Timmel SWAP 2008

The patterns I used

2008-04-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

* Simplicity 4699 - for the jacket, both pairs of pants and both shell tops
* Simplicity 4076 – Wrap over top in burnt orange viscose knit
* Simplicity 5099 – Wrap over empire link top in crinkle chiffon
* Simplicity 4125 – Wrap over print blouse
Loes Hinse 5007 – 6 gore skirt with godets - http://www.loeshinse.com/categories/skirts/gore.html
*NewLook 6177 – Print skirt with asymmetric panels

RuthieK's SWAP 2008

2008-04-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

The five items in the left half of the wardrobe picture are all made from my Wardrobe Pattern Simplicity 4699. I made the shell top in a soft peach slinky, and a firm brown slinky. The pants are made in brown stretch denim and a self stripe stretch suiting. The jacket uses my fabric purchase from Timmel fabrics of a burnt orange embroidered and sequinned corduroy.

Simplicity 4699 – Knit shell in peach slinky
Simplicity 4699 – Knit shell in brown slinky
Simplicity 4699 – Pants in brown stretch denim
Simplicity 4699 – Pants in brown self-stripe stretch suiting
Simplicity 4699 – Knee length jacket in burnt orange corduroy

The six items in the right half of the photo are made from other patterns as follows.

Butterick 3131 – Cowl neck tunic blouse in bright coral polyester
Simplicity 4076 – Wrap over top in burnt orange viscose knit
Simplicity 5099 – Wrap over empire link top in crinkle chiffon
Simplicity 4125 – Wrap over print blouse
Loes Hinse 5007 – 6 gore skirt with godets
NewLook 6177 – Print skirt with asymmetric panels

Here are the clothes being worn

2008-04-15T14:03:00.000-07:00

Jacket back detail

2008-04-14T23:45:00.001-07:00

Here's the detail of the shaping on the back of the jacket. The buttons are covered using the unembroidered fabric at the edges.
Click on the picture to see it larger.

The whole SWAP Collection

2008-04-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

Here's the whole SWAP collection shown together. I am not sure which shot I shall use.

The Jacket - finished

2008-04-14T14:28:00.001-07:00

This is the jacket finished, complete with lining and 13 covered buttons (3 large at front, 1 on each pocket flat, 3 on each sleeve and 2 on the rear tab.
I had a great time with the Prym covered button maker doing these and it really makes things simple.
I do love sewing gadgets that make tasks easier.

SWAP did get finished

2008-04-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

My SWAP did get finished by the deadline, but I am increasingly convinced I am a little mad.
I have no idea what convinced me that a burnt orange embroidered and sequinned corduroy coat would be a key wardrobe item. It's sure is FUN though, but I can't see me wearing it to the rather conservative office I work in.

I was hoping to take some photos outside today but its raining and horrible so no luck.
So I had a tidying up session and sorted out my ribbons, beads, buttons, threads etc which had just been put randomly in boxes. Now everything is in an appropriately labelled box in the cupboard.

Having had some neutral time during the sorting process, hopefully I will wake up tomorrow all alert and with a cunning plan on how to take an indoor photo of all the wardrobe items together. My brain hasn't come up with a good idea yet, but maybe sleeping will help

Partially made jacket

2008-04-10T14:33:00.001-07:00

Here's the partially constructed jacket. Will be finished on Friday!

Wrap Knit Top

2008-04-10T14:18:00.000-07:00

Made at Easter but not photographed

Other items in the SWAP

2008-04-09T13:54:00.001-07:00

Including previously made items

2008-04-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

I have decided I am going to use two previously made soft blouses in a mango colour which works well with the burnt oranges etc used in my plan
In which case once I finish the jacket I am making now I will be done sewing and will only need to do all the photography.

Comparison to original Storyboard

2008-04-07T00:30:00.001-07:00

These are the original drawings I did at the start of the SWAP.
I have not stuck exactly to the plan.
The print blouse and skirt are there, as are the shell tops, burnt orange jacket and both pairs of brown pants.
Instead of the rust pants I went for a brown gore skirt. One of the blouses changed fabrics but is still burnt orange. Another became a burnt orange knit top, and the third is as yet undecided.

Almost there

2008-04-06T04:53:00.001-07:00

I got back from my vacation at 1:30am last night (this morning?). It was a big contrast from warm and sunny Portugal to snowy England.

