The lining will be printed at Spoonflower, as Diana wants a very specific pattern and we haven't been able to find it.<br />
The first step is to make a muslin to nail the overall design and fit. I will then make a short coat as a wearable muslin to confirm the fit and style. I hope to have the final coat done by the end of the year so I'm not in panic mode. Oh, and I will also need to make a dress and maybe a coat for myself.<br />
Stay tuned... This should be an interesting adventure!Welmoedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17476906210300173486noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-3282997000272798562016-03-27T21:35:00.002-04:002016-03-27T21:35:25.522-04:00Smithson 2016: A Change of DirectionSo about my gown ideas... Yeah, they got tossed out the window.<br />
I really wasn't feeling any love for any of the ideas I had for this year's gown. So rather than force it, I decided to approach the problem from a different direction: fabric first. This meant a road trip with my daughter (and personal style guru) to A Fabric Place outside of Baltimore.<br />
We spent an hour going through the various fabrics there, looking for inspiration. And we found it in a coral-inspired allover embroidered fabric.<br />
I ended up buying just two yards of it because it was pretty expensive. Then we needed to figure out what to do with it. After much cogitation, we came up with the idea to have a bodice overlaid with the coral, and a solid skirt to pick up the orange-red of the embroidery.<br />
The first idea was to have the coral go over an ocean blue, like in the first picture, but that really was a bit too cartoonish for my taste. We settled on an ivory, which looked very nice but wasn't perfect; it really was a compromise.<br />
Then I had a meeting of my PatternMaster users group, and called on them to help brainstorm. As we were draping fabrics, I had an idea: I grabbed a piece of copper-colored charmeuse that I had received as a gift in a Reddit exchange. It was perfect!<br />
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To the Sewing Room!</h4>
I finally had time this weekend to hunker down and start sewing. I took inspiration for the skirt from all the wonderful comments on the swirly blue dress. This is the same pattern, but the godets are only quarter circles instead of half. This wasn't by choice; I went to two stores trying to find enough of the orange-red charmeuse to make six full godets but fell short. Ah well, so the skirt is only 1.5 circles instead of three!<br />
So here's the first try-on. It's not pressed at all, nor hemmed, and the facings need to be tacked down, but I was too impatient to see how it looked.<br />
Front view:<br />
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The top is a simple shoulder princess draft, with set in sleeves and a faced neckline. I'm not sure about the neckline; it looks so plain! Have to think whether I want to gussy it up at all. Oh, and there's no closure! It slips on over my head (but j-u-s-t barely)!<br />
And really, it didn't dawn on me until I saw the pictures that I've got a real Halle Berry look going on... I didn't think the copper fabric was going to look so much like a skin tone!<br />
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Back view:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNI0JuqCjuRLTRyXpdpbIZ0Dw-70hnTXGjR9luEeOj4I7pKDhQAUac0-sFRDHCIz4yl6lJEhhcjT_2bGqq_boFlK_JzTgRmhU_vyrqoshhZrfT9sJ-b_ILqNys-0NtSjesuGdAfGWbvGw/s1600/02-DressBack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNI0JuqCjuRLTRyXpdpbIZ0Dw-70hnTXGjR9luEeOj4I7pKDhQAUac0-sFRDHCIz4yl6lJEhhcjT_2bGqq_boFlK_JzTgRmhU_vyrqoshhZrfT9sJ-b_ILqNys-0NtSjesuGdAfGWbvGw/s640/02-DressBack.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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The facing really needs to be tacked down all around.<br />
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And it's so twirly!<br />
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So I still need to do the finishing touches (and decide what to do about the neckline, and jewelry, and hair), plus make the matching vest and tie for Bob. But heck; I've got another five days. Piece of cake!<br />
It really does go to show that an evening gown can just be a regular dress pattern done up in fancy fabric.<br />
<br />Welmoedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17476906210300173486noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-27630364091344597492016-03-12T12:33:00.000-05:002016-03-12T12:33:13.121-05:00Smithson 2016: Let's (Steam)Punk It Up!Hooray! It's Smithson Gown time again!<br />
I didn't make a new gown last year (I wore the Constellation Gown again), but it's time to pull out the stops again. My big inspiration is that the event will be held at the long-shuttered Arts and Industries Building! In keeping with the late-19th century building, I've decided to go with a Steampunk-inspired dress!<br />
The event is on April 2, so I have a leisurely three weeks to get it all pulled together.<br />
<h3>
Suggestions I Got</h3>
Several people in my PMB group suggested I use my 2011 outfit as a jumping-off point:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvP506FKNLCPEqi7sYjCSp9DNEpMtLNQwDYpxOHEVLhYyEa86lh053kzNZOwuYYiG5gUcTBcruuCt4L3s8xamQ-bYcxF0k7MtEEzz4oZsmcgpPDfoMyO5rSdRSBlG9-D7sXVK0pJQm1eCZ/s1600/gala2011-final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Smithson 2011 Gown" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvP506FKNLCPEqi7sYjCSp9DNEpMtLNQwDYpxOHEVLhYyEa86lh053kzNZOwuYYiG5gUcTBcruuCt4L3s8xamQ-bYcxF0k7MtEEzz4oZsmcgpPDfoMyO5rSdRSBlG9-D7sXVK0pJQm1eCZ/s400/gala2011-final.jpg" title="" width="300" /></a></div>
This was a three-piece outfit, with a lined jacket over a sleeveless shell and long skirt. This was one of my favorite ensembles, so I went back into my files and printed out a new pattern for the jacket to make a muslin.<br />
<h3>
A good start</h3>
Not bad for a first muslin!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXqJ2r33atMd_naY5h6_RSUauVnXhiYSFMPvuVFt8LLtC-K1JlbgFKHr8PZREz59o6UtSz5ASseXGaSE1d5SAX1U9S4Hm6Gbv_sJUpRY-zql5Ak819RCGY6IqX9DEX66OuzF0zWXOQ0o5/s1600/JacketMuslin1-Front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Jacket Muslin Front View" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXqJ2r33atMd_naY5h6_RSUauVnXhiYSFMPvuVFt8LLtC-K1JlbgFKHr8PZREz59o6UtSz5ASseXGaSE1d5SAX1U9S4Hm6Gbv_sJUpRY-zql5Ak819RCGY6IqX9DEX66OuzF0zWXOQ0o5/s640/JacketMuslin1-Front.jpg" title="" width="434" /></a></div>
The front view. I'm wearing this over a shirt, and I have not trimmed the half-inch hem allowance from the bottom edge or the sleeves.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yAf1enTiSJHONKq4RMfHUPTUHhzcd9d246r7McYw16iKPGOz4CMDaMdl4aeaaNi_yXiDPCc7HMeXwkj6myOT6uZRcOSznWMn3NIzMPWvKkHf8nJ8JVCVWV9jRvFKvfF7yLpQLu6Ify_u/s1600/JacketMuslin2-Back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Jacket Muslin Back View" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yAf1enTiSJHONKq4RMfHUPTUHhzcd9d246r7McYw16iKPGOz4CMDaMdl4aeaaNi_yXiDPCc7HMeXwkj6myOT6uZRcOSznWMn3NIzMPWvKkHf8nJ8JVCVWV9jRvFKvfF7yLpQLu6Ify_u/s640/JacketMuslin2-Back.jpg" title="" width="390" /></a></div>
Back view. I didn't press it prior to pictures, so there are some creases from the folds in the fabric. And the sleeve vents aren't pressed either.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCNLv2oPWY9YWQ0mBdUe-XnFpgJ36FR7_31m10CnY-J-V4XKHii5h9geelaJyRMXsI562Euw0l4wxRNLumhgaJvdKV3qUdDwETXAvFlbzINNvvqbCYRWlPS9WlBQCIwjY7do4Yzim-JZ3u/s1600/JacketMuslin3-Side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Jacket Muslin Side View" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCNLv2oPWY9YWQ0mBdUe-XnFpgJ36FR7_31m10CnY-J-V4XKHii5h9geelaJyRMXsI562Euw0l4wxRNLumhgaJvdKV3qUdDwETXAvFlbzINNvvqbCYRWlPS9WlBQCIwjY7do4Yzim-JZ3u/s640/JacketMuslin3-Side.jpg" title="" width="372" /></a></div>
Side view. I'm thinking the back edge needs to come down a little bit. I also really like the collar.<br />
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<h3>
What Now?</h3>
A few readers suggested I use the same swirly pattern as for the summer dress I just posted to make the gown to go under this jacket. But will that be too much? I will have to try the jacket on with the summer dress to check whether it's a good combination. And I'm still up in the air as to whether to make it a top and skirt, or make it as a dress.<br />
Later on today, I'm going to go fabric shopping with my daughter, who has a terrific eye for color. Then I will play with sketching styles and doing color combos and see what I come up with.<br />
Stay tuned!<br />
Welmoed Sissonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16497763134207170293noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-90963220117878673092016-03-10T12:09:00.003-05:002016-03-10T12:09:42.076-05:00A New Dress, and I'm Still HereMy gosh, I hadn't realized how much I had been neglecting my blog. There were messages waiting in moderation for MONTHS and I did not know. I will do my best to answer them now but many are probably no longer relevant. Still, I apologize for my silence.<br />
I had a pretty long dry spell with regards to sewing since last summer. We put our house on the market, which necessitated reducing the amount of stuff in my sewing room to make the room look larger. So my lovely work table had to go. Fortunately, it has found a new home with a sewing friend, who has promised to love it as I did, and create many beautiful things with it.<br />
The sewing drought lasted until well into January, when I went to the Virginia ASG sewing retreat in Winchester, VA. Last year at the retreat I got pretty sick and didn't really accomplish much. This year, fortunately, was much different. I had three solid days of productive sewing, and created three new garments (plus one wadder).<br />
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The Dress<br />
I've been wanting a nice dress to wear in the warmer months; one with a fitted bodice and wide skirt. But I didn't want a lot of bulk at the waist. Even a traditional flared gored skirt can have big folds of fabric at the hip, which really isn't my best look.<br />
One day I was wandering through a store (I think it was <a href="http://www.altardstate.com/" target="_blank">Altar'd State</a>) and saw a skirt with a very interesting godet. Rather than having the peak of the godet coming to a point, it was a soft, rounded top! In looking at the construction, I realized that the godet itself was merely a half-circle of fabric sewed into a shaped opening in the body of the skirt.<br />
With that in mind, I fired up my trusty copy of <a href="http://www.wildginger.com/" target="_blank">PatternMaster Boutique </a>and started drafting my own version. And here's what I came up with for the skirt.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOw6AzkNdPzcRTM89GdC1z_gOlGMwImPg8oeHrBFy4Eq7wrHazLx3ipzJgDZnf801xG1Sf-0OjvpzlveycEk4fHE0uDPzRv9MhPdMDN9hP2BHQIkNP36l40dNkXSF-9yiA-7auLPxpjGMx/s1600/SkirtPattern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOw6AzkNdPzcRTM89GdC1z_gOlGMwImPg8oeHrBFy4Eq7wrHazLx3ipzJgDZnf801xG1Sf-0OjvpzlveycEk4fHE0uDPzRv9MhPdMDN9hP2BHQIkNP36l40dNkXSF-9yiA-7auLPxpjGMx/s640/SkirtPattern.jpg" width="606" /></a></div>
