Busy hands | Disquiet mind

Colette Myrtle, v.2, as a woven top

Sun, 05 Oct 2025 11:55:12 GMT

Colette's Myrtle is a knit dress pattern that is supposed to work in a woven fabric too. Let's test that.

I'm cutting the same size L as the knit v.1, but just the top Front and Back pieces, not the skirt. There are special woven instructions, that have you finish the back armholes and neckline with bias binding, and have you fold the waistband casing up (instead of down) to cover the elastic. But I'm forging my own path here.

( Details )

Finished, front
Photo by chebe

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Colette Myrtle knit dress

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 17:39:14 GMT

Colette's Myrtle is a discontinued dress pattern from Seamwork. This copy is actually so old I have it on factory tissue in a paper booklet. Despite that this is my first time making it up. The pattern can be made in either wovens or knits, but for a first go knits are usually safer. It's a sleeveless dress, with cowl front neckline, elasticated waist, and slightly a-line slightly gathered skirt. It has two length options, and I'm going with the shorter one. This version has an optional strap that functions almost like epaulets, but we'll get to them in a moment.

( Details )

Finished, front
Photo by chebe

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Colette Negroni button-up shirt

Mon, 22 Apr 2019 13:43:58 GMT

Colette's Negroni is a men's button-up shirt. But what even is gender. And I wasn't having a huge amount of luck with the women's shirts and blouses I'd tried, so I gave it a go.

Negroni is a casual shirt with a doubled back yoke and front facing. As usual I left off the chest pockets and went for the short-sleeved version. Beyond the two tucks under the yoke there are no shaping seams. Every seam is enclosed or flat felled! It was my first time making a garment with entirely hidden seam finishes, and it does take a little longer, but the result is so wonderfully clean. It also has a cute collar button detail that made my vintage-loving friends very happy.

I made up a Large in an aubergine cotton lawn, which is less translucent than the last cotton lawn I used, but needs to be ironed if you so much as look at it, so there was a lot of pressing during construction. The end result feels amazing, strong but light.

It's when we get to fit that we find out what they meant by men's. It is made to fit a longer body with less hallow back, straighter sides, and hips that don't increase much. So aside from the usual fit issues (too long in the shoulders/sleeves) it actually fit quite well across the chest. No gaping. But there is an excessive amount of fabric across the lower back. And yet that fullness does not help it fit across the hips. I can still wear it happily as an overshirt, and with some changes I can see it making a solid base for future shirts.

Finished Negroni, front view
Photo by chebe

( Photos )

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Colette #1011; Nutmeg, bralette

Sun, 17 Jun 2018 15:42:23 GMT

Colette's Nutmeg is a collection of a bralette and two bottoms. Having previously made both the knickers and the tap pants all that was left was to make the bralette.

The pattern includes various cup sizes (A/B, C/D, DD) but doesn't provide any guidance on selecting them. They are constructed from a lower front band (with darts and elasticated hem), upper front band (with interfaced facing), and two back bands of doubled layers. The 'straps' are ribbon, caught between the back band layers and the top front band and its facing. Made from stable wovens, straight stitch construction (except for the elastic) and overlock stitch/foot for finishing seams. I made mine in the same pretty patterned pink cotton as the tap pants.

This is possibly the worst fitting garment I've ever made. Putting aside how the ribbons are purely decorative, there is still no support in this style. The stable fabric doesn't move, and the only bit with any give is the elasticated edge, the lower front, which is the only part on a regular bra that doesn't stretch. Perhaps on a person with a smaller bust this could be made to work, but it is definitely not for me.

( Pictures )

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Colette #1011; Nutmeg, view 2, tap pants

Sun, 17 Jun 2018 15:38:47 GMT

Colette's Nutmeg is a collection of a bralette and two bottoms. A long time ago I made the view 1, knickers. This time I made the view 2, tap pants.

Longer than they appear on the packaging these shorts consist of eight pieces; yoke piece and leg piece, left and right, front and back. Made of stable woven fabrics, and cut on the bias. With an elasticated waist. I made mine in a pretty patterned pink cotton. Straight stitch construction, seams finished with overlock stitch/foot. Except for the visible topstitching joining the yoke and leg pieces, which is a zigzag.