I managed to cut out the burnt orange embroidered corduroy which I bought from Julie and will be my SWAP jacket from the wardrobe pattern. (I won't cut out on a hard tile floor on a space only slightly larger than the fabric ever again though - caused terrible pains in knees and legs.) I've already made this up as a test jacket in another fabric, so it should be OK.

To finish I need to sew the jacket and a blouse (already cut out) and then need either a purchased blouse or the waistcoat(vest) I already made or another top/blouse of some sort. So I probably can just about make the deadline.

Crinkle Fabric

2008-03-20T15:41:00.000-07:00

I want to make a collared wrap over blouse from crinkled fabric.
The pattern is New Look 6252 and the fabric is a burnt orange and gold crinkle polyester fabric.
How should I approach the collars and cuffs etc?
Should I iron some of the fabric flat and use that for the collar/cuff/facing, or somehow try to fuse whilst maintaining the crinkle?
How do you keep the crinkle when assembling? What about pressing seams, hems etc?

I would appreciate any tips you might have to share on this, because I really want to make this wrap top for my SWAP :-)

Brown self stripe pants are done

2008-03-10T15:20:00.000-07:00

Phew! The brown self stripe stretch woven pants are now finished.
On this pair because of the amount of stretch in the fabric I had to take an additional 4" or so out of the waist to keep the pants up.

Onto the test jacket/coat next which is all cut out ready to go.

Painting completed

2008-02-25T09:32:00.000-08:00

Well the painting is completed, which I am pleased about. It gives a nice neutral back drop which should indeed be 'Soothing' to sew in.
The minus is that I was stashing unsorted boxes in this room and now have a LOT of sorting out to do, all of which keeps me from sewing :-(
But hopefully it will be all worth it in the end.

Painting (sigh)

2008-02-24T01:52:00.001-08:00

Have painted two walls of my revamped room and I am pleased with the neutral feel it gives which I think will work well for sewing.
An offwhite colour from Crown called Soothing LOL.
However complete chaos has ensued form this and will get worse before it gets better as I still have to move all the office portion out of the way to paint the walls in that area.

New Look patterns are on sale in the UK at only £2.95 instead of £5.75 ($6 in the sale instead of $11.50) so I went to the sewing store in the next town which sells New Look and picked up New Look 6617 and New Look 6755 whilst the paint dried!

I might use the blouse pattern in the SWAP, though since it has a waist seam and peplum it may need some alterations to the pattern tissue to fit well.
The jacket/coat I plan to use for a mini SWAP type wardrobe in the summer in the Safari style which is popular again this year.

Sewing room reorganisation

2008-02-22T00:05:00.000-08:00

I've decided to merge my sewing room in with my existing study to keep all my stuff in one place (and get the sewing stuff out of the bedroom). However the study is currently painted blue and I need it to be more neutral in colour before I can sew in it. So this weekend I plan to paint the walls ivory or similar and then have a massive move around/sort. That will leave me with a great hobby space but will rather interrupt sewing. So don't expect any garments from me this weekend unless I manage to finish the current pair of pants whilst the paint dries.

Here's wishing you all a very productive sewing weekend.

Simplicity 4699 Peach Top

2008-02-15T15:26:00.000-08:00

This is the completed shell top from Simplicity 4699 in peach slinky. A little more challenging to sew than the previous version as the knit is softer.

In real life I feel the cold, so I would wear this with a soft knit cardi with 3/4 sleeves in burnt orange (yes its a darker shade of the shell honest).
I tend to wear these shell tops under other things, but its not too scary if I then take the top layer off! (Compared to a camisole where you can see bra straps etc)

Timmel SWAP Progress as at 15th Feb 2008

2008-02-15T00:48:00.000-08:00

These are the garments made so far

Simplicity 4125 wrap shirt in green/rust/brown print
New Look 6177 panelled skirt in green/rust/brown/print
Simplicity 5099 knit top in brown/orange/coral print (extra)
Loes Hinse 5007 Gore Skirt in dark brown
Simplicity 4699 pants in dark brown denim
Simplicity 4699 top in dark brown slinky knit
New Look 6943 waistcoat in rust wool (extra)

Partly made

Simplicity 4699 pants in dark brown self stripe suiting
Butterick 4295 skirt in brown with gold/cream/orange stripes (extra)
Simplicity 4699 top in peach slinky knit

Still to come

Simplicity 4699 jacket/coat in burnt orange embellished cord
Simplicity 4699 rust cropped pants (extra)
New Look 6252 wrapover orange crinkle blouse
New Look 6513 fitted blouse in cream broderie anglaise (eyelet)
New Look 6513 fitted blouse in orange stripe

Simplicity 4125 finished

2008-02-14T12:48:00.000-08:00

Here's Simplicity 4125 finished and modelled with the denim pants and with the matching skirt as a dress look. I think its quite convincing. For the 'dress' I left off the removable tie belt and tucked the blouse into the skirt, finishing it with a purchased leather belt.

