Most recent blog post of the chiffon topper, here.
I've been told that emails of my blog posts are not being delivered, so I'm testing. It might be a problem with the length of the posts, so this is a shortie. Thanks for your patience!
(I plan to delete this blog post eventually. You are welcome to leave comments, particularly if you have any insights into the problem.)
Update:
I've been looking into this with the help of my friend, Kathy. The last email that successfully went out was on December 6th. It's been broken since then. We are investigating whether it might be related to the large size of my blog posts.
It's time to come clean and admit my guilty pleasure.
I LOVE chiffon and chiffon-like fabrics, such as georgette. Especially crinkle chiffon because, well, you know...texture. I am a bit baffled by my love of chiffon because I am not a fan of many feminine fashion details, like ruffles, bows, Peter Pan collars, stilettos, or light pink.
I have amassed a sizable collection of chiffon fabrics. I prefer prints, ombre gradations, and border prints, over solid colored chiffon. Last spring I made a Paisley blue silk chiffon duster. I've worn it a number of times, but I haven't been completely happy with it. I'm not quite sure why.
I purchased this chiffon when I visited the New York garment district in July 2016. It was my first and only visit to Paron Fabrics before they closed, and this was the only fabric I purchased.
I was inspired by the Zandra Rhodes pattern, Vogue 1547.
Pretty, huh?
I loved the skirt of this pattern, but I wanted to make some changes:
Eliminate the underdress.
Eliminate the back zipper. (I live alone, and for years I had frozen shoulder in BOTH shoulders. I reject back zippers, unless they are purely decorative.)
Make the bodice less fitted.
Use a CF opening (instead of the zipper).
I decided to merge the skirt from Zandra's pattern with Vogue 9427, a simple cardigan.
Alterations and modifications
I started with a size large cardigan (size 16-18), and a size 20 skirt (which fit the bottom of the top). I made numerous changes, especially to the cardigan.
Wide back adjustment, adding 1" (total 2").
Broad back adjustment, adding 3/8" (and a dart on the shoulder, in addition to the dart at the neckline in the original pattern.
Lowered dart, and increased by 1-1/2".
Forward shoulder adjustment, 1/2".
Rounded shoulder adjustment, 3/8".
Split the skirt to create a CF opening.
Omitted the sleeves.
Finished the 8+ yards of hem and CF opening with tiny micro hems.
Finished the neckline and armhole openings with 1" self bias strips, folded in half and pressed.
Closed the front of the bodice with elastic button loop tape and 22 tiny buttons from Britex.
Process pics
I sewed the elastic button loop tape...
...and the 22 tiny buttons by hand. (Both purchased at Britex.)
I measured and it was something like 8 yards of hem total
I cut 1" bias strips to make self bias trim to finish the neckline and armholes
The skirt
The skirt on this dress is a circle skirt (including the 4 corners of the skirt), but it's not your typical circle skirt. Rather that cutting the waist hole in a circle, it's cut as a narrow oval. I love this design, because it throws the fullness of the skirt off to the hip, rather than distributing the fullness evenly around the waist. I blogged about this effect back in 2009, in Draping Circle Skirt Fullness, complete with some rather ugly (but effective) sample photos.
Pardon the condition of this pattern. My cat venge-peed on the cardigan pattern, ruining my version with its extensive alterations. He didn't manage to ruin this pattern, though I quickly tossed it into a corner, out of peeing range, so it's a bit wrinkled.
OOPSIE!!
I spent a lot of time on the bodice and the skirt. I fully hemmed the skirt, and finished the raw edges of the bodice, before joining them together. I was feeling hopeful.
I joined them together and tried them on.
UGH.
I don't usually sew garments with a waist seam. And this is why.
The bodice and skirt were sewn straight. Off the hangar they look straight. But on my body, with its uber boobs, it's not straight! Even though I increased the bust dart with an FBA, this looks pretty awful. Dumpy, even.
I asked Ann Smith to help by pinning it up. She did, and it was better but, after carefully removing the seam and re-sewing, it still didn't look great. It took me 4 or 5 trips from the mirror to the machine to tweak it. I raised the entire seam, and it's no longer straight across my front, since my curves affect how the bodice hangs.
It's NOT perfect, but it's better! I can live with it now.
See where the armhole ends? That shows you how much I typically have to remove on a Big 4 pattern. This pattern is designed to have a sleeve and that's where the sleeve ends. I usually remove 3/4" to 1" before attaching a sleeve so that it lands in the correct spot on my shoulder. But, as a sleeveless topper, I like that it's a bit extended.
A circle skirt (including the corners), but the waist is cut as a narrow oval
So much simpler on the back, where I don't have bust curves
I love the swishie-swishiness!
I also love that it's not so tight that I have to button/unbutton all those little buttons. I can just pop it on and off over my head.
Once again, before and after tweaking the waist seam
I wore this topper to work on Tuesday and it's fun to wear!
Last weekend was another great Artistry in Fashion! The guest speaker this year was Sandra Betzina, who talked about the 10 most common mistakes sewers make. (You can read more about her talk on the Cañada College Fashion Dept blog.) She brought books, videos and patterns to sell and had two racks of her garments—one in her talk and one in her booth outside. I had been meaning to buy All New Fabric Savvy, and this gave me a great excuse.
I also learned that she's changed the subscription model for her site, Power Sewing. You can now subscribe for $6.99 a month to have access to over 250 video programs that are 30-60 minutes in length.
It was a great talk! Sandra was funny and shared lots of into.
That's Sarah Bunje in the foreground; too bad I didn't get a pic of her great outfit! She made the necklace and sells them on Etsy
Sandra showing one of her very cute toppers
And, of course, the shopping was good, too!
