My Summer Sewing

Well ! Again it's been a while ! Somehow, blogging has stopped being one of my "Things to do on Sunday " In any case, I've had a lovely time sewing just for me this summer. I've dug in my stash and used some fabrics that have been lingering far too long. Now don't get me wrong. I've also added to the stash at an alarming rate too. I'll never live long enough to sew all that stuff up , but ,oh well,. We all do it, don't we !

I'll start with a new dress I made a couple of weeks ago. I used an OOP  Vogue Designer pattern that I made 12 years ago and still have in my closet. It's 2900  by  DKNY

Here is my original dress  made from an embroidered cotton voile.

And here is the new one made using a stretch poly sateen.

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The original was lined but I didn't line this one as I wanted to get to wear it before summer's end so it had to be a quick make. Luckily, my weight has stayed pretty much the same for the last 15 years or so.The only alteration I had to add to the pattern was a rounded back adjustment.  This is s a great church dress worn with
a purchased little cover-up (no pic ) .

The next piece I want to show you is a dress I made for a special event My husband and I attended last June. I resisted making a cocktail dress that I would never wear again. Instead, I chose this pattern ,bought on ebay because I made it in 1980.

In 1980, I made it out of black wool jersey purchased at Natural Fibers  Fabric Club.  I loved that dress and although  my shape has changed a lot since then, I thought I could make the pattern work for the evolved me.

Here it is on Antoinette.

The fabric is a very drapey (maybe too drapey ) , rayon jersey. I chose it because it was available in the opposites print. The difference is not very discernible but I was happy with the result.

I remembered that in 1980, the zipper in the wool jersey had given me a lot of trouble so I decided to leave it out in this dress. It easily slips over my head in spite of the waistline seam.

I wore this one to church this morning and I think I was the only woman who hasn't already switched to fall clothes !! So sad to see summer end !

I get  compliments whenever  I wear my retro dresses especially from my hubby.
I like the longer lengths and the fuller skirts for a change.

That's it for now. I hope to be back again soon to show all the shirts I made this summer. I sort of got carried away, LOL.

have a great week everyone from





                                          

Vogue 9341 A Reversible Jacket

Another big thank you for the warm welcome back. I feel so blessed !

As soon as I saw Vogue 9341 among the new Vogue patterns for fall I knew I had to have it.

                                

The jacket on the pattern envelope is a work of art and gorgeous but I know I'll never make one like that or maybe I  will one day but for now I just want to make it my way.

I decided to make a mock up first because I'm never sure which size to make when the sizing isn't  numerical. My first make was in medium and was too big but no worries because it will be offered at my Feb. 28th Fashion Show. This is that one.

The fabric is a sueded double sided coating fabric I've had in my stash for a while.

This pattern has only FOUR main pieces + the pockets ! No facings ! Easy peasy but so cute on .

I used a knit binding on all edges . I lengthened the sleeves so the jacket would be more serviceable for the climate here in Canada .

I changed the pocket as well and placed them on the jacket front.

For closures I used simple snaps.

Here is an alternate way of wearing it

Now for my own jacket ! It's reversible !

                                                                

I found this really interesting knit jacquard at Fabricville and knew right away it would become this jacket.

The navy striped side looks more casual and the taupe variegated side looks like raw silk.

I used the selvedge to finish all the edges , turned it to the navy side and top stitched.

This resulted in a nice clean finish on the taupe side.

 I like this side view !

I decided against buttons for this version as well and opted for snaps. I may re position the snaps at the collar for this one as I prefer the way the collar looks on the first jacket.

 As for the pockets, I sewed pockets to each side of the coat. I did this by positioning each pocket exactly over each other and stitched from the taupe side and they turned out great

            

This pattern is a really simple sew. What surprised me is just how cute it looks on for being unstructured.

If you're looking for a quick something to make to satisfy your sewing urge, I highly recommend this pattern. My Sewing Class is very enthusiastic about making their own versions.

Next week , I have a special dress to show you that I made for a special occasion in my husband;s life. Please come back to have a look.

My Little Red Jacket, Vogue 8262

I'd like to really thank everyone who visited my post last week and especially those who left comments. I appreciate every one of them so much. You made me feel so glad to be back and you made me really enthusiastic to continue blogging.