SWAP so far on a rail

2008-02-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

I assembled my push together wheeled hanging rail (£5, approx $10) and hung on it the items already completed using nice wooden hangers. It looks good and should help me continue to be inspired by the project. You really get a sense of the wardrobe as a whole when they are all together like that.

Obviously the print top second from the back is an extra piece as it doesn't work with the green print, although it is fine with everything else.

Since I took this photo I wheeled the rail back into the sewing room and added more hangers with the partly completed garments.
Partly done are:

Self stripe brown pants
Brown skirt with orange/gold stripes (extra piece)
Green print wrapover blouse

This is a great way to keep the current items off the sewing table, and encourage me to get to them, and make them garments instead of projects!

Simplicity 4125

2008-02-07T15:26:00.000-08:00

I recently bought Simplicity 4125 from Sewing World magazine. They have a deal in the UK with Simplicity to sell on the end of line patterns for £2.75 each which is a good price here so I bought some.
This evening I managed to cut out view A from the leftovers from my skirt. This involved cutting the facing with the print running in the wrong direction and cutting the two front out individually to make best use of the fabric.
One thing you can't tell from the drawings, but is in the directions is an inner ribbon tie and an outer button and button hole keep the blouse closed, the tie belt is then just tied on top. I'm not a frilly girl so would not add the flounces even if I had enough fabric. I'm also not keen on any of the sleeves but my fabric yardage made that choice for me, and I have the extended shoulder with sleeve bands instead!

Wearing the New Look 6177 Skirt

2008-02-06T14:53:00.000-08:00

Here I am wearing my skirt made from New Look 6177.
I wore this today, and whilst its way more colour than usually goes in my office I loved wearing it.

DH made me laugh just as the flash on the self timer went off, but I quite liked the shot so included it.

New Look 6177 Skirt Completed

2008-02-03T15:17:00.001-08:00

I hadn't done any sewing for a few days, and realised it was, at least in part, down to the fact that I had had enough of brown.
So I cut out this skirt and sewed it up in glorious green, which I enjoyed very much!
Apologies for the hanger shot, I will wear it in earnest tomorrow and take a photo to share.

Patterns for the print

2008-01-26T05:57:00.000-08:00

One idea for the print fabric was a skirt and blouse with asymmetric lines.
I'd flip the skirt so the seams went the same direction as the blouse diagonal lines.

Second thoughts about the print skirt

2008-01-26T05:56:00.000-08:00

I am having slight second thoughts about the green/orange/brown print I included in my SWAP plan. I showed it to my friend last night when she was round and she pulled a face when I said skirt and blouse. I have a UFO to finish first and then a pair of brown pants but the print was then going to be next.
The print is centre far left on the picture below

For the skirt I need to have below mid calf (due to chunky legs) and my two options are slightly flared with side zip or asymmetric panels. For the top/blouse I have a choice of two different wrap/mock wrap blouses. The idea was that the skirt and wrap blouse worn together would look like a wrap dress, but that they could also be worn separately.

Thoughts? I will say that my friend (although dear to me) is very conservative in her dress style, and thought me wearing a burnt orange sweater/scarf with a dark navy pant suit was adventurous. On the other hand my sometimes inappropriate love of colour and pattern has resulted in more than a few UFOs and charity shop donations.

Simplicity 5099 Top in Floral Knit

2008-01-24T13:02:00.001-08:00

This Floral Knit top is made from a Viscose knit remnant from Bedford Fabrics in St Helens, Merseyside, UK and cost me 50p. I started this top for the Pattern Review Contest, '1 pattern Multi Looks' but it turned into a UFO. I used the pattern Simplicity 5099 which is for a woven top. I have since lost weight and of course this is a knit not a woven so I shaped the side seams a little taking them in by 1 to 2 inches at different points. I still think the top is a little loose, but I will hold off any more alterations until I've put it through the washer as viscose tends to shrink a little on washing.

