Weekend Review: Private Label

 

Private Label / Kelly Yang
NY: HarperCollins, c2022.
404 p.

I wanted to read this one because of its link to fashion -- the main character, Serene, is the daughter of a fashion designer, Lily Lee. And the fashion house is a big part of the story. 

Serene is 17, still at high school, and she also works at her mother's business - interns, really. It's difficult to see how she manages both, timewise, but you just have to go with it. She's also dating a big blond surfer, one of the popular kids, and hangs out with the popular girls, even though she is the only Chinese person in her entire area. Until Lian Chen shows up. He's moved to this California town with his family, thanks to his Dad's new job. But his parents are quite traditional, and both he and his little sister spend most of their free time prepping for college entrance exams. Well, they're supposed to be prepping, but his sister skips lots of her prep to go to a dance studio, and Lian is trying to become a stand-up comic. 

The good things about this story are the main characters - they are interesting and developed well. Their struggles with being Chinese in a bland white California town are clearly drawn, even if some of the other characters are a bit one dimensional in order to keep the story going. Serene's boyfriend is obviously a jerk right from the beginning, but she goes along with it. When she meets Lian there is an instant attraction but it's not really explained much, and it's hard to see how someone who has worked so hard to be one of the popular crowd would just suddenly flip to dating one of the very out crowd. Plus, how does she even have time for dating?? 

Lots of issues; her mother is diagnosed with cancer, and names Serene as the new head of Lily Lee, despite their investors' objections. The company investors want to sell; Lily wants the company to stay small and independent, and a couple of the board/investors are pretty cartoon villianish. Serene is also trying to find her birth father, in China, while dealing with her snobby social circles and her soon-to-be ex posting nudes of her online. Meanwhile, Lian is trying to develop his dreams of stand-up, against his parents' very clear expectations, and he's dealing with bullying and loneliness in America. Plus trying to date Serene on the q.t. without his parents finding out. 

I found it a quick read with some interesting themes. But I did feel like there was a bit too much going on at times, and also that the romantic teenager elements clashed a bit with the Serene-as-business-maven parts. I'm not sure that both were equally believable. But as a teen read, it's quick and with lots of glamour, teen angst and rebellion to attract readers. A light summer pick with some more intense themes included. 

Cover Designs!: #32 Fatal Inheritance

 

Cover Designs is a feature in which I try to match up the outfit on a book cover with a dress pattern and sometimes even potential fabric matches as well. Today's pick -- Fatal Inheritance by Rachel Rhys -- is set in the late 40s, moving from gloomy England to the sparkling French Riviera. 

Summary from the Publisher:

London 1948: Eve Forrester is stuck in a loveless marriage, isolated in her gray and gloomy house when out of the blue, she receives a letter. A wealthy stranger has left her a mysterious inheritance but in order to find out more, she must travel to the glittering French Riviera.

There, Eve discovers she has been bequeathed an enchanting villa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and suddenly, life could not be more glamorous. But while she rubs shoulders with the rich and famous, challengers to her unexplained fortune begin to emerge—challengers who would love to see Eve gone forever.

Alone in paradise, Eve must unlock the story behind her surprise bequest—before her unexpected twist of fate turns deadly…

The cover dress is one I'd love to wear myself -- especially in the same location! I love the colour and the fabric looks like a nice sturdy cotton of some kind. 

The FibreMood Ivory Dress would be perfect if you just changed the sleeve to a cap sleeve! It has that pointed back yoke (and front ones too) and a nice full skirt. 

Another option would be KwikSew 4133. This one is a little more Western wear style, but all in yellow, again with the sleeves changed to a cap sleeve, it would be very similar, even down to the princess seam lines. Just add a sash and you'll be set. 

Then you could crochet yourself this little hat pattern by LilyHandmade Studio, in some raffia yarn, and you'd have the outfit down pat! 

All you'd have left to find in order to really match the cover is the location. But I'll leave that part up to you ;) 

A Matchy Matchy Skipper Top

I recently signed up to be a tester for a new pattern by the Matchy Matchy Sewing Club. I haven't done this kind of thing for ages, but I thought that their new Skipper Top & Dress pattern was really cute -- and it's available now on their website!

This is reminiscent of their very popular Collage Gather Top, as it's also a panelled boxy top with gathered sections. The Skipper has gathering on the central panels, though, not the outer ones like the Collage, which appealed to me a little more. 

There are 3 views in this pattern - a short top, a mini dress/tunic, and a midi. I just tested the top view, but am planning on making the short dress as well in future. The patch pockets on that view are very cute. 

