Weekend Review: The Grace Kelly Dress

 

The Grace Kelly Dress / Brenda Janowitz
NY: Graydon House, c2020
336 p.

I've never read Brenda Janowitz before, and the blurb by Emily Giffin on the front didn't bode well since I don't usually like her books. But the dress element of this book convinced me to pick it up. And I am glad I did! It was a poignant and enjoyable story of three generations of women, and one dress. 

The story moves between three women: Rose in 1958 who is creating The Dress, Joanie in 1982 who wore it after her mother did, and Rocky in 2020 who is getting married but doesn't want to wear her mother's dress. 

The chapters are all short, and each woman is quite different so it's easy to keep them sorted. Also, Rose is a seamstress in Paris, Joanie is a college student, and Rocky is a contemporary software developer, so they're distinct in their interests, surroundings and behaviours, too. 

Of course I loved Rose and all the time spent in Madame Michel's Parisien atelier, where she works. Rose is very skilled, she loves sewing and designing; her focus and her sketches catch the eye of Julian, Madame Michel's assistant, and is called upon to assist him in keeping the atelier running after the unexpected death of Madame Michel, which he is trying to keep a secret. Lots of drama! 

Joan is a young college student, a sorority member and recently engaged to a fraternity dude, but she's starting to question a lot about her life. She tries very, very hard to be 'good' to make up for the loss of her older sister, who died at age twenty. This character was a little weak to me, because in parts it felt like she was living more in the late 60s than the early 80s, with her sorority and her pearls and her innocence. But she certainly experiences some of the early 80s when she leaves campus in search of the truth about her sister. 

Rocky is a bit rough around the edges, unlike her sultry sister Amanda. She likes logic and order and things being straightforward. She wants a simple wedding, and isn't thrilled about wearing the elaborate Grace Kelly dress from her mother -- but doesn't want to hurt her mother by turning it down, either. There are a bunch more side stories in Rocky's chapters; Amanda is gay and longing for the last girlfriend she ditched, Rocky's fiancé is South Korean but was adopted by a Jewish family and he's now searching for his birth mother, there are mother issues between Rocky and Joan. 

But through all three of the stories, the dress, and all the details of making it, shine through. I loved how Rose takes the inspiration from the Grace Kelly wedding dress that was the ideal in 1958 and updates it for a younger client. She talks about details like shortening sleeves, updating necklines, adding lace motifs, and about how to construct a dress like this (in separate parts, skirt held up with underpinnings and cummerbund to cover the bodice and skirt join. As a sewist, a reader can picture this and understand how it makes a gown like this work on the body).

Joanie adapts the dress to her taste in the 80s (think poofy Princess Diana sleeves) and Rocky eventually comes to see how she can make it work for her, too. (no spoilers...) It ends with a fairytale-like omniscient narrator telling the story of the dress' future, and it works, and it's touching and sweet. 

If you like stories that move between characters, and don't mind the sentimentality of a book centred around love and weddings, and of course you like to read about sewing, give this one a try. You can't go into it cynically or it just won't work, but if you're looking for a gentle read with some great sewing content and an interesting set-up, you might just find it's exactly what you need. 

A Simple Mend

I have a favourite black cardigan that I bought years ago -- it gets heavy usage! Just this week I noticed that there was a run in the knit right close to the pocket. Not surprisingly, since that the area that is most handled, plus at the level to catch on things.

Thankfully, I'd just finished Mend by Kate Sekules when I noticed this. So I tried out some of the ideas she shared in her book, and mended my favourite black cardie to wear another day. I didn't use any of the colourful visible mending techniques, I just wanted this one to patch the run so it didn't grow, and so I could wear this black topper with everything, as always. 

So I just used some DMC 310, basic black, 3 strands, and gave this a basic darning mend. I think it turned out pretty good, and will let me continue wearing this without causing more damage. It's more of a weave than a knit mend, but it's nice and secure and fairly unobtrusive. I'm pleased with it! 

The success of this basic mend also inspired me to finally do a very fast mend of the lining in my winter jacket, which had split at the shoulder seam. It just needed the seam stitched back together for about 2". Why did I put it off for a whole season? No idea! Anyhow, done now, and another mend satisfactorily off my mind. 

Hopefully this trend of fixing things before it's too late will continue around these parts... ;)

2021 Word of the Year: Shift

 

Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash

I like to choose One Word for the theme of my years -- if you aren't familiar with this concept, you can find more about it here. What I enjoy about this is that instead of specific resolutions to improve oneself, which will be forgotten shortly after January, the one word theme just helps to guide you through your year, in every area. 