Loes Hinse Gore Skirt in brown

2008-01-20T13:31:00.001-08:00

Here's the Loes Hinse Gore Skirt in Chocolate Brown which I cut out and sewed today. It took the afternoon and evening, but is quite straight forward.
Although not originally on my SWAP plan, I am going to use it as one of the bottom pieces. Probably instead of the rust cropped pants I had originally planned.
Its a lovely comfortable piece, elegant and comfortable to wear.

new fabric - might use instead

2008-01-20T08:01:00.001-08:00

Oh no, I had to go to the sewing shop to get a zip for my brown denim pants, and when I was there I bought this fabric.
I could use this for a knit top or even a dress in the SWAP, but then I would have to take out the green print.
So I probably won't use it even though I am tempted.....

Simplicity 4699 Top and Pants

2008-01-19T14:56:00.000-08:00

Simplicity 4699 Top and Pants are completed. I started working on the pants on Wednesday 16th Jan, but had to stop when I didn't have the zip. I picked that up today and finished the pants.
I made the shell top on Friday 18th Jan in one evening, and gave the hems a little press today before the photo session.

New Look 6943 Rust Waistcoat

2008-01-12T07:53:00.000-08:00

The New Look 6943 Rust Waistcoat is finished. It may be one of my tops in the Timmel SWAP 2008 as it can be worn alone (not sure that I would as that's quite an avant garde look).

The last item I made from this came out too big, so here I used a 14 back and a 12 front and it fits neatly. The fabric is rust herringbone wool from Abakhan fabrics in North Wales, UK and the lining is a remnant of satin from TP Textiles in Warrington, Cheshire, UK.

The wool is very soft and lovely to sew, though it ravels and does not press to a crisp point. The satin is polyester and frayed badly. The satin was pretty horrible to sew, especially where the side front lining attached to the wool interfaced front facing on a princess seam. I chose it because the soft peach tones went so well with the rust, although the fabrics were not a dream match from a sewing perspective. The buttons are soft edged square buttons in antiqued silver tone metal. The idea is that it would help the waistcoat 'connect' with darker toned bottoms.

I started this on Wednesday 2nd January and finished it on Saturday 13th January 2008.

Croquis of SWAP 2008 plus fabric choices

2008-01-05T14:26:00.000-08:00

Here is the wardrobe pattern I am using, and also the Croquis of SWAP 2008 and the fabric choices.

teal green with rust/orange

2008-01-04T09:13:00.000-08:00

Here's me putting teal green with rust/orange and I like it :-)

Print fabric for SWAP

2007-12-31T16:39:00.000-08:00

Having bought my green boots, I thought of this stash fabric, and how it could bring the green and copper boots in to work with the cream / peach / burnt orange /rust / brown SWAP.

New boots

2007-12-31T12:58:00.000-08:00

I just ordered these boots with my Christmas money, I have no real idea what I will wear with them, but I just fell in love with them with the catalogue came out in the Autumn, and now they are in the sale and I had some money to spend so ta-da!

Not quite sure what impact this will have on my SWAP if any. It does bring to mind some emerald green and copper print blouse fabric I have in the stash.
So many possibilities and only 3 short months arrrrrgh!

PR Knock off Contest

2007-12-27T09:12:00.000-08:00

Pattern review has a Designer Knock off contest running in January and February, so I thought I would take the pictured top from Betty Jackson and recreate it using Simplicity 4095. I have some peach coloured knit I plan to use.

New Look 6943 Waistcoat

2007-12-25T13:16:00.000-08:00

The New Look 6943 Waistcoat is completed. This is a old pattern from the early 1990s but the style seems to be back in again.
I sewed a size 16, but as you can see of the shot of me wearing it, it seems to be a bit big. I think the easiest way to alter it would be to cut the side seams down a little, and I hope to get to that quite soon.
I finished this over a week ago, but with getting ready for Christmas I have not had time to photograph and review.
I've currently also mislaid the pattern envelope but when I find it I will update the entry so you can see the pattern.
I will make this again in a smaller size for the 2008 Timmel SWAP, probably in bitter chocolate or maybe coral wool.

The waistcoat is made with dark charcoal pinstripe menswear fabric - scraps from the cropped pants - and as well as being lined in silver shimmer lining, the back in made from lining too (due to lack of fabric). Although I cut tabs out of lining, I didn't like the texture once it was fused to the interfacing, and suddenly remembered the dark grey ribbon remnant, and used that instead for the back tie.

Jacket Length

2007-12-10T23:58:00.000-08:00

When I sorted through my fabrics to see what matches what (and stuff that matches in the evening doesn't in daylight :-( ) I found some rust print home dec fabric which I think I will make into a sample longer jacket to see how it works on me.
I'm away with work 2 days this week so can't see doing a lot of actual sewing, just dreaming....

