Project Frock coat 1 - plus some cutting out tips.

My blog reading has expanded recently into sites devoted to vintage or modern sewing, and it is fantastic to see so many young women taking up sewing. It makes my heart happy! I am also aware that some of the techniques I take for granted would be really useful to other sewists, so I decided to make a new coat, and blog the process, with as many top tips as I can muster :)
The coat is a frock style, mid calf, and I can't show you a picture or sketch as I drafted the pattern. But I am wearing a version of it in the previous post about Steampunking it. This one will have a different collar.

My fabrics - a glorious asphalt brown stretch velveteen and a remnant of striped acetate/viscose mix lining fabric that I intend to use as trims and also to bind the seams as this pattern is unlined. They look so yummy together!!
OK, so this evening, I cut out the coat, taking the odd moment to catch Project Runway. How DO they do it? I would just want to lie down under the cutting table!

I place my first pattern pieces on the fabric which is folded along its length and laid out on my kitchen counter. It is a great cutting table! The rest is pooling on the floor at the other end. The reason there is so much room at the end is that I am adding 6" to each length. I want a longer coat this time. I have pinned the pieces with just a few pins, because at this stage I am just arranging my layout.
This next bit is the key to success for anyone who is pressed for room. Just slide the fabric off the end of the counter, pattern pieces and all:

Then you can position and lightly pin the next pieces, and keep repeating until you're done. No guess work needed! :) And it really works better to lightly pin at this stage, just make sure your grain lines are correct. Note that I am cutting my gored pieces all the same way, as velveteen has a nap. It is less economical but absolutely necessary; velvets, cords and velveteens cannot be cut both ways. I cut these fabrics so the pile is smooth when I stroke from top to bottom of the garment, but I notice some manufacturers do it the other way.
So once I have all my pieces positioned and accounted for, I slide the fabric back the OTHER way, and start cutting the pieces out.

Yup, them is forks. they make fantastic pattern weights as their shape presses gently but firmly down; spoons are quite good too. I use them to hold the piece down before pinning a little more generously and cutting out. This pattern has no seam allowance (which I luckily wrote on all the pieces last time, sometimes I forget!) so am adding 1/2" all around.

As I cut the pieces out, I then take all the pins out but I keep the pattern piece with the cut out piece, so as to keep track of any marking etc that I need to do later. This saves on pins, which I am very short of as The Dreamstress was using mine to pin pleats on Tuesday night and she hasn't returned them yet! (she will, she is very honest!) :)
Other cutting out tips:

1. Before pinning, measure from the selvage or folded edge to the the grainline arrow, and make sure it is parallel. Pin this first. If you catch just a small amount with the first pin, you can move the piece around to line it up. Then you can smooth the pattern piece out from that point and pin down. If anyone wants me to go into more detail on this, let me know and I'll do a separate tutorial. It is SUCH a sensible way to position pattern pieces! :) Of course, this pattern has no grain lines ahem. I do it by eye. But I have 35 years experience so I'm allowed to cheat, sometimes. And I rarely do.
2. I always leave a small hem of tissue around the outside of a commercial pattern the first time I use it, and cut through the tissue and the fabric along the cutting line. It is easier to get an accurate cut that way. Assuming one doesn't need to adjust the bleeding pattern of course!

And that's it for tonight. More next time!

The Importance of being Steampunk

This afternoon a group of us went to see Roundabout Theatre's Broadway production of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. A screening of a film thereof; we did not dispatch ourselves to New York, alas! But it was at the Penthouse in Brooklyn; a small and delightfully chic satellite suburb of Wellington.
Anyway being Us, we dressed up. Noone however thought to bring a camera!! Quelle fromage! It is such a cute theatre! We did make a bit of a stir, and I was asked where I bought my hat and goggles by a woman who is holding a steampunk party. I took great delight in saying, oh, Glastonbury, but you can get them in the Camden market too! She didn't invite us either. Pah.
Here I am, a little worse for wear, afterwards back at home:

Very pleased with my hair, which is my own teased out a lot, then curled up and pinned all around, then my fall added and its ringlets pinned up to build up the back so my hat would sit jauntily. BIG HAIR after all of that!
As for the show itself, it was fun. I love this play. I can't find any photos from Act One online, however I was struck by how similar Gwendolyn's costume in the show was like my interpretation, as above, back in 2006. Annette Thomson shown, and Margaret Thomson as Lady Bracknell :) Yes, they are mother and daughter also!

Those were the days...

Why I love making wedding dresses...