The style of Matchy Matchy is quite patchworky and quirky, with many of the samples on their website made of patchworked gingham. The patterns lend themselves to this kind of sewing, with their multiple panels. They also lend themselves to using small pieces of fabric, because of that panelling. 

I went to the other extreme with my version - I did an all black top! I had a small, lightweight greyish-black piece of cotton poly that I picked up at the thrift store a while back, because I liked the weight and drape of it. It was just perfect for this top. I decided to use the flat front view (there is also the option to gather the front panel as well as the back). After tracing and measuring, I also decided to add 3" to the length, as I'm not a real wearer of cropped items. The pattern has been adjusted in its final form to have a bit more length on the top and mini-dress views, so I probably won't have to make this adjustment on any future projects and neither will you if you make it!

The neckline is finished with a bias facing, and unfortunately my fabric didn't press as nicely as a cotton would so I did end up with a few bumps in my neckline finish, but that's a small issue. The fit on this is perfect for me, and I really enjoyed making it. The mini-dress has fun pockets and I'd make that with the gathered front panel. The midi has a side seam pocket option. I think that this is a quick and straightforward make and would be a good addition to the collection for newer sewists, due to its easy construction. But it would also be a good one for anybody who likes to use scraps, colour block or pattern block their projects. In basic black this is going to be a go-to for me. 

Weekend Review: Everyday Patterns by Lotta Jansdotter

Lotta Jansdotter Everyday patterns / Lotta Jansdotter
NY: Abrams, c2022.
144 p.

I picked this one up because I really enjoyed the first pattern book that Lotta Jansdotter created. This one has similar silhouettes and style, with lots of great photography. A real lifestyle book. 

This one has six garment patterns and a couple of accessories included. The title states that the pieces are mix & match, and they are -- a whole capsule wardrobe if you want it. The patterns are: 

Billie Top & Tunic

Rui Shirt & Shirt Dress

Maar Dress

Pym Pants

Kiko Jacket & Robe

Rickie Skirt 

Stina Everyday Tote Bag

Scarf

Headband 

As usual in her books there are a variety of models from her circle of friends and acquaintances. There are both young and old, male and female, although probably half of the model photos are of Lotta herself. She's really trying to make these patterns appeal to both men and women, but I'm not sure it it carries over fully. The styles are very much in her aesthetic, boxy fits and lots of cotton and linen. If you are a Lotta fan these will appeal to you, although these days I'd say there are many similar patterns out there from tons of indie designers. 

I liked this one for its visuals - great photos, nice cohesion to the wardrobe patterns, great fabric choices. But I can't give the book itself a perfect review because of the massive issues with pattern errors. There is an enormous list of pattern errata at the Abrams website, for nearly every pattern. And if you want to download and print the fixed patterns, they are all only available in copyshop format. So if you want to spend more than the book's price on getting all the patterns that were supposed to be included as traceable in the book itself on reprinting copyshop versions of the patterns, go for it. But I won't be doing that. A skilled sewist might be able to recognize the pattern issues and redraft, but why should someone who has bought this for the patterns have to do that? **ETA: a reader notes in the comments that it is indeed possible to tile these files in Adobe and print them yourself, if you want to try that. 

The patterns seem to mostly have sizing lines labelled incorrectly, with a few of the patterns having fully revised pattern sheets to download. I can't quite tell if that is because of the sizing marking issues, or further issues though, since I have not downloaded the new pattern sheets. 

So this was both beautiful to look at, and inspiring when thinking about simple sewing and a capsule wardrobe. But I feel badly for the author that the technical aspects of the publication lower the value overall. 

Biscornu aka Pincushion

When I was at the SAQA Conference in Toronto at the end of April, we had one night in which a few people got together to play some rousing games of Bananagrams - if you haven't tried this game before, it's like a quick moving Scrabble, and a lot of fun. A couple of the participants had brought along some little prizes for the winners of each round, which was unexpected and entertaining. Some of them were jokey prizes and some were more sewing related. 

I won one of the last rounds at my table, and so won the materials for this lovely little biscornu. A biscornu is a pincushion made of two squares, turned on point to one another then sewn and stuffed. I've only seen them as embroidery projects before, but this is one that is a quick & easy version using two interesting prints. The sparkly pins were even included! 

I finally got around to stitching this project up, even though the conference was a couple of months ago ;) I had to find some stuffing to fill it with! It didn't take too much time - the steps are straightforward. 