The skirt is cut from two identical pieces for the front and back; the seams are at the sides. The rest of the pattern is a midriff-waisted bodice with shoulder princess seams.<br />
I made the dress up out of a piece of rayon that was in my stash; it was a good thing it was a large piece because this dress eats up fabric!! All told, I used about eight yards. Each of the six gores takes almost a full yard!<br />
So here's the dress!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz1dgolqNaRNhjHuMQ2NnNW94rC1v9PvKm3d3ori-xuspFHeJLpVmP8tbuuHHOYBangUi4uxSCHOdJmWPTTl8RthP56rm511V-vEJoF2fYCZhVmwH-qlQiegH1DlPc-UWddk7UGB4yCsCw/s1600/SwirlDress1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz1dgolqNaRNhjHuMQ2NnNW94rC1v9PvKm3d3ori-xuspFHeJLpVmP8tbuuHHOYBangUi4uxSCHOdJmWPTTl8RthP56rm511V-vEJoF2fYCZhVmwH-qlQiegH1DlPc-UWddk7UGB4yCsCw/s640/SwirlDress1.jpg" width="398" /></a></div>
Just standing there, it's not immediately obvious how wide the skirt is. So here's another view.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiCIenSrLWrv8EOUvu32pJmmgEeW7xT1hyphenhyphenwAAU4v4COxQ3_mMlLLkRx1UXJX70queowzMabNTbX0mm9LSmECxTtxzVazV0DeHR5R-fhJwb2lCRFmQOFXGEaDUHk9dlUXuCDEe4J1YzG6LC/s1600/SwirlDress2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="604" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiCIenSrLWrv8EOUvu32pJmmgEeW7xT1hyphenhyphenwAAU4v4COxQ3_mMlLLkRx1UXJX70queowzMabNTbX0mm9LSmECxTtxzVazV0DeHR5R-fhJwb2lCRFmQOFXGEaDUHk9dlUXuCDEe4J1YzG6LC/s640/SwirlDress2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I'm holding up two of the sides, and there's <i>still</i> lots of fabric left. With the six half-circle godets, the hemline sweep of the dress is three full circles! So needless to say, it is a <i>very</i> twirly skirt!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-VbR_OeSSKAAwSkTwEUwJ9AEOBWSXBqIWJ6FkUnVWc44ziKXC1I5Y6sjqeDkrW9_UPpy7auN2SY05FcBbBCAABlgVd_rgbH27WE0-kWzyBgGjgVnJR0L_xBLFop5a0ToCkQ3RE97ShF_/s1600/SwirlDress3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-VbR_OeSSKAAwSkTwEUwJ9AEOBWSXBqIWJ6FkUnVWc44ziKXC1I5Y6sjqeDkrW9_UPpy7auN2SY05FcBbBCAABlgVd_rgbH27WE0-kWzyBgGjgVnJR0L_xBLFop5a0ToCkQ3RE97ShF_/s400/SwirlDress3.jpg" width="373" /></a></div>
It's hard to get a good picture of the sweep, even from above!<br />
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The dress is incredibly comfortable; there's no closure, and the neck and armholes have a one-piece facing. I'm already planning on making a few more of these, and will be bringing them on our trip to Holland next month.<br />
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More to Come<br />
I will do posts about the other two garments I made in the next few days, and I pinky-swear that I won't do another vanishing act. See you soon!Welmoed Sissonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16497763134207170293noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-63349594934917877532015-06-05T19:05:00.000-04:002015-06-05T19:10:11.372-04:00Make any dress fit perfectly in just ten minutes!<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few years ago I made a gown for the annual Smithson Gala. It’s been hanging in my closet since then, and my lovely daughter Diana wondered if she could possibly try it on to see if it fit.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihCNP4T9zRKe0bZJs7meQK8S10QcSm0tf-ipjApMUuMybAsMp0s6b5V31w_vRPDR_sNkBSDHG_jRAxHGFizioa-I3pvhM_3H2WsEVoRDO6MDkn-g2c9EvI9xV5uESKsFCSCyrEKJVTbfeE/s1600/DressOrigfront.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihCNP4T9zRKe0bZJs7meQK8S10QcSm0tf-ipjApMUuMybAsMp0s6b5V31w_vRPDR_sNkBSDHG_jRAxHGFizioa-I3pvhM_3H2WsEVoRDO6MDkn-g2c9EvI9xV5uESKsFCSCyrEKJVTbfeE/s640/DressOrigfront.jpg" width="256" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAg9l2W6CcZOUgp-ejwa_S9AeuQWPGHIVBRdLjdyLAgsEHvuxZ_qXSp5_XGI2ULUWJ2qAlbwdJWEVLD-m9KlAnv1lsfu9P4H4NrWPqdTxSLsFyAu5VE9Fo9HZaniDZXuf9CUWzT1_n2OZD/s1600/Dressorigback.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAg9l2W6CcZOUgp-ejwa_S9AeuQWPGHIVBRdLjdyLAgsEHvuxZ_qXSp5_XGI2ULUWJ2qAlbwdJWEVLD-m9KlAnv1lsfu9P4H4NrWPqdTxSLsFyAu5VE9Fo9HZaniDZXuf9CUWzT1_n2OZD/s640/Dressorigback.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course, it was too large, but certainly alterable. And in less than ten minutes, it went from loose and drab to fitted and fabulous!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPilM_9ZUnXdYwgIKJd4uIBT8dWCEnUi2KGEDuX2s5jtEsjqsWJAxQNBf2cf_BtgKpZq62PlgtSkc0LVtjQ6ftgq4W2LzkwDmA062Az3gHE3sPu0m8c0T598VV3H21Gv0qvaHOzPZtkk-U/s1600/Dressnewfront.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPilM_9ZUnXdYwgIKJd4uIBT8dWCEnUi2KGEDuX2s5jtEsjqsWJAxQNBf2cf_BtgKpZq62PlgtSkc0LVtjQ6ftgq4W2LzkwDmA062Az3gHE3sPu0m8c0T598VV3H21Gv0qvaHOzPZtkk-U/s640/Dressnewfront.jpg" width="272" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZKKW1-m1mLzHAjUkHa85K2Icz1ja9TGAqFe_ad46KGenYwoEfFSgE0JeEtxIeITKRS595Khv0DbeE88O_z4wZVWOOvnjvlLbilVqAzHBw-JQRgqe2dzu9O1ws3UXOMmh_8EpSwNFkyed/s1600/Dressnewback.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZKKW1-m1mLzHAjUkHa85K2Icz1ja9TGAqFe_ad46KGenYwoEfFSgE0JeEtxIeITKRS595Khv0DbeE88O_z4wZVWOOvnjvlLbilVqAzHBw-JQRgqe2dzu9O1ws3UXOMmh_8EpSwNFkyed/s640/Dressnewback.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">(She insisted on adding the apple, for a little drama!)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRe-mHZ31n28x6Us-axscYIZhYs-FXBpLcLuhWpCZ1Jysv8uDppdFY9PnompQE-UWR_f32RN-p0ZVTDYKHCJdxHis2BYq2eVfPMAKRQmemYQwwS9Pn8XyxSLokmxI3uMux4WI747sWzlr/s1600/binderclip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRe-mHZ31n28x6Us-axscYIZhYs-FXBpLcLuhWpCZ1Jysv8uDppdFY9PnompQE-UWR_f32RN-p0ZVTDYKHCJdxHis2BYq2eVfPMAKRQmemYQwwS9Pn8XyxSLokmxI3uMux4WI747sWzlr/s1600/binderclip.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yep, the humble binder clip. And it’s the reason why I don’t trust most photos for judging fit, especially if it’s in catalogs or store websites.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.7000007629395px; white-space: pre-wrap;">To make the front look good, the back was clipped:</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXPFOqwHhzqFaKe4QlQQ30QPlF8UfiQUYf5tTH4JYmf8bIJgCKDhUkg3W3pWxeFS0s2KJ6mIgB_IQ-GF4hRaJqIdxhInR2Utoingd41Ni8z6ZXZdzqV0OUFIatnuvRM81KTWnB_mFdhj0n/s1600/BackClipped2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXPFOqwHhzqFaKe4QlQQ30QPlF8UfiQUYf5tTH4JYmf8bIJgCKDhUkg3W3pWxeFS0s2KJ6mIgB_IQ-GF4hRaJqIdxhInR2Utoingd41Ni8z6ZXZdzqV0OUFIatnuvRM81KTWnB_mFdhj0n/s640/BackClipped2.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.7000007629395px; white-space: pre-wrap;">And to make the back look good, the front was clipped:</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr87jgcPzXIBYxa_RDHE20kMXmtCkM2ZtYFUNWdu-iRVCjGGccGH7F4Na-821LRp0ZrIBH86c2olyovkdwR0VPlojE8kom1t9W2hz-AFguKyUYWjdEZe3MUg1EL5orEyNsXtCqwub26vRj/s1600/FrontClipped2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr87jgcPzXIBYxa_RDHE20kMXmtCkM2ZtYFUNWdu-iRVCjGGccGH7F4Na-821LRp0ZrIBH86c2olyovkdwR0VPlojE8kom1t9W2hz-AFguKyUYWjdEZe3MUg1EL5orEyNsXtCqwub26vRj/s640/FrontClipped2.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And yes, the clips were moved around so I could take the pictures of the two sides.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course, if she actually wanted to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>wear</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the dress anywhere but in front of a camera, it would take a lot longer to actually sew the alterations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The moral of the story is that you simply cannot judge the fit of a garment by pictures alone, unless you were there when the pictures were taken. So many times people buy clothes online or from catalogs, and discover they don’t fit the way they did in the pictures, and end up blaming themselves for either “ordering the wrong size” or “I just have a problem body.” Neither is true. It is the fault of the clothing marketer, who has a vested interest in making the clothes look as perfect as possible -- never mind if they actually DID fit the way they do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Think I'm kidding? Here's a behind-the-scenes look from a photo shoot with Antonio Banderas (from the Poorly Dressed section of <a href="http://failblog.com/">Failblog.com</a>):</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCB4PG8nm_zS2Zt1tY89Luj5QJ0-JEU9AMjP67fcYWgzwYz81nCPEnMUgnkz9v7CaIhPXvcELtYjmkc64g7zvmG81xs7AMgOatbsgvnylsBqytTddmW3-ZcBmgCMwTMB2eS5Cg2uj2Kqo1/s1600/PoorlyDressBlogPicture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCB4PG8nm_zS2Zt1tY89Luj5QJ0-JEU9AMjP67fcYWgzwYz81nCPEnMUgnkz9v7CaIhPXvcELtYjmkc64g7zvmG81xs7AMgOatbsgvnylsBqytTddmW3-ZcBmgCMwTMB2eS5Cg2uj2Kqo1/s640/PoorlyDressBlogPicture.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>Welmoed Sissonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16497763134207170293noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-68235755737570426522015-05-26T21:28:00.000-04:002015-05-26T21:28:41.774-04:00"Mom, can you copy this dress?" --The umpteenth editionI love sewing clothes for my daughter. She has an eye for color and a thirst for style, and has a keen eye about what looks good on her. What she doesn't have is the discretionary income to indulge all her sartorial desires. That's where I come in.<br />
She will often send me pictures of clothes she finds online and asks if I can copy them. And, most often, they're not hard to copy. She is fond of simple lines, so it's pretty easy to look at the pictures and figure out what the crucial details are. Of course, she likes to inject her own style onto them, and asks for necklines to be changed, or hemlines altered, or things like that. And I can usually accommodate her alterations.<br />
So, a few weeks ago she sent me this picture of a Ralph Lauren knit dress.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWF_k6lyo8-24r9OoCNiN7bdGQyw_Z-TVtxqNhpe_eWqSpePkpwoEMR_w79k1gpqHVbe_dSeLNZCo5YCvrwhGtd52Iqp9kGw5RNT3W16wIF0ei8jr05zJ07Slzkb5Lx5k8YPN7obbYN0DE/s1600/RalphLaurenDress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWF_k6lyo8-24r9OoCNiN7bdGQyw_Z-TVtxqNhpe_eWqSpePkpwoEMR_w79k1gpqHVbe_dSeLNZCo5YCvrwhGtd52Iqp9kGw5RNT3W16wIF0ei8jr05zJ07Slzkb5Lx5k8YPN7obbYN0DE/s400/RalphLaurenDress.jpg" width="252" /></a></div>
Okay, nothing too difficult here. Looks like a t-shirt lengthened into a sheath. But what about that inset?<br />
I started with a plain sheath in <a href="http://www.wildginger.com/" target="_blank">PatternMaster Knits</a>, set to floor length. Then I brought it into Pattern Editor and drew the curved lines for the insert. After some cogitating, I realized that the insert was simply a half-circle, with the diameter sewn into the insert seamline. Once I measured the seam line for the insert (38"), I had the information I needed to draft the insert. It ended up being a half-circle, 76" wide, with a 38" radius.<br />
The problem was, my fabric was only 60" wide. No problem; I just cut the inserts on the crossgrain.<br />