Once upon a time I made wedding dresses for a living. It was hard work - the money was bad and it was stressful. And yet, there were moments that made it worthwhile.
When I read this challenge on Haley's blog to write a 500 word story using body language, I immediately thought about those days, and I got writing. Here's my short story.


Her eyes lit up for the first time since she entered my shop. A smile slowly spread across her features and she reached to stroke the bolt of silk. I draped a generous swathe of the glowing fabric around her body. She preened in the mirror, turning this way and that, chin up, running a hand down her body to enjoy the fabric following her curves.
I love this moment of magic. It doesn’t always come – the confident ones, the ones accustomed to seeing their beauty in others’ eyes, not so much with them. But the ones like this luscious redhead hiding her charms in baggy clothes; for them it happens every time. Only 15 minutes ago she sidled into the shop clutching a page ripped from a magazine, which she handed over, her ring finger sporting a shiny new emerald engagement ring. Emeralds for a redhead, I thought, this one’s man knows her better than she does. I don’t really know that of course, but I get caught up in the magic too.
The dress pictured on the magazine page is predictably hideous. I remain unsurprised when she explains that her mother thought this was a good style of wedding dress for her.
“Why?” I ask. It’s a good question, and after the usual hesitation (no one expects that question) she says, “because the magazine said it would be flattering to my size”. I raise a single eyebrow. “Really? The magazine thinks that baggy white polyester and cheap lace is flattering? An interesting viewpoint.”
She smiles in spite of herself. “Yeah, well, it was her idea. I don’t really like it though. But I don’t know what to wear, whatever I’m going to look like the iceberg that sunk the Titanic anyway.” Ah, self-deprecating humour.
“Well, for a start, white isn’t really good for that complexion. And hiding those curves is a jailable offence. ..” and so on, until she is laughing in spite of herself. “So, let’s start again shall we, like you’re going to be the most beautiful bride in the world…”
And then I fetch the ivory silk, the one with just a blush of pinkness.
And when she sees herself in my mirror, she sees her beauty with her own sparkling eyes, and the magic begins.
I love my job.

Cupcake frenzy!

Three lots in two weeks. I like to make them in colours that suit the person they are for and this first lot were for a friend at work who loves red and white:

Great photo isn't it! I work with a guy called Rowan who is an ace photographer and he commandeered the camera. I love this angle! And I've learnt something too.

 Having not seen at this point the photos Rowan took, I was still taking bad ones. These were for a 6 year old's birthday party. Pink is my friend!! So is glitter! :)

Ready to be delivered. This is a tray from the cupcake carrier-it has inset spots for the cakes and it stops them falling over in transit - very handy!

 And finally, one giant, gluten free cupcake birthday cake. A tip for anyone who tries this - make sure the buttercream icing is really firm - my first try it all slid off!

Here is a better idea of it size. My two favouritest little blondies - Zoe who was turning 9 and Peter her little brother. (my niece and nephew). :) 

Another Hat tutorial

This hat is very similar in construction to the red hat  I made in February, but I think it has come out as a very different hat and shows how a simple construction technique can be very versatile.

Amy and Rebecca in an excerpt from The Boston Marriage, in Edwardian costumes borrowed from a local amdram and given a quick do-over by moi. I wanted to give Amy a big wide brimmed Edwardian picture hat, but in theatre such hats cast shadows on the face, so I went with the style above instead. I altered Amy's rose madder jacket that had a peter pan collar by folding back the fronts and adding a Karrickmacross antique lace collar I was given. Naturally it came off straight after the show and went back in my stash!

 I used a silk jacquard chosen for its colour match to the suit and also its yumminess. It only took about .6m. Same as the red hat, I used heavy vilene and visofix to stick the fabric to both sides of the brim. Brim is wider at the back, another theatre thing.

 The brim, trimmed.

 I cut a long strip for the crown and played with it until I liked the size and shape. This one is toooo high.

Trimmed down to the right height. This is only about 3 inches deep. a little crown can go a long way. Stitched together with big rough tacking stitches.

I joined some offcuts to make a long, straight cut strip

 Wrapping the strip around the crown, I then slipstitched it in place. Make it fairly taut so it stays in place by itself.

 Next is the lid - a bit of math needed to work out the circumference as it needs so be oval not round. I used the visofix to stick the fabric to the vilene again...

 And then press under the cut edges. One 'lid,' done.

 Rim bound as was the red hat (I didn't take photos this time as I had to sew it on in reverse, this was the beginning of the end of my poor sewing machine!) Also as per red hat, I snipped the brim and folded the tabs up into the crown. Lid is slipstiched to the crown, brim is stitched to crown with tacking (basting stitches) that catch the tabs, then sewn again by hand for strength. For a project with a longer shelf life I would now line the brim to hide all the workings but not worth it for this.

