This blouse has been done for a time, but I haven’t had the opportunity yet to wear it. It’s too chill outside and I’m sure it will be for quite a bit longer here in Utah and it just doesn’t do to wear a sweater over the top of it. Awww, well. This is a copycat blouse that I directly stole from Lauren. It’s the Violet from Colette made up in cotton swiss dot. I was actually a pattern tester for this pattern and after making a muslin of it, I put it away for another day. Seeing Lauren’s version made me think of this swiss dot I already had in my stash and from there I knew I had to have one. Plus it was a perfect opportunity to get out my recently perfected bodice sloper and use it to alter the pattern to fit me perfectly. More on this to come – promise!
Having made this bodice sloper and taken a class on how to use it, I could see exactly where my problems in this blouse would be. It was positively brilliant. I had to made a serious adjustment to the yoke and back bodice panels – added a whole 1.5″ back there. I raised the armscye a bit, pointed the dart more heavenward, beveled out the side seams a little and added some length overall. It totally fits perfectly and I didn’t even make a muslin of the changes. Hah! Now how’s that for bravery?
It’s adorned with sweet yellowish flower buttons and looks rather sweet paired with jeans or my Sew Grateful Skirt. Plus it’s white and I’ve needed a white button up for ages. Twill be perfect for summer. The swiss dot was purchased very long ago – I can’t even remember where and is rather sheer. However, I was up for something sheer this time. I’ve been loving some of the sheer blouses that have come out recently and I’ve wanted one for awhile. I’m working on a silk crepe de chine camisole to go underneath and should have it finished up by the end of this week, I think. I’m very excited!
Overall, I’m very happy with how this blouse turned out. What do you think? It’s a very “sweet” sort of design and gives me a bit of the “child at heart perk” as Mr. S would say. Once the camisole is finished, I’ll give you a proper model of it, OK? Alright.
What are you up to for Spring sewing? I’m brainstorming some ideas we could all work on together. Maybe like a contest or something. What do you think?
Spring Dreams,
Sunni
I’m heading out for a true mini break weekend with my mister. My swedish massage can not come soon enough! Yay! And I do so hope its Bingo night at the local bar – I’ve been aching for some proper Bingo. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, I just know I will.
This week’s spotlighted creation comes from Julia Bobbin. I love her rainbow curtain dress here. What a catch huh? She’s got a serious sweet spot for looking great in colorful stripes – I’m dying to try something similar! Too cute Julia!
I’ve been loving watching Peter’s fur coat adventure – and what an adventure it’s truly turned out to be! Ha! Who knew that you could start adding things like brushes, combs, shavers and the like to your sewing tools. It’s almost like having a pet! I can’t wait for the final debut of this creation. Plus its pink and who doesn’t need pink in the middle of February!
This article from Tasia has really gotten me thinking – again – about my stash. Do I have a skewed vision of what I can get done with my sewing stash in the next month – you bet. It’s time to start putting the stash to good use and actually you know, using it. And actually sewing it. Oooohhh! Exciting!
More inspiration catching my eye:
✂ These are some awesome tips for how to take better outfit photos.
✂ Aren’t these vintage Elna ads just fab? Don’t miss Sherry’s new Elna Supermatic either.
✂ I really liked this post on fabric dying and what’s happened over a year. There’s also this one too. Anyone else tried their hand at dying their own fabric? It’s a great way to get that exact color you really want. Hmmm….
✂ This is an awesome idea to butter up a coat, dontcha think?
✂ A great blog post about wearing what you love – something I need to do more of.
By the way, I’m officially hooked on The Vampire Diaries TV show via Netflix. Yup. I’m totally in love with Stefan and Damon. So bite me, I mean….
Have a great weekend! Full of amazing looking vampires…
Sunni
I’ve been using my fair share of thick fabrics lately. The denim shirtdress, the Green with Envy shirtdress and my Sew Grateful Skirt. Needless to say, thick fabrics can a be a beast to maneuver unless you grade and trim your seams. What’s all this grading and trimming you say? Here let me show you.
Grading a seam is making all the layers of the seam allowance a different width so that when the whole of the seam is pressed into place it doesn’t create a bulky ridge on the right side of the fabric. Having said that, you might wonder where and when to grade. I know I did for a very long time and found that I never graded any seam because I felt that doing so weakened that area of the garment – having made the seam allowances shorter, I had introduced weak areas that could fray easier and then cause a blow out somewhere. But over the years I’ve come to realize that grading is necessary for a beautiful finish and unless you plan to put your final garment through a lot of serious, rigorous washing a graded seam is just as strong as an ungraded one.