Some years, like last year, a word pops into my head and I know it's right immediately. This year I have been really puzzling over it, and trying out various words that seemed almost right, but nothing clicked. Finally a few days ago a word just came to me, and immediately felt right. 

My word for 2021 is: 

SHIFT

Merriam Webster defines Shift as:

1 : a change in place, position, or direction.

2 : a change in emphasis or attitude a shift in priorities.

Although perhaps these later definitions may apply here too ;)

3  a: to go through a change

    b: to change one's clothes

And I'm also keeping in mind that this word means the very opposite of Shiftless, which is a lack of ambition or resourcefulness. I'm planning on building up both of those very things this year, and will remind myself of this word throughout 2021. 

Do you choose One Word for your year? Share it, if so! Or do you go for the more traditional resolutions route?

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Weekend Review: Mend by Kate Sekules

 

Mend! / Kate Sekules
NY: Penguin, c2020
227 p.

I'm delighted to be sharing this book this week -- it's a new book on the mending trend, one that I really enjoyed! It's so colourful and funky to look at, and is a solid read both on the history and meaning of mending, and on some how-tos as well. 

The author is one of those women I envy, who seem to have limitless energy and gumption, and end up doing tons of different things. Kate Sekules is/has been a journalist and writer, a professional boxer, online clothing shop owner, PhD candidate in material culture, mending educator and more. She is cool, thoughtful and thorough in this book. 

The first half of the book is a look at mending over the ages. As we all know, fast fashion is a recent invention. Before that, textiles and clothing were valuable and sometimes scarce. Mending was just what you did. She shares textile history from prehistory to current day in a pithy way, with some intriguing stories that I hadn't heard before, like Otzi the Iceman, who was discovered mummified in the Tyrolean Alps; he's over 5000 years old and was wearing tattered pants made from a patchwork of animal skins. She talks about the professional menders in existence from Ancient Greece right up to mid-20th century England, specialists who could repair items to keep them in service and looking new. 

There is a section in the middle about some of the current day menders and stitchers who are leading this field and encouraging people to embellish and repair their clothing, as well as use these techniques in a political way, to focus on sustainability and such. This is a great chapter, and while I have already heard of many of the people highlighted, there were also some new finds to research further! I loved seeing the varied approaches and focus areas of each person; they take a slightly different tack in each case, and show that there is room for everyone interested in this topic. 

And then most of the second half of the book gets down to practicalities. How do you mend -- whether it's patches, darning, visible mends, embroidery, upcycling or even needle felting, there are instructions, lots of photos to follow step by step and a lot of encouragement. She's clear that creativity and trying things out are the perfect approach, it's not a strict follow-these-rules kind of book. I love some of the down and dirty fixes, like sticking a pocket on top of a hole or stain if it's a pocket friendly location. So quick! And she talks about where to harvest mending materials from, ie: an old blouse that isn't repairable any more can be cut up into patches or reinforcements for underpatches. It's very frugal and resourceful, and I found it inspiring. Also, at the end of this section there is a massive chart of the kinds of items you might want to mend, the kind of damage, the appropriate materials and the appropriate techniques that might work best for that type of fabric or garment. Massive -- it's four pages long! Plus there's an adorable "periodical table" of mends too. 

I liked the approach of this one. It's not just another book on mending your jeans with sashiko inspired stitching. In fact she hardly mentions jeans. I loved the combination of history, social consciousness, and hands-on instruction. Plus she's a great writer and knows her topic inside out. Add in the plethora of bright, clear photos, and it's a real hit. Recommended. 

If you want to see some of the inside of this book, go to the publisher's page and click the "look inside" button. It brings up a window to scroll through that gives you a good idea of what the book is like. 

The High Rise Dress, or, McCalls 8960

I sewed up a very unseasonable project this week, but I saw this fabric from my stash alongside this 80s pattern from my stash (McCalls 8960 c.1984) and they came together like peanut butter and chocolate. I was obsessed and had to make it immediately! 

I had pulled out this fabric because I was looking for anything in my stash that resembled this year's Pantone colours. I've had it for a long time -- picked it up on the ends table as "unknown fibres". But it feels like a rayon twill to me. It's a little too lightweight and cool to wear at this time of year, despite the subdued colours. But the fabric is so soft and smooth and feels great to wear. It also reminds me of lit-up windows in a high-rise as viewed at evening...so it's now known as the High Rise dress. 

This was a pretty easy project, aside from the shiftiness of the fabric. It's a typical 80s pattern, full bodice with dolman sleeve, elastic waist and straight skirt. I like the way it fits although I might take a little bit of the fullness out of the bodice if I make it again. As it is, the only changes I made were to cut the sleeves in between the lengths of both views so they're a bit longer than the above-elbow of View B, and then to shorten the skirt  by 2". I didn't like the original length, which falls right in the frump zone. Not knee length or midi length - ugh! So I shortened it to knee length. (of course I am 5'2" so shorten most things anyhow). 