The fit of these shorts do not suit me. The rear is pulled too tight and the front belly has too much material. My usual gripe with shorts/trousers patterns. Hopefully I'll get some use out of them.

( Pictures )

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ahem Ta-Da!

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 23:56:00 GMT

It's a dress! Actually, it's the Crepe dress I started two years ago! (You can find previous posts with the tag gerties crepe sew along.) The astute among you will notice a couple of things.

Firstly that it's finished. I didn't want to risk posting another in-progress update in case I put it down and ignored it again for another few months. But yesterday was the annual Crafters Sugar-overdose Night (which has unofficially become the TOG Christmas party), and I was determined to have something to show at it. So despite my intense hatred for hemming I spent all of Sunday doing just that, and felt the relief of actually finishing something. This is my first (non-costume) dress, so I now feel justified in calling myself a 'dressmaker'!

As Craft Night is directly after work I ended up wearing my dress to work. It was a peculiar experience. I have never worn a dress to work before, not even when I worked in retail. Skirts sure, but not a full dress. Being the middle of winter I made one concession, the stockings were swapped for leggings, so please excuse the bagginess in the photos.

Secondly, oh observant followers, you'll have noticed that you've never seen this fabric before. Indeed, the project came to a rather definite halt when I gave up on the fitting and was about to cut the fashion fabric and realised that the fabric wouldn't work well with this dress design. Time passed, and I happened on an online fabric sale. The moment I saw this fabric I knew the dress was back on!

Here, let me do a twirl for you! (These photos are not instagrammed, just shot in poor, yellow, light. That first photo was taken with flash and shows the colours better.)

( Photos! )

Did you spot the pockets? Pockets! Such wonderful inventions. Okay, since this was a sew-along I should talk a bit about the actual construction. The lovely patterned crepe is rather translucent, so it is underlined with black polycotton, which gives it a nice (but slightly stiff) body. Although, the hand-basting took such an impossibly long time that in future I will be saving this technique for particularly special gowns.

This was also my first time doing facings, and it was an adventure. The points on the neckline could have been done better. And my interfacing was so delicate that I melted a few pieces with the iron. That took getting used to. And they are so light that they have to be tacked down in several places to stop them flipping out. (That is one advantage of the underlining; I can tack to the lining without having the stitches visible on the outside.)

My usual method of seam construction is straight-stitch finished with overlocker. In some places, like the skirt side-seams with the pockets, I had to leave the seams open, so I overlocked both sides. Speaking of pockets; I initially put them in the wrong way around. So I had to cut them out and put them back the right way around. Silly mistake, and reminds me to not sew when I'm tired.

Other than that my skirt is 62cm long measured from the waist seam. The ties don't want to lay flat and keep compacting, and there seems to be a bit extra fabric in the body, but I figure that's part of the pattern. I am glad I spent so much time working on getting the fit just so, because this really is a very comfortable dress to wear. (Like it was made for me or something :P )

( Here are some shots of the inside of the dress )

Okay, that's that. *dusts off hands*

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I've been busy, but not very productive. And I'm okay with that. Honest. Totally okay.

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:52:53 GMT

Woah. Don't you hate it when time gets away from you, for weeks on end? After last you heard from me I was at Electric Picnic (running electro-craft workshops with the amazing Cat and tog), after which I found myself in Rome (for what I thought was a holiday but featured more walking than I'd anticipated). I attended my first Freshmeat training session (and then my second just yesterday *ouch*), and have come down with a head-cold/sinus-infection which I am attacking with a vast quantity of medicines. I had been holding off on posting here until I got some photos to add, but I kept forgetting to copy the Rome photos from J and the tog websites are in the process of moving hosts, so alas I have no pictures. (Maybe that's a good thing, I was indoctrinated at a young age in the ways of my parents holiday slides... carousel after carousel of slides...)

But, I figured I've been silent too long, so you get some waffle instead. At the moment I'm reading two books that I'm enjoying immensely.

( Books )

In other news, my Colette patterns; Jasmine and Clover have arrived, and so enthused me that I think I've gotten the sewing bug back! But first things first; have to finish that Crepe! I've decided (inspired by the aforementioned two books) that I'm going to go with the last set of darts I'd tried (removing them didn't work out as well as I'd hoped) even though everything in all the sewing books say that darts shouldn't extend above the apex. It simply comes down to the fact that that's the shaping my body needs, so that's what I'm going to do. No more mock-ups, next stop, cutting the real fabric!