Here's the Vogue 2939 wardrobe which I am also going to make. The jacket, blouse and pants are the most useful to me I think as the skirt and dress lengths would be hard for me to wear without alteration (ie making them longer) but maybe that would mess with the whole proportions thing?

Also one or two blouses from New Look 6513, and another blouse from a vintage pattern, plus a little waistcoat and another pair of pants - I nearly have a plan!

Simplicity 4699 for SWAP Contest

2007-12-08T09:19:00.000-08:00

With the burnt orange cord in mind I have been through my patterns again, and came across this wardrobe pattern Simplicity 4699. It even lists pinwale corduroy as one of the recommended fabrics for the jacket, which seems like a good hint that the jacket might work OK with the fabric.

I am also trying to think more Spring, because my earlier ideas were all rather Autumn/Winter biased, and I want these clothes to be wearable for the Timmel SWAP contest which runs from Jan 2008 until April 2008.
Much as I love the long jackets for their thigh covering abilities, I am leaning towards the shorter jacket here as I think its easier to wear with both pants and skirts.

The SWAP requires - 1 jacket, 4 bottoms (pants or skirts) and 6 tops. 2 of the tops need to be more complex shirt/blouse style but the others can be simple knit tees. This year three of the garments need to be sewn from the same wardrobe pattern.
All the tops need to be able to be worn with all the tops and everything has to be OK with the jacket.

My palette is burnt orange, rust, ivory and brown.

Rag doll progress

2007-11-26T15:55:00.000-08:00

Ok so its not really Autumn Wardrobe sewing, but I have made some progress on my first ever rag doll, a gift for my friend's baby daughter (requested).
Poor dolly has a slightly square head, presumably due to me not sewing smoothly around the curve. Fortunately she'll have hair in bunches which will cover this area, and she'll hopefully look OK.
If she comes out scary, she'll be the test dolly and a new one will be made.
She'll also look better when her legs are sewn to her body and she has eyes etc, but Rome wasn't built in a day and I reckon a dolly takes at least a week :-)

Happy Ruth

2007-11-25T12:29:00.001-08:00

Corduroy things I like :-)

2007-11-23T00:27:00.001-08:00

Ideas of what to do with the cord. Cord shirt, cord shirt dress or cord jacket - various styles.

I think I'd wear a jacket the most and would want a fairly fitted style but that doesn't cut the pretty fabric into too many pieces.

corduroy

2007-11-22T13:47:00.001-08:00

As a fabric, corduroy is considered a durable cloth. Socially, the clothes made from corduroy are considered casual, and are usually favored in colder climates during seasonal periods. Corduroy is most commonly found in the construction of pants or trousers. The material is also used in the construction of (sport) jackets and shirts. The width of the cord is commonly referred to as “wale”; the size of the wale. The width of the “wale” makes some uses more common than others. Wide “wale” is more commonly found on pants; medium, narrow and fine “wale” fabrics are usually found in garments used above the waist.

My Timmel Parcel Arrived today

2007-11-22T13:22:00.000-08:00

Hey I know its Thanksgiving for the folks in the US, but here in the UK its just a normal day for most people.
Not for me though. DH pointed out I had a parcel when I cam home from work and hurrah! it was my order from Timmel fabrics.
http://www.timmelfabrics.com/
I bought 2 metres of this lovely burnt orange sequinned baby cord, and a package of 1/4" Steam-A-Seam2 to try on knit necklines.

The cord is absolutely gorgeous, exactly the colour in the picture and very soft. I have no real idea what I am going to do with it!!!!
I need to use it in my wardrobe for the Timmel 2008 SWAP Contest which starts in January and has a chocolate, orange, cream theme

SWAP lack of progress :-)

2007-11-22T00:44:00.000-08:00

I've not progressed with my SWAP at all. My worry is that if I sew something now it'll be too big and a waste of time. I have lost 20lbs at this point and I'm already having great trouble finding things to wear for work, and I plan to lose another 20lbs by about the end of SWAP in the Spring.

Trying to analyse it a bit more the problems is really with bottoms - pants and skirts fall off the waist and rest on the hips if they are too big. So I suppose I can sew pants and skirts as long as I choose ones with waist facings and centre back zips and construct them so they are easy to alter at the sides going forward.
Tops seem to be restrained by the fact that my shoulders and back are almost as wide as before just more defined, and I need more waist shaping.
So I could make tops which fit OK now and just need the waist area shaping a little bit later.