Oops. Big problem. The fabric only had stretch on the crossgrain. So my inserts sagged terribly and just didn't hang right. Here's the first dress with the cross-grain insert.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD_Llg50LMHF-Dk8bVqIkQSO_nE_nahutJQiErF-WFtVnLYjxVZURkH9tjBiKmvYU6eLq_imgL_EVyG0xzu9hJQuG3LSntZtXGdujk_lSvirTpAUhqyu-npvpQVu3IlC-XycHn2hFbzTpa/s1600/FirstDress1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD_Llg50LMHF-Dk8bVqIkQSO_nE_nahutJQiErF-WFtVnLYjxVZURkH9tjBiKmvYU6eLq_imgL_EVyG0xzu9hJQuG3LSntZtXGdujk_lSvirTpAUhqyu-npvpQVu3IlC-XycHn2hFbzTpa/s640/FirstDress1.jpg" width="310" /></a></div>
This is prior to any finishing work, so the neck, cuffs and hem are raw. There was a lot of excess fabric in the inset; part of that is likely because, since the inset seam was curved, it was actually longer than the measurement from the top of the insert to the hem. But it was so saggy! It just didn't look right. That's when we figured out that the insets being on the crossgrain was causing the problem.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_qOSjyZJelWT3koZIhmvPwWWfu0F606-Vc6EKPAPOdHwuE_jNU85YAki3zAyPuNMZHEjneLpm-Md3l19xzNmW2WqCd-dXvFQi0GNb4Z1AfZOs2zuk8j0fum_nwP5luY3Crh8XawuWOs3A/s1600/FirstDress1A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_qOSjyZJelWT3koZIhmvPwWWfu0F606-Vc6EKPAPOdHwuE_jNU85YAki3zAyPuNMZHEjneLpm-Md3l19xzNmW2WqCd-dXvFQi0GNb4Z1AfZOs2zuk8j0fum_nwP5luY3Crh8XawuWOs3A/s640/FirstDress1A.jpg" width="496" /></a></div>
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Luckily, I had another piece of knit fabric in my stash, so I made a second dress, but this time I did the inserts as quarter-circles, with the vertical seam on the straight of grain, so it would hang better.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3O0T_DaxlsXJMmRUankGF-cJeUPtZyRhzMmdQ_P0QtX9UkAukAavkF9_U8mhIhdUyP0GzVvEcyaSFrdAoBdUlzhjiyq1u-yMIxt7lkl8txDp4ub7r8dMX-WzvF9TO1gN5CICgvkTMjoyf/s1600/SecondDress1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3O0T_DaxlsXJMmRUankGF-cJeUPtZyRhzMmdQ_P0QtX9UkAukAavkF9_U8mhIhdUyP0GzVvEcyaSFrdAoBdUlzhjiyq1u-yMIxt7lkl8txDp4ub7r8dMX-WzvF9TO1gN5CICgvkTMjoyf/s640/SecondDress1.jpg" width="570" /></a></div>
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Here's the second dress, with my daughter standing on my work table (so glad I built it like a tank!) so I could trim it without crawling around on the floor. The inset was still too long, but it hung so much better.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgedTGVIcJoK9yKS5O1o_A-rHDyBpqHk9dytV7tsfKVpArZi2Nzu4s6lS588A0rPL5rkX0aNs6_1DHNicMHz5QU2QDwTUExn-WvPSPks1vsdk3_-pLxKu_-y8Ziela9gRP5UKAjvk_HbaCC/s1600/SecondDress2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgedTGVIcJoK9yKS5O1o_A-rHDyBpqHk9dytV7tsfKVpArZi2Nzu4s6lS588A0rPL5rkX0aNs6_1DHNicMHz5QU2QDwTUExn-WvPSPks1vsdk3_-pLxKu_-y8Ziela9gRP5UKAjvk_HbaCC/s640/SecondDress2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
Trim, trim, trim. I cut it so that it was evenly 3" from the floor. Diana didn't want to risk tripping over the hem, so she asked for it to be shorter than the sample picture she sent.<br />
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The neckline, cuffs and hem were all finished by folding over 1/2" and coverstitching.<br />
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She was very happy with the second dress. But, she asked, is it possible to salvage the first one? So I removed the serged seam (God, how I hate doing that...), then cut the inserts in half and sewed them back together so the vertical seam was now on the straight of grain, and re-inserted them. The skirt was trimmed and hemmed the same as the last one, only for this one I scooped the back neck a bit more since she often likes that.<br />
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So here we have the two finished dresses. They look very similar in the pictures, but the first dress is really more of a teal color and the second is more of a true blue.<br />
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First dress:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQP_B6yZPOiZQGHhiRQpE8tE5OIqc46djE1uj9fky6sD8Uub_VgUHhGSTBPmgMaEYsTQnzsALAsKEff1dc8gd8aaTF8-pnhLcoNbsgsOD0-nGhZRxLwMuXuqhXXASyc4MWoT4PPP8BXwo/s1600/FirstDress2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQP_B6yZPOiZQGHhiRQpE8tE5OIqc46djE1uj9fky6sD8Uub_VgUHhGSTBPmgMaEYsTQnzsALAsKEff1dc8gd8aaTF8-pnhLcoNbsgsOD0-nGhZRxLwMuXuqhXXASyc4MWoT4PPP8BXwo/s640/FirstDress2.jpg" width="370" /></a></div>
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The two half-circle inserts mean it is a very full skirt!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuxRcwp3kSCUnZSwtFXJVv_vyokkXC9XPlhj5E9Fu6oUvPgHdhwBCRso7tdEUFNrmrOjE19ez8B9arDWHCf3XbrfRFNUyEotpOcffQ4P0ew8Wysb2Eiyv_cPmOIUU62PymvTIgav5TvGhI/s1600/FirstDress3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuxRcwp3kSCUnZSwtFXJVv_vyokkXC9XPlhj5E9Fu6oUvPgHdhwBCRso7tdEUFNrmrOjE19ez8B9arDWHCf3XbrfRFNUyEotpOcffQ4P0ew8Wysb2Eiyv_cPmOIUU62PymvTIgav5TvGhI/s640/FirstDress3.jpg" width="620" /></a></div>
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(And yes, the seams are a little puckered. This fabric was NOT fun to work with.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMm1ABKpljpXwSwYQz06kBQ7e_UBVAzsN6b3mMaDpVcdFqyd47ls5FQkpZx7DzJqvgY2WeJdMH6XFmY-9Gc9JdsNCnr64Mb6m3AO8OdR96l02jT0YUURVjYMHbnb4bQR0OAvUGKE0CYb4/s1600/FirstDress4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMm1ABKpljpXwSwYQz06kBQ7e_UBVAzsN6b3mMaDpVcdFqyd47ls5FQkpZx7DzJqvgY2WeJdMH6XFmY-9Gc9JdsNCnr64Mb6m3AO8OdR96l02jT0YUURVjYMHbnb4bQR0OAvUGKE0CYb4/s640/FirstDress4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Low scoop in back.<br />
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Here's the second dress:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPq4pbApbzNifZneRUavDHnsMJ6cOQFnn3-CdZUrfXTUUlyspzVDPcF6V658BkJ5OItDka1OLk-KdetPAuIKCPf72gXPZWDVIri4D-iVp3gbhFE2GiWSVSmBg8PY8oR1_L-etv8vmN6yF6/s1600/SecondDress4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPq4pbApbzNifZneRUavDHnsMJ6cOQFnn3-CdZUrfXTUUlyspzVDPcF6V658BkJ5OItDka1OLk-KdetPAuIKCPf72gXPZWDVIri4D-iVp3gbhFE2GiWSVSmBg8PY8oR1_L-etv8vmN6yF6/s640/SecondDress4.jpg" width="370" /></a></div>
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Holding out one of the inserts so you can see just how big it is:<br />
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The neckline on this one is a little higher in back.<br />
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It does have a nice twirl to it, too!<br />
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I'm now busy with a pair of work pants for me, which is quite necessary as my last RTW pair bit the dust. I'm just glad my sewing room has air conditioning!<br />
<br />Welmoed Sissonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16497763134207170293noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-46111066645600913152015-03-20T17:37:00.000-04:002015-03-20T17:59:00.289-04:00Costumes for Legally Blonde: The MusicalI've been pretty busy with costume work again, this time for our local high school performance of "Legally Blonde: The Musical." Because I apparently live under a rock, I was not familiar with the story at all. Why on earth would a movie about a ditzy lawyer need a bandleader outfit and a Playboy bunny suit? And why did they also need a cheerleader's outfit copied in shades of gray and white? And what's with needing a breakaway dress?<br />
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YouTube to the rescue! There was an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op1qiBUvobM" target="_blank">upload of an MTV broadcast</a> of the Broadway show, so I finally understood the context of the outfits. So I got to work.<br />
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I knew the most challenging piece was going to be the bunny suit. Ever try and find a pattern for a Playboy Bunny suit? I tried, I really did. The best I found was this <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Playboy-Bunny-Full-Costume/" target="_blank">Instructable</a>, which at least got me started. I used <a href="http://www.wildginger.com/" target="_blank">PatternMaster</a> to get the basic top fitted, but even they didn't offer a tightly-fitted princess seam bodysuit. I ended up doing a bit of a Frankenpattern routine, using a princess-seamed strapless top and adding the front and back by hand, drafting the leg curves and crotch pieces. I knew what her crotch measurement was, so I used that as a basic guide to get the length right. In looking at pictures of the traditional Playboy Bunnies, I saw that the peak of the leg curve was in the front of the leg, rather than over the hip, so I had to figure out where that fell as well.<br />
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The first muslin wasn't too bad; I pinned out the extras and sliced where it was too tight, then did a second muslin in the final fabric, which looked worse.<br />
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I was despairing of ever getting it right, but fortunately the third time was the charm. We used a scrap piece of rabbit fur for the tail, and I also made cuffs, a collar, and bunny ears (thanks to that Instructable!).<br />
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<h4>
On to the Bandleader outfit!</h4>
The prime concern about this one is that it was a double quick-change. The actress had very little time to get into it, and to get out of it. So I decided to make the top and the jacket into one piece, zipped up the front. The slinky gold shorts were worn under the previous costume, so that wasn't too much of an issue. In the end, it came together pretty quickly.<br />
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The costume director also wanted me to decorate the hat they had for her, with the proviso that I not damage it, which meant not gluing or sewing anything directly to the hat. The hat was a very deep blue, so it had to be completely covered. My solution was to make sort of a "slipcover" for the hat, and gluing decorations to that. The tassel and button are actually part of the original hat; I just cut a slit into my cover and pulled them out. The front ornament is also part of the original hat.<br />
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<h4>
Now, about that cheerleader...</h4>
The director handed me this cheerleader dress and said she needed a copy in shades of white and gray for the same actress.<br />
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I traced the dress rather than try to create a pattern, and got a pretty decent fit the first time. The contrast stripes were simply topstitched onto the bodice; I knew the costume would only be on stage for a few minutes, so I applied my "30 foot rule" and didn't bother with edge finishes. It was knit fabric, after all, so it wouldn't fray. I didn't even hem the skirt.<br />
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<h4>
Breaking Away</h4>
In one of the earliest scenes of the show, the main character walks onstage in a flimsy white dress and moans that it just screams "bride".<br />
