A Blouse, A Scarf and a Label

Before we start on my new blouse top, what do you think of my labels? I ordered them from www.dutchlabelshop.com and they were very reasonably priced and super fast at delivery. You tell them how you want them to look from lots of options and I am very happy with mine.

So, the top. The colour makes it look a lot pinkier than it actually is. The light pink is really cream.

The fabric is soft and drapey and I have lined it in a matching sea green polyester at the neck, cuffs and inner yoke. I did this partly to save fabric as I wanted to make a matching scarf and I just about had enough.

The photo below shows the scarf worn with the waistcaot I blogged about last time.

You can also see my new very short haircut which I absoloutely love. I've been wanting to have this shape for years but was reluctant to do so because I wear hearing aids and thought they would show with short hair. I've become less self-conscious and the way my lovely hairdresser has created this style for me it does cover the parts of my ears I'd rather not show.

I wish I'd had it like this for our trip to Australia as it would have been a lot easier to deal with...

The top was originally made to wear under a cream trouser suit I am just finishing and I'll show you that in my next blog. The colours of this multi toned fabric go well with either and I also have a turquoise pair of jeans that will tone with it well too.

I have been trying to make more co-ordinated pieces to produce a capsule wardrobe of sorts and feel I'm on the way there with this piece.

I apologise that the photos and blog this time has not been edited as well as normal but my computer is in hospital and my tablet is not as easy to use. Hopefully I'll be back to normal soon.

Lined Waistcoats

Good Morning to all my faithful readers. I'm back from our 12 week travels in Australia, recovered from jet lag and back in my sewing room that I SSOOOoooooo missed while we were away. My sewing room was the first place I made for when we got home, even before putting the kettle on!! It was great to put a weekly update of our journey but now I'm back to blogging about sewing.

My first make was really a continuation of where I was before we set off. That is my new direction into a more tailored look, jackets with linings and to add to this a more everyday garment that suits our on off summer weather - a Waistcoat.

It took a lot of research to find the look I was after, I wanted it fairly fitted but longish. I didn't want a bolero style or collared masculine look. Neither did I want a straight long boxy shape. After finding an old Burda Style design in the very first copy of this magazine that I bought back in December 2012 which I modified with my SFD Body Blueprint, I had the idea on paper.

First I made a muslin from an old sheet to check the fit. This turned out pretty well so I went ahead and cut out the pattern in some blue fabric I had left over from a recent pair of trousers and added the lining from my stash.

I had all sorts of issues with this version. First of all I made the mistake of sewing the shoulders and the side seams of both the fabric and the lining. Big Mistake!! The easiest way to make a lined waistcoat is to sew ONLY the shoulder seams of both lining and outer after all darts etc have been sewn. Then after pulling the garment through the shoulder seams to the right side it's now easy to sew the side seams from the outer fabric right up and on through the lining seam, leaving a gap in one lining side to turn the garment back to the inside to sew the hem.

 

The end result was a wearable muslin but somewhere along the way the fit was no longer as perfect as the original muslin. I can wear it as a loose garment but no way could I button it up. I also felt it would have benefited from some welt pockets.

So with some stretch denim left over from my Valentine Jeans, I set about making a much improved version. I am so delighted that at last I have not only learned how to do welt pockets but they no longer scare me. I have used a method I found in a Palmer/Pletsch 'no fail' jacket pattern and it works so well for me every time.

I also tweaked the fit and now I can add buttons that do up comfortably but the waistcoat also feels fine unbuttoned.