It’s a new year (apparently?) so it’s time for my next Lamazi blog and I’m sewing something for Mr Y! I don’t know about you but I’ve felt I needed to work on something a little different to most of my other recent makes, I’ve made myself some lovely garments that I’m now frustrated not to be able to wear much as I want but Tony has been in need of some new clothes for a while now so it’s his turn to be on the receiving end!
I don’t know what you think but I’ve found that men’s wear patterns and suitable fabrics are definitely a bit harder to come by than women’s or children’s, they are out there if you’re prepared to look but it’s not easy. I’ve made him some nice shirts in the past which you can read about here, and I had made him a couple of Thread Theory Finlayson sweatshirts recently and then my good friend Claire told me about their Carmanah top which was quite a new pattern. It has several options so you can individualise it, for example with full length or quarter zip, hood or collar, and with or without kangaroo pockets.
Lamazi offers a range of co-ordinating See You at Six fabrics with plain and patterned French terry, and ribbing, all dyed to be a perfect match so we chose the ‘Clouds’ design in Bistro Green.
I’ve never purchased ribbing fabric before so I was unsure how much to buy, initially I requested far too much because the pattern instructions made no sense to me. Liana at Lamazi and fellow-blogger Sharlene advised me so I had 1metre in the end to be on the safe side and that was sufficient for an adult garment. If you find yourself in a similar situation I suggest you measure the appropriate pattern pieces to get an idea, or try contacting the fabric seller and I’m sure they would be happy to advise. For an adult garment it almost certainly needs joins whilst something for a child probably wouldn’t.
Based on T’s measurements (he’s 6’3” and, although he’s lost about 28lbs during lockdown, he’s not skinny) I cut him a size large but I added about 2cms at the CF and CB folds at the bottom because the previous version was just a little snug at that point. He likes the body length which comes down to about hip level, and the sleeves are nice and long too so I didn’t need to add any length to them.
The making up instructions and diagrams are quite clear, I got into a bit of a pickle using the twill tape neatening method though, partly because I printed off the booklet a bit small so I couldn’t easily read the instructions(!) and partly because the green twill tape I had managed to buy was wider than required! Anyway, I persevered and it looks OK in the end. This tape method wasn’t essential and overlocking is perfectly satisfactory, I just thought I would try it for a nice finish on the inside, it definitely adds more complexity if you want to up-skill though. The collar version has a nice detail of the chin guard over the zip which is worth adding for a quality finish.
I put the twill tape on the wrong piece of collar initially! This is the outer collar and the tape should have been sewn to the inner collar. Incidentally, I added iron-on interfacing to the top collar to give it a little more body. It doesn’t call for it in the instructions but I felt the first version could have done with a bit more structure. Have a look at the photo below to see what I mean.
This first version was made with cable knit bought from 1st for Fabrics I think the collar is collapsing a bit although it’s not really a problem
I added twill tape to neaten the front edges before inserting the zip
I tacked the zip into the opening before topstitching in place.
second attempt at the tape trim! the tacking you can see is holding the fold at the top of the collar in the correct place until I’m ready to top stitch it later on.
The tape I bought was too wide so I sewed it on higher than the instructions and then trimmed away the excess in order to turn it up and sink stitch from the right side.
The finished collar from the inside. The green is a very difficult colour to photograph and the zip and tape are a slightly better match than they appear here. I bought both of those from Frumble Fabrics, they have a wide selection of all sorts of haberdashery that I haven’t seen elsewhere.
I finish overlocking by putting the threads on a large-eyed tapestry needle and slot it back through the stitching for a couple of centimetres like this which keeps it secure and tidy.
This fabric is quite pricey but, in my opinion, it’s really lovely quality and it sewed together beautifully. There’s just enough stretch and it would be a good weight for sweatpants or a sweater dress too if you’re tempted. This is the first time I’ve used a range of co-ordinating fabrics and the finished result is really pleasing. Equally you could mix and match colours or prints using remnants for this pattern too, because of the way it’s cut in segments, especially if you go for the full zip version.