[Next steps: (1) Underlining & cutting out fabric, (2) Stabilising neck and arms, (3) Final pre-sew checklist. Check have enough underlining fabric is prewashed, and have fusible interfacing.]

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Colette #1011; Nutmeg, view 1, knickers

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:53:15 GMT

I'd like to introduce you to a new member of staff here at chebe studios, her name is Felicity.
( Meet Felicity )

Speaking of which, I'd like to talk about what Felicity is wearing today. The top is simply an old RTW vest-top I bought years and years ago. The bottoms however, are my first attempt at making the knickers from Colette's Nutmeg (#1011).
( Adventures in sewing )

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Sew-Along; Yeah, I'm still doing that

Thu, 26 May 2011 23:22:44 GMT

I've had enough of darts, so I thought, why not just get rid of them? It's not perfect but it will do. I'm attempting to embrace the not-skin-tight vibe of this dress, but it's counter-intuitive. I'm going to try and match up the skirt panels too, this is just one I'd made earlier. (It'll be nicer when I do it properly with pressing and everything.)

( Read more... )

Next step; real fabric, and underlining. Woohoo! *is exhausted*

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Where I've been, and Crepe musings

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 01:12:57 GMT

You may have noticed a certain lack of posting around here lately. I have no excuses, last week I used the remainder of my free time to meet up with assorted friends.

Then, on Saturday morning, I slipped, wet runners on painted concrete stairs. I fell, feet first, only about three/four steps, and I'm extremely lucky that I was wearing my backpack properly; it acted as a buffer, protecting my back from the steps, and actually keeping my upper body upright. But, it had the side-effect of channelling the entire force right down my back, to the ass that I landed on. Again, luckily, I'm well padded in that area, so no major damage was done. But consider this; the force was such that when my coat caught against my ribcage the button ripped out and went flying across the stairwell. This isn't to gain sympathy, it's by way of trying to explain how badly I bruised my tail-bone. I can stand fine, I can lay on my side dandy. I cannot sit. Not without pain, and great pain if I shift in just the wrong way.

Which means any activity that involves sitting has been shunned. Which, sadly, is most crafting, especially use of the sewing machine. Then, college started back. The days are long, the workload intense. And all that sitting is so enjoyable! I'm sorry to say large crafting projects will have to take a back-seat for now.

Speaking of which; I haven't forgotten about the Crepe, as much as you'd hoped I had. But limited as I have been, I've had to resort to research. *gasp*

Just what is the bodice supposed to look like anyway?! Unlike the other Colette patterns there aren't any pictures of the Crepe in their Gallery. So I resorted to going back through the blog. It's a pleasant read if you find yourself with time that needs filling. And I came across the post about the Crepe, with nice large images. Is it just me, or does that second picture, the close up of the bodice, have the very same dimpled darts I was complaining about?

Unconvinced that they should be this way I found pictures of a vintage dress with very similar dart arrangement. This bodice seems slightly more fitted, and lacks the dart dimples. But the waist darts don't extend as high as mine either. A quandary! Could it be that the pattern is actually drafted to be not only a bit baggy (understandable in a wrap), but also to have those unflattering darts? And, steady yourselves, was it intentional?

Dear readers (seriously, still reading?), I don't know what to do. If the pattern is drafted that way I'll have to alter the side-seams to take out some of the extra fabric, but that could have undesirable consequences. I have to say, I prefer the flatter, more fitted vintage bodice. Which do you prefer?

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Sew-Along; Final darts post, promise

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 20:43:14 GMT

I was happy with the style of the dress, I was satisfied with the sizing, but I was not happy with my darts.

I read around, looked high and low for information; all of which said it was undoubtedly my poor technique to blame. So I practised. Couple of places (1,2) said to go down in stitch size the last 1/2" or so, to run the last few stitches on the edge of the fabric, and leave a long enough tail to knot. People said to use a tailoring ham (I improvised with rolled-up socks). I heard about the rites of the cult of Pressing. Then Gertie had a few pointers. (I actually really like the one about snipping into the seam allowance.) She also had a similar dilemma a while back. I tried them all. This was the result.