Today I'm going to show you a little red jacket I made last fall. I had long wanted a red jacket to wear to church or as a dress-up option. Here it is. It didn't photograph well at all !

Oh dear that looks just awful!!!.

I used a well-loved old pattern for this one, Vogue 8262.

 I made this  version years ago when I  I participated in Swap .

The Fabric I  used is a lovely silky ponte knit bought at Fabricville of course. It has a fairly heavy hand and was just right for a jacket

I lengthened the pattern by about  3 inches. I also increased the width of the front pleat by an inch. In the back instead of a pleat I sewed darts all the way to the hemline . I top stitched  but was a little sorry I had bothered as I wasn't pleased with the result.

I had a really hard time to find buttons that were the right shade of red but these  are cute I think.

I finished most of  the seams on the inside with a Hong Kong finish which as you know is one of my favorite ways to finish seams . I so love the look of the inside of my jacket! If you want to know how to finish your seams this way look here for a quick tutorial.

To wear with my jacket,  I couldn't resist this beautiful animal print scuba knit fabric also bought at Fabricville .I made it into a pencil skirt and palazzo pants.

I love the jacket and skirt together.

As for the pants I haven't as yet warn them  with the the jacket but I have worn them a lot especially over the holidays with a sparkly top I made using a pattern I drafted myself for one of my fashion shows.

The fabric is a sparkly, copper coloured textured, poly knit that is really soft and beautiful.

If you haven't sewn with scuba knit yet I want to recommend it especially for pants, skirts ,and dresses. It has just  enough weight  for any one of these garments. It presses well and the finished product ,in my opinion, looks high-end, not to mention it is so very comfortable to wear. I have to admit I don't particularly like it   for tops though. I guess I simply prefer a lighter knit for  tops

I hope you enjoyed seeing these additions to my wardrobe. I have quite a few more things to show you so please come back next week.

And in the meantime

Happy New Year , 2019

Happy New Year  dear old and new Sewing Friends.

 I know I've neglected my blog for the past couple of years. I've explained before why that is so I won't go into that again. I'm preparing for my 6th and final Fashion Show to be held on Feb28th and that will be that. Although I've so far raised about $8000 for our Food Bank and school breakfast programs and have really enjoyed all aspects of the process,I've decided that all good things must come to an end. My health is being affected by the constant planning and sewing so it's time to get back to my life as it use to be and that includes blogging.

I've just been making specialty items for myself in the past few months. That has cut down a lot on the guilt I feel about having too many clothes. My closet has taken on a new look with only pieces I love wearing.  I want to show these pieces  to you in the next few weeks. I'll start with my most recent make and work my way backwards . I do hope you enjoy seeing what I have been creating.

Just before Christmas , I finished a new and longed planned for coat.

You might have noticed that the jacquard fabric is the same I used for the garment in my last post  (of Mar.18, 2018 ). My original plan for the fabric was the coat and then I decided I had enough for the vest as well.

For my coat, I used Simplicity 2311 , which I've used twice before, once for me and once for my daughter.

                                   

This time I  made  the single breasted notched collar version, sort of. I actually used the collar from  Vogue 8841   and caused all kinds of problems for myself but it turned out well enough in the end. I also lengthened it by 8" because I want to wear my new coat over longer styles. I also intend to make a faux fur collar for it but not now. I'm tired of working on this thing.

To start with I fused the whole coat with  interfacing to give it extra weight and drape.

For the collar and flaps for the welt pockets, I used the reverse side of the  jacquard  fabric.. I kind of wish I had used black leather instead but too late now.

I had intended on using black leather buttons but in the end, I decided on theses burnished gold domes instead to give it a bit of a punch.

For the lining, I bought a piece of polyester matte satin. I love the gold trim. I think this little touch really makes a garment look upper end, don't you ?

I wasn't sure I really liked my new coat at first but I wore it to church Christmas morning and got all kinds of compliments so that helped me to like it more !!

If you're a coat lover like me and you'd like some more details about how to make a professional looking one, you might like to check out my posts here and here on my other blog Diana's Sewing Lessons.

It's good to be back !! Please let me know what you think about my new coat.