Drafty....

Once all the festivities of Yuletide had calmed down I sat down to some long evenings of drafting. There's a few things on the pad at the moment, including my everlasting pursuit of the 'perfect' french knicker pattern. I'm getting close, but lots of Christmas cheer has made for a bit of a fluctuating waistline which is slowing things down a bit!

I'm also working on yet another 50's style dress, this one with small cap sleeves and a gathered sweetheart neckline. I've got some fabric in mind for this which is a bit on the pink side and might turn into a bit of a pattern-matching nightmare, but will look super cut if it all goes well.

I've also done a pattern for a friend who wanted a yoked blouse with bishops sleeves with a capped top which I can't wait to see. I was so annoyed with myself when I found out I'd drafted it to the waist and not the hip, but it's (hopefully!) easily fixed and I won't make that mistake again!

I'm still working on my tailoring skills too, though it's a slow process! I'm still ploughing through the 1945 tailoring book I found, though I'm having to stop and google every 5 minutes as the language is occasionally foreign to me! I've made some 1940's trousers for me though which I'll get some pictures up of soon.

Happy belated New Year! xxx

Resolute

When I was about 13 I made a New Years resolution to never again make new years resolutions. This year I'm breaking it (it did pretty well!) and I'm making 3 resolutions.

1) Wear more silk. This also means sew more silk as my budget doesn't exactly allow for trips to Agent Provocateur every other week! On the few occaisions I have sewn with silk in the past I've run into a fair few problems with its tendancy to fray and it's light and floaty ways. It does also give me the opportunity to learn more about the different types too and I do so want to improve my textile knowledge.

2) Watch at least 1 classic b&w film a week. Ok, not massively sewing related, but I imagine I will be wanting to copy the odd design. I watched It's A Wonderful Life for the first time a few days ago and I just wanted to recreate every single outfit I saw! Please put any recommendations in the comments, I need to build a big 'to watch' list.

3) Make myself at least 1 garment a month. I need to find time to sew for myself too - and not just the hastily thrown together fancy dress things I'm always doing. Things like a dress, a corset (finally!), or even a petticoat.

It's going to be a pretty busy year for me! I'm managing a shop full-time now while still keeping the corset-making/seamstressing side going. I think it'll take me a while to get used to having to be at the shop all the time, but at least my lovely friend Dr Sid got me a handheld sewing machine for Christmas so I can still make progress between customers! I'm working on a bullet bra at the moment, it's a strange garment - I'll let you know how I get on!

Happy New Year everyone xxx

Christmas burly clothes

The outfit for my xmas burlesque performance was pretty complicated and featured a heck of a lot of red satin! Obviously quick removal is fairly essential in these matters so almost everything was fastened with poppers or ribbon ties.

My choir girl outfit came together pretty well, though involves a hell of a lot of sheeting! With a combination of trims to make the neck ruffle.

Underneath that was a long red liquid satin crossed-halter-tie wrap around dress held closed by a popper over the bust and a wide ribbon belt (that was held shut with a chunky hook-and-eye). I made the pattern for this with just my bust, waits and hip measurements with which I made a basic undarted back panel and 2 identical front pieces with a few inches overlap and long ribbon shapes coming off the top. Originally it was going to be plain halter-style but the crossed-halter looked better and covered more of the outfit underneath. It falls open way too easily but then again it doesn't stay on very long anyway! I may well use some principles learned here for a formal dress in the future...


This is the final piece of the outfit I want to talk about. Red liquid satin side-tie french knickers with an elasticated waist. The white fluff at the side is the corset underneath. These knickers are tied either side by a thin white ribbon. I really liked the way these hung and will be making more, but without the side tie. I went for encased elastic at the waistband rather than stitched on. I might experiment with this. I may also try making them on the bias for a more floaty look.

All in all it went down a storm and I learned some good things making it.