Linda at Nice Dress, Thanks I Made It! is running her Designin' December challenge again for the 6th year. This is a fun challenge, asking participants to knock off a designer outfit and reveal it in December. There are some prizes too, but I just love the idea of making a knockoff ;)
I thought it might be fun to participate this year, as I always enjoy PatternReview's Bargainista Fashionista contest but never get around to making a project, and have watched this challenge for the last couple of years but never joined in.
There are a lot of designer outfits I would absolutely love to make. I have this Dior dress from Fall 2018 pinned on my sewing board - someday I will make it!
But probably not this time around in the time constraints I have. There is also this gorgeous Chanel Spring 2021 dress that I wanted to make earlier this year, but I don't have quite all the necessary bits to do it yet.
However, I also really like this checked outfit from Louis Vuitton Spring 2013 and am considering copying the simple jacket to go with the checked skirt I've already made.
But as it turns out, my fall sewing plans and Dior's latest show -- Spring 2022 -- have coincided somewhat, and I think I have decided on my actual project. Inspired by the many colourful skirt suits in the Dior show, I am combining two views:
I'll be using the colour and the sleeve length from the green jacket, but the style lines from the black jacket. I have New Look 6159 on tap for the jacket and think I will probably use one of the Burda pencil skirt patterns I've made recently for the skirt part.
I picked up a green twill at the thrift store a while ago that is almost the exact tone of the Dior suit, and I have some fun dotted lining in the stash, too. I'm looking forward to continuing my Bold Playful Power Suit sewing theme, with a dash of Dior in it!
I just read an intriguing article over at Book Riot, all about setting yourself your own Mini Reading Intensive. Basically creating a self-made syllabus on a subject you're intensely interested in. Author Laura Sackton had some good tips, like making sure the authors you are reading have varied perspectives, and reading across genres, from non-fiction to memoir/biography to fiction, poetry, and articles. Also, she suggests not overdoing it and expecting yourself to read multiple books a month, rather to set a reasonable goal and spread it out. I like this concept -- and we all know that textiles are a subject that I, and probably most of you reading this, are especially concerned with.
So no specific book to review today -- in dubious honour of it being the Black Friday weekend, I thought instead I'd share a book list or two with you instead. The terrible rate of fast fashion increases over this weekend, causing more and more waste than ever. I follow Fashion Revolution, and they have a special focus on the effects of Black Friday on their blog & socials. They shared a great list of books to read if you want to find out more about how fast fashion affects us all. This is a great resource if the fashion industry is an area you'd like to set a Mini Reading Intensive for.
If you are thinking about sustainability more in the area of home sewing and your own practices, there are some great titles out there on mending, refashioning, upcycling and so on, that can inspire. Here are a few I've reviewed in the past:
Or you might want to approach something like this by choosing an area of sewing to focus on, like doing a deep dive into the history of textiles and techniques (Threads of Life, The Subversive Stitch) or investigating a particular natural fabric - history of, how to sew it, best projects for it, where to source it sustainably etc.
Is this kind of Mini Reading Intensive something you do naturally? I like to read by mood and interest, so do kind of follow this type of thematic reading, but I like the idea of setting a syllabus so that the perspectives I'm reading are varied and cover a lot of ground. Sounds like a great plan for 2022! I might be pondering something now...
After I cut my Mandy Boat Tee from my letter print fabric last week, I had a wide strip left over along the bottom. Plus a half width chunk that was left from the section where the sleeves were cut. I was able to join those two half strips and then use the two pieces together, so I wouldn't waste anything from this amazing fabric.
I decided that because the leftover bits were so wide (around 8" deep) I'd make an infinity scarf. I can wear it with the original top, or to jazz up other outfits. I used the same procedure as my last set of infinity scarves way back in 2016. This is a super quick project to use up leftover knits, and I wear scarves a lot so it's perfect for me.
Also, I hate wasting fabric, especially when I really love it! Now I have just a couple of odd shaped scraps of a few inches left, much more satisfying :)
This is also a great last-minute gift project, as it doesn't require a lot of fabric or precision sewing either. If you have bits of knit in your stash and are in need of a quick gift, give it a go.
