Hello hello there!
How was your Christmas? Are you still enjoying left overs? We were up until yesterday but we finally had a proper dinner tonight which I made from the Jamie Saves cook book that my dearest mum got me for Christmas. He’s a clever man that Jamie – releasing cookbooks right at the end of the year. My dear mum doesn't even need to ask what to buy me anymore. It’s just Jamie Oliver cook books by default – which I’m OK with!
Among other Jamie Oliver kitchen-y things, the bible-sized Fabric Sewing Guide and The Wes Anderson Collection, (Yay) I also got two Biba books – Big Biba and Seamless. I also asked for Biba: The experience from my sister-from-another-mister Nicole, but I have to wait for the postman to bring that all the way from England for me!
In the meantime I've been working away at my mustard yellow Simplicity 7296
In a nice change of pace, this dress has some rather interesting structural elements to it instead of just a zipper and a couple darts.
The front of the dress has a lapped button front (see above) with bound button holes instead of regular stitched in ones. The pattern doesn't really tell you how to do them, but more you just need to do them. So I turned to my trusty Complete guide to sewing, which has 3 different ways of doing bound button holes.
I went with the regular method which is also the most long winded. I’ll have to do a tutorial some time!
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| Making little windows for the bound button holes |
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| Finished but wonky! |
Also, instead of inseam pockets it has welt pockets at the front of the dress. I needed to hand sew the welts closed, and you can see it's puckered a bit on the side. That's because I made the hole slightly wider than the welt and needed to rectify it somehow. I looks OK when it's hanging.
The other side isn't so bad (except I couldn't get the colour correction right! Boo photoshop!)
Here it is now below - can you believe all that fuss and that was only the front of the dress!
As fiddly as these techniques are, one you complete them, you feel pretty clever for having done so. Do you get that same feeling after completing something so tricky?
Good Ol Freda on the other hand is a little bit lighter - a documentary about Freda Kelly, who was The Beatles secretary for 11 years. She ran the fan club, the Beatles Monthly magazine and also talks about how fame never really drove her as a person and in her career even though she was surrounded by fame almost from the get-go.
Hello, dear Cat! I entertained 25 family members at my house Christmas day. The fat man in the red suit came, but it wasn't Santa. It was my drunken neighbor and he was promptly escorted out the door! :)
ReplyDeleteI read about Good 'Ol Freda on our mutual friend Sarah's blog the other day and found it enticing. I can't wait to see it and I'm pleased that you already have. Seems to me the best type of person to work long term for a super group like the Beatles is someone like Freda who was down to earth and not obsessed with fame.
Happy new year to you, dear friend Catherine!
I somehow missed Sarahs post on Good Ol Freda - We seem to think alike in that respect! Freda really seems like such a top person and she has some really good memories and souvenirs to show too!
DeleteI got a pair of tailor's scissors (not from a fat bloke in acrylic though) so I made a pants skirt on Boxing day! That dress looks spectacular. Hope I get to see you rocking it before I go away! xxx
ReplyDeleteOh nice! I got a good pair of shears years ago and their still going strong. Will you be wearing your pants skirt in Goa?
DeleteVery impressed by welt pockets and bound button holes! They are on my list to conquer next year! Your Christmas loot sounds great - my hubby and I bought tix to the Rolling Stones for our Christmas present! Are you going when they come to sydney?
ReplyDeleteOh wow im jealous! I took a look at the prices for the Rolling Stones and then the likely hood of them selling out so I didst try. also i have no one to go with!
DeleteBound button holes can be laborious, doing the same tiny thing over and over for each button hole is boring, but they look so nice in the end!
I can't wait to see your finished dress - those details will be well worth the time. I pretty much feel clever inserting a zip - which attests to my mediocre level of sewing achievements!
ReplyDeleteThis year I was the happy recipient of a book on geometric design - so loads of inspiration there.
Those docos look interesting - I'll have to track them down.
oh well! you know this is a good time of year to set yourself some sewing goals! No resolutions, that's a dirty word.
DeleteMaybe a list of small techniques you'd like to try at least one? That way if you fudge it up, its no biggy!
Your blog definitely looks like it came off the pages of a geometric design book, so that sounds like a great gift!
The boy bought me a pair of Rocket Original wedges that I'd been after so that made me a happy bunny on Christmas day! Your dress looks great so far, I've done a bit of sewing but nothing much - I'm still off work and have become quite lazy! x
ReplyDeleteooh! are we talking the 1940s style wedges? I love those! And yeah, talk about lazy, this dress is taking me forever - there are many movies, chocolate and internet breaks in between doing small segments. actually that probably why its taking so long!
DeleteThe dress is coming along really well, it does look tricky though! I bet you will feel very accomplished once it is completed. I would! It sounds like you got some really lovely presents for Christmas too. It must be exciting waiting for the Biba book in the mail.
ReplyDeleteI am a huge fan of Brian Jones, and actually got a made T-shirt with him on it for Christmas from good ol' Santa. But in all honesty I could never bring myself to watch "Stoned". I don't know what it quite is, I think I'd find it upsetting. How did you find the film?
And I'd love to see that Freda Kelly documentary.
thank you sweet! The movie isn't too bad. quite hedonistic, and only gets sad at the very end naturally as its the climax. it doesn't focus much on the very early days of the Stones. more on the middle and then his, i guess you can say decline. The actors who play Keith and Anita look pretty similar, and there is a very small glimpse of Marianne Faithfull, played by someone who doesn't look much like her! It doesn't paint Brian in a bad way at all, so I'd definitely say watch it
DeleteOh thank you for the info. I think I pluck up the courage and watch it!
DeleteCool! Bound buttonholes! What do you do on the inside when they're done? That always confused me. Is there a facing piece to cover it all up, or do you just see the interfacing once its done on the inside?
ReplyDeleteyes! a facing is needed to cover up all the work. On the facing, you need to make a little patched window (as you would with a welt) exactly over the hole, and then you stitch closed with small slip stitches to bring it together. its quite fiddly and painstaking getting the window the lined up with the button hole, but looks very neat when your done. this is the best tutorial i've found http://www.coletterie.com/sewalongs/tutorial-bound-buttonholes
Deletegood luck!!
I have the Wes Anderson Collection checked out from my library at the moment and it is gorgeous!! Every time I open it I want to dive in and live there. And your dress looks very laborious, but it is good to start the year with a challenging project, I think, and it will be so worth it in the end!
ReplyDeleteoh isnt it amazing! all the little details and the essays! its too big to carry around on the train, so it might take me awhile to read.
Deleteand yes, this dress is so laborious! but its all done now ;)