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She is then surrounded by a circle of her friends and two seconds later emerges from the scrum in a vivid pink number!<br />
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How did she do the change so fast?<br />
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Snap tape to the rescue! I just opened up the entire back seam and sewed in about three feet of snap tape. It's pretty much undetectable, even from just a few feet away, and once the actress is within the circle of girls, the one in back simply yanks the entire back seam open and pulls the dress off in one smooth motion, revealing the pink dress underneath. It's a great stage moment!<br />
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Closing night is Saturday the 21st, and I'm looking forward to being in the audience. I always have fun making costumes for this group, even though my kids have long since graduated from the school. I'm also happy that my daughter has become adept at hand sewing and on-the-spot alterations backstage; for this show she is serving as the main character's dresser backstage. I'm so proud of her!<br />
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Note: All production photos taken by <a href="http://elader.smugmug.com/Live-Performances/NWHS-Theater-Past-Performances/Legally-Blond/" target="_blank">Eric Lader</a>.<br />
<br />Welmoed Sissonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16497763134207170293noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-21663014051653374742015-03-18T10:33:00.002-04:002015-03-18T10:33:40.254-04:00Everyone needs their own MinionA sewing group I belong to does an annual gift exchange at the February meeting, and this year I stumbled across <a href="http://ladyjoyceley.tumblr.com/minion-pattern" target="_blank">Lady Joyceley's</a> pattern and instructions for making a Minion pincushion. In case you're not familiar with Minions, they are the adorable little yellow sidekicks from the "Despicable Me" movie franchise.<br />
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Here's my completed pincushion:<br />
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It came out pretty well, but I did do things somewhat differently than the instructions said. There was also a LOT more hand-sewing involved than I had realized, and some of the instructions weren't terribly clear (like for the legs). The instructions said to embroider the mouth, but I cut a sliver of black felt and glued it on instead.<br />
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Another view:<br />
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The feet came out kind of wonky, but the recipient still loved it. While I'd love to make one for myself, it will have to wait until I have enough free time (hah!) to do it justice.Welmoed Sissonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16497763134207170293noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-73432175381516312192015-02-20T17:28:00.000-05:002015-02-20T17:28:13.656-05:00What the well-dressed knight is wearingYou may be familiar with Reddit, the online forum that has something for everyone (really! Check out their<a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/sewing/" target="_blank"> sewing</a> subreddit, or the one for<a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/knitting/" target="_blank"> knitting</a>, or the one for <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/sushi/" target="_blank">sushi</a>, or the one for <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/potatosalad/" target="_blank">potato salad</a>... you get the idea!). One of the subreddits is called <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/secretsanta/" target="_blank">Secret Santa</a>, and they organize gift exchanges throughout the year. You sign up for an exchange and are given a name and address to send a gift to. All the exchanges have themes, and one of the recent ones had a Medieval theme.<br />
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I was stumped as to what to do for my giftee, until my daughter pointed me at an online picture of a hoodie that looked like a suit of armor. Perfect!! But, of course, there's no pattern for it. Which, or course, has never stopped me before. I drafted the base pattern with <a href="http://www.wildginger.com/" target="_blank">PatternMaster Tailor Made</a> and kind of winged the remaining pieces.<br />
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It took a little trial and error, but overall I'm pleased with the final result, which was sent out this afternoon and should reach its recipient early next week. Can't wait to hear what he thinks of it; I hope he likes it.<br />
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I asked my daughter's fiance to help model it as he is about the same size as my giftee, so I was able to get some pictures prior to packing it up.<br />
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Front view:<br />
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Alex just happens to have a sword he could pose with.<br />
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Back view:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihaVS5UG_AnL-trcja7DzgGu4DfQuPMuyNYyJIm8pDa4wS51TtK0uskC3oC_m1gJrr5c6XhKO0DxkSRo3DyqnZzzqbnLXKZ0Jiz4hmsFbEzgAlTKcbkbzL1bEyqZK0X1C49lep6GmMtqsn/s1600/armor2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihaVS5UG_AnL-trcja7DzgGu4DfQuPMuyNYyJIm8pDa4wS51TtK0uskC3oC_m1gJrr5c6XhKO0DxkSRo3DyqnZzzqbnLXKZ0Jiz4hmsFbEzgAlTKcbkbzL1bEyqZK0X1C49lep6GmMtqsn/s1600/armor2.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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And a close-up of the hood:<br />
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The helmet parts do swing up and down, and can also be removed.<br />
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Everything is made of fleece. The add-on parts are two layers, and some of them (like the helmet face pieces) have a layer of Pellon Decor Bond in them to provide stiffness. The black "grill" on the face piece was done with strips of heat-transfer vinyl, cut with the Silhouette Cameo.<br />
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Alex has now requested one for himself, and as soon as my son Ian saw it, he said he wants one too. They really weren't too difficult to make, and now that I've made one I have some ideas on how to improve it.Welmoed Sissonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16497763134207170293noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-4820978315172371212015-02-16T10:44:00.000-05:002015-02-16T10:44:05.997-05:00The Snuglet is back!When I migrated our family website to a new platform, one of the things that didn't make it across was my popular Snuglet pattern. I've had a few requests to make it available again, so here it is!<br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7WBgq2frtaNX1hxazlia0k2RG8/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpSfkKxhKb93HD3NsnmjCngMlgWJ1m1zguyFSombPS0X_mz0B-iXJNxai7MfxKZiR7YOQHk1zWwOByixZfamfeKXL7Iz1eh4WrFYJhtZaFHBp8NZtWB8WOMzl8J-Blmvfqv3OHceA2K4L8/s1600/TheSnuglet.jpg" height="200" width="154" /></a></div>
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Just <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7WBgq2frtaNX1hxazlia0k2RG8/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">click here</a> to download the PDF. My only request is that you ask permission before using the pattern for a class or guild meeting.<br />
Enjoy!Welmoed Sissonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16497763134207170293noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-46025013419684292802015-01-02T17:30:00.003-05:002015-01-02T17:30:50.250-05:00First sewing for 2015!Not to skirt the issue, but... I need skirts.<br />
<br />
I did a pretty thorough evaluation of my wardrobe a few weeks ago, and found that the biggest gap was in skirts. Lately I've fallen into a fashion rut, where my go-to outfit is a pair of jeans and a knit top. Safe, but boring. My resolution for 2015 is to break out of this pattern and start injecting some variety into my closet.<br />
All last year I participated in two online challenges: the Make a Garment a Month challenge (which I failed at... I think I only sewed about five things for myself all year) and the Ready-To-Wear Fast (which I aced... Didn't buy a single item of RTW all year, much to my shock!).<br />
But this doesn't mean I can now go on a shopping spree; both challenges have been extended into the new year, so if I want some new clothes, I'll have to make them.<br />
So, I dug into my stash and produced a lovely piece of gray wool (source unknown; probably got it from a swap at a sewing retreat) and a piece of shocking pink silk to use as lining. The pattern was drafted with <a href="http://www.wildginger.com/" target="_blank">PatternMaster Boutique</a> (as usual). Assembly was pretty straightforward; the outer wool pieces were edge-finished with the serger prior to construction, then everything was just stitched together. The lining pieces were serged.<br />
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<h3>
The finished skirt!</h3>
Front view:<br />
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I'm standing kind of wonky, I realize... But really, the hem IS level.<br />
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Back view:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj-QzOfmPJbZs3gEKRpTSYJVY-50KGdlde8_MYJe8G6RgpPqvrzmy56txWHadJWCGqqlhExLy_iY2QzVBi3spNAD7C7cnOk5dLSggkBtmQcunk4heBwZ79rYSeIw1DPW4vq2E-3PzIJ0if/s1600/WoolSkirt3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj-QzOfmPJbZs3gEKRpTSYJVY-50KGdlde8_MYJe8G6RgpPqvrzmy56txWHadJWCGqqlhExLy_iY2QzVBi3spNAD7C7cnOk5dLSggkBtmQcunk4heBwZ79rYSeIw1DPW4vq2E-3PzIJ0if/s1600/WoolSkirt3.JPG" height="640" width="384" /></a></div>
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Pockets!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq1TciX8WreU3wYsSui-axrwjSF-UB9kaev66_4MSQjZQRJR37yaomYQhV5LoMy1HGFz54y1N0LzD_N2w5z2WNzt_nNMhX9ZOWrWZnHRWmhUVbrzg-pUjlduGXySlopKNoY6qXdWGfIYWj/s1600/WoolSkirt2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq1TciX8WreU3wYsSui-axrwjSF-UB9kaev66_4MSQjZQRJR37yaomYQhV5LoMy1HGFz54y1N0LzD_N2w5z2WNzt_nNMhX9ZOWrWZnHRWmhUVbrzg-pUjlduGXySlopKNoY6qXdWGfIYWj/s1600/WoolSkirt2.JPG" height="640" width="350" /></a></div>
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A peek at the lining!<br />
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The lining isn't attached to the outer fabric; it hangs free.<br />
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I'm very happy with how the hem came out.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi88sbksr38lQ_A6vqIgK1F1vJc0Ew0R8Z1dd73tIc6Ae6RqoqGMxjsS6jRmTh2umZByhz8U9SRwSRaJ4xS-u-ioLcQm6H9Q2jjDR1isytxuyct_1H9T1d0p5cH8d0AKmEsbXfrO6ANwnrm/s1600/WoolSkirt5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi88sbksr38lQ_A6vqIgK1F1vJc0Ew0R8Z1dd73tIc6Ae6RqoqGMxjsS6jRmTh2umZByhz8U9SRwSRaJ4xS-u-ioLcQm6H9Q2jjDR1isytxuyct_1H9T1d0p5cH8d0AKmEsbXfrO6ANwnrm/s1600/WoolSkirt5.JPG" height="586" width="640" /></a></div>