Today's feature is an exhibition catalogue with more than 150 images and essays by Valerie Steele, Patricia Mears, and Clare Sauro. It's called Ralph Rucci: the Art of Weightlessness, and is an oversize hardcover book. Just as elaborate and expensive as his clothing requires!
There are three essays about his beginnings and way of working, his techniques and artistry, and a finisher talking about accessories.
Interspersed are large photos of some of the garments mentioned, and those which show off the specific techniques he is known for. I found it worked very well together -- the images are so large and close up that you really gain an understanding of how his ideas and theories come to life in actual cloth. Books are good for this - going in depth and giving you the time to really examine the ideas and images.
I was taken with the way his process was described -- based in intellectual concepts and then brought to fruition in cooperation with the fabric:
"I would close the door if I had to use synthetics," he says. "We have to allow the fabric to speak and synthetics do not have a wonderful vocabulary. When you hear the sound of a faille or the whoosh of taffeta or the oomph of a cashmere or the ahh of a chiffon, there is such mystery! And if you really hear it, the fabric tells you what to do."
This is the first in-depth book looking at Rucci's career, really astonishing considering he was the first American since Mainbocher to be invited to show at the Paris Haute Couture shows. I think you'll understand why after getting a look inside his process, goals, techniques, and exquisite garments.
And you can also watch Rucci walking through the exhibit with Valerie Steele here.
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So now after reading all of this about Ralph Rucci, and seeing his clothes in detail, I'm both inspired and intimidated by my stack of Ralph Rucci patterns for Vogue! But perhaps I'll get to one in 2022. Have you made any Ralph Rucci Vogue patterns? If so, any tips?
I finished my project for the Literary Sewing Circle, the Sun Down Motel round! I nearly didn't, because I was waffling between inspirations for this book's project -- I wasn't sure if I wanted to make something more 80s inspired from the 80s storyline (my fave), but this fabric was on my mind from the beginning. So I decided to use it! My first plan of making a Burda swing top didn't work, as I had just too little fabric, so I went for another oversized tee pattern, the free Mandy Boat Tee from Tessuti, which I've made before. It's quite a boxy shape, as you can tell here, but in a light stretchy knit like this one it falls nicely.
The sewing inspo for this one comes from the description of Carly in the contemporary storyline, always dressed like a student in jeans, a tee and a 'stretched out hoodie'. However, my style only extends to the tee part ;) I also thought that this fabric was a great reflection of all the time that Carly spends in the newspaper archives at the Fell Public Library, getting photocopies of all the old clippings mentioning anything about her Aunt Viv or other missing girls. I bought this fabric in Toronto a few years ago now, and am pleased to finally have it off my stash shelf and into my wardrobe :) It also goes well with my recently finished magenta Burda skirt.
This is an easy top, and I find that it works best in lighter knits. It is a bit limited in size, and I add about 1/2" to the arm circumference. You can download this free top pattern at the Tessuti website if you want to give it a go, too.
I didn't go for an 80s inspiration specifically, but I was able to style this today with the 80s shoes and necklace I thrifted last summer ;) I enjoyed reading this book together with other Literary Sewing Circle participants, and am very comfy in my new literary tee! One of the great features of this top is the neckline darts, a technique I've now used in other knit tops as well. It makes the neckline lie nice and smoothly; download the pattern just to get a look at that if nothing else. I love this print and am happy to finally be wearing it.
Check out the Literary Sewing Circle project post for others' makes. And keep your eye on this space for our next Literary Sewing Circle round, coming in Spring 2022.
Another brightly coloured piece to add to my bold and playful Fall sewing plans! I had this piece of magenta suiting from a thrift store trip, just enough to make a skirt. I chose Burda 127-09-2011 since I love a good slant pocket on a skirt, and because it fit my yardage! (as an aside: this nice pocketed pencil skirt pattern is hidden away in the magazine, only shown under a baggy long jacket with weird folds, it doesn't get highlighted at all in the issue. But it's a nice one!)