The only pattern matching mishap I had was on the centre back seam; I got the fabric shifted slightly when cutting out, so the yellow squares aren't exactly matched across the seam, but once the skirt was gathered you can hardly notice. 

The flaws in the pattern were few. The back walking slit was hugely long and would have been way too high for my short legs. I don't even think it's that necessary in the shortened length, but I did leave about a 2" slit there. The other flaw was that there were no side seam pockets included! What! Thankfully that's easy to remedy with my favourite pocket template. I sewed them right at the top edge of the skirt so that they'd be attached to the waist seam and stay put. The only thing to note about pockets like this with a gathered skirt is to be sure to gather the skirt first and then pin the tops of the pocket bags to the waist seam over the gathering before sewing them together. You don't want to gather your pockets. 

Narrow hems on both sleeve and skirt, a quick rectangular sash sewn and pressed, and the dress was done. I needed to press it carefully as it is heat sensitive and quite wrinkle-prone (yes, pretty sure it's rayon!) 

But I love the final effect. It feels quite subdued and quiet to me, like a rainy day. I feel calm in it! Unfortunately I'll have to put it aside until the weather warms up, but it was just one of those projects that I had to make immediately upon envisioning it. Now on to more seasonal wear...

Cover Designs 20!: Arctic Fury

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 choice is The Arctic Fury by Greer Macallister. 

In 1853, trail guide Virginia Reeve is offered an extraordinary opportunity - to lead an all-woman expedition to the Arctic in search of the missing Franklin expedition. Each woman on the team has been chosen for her specific skills, but that doesn't mean that they'll all survive.

Moving back and forth between the expedition and Virginia's trial in Boston when she returns without some of the women, the book looks at what happens in extreme circumstances when women are tested to their utmost. 

This cover is lovely, though hardly Arctic weather appropriate -- no gloves? No hat, no scarf, no face covering? A blouse under a pretty cape? Not going to keep you alive long! 

Nonetheless, in our non-Arctic weather a cape like this might be just the thing to top a pretty outfit. To make this, you'd want to choose a sturdy wool and find some faux fur trim to stitch along the edges. 

Try using the Fairy Tale Cape from This Blog Is Not For You (we don't know what the front of this woman's cape looks like, do we?) It would just need the hip length view, with perhaps a little added to the back for the high-low view of our cover image, and some trim attached. 

Use a grey melton wool like this one from the MacPhee Workshop, and search for some applicable faux fur trim from the choices on Etsy, and you could get a great copy! 

Or try this multi-view pattern, McCalls 7202. View B is exactly right with the hip length and hood options; there are even pockets on the front for the cover lady to stick her freezing cold hands into!

With some luscious dark grey boiled wool from Simplifi Fabrics (and again some nice trim) you'd get a cozy cape to wear on a snowy day. 

Whichever you choose, I hope that you'll also add some proper winter accessories if you're going out in frigid weather! 

Weekend Review: Making Designer Trims

 

Couture Sewing: Making Designer Trims / Claire B. Shaeffer
Newton, CT: Taunton Press, c2017.
144 p.

This is a wonderful book, which I fortunately got my hands on via Interlibrary Loan. So inspiring! It's one of the titles in the Couture Sewing series by acknowledged expert and Chanel collector Claire B. Shaeffer. (If you haven't heard her talk about her collections, check out this podcast by Threads).

This book is full of great information on making and applying trims to that Chanel style jacket you've just spent so long working on. Rouleau loops, piping, ribbon, self fabric fringe or selvage piping, insertions, embroidered edging; there is so much here to work with. Since it's couture focused, most of the work on these trims is done by hand, and really seems like it needs to be to get a good result. Quick weekend projects these are not. 

Personally speaking, I'm not likely to sew up a couture jacket any time soon, but the ideas here are so beautiful and interesting. I can already think of many other ways to use these ideas on simpler projects, and dress up a plain silhouette with something that is already at hand. One thing to note is that this book is about using ready made trim for the most part -- ribbons, gimp, self fabric strips etc -- and not creating your own trim from scratch, ie: braiding, weaving etc. 

If this is something that appeals to you, this book will definitely give you some ideas, and some specific techniques for applying the trim and finishing the edges cleanly and so on. And there is also a gallery of Chanel pieces at the end of the book to get a good look at many of these options in person, so to speak. Really lovely to look through, like the rest of Claire Shaeffer's books. 

I really love that faced cuff on the back of the book!