Turn the squares and pin them with one point in the middle of each flat side.

Sew up 7 of the 8 sides.

Turn inside out and stuff.

Close up the opening you left to stuff it.

Sew a button right through the centre to give it that bouncy silhouette. 

Put pins in it! 

A Zoe Top from Simple Sew

I just made this Zoe top, from Simple Sew -- I have had this pattern for ages and always thought it would be a fun project but you know how that sewing queue goes. 

In any case, the PatternReview Fabric & Pattern Stash contest got me looking through my stashes to see what I had, and this one caught my eye again. I decided to make the dress view, using a crisp linen blend that a friend gave me a year or so ago. There was 5 m. of this fabric so plenty to experiment with! 

Well, spoiler -- I ended up cutting off the dress to a top length before even finishing it. I was nearly done and tried it on, well, it looked like a hospital gown! Not sure if it is the plain colour alongside the loose fit that caused it but it was inescapable. 

The dress is fairly basic. It's a front, back and facing, along with sleeve cuffs and a pocket. The front and back have a centre seam, and the pattern is designed to have topstitching along the seams for a little extra touch. I started out with this plan, and found a thread that was very similar in tone to the fabric, as I didn't want strongly contrasting topstiching. There is one pocket on the dress view, attached over the right side side seam. I even got that on, and it had beautiful topstitching, I was so proud, lol. 

The dress came along very quickly, even with the topstitching, and before I hemmed it I decided it was not going to work as a dress. So I unpicked the perfect pocket, and recut the dress to a longer top length. I pressed up the hem and there it was. SO much better as a top to wear with fun skirts. I actually really like it as a top and think I'll be able to wear this quite often. 

The neckline is a lot wider than I had realized when cutting it out, however. I don't usually wear a boat neck style, but fortunately I picked up some lingerie guards at the thrift store recently. These are very convenient - they pin onto your shoulder seam/facing, and the ribbon goes around your bra strap and snaps. Easy to keep your bra straps up and yet out of sight, and also you can quickly move them to any top as they are just pinned in. Great find. 

Anyhow, from the dress I had envisioned, to a top I will actually wear, even before leaving the sewing room for the first time ;) This colour is a delight and it's something I don't already have in my closet. I love the clear tones of the colour, and am really pleased it could be easily rescued to be wearable as a top.

Weekend Review: Radical Sewing

Radical Sewing / Kate Weiss 
Portland, OR: Microcosm Publishing, c2021.
192 p.

I was lucky to find this one via my library's online collection. Although I don't usually like sewing books in online formats generally, this one has the subtitle "Pattern-Free, Sustainable Fashions for All Bodies", so I thought a sewing book without patterns might be okay to read in e-book format! 

It was an interesting read, put out by a publishing company that has many other books on sustainable, alternative kind of topics. I thought it was a neat approach, bound to appeal to a different kind of audience; however, I didn't quite love it. I found the tone was a bit uneven, at times feeling like the author was speaking to beginners but at other times more aimed at those familiar with sewing -- the terminology sometimes felt like you should know a bit about sewing to really get the book. Which I did, but someone newer to the sewing world might feel a bit intimidated. And from the cover copy, it does seem like the gist of the book is to get newbies into sewing.

Additionally, despite the subtitle, there is a whole chapter of this book that talks about how to read and understand a sewing pattern. As that chapter begins, she acknowledges that despite the title, you may sometimes need to understand patterns. I agree, but wonder if a change in subtitle might have been more effective in getting across all the elements of this book. 

However, it was a pretty good overview that might appeal to a certain kind of reader already interested in zines, alternatives and 'radical' things in general. It has some funky drawings/illustrations and gives enough info for someone to actually learn quite a bit about sewing well. 

You can find out more about this one, and see some interior pages to help you judge the style and see if it's one for you, over at the publisher's website. 

My Antonia!

Oh my goodness, I love this dress! I have had this pattern for the Antonia Dress by Pattern Division for a while, and love the simplicity of it. I thought it would be fun one, and I had already traced and prepped the pattern pieces a while back. So I decided to cut it out last week while I was on a cutting spree ;) 

It has a front, back and facing pieces, with cut-on pockets. It was a breeze to lay out and cut, and took me 3 hours start to finish to sew it up the next night. I am a slow sewist, it would probably take others less time! Being such a simple pattern, I was unsure that the fit would be very good, or flattering. But I guess this one is that unicorn pattern, the one made just for my body, because the only alteration I made was to shorten it by 2" for an above-knee length on me. Even the cool little gathered back feature sits at the right spot on my waist, and this is an area I often have to shorten.

