A Little Black Suit and Swap is Finished

Let the bells ring out and the banners fly! I can take the black thread off my sewing machine! I'm done! Presenting my little black suit:





I used Vogue8543 for both the jacket and the skirt(which I've already posted about here)


I changed the back of the jacket. I made a mock-up and I didn't like the peplum so I just elongated the upper back pieces and I like it much better this way.




The fabric is RPL and I find it difficult to press without a shine ,so instead of pressing the seams open, I top-stitched each side of the seam with buttonhole twist.I threaded a second machine with this thread so I could use it as needed.As you know, I love to top-stitch so this was fun.




I lined the jacket with the same polyester satin as I used for the blouse.





For this blouse I used a combo of two patterns .For the body I used Burda 3087 and for the tie and sleeves, Vogue 2912 and I shortened the sleeves to elbow length.







The blouse is my last top for Swap and the jacket is an "extra"

My Salute to the trends, A Geometric Top

It's been a while since I posted because I haven't been feeling well. I haven't even felt like sewing. Now my husband would say "You know she's sick if she doesn't feel like sewing".

In any case I have finished my Swap. However I'm still working on an "exra" piece . But I can post on this top View C:



I love this geometric print. It's 100% polyester and only took two hours to make.

The only changes I made to the original design was to pleat instead of gather the neckline both front and back as well as the sleeves at the shoulder and the neckband does not tie at the back as in the pattern. I could see no advantage to that.







The sleeves are elasticized at the elbow and the hem is double needled.I finished the seams on the serger and used a .5 width and 1.5 long zigzag stitch to sew the entire garment.




I'm going to use it as part of my Swap. The black and yellow will go well with my grey and black bottoms. Also , it will add a punch of colour and transition into spring. I'm so ready for warmer weather and brighter clothes.

My Swap is Almost Complete.

One more top, a shirt , and I'll be finished but I am also working on a black jacket that,together with my black Swap skirt will be part of a little black suit.It will be another extra.

In any case here is another version of Butterick 3030 this time in a slightly stretchy embroidered polyester.



I shaped the sides a bit at the waistline and added bust darts to get a better fit.I find that I can wear this one with or without a hipslung belt which is a look that I love.Oh and I also made it about 5" shorter than the pattern.A long tunic isn't flattering on my 5'4" and not exactly slim body.

I sewed the facings to the outside of the neckline and the cuffs. I used a plain matte satin which didn't want to cooperate so to get a nice neat edge where the topstitching is ,I used organza to face the facing.



Here you see the cuff sewn to the inside of the sleeve and the organza sewn to the edge of the cuff.




The cuff is pressed to the outside of the sleeve.






After pinning, I basted the cuff in place then topstitched.





Because it's white, I can wear this one to work so it fits in very well with the Swap rules.
So Voila! I'm wearing it here with my black skirt.

Vogue 8421 or Oh My But Those Sleeves are Puffy

I've been wanting to make a blouse with puffy sleeves for a while now but I knew that at my age I had to limit the amount of pouf.Well,I really liked this pattern View A



and it was time for me to make a store display (for Fabricville). The spring summer fabrics have been pouring into the store and I chose a silk cotton striped jacquard in bright red because we have to wear red, black or white tops for work.Therefore this piece fits in very well with the rules of Swap.

I decided to use the bias for the front and back side pieces



I interfaced the collar and the front with silk organza and lined the whole thing with cotton voile of the same red colour. So essentially I had to make the blouse twice and then sew it together. I closed the unfinished section at the back hem with Steam-a-Seam (I love Steam-a-Seam)



The pattern was well drafted.I had no trouble with it.I made my usual FBA alteration and added one inch fit insurance at the side seams. It was a good thing because for this pattern I needed most of that inch at the bust in spite of my FBA.
As for the curved pieces, I stay stitched the front and back sections and clipped the seam every 3/4 " or so and this allowed the curved pieces to fit in very nicely.



The sleeves were made in two parts:the puffy outer layer and a liner.(I forgot to take a picture). I suspected that the end result would be too extreme for me but I went ahead and finished it so I could take it to work the next day. I have to leave it on display for two months before I can bring it home so I'll alter the sleeves when that time comes.

I really like the lay of the collar but it doesn't look good opened as it is in View A of the pattern.



My husband wasn't home to take a picture (it's probably just as well.It was too funny) so here it is on Bertha.




A few more photos here.

My Swap Jacket

I've been absent from the blogging scene because I wanted to concentrate on finishing my Swap . Well I didn't exactly finish, but I did complete my jacket and a matching skirt.
I decided to keep a time log and calculated that I spent a total of more than 30 hours including six hours of hand sewing on this jacket. I enjoyed the process very much but I have to admit that I don't want to make another coat of any kind any time soon.

For the jacket I used this OOP pattern that I included in my original Swap plan. ( My Swap looks nothing like that plan).

For the skirt I used this Mc'Calls pattern:



I used this same pattern for my daughter's skirt at Christmas time and made the same changes so I won't say much about it. If you want you can look here to see how I altered the style of the pattern.