T has gallantly modelled the finished result-he’s delighted with it-he’s usually my slightly impatient photographer so the boot was on the other foot today!
Have you sewn anything for the men or boys in your life? How do they feel about it? Luckily T isn’t very demanding where his threads are concerned and he’s always been very happy with the items I’ve made him so far…..I haven’t attempted trousers in years though so perhaps that will be next? I’d interested in which patterns or fabrics for men you have been able to source, I think it’s an area for improvement in sewing terms.
It’s funny how sometimes, when life dishes up lemons, it can take quite a while to get that lemonade made.
What on earth am I talking about…? well, when I left my job in a secondary school five years ago in a manner not of my choosing I had no idea what could happen next. If you’ve been reading my blogs for a while now you’ll know that I’ve carved out a life that involves sewing for my own pleasure, sewing for others, visiting interesting galleries, museums and exhibitions and, best of all, forming new friendships through those sewing activities. This post is really a result of the last one…
Two years ago Mr Y and I went on a cruise to the Baltic at a time no longer during school holidays, which turned out to be a Strictly Come Dancing-themed cruise. It was during this that I met Theresa Hewlett and without whom no costumes for the TV show would get made. She is the pattern cutter and alterations manager for the show, and designer Vicky Gill’s right hand woman. I didn’t know any of this when we first met on the ship, many of the costumes from the most recent series were on display around the ship and T was there giving us all very insightful guided tours of the dresses with tales of how each garment was constructed. As you can imagine I absolutely lapped it up [you can read my two blog posts from that trip here and here] and I was even more pleased to discover we’d both attended London College of Fashion within a year of each other.
That was that until several months later when I decided to give Twitter a try and somehow came across Theresa, on there, During the duration of the show she regularly tweets updates on progress of the costumes and little behind-the-scenes nuggets (she certainly never gives away big secrets though!)
Joanne Clifton’s show dance dress from the SCD Final 2016
DSI-London are based in Croydon, south of London so I travelled there by train and tram and found them based in a very unassuming building in a quiet residential road. I’d be lying if I told you that inside all was super-glamorous sparkles, feathers and sequins because that wouldn’t be true. Up the stairs you enter the showroom where customers can shop from the RTW items of essential ballroom and Latin dance-wear such as practice clothes, shoes of all styles, spray tan and eyelashes. It is also in this area that fittings on bespoke outfits take place. Later on in my visit I was privileged to sit in on fittings for two custom-made dresses for a young dancer who had flown over especially from Ireland and was flying back again that evening. It was fascinating to watch T tweak and measure and pin (always safety pins, regular pins would fall out straight away-I’m going to remember that one when I’m pinning wedding dress skirts in future!) T’s colleague Nina sits in as well to make notes of the customers requirements and record measurements, photos are often taken too, especially as the client is unlikely to be able to come for many fittings.
just a few of the made-to-measure couture dresses a selection of styles availableall the fringing…a man’s ballroom outfita ‘body’ so that the shirt doesn’t come untuckedall the colours in all the fabrics (actually this isn’t anywhere near all the fabrics but it’s a start!)custom-beaded ballroom shoeschoose your stones hereperfect for a wedding too?
T gave me a tour through all the different departments within the company, they don’t only produce the Strictly costumes but also Dancing On Ice, as well as costumes for cruise ships and many other shows around the world. The ready to wear garments for these orders are cut and made in a separate workroom on the same floor. The cutting room for men’s wear is downstairs, as are the bulk of the fabric, haberdashery and trim supplies, and the laundry room.
The designs are created by Vicky Gill (who sadly I didn’t get to meet during my visit) and then T makes the made-to-measure patterns which are in turn are passed to a highly-skilled cutter who cuts all the fabrics and they go on to the machinists who sew the garments together, each person generally makes the whole garment and any alterations go back to that machinist too.