And of course this needs to fit with the wardrobe pattern too. I am currently looking at Vogue 2939 which would be OK if I put the zips in the centre back.

The doll for baby P

2007-11-12T14:50:00.000-08:00

My dear friend asked me to sew a rag doll for her baby P, I have been a bit slow off the mark but finally started this evening, here's the basic body of the doll.

Dark green 'Tiny Happy' Shoulder Bag

2007-11-10T15:52:00.000-08:00

Cute shoulder bag made from the instructions at 'Tiny Happy'

http://www.tinyhappy.typepad.com/tiny_happy/2006/06/shoulder_bag_tu.html

Dark green chenille outer, leaf print cotton inner, vintage button.

Pattern Description:
Soft lined Shoulder Bag
Pattern Sizing:
One size, came out approx 14" by 7" but could be resized fairly easily.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes, pretty much
Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes, the hardest part was making my own pattern from Tiny Happy's drawing, after that the steps were well diagrammed.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
Easy to sew, nice result and uses smallish scraps of fabric to good result.
Fabric Used:
Dark green chenille upholstery fabric, with ivory leaf print cotton lining.
Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
This version I made as per her instructions, but I am already considering making a bigger bag.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I want to sew it again, maybe for myself or even for gifts. Imagine it stuffed with tissue paper and wrapped toiletries for a girlfriend.
Conclusion
Thanks Muffet for her review which spurred me to look at the 'Tiny Happy' blog and to 'Tiny Happy' for the instructions.
Muffet's review
Tiny Happy Instructions

SWAP 2008 - the 4 pattern plan

2007-10-30T01:18:00.001-07:00

My plans are stabilising now, and look like using 4 patterns for the whole SWAP.

Butterick B4295 for the jacket, skirt and pants, plus a morph of the skirt in lace.
NewLook 6943 OOP for the vest (waistcoat) and high waisted pants.
Butterick 3344 for knit tops in mock wrap, scoop and V neck styles
New Look 6513 blouse one view plain, one view with frills.

Berry Tones - ideas?

2007-10-21T04:47:00.000-07:00

As you can see from the last post I picked up the wool mix fabric to try to come up with some coordinating ideas for the other fabrics shown with it.

A is the wool mix. It is more purple one side and more burgundy the other side. I bought 2 metres of 150cm wide.
B is a wool jacket fabric - only 1 m
C is same wool in different colour - just under 1m
D is a stretch wool mix suiting again only just over 1m
E - is a mixed fabric, I think some sort of upholstery fabric which I initially planned on making into a coat, but not sure anymore.

The problem with B, C and D is that there is not enough of any of it to make pants or a jacket.
C and D are beautiful together colourwise. B and C could sew up into the same garment as its the same fabric.
A has tones of all but does it work with them?

Latest thoughts are
Jacket in A, Skirt in B, Waistcoat (Vest) in C and cropped pants in D. C and D would be quite fashion forward for me but I reckon I could pull it off.

Fabric Organisation

2007-10-21T04:24:00.000-07:00

I nipped into my local fabric store on Saturday morning on the way to the post office and picked up some fabric which I thought I'd post here.
A - Wool mix in purples (2m)
B - burnt orange mystery fabric (5m)
C - rust cotton knit (1m)
D - khaki wool suiting (5m) plan to make tailored pants for work first

Well I decided that I could organise my fabric stash a whole lot better if the spare room closet contained only fabric, and was on shelves and not in huge moving boxes.
To this end I measured up the closet, decided on what I needed and went off to Ikea on Saturday evening.
Usual problem at Ikea when you want to buy stuff together is that you can't get all the bits in one trip.
So I bought the upright and the small shelves but will have to go back for the big shelves and the back braces. I'm using the Ivar system from Ikea - and basically building a free-standing shelving unit which will sit in the closet but will not be fixed.
There's a small gap on one side where I will store the few rolls I have.
DH is fab at assembling Ikea units and has offered to assemble them for me as things I assemble have been known to fall down!

I also picked up a clip on lamp at Ikea which I am hoping will free up table space (I currently have a lovely based Anglepoise but it takes up a lot of room.)

Pattern Company jacket Muslin V2

2007-10-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

Which is better?
Left (without hemlime trim) or Right (with hemline trim?)