Now the thing to remember is that not all seams are graded. Seams that need to be graded, especially when using a thick fabric, are ones that are pressed to one side or sandwiched inside areas of the garment that you can’t even see or get to from the inside (like in a waistband facing). Let me give you an example. I didn’t grade the seam allowances for the skirt side seams of my Green with Envy shirtdress. Those are pressed open, like a traditional seam. But I did grade the seam where the pocket lining is connected to the dress because this seam allowance is a) pressed in one direction and b) sandwiched in between layers of the garment. Make sense?
So how do you grade a seam? You’ll start by sewing your seam and then its time to trim. Depending on how many layers I’m dealing with I like to trim to 1/8″, 1/4″, and 1/2″. If I’ve only got two layers of fabric that’s going to be pressed to one side, I start by trimming the first layer to 1/2″ and leave the other seam allowance at 5/8″. If I’ve got 3 layers of fabric then I would trim the first at 1/4″, the second at 1/2″ and leave the last at 5/8″. Make sense?
This next little trick is probably the best trick of all. It’s probably something that you all do anyway too, but it’s not something I started doing until a little over a year ago. I feel it makes a huge difference in dealing with bulky fabrics, but also in dealing with any fabric as I do it on every project that I sew now.
This trick is applied to seams that end up intersecting one another. Think setting in a shirt sleeve – you have two (sometimes more) seams in the armscye/bodice area and one seam (sometimes more) in the sleeve. After sewing the intersecting seams together, trim the corners of each seam at an angle (creates an inverted V). I find it especially fabulous in seams like the side seam of a skirt that attaches to a waistband that also has a side seam. Leaving the seams un-trimmed, will create 4 layers of bulk!!! Clipping that little inverted V will leave you with much less bulk. This trick also works on french seams too. Pretty impressive huh?
Now, how’s that for working with a bit of heavyweight fabric? Now you can maneuver them like a pro!
xoxo,
Sunni
Dearest Friends, thank you all so much for entering the Sew Grateful Giveaway! For those of you who didn’t get a chance to enter, there’ll be more giveaways in the future. Promise. It’s time to pick a winner! Yay! Drumroll please! The winner of the Sew Grateful Giveaway is Jody! She said:
Thanks for entering Jody! Your little bundle of sewing love will be on its way to you very shortly. Loves, I do so hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day! I did! Can you believe that Mr. S actually played one of my favorite Valentine tunes and danced with me to it? We also had soup and watched Voyager – I’m turning into a total Trekee. We’re also headed out for a full mini-break holiday weekend come this Saturday (I’m a total Bridget Jones die-hard). I also laid around on Monday and Tuesday reading silly Harlequin Romances while Mr. S tortured me to no end for my ridiculousness. I’m a nut, what can I say? A complete romantic fool. Sigh. For all you silly romantics out there, here’s something for your pleasure – I read only the most naughty vintage Harlequins and here’s what was at the end of my last one:
Kiss|Hug,
Sunni
Yay! It’s Stitching Spotlight Friday again! I actually love rounding out the week with these. It gives me a chance to go back and look over things I’ve found and been inspired by. Soooooo much happens in one week, its crazy! Friends, you’ve been seriously inspiring this week. I’m definitely feeling the Sew Grateful love! Yay! Now don’t forget, today is the last day to enter the Sew Grateful Giveaway here at A Fashionable Stitch. Don’t miss out on the other giveaways going on around the interwebs too.
This week’s spotlighted creation is from Lauren. I nearly fell off my chair with delight for her Renfrew. She’s got style, she’s got class and she’s now got one fabulous tee! I adore the chevron effect she created with this striped fabric, not to mention she really got a great fit! Gah, she’s a knit fabric genius! Fabulous Lauren!
This post on how to use a thimble properly was practically a revelation! I now realize that not only does my thimble not fit me, but there are serious benefits to using and getting used to a thimble. Check it out!
These tips for using up your fabric stash are invaluable. I have so much fabric and with some of it I have that weird feeling like “Oh I could never cut into it, its just far too pretty”…. Weird huh? Please tell me I’m not the only one with this problem. One goal this year, along with 3 sewn items per month is to use what I have. I’m doing OK, but I could do better.
