Update on the 2 blouses

The first is a short sleeve blouse (Burdastyle 10.2015) with pleats around the neck, in stunning spring colors.

Close up images below of the pleats around the neck, facings and the short raglan sleeves. I decided on rounding the bottom edge seams and then ended up leaving a little opening higher up on the side seam.

Woohoo, the blouse looks great and the raglan style fits amazing too. The pleats around the neck gives plenty of space for the bust and chest area and very flattering also. 

Another stunning addition to my work wardrobe and will go with any of my black, blue and white pants!

 

The 2nd blouse (from Burdastyle 6.2019) has long sleeves with a bunch of pleats and a wide eye-catching placket at the front of the blouse.

So here are close-ups of the slit openings at the cuffs, below.

It took me a little longer than I thought it would, only 'cause it requires a little test run and then lots of patience and slow going on the machine.

 

Here are the 2 sleeves side by side, ready to insert into the arm holes.

Next, I will attach the cuff bands and button holes with buttons, attach the sleeves to the bodice and finally the finishing of the remaining part of the neckline.



And another look at the placket, this time completed, on the inside and the outside. I didn't tuck in the seams as some of the tutorials suggested. The overlocking stitches on the edges won't peek out or be visible to anyone but me, and I'm totally fine with that.

 

I can't wait to wear my new blouses in the coming months. Spring is just around the corner and the long sleeve blouse is cool enough in the cotton/viscose fabric that I will get a lot of wear out of it and it's perfect addition to my work outfits!

My current projects - 2 blouses

So, I got a bit cutting happy and drafted 2 blouse patterns. Well, ideally you have to use up previously bought fabric before buying anything new right? And since there was a sale at my favorite fabric store, and I couldn't leave without getting at least 4 new pieces of fabric... well, that's where I got where I am, busy constructing 2 blouses simultaneously.

The first is a short sleeve blouse (Burdastyle 10.2015) with pleats around the neck. It had to be a spring/summer blouse because of the cool colors in the fabric. 

Burdastyle 10.2015

Front and Back folded, sleeves and facings

So far, I've sewn the pleats on the front top piece and attached the front to the back at the side seams.  
Next I will be hauling out the overlocker to tidy up and cover stitch the seams. After which comes the sleeves and then the neck facings, ironing on stiffening before attaching to the top. There is a small opening on the back neck, and that is easily incorporated with the neck facing pieces. Wow, this blouse is going pretty fast! 

I decided not to insert the funny flappy thingies on the sides of the blouse. I don't know what that is all about, but I cut the bottom of the blouse slightly wider and will do a standard fold-over seam.

The 2nd blouse (from Burdastyle 6.2019) has prominent long sleeves that has a zillion pleats to be sewn at the cuffs and a wide eye-catching placket at the front of the blouse. 

Burdastyle Blouse 06.2019

I noticed that there aren't any bust darts, so I hope the width of the blouse and the neck opening allows for enough movement.
Here are images of the work in progress on the sleeves. So far, I've transferred the markings for the pleats on to the fabric pieces and then pinned each pleat in preparation for stitching.

       

Sleeve Pattern with cuff darts

Next up is the neck opening with the placket pieces pinned and ready to be sewn. This is officially my first attempt at doing a placket so I had to do a bit of research for the steps. Luckily there are many how-to's to be found, so I think I've got the idea... 

Neck opening with placket, in progress

Anyway, up-wards and on-wards. I will update with more as I go along but I think these babies should be done by the weekend ( I hope). 

Formal wrap dress with knit fabric

With a last minute scramble, I have to find a suitable outfit for a wedding that is less than a week away. My preference is to make it of course, also because all the stunning dresses I've seen in stores are in different shades of brown. Igg. Unfortunately the browns and yellows in the winter colors don't work with my complexion very well.

I've decided on a lengthy wrap dress, in a woven knit fabric and went to a local fabric store in search of something suitable and found a stunning knit fabric (below), that I think will do the trick.

There are tiny gold flecks in the fabric and the colors are perfect! And I can pair the dress with a formal dark green coat on the night.