I've been admiring these necklaces since Margy bought a silver one three years ago. I finally succumbed and bought a white one. These necklaces are made from deodorant balls. They are quite lightweight and will be great for travel
I've already worn the necklace to work
This safety pin necklace had to come home. I've worn it to work, too!
I also bought some pieces from Winnie (pictured), of Eccentric Designs, but I was so amused by her necklace made from contact lens cases!
Another booth featuring beautiful jewelry
The button lady
I found some mother of pearl buttons
I bought a few buttons. The post card is a hologram and is attached to a button carved as a skeleton. You can see a video of the holographic effect on Instagram
The classrooms in the fashion department are set up with student work. I was particularly impressed by the work in this little bolero! The back and front are both different and both beautiful.
I bought this gorgeous hat from my friend, Sue Krimmer, a couple years ago.
The exhibit, Degas Impressionism and the Millinery Trade is a tad misleading. Many other impressionist artists were also featured. Along with the paintings and prints, many period hats were on display. I mostly took photos of the art, which called to me more than most of the hats.
Let's start with the hats!
This was one of my favorite hats. This is the front of the hat...
...and this is the back! (You wouldn't have guessed, right?) Caroline Reboux French, 1837-1927 Woman's Hat, ca 1904-1905 Woven straw and dyed cotton flowers "The labor intensive process of flower-making involved treating the material, typically silk or cotton, with flower or gelatin to improve its pliability, and then carefully cutting flowers and leaves from it. The material was often cut in layers to allow many flowers to be created simultaneously. Shapes were then punched into the flower by hand using a mallet. The flowers were dip-dyed, also by hand, and often several times to achieve the desired hue. Next they were shaped, scored, and crimped, and then secured to their intended hat by wire or stitching."
"This whimsical Seussian hat was my favorite in the whole exhibit! Camille Marchais French, active 1854-1922 Woman's hat, ca 1895 Silk plain-weave and silk-velvet flowers and leaves, and metal wire Masses of blossoms frequently appeared on hats in the 1890s. Maison Camille Marchais, maker of this example, was one of the most renowned artificial flower and millinery shops in Paris, famous for creating flowers so lifelike they could be mistaken as real.
A story from the newspaper Le Figaro tells of a Marchais bouquet that was ruined after accidentally being placed in a vase of water."
There were also beautiful paintings featuring a millinery theme. I took photos of just a few.
Renoir, Girl Seated with a White Hat, 1884
Degas, Madame Dietz-Monnin, 1879
Renoir, Young Girl with a Hat, 1890
Degas, The Conversation, 1895
Louise-Catherine Breslau, The Milliners, 1899
Renoir, Young Girls Looking at an Album, ca. 1892
Georges Jeanniot, At the Milliner's, 1900
Renoir, Pinning the Hat, ca. 1898
Degas, Mary Cassatt, ca. 1880-1884
Degas, The Millinery Shop, 1879-1886
Hats in the gift shop!
And more hats!
In the outdoor cafe
Enjoying my purse with the giant-ass zipper (purchased in Milan)
About a month ago I purchased a "scarf/necklace" from Sandra at Phyllis Boutique in Palo Alto. On the same visit, Margy bought a similar piece. After returning home, I couldn't quite make it work the way Sandra did (and neither could Margy), so I went back a couple weeks ago and asked Sandra if she would mind if I made a video of her styling it, so I could share it with Margy and others.
She graciously agreed.
Here's the result. You can see what a delightful, creative force Sandra is. (And please tell me my voice isn't that weird.)
I was in Seattle a week ago (was it only a week ago?) for a mostly-work trip. But I managed to squeeze in a visit to two fabric stores and one yarn store! On Monday night, my colleague Kathy and I took Lyft to Bad Woman Yarn, where I found some leather "buttons." Actually, they are clever screws!
Pretty cool, huh?
We then caught another Lyft to Pacific Fabrics. I had heard of this store, but I hadn't realized that there are FOUR of them in the Seattle area!
We visited the Northgate location, which also has a sizable yarn collection (for Kathy). What a great fabric store! It was very much like the old independent fabric stores that we used to have where I grew up in Santa Rosa, CA, like New York Fabrics, and House of Fabrics. The salespeople are knowledgeable, friendly, and it's easy to spend a lot of time there. They have a particularly nice home dec selection and juicy flat fold tables. They are very active on Instagram.
I am not sure how I missed all FOUR of these stores when I visited Seattle in the past! They are located in: Bellevue, Northgate, Bemerton, and Sodo Seattle. Sodo (South of Safeco Field) houses their headquarters.
I will definitely be back!
On Tuesday, I had plans to lunch with Maris, of Sew Maris. We had met briefly at Puyallup, but this was the first time we were able to hang out. After lunch, she mentioned needing to run over to nearby Nancy's Sewing Basket and did I want to go.
Did I? Did I???!
Lunch at Google Seattle with Maris
She had a car, so I grabbed my purse and off we went!
She looked fabulous!
I enjoyed petting the fabrics... It rained during our visit, so it was easy to think "fall."
I purchased the wool on the right
Thanks, Maris!
Overall, it was a great (but quick) trip...even at work.
I mean... puppies! Colleague Jacob brought his new puppy to work. Cause... PUPPIES. (Jacob knows that Kathy and I like puppies. Especially Kathy. Bailey normally spends the workday in doggie daycare.)
Meet BAILEY! She liked Kathy
Bailey liked Terry, too. So nice to have a foot warmer as you work!
They call these "breakfast cookies." 'Cause...you know, they're healthy. ;)
Bye, Seattle!
Now that I've completed the chiffon wonder, my next project is a wool boucle from Britex. I am also planning a trip to Ashland for Design Outside the Lines, and a trip to Japan later this fall. It's a busy time!
