Meringue disaster! Or, why I should have made a muslin

There’s trouble in sewing paradise… that is to say, my Meringue skirt has gone horribly, horribly wrong.

Not only am I month behind, but the end product looks AWFUL. So awful, I couldn’t bring myself to photograph it.

This is a classic example of when I’m really, really rubbish at sewing. As you know, I’m quite behind on the Sew Colette Project (I’m nowhere near starting my whatever it’s called dress!) so I was really hoping I could get this done this weekend.

Sadly, it wasn’t to be. My lovely Meringue looks a bit like, er, well, a potato sack for lack of a better phrase. I’ve made a number of rookie errors here.

The fabric I’ve used just isn’t stiff enough for starters, making it awfully fiddly to get the scallops to work. I also did what I vowed not to do at the beginning of this year and cut corners – I didn’t mark the stitchline clearly enough on the scallops, meaning it’s turned out awfully on the hem.

As for the sizing, it’s actually a touch too big. I say a touch… I can actually fit my whole hand in the waistband when I’m wearing it. This does absolutely nothing for me, as you can see, I’ve got quite a small hip to waist ratio, so this just isn’t working out.

Sometimes I get projects like this and I feel like I want to just throw the towel in altogether! But I think I’m going to try and make this one work. Sadly, the scallops are probably going to have to go, and I’m going to resize the damn thing. I’ll probably keep it as an a-line skirt, but I’m a bit gutted it’s going to be quite a boring a-line rather than with the fun hem detail.

Tune in next time for home-sewing gone horribly, horribly wrong…

Sew Colette : When life gets in the way

The Meringue skirts for the Sew Colette sewalong look absolutely amazing! Hats off to those of you who got them finished because the ones I’ve seen on the Flickr group are amazing. One of my favourites so far is Lucille’s two-tone beauty, which you can read about here.

Sadly, this is what mine looks like at the moment. (excuse the crappy phone-camera shot, my camera is broken) Hopefully I’ll get it done this week so I can get involved with the Pastille dress, but for now, I’m a little behind.

Life gets in the way of sewing sometimes. It’s a topic I’ve touched on before – the course I’m doing is pretty demanding and while 2012 has been much better in terms of sewing than the beginning of 2011 was, sometimes I get home and don’t much feel like sewing at all.

The logo for our in-house paper. 

Let’s take yesterday for example. Far from being entirely unproductive, yesterday our team put together our very first newspaper in the first of our 18 production days.

These are part of our assessment – basically, we all take different roles within the newsroom and work together to create the paper by our deadline of 4.30. So yesterday, instead of being a student, seamstress or a blogger I had to put on a Chief-Sub hat and hope for the best.

Basically, I was the one in charge of the layout of the paper, what went where and assigning stories to people who checked them over and made sure they fit into boxes on the page.

…it’s alright, we got the paper out, we survived!

I have a tendency to match up new experiences to various hobbies I have. My first production day as a whole was a lot like the very first time I had a full-contact fight in Karate – I certainly felt like I’d had the wind knocked out of me after both days and I’ll let you guess which one had me sat with a bag of frozen peas on my head for the evening…

In some ways, when we saw the entire paper up on the board completely finished, it reminded me a bit of the first time I ever sewed a piece of clothing.

By my sewing standards now, it was utter crap – the seams weren’t finished, pretty sure the waistband didn’t match up and the invisible zipper was definitely on show. It’s also made from a quilting cotton which creases really easily (huh, sounds familiar…) and I’m pretty sure it’s falling to pieces.

We’ll probably look back on what we’ve done in our first paper and cringe at  the mistakes we made – but there’s still this sense of accomplishment (and relief!) at creating the product itself.

My first ever skirt is hidden somewhere at the bottom of my drawer… what about you? Any first sewing memories? I’ll try and dig out some pictures so I can show you, but I’d love to have a look at any of yours – the good, the bad and the ugly!

While I’m a house which has internet…

Just wanted to post a quick note to say I’m still about, still sewing and still blogging! I’ve just moved into a new place in Cardiff, which is great! The only downside is I have no interwebs. Boo!

I’ll try to post from Uni when I get a chance – whenever I’m in the newsroom, I’m very much in NEWS MODE rather than LET’S BLOG ABOUT SEWING mode. but I’ve got a couple of posts lined up, including some guest posts! Yay!

Sew Colette: Muslin or no muslin?

In the Sew Colette sewalong organised by Sarah and Erin, this week was designated Meringue muslin week.

As you know, my week has most certainly not been a sewing week! With an exam on public administration on Monday and an essay on phone hacking due on Thursday, it was all journo hands on deck, which, as I’ve mentioned before, doesn’t tend to leave a lot of time for sewing!