Did I mention I absolutely love it? The waist, pockets, shoulders, everything is just in the exact right spot. And the back feature is adorable. The back gather was the only "difficult" part, and that was only because I wasn't quite sure how to sew it up at first. But you just follow the seam lines marked on the pattern, it's kind of a wedge. I haven't made something like this before; the lower skirt is cut on the fold and upper bodice has a centre seam, but it's all one piece. It's pretty neat to see it come together. 

The facings are also very wide - I like this, as it keeps them from flipping out. Well, that and the fact they are also topstitched. There are the front yoke seams and the centre back seam to tack the facings down to as well, so altogether this is a very quick and efficient pattern without the feeling of a pattern that cuts corners. 

I used a cotton from my stash that has a bit of a sateen feel, but isn't too heavy. This worked well, even if you can't really see the gathered front shoulder/yoke or centre back features too clearly in such a busy fabric. I really love this and will definitely make it again! It also has a top length and midi length version in the pattern -- I might make a top, but I do really love this knee length dress and can see making a solid coloured version.

The pattern is named after the writer Antonia Fraser, since as the designer, Ann, states in the pattern copy: "I read that Antonia Fraser didn’t like to shop so she had her favorite dress made in different fabrics so she could wear it every day, every season… I loved that idea! This is my everyday, every season dress and I make it myself. "

A great pattern that I really enjoyed making - easy, quick, no closures, fun to sew up, and a great result. What's not to love? :)

Afternoon Blouse in Green

I just finished this Afternoon Blouse by Jennifer Lauren, a pattern I've been meaning to make since I bought the pattern at least 5 years ago! The PatternReview "Fabric & Pattern Stash" contest spurred me on to finally get this one cut out. 

I traced a size 12, grading out to 14 at hip. It is fairly simple, with only front, back, and facing pieces. And I used a remnant of green linen blend of some kind which I got from a friend last year, when she gave me two plastic bins of fabric from her mother's sewing stash. I had just enough to cut out the blouse version of the Afternoon Blouse & Shift Dress. 

The fabric was fairly loosely woven, so I did have to zigzag all the edges of the pattern pieces as I cut them out. But there aren't many, and this went together quickly. I used a lightweight interfacing for the facing pieces, which was just right for the softness of this fabric. I did find once I tried it on that it is a little tighter around my upper arm than I like - I may upick the shoulder seams and restitch at 1/4" just to give me a touch more room. I will add a bit to the pattern pieces for future use. 

Otherwise, the only thing I had to watch on this one was getting the overlap to sit correctly. Because my fabric has a bit of a softer hand, I found it wanted to droop. I had to press the front seam and the overlaps in place, then pin them in order to put in the line of hand stitching that holds the overlaps together -- I did it quickly the first time, then realized I had to pick it out because I hadn't carefully arranged the placement and there were sags and droops! I placed the top on my dress form after pressing so that I could get the alignment right, and then restitched the overlaps together, and added the button. Actually, looking at the photos I think I might readjust it again to get rid of the little pucker near the button!

It was kind of fun digging through my button stash to find a single button I liked for this top. The one I had in mind first didn't actually work, so I looked again and came up with this pinkish toned one, which is slightly smaller than the recommended size but I think it looks nice. 

I like the way this fits, aside from the slightly tight arm opening, which is fixable -- it floats over the body and feels just right. I will definitely be trying the dress view next. 

Weekend Review: Your Skirt, Your Way

 

Your Skirt, Your Way / Jenniffer Taylor
Search Press, c2020.
128 p.

This is another book by a former Great British Sewing Bee contestant. It's the second book by Jenniffer Taylor, whose first book, Girl With a Sewing Machine, was published in 2020 shortly after her GBSB appearance. 

This book is a really interesting one for adventurous beginners, or those more accomplished sewists who want to create their own block to then make into a variety of skirts. There are 10 distinct skirts included in the book for readers to create.

The book starts with an intro, recommending necessary tools and basics, then moves into how to create your block based on your measurements. This section includes how to measure, how to draw out a block and how to create a toile to check fit. 

Then the following sections cover six shapes of skirt, waistbands, facings, zips and buttons, and then a section on pockets, yokes, hems and vents. There is a lot of info for sewists to use here. 

