Closet Core Sienna Maker Jacket

I resisted sewing any Closet Core patterns (previously Closet Case) for a long time because I took exception to a facetious remark that company founder Heather-Lou made about pattern cutting in an interview I listened to a few years back on the now-defunct Stitchers Brew podcast.

Obviously this approach harms no one except me and eventually I stopped sulking and relented because they had produced some really nice-looking patterns in the intervening years (and drafted by a professional pattern cutter…)!

I bought the Sienna Maker jacket because I was attracted to the variety of options it had including different lengths, quirky sleeve pockets and a button-up back vent on the short version plus the elements were all largely ‘mix-and-match’. This is something that’s always been quite normal with paper patterns from the traditional Big 4 (they aren’t 4 any more but you know what I mean) Indie patterns seem to often have a tendency for fewer versions in a single pattern and then you’re left to put your own spin on them, or they create add-on packs when they notice what others have been doing for themselves.

Anyhoo, in the autumn of 2022 I was going on a sewing retreat hosted by Sew Me Something in Stratford upon Avon so, using some printed needlecord from Barry’s in Birmingham, I cut out the short version of the Sienna Maker as one of my projects to sew while I was there.

The Sienna Maker is intended to be slightly oversized so I based my size choice on my bust measurement (39”) and went with a US14. I’m more than happy with the fit and there’s room for a layer or two in cooler weather (it isn’t lined though so this does make it a little trickier to get sweaters down the sleeves)

I found the instructions and diagrams really thorough, it’s rated as an advanced garment and I would agree with this because you’re dealing with some unusual or more tricky techniques, plus the fabric will probably be stiffer or thicker than most dressmaking fabrics. A good degree of accuracy is needed to create a sharp collar and lapel for example but I thought the diagrams and instructions for this area in particular were very good. It’s helpful to be clear which is your right and left because the two longer coat styles don’t have symmetrical details on the fronts so if you’re in any doubt (especially if the fabric is the same on both sides) put sticky labels onto the pieces until they are sewn together.

There is a lot of encouragement to create the garment you want by including various suggestions for seam finishes for example. I used a mixture of bias binding (Hong Kong finish) and simple overlocking but you could use flat fell seams for some of them if you wish. I’ve had a look and the Closet Core website has loads of tutorials for different techniques and methods so you might find something helpful there if you’re a bit stuck.

I made my own bias binding for both jackets, and for the short version I topstitched and made buttonholes in a contrast bright pink. I bought some fabulous metal buttons from the amazing selection at Textile Garden you’ll be spoilt for choice! You could also use heavy duty poppers instead.

I’ve had so much use from this short version since I finished it last October, I just find it really comfortable to wear, the pockets are really handy and surprisingly the unusual print seems to go with everything.

Fast forward to April 2023 and I was heading to a different retreat with my Sew Over 50 photo shoot pals to a wonderful place we’ve found in Derbyshire.

When I bought the pattern I had always intended to make a longer version too, I just hadn’t found the right fabric. Eventually I settled on the 12oz organic sanded twill cotton from Merchant and Mills in the Stanley Tan shade after seeing it made up as a jacket by a friend. I decided (and I hope I don’t live to regret this…) not to prewash it, my rationale being that there was quite a lot of fabric so it could end up streaky from the washing machine. Also, because it’s a coat, it won’t get laundered very often anyway and I could get it professionally cleaned when necessary.

I opted to make the longest version with the belt and D-rings so there are no fastenings this time, it has a deep front overlap which personally I feel crosses over to the wrong side, I would normally cross right over left so it feels a bit alien. As before, the instructions are excellent, there are a couple of areas where you really need to concentrate like making the opening on the front for the belt to pass through. My top tip would be to make sure you have transferred all the pattern markings carefully before you do any sewing because the two fronts each have different features, I used lots of tailor’s tacks!

Inside finish of the belt carrier

In spite of the distractions of sewing with my friends I took each part of the process slowly to make sure I had everything in order and a really nice quality finish. Once again I made bias binding from a blouse I no longer wore but liked the fabric, it has a new life inside the coat where I can see and enjoy it for far longer than as an unloved blouse.

psst, wanna buy a gold watch…? by the way, the shirt is a Holiday Shirt by The Maker’s Atelier which I squeaked out of just 1 metre of fabric

The coat has an attached belt which slots through D-rings on a tab to fasten (which I already had due to a major cock-up when ordering trims for a ruck sack pattern, but that’s a story for another day…) There are some very thick layers in few places but my Pfaff handled them superbly, I used a chunky jeans needle throughout.

The suggested finish is to topstitch all the facings and collar but I decided against this and I spent a quiet evening herringbone stitching them all in place. If you are going to machine topstitch I strongly suggest tacking (basting) the stitching line so that you have an accurate line to follow on the right side, this should hopefully reduce the need to redo areas where you may have wobbled off course.

I hope I will get as much use from the new longer Sienna Maker as I’ve had already from the short version, it will be too warm on sunny days but for our unreliable weather I’m sure it will be great. I didn’t want a heavy full-length coat and so just-above-the-knee suits me fine. Incidentally, there’s a large interior breast pocket and I didn’t include the back hem split. The fabric is beautifully soft but weighty, it has a suede-like finish, pricey but superb quality.

Delighted as I am with my new coat I can’t help feeling that there’s more than a hint of four candles and Arkwright’s stores about it but no matter, in my head perhaps I should rename it the Ronnie! [one for my British readers there…]

I’ve got a couple more Closet Core patterns in the pipeline over the summer, I made a Mile End sweatshirt last autumn and I’ve also bought the Nicks dress which I’ve got fabric lined up for already plus I’ve just invested in the Kalle shirt so I must be impressed with the quality of the patterns!

Until next time, happy sewing!

Sue

Sewing with a new exclusive design linen from Lamazi

In the spring of 2022 Lamazi launched their first range of exclusive design fabrics called Garden of Dreams which proved to be a big hit with customers so now, in Spring 2023, they are launching a second range called Summer Party. This collection includes printed linen and viscose marrocain and has been created by super-talented surface pattern designer Rachel Parker using vibrant shades and subtle pastels.

This is the Garden of Dreams fabric which I used to make McCalls Marina #8090 last summer. It’s a Tencel with Lyocel Sateen and an absolute delight to sew and even nicer to wear, it has the most beautiful weight and drape. I squeaked this dress out of 2m of fabric and it was worth the head-scratching because I’ve worn it a lot.

Liana at Lamazi generously gave me my choice from the new collection so I opted for the gorgeous Painted Foliage design which comes on a fine, more environmentally-friendly mill-washed linen, it is semi-sheer and reminds me of beautiful stained glass windows with the sun shining through them. It’s been lovely to work with so I’ll share some of my experiences of sewing with it you.

Because the linen has been mill-washed it’s already beautifully soft but I gave it a pre-wash anyway for my own peace of mind, habit I guess plus I’ve learned the hard way over the years!

Like the Marina dress I wanted to use every possible scrap of the 3 metres of fabric so I chose to use the Maven Wendy smock top (which I already had) for the bodice and then a simple tiered skirt attached at the bottom. A tiered skirt is an excellent way to use every bit of fabric because, with a few calculations, you can simply cut (or tear with certain fabric types) strips across the full width of the fabric available, gather them up and attach to the layer above/below.