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Because of the curve of the hem, I elected to use a facing rather than trying to turn the fabric up. I stitched the hem tape to the top edge of the facing prior to attaching it. I then fused a strip of medium Pro-Weft interfacing to the outer fabric, and hand-stitched the hem, being careful not to go all the way through the outer fabric. This was a BIG hem... about ten feet around. It took me two full episodes of "Mission: Impossible" on Netflix to get it done.<br />
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<h3>
A Skirt for Diana, Too</h3>
After much trepidation, I cut into the camel hair wool I bought ages ago to make a skirt for Diana. And once again, I was reminded that I really do know how to sew, and that sewing fine fabrics is actually a lot easier to sew with than crappy stuff.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfBcwDRqM_GhTnvigsTJsxos-eT9_BVWAgMVcAuVFZ9kCWo6DPU9J9vOon30I-FUIUKJTYryQ3eoUuXOkkeA3OY-eyMP0PcjQxRqeecLwIFoEiGbSvg4hnBMI_nE-nqVNhYiz92GX-dCm8/s1600/DianaWoolSkirt1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfBcwDRqM_GhTnvigsTJsxos-eT9_BVWAgMVcAuVFZ9kCWo6DPU9J9vOon30I-FUIUKJTYryQ3eoUuXOkkeA3OY-eyMP0PcjQxRqeecLwIFoEiGbSvg4hnBMI_nE-nqVNhYiz92GX-dCm8/s1600/DianaWoolSkirt1.jpg" height="640" width="398" /></a></div>
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It's the same draft as for my own skirt.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLOKnZGgc1iwZhYLoPNaxhGiSPup5gxRBrDXKm_o5RhAOgaSeO_-3U12kGpildYf0y5EwW-uvKW-y1a9-zGn_mB_AMOuzTLg8ueAY3refDigCk02PHuFscrI9lNqlb5Ufrggdn2co4cby/s1600/DianaWoolSkirt2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLOKnZGgc1iwZhYLoPNaxhGiSPup5gxRBrDXKm_o5RhAOgaSeO_-3U12kGpildYf0y5EwW-uvKW-y1a9-zGn_mB_AMOuzTLg8ueAY3refDigCk02PHuFscrI9lNqlb5Ufrggdn2co4cby/s1600/DianaWoolSkirt2.jpg" height="640" width="444" /></a></div>
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It's a big hem sweep.<br />
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The lining was from Chanel; I got it at A Fabric Place in Baltimore.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJP_XiJJod63HXDqQgMfSH6mQX89a-t419ObUXXvui61zzb-cRBI5hmZb7-zxkfxPURZBT_bCF-nhQtj9-M7QTSMzVVTlFG1WiC-lbFm2vgNGkbwqT3PJhHdiaU2LC4WcwiwIbRxGQBR6/s1600/DianaWoolSkirt3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJP_XiJJod63HXDqQgMfSH6mQX89a-t419ObUXXvui61zzb-cRBI5hmZb7-zxkfxPURZBT_bCF-nhQtj9-M7QTSMzVVTlFG1WiC-lbFm2vgNGkbwqT3PJhHdiaU2LC4WcwiwIbRxGQBR6/s1600/DianaWoolSkirt3.jpg" height="640" width="564" /></a></div>
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She's already worn it to work twice (I finished hers last week).<br />
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The nice thing about this skirt draft is that I can use it with a bodice pattern to make a dress, too.<br />
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Here's to more sewing for me in 2015! Happy new year!Welmoed Sissonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16497763134207170293noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-69157232953868505182014-11-22T09:56:00.000-05:002014-11-22T09:56:13.212-05:00My worst nightmare...with a happy endingMy next-door neighbor had a baby this summer, and the baptism is this Sunday. I had made a<a href="http://thereshesews.blogspot.com/2010/06/making-baptism-blanket-acetate-should.html" target="_blank"> baptism blanket for her first child</a> five years ago, and was planning on making one for this baby as well. Then her mother contacted me and asked if I would be interested in using the train from her wedding dress to make the blanket. Of course! So she sent it up to me and I started planning what to do with it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisNGvI2O0iTzOs54ZHlO2DLRXj9kGFc4bNEWuh3VmVPd3UY1ZfS9sHyXRGBixJ8EiaY-RC1HGJu0J1KVIsAr6taZ2B0oDX3mhd1z6vTp_WX6HjluYSi0yzE_HAi870CBq1rWwHZo8ep0Q8/s1600/UncutTrain.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisNGvI2O0iTzOs54ZHlO2DLRXj9kGFc4bNEWuh3VmVPd3UY1ZfS9sHyXRGBixJ8EiaY-RC1HGJu0J1KVIsAr6taZ2B0oDX3mhd1z6vTp_WX6HjluYSi0yzE_HAi870CBq1rWwHZo8ep0Q8/s1600/UncutTrain.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<h4>
Paralysis sets in</h4>
I was so incredibly nervous about even starting the project. This was really one of those times when it absolutely must be right the first time, as once that material was cut, there was no going back. So I spent a LOT of time fretting and planning and thinking, until finally I just had to make a decision and do it because the event was coming up. So last week I took a deep breath and started to take the train apart.<br />
First I removed all the lace from the hem, then looked at the placement of the lace appliques on the main section and based the size of the blanket to incorporate them. Then I cut into the train for the basic blanket shape.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUMhgUUj6ZguDqJLho_ODwuIJY1X1DMsTc-NqH7ezAqCO27ifFJ4oRrBmoYm1pc4v2YW-E9dAyKylSymm7-8e3daAeGpijhYQSgjMgAuWJTEipOcMCNPhMgcJbkd-rQCNV-PoWYups8XCo/s1600/TrainCut.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUMhgUUj6ZguDqJLho_ODwuIJY1X1DMsTc-NqH7ezAqCO27ifFJ4oRrBmoYm1pc4v2YW-E9dAyKylSymm7-8e3daAeGpijhYQSgjMgAuWJTEipOcMCNPhMgcJbkd-rQCNV-PoWYups8XCo/s1600/TrainCut.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<h4>
Embroidery</h4>
The baby's name, birthdate and baptism date would be embroidered onto the blanket. This was another nerve-wracking moment, since it had to be right. I confirmed the name and dates with the grandmother (couldn't ask mom, since the blanket was to be a surprise), and digitized everything with Embird. Then I carefully hooped the fabric and watched over my machine like a hawk to make sure nothing went wrong. Fortunately, my machine agreed to behave!<br />
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<h4>
Finishing</h4>
I had initially planned on using a pale blue blanket binding, but realized that wouldn't work with the rounded corners I had cut. So instead, I used the remaining pieces of the train to cut out strips and turn them into a ruffled edge. I cut the strips 5" wide, to give me a 2" finished ruffle. However, wouldn't you know it, I couldn't for the life of me get it to feed properly through my ruffling foot. Arrgh! Rather than spend a lot of time arguing with getting that foot to work, I figured it was time to learn how to ruffle by hand. And you know what? It was actually a LOT easier than I thought it would be. I got into a rhythm of folding and stitching, and the end result was surprisingly even.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJPHli2LNqkvZj5zxT8ETKsgVRUZXKGSgbOJ-9TVsSwO57DCfWwgDnxDRBNK0fi6y2DU6wUELFibfcReMtRGtm4431QPDqj9bGcmdqaVbvH-7EKZ5CyCaG0zoOOg0BoGhC-WvrZmy1G_g/s1600/RyanBlanket9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJPHli2LNqkvZj5zxT8ETKsgVRUZXKGSgbOJ-9TVsSwO57DCfWwgDnxDRBNK0fi6y2DU6wUELFibfcReMtRGtm4431QPDqj9bGcmdqaVbvH-7EKZ5CyCaG0zoOOg0BoGhC-WvrZmy1G_g/s1600/RyanBlanket9.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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The backing is a very soft Minky-type fleece, which meant it had stretch. To prevent it from getting baggy, I fused a knit interfacing to the back, which made it very stable and didn't affect the softness at all. I stitched the ruffle to the front, sewed the sides right-sides-together, turned it, then edgestitched to keep the ruffles nice and flat. The embroidered label was stitched on by hand.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjos4E4I0EtSQvts6lhWsike2e4CrBbhw-7jnGXhTnL9jsxZgPf-D4dh_HKQBLZ9W51VGx8PQUDChGCx7h5r8iWlDHBPvJhEG7rApfwzMCDbbg5yZLRHUZGO6FUb4kkQLUOW8GbYxiYatPX/s1600/RyanBlanket10a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjos4E4I0EtSQvts6lhWsike2e4CrBbhw-7jnGXhTnL9jsxZgPf-D4dh_HKQBLZ9W51VGx8PQUDChGCx7h5r8iWlDHBPvJhEG7rApfwzMCDbbg5yZLRHUZGO6FUb4kkQLUOW8GbYxiYatPX/s1600/RyanBlanket10a.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<br />
Here's a close-up of the label.<br />
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(I've blurred out some of the embroidered stuff for privacy reasons)<br />
<h4>
Disaster Strikes</h4>
I gave the blanket to the parents Friday evening, and they loved it. But about half an hour later I got a text from the mom... "I hate to say this, but the middle name is wrong." Oh no!!! Somewhere the wires got crossed in the communications with her mother. She asked if there was any way I could fix it, and I said I would do my best.<br />
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<h4>
The Repair</h4>
Thank goodness for <a href="http://www.peggysstitcheraser.com/products.html" target="_blank">Peggy's Stitch Eraser</a>! I've only had to use it a few times, but it's been a lifesaver. I unpicked the bottom edge of the blanket so I could get at the back of the embroidery, and started carefully shaving the bobbin threads. Working front and back, with tweezers and a very sharp surgical blade, I got the middle name stitching removed in a little more than half an hour. I then brushed and steamed the fabric to smooth it and even out the needle holes so they wouldn't be too noticeable.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS05irYGS5Cwr15ey1LVBiF1yojJXkzmN5IL6q5Kl_7ESmiJcZXcuWYs2IhFycaoLEh5zCHh9Al2JnP34DD_4aCSCL4p-Q7nIZeMe6oyxMCpd1sEoRLFxnw481rJEjYXBo2NEAshx9UYfp/s1600/RyanBlanket6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS05irYGS5Cwr15ey1LVBiF1yojJXkzmN5IL6q5Kl_7ESmiJcZXcuWYs2IhFycaoLEh5zCHh9Al2JnP34DD_4aCSCL4p-Q7nIZeMe6oyxMCpd1sEoRLFxnw481rJEjYXBo2NEAshx9UYfp/s1600/RyanBlanket6.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<h4>
Restitching the Name</h4>
I corrected the name on the embroidery file, and very, very carefully rehooped the name area (being very careful to keep the rest of the bulk of the blanket out of the way of the hoop!) and fine-tuned the needle position, then took another deep breath and hit "start".<br />
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And it worked out just fine! Once the embroidery was done, it only took a few minutes to re-sew the edge of the blanket, turn it, and topstitch the area I had taken out.<br />
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I was amazed that there is hardly any indication that an error was made at all; you can barely see the original stitching and I'm sure that will even itself out when the blanket is cleaned for the first time.<br />
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Here's the finished, corrected blanket!<br />
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<br />Welmoed Sissonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16497763134207170293noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-18418149536706968772014-10-19T21:10:00.001-04:002014-10-19T21:10:29.375-04:00A new dress for the colder monthsGreetings! It's been nearly two months since my last post (why does this feel like a confession?). It's not that I haven't wanted to sew; it's just that other aspects of my life (house, job, family) have eaten into my sewing time and kept me from sequestering myself in my sewing room to actually complete a project.<br />
