Project 6 : The Serena Dress

The inspiration for that dress comes from two different directions.

First, I had this beautiful fabric that my friend Carole brought back from India (along with the fabric of The India Dress -Project 3). While beautiful, this fabric, which is very light and very fragile, is hard to sew. It slides a lot under the machine's foot, modifying the shape of the project all the time.

Secondly, I must confess that I watch the TV show Gossip Girl (for those who don't know, it is an American soap where extremely rich teenagers use New York as a playground for their mischiefs and manipulations). Rather than for the most of the time upsetting characters, I watch it (or "pretend to watch it") for the high end fashion and stylist work that is put in each and every scene. The clothes are coming directly from the last runway shows and are beautifully accessorized. One of the main characters, Serena, has a tendency to wear boho dresses, very airy and intricated at the same time.

The combination of those two facts made me try something very adventurous: I made a dress without using a pattern. Keeping the Serena style in mind, I listened to my fabric, cutting it the less possible and using the existing length and combination of patterns in the best way I could.

It results in a maxi dress, with a double layer to correct for the transparency, elastic bands at the waist (which were challenging!) and an altar top. I didn't fix the straps, so I can wear them in different ways, according to the mood. I like the way the dress floats when I walk. The top is very naked, but I guess it will be wearable during summers (maybe not British summers though) and holidays. Unless I dare wearing it the way it shows on the top picture: with wellies and a blazer!

Project 5 : The Cape

No one could have missed it: the cape is "the" coat to wear this winter. It started invading our wardrobes last winter and now it is definitively a 2010/2011 must have.

I thought this trend was for me the chance to sew something different from skirts and dresses, using some new kind a fabrics. I hate cold weather and I generally need tons of layers to feel warm. I therefore picked a 100% British wool from the Croftmill website and polyester lining. The lining is really thick and protects even more from the wind. More importantly, the print is colorful and break the all-black mood of the outside. I have always loved contrasting lining and I absolutely wanted one for that project.

The pattern I used was again from Simplicity. It didn't involve lining though, so I had to figure out this part by myself. I put three buttons instead of the one planned by the pattern, so the cape doesn't open too much (I said I hate being cold!). The buttons have a vintage feel, and there are actually old: I bought them from a Save the Children charity shop.

I was very pleased to see that my sewing machine worked very well with the thickness of the wool, even with 4 or 5 layers -at the collar for example. The tricky part was the lining. I thought I had to cut it the same size as the outside fabric, but I should have cut it bigger. It would have given a less rigid feel to the cape. At last I tried for the first time to do buttonholes. The automatic sizing didn't work on my machine, so I had to run a couple of trials. The result looks neat and fits the buttons well. Buttonholes, check!

Overall I would say that I reached my goal: the cape is really warm, and I can wear my biggest sweater underneath, and still feel perfectly comfortable. No need to say this piece is becoming my best friend for the winter. I may even do another one, trying to add pockets, or holes for the arms, or changing the collar. Possibilities are infinite.

Project 4: The Cocktail Dress

I am invited to attend a wedding next week, and for once I wanted to wear a dress that I had made, not bought. So, given the circumstances, here comes my first cocktail dress!

Once again I have to thank a dear friend for the fabric: when she went back to Cambodia, Audrey bought some lovely pink raw silk from the Russian market in Phnom Penh. The color is very sweet, while the texture is not regular (which is normal for raw silk): this gives an interesting combination and a more unique feel to the dress.

The model is a mix of two patterns: the top is from Burda and the bottom is the same as the India Dress (from Simplicity). The bottom from Burda was a tulip shape which I thought would be too lady-like combined to the top. The back of the dress, where the straps make a big bow, is the real strength of this design, while the front is very classic, even a little bit severe.

The fabric was relatively easy to sew, but the edges were fragile: I made sure I sewed every seam twice to secure the outfit.

With that dress I had to do my first lining, which was not so challenging. It just took a lot of time to finish the last seams by hand. I would have preferred to line it with the same silk, but I didn't have enough of it, so I picked a matching color in regular lining fabric.

I wish the waist were higher, but I guess it looks fine like that also. It's simply less flattering.

At last I succeeding in placing an "invisible" invisible zipper: you can't see it on the pictures (can you?). My zipper battle is over. I won.

I am not totally confident wearing that dress at a wedding, fearing that something bad will happen at some point (what if the zipper breaks? if the lining shows too much?). I will surely have another dress in my bag, just in case.

However, if everything goes well, I will be happy to accessorize it with the following head-piece that I made with some remnants. I bought the base, and covered it with silk before adding a silk flower and a white and golden button in the middle. I can fix it in my hair thanks to a pin. So chic!

Project 3: The India Dress

Introducing my first dress....

How do you aquire gorgeous fabric without actually looking for it? Ask your friends who travel to bring you a souvenir! That's what my friend Carole generously did, bringing back from her last stay in India amazing printed fabrics. Two of them are very light and difficult to tame, but with the third one I decided I would do my first dress, because it seemed reasonably easy to manipulate.

I chose a pattern from Simplicity. My criteria were the following: I wanted sleeves and a high waist.The fact that the top and the bottom were two distinct pieces was reassuring: you have the impression you can adjust more than with only one piece.

Putting the sleeves together was not the easiest, but the fact that they are puffy made it acceptable that they were not perfectly sewed.

I have got some more serious issues though: I fixed an invisible zipper...without understanding clearly how to do it. So this is a visible invisible zipper!

There were supposed to be two pockets, but I lost one in the zipper process: it is not accessible if the zipper is up.

The hem was once more my least favorite part. I had to redo it several times before the bottom looked even.

On the other hand, it was very interesting to play with the different types of pattern details and to place them differently on the top, the clivage, the sleeves and on the skirt.

I wear that dress with dark tights (the fabric is not totally opaque), by itself or with a black top underneath if it's too cold. This is a highly comfortable dress. I will definitely buy more Simplicity patterns (and ask Carole more fabric)!

Project 1: The Skirt of Liberty

For my first sewing project, I picked what I thought would be the simplest thing to do: a wrap-over skirt which included neither buttonhole, neither zipper. However I quickly realised that the shape was a little bit tricky: I had to run very long and curvy seams, while I was still not able to sew proper straight lines with my brand new sewing machine. So at the end it took me a while, but with patience and determination, I managed to do something that doesn't look too crooked.

The print though was my true inspiration for that model, and it commanded the choice of a skirt pattern. I found indeed the most amazing cotton Liberty fabric wandering among the stalls at Marché Saint-Pierre in Paris. I thought that a navy blue background would be a change, so I went for this colorful print. In order to personalise the design, I assembled two buttons on each side of the skirt: they are purely decorative (the skirt is hold by snaps) but they give a vintage feel to the look. And they allow me to combine more easily a black top or golden accessories with the skirt.

The Liberty prints are definitely to be ranked among my favorite prints. To find out more about that fashion reference, you can go there: the blog of Liberty of London is filled with lovely pictures and design ideas.

Bird-head

Last summer we went to the horse races in Newmarket, England. This one of those events where everyone dresses up, matching hats and handbags and shoes despite the modern rules of fashion.

As expected, this was indeed quite a show, and even if I didn't exactly belong to the crowd with my simple outfit, I was glad to have created this hat for the occasion. A black hat, a flower broach and a sparkling bird made the trick. The funny part was that the bird was mounted on a spring and was actually moving along with each and every step I was taking.

You may have guessed that I didn't win the price for the best accessory though. I realised that if I ever want to have my chance in that race, I'll have to try harder and be proudly over the top. Forget effortless, more is, well....more.

I swear I'll try. Next year.