V-day is coming up! Why not give yourself a little valentine by making over a sweater? Isn’t this just darling? I love what Casey’s done here. So cute! And the perfect thing for February!
More inspiration catching my eye:
Aren’t these just the perfect spring accessory for say, your sewing space? So cute!
I love this outfit. Gorgeous. I need that skirt. Now.
I loved seeing Karen’s post on her experience seeing couture garments. Jealous. They look positively gorgeous!
Isn’t Sherry’s dress just beautiful?! I love her socks too! So retro!
Check out this article on how to make gorgeous ribbon trim!
Happy Weekending!
Smooch,
Sunni
Sew Grateful Week has been fabulous, hasn’t it! Yay! If you haven’t, jump over to Debi’s blog where she’s consolidated much of the goings on and given you all links to some great sew gratefulness out there.
Ever since I saw Casey’s Ginger skirt version – a great vintage-ish denim number – I knew I had to have one just like it. I’ve been in dire need of a denim skirt. Seriously dire. Especially as my lifestyle now is more laid back and wearing casual clothing is becoming more and more of a necessity. Since I wear my denim shirtdress so much – and this only since the beginning of January – I felt that adding more denim pieces to my wardrobe would be a great idea. Adding this skirt has been no exception.
I didn’t differ too far from Casey’s version. I used her clever pocket tutorial, but left out the buttons and opted to topstitch heavy thread a top the pockets, waistband and hem. Originally, I started out using a plain old denim needle from the stash to topstitch, but soon found that as I really wanted doubled stitching lines and the single needle was making a serious mess of the a double stitching line, I went in search of a twin needle. I had read about twin needles somewhere, and I actually have one and I’ve used it before on my knit top. But twin needles can come in different widths and I wanted one that was wider than the one I had. Got one and used it here on this skirt and Voila! perfectly spaced twin topstitching lines.
I hope you guys have had a seriously good week. My Sew Grateful week has been a fairly good one. I watched a favorite movie last night – Romancing the Stone. I’m such a sucker for Kathleen Turner and even more of a sucker for Michael Douglas. Ha! And I’ve been working on a blouse – another copycat. It’ll be done soon and then I’ll show it off. Thanks to everyone who has already entered the Sew Grateful Giveaway! Your comments have been swell to read and keep bringing a serious smile to my face. If you haven’t entered, you’ve still got a couple more days, so don’t miss out.
Ciao,
Sunni
I’ve been busily doing some inventory, purchasing and redoing some packaging for the shop. I thought I would drop in with a little sweet update and some things you may not know about the Belt & Buckle Kits I offer at A Fashionable Stitch.
I was brainstorming another way of doing up the packaging and this idea was inspired by the delight I have in opening a sweetly wrapped gift. All the Belt & Buckle Kits now come in these sweet little boxes – which you can even gift to another sewing buddy or relative or recycle and reuse the sweet little box for something else, like bobbin keeping or such.
This also brings me to telling you just how great Fashionable Stitch kits are! Yay! If you’ve ever been a fan of vintage belt and buckle kits, you’ll know that sometimes they don’t end up making their way to you in the best of condition. My especial favorite is when the sticky transfer pattern is no longer sticky! Gah! Don’t fret – these kits here all have fresh new transfer patterns! My kits also feature some stellar eyelets and washers. These make such a difference in a professional looking belt. Remember this tutorial? You also receive a couple extra eyelets and washers for practice. Not to mention, there’s more belt backing in Fashionable Stitch kits than the vintage ones. You get a solid 50 inches which can make a 44 inch belt. And well, there you go! Lots of research, feedback and time have gone into making these kits great – I do hope you enjoy! Plus there’s a few belt making supplies on sale today. Don’t miss out!
wink wink,
Sunni
Lovely Friends, in accordance with the Sew Grateful schedule, we’re holding a giveaway here at A Fashionable Stitch. I’ve combined a few of my favorite things at the moment just for you! Yay! Up for grabs is the Sewaholic’s sensational Refrew top (just in stock via the shop!) and 2 1/4 yards of this 60″ wide summer punch cotton knit (enough for any of the versions of this fabulous knit top!). I’ve also thrown in a yard of white tailor’s tape for good measure as the pattern calls for a package of twill tape – this for the shoulder seams so 1 yard should be more than enough. The fabric is from Yellow Bird Fabrics and would be a great, no fantastic sew-up for someone who hasn’t worked with knits before and is ready to give them a try. It’s a perfect knit for the Spring weather I’m dreaming of. And don’t forget, you don’t need a serger to use this pattern or fabric, so definitely enter!