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But I did finish a project this morning!! A few days ago, <a href="http://www.wildginger.com/" target="_blank">Wild Ginger</a> released the new version of their wonderful pattern drafting software packages. I immediately upgraded my PatternMaster Boutique, and will upgrade the remaining programs as finances allow.<br />
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In the meantime, I decided I had to make a dress with the new version to test it out.<br />
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First of all, the Upgrade Wizard in the new Version 6 makes importing my existing patterns and charts a breeze! With one click, everything migrated automatically, so I had all my old charts and saved patterns all ready to go.<br />
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Since I realized a few days ago that I don't have any cool-weather dresses in my current wardrobe, I would make a corduroy shirtwaist dress using my favorite draft: the kimono bodice. This style has the sleeves and bodice in a single piece, so there is no armscye seam. I call this style my "Peterman Dress" as it is a copy of a <a href="http://www.jpeterman.com/Womens-Dresses/1940s-Cord-Dress" target="_blank">dress I got from the J. Peterman catalog</a> ten or so years ago.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3R0aPaytooavgzCu5vsuPjnspDwD0lhw4KOLWCqYY4lnf6L0EpKUczfQj6krX1ICxdxt4hI0JchS5Z1ph9t_Wa_JggzyZwGk73cSaPgFH-UkbbOWAHE8y3p7kT2-D5iIbmnckIb35RPz/s1600/KimonoPatterns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3R0aPaytooavgzCu5vsuPjnspDwD0lhw4KOLWCqYY4lnf6L0EpKUczfQj6krX1ICxdxt4hI0JchS5Z1ph9t_Wa_JggzyZwGk73cSaPgFH-UkbbOWAHE8y3p7kT2-D5iIbmnckIb35RPz/s1600/KimonoPatterns.jpg" height="377" width="400" /></a></div>
This is what the pattern pieces look like. The dress has a shawl collar, standout cuffs, and a gored skirt. The closure is a single-breasted button front.<br />
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See that diamond-shaped piece? That's the underarm gusset. This draft is called the Square Kimono, and in order to be able to lift your arm higher than horizontal, you need a little extra fabric. The underarm is slashed along the line, and the gusset piece inserted. It's really amazing how well this design works!!<br />
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Front view of the dress:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0Hl8EOlrBmcUFBX9k1Pbxot49nkmCNZ-EAyjL4deky1JTljp_5EvygwDFNyzLVd0Ju_Mbya5bqD868FuesZAO2dKRrdnH2NKQjd-DR5EUqY1EqW5rzmD4hjzdfl92NOdgJl1f5Qm4ygB/s1600/GreenDress1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0Hl8EOlrBmcUFBX9k1Pbxot49nkmCNZ-EAyjL4deky1JTljp_5EvygwDFNyzLVd0Ju_Mbya5bqD868FuesZAO2dKRrdnH2NKQjd-DR5EUqY1EqW5rzmD4hjzdfl92NOdgJl1f5Qm4ygB/s1600/GreenDress1.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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I'm going to make a self-fabric belt for it eventually, but for now this purchased leather belt would have to do. The dress is actually just a bit too loose; I didn't check my circumferences prior to drafting the pattern (shame on me!) so it's possible they have changed a little. However, it's very comfy!<br />
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Back view:<br />
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The bodice has four small darts at the waist. I'm not really sure where the bust darts get rotated to on this draft; will have to investigate that. So there are a few more wrinkles in the kimono draft than I would like, but it's still a very nice style.<br />
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Here's a close-up shot of the gusset:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZeC8GNksc6wWGOatWQYr78bJiXi4tkkBVaj77BuUmBJ58db3LZ0n1M39Vu6SpEY_ItpQCvUjF6KcaK-XmaMDbN60iiiHmQAPmwV55NVqY9xVJnpipf2Rqh6g_r3TeLIh3Uz3mYVnQ6aO6/s1600/GreenDress6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZeC8GNksc6wWGOatWQYr78bJiXi4tkkBVaj77BuUmBJ58db3LZ0n1M39Vu6SpEY_ItpQCvUjF6KcaK-XmaMDbN60iiiHmQAPmwV55NVqY9xVJnpipf2Rqh6g_r3TeLIh3Uz3mYVnQ6aO6/s1600/GreenDress6.jpg" height="640" width="412" /></a></div>
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To insert the gusset, I sewed the underarm and side seams but left the overarm/shoulder seam open. Then I matched the gusset to the two seam lines and pinned them in place. Sewing them was a challenge, but I'm happy with how they came out. I honestly don't think I've ever done gussets before.<br />
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The collar lays nice and flat; I will attribute that to the small darts in the undercollar:<br />
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Kind of hard to see in this picture, but there's a long, narrow dart right on the fold line of the undercollar, which pretty much forces the collar to lay flat where it's supposed to. Shawl collars are a bit of a challenge to sew, but I love the results.<br />
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Oh, and see that headband? That was a last-minute project to wear to my PMB Users Group meeting today. My hair's been getting long enough to get into my eyes all the time, so I'm going to make some hair bands to help keep it under control (I'm growing it out for a while). I plan to make matching headbands for every outfit I make! It's basically two layers of the corduroy, about 2" finished width tapering to 1" at the ends, 16" long, sewn together on the long edges and turned, and a piece of elastic inserted into the ends to hold it snug.Took about 15 minutes to make... but ten of those minutes were spent searching for my stupid Fasturn tube set so I could turn the thing right side out!!<br />
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Of course, I put pockets in the dress. Can't have anything without pockets anymore.<br />
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I love this draft, and plan on making a few more of these dresses to get me through the colder months. I might try a version out of a heavy flannel. Depends upon what strikes my fancy at the fabric store.Welmoed Sissonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16497763134207170293noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-64677795039622426502014-08-29T13:39:00.001-04:002014-08-29T13:39:44.546-04:00Demonic sewingAs part of an online gift exchange, I wanted to make something for an H.P. Lovecraft fan. What better than their own personal Cthulhu?<br />
To my surprise, I actually found a <a href="http://cholyknight.com/2014/02/21/cthulhu-plush/" target="_blank">free pattern</a> for it! It was quite easy to put together, and I'm planning on making several more for my Lovecraft-loving friends.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlo5R-2zHBccPs-VrySagZWVMh-Y1rAwXkgs7s0558an6H2DltalQ2DECKcgdf7f4pFDscM_8i0J-YyoF724TIWozwP59K7ky1bko3PSm69_K04Lgmkkt6HM0f0oNs040ivzu-Fcm7ggmr/s1600/Cthulhu1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlo5R-2zHBccPs-VrySagZWVMh-Y1rAwXkgs7s0558an6H2DltalQ2DECKcgdf7f4pFDscM_8i0J-YyoF724TIWozwP59K7ky1bko3PSm69_K04Lgmkkt6HM0f0oNs040ivzu-Fcm7ggmr/s1600/Cthulhu1.jpg" height="319" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'm not sure the front tentacles benefit from having a little stuffing in them, but oh well.<br />
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Here's the back view:<br />
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A cute and fuzzy little demon... How dangerous could that be?<br />
<br />Welmoed Sissonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16497763134207170293noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-59340726021357672872014-08-11T17:58:00.000-04:002014-08-11T17:58:14.108-04:00Otakon 2014: More costumesOnce Ian's costume was ready to go, it was obvious that he would need a handler. His vision was limited to the two small circles of scrim right in front of his eyes. He couldn't bend over to see his feet, or even to see where a handrail was. The Baltimore Convention Center has a lot of escalators and stairs, and even if we had gotten a special pass to use the elevators, the costume wouldn't have fit. As it was, Ian had to do a lot of ducking down to get through doors.<br />
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So I would have to be his handler. The question then became, Do I make a costume for myself, or just be a handler? I decided it would be fun to be in costume as well, but it had to be something that fit with the Looney Tunes world that Gossamer was in. After some thought, I decided on dressing as Granny.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhJkcA1L9zs5feRnsgfi6W6BJlbW74DqZzodpDovHOzAQg0Oq-wsTNy_i1pzx8gPq9UoHxdpYgeHUp5Pptme6jQ1BQQY4NJWaUNPM1YV71AA0NvjobNDpo0vM2LwsR1495MotVL91Cb-O/s1600/Grannypic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhJkcA1L9zs5feRnsgfi6W6BJlbW74DqZzodpDovHOzAQg0Oq-wsTNy_i1pzx8gPq9UoHxdpYgeHUp5Pptme6jQ1BQQY4NJWaUNPM1YV71AA0NvjobNDpo0vM2LwsR1495MotVL91Cb-O/s1600/Grannypic.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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Pretty simple: a white blouse, purple skirt, and grey wig. And indeed, it was pretty quick to put together. The key was finding the accessories: I would need a Tweety bird and a Sylvester.<br />
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Fortunately, I had a Sylvester doll that I inherited from my mother (Sylvester was her favorite character). A friend provided me with a small Tweety figurine that was perfectly in scale with Sylvester, and I rounded it out with a small cage purchased at a craft store.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg63_i3MalJY0L1u9EIVPfeCCA8DCswvu4ioKH0SRJz2Gr4KcjMlyCFQVGBRRPA-PwaSGk2iqhAeLTrvYkgUkXt0w9rv4mSBZ9eaTK0hpwFmtCQyCV5r3pAsIjpkXnDEjLOMC8zNJKioNea/s1600/Granny1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg63_i3MalJY0L1u9EIVPfeCCA8DCswvu4ioKH0SRJz2Gr4KcjMlyCFQVGBRRPA-PwaSGk2iqhAeLTrvYkgUkXt0w9rv4mSBZ9eaTK0hpwFmtCQyCV5r3pAsIjpkXnDEjLOMC8zNJKioNea/s1600/Granny1.jpg" height="640" width="424" /></a></div>
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I'll be honest: I really thought nobody would recognize the character. But I was wrong! I got a lot of people shrieking "Granny!" and taking my picture. And they even recognized the character before they saw Tweety and Sylvester! I was very happy, especially because it was a very comfortable costume. I was able to help Ian get around, guiding his hand onto escalator handrails and making sure he wasn't about to walk into anything.<br />
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To give you an idea of the scale of Ian's costume, here's a picture of the two of us together.<br />
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<h3>
Diana's Costume</h3>
This year, Diana decided she wanted to create her own character. She discovered she has a knack for fixing costume issues, so she created her own superhero: Cosplay Rescue!<br />