I chose to cut a size medium for the blouse although I probably could have sized down to a small, I actually reduced it though the underarm seam after trying it on the first time. I shortened the length by about 30cms too, the amount you need to shorten by will vary depending on the look you’re after. I also wanted more fullness in the sleeve so I ‘slashed and spread’ a traced-off copy of the sleeve pattern to give added volume.

Divide the sleeve pattern vertically into a number of even-width strips (not including the armhole edge though, that remains unchanged) and cut from the hem to just before the top leaving a tiny amount of paper still attached. Pivot each strip open to add fullness at the hem, plus an additional 3cms to the length for a longer finished sleeve. When you’re happy with the shape retrace the new configuration.

By folding the selvedges into the centre fold I could cut the front and back bodice pieces side by side [this is also useful when you need to ensure the good pattern match on a print] I used the various gaps between the sleeves and bodice pieces for the two small patch pockets and the front neck facing. So that I kept the remainder of the fabric as untouched as possible I had to cut and join lots of bias strips for the neck binding. From everything that was left I cut (across the fabric width) two strips measuring approximately 30cms deep and three strips approximately 40cms to form the skirt. [I could have simply cut the remaining fabric into two equal rectangles and made a gathered skirt from that but I wanted a more interesting skirt and sewing the skirt in tiers like this gives a fuller hem] Eventually there were only very small scraps left.

I opted to add some decorative stitching using this Gutermann Deco Stitch 70 thread. The trailing leaf design seemed appropriate from the wide selection my discontinued Pfaff Quilt Ambition 2.0 offers.

Attaching the V neck facing

More trailing leaf embroidery

Adding the neck binding-I gently pulled up the edge with two rows of gathering stitches first then attached the binding. Because the linen frays a bit (it’s a loosely-woven fabric so this tends to happen and is to be expected) I overlocked the edge before turning the binding over it to finish.

I secured the binding in place with more embroidery which ran right through to the tie ends as well.

Next I constructed the skirt, I opted to overlock the cut edges before gathering because of the potential for fraying-I would normally overlock afterwards.

I simply joined the two 30 cms strips at the short ends to form a loop, these seams would eventually match the side seams on the bodice. The three deeper strips were also joined at the short ends to form an even longer loop. I turned one long edge of this section and hemmed it using the trailing leaves embroidery and on the remaining long edge I sewed two rows of gathering stitches, this was pulled up and attached to the shorter skirt section. Finally I gathered the remaining top edge of the smaller loop and attached the whole skirt to the bottom of the bodice, no pattern needed!

Lastly, I created a casing on the bottom of the sleeves and ran elastic through them.

The fabric is semi-sheer and I’m wearing a nude slip underneath it but I didn’t feel the need to line it.

Like almost any linen some crumpling develops but I really don’t think it’s excessive or unsightly.

Lots of lovely volume for swishing about

I can’t wait to waft about in this over the summer months

Because of its semi-sheer quality I don’t think the fabric is particularly suitable for trousers or shorts, at least not without lining or mounting it first. It’s a softer linen which lends itself to more unstructured shapes, maybe with gathering, pintucks or soft pleats so shirts. blouses and dresses are ideal. It doesn’t have much drape though unless cut on the bias.

Thank you once again to Lamazi for providing me with this beautiful cloth, I know there are still a few more exclusive collaboration fabrics to come into stock so do keep an eye on the website or sign up for the newsletter. Small businesses are having a very tough time at the moment and I have no qualms about the quality of cloth and the standards of service that Liana and James continue to offer at Lamazi. I was given the fabric but have not received a payment for this article.

Until next time,

Happy Sewing

Sue

Hacking the LB Pullover into a summer dress

I bought 3 metres of this gorgeous viscose crepe fabric (originally bought from Fabric Godmother in July 2020 in probably long discontinued) but it sat in my stash for nearly 3 years before I could decide what to make with it! The problem was that I liked it so much that I didn’t want to waste it on something which didn’t show off the beautiful ‘ceramic tiles’ print, utilise its gorgeous drapey qualities, or which left too much wasted. I would regularly get the fabric out and pin it onto Doris in various ways to see if I could settle on anything in particular. I knew it had to have simple lines and I didn’t want complicated pattern matching to break up the design. In the last year I’ve made a number of LB Pullovers from Paper Theory and it occurred to me that the top was just the right shape to use for the bodice (minus the sleeves and collar) and then I could use what was left for a skirt.

Washed and ready for a three year wait….

Four versions of the LB Pullover, so far

I used approximately 60cms for the bodice (I was able to place the front and back side by side across the width) and then everything that was left I cut into strips across the width following the ‘tile’ design. I had enough to make 3 tiers to the skirt and, ideally, each one would have been twice as long as the one above but there wasn’t really sufficient for that. I reckon the tiers were more like one and a half times as long so that would have to do.

I finished the neck edge with narrow binding which I managed to eke out of the remnants.
I sewed a reasonable amount at the penultimate Herts Sewcial in early March and then finished the rest later at home. I was over-confident in the fit though because when I tried the finished dress on it was too big. I wanted slightly over-sized and my previous LBs were all a good fit but this crepe fabric had ‘grown’ a bit so I needed to bring the sides in to give it more shape.

On the inside at the waist and running horizontally across the side seams I made a wide channel about 25cms long by 5cms through which I inserted elastic approximately 12cms long that pulled up enough for me to be happy with the effect.

I finished the dress ready to take on holiday, our first cruise in more than 3 years.

Each tier is as deep as the tile print.

Happy Anniversary to us and cheers to 34 years married!

In the fancy atrium of the ship

pratting about in the fancy atrium of the ship!

It’s a bit hard to tell which is front or back so I sewed in this helpful Kylie and the Machine label

It might have taken nearly three years to get there but I’m really pleased with the final result and I know I’m going to enjoy wearing this dress in the coming months.

Do you dither as long as me about what to sew with fabric you love? I can’t be the only one who gets their various fabrics out periodically, strokes it, considers it, matches patterns to it and then folds it away again until next time!

Happy Sewing

Sue

Sewing the M&M Ellsworth shirt for Backstitch

The Backstitch store at Burwash Manor near Cambridge.

As one of the new team of Backstitch Ambassadors I relished the chance to go along to the gorgeous shop at Burwash Manor to browse their fabrics and patterns. It’s about 40 minutes from where I live and I love to go there whenever I get an opportunity, I’ve previously included it in this round-up of Hertfordshire based fabric shops. To be completely honest, I already had an idea that I would like to make the newish Merchant and Mills Ellsworth shirt but I had an open mind about fabric choice. In my head I was looking for a lightweight linen-type but as soon as my eyes alighted on the checked double gauze I was all in for that! It was folded on the bolt with the large check visible on the outside but when I discovered the reverse was small checks my mind was blown and I knew I could mix the two sides to create a unique garment. There are currently 4 colours available but I settled on the pretty shell pink variation. I took 2 metres as per the pattern instructions but after cutting it out (and as I’ve found before with M&M patterns) I had almost 50cms left over, even allowing for pattern matching. It’s very annoying when this happens and I’ve made a note for next time. I cut a straight UK 12 with no mods.

I loved the elliptical pearly buttons but there were only two of the pink shade left so I made do with two pink and four ivory. Backstitch have quite a wide selection of buttons, trims, and ribbons plus lots of other haberdashery and sewing equipment including Brother sewing machines.