The Flickr group is already filling up with bloggers’ renditions of the a-line skirt, but I’ve decided to skip the muslin part of the project. Not exactly in-keeping with my less quantity more quality sewing ideal for 2012!

After all, winging it and skipping the muslin stage is probably one of my worst sewing habits! There are a couple of reasons for this:

• Laziness: One of those fast fashion habits I’m afraid! When I have made muslins, I’ve rushed through the process without really taking the time to check fit and wearability.
• Cost: While muslins tend to be made from easily-afforded cheap fabrics, my fabric budget isn’t exactly significant while I’m still training as a journalist.
• Waste: If I buy fabric, I want to use it and wear it. Where’s the sense in my taking a pledge against buying unnecessary garments from the high-street when I’m sewing garments which gather dust after I’m done adjusting the fit?

A popular tactic in the sewing blogosphere is to make a wearable muslin. The fabric may be cheaper than what you’ve bought for the garment proper, but it’s still a garment you would wear. Take Melizza for example, who has made a wearable muslin to see how the scallops would look in a lightweight cotton.

Photo by Martha Moreno

Before Christmas, I drafted up my own pencil skirt pattern. In this case, a muslin was a must because it’s such a closely fitted garment which had been drafted up based on my measurements in the summer – even a minute change in measurements is going to affect the fit on a garment as form fitting as this one.

The result is a pencil skirt I’m still going to wear (because I’m stubborn!) but with clear indications of fit issues. Take the wrinkles across the front and on the zipper – this means I need to add a bit more width to this garment.

Photo by Martha Moreno

I made this in a cheap-as-chips polycotton I had lying around in my stash – imagine if I’d made it with something a bit more expensive? Mind you, the fabric wrinkles very, very easily – does anyone know if the wrinkling would be less obvious in another fabric?

I’ve popped more photos of the skirt up on my Flickr page if you want to take a further look! 

The Meringue skirt is less formfitting than my pencil skirt, so I should be OK if I make sure to use a generous seam allowance in case any adjustment is required! I was gong to draft a waistband according to the Coletterie’s helpful tutorial, but I’m not sure if this would be sensible when I’m not making a muslin.

Any readers taking part in the sewalong? I can’t wait to see everyone’s finished garments! I have no internet at my new house which has made catching up with blog reading a bit more difficult!

Sneak Peek

This week will probably be a bit quiet because I have an exam tomorrow and an essay due on Thursday! So here’s a sneak peek at a little project photoshoot I did with my good friend Martha (who needs to get her website sorted so I can link her!) this weekend.

This girl knows all about local government finance…

See you after the deadline!

Project Planning: Meringue Skirt

Sometimes, I’m a bit crap at sewing. No, this isn’t false modesty – this is actually true.

My sewing performance oscillates. Sometimes it’ll reach the dizzying heights of a perfectly executed invisible zipper, but the next week it could drop to the deepest depths of a poorly executed blouse courtesy of the old enemy… buttonholes.

Memories of failed projects still haunt me to this day – like the above dress I tried to make when I was still living in Germany. The fabric was amazing, but sadly, the dress wasn’t meant to be.

Hardly the sustainable sort of sewing we’re after, is it?

As you all know, 2012′s sewing mantra is quality, not quanitity. Bad habits from my fast fashion days run rampant when I sew.

It happens to the best of us – we start cutting corners because we’re so impatient for the final product. I’ve even distracted myself by thinking about whatever project I’ve got lined up next and before I know it, the one I’ve barely begun working on is old news.

If the pledge is about steering away from this mentality towards a more sustainable one, then this speedy, sloppy sewing just doesn’t contribute anything constructive at all. At the end of the day, you’ll end up with a poorly made garment you may as well have spent a fiver on, because it’ll fall apart in no time.

So let’s slow it down right from the beginning – take a step back and start planning. As a rule, I’ve never done this.

Mood-boards just haven’t been my thing – I tend to keep a lot of ideas in my head,  only to have them change when I spot some pretty quilting cotton. The Colette Sewing Handbook suggests you draw yourself a croquis.

I know what you’re thinking – sounds like something French and to do with potatoes, but it’s actually a sketch of clothing on a figure. It’s a good way to visualise what your garment will end up looking like.

Colette Patterns, Meringue by elena-cresci on polyvore.com

Alternatively, you can go for the moodboard-style idea as I’ve done above – I actually used Polyvore for this one, linking images of fabric I’d seen online. This is a pretty simple project, so I didn’t need to add much, but for something like the Macaron, which features two different fabrics, it could be useful to have all your planned fabric and notions in one place.

As for the project? I’m thinking a royal green colour – I’ve been a bit of a fan of jewel tones for a while. The handbook recommends a medium weight fabric like poplin and Raystitch has some great jewel tones on offer in plain cotton of a medium weight.