To enter, I want to hear what you’re “sew grateful” for – and by this I mean something sewing related, Ok? Ok. As for me, I’m so happy to be apart of a great online community that shares their talents, secrets and style with each other. I am so inspired, everyday, by the lot of you! Thanks so much for your support and sweetness to me! Now, enter away! You’ve got til Friday, February 9 and anyone, anywhere is welcome to join in. May the most grateful win!
kiss kiss,
Sunni
I’m so happy its Friday today. No, really, I’m completely unbelievably happy about this fact. I’m looking forward to some great February-ness this month and I’m seriously excited to get a bit of a headstart on it today and on through my weekend. Do you have any great plans for February? A Valentine’s Day retreat perhaps?
Next week is Sew Grateful Week via My Happy Sewing Place and I for one am going to participate. I plan to do a giveaway and show off a garment too. I’m extremely sew grateful and it will be fun to share in the love! I look forward to seeing what others post too. Are you going to participate? I do believe we’ve got lots to celebrate in the sewing web-o-sphere. There’s so much going on all the time and more and more folks are taking up the craft of sewing. Ain’t it great?!!
I also picked Debi’s (My Happy Sewing Place) lately finished 30′s Birthday Dress Suit as this week’s spotlighted garment! It’s such a beauty and Debi knows just how to pull off these beautiful pieces with such panache. Is it just me or does she have one wicked smile? It’s like she knows something that we don’t. Gah! Debi, you torture me with these beautiful, authentic period pieces! Gorgeous and Happy Birthday!
I don’t usually wear hats, but this post from Solanah is fascinating and so awesome to me. She also posted about how to decorate a hat pin! She’s such a stellar hat-ier! Totally inspiring and fun. I find hats to be a rather provocative accessory. Something about how it casts a shadow on the eyes you know.
More inspiration catching my eye this week:
✂ Isn’t this dress rather lovely? Based on Burda Style’s Danielle no less.
✂ Don’t miss out on Megan Nielsen’s brand new addition to her sewing pattern line! The Banksia top is sure to be a winner in your closet!
✂ I loved these photo tips for taking great outdoor shots!
✂ I’m dying over these silk print fabrics from the 20′s. Couldn’t someone please reproduce some of these? Hint, Hint! HINT!
✂ Casey’s two seam top is over-the-top! Not to mention she totally looks darling in it too!
✂ Duane’s shirt is exquisite! I’m loving it combined with his vest and watch to boot.
A very Happy Friday to you today!
wink and a smile,
Sunni
Friends, you know I’m almost right on quota for last month. Everything has just seemed to fall in place and the stars have aligned. Here’s garment no. 2 for the month of January – no. 3 is coming right up. Meet my second version of the shirtdress – Green with Envy! She’s made of an emerald green rayon ponte knit that I got from Yellow Bird Fabrics. All round, I’m pretty delighted with this version. I changed up the sleeve a bit and made some fitting adjustments for the bodice given the fact that this is a knit. I took Lauren’s advice for this from when I posted about my first attempt at knits. She warned that all knits are different and to stretch them to fit, which I did. The result took out all of the built in ease in the sleeve and side seams – and you all remember my deal with putting my arms in front of me comfortably. Go figure. Stretch fabrics are awesome that way, especially when they have great cross-grain stretch with little to no straight grain stretch.
The only thing better than feeling like a rockstar in this dress is that I swear I’m wearing pajamas. Good heavens this thing is comfortable. Not only that but I’ve never been especially fond of this particular shade of green and I have no idea why. It does some divine things for my coloring, dontcha think?
I made the belt using this as my inspiration for it. It keeps closed with a couple of snaps. It totally reminds me of some sort of cake confection. I’m happy with that – most times I tend to overdo this type of thing but here its just a brilliant accessory. Just enough, you know.
I’m pretty proud of myself and this dress. Sigh. What can I say? I get all sorts of looks when I wear it. Mr. S says it will most definitely come in handy around St. Patrick’s Day and I have to agree. In fact, he could probably just ship me off to Ireland and I would fit right in, red hair and all.
With that Friends, have an early St. Patty’s Day Irish Coffee on me. PS ~ Happy Groundhog Day! Yay!
Smooches,
Sunni