I also had this beautiful lining in my stash, just enough and a perfect match. So I got busy and cut this out. Then didn't work on it for nearly a month... But I've now completed it, and it was an easy sew that can be made much more quickly than I managed this time. Hey, I got distracted by other projects!
I made a couple of minor changes to this skirt. I cut 42 at waist and 44 at hip, as I found my last Burda skirt quite large at the waist. I also made the waistband wider (cut two and stitched together rather than folding one in half for a narrow waistband) and interfaced it with a heavier duty interfacing to help keep its shape.
Otherwise I pretty much followed the instructions. There is an underlap at the back waistband for a hook and eye, and the zip finishes at the bottom of the waistband, my preferred style. I also added the lining the same way that I did for my recent checkerboard skirt - even though it means a bit of extra hand sewing I feel that the neat finish is worth it.
This skirt has a back slit, not a vent, so it's much quicker to finish. But I think I prefer a vent as it's less revealing. I am planning to make this skirt again so might adapt that when I cut out the next version.
The only other change I made was to stitch down the inverted pleat by about an inch to keep it from poofing out too much. Now it sits a bit like a dart, smoother right at the front. I wasn't sure about the front pleats, but I think I like them now that it's done.
This was a nice project, no big trouble with it and a nice fit too. The only issue I had is that this is hard to press and my hem is a bit more rumply than I like. It's hand-stitched but I may have to unpick and stitch it to the lining to reduce the puckery effect. But now I need to get busy on the blouse I've planned in a matching dark floral so I can wear them together! So many projects I want to make... I'm sure you can relate.
Another intriguing book on the history of stitching this week! And by another Clare. Lots of sewing and needlework enthusiasts in the UK it seems, and this book is by a Scottish writer, Clare Hunter, who has been involved in community textile projects for over 20 years.
The book looks at needlework from many different angles, in 16 chapters loosely arranged by theme -- identity, community, power, protest, art, and place, for example. In each she ranges between cultures and examples of needlework that has lasted either as a physical object or a set of techniques and traditions that are passed down.
If you are an aficionado of textile history there won't be a lot that is new to you here, though. She covers the Bayeux Tapestry, Chilean arpilleras, folk embroidery, Hmong story cloths, and other histories that many textile art readers will know of. There are elements of other things stirred in, sometimes quite randomly, and there are many interesting highlights. The writing style is generally clear and readable, sometimes going into small flights of fancy writing, embellishing the themes.
I found it an interesting read, making the point that primarily female embroiderers have been creating in a domestic sphere for eons, and that much of their output has been anonymous, their input undervalued. Even the stitchers of the Bayeux tapestry are unknown. Talking about how stitching is a huge part of economies and history, even while those doing it are treated like disposable cogs, is really important even now considering the fashion world.
The flaws are mainly down to the publisher, in my view. There could have been more substantive editing going on, as there are some factual errors. There is confusion in the chapter on the Bayeux tapestry, erroneously attributing a nephew of the king as a son, a pretty major problem when the lack of succession was a key element of the battles. And my personal bugaboo, she refers to "the" Ukraine repeatedly; it is just "Ukraine".
The lack of images in a book about a visual art is also slightly disappointing. There is a list of websites to visit at the end of the book, which will show you many images of the things she discusses in the book. But even a centre insert with some colour photos of some of the items would have added a great deal to the reading.
This is a relatively short overview, a popular history, and so it can't go into vast detail on everything connected with needlework -- that would be a rather impossible feat. The focus in mainly on Western history, and it moves from far past to contemporary uses of needlework like Craftivism and the kind of political stitching that the author herself has been involved with for years. She has led banner making efforts for many causes, and started a Glasgow based community enterprise called NeedleWorks in the mid-80s. So her own stories of stitching and its place in her life are woven into this history, making the memoir element and her own slant on this topic clear. Some readers weren't keen on that -- I found it natural and appealing.
Another interesting fact about this book is that it inspired Maria Grazia Chiuri of Dior in her creation of the Fall/Winter 2021-2022 collection. I think this is fascinating! You can watch the clip of her talking about it, and Clare Hunter talking about the book, below. If you like this, pop over to the Dior channel on YouTube and you can watch a whole series of short videos about this collection, including the show itself.