The Ellsworth is quite typical of M&M’s aesthetic, it is a very wide and loose fit shirt with a stepped hem, a collar and button placket and cropped, cuffed sleeves. It will lend itself towards fabrics which have an element of fluidity and drape such as soft linen or cotton-types, light woollens, crepe, chambray or babycord. Some light- or medium-weight jerseys would probably be okay but I wouldn’t recommend ones with a lot of stretch. 

Another reason for choosing this shirt (apart from the fact I liked it anyway) is because I had seen a few makers on Instagram were having trouble interpreting the instructions for the placket. I hope what follows will give you a bit more information and guidance. 

Away we go…

Definitely give your fabric a wash first, its light loose weave will shrink a little (it will be very crinkly when it comes out of the machine but don’t panic, it will press flat again. You may ultimately prefer the crinkles but they will be hard to work with during the making process so press as you go for now)

If you are a person with no patience when it comes to laying up your fabric, or time is tight, then this may not be the fabric choice for you because it does need some careful laying up and folding to get the checks straight and matching [or you could cut every piece on the flat to save on the head scratching] There were a couple of places where, in spite of my best efforts I was bit off but I won’t tell you where they were and you might not notice anyway! It does have the advantage of the large check being 3cms square and the reverse is 1cm squares so a 1cm or 1.5cm seam allowance shouldn’t be a problem to follow.

The problematic placket is made first so here’s my interpretation of the instructions for you. Begin by interfacing all pieces as instructed (although I interfaced the whole placket rather than half as the fabric is quite fine and a bit unstable)

Mark the bottom of where the placket will be sewn on with tailor’s tacks or a soluble marker pen then stay stitch just within the seam allowance, at 1.4cm (14mm) to reinforce the area. For visual reference, the large squares are my right side, the small squares are the wrong side of the fabric.

Cut down the centre front line and carefully snip diagonally into the corners.

Fold and press each of the two placket pieces down the centre and then press in the seam allowance on one edge only. Trim this by half

Next, pin each unpressed edge onto either side of the slit, right sides together.

Stitch each side in position down as far as the tailor’s tacks, you should stop a little bit short of the bottom edge.

Trim down the seams by half.

Now flip the work over so that you have the wrong side uppermost. Press the seams in towards the placket piece on the left as you look at it then fold over like this, pin and tack in place. Now turn the work back over again.

Working with the right side uppermost, edgestitch the placket you have prepared.

Keeping the right unfinished placket out of the way, you need to position the left placket (the one you have just sewn) layered like so with the triangle at the base of the slit. Carefully stitch just below the original staystitching. This is with the inside of the work uppermost, neaten the edge and press downwards.

Now work on the right placket (it is on the left as you look at it though) Fold up the lower edge as demonstrated here, pin and tack in place. Edgestitch on the right side of the placket only as far as the bottom, do not sew across the bottom yet. Now work your buttonholes while the placket is still separate.

After working the buttonholes, lap the placket over the underneath one and stitch it in position like this.

You should now have a placket which looks something like this.

Next I moved on to the sleeve opening which is neatened with a very narrow bias strip.

I found the bias strip included to be incredibly narrow, especially for a fabric which is loose weave and a bit prone to fraying so you may want to cut your strips a little bit wider. I made the strips work but they were very fiddly. Instead of edgestitching as per the instructions I sewed them with a tiny zigzag which I hope will hold them firmly in place. Or you could slipstitch them by hand if you prefer. Next, fold the bias evenly in half and stitch across the top at a 45 degree angle, I’m not sure if the diagram intends you to sew through the sleeve too, I didn’t.

The way I’ve sewn it, once it’s finished, the sleeve opening and cuff looks like this.

The hem facings are sewn on next, then join the shoulders using French seams. This is a useful technique if your fabric is very fine, sheer, or frays badly, or if you don’t own an overlocker. Obviously you can sew a flat seam and overlock/zigzag if you prefer. You could also topstitch these seams if you want a bit of interest on them. My personal preference is to press shoulder seams to the front, this is so that the seam is slightly less visible when looking at it.

I found the collar instructions straightforward so I won’t go into them as well, I opted to catch the lower edge down by hand so that I had control over it and a really neat finish. I also added a label from Little Rosy Cheeks.

Inside the finished collar

The sides are then French seamed, be careful with the step at the lower edge and make sure you don’t take too much seam allowance on the seams because this could throw out the overlap at the top of the opening. I used the bartack stitch on my Pfaff to secure it as this could be a point of weakness further down the line.

I opted to sew two rows of edgestitching along the top of the hem facings, just to add a bit of interest.

Finally, the cuffs are sewn on and the buttons added.

all finished

I’m all in Merchant and Mills today, these are their Eve trousers in cream drill which I bought at their Rye store back in September 2021.

I cut a straight UK 12 with no modifications and I’m 5’5” tall but if you’re taller you might want to lengthen the shirt as it’s quite cropped at the front.

I’m very pleased with how the Ellsworth has come out, I’ve worn it with flat-front Eve trousers but it will look good with a skirt or even a dress under it for layering. I’m going to have a look through the stash to see what other fabrics I can make it in now!

I’m delighted to have the opportunity to write for Backstitch because it’s a lovely little shop which I’ve been visiting for a few years now. It’s in a beautiful rural location and sells a really nice, well-considered range of quality fabrics and indie patterns and sewing books. As Ambassadors we are provided with gift vouchers to shop in the store, it’s entirely up to us what we make and how much of those vouchers we spend, the balance can be kept to spend on another occasion if we choose to. If you don’t live anywhere near enough to pay a visit yourself then Backstitch has a recently revamped website to shop through too, their range of yarn, knitting and crochet patterns are all on there too.

I hope you have found my review useful, that’s always my intention, do write in the comments if there’s something which still isn’t clear and I’ll try to help.

Until next time, happy sewing

Sue

A few hem finish suggestions-a Sew Over 50 topic

Over on the @SewOver50 account recently I shared a few of my favourite ways to finish hems or raw edges, although course it is absolutely NOT a definitive list by any means. I thought I would expand a little here on the blog using more photos of projects I’ve made in recent years. They are in no particular order either and if I wrote a blog post about the whole garment then I’ve linked it so you can read more if you want to.

Obviously there are the usual hand-finished hems using slip hemming stitch or herringbone stitch for example, which I use a lot too, but I thought I’d share a few alternatives which you might not know, or haven’t used for a while.

I’m beginning here with a faced hem…

This was the hem of the first Refashioners project I attempted. It was a jacket made from two pairs of my husband’s old jeans and because I wanted to use as much of the reclaimed fabric as possible I cut shaped facings for the lower edge. As you can see I also finished the edge with bias binding I made from offcuts of dress fabric.

The inside of the finished jacket looked like this. I understitched the lower edge of the facing to help it roll better and also slip-stitched it in various places including the seams and pocket bags to secure the facing without the stitching showing on the front.

This is also a much more shaped facing on the hem of Tilly and the Buttons Orla blouse. This can be a beautifully neat finish on a curve, it gives some ‘weight’ and crispness to the hem too and makes it less likely to curl upwards on blouses for example.

This Orla blouse was from 4 years ago, I like the exposed zip in the back too (the instructions for putting it in were excellent if I remember correctly)

The next one is an interesting hem finish which is very useful especially if you want a quality finish on evening or bridal wear. It uses something called ‘crin’, crinoline or horsehair braid (it doesn’t involve actual horsehair any longer though!) I’ve used it here on an organza skirt for the Dior New Look-inspired evening dress I made 4 years ago. As well as a crisp finish I wanted the hem to have distinct body and wave to it so this was the ideal technique. Crin comes in various widths, this was 5cms, lots of colours too because it’s more commonly used these days to trim hats and fascinators.

