Twice as Nice Reversible Jacket

I know I've been a bit quiet here on Betty Stitchup lately. Unfortunately life at the moment hasn't left me with very much time for sewing but I did manage to stick to my Vintage Pattern Pledge and make myself a reversible jacket as well as guest blogging about it over at Kestrel Makes.

A big shout out to Kerry and Marie for keeping the Vintage Pattern Pledge alive. You can read my guest post here and be sure to check out all of the other wonderful Vintage Pattern Pledgers who have been guest blogging throughout July at Kestrel Makes and A Stitching Odyssey .

One Pattern, Many Dresses (II)

It's nice to have a Tried & True (TNT) pattern that you just know is going to work without too much fiddling about. My last "One Pattern, Many Dresses" post which was quite some time ago featured New Look 6699. Today I'm going to share my Vogue 8184 makes.

It's been a while since I used this pattern and my latest version uses fabric that I bought on my trip to Hawaii last year. There are 6 different views to choose from and I used View C with the halterneck and full skirt though I did shorten it quite a bit as I normally would.

This pattern has a nice retro 50's look to it that I really like. I used my own halterneck piece which ties at the back as I find this makes it so much easier to get the strap to fit just right.

You'll also notice that I think this pattern works particularly well with Hawaiian prints! I reckon it would look really cute with a polka dot fabric too - hmm, I may have to try that some time.

Here's one of the same View C with halterneck that I made earlier:

For this one below I used View E with the straight skirt and added some gathered stitches at the front to create a sweetheart neckline:

And finally, my very first version which was View F with the straight skirt. This was the dress that taught me never to sew without pre-washing my fabric. Yes, it shrunk in the wash! Luckily it was pretty stretchy fabric so I could still wear it but I've now gained a few pounds since then and sadly can no longer fit into it.

 

So there you have it, another Tried & True pattern that I'm pretty sure will resurface again some time.

The Jazz Diva Dress

It's not often that I get the chance to wear a long evening gown so when the opportunity arose, I simply had to take it. We were playing for the first time at the Ellington Jazz Club and it was our CD launch for the gypsy jazz band I sing with, Voudou Zazou. It was a pretty special event for us so I decided to go all jazz diva and sew up a long sparkly gown for the occasion

The fabric I used was a black sparkly velvet which looks particularly good under lights (I had some leftover from another stage outfit that I made some years ago). I wanted the dress to be fairly understated but let the fabric and the side split be the feature and Vogue 8357 seemed like the perfect pattern choice.

Silver Frog Bling

It was dead easy to lengthen the dress and insert a split at the front side panel seam. Overall it's a pretty straight forward pattern to sew but the shoulder straps are a bit fiddly and seemed to take longer than it should have. Also velvet is not really the most sensible fabric to be sewing with in the middle of summer.

I was a bit concerned that I'd be sweltering on stage in this dress, but figured I'd be in an air conditioned venue and it would be fine. Well, we just happened to have a heat wave that week-end, it was near 40 degrees and the venue's air con packed it in. It turned out to be one of the hottest gigs I've ever done, but the dress looked fabulous and the show sold out so it was all worth it in the end!

And here's the dress in action - not the best shot but you get the idea:

Stitching Reflections of 2015

Another year has flown by and here we are, it's 2016 - Happy New Year everyone!

It's that time for looking back at the past year and looking forward to the next so here are my Stitching Reflections using Gillian from Crafting a Rainbow's "Top 5 of 2015" categories.

Hits
My garments for the Vintage Pattern Pledge. I made 3 this year (which was 2 up from last year) and they were all a pleasure to make. The two 60's Cat dresses were so much fun to create and I'm really pleased with how my Strawberry Girl dress turned out too. This was the only sewalong I participated in this year, compared with 6 in 2014 but I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to more vintage sewing ahead.

Strawberry Girl, Kitty-A-Go-Go, Feline Groovy

Misses
Luckily I didn't really have any major stitching disasters, I usually encounter one or two hiccups along the way in most of my projects but I'm happy with everything I've made this year - even the ones with mistakes such as my Chuck sweater with the missed cable.