Once the dress is put together a fitting like the one I witnessed takes place to check fit and skirt length. The dress goes back to the machinist for any changes to be carried out and then it goes on to the stoning department for embellishment, which might include feather trim too.
Ash, the king of stoning, was on holiday when I visited so I didn’t meet him either.there were lots of mannequins with beading in progress-bodies all over the place!Boas might be trimmed and the feathers glued into very small bunches by hand, ready to be stitched onto bodices and skirts, or the boa is left whole if it’s going on hems, or sleeves and necklines for example.a design in progress, before its embellishments are addedthe colours of stoning on this bodice were simply beautiful
Scattered all around the studio are mannequins in various states of undress and with different quantities of padding. The machinists use these all the time to be able to assess the dress as they progress, for the placement fringing or embellishment for example. [Incidentally, every dress is built on a leotard base so whenever there’s a ‘no knickers under her dress!’ scandal after the TV show it’s nonsense]
This client wants a longer skirt than usual, although this will be shortened a bit at the fitting. The fabric is gorgeous with huge ‘pailettes’
DSI often has dresses come back to them for alterations, fashions change, children grow, bodies alter. New skirts can be added, sleeves removed or added, stoning added to. It’s worth mentioning that the dresses (apart from ones with feathers on) can go in the washing machine, a fact I found amazing! In another part of the building there is a laundry with dresses drip-drying on a rail. Everything is sewn together on industrial zigzag machines along with rolled hem machines and overlockers. Theresa told me it’s very challenging at times to keep the machines working happily because they have to sew through so many layers of difficult fabrics at once, frequently including feathers and crin, and sometimes stoning if an alteration has to be carried out after completion. (they use heavy duty domestic machines to carry out repairs or alterations at the TV studios whilst the program is going out)
Many of the dresses from the TV show are hired by other productions of SCD around the world, they are all for sale on the company website so you could buy yourself a little piece of Strictly. DSI-London sell a wide range of specialist fabrics and trims too so if you ever need/want to have a go at making costumes or dancewear then have a look at their website.
T at work! would you look at all those zips too!
I so enjoyed my visit to DSI-London and thank you so much to Theresa and all the staff who were so friendly and made me very welcome. I absolutely loved being back in a workroom environment again, it’s been a very long time since I was part of a creative team like this and it made me realise how much I miss it-everyone has a part to play in the making of these garments whether it’s wedding dresses in my case, or dance dresses. Obviously it isn’t glamorous in the slightest, it’s hard work in a hot room, and the pressure is immense when there’s a live TV programme at the end of every week for three months…and then Dancing on Ice after that.
It’s possible to for you to visit DSI-London too as they offer tours around the premises at different times of the year, have a look at their website to see when they are next taking place. I know they have proved popular though so there may be a bit of a wait.
It won’t too long now until the new series of Strictly starts again and the relatively peaceful atmosphere of the workrooms will be replaced with frenetic activity, I’ll be thinking of the people I met during my visit as they produce dozens of beautiful garments every week to dazzle us on our TVs on Saturday evenings during the autumn. And if you want regular updates on costume progress during the week, follow Theresa on Twitter.
I spend most of my time making things for myself or other people and, apart from a few pairs of PJ shorts, I haven’t made anything for Mr Y in years. I thought that needed to change so when we were away for the weekend in November we paid a visit to Sew Creative in Bury St Edmunds. It’s recently been acquired by Sew Much To Do, Ely although the name hasn’t changed at the moment. I only went in for some beeswax which they were out of stock of at the time but never mind, plenty of other things to look at hehe! They’re a lovely, busy little shop with knowledgable and friendly staff, as is so often the case for me, I wish I lived nearer (although it’s probably best for my bank balance that I don’t….
For a small shop they have a very extensive selection, and upstairs was also a wide range of sale fabrics too. I spotted a nice burgundy check which I steered Mr Y towards-he thinks he chose it himself but what he didn’t know was I’d already bought him a burgundy jumper for Christmas and that this fabric would go very nicely with it!! Devious eh?