Helpfully, my fabric had horizontal stripes, some opaque and some sheer so I started by placing the crin on the front of the fabric and lining it up with the bottom edge of an opaque stripe. It is stitched on very close to the edge being careful not to stretch the crin as I sew, it’s important it lies flat. By sewing the crin onto the right side of the fabric when you flip it to the inside the raw edge of your fabric is enclosed underneath. To be honest I was making up the method as I went along because my experience of this technique previously came from altering wedding dresses which used it so this isn’t foolproof. I would strongly advise you to try a few samples first so that you have the version which looks best for your particular garment. [the eagle eyed amongst you might notice in my photo that I’ve sewn the crin to the wrong side of the fabric! I obviously did it and photographed it before realising what I’d done. As this was four years ago I don’t have any other photo!]

Once the crin is turned up to the inside I slip-hemmed it by hand, it looks a bit messy on the inside because the black shows up but it’s absolutely fine on the right side.

the finished dress, it’s one of my favourites I’ve ever made, and it’s a partial-refashion too because the velvet bodice used to be a skirt!

If you’re making a wedding dress for example and mounting all the skirt pieces onto another fabric, when you use crin on the hem (or bias binding for that matter) by hand-sewing the hem all your stitches will be invisible because you can catch them just through the mounting fabric. This is a couture technique so if you look at red carpet dresses with no visible stitching at the hem this will be how they achieved it. You can apply it as appropriate to any garment that you’ve mounted to another fabric though.

The next couple of photos are where I’ve used bias binding to neaten a hem. I find this a really useful technique if you need the maximum amount of hem because you can sew a very small seam allowance. It’s good if you’re letting down hems to gain length too, on trousers or children’s clothing for example.

Sew the binding on very close to the raw edge, this was a Simple Sew Lizzie dress

Here I made my own binding which is first sewn on with a 5mm seam allowance and then understitched which is what you see here. I made this Grainline Farrow dress for a magazine review

The hem is turned up and I’ve slipstitched it in place by hand.

This is the same technique with ready-made bias binding.

the finished skirt.

My final example is the little christening gown I made from a wedding dress.

If you have fine fabric why not consider using your overlocker if you have one on the rolled hem setting? Refer to your manual for specific instructions how to adjust your machine and make samples first to ensure it’s going to be satisfactory for your particular fabric. You’ll frequently see it used on chiffon or georgette but I’ve used it successfully here on fine cotton lawn, jersey and a stretch velour. If you don’t have an overlocker you can probably achieve a similar finish on your sewing using a rolled hem foot ideally and a small zigzag stitch-as always I would urge you to experiment to see what is possible. Some of the simplest machines can still give you an interesting variety of finishes.

This is one of my variations on the Camber Set

I roll-hemmed a straight strip of fabric here which I then pleated onto the sleeve using a fork!

I roll-hemmed a straight strip top and bottom and gathered it onto the sleeve here.

An extended length sleeve on the River pattern from Megan Nielsen, roll-hemmed and elasticated

I find the next couture/tailoring technique very useful on sleeves as well as coat, jacket or dress hems. I’ve used it here on my Tilly and the Buttons tester-made Eden. I wasn’t taught this method as such, I discovered it for myself whilst doing alterations taking up sleeves for people. I haven’t ever encountered it in pattern making instructions but I think it’s an excellent way of stabilising the cuffs of coats and jackets.

Using strips of iron-on interfacing to stabilise the area where the cuffs fold up

This is felted-type woollen fabric where hand stitching is unlikely to show through but if you have a finer fabric I would make the interfacing strip wider so that I then caught the inter with my stitches and not the fabric itself. See the next photo to explain this better.

You can see the interfacing is above the hem line here and I’ve herringbone stitched it by hand. You can also see how I’ve created a chain link to anchor the lining to vent opening on the back of the skirt.

the hemming stitches aren’t visible from the outside using this technique.

For this next finish I’ve used a triple straight stitch to create the effect of top stitching on the hem, and several seams, of this Simple Sew Zoe hack I made last summer.

If you have the foot attachment and stitch capability for your sewing machine you can always try blind-hemming. I must admit I don’t use it that often, and only then on completely straight hems. There is a bit of a knack to it and I tend to only use it on a busy print which will disguise any botched bits (yes really!) or if I’m tight for time compared with any other method. It’s not quite the same quality of finish you will see on RTW clothes though which uses a specific machine to blind stitch the hem.

Personally I always think the stitches show a bit too much no matter how hard I try to get them really tiny. It’s very easy to catch a bit too much fabric, or none at all! In truth I probably don’t practice enough!!

This Regatta dress from Alice & Co was an ideal application because the skirt has a straight, unshaped hem.

I think it’s worth mentioning that I like to use bias binding to neaten necklines (and armholes) too. I particularly like this as a way of avoiding using a neck or armhole facing which can be notorious for constantly rolling into view or flapping about annoyingly. The version you can see in the following two applications is a strip which I’ve folded in half lengthways first, the raw edges are matched and sewn. The seam is trimmed slightly and snipped if necessary, then turned so that the edge is enclosed and finally topstitched close to the folded edge to secure. In both the following examples I have sewn the binding on the wrong side of the fabric so that the binding turns to the outside to be visible and decorative but you could just as easily sew it to the right side so that it turns to the inside of the finished garment.

the binding is sewn on the inside first

the binding then flips to the outside to become visible.

This dress was made for the Simplicity pattern hacking challenge last year

Instead of the usual hem on this dress I created a casing which I threaded elastic through.

I’ve have included another variation of binding on a hem to show you how it can be combined with other techniques to achieve a quality finish. I used it here on a sheer organza which was mounted onto a backing fabric of slipper satin. This meant that when I turned the hem up the hand-stitching was invisible from the outside because the stitches only went through the mounting fabric.

the hem from the inside

the finished hem from the outside.

the finished dress, I was off to a wedding!

The next technique is more usually the choice of the pattern designer than the dressmaker, although if you know a little about pattern cutting you might be able to do it for yourself. This is an example of a deep grown-on faced hem on the Trend Patterns Square dress which I’ve made twice. It works brilliantly on this dress because the hem edges are straight (square!) plus it gives real weight to the hem which is another satisfying detail.

Inside the hem the corners are mitred.

Pin hemming is a technique I’ve used for decades on fine fabrics. You can replicate it using a rolled hem foot attachment on your machine although it can be trial and error which size works best for you with variable results. I have two different sizes of foot, 2mm and 4mm and I can’t get on with either, I’ve since been told that 3mm is the optimum size for most fabrics but I’m not prepared to risk another mistake when I know I can achieve a good quality result this way instead.

Simply put, I turn over the raw edge by approximately 5mm and stitch very close to the folded edge. Carefully trim the excess close to the stitching line and give it a light press. Then turn again and stitch a second time on top of the first row of stitching. This particular example is from the Trend Bias T-shirt dress I made a few months ago.

turn stitch and trim

make another narrow hem, stitch a second time on top of the first line. Press. There will only be one row of stitching visible on the outside.