Highlights

My biggest highlight this year was our trip to the US which I blogged about here. Besides being one of the best holidays ever, I shopped the New York Garment District, went crazy with Hawaiian prints in Waikiki and I also got to meet up with Sonja from Ginger Makes which was pretty great. I also included a lot of me-made items in my holiday wardrobe which was really satisfying and fun.

Reflections

I'm pleased to say I've been steadily working through my fabric stash this year. Pretty much the only time I bought new fabric was when I was overseas and I love that because I'm reminded of my travels whenever I wear something I've made from it.

Stash Fabric from Japan and Hawaii

Goals

One of my 2014 goals was to get comfortable with using my overlocker/serger and in particular, threading it. I've got to admit I will do my utmost to avoid having to thread my serger from scratch! For anyone out there who was lucky enough to get one for Christmas (and I know that some of you did), this blog post from Sew For Life saved my sanity. The "tie-off" method is really the only way to go, but despite following many a tutorial on how to do this, I couldn't figure out why my thread kept breaking and why I couldn't easily pull the threads through. That was until, I found this post which included the crucial step about lifting the lower looper thread off the upper looper. Easy when you know how!

Looking ahead to 2016:
My biggest sewing goal this year is to take my time and enjoy the process (no matter how frustrating it can be sometimes!) It's so easy to get carried away with millions of sewing plans and that's part of the fun too but it's important to realise that you just can't do it all.

The other thing I'm going to do this year is master the art of centred zips - I still can't sew a neat centred zip! One thing I did do in 2014 was get an invisible zipper foot and for me, they are the easiest zips to sew neatly. But not all garments or fabric work with an invisible zip so it's about time I got to grips with this, instead of breaking into a panic every time I have to sew one!

So there you have it. Thanks everyone for reading my blog this year, it's been heaps of fun sharing my sewing journey with you and I wish you all a happy, creative and successful 2016! XX

The Strawberry Girl

I'm going way back to the 40's for my next Vintage Pattern Pledge make with Butterick 5209 which is a 1947 reproduction. There are 2 views: halter neck or with capped sleeves. I made view B with the sleeves and I have to say I love it!

This was a bit of a drawn out project though from toile to finish. I had to adjust each pattern piece because I seemed to be a different size for every one of them. The bodice was size 8, midriff size 10 and the skirt was pretty much size 6 because I didn't want as much fullness - too many gathers is not a good look for me, I'm just not tall enough.

I used a black bemberg rayon lining instead of self lining as I just managed to squeeze this out of 2.5 metres of this cute strawberry polka dot quilting cotton which has been in my stash for ages waiting for the right project to come along. I know sewing garments out of quilting cotton is a big no-no for some people but I think it worked out really well for this dress, particularly with the fuller skirt.

The construction part of the pattern was pretty easy to follow although I did find the lining a bit fiddly but then again, I often do!

Overall, I'm super pleased with this dress ... and ... I've managed 3 Vintage Pattern Pledge garments this year!

I'm leaving you with this song (one of my favourites) 'cos I can't get it out of my head - Christine, the Strawberry Girl ...

Feline Groovy Dress

Following on from my Kitty-A-Go-Go dress, my next make towards my Vintage Pattern Pledge is another Catzilla stage outfit featuring, you guessed it - more cats! Obviously this dress actually came first, because as you can see we started off with quite a small cat pocket which grew significantly in size for the Kitty-A-Go-Go dress. It features the same cat fabric but in green this time.

Believe it or not this is my very first proper vintage pattern and it's Simplicity 7526 - a mini shift dress with zip up front. The drawing suggests it's meant to be a young girl's pattern but our vision was a bit more go-go girl than school girl. As you can see it was shortened quite significantly but other than that not many changes were made. The pattern size is a 12 and pretty much fitted straight out of the box with only a couple of little added extras.

Cat pocket and cat zipper charm.

The back piece was quite big which I know is the style but I added in a couple of small darts and a contrast waistband to give it a little bit more shape.

