Monday, July 1, 2013

The Dark End of the Street

So how was your weekend lovelies? 

I had one of those 1 step forwards 2 steps back type weekends. 

The sleeves on the Pattie suit are still not right, so I thought adding in the shoulder pads and sleeve heads would help pick up some of the drooping but if anything it only perpetuated the 80s jacket look 

Looks ok...
The inside before the lining.
Not sure why I picked black pads



The offending shoulder pad
So off they came again and some drastic grading was done to make them fitted. Also I took out the flannel interlining because it was just too much bulk for already bulky sleeves. 

Jacket sans sleeves
I haven't attached them yet, but I slid them over my arms and they look better. 

I won't be putting the padding back in either. 

She's a tricky lass this Pattie...

I took a break and made the matching skirt which happily came together in about 2 hours and the fit and length are superb! Which is a nice little confidence booster after jacket left me feeling like a dumb dumb! 

Skirt before the the facings were turned in and lining added
In the meantime the pile of fabric on my table is getting higher and higher. 

Am I filling in my sewing insecurities by buying more and more fabric? 

Probably.

I have so many fun dresses lined up to make but I have committed to finishing the suit first before moving on! Ugh...

Would you like a sneaky peak? 

A red version of this drop waist dress with white piping trim and white buttons.



A pleat front dress with bishop sleeves with this beautiful fabric I ordered from Spoonflower. Edsel2084 draws the most wonderful intricate designs inspired by art nouveau, Arts and Crafts and Victorian eras.
I highly recommend any of her 4000+ designs!



I also received in the same order the purple fabric I talked about here for a coat and dress. I'm still deciding on the pattern

The teal silk from Fabric-a-brac has also been given a partner - I hope to make it similar to this yellow dress. 



And I have 8 meters of black Ponte de Roma that I've bought for a very special project!

There is lots more fabric but I don't want to give away all my secrets yet! 

I've been listening to lots of Gram Parsons today while at work. The sun has returned after a week of rain and it seemed appropriate 

Here's some Gram to start your week


Happy Monday everyone! 

10 comments:

  1. Hi, dear Catherine! If you count me as one of your "lovelies" I'll take it as a compliment! (LOL) That Pattie suit is going to be terrif and I can't wait to see you modeling it. I'm happy to know the sun is shining in your corner of the world. Here in Florida we're caught in a rainy pattern that's lasted several days and will continue all this week. Thanks for including some music again today. I recognized the song title immediately and confirmed it when I listened to the clip. I owned the original 1967 version of the song by soul/R&B singer James Carr. Did you ever hear it? World Clock says it's almost bedtime for you there in Sydney so I will say goodnight to you, dear Cat, and wish you a splendid week ahead!

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    1. Oh its raining? that's right you're on the other side of the country! duh!
      I went an listened to the James Carr version, but I still really like Gram Parsons version - I think because of his country twang kind of voice.
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. Don't loose hope with the Pattie suit, though she sounds a bit stubborn! I'm certain that it is going to turn out brilliant! How nice that the skirt was kind enough to turn out today. I cannot wait to see the end product, and your ideas for the next dresses sound too cute as well. I love that yellow one with the bow as well. xx

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    1. Its going ok so far! I didn't think Pattie was so difficult?

      I sewed on of the sleeves on last night and I tried it on and was so excited that it worked finally! There was many shrieks and showing to the boy. Ill have to re steam the collar but otherwise I'm almost there!
      Thanks for the kind words Lucy!

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  3. I'm sure the jacket is going to turn out lovely, don't lose hope with it! I always get so frustrated when a project doesn't go to plan and start to doubt my own sewing abilities. I normally end up taking a break and coming back to it later. I did this recently with a skirt I'd made for work, I just wasn't happy with the waistband and zip so I put it away and forgot about it but then a few weeks ago I got it out again, unpicked it all and re-did the waistband and zip and it turned out great! x

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    1. Thank you dear! It really is a dampener on your confidence when you stumble on a project. I agree, sometimes coming back to it later is better, after you've sewn something else or had a good think about it!
      I've managed to finish the sleeve so hopefully there will be some photos soon.

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  4. Wow, you have some terrific projects on the go. Very 60s and 70s looking.

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    1. Thank you! I definitely aiming for that era!

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  5. This might be a crazy question, but did you cut/sew the sleeves backwards? Helpful hint: Sleeves will always hang on a curve towards the front (like your own arms). I see you have said it works now. Maybe you switched the sleeves? Glad it seems to work now though! :)

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    1. I think the problem was more that the sleeves were too big and then I added underlining which made them bulky. After I took out the underlining and slimmed the sleeves down it was fine.
      I've sewn sleeves backwards before though! - there is a pleat on the inside of the elbow of one of my dresses, but cause its a drapey black dress that I only wear with cardigans, I didn't bother removing them. I'm super lazy sometimes!

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