If you read about my pattern hack of the Simple Sew Cocoon dress you will see how this variation of hemming came about. I added a large chunk of fabric to give extra length to a dress that would have been too short without it. This method is probably best on a straight hem, you could use it on sleeves too.

attaching a band to the hem.

The finished dress (worn with walking shoes during lockdown!)

This next one is a very much trial and error. I used an edging stitch on my Pfaff sewing machine to hem this Broderie Anglaise blouse which I made recently.

I put a piece of Stitch and Tear behind the fabric as I sewed.

It looked like this after I finished

It will look like this on the reverse.

gently pull away the backing and then carefully snip off the excess fabric up to the stitching line.

Eventually the hem looked like this, the sleeves are trimmed with Broderie Anglaise

I’ve used a variation of a faced hem recently when, instead of bias binding, I used straight strips of fabric to turn up a straight hem on a dirndl skirt. There will be a blog of this particular garment coming soon…

I had some narrow strips of white cotton lawn lying around so I joined them to make a piece long enough to go around the whole hem.

I folded the strip lengthwise.

attach the strip to the hem, raw edges together.

I understitched it, plus there’s a band on the front which is what you can see folded over in order to enclose the facing eventually.

The band folds back to enclose the hem facing.

There’s a little bit of puckering on the reverse here but this is invisible from the front, a good press will sort that out.

To finish with is a very simple method of rolling a fairly narrow hem. Overlock the edge first using three (or even two) threads then carefully turn it once and then again so that the overlocking is enclosed inside. If the fabric is quite ‘bouncy’ and won’t stay in position you could press the edge over once first and then roll it the second time. Whilst the result is wider than pin hemming it is narrower, and possibly quicker and more accurate, than a simple turned hem.

Stitching the hem with the overlocked edge rolled to the inside.

This last suggestion is from a project which will be blogged very soon. I cut 6cms wide bias strips which I used to create a self-neatening hem on a pair of pyjama shorts.

the bias strips were applied right side to wrong side on the shorts hems.

the bias strip is on the inside at the moment

It is then turned up to the outside where I trimmed and stitched it with ricrac braid.

I hope you’ve found my suggestions useful or thought provoking, is there something here which you’ve never encountered before, or that’s made you think how you could use a technique you already know in a different way? The idea is to show you a few ways of finishing hems, or raw edges, in new and interesting ways. I’ve not included the usual hand stitching methods because there’s nothing new to think about, although please let me know if you use these methods in a more unusual application. Just because the pattern instructions tell you to finish the hem a certain way doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do it that way…although think it through carefully just in case the really is a reason!

Until next time, Happy Sewing

Sue

Refashioning-from old jeans to a new jacket 2016

This is an edited version of the original post from 4 years ago. Not all the pictures are here but I hope you get the gist of the jacket refashion. Sue

I’ve never been a great one for up-cycling really, I guess as a former sample cutter I always enjoy the challenge of cutting something new out of fresh fabric in an economic or inventive way. I think that’s probably the same reason I’ve never bothered with quilting or patchwork-cutting fabric into small pieces and then reassembling it in a different order-not for me I fear. Mind you, back in the day we were less concerned about ‘reduce reuse recycle’ than we’ve since, thankfully, become.

Anyway, at the beginning of August, Portia Lawrie announced that her Refashioners 2016 competition for this year would be to turn jeans into…something else, anything you like! Last year’s theme was shirts and I saw plenty of imaginative ideas where mens shirts became dresses, skirts, different shirts and the winning entry was trousers!

Anyway, I was pondering vaguely on the theme (almost entirely driven by the amazing prize-package that was on offer, the prospect of fabric/patterns/sewing books is enough to stir me into action) and thinking that I didn’t actually have any old jeans in the house to cut up-my girls wear way too many stretchy skinny jeggings to be useful and Mr Y is a keen believer in wearing things to infinity and beyond!

However, as luck would have it, Mr Y was having a rare ‘turn out’ and what should I find but TWO pairs of almost identical jeans…except they weren’t denim jeans, they were corded drill (looks like corduroy but not fluffy) Would they do? a quick email to Portia who said she thought they would. Excellent-green for go!

The next issue was that they weren’t even blue, they were very similar, very well washed shades of stone/sand/beige…you get the picture? Then I remembered I had a packet of unused Dylon machine dye in indigo-score!

So I set about unpicking the offending trousers…this took rather a long time to be truthful and made a huge mess with all the threads everywhere on the carpet in my workroom, Threadquarters.

I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to make but I knew that the more useable fabric I could harvest the better. Once I’d taken everything apart I had four legs with side seams still intact, two waistbands with pockets attached and two zips removed. I popped the whole lot in the washing machine with the dye and 500grams of salt, you run the hottest cycle and then, when it’s complete, you run the whole cycle again with detergent. This is to remove any excess dye and also wash the machine out too (although the next proper wash I did was a dark one just to be on the safe side) I was pretty pleased with the outcome. The two pairs were by and large virtually the same colour now, interestingly the top stitching on both hadn’t dyed as the thread must have been synthetic, and the zips hadn’t either. That was a pity because I thought I might have been able to use them but they were just different shades of brown now-yuck.

After a lot more thinking, and sketching, I settled on a jacket for myself because I took the view that if I was going to spend such a lot of time on this with not a lot of realistic hope of winning I wanted to at least have something I’m happy to wear!

To work! I had a rummage in my-ahem-extensive collection of patterns to see what I had that might be basis to use. Most jackets I’ve made were years ago so they’re all a bit 80’s tailored but then I came upon a pattern from the 1970’s that my neighbour had given me when she was having a turn out (more recycling?) The jacket in itself wasn’t something I’d wear but I loved the curved bust dart in the front, it was collarless and edge to edge and the back was in two pieces.

All this meant that it could be a go-er. I spent a while fiddling with the pattern pieces and the trouser legs to see what was going to go where. Because I wanted a shorter length jacket that helped, the front would fit on to include the original side seams and the back would go above that with a modification, and the sleeves would come out of the other legs. They were all mostly on grain which pleased me a lot. (When things aren’t cut on the grain or on the bias they can go very wobbly when sewn up)

I forgot to mention that I decided to trace off a new spot and cross copy of the original as it was quite tatty, and I was shortening it anyway.

Because the back wouldn’t fit on without overlapping the front I chose to add a panel in the back so that it became four panels. This isn’t difficult, I just drew on the new seam line where I wanted it, added seam allowance of 1.5cms and a balance mark to the back panel section and cut it off. The remaining new side panel then needs the 1.5 cms added back on plus another 1.5cms for its own seam allowance. The photo should clarify this a little.

Once I’d got the panels sorted I could pin them onto the fabric.

I tried as much as possible to keep things on a proper grain line so that they behaved when I started sewing them together. Out of the other legs I cut the sleeves which I positioned so that the original seams ran straight down them. One of the things I liked about the pattern was the little elbow darts which would give them a cheeky feature.

Another rummage in my stash found me an open-ended zip in blue, I’d decided to tidy up the inside-and make it a bit more individual-with pretty bias binding. I managed to cut front and back neck facings out of what I’d got left from the sleeve leg.

Sewing the jacket together was very straightforward after that. I top stitched most of the main seams in part to match them to the originals and to link it all together, this meant I had to put the sleeves in on the flat rather than set-in but they look ok.

Because the zip was too long it gives an interesting finish to the neckline where there’s a section at the top that doesn’t do up, which I like. I wanted to use the pockets too but I didn’t want them spoiling the outside clean lines so I devised a way of having them on the inside.