The edging at the bottom of the dress was actually meant to add length as we cut it shorter than we intended to. Like, that really made a difference didn't it?

With it's twin in red

Kitty-A-Go-Go 60's Shift Dress

It's getting close to the end of the year and I'm only just getting around to fulfilling my Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge. To kick things off I've got a new stage outfit I made with my bandmate and fellow seamstress for our 60's garage group Catzilla. We used Simplicity 3833 which is a vintage reproduction of a 1960's shift dress.

This pattern was a breeze! I cut a size 10 which fit me straight out of the packet. All I had to do was shorten the skirt (a 60's go go dress can never be too short!) and the skirt was a bit too flared for my liking so I tweaked it a little at the side seams.

The bodice is made from fabric we bought in Japan some time ago and has cute little cat heads on it. Of course we then had to carry on with the cat theme and added giant cat head pockets to the skirt.

The cat fabric is actually a cream colour rather than white and the only matching fabric to be found was a linen which turned out fine but it does crease quite easily.

I'm really pleased with how this dress turned out, it was super easy to sew and I think the contrasting black and white panels worked a treat.

The full outfit as it should be worn - with it's matching other half

More vintage pledge pattern posts (try saying that really fast!) coming soon.

Ooh - an Award!

Wow, I've been nominated for a Liebster Award by my fellow singer/seamstress Ree from Ree-Sewn. I love reading her posts and seeing the clothes she makes (she even sewed her own stunning wedding dress and shared the whole incredible journey on her blog!)

So, what's the deal with the Liebster Award? It's all about discovering and spreading the word about new blogs. By accepting the award I get to share 11 random facts about myself and nominate some more fellow bloggers to do the same.

I'm so thrilled about this, in fact I'm thrilled that anyone reads my blog at all! So here goes:

1. I'm a musician. I've been singing and songwriting in bands since I was a teenager and I intend to carry on doing so for as long as I possibly can!

2. I love a lot of different kinds of music and I currently sing in 4 bands playing very different styles: Gypsy jazz, 50's R&B, 60's ska & calypso and the newest one Catzilla is 60's garage pop, in which I also play keyboards. This keeps me extremely busy rehearsing, performing and making stage outfits.

3. I'm also a piano teacher and I'm blessed with a range of lovely students from 6 year olds to 60 year olds. They're all at different levels and have varying tastes in music which keeps things fun and interesting.

4. My favourite music to sew to is anything by Brad Mehldau who is an American jazz pianist. I find his music really relaxing and somehow helps me focus on what I'm doing.

5. I'm rubbish at making decisions.

6. My favourite chocolate is Mint Lindt- ooh, and Ferrero Rochers too - yum!

7. I lived in London for 11 years and it's still one of my favourite cities.

8. I love travelling and I've been lucky enough to visit lots of different places but Tokyo and Paris are two cities that I keep going back to.

9. Ree shared her phobia of moths, birds and anything that flaps, well I have a phobia of anything that crawls - most of all spiders and cockroaches. Given that I live in Australia this proves to be a frequent hindrance to my calmness and well-being!

10. I love the warm weather and can't stand being cold - thankfully Spring is here in our part of the world - Yay!

11. My idea of paradise is lying on a beach with my man by my side, a fancy cocktail in hand, a good book and the occasional dip in a calm, temperate ocean (take me there now!)

Thanks Ree for spreading the word about my blog. I'd now like to nominate two blogs for the Liebster Award. I'm not sure if they have under 200 followers (some say this is part of the rules) but I've only recently discovered them and feel they deserve to be shared:

Coolarama with her lovely makes and fun, witty writing style
and
Springstitches - I love the gorgeous vintage outfits that Becky sews.

If my nominees accept, they get to share 11 random facts about themselves and spread the blog love by making their own nominations.

Pineapple Bow Blouse

I seem to be on a bit of a Gertie roll at the moment, having recently made Butterick 5953 finally after having it sit in my cupboard for a couple of years, I thought I'd have a go at her most recent design for Butterick - B6217. The instructions were really easy to follow and it would have come together super quickly had it not been for the fact that the armholes are WAY too small!

