Vintage sewing

Pattern Review is having a vintage sewing contest and it made me pull out my vintage patterns and try one.  I chose McCalls 9230 which is a 1968 pattern (I love the 60s). My inspiration for this dress?

Picture from TomandLorenzo.com

I will use the tan for the main body, orange for the crossed piece on top and brown for the other crossed piece. The back of my dress is one piece so I modified the pattern to include a pieced back where I will use brown again in the bodice.

I am using some of the techniques I'm learning about in the Susan Kahlje class. I will make the Vogue dress from the class next, I was just too excited to make the vintage dress!

I made a muslin since I'm not sure about the sizing and I'm ready to sew it today and try it on! I am so excited about this project!

Making a dress using couture techniques

About a week ago I signed up to take Susan Kahlje online class at Craftsy.com. Last night I watched the introduction to the class and printed some of the instructions, I am so excited to start on this! The pattern that is included in this class is Vogue 8648.

Right now I'm thinking I'll make a sleeveless full skirt version, but of course it will depend on which fabric from my stash I choose.

I love taking classes, any kind of classes! When I first moved to Maryland with my first job after college, the company I was working had the new hires in a two week training and I loved it. Once the class was done I started taking non-credit classes at Johns Hopkins University on art, music, history,etc. As I started to get really interested in sewing, quilting and knitting I took many classes. Of course once you master the basics it becomes harder to find classes that go beyond, that is why I'm thrilled with this class!

The first step will be making a muslin. I'll keep you posted!

The costumes in action

Just one more post about theater sewing, I promise! Just wanted to share these beautiful shots taken by a professional.

These I took while they were getting ready one day.

Don't know why the ostrich feathers are a little droopy  here

What a blast I had!

Still in the clouds this morning

Fantastic opening night, what a show! After all these months of work what a thrill to see it all come together! When Gertrude's tail grows there were gasps from the audience and then again when she comes in with all her tails on. Mayzie had them mesmerized she was dazzling as can be!

I'm off to the daytime performance for elementary school kids and then tonight I will be in the audience again!

Countdown to opening night

I'm in the middle of the whirlwind that is a stage production. Opening night is Thursday so I'm now repairing costumes and adding final touches to many; I'm lucky that two other moms who can handle needle and thread are there with me and have been a great help.

The costumes I made look fantastic on stage, yay for me! =) . The production is now looking like a show! Amazing the talent of the kids, I have heard some beautiful voices, some are only freshmen so we can look forward to enjoying their performances for a few years still.

Next week all will be back to normal and I will resume sewing for me =)

Timeless style

In 1959 my mom was on her honeymoon traveling for a month in Mexico. She had to be very careful with her money when she was single and so every item in her wardrobe was carefully chosen to be versatile and of course stylish. In Havana, Cuba where she was a young woman, most garments were made by seamstresses and she tells me how at the time synthetic fabrics were just starting to show up and they were very attractive due to their economical cost.

She had brought to her honeymoon some of her pretty dresses and her high heel shoes to then discover they were not very practical for the sight seeing my dad had in mind, especially once they left Mexico City. In the picture she is wearing pants she had brought with her and the very practical oxfords my dad bought her there to make sure she could do all the walking he had in mind. The bag was also another one of his gifts, one that she used for many years, I remember her having it!

My mom tells me that at the time and in Mexico City, among other towns, a woman wearing pants was a no-no. When it was ok for her to wear pants, the guide that my father had hired to take them around Mexico would let my mom know and she then would change. I love the look on her face in this picture where she is coming out of the lady's room having changed into her bright printed pants.

Of course printed pants are all over the runway for spring and the simple oxford is also very popular; talk about timeless style!

Do you think love of prints runs in families?

This and that

I am finishing with the theater sewing, right now I'm doing a few accessories. Of course once dress rehearsal starts I'll have to monitor to see how everything functions on stage and make any changes that might be necessary.

Here are the epaulettes, glue is still drying, that I'm making for a military jacket.