As you can probably tell, I liked this book and found it engaging, even with a few caveats. I think anyone with an interest in this topic, especially if it's kind of new to the reader, will find it illuminating. The bibliography is also great, and a wonderful starting point if one particular area strikes your fancy. I'd say this one would make an appealing Xmas gift, wrapped up with an embroidery kit, perhaps! Definitely one that can be read in bits without losing the plot.
I took a little detour from my garment sewing this week (even though I have a skirt nearly done...) because I was struck with the desire to work on an art quilt. I have been experimenting with various ideas for the past few years, although I haven't made even a fraction of the ideas I've considered.
But this week I was looking at some of the patchwork circles I made last year, and felt the need to work on them again.
This is a project that uses up both scraps of cotton from various sources, and my own dressmaking offcuts. I start by cutting a circle from medium weight fusible interfacing, then lay strips of cotton in one colourway across the circle and fuse down. I then cut the larger circle into rings and shift them around to make various combos.
This week I was playing with spreading out the rings into different arrangements. As I was doing so with a red circle, I realized that a fabric I had sitting on the giveaway pile would make a great background for the red rings. It was a cotton that I picked up somewhere but didn't like the print -- large, irregular profiles of some kind of statue. But the print was widely spaced and the background was great. So I cut up bits of the green and yellow fabric and stitched them into a block that singes the eye when paired with the red fabrics. I really love it.
I've made a few little tester strips and have been trying out different quilting ideas but haven't got any further yet. I'm hoping to have this little one (12x12), tentatively named In Orbit, done this month.
On the weekend, we went down to the 2021 Grand National Fibre Arts show currently exhibited at the Woodstock Museum, and seeing those pieces in such a variety of styles, with so many techniques and ideas on display, has inspired me to finish something instead of stalling and putting projects aside (common for me...) I hope to be able to share more about this one with you all soon!
Do any of my readers make textile art projects as well as sewing our own garments? Or do you lean toward fibre arts like needle felting or rug hooking, or anything at all like that? I find it really enjoyable to do both and move back and forth between them, although wardrobe projects have really been taking precedence for a while. But variety is creatively satisfying!
I've been wanting to read this book for a while, so was quite happy to have come across a copy of it and snapped it up. It's a thoughtful read, part memoir and part textiles -- the author works in museums in the textile field so her life and the theme of textiles as memory and part of daily life are interwoven.
I know some readers didn't want so much personal info, but I really liked it. The chapters were short sections; it felt at times like some were long prose poems. I found it very quieting reading - I slowed down and considered what she was sharing, and found many moments beautiful.
Because she works at the Victoria & Albert, there are decades of clothing and textiles that she and her colleagues work on. And with that comes, necessarily, a consideration of time and what it does to our lives and to the remainders, the textile ghosts we leave behind. This is "patchworked" in to stories of her own life, her childhood surrounded by sewing, her own journeys, her children and so on. None of the stories are chronological -- they are just shared as they come to mind, it feels. The sections are like vivid recollections, the stories of important moments that you tell in life, not all orderly but as they occur to you. There are also a few black and white photos interspersed and that adds to the haunting feel of nostalgia, memory, and the past that permeates her work and her storytelling.
I liked the writing style, and found the arrangement of the book reflected the themes. Moving backward and forward in time, capturing what could be captured, sharing the stories behind things -- all of this has to do with the textiles she works with as well. And somehow never being able to get a firm grasp on the real story of anything... I felt the style added to the content here, although it did put off a few readers, judging from other reviews.
But if you are interested in the more esoteric meanings of clothing, time, and history, and you love a beautiful writing style, you might like this one as much as I did. My degree was in English and History, and my current obsessions are all textile based, so perhaps this one just checks all my boxes. If you need to slow down a bit, and dream, and read small bits at a time, pick this up. This is one that I would dip into again; it's easy to pick up and read a section and put down again, just to savour one moment. I was enchanted with this read.
