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26 Oct 2015

A shirt for me not for him

A few weeks ago I was staying at home, being a bit cold. I had bought a nice crisp cotton to make, believe it or not A SHIRT FOR MY HUSBAND!
But he didn't like the motif : "I don"t want anything that looks like flowers". 


So being cold and all, with 3 meters of fabrics and a lot of free time, I set out to make something I could were as well at home as at work (yes yes, I will work again!).


I have lost a few pounds so I had to adjust my block pattern. I had no real problem doing it, except for the sleeve, as usual. 
I am currently reading Sarah Veblen's the complete photoguide to perfect fitting witch was recommended by Peter and I am really happy I bought it. There are some pages dedicated to sleeve fitting, but  I have not yet reach those pages yet. I will definitively study them and fix that wretched problem once and for all!


I feel fine in my shirt, mainly because the fabric is really crisp, but I have made another top since (based on my block patten), in a more flowy fabric and the problems in the shoulder area really show! I have broad shoulders and small arms. The trick is to balance my pattern to make the shirt comfortable, to make the shoulders appears less large and to fit the bicep well but as the same time to not appear too small in comparison to the bust. That's a lot of work, and I really am begging to be really fed up with that problem.

Of course I forgot to remove my hair from the way :-) I made a yoke at the back, with a pleat, because I don't know, I felt like it.

I feel the length is good, it's meant to be a relaxed look. The pleat at the front is just there to had some interest to a rather classic shirt.


I also made a placket opening with a special collar: in French we call it a "col officier", a collar I suppose given the name, that was used in military uniforms. I couldn't really found the name in English. It is not a mandarin collar, it is narrower and the upper part of the collar is rounded and not at a straight angle. It's basically just the collar base of a classic tailored shirt slightly modified.

I bought the buttons a few months back in la droguerie.This shop doesn't exist in Montpellier, I am planning a strike and a public demonstration to express my  utter sadness and demand that one opens immediately!

The buttons are not white but cream, and I believe they go really well with the fabric. Better than white ones. I can't take credit for this idea though. It is just what I had on hand in my tinny travel stash, and I didn't want to buy new ones. A big thumbs up for chance!


I am currently in a shirt making spurr. I think I need some (hard to tell with almost all of clothes still in Brittany) hihi, life is a bit of a mess right now. Anyway, I like this shirt, my husband was wrong and I was right, it's a great fabric for shirtmaking, I just need something to go on top of it now...

cheers!

23 Sept 2015

hi I'm back! (again)


Remember when I said I would post more often? Yeah, it definitly did not happen :-)
But hey, I'm back. And with a twist I did not expect: I live in the south of France now. This means less sleeves and more dresses! And maybe less Breton stripes (darn, I love my stripes).

Anyway, I thought maybe it was time to sew a few things for Autumn, although Autumn here seems to be as hot as summer in Brittany, and also I don't have a job yet, sooooo, what to sew, what to sew ?


Of course the first place I went in my new city is the fabric shop. I know, speak of an obsession. I am so pleased they have a toto soldes as well here. The selection is quite the same as in Rennes, so I was not lost, they also have a coupon selection and couldn't help but rewarding myself for being so brave (you know, leaving my dear Brittany and all) so I bought a few coupons.
The first one I am using is a nice crisp cotton.

The print is quite small, I thought I would make a shirt for the husband, but he didn't like the print. What? I present you with a gorgeous fabric AND I OFFER TO TAKE FROM MY PRECIOUS SEWING TIME AND YOU DECLINE?
Good, more for me hehe.

I made a few sketches to find the right idea, I always do that, it helps me figuring out exactly what I want to make, and also it is a preparation before making the pattern, so that I don't spend too much time on it, trying to experiment with the details.


I chose to make the first shirt out of the three. The fit is loose, with a nice detail at the front: a placket opening and a pleat. There is also a pleat at the back. It should go well with the white trousers I have just finished.
My mum told me it is not really the right color for the season, but the weather is much nicer here, it is still more than 20°c (68°f) every afternoon, so white pants I made! And also I'm in a new city, with totally different weather and I am out of a job, so I don't really know what to sew now, I am just going with the flow :-)




The pieces of the shirt are cut. I have begun construction. It looks good so far. I might have finished it by tomorrow. But what will I do next then?