Update:
I retraced the pattern as a 42, and whilst I kept the back and sleeves as is, I altered everything else.
First I recut the side fronts so they are straighter, I think they need to come around further and I will alter that in the next version.
Second I redrafted the hood and front panels piece so that it is a collar cut on the fold and not a hood at the back, the whole thing is narrower across the shoulders and down the front and straighter.
It now does not go around the bottom which is instead a narrower applied piece (not sure about this). Left is without, Right is with - which is better?
I replaced the deep fluted cuffs with smaller less curved ones which I do prefer.
I left the seam open on the cuffs, which again I'm not sure about.

I do much prefer this version to my first attempt, although I wonder if its a bad length now, finishing at my widest part. s the left better for this?

Sequin Cord in Burnt Orange ordered

2007-10-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

Sequin Cord in Burnt Orange ordered, so anyone who likes it can put their order in now!!!

Fabric from Timmels

2007-10-16T10:05:00.001-07:00

I think I will buy 2 metres of this gorgeous fabric from Timmel fabrics.
It's described as Sequin Cord in Burnt Orange - yummy!

http://www.timmelfabrics.com/whatsnew.htm

Chocolate Orange Autumn Wardrobe Plan

2007-10-15T15:14:00.000-07:00

Here's my Chocolate Orange Autumn Wardrobe Plan, which depending on how it works out may well morph into the Timmel SWAP in January.
Chocolate brown is my favourite neutral colour, so the wardrobe is all based around a chocolate stretch suiting I bought which has orange, cream and gold stripes running through it. This will hopefully form a 5 piece suit (jacket, pants, skirt, culottes and waistcoat (vest)) with other chocolate brown bottoms and cream, gold and orange plain and print tops.
As you can see there are a lot of pieces and I have more fabrics in the same colourways which I love to wear already, so this is basically my sewing for the next 6 or 7 months!
I'm an Autumn colouring and love to wear this all year round, which given the English summer weather means I'll be able to wear these clothes for about 10 months of the year!

Lightened pic of Stoff & Stil jacket

2007-10-14T04:32:00.000-07:00

Lightened pic of Stoff & Stil jacket

Stoff & Stil Jacket 800951

2007-10-14T04:02:00.001-07:00

This jacket from Stoff & Stil has a similar rolled collar but less flouncing which I think I might prefer.

Pattern Company Jacket Muslin

2007-10-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

Pattern Company Jacket Muslin - obviously needs a LOT of work before it would be wearable.

Butterick 4295 Skirt started

2007-10-11T14:51:00.000-07:00

I cut out and started to sew up the skirt from the Wardrobe pattern I like the most right now. Butterick B4295 which I bought when it was featured a couple of years ago in the magazine.

I reckon it can either become one of the SWAP advance pieces or just an 'extra' if I find I want to include other things as the advance pieces instead.

Changes so far:-
Cutting it 3 inches shorter than the long length skirt, adding a waist facing instead of their ribbon treatment and having three slim darts in the back instead of one large one.

The plan is to construct it as per the threads article on sewing for losing weight, so I can take the side seams in as I get slimmer.

Pattern Company Jacket

2007-10-09T14:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a version of the Pattern Company jacket 04-265 made up by the owner of STOFF Atelier in Kiel and displayed in the store.
She had made lots of variations which we all loved.

I bought the chocolate brown boiled wool to make up this design, the most I have every spent on a single length of fabric, so there are going to be some muslins before I cut into it!

Pattern Company Website
http://patterncompany.eu/schnittmuster.html

Also available at Tipp Tapp Stoffe
http://web41.s2-mbitmedia.de/shop_content.php?coID=5

or Kreativ Stoffe

http://www.kreativ-stoffe.de/index.html

Fabrics from PR weekend (Europe)

2007-10-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

Here are my fabrics from the European PR weekend - see a common theme?

Top row (l-> r): Chocolate boiled wool with mother of pearl giant button, burnt orange satin, chocolate lace, orange fleece
Bottom row (l->r): Orange with woven check/spirals and wool for rag doll hair, chocolate flock fabric, orange crinkle fabric, black cotton with lurex dot with orange beads for necklace.

Current Wardrobe Pattern Thoughts

2007-10-08T09:28:00.000-07:00

My latest idea with the Wardrobe Pattern is Butterick B4295 but keeping all my Chocolate/orange/cream colour ways from before.
http://www.butterick.com/item/B4295.htm.
I am not massively in love with the jacket, but all 3 pieces have the seams where advised in the Threads article to make altering for weight loss easier (centre back zips in the skirt and pants, shoulder princess seams in the jacket). My thoughts are to shorten the jacket slightly to make it more wearable with a long skirt and maybe remove or reshape the shawl collar (soft lines are not good near the face for me).
If I left the collar as is I could try to make a removable faux-fur over collar - its a good shape for that, and maybe I can copy an RTW item which has that feature.