For both pieces, I used a black and grey herringbone wool. I lined the jacket with a Kasha lining and the skirt with a poly satin (because I forgot to pick up some burgundy Bemberg and didn't want to wait until I got some) . I thought I would tie the two linings together by using the printed satin for the piping on the jacket facing .

Now back to the jacket.I made my usual FBA and added one inch at the side seams but didn't need it. I sloped the shoulders and took off a half inch from the shoulder width. I made some changes to the originalstyle by adding about five inches to the length (I added the length at the waist (1") at the hip (3") and at the bottom (1").




I also added welt pockets. On the original there were only flaps but no pockets.







The design details on my jacket are all centred on leather- the collar, the pocket flaps,the cuff piping, the bound buttonholes and the covered buttons.All of the leather came from that $10.00 leather skirt I bought from Value Villageand which I also used on these pants.














So here it is with the pencil skirt. I wore the suit today to church and got a lot of compliments. It really is an ideal outfit for church.





For more pics and construction details, look here .

A Warm and Toasty Extra Piece for my Swap

This sweater jacket came to be quite by accident.

Last winter ,I bought a nice soft 100% wool sweater knit thinking I wool make View C of the . Marci Tilton T-Shirt pattern. I decided to prewash my wool in cold water on gentle cycle. Well ,I was completely shocked to find that my beautiful knit had metamorphosed into about half its size and at least three times its thickness.This was to my way of thinking probably a perfect example of felted wool.

I had this pattern and immediately decided that my felted wool would be perfect for View B.And Voila! So it became!



I only had 1.25 meters to achieve this garment so it was a real challenge. I managed by using a poly-fleece of close to the same colour for the under collar and the facings.In this photo you can see the under collar. It blends quite well with the wool ,so It turned out OK.



I decided not to change the pattern this time. I didn't add anything at all. I used loops as the pattern required but only put in three instesd of four. And I had these pretty flower buttons in my collection and they did the trick.



I finished the seams in two different ways. For the side seams, I top-stitched on either side and trimmed off the excess. For the facings, I used a Hongkong finish . I added a wide bias strip to the back hem to make it even with the facings.I left the sleeves for now. They are very thick with the pleats and all so I didn't want to tackle them.



This Jacket can also be worn as a sweater around the house. I'm always cold and I'm wearing it right now as a matter of fact.It will be great with my Swap jeans, or any jeans. I can wear it with my Swap skirt for a dressier look.I think I'll get a lot of wear out of this piece.

For now it's an extra piece. If something should happen that I couldn't finish my Swap jacket ( which I've been working on for a couple of weeks now), then this could serve as the jacket for my Swap.

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My Second Award and Paying it Forward.

Thank you to Ann and Claire who sent me this Sisterhood Award. I really appreciate this because that is exactly what we all are isn't it? Sisters who love to sew. It's as simple as that really.

The rules of this award are:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post .
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received your award.

So I'm paying it forward to the following :

Animat ofSew Fit
Karen of Kbenco's Projects
Eva of Morzel
Belinda of Sew-4-Fun
Julia of Julia's Sewing Blog
Linda of Seams Well
Elizabeth of Bits and Pieces
Nancy of Encue
Cenetta of The Mahogany Stylist
Ruthie of Ruthie K Sews

Swap Comtinues ... Garments 8 & 9

Well, I've been away from cyberspace for a week now, but I'm ready to get back to my sewing and my blogging. Thank you to everyone for your condolences. It was very much appreciated.We are all glad that the past week is behind us.

I have two new garments to show you and I really had fun with these pieces! The pants are an out-of-print New Look pattern (6251 ) that I absolutely love. I've made them three times before in size 12 without any alterations, in the cropped version and each time the fit was as near to perfect as I've ever gotten in a pant.



For this pair, I used the full length version. The fabric is a lovely soft charcoal heather wool flannel.The pockets and back welt are in black leather which I got from a leather skirt that I bought for $10.00 from a store we have in Eastern Canada called Value Village. I lined the pockets and added a wool band to the top as well as a really neat burnished silver shank button .



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I've decided that I don't wear my dress pants all that much and I wanted to make a more casual wool pant. I think this style does the trick.They are long enough for a higher heel as well as a flat.



This top started out as mock-up #2 of Butterick 3030 View B



which I've been wanting to try for a long time.The first mock-up will be a night shirt because it was really big. I had cut the size medium. For this one I cut half way between medium and small. The fit is good.

The fabric is from my stash and is a tye-dyed poly cotton lycra blend and the colours are a rich wine with charcoal and black.The finish is almost suede-like and is a substantial weight.

I really like the result so I decided to use it for my Swap. (By the way, I made the top 3 " shorter).I couldn't just leave it plain and I've been wanting to use these large black grommets on something so I tried a sample and saw that they weren't too thick . But where to place them? Well the neckline was the obvious place



and I repeated them on the sleeve cuffs. I miscalculated how low to put them on the neckline and if I had to do it again ,I'd place them a half inch lower but they look OK I guess.

I should also say that I added the grommets before sewing in the facings or else they would have been a little scratchy.





This top is a very good match to my three bottoms. It's casual with the jeans, but I think it will be dressy enough to wear with the black skirt, especially with a belt.