The lower facings (cut from more scraps) fold up to neaten the bottom edge of the jacket.

I ran out of the red binding but I found about a metre left of the binding I made to go on my favourite dress so I used that instead. I understitched the lower edge in a fluoro-pink thread (just because) and then slip stitched the facing in place by hand so that it didn’t show through on the front. [I put binding on the cuff edges too so if I turn them up it’ll be visible]

I think the internal pockets might be quite useful if I ever go poaching!!

The only bits I didn’t find a use for in the end were the waistbands. I thought I might have used them on the lower edge but in the end I decided I didn’t really want the band on it and I wasn’t sure poor my machine could cope with the number of layers that it would have to sew through.

So there you have it, my entry to The Refashioners 2016. I’m really pleased with the outcome, it’s a tad big but that’s fine and it’s totally wearable. I used jeans that were headed to the charity shop (or even the bin), a gifted vintage pattern, binding I already had and a zip from my stash, a win all round I think. Needless to say I didn’t win the big prize but I did get an honourable mention in dispatches. 

The jacket got its first outing in the wild, on the way to the first Sewing Weekender in late August 2016. I’m very happy with it and I’ve had loads of wear out of it. I think it achieved my aim of not looking too much like a thing that’s been made from something else and being not very good in the process. I’ve never really aspired to being designer so I know there will be far more original ideas than this but I want a garment that is wearable and useful to me and no one else. I hope you agree…although you probably wouldn’t say if you don’t!

If you’re reading this in 2020 (and what a very strange year this has been!) you might have seen me wearing the jacket for my first trip back to the V&A museum in almost 6 months, the wearing of face masks being compulsory. I’m wearing it with a linen Trend Patterns Bias T-shirt dress which I included in a review here. The exhibition is Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk which I also reviewed earlier in year. My hair has grown quite a bit too!

Again, apologies for the gaps in the original photos but I hope you get the general idea of this refashion. 

There are a quite number of blogs and websites out there that can give you ideas and inspiration for this kind of project and Portia’s own is as good a starting place as any, she’s a great advocate of refashioning with so many clever ideas and in 2020 this is still very much the case.

Happy Sewing

Sue xx

 

 

A Simple Sew Cocoon dress hack

I had made two Simple Sew Cocoon dresses without alteration when the pattern was first released a couple of years back, and you probably know that I love a bit of a pattern hack so I decided that the style would be good for an adaptation. I’d drawn a few sketches of ideas and had a rummage in the stash for some suitable fabric when a funny thing happened…

I found I had already cut out a hacked Cocoon in the past!! I realised I must have done it easily two summers ago but then abandoned it because I decided it would be too short. I remember it was a limited amount of fabric, probably 2 metres, but I put it to one side and forgot about it. 

Fast forward to now, I wanted to make it up but I needed to lengthen it in a way I was happy with. I had truncated the bodice at Empire line just below the bust and then the skirt was two widths of the fabric, a simple dirndl. I’d cut the facings too but there was literally nothing else left except small scraps.

There’s a centre front seam in the bodice, I cut the dress horizontally under the bust at about Empire line

I went through various options including adding extra frill layers but to do that you gradually increase the amount of fullness needed for each layer, in other words, layer 1 would be 1.5x the waist measurement, layer 2 could be 2x the length of layer 1, and layer 3 could be 3x the length of layer 2. In simple terms this means longer and longer strips of fabric are needed to form each frill to be sewn to the previous one, and the longer the length of the dress the more layers you might need. Basically I couldn’t make the skirt any longer with what I had because it was already cut, and because of the lockdown I couldn’t go out to look for a suitable plain cotton. I returned to the stash and eventually found 50cms of cotton poplin which I know I bought at the same time as the original, I must have intended it as a contrast but never used it.

By cutting the 50cms piece across the width into two 25cms pieces I could join them at the side seams to form a loop and then fold them in half to create a 12.5cms deep band which I would sew to the hem of the dress! Simple! 

Once I’d worked all this out I sewed up the bodice, rather than hemming the cap sleeves I used some binding from my stash so that I could maximise their length. I planned to twin needle some top stitching in various places and I used two different coordinating threads for this. 

Bias binding sewn onto the sleeve then understitched

bias binding turned back

The completed sleeve with twin needle topstitching

I did the same around the V neck once the facing was sewn on, in order to get a pristine join at the point I carefully unpicked a couple of stitches and secured them on the reverse.  

I wanted side seam pockets (of course) so I had to cut them out of some plain cotton scraps, each piece was added to the side seam and then the side seams sewn up. 

The new band was initially slightly wider than the lower edge of the skirt so I restitched it until the two were the same width and matched exactly at both side seams. I used the overlocker with four threads to join and neaten the band in one step, I pressed the seam upwards and then twin-needle topstitched it to decorate. 

the band folded and pinned to the lower edge of the skirt

The final step was to run two rows of gathering stitches at the top of the skirt then sew it onto the bottom of the bodice, matching at the side seams. I pressed this upwards too and topstitched it as well.

For a dress which had languished with not much hope for two years I’m really happy with it!! I loved the fabric (which was from John Lewis originally I think about 4-5 years ago!) and I was so cross I’d cut something which I couldn’t imagine I’d wear if I sewed it up. By adding the deep band the skirt now has weight as well as length. It’s been so comfortable in the hot weather, why did I wait so long?!

we were heading out for our exercise hence the unsexy shoes!

we have a Henry Moore sculpture on loan for the duration of the centenary year of our town, maybe we can keep it for an extra year now that all the summer celebrations are cancelled?

Coronation Fountain

yes I have got water coming out of the top of my head!

Lockdown is easing in the UK since I originally finished this dress but I hope, as always, this hack has given you an idea of how simple it can be to take a section of a pattern you already have and give it a twist to become a different garment. I had very limited fabric with a print which still needed to match everywhere, by adding the hem band I’ve given it the look I was after…it just took a couple of years to think of it!

Until next time, happy sewing,

Sue

Simple Sew Chelsea Collection blouse hack.

A lot has happened since I wrote my last Simple Sew blog post, Christmas for one thing, and I had a lovely holiday in the sunshine too but now we are all confined to our homes because of Covid 19. Without wishing to trivialise the gravity of this situation, one of the side effects of it is that you might have more time to sew. 

I’ve had a rummage through my Simple Sew patterns to find one which I haven’t already shown you, and which has opportunities to hack, and I settled on the Chelsea Collection. This is a capsule wardrobe of a short sleeve blouse with two variations, a pair of trousers and a button-front skirt in two lengths. I liked the blouse with it’s shirred sleeves and keyhole back detail but I decided to mix it up a little by adding a button front. Normally we are able to select fabric from a couple of generous sponsors but I wanted to ‘shop my stash’ to find something this time. I found a very pretty vibrant floral John Kaldor cotton lawn which I think I picked up from a swap table sometime and I knew would work well for the blouse. 

I didn’t want the blouse to be overly tight so, after checking my measurements I opted for a larger size than I’ve made previously. If you’ve been a regular reader of my posts you’ll know that I tend to check Simple Sew patterns for any discrepancies before I start. There didn’t seem to be any glaring ones but I just added a slight curve to the back hem so that it dipped in the same way as the front and I trued the shoulder seams so there was a smooth flow from front to back. 