I saw a checkerboard print cotton at the fabric store a few months ago. It was in the craft canvas section, but it's a nice weight for structured sewing. So I immediately decided I'd make a skirt from it. It's only taken me about 4 months to get to it! I started work on this skirt and liked the fabric so much that I went back and bought another 1.5 m so I can make a matching jacket...hopefully it won't take another 6 months to get that done ;)
I used the Burda 109-11-2019 pattern that I made a first sample of in black in September. I saw from that make the changes I'd have to make to this one to get it right. There were quite a number of small changes that all together have improved the fit and finish of this one immensely. One of the details of the original pattern was adding D-rings to the waistband but I found it was too much with this print, so I left them off. An extra detail that I did add, however, was a line of satin piping on the pocket opening edges.
I found that I needed to take in the waist by nearly 3" on the original, so I made changes on the pattern, widening the dart intake and shaving 1/2" off each side seam. The fit is now really nice. I also completely changed the construction order and steps to finish this lovely lined skirt in the way I prefer to do it, not by the original Burda instructions which I found fiddly and messy.
I moved the zipper down to finish at the bottom of the waistband, and added an overlap for a button to the length of the waistband. Zipping up an invisible zip through a sturdy, multilayer waistband is not my favourite thing to do -- it always feels like it's about to break. So I like a buttoned/hook and eye waistband instead.
This meant that I had to change the lining attachment process as well. I put in the invisible zip, and before stitching up the rest of the skirt seam, I sewed the lining to the zip and flipped it to the inside. Then I baste the top of the lining to the top of the skirt, and sew up both skirt and lining seams below the zip. After I attach the waistband, I fold the inner edge down over the lining and hand stitch it. It might take a little longer but it is SO TIDY. I really like the smooth interior finish done this way.
Then it was just a hem and hand stitching the lining to the edges of the back kick pleat. I had to look up kick pleat instructions online for a refresher, and found a few new ways of doing it...I stuck with the classic here, but there are some neat options for future I'm going to try. Always something new to learn.
I love this skirt! It turned out like I imagined it, and I'm really looking forward to making the jacket because a matched set in this print is going to be wild. I have lots of bright jackets to wear this with already, including this red one that really shouts 80s in this combo, to me. That's a plus, by the way ;)
One more piece done in my "Bold Playful Power Suit" wardrobe theme for this fall.
As mentioned last week, I tried my first Rochester Dress in some stash rayon to test out the pattern before cutting into my super fancy rayon print I bought from Spool & Spindle last year. (You can see my initial review of this pattern on that post.) I planned to make this fun fabric into a birthday dress to celebrate my big 50 so wanted to get it right.
It was a fairly easy sew, but I'm glad I made the first version, as I did notice a few small tweaks I had to make to get this just right for me. They were pretty small ones though!
First I decided to lengthen the skirt by 1.5". I like to have my knees covered as my upper legs are quite short. And with the more fall vibes of this dress, I feel like longer is a better stylistic choice for me. This was a very easy fix, with a lengthen/shorten line right on the skirt to adjust it simply.
The next issue was that I noticed that the shoulder seams fell about 1/2" down onto my shoulders -- they are just a bit wide for me. With the elasticated ruching at the front neck, I didn't want to do my usual alteration of pinching out that width at centre front -- I wouldn't have been able to get this over my head if I made the neckline any smaller! As it is, it just pulls comfortably over my giant head. So I trimmed a 1/2" wedge off the upper shoulder, blending it down to about halfway down the armscye.
I didn't adjust the sleeves at all since there was a good amount of gathering ease in them. And fortunately this worked perfectly -- the sleeves set in smoothly with no issues, and my arm movement hasn't been affected. And now the shoulder seam sits directly on top of my shoulder.
Those are the only small changes I made, and I must say that this dress is a really quick project with some lovely details. There are no closures to worry about, and no bust darts -- the fullness is taken up in the elastic neckline. That's also a nice feature with a couple of options with different looks available. (I used the same single gather for both of mine).
I love this dress and was so happy to be able to wear it on a lunch date to a lovely restaurant, and feel comfortable the whole time. Definitely a new fave pattern for me!