I have just got back from the PR European Weekend and had a lovely time there (Hamburg/Kiel in Germany). Most of the fabrics I bought there were also in Chocolate and Orange colour ways. I have enough fabric now to sew 2 SWAPs at least..... so I think I will buy patterns from Julie for my entry!

Simplicity 4971 - garments

2007-09-30T00:34:00.000-07:00

So I plan to make the short jacket, the pants and the shell top from this pattern.
as I am actively losing weight with Weight Watchers over the period of the contest another reason why I like this pattern is the alterability.

The jacket can be taken in on the princess seams, the pants have a back zip and facing and can be taken in at the side seams.
The simple shell top can be taken in on the side seams or the centre back seam, or is so quick to sew that I would just sew it again in a smaller size!

In addition to this I need to sew 3 more bottoms (skirts/pants) and 5 tops where at least 2 are blouse style not simple tees.

Simplicity 4971

2007-09-30T00:27:00.000-07:00

The Timmel SWAP (starting in Jan) has a twist each year, and Julie has just published the one for this year.

6. 2008 Twist – Three garments must be made from one "wardrobe" pattern.
You must make three uniquely different garments from that pattern; making one type of garment three times will not qualify.
These patterns are available from all the major pattern companies and they usually include a jacket, dress and/or skirt, pants, blouse or top. For our purposes, any pattern with at least three different garments that work together will be counted as a "wardrobe" pattern.
The patterns labelled "wardrobe patterns" often have 4 or 5 garments in them; but as long as the pattern has three different garments, it will qualify. The purpose of this year's rule is to encourage making the best use of a pattern; in other words, work it for what it is worth. The other 8 garments can come from any other pattern or patterns or be self-drafted.

I had a good look through my patterns and decided that Simplicity 4971 has the most wearable items in a package together, a lot of the others I only liked one or two items in the envelope.

SWAP skirt idea - Burda 8407

2007-09-29T15:10:00.001-07:00

Fabrics for Autumn SWAP Style Sewing

2007-09-28T13:20:00.000-07:00

Here are the fabrics I have got together in the chocolate/orange/cream colour theme I am planning for my Autumn sewing.
The main suiting fabric is in the centre and as you can see it has a dark chocolate background with variegated stripes in lighter brown, orange, gold and ivory.
Fabrics Left to Right, top to bottom
brown knit (cardigan), orange and white knit (top), brown cotton (dress?), ivory woven (blouse)
Ivory woven with crinkle stripes (blouse)
Faux leather (bag, skirt?), main fabric (jacket, pants, skirt, culottes, vest), orange knit (top)
Ornage and brown knit (top), brown satin (vest back), animal print knit (top), orange knit (top), Black brown polyester suiting (pants), ivory satin (blouse), dark brown suiting (pants or skirt)

1920s style dress

2007-09-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

Here I am dressed up for my 1920s style party

1920s style dess- test version

2007-08-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

Fabrics chosen

2007-08-17T00:44:00.000-07:00

I sorted through my initial pile of fabrics and removed some which don't quite match (its astonishing how many shades of dark brown you can get!)
I am now left with
In plain dark brown - faux leather, satin, stretch polyester knit
Knits in plain dark orange, bright orange, orange and white print and brown and orange print
In plain cream - satin and shirred blouse fabric
and then the main fabric which is dark brown stretch suiting with stripes - the stripes are variegated in light brown, yellow, orange, cream and white. This last fabric is destined to be a softly tailored jacket with pants, gauchos and a skirt plus a matching vest (I'm hoping for the magic porridge pot effect here!)
I've started picking out patterns too so maybe at the weekend I will have some pictures to share.

dreams for Autumn

2007-08-15T00:52:00.000-07:00

Its raining, my burda Plus Fashion Fall/Winter arrived yesterday and I received 2 fall/winter fashion catalogues in the mail.
All of a sudden I've forgotten Khaki and Coral City Safari and I'm dreaming about Chocolate orange cream Office Wear!
I've been collecting fabrics along this theme for a while now and I'm not sure I can wait until the Timmel SWAP starts in December.

Photos of fabrics sometime later in the week for those who are interested.