Adding a curved hem to the back, I measured the distance from the lengthen/shorten line on the front then made the back the same amount, curving the line gently upwards to the side seam.

trueing the shoulder seams

As I wanted to alter the front significantly I had to make some changes there first. In order to create a button-stand I simply added 2.5cms to the centre front all the way down what would have been the fold. [2.5cms was a fairly arbitrary figure because it depends really on what size buttons you’re using, a general rule of thumb is that the bigger the button the bigger the button-stand needs to be so that there’s enough overlap and the garment doesn’t end up too tight because the overlap isn’t big enough.]I was able to do this by drawing directly onto the tissue before cutting the piece out as there was enough space to do so.

adding the button stand to the front

If you’ve already cut a pattern that you want to add to just stick some extra paper to the centre front fold line, or trace off the whole piece again adding the extra. The original front had a facing for the neckline so now I needed to create a new facing which would neaten both the neck edge and the button-stand. To do this I simply traced off the whole of the new front opening including the neck edge and made the facing a depth of 7cms all the way down from shoulder to hem, with a smooth and gradual curve. The photo should make this clearer. The back neck needed a new facing too because the existing one took the armhole into account. Again I traced off the section I needed making it 7cms at the shoulders to match the front facing. 

• 

• 

The final change I made was to lengthen the sleeve a little and add some more fullness to it. I started by making the sleeve 5cms longer and then I drew 3 vertical lines on the pattern at approximately the front notch, back notch and shoulder seam points. [Depending how much extra fullness you want to add to a sleeve you could use more places than this but do try to space them evenly apart.] Next I cut up each line from the bottom until I reached almost the top, I left this very slightly attached. With the piece flat on the table I spread the bottom of each slit by about the same amount, probably about 4 cms, then taped slithers of paper into each gap.

First I added the extra length and then drew the vertical lines where I wanted the extra fullness.

Next I opened each part to add the extra being careful to keep the pieces flat and not twisting or wrinkling up, put extra pieces of paper under the gaps. Once you’re happy tape them in position,

Once I had added the extra I cut the piece out.

If you don’t want to cut the pattern up you can do the same process by still marking the vertical lines on then pivoting the uncut pattern at the top of each line, use a pencil or your finger as the axis. Draw or trace around the first section, which remains stationary, then each subsequent section after you pivot it to so that you get the extra fullness being added at the hem. Opening up the wedges in this way means you’re adding fullness to the hem but not the crown of the sleeve, if you want extra fullness in the crown spread the whole piece more or less parallel. The grainline should run equidistant down the centre of the new piece (unless you want to cut it on the bias)

Having done all this I cut it out and was ready to sew! 

I started by joining the shoulder seams of both the blouse and the facings (which I’d interfaced and neatened) then I attached the facings to the neck edge, turned, understitched and pressed. The keyhole back calls for a small rouleau tube as a button-loop which needs to be inserted at the same time as applying the facing although you could choose to make a hand sewn thread loop and stitch that at the end. In fact it isn’t even vital that this is a functioning loop if you’ve got a front opening, the keyhole is purely decorative now. 

I put the blouse onto Doris to check it was looking OK and this was when I found that the keyhole appeared to be bagging outwards quite significantly. I decided not to do anything at this point and I would check again once I had sewed the side seams and put the sleeves in, then I would get a better idea by trying it on myself. 

Checking the front neck

With the loop pinned I discovered that the keyhole didn’t sit flat.

It seems to stick out quite significantly on Doris.

If the button isn’t done up it would look like this.

I made three rows of shirring on the sleeves next, using my quilting guide to make sure the first row was 5cms from the bottom edge, the next two rows were then sewn parallel to the first. [Refer to a previous blog post on how to sew shirring if you haven’t done so before] Next I sewed up the sleeve seams and pin-hemmed the bottom edge to give a neat finish.

I positioned the needle 5cms from the cut edge and the quilting guide helps me as a visual marker to keep it parallel all the way.

Shirring is stitched from the right side so that the elastic is on the reverse. Use a long straight stitch, secure both ends and then apply plenty of steam to shrink up the stitching further.

finished sleeve

After sewing up and neatening the side seams I inserted the sleeves. At this point I tried the blouse on again to check the keyhole on myself and, with real shoulder blades under it, it didn’t seem so noticeable. Two other things struck me though, the blouse was a little too big so I took it in on the side seams and also the blouse was a bit shorter than I expected. In order to take as a small a hem as possible I made some bias binding from offcuts of the fabric then stitched it (folded in half lengthways and with the cut edges together) to the hem using a narrow 5mm seam allowance [This is a useful finish to any hem or edge where you need every spare centimetre of fabric.] Have a look at the photo which shows you how to get the ends of the binding enclosed within the front facing. I turned the binding up and top-stitched in place. 

If you’re adding binding when there’s also a facing pin it like this so that the end is neatly enclosed inside the facing when it’s turned right side out.

Finally, I found some ‘vintage’ buttons amongst my treasure trove and there were just the right number meaning the whole blouse had been sourced from what I already have!

• 

Well I hope now that I’ve made it that I’ll have a chance to wear my Chelsea blouse somewhere other than in my own garden this summer, who knows? Maybe you’re reading this long after the emergency ended and life has returned to some sort of normality, although it definitely won’t be exactly as it was before.

Sewing our own clothes is an activity which gives us so much enjoyment for a variety of different reasons and, right now, the simple act of creating something is chief amongst them for me. It’s absorbing and the problem-solving gives me something else to think about.

• 

• 

I think the keyhole back is, by and large, just about acceptable when I’m wearing the blouse. I also think the cure could be to add a centre back seam instead of cutting on the fold so that the point of the keyhole could extend beyond the centre back line, this would hopefully bring the button and loop closer to one another when they are done up…this is just my theory based on experience and I haven’t tried it out. It’s such a nice little detail that I’m disappointed it hasn’t worked out quite right. I also regret not reading my fellow Simple Sew bloggers reviews of the blouse because then I would have known how short it comes up, personally I would add a minimum of 8-10cms to the length next time.

The sleeves are pretty and feminine but maybe they are a little too girly, the jury is out…

Until next time, happy sewing

Sue

Sewing with a sheer fabric

I’ve been meaning to write this post for months…six months to be exact, because that’s when I wore the dress at my dear friend Jenny’s wedding in April! I know it’s a spring/summer dress but I thought the way I’ve used the fabric might be of interest if you’re thinking of tackling a tricky fabric. I’ve used a couple of techniques which could be helpful.

I bought the fabric in Fancy Silks in Birmingham last autumn with the intention of making an Asymmetric Dress TPC2 by Trend Patterns for our cruise but eventually I made that in something else and, as Jenny had set the date for a spring wedding, I decided to use it for that event instead. It’s a challenging fabric which I would describe as being a satin-striped organza which has been overprinted with flowers. It’s exactly the same type of fabric that I used for my Dior-inspired evening gown three years ago. Part of the challenge is that it’s sheer so it needs to have some kind of lining, this could be a loose lining, or an alternative is to mount it onto another fabric first like I did and then make it up into the dress.

By an amazing piece of good fortune I had some very soft satin left from a pair of bridesmaid dresses I made about five years ago and it was a PERFECT match-unbelievable! Better still, I ordered some lining from Minerva based purely on the colour image on my screen and it was also a perfect match-it was obviously meant to be.