Here is the headpiece for Mayzie and her finished dress.

I also made furry cuffs (for the six Wickersham brothers) and now I need to make scarves and headbands for five Who children.

I picked up this knitting project, which has been dormant. I was having such a hard time with it I put it away and got more lace knitting practice instead. I now was able to finish both sleeves and I'm ready to cast on for the front.

Image from Interweave Knits magazine

I am looking forward to do some spring sewing but what to start with I still have no idea. I'm going to look over my spring/summer patterns to get inspired!

Have a great weekend!

The beauty of a rolled hem and Mayzie's dress

Yes, I have made for the first time a rolled hem with my serger and I'm in love. The ease of it all! And how pretty it looks!

How do you like the explosion of color in my sewing room?

I was at the point of finishing the hems of the petticoat for Mayzie's dress (for the Seussical production) and read a post in The Slapdash's Sewist blog about replacing her serger because she was having trouble making a rolled hem with her old one, and I saw the light. Why not a rolled hem on this cute circle skirt with ruffle? The instructions for the petticoat, a circle skirt with an attached ruffle came from an old Burda Easy Spring/summer issue, but you can find similar instructions in the internet.

I finished the waist with grosgrain ribbon and even though I hate using velcro in my sewing I used it for the waist for adjustment flexibility.

Here is the dress, McCalls 4826. I have pinned the petticoat to the dress to see the peek-a-boo effect.

The flowers I made using the directions from 2 books. The smaller ones are the Dior rose and I followed Palmer/Pletsch Couture The Art of Sewing by Roberta Carr; the other is from High Fashion Sewing Secrets by Claire B Shaeffer (this I had made before).  Both these books are indispensable, in my opinion. I now have to work on her bird-tail =)

I really like this halter dress pattern. The skirt side seams are placed in the front of the dress so the back piece is fuller than the front. It makes a very flattering dress. The back straps I added which make the back even prettier, the actress loved this feature!

My Image magazine/ La revista Mi Imagen

I have been meaning to share with you that the folks over at My Image magazine contacted me to offer me a free issue of their newest magazines. Here is what they said

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SPECIAL OFFER FOR BLOGGERS!
If you are interested in trying our magazines, we can offer you
2 FREE COPIES! (Normal price in the US: $9.95 per copy)

HOW TO ORDER?
You can order them in our WEBSHOP. Use coupon code FREE4BLOGS to get 100% discount!

Notes:
- Offer is valid for the new Summer '12 editions and until Febr 12!
- We have to ask a shipping fee to make this offer possible for us.
(The standard postal rate from Europe to the US of €5,49 for 1 magazine or €9,95 for both).
- PayPal payment in USD is possible.
- Please write your blog name in the company field.

A FREE IMAGEWEAR PATTERN!
If you've received the magazines, we hope you'll write a (short) announcement or review on your blog to support us. If you send us the link of this announcement, we will "reward" this with 1 FREE IMAGEWEAR PATTERN (normal price: €8,95).

FINAL WORDS
We hope this offer is interesting enough to let you try our new magazines. We believe in them, all we need is some people who do also :-) Everyone with a sewing blog can profit from this offer, so you can also send this offer to friends if you like!
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I have  already received my copy and I'm looking forward to making up the garments. My Image patterns are similar in sizing to Burda Style. The patterns are easier to trace since there are less patterns included per sheet (the magazine has 16 patterns).

I already made a dress/tunic from their first Winter issue and I was very happy with the result.


La revista My Image/Mi Imagen me ofrecio mandarme dos revistas (yo solo pedi una) gratis (piden que uno pague por el envio postal). Tambien dijeron que podia compartir la oferta con mis lectores pues ellos son una compania pequena que esta tratando de darse a conocer. Solo tienen que usar el coupon FREE4BLOGS cuando pogan la orden aqui. Ya yo he usado sus patrones y me gustaron.


La oferta es para la revista de mujeres y la de ninos de primavera/verano. Espero que la aprovechen!