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The basis for the costume was this sketch:<br />
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She designed the logo herself, and I cut it out of heat-set vinyl (using my Silhouette Cameo). She made the "needle" out of wood. I made the red top with the attached cape, plus the "utility belt." The belt was stocked with all sorts of repair supplies: glue, tape, pins, thread, bobby pins... She had a veritable hardware store in there. And during the convention, she repaired more than a dozen costumes!<br />
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Here she is in action, fixing a cosplayer's wig that had started to slide off.<br />
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It was so funny to have people come up to her during the day and ask, very tentatively, "Are you really doing Cosplay Rescue?" She would then manage to pull out just what they needed to fix their costumes.<br />
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Doing the Cosplay Rescue was so much fun for her that she and I are planning on doing it in an official capacity at next year's Otakon! So I'll be making my own shirt and cape next year, and will be helping her.<br />
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By the way, did you notice the button earrings and the thread spool bracelets? Those were such fun finishing touches!<br />
<br />Welmoed Sissonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16497763134207170293noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-38567154399661598542014-08-09T21:02:00.000-04:002014-08-09T21:02:06.454-04:00Otakon 2014: How to Build a Monster"I want to be Gossamer."<br />
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My son Ian's favorite cartoon character has always been Gossamer, the big orange furry monster from Looney Tunes.<br />
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So when he told me that's what he wanted to cosplay for Otakon 2014, I was a bit taken aback. That's not an intimidating request at all. Nope.<br />
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I mean, it's not like McCalls makes a pattern for it, right? So I was totally on my own.<br />
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I did a lot of planning and strategizing for the costume. It would be heavy; how would it be supported? How would he see out? How would he get in and out of it?<br />
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After much thought, I figured that using backpack frames would be best for the supportive structure. One backpack wasn't tall enough, so I used two frames fastened together.<br />
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Now that I knew how tall the frame was, I could think about how to support the "head," and how tall it would ultimately be. I used a piece of thick rigid foam insulation to make a sort of "platform" that was fastened to the top of the frame, and on that I attached two rough "pillows" to form the twin lumps of his head. Once I had those shapes roughed out, I laid the whole assembly on the floor on a piece of drapery lining (as muslin) and drew a rough outline around the frame that looked to be the right shape for the monster. I then sewed it up and Ian tried it on.<br />
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Okay, not bad for a first try. The legs were too skinny and the arms weren't the right shape, but the basic idea was there. As to how he would get it on and off, there were zippers in the inseams. You can just see them in this picture, as well as the insulation board and the two cushions. You can also see where his eyes were, which was important as I would need to be able to position the monster's eyes in the correct position so he would have at least a bit of vision. You can also get an idea of the scale of the monster, as Ian is over six feet tall himself, so the monster was over seven feet tall.<br />
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I don't have any pictures of the construction process, as I was too busy trying to get it done on time. But here's the final costume, as photographed at Otakon:<br />
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The response to the costume was so gratifying!! He was photographed at almost every step.<br />
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One last technical note: The eyes were made of thin craft foam, glued into place (after the fur had been shaved away). The pupils were black scrim, so he could see out. The hands were made of work gloves stuffed with polyfil and glued into place. There were slits in the wrists so he could get his real hand out to hold onto railings. The nails were made of Fimo and glued onto the gloves.<br />
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The only drawback of the costume was that it was terribly hot inside it. Even though Ian had a battery powered fan and a cooling neck wrap, he could only endure wearing the costume for about twenty minutes, and would then need a ten minute break to cool off. In the end, he was only able to wear it for a few hours on Friday morning, after which he was simply too overheated to want to wear it any more. Still, he was very happy with the reception it got, and so was I!Welmoed Sissonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16497763134207170293noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-72235051179211494422014-06-02T09:24:00.001-04:002014-06-02T09:24:36.043-04:00Smithson 2014: Another Gala, Another Gown!After a few intense days of trying to carve out sewing time in between home inspection work, the gown, vest, tie and handbag were all done with some time to spare, and we had another magical gala evening.<br />
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So here's how we looked as we headed out the door.<br />
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Here is the front of the dress.<br />
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You can just barely see the black velvet binding around the neckline and armholes. The hem was also bound with black velvet.<br />
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I was amazed at how comfortable the dress was. I inserted an Ambiance lining, which really helped glide it on (there was no closure). And yes, I wore a pretty heavy-duty smoother to even out the lumps!<br />
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Here's Bob's vest and tie, ready to go. I used my regular vest pattern, with black velvet for the outside and Ambiance for the lining. The sequined lapels were added like appliques, with the outside and the fold edges bound with black velvet. This really helped it all lay flat and kept the sequins from rubbing his shirt. The back of the vest was fastened with black velvet ribbon through two D-rings.<br />
The tie also had the front edge appliqued, rather than trying to force the sequins into a knot.<br />
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Here's my purse! This is the same clutch purse I've used for a few years, with a new black velvet cover. I wanted to glam it up a little, so I cut this dragon head out of the sequin fabric. I thought the sequins would fall off, or that it couldn't hold the detail, but boy, was I wrong!!<br />
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Here's the close-up:<br />
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Some of the sequins flipped up at the edges, but all in all, it held up fine. The applique was glued onto the velvet with strong clear craft glue.<br />
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<h3>
Construction Observations</h3>
I have never worked with sequin fabric before, and was really, really worried that it would be a nightmare. Sure, there were bits of sequin all over my table any time I made a cut:<br />
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But once the loose ones were shaken off, there was absolutely NO sequin loss on ANY of the pieces I cut. Even the edges stayed intact! I was flabbergasted, because people had warned me that I would have nothing but trouble from sequins. But then I got to thinking: maybe the reason I had so little trouble was that the fabric was of a really, really high quality? This sure wasn't from the Joann's bargain aisle. Sure, it did a number on my scissors (thank goodness the sharpener guy will be back in my neighborhood next week), but overall it was a dream to work with. It sewed beautifully; I didn't have to hand-stitch anything except the button on Bob's vest.<br />
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There are only a few seams on the dress: the shoulders and the center back and train. All edges were covered in a narrow binding of black velvet: I stitched the velvet to the front of the edge, flipped it around to the back, and stitched in the ditch to secure it. Then I trimmed the excess off with applique scissors. I decided to do the edges this way to avoid the look of sequins folded around a corner, and also to prevent having sequins touching my skin.<br />
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Originally I had a front drape on the dress as well, but when I put it on, that front drape just felt so much like a bib that I took it off. So the front ended up a bit plainer than intended.<br />
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<h3>
The Gala!</h3>
This year's gala was held in the Atrium of the National Museum of American Art, which is not on the mall. From the moment we got there, I had people coming up to me and complimenting the gown and Bob's vest! As a result, we got to talk to a lot more people than we usually do. We even got to say hello to Dr. Wayne Clough, Secretary of the Smithsonian.<br />
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Here's Bob listening to Dr. Clough give his welcoming remarks. Oh, and if you look carefully, you can see the tablecloth is blue and green, so the colors were perfect!!<br />
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We actually had such a good time that we didn't take many pictures; sorry! Most of the dresses we saw there were sheath style; more and more are opting for two-piece outfits. There were about half a dozen other sequin outfits (jackets), and another handful of beaded jackets. I'll post a few pictures of those later.<br />
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Thanks for following yet another Smithson Gown saga!Welmoed Sissonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16497763134207170293noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-38349739211031320522014-05-24T21:27:00.001-04:002014-05-24T21:27:58.119-04:00Smithson 2014: The First CutThere's something about the thought of cutting into expensive fabric that just paralyzes you.<br />
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Over the last few days I started in earnest on my dress (after all, the gala is a week away!). The first thing I did was to clear enough space on my sewing table to spread the fabric out and take a careful look at it.<br />