Need inspiration for your Meringue skirt? The Coletterie has plenty, but here are a couple of others I found (curiously, all black and white versions!):

• I’ve already got a houndstooth skirt, but I was so tempted to make another after seeing this beauty from Lauren, who blogs at Lladybird. She’s used the Coletterie’s tutorial to add a waistband – I might just do the same.
• Sharon’s added some piping to the hem of her Meringue, going for a monochrome look with some pinstripe fabric. Lovely. She’s even included a nice little walk-through of how she did it.
• The newspaper fan in me could hardly ignore A View Into my World‘s print-style Meringue! It was actually a gift for a friend using the same fabric as she made for her equally excellent rendition of Sewaholic‘s Minoru jacket.

Any planning tips for this lazy seamstress? I’d love to hear them!

2012 Sewing Resolutions

I actually can’t believe 2012 is here! Ridiculous, no?

There have been a couple of looking ahead and sewing resolution posts popping up around the place, so how better to start 2012 than with a couple of resolutions? It’s odd, I’m not usually in the habit of making resolutions – in fact, even New Year’s Eve tends to be more of a non-event than anything – but there are a couple of things I want to do to take my sewing further.

The first is a no-brainer…

Sew more

Last year wasn’t the greatest in terms of sewing output, and this is partly because I haven’t had the time and partly down to laziness on my part. No more! I resolve to sew more – even if it’s just for half an hour one evening. Also, I can knit now! This can easily be done while watching the news. Wow, I really am quite the journo-crafter hybrid aren’t I?

Put quality over quantity

Saying this, I need to sort some of my bad sewing habits. As much as I’d love to end this year having sewn as much as Debi, I just haven’t got the same standard of skills yet! Even if it slows down progress, it’ll always be worth taking a step back, planning carefully and taking my time with finishing.

Meet more bloggers!

Blogging can often be seen as a little bit self-indulgent, but if you take a look at the sewing community which has built up around these little online logbooks, then you’ll see just the opposite. I’m genuinely chuffed to bits to be part of the community and contributing something through the pledge. I’ve been to a few blogger meetups before and it’s been great to actually meet internet people in the flesh!

I’m sure I could think of many more, but those are just a few. What about you guys? Got any resolutions? A couple of people have taken the pledge as their new year’s resolution – get in touch if you have!

2011′s Inspirational Makes – as chosen by you!

I received some lovely submissions for 2011′s inspirational makes! You’ve been really busy this year haven’t you?

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Without further ado, here are Seamless readers’ inspirational makes from 2011 (in no particular order):

Check out Adri H’s Bombshell Dress! Isn’t it amazing? Gertie’s online class is clearly worth taking if these are the results. What I really loved was how Adri blogged the construction of the dress, so you can see just how much detail has gone into it. It’s clearly paid off – it fits her like a glove and the diamond brooch is an elegant touch. Adri said: “It’s an evening dress with a structured bodice, lots of couture techniques and an overall sewing adventure.” The Bombshell Dress is most definitely on my sewing list after seeing this incarnation of it!

Ali was nominated by Minnado: “I was inspired by Ali’s use of existing jeans and a jacket to create her own pattern pieces and wardrobe staples.” Ali completed quite the feat this year by accurately making copies of not only a J Crew jacket but also a pair of jeans from Gap! Not to mention she did it from working out her own pattern for both garments. It just goes to show, who needs the labels when you have your sewing machine?

Minnado has been pretty busy too, sewing and refashioning a whole maternity capsule wardrobe for herself. In total, it cost her a mere £32 for her entire maternity wardrobe. She said: “It has meant I have busted out a lot of stash fabric and I have learnt that it is a myth that you have to buy maternity clothes, and need to spend lots of money.” Cost-effective, practical and stylish.

Molly made this fantastic coat for her sister, nicknamed the Sith coat. Possibly the coolest name ever? Perhaps only after her sister’s, who chose Pedro as her online moniker. She clearly enjoys wearing this coat and who can blame her? I can’t decide what I like best – the epic hood or the hipster-style lining. Bravo!

Charlotte whipped up this beauty from a V and A pattern found here! It’s retro-tastic and a great example of how reproductions of vintage patterns should be done. Isn’t the floral fabric just beautiful? Charlotte also wore it to the Sew Weekly UK meetup earlier this year and she looked fantastic!

Charlotte also nominated Sew Weekly contributor Debi for her response to the community’s Sewing Through the Decades challenge. Debi’s blog is well-worth a look, as she consistently comes up trumps with her creations. Charlotte said: “This 1933 outfit made me gasp out loud the first time I saw it. To be honest she has made lots more as well that I just love, but this is my favourite.” I agree with Charlotte, Debi’s creations are consistently inspirational – in fact, she’s just posted her own year in review, featuring a whopping 58 outfits!