Burda Style 9/2011 108 tunic

I finished this dress a while back when it was too cold to wear, the fabric is a light  weight bamboo knit. I was attracted to the pattern which is a tunic length top, I liked how simple it is but yet a little different. I had been wanting to make a simple knit dress that I could accessorize in many ways so I lengthened the pattern, I would have made it longer but didn't have enough fabric.

I know this is a very subdued color for me =) but I'm looking forward to playing with different color combinations. This morning I liked how this cardigan brought out purple undertones in the fabric.

Nothing really to add, as far as construction, I ignored the binding instructions for the neckline and just turned and stitched

Amazing Gertrude!

So here you can see how the final costume will work. These pictures show the second stage of Gertrude's  tail, the actress will have the boa in the pouch, details below, so that then the tail will grow on stage. I also added sleeves since the teacher requested them. I used a double knit I had leftover from my Butterick dress, I thought it would be more comfortable for the actress, who does a lot of dancing/jumping/moving on stage, to have a knit sleeve. I can't remember the pattern number where I got the sleeve pattern but it was from another Simplicity.

In the beginning of the show there's no need for the actress to walk around with the boa in the hidden pouch (ties keep it secure to the inside of the pouch )so I made a single feather that goes on the hidden hooks.


For the pouch I added lining panels sewn into the back seam and then they were sewn to the lining to make the pouch.

After her tail grows, the actress goes off stage, but she ate so many berries to grow an amazing tail that when she comes out again she has a bigger/fuller tail. She will get two boas added on.

I added length and the feather trim after the actress got a chance to wear the unfinished dress for a rehearsal. The dress was too short, so I just added the band that is included with the pattern, Simplicity 5092. Also the wrinkles showing up in center back that show up on the hanger are not there when the dress is on.

The dress rehearsals will put my design to the test. I have some other ideas in case the hooks don't work well and I will have extra boas in case these boas start looking like a moulting chicken before the show is done =)

So what do you think? I had such fun with this project!

I already made McCalls 4826,minus the embellishments, it needs a fitting to finish. This dress is for Mayzie who is very glamorous, I'm adding fabric flowers, and lots of feathers and boas for an amazing tail. Today I plan to make the petticoat that will peak out at the hem, it will be a Burda Easy magazine pattern, more details later

Miercoles Tam, Knitscene Winter 2011

I love the way a flower shows up on the crown as the cables come together!

I was looking for a hat to knit, one that had enough ease built into the design that did not flatten my hair =). I found this design and I loved it. Hats are pretty quick to knit but I like them to have a variety of stitches to make it fun. This one fit the bill!

The bobbles are made with a crochet hook.

I used yarn (Dark Horse Yarn Rhapsody, 100% merino wool, aran weight) that has been in my stash and that came from a local yarn shop that closed a few years ago.

Of course right after I finished it the temperatures in my area rose to the 60s so I couldn't wear it. Well, it has been pretty cold recently so I got to try it and I love it! So far no flat hair to report!

Ravelry link

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Gertrude's costume is almost done and I already cut out the fabric for Mazye. More Seussical sewing showing pictures soon!

Gertrude McFuzz dress, Simplicity 5092

I was able to do quite a bit of work on Gertrudes's dress. It's looking very 60s as my husband pointed out, I agree and I like it!. The white ovals are supposed to anchor the pockets, I skipped the pockets and just added the bands for looks.

A little wonky on the hanger, the side seams are just pinned

I had to change the way the dress is put together because I'm adding a lining that will help support the pocket/bag that I hope will hold the tail that can be pull out on stage when her tail grows. I could not finish the neckline with the outside facing as instructed so I added an inside facing to finish the neckline and attach the lining. I also added more swing to the skirt by adding a wedge at center back and front and since it is on the short side it should give the actress plenty of room for dancing and such.

Here is the opening for the tail.

I need to add the lining/facing and the sleeves, which I'm adding to the teacher's request.

If my idea for the growing tail works, I'll share it with you just in case one day you need to costume Gertrude!