So, now for the dress pattern. I would like to do a longer wrap dress this time, with raglan sleeves and couldn't find such a pattern so I had to settle on a course of 'franken-pattern'.
Wrap Dress Burda 10/2011

Wrap dress Burda 4/2015

First, I traced the top pieces from the April 2015- model and then the skirt pieces of the Oct 2011-model, both in size 40. No need even to draft a new pattern, just cut out the pieces and sew together. I did do a quick check to make sure the skirt and top pieces match up at the waist widths.

Then on to the construction of the dress. I normally like to start with the overlocker to neaten all the edges. Next step is stitching of darts



At this point, the bust darts are completed on the front and back pieces, following with the shoulder seams. The facings are then stitched together at the should seams and attached to the neck line of the dress.



Here are the 2 sleeves lay out flat. By merging the 2 pattern pieces together I only had to stitch the curved shoulder dart.

           

And here is the dress, completed and pressed, hanging on the dress-form. It fits perfectly over the bust and neck and the waist closure is also very comfortable.



The dress is a bit long as I added a few cm's to the bottom seam and now the skirts ends up feeling heavy, so I might decide to shorted a bit at a later stage, but for now I like the longer length and will keep it this way.



And here is a photo of me wearing the dress to a party this past weekend. Actually, now that I've worn it again and had a good look at it in the daytime, I think I'm ok with the length as it is!
So, now I can work on some of my unfinished projects that are waiting for my attention... I did manage to make a few Barbie outfits this weekend. Those quick, spur of the moment projects are always the best!

Wrap dress sporting flutter sleeves in bubble chiffon

This weekend I was very busy with the construction of a dress for a client. She needed a new outfit for a friend's wedding that is coming up soon.

So let's start with the design - a wrap dress with diagonal darts in the bodice, waist ties and flutter sleeves. My client just loved the darts in this design, as it creates a very flattering drape across the bust area. 

The fabric is a soft woven print, called bubble chiffon but I've seen it named bubble crepe as well, depending on the weight and of the fabric. It is so pretty and lovely to handle. The bubble in the fabric allows for a slight 2-way stretch, and makes it easy to work with and also to wear. I will definitely consider it for a future project if I come across it again!

The picture below was taken after the neckline facings and shoulder seams were done, because I wanted to see how the pleats look like on the model.

Then I added the self-drawn flutter sleeves and for anyone still wondering, I've included a quick draft and picture thereof below on how to draw a new pattern for a flutter sleeve on the fly.

Start off with the original sleeve pattern, and cut vertical lines from the hem to almost at the sleeve cap. Then spread the pieces apart to make the pattern wider and fuller at the bottom.

You can adjust and spread the pieces to add as much flare as you want.

The final shape of the pattern will look a little funny, that's perfectly fine. So now you have more fullness at the bottom, but no gathering or poofiness at the cap of the sleeve.

The sleeve were an elegant solution and suits the dress in this case perfectly, adding to the summer feel of the dress. 

She promised me a final photo with her wearing the dress and I will post once I get it.

Quick update of the post:

And here she is!! The dress is a perfect fit and she looks very happy with it. Here she is posing for a little picture, before going in to her friend's wedding. 

Slinky Blue Wrap top

Here is one of the latest projects I finished and it's my version of the Wrap Blouse of Burdastyle 3/2018 edition, pattern #115.

Wrap Blouse 3/2019

https://www.burdastyle.com/pattern_store/patterns/wrap-blouse-032018

Yes, I know it's another wrap something. I just love wrap tops and dresses, what can I say. They are flattering and adjustable, so I can move the closures a little in or out as needed.

It's a beautifully blue floral print fabric and has a nice soft drape to it and a satiny finish. I think the band on the sleeve should be slightly tighter to give the sleeve it's poufy shape, but will leave it for now.
 


Above as seen on my new dress form. The dress form is the newest addition to my sewing buys. And this is the first project that I've fitted on it.

I've worn it a few times this summer, but here I actually have a photo where I was attending an afternoon ladies tea.  It’s not the best picture as the angle is a bit weird, but I wanted to show the stunning blue color and the luxurious shine. The fabric is super soft and slinky and it's lovely to wear in summer, feeling soft and cool on my skin.

Toddler Harem pants

I have this lovely piece of black and white fabric with polka dots in my stash that I bought to make a cute pair of pants for my little girl. She is 3 years old and loves climbing and riding bikes and a real little wiggle worm.



