le mani d'oro

DH tuxedo from Classy in Montreal My top Eva dress patterns - Kimono blouse Skirt - Vogue 2607 (out of print)

Eva Dress kimono blouse - muslin #1 too big

Eva Dress kimono blouse - muslin #1 too big

Eva Dress kimono blouse - muslin #1 too big

Those pictures were taken with my phone. I apologize for the poor quality. Nevertheless, you can appreciate the surplus of fabric in the front and in the back. The kimono sleeves made the task easy to grade down the pattern. I took off 2 cm in front right and front left by drawing a vertical line from shoulder to lower hem passing by the apex of my breast. I made a similar correction in the back on both sides. I used the book Fit for Real People as a reference. I also added a bit of length in the front, 1.5 cm to be precised. I was afraid to have my belly exposed.

I ended up taking off 4 cm in the front and 4 cm in the back (in width). I also raised the armscye of 1.5 cm and made the sleeve narrower. It looked much better afterwards.

Eva Dress kimono blouse - muslin #2 perfect size

Eva Dress kimono blouse - muslin #2 sorry not front view

Eva Dress kimono blouse in ivory duchess satin

Vogue 2067 OOP

close-up of the superb Italian silk satin from Couture Elle

Vogue 2607 OOP for the skirt and Eva Dress kimono blouse for the top.

Gloves from Dent in London, UK, Ivory satin with buttons

The first garment to be sewn with my new machine is finished and it was worn for the first time last Friday by my gorgeous friend Florence. As I mentioned in my previous post, I used the Vogue pattern # 8358 as a base. This pattern is designed for knits, but I used it with a woven fabric that has 5% of stretch. I gave 1 cm of ease at the bust, waist and hips. The rest of the work was done by the Lycra. The dress needed to stay in place.

Custom fitted dress made using V 8358 as a base. The happy man on the picture is her fiancé, Brian Ypperciel, the famous Montreal based fashion photographer Florence O Durand is an also famous Montreal based fashion stylist

Let's Bond is a fundraising event in support to mental health issues among young professionals

If you are like me, you must prefer seeing picture of a finish garment on it's owner than on a dress form. Therefore, I twisted DH's arm and he accepted on taking a walk to photograph me in my beloved raincoat. Here is the result.

Si vous êtes comme moi, un vêtement terminé demeure  plus intéressant et à la rigueur plus parlant lorsqu'il est porté par sa créatrice ou son créateur que par un mannequin. Sauf respect à ma fidèle Daisy. Ainsi, après avoir usé de tout les charmes, ma douce moitié m'a accompagnée pour un petit au parc du coin de la rue. Les photos sont prises et hop voici le résultat.




As I said previously, I took 8 cm of the original lenght so that my raincoat would be slightly above my knee. It was a good decision. I love the look with that lenght. I am only 5'4''. On me, long coats with a little baggy shape easily make me look like I am 4'5''


De la longueur initiale, j'ai retiré 8 cm. Selon, pour une femme de ma stature (1m63) de trop long mateau un peu bouffant me donne vite l'air de mesure 1m40. Bon j'exagère, mais à peine.

























Black in white superposition. Juste for the fun of it.

This pattern has a lovely shape buttoned or unbuttoned, this is the advantage of single breast coast over double breast. In my humble point of view.

J'adore les jeux de noir et blanc tout en superposition. 

Un des avantages de ce patron réside dans le fait qu'il est beau boutonné ou déboutonné.Voilà un avantage du simple boutonnage en comparaison au double boutonnage. Selon moi bien sûr ! 

Ho ho ! Lining peepshow ;-) - Ha ha la doublure joue les exhibitionnistes ;-)

The back painting remains my favourite part. I love this raincoat. I want it to last for numerous years.

La petit oeuvre appliquée sur le dos demeure ma portion préférée de cet imperméable adoré. Puisse-t-il durer de nombreuses années.




