I'm unstoppable. I can't stop making suit sets. Suits are so polished and put together. Instant style. I don't know what it is about matching sets that immediately reads as overdressed. Is it because this has been the pandemic of stretch trackies? Who knows. This suit is a simple straight skirt and a what is basically a blouse with a bit more ease. But somehow, it looks so much more formal that it is. This is the same Simplicity 8747 jacket as seen in my green wool suit post. There are lots of modifications! Scroll to the bottom to see them as a list. I have really enjoyed this pattern and made it 3 times now. I like the amount of flare in this version at the back, and the flappy turn-out collar is a bit more relaxed than the Peter Pan style collar on the green version. I've been highly recommended to try the skirt from this pattern - apparently it's a bit Victorian in the back? Might give it a whirl in the future. Sure, the sleeves aren't set in a smoothly as possible. But mate did I wrestle with them! This cotton drill from Spotlight doesn't have much stretch in it, so it was a serious challenge to get any ease happening. Eh, not that big of a deal, because LOoK aT hOw cUtE iT Is! Mods
Details Suit: Simplicity 8747 & By Hand London Charlotte Skirt Shoes: K-Mart, circa 2015 Clutch & Brooch: Vintage from Etsy Hair flower: Target
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It's finished! This suit will be my partner in crime for stylish social gatherings and assorted civilised mingling. If you follow me on insta, you will recall some tense moments recorded in my stories. The most emotional of these moments was The Collar Issue. It was dire there for a moment, but nothing 6 hours of painstaking unpicking, thread marking and hand sewing couldn't save. Now, you couldn't even tell that I butchered the collar. Sure, the skirt insides are a bit... post modern. There is the champagne coloured lining, buttery yellow petersham ribbon facing, and then Kelly green rayon hem tape. A post-modern party only I get to witness...and viewers of this blog. But still, this is the 1950s suit of my dreams. Simplicity 8747 has a lot of flare in the back. I'm talking needs-to-be-wrestled-into-submission sort of flare. The CB seam has ample swoosh which could cope with having half the amount (if you take your reference from the CB seam line). There is also space to remove some flare from the back princess seams. It feels like a circle skirt back there. Dramatic, absolutely. But perhaps a little impractical. I'm struggling to get it to sit nicely. All in all, this took about 5 weeks to complete. That included having a week off while I was waiting for petersham ribbon to arrive. There is a lot of hand sewing in this project, but living in Sydney lockdown means I had plenty of couch time for that! This suit makes me so happy. I was thinking the other day - what's the point in sewing clothes if you don't make things you absolutely love? Mods / notes
Suit: Simplicity 8747 jacket and By Hand London Charlotte Pencil Skirt Fabric: Wool Cashmere in the colour Kiwi by SuperCheapFabrics Hat: Vintage Bag: Vintage Out of frame shoes: Kitten D'Amour Making my 40s blouse dreams come true! This is the wonderful Smooth Sailing Blouse by Wearing History. I've made this shirt twice before, both times in a linen with the standard short sleeve. I've always loved bishop sleeves with drama. As I've said before, they are the sleeves that you wear when the private detective turns up at your door with the news your husband is dead. You start crying, quickly drawing one hand to your forehead and the other to your heart. It can't be! What a surprise! Who would do something like this? The PI comes inside, you go to the drinks cart and make yourself a whisky sour. So on and so forth, with lots of sleeve flipping. The dramatic sleeves are from Simplicity 8736 View B/C which I have also made before. There is a lot of possibility in sleeve-mix-and-matching when the sleeves have a gathered cap. I made sure the top gathers sat in the same place as the original Smooth Sailing sleeves - in line with the front and back yoke sections. The sleeves could cope with being longer - I think about 2" would suffice - and with a much wider film noir style sweep. Rest assured I will make those changes on the next blouse. And there WILL be a next one! The fabric is a rayon from Spotlight which was nice enough to work with. You know, it's a rayon. It's slippery and annoying and frays. But that's to be expected! Buttons are from the stash and not a perfect match. Even though the base colour is an off white / cream colour I had to use white thread. This is definitely a self isolation project! At the end of the day I love this blouse, I love this pattern. Even though I have no where to wear it (I'm unemployed) it's nice to be slowly building the wardrobe of my dreams! Blouse: Smooth Sailing by Wearing History
Trousers: Vivien of Holloway Sunnies: Local Supply Bangles: Splendette & Etsy Lipstick Notes: Rimmel - Kate - Retro Red A new knit has been finished! This whole project was started and completed in less than a month, and that included a few days off while I waited for new yarn to arrive. It's a fast knit but there has been a lot of 'down time' where I have been in my house, listening to music or watching Star Wars to help pass the time. Knitting makes me happy so of course I have been doing a lot of it. I was short of yarn by 3 rounds of decreases, 10 stockinette rows, 13 rows of ribbing, and a stretchy cast off. So.... yeah, that's a bit short! I'm not sure if the pattern underestimated the amount required, or if there wasn't the correct amount in the skien. Perhaps both? More yarn was ordered, and it turned up a few days later. Imagine how relieved I was to discover it was the same dye lot as the original ball! :D This gorgeous yarn is by Bendigo Woollen Mills, Luxury 4ply Sweetheart in the colour Sienna Kiss. It's such a rich and warm colour perfect for autumn and winter. If you are a fellow Aussie knitter, you should know and use Bendigo Woollen Mills. Seriously, their yarn is an absolute dream to knit. If you want more tech notes then have a look at my Ravelry page for the project. Here, it has been styled with some old faithfuls from my wardrobe on an overcast day. Top: Beauty School By Poison Grrls
Skirt: Wool blend from eBay Beret: Part of my high school uniform circa 2000/01 Lipstick notes: Certainly Red by Revlon Gosh this is bright for me. I'm not usually one to pair bright colours with other bright colours. But I think I am sort of liking this combo? Maybe? The blouse is me made from a vintage pattern, McCall 7265 that I bought on eBay a while back. I don't know the date of the pattern but I suspect late 40s / early 50s judging by the cover drawings. I made it in a 100% cotton from Spotlight in this mad floral print on a dark navy blue background. It's a kimono sleeve / cut on sleeve with a little point cuff to finish it off. I have matching yellow seam binding on the inside of the cuff which no one will ever see. But I know it matches the yellow vintage buttons on the front. Yeah, I know the yellow buttons aren't the same yellow of the skirt. But the buttons match the yellow in the shirt print! Too many yellows for me to match. Marked button placements on blouse patterns are never right for my torso. I never use them. My hot tip - try the blouse on, mark where the button should be at the bust line, and then sort of where the top button will be. Take off the blouse and then evenly space buttons from there. It's a MUCH easier method and suits my ratio better than the suggested spacings. This skirt is a recent purchase from Dangerfield. It's a cotton broderie anglais with a full lining. So... no pockets. :( But it's cute and I dig the rich colour. What do you think of the bolder colour combo? Blouse: Made by me from McCall 7265
Skirt: Dangerfield Earrings: Bow & Crossbones |
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April 2023
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