The final 40 pages are the actual skirt "recipes", as she calls them. They are not quite patterns, but the instructions about how to make the pattern based on your block -- and then how to construct them. I think there are many options here, with a style to suit every reader. And the details are cute too - I love the pockets on the flared Kate skirt.

I thought that this book was really well done, at just the right level for an ambitious beginner, straightforward but not overly simple. Skirts are a great starter project, and are also a good way to take a stab at pattern making. There is solid instruction, lots of photos, and some creative yet very wearable projects in this book -- a winner. 

Half Way through 2023

 

Photo by Maddi Bazzocco on Unsplash

I can hardly believe that this year is going so very quickly. It's already halfway through! Fortunately for me, I had a long weekend as July began, so was able to spend some time thinking about my plans for the year and how I'm doing with them. 

My goals that I set for 2023 were fairly relaxed. They were to:

1. Sew From Stash

2. Finish some art quilts

3. Take classes/learn more

I think I've done okay on all of these so far! I've been sewing a lot from stash, probably about 75% of my projects so far are from stash, and I haven't bought too much new fabric this year. I still have to sort more of the piles out so I can see what I want to use and what I want to pass on, but haven't got there yet. 

Finishing art quilts has been going pretty well -- I finished 2 small ones, and got to the SAQA Conference in Toronto I was planning on, which spurred me on. I have 2 more small quilts to finish, and lots of ideas for new ones! 

Take classes -- well, haven't done too great on this one yet. I did take one interesting art quilting class online, about using scraps effectively, which I really enjoyed. And I've been listening to some embroidery and art quilting webinars. However, I haven't finished my Jasika Blazer class (maybe this fall?) and do have some CreativeBug sewing classes I want to watch. 

My other 2023 goal was my Make Nine/Use Nine plans. So far I'm moving a bit slowly there - I have finished one, the McCalls dolman knit top, and have two others cut out. So maybe I'll get a few more done before end of year! 

Like I mentioned in my original planning post, I am a mood sewist - I get distracted from plans easily! Plus I've been doing a bit of sewing on demand, so to speak, for various sewing companies/stores, which does cut into my planned sewing a bit. 

And in May I added a new goal to the year, which is to make my own Vyshyvanka by next May -- I've traced out two potential patterns for it but haven't made any samples yet. I'm planning to make a couple of quick versions to test out which pattern I want to use good linen for, and spend time on embroidering! So I'll have to get busy so I can start on that with plenty of time for stitching. 

Not too much to overwhelm me, and I don't feel terribly behind, as these are simply goals to keep me focused. It's great to look at them and refocus now, with time left in the year to accomplish a bit more. Do you like making plans as well, or are you more freeform? I think I'm a mix! 

Weekend Review: Sew Chinelo

Sew Chinelo / Chinelo Bally
Collins & Brown, c2021.
176 p.

I am a big fan of the Great British Sewing Bee, and Chinelo was one of my favourite contestants. I read the first book she put out after her appearance, Freehand Fashion, and so really wanted to check out this one as well. 

Unfortunately, this one wasn't really a book for me. The focus here is partially upcycling (the subtitle references Sustainable Style after all). And I do love upcycling, but the projects in this book don't appeal to me personally. There are lots of wrap dress/skirt, wide off-the-shoulder collars, strapless maxis, and kids clothes. None of those are my style at all. So, while this isn't a book for me, it could definitely be one for other readers. 

Aside from my personal aesthetic, there is a lot to admire about this book. If this kind of refashioning and youthful style is your thing, then you'll love it. It provides a variety of projects, so you could make a whole outfit or two. There are 11 adult projects, and 3 children's. They combine Chinelo's Freehand cutting style with the previously mentioned upcycling projects. And there is quite a good section on techniques - from bias binding tips to seam finishes, zips and hems, there are step-by-step illustrated instructions included. Plus a great section of taking measurements, which includes photographs to make the spots to measure very clear to new sewists. 

The one project that really intrigued me was the maxi dress, but mostly for the bodice. Chinelo uses a pair of men's suit trousers, takes them apart and uses them for the fabric of the bodice, which is a basic sleeveless scoop neck, princess seam bodice. It works quite well & if there was enough fabric to add some cap sleeves this is one I might try myself, although I'd change the skirt. She also finishes the book with a one-shoulder jumpsuit, and while there is no way I'd ever make that, it is finished with a huge floral corsage, in the same suiting fabric, on one shoulder. That was eye-catching and the instructions make it seem really easy -- would love to make one for other uses! 

So, not the best book for my style, but interesting nonetheless, and it might just appeal to you. Worth checking out.