He also saw a dark green cotton which he liked so I let him choose that for himself…I had no agenda for that one. I hadn’t got a man’s shirt pattern to hand so I guessed at 2.5m of fabric for each, which turned out not to be enough really-more of that later.
I ordered a couple of patterns from Sew Essential because Burda patterns were half price at the time. My beloved isn’t a slim fit kind of chap so it would have been foolish for me to pick a super-trendy indie pattern for him because it wouldn’t fit and he wouldn’t wear it! Traditional shirts are the way to go for him.
Mr Y chose style C but when I came to lay up the pattern pieces it was obvious, because of the check print, that I was going to be a bit short for all the pieces. It’s a two part collar so I opted to cut both under-collar parts in a contrast grey cotton that I had a small amount of, and the inside shoulder yoke too. Doing this saved just enough fabric although the matching wasn’t going to be spot on, Mr Y wouldn’t be super-critical about that (even if I was myself) Although Mr Y is 6’3″ tall the body and sleeves would have been monstrously long on him so I shortened the pieces a fair bit and, ultimately, they were a much better length for him-thus saving fabric too.
The pattern went together well by and large, the only difficulty I had was in following the instructions for front plackets. Burda patterns expect you to have a good working knowledge of construction ( which I do) so they give a minimal amount of instruction. I think my problem was that I’m so used to making female button plackets that I couldn’t quite get my head around swapping them the opposite way around. I had one of Mr Y’s other shirts there for reference so I worked it out in the end. This is a useful tip if you’re ever not sure what you’re doing, have a similar or identical ready-made garment to hand so that you can study how it’s put together. If you keep in mind how you want your finished garment to look this can help as you construct it. Having one of his shirts also meant I didn’t need to keep trying it on him which is handy because he’s often out!
cutting the patch pockets on the bias meant that I didn’t need to have perfect matching and it looked more interesting.
contrast internal yoke
This is the underside of the collar and the inside yoke. You can also see that I cut the inner collar stand in two parts as well because it doesn’t match at the CB.
The finished cuffs with their buttoning plackets, again not a perfect match but good enough.
The first finished shirt.
Mr Y was delighted with this shirt and imagine his surprise when he opened the parcel containing a matching jumper…
I made the second shirt in the green fabric without his knowledge (he thought I hadn’t had time before Christmas) Strangely I managed to get everything out of the 2.5m this time, partly I think because I didn’t need to pattern match, the fabric was the same width as the burgundy after all.
The box pleat on the back.
The two-part top collar
top-stitching around the sleeve-head and the patch pocket.
The sleeves are a basic shirt-sleeve construction which is done on the flat so no slightly tricky insetting of sleeve-heads.
A detail on the patch pocket-I always sew little triangles to make them a bit stronger.
The side seams feature an insert detail at the hem (blurry photo, sorry)
I cut one corner of the cuffs at an angle on the green, to give it a quirky detail.
So there we have it. Burda 6874 is a good basic mens shirt pattern, I would describe it as an intermediate level because there are details like the two-part collar and plackets on the cuffs which need a bit of understanding and interpretation, so definitely not for a beginner. If you’re looking for next-steps though this could be a project for you to try but maybe make it in a plain or non-matching fabric for your own sanity.
I don’t currently have any pictures of Mr Y modelling them because he’s a bit shy so you’ll have to take my word for it that he likes them, and looks very nice in them!
I thought I’d take a look at everything I’ve made over the course of the last 12 months and it makes, for me at least, interesting viewing. There’s a variety of garments, styles, shapes and silhouettes. Some have been more successful than others for various reasons, some are self-drafted, others were new patterns free with magazines, some were hacked from patterns I already have and some were indie patterns and PDFs. There have been garments thrown together in very little time and with very little fabric, and there have been a few things that I’ve taken a huge amount of time and care over. There have been a growing number of refashions in the mix too. Not everything I’ve made ended up being photographed so I don’t think this is an exhaustive list but most of it’s here, wherever possible I’ll give pattern and fabric details but I think it will be a photo-tour through my sewing year 2016.