Clearly though I had to decide on a pattern, I didn’t want anything too flouncy and there was going to be some serious stripe-matching going on so it couldn’t be in a million pieces. I rummaged amongst my patterns and came upon Butterick 6244 by Lisette which must have been free with a magazine at some point. A couple of the lovely ladies who come to my class have made the coat with great success but, looking at reviews, I think the dress has been largely passed over. It appealed to me because the skirt was a very straightforward A-line and the bodice was Princess seams with a ‘Dior’ dart [this is where a short dart extends to the bust point from a Princess seam] There is also a small shoulder yoke at the front so that was perfect for rotating the stripe.

With the exception of the sleeves I had to cut all the pieces in three different fabrics, the satin and the lining I could cut together but the organza had to be cut separately to ensure the stripes matched properly. I altered the sleeve to make them longer and then I decided to add a pointed cuff to finish them off.

Once everything was cut out it’s a fairly slow process of ‘mounting’ each organza piece onto its satin backing. I began by laying each satin piece shiny side up flat on the table, placing the organza on top and pin the two together around the edges. Then, moving it as little as possible, I tacked each piece together within the seam allowances. This was another reason for keeping the number of pieces to a minimum because this process takes a fair amount of time. Once all the pieces have been mounted you simply construct the garment as normal. This has various advantages, it makes the see-through fabric opaque, it makes a flimsy fabric more stable and in this case it means the hem of the skirt will be invisible when sewn.

I used narrow piping on the neck edge and the waistband to give them some finesse, I had to cover the piping cord with both organza and lining because the cord showed through the organza alone. You can use a regular zip foot to sew on the piping, I have a specific piping foot for my Pfaff which is brilliant because it sews so close and holds it all firmly in position whilst sewing.

piping cord around the neckline.

So that’s pretty much it really because aside from matching lots of stripes it’s a normal dress. The beauty of the skirt meant that I could use self-made satin binding on the hem and then the hand-stitching won’t show on the right side, a truly invisible hem!

satin bias-binding on the hem, understitched and slip-hemmed in position.

the hem is then totally invisible on the outside.

The only sheer parts are the sleeves which I added pointy cuffs to and finished them off with pretty sparkly buttons. I mounted each cuff part onto plain organza before construction to give them more stability.

I cut the cuffs with the stripes running at right-angles to the sleeves.

I hope you might find some of these techniques helpful if you’re tackling trickier fabrics. Mounting one onto another is useful to add interest-you could have a contrast colour underneath lace for example, it gives opacity to flimsier fabrics, stability and support to fabrics like panne velvet and can enable seams and hems to ‘disappear’ with ease. I used french seams in the sleeves but otherwise they are all regular seams. I only overlocked those inside the skirt as there is a separate skirt lining, the bodice is fully lined and enclosed so there’s no need to overlock any of those seams. If you’re using chiffon or georgette which are more fluid fabrics than organza you you should back them or interface them with a similar weight of fabric, preferably plain in colour so as not to show through or deepen the colour of the top fabric too much. Plain chiffon or organza are frequently used in couture techniques for this purpose.

It turned out that April 22nd was a very warm day so maybe I should have dropped the neckline slightly but that’s British weather for you-somewhat unpredictable! It was a gorgeous, happy wedding…

did I mention it has pockets?

So as we head towards winter here in the UK I bring you a post featuring a summery dress! Anyway, you might find parts of it helpful.

Happy sewing

Sue

Sidewinder pants by The Sewing Revival

The Sidewinder pants are my third make using a pattern from The Sewing Revival following on from several versions of their Heron dress and Bellbird top. I’ve already written reviews of them which you can read about here and here, plus I made a new version of the Bellbird at the recent Sewing Weekender in Cambridge, organised by The Fold Line.

The Sidewinders are a very simple pull-on trouser pattern with a tapered leg but their USP is the diagonal side seam which gives them such an interesting ‘twist’. They are flat-fronted with an elasticated back waist and of course there are pockets in the seams too. There are variations at the hem too as you can choose plain full-length, 7/8ths with turn-ups like mine or use wide elastic to gather the hem into cuffs. As you can see from the artwork they could be very casual or dressed up with heels, fabrics with a bit of body but some drape and softness are suggested. Like the other Sewing Revival patterns these are PDFs so you can buy, download and print your pattern any time, or have them printed for you on A0.

As I’ve come to expect with SR patterns the instructions and illustrations are very clear and personally I’ve always found their sizing very good too. I cut the large based on my measurements although I did decide to shorten the leg length very slightly as I didn’t want them ‘pooling’ around my ankles too much, the idea is that they sit above the ankle bone. The instructions tell you what length of elastic to cut for the back waist which you can then adjust to suit.

For the first pair I used some Royal blue crepe fabric which was leftover from the Trend Asymmetric dress I made last year. If you’re using a plain fabric these trousers are surprisingly economical to cut and if you’re short of fabric you could cut the pocket bags and waist band facings from other fabrics too. You could have fun with stripes or checks to give them a bit of a Vivienne Westwood vibe but you’d need more fabric for that. What about using ribbon or piping down the side seam for emphasis?

Construction is very quick, I’d say that this could be a half-day project if you aren’t getting fancy with pattern-matching. I really like the way that the waistband is a facing because when it folds over the top it secures the pocket bags in place, you only need to neaten the lower edges of them. The elastic gets slotted through the back channel which extends slightly around to the front beyond the ‘normal’ side seam position. Once this is stitched in place you sew down the facing at the front. This line of stitching isn’t near the edge, it’s approximately 3.5-4cms away depending on the width of your elastic so use a guide of some kind to keep it parallel, I always use the quilting guide which comes with my machine or you could use Washi tape or similar stuck onto the bed (I’m not keen on this personally as I wouldn’t any sticky residue near my fabrics but I know others use this method)

These are the second pair which I made at the Weekender and that is why some of the overlocking is different colours.

As I said earlier I’ve made both versions with a small turn-up so once I’ve turned them up I stitched through seam lines of the inner and outer leg seams to hold the turn-up securely in position.

You’ll notice from the grey version that I contrast top-stitched in pink either side of the outer leg seams to give some emphasis to the diagonal seam, I like how it goes ‘off’ at the hem.

The blue pair are sooo comfortable because the crepe fabric has quite a bit of natural give, and the back elastic gives a nice snug fit without being too tight. My blouse here is a longtime favourite, the Imogen from Sew Me Something

There was enough fabric to make a belt which ended up being massively long so it goes round twice into a big bow!

And these are the grey pair which I teamed with the second garment I started (but didn’t finish!) at the Weekender which is another Sewing Revival Bellbird made in a very lightweight woven check cotton which I picked up on a swap table somewhere last year. The label was given to us by lovely Harriet of Sew me Sunshine which is a really nice reminder of what I made and where!

Janine at The Sewing Revival generously provided me with the pattern for the Sidewinders and I’ve been more than happy to write a review because I love these trousers! I’m planning to make more for the winter and I’ll definitely give a gathered ankle pair a try too.

After a few weeks of sewing for others, writing (and then completely rewriting the Sew Over 50 birthday blog post because I lost ALL 4000+ words!!!!) and being away from home it’s lovely to get back to a bit of sewing for myself and sharing my thoughts with you. I’m so happy that I discovered The Sewing Revival as a result of our first Sew Over 50 challenge at the beginning of the year, did you find any new patterns brands as a result too, that was certainly our hope.

Until next time,

Happy Sewing

Sue