Stay tuned for more random sewing and existential crisis!
Bises

19 Feb 2015

What I did last weekend

I decided last weekend that I "needed" to visit some fabric stores, other than my beloved Toto soldes.
So I embarked on a 10 minutes bus trip and voilà! Ecolaines is a creative shop, for people who sew, knit or quilt, or who do all of those things at the same time!

They have a large selection of sewing books, and because we are in Brittany some of them are about traditional Breton wardrobe. Very inspirational I find, especially if you are attracted by embroidery like I am. Sigh, when I am going to find the time to do all the things I want to? I really want to make a dress with traditional embroidery, we'll see.

I bought a few things from the quilting department. There were so many choices of marking tools, I almost lost it. What made me laugh is that I finally bought a french curve (don't know the name in French), and it was from an Australian brand! The instruction were also written in English, how non-french is it?

I spotted some plaid, but retained myself from spreading them on the floor and rolling on them while shouting: MY PRECIOUS! I am so proud of me...
I had planned to only buy shirt making fabric, and I stick to it. I only bought enough for one shirt (more about that later). The selection is nice but I have to say that the fabrics were more expensive that at toto soldes, and I found a bit hard to find what I wanted, also, there were too many kid's fabric! Or is there? Maybe it would make a nice shirt?
But it is still a good place to shop, they have a nice selection of laces, and the inside of the building is nice.

I also went to another store where i found some knit fabrics! I had never seen any in France before. But they were... weird? Ugly? In your face? Decide for yourself:



Can you believe I have been back in this city for almost 6 months now and I have never taken the time to go there?
I am so going back in Spring, for now I am on a shirt making spree. I will try to show you very soon; I promise I will be a better blogger in 2015, I will get organised!

Salut

26 Jan 2015

Out with the old, I made some new nightgowns!


 When I got back home in France I discovered unpacking that I owned A LOT of really old clothes! I gave a lot away, and then decided that I should have fancy nightgowns!
I mean, I really had no idea for work clothes (maybe because work is just blah!).

 For the first one I just copied an old favourite. I had the chance to find some really nice fabric at toto soldes for almost nothing.
I chose some synthetic  voile with what I think are some interesting prints.

 Of course the pictures are blurry, maybe it's because of the busy print. Anyway, the pattern was quite quick to make. I made a simple A line "dress", lowered the bust point by 1,5 cm, because no bra. Added some lace and voilà! Of course my V point at the front is not perfect but the other points are quite good, and most important the nightgown is super comfy, and it doesn't wrinkle! 

I always try to keep away from synthetic fabrics, but maybe it's not a good idea, like dartless shirts!! It is such a practical fabric, it is great for travelling, I might make a dress out of that stuff!

The second one has lovely birds and flowers and frilly straps! How girly is that?

I chose a vintage look, with gathers instead of darts. I had no fabric left but if I had I would have added a second row of frills.


I finished the edge with some red bias I had in my stash, I love having a stash!
All in all, the night gowns were fast to sew. Probably because I never muslin, ever. This is the beauty of making your own custom fit pattern. It always fits.It might not always be the shape I had in mind, but when you have a limited amount of sewing time you just have to love your stuff no?

 And now the back, very pretty I find.

 Some self bias, because it always nice and NOT DIFFICULT AT ALL with a fabric that doesn't old any crease!

I would like to make one more for winter and have a splendid dressing gown to go with it. Fortunately I still have some pretty gorgeous looking fabric, unfortunately, I don't know if I have enough time...

 I will not use it for the dressing gown, because I want to do this:

Downton Abbey of course! I haven’t find the fabric yet, it has to be soft, warm and super fancy. Maybe I should have done it first and then made the nightgown.
Ah well, I just followed my inspiration.

That's all for today. It's good to be back in France with all my favourite fabric shops nearby. I will try to post more often, if only it was my job!

Salut.