So here goes…
Ha ha, trying to master the art of a decent selfie! This has been one of my favourite dresses all year, it’s New Look 6340 which was free with Sew magazine and it’s made in a lovely maroony/brown crepe with little pink stars from Man Outside Sainsbury’s in Walthamstow. It’s very swingy and I’ve worn it layered up on cool days or sleeveless in the summer. I keep planning another but it hasn’t quite happened yet. Silver shoes from Clarks
This was my first foray into Burda Style trace-off patterns. The front and sleeves are scuba with crepe de chine on the back. I’ve worn it a few times although the fabric combination isn’t the best.
The stripes on this one annoyed me as I hadn’t bought enough fabric so I couldn’t match them properly-turned out it was excellent for doing Pilates in though!
This was my first refashion of the year. I made this bag using 2 old pairs of jeans to carry all my kit to and from college in London.
I love this dress! it’s the Wisewood from MIY Wendy Ward. I like to think it looks a little ‘Vivienne Westwood’. Instead of cutting away the excess fabric at the centre front I pulled it across to sit over my hip and stitched it in place. It’s so comfy! The fabric came from a local market and cost me next-to-nothing.
I made 2 of this dress during the year, the blue chambray was first and the pale green was made during the Sewing weekender in August. I blogged about them both and I love wearing them both. I’m particularly happy with the exposed zip on the green.
Quite different garments but both new to me-the stripes was a copy of a top I already had and the shirt is a refashion of one belonging to my husband, read about them here and here.
I made an evening dress for myself in March using Simple Sew‘s Floating Bodice pattern (for reasons I won’t go into it became known as the Flying Buttress dress) I’ve never blogged this one, maybe I’ll get round to it because I’ve used some interesting techniques on it.
I did a bit of pattern-making of my own for the next dress.
This was my own self-drafted pattern for the skirt with pleats and a false wrap over, and an existing bodice from years ago. Overall I’m pleased with it, the skirt works really well but the bodice needed some tweaking-the shoulders were too broad and the bodice too long so I altered it the next time I made it-sleeveless this time, in gorgeous cotton/linen mix from Ditto fabrics in Brighton.
This was a free Burda pattern 6914, again with Sew magazine. I added pockets to the side seam and gave it longer sleeves with darts around the cuffs to echo the neckline and hem. It’s bright red and black houndstooth check wool mix and a really comfy dress for cooler days. I made it again in a stripe later in the year.
I cut the short sleeves on the bias to give them an interesting effect although they’re a bit tight on me for some reason so I’ve only worn it once so far. I love the binding around the neck though!
This one was an absolute pleasure to make, it’s a’graduation’ gown for a little boy with dwarfism-he looked brilliant it in and his little face was a joy to see-that’s when I love what I do.
I loved this fabric so much but stupidly didn’t buy enough so it’s tight around my hips and snug over the bust, I wore it anyway. The pattern is adapted from Simplicity 1620
This gorgeous fabric came from Faberwood and although I only had 1.5m I got two tops out of it! On the left is New Look 6230 (free from Sew magazine!) On the right is a top from a hacked pattern I’ve used at least 5 times in various versions either as a top or a dress.
Still with me…?
Grainline Alder
Alder dress with sleeves
Next up was an Alder from Grainline patterns, the summer version was a cotton poplin from Backstitch and the red is more recent and I’ve added long sleeves . Both have had plenty of wear.
This is the simplest top ever! It’s quite literally two rectangles of silk crepe de chine joined at the shoulders and two side seams.
Another holiday pic, this is Simplicity 1665 and another freebie. In fact the fabric was gifted too!
This dress was custom-made for Liz’s eldest son’s wedding, you can read how I created it here
This top has been one of my absolute favourites over the summer, it’s my version of a RTW top from last year and was an early blog post. The skirt was a wonky bolt-end of jersey I turned into a super-comfy skirt, even the elastic in the waist came from something else.
gorgeous bridesmaids, what else can I say. Old-school petticoats and Cath Kidston styling-lovely.