The pattern is easy enough to draft yourself as the front and back panels are cut out on fold and there's only the 2 side seams and one long curvy seam in the middle.


https://za.pinterest.com/pin/572801646339810572/

To draft the pattern, I've taken an existing pair of loose fitting pants and placed it on the fabric fold but at an angle. See the above diagram that I found on Pinterest.

OK, so the trick to get the fit right is inserting a gusset in the crotch area , which is easy enough to draft and insert as well.

With the gusset in place, extra space is created over the crotch area. You know, for bending over and climbing up playground equipment.




The gusset is a oval shape and shown here. I've taken the picture before doing the overlock seam finish.


Final steps are the elastic waistband and the bottom leg seams which I have folded outwards.

Follow up on the Silk Wrap dress

I realise now that I've never posted the final result of the silk wrap dress and decided it's time I rectified that.

It was a beautiful project and I still enjoy wearing the dress, years later. The delicate silk and satin  fabric has held strong after many wears and washes. Below is a little snapshot from a morning out with me wearing it.

Red stretch jersey-knit dress

And so the day starts with me looking in the cupboard for something to wear to work...…It is just so liberating to be able to put a work outfit together with one of my creations!

I've decided on the red dress, inserted below, that I finished a few months ago. The fabric is so amazing close up, all shiny and super luxurious with a nice 2 way stretch. Perfect for the project I had in mind.

Knipmode Apr18 Jurk17

The pattern is from a sewing magazine called Knipmode, the April 2018 edition. The panels are not very clear on the final product, so I've included a schematic of the model. It was super easy to put together and sooo comfortable to wear, and so I'm very pleased with how it came out. 

a quick selfie

new project! Silk wrap dress

Well, I have moved on from the previous project, having completed them in record time ! WOW - I'm so amazed with that. The jacket came out fabulous and the skirt also very nice. The color is really nice, having washed out the Gelatin from the skirt fabric. I can see that the red color is so much brighter now.

Anyway, moving on. I'm already halfway with the next project. The fabric was originally purchased to make a strappy evening dress with, but I decided to make a easy peasy wrap dress instead. So here we are so far.

I did the little short sleeves late last night so now only have to sort out the seam at the bottom. The seam looks a bit willy wonky to me so will have to straighten that out before doing the seam.
I just looooove the fabric - it's a wonderful shiny soft silky fabric. Perfect for a wrap dress!

Latest sewing projects - Blazer and skirt

It's been a slow start to the beginning of the year, but I'm slowly getting into the swing of things - related to my sewing projects of course.

I spent the last weekend to clear my pile of sewing projects. I'm busy with a blazer at the moment- see below photo.

It's closer to being completed now with the collar in and the pockets turned inwards so now all I have to do is attach the sleeves, sew all the buttons on and make a seam at the bottom. Tada!

Of course, I've already cut out my next project which is a little red skirt with a "godet". It looked a bit much so I tamed the "godet" a bit to make it more normal looking.
Below is the picture of the pattern in Burda magazine. And yes - I'm still buying the Burda magazines even though I've got a small mountain of pattern books by now.... I can't help it - I love them.

Short Skirt with Godet 08/2014#105A

Check out the Asian style waistcoat.

I so love this little sleeveless jacket/ waistcoat. This is also one of those projects that went super fast. If I remember correctly, from drafting the pattern, to cutting out and stitching it all together, it came together quite quickly.
What a treat! The pattern is also from the sewing magazine "Burdastyle" - where else?

a new blue dress

So, I'm a great fan of sewing magazines and this is my latest dress completed from the March 2014 edition. It went super fast, from cutting and putting it together. I'm very happy with the outcome and so glad that it was so easy to make.

skirt and Kimono in a flash

It's been a little while but at last I've got some time for a few sewing projects. I whipped up a pleated skirt from lightweight georgette print fabric and I'm totally loving it. Couldn't wait to wear it to work and show the girls!

And this is the Kimono that I also started making on the weekend and finished on Monday. I love the colors - perfect for the Thai dinner evening out!

Pin cushion

Here is a photo of the little pincushion I made up with pieces of scrappy fabric.

The old one went straight in the bin!

Such a simple and fast sewing project, but of course it's one of those things that you neglect to do until it is absolutely necessary.

Wavy quilt

TADA! so nice. I added the last collumns together last night and then ironing so that the seams can lie flat. It makes such a nice picture! I'm really happy with the way it came out! WOW