( Yet more darts )

One problem. Matching up the dots in my fabric is going to be impossible. If it was panelled it'd be doable. I might have to try that yet. Or find another fabric. Or settle for this dress being a lost cause and just go for it. Any which way, I've pressed my fabric and it's airing now. Cutting out begins soon. For better or worse.

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Wrap-tie fabric chosen

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 21:34:52 GMT

Firstly, thank you, all of you who voted to help me choose a fabric for my wrap-ties. In the end, much like myself, you all were torn, fairly equally among the Navy Spots, Los Muertos, and Pirate Skulls. In face of such a deadlock I had no choice, but to involve The Mother. The Mother has many years experience working in fashion, and has declared that things should be kept simple. She has voted for the Plain Black fabric. It also turns out that The Mother has a magical veto power, previously unrealised.

I'm still not sure, but on the plus side, I get to keep those other gorgeous fabrics for other tops and skirts! Have cake, and eat it too? What a strange feeling.

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Help! Need to choose a fabric!

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 17:11:29 GMT

You know the dress pattern I'm making up? Need a reminder? Well, I've a problem. I picked a patterned print for the main fabric. Quite apart from my fear of matching up all those seams, is the fact that I'm useless at matching prints. I'm a solids kind of girl, generally mixing in one patterned piece with plenty of solids. Nice and easy.

But now I have to try and find a fabric to make the contrasting wrap-tie out of. Add to this my personal 'style', and it's becoming very difficult to find an appropriate fabric. I want to actually wear this dress when it's finished. So I'm going to have to face the fact that except for a handful of days in the Summer, I will be wearing it with black opaque tights, and most likely some form of black footwear. I had an idea of using dark charcoal, in a solid, but couldn't find it in anything other than satin. So this is what I have available to me. What do you think?

Bear in mind, my hair cycles from red to orange, and back to red again. I am the kind of pale that burns in ten minutes and never tans. And most of my wardrobe basics are black (but I'm not afraid of a bit of colour).

( Pictures )

View Poll: Help! Fabric choices for wrap-tie

(I don't actually have enough of those last three fabrics, but can probably get more of something similar.)
I was also thinking of maybe edging the neckline and hem with black satin bias-tape piping. Or making a slip underneath that would leave some black or silver netting peeking out under. Previously suggested colours were pink or yellow. But I don't know. Help! Please!

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This isn't a post I swear...

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:54:13 GMT

... it's just complaining. I'm so behind in the Crepe sew-along! I still want one more go at the darts on my mock-up, then I have to cut out the underlining, cut out the fashion fabric, attach one to the other, stabilise my neck-lines and arm-holes, fuse the interfacing to the facings, and acquire a contrast fabric for my ties! Everyone else is about to start sewing the whole lot together. And I can't even make any progress until Saturday! *flail* I'm not giving up, but I will have to ask for an extension.

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Sew-along: mock-up 2; with added skirt

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:39:56 GMT

Made it to tog today for some fun meet-up sewing with the other local people I know doing the Crepe Sew-Along. I added some test skirt pieces to the bodice mock-up. It's not part of the sew-along, but I was so surprised that at how big the waist was on me that I figured I had better check the fit of the skirt. By my measurements I should be a 14/16 in the hips, but then I would be in the waist as well, and we know how badly that turned out. I'd cut a straight 12 in the bodice, so I figured I'd try a straight 12 in the skirt too.

( Pics! )

It fits! Wrap skirts generally have a lot of ease to play around with, so this is probably a factor. Even so, I still have plenty of ease left in the skirt! At full length you will definitely still be able to make out the A-line of the design. I don't know how you did it Colette Patterns, but you seem to have developed a shape that fits me perfectly! I picked the size based on my high-bust measurement, and the only thing I had to change was the darts. True, wrap-dresses have a more relaxed fit than most, but I'm definitely encouraged to try more Colette patterns.

My front darts however. Have not improved with the added weight of the skirt and pressing. I may rip off the skirt panels and start altering the darts again. I'd settle for something less fitted if it meant I could get rid of those seams/creases through my bust. Then again, maybe it won't seem like such a big deal in the morning.

In other news, more sew-alongs are cropping up that I'm tempted to join, but really shouldn't. There's a really neat looking 1940's inspired Swing Dress one over at Casey's Elegant Musings. But it's starting now, and I'm just getting started on making up my Crepe dress. And in February Peter of Male Pattern Boldness is doing a sew-along of the Men's Shirt that is on my list for the year. I'm doing my best to resist, but they're making it so hard!