Pyjama shorts for Mr Y-they have steam trains on!
This was another extreme labour of love. It’s a jacket made for Portia Lawrie‘s The Refashioners project 2016. It didn’t win but I got a mention in despatches and I’ve had a lot of use out of it. The dress underneath is from last year and is one of my absolute favourites-I’ve had random strangers on public transport compliment me about it!
I love this waxed cotton dress, I got the pattern (Simplicity 2444) from the swap at the Weekender in August (and the button was in the goody bag) and the fabric is from a shop in Walthamstow.
This was my first Tilly and the Buttons pattern and also my first properly inserted exposed zip. I blogged about it here. Then came a pattern-testing opportunity for Megan Nielsen patterns, her new Karri dress to be precise. You can read the blog for that here.
While I was working on many of these things I was slowly beavering away on possibly my favourite dress ever-it’s the gorgeous evening dress I created for our special Ladies Night in November.
I felt so glamorous and pretty in it.
Nearly there…
This was more of a wearable toile from a PDF in Love Sewing Magazine by Thrifty Stitcher Claire-Louise Hardie. I really like the clever front folds with integral pockets, it’s quite short for me so it’s strictly a thick tights dress!
Self-drafted trousers with welt pockets, in a lovely ponte from Ditto. They finished up a little big for some reason which is strange as I’ve made 3 other pairs and they’ve been fine-oh well.
I love this top so much! I’m wearing it right now and when I find the right fabric I’ll be making more, possibly with long sleeves and roll-back cuffs.
Obviously this isn’t a dress at all, this is Doris being a Christmas cracker at our Christmas Tree Festival in December. Twinkly fabric from Goldhawk Road.
Almost finally, this is version 1 of the Zoe dress from Sew Now magazine, in a lovely printed denim from Ditto
…and this is the final (probably) completed project of the year. It’s version 2 of Zoe by Simple Sew which was free with new magazine Sew Now. The printed cord came from Goldhawk Rd in West London.
There was one last dress I made recently which wasn’t so successful not because the pattern wasn’t good but because the fabric didn’t work well for the style. I have worn it but there’s no photo, I intend making it again because I really like the pattern but I’ll be more careful with fabric choice this time. I’ll write a review when I’m happier with it, it was me not the pattern!
So there we have it, well done for sticking with me all the way through this trawl of the last 12 sewing months. In between all the making I completed a large number of bridal and other alterations, which are much less fun frankly. I’ve taught lots of lovely people new things too either individually or in weekly classes. It’s been so much fun. I’ve really enjoyed meeting lots of sewers and dressmakers in the flesh this year too and I hope there’ll be more opportunities for meet ups and Weekenders next year, I like nothing better than to get together with other people to talk sewing/patterns/fabrics until the cows come home…
There’ll be one last blog for 2016 which will be a review of the two shirts I’ve just made Mr Y for Christmas, but I haven’t written that yet….
Thank you for reading my blog and I really like to receive your comments. I hope there’ll be a lot more sewing fun in 2017. I’ll still be pushing myself to try new techniques and methods and patterns, I’m every bit as keen to learn new things as any beginner-I love learning from newbies just as much as I’m happy to share what I know with you. Just because I’ve been doing this forever is irrelevant, we’re never too old to learn something new, or another way of doing it.
Don’t forget that, if you don’t already, you can find my page on Facebook at Susan Young Sewing and also on Instagram (susanyoungsewing) that’s usually where I post lots of pictures of what I’ve been sewing, galleries and museums I’ve visited and what my cats are up to!!
Merry Christmas, a healthy and prosperous 2017, and lots more sewing of course,
I spend most of my time making things for myself or other people and, apart from a few pairs of PJ shorts, I haven’t made anything for Mr Y in years. I thought that needed to change so when we were away for the weekend in November we paid a visit to 
Susan Young Sewing 