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From one angle, it's predominantly blue.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-DaKrt5gmxVV4dnB0v6P4BpyX8q2hGxLWdBP-VQYdeYto8oS9DRfLZOkRuzwDNau2_pXwcgENR2BpaP1IYA0qbiNNxDXSJt00Wlrcmmh0qHXfXziBKajRidrhzqqj6wffufpez6zA-IU/s1600/Fabric01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-DaKrt5gmxVV4dnB0v6P4BpyX8q2hGxLWdBP-VQYdeYto8oS9DRfLZOkRuzwDNau2_pXwcgENR2BpaP1IYA0qbiNNxDXSJt00Wlrcmmh0qHXfXziBKajRidrhzqqj6wffufpez6zA-IU/s1600/Fabric01.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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But look at it from the other corner, and it is a totally different color.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_NBljwv4xB0bEMqH9Yr-gAporowM5la96ygcUn79eQoaIV1srremkybPenTRxzODCnRyb5FwclFPtE8nC5JRaO_Fo4AYJYyuedaIq6v9N1kGrw326CDd0lAx3-RhNCG976viazOaa8S3O/s1600/Fabric03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_NBljwv4xB0bEMqH9Yr-gAporowM5la96ygcUn79eQoaIV1srremkybPenTRxzODCnRyb5FwclFPtE8nC5JRaO_Fo4AYJYyuedaIq6v9N1kGrw326CDd0lAx3-RhNCG976viazOaa8S3O/s1600/Fabric03.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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To clarify the orientation, the top picture is viewed from the "bottom" of the fabric, and the bottom picture is taken from what will be the top edge.<br />
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I spent quite a while thinking about how I was going to tackle this. With the help of my PMB Users Group friends, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted the end product to look like. The real issue was getting there, with as few seams as possible.<br />
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The first step, of course, was to actually cut the fabric to make the basic dress shape. I wanted what was essentially a big tube, so I figured the easiest way to get that was to measure my widest point (my hips), and cut a tube that fit around that (plus some ease and a seam allowance).<br />
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First I tried draping it on my dress form, inside out, to see whether I could just sew it inside out that way and have it work. But the fabric is sooooo slippery that it really didn't feel like it would work properly.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPep-mObZfn4AqBVAFFAbwPjIejzhP1OVLWw60yGvN33lXwIiu9jpTaKKs2MON8HrKnU-dT0aalXNiuDEHc1gfPXKRsJ47ExXfsG5RqNHMK-s2DdgxxKg4O5RlJkFZERePFbMkrYT3WKSv/s1600/Pinning.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPep-mObZfn4AqBVAFFAbwPjIejzhP1OVLWw60yGvN33lXwIiu9jpTaKKs2MON8HrKnU-dT0aalXNiuDEHc1gfPXKRsJ47ExXfsG5RqNHMK-s2DdgxxKg4O5RlJkFZERePFbMkrYT3WKSv/s1600/Pinning.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
Nope, didn't look like much at all. Time for plan B.<br />
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Then I realized: why am I trying to reinvent the wheel? I have a knot top shape that fits me well; why not use that as the basis for this dress? So I grabbed my "Tried and True" knit top pattern and laid it out on the fabric in such a way that it was cut as one single piece, with double-ended darts in place of side seams, and a single seam running down the center back.<br />
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Here's where that difficult first cut came into play.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwk-K_bp7HnL0t12NGhVhp5xtE0UtNjoLFZVH-GmF_oP7jVdfbM9pXQr8cVJ_bfacx4m1hAQzxAueGRiCDKcVuApR_b_y3IEa6A-ogHwE0CVexsvtcsTW7Jry0akQ_j8cNFp7CtLHEkAKu/s1600/FirstCut.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwk-K_bp7HnL0t12NGhVhp5xtE0UtNjoLFZVH-GmF_oP7jVdfbM9pXQr8cVJ_bfacx4m1hAQzxAueGRiCDKcVuApR_b_y3IEa6A-ogHwE0CVexsvtcsTW7Jry0akQ_j8cNFp7CtLHEkAKu/s1600/FirstCut.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..." And with that, I started cutting.<br />
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(Note to other sewists: sequinned fabric is not difficult to cut, but it sure puts up a fight. My hands were quite sore when I got through!)<br />
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Then I just sewed the shoulders, darts and center back seam on the sewing machine (after testing on a scrap and deciding that the machine-sewn seams didn't look all that bad) and tried it on.<br />
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Front view:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjksIyBPVAubZJjg74HZiw2VnOHX9lxmda8RFDuT55lhUiTJQjJ2KUPaW02fiWaVkav5rkGNIxBKm00fHHNVOyiytQIpzR4y0Q_H3fVCGlaDeKD2MyPDd9RnX-bpsCeSLSyqm3RuJpF4V6F/s1600/Tube01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjksIyBPVAubZJjg74HZiw2VnOHX9lxmda8RFDuT55lhUiTJQjJ2KUPaW02fiWaVkav5rkGNIxBKm00fHHNVOyiytQIpzR4y0Q_H3fVCGlaDeKD2MyPDd9RnX-bpsCeSLSyqm3RuJpF4V6F/s1600/Tube01.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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Not too terrible, I think! Here's the back view:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHlLUZ82cCaH5zreXs9HQ5nC5wDq5tUewconW8EkqQNJ14mBVUFY9KMLKO-PAuWgSnY-7GNdDMdRGkIothJFoaGyOzS2iit8ozthRxQLBJyWvq5mXklyC8B659LgkATVXWehgKwBZ8nvyF/s1600/Tube02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHlLUZ82cCaH5zreXs9HQ5nC5wDq5tUewconW8EkqQNJ14mBVUFY9KMLKO-PAuWgSnY-7GNdDMdRGkIothJFoaGyOzS2iit8ozthRxQLBJyWvq5mXklyC8B659LgkATVXWehgKwBZ8nvyF/s1600/Tube02.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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The big wedge opening at the bottom is where I will be inserting a godet to make a slight train.<br />
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Here's one of the darts.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEyGL6DRfeQ6lmYjdy6z8tyO10hb3AWZ59B-K7F55AXwWufFw8t8cVe3_KXfX4bZEXvikrxIBuRw8p5EcT7XI0x5JJpe5kY_mzIkmOGELZSi1IR__Se2LxvU5uG1j0sUfmfvrioRoF3uSD/s1600/Tube03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEyGL6DRfeQ6lmYjdy6z8tyO10hb3AWZ59B-K7F55AXwWufFw8t8cVe3_KXfX4bZEXvikrxIBuRw8p5EcT7XI0x5JJpe5kY_mzIkmOGELZSi1IR__Se2LxvU5uG1j0sUfmfvrioRoF3uSD/s1600/Tube03.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
I'm not thrilled about the dart, but really can't think of another way to do the shaping of the dress; without some kind of dart, it's just going to look like a shapeless tube.<br />
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So there you have it; Progress!! I'm going to continue working on it tomorrow evening; now that I know it pretty much fits, it's on my dress form for the tweaking stage. I need to do something about the front and back necklines (such as adding cowls), and finish all the edges. I'm also going to add lining so it slips on and off easier. Then, of course, I still have to make the vest for Bob, as well as a purse for me. Stay tuned for updates!Welmoed Sissonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16497763134207170293noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6198394838876044945.post-72280982839742926422014-05-14T16:39:00.001-04:002014-05-14T16:39:56.580-04:00Smithson 2014: Why, yes, I have completely lost my mind."Wait", you may be thinking, "Didn't you just do a Smithson gown a few months ago?" Yes indeed, I did. Last year's Gala was in September. This year they decided to have it in May, on the 31st, to be exact. And yes, that is just a little over two weeks away. Lately it seems like inspiration for the gown is coming later and later, which can mean challenges for getting it all done in time.<br />
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This year I was just not feeling any inspiration at all. The last three years' gowns were so much fun to make, and this year I was just struck with an overwhelming feeling of "Now what?" Sure, I could have used the same pattern as a previous year, but in a different fabric. But heck, what's the challenge in that?<br />
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I started planning a quick fabric-shopping trip to New York for the end of this week, to find the Perfect Fabric that would just leap out and inject the dress design into my head, fully formed. Hey, it's worked before! But this morning I looked at the weather report and saw that Friday was going to be a day of unending heavy rain -- not the kind of weather conducive for a day on the road, not to mention schlepping in and out of fabric stores. So I reluctantly called off the trip. But then one of my ASG friends reminded me of a closer option that I always seem to forget about: A Fabric Place, on the outskirts of Baltimore.<br />
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Today my daughter personal fashion consultant and I headed there to see what we could find. And after more than half an hour looking through the fabrics (and seriously considering a lovely lace, until I saw that it was Dior and carried a $198/yard price tag -- eek!), I spotted one that whispered "look at me!"<br />
Well, okay, it didn't whisper -- it shrieked. With great trepidation I pulled some off the bolt and we draped it to see how it would work. And that's all it took.<br />
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Those of you who have seen my dresses know that I tend to be mostly -- well, "conservative" is the closest I can come up with. So you may be totally shocked to see the fabric I picked.<br />
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Ready?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5pl8UlOERJZfXyZiXtBgknNYbkjSeA3xGJVrYDzrmyERsFtzcUYkhdkfH21qKboJrO-VIV8SS0owJZU16mCgAEqvsz5XgVbZMe27W5Og1lScUJ_ryaoQVIr5RRJVc-Djj616Xa24EKCXF/s1600/SequinFabric1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5pl8UlOERJZfXyZiXtBgknNYbkjSeA3xGJVrYDzrmyERsFtzcUYkhdkfH21qKboJrO-VIV8SS0owJZU16mCgAEqvsz5XgVbZMe27W5Og1lScUJ_ryaoQVIr5RRJVc-Djj616Xa24EKCXF/s1600/SequinFabric1.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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Yes, my friends, that is indeed an overall sequin fabric. It is an iridescent green/blue, very much peacock tones. It drapes beautifully and does amazing things for my figure. Honest! And I feel so fabulous when it's wrapped around me!<br />
The style isn't nailed down yet, but I know that it needs to be minimally seamed/darted, and I've got to reinforce the heck out of the shoulder seam because the fabric is quite heavy. Suggestions are welcome!<br />
I've got 4 yards of it, and that ought to be plenty for a simple gown. I'd love to have some kind of short train, and a draped back... perhaps reminiscent of my Constellation gown?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2eGz1VKoXGNyMaV09b8NDvXZuHY2rKzctpzybdi-7DdNuhsWXA4Ce4DlXCCHAGWtqBJZTVUsPAUU0vXgChBezeo7lCcOvqjaEV-l8nLLR8S7Lawdp73xyP-oCQk2VsmAdQE9caBps7FoN/s1600/P4220004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2eGz1VKoXGNyMaV09b8NDvXZuHY2rKzctpzybdi-7DdNuhsWXA4Ce4DlXCCHAGWtqBJZTVUsPAUU0vXgChBezeo7lCcOvqjaEV-l8nLLR8S7Lawdp73xyP-oCQk2VsmAdQE9caBps7FoN/s1600/P4220004.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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So, what do you think? Subtle it ain't!!Welmoed Sissonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16497763134207170293noreply@blogger.com7