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Sew-along: bodice mock-up 2; The Difference a Dart Makes

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 16:46:54 GMT

After posting in the Flickr group I received a comment that confirmed what I'd suspected, but had been willing to over-look in the name of an easier life. Namely, that the front waist darts were too much to the side. Here, this is the bodice, worn inside-out so you can see the seams more clearly.

( Darts, lots of darts. Image heavy )

So, yeah, there will be one more mock-up post. I'm going to wait a little while and see if there's any comments in Flickr, then I'll try the size 12 skirt on for size. By measurements I should be a size 16, but by measurements my waist should have been a size 14/16 too. Plus, it's a wrap skirt, so it will have lots of extra ease/fabric in the skirt as part of the style. This doesn't suit my shape, tending to make me look larger, so anything I can do to minimise the volume is a bonus. It was a bit of work, but the difference a simple dart made to the fit makes me glad I bothered.

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Sew-along: bodice mock-up 2

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 17:37:49 GMT

Okay, this is more promising. I decided that there was so much extra fabric in the first mock-up that I would try something radical; cutting out one size without any adjustments. I used some black poly-cotton, and only afterwards did I realise how badly it would photograph. On the plus side, the yellow tracing paper and white chalk came up beautifully. I took great pains to make sure I did everything as well as I possibly could. Pressed my darts and seams, thread-traced, used different coloured threads for each step, and drew the seamlines in chalk before thread-tracing them. I'm glad I did, I got to know the pattern a bit better. Mostly that the little circles (centre-point) sit exactly 5/8" in from the edges. Helpful to know next time I'm grading through sizes. Also, after making it up, yeah Julie, I see what you mean, the notches on my front and back pieces don't line up at all! Must be a mistake in printing.

( More pictures )

I'm quite surprised. I think it fits well (allowing that I seem to have wrapped the ties a bit too tight). There is a bit of bagginess under the bust that needs to be taken out with fatter front waist darts, but otherwise I think the fit is good. I've posted it in the Flickr group and waiting to see if they pick up on something I didn't. Most people were complaining about the positioning of the front darts, and while I think the front waist darts are a little high, the illustrations imply this to be intentional. I'm normally the one that doesn't fit, not the only one that does. It's a strange feeling.

Now, I'll probably do a small, short, mock-up of the waist-skirt piece to check the sizing too. Then, hopefully, just one more mock-up post, then on to the real thing!

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Sew-along: muslin 1, part b

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 19:40:03 GMT

Dear Internet, we have to talk. Please stop deceiving me. Even those of us that speak English do not speak the same language. Pretending otherwise just leads to confusion. As an example I offer the latest in my long list of discoveries; muslin. To me muslin is that light fabric often found in 70's blouses. I guess in the USA it is more commonly known as cheesecloth, or that thing you wrap turkey in. When someone from the USA, whose sewing adventures I follow, talks about making up a muslin, using muslin, I figure, yeah, I know what that is. However, I figured wrong. What is called muslin in the USA is called canvas, or calico here. It is a completely different kind of fabric; tough, thick, opaque.

Here, take a look:
( Pictures! )

So, yeah. I pretty much have to start again from scratch. I'm going to use the one pattern size and not graduate out to a larger size at the waist, but will probably reshape my darts so they are fatter and take out some of that bulk under the bust. *sigh* Well at least I know now.

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Sew-along: muslin 1

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 00:07:40 GMT

Following on from here.

I followed the instructions to thread-trace the seam-lines. I think it has been one of the single most frustrating things I have ever done. 1: my muslin is too loose-weave for this, it kept trying to gather/bunch up. I had to fight my machine to try and feed it more slowly. 2: my thread kept breaking, I lowered the tension, but that only helped a little. 3: on the bias the muslin kept trying to stretch. I had to tear crooked lines out a bunch of times and start again. And once I had it done? Totally not worth it. I think if I ever try this again I'll make sure I have a tighter-weave muslin, or better yet, some other cheap fabric like a poly-cotton.

By the time I got to basting the darts and seams I'd given up on the machine and basted (a temporary straight/running stitch) the seams by hand. A calmer me was found.

