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 ...

Chuck Completed

Break out the champagne - I've finally finished my Chuck sweater, Andi Satterlund's cute cable knit pattern. This is the second in my year long knitting projects, the first being my crazy lace cardigan. I can hardly believe I started this in August last year - but I guess to be fair, I did take a break from knitting over the summer. I'm really pleased to have finished it in time to get some wear out of if this winter.

Having just knitted Andi's Myrna Cardigan before I started this made following the pattern much easier. I made a size small and adjusted the sleeve to full length as it seemed a bit more more practical.

The yarn I used was Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in Mallard which was nice to knit with, though I did have a couple of tangling issues along the way. I have read some terrible reviews on Ravelry about this particular yarn, mostly saying that it pills really badly. I'll have to keep my fingers crossed that it doesn't - I'm so happy with how it turned out and it's lovely and soft to wear. It did grow quite a lot when I blocked it though, so it was definitely worth doing a gauge swatch first.

I must confess to a small mistake along the way - I missed one of the cables and by the time I realised I was miles ahead. I'm really bad at picking up stitches after frogging back, so I decided to leave it.

I did try and fix it afterwards using the darning method in this post that my good friend and knitting guru Marylou sent me. It's a pretty nifty trick but I didn't do too well with it as the yarn was just too dark to be able to see what I was doing properly. Thankfully my mistake is strategically placed so that you can't see it unless you're looking where you shouldn't be!

These photos aren't the best but I wanted to get this post out before I head off on my summer holiday to the States - woohoo! So, sorry Chuck, you'll be put away again until I return.

Top of the Eiffel Tower

My third post on topping up my tops and another Gertie pattern. This time it's the Portrait Blouse from her first book "Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing" - yes, it's been out for years and this is the first thing I've actually made from it. I did attempt one of the dress patterns some time ago when I first got it but I had all sorts of trouble with the sizing and never ended up finishing it.

I'm pleased to say the Portrait Blouse was a breeze to sew - quick and easy, it came together in an afternoon. I sewed a size 4 with no fitting changes needed. The waist shaping comes from little dart tucks which I really like the look of. One thing that made it quick was that I used an invisible zipper instead of hand picking one - not quite so vintage but I'm not ashamed to admit it - if I can take a short cut, I will - and if it means less hand stitching, all the better.

The fabric which came from Spotlight is a cotton voile with a cute atomic print with eiffel towers on it. The voile works really well with this blouse and makes a nice cool summer top, I'm pretty certain I'll be making more of these!