Wedding update....

I have been extremely productive, not particularly in the area of blogging, but it is surprising how much sewing you can get done when you dedicate every spare moment to it.

 

I finished my wedding dress in April, bar the hem as I am waiting for my shoes to arrive. I won’t be sharing any pics until after the big day on the 27th July. I moved on to the mother of the bride and maid of honour (sister's) dresses, which I will complete after final fittings this weekend. I haven’t made many dresses for other people and I am really excited to see my mum and sister try them on- I just hope they fit and they love them. The enjoyable thing about making dresses for other people is talking through all the different styles and fabric choices. I could talk about fabric and sewing all day long, so it is nice to have someone listening for once!

 

My Mum’s dress is Vogue pattern V1108 which I have made in a colour similar to that on the pattern envelope except it is shot with a red thread running across the crosswise grain which gives the green a slightly autumnal feel. I will review the pattern in full in a separate post when the dress is complete.

 

We started from scratch with my sister’s dress. We played with the idea of a either a trapeze dress or a 50s style dress and the 50s style won out in the end. After a good few pinterest sessions and google searches, we came up with the following design. 

We spent a good 4 hours wandering between the fabric shops in Soho and settled on a mint green/turquoise dupion from the Silk Society on Berwick street. The skirt is underlined in silk organza and the bodice is boned to support the off the shoulder design and help nip in the waist. Again I will do a full post after the wedding. 

In other news, I am making 70 meters of bunting! I'm about 15 meters in so far.

Me-made May: Days six, seven and eight

Day 6- I was in the middle of a bank holiday sewathon. So ignoring the sunshine, I hung out at home in this floral t-shirt and gap jeans. The t-shirt is actually a practice at drafting cowl necks.  The seams and hem are unfinished. 

 

Day 7- Me-made wool trousers. These are the first and only trousers I have ever made and unfortunately it shows. The knees aren't in quite the right place and the style would suit a fabric with some more stretch. I think drafting the pattern was a step too far- maybe I'll try a commercial pattern next time. 

Day eight- me-made "Darcy" cardigan from Kim Hargreaves Heartfelt collection. I have worn this cardigan a huge amount, which is good as it took me five months to make! The shape is not quite perfect as this was the first piece of clothing I knitted that wasn't a hat or scarf and I dispensed with making a tension square- I was so naive! But after five months I was not about to frog it. I still love the style and it always gets compliments. 

Me-made May 13: day five

Me made t-shirt, worn with gap jeans, banana republic cardigan and scarf from accessorize.

I need to make more t-shirts!

Me-made May: day four

I had a pyjama day yesterday, but I am back on it today.

Me-Made polyester blouse, worn with Topshop jeans and my haflinger ladybird slippers.

Me-made May13- Day 2

Me-made sleeveless top
Me- made linen skirt
Me-made handbag

Worn with cropped cardigan from Zara and leopard print pumps from Dune.

Me made may challenge 2013- Day one

I have decided rather belatedly and a tad rashly to take part in this years me made may challenge, click the widget above for more information.

The long and short of it is I am going to try and wear 1 item if clothing made by me each day for the entire month of May. I was a little apprehensive as with all the wedding planning (three months to go!) and could do without any extra stress, but hey I  like to be busy and I wear me made items quite a lot, so why not!
Day 1:

Me made dress- vogue 8593 ( blogged http://silkwings.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/vogue-8593.html)
Me made scarf- not blogged

I wear this dress a lot, so it is the most apt piece to start the challenge, I dug out this me made scarf for good measure.

N.B. I cycle to work, so look forward to plenty of iPhone photos from my locker room!

Best laid plans....

I try to plan my summer and winter wardrobes in advance, but I never end up getting round to everything. I am always in awe of fellow bloggers that seem to produce several items a month. I tend to have one sewing project and one knitting project on the go at anyone time. But most knitting projects take me a few months to complete and regardless of how much I plan I end up getting get side-tracked.

I have been designing my own patterns which slows down the process a lot and uses much calico. But every time I think about making something from a commercial pattern I get a nagging feeling that just won't let me. Pattern-cutters OCD anyone?? Hopefully if I persevere I will soon have a good set of patterns I can make again and again.

I was wondering how normal my approach is. Are you guys out there meticulous planners or going with the flow?

My spring wardrobe has been overtaken by the making of my wedding dress. Likely to be my biggest and most daunting project to date. Mainly as I am sewing it all by hand using the couture techniques from Couture Sewing Techniques by Claire B Schaefer. The thought of sewing a gown by hand would have made me recoil in horror a year ago, but now I am enjoying the process and looking forward to having beautiful dress and improved hand sewing. The obvious need for secrecy means I will post about it after the wedding in July.

My project list:
1) Kim Hargreaves Logan Dress


Logan dress- from Kim Hargreaves Shadows

2) My wedding dress & matching handbag
3) Ties for the groom and groomsmen
4) Fair Isle short-sleeved sweater- in blue and cream

Fair Isle Short-Sleeved sweater from
Learn to Knit Love to Knit by Anna Wilkinson

Artesano Superwash merino in sea blue and
Rowan pure wool DK in enamel

5) Bridesmaid dress
6) Bunting
7) summer dress like this dress by designer label Milly





Milly Carlin dress (Source)

8) Quilt and cushions

So plenty to be getting on with.

Keeping busy...

At the moment most of my time and brain power has been taken up with planning my upcoming wedding (4.5 months to go and counting). As well as the guest lists, menus and invites etc etc, I have been spending an enormous amount of time designing and making my wedding dress.