I'm just after trying it on, and I'm going to leave photos and final judgments to another day. It seems the waist is too big. It may be a smidgen too long, and I think there is extra material around the ribcage that can do with being removed. I do however very much like the placing and shape of the neckline, so it seems choosing the pattern size based on the high-bust measurement worked well.

I am worried that part of the reason why it doesn't fit well is distortion from trying to thread-trace the seams. I think I'm definitely going to have to make up my second muslin in poly-cotton.

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Sew-Along; Bodice; cut pattern and muslin

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 16:11:58 GMT

I know some of my fellow 'Silver-Cresters' (what do you think, better than Dublin Sew-Along Meet-up Group'?) are very eager to get started, and I am supposed to be all mentor-like, so I spent a little time today on the bodice muslin.

1. ( Measurements )

2. ( Altering the paper pattern )

3. ( Marking the muslin )

Next I have to stitch along the seam-allowances, then try it on and begin adjusting the fit. Sadly we'll probably have to do a couple of these to get the best fit, but console yourself with the knowledge that it's good practice.

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Sew-Along; Time to think ahead

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 15:10:41 GMT

Gertie has posted the schedule. Time to start thinking about fitting it into our busy schedules.

To help get prepared I looked back at the posts for the last sew-along. I found a few posts that could be of some help. Mind you, they are targeted at doing an Advanced project, and we're only doing Beginners, so if it doesn't all make sense don't worry.

- Picking a size, some bust adjustments, and choosing tracing vs cutting out your pattern. (We've the materials for both, and I hope to do tracing.)

- Pre-shrinking and supplies (for the other project).

- About muslins.

- More on muslins.

- About different seam finishes.

I'm beginning to think it would be a good idea to be able to do some of the sewing at home (especially if this snow keeps up). And to that end I really highly recommend one machine, this SilverCrest from Lidl. At €70 it is the cheapest I've ever seen it (and the cost of one pair of pinking shears!), and it's available from Monday, 6th. It won't be available for long, and probably won't be back for months. You will not regret buying it. I have one and love it. It has many features, lots of accessories, and its automatic tension is nearly invincible. You can always upgrade to a brand-name machine next time around, but I think that may be a while once you get used to this one.

One last thing, don't forget to check out the Flickr pool to see what everyone else is up to.

( My fabric )

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Sew-Along; Preparing the fabric

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 22:11:13 GMT

The 'Gertie Sew-Along Dublin Group' (I agree, we need a better title) met up last weekend, and battled our way through the shops, emerging victorious with almost all the materials we need. [I've no idea where to get silk organza, I'll probably head back to the bridal section and ask there. And I'm still debating whether the slight need for pinking shears justifies the huge cost.]

The selection is not great in these parts, especially at the weekend, nor when specifically looking for cotton, in winter. We got the muslin for the bodice mock-up (and had to explain it wasn't for cooking turkey), we got fusible interlining (ultrasoft), shell fabric (printed cotton or poly-cotton), and some of us got lining material too (poly-cotton).

So, we're all set, right? Nope. Annoyingly the fabrics need to be prepared before we get started. This means laundering them. Most fabrics have a tendency to shrink, but cotton and polyester definitely do. No point in going to great efforts to ensure your garment fits perfectly, only to have it shrink on the first wash. Also, I found my printed poly-cotton very stiff, but once washed it softened nicely, making it easier to work with.

The rough instructions are to wash the fabric as you intend to wash the final garment. There are some restrictions, for example dry-clean only fabrics. But the fabrics we picked out are made to be washed. Unless your fabric says otherwise (on the edge, the end of the bolt, or the receipt) then a basic 30/40-degree wash should be fine. Use your usual washing detergents, and dry as you would normally. Finally, we'll need to iron the fabric, to get rid of any creases before we begin garment construction.

[I am disappointed in the quality of my fabric, the print faded slightly as expected, but it has also become damaged in several places, looking like it might rip right through. Now I'm glad I bought a bit extra. Perhaps it should have been washed at 30-degrees. The lining fabric on the other hand, is so much nicer, softer, more solid.]

