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
0 Comments
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 Mum and I decided that we were going to move away from jeans as our go-to casual pant. It turns out we were having similar thoughts about jeans for a while. We wanted a casual-appropriate tailored trouser. Mum found some good trouser options for her from local fancy shops, and I dove into my pattern stash. The pattern that solved my problem was Simplicity 7584, circa 1984. View A tickled my fancy. No fly zipper, no back zipper, no side zipper, and POCKETS. Yeah, these pants have no zip! The left pocket is only sewn partially and the waistband closes with a skirt / trouser hook. That's it. That's the closure done. Incredible! The pants can be made in less than 1 day and have already been in heavy rotation. The pattern is for a size 30" waist which is perfect. The only mod I made was to add 4cm in the back rise (ie, not messing around with the crotch curve, but adding the length just below the bottom of the lowest dart point). I came to 4cm by measuring the back length of a pair of trousers I liked the fit of and comparing that to the Simplicity pattern. It was a fly by the seat of my pants (get it? rofl) adjustment and I didn't make a toile. Super glad that is worked out well in the end. The trousers are slightly tapered at the knee-to-ankle, but there is so much width through the hips that it's barely noticeable. I suspect they will be easy to cut straight down to 40s-er-ise the style. I am so chuffed with these trousers, I can't even explain it. They are easy to make, easy to wear, comfortable, AND I can stash stuff in the pocket! I was so delighted that on their first outing, I had to do a "I Made These Pants Dance". Please see images below as proof. These trousers definitely fill the brief for me: a casual pant that is not made from denim, but are still very practical. So much win. After the success of these trousers, I immediately shopped my stash and found a mystery beige/black woven something as well as a herringbone stripe brown drapey blend something. I have already finished (and worn) the beige/black woven pair. The brown herringbone pair will hopefully have a wider 40s leg and will be made soon! Jumper: Knitted by me from a 1970s pattern
Trousers: Simplicity 7584 with wool blend from Spotlight Warm squishy socks: Somewhere in New York, c. 2013/14 ish Shoes: Ziera from eBay 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 |
AuthorKnitter. Home seamstress. Dance Teacher. Archives
April 2023
Categories
All
|