And here is a picture of my neighbourhood.  Et une photo de mon quartier. #montréal

I have been wearing my raincoat for at least two or three weeks. On and off since our spring plays a strange yo-yo game. One day it is 29C and the day after it is only 12C with close to freezing temperature during the night. Global mixing I call it instead of global warming.

The fabric was bought some six or seven years ago at Madeleine Soie et Laine, a store that no longer exists in Montreal... sadly. It was very easy to machine sew the raincoat but that fabric was though on my finger. The weaving is very dense, so passing the needle between fibres was difficult  when I had to hand sew the facing and sleeves hem. As all synthetic water proof fabric, it required low iron temperature as well as precaution so that I would not iron the waterproof coating applied on the wrong side.

I wanted to show pictures on me so that  you could see the lenght, that I judge perfect for my height. But I have this big cold and I look terrible. I seriously do not feel like playing model for DH.

So here is a series of pictures taken on Daisy who was kind enough to pause in the cold morning we had today (6C at 9:00 this morning).

Vogue 8934 - the collar is perfect to wear a scarf underneath, it's height protect from the wind

 The button holes wear done by a Pressage Unique on Beaubien street. They offer an excellent and quick service to tailors and sewist in Montreal. The button holes are all black except one that is light grey. Just for the fun of it.

Details of the hand painting I did on patches sewn on the raincoat

Vogue 8934 front view

Vogue 8934 back view

Vogue 8934 view of the lining

I had one button hole down in light grey

This pattern, designed by Marcy Tilton, is perfectly well drafted. All pieces fit with high precision. It was more than a pleasure to sew a garment using this pattern. Marcy, you are a true artist !!! The lines have style. Style and simplicity combined usually seduce me... and this is what that pattern offers.

I received lots of positive comments for this raincoat. Colleagues at work were surprise that I use wall paint for the little splashes. I confirm, wall paint does not run when exposed to rain.

Now I have to sew clothes for my son's graduation. It is taking place on June 19. Silk brocard is on the table !!!

In the retail industry, they prepare garments many months in advance. In my sewing world, I don't always feel like sewing summer clothes when it is -20 C or sewing wool jackets and wintercoats when it is 20 C outside or worst when it is 30 C and humid.

Since winter is very, very long and very, very cold this year, my raincoat will be ready on time. This must be a premiere in my life ;-)

Vogue 8934 view B

As I mentioned previously, I am working with Vogue 8934 pattern.This pattern has been designed by Marcy Tilton. It is a pure joy to work with this pattern. It is well drafted (all pieces fit wonderfully with one other ... it is not always the case)  and the sizing is excellent. Often Vogue patterns are too big for me if I follow their size chart. I cut size S which is for women usually taking vogue pattern size 8 or 10. According to their chart, I am a mix of both. Bigger in the upper body because of my wide shoulders and wide upper back compare to my waist and narrow hips. As I planned, I took off 8 cm of the initial lenght. It is now 96 cm long.

Vogue 8934 view A

I had a very precise idea in mind when I planned that project. Starting on view A, I wanted to use laser cut stencils and paint words on the appliqué (patches) pieces and play with that concept. In the back I would have wrote "Made In" and for the button hole patches would have formed the word J A P A N ...  but the two types of paint I tried were running. And the words were not presentable..  sadness in my heart.












I seriously wanted to finish this project by the end of Easter weekend. Instead of trying 2-3 other types of paint and spending lots of money for an idea that did not work. I decided on playing around with a mid size paint brush like the ones you use to paint your home.

Donna Karan dress

I had seen a very nice dress by Donna Karan with a large brush stroke type of pattern on a hip. So I decided to give it try. 


I like the patterns I have created on the patches. Once dry I finished them with my overlock machine. My project is getting together nicely. The shell is finished, the lining is also done and I am now hemming the bottom of the raincoat.