The fusible interfacing is likely to shrink as well. But you can't just throw it in a washing machine, the glue will get a mind to melt and it'll end up stuck to everything. I got a new book recently, the encyclopaedic Claire Shaeffer's Fabric Sewing Guide. It's a fantastic book, imparting boundless knowledge on how to treat and use all kinds of different fabrics. Here's what she says about fusible interfacing:

"...fill a basin with hot water. Place the folded interfacing in the basin. Remove the interfacing when the water cools, about 20 minutes. Roll it in a towel to remove excess moisture and hang it over a shower rod to dry."

And no need to iron, yet :) Also, no need to wash the muslin, unless you intend to make a finished garment from it. Now we're ready to start thinking about the pattern.

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Taking your measurements, and finding out how much fabric you need.

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 20:28:21 GMT

You have your pattern, now you need to buy your fabric. In order to know how much you require you need to take your measurements.

Warning: making your own clothes can put a dent in your self image, at the beginning. Sizes used for patterns tend to be of a historical sort, and older sizes were smaller. You may wear a 12 from a shop now, but that could be a 14 or 16 in your pattern. And, different companies use different sizings, so always, always go by the inch/centimetre measurement. Most patterns assume an ideal shape that almost no-one is. Also, most patterns assume a B-cup in bust. There are ways to alter your pattern to actually fit your real body.

The human body can be measured in many different ways, but for choosing the size of pattern you'll be working with you will usually need just three; bust, waist, hips. You will need a measuring tape. (Or a length of string, a ruler, and lots of patience.)

( Let's get measuring )

Gertie is recommending fabrics and fabric shops right now. I encourage you to shop locally if you can, but I know it can be difficult to get nice cottons in Winter. Just, please, check the cost of shipping before you buy. Have fun choosing your fabrics!

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Colette Patterns

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:18:01 GMT

Ha! Coincidence! My Colette pattern arrived today. That's six business days since ordering! And I have to say, it is by far the nicest pattern I have ever seen. The cover seems made out of something like wedding-invitation quality paper. This cover is a cross between an envelope and a DVD case, inside (and attached) is a booklet, full of instructions and explanations. The pattern pieces themselves are in a little pouch at the back. I'm blown away by it, truly. Pure luxury. Can't wait to get started making up the dress!

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Group Sew-Along musings

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 13:37:22 GMT

I find something very calming about reading blog posts. Gets me in a nice head-space. So much so, that I'm motivated to write my own! Sorry for being absent, I'm in the middle of the semester at college and assignments are really starting to pile up. Actually, I've a few essays to write, a precis, an ethics essay, and some regular write-ups. If I'm not ashamed of them they might end up being posted here.

But, what I want to talk about now is the sew-along I mentioned in my last post. Gertie runs a popular retro sewing blog. She's fun to read and provides clear instructions on many aspects. Thanks to her I've learned how to do tissue fittings and a proper narrow hem (I'm obsessively reading the archive from the beginning).

In December she is starting a Sew-Along project, where she'll step-by-step go through the making of a garment. This time it's going to be a wrap dress, at beginners level. Details.

I managed to get someone else interested in giving it a go with me, and then it occurred to me that there might be others too. I'm not an expert by any means but am confident in being able to handle this dress, so I've offered to help out where I can. I suspect that the dress will require some machine stitching, so I'm offering up the machines in TOG, and my mentorship should you need it. I doubt you will, Gertie is very good, but sometimes you just need terms explained.

If you are interested you can get the pattern from the ~~manufacturer~~designer in the States (20% discount code for this month in Gerties blog post), or even more handily for a beginner, you can use a pattern pack (pattern, fabric, interfacing, and thread, for about a 27% total saving) from a UK company, SewBox.

There are a few things that Gertie intends doing that I don't know much about. She says to start with choosing a light to medium weight, cotton or cotton-blend fabric. (The difference between version 1 and version 2 is the shape of the neckline, and that the sash/tie in version 2 is a contrasting colour. So if doing version 2 like Gertie get two fabrics in colours that go together.) She intends to do a muslin mock-up before hand, underlining the dress with cotton batiste, and staying the neckline with silk organza. Each of these steps will require more fabric, but no further details yet. And they're optional, extra techniques to help you achieve a really great garment. If it really is your first time maybe stitching to the basic pattern will be easier, and learn about these others techniques so you can apply them next time.

I intend to post progress pictures here, and possibly on the TOG site. If you're interested in taking part just let me know and we'll see what we can do.

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