Flashback to summer 2022... In an attempt to feel more "Christmas spirit", I thought maybe I needed a red suit. Something that would make me feel fierce and epic, but comes across as festive etc. Too bad that Covid got me on the 20th of Dec and I was out for the season! What an underhanded play there by Covid. Anyway, I continued on making the red suit around the Covid iso parts of the holiday season. And then I stopped. The Simplicity 8784 jacket wasn't completed until mid March 2023. It languished, sad and deflated on my dress form for months. I finally got around to doing the last bits of hand sewing, and the button holes, etc and it was ready. It was worn to celebrate the wedding of two dear friends. This trouser suit was chic, comfy, and allowed me to cut a rug! Contrary to the evidence in pictures, I did have the jacket done up at some stages of the evening. This was the time and place for Lucille Trousers with The Curved Waistband! And it makes them much more epic than the standard straight waistband. Sure, there is a lot more work involved, but it's stylish. I didn't put any boning in the waistband - if I do need it then I will add on the waistband lining and wrapped in twill tape as the casing. We shall see! [Edit - having worn these trousers a bunch of times, no additional structure is needed.] Details / Mods: Jacket - Simplicity 8784 - Used the same jacket pattern as The Blue Suit - minimised back flare, and changed collar. - Scrappy full sleeve mod where I folded out the wrist dart on the pattern, marked my sleeve length from the underarm, and folded up the all-in-one cuff. It's not an elegant solution, but worked okay. - Put small ready-made shoulder pads in. For additional epic-ness. - Fully lined with a red Bemberg lining from Spotlight. - Hand prick-stitched the front panel including the collar piece so make sure it all lies flat and smooshed. Trousers - Lucille - didn't use a lining fabric for the pocket bag because I am a rebel. - Had to schmooze the curved waistband lining. After the understitching, trim the waistband to be the same length on the raw edge. I didn't do this - regrets. To combat this I just pushed the seam allowance of the lining side up further before whip stitching it down. - No cuffs. Length suitable for flats. Yeah, so I need suits in every colour. NEED. Suit:
Jacket & Trousers - made by me Blouse - fcuk silk blouse from eBay circa 2016 Shoes - Asos wingtips Dancing Legs: Blouse - Dangerfield Shoes - Asos brogues
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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 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 This button back blouse pattern has proved itself a strong staple in my casual and professional wardrobe. If you don't have this pattern and you dig 1940s fashion, you should go and get it! Rayon isn't the best fabric to work with, but boy do I enjoy wearing it. It's light and floaty, delicate and soft. What a dream! It gathers nicely too, especially at the neckline in this top. The fabric was wriggly to cut out, so I pinned and pinned. I cut it on the fold because LAZY, but it all worked okay in the end. For the sleeves, I didn't add the gathered binding at the cuff edge. I wanted this to flow and settle over my arm rather than bind it. That means the sleeve hem does droop down a bit, but I actually like the softness and shape that results. Not to mention, I can drive a car without tension over my biceps, and its nice and breezy in the summer. The blouse was paired with a tonal matching pencil skirt which I wore to a job interview. (Unsuccessful with the job, but successful in style!) Now there are three of these blouses in my wardrobe and I think I might be done with this particular pattern. At least for a few months... Doesn't mean I'm done with button back blouses though! I have some of this rayon fabric left over. I wouldn't mind making something to match, like 40s shorts or skirt? If you have any ideas, please let me know! I'm open to suggestions here as my mind is blank. Blouse: Button back hack of Simplicity 1692
Skirt: Simplicity 8652 Brooch: Sarah Coventry, bought at Rock N Roll Markets at Manning House. Hair: Princess Leia on Endor #leiaforever |
AuthorKnitter. Home seamstress. Dance Teacher. Archives
April 2023
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