 Anyone who has done the same will know how daunting a prospect this is, but as soon as I got engaged I knew I was going to make my own dress and would not be dissuaded! And I am so glad I am. After trying on dresses in several bridal stores I couldn't help totting up all the changes I wanted to make and I was quite disappointed with the variety on offer- pouffey and extra pouffey were the main choices, whereas I prefer simple and drapey designs.The pattern has been cut, toile made and I will be cutting the final fabric this weekend. Wedding is in July after which I will post details of the construction of  this top secret project. I am aiming to finish by the beginning of April and move on to honeymoon clothes!

Kim Hargreaves Logan dress

Everything else is pretty much on the back burner until the dress is made, but I have been continuing with Kim Hargreaves Logan dress (see picture below). At this rate it will be ready in time for spring, but I might manage a few wears if the British weather continues along its sub-zero path. Here are a few pictures of other projects I have made in the past few months- mainly Christmas gifts.

Double knitted scarf

Warmest scarf ever

convertible moss stitch wrist-warmers/mittens

These wrist-warmers were from my own pattern that I made up on the go, not the best approach but they worked out well. I will have to write it down and post for you guys.

wrist-warmers and matching hat

Project update & bookshelf update

I have posted before in my love if knitting and sewing books and I had several on my Christmas and birthday lists. Being a very lucky girl I actually got some from my wonderful friend a and family, with a few extra surprises.

Top of my list was Couture sewing techniques by Claire B Schaffer. This book gives a history of couture as well as practical tutorials on how to try the techniques in your own projects. I am in the process of designing and making my wedding dress and have used the couture method for sewing princess/curved seams, I might post a video tutorial of this sometime. I imagine this is a book I will come back to again and again. There is an excellent chapter on hand sewing techniques, which is probably a neglected but essential skill for all all sewers and one I am trying hard to improve. I was surprised to find out how different couture construction is and it definitely provides food for thought for a high- street girl. Recommended!

I also got Pattern Magic and Pattern Magic: stretch fabrics by Tamoko Tamichi, which I have coveted and feared in equal measure. The book has innovative designs, not clothes for wearing for the going to the shop, but there are some really beautiful details. The book is a more creative approach to designing than you get with Winifred Aldridges pattern cutting for women's wear and it will make a great companion. The book has a number of bow front blouses which I am adding to my "want to make" list. Recommended for the adventurous sewers and for those trying to think out of the box.

I was also given Learn to knit, Love to Knit by Anna Wilkinson, which has twenty different knitting patterns. Some are a little twee for someone in their late twenties, but I there are some very wearable jumpers and hat patterns. First on the list is the Fair Isle Band sweater with short sleeves.

I'm thinking it is time to start getting into tailoring, any good book recommendations?

Bias-Cut Cowl-Neck blouse

Fabric: 2 meters Silk Georgette
Bought at: Silk Society, Berwick street, Soho,London
Price: £19 per meter
Thread: Guttermann sew all polyester
Closures: hooks and thread loops
Toile fabric: polyester Georgette from fabrics galore £6 meter.

I often like to imagine that there is a parallel Universe out there somewhere in which a sophisticated me floats around gracefully all day in chiffon blouses and fitted pencil skirts. The version of myself in our own Universe, however, does not have the patience for such a high maintenance look especially as, to me, most blouses and shirts never seem very comfortable or well fitted. I refuse to wear the boyish, button-down style with gaping buttons, preferring oversized, loose fitting tops which are less restrictive. But there is a part of me that wishes that the parallel Universe version of myself was less... parallel.

Well, now it is!

I decided I would make my own, perfect blouse, eliminating all the little annoying features which have previously made wearing them more foreign to me than watching a football match in Timbuktu.

First on my hit list of things to go were buttons, and any sort of traditional shirt collar. I always prefer a deep and rounded neckline and having flirted with the idea of a Peter Pan collar, I settled on a deep cowl neck design.

Once I'd made this decision, I began by drafting a fitted bodice from Winifred Aldridge's 'Pattern Cutting for Women's Wear' (my go to book for all my pattern drafting). I used this tutorial from www.adithisammasews.com for drafting a cowl neck.I eliminating the bust dart. I originally left in the waist darts for a fitted look, but left these put of the final design, due to the sheerness if the Georgette.

Next I made a toile with the waist darts and a button up back. This works well with the polyester Georgette, which was a heavier weight and less sheer than the silk. I opted for hooks and thread eyes rather than buttons, which would be too heavy. I moved the closure to under the arm, as doing buttons up behind your back is difficult and I was worried I would tear the delicate silk.

I cut the bodice on the bias to make the most of the drape for the cowl neck. Bias Georgette is not the easiest thing to work with. Having secured the fabric to my table to keep it taught while cutting, I cut all pieces in a single layer to ensure the grain lines were correct. Then I sewed the entire garment by hand, as I knew this fabric would end up sucked down the feed dogs of my machine. I know sticking a bit of tape over the feed dogs or covering my fabric with tissue paper can prevent this, but I am also trying to improve my hand sewing and use more couture techniques. This seems to have worked for me and I haven't noticed and rippling seams.

I wanted to have slightly flared sleeves narrowing at the wrist, but I find buttoned cuffs restrictive. As an alternative I made gathered elasticated cuffs. Part of me feels elastic and silk shouldn't go together, but I really like the look of these cuffs and they are comfortable and are easy to get on and off.

I also think this pattern will work well in lightweight jersey for summer, perhaps with tighter or no sleeves.

And now here I am. Ready to float around in a chiffon blouse like the parallel Universe version of myself. I still have to work on my grace though!