 The untrimmed hat. As you can see it is a bit 'literal' - all straight ups and downs. This is why the next bit is so important to give it character.

I cut a wide strip on the bias longer than the crown and pinned a folded edge of it to the bottom of the crown as shown. Looks a bit odd!

Working around, I then pinned the other folded edge to the top edge of the crown.

Fiddling around with it I got soft ruching underway, pinning them into place the sewing them down, by hand of course, roughly, down the back. This is a fiddly job but a good DVD and good company made it fun!

 Drawing the loose end across, I folded it under, ruched it up and overcast it also. The top and bottom edges of this added fabric I tacked into place with big stitches. nothing needs fine stitching, in fact it doesn't really work.

To hide the stitching and to spruce it up, I added a flourish of lace. I was only using what I had - with more time and budget it would have got flowers as well!
So there you go. One hat, passably Edwardian. What else is possible from a simple straight up and down brimmed fabric hat? :)

Cookies, the kind you eat

Why are those little tags of data websites leave in our computers called cookies? Can't eat them!
Anyway I just pulled a tray of dark and white chocolate and apricot cookies out of the oven, the apartment smells heavenly, and they are so easy to make I want to share the recipe. I adapted it from another one and process it very differently.

Easy yummy cookies
100g (3.5oz) butter
1 cup sugar (I use brown or white, both fine)
1 tablespoon golden syrup (not sure what this is elsewhere)
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
About 1 generous cup of any combination of: dark, milk or white chocolate drops, chips, chopped melts etc, nuts (I love almonds the best) and fruits like dried Californian cherries (not glace) chopped apricots, peel etc.
Vanilla, almond or any essence, grated orange or lemon rind optional

Put the chopped butter and golden syrup into a decent sized microwave bowl or pot, and melt together. Don't get it too hot. Stir in the sugar and soda. Add the egg, beating furiously with a fork so the egg doesn't poach in the hot mixture. Fork is definitely the best tool for this! The mix will be a bit fizzy. Add the flour and essences or rinds if used, mix thoroughly, and dump onto the kitchen bench. Pat the dough out into a rough disc and leave it to cool off. If it is too hot and you add chocolate, it will just melt! When it is cool enough to handle, dump the chocolates and/or nuts on top. Start to fold the mixture over the filling. Note I haven't said put flour on the bench - it is so buttery it's unlikely to stick much and if it does, just scrape it up with a spatula. Only use flour if it seems wet and glistening in places. Work the dough and the fillings together until the dough has caught them all up into its spell. Now you could do all this in a bowl instead but it's so easy doing it on the bench and very cathartic. 
Form the dough into a rough log. Cut a length of silicone baking paper long enough to fit in your fridge, about 15 inches, and dump the log onto it. Roll the log in the paper until it is kind of smooth and even, the roll the paper round it. Lift the whole thing into the fridge and let to get cold and solid. Then just carve off slices about 1cm thick (scant 1/2 inch), arrange on a silicone paper covered baking tray and bake at 180C or 350F for about 10 minutes. I save the baking paper and reuse several times.
Another cool presentation I discovered by accident when I was being impatient. I cut the log when it was still soft and the slices flattened into leaf shapes, so I popped them onto the tray and gently bent the two ends together like a fortune cookie. You can also do what the original unadapted recipe advised, which is to take spoonfuls of dough and press them with a fork but doing it that way requires too much patience!

These cookies also work fine without added extras except a spoon or two of spice.
I love recipes that allow one to be creative. :) And now I am taking a noodle box of them out to the Embroidenator to pick up the Bernina 1230 I just bought second hand, that was delivered to her place. A nice excuse to see her. Happy baking everyone!

Silence isn't always golden!

I haven't posted for ages. Blame the stairs. And the husband. I really need to go upstairs to the big computer, not the teency laptop I am working on now, and download the bizillion fabbo photos off my camera to turn into posts about interesting projects. But, when I am home, the husband is so often on the big computer, or...OK, distracting me, I haven't gotten around to it.
Tragic excuses, I admit it.
BUT, I have given up a big job that was taking up more head space then I had to spare. As of last Saturday, I am no longer president of my quilting guild. A little sad, but it had to happen as I have too much else going on. I am hoping I'll get more quilting done now!
So, this long weekend, I will get some photos happening and post a thing or two.
In the meantime, if you are in NZ, have a lovely long weekend. If you are not, have a lovely weekend!