Sometimes, the simplest silhouettes are the most effective, as Barbara shows with her 1950′s dress. Can you believe this is made from a vintage sheet? I think the little touches like the piping detail really makes this dress special. Barbara said: “I really got into the sew-mo during the second half of 2011. I think one of my best pieces was made out of a thrifted sheet that I repurposed into an adorable 50′s dress. Having one of my talented daughters take the pictures, made for a very pleasing set of pics.”

Last, but most certainly not least, is this very unique way of RSVPing a wedding invitation from Kirsty of The Leopard Anchor. The embroidery on this cushion is astoundingly intricate, particularly the post-card style writing on the back and the little owl stamp. It’s also scented! This wasn’t the end of the story for this special little cushion however. Kirsty said: “I was pretty proud of it as I hadn’t done much embroidery and it turned out quite well. But I was bursting with pride when I discovered the lovely couple were using it as their ring cushion on their wedding day.” How lovely is that?

There we have it ladies and gents! Some cracking makes, I’m sure you’ll all agree. I’m really looking forward to what you all come up with in 2012! I’m thinking of featuring inspirational makes on a more regular basis in 2012, perhaps monthly? What do you think?

If you want to see some of the blogs I read for inspiration, then check out my bundle of RSS feeds here, including Zoe (also recommended by Minnado), Thread Carefully and Gertie, amongst others! I’m always adding more, so subscribe if you want to share my sewing blog reading list.

Oh, also…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Apologies this post is so late in the day! WordPress and I were having a bit of a technological fist fight, as you do. I had a good old rant on Twitter and then got back to it. Consider yourself defeated WordPress, ha!

Chunky Knitted Snood Action

I did it! Say hello to my first ever knitted creation! After much unravelling, swearing at the knitting needles and wrestling the yarn from the cat (true story), it’s DONE.

It wouldn’t be a first-ever knitting project if it didn’t have its flaws mind you. The yarn I bought specifically said it was enough for a chunky snood, so I just kept knitting until I ran out of wool and sewed a seam at the back.

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeese

The only problem is, it’s a bit of an awkward length – not quite cosying up to my neck like Karen’s but also not nearly long enough to wrap around twice as hoped. Oops! Never mind though – at least this way I can layer it up with an extra snood or a scarf if it’s bitterly cold.

That’s my last project of 2011 right there! It’s hardly inspirational like the ones a few of you have been sending me, but I’m happy enough. New skills ahoy!

Tomorrow I’ll be posting up the inspirational makes I’ve been sent – there’s still a bit of time left for you to send a couple in, so get to it!

A quick peek at the Colette Sewing Handbook

The Colette Sewing Handbook has been on my wish-list for some time now.

This independent pattern retailer is a clear favourite among the blogging community. Colette Patterns offers vintage-style patterns with clear and concise instructions – perfect for anyone just starting out with sewing.

On top of this, founder Sarai Mitnick has created a little community based around her patterns. The regularly updated blog, Coletterie, is full to the brim with all sorts of hints and tips for beginner and more advanced sewers alike.

This community has been abuzz since Sarai announced there would be a Colette Patterns book and its release was timed with a tour around the sewing blogosphere.

Finally, I have my own copy! I’ve been a fan of Sarai’s work for some time now, having owned the Macaron dress pattern for about a year (I’m still on the hunt for the perfect fabric).

Colette Patterns has always stood out among independent pattern retailers not just for their unique take on the vintage styles sweeping the sewing blogosphere by storm but also because of the individual way in which the patterns are packaged. For someone used to the more traditional packaging of sewing patterns (folded into an envelope and near impossible to get back in!) the little instruction booklets complete with intricate, illustrated instructions are just lovely.

The book itself is no different. Sarai has based it around what she calls the Five Fundamentals: A thoughtful plan, a precise pattern, a fantastic fit, a beautiful fabric and a fine finish.

What really sets the Colette Sewing Handbook apart from other sewing books are the patterns. Oh the patterns!

Five patterns – one accompanying each fundamental – are included in the book, so you’re really getting your money’s worth. The patterns themselves are also easily adapted, as Sarai has demonstrated in several tutorials on the Colette Patterns blog.

Reading the book, it’s a clear winner for anyone just starting out in sewing. What I’m hoping to do is to hone my sewing abilities in 2012 using the book – sometimes I can be a pretty lazy seamstress and forget about these fundamentals, leading to some horror garments!

This won’t be the last you’ll hear from the sewing handbook – I can’t wait to get cracking on the patterns!

Any other Colette Patterns fans in the house? Also, don’t forget – I’m still looking for 2011′s inspirational makes, as explained in this blog post here!

I hope you all had a great Christmas!