Unfortunately I only discovered this after I had sewn most of the garment so I just had to cut into it until I had the right fit. As a result the sleeves weren't quite the right shape anymore so I ended up putting on some capped sleeves instead and finished the lower section with bias binding. Thankfully it all worked out in the end because I really like this pineapple print cotton that I picked up in Hawaii recently.

I made a size 8 which was a very comfortable fit everywhere but the armholes. A couple of people on Pattern Review who had sewn a size 6 pointed out the same problem (if only I'd taken note of that first). None of the other reviewers that had made larger sizes mentioned this so maybe this is only the case for the smaller sizes. Be warned though, if you intend to make this pattern, I'd make a toile first.

I do intend to make more of these cos I think it's a really lovely pattern but I'll have to do some serious adjustment to the armhole pattern piece first. I'd like to make view C and I'd also like to try the tulip sleeves, they look really cute.

Not content with photo bombing my blog pics, Koko insisted on having a cuddle too.

I See Red

Yes, it's a whole lotta red! This is Gertie's Butterick 5953. I wasn't overly keen on this pattern at first, the cover photo on the packet didn't really do it justice but when I saw Amy's version (from Sew Amy) I knew I had to make one for myself.

Both the main red fabric and the black are a stretch cotton drill which I was a little afraid might be too thick for this dress but it's actually fine and with a bit of pressing everything seems to sit quite nicely.

I was a bit nervous about the front bands and the godet as I've never sewn one before but the instructions were very clear and it was quite simple in the end. The sleeves were a bit fiddly and I ended up with a bit of puckering but after a few too many attempts I decided to live with it.

I cut a size 8 and graded the hips out to just between size 10 and 12. Having worn it the other night though, I decided to take it in at the hips and the fit is way better now. Overall it didn't require many fitting changes and was a fairly straight forward make - I'm really happy with the end result.

And now I shall leave you with a link to one of my favourite songs from the past - "I See Red" by Split Enz - I'm not sure how far their popularity spread but for those who don't know this is what Crowded Houses' Finn brothers were doing before they grew up!

Blogging Vacation

Oh boy, it's been such a long time since my last blog post - if only I'd been on holiday for all that time!(it was only 3 weeks of it sadly). Life has been pretty hectic since I got back so not much time for blogging or even much sewing for that matter.

I'm pleased to say that I packed quite a number of me made garments to wear which was really nice and I whipped up a couple of new things to take with me just before I left.

I used a mixture of Gertie patterns to make these highwaisted shorts. In her new book "Gertie Sews Vintage Casual" she has a pattern for cigarette pants that she converts to shorts. I didn't really have the time or inclination to toile the pants and then adapt them so I took Butterick 5895 which I had already made before and applied the changes to that which was really just shortening them and widening the legs slightly.

I also whipped up this denim skirt using Vogue 8603 which I've made a few times before so it was quick and easy. This is such a comfortable, versatile skirt that I wore constantly. This is the best photo I have of it - but you get the idea.

I had an amazing time on my trip to the US - it was mostly holiday (with a little bit of work) but I also managed to fit in a few sewing related activities - yay!

In New York I got to meet up with the lovely Sonja from Ginger Makes. We didn't get to go fabric shop together but Sonja very kindly gave me a list of her favourite stores in the Garment District which was just as well because I really would not have known where to start otherwise. Even with the list I was totally overwhelmed by every store that I went into and only came away with one piece of fabric in the end. I still enjoyed the experience though and next time I'll know what to expect.

My last stop was Hawaii which is one place I wasn't really expecting to do much shopping but I did discover Waikiki's Fabric Mart. This store had lots of lovely craft fabric and oriental prints but really, being in Hawaii it just didn't seem right to be looking at anything other than the amazing selection of Hawaiian prints that they had on offer - for me, it was like Christmas!

I did have to be a little restrained as our suitcases were getting close to bursting point by this stage but but I think I did pretty well and came away very happy with my purchases. I love holiday fabric shopping, it's like having a wearable souvenir to bring back those great memories.

Now, to dust off my sewing machine ...