Speaking of lining. I often start by sewing the lining, it allows me to verify the fit as it can semi-play the role of a toile/muslin. For this very loose fitting raincoat fitting was no issue, but it is nice to try the fit and lenght before cutting the fashion fabric. Starting with the lining gives me this impression that my project is going faster. It is totally psychological, but I feel more encouraged when I start by the lining. We all have our little tips.

So here are pictures of my project. Today, I have to finish the hem, sew the collar and the front band and voilà !! I have not decided on sewing patches in the button hole area like on view A. I have to see first the garment with the front band.

 The lining is sewn in a Sevenberry quilting cotton made in Japan. For the sleeves, I used left over of man jacket lining to facilitate putting on and off the raincoat.The quilting cotton would not be smooth enough and it would stick on a wool jacket for example.

I forgot to mention that view A is not lined and that view B has a lining pattern. Si I used pattern pieces from both views and I mixed the instructions of both views. The back lining is cuton fold and you create the vent by sewing a fold at the bottom and a partial seam at the top of the back


 The global view of the back lining gives this result. The fabric is great for a lining or a PJ, but it is way too busy for a dress...  in my point of view of course.


View A and B have pockets. Marcy Tilton designed them with front and back part in the same fabric as the raincoat shell. I used the quilting cotton for the front part and added a neat band to hide the pattern when my hand is in the pocket.It is nicer when I put my hand in the packet and it is less bulky. Here is a series  pictures illustrating the pocket.

The band is 5 cm wide.

Marcy makes secure the pocket with a little seam on the top through all layers.

Peaking inside a little

Peaking inside a little more

 Sewing through this fabric by hand is rather difficult. To ease my work, I attached the lining to the hem band BEFORE sewing the band to the raincoat. You see in magenta all my thread marking. I mark all pattern religiously. Except the water-repellent fabric to avoid piercing it to much. I mark it with wax paper instead. Pressing, marking and basting are done with lots of attention my sewing room.

Ajouter une légende

Now ready for a weekend breakfast and the raincoat will be finished by the end of the day.  See you later.

Here are 2 bad pictures taken with my phone. This is a fun project.

This winter has been very cold and snowy in eastern Canada. This morning the thermometer was still  around -10C. Though I have doubts that spring will one day appear at our door, well history has proven that even the most difficult winters eventually end.

In that perspective, I am starting this weekend a new project... At the same time as I am working on my Vogue 8333 jacket. During long projects I always need to start shorter ones so that I get encouraged by finished garments.

So here is a sneak peak of the fabric used for this new raincoat. The lining is made in a quilting cotton from Sevenberry. I bought it many moons ago at Madeleine Soie et Laine, a Montreal store that closed it's door 3-4 years ago unfortunately. The raincoat fabric is a fine textured polyester also bought at the same store.

Quilting cotton used as lining from Sevenberry

Raincoat fabric in polyester is as a nice crisp and enough body

For this project I am using the Marcy Tilton Vogue 8934 pattern.


 
 In her blog, Marcy precises that the lenght of the coat as show on the model is not the one she designed. The coat should be worn mid-calf.

Here is the exact text she posted on her blog: "Take the photos on the pattern envelope with a grain of salt.  The models are GIANTS, AMAZONS, over 6 feet tall.  I am 5'6" and the coat hits me mid calf, not too short, not too long.  I think that the mid knee length on the models is too short, at that length the bell shape looks a bit odd...so I cropped the photos to give a clearer idea, and you can see photos of me wearing my own version below."

Well I am 5'4" and I am afraid that a raincoat with a bell shape that goes down to mid-calf will make me look short and squashed. I will take 7-8 cm of the length. With a skirt and flat shoes, it will be cuter. All apologizes to the designer for not respecting her design. I intend on sewing model A with the back seam and the contrast patches. Made in Japan is the theme and word cloud is the mood. I will be testing paint on my